Chapter 152: The Battle of Core Formation

"Sword Intent, Fiery Golden Light Sword!"

Just as Tianming was about to raise the Kaiyuan Sun-Shooting Bow, a fiery red sword radiance suddenly cleaved through the distant earth. The intense energy of heaven and earth instantly transformed the sky into flaming clouds.

Before it could be said to be too late, the sword qi attack arrived in the blink of an eye.

Surprisingly, it struck directly at Xie Xin and the Four Fiends. Seeing this, Tianming revealed a mysterious smile; perhaps he already knew who had come.

Dark Firmament-Covering Dome!

Facing an extreme threat to life and death, Xie Xin cried out in astonishment and summoned a small black bowl from within his body. In an instant, the bowl expanded into a massive black energy shield, protecting the Four Fiends, Li Xuansu, and the others.

Bang! Bang!!

The intense energy explosion made the entire silent sky deafening. As the massive palm print descended from the direction of H’an Anshan, howling gales swept across the realm, and turbulent spatial currents emptied the energy of heaven and earth.

The fiery red sword qi was affected!

Before it even arrived, it was rippled by the scattering energy waves, scorching the dark aura upon the bowl. The dark energy sizzled and burned continuously, dripping down onto the ground.

Eight shadowy figures were continuously channeling black qi into the bowl at the center, all wearing ferocious expressions. The extremely rapid and massive sword intent attack had caught them off guard.

As the sole cultivator possessing the Spirit Realm cultivation base, Xie Xin flew directly above the heads of the Four Fiends and the others, channeling a majestic surge of dark energy from both hands into the black bowl.

Slayer of Demons!

Endless clusters of black energy continuously burst forth from the bowl. Under the sweep of Xie Xin's right hand, they pelted toward the sword qi like thousands of shooting stars. The sword qi, already weakened by the spatial currents, quickly faded.

"It is time to settle the accounts. I never expected that person would even lend his treasure to you. What a pity, though—under my sword, your deaths are not unjustified."

In the firmament, to the southeast.

Atop a scabbard imbued with the Fire Sword Intent and the laws of heaven and earth, a middle-aged man in purple robes stepped lightly upon the sword body, flashing like lightning above the massive black shield.

First, he glanced at the black-robed elder holding the bow. "Well done!"

"..."

Seeing this, Tianming did not speak, simply nodding slightly. Then, he silently looked toward Luan Tianfeng, his eyes inadvertently revealing a look of gratitude. If not for Luan Tianfeng, rescuing these people might not have been so easy.

"You—you are Grand Elder Luan Tianfeng of the Heavenly Sword Sect?!"

With a panicked look, Xie Xin's face turned alternately pale and blue. Meeting Luan Tianfeng's gaze, his expression twisted hideously, and he rapidly transformed into a vortex of black mist to flee into the distance.

"Brother Xie, wait for us!"

Seeing Xie Xin flee, Suo Yangcan and his companion, along with Li Xuansu and the Four Fiends, hurried to follow, their words laced with extreme haste.

***

Want to flee?

Seeing Xie Xin transform into black mist and escape, Tianming prepared to draw the Kaiyuan Bow in his hand, but he was quickly stopped by the purple-robed figure flashing in from afar. "Though this bow is powerful, it harms the harmony of heaven."

"Senior, I know, but those demonic cultivators..."

The Kaiyuan Bow in his hands was abruptly pushed down. Tianming raised his head to look at Luan Tianfeng's shaking head, then shifted his gaze to Xie Xin, who had already fled some distance away, looking deeply puzzled.

"He was once a disciple of our Heavenly Sword Sect. Now that he has become like this, it is only fitting that we resolve it ourselves."

Sighing softly, Luan Tianfeng's fiery eyes suddenly brightened. Turning around, he transformed into a surging torrent of sword light, pursuing the wisps of black mist ahead.

Hmph!

At that very moment, a cold snort echoed from above the Huahan Sect, and the deep green barrier instantly shattered, with thousands of figures plummeting down in scattered disarray.

"You wish to kill people right before this old man? Did you ever ask for my opinion?"

Shrouded in endless killing darkness, the elder radiated a towering brilliance that turned the entire realm into night. With a heavy stamp of his staff upon the ground, he instantly appeared before Luan Tianfeng.

"Old bastard! You have betrayed the entire continent. Do you feel no shame before everyone in your sect, from top to bottom?"

"Silence! Luan Tianfeng, do you even have the right to say those words?" Veins bulging in his eyes, Han Anshan trembled with both hands, his gaze immensely vicious as he pointed a finger and roared in fury.

"Very well, let me see whether the heaven and earth within your palms, Han Anshan, is more formidable, or if my Fifth-Level Sword Intent is sharper."

After a brief pause, the surging flame sword light halted, and the purple-robed middle-aged Luan Tianfeng stared like a torch at the black-qi elder Han Anshan ahead.

"Heh heh, it seems you are determined to fight. Do you think that even if you kill these few people, the Central Divine Continent will enjoy eternal peace? It will only accelerate the arrival of war."

Laughing sinisterly, Han Anshan's black qi boiled anew. Within dozens of miles around him, black miasma surged, and the power of the dark law magnified his hands to an enormous scale.

"So what? To kill one is still to kill. Even without my intervention, there are still countless people guarding this continent. If you remain obsessed and unrepentant, the one who ultimately regrets it will be you."

Frowning slightly, Luan Tianfeng extended his left hand, and the thin, ethereal fiery-purple longsword orbiting his body instantly flew into his grasp. A towering sword qi radiated outward from his center.

One Sword Transforming into Ten Thousand Dust!

An ethereal voice echoed across the realm. As Luan Tianfeng waved the sword's tip, boundless energy of heaven and earth gathered around him in a tight circle, imbuing the blade with even greater spirituality under the mandate of the heavenly laws.

"Well? There is still a one-grade difference between us."

Rumble...

Accompanied by the final falling words, intertwined with flashes of lightning and thunder, ten thousand points of fire scattered to the left and right of Luan Tianfeng, and concentric ripples of sword intent continuously surged across his body.

The surging, boundless sword light quickly thrust toward the region of heaven and earth blackened by Han Anshan.

***

In an instant, a single sword illuminated ten thousand zhang of the sky.

Surging flames burst across the mountains and the earth, while corrosive dark energy smashed massive craters into the ground.

"As expected of the Golden Core Realm!!!"

Witnessing the heaven-shaking and earth-clearing attack ahead, Tianming did not linger. Stowing away the Kaiyuan Bow, he chose to circle around and pursue the direction in which Xie Xin and the others had fled.

"You cannot escape. Submit obediently."

Transforming into a stream of lightning, Tianming quickly caught up to Xie Xin and the others, who had already expended vast amounts of vital energy. Sensing his approach, they ceased their flight and stopped in their tracks.

"You flee first."

Glancing at the seven people behind him, Xie Xin hurriedly summoned the black bowl from within his body once again. As his hands continuously wove incantations, rings of black runes rose and ascended from the bowl.

"..."

Hearing this, the Four Fiends no longer cared about camaraderie. Cupping their fists in a hasty salute, they once again transformed into black mist and soared into the depths of the sky.

What technique is this?

Wielding a lightning-imbued precious sword, Tianming looked curiously at the ever-changing black brilliance in Xie Xin's hands and the motionless black bowl floating above his head.

"Whatever technique you have, watch me break it with a single sword!"

Thunder Moon-Slash!!!

The Moonlight Sword in Tianming's left hand intersected with the Lightning Precious Sword. In an instant, a hundred-fold purple sword qi pierced through the darkness, slashing toward the black bowl suspended in mid-air.

Firmament Cover, Ten Thousand Prohibitions!

"...What?"

The moment the sword qi made contact with the black bowl, just as Tianming prepared to unleash another stream of purple lightning sword qi, he discovered that the black bowl had instantly expanded to a size even greater than the sword qi, plunging his entire field of vision into a heaven-covering, sun-blocking darkness.

Cover!

Vaguely, Tianming heard a single phrase before a massive, deafening roar echoed thunderously in his ears.

Simultaneously, a lingering, sharp voice echoed through the space, "Brother Chu, you might as well stay comfortably inside. This technique may be useless against cultivators of the Golden Core Realm, but against you, it is exceptionally useful—even though this magical treasure may have to be left behind for now."

"This brother shall take his leave first."