Translator: CinderTL
"Hand it over. You're no match for us," Fang Qingge said, his voice deep and steady as he locked eyes with Xu Sanyan.
Instantly, all eyes converged on the pair. Qin Manyang's gaze flickered, already searching for an escape route.
She saw no chance of Xu Sanyan winning. Each of the four opponents was a peerless talent of their generation, with Fang Qingge widely acknowledged as the foremost among them. No matter how formidable Xu Sanyan might be, he couldn't possibly withstand such a united front.
This sentiment was shared by nearly everyone present.
In the younger generation, no one could break through the combined assault of Fang Qingge, Jingyi, Mo Xianxian, and Luo Qingwei—not even the holy son of the demonic sect.
Though the four weren't at their peak—Fang Qingge's Spiritual Power was less than thirty percent after his prolonged battle with Qi Liang, and Jingyi was wounded with less than forty percent remaining—Luo Qingwei and Mo Xianxian remained unscathed, nearly at full strength.
Xu Sanyan, on the other hand, had exhausted most of his Spiritual Power during his earlier clash with Jingyi. Yet his true strength lay not in Spiritual Power, but in his indomitable physical body.
"Defeat me, and the treasure is yours," Xu Sanyan declared, spreading his four arms wide. With a single hand raised high, he summoned his great halberd, which whistled through the air from afar and landed firmly in his grip.
"Hmph! You won't shed tears until you see your own coffin!" Luo Qingwei still harbored resentment for Xu Sanyan's earlier insults toward her brother.
Jingyi raised a single hand to his chest, chanting a Buddhist mantra in a low voice, "Amitabha..."
Mo Xianxian retreated silently, step by step. Unskilled in close combat, she needed distance to unleash the full power of her mystical arts.
Elder Ren and the others couldn't offer assistance either, as Fang Qingge's group outnumbered them.
Suddenly, Xu Sanyan moved. His great halberd whistled through the air as he struck directly at Luo Qingwei.
Among the four, she was the weakest. Xu Sanyan knew the principle of cutting off one finger rather than injuring all ten, and he intended to eliminate her first.
"Watch out!" Fang Qingge shouted, flipping his wrist. A frigid sword qi slashed through the air, aiming straight for Xu Sanyan's head. This was a calculated strike, forcing Xu Sanyan to retreat and defend himself.
"Hmph!" Xu Sanyan glanced sideways, sneering. He ignored the sword qi, neither dodging nor blocking, and continued his assault on Luo Qingwei.
Clang!
A sharp, metallic clang rang out as Luo Qingwei raised her sword to parry. A tremendous, overwhelming force slammed into her, sending a numbing shock through her arm. She nearly lost her grip on the blade, her heart pounding with alarm. What immense strength!
Only now did she truly grasp Jingyi's prowess. How had he managed to fight this man for so long, even gaining the upper hand at times?
The sword qi had already struck, leaving no time to dodge. But Xu Sanyan had no intention of evading; he would meet it head-on!
Sizzle!
The frigid sword qi swept across Xu Sanyan's chest, violently corroding the crimson blood mist like cold water poured into a boiling oil pan, emitting a piercing hiss.
The sword qi was instantly extinguished, yet the blood mist only dimmed by an imperceptible fraction.
"What is this?!" Fang Qingge exclaimed in shock. His sword qi had been completely ineffective?
Jingyi forced a bitter smile. Now Fang Qingge understood his earlier helplessness. Even the Soul-Crossing Finger, fueled by the majority of his spiritual power, had failed to inflict a fatal wound.
This was no time for idle thoughts. Jingyi formed the mudra of the lotus blossom, golden light erupting behind him as the phantom of the Buddha reappeared. Two golden palms descended heavily from behind, though smaller than before.
Simultaneously, Mo Xianxian launched her own attack, her voice low and urgent:
"Punishment!"
Xu Sanyan seemed oblivious to these attacks, his sole focus remaining on Luo Qingwei. He swung his massive halberd in a sweeping arc, aiming to crush her. Luo Qingwei, in dire straits, rapidly channeled all her spiritual power into the Jade Clarity Longsword, enveloping herself in a layer of pale blue light.
Boom!
The halberd crashed down, the light barrier trembling violently, on the verge of shattering. Yet, against all odds, it held.
Luo Qingwei exhaled deeply, her gaze sweeping across the battlefield. Her expression shifted dramatically as she noticed Xu Sanyan's eyes were closed, but—
The vertical eye on his forehead had opened.
What an eye it was! Its crimson pupil burned with a pure, untainted red, and dense, bloody mist billowed from it, forming a protective barrier around him.
A wave of primal terror washed over Luo Qingwei. She knew that if Xu Sanyan attacked again, she wouldn't be able to withstand it.
At that moment, a sudden sense of crisis surged through Xu Sanyan's mind. He felt as if countless razor-sharp blades were poised to tear him apart in the next instant.
Swish!
The blades struck, causing the bloody mist around him to churn like a demonic cloud from beyond the heavens. Yet every strike was repelled, leaving him unscathed.
Even the mystical arts of Shangyin Mountain couldn't penetrate this crimson barrier.
Xu Sanyan's crimson vertical eye swept toward Mo Xianxian. He knew this woman was behind it all!
Mo Xianxian's heart trembled with fear, like an antelope caught in the gaze of a tiger, paralyzed by dread. Only when targeted by his gaze did one truly grasp the terror of this man.
"Aaaah!"
Xu Sanyan roared skyward, his great halberd sweeping horizontally in a swift, brutal arc. The golden palm of the Buddha technique shattered into two pieces, dissipating into nothingness.
Blood trickled from the corner of Jingyi's mouth. The backlash from the failed technique had momentarily disrupted the flow of Spiritual Power through his meridians.
The great halberd, without pausing, shattered the golden palm and continued its upward sweep, hurtling straight toward Luo Qingwei.
Boom!
The pale blue light barrier shattered. Luo Qingwei coughed up blood as her body was sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground, her life hanging in the balance.
Xu Sanyan turned his gaze toward Fang Qingge, his entire being radiating such intense malevolent qi that no one dared meet his eyes.
The distant onlookers trembled, their gazes fixed on the four figures in the arena.
The Buddha's golden radiance flickered, on the verge of collapse.
The Demonic Cloud billowed relentlessly, its momentum surging.
Fang Qingge stood tall in his white robes, sword in hand, his expression solemn.
Mo Xianxian, her face veiled in sheer gauze, stood upright, her eyes wide with shock.
Zuoqiu Zhen's pupils dilated as she stared unblinkingly at Xu Sanyan. This scene stirred her heart deeply, an image she would likely never forget—the towering Demonic Cloud forever etched into her memory.
Wei Xunzhi clutched the hem of her robe, a fist-sized spider clinging to her shoulder, frozen in place like a dead thing. Its survival instinct screamed: Danger! Play dead to live!
Jiang Yan lay limp in the arms of a Jiang Family elder, his gaze fixed blankly on the arena.
His arm had stopped bleeding. In the cultivation world, as long as one survived, there was a chance to regrow limbs.
Zuoqiu Yi recalled Lin Fan's words. One thing he hadn't lied about: their holy son was truly formidable.
Zuoqiu Shu remembered Xu Sanyan's words to her in the drum tower. Her resistance softened; being admired by such a figure was, after all, a stroke of good fortune.
The instinct to admire the strong was human nature.
Qin Manyang's fleeing footsteps halted, and her figure reappeared beside Xiang Tan, her chest slightly puffed out as if she had never left.
In the shadows, Qi Liang slowly closed his eyes. He had played a part in this outcome. Had he not depleted much of Fang Qingge's spiritual power, Xu Sanyan would never have achieved such a victory.
Moreover, he had severely injured Luo Changtian. Otherwise, the combined strength of the Luo Family Siblings would have far exceeded the sum of their individual powers.
It was a confluence of factors that had led to Xu Sanyan facing four opponents alone.
Yet regardless of the circumstances, his sheer power could not be denied.
Fang Qingge slashed his palm with his longsword, a smear of blood merging with the blade. The Jade Clarity Longsword glowed with an even colder, clearer light.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (HB) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c260. [+2]
🔑Early Access at $5.
✍Translated (6) Series, (4.1K+) Chapters, (5.8M+) Words.