“Ling Shuang, senior, step back and protect yourselves. I will break this formation.”
Chen Ping slowly drew the Dragon-Slaying Sword.
The sword body was simple and ancient, without much brilliance. Yet the instant it left its sheath, a sharp sword intent that could sever cause and effect and shatter all laws soared into the sky. It actually diluted the killing aura emitted by the Beiming Profound Ice Immortal-Slaying Array by a few degrees.
The central divine general’s pupils contracted slightly. He sensed the extraordinariness of that sword.
“Kill.”
But he had absolute confidence in his battle array. He issued the attack order without hesitation.
“Profound Tortoise Suppresses the World, Ice Seals All Under Heaven.”
The profound tortoise in the array phantom roared towards the sky. It opened its mouth and spat out an ice-blue light pillar over ten zhang in diameter.
Wherever the light pillar passed, space froze into a substantial crystalline ice path. It carried terrifying might that could freeze all things and crush everything, charging straight at Chen Ping.
The power of this strike had already reached the level of an eighth-grade Heavenly Immortal.
Chen Ping neither dodged nor evaded. He gripped the sword with both hands, holding it upright in front of him.
He closed his eyes. His mind and spirit completely united with the Dragon-Slaying Sword.
Chaotic immortal force boiled within his body. The chaotic fire lotus in his dantian and the true dragon vital blood erupted simultaneously. Vast power surged through his meridians into the sword body.
The Dragon-Slaying Sword emitted an excited hum. Fine dragon scale patterns emerged on the sword body. An ancient, vast, and terrifying sword intent that could slay everything began to condense.
Chen Ping abruptly opened his eyes. Golden light burst forth from them like tangible rays.
“Dragon-Slaying Sword Art, Third Form, Sever the Firmament.”
He gripped the sword with both hands and slashed diagonally from bottom to top.
There was no gorgeous sword light, no deafening noise.
Only a slender, nearly transparent grey sword thread quietly extended from the sword tip.
That sword thread appeared so fragile, as if it would break at a touch.
However, the instant it made contact with the ten-zhang-diameter ice-blue light pillar,
“Sizzle.”
Like a hot knife through butter.
The terrifying light pillar, containing the power of an eighth-grade Heavenly Immortal strike, was easily and smoothly bisected by the grey sword thread.
The halved light pillar grazed past both sides of Chen Ping’s body. It struck the ice surface behind him, blasting out two bottomless craters. Yet it did not harm him in the slightest.
The sword thread continued onward without losing momentum. It floated lightly towards the massive array phantom.
“Not good. Full defence.” The central divine general’s expression changed wildly. He roared fiercely.
The one hundred and fifty divine clan warriors frantically urged their immortal force. The array light surged to its utmost. The profound tortoise phantom became as solid as reality, emitting an aura of impregnable strength.
The grey sword thread landed on the tortoise shell of the profound tortoise phantom.
Time seemed to freeze for an instant.
In the next moment,
“Crack…”
A faint yet clear fracturing sound rang out.
With the point of contact as the centre, countless fine cracks instantly spread across the entire profound tortoise phantom.
The cracks rapidly extended downward to the one hundred and fifty divine clan warriors below. Their ice-blue heavy armour, the ice crystal long halberds in their hands, and even their bodies began to show the same cracks.
“No!!!”
The central divine general let out a despairing howl.
“Boom!!!”
The massive profound tortoise phantom, along with the one hundred and fifty divine clan warriors below, collapsed and shattered like toppled building blocks.
They turned into sky-full ice-blue light spots and blood mist, scattering profusely onto the pure white ice plain.
One sword broke the military array.
Chen Ping stood holding his sword, breathing slightly. Releasing that sword had consumed nearly thirty percent of his immortal force. But the effect was breathtaking.
The no-flight domain, having lost its maintainers, began to fluctuate violently. The faint blue light membrane flickered uncertainly. Finally, with a “pop”, it burst and dissipated like a bubble.
The hundredfold gravity vanished accordingly.
The Crimson Cloud Demon Lord and Ling Shuang looked at the devastated battlefield before them, and at Chen Ping standing with his sword like a god or demon. They were speechless for a long time.
“Let us go. We should be close to the area where the Blood Soul Chill Pool is located.”
Chen Ping sheathed his sword. His expression was calm as ever, as if that earth-shattering sword strike had been casual.
The three stepped across the ice surface stained red with blood and rapidly frozen again, continuing forward.
Behind them remained only shattered armour, weapons, and frozen blood-coloured ice crystals on the ground. They silently recounted the annihilation of the divine clan battle array.
Less than an hour after Chen Ping broke the Beiming Profound Ice Immortal-Slaying Array with one sword, an unprecedented terrifying pressure erupted from the depths of the ice plain, like an ancient vicious beast awakening from slumber. It approached at astonishing speed.
This pressure was so strong that the Crimson Cloud Demon Lord and Ling Shuang instantly struggled to breathe. Their divine souls trembled, as if an iceberg pressed upon their hearts.
Even the howling wind and snow around them became stagnant and silent under this pressure.
Chen Ping stopped. He turned to look in the direction the pressure came from. For the first time, a solemn look appeared in his eyes.
The newcomer was very strong.
Far surpassing all previous interceptors, even stronger by a full tier than the previous seventh-grade Heavenly Immortal battle array general.
“Heavenly Immortal realm… peak eighth-grade. Moreover, the aura is condensed and profound, with solid foundations. Definitely not some hollow cultivator forcibly elevated by pills or secret methods.”
Chen Ping quickly judged in his mind.
A few breaths later, an ice-blue streak of flowing light cut across the sky. It landed a hundred zhang in front of Chen Ping.
The flowing light dispersed, revealing the figure within.
It was a middle-aged man appearing around forty years old. His features were resolute, as if carved by knife and axe. His eyes were deep as chill pools. At the centre of his brow, a deep blue ice crystal divine mark was more complex and dazzling than any seen on previous divine clan members.
He wore a simple ice-blue long robe without armour. Yet the chill naturally emanating from his body slightly distorted the surrounding space.
In his hand, he held an ancient long sword entirely crystalline, as if carved from ice. The sword body had no edge, yet it emitted an extreme chill that pained even divine souls.
“This seat is the Third Divine General of the Beiming Palace, Han Yu.”
The middle-aged man spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone’s ears, carrying a superior, scrutinising tone. “It was you who successively broke through our clan’s defensive lines and killed several hundred of our clan soldiers?”
His gaze fell on Chen Ping. He examined him first, then revealed a trace of surprise. “First-grade Heavenly Immortal realm? No… your aura is very peculiar. Chaos undifferentiated, with hidden dragon might… The cultivation method you practise, this seat has never seen before.”
Chen Ping met his gaze calmly. “Step aside. I only seek the herb to save a life. I do not wish to create more slaughter.”
