Acting Cool Is Indeed a Strenuous Task

"That person's legacy has long been severed! Even his bones can't be found!"

"For a hundred thousand years, the Imperial Court Mountain has dug three feet into the earth and found no trace whatsoever! How could you possibly have his legacy?!"

He stared fiercely at Su Ji, his divine sense sweeping over the opponent like a tide, time and again.

Trying to prove it was all fake—an illusion, an elaborate deception.

Wait...

There was still one thing!

Liu Yishou, as if grasping at a lifeline, his eyes suddenly lit up, his words spilling out rapid-fire, spittle flying:

"Now the Imperial Court Mountain has obtained the lifebound artifact of Immortal Venerable Haoyue!"

"That's a supreme treasure at the Immortal Venerable level! Immortal Venerable Haoyue and Immortal Venerable Fallen Dragon were sworn brothers in life and death. If a great power were to act, using his close friend's lifebound artifact, it could tug at karma, pierce the fog, and divine the other's place of fall!"

"My master was invited to join the Imperial Court Mountain and six other major sects to explore the site of Immortal Venerable Fallen Dragon's fall—that's why he's been so tied up and unable to attend to the situation here!"

"If that person's legacy truly appeared in the world, how could they have no clue?!"

"If the legacy were in your hands, then what are my master and the others guarding over?!"

"Fake! It has to be fake!"

"This is just some kind of illusionary technique mimicking a sword intent! Trying to scare me off? Dream on!"

The more Liu Yishou spoke, the more convinced he became of his own reasoning. His dao heart, which had been on the verge of collapse, miraculously steadied itself somewhat. He even began gathering spiritual energy again.

Yes.

It didn't add up!

If the legacy of the "Desolate Fallen Sword" had truly manifested, how could the Imperial Court Mountain be utterly silent?

If anyone in the world hated Immortal Venerable Fallen Dragon the most?

It had to be the Imperial Court Mountain.

Knocked ruthlessly from their high perch to the mortal dust.

This grudge—a hundred thousand years had not diminished it by even a fraction!

At the slightest hint, they would have struck with thunderous force!

Now saying there was some lead...

So, this brat before him had to be bluffing!

Su Ji watched as Liu Yishou fooled himself, couldn't help but sigh, and shook his head.

Oh, people.

Sometimes, they just refused to believe the plain truth in front of their eyes.

Even when reality had already slapped them in the face, they scrambled for excuses to deny it.

The Imperial Court Mountain, using Immortal Venerable Haoyue's artifact to search for the tomb of Immortal Venerable Fallen Dragon?

That sounded pretty solid.

It might indeed be possible to find the place where Immortal Venerable Fallen Dragon fell.

But the thing was...

The legacy seemed to be on him already...

"Whether your legacy is real or some cheap trick!"

Liu Yishou roared, forcibly suppressing the deep instinctual fear he felt toward the "Desolate Fallen Sword." The silver blade in his hand blazed again with blinding lightning power.

Even if he couldn't fully unleash his sword techniques, his lightning arts were nothing to sneeze at!

With a great realm of cultivation overwhelming the opponent, could he truly not kill him?

"Since you're asking for death, I'll grant it!"

"I don't believe—a mere Golden Core cultivator—that you can truly turn the world upside down!"

BOOM!

The thunderclouds in the sky churned violently once more. This time, the display was even more colossal than before!

The cloud layers thickened several times, expanding to cover an area of dozens of miles. The entire sky went dark, save for the lightning bolts crazily writhing within, flashing the world in stark contrasts of light and shadow.

Liu Yishou might have shouted fiercely, but his body was more honest.

He didn't charge straight in again, trying for a close kill like before.

Instead, he rose another hundred zhang into the air, distancing himself far from Su Ji. He gripped his blade with both hands, raised it above his head, and poured his spiritual energy completely into the weapon without reserve.

He was gathering his momentum.

Preparing to use his strongest strike, from the greatest distance, to blast that strange kid into dust outright!

No giving him any chance to close in or use that bizarre swordsmanship again!

"Thunder Prison—Soul Severing!"

With a fierce cry, the countless thunders answered the ultimate summons. They poured down from the clouds like an inverted celestial river, all flooding into the silver blade in Liu Yishou's hands!

The silver blade expanded again!

One hundred and fifty zhang!

Two hundred zhang!

Finally, it stopped at a terrifying length of three hundred zhang!

This was no longer a blade. It was a mountain forged entirely from pure thunder and lightning!

Every lightning pattern on the blade was clearly visible. Every flicker of electric light caused the space around it to quiver!

Wherever the blade's edge pointed, fine black cracks began to appear in the void—a sign that space, unable to bear the strain, was about to collapse!

This strike, far surpassing the earlier "Thunder Prison—Thousand Calamities," was several times mightier!

It was a life-risking blow from Liu Yishou, burning thirty percent of his vital essence with his Void Refinement cultivation!

After delivering this blow, he himself would suffer a grievous depletion, requiring years of seclusion to restore.

But he had no other choice.

He was truly terrified.

Afraid of that legendary name, afraid of a legacy that might actually exist.

So, he had to use the quickest method, the strongest power, to crush this fear utterly!

"DIE!"

His face twisted, Liu Yishou gripped the blade with both hands and struck down toward the sea of black flame below!

The three-hundred-zhang thunder blade tore through the sky!

Wherever it passed, the wind and snow vanished, spiritual energy dissipated, and even light itself was swallowed!

Before the blade's edge even reached, the ground below began to sink and crack. Countless shattered rocks were crushed into fine dust by the terrifying pressure!

This single strike was enough to split the main peak of Empty Suspension Mountain cleanly in two!

Facing this world-destroying, earth-shaking blow.

Su Ji remained exceptionally calm.

He didn't even raise his head to watch the falling three-hundred-zhang thunder blade.

He only slowly extended his right hand.

Pressing his index and middle finger together, forming a sword gesture so simple that it couldn't be simpler.

No sword light soared into the sky.

Only a certain... "intent."

The end of all things.

Desolation of heaven and earth.

Stagnation of time itself!

This intent, centered around Su Ji, spread out silently.

The sea of black flames grew still deeper. The leaping flames froze mid-air; time itself came to a halt.

The swirling wind and snow, upon approaching this area, turned directly into nothingness.

Not mere disappearance.

It was "being terminated."

They had never existed, or the traces of their existence were forcibly erased by a power on a higher plane.

"Hmm—"

Su Ji lightly drew a line with his fingertip.

A thin gray line, extremely faint, nearly invisible, extended from his fingertip and floated lightly upward to meet that three-hundred-zhang thunder blade.

But the moment that gray line appeared—

The three-hundred-zhang thunder blade stopped.

Not blocked.

It "lost its meaning."

The wild lightning power on the blade began to go out. Bolt after bolt, like life drained away, sagged and dissipated. The solid blade body became transparent, illusory, as if only a projection. The world-destroying crushing pressure, like snow under sunlight, melted away swiftly.

The gray line lightly "touched" the thunder blade.

Then.

Like a hot knife through butter.

The three-hundred-zhang thunder blade, starting from the tip, turned sallow inch by inch, then collapsed into specks of primal spirit dust, scattering with the wind.

The gray line continued upward.

Through the disintegrating "wreckage" of the thunder blade, through the turbulent lightning, through the warped space, drifting unhurriedly toward Liu Yishou in the high sky.

The contorted look on Liu Yishou's face, the moment the thunder blade began to collapse, froze completely.

He saw that gray line.

And felt that "intent."

In that moment, he finally understood—he had been wrong.

This was no illusion.

This was true...

“Wasteland Annihilation Sword…”

Liu Yishou’s throat emitted an eerie gurgling sound—the uncontrollable tremor of his vocal cords under extreme terror.

“Run!!!”

His last shred of reason crushed all reluctance.

Liu Yishou let out an inhuman scream and, without a second thought—turned and fled!

He even dropped the silver blade in his hand.

That lifebound treasure, which had accompanied him for over five hundred years and had already given birth to a faint nascent spirit, was tossed behind him like trash, in a desperate bid to slow that gray thread for just a moment.

And what about his senior disciple, still not far away?

Better if he died too!

That way, there’d be more resources to split!

As they say, in life, you always have to keep a trick up your sleeve!

Liu Yishou ignited the last of his essence blood, even tearing apart part of his primordial spirit, to buy himself a burst of explosive speed!

His form turned into a streak of blood-red light, shooting toward the distant sky, covering several li in the blink of an eye!

Fast!

Faster still!

Survive!

As for the mission?

To hell with the mission!

Nothing mattered more than his own life!

And yet.

Just as Liu Yishou thought he was about to escape,

The corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a gray thread.

At some point, it had already “pasted” itself against his wrist.

“No—!!!”

Liu Yishou let out a blood-curdling scream.

He frantically channeled his spiritual power, trying to shake off, force out that gray thread!

It was useless.

The moment his spiritual power touched the thread, it vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea, disappearing without a trace.

No—not disappearing, it was “terminated”—the very concept of spiritual power’s existence was erased, so it ceased to be.

He could only watch helplessly as that gray thread severed his wrist.

A silver lining amidst the disaster…

He had only lost one hand…

But before he could regain his senses,

The skin at the wound rapidly lost its luster, turning grayish-white.

It dried up, then cracked and peeled, revealing the underlying flesh and blood, which was also rapidly “aging.”

Flesh lost vitality, meridians lost flexibility, bones lost hardness… Everything that constituted his “life”—substance and energy—was being driven toward its end under that “desolate” will.

The gray thread crawled over his arm, over his shoulder, toward his chest.

“Aaaahhh—!!!”

Liu Yishou thrashed and rolled wildly in midair, but he couldn’t stop any of it.

His body withered before the naked eye.

Smooth skin became wrinkled, jet-black hair turned gray… In just three breaths, a lively Nascent Soul great cultivator was reduced to a dried-up corpse, as if shriveled for a thousand years in the wind.

His vitality, his spiritual power, his primordial spirit…

Everything, in the face of that power, flowed away without a trace of resistance.

In the end.

The gray thread spread to his brow.

Liu Yishou’s thrashing abruptly ceased.

His eyes, already clouded and turbid, stared fixedly at the distant sky. His lips moved, emitting a final, faint, almost inaudible cry: “I’m not satisfied…”

A gust of wind blew past.

His withered body crumbled into a handful of gray ash.

Scattered by the wind.

Leaving no trace.

In the world, only the wind and snow continued to howl.

Su Ji slowly withdrew his hand, his face visibly growing pale.

He swayed, then plopped down on the ground, not caring about appearances anymore.

That single strike had nearly drained all the spiritual power he had just recovered.

In his dantian, the newly reforged golden core now glowed dimly, with even a faint crack appearing on its surface.

His spiritual meridians throbbed with needle-like pain—the aftermath of overdrawn spiritual power.

No big deal.

Su Ji muttered a curse, then took out a handful of… spirit stones from his storage ring.

He held a few in each hand, activated his technique, and began frantically absorbing the spiritual energy within them.

A faint spiritual light glowed from the stones’ surface as strands of energy seeped into his palms, flowed through his meridians, converged into his dantian, and nourished the damaged golden core.

It took a full incense stick’s time before Su Ji’s complexion regained even a trace of color.

He tossed aside the stone residue in his hands, grabbed more spirit stones, and continued absorbing.

“Showing off really is a draining job.”

“A Nascent Soul cultivator…”

“Still too much of a stretch.”

“If that guy hadn’t had a shaky Dao heart and scared himself… this would have turned into real trouble today.”

“Still—”

He shook his head and didn’t continue.

He simply grabbed another handful of spirit stones, closed his eyes, and continued to regulate his breathing.

The wind and snow continued.

The black flames gradually died out, leaving the ground covered in black ash.

The snow began to fall again…

——

Yin Yang Sect, Main Peak Ruins.

The black-clad man stood atop a pile of rubble, the silver blade in his hand still dripping blood.

At his feet, Elder Yao lay like a heap of mud in a pit, his chest caved in, his breathing faint.

He had given his all.

Even if he had burned his life, even if he had overstretched his potential.

Before an absolute gap in strength, he still lost.

Lost completely.

Yun Xi lay nearby, her plain white robe already stained crimson with blood.

She stared at Elder Yao, sorrow filling her eyes.

“Elder Yao…”

The black-clad man let out a strange laugh. Gripping his blade, he walked step by step toward Yun Xi.

“Hehehe…”

“Seems like your old flame isn’t all that impressive.”

“Too bad we still have to deliver you alive to the master—so you won’t even get the chance to be a pair of tragic lovers.”

He was referring to the commotion from Liu Yishou’s side.

That earth-shattering thunderclap had reached him.

In his view, it was Liu Yishou’s signal that the trouble had been handled.

Since his junior was done over there, it was time to wrap things up here.

“Sect Leader Yun.”

The black-clad man stopped in front of Yun Xi, looking down at her.

“You know, I actually admire you a bit.”

“To have been able to hide for so many years and still build a sect like this—that takes some skill.”

“Too bad…”

He shook his head and raised his blade.

“You crossed someone you shouldn’t have.”

“Why did you even run back then?”

“Because of your own self-preservation, you’ve caused the deaths of so many people!”

Yun Xi closed her eyes and lost consciousness.

She knew that everything was over.

And yet.

Just as the black-clad man was about to lift her up,

A lazy voice suddenly sounded behind him.

“Hey…”

“Do all you people from the Blade Sect have a problem?”

“If you’re going to kill someone, just kill them. Why the hell do you talk so much?”

The black-clad man’s movements froze.

He spun around abruptly.

There, in the wind and snow not far away,

A young man walked slowly toward him, holding a blood-stained silver blade.

A harmless smile hung on his face.

“Who are you?!”