Chapter 85
Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!
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In the human realm, at Dai Mountain.
The sky was overcast and vast, and a gust of cold wind howled. Suddenly, cracks burst forth from the golden formation of the Great Vehicle Seal, which stood tall and firm, as if heaven and earth were splitting apart—
Crack!
In the distance, in mid-air, both Changsun Chengfeng and Mu Duozhu turned their heads sensitively.
It had been three full days since Gong Wei and the others had inexplicably disappeared from the Ascension Immortal Platform. During these three days, the golden light formation, which had been as solid as a fortress, firmly imprisoning the World-ending Giant, suddenly showed signs of cracking without any warning. Then, the ominous “Xuan” character at the top of the formation, which represented the Great Vehicle Seal, flickered a few times, as if it were the last fierce flicker of a flame before extinguishing.
Changsun Chengfeng’s expression changed slightly, each word carrying a chill: “The formation can’t hold on anymore.”
Mu Duozhu exclaimed, “Isn’t the Great Vehicle Seal supposed to be invincible? How could it suddenly――suddenly――”
His gaze involuntarily turned to the rapidly flickering “Xuan” character in the sky, and a terrible answer rose in his heart.
“…Yes.” Changsun Chengfeng said with difficulty, “It seems that the senior surnamed Xuan… can’t hold on anymore.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the walls of light shattered, exploding into countless fragments under the fearful gaze of all the people below!
“Roar—–!”
Nothing could stop the World Ending Giant anymore. The massive demon broke free from its restraints, rose from the ground, and let out a roar of fury. Then, its two mechanical arms, which had been severed by Gong Wei three days ago, sensed something and emerged from the deep valleys. They rotated in mid-air, assembling themselves with a clang! Clang! Two crisp sounds, seamlessly returning to the giant’s shoulders.
The black fire dragon that had been pent up for three days spewed out.
Disaster struck in an instant. The fire dragon descended from the sky, instantly covering the entire city of Linjiang!
The ground trembled, the city collapsed, and countless people were swept into the black flames in the blink of an eye, their cries and screams reaching the sky. Changsun Chengfeng wasted no time and rose into the air with his sword, swiftly flying towards the World Ending Giant, shouting, “Medical Sect Master, please open the Golden Ship to evacuate the people. I’ll try to hold it off as much as I can!”
There was no time for hesitation. Mu Duozhu snapped his fingers, and a huge golden ship appeared in the layers of eerie clouds above his head. Then, breaking through the waves and clouds, it rushed at full speed toward the burning city of Linjiang.
Just as the World Ending Giant charged into the sky and saw the golden ship, it exerted all its strength to swing its giant sword, seemingly about to split the ship in half. However, Changsun Chengfeng arrived just in time and intercepted the blow with his sword, shocking the heavens and the earth!
As if destined to meet again after nine thousand years, the World Ending Giant once again collided head-on with the Immortal Sword of the Iron Sect Master.
The last breath left by Xuan Jinghe on the sword awakened its most furious memories, and the archenemies met once again, red-eyed. However, just as the giant’s blade was about to fall, several golden threads surged from behind, swiftly pulling Changsun Chengfeng several feet away, narrowly avoiding the terrifying blade – these were the threads of the soldier thread.
Changsun Chengfeng turned around and exclaimed, “Bai Xian?!”
The soldier thread retracted into Bai Xian’s sleeve. He flew over, caught by Changsun Chengfeng, and together they rose into the sky with a sword. “Why are you here?!” Changsun Chengfeng asked.
Bai Xian’s robes fluttered in the strong wind as he replied, “I’m your soldier puppet. Wherever you are, I am.”
Changsun Chengfeng opened his mouth to reprimand him but forgot his words as he noticed Bai Xian’s loose headband. He quickly tied it for him, then said, “It’s extremely dangerous here. We must stop the World Ending Giant…”
At this moment, the World Ending Giant’s attention had been completely drawn to the Buqi Sword, ignoring the wailing masses of Linjiang in the distance. Suddenly, two clusters of golden flames ignited in its black eyes, and with a roar, it charged towards the two.
Changsun Chengfeng shouted, “Be careful!”
The Buqi Sword suddenly lifted high, and the giant’s blade, pressed closely against its back, cleaved downwards into the empty space, shattering the earth with a deafening roar!
Boom!
At the Guiyuan, Three Way River.
A faint tremor could be felt from above. Gong Wei sensitively halted his steps and looked up, only to see the sky of the underworld faintly tinged with blood-grey.
Yuchi Rui struggled to lift his head, his voice full of suspicion. “What’s happening with the sky?”
“As long as disasters occur in reality, the sky of the underworld will be dyed red with blood, and the faster the souls of the dead accumulate, the faster the recovery speed of the Ghost Crown Prince will be.” Gong Wei paused, his expression growing heavy. “It seems that the Great Vehicle Seal, which imprisoned the World Ending Giant, has broken.”
Yuchi Rui immediately grasped the situation. “Xuan Jinghe is dead?”
Gong Wei replied, “Not yet, but it’s… imminent.”
At the same moment when all the divine power transferred completely to Xu Shuangce, Xuan Jinghe completely lost his divine power, the Great Vehicle Seal crumbled, and the World Ending Giant broke free – all of this was a chain reaction. Xu Shuangce held Gong Wei’s hand, slightly raised his scabbard to signal forward, and said, “We must return to the human realm as soon as possible.”
Following the direction pointed by his scabbard, a faint bridge connected the heavens and earth in front of them. This was one of the “Nine Wells” that connected the underworld to the human realm. By crossing this ethereal bridge, they could rush back. They had to return quickly to kill the World Ending Giant; otherwise, the more deaths there were, the stronger the power of the Ghost Crown Prince would become.
Frowning, Gong Wei said, “I’m still worried about Xuan Jinghe. I’m afraid the Ghost Crown Prince will hold onto his soul and prevent him from entering reincarnation…”
Before Gong Wei could finish his sentence, Xu Shuangce stopped in his tracks.
—Suddenly, the rushing Three Way River seemed to freeze for a moment, and then countless blood crows cawed loudly, flying from the direction of the bridge, their wings covering the entire sky. The scene was enough to send shivers down one’s spine, but what followed was even more terrifying: the countless blood crows landed and transformed into various monstrous demons and evil spirits.
As far as the eye could see, the mountains and plains were covered with countless demonic shadows, which surrounded the three of them, then surged towards them like a tidal wave!
With a clang, Bai Tai Shou was unsheathed, and Gong Wei shouted angrily, “Qu Xie――”
“Trying to escape?” A cold light flickered in the Ghost Crown Prince’s eyes. “Not so easy.”
In a huge dark hall, a giant mirror floated in mid-air, reflecting the scene of the fierce battle opposite in real-time. The Ghost Crown Prince sat on the altar in the center of the blood pool, his left arm wrapped around the already unconscious Xuan Jinghe, while his right hand pressed against his own forehead, continuously injecting divine power.
Xuan Jinghe’s pale face was covered by his dark hair, his breath weak, his soul on the verge of dispersing, but each time it threatened to leave his body, the Ghost Crown Prince forcefully pressed it back in.
“You are the special gift I personally prepared and welcomed from afar.” Qu Xie slightly turned his head, whispering softly in Xuan Jinghe’s ear, “You’ll never leave the underworld.”
In front of him, the mirror showed the scene on the Three Way River. Xu Shuangce and Gong Wei stood back to back, their fan-shaped sword light illuminating the sky, cutting off swathes of demons, their black blood corrupting the heavens.
But then, even more demons and evil spirits from the sky and the ground surged forward, instantly engulfing their figures completely!
“Xu Shuangce――!” Yuchi Rui struggled, his head down and his feet up, twisting and turning with all his might. He struggled to lift his head again, his anger palpable. “Why won’t you let me down――!!”
Gong Wei: “…”
Without even looking, Xu Shuangce swung his sword horizontally.
The thick branch floating in mid-air snapped, and the Binding Immortal Rope binding Yuchi Rui’s feet turned into smoke; the force of the blow sent the entire person of the Sword Sect Master crashing into the demon pile, smashing a clear space like a cannonball.
In the blink of an eye, the demonic shadows surged forward again, and Yuchi Rui rolled over and stood up, drawing his sword and roaring, “With the sword comes the law――”
The sword soul of the Rakshasa Tower rose up with a whistle, wiping out almost all the demons within several miles!
Xu Shuangce and Gong Wei stood back to back, facing wave after wave of demons and evil spirits rushing towards them like a giant tide. Each sword light cleared dozens of yards of space. However, the blood crows in the distance continued to swarm relentlessly. As soon as they touched the ground, they transformed into monstrous beasts or skeletal evil spirits, constantly slowing down their progress. It seemed as though they would never reach the suspension bridge leading to reality.
At this moment, the sky above them trembled once again. Gong Wei glanced upwards, recognizing the disturbance coming from Dai Mountain.
The sky was now even more vividly blood-red than before, and the World Ending Giant was rampaging madly, unstoppable!
With a swift stroke of his sword, Xu Shuangce cut down a group of demons that had nearly reached Gong Wei into soaring gray smoke, shouting, “I’ll hold them off, you take Yuchi Rui to the bridge!”
There was no time for hesitation. Gong Wei replied, “Okay!” and immediately leaped up, grabbing the fighting Yuchi Rui by the collar, and with a swift motion, lifted him into the air. As they ascended towards the bridge, hundreds of demons were cut down by the sword, their limbs raining down like a storm.
But in the next moment, Yuchi Rui’s frantic shout echoed through the howling wind: “Bridge! The bridge!!”
Gong Wei looked up and saw the silhouette of a figure in black robes and a blood sword suddenly appearing above the bridge—it was the Ghost Crown Prince!
Just three days ago, the Ghost Crown Prince’s soul had been shattered by Gong Wei on the Ascension Immortal Platform, severely injured, and forced to return to his divine body for recuperation. But perhaps due to the increasing number of souls in the underworld caused by the World Ending Giant’s massacre, his recovery process had accelerated. Now, he forcibly separated his soul from his divine body again and descended onto the bridge.
His usually smiling youthful face showed no expression, his eyes filled with coldness, as he slowly drew his blood sword and coldly said, “Hand over the godhead.” Clang!
Bai Tai Shou clashed head-on with the blood sword, and Gong Wei shouted, “Return Xuan Jinghe’s soul!”
The Ghost Crown Prince only spat out two words: “Not happening!”
The two swords, both rooted in the same origin of heaven, fiercely clashed, releasing consecutive bursts of energy that shook the entire Three Way River. The Ghost Crown Prince gradually forced Gong Wei back step by step. Just as the situation became critical, Xu Shuangce arrived, forcing the Ghost Crown Prince back dozens of yards with a single strike. His expression was solemn as he said, “—Hurry, go!”
The next moment, he turned around, and his sword swept away the continuous stream of demons and evil spirits behind him. Then, with a reverse grip, he caught the blood sword descending from mid-air, and astonishingly, one sword suppressed the entire scene!
Gong Wei knew that Xu Shuangce alone was enough to handle it. Without hesitation, he soared into the air on his sword, grabbing Yuchi Rui by the back of his collar with one hand and cupping his other hand around his mouth like a trumpet. He shouted with all his might, “Xu Bai! Kill him!!”
Yuchi Rui was still eager to join the team to kill Qu Xie, but Gong Wei forcibly dragged him away without looking back, heading towards a distant suspension bridge.
The Ghost Prince turned around, intending to stop Gong Wei, but Xu Shuangce immediately blocked his blood sword—clang!
With a mighty force, he swept away all the evil spirits that came rushing towards them!
“…”
The two men stared at each other across the locked swords. The Ghost Crown Prince narrowed his eyes, the cold gray pupils fixed on Xu Shuangce, and suddenly smirked, “Has the mirror fallen for you, East Heavens God?”
With a sudden burst of strength, the Ghost Crown Prince forced Xu Shuangce back several steps into the air before regaining his footing.
Xu Shuangce swung his sword with a calm demeanor. “There is nothing that I have helpless* to in this life.”
* no way out -> sword name
Then, a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes. “—-What about you, Qu Xie?”
The Ghost Crown Prince’s expression changed drastically, as if stabbed by a steel needle.
“…Unfortunately, I have never known how to write the words ‘helpless*’ in my life.” The Ghost Crown Prince’s eyebrows lifted, his usual smile returning. However, the cold light in his eyes made it particularly chilling, as he said through clenched teeth, “Mortals will eventually die—”
* no way out -> sword name
The blood sword burst out with a dazzling light, and its momentum became more ferocious and violent than ever before as it slashed towards No Way Out!
The clash between the two divine beings sent shockwaves through the air, and Yuchi Rui, struggling against the raging wind, turned his head and shouted, “Can Xu Shuangce handle this?!”
Gong Wei, without hesitation, replied, “Xu Shuangce can definitely handle it!”
Yuchi Rui’s face was distorted by the wind, but he still showed deep doubt in his eyes. At this moment, Gong Wei suddenly stopped in mid-air, almost flinging Yuchi Rui off with the inertia. “What are you doing?!”
The bridge was within reach, but Gong Wei paused in mid-air, turning to look towards the Ghost Crown Prince, who was being forcibly held back by Xu Shuangce. He gasped for breath and said, “Changsheng, I suddenly have a plan.”
Yuchi Rui asked, “What plan?”
“I’ll explain later. We need to act quickly, or Changsun Chengfeng and the others might not be able to hold on.” Gong Wei grabbed him firmly. “Follow me!”
Without time for resistance, Yuchi Rui was dragged along, and they flew upwards against the biting wind.
As the bridge grew farther and farther away beneath them, they completely lost the opportunity to ask questions. With Gong Wei leading the way and Yuchi Rui following closely behind, they flew straight up for half an hour before the thin clouds above finally cleared, revealing a massive, dark structure suspended in the air.
Unbelievably, they had returned to the place they hastily left three days ago—the Ghost Crown Prince’s sleeping palace!
The twelve palace gates were tightly closed, exuding a majestic aura. Gong Wei abruptly halted, his Bai Tai Shou sword unsheathed with a resounding clang, his expression and voice tense, “Changsheng, I’m going to force open this door now, but once it’s open, Qu Xie will sense it. If he comes back, I’ll keep him busy while you grab the person, got it?”
With a few clicks of his joints, Yuchi Rui had already understood his plan. He skillfully swung the Soul Capture Rope out from his pocket, twirling it twice. “Let’s do it.”
Gong Wei nodded, his narrowed pupils reflecting the towering sleeping palace. Flames suddenly ignited on his Bai Tai Shou sword, and then, as if remembering something, he coldly chuckled, “Qu Xie, oh Qu Xie, do you remember when you and Northern Wall broke into Cangyang Mountain and destroyed the palace that Xu Bai had meticulously built for me? Did you ever think that your own gates would be cut down by me one day?”
“…”
Yuchi Rui paused, looking at him with suspicion, unable to resist asking, “Wasn’t it a prison Xu Shuangce meticulously built for you?”
Ignoring the question, Gong Wei swung his sword fiercely—boom!
The twelve giant doors collapsed with a deafening noise, shattering into countless pieces, shaking the entire Guiyuan!
On the Three Ways River in the distance, the Ghost Crown Prince’s face froze in disbelief as he turned to look back.
He decisively sheathed his sword and dashed towards the palace, but Xu Shuangce’s sword light intercepted him like lightning!
As a deafening roar rang out, the Ghost Crown Prince swung his sword fiercely. “Don’t block my path!!”
At the same time, Gong Wei shouted, “Changsheng, grab the person!”
Without needing a second order, Yuchi Rui had already rushed in the moment the twelve doors burst open.
The ground in the hall trembled continuously. On the high altar above the blood pool, the Ghost Crown Prince’s divine body still sat upright, his fingers pressed against Xuan Jinghe’s forehead, continuously injecting divine power to maintain the body’s vitality. However, Xuan Jinghe was on his last breath, and even with the naked eye, it was clear that all that remained was to buy time.
Without hesitation, Yuchi Rui threw the shining Soul Capture Rope into the air, accurately snaring Xuan Jinghe’s… feet.
Then, he yanked hard, and the barely breathing soul was instantly lifted off the ground, leaving its body in a swoop!
Xuan Jinghe’s entire soul: “?”
Yuchi Rui didn’t bother to explain. With one hand gripping his sword and the other holding the Soul Capture Rope, he turned and rushed out.
Unexpectedly, in the sky outside the hall, the Ghost Crown Prince had rushed over at lightning speed. His speed was unprecedentedly fast, and his chilling shout echoed from afar, “Give him back—”
Gong Wei stood motionless outside the hall, meeting him with a sword, and Bai Tai Shou clashed with the blood sword, creating a shocking burst of lightning!
“Hurry! Hurry!” Yuchi Rui, holding the Soul Capture Rope, rushed out of the hall, yelling frantically at Gong Wei, “Let’s go, go, go!”
The Ghost Crown Prince’s entire complexion changed when he saw the soul tethered by the rope.
He suddenly exerted force to throw off Bai Tai Shou, swiftly rushing towards Xuan Jinghe. Surprisingly, Gong Wei’s sword failed to stop him. Just as the situation was about to reach a critical point, a flying swordlight was seen approaching from afar, and Xu Shuangce arrived just in time!
Clang!
The No Way Out Sword’s momentum was astonishing as it forcefully intercepted the Ghost Crown Prince!
The situation instantly turned into a three-on-one situation. The Ghost Crown Prince couldn’t bypass Xu Shuangce to reclaim Xuan Jinghe. Unparalleled hostility surged from his heart, and a silver divine light faintly emanated from his body. With a flick of his sleeve, he coldly said, “I am the Lord of the Underworld. Do you really think you can walk out of this underworld alive today?”
Gong Wei and Yuchi Rui stood guard behind Xuan Jinghe, exchanging a quick glance upon hearing this.
At this moment, Xu Shuangce, at the forefront, spoke calmly, “I suddenly remembered something.”
The Ghost Crown Prince narrowed his eyes, “What is it?”
“Xuan Jinghe cast a mutual life and death curse on you. If his body dies, your divine body will also perish.” Xu Shuangce’s gaze shifted from the Ghost Crown Prince’s face to the massive and majestic temple in front of them as he continued slowly, “Xuan Jinghe’s body should still be inside, with only one last breath left…”
The Ghost Crown Prince’s pupils contracted slightly.
The next moment, No Way Out Sword awakened, its clear cry piercing through the Three Realms straight up into the Ninth Heaven.
Xu Shuangce asked, “When you and Northern Wall broke into Cangyang Mountain and destroyed the Forbidden Hall I built for Gong Wei, did you ever think this day would come?”
Before the last word fell, the Ghost Crown Prince was too late to stop it. Xu Shuangce unleashed a devastating sword that seemed to destroy heaven and earth!
Boom—
The magnificent sword light shook the underworld as if even space itself was torn apart; the beams in the hall exploded into fragments, and giant rocks fell like hail!
The Ghost Crown Prince’s temple, standing for millennia, collapsed in the violent tremor.
Even the blood-gray sky trembled violently, and the waters of the Three Ways River poured down like a torrent, emitting a thunderous roar.
No one could remain standing in this terrifying tremor. Gong Wei was thrown out several meters by the hurricane, crashing into Xu Shuangce’s arms. Then, Yuchi Rui, holding onto the swaying Xuan Jinghe against the wind, stumbled over. “He admitted it was a Forbidden Hall himself!” Yuchi Rui pointed at the expressionless Xu Shuangce and shouted at Gong Wei with all his might amid the thunderous noise, “Snap out of it!!”
Gong Wei: “…”
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