Realizing something was wrong, his voice ground to a sudden halt.
The valley floor fell silent for a brief moment, and then wild ecstasy erupted.
Looking up at the familiar figure suspended in midair, the people of the Nine Saints Hall felt the weight of their accumulated fear and panic instantly vanish. One after another, they bowed in deep respect.
Their voices carried an irrepressible tremble and sheer joy.
“Hall Master!”
“The Hall Master has returned!”
“The Hall Master is unharmed!”
“Does this mean we don't have to die?”
“We don't have to die so soon!!”
“...”
A reassuring gaze slowly swept over the disciples and cultivators of the Nine Saints Hall before finally settling back on Ye Chongguang.
Fusheng spoke in a calm tone, as if chatting about daily matters. “It seems Pavilion Master Ye's relationship with Yong'an Tower is quite deep.”
Ye Chongguang snapped out of his shock, finally realizing what was happening.
No wonder Fusheng had delayed taking action!
He had been waiting for this exact moment!
Tearing away his final layer of pretense, he glared at Fusheng and rasped coldly, “You certainly have patience. Watching from the sidelines for so long just to incite the Beiyao Sect and me to slaughter each other, all to test me step by step?”
Fusheng did not answer. He merely looked at the chaotic, churning spiritual energy around Ye Chongguang, his expression gentle and serene. “Pavilion Master Ye's current cultivation... I assume it was not obtained through your own efforts, but is also related to Yong'an Tower?”
“...”
Ye Chongguang's expression darkened abruptly. Loath to waste any more words, he thrust his palm forward, sending a gale of fierce, malevolent spiritual energy straight at Fusheng's face. “Hall Master Fu, why waste any more time stalling?”
The spiritual energy churning in his palm was so thick it seemed almost solid, descending with a violent, crushing pressure.
This spiritual energy was incredibly sinister, causing the very air it passed through to hiss with corrosion. It was even more powerful than the might he had displayed during his battle against Feng He, proving he had been holding back his true strength.
Fusheng stepped aside to dodge. The long sword at his waist unsheathed itself and hovered by his side.
Without channeling even a fraction of the world's natural pressure, he merely flicked his wrist. The tip of his sword tapped forward lightly, sending a ripple of clear, pristine sword intent spreading outward like water.
Unlike the earth-shattering momentum of the Beiyao Sect's earlier battle, his sword technique was dense and tranquil, like spring floods washing over a stony beach. It appeared soft and without an edge, yet it silently dissolved all of Ye Chongguang's vicious attacks into nothingness, without kicking up even a speck of dust or gravel.
Ye Chongguang's pupils contracted in utter disbelief.
Hadn't Fusheng suffered a qi deviation after failing to break through?
Not only had he suffered a qi deviation, but the people of Yong'an Tower had also broken into his secret realm and severely injured him. Even if he hadn't died, he should have been at death's door.
Yet his current cultivation...
How was it on par with his own?
To make matters worse, Ye Chongguang had already gone through two intense battles with the people of the Beiyao Sect. He was half-exhausted, and his strength was far from its peak.
After just a few exchanges, his weaknesses were fully exposed, and the difference in their abilities became glaringly obvious.
The veins on Ye Chongguang's forehead bulged, and his blood vessels stood out. Wrapped in layers of sword intent, he found himself struggling to defend, falling further and further into a disadvantage.
This won't do.
If this continues, I will lose!
A sinister glint flashed through his eyes. He suddenly feinted, abruptly redirecting his palm strike to sweep toward the crowd of Nine Saints Hall cultivators who were currently evacuating on the ground.
That force was enough to grind them into meat paste in an instant. The crowd's gasps of terror were caught in their throats.
Several elders hurriedly took action to protect the disciples.
Fortunately, a long sword swept across and coalesced into a shield of light. With a dull thud, the sinister spiritual energy crashed against the shield and exploded, failing to reach the ground.
Only the Hall Master himself was grazed by the aftershock, a small patch of dark red instantly staining his pristine white robes.
Yet he did not make a single sound. He merely paused for a brief moment, and when he looked up at Ye Chongguang, a trace of coldness finally crept into his eyes.
In the next instant, the sword intent filling the sky suddenly tightened.
The sword momentum that had been as gentle as water suddenly surged like an overturned ocean. Thousands of pristine sword silhouettes materialized out of thin air, descending with a crushing pressure.
The entire Yunxue Valley trembled slightly under the weight of the sword intent. Gravel cascaded down the cliffs, and even the air was sliced so thin it became difficult to breathe.
Ye Chongguang was instantly gripped by absolute horror.
He had only achieved this level of cultivation because he had received the Immortal Venerable's inheritance. Yet Fusheng, who had failed his breakthrough, actually possessed strength superior to his!
How was this fair?!
The people of the Nine Saints Hall are all monsters and lunatics. That saying is indeed true!!
Every bone in his body creaked under the immense pressure of the sword intent.
Staring at the sword light that was now inches away and pointed directly at his heart, the fear of death seized Ye Chongguang's chest.
In his panic, he violently raised his hand and crushed the black jade pendant hanging around his neck, screaming hoarsely, “Immortal Venerable, help me!”
The moment the jade pendant shattered, a thick, ink-like black mist suddenly surged out.
But instead of blocking the sword light, the black mist shot forward like a bolt of dark lightning, piercing straight through his chest.
The panic had not yet faded from his face when his pupils suddenly dilated, and his body plummeted straight down from midair.
“Bang!!”
Dust and smoke billowed up with a deafening crash, washing over the freezing valley floor.
Almost simultaneously, the sky underwent a drastic change.
The clear sky was instantly swallowed by dark clouds. Lead-gray waves of clouds surged from the horizon, piling layer upon layer over the top of Yunxue Valley.
Muffled thunder rolled beneath the clouds, each boom louder than the last, making everyone's eardrums buzz.
—This was clearly a phenomenon born of the world's resonance upon the fall of a Deity Transformation Realm cultivator.
The entire area fell into a dead silence.
But it lasted only an instant before the crowd erupted into a frenzy.
The Deity Transformation Realm. What an earth-shattering, terrifying existence that was.
An expert at this level could move mountains, drain seas, and command wind and thunder. It was the peak of cultivation, something ordinary cultivators could never reach even if they spent their entire lives trying.
How could such a powerhouse, whose mere footsteps could shake an entire province, perish on the spot so suddenly and without warning?
Horror was frozen on everyone's faces.
Many had heard his final cry: “Immortal Venerable, help me!”
Immortal Venerable?
Who was the Immortal Venerable?
How did he die?
The people of the Taiqing Pavilion and the Beiyao Sect, however, had no time to ponder these mysteries.
Just a day ago, they had held a winning hand, firmly controlling the entire territory of the Nine Saints Hall. Who could have expected that in just a few short hours, the situation would be completely overturned?
Feng Qing and Feng He had fallen out with Ye Chongguang, and both sides had suffered defeat. They had already taken advantage of the chaotic battle earlier to vanish without a trace, likely having fled.
Meanwhile, Ye Chongguang had died on the spot. Of the leaders of the three major sects, only the Hall Master of the Nine Saints Hall was left standing unharmed.
The cultivators of the two major sects were now leaderless, completely at a loss as to where to go. Under the oppressive pressure of Hall Master Fu, they did not even dare to run.
Several Nine Saints Hall elders were the first to suppress their shock. Exchanging looks, they stepped forward in unison, bowing and clasping their hands. “We welcome the Hall Master back to the sect.”
Fusheng's expression remained as calm and gentle as ever. The sword intent around him had slowly receded, leaving only a faint, crisp aura lingering about his figure.
He landed unhurriedly. Casting his eyes down at Ye Chongguang's corpse for a moment, he raised his hand and swept the shattered fragments of the jade pendant into his palm. After a brief inspection, his brow furrowed slightly.
This aura...
It did not seem to belong to the Tianshu Realm.
His gaze swept through the dense crowd, searching carefully. Unable to find the person he was looking for, his eyes finally landed on Zhu Zhao and Xie Zhou, who were rushing over from behind.
The broken sword hovering in midair trembled slightly, its humming sound fading away.
In the next moment, he spoke. His voice was cool yet resonant, echoing clearly throughout the entire Nine Saints Hall.
“As of today, I pass the position of Hall Master of the Nine Saints Hall to Zhu Zhao.”
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