In the void, the sword qi unleashed by Gu Du Wudi radiated blood-red light, invincible in power.
An Zaitian and Li Chaohui were bent double, their knees slowly giving way. Every bone in their bodies cracked loudly, as if about to explode. They could no longer endure the pressure of that sword qi.
Everyone held their breath.
Anyone could see that if this went on, An Zaitian and Li Chaohui would soon be crushed, body and soul annihilated.
People could not help feeling stunned. Gu Du Wudi truly lived up to his name, displaying an invincible stance.
That sword qi was like a mountain piercing the heavens, illuminating the universe, intent on suppressing and slaying two saints.
“Ah…”
An Zaitian and Li Chaohui roared endlessly, their faces contorted. As saints, they were unable to resist a single strand of sword qi. This was utter humiliation.
They gave everything they had. The surroundings were filled with boundless saint laws and dancing divine lights, yet it was futile.
That sword qi was simply too heavy.
“Pfft!”
Finally, blood sprayed from their mouths. Their internal organs nearly shifted position.
A horrifying scene unfolded.
The blood they spat exploded in the void, blasting open one void fissure after another.
One could imagine that if their blood fell upon cultivators, not a single lower-realm cultivator present would survive. All would turn to ash.
“Legend says the blood of saints is infused with divinity and can annihilate all life. It seems that is true.”
“I wonder how much longer the two saints can hold out.”
“That Gu Du Wudi is simply too strong.”
While the crowd murmured, An Zaitian and Li Chaohui let out another hoarse roar.
“Ah…”
Their spines were on the verge of snapping, filled with humiliation.
“Let me help you.”
At last, Nangong Jingyun acted.
She took one step forward. In an instant, chaotic qi emerged around her body like a cascading galaxy, making her appear both mighty and breathtakingly beautiful.
“With my chaos, I cleave heaven and split earth!”
Nangong Jingyun shouted fiercely. The chaotic qi instantly formed a gigantic blade that slashed towards Gu Du Wudi.
Capture the king first!
Nangong Jingyun knew perfectly well that if she killed Gu Du Wudi, the sword qi would collapse of its own accord, instantly relieving the crisis for An Zaitian and Li Chaohui.
Moreover, all of Gu Du Wudi’s power was currently poured into that sword qi, leaving him no strength to deal with her.
One slash, as if splitting heaven and earth.
“Dong dong dong dong!”
Facing Nangong Jingyun’s peerless strike, Gu Du Wudi reacted instantly, taking four swift steps through the air.
Together with the five steps he had taken earlier, he had now completed nine.
Nine Steps, Nine Heavens.
“Boom!”
When his ninth step landed, his aura exploded upwards. Vast power carrying world-destroying might surged forth.
Nangong Jingyun’s pupils shrank.
“A Great Saint?”
“You’ve been hiding your cultivation.”
“You are a Great Saint!”
She sensed intense danger from Gu Du Wudi. Before she could finish reeling in shock, Gu Du Wudi raised a fist and met her attack head-on.
“Clang!”
A deafening clash rang out.
The gigantic blade collided with a radiant fist imprint, unleashing immortal divine light. Vast stretches of the void collapsed.
The force of their collision was too great, as though it would shatter the firmament. It was utterly terrifying.
“Pfft!”
The next moment, Nangong Jingyun spat blood. As she tried to retreat, an overwhelming force struck her from the side.
She immediately moved to block it, but failed. Her body was hurled through the air, landing beside An Zaitian and Li Chaohui.
“Not good!”
Nangong Jingyun’s beautiful face paled in horror. She inwardly cried out that things were bad. At that instant, she felt an enormous force bearing down from above, brimming with lethal sharpness.
“It’s that sword qi!”
Terror flooded Nangong Jingyun’s heart. Her spine bent at once.
“Ah…”
Her long hair whipped wildly in the wind. Her eyes blazed with fury, her expression savage. She fought desperately to resist the descending sword qi, yet no matter how she struggled, it was useless.
Everyone stood stunned.
No one had expected that after Nangong Jingyun intervened, she would not only fail to save Li Chaohui and An Zaitian, but would herself be suppressed by the same sword qi.
“Heavens, isn’t Gu Du Wudi far too terrifying?”
“Didn’t you hear Nangong Jingyun? Gu Du Wudi is a Great Saint.”
“It’s said the gap between ordinary saints and Great Saints is like that between cloud and mud. Ordinary saints are no match for a Great Saint at all. Forget three ordinary saints, even ten could not defeat one Great Saint.”
“He is not a Great Saint!” Wuji Tianzun’s voice rang out. “He is merely an ordinary saint.”
What?
Everyone froze.
Even Nangong Jingyun, An Zaitian, and Li Chaohui found it inconceivable. If he was only an ordinary saint, how could he suppress all three of them?
Wuji Tianzun continued, “He is indeed an ordinary saint, but his combat power is extraordinary.”
“After using that mysterious stepping technique, he has raised his combat power to the level of a Great Saint.”
So that was it.
Hearing Wuji Tianzun’s words, fighting spirit reignited in the three.
“Boosting combat power with a secret art cannot last long. We still have a chance.”
At once, the three roared, “Rise!”
Their voices shook heaven and earth, echoing tens of thousands of li away. Even the cultivators on the ground, protected by Yun Shan’s array, had their eardrums burst and blood flow from their ears.
Only Ye Qiu and Long-browed Zhenren remained unharmed. The place where they stood seemed cut off from the world, shielded by Gu Du Wudi.
At this moment, blood and qi soared skyward from the three saints. Their combat power climbed to its utmost limit, divine light engulfing them completely.
Behind each of them, nine hundred and ninety strands of dragon qi appeared.
Each strand stretched ten thousand zhang, blazing with divine radiance, coiling and roaring like an immense dragon nest.
“Ah…”
The roars of the three saints seemed to shake the river of time, piercing past, present, and future. They sounded like ten thousand stampeding horses, causing the Heavenly Dao itself to thunder without end.
The three saints unleashed torrential combat power. Their eyes blazed with rage, terrifying blood qi surging like raging waves as they resisted with all their might.
Gradually, the sword qi pressing upon their backs began to rise once more.
Ye Qiu’s expression changed.
If Gu Du Wudi could not overpower the three saints, danger loomed.
“Hmph!”
Gu Du Wudi snorted coldly. His body descended from the heavens, one foot stepping directly onto the sword qi.
“Dong!”
The instant his foot landed, the spines of the three saints bent again, their bodies sinking lower.
“Ah…”
Filled with unwillingness, the three roared in fury. They coughed up huge mouthfuls of blood, bones cracking all over their bodies, unable to withstand the pressure of the sword qi.
Finally, their physical bodies could endure no more. With a “thud”, they knelt in an utterly humiliating posture before Gu Du Wudi.
