Chapter 12: One Strike Slays a Star, Advances to Star Gathering!
The cold voice fell silent.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
In the Ancient Forest of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, the sound of tearing air echoed.
Before long, every giant, sky-reaching ancient tree was filled with Demonic Path Martial Artists clad in black robes and wearing "Evil Crow" masks!
Beneath the Evil Crow masks, pairs of cold eyes locked onto the convoy. Under the chilling moonlight, these cold gazes pierced from all directions of the night like blades.
The eight hundred Imperial City Guard soldiers' expressions changed drastically. Every one of them felt the overwhelming shadow of death descend upon them at this moment!
"They're Demonic Cultivators!"
"Commander Wei, what is the meaning of this?"
A middle-aged man from the Imperial City Guard, who possessed the Transcendent Realm, looked at Wei Wei with disbelief and terror in his eyes.
Pfft!!!
The moment his words fell.
The sound of blood splashing rang out.
A hand had already pierced through his heart.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
Wei Wei smacked his lips, coldly withdrew his blood-soaked hand, and glanced indifferently at the corpse at his feet before speaking:
"Kill them all!"
The moment his words fell.
"Kill!!!"
The black-robed figures from all directions leaped from the branches towards the eight hundred Imperial City Guard, like a storm of crows attacking, kicking up fallen leaves dozens of feet high—an extremely spectacular sight.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
For a time, the deep Ancient Forest was filled with the sounds of slaughter, the clash of weapons, and the sound of blades piercing flesh, all ceaseless.
Inside the carriage, Ning Ye listened expressionlessly to the earth-shattering sounds of slaughter in the Ancient Forest. He knew "That Woman," Luo Jia, wouldn't let him leave so easily, but at this moment, he didn't make any other moves.
The Imperial City Guard? These were the personal guards solely commanded by the Emperor of Yan Yun, so what did their lives or deaths have to do with him?
Soon, half an hour passed, and the sounds of slaughter outside the carriage gradually faded.
The three Peak Transcendent Realm experts and eight hundred Imperial City Guard soldiers were completely wiped out. The entire Ancient Forest was filled with a pungent and nauseating smell of blood. Bloody severed limbs were scattered everywhere, and thick blood soaked into the earth, staining it a dark red.
"Mission accomplished!"
Wei Wei sneered, then turned his gaze to the carriage and spoke in a deep voice:
"Tenth Prince, Your Highness!"
"Next, we ask you to come with us!"
"Our master wants to see you!"
His words fell.
But there was no response from inside the carriage.
Seeing this, Wei Wei couldn't help but frown and spoke again:
"Tenth Prince, Your Highness."
"Our master said if you come with us obediently, then all will be well!"
"If not, then even if we break your arms and legs, you will still have to come with us!"
"Your Highness is a smart person; you should know what to do next!"
Silence!
Still silence!
Ning Ye in the carriage still gave him no response.
At this moment, Wei Wei's expression had already turned very ugly. With a grim face, he commanded the Heaven Above Heaven Martial Artists:
"Alright!"
"Since Tenth Prince, Your Highness, refuses a toast only to drink a forfeit."
"Then I will have no choice but to break Your Highness's limbs!"
"Do it!"
With that, a dozen black-robed figures surrounding the carriage all stepped forward. They intended to drag Ning Ye out of the carriage, break his legs and arms, and then take him away.
And just then!
Clang!!!
A dazzling saber light ignited from within the carriage!
Rumble!!!
The bronze carriage was torn apart by the saber light in that instant!
The saber light swept out, engulfing all directions!
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Limbs flew, blood splattered!
The bodies of dozens of black-robed figures were cut in half at the waist in an instant!
"Saber light first, sound later?!"
Wei Wei's expression suddenly changed. He saw a tall figure within the shattered carriage, holding an ancient Heavenly Saber stained with an eerie black smoke, standing under the moonlight!
He was dressed in white like snow, his silken long hair swayed in the wind, and fragmented moonlight sprinkled on his handsome and peerless face, making him look incredibly stunning!
"Tenth... Tenth Prince, Your Highness?!"
"You... you actually recovered your cultivation!"
Wei Wei's eyes widened, staring at Ning Ye in disbelief, as if he had seen something incredible.
"Haha!"
Ning Ye chuckled noncommittally. He didn't explain anything, merely raised his hand to untie the silk scarf wrapped around his eyes, carefully folded it, and placed it in his bosom.
His deep, starry eyes, which seemed capable of cutting through the long night, swept over the hundreds of Heaven Above Heaven Martial Artists present, all wearing Evil Crow masks and black robes, finally stopping on Wei Wei. He couldn't help but speak playfully:
"Heaven Above Heaven's Demonic Cultivators, is that all?"
"You!!!"
Wei Wei frowned, looking at Ning Ye. Although he couldn't sense Ning Ye's cultivation at this moment, from Ning Ye's first move just now, he could tell that Ning Ye's combat power didn't seem to have reached the Star Gathering Realm.
His thoughts stopped there, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his brows relaxing as he spoke in a deep voice:
"As expected of Tenth Prince, Your Highness."
"For over a year, not only could you conceal your cultivation and feign blindness in the Imperial Palace, but you even know about my Heaven Above Heaven?"
"However, what of it?"
"Today, no matter what, you must come with me!"
With that, Wei Wei drew a bronze halberd and suddenly soared into the air.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A starlight condensed around his body!
The terrifying power of the Star Gathering Realm roared like an engine within his body!
"Kill!!!"
Wei Wei roared, his halberd tip pointing directly at Ning Ye, a long streak of starlight trailing behind the blade, like a falling great star. A massive shadow instantly enveloped Ning Ye.
"I wonder, Your Excellency, how much Lifespan do you have?"
Ning Ye raised an eyebrow, a smile of anticipation gracing his lips. He gripped the Sealed Reverse Moon Heavenly Saber in his hand and rose against the Void Realm.
The next second, two blood-red higanbana bloomed in his eyes!
Bewitching bloody light overflowed from his eye sockets!
Reverse Moon's First Forbidden Gate—Ultimate Intent, activated!
In this instant, he felt all his combat-related abilities in his body increase exponentially!
And it instantly amplified tenfold!
Clang!!!
The sound of the Heavenly Saber clashing with the great halberd echoed in the Void Realm.
Terrifying true essence, almost solidified, swept out in all directions.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Hundreds of black-robed figures all vomited blood and flew backward amidst the terrifying true essence fluctuations!
As for Ning Ye and Wei Wei, both of them retreated a dozen steps.
"How... how is this possible!"
"This guy can actually withstand my Star Gathering Realm power with just the Transcendent Realm?"
Wei Wei's eyes trembled violently, his face somewhat pale.
In his understanding, reaching the Star Gathering Realm could be called a Cultivator, while the Transcendent Realm could only be called a Martial Artist. Given this, how could a mere Martial Artist withstand his Star Gathering Realm?
'Indeed... there's roughly a tenfold power gap between the Peak Transcendent Realm and a Star Gathering Realm expert!'
'If it were any other Transcendent Cultivator, they might really be instantly killed, but luckily, I have the Ultimate Intent's boost!'
'However, this state of mine cannot be maintained for too long.'
'So, it's better to finish this quickly!'
His thoughts stopped there.
Ning Ye's gaze locked onto everyone present. The next second, faint, bewitching starlight flickered on the Reverse Moon Heavenly Saber.
He held the saber in his right hand, the blade pointing towards the ground, in a stance as if to fly. Then, with a twist of his wrist, he traced an extremely mysterious trajectory in the Void Realm. A supreme aura was gathering, and he murmured as if in a trance:
"Star... Execution!"
These two faint words, like demonic whispers in their ears, made Wei Wei and the Heaven Above Heaven Demonic Cultivators' bodies tremble.
A fear from the depths of their Souls made them instinctively want to turn and flee, but terrifyingly, under this vast, icy, and sky-dominating saber intent, they seemed to be locked in place, their feet utterly unable to move an inch!
"Hmph!!!"
A cold shout.
Ning Ye, holding the Reverse Moon Heavenly Saber, suddenly slashed down.
Boom!!!
The saber light was extremely brilliant, splattering hundreds of feet of starlight. Wherever it passed, hundreds of sky-reaching ancient trees were cut in half the moment the saber light swept over them, their cross-sections smooth as mirrors!
This saber strike seemed to cleave the Yin and Yang Realms, executing stars and eclipsing the moon, causing the Nine Heavens to rise and fall!
This saber strike seemed to make the world stand still, the saber light raging and scattering to the distant horizon!
In the distance, half the sky was even stained a thick and bewitching blood-red under this saber strike!
Wherever Ning Ye's gaze fell, no one remained standing!
Only the countless scattered stardust, accompanied by thick bloody rain, drifted down!
And after unleashing this move, Ning Ye seemed to have been drained of all strength and slumped onto the ground.
"Good heavens... this saber strike, its power is actually so immense!"
Ning Ye gasped for breath, looking at the scattered stardust in the sky with a shocked expression and eyes full of wonder.
However, the only drawback was that performing this saber strike required sacrificing ten years of his Lifespan!
One saber, ten years!
Who could endure that!
And just then, a series of System prompts echoed in his ears.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for slaying a Star Gathering Realm Cultivator, gaining Lifespan—15 years!"
"Ding! Congratulations for slaying a Star Gathering Realm Cultivator, cultivation advanced—Star Gathering Realm!"
Clang!!!
A ray of starlight poured onto Ning Ye's body.
And Ning Ye immediately felt his body, as well as the quantity and quality of his true essence, undergo a qualitative leap. His true essence evolved into star essence!
Star essence, a type of primordial heaven and earth power. As long as one condensed star essence, they could be called a Star Gathering Realm expert, truly embarking on the path of cultivation!
"Ah?"
"I even made a profit!"
Ning Ye scratched his head. In fact, he had been mentally prepared for a loss tonight, but he never expected that after all this slaughter tonight, he not only didn't lose but even made a small profit!
"Is this... the true value of the Reverse Moon Heavenly Saber!"
Ning Ye felt the powerful star essence within his body, then looked down at the ancient Heavenly Saber in his hand, stained with black Qi, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
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