Lingxi Strikes

In the center of the battlefield, Venerable Withered Bone grew increasingly alarmed the longer they fought!

Xiao Ruobai's combat strength seemed to have no upper limit. With every clash, his battle intent surged higher, and his power seemed to grow even more condensed!

This trait of growing stronger through battle reminded him of certain physiques from ancient legends!

"I cannot drag this out! I must end this quickly!" Venerable Withered Bone's eyes flashed with a cold glint as he finally decided to unleash his true killing move!

His gaunt body suddenly trembled, and the death aura around him churned like boiling water! His hands formed an ancient and eerie hand seal, and a low roar that sounded like grinding gravel emanated from his throat.

"Nine Nether... Yellow Springs Finger!"

With one finger strike, heaven and earth fell silent!

A point of ultimate darkness condensed at his fingertip, as if all the darkness and death in the world had been compressed into it!

In the next moment, a finger beam as thin as a hair yet as black as ink pierced through the void!

This finger beam did not have an earth-shattering momentum; wherever it passed, space silently annihilated, leaving behind an eternal trajectory of nothingness!

A terrifying power of laws that froze the soul and eroded life force locked onto Xiao Ruobai. It was like a summons from the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, threatening to drag him and this entire realm into eternal death!

This was a suppression at the level of laws! It was the ultimate strike of Venerable Withered Bone, accumulated over a thousand years and touching upon the threshold of the Saint realm!

"Good timing! Now this is exciting!"

Feeling an unprecedented life-and-death crisis, Xiao Ruobai did not fear it; instead, his War God blood completely boiled!

His eyes shone with a red-gold light as he pushed his battle aura and unyielding will to the absolute limit. The muscles on his arms bulged like dragons, and the Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd let out an earth-shaking roar!

"Nine Tribulations of the War God—Heaven Cleaver!"

He roared in fury, pouring all his strength into the tip of the halberd and thrusting forward!

There were no flashy variations, only an indomitable, domineering will to cleave through chaos and re-establish the universe! The halberd tip erupted with a golden light more dazzling than the sun, transforming into a golden line that tore through the void and brazenly collided with that Nine Nether finger beam!

"Sizzle—!"

There was no loud explosion, only a teeth-aching tearing sound, as if the laws themselves were snapping! The two ultimate lights, one golden and one black, stalemated in the air before annihilating each other!

"Pfft!"

Venerable Withered Bone violently spat out a large mouthful of dark black blood. His figure staggered backward, his aura instantly wilting, and his face was filled with horror and disbelief!

His near-Saint level finger strike had not only been blocked, but the domineering backlash had also injured his divine soul!

A trail of golden blood also trickled from the corner of Xiao Ruobai's mouth, and the webbing between his thumb and forefinger was torn. However, with a flash of golden light around his body, that trace of blood instantly evaporated, and the torn webbing healed at a visible rate. Although his aura fluctuated slightly, it quickly stabilized, and the battle intent in his eyes burned even brighter!

The formidable recovery power of the War God Physique was fully displayed!

"You... what kind of physique is this?!" Venerable Withered Bone's voice was hoarse and laced with dread.

Just as their clash ended and before their auras could settle—

"Now! Strike!"

A violent shout rang out! A figure flashed out from the void like a phantom, wielding a longsword and thrusting straight for the back of Fatty Wang's heart!

The speed was pushed to the extreme, and the timing was grasped to perfection! It was exactly the split second when Xiao Ruobai and Venerable Withered Bone were both injured and Fang Hanyu's attention was drawn away!

"You court death!"

Fang Hanyu's eyes turned icy, sensing the person the moment they appeared! Without moving his body, the Absolute Beginning Sword hovering in front of him let out a clear chime. A gray chaotic sword qi shot out, arriving first despite being launched later, and accurately slashed at that longsword!

"Clang!" The longsword was precisely deflected by the chaotic sword qi, sending sparks flying!

The sneak attacker's figure paused, revealing his true appearance.

This person wore a washed-out green robe. His face was thin and weathered, and his temples were frosted white. He held an ancient longsword in his hand; the blade was like a pool of autumn water, gleaming with a chilling light.

His sharp aura carried an unconcealable sense of twilight and anxiety. He was impressively a Peak King Realm sword cultivator!

Fang Hanyu's gaze suddenly locked onto that sword. The blade was like autumn water, clear and bright, seemingly able to cleanse away dust with a single swing. A faint, natural sword pattern resembling rippling water was clearly visible at the hilt.

His eyes suddenly narrowed, and with a trace of disbelief and deep regret, he blurted out.

"Sword patterns like water, its sharp edge concealed... Is this the 'Traceless Autumn Water'? Are you... Senior Murong Qiu, the 'Traceless Sword' who made a name for himself in the Eastern Region five hundred years ago and defeated all his peers with the 'Traceless Sword Art'?"

As a sword cultivator, Fang Hanyu had extensively studied the famous sword masters of the Eastern Region and the characteristics of their swords. The features of this "Traceless Autumn Water" sword were too distinct; he would never mistake it!

His tone was filled with deep sorrow and confusion. "To think that... the sword dao genius whose single strike once illuminated nineteen provinces, whose sword moved without a trace, and who was once so open and honorable, would actually stoop to sneak attacks and bullying the weak?! Where... is your Sword Heart?"

The green-robed swordsman, Murong Qiu, having his identity exposed, stiffened violently. The muscles on his gaunt face twitched intensely, and extremely complex emotions flashed through his eyes—shame, pain, but ultimately, they were all covered by a near-mad paranoia and despair.

He spoke hoarsely, his voice like rubbing dead wood, carrying endless bitterness and self-mockery. "Sword Heart? Heh... Little friend, you are young, blessed with extraordinary talent, and have a boundless future... How could you possibly understand the despair of having your lifespan run dry, your vitality decay, and watching the Great Dao right in front of you yet being powerless to reach it?!"

The hand holding the sword trembled slightly from agitation, and the autumn water radiance on the blade was actually tainted with a hint of gloom.

"The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is growing thinner by the day, and the path to sainthood for rogue cultivators like us is bleak... This old man... does not want to just sit and wait for death! What Sword Heart, what reputation... compared to lifespan, they can all be thrown away! I'm sorry!"

Before his voice faded, his figure moved, and sword light flared! It was still that fiercely unparalleled "Traceless Sword Art" that once shook the Eastern Region. The sword moves spread like autumn water, pervasive and inescapable, instantly enveloping Fang Hanyu and Fatty Wang!

However, the current sword intent lacked its former purity and uprightness, gaining instead a ruthless and desperate urgency to achieve its goal by any means necessary!

"Stubborn fool!" The pity in Fang Hanyu's eyes faded, replaced by coldness. The Absolute Beginning Sword was fully unsheathed, and chaotic sword intent permeated the air!

"Absolute Beginning Sword Scripture—Return to Ruin Sword Domain!"

The gray sword domain unfolded. As soon as Murong Qiu's lightning-fast, untraceable sword light entered the domain, it was like sinking into a quagmire; its trajectory became clearly visible, and its power was greatly reduced!

"Your sword... has lost its soul!" Fang Hanyu shouted coldly. The Absolute Beginning Sword thrust forward, and a chaotic sword beam broke through the overlapping sword shadows, pointing straight at the flaw in Murong Qiu's swordplay!

Murong Qiu's expression changed, and he rapidly changed his moves to block, but he was shaken by that chaotic sword intent until his vitality churned, forcing him to retreat several steps! He was even more horrified; not only was his opponent's sword intent supreme, but he could actually see through the flaws in his swordplay caused by his unbalanced state of mind at a single glance!

The two exchanged sword strikes, instantly clashing for over a dozen rounds, their sword qi running rampant!

Fang Hanyu's sword intent was vast and ethereal, firmly holding the upper hand and tightly suppressing Murong Qiu. However, Murong Qiu was, after all, a former top-tier genius with a profound foundation. Although at a disadvantage, he still relied on exquisite sword moves to resist Fang Hanyu's attacks, making it difficult to defeat him completely in a short time.

However, just as Fang Hanyu was pouring all his strength into suppressing Murong Qiu, his sword intent concentrated on a single point—

Another sudden change occurred!

A hidden figure silently emerged from the shadows to the rear flank of Fang Hanyu and Fatty Wang!

This person wore dark martial attire. His figure was as thin and straight as a spear, his face cold, and his eyes like ten-thousand-year-old ice, utterly devoid of emotion.

In his hand, he held an inconspicuous black short spike, his aura restrained to the absolute limit. He was astonishingly a late-stage King Realm expert highly skilled in assassination, Shadowless!

His appearance came without the slightest warning. The short spike struck out like a venomous snake leaving its hole, aiming straight for the center of Fatty Wang's back! The timing was immaculate, seizing the exact instant Fang Hanyu was desperately pinned down by Murong Qiu and fully absorbed in his attack!

Fatty Wang was scared out of his wits!

By the time Fang Hanyu noticed, it was already too late to turn back and save him!

At this critical moment!

Swish!

A cold, azure blast of finger wind, as if having anticipated all of this long ago, shot out from another inconceivable angle. Arriving first despite being launched later, it tapped with unparalleled precision against the side of the black short spike!

There was no loud clash of metal, only a soft, crisp sound like jade beads dropping onto a plate.

Clink!

The black short spike was deflected by a gentle yet irresistible, massive force, knocking it off its original trajectory.

For the first time, a look of astonishment appeared on Shadowless's indifferent face. His figure was forced into the open as he slid back dozens of feet.

A bit later, I will try to update two more chapters.