Two sword masters struck simultaneously. For a moment, countless sword energies crisscrossed the heavens and earth, sword shadows interlacing. Yu Jian Zhen Xian’s body surged with spiritual power, each move imbued with immense might capable of cleaving mountains and shattering seas.
In contrast, Zhang Fan’s swordsmanship was ethereal and seemingly effortless, yet his power was incredibly concentrated. Every sword strike easily broke through Yu Jian Zhen Xian’s techniques, leaving him feeling as though his efforts were in vain.
Both moved with lightning speed, their figures barely visible to those below the Nascent Soul stage. Countless afterimages collided in the air. After hundreds of exchanges, a muffled groan echoed. Yu Jian Zhen Xian was sent flying back tens of miles, a fist-sized bloody hole in his chest, severely injured.
"The perfection of rules is truly terrifying. Just breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage and being able to suppress a peak Nascent Soul expert like Yu Jian Zhen Xian. If he cultivates a bit more, he might soon enter the Spirit Refinement stage," Giant Que Zhen Xian said in a low voice, a hint of panic already in his heart.
"Hall Master need not worry. Even if Senior Brother Yu Jian is outmatched, he can still protect himself. Moreover, I am a disciple of the Boundless Dynasty. Even if Zhang Fan enters the Spirit Refinement stage, would he dare to oppose the Boundless Dynasty?" Qin Yun stated.
Seeing Qin Yun’s composure, Giant Que Zhen Xian nodded, feeling somewhat reassured.
As Qin Yun said, the Boundless Dynasty was a powerful empire ruling an intermediate star field, boasting numerous Spirit Refinement realm experts. With Yu Jian Zhen Xian’s status, as long as he was willing to pay a sufficient price, he could easily enlist several Spirit Refinement realm cultivators. Why would he fear Zhang Fan?
"Again!"
The bloody hole in Yu Jian Zhen Xian's chest healed at an astonishing rate. Even knowing the gap in their strength, he grew more courageous with each fight. Engaging in a life-and-death battle with a cultivator whose sword dao rules were perfected gave him profound insights and showed him the path forward. Zhang Fan’s every sword strike offered him a new understanding—an opportunity that came by once in a millennium, and he would not let it go to waste.
"Trying to use me as a stepping stone?" Zhang Fan smiled upon seeing this and drew his sword to engage again. This time, however, he held nothing back.
After only a few dozen exchanges, Yu Jian Zhen Xian was covered in sword wounds. When he channeled his Nascent Soul power to heal his body, he discovered that each sword mark was being eroded by a sharp sword energy filled with destructive power, making it difficult for the wounds to close quickly.
Sensing this, Yu Jian Zhen Xian felt a sense of foreboding. He did indeed want an opponent who could pressure him for training, but Zhang Fan’s sword mastery was far superior. When Zhang Fan unleashed his full power, he felt no training, only the sensation of being thoroughly beaten.
In a direct sword dao confrontation, it was a completely one-sided affair. Yu Jian Zhen Xian, naturally, would not be foolish enough to attack an opponent’s strength with his own weakness. He suddenly retreated, sheathed his bronze sword, and a grim smile appeared in his eyes.
"Heavenly Absolute Boundless Body!"
Yu Jian Zhen Xian unleashed his strongest divine ability without hesitation. As immense spiritual power surged around him, a colossal phantom form condensed above his head. It stood tens of thousands of feet tall, and merely by its presence, it could block out the heavens and earth, casting Zhang Fan into its shadow with terrifying aura!
Seeing Yu Jian Zhen Xian unleash this divine ability again, Dong Ji Zhen Xian of the Myriad Mountains Sect shook his head and sneered. The Heavenly Absolute Boundless Body was powerful, but it was merely a seventh-grade divine ability.
Zhang Fan could teach his own disciple an eighth-grade divine ability, which spoke volumes about the strength of the divine abilities he cultivated himself. Yu Jian Zhen Xian’s attempt was akin to showing off carpentry skills before an expert craftsman, inviting trouble.
"A contest of divine abilities?"
"I’d also like to test what kind of power this divine ability will possess after I enter the Transformation stage," Zhang Fan’s spiritual power surged like a sea. The page containing the mysterious power of the Sky-Splitting Rhinoceros Sutra was illuminated.
"Sky-Splitting Horn!"
As Zhang Fan softly uttered, an even more solidified phantom of the Sky-Splitting Rhinoceros appeared above his head. It too was tens of thousands of feet tall, but as it took form, everyone could not help but tremble.
"Is this the chaotic fierce beast, the Sky-Splitting Rhinoceros?"
Neither Dong Ji Zhen Xian nor Yu Jian Zhen Xian had anticipated that Zhang Fan could unleash such a divine ability. The phantom of the Sky-Splitting Rhinoceros, which seemed to exist in reality, was enough to send shivers down the spines of Nascent Soul realm cultivators just by its presence.
Overwhelming ferocity permeated the entire Myriad Mountains Continent, a primordial aura seeming to transport everyone back to the time of creation, when chaos had just begun.
"Is this a ninth-grade divine ability? It's so terrifying?" Qin Yun and Giant Que Zhen Xian were both awestruck by the Sky-Splitting Rhinoceros phantom. If Yu Jian Zhen Xian were not still fighting, the two of them would have been unable to resist fleeing the scene.
"Go!"
With a gesture from Zhang Fan, the Sky-Splitting Rhinoceros stomped through the void, its sharp single horn raised, charging madly towards Yu Jian Zhen Xian. It suppressed space, locking onto him with its aura. Yu Jian Zhen Xian felt as though the surrounding space was about to solidify, and even with his cultivation, he could not tear through this spatial lock.
"Heavenly Absolute Boundless Fist!"
Unable to escape, Yu Jian Zhen Xian could only grit his teeth and face the attack, using his tens of thousands of feet tall phantom form to unleash a move from the Heavenly Absolute Boundless arts, intending to clash with the chaotic fierce beast.
"How could a mere Nascent Soul realm cultivator possess such a divine ability? It's all an illusion!" Yu Jian Zhen Xian hypnotized himself, unwilling to lose his fighting spirit over this.
But ultimately, it was just wishful thinking. When the two collided, the tens of thousands of feet tall phantom form was like paper before the Sky-Splitting Rhinoceros, shattering at the slightest touch. Yu Jian Zhen Xian’s phantom was dispersed, and he was sent flying backward as if struck by a heavy blow, spitting blood from his mouth.
"Die!"
Seeing this, Zhang Fan pressed his advantage, intending to kill him with a single strike. He pushed his lightning sword dao rules to their extreme, instantly traversing space to appear above Yu Jian Zhen Xian and slashing down.
A bolt of lightning sword energy, nurtured by his Nascent Soul, shot out from the blood-red longsword, cleaving the heavens and earth, aiming to split Yu Jian Zhen Xian in two. Under such a continuous and swift assault, Yu Jian Zhen Xian had no means to evade. By the time he recovered his senses, the sword light was less than three feet from his head.
Boom!
The sword light descended. At the critical moment, Yu Jian Zhen Xian brought up his ancient bronze sword to block it. However, the sharp sword light still pierced through the ancient bronze sword’s obstruction, and over fifty percent of its power struck Yu Jian Zhen Xian.
A massive sword mark slashed down from Yu Jian Zhen Xian’s head. The wound was extremely deep, and blood gushed out like a waterfall. In an instant, Yu Jian Zhen Xian was drenched in his own blood.
He endured the intense pain in his Nascent Soul and body, struggling to flee into the distance. Although severely injured, having nearly lost half his life, the power unleashed in the face of death was astonishing. His speed even surprised Zhang Fan slightly.
From a distance, Qin Yun and Giant Que Zhen Xian, seeing this, dared not linger and immediately tore through space to escape.
Zhang Fan ignored Qin Yun and Giant Que Zhen Xian. They were merely two cultivators in the mid-Nascent Soul stage. After he dealt with Yu Jian Zhen Xian, he could easily eliminate them at will.
...