Ye Qiu cursed vehemently. He had never imagined that this powerhouse from the Qingyun Sword Sect was such a sly villain.
At the time, he had seen the Qin Sword Immortal battling the experts of the three great sacred grounds while shielding the Wine Sword Immortal, and assumed the Qin Sword Immortal to be a good man. Little did he know he was but a sanctimonious hypocrite.
“It seems the two of us are done for here.”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal said, “Little whelp, on the brink of death, this poor Daoist has one thing to say to you.”
“Could you give me a pack of spicy strips?”
Ye Qiu wanted to laugh but could not. He tossed a pack of spicy strips to the Long Eyebrow Immortal and said, “Old thing, my apologies. It is I who have dragged you into this.”
“Still, it is premature to speak of death now.”
“In a moment, I shall use the Universe Cauldrons to smash through the grand array. Seize the chance and flee for your life.”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal asked, “And what of you?”
“Pay me no mind. Just find a way to escape.” Ye Qiu said, “Should you make it out, once you find my father, have him avenge me.”
Touched tears welled in the Long Eyebrow Immortal’s eyes. He said, “Little whelp, I…”
“No more prattle. Do as I say.” Ye Qiu saw the Qin Sword Immortal striding towards them and promptly summoned the four Universe Cauldrons.
“Boom!”
The four Universe Cauldrons materialised in the void. At once, an imperial aura blanketed the heavens and earth.
The Qin Sword Immortal thought a powerhouse had descended and startled. Upon realising the imperial aura emanated from the Universe Cauldrons, he brimmed with delight.
“Divine artefacts! You possess divine artefacts too!”
The Qin Sword Immortal, elated, laughed, “It seems I came here rightly. You, lad, are a veritable treasure trove.”
Without a word, Ye Qiu urged the four Universe Cauldrons to smash towards the grand array.
“Boom!”
A thunderous crash resounded.
The grand array stood unscathed.
“Hahaha, you fool. You thought to shatter the array I laid with your own hands using divine artefacts? Naive.”
A cold smile played on the Qin Sword Immortal’s lips, “Your cultivation is too feeble to unleash the true might of those divine artefacts.”
“Ye Chang Sheng, such fine treasures in your grasp are but squandered. Hand them to me!”
With that, the Qin Sword Immortal reached out with a vast hand to seize the four Universe Cauldrons.
“I fear you lack the life to claim them.” As the Qin Sword Immortal’s palm neared the Universe Cauldrons, Ye Qiu willed it, and the four cauldrons swelled abruptly.
In an instant, they grew to the size of four mountain peaks, immense in power, and slammed fiercely into the Qin Sword Immortal’s hand.
“Clang!”
The resounding clang echoed like thunder.
The Qin Sword Immortal staggered back two steps, yet suffered no harm.
“Worthily divine artefacts, truly formidable!”
“With your paltry cultivation, you can wield them to repulse me. Should they fall to me, I could well contend with saintly powerhouses.”
“Paired with the might of that wooden whip, I could even vie with saintly powerhouses on equal terms.”
“Ye Chang Sheng, I urge you one final time. Surrender all your treasures meekly, and I shall see to your affairs after death.”
Ye Qiu’s face darkened.
He had hoped the Universe Cauldrons might breach the grand array, yet now it seemed impossible.
“Little whelp, why not employ an escape art?” the Long Eyebrow Immortal suggested.
“To no avail.” Ye Qiu said, “This heaven and earth are sealed by the grand array. No escape art can pierce it.”
“I have one more idea.” Inspiration struck the Long Eyebrow Immortal. He said, “Heavenly tribulation!”
At once, light gleamed in Ye Qiu’s eyes.
Heavenly tribulation never failed, and both he and the Long Eyebrow Immortal now stood at the threshold of their tribulations.
“I shall go first.”
With that, the Long Eyebrow Immortal soared skyward and bellowed, “Thunder, come!”
Yet the heavens remained serene, devoid of any oppressive aura.
No thunderclouds gathered in the ninth heaven.
“Again!” The Long Eyebrow Immortal roared, “Heavenly tribulation, show yourself to this old one!”
The sky betrayed no anomaly.
“So, you seek to summon heavenly tribulation against me?” The Qin Sword Immortal discerned the Long Eyebrow Immortal’s intent and sneered disdainfully, “Even if you succeed, it cannot match me.”
“Moreover, the grand array seals the celestial energies. You cannot summon tribulation here.”
Blast!
The Long Eyebrow Immortal despaired. Heaven and earth alike turned a deaf ear.
“Boom!”
At that moment, the Qin Sword Immortal struck like lightning.
He ascended in a single stride, the surroundings quaking. His foot lashed towards the Long Eyebrow Immortal.
The Qin Sword Immortal was too potent. As his right foot extended, it ballooned swiftly in the air, the footprint spanning dozens of metres.
“Careful!”
Even as Ye Qiu cried out in alarm, he had already darted forth, seizing the Long Eyebrow Immortal and narrowly evading.
“Bang!”
The Qin Sword Immortal’s kick met empty air. The footprint struck the ground, and in an instant, “crack crack crack” echoed as fissures spiderwebbed outwards, the earth a ravaged sight.
So mighty!
Ye Qiu’s heart quaked.
“Ye Chang Sheng, escape is futile. Submit to your fate!”
The Qin Sword Immortal raised his right hand. In a flash, sword qi erupted from his fingertip, coiling like a dragon, slashing ferociously towards Ye Qiu.
“Whish!”
The sword qi whistled shrilly, akin to a massive bolt of thunder, arriving in a blink.
Ye Qiu was never one to await doom passively. Though he knew he could not best the Qin Sword Immortal, he countered without hesitation.
“Boom!”
He promptly positioned the four Universe Cauldrons before him to block the sword qi, yet its force proved overwhelming. With a “clang”, the cauldrons flew aside.
Undeterred, the sword qi bore straight on towards Ye Qiu.
“Desperate measures!” Ye Qiu clenched his teeth, channeling his full power into a fist that hammered towards the sword qi.
“Thud!”
The next instant, Ye Qiu hurtled backwards like the cauldrons, his right arm exploding from the sword qi’s impact. Golden blood sprayed everywhere as his body slammed into the ground a hundred metres away.
“Eh?”
The Qin Sword Immortal registered surprise. Though he had not unleashed his full might in that sword qi, it sufficed to slay Nascent Soul cultivators. Yet Ye Qiu had lost only an arm.
“I must say, your flesh is remarkably sturdy, lad. Pity your cultivation is so lacking.”
The Qin Sword Immortal lunged forward, his five fingers hooked like heavenly claws, grasping from afar towards Ye Qiu’s crown.
In this critical juncture.
The Qin Sword Immortal suddenly beheld Ye Qiu producing a pitch-black severed arm and affixing it to his own.
“Why does that severed arm bear the aura of the demon race?”
The Qin Sword Immortal gave it scant thought. His sole aim was to slay Ye Qiu and claim the treasures. His five fingers pressed on.
“Repaying kindness with betrayal, you cur? Die!” Ye Qiu surged to his feet, his fist flying towards the Qin Sword Immortal.
“Boom!”
From Ye Qiu’s black arm erupted a horrific demonic radiance, surging like raging waves, evoking mountains of corpses and seas of blood. A thick, sanguine stench permeated the entire grand array.
“You, you…”
The Qin Sword Immortal’s face twisted in shock. Before his words ended, Ye Qiu’s fist had already smashed into his hand.
“Puff!”
Five fingers pulverised.
The arm pulverised.
Then, with a “thud”, the Qin Sword Immortal’s body rent asunder in all directions!
