Fu Qingjin was filled with disbelief. He did sense Li Qingshan’s changes, but never did he imagine he would actually become so powerful in such a short amount of time.
All the human cultivators were dumbfounded. During the few years Fu Qingjin had dominated in the Clear River prefecture, everyone had learnt about the Green Ruins Illusion’s power. Even the rock demon and blood demon could only flee when they encountered it.
None of them imagined it would simply shatter with a casual punch like this!
Having broken through to the fourth layer of the ox demon, Li Qingshan’s strength had not merely multiplied. His innate abilities of the ox demon had strengthened too. With the two combined, the power of a single punch from him was more than ten times greater than before.
They were basically equal in the past. Now that he had become ten times stronger, even Fu Qingjin, a genius disciple of the Sword Collection palace and a successor of one of the Ten Renowned Swords, would find it a little too much to bear with.
Whether it’s humans or daemons, the rate at which their strength increases slows down as their cultivation progresses, but he’s the opposite. With each break through, his strength increases by a startling amount. It’s unbelievable. Gu Yanying sighed inside.
“So this is your so-called certain victory. It’s far too disappointing.”
Li Qingshan did not chase after him. He suppressed the tiger demon’s roaring killing intent and said in some disappointment.
“Myriad Sword technique!”
Fu Qingjin came to a halt and swung his hand. The Green Ruins sword flew into the air and turned into a speck of green light, like a twinkling star in the clear sky. Following a flash, the star multiplied into thousands.
Then he pointed at Li Qingshan. “Green Threads as a Net!”
The thousands of specks of light descended from above, turning into thousands of streaks. They were in twists and turns, like hair drifting through the air. At first glance, they seemed aimless, without even a hint of sharpness. However, the net completely enveloped Li Qingshan, leaving him with nowhere to dodge.
“It’s finally getting a little interesting.”
The corner of Li Qingshan’s lips curled slightly as he lamented to himself. He allowed the net to fall over him.
“Northmoon, you’ve been too careless. If you tell me the truth regarding the Soaring Dragon Elder’s death, I might consider sparing you. Otherwise, the Sword Net of Green Threads will cut you to pieces with a single thought of mine.”
Fu Qingjin said coldly. He had already considered that the Green Ruins Illusion was unable to keep a Daemon General at his level trapped. For this battle, Fu Qingjin had specially refined the Sword Net of Green Threads. Although it was nowhere near as mysterious or flexible as the Green Ruins Illusion that could completely lock up the surroundings, it even surpassed the Green Ruins Illusion when it came to trapping and killing the enemy. The sword qi was extremely flexible. It was impossible to break out of no matter how much strength was used.
“Run!”
“What did you say?”
“Otherwise, I’ll end up killing you.”
“Split!” Fu Qingjin called out. The Sword Net of Green Threads immediately tightened, but it failed to draw a single droplet of blood. The sword qi that could cut through stone and jade pressed against Li Qingshan’s skin deeply, but it was unable to cut through that thin layer of skin.
Fu Qingjin’s expression changed. He formed a seal with one hand and pointed it at the sky. “Go!”
The Green Ruins sword fell like a meteor with a long, green tail trailing behind.
“Shatter!” Li Qingshan shuddered, and the green threads snapped. Blood-red light surged into the air as he landed a strike on the Green Ruins sword.
The Green Ruins sword dimmed, thrown far away. Fu Qingjin paled slightly. He had merged with the Green Ruins sword, so if the sword was damaged, his mind would be injured too.
He called back the Green Ruins sword in a hurry, but he saw a sudden, scarlet flash. He could not think too much about it as he flew backwards in retreat. A sharp flash shot across his eyes. The mountain he was standing on earlier had been split open by the swing, collapsing towards the two sides.
Oh no. I didn’t expect his strength to be this great. The Sword Net of Green Threads was actually so futile against him. Now that I’m separated from my sword, I’m at my weakest point. If he pursues relentlessly, I’ll be in danger.
“Grip your sword firmly!”
What Fu Qingjin worried about did not happen. After unleashing that swing, Li Qingshan hovered in the air, staring at him quietly. He waited for him to retrieve the Green Ruins sword.
“You will pay for your arrogance!”
The Green Ruins sword flew back to him, and Fu Qingjin grabbed it. He felt deeply humiliated.
“I’m waiting.” Li Qingshan placed the blade over his shoulder casually.
Fu Qingjin closed his eyes, and the Green Ruins sword thrummed gently. He recovered his composure, and his bearing changed drastically. When he opened his eyes again, his pupils had already become green, with dilapidated walls floating through them vaguely. It was the scenery of the Green Ruins Illusion.
“Are you done?” Li Qingshan said impatiently.
With a flash, Fu Qingjin vanished and arrived before Li Qingshan. He began swinging his sword.
Li Qingshan swung down fearlessly just like before. The blade and sword collided, and he felt like he had struck cotton, completely absorbing the force. The Green Ruins sword trembled elastically as it completely nullified the terrifying force within the blade. The tip of the sword trembled like a flickering snake’s tongue, hiding a crafty killing strike.
What a powerful sword style. This is no longer Fu Qingjin’s power, but the mental legacy left behind in the Green Ruins sword by those old coots! He’s even bold enough to use the heart of the sword. Looks like kiddo Fu has been forced into a tight spot. Interesting. Absolute technique against absolute force. Who will win in the end? Gu Yanying was slightly surprised before understanding what was going on.
What made the Sword Collection palace powerful was that every single sword contained the mental legacies of countless seniors. They were like teachers and masters available every hour of the day. As long as someone excavated slowly and inherited the legacies, they could naturally become an unparalleled swordsman.
For a renowned sword like the Green Ruins sword, there had been plenty of wielders who had undergone three heavenly tribulations and condensed a “Sword Nascence”. They had left behind their extraordinary path of the sword in the Green Ruins sword.
Even with this shortcut, the master of the sword would only be able to take one step at a time, unable to accept the sword intent in one breath and unleash the extraordinary sword techniques.
There was only one method, which was to replace the wielder’s heart with the heart of the sword. It was letting go of the wielder’s will, allowing the will of the Green Ruins sword to enter its wielder, which was equivalent to letting an ancestral spirit possess them. The slightest carelessness could make the wielder lose themselves and turn them into sword slaves. It was truly a taboo technique from the Sword Collection palace.
Li Qingshan became excited. Red light flashed in his eyes as his blade shone like a blooming flower, blooming with flashes of light. He was like a vicious tiger mauling at Fu Qingjin.
Fu Qingjin was completely unfazed. Swords knew no fear or hesitance. All they knew were to push the sword style in their memories to the limit. He ignored the incoming strikes and stabbed his sword into the attacks.
With a clang, the tip of the sword struck the blood-red blade perfectly. Like it had pierced the throat of the tiger, the flashes immediately subsided, and a mark appeared on the blade. The light from the sword drifted about, sliding past Li Qingshan’s shoulder, and a deep, bloody gash immediately appeared.
Li Qingshan began laughing instead. He did not even use the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell. He raised his sword and knocked the Green Ruins sword away before slashing down viciously.
In a single instant, Fu Qingjin had already stabbed out three times. As if he had predicted all of Li Qingshan’s responses, each strike was more vicious and resolute than the last.
Li Qingshan’s bold, extravagant blade style seemed to meet its nemesis. He was constantly suppressed by the Green Ruins sword. Often, he would be interrupted before he could even begin his swing. Despite his great strength, he was constantly picked apart by Fu Qingjin’s ingenious swordsmanship.
He suffered over a hundred wounds in a short while, but his smile only grew wider. Now this is the battle that I want!
Regardless of how many wounds he suffered, his attack did not weaken at all. It only became even more frenzied.
Li Qingshan did not take a single step back. He swung the blade aura around, meeting the sword with his blade without using any abilities at all. However, this did not give him the upper hand. He suffered a thousand injuries, but he had yet to land a single attack on Fu Qingjin.
“Master, use your abilities!” Ye Liubo called out anxiously.
The flames of hope lit up in the hearts of the human cultivators. If this continued, they had a chance at victory.
To match the opponent’s strength with your weakness is not a clever decision. Wait, he’s gradually growing accustomed to Fu Qingjin’s swordsmanship. Originally, Gu Yanying objected to his battle tactic to a certain degree, but she suddenly realised it was becoming more and more difficult for the Green Ruins sword to harm him, while his sword was growing closer and closer to Fu Qingjin’s body.
He’s battle hungry and skilled at battle. If he were to enter the six realms, he would definitely be an asura of endless slaughter!
The flashes and blurs of weapons filled the surroundings. The two of them battled from the sky to the ground, gradually becoming blurry until only scarlet and green remained. They constantly collided.
All of their gazes were fixed to it. They forgot to breathe.
The two of them suddenly parted. A bloody hole had appeared in Li Qingshan’s throat, but he began laughing madly. His voice reached hundreds of kilometers away.
A horrific wound stretched from Fu Qingjin’s left shoulder to his right waist. There was not any flesh or blood within the wound, only specks of green light.
I’m willing to take a thousand slashes in exchange for a fraction of strength.
If this continues, I’ll be devoured by the Green Ruins sword intent! Under Fu Qingjin’s cold outer appearance, a voice moaned painfully. The sliver of a struggle flashed across his eyes.
However, his realisation came too late. Sword intent had already begun to surge. In a daze, he saw a person in green staring coldly at him. The person in green’s appearance was blurry, with many faces vaguely overlapping together, both men and women. The person clutched a clear, shiny Green Ruins sword, while Fu Qingjin’s hands were empty.
The blood-red blade whistled madly, spitting out an aura several hundred meters long that pierced the landscape and slashed across Fu Qingjin’s waist. The struggle in his eyes completely vanished. He did not check the wound on his waist. He only stared at Li Qingshan.
The wounds closed up instantly. With a flash of green light, he arrived before Li Qingshan. He completely ignored the blood-red blade that fell down from above and stabbed towards Li Qingshan’s forehead, as if he wanted to take Li Qingshan down with him. Normally, only when Fu Qingjin merged with his sword could he demonstrate such speed.
Li Qingshan frowned. He could sense there was something wrong with Fu Qingjin, so he turned his head in a flash, and a gash appeared on his chest. He raised his fist and threw it at Fu Qingjin’s face, but it did not feel like he had struck someone’s body. At a closer glance, Fu Qingjin’s body shone with a metallic sheen.
“Is my opponent now this sword? That’s far too boring.”
The Green Ruins sword stabbed out again. Li Qingshan raised his hand to catch it, and his palm ached, having been pierced by the Green Ruins sword. He grabbed the blade of the sword and shook hard, but Fu Qingjin seemed to be glued to the hilt. His ears, eyes, mouth, and nose all shone with light.
Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell to block the light and unleashed the power of tremors, shattering Fu Qingjin’s sword-wielding hand and finally separating him from the sword. As if his soul had been sucked away, he shut his eyes and hurtled towards the ground.
Li Qingshan gripped the trembling Green Ruins sword with his left hand and constantly poured his power of tremors into it to prevent it from turning into light and escaping. He raised the blood-red blade in his right hand and swung down viciously.
Clang!
The Green Ruins sword produced a sorrowful thrum, and a mark appeared on the sword.
“Stop!” Fu Qingjin jerked awake and cried out involuntarily.
Clang!
Li Qingshan swung down again, striking the mark accurately. The mark turned into a fracture.
