Chapter 138: The Ultimate Sword

Under the gaze of numerous spectators, a terrifying small silver vortex flickered continuously in Tianming's palm, instantly twisting space itself into folds. It exuded a supreme celestial majesty, capturing several astonished and shocked gazes from the sky above.

"......Impossible, how can this be! With merely the first tier of the Spirit Silence realm, how could you possibly possess the power of an immortals?!" A trace of apprehension flashing through his expression, Gongzhong Ruixin stared with wide eyes, shouting in involuntary shock as he beheld the boundless celestial energy in Tianming's hand.

It was utterly bewildering—who on earth was this person?

To actually wield celestial energy!

Not only was Gongzhong Ruixin immensely astonished, but even Tian Haoming and the others, far off in the distance, cast burning gazes. As the Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect, although he had long since reached the tenth tier of the Golden Core realm, he still lacked the step of absorbing celestial Qi to bridge the gap toward the realm of immortals.

If he remained unable to ascend to the realm of immortals, the Southern Wilderness Continent would likewise never easily return. Among all those in the Golden Core realm, he was the one with the greatest hope, and the reason was none other than his youth.

If he could manage to extract the whereabouts of the celestial Qi from this person, perhaps the restoration of the Southern Wilderness Continent would be just around the corner!

Hahaha!

"How does it feel, elders of the various sects?! Is this aura extremely familiar to you? Indeed, this is truly the celestial energy you have all been dreaming of. Tsk tsk....... However, what a pity, it is soon going to become the decisive key with which I defeat you."

He swept his gaze across the surroundings!

His profound eyes lingered continuously on the elders of the four sects. When he saw the expressions of astonishment, shock, and fear displayed on their faces, he burst into loud laughter. Since heaven had ordained that he be forsaken by all and left alone, why should he continue to endure and forbear?

What is a demon? And what is righteousness?

They are merely different stances born from standing on opposite sides. History has always been written by the victors; righteousness can be turned into benevolence, and benevolence can equally transform into evil intent. If one harbors evil intent and lifelong resentment, righteousness can simply use that as an excuse for banishment.

"Wait!! I take it Your Excellency is not someone inclined toward wanton slaughter; could you perhaps answer a few questions first? Just now, I heard your final sentence mention the Sect Master of the Heavenly Derivative Sect, as well as Xun Yu and others, and even the name of my son Tian Hao within it. Who on earth are you?" Hearing these words, Tian Haoming, who had originally kept his eyes closed, hurriedly opened them and asked.

"Hehe, even if I told you, would you really remember? We are merely strangers who happened to cross paths by chance; there is nothing much to say, nor any old times to reminisce about. Of course, I cannot deny that the senior was right about one thing: I truly do not relish slaughter."

"Yet if you continue to press relentlessly and refuse to heed advice, then the fate of mutual destruction will be brutally enacted right here!"

Feeling the highly oppressive aura emanating from Tian Haoming, Tianming clutched the small silver vortex, shaking his head with consecutive cold laughs. Although this Heavenly Sword Sect Master was at the tenth tier of the Golden Core realm, he still possessed numerous trump cards he had yet to reveal.

"Insolent demonic cultivator, you are at the end of your rope and yet you still dare to threaten the Sect Master! Then let my Blazing Flame Sword test the celestial power in your hand!"

Boom!

Right beside Tian Haoming, a middle-aged man in a purple robe imbued with an aura of vast righteousness let out a sharp cry. He channeled a flowing, luminous red sword at his side into his grasp, and a thousand-foot-long fiery sword glare that scorched the firmament was instantly slashed down from the tip of his blade.

Ninth tier of the Golden Core realm!

Boundless primordial Qi energy boiled within this arena. The fire laws of heaven and earth surged wildly, surrounding Tianming tightly. The flames drifted through the sky like water and wind, forming a fiery tornado.

"Hmph, a futile effort!" Smiling faintly, Tianming raised the small silver vortex with effortless casualness. Those flames, burned to their absolute limit, instantly twisted and were irresistibly sucked into the vortex, vanishing completely.

Having absorbed these fires of heaven and earth, the small silver vortex in Tianming's hand seemed to grow even more formidable!

Man and sword as one, the ultimate sword strike!!!

Luan Tianfeng, transformed into a majestic, thousand-foot-long fiery sword glare, hesitated for a brief moment before quickly recovering his stern and grim expression. Poring all his Golden Core power into the Blazing Flame Sword, his momentum surged by yet another level.

"Is it truly futile? Hehe, Luan Tianfeng is truly worthy of his position as the First Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect!" Far in the distance, Gongzhong Lehe watched all this with a sinister smile, murmuring to herself while a trace of admiration flickered in her eyes.

Hmm?

As Tianming kept watch over the elders of the other sects above, a bad premonition suddenly welled up in his heart. Not good! "Pfft!"

Boom!

Boom!! Boom!!!

"Celestial energy? Although Your Excellency can wield it smoothly, it is ultimately nothing more than external force. Your physical body remains merely in the mortal Spirit Silence realm. Blame only your own excessive arrogance and overconfidence for losing at my hands today."

Above the arena, a fiery sword Qi that had originally descended from the sky suddenly vanished. Luan Tianfeng burst forth directly from beneath the ground. The successive fiery explosions and boiling primordial Qi waves caused elders such as Gongzhong and Yuezheng Sheng above to hastily project their heaven and earth energy to shield the disciples of their respective sects.

"Hehe哈哈哈, how laughable. The dignified First Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect actually resorted to a sneak attack; this truly exceeded my expectations, but....... alas, you have indeed won." Clutching the fiery red sword blade that pierced straight through his shoulder, Tianming laughed desolately, throwing his head back and laughing aloud.

After all....... he still failed to harden his heart enough to unleash that fatal technique. For if he had done so, the entire Central Divine Continent would have once again lost many powerful masters of the Golden Core, Spirit Silence, and Void Void realms.

This was something Tianming was least willing to see!

After all, the fault for all this did not lie with these seniors in the first place; the truly detestable ones were that fellow called the World God and Shi Zhan. If possible, Tianming would have slaughtered them even if it cost him his life, but right now..........

"A sneak attack? Demonic cultivator, you even have the audacity to utter such words. You are now nothing more than a ghost beneath my sword; why don't you hurry up and reveal the location of the celestial energy, or else we shall ensure not even your final breath remains in this world!"

Gongzhong Ruixin of the Huahan Sect nodded toward Luan Tianfeng, then shifted his gaze back to Tianming, whose shoulder was pierced by the fiery sword. He let out a cold snort and sternly urged him.

"Luan Tianfeng!! Luan Tianfeng!!!"

"Demonic cultivator, why aren't you confessing quickly? What are you waiting for?"

"The First Elder is too handsome! That sword strike was simply transcendent to the absolute limit."

..........

Seeing Luan Tianfeng subdue the figure in the black robe with a single strike, disciples from all directions stood up and cheered the First Elder's name, their blood instantly boiling. Their attitude toward demonic cultivators had always been one of unforgiving hostility.

"You......."

Just as Luan Tianfeng was about to retract the Blazing Flame Sword, he seemingly caught sight of a somewhat familiar accessory worn on Tianming's chest, and his originally icy expression suddenly shifted.

Take care of yourself.

Glancing back at the others, under the pretext of retrieving the Blazing Flame Sword, he secretly channeled a warm surge of energy from his sleeve into Tianming's sword wound. A moment later, without looking back, Luan Tianfeng flew back up into the sky.

"Thank you."

Sensing this, Tianming's complexion improved somewhat. Though somewhat puzzled in his heart, he still offered silent gratitude, for he could feel that warm current healing his wounds while the residual heaven and earth fire laws were simultaneously retracted by him.

Although the Hand of Vengeance had absorbed all offensive energy attacks, the assault of the physical sword path itself was extremely lethal, something Tianming could simply not withstand with his current first-tier Spirit Silence cultivation.

Had Luan Tianfeng slashed down with another sword, he likely would have been cleaved in two. Moreover, even without launching any further attacks, the moment the sword was withdrawn, Tianming would have been scorched to ashes within a single second.

This was one of the pinnacle powers of the continent, and Tianming had truly witnessed it now!

"You can answer my question now, can you not? May I ask who Your Excellency truly is, and why you possess celestial energy? Can you inform us whence this power was obtained? As long as you can explain, we shall no longer pursue this matter."

"Yet if you persist in stubborn resistance, we shall not spare your life a second time. I advise Your Excellency: although celestial energy is immensely powerful, before the full-strength assault of six Golden Core experts, it is nothing more than a joke. What do you think?!"

Upon seeing this, Tian Haoming opened his golden eyes and gazed down at the black-robed elder Tianming, his eyes filled with an extreme and desperate desire. Even he, who had originally possessed an extraordinary demeanor of vast righteousness, was stained with greed at this moment.

"Indeed! The Heavenly Sword Sect Master speaks truly. As long as you can explain, bygones are bygones."