Chapter 120: The Pinnacle of Ascendancy—The Worldly Spear of Dengfeng

The sky deep within the mountains was clear and vast. Anyone looking up would have noticed the dark shadows above the clouds, which appeared particularly striking.

More than a dozen figures stood suspended in the air, each armed with a blade.

The atmosphere was grim and frigid.

The leader was a cold, ruthless man with a sharp, rugged face, radiating the intimidating aura of a formidable martial artist.

Had any practitioner gauged the cultivation levels of this group, they would have been utterly shocked. A martial artist at the Void-Shattering Realm—a level comparable to the Upper Three Realms—accompanied by two peak-level blade cultivators of the fifth martial stage, the Sky-Piercing Realm, alongside over a dozen young disciples who had braved life-and-death trials.

In the eyes of any sect under heaven, this was a force not to be underestimated.

Gazing toward the dilapidated, desolate little village not far away, the rugged man’s eyes flickered with a hint of impatience.

Some time ago, word had spread that a certain practitioner had withstood three strikes from Li Moran without dying. For reasons unknown, this had sent the reclusive female Blade Immortal into a towering rage, to the point where she had reportedly gone to Qianliu City herself.

To repay a favor owed to Li Moran from decades past, he had accepted this task, venturing out of seclusion to hunt down the young cultivator who had displayed such prowess in Qianliu City.

To him, this was a tedious affair. Even if the target had luckily survived three strikes from Li Moran, he was likely at the end of his rope, not to mention the immense firepower he had brought along.

The only issue was that they had searched all the way here without finding a trace of the young cultivator, which left him feeling agitated.

Without the unique heart-sensing arts of the Daoist sects or specialized tracking artifacts, what could be done if the target was determined to hide every shred of his presence? Were they expected to search for decades?

More importantly, due to certain unspoken considerations, both he and the female Blade Immortal knew this operation could not be dragged out too long.

Having found nothing after days of searching, he had amused himself by destroying several commoner villages and minor sects, eventually finding his way here based on meager clues.

A confidant stepped forward and whispered, "There is a remote village ahead. Shall we investigate?"

The rugged man narrowed his eyes and said indifferently, "Let’s go. If he is there, kill him."

The confidant bowed slightly. "And if he is not?"

The man sneered, "Then kill everyone. There is no need for such ants to exist."

...

After leaving the small town, the middle-aged man’s figure began to grow ethereal. Despite taking seemingly casual steps, he covered dozens of feet in the blink of an eye, vanishing into the distance almost instantly.

Several hundred feet in front of the small mountain village lay a circular basin, with a steep, pine-like boulder at its center. The man appeared atop the rock, crossing his arms over his chest and standing with his head held high.

He watched the dark shadows drawing closer in the sky, striking a pose he considered quite dashing.

A moment later, the middle-aged man’s expression froze. "Hey... hey!"

The shadows continued forward, ignoring him completely.

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened, and he stomped his feet, cursing, "Damn it, look down!"

The shadows flickered past.

Having shown off his form to the blind, the man grew indignant. He stomped his foot hard and shouted, "Get back here!"

Boom!

The violent tremor caused the remaining sea of clouds in the sky to instantly shatter.

The rugged, blade-wielding man turned abruptly.

The dozen figures appeared before the middle-aged man in an instant.

The leader scanned him and said, "Seeking death?"

Facing the hostile glares of so many practitioners, the middle-aged man, now just an innkeeper, lifted his broken spear and nodded with a grin, "That's right."

Someone in the crowd suddenly gripped their hilt.

There was no room for negotiation.

A flash of blade light erupted as the figure lunged forward, seemingly intent on cleaving the inexplicable man in two.

The middle-aged man scratched his ear and clicked his tongue twice.

A faint piercing sound followed.

The young disciple who had attacked without warning suddenly stopped in his tracks, his hands still gripping his blade, his expression vacant, before he collapsed straight to the ground.

A tiny, silent hole of blood appeared in his chest.

The others’ eyes narrowed as they retreated in unison.

The rugged man gripped his own hilt, his face grave. He said coldly, "A man of the Dao Sect?"

The middle-aged man rolled his eyes and cursed, "You’re the one from the Dao Sect. Your whole family is from the Dao Sect."

The members of Broken Blade Mountain were taken aback, struggling to react.

Since when was being from the Dao Sect something to be ashamed of?

"I’m protecting Shen Yu. Get lost!"

The middle-aged man’s mood seemed to sour instantly. "Otherwise, one strike from this spear will send you all into reincarnation."

The rugged man squinted. "What Shen Yu? We only seek the rogue cultivator who offended Elder Li Moran of Broken Blade Mountain dozens of days ago."

"Oh, when did Broken Blade Mountain become blind and deaf? The name of Shen Yu from the Dao Sect has long spread throughout the holy lands. He didn't hide his identity when he came out. Even if you are a small, petty sect, you shouldn't be so ignorant, right?"

The middle-aged man holding the broken spear scoffed, "Playing these 'covering one's ears to steal a bell' tricks. You think that by pretending not to know his status, you can just kill him? What kind of bullshit female Blade Immortal is she? Did a donkey kick her in the head?"

He lowered his head, stroking his chin and sighing, "Besides, if you really wanted to come, you should have sent someone worth looking at. I might have just taken the chance to slip away. Let whoever's disciple it is protect him themselves. Damn it, and here you send these small fries. What a stroke of bad luck."

The rugged man clearly heard the words. He squinted, his thumb slowly rubbing the hilt of his blade.

The man looked up and grinned, "This is the second time you've revealed killing intent. You have one last chance."

The rugged man’s eyes flickered. "You aren't from the Dao Sect?"

The middle-aged man sighed, shaking his head. "You really are looking for death."

In a heartbeat.

Countless grains of sand rose from the ground, encircling the middle-aged man.

"Kill!"

At the rugged man’s shout, all the disciples behind him showed astonishing discipline, rushing at the middle-aged man with their blades drawn simultaneously, as if the man’s previous display of power had been useless.

The latter remained indifferent, flicking his right finger.

A jet-black streak of light darted out.

The middle-aged man did not stop; countless thunderous spear shadows manifested in his hands.

Within that square inch, there were ten thousand spear shadows.

Like a raging storm, like ten thousand thunderbolts.

Hundreds of feet away, the air was calm, but within a hundred feet, all signs of life were extinguished.

The young disciples of Broken Blade Mountain seemed unable to react before they were struck by the relentless spear shadows, dying on the spot.

Three breaths later.

There was not a single living soul left in the clearing.

High in the sky.

The rugged man, having barely escaped the range of those terrifying spear shadows, wore a grim expression. The two Sky-Piercing blade cultivators beside him could not hide the terror in their eyes.

The middle-aged man looked up, feigning surprise. "Oh? Still not running?"

The rugged man gripped his hilt tightly, hiding his trembling left hand. He gritted his teeth and said coldly, "If you have the ability, kill me. The blade cultivators of Broken Blade Mountain never fear death, and we will never—"

"Then go to hell."

The middle-aged man lazily interrupted, retracting his broken spear and giving the shaft a gentle twist.

Spear energy rippled outward.

A thunderclap erupted in the heavens.

A brilliant, pillar-like beam of spear light descended from above the clouds.

The next second.

The three men, encased in black spear shadows, turned translucent like glass, then shattered like porcelain, dissolving into nothingness.

Their lives were extinguished.

Their souls were annihilated.

Unlike the others, the rugged man heard the terrifying spear cultivator muttering in his ear before he died, "When I was practicing the spear, not fearing death was the most normal thing in the world. How did it become such a glorious thing in your mouth?"

"I'm not a woman. Do you think I'm interested in you? Why must I take you as my wife?"

"If you want to die, then just die!"

...

On a small hill far from this place, two people stood.

The young boy, Qingshan, trembled, his face pale as he watched the scene. He stammered, "That... that uncle... he's too incredible! A true immortal."

Shen Yu stood beside him, watching the magnificent sight above the clouds. "A masterful spear, truly one that has entered the world."