No Trap Can Hold an Immortal

Tens of thousands of decayed, broken swords trembled violently.

Their tips were less than thirty meters from Wang Hao.

Yet they could not advance another inch.

The Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal raised his right hand.

“Your palm technique.”

“Cannot trap an immortal.”

The life-bound sword from his right eye flew out.

It did not strike at Wang Hao’s flesh.

It struck at his soul.

Inside Wang Hao’s sea of consciousness,

a rusty sword suddenly appeared.

Its tip pointed straight at the brow of his Imperial Soul.

The Great Xia River of Imperial Dao shook violently.

The phantoms of countless living beings appeared once more.

But this time,

no shield of faith could form.

Resisting the Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal’s sword-shadow earlier

had already exhausted several years’ worth of gathered faith.

The newly generated faith was still far from sufficient.

That sword strike

could only be endured by Wang Hao himself.

Wang Hao’s Imperial Soul opened its eyes.

The sword intent of the Nine Swords of Heaven-Opening

gathered within his sea of consciousness.

Sword met sword.

There was no sound.

Blood burst from all seven of Wang Hao’s orifices at once.

His soul felt as though it had been torn in half.

Even the world before his eyes began to overlap and blur.

Yet he still did not retreat.

Because he was holding all of Heaven-Deficient’s attention from the front.

The Dragon-Slayer had vanished.

Or, more precisely,

he had not vanished.

He had merely concealed every trace of killing intent.

Holding his woodcutter’s blade,

he walked into a forest,

just as he had hundreds of years ago.

Back then,

he was not yet the Dragon-Slayer.

He was only a mute woodcutter.

The villagers all said he was a fool.

When others chopped wood,

they chose the straight trees.

But he preferred to cut down twisted old ones.

If one chop was not enough,

then he would make two.

If two were not enough,

then ten.

Until the tree finally fell.

Later,

the Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal came.

Of the entire mountain village,

only he remained.

Using the same method he used to chop firewood,

he hacked the Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal once.

And now,

he had once again come up behind Heaven-Deficient.

The woodcutter’s blade slowly rose.

There was no blade intent.

No killing intent.

Not even the slightest ripple of power.

Only when the blade’s edge was three inches from Heaven-Deficient’s neck

did the Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal suddenly turn around.

Gray blood surged wildly from his hollow eye sockets.

“It’s you!”

The life-bound sword in his right eye swiftly returned.

But the Dragon-Slayer’s woodcutter’s blade had already fallen.

Crack!

The blade struck Heaven-Deficient’s spine.

The rust-covered weapon

snapped cleanly in two.

The Dragon-Slayer’s body was also pierced by terrifying sword intent.

His left arm was severed at the shoulder.

Dozens of crisscrossing sword wounds opened across his chest.

But that strike,

in the end, carved open a wound across Heaven-Deficient’s back.

Within the wound,

there was no flesh or blood.

Only an ash-white immortal sword running through his entire spine.

At the sword’s tip,

a piece was missing.

For the first time, the Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal showed fear.

“Get away!”

Boundless sword intent erupted.

The Dragon-Slayer’s body flew backward.

At the same moment,

Wang Hao drew the new Heavenly Son Sword from the edgeless scabbard.

“Go!”

The black scabbard exploded on its own.

The aura of the new Heavenly Son Sword reappeared.

But it had already arrived behind Heaven-Deficient.

A silver-haired youth emerged from the sword’s body.

He had only one arm left.

There was still a transparent hole through his chest.

Yet his face was filled with excitement.

“Blind man!”

“That strike just now—”

“Consider it repaid!”

The silver blade viciously pierced the wound in Heaven-Deficient’s back.

It could not cut through Heaven-Deficient’s main sword.

But it clamped down on the rust covering the main sword.

Devour and evolve activated!

Chunks of immortal-sword rust that had existed for countless ages

were forcibly devoured by the new Heavenly Son Sword.

The silver blade shuddered violently.

Cracks continued to spread across it.

And Heaven-Deficient’s main sword was completely exposed.

“You insects!”

“Let go!”

Heaven-Deficient reached back to seize the silver-haired youth.

But Wang Hao had already appeared before him.

He gripped a fragment of broken sword in his left hand.

His right palm came crashing down.

“Ninth Palm!”

“Earth-Overturning!”

Boom!

The Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal was struck by a palm and forced half a step back.

Only half a step.

Yet it aligned the gap in the main sword behind his back—

directly with Wang Hao.

Wang Hao flicked a finger.

A fragment of broken sword shot forth.

The empty sockets of the Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal abruptly contracted.

He tried to evade.

But the Blood Luo Immortal Lord’s sea of blood suddenly coiled around his legs.

After Taiyi’s death,

Blood Rakshasa had seized the largest mass of golden putrid blood.

Countless golden lightning patterns had appeared within her sea of blood.

Her aura was even more powerful than before.

Before making his move,

Wang Hao had said only one thing to her.

The moment Heaven-Deficient’s main sword was restored,

it would release the purest essence of an immortal sword.

Blood Rakshasa did not need to trust Wang Hao.

She only needed to be greedy.

Elsewhere,

Xuanming’s twelve pairs of immortal-phantom wings sealed off Heaven-Deficient’s retreat.

He, too, wanted Heaven-Deficient’s essence.

The broken sword fragment passed through the sea of blood and the phantom mist,

then precisely fitted itself into the gap in the main sword.

Clang!

A crisp sword chime

rang throughout the Nine Provinces.

Heaven-Deficient’s main sword

was complete.

In an instant,

all traces of rust vanished.

A flawless immortal sword

slowly rose from Heaven-Deficient’s spine.

That sword was too sharp.

Its mere existence

tore a rift stretching a million li across the shattered Immortal Domain.

The Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal’s aura

surged wildly at that moment.

He became even more terrifying than he had been at his peak.

But that power

lasted only an instant.

The next moment,

the gray blood flowing from his empty eye sockets

suddenly turned black.

“Heaven-Deficient…”

“Must not be whole…”

His Immortal Path

was founded upon incompleteness.

Its direction was toward a perfection

that could never be attained.

Now that the main sword had been restored,

his Great Dao had reached its end.

There was no road ahead.

Countless cracks of the Great Dao surfaced across the main sword.

The Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal’s body began to split apart as well.

“Take the sword tip away!”

“This Immortal can let you leave!”

Wang Hao shook his head.

“Something once given away—

how could I take it back?”

For the first time, Heaven-Deficient’s voice turned shrill.

“This Immortal can kill Blood Rakshasa for you!”

“Kill Xuanming!”

“This Immortal can become Great Xia’s Guardian Sword Immortal!”

Wang Hao glanced at the gravely wounded Dragon-Slayer.

Then he looked at the hole in New · Son of Heaven Sword’s chest.

“A Guardian Sword Immortal?”

“Are you worthy?”

Heaven-Deficient’s main sword exploded.

Countless fragments of immortal sword pierced through his body.

The life-bound small sword in his left eye shattered first.

The life-bound small sword in his right eye let out a mournful cry,

trying to escape.

Wang Hao raised a hand.

The Myriad Pact Homology Seal transformed into dark chains

and bound it tightly.

The Blood Luo Immortal Lord’s sea of blood surged in reverse,

devouring Heaven-Deficient’s lower body.

Xuanming bit down on Heaven-Deficient’s left shoulder.

The countless eyes upon his twelve pairs of wings simultaneously devoured the essence of Heaven-Deficient’s sword Dao.

Wang Hao lifted New · Son of Heaven Sword.

The silver-haired youth was already weakened to the extreme.

Yet he still transformed into a streak of silver light.

Wang Hao gripped the sword in both hands.

A river of imperial destiny soared into the sky behind him.

“Heaven-Cleaving Nine Swords.”

“The Ninth Sword!”

The Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal’s shattered head turned toward Wang Hao.

He had no eyes,

yet it was as though, for the first time, he truly saw the mortal before him.

The sword light fell.

Heaven-Deficient’s head split down the middle.

His final wisp of immortal soul

was forcibly devoured by New · Son of Heaven Sword.

[Devoured the essence of a decayed immortal sword!]

[New · Son of Heaven Sword’s phantom artifact essence has been enhanced!]

[Phantom Artifact Ranking increased: 89th → 87th!]

[Current combat power: Peak of the Seventh Martial Realm!]

[Phantom artifact severely damaged. Unable to continue fighting!]

The silver-haired youth took human form once more.

The moment he appeared,

he collapsed headfirst into Wang Hao’s arms.

He struggled to open his eyes.

“Master.”

“How did I perform...”

“Well?”

Wang Hao nodded.

“Passable.”

“And my compensation...?”

“Put it on the tab.”

The silver-haired youth smiled in satisfaction.

Then he transformed into a silver longsword.

And fell completely silent.

Wang Hao absorbed the new Son of Heaven Sword into his body.

He reached out and grabbed at the remnant of Heaven-Deficient’s life-bound sword.

The Immortal-Sealing Altar flew out on its own.

Its mouth opened.

From the shattered immortal soul, it forcibly extracted a drop of gray Origin Blood.

The fifth blood-red mark lit up.

【One drop of Heaven-Deficient Sword Immortal Origin Blood has been sealed!】

【The Heaven-Deficient main sword has completely shattered!】

【The Heaven-Deficient Sword Dao has been severed!】

【Immortal-level life-form: Heaven-Deficient. Death confirmed!】

Wang Hao picked up a piece of grayish-white sword bone.

Then he tucked the three fragments of the life-bound sword from his left eye into his robes.

After that—

He walked over to the Dragon-Slayer.

The Dragon-Slayer’s left arm had already been severed.

The woodcutter’s blade that had accompanied him for centuries

was now reduced to only half a hilt.

Wang Hao took out a wisp of Heaven-Deficient’s Origin Blood.

He sent it into the Dragon-Slayer’s chest.

Gray blood-qi devoured the lingering sword intent.

It barely preserved the Dragon-Slayer’s final breath of life.

“This strand,”

Wang Hao said,

“will be deducted from your share as well, Senior.”

The Dragon-Slayer opened his eyes.

Weakly, he said,

“My blade is broken.”

Wang Hao thought for a moment.

He took out the hardest section of the Corpse Liberation Immortal’s spinal bone.

“I’ll forge you a new one when we get back.”

“Bad luck.”

“What about Heaven-Deficient’s sword bone?”

“Too expensive.”

“A fragment of Taiyi’s bell?”

“The material isn’t suited for a blade.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

Wang Hao looked at the half-broken woodcutter’s blade in the Dragon-Slayer’s hand.

“It can still be used after some repairs.”

The Dragon-Slayer closed his eyes again.

He was afraid that one more look at Wang Hao

would make his injuries worsen.

In the distance,

the Blood Luo Immortal Lord had already devoured a great deal of Heaven-Deficient’s gray blood.

Within her body,

Taiyi’s golden corrupted blood,

the gray-white life-flame of the Corpse Liberation Immortal,

and the origin of Heaven-Deficient’s immortal sword

were madly merging with her original sea of blood.

The once scarlet sea of blood

gradually began to show three additional hues—

gold, gray, and black.

Her aura grew ever stronger.

Yet it also became increasingly chaotic.

Xuanming sensed the danger.

His twelve pairs of immortal-wraith wings slowly folded inward.

He widened the distance between himself and Blood Luo.

Wang Hao rose to his feet.

He crossed Heaven-Deficient’s name off the ledger.

“The third one.”

“Stored away.”

The Blood Luo Immortal Lord looked at Wang Hao.

“Mortal.”

“Hand over this immortal’s Origin Blood.”

Wang Hao turned to the next page.

Only two names remained on it.

Blood Rakshasa.

Xuanming.

“Don’t rush.”

“Your turn is already coming up.”

Beneath the Blood Luo Immortal Lord’s feet,

the entire sea of blood surged explosively.

“Then let us see

who dies first!”

The boundless sea of blood poured down upon the Nine Provinces.

A sea of blood blotting out the heavens

was not a figure of speech.

The sky itself

had truly become blood.

Above the shattered immortal domain,

layer upon layer of crimson waves covered the starry sky.

Billions upon billions of faces floated within that sea.

Humans.

Demons.

Ancient alien races.

And strange beings whose forms could not be described.

They were all flesh and blood the Blood Luo Immortal Lord had devoured over countless ages.

Their bodies had melted away.

Yet their consciousness remained trapped within every drop of blood.

Unable to die.

Unable to escape.

Able only to endure the blood sea’s ceaseless erosion forever.

“Wang Hao!”

The Blood Luo Immortal Lord’s voice issued from every face.

Hundreds of millions of voices overlapped,

shaking the heavens over the Nine Provinces until they cracked again and again.

“You were able to kill the Corpse Liberation Immortal

only by borrowing this immortal’s power.”

“You were able to kill Taiyi

only by borrowing the karma of all living beings.”

“You were able to kill Heaven-Deficient

only because you happened to possess his broken sword.”

“Now,

this immortal wants to see—”

“Whose power can you borrow now!”

Wang Hao stood beneath a sea of blood.

Flesh was missing from his left shoulder.

Both arms were covered in wounds.

The Heaven-Deficient Sword intent still lingered between his brows.

Within his body, corpse-path patterns—

had already reached the edge of his heart.

Beside him,

the Dragon-Slayer was gravely wounded and on the brink of death.

The New Son of Heaven Sword had fallen into slumber.

On the ninth level of the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppression Pagoda,

only one final full-powered attack remained.

The Imperial Dao wish-power shield had yet to reform.

Of the four decayed ancient immortals,

three were already dead.

But the price Wang Hao had paid

was equally immense.

After Blood Luo Immortal Lord devoured part of the origins of Shijie, Taiyi, and Heaven-Deficient,

her aura had instead reached an unprecedented peak.

One side rose.

The other fell.

The situation was extremely unfavorable for Wang Hao.

Farther away,

Xuanming had not made a move.

The shattered starry sky in his chest slowly closed.

Only that half-silver, half-black heart remained,

still beating with vigor.

He was waiting.

Waiting for Wang Hao and Blood Luo to be wounded in their mutual struggle.

Then he would devour them both.

The Dragon-Slayer leaned against a fragment of the bell.

In a low voice, he said:

“Blood Luo is different from the other immortals.”

“She has no true physical body.”

“The entire sea of blood—

is her.”

“As long as even a single drop of blood remains,

she can be reborn.”

Wang Hao nodded.

“I know.”

“You knew that, yet you still chose her as the fourth?”

“Because killing her takes more time.”

The Dragon-Slayer glanced at the endless sea of blood spreading across the sky.

“Just time?”

“And thunder.”