...
The minds of the crowd were racing, but Yu Changsheng remained serene. He looked up at the hundred-zhang-tall Blood-Handed Asura and gently shook his head.
"It’s still the same old trick. Before, I might have been afraid of you, but now..."
Yu Changsheng raised an eyebrow, his Purple Spirit Emperor Sword suddenly pointing skyward. The next instant, a breathtakingly graceful Sword Light manifested. This Sword Light was as ethereal as a melody and as swift as a soaring goose. Vaguely, the image of a setting sun appeared, only to be instantly split in two by the graceful Sword Light as it shot straight into the heavens!
"Surprise Goose Falling Sword!"
HUMMM...
The void trembled and the Sword Intent roared. A grave expression appeared on the Zi Ling Emperor’s small face as it merged into the Sword Body. Below, the Purple Bamboo Forest swayed gently, and faint wisps of purple light flowed into the blade, shrouding the graceful Sword Light in a violet hue and adding to its hazy mystique.
Furthermore, nature’s spiritual energy began to pour madly into the sword. A faint Dao Rhyme permeated the air, enveloping Yu Changsheng. At this moment, Yu Changsheng’s figure was like that of a god, and the sword he brandished grew ever more terrifying!
’Isn’t that guy a Beast Master? How can his Sword Dao be so masterful?’
Chen Feng and the others’ faces fell. As they felt the power of this sword strike, colossal waves of shock crashed through their minds. Baffled, they each grit their teeth and commanded the Blood-Handed Asura to crush the Sword Light with all its might!
The Blood-Handed Asura was an exclusive combined-attack technique of the Qingzhou Military. Although few had mastered it, many recognized it.
So, when Chen Feng and his two companions joined forces to manifest the hundred-zhang-tall Blood-Handed Asura, gasps of astonishment erupted from the crowd.
"The Blood-Handed Asura? Isn’t that the Qingzhou Military’s Untransmitted Array? How do those three know it? Could they be from the Qingzhou Military?"
"Shouldn’t military personnel be busy fighting on the front lines right now? Why are they here on Purple Bamboo Mountain instead? How strange."
Suspicious murmurs rose one after another. The pupils of the Loose Cultivators from Qingzhou Province contracted as they stared at Chen Feng’s group, their gazes filled with curiosity and speculation.
"If that’s the case, then who is the one fighting them?"
The people from the Martial Continent, on the other hand, stared at Yu Changsheng, exchanging uncertain glances as they sized him up carefully.
As for Yu Changsheng, perhaps even he himself didn’t know that he had already quietly built up quite a reputation. Although the onlookers were mostly Loose Cultivators with few Sect Disciples among them, there were still many who had heard of him. And so, after careful observation, it was no surprise that someone recognized him and cried out in alarm:
"That person... isn’t that Yu Changsheng from the Wanxiang Sect? I heard the Wanxiang Sect’s Flying Ship was attacked and its disciples scattered. Could that be why Yu Changsheng is here?"
"And those three are actually from the Qingzhou Military, hunting Yu Changsheng?"
"But isn’t Yu Changsheng supposed to be a Beast Master? Why does he look more like a Sword Cultivator right now?"
A series of shocked and doubtful speculations arose. For a moment, the gazes of the Martial Continent’s Loose Cultivators toward Yu Changsheng shifted. They then looked at Chen Feng’s group and frowned slightly. Although they felt a sense of displeasure, they remained silent and continued to watch quietly.
At the same time, the Cultivators from the Martial Continent harbored a certain degree of aversion toward people from Qingzhou Province. However, since these were all Loose Cultivators, they naturally wouldn’t go so far as to help Yu Changsheng just because of that.
Many even watched with great interest, some with a hint of schadenfreude, while secretly eyeing the Purple Spirit Emperor Sword in Yu Changsheng’s hand and swallowing hard.
Many of the Loose Cultivators from Qingzhou Province shared this sentiment. Thus, the Cultivators from both provinces tacitly chose to step back and watch, with no intention of interfering.
...
The Blood-Handed Asura raged, its countless tentacles writhing and coiling as they unleashed a terrifying power, snaking toward Yu Changsheng. For a moment, the sky turned red, filled with a sea of crimson that blotted out everything.
Yu Changsheng raised an eyebrow slightly, his expression still nonchalant. He merely straightened his posture a bit, faced the Blood-Handed Asura, and gave a faint smile.
"BOOM!"
In the next instant, the Sword Intent erupted completely. The Surprise Goose Falling Sword descended. The Blood-Handed Asura’s body suddenly froze. Before the incredulous eyes of Chen Feng’s group, a faint slash mark slowly appeared on the Blood-Handed Asura’s body, running straight through it from front to back.
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"
The Blood-Handed Asura let out a mournful howl. In a flash of light, after just a single sword strike, its body split in two. With a final, unwilling roar, it dissipated into a mist of blood.
"PFFT..."
With their Divine Technique broken, Chen Feng and his two companions all shuddered, each spitting out a mouthful of blood. Their faces turned deathly pale in an instant. They looked up at Yu Changsheng, their eyes filled with disbelief and terror.
"One strike... Just one strike, how is that possible?"
Wu Huan suppressed the terror in his heart, unable to stop himself from crying out in shock.
The Blood-Handed Asura, when jointly cast by three Golden Core Peak experts, possessed a power that had few rivals in the Golden Core realm. Even a cultivator who had just reached the Purple Mansion stage would have to face it with extreme caution.
And yet, it had been instantly annihilated by such a casual-looking sword strike from Yu Changsheng?!
This outcome left Chen Feng’s trio stunned and dazed, finding it impossible to accept. They stared at Yu Changsheng as if he were a god, or a monster.
"Too weak."
Yu Changsheng slowly shook his head and spoke indifferently. Although his face was slightly pale, it quickly regained its color. Even with this result, Yu Changsheng wasn’t particularly satisfied.
’Great Success stage of Surprise Goose Falling Sword, the Purple Spirit Emperor Sword, my Heavenly Dao Golden Core, plus being in the Purple Bamboo Forest where the Zi Ling Emperor is empowered...’
’This series of enhancements was what produced that seemingly effortless, graceful strike.’
"SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!"
The next moment, Yu Changsheng’s fingers slid along his sword as he brandished the Long Sword. His body moved like lightning, transforming into a world-shocking Thunderbolt that shot straight for Chen Feng. BOOM! The full power of his Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivation erupted!
"Dark Annihilation Killing Evil Sword!"
The sky instantly darkened. There was only Yu Changsheng’s sword as he swung it, unleashing a colossal, blood-red Sword Aura that seemed to fill heaven and earth. It radiated an aura of destruction and the intent of Blood Evil as it shot forward!
"VMMMM..."
The Purple Spirit Emperor Sword in Yu Changsheng’s hand trembled, its Sword Intent resonating. A mystical shadow of a Blood Dragon silently coiled around the blade. As a result, when this heaven-shaking sword strike was launched, it erupted with even more terrifying might!
"What?!"
Chen Feng’s pupils contracted violently. Watching Yu Changsheng draw ever closer, a monumental sense of life-and-death crisis rapidly enveloped his body and mind. The power of this sword strike was even more terrifying than the Surprise Goose Falling Sword!
The Surprise Goose Falling Sword and the Dark Annihilation Killing Evil Sword were two Swordsmanship techniques of roughly the same level and mastery. However, with the enhancement from Heavenly Dao Qi and the Celestial Fiend, the latter’s power was indeed much greater.
"CRACK-BOOM!"
In an instant, the Sword Light traced a line, gently slashing across Chen Feng’s abdomen. A destructive intent erupted within his organs. Chen Feng couldn’t even utter a word as the expression on his face froze. Only the terrified light in his eyes remained, and that too gradually dimmed. As the Sword Intent flared, his body was utterly reduced to ash!
In just a flash, Chen Feng, a Golden Core Peak expert, had fallen!
All of this, though it takes long to describe, happened in the span of a single breath!
"!! Chen Feng?!"
The expressions of Cheng Tao and Wu Huan changed drastically. Watching their teammate perish right before their eyes, the terror in their hearts exploded to an unimaginable degree!
"Run!"
Without a second thought, faced with such terrifying combat prowess, Cheng Tao and Wu Huan exchanged a look and, without another word, erupted with the greatest speed of their lives, transforming into streaks of light and fleeing in opposite directions!
"Trying to escape? Did you ever imagine this day would come when you were chasing me?"
Yu Changsheng gently shook his head and smiled, watching their movements with cold eyes. With a sudden press of his hand toward the sky, the Red Purgatory dragon materialized, its terrifying draconic might rolling out in vast, endless waves!
"Chi Lian, seal the space!" X2
In the next instant, Yu Changsheng and the Red Purgatory dragon acted simultaneously. A reddish halo of light rapidly enveloped the surrounding space. The Sealing Power entwined, trapping the figures of Cheng Tao and Wu Huan.