In Lan Xiaobu’s view, any normal person hearing his words would attack him without hesitation. He was already prepared. The only reason he hadn’t struck first was the hunched-back figure beside Guang Ye Chang. Lan Xiaobu suspected the hunched man’s strength surpassed Guang Ye Chang’s, and if he fought Guang Ye Chang while the hunched man ambushed him from the sidelines, he’d suffer a severe disadvantage.
To his surprise, Guang Ye Chang didn’t erupt in rage. Instead, he paused briefly before responding, “If Friend Lan has taken a liking to Xi’e, I naturally have no objections. However, Xi’e and I parted ways years ago, so I don’t know if she’d agree.”
Lan Xiaobu was stunned. After all that, he’d made a fool of himself. Guang Ye Chang had a Dao companion, but they’d been divorced for ages—whether Lan Xiaobu slept with her or not had nothing to do with him. He’d intended to provoke Guang Ye Chang, but instead of angering him, Lan Xiaobu had played the villain.
With a flick of his hand, Lan Xiaobu gripped the Eternal Life Halberd. “No Dao companion, yet you’re still blabbering? Want the cave? Come take it. Let’s see if you’re worthy of cultivating here. Oh, by the way, the last guy who wasn’t qualified got crushed by me.”
Seeing Lan Xiaobu’s move, Guang Ye Chang said nothing. The God-Slaying Sword on his back quivered, transforming into a silver streak that surged toward Lan Xiaobu.
Lan Xiaobu thought to himself, *This guy’s decisive.* Seeing threats wouldn’t work, he’d attacked immediately. The God-Slaying Sword had a grand reputation, yet it seemed to lack killing momentum.
Though Lan Xiaobu remained wary of the hunched man, when he and Guang Ye Chang clashed, the hunched figure unexpectedly stepped back.
Oh? Interesting—he didn’t want to gang up on him?
With the hunched man no longer a threat, Lan Xiaobu held nothing back. His Eternal Life Domain pressed down fully. This wasn’t the time to conserve strength.
In his mind, the best outcome was to finish Guang Ye Chang quickly, then deal with the hunched man at leisure.
*Boom!*
Their domains collided, and Guang Ye Chang’s expression shifted. It was the first time he’d encountered a sage below the ninth turn who could suppress his domain without losing ground. This man’s cultivation seemed lower than his own—how could his domain be so strong?
But before Guang Ye Chang could dwell on it, Lan Xiaobu’s domain surged again.
*Crack!* Guang Ye Chang was shocked to find fissures forming in his own domain. Clearly, Lan Xiaobu had infused his killing intent into it.
Sensing his domain overpowering the opponent’s, Lan Xiaobu rejoiced inwardly. The Eternal Life Halberd erupted with radiant Charm of the Dao, unleashing billions of murderous auras.
Before he could press his advantage, the God-Slaying Sword’s gentle silver glow suddenly exploded. A ferocious Charm of the God-Slaying Dao surged abruptly, wildly drawing in all auras and heavenly laws. In mere breaths, it seemed to pull half the sky toward Lan Xiaobu.
The murderous Charm of the Dao from Lan Xiaobu’s Eternal Life Halberd began to shatter inch by inch. The terrifying momentum of the God-Slaying Sword pressed him down, making it impossible to stand.
The sword’s aura continued to expand, its power growing rapidly. The stacked killing Charm of the Dao from the heavens grew stronger, halting Lan Xiaobu’s half-formed Palace Tone Kill mid-execution.
Worse, he heard his bones creaking under the pressure, as if they might shatter at any moment.
Lan Xiaobu’s heart turned cold. He’d never faced such a monstrous opponent—a mere fourth-turn sage, yet absurdly powerful. He’d encountered seventh-turn sage Ku Cai, whose Great Dao was damaged—surely a seventh-turn’s aura was significant. Though Ku Cai never fought him, Lan Xiaobu had sensed something when Ku Cai attacked others, hadn’t he?
He’d also faced sixth-turn sage Bu Ju, whose world he’d recently torn apart. But neither Ku Cai nor Bu Ju were on the same level as Guang Ye Chang.
The murderous Charm of the Eternal Life Halberd surged wildly as Lan Xiaobu poured his Great Dao aura into it. Yet, the God-Slaying Sword’s terrifying killing intent and Charm of the Dao grew heavier. If his domain and halberd couldn’t withstand this fearsome assault, he’d die today.
He heard his bones cracking further under the God-Slaying Sword’s crushing force, the scent of death growing palpable.
No wonder the hunched man hadn’t acted—clearly, he believed Guang Ye Chang alone could handle him.
In that moment, Lan Xiaobu even felt regret. He should’ve proven his second turn with cosmic laws. Had he done so, Guang Ye Chang’s domain wouldn’t suppress him now.
Proving his path with merit had boosted his domain significantly, but it couldn’t compare to a freak like Guang Ye Chang.
*Pfft!* Lan Xiaobu spat out a mouthful of blood. It wasn’t about unleashing Palace Tone Kill anymore—it was about survival. To Guang Ye Chang and the hunched man, his bleeding might seem normal; not bleeding would be strange.
He sensed the God-Slaying Sword gradually linking with the cosmic heavens. If that happened, even doubling his strength wouldn’t save him from being crushed. No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t block the infinite killing force of the vast universe.
Worse, Guang Ye Chang had only used the God-Slaying Sword—the God-Slaying Diagram hadn’t appeared. Rumour had it the sword and diagram together were the true terror, meaning Guang Ye Chang had subdued him to this extent with just half his arsenal.
No, this couldn’t continue. Every passing breath brought him closer to death.
If he could break free from the God-Slaying Sword’s suppression, he’d have escaped already. The Heart of the Universe was valuable, but his life mattered more.
Counterattack—he had to counterattack.
His mind roared, but he couldn’t move under the sword’s crushing force. How could he fight back?
*Crack!* Another fracture split his spine. As death loomed closer, Lan Xiaobu grew eerily calm.
He needed a sliver of opportunity—a chance to strike back. Just one breath, just a moment to break free from the God-Slaying Sword’s grip.
His Great Dao Charm was suppressed, his divine energy stifled, his divine sense locked, his body pinned…
But he still had his intent. For others, intent might be useless, but his could wield Soul Thorn.
With a guttural roar, Lan Xiaobu spat another blood arrow. Ignoring his foundation and life, he unleashed a divine ability through his intent. Death was coming either way—why care?
The ability wasn’t Soul Thorn, but Grand Severance. He knew Guang Ye Chang’s strength clearly. Even uninjured, Soul Thorn couldn’t pierce Guang Ye Chang’s sea of consciousness—let alone now, immobilised.
Lan Xiaobu knew this was risky; one misstep, and he’d be fully suppressed, perishing utterly. But with death looming, what future was there to consider?
A faint cutting aura descended from the void. Guang Ye Chang’s stern expression faltered. He’d never seen such a fearsome severing Charm of the Dao—it had sliced a gap in his God-Slaying divine ability.
How was this possible? His God-Slaying ability, tempered over countless years and bolstered by the sword, was flawless. Even a ninth-turn sage couldn’t break free or tear it, let alone create a gap.
True, he lacked the God-Slaying Diagram, but that was for facing Eternal Life Sages—not some unknown ant like Lan Xiaobu.
What was this technique? A divine ability that bypassed divine sense and energy, cutting his God-Slaying space with mere intent? Such abilities existed—he could use them too—but their power was always weak without divine sense or energy. They couldn’t challenge even a pseudo-sage’s basic ability, let alone his God-Slaying technique.
Wait—Grand Severance! Only a primal ability like Grand Severance could do this.
As Guang Ye Chang realised this, Lan Xiaobu roared, breaking free from the God-Slaying Sword’s suppression. Like a raging lion, he swung the Eternal Life Halberd, unleashing a soul-rending wave of killing momentum.
Life and death flipped in an instant. A terrifying aura of death enveloped Guang Ye Chang. Halberd beams, solid as reality, crashed down like the tolling of a great bell.
The God-Slaying ability was torn apart. Guang Ye Chang saw a colossal halberd, tens of thousands of feet long, descend, locking away all his avenues of survival.
As it fell, spatial tones exploded!
*One note severs the soul at Yang Pass, palace music rises, the halberd slashes ninety thousand miles!*
With the sonic explosion, Lan Xiaobu felt his Great Dao boiling. The frustration and oppression he’d endured erupted unrestrained through Palace Tone Kill.
Death’s aura bore down. Guang Ye Chang’s face paled. He frantically tried to wield the God-Slaying Sword to block the incoming ability, but a faint intuition told him it wouldn’t hold against Lan Xiaobu’s furious assault. The halberd’s descending killing radiance, tens of thousands of feet long, was too overwhelming.
“Friend, stop!” Guang Ye Chang shouted urgently. It wasn’t a plea for mercy—Lan Xiaobu’s strength had earned his respect, and he wanted to ally with him.
Stop? Lan Xiaobu sneered inwardly. The Eternal Life Halberd didn’t pause—its murderous Charm of the Dao surged even higher.
