Inside the fragment of the blessed land.
Only to see Ye Guyue's beautiful eyes turning cold as she gazed at the black mountain and sea of blood before her, finally making a decision. "Zhiqiu, follow me to break the formation."
Although Duo Bao Tongzi had chosen to surrender and they had not managed to probe out much information, Lü Yang had at least demonstrated several layers of the formation's changes. Ye Guyue had taken note of all of it and believed she had the means to break the formation. Her expression quickly regained its calm, and she directly summoned a streak of escape light and flew into the formation!
"Good timing!"
Lü Yang smiled at the sight, shook the banner, and activated the blood sea to suppress her. Yet, Ye Guyue casually removed a treasure bead from her dress.
".Go!"
With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the bead into the blood sea. In an instant, dazzling light erupted from it, and like a whale gulping down the sea, it swallowed all the blood waves completely!
As the blood sea continuously poured in, the originally clear and white bead gradually took on a blood-red hue, and its aura grew increasingly ferocious.
Seeing this, Lü Yang raised an eyebrow and immediately halted the blood sea's suppression. He had already figured out Ye Guyue's tactic. This bead could absorb external energies, and she was clearly waiting for it to gather enough of the blood sea before detonating it, using his own method against him to break the formation in one strike!
As for the [Soul-Stealing Smoke] in the blood sea, it was not even worth mentioning.
Ye Guyue only needed to maintain her sword heart. No matter what methods he used to shake her soul, she could easily cut through them with her sword intent, rendering them completely ineffective.
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"Good tactic."
Lü Yang's expression remained indifferent as he unhooked the Wasp Pouch from his waist and released billions of Qi-Eating Worms, merging them into the blood sea and surging toward Ye Guyue.
Ye Guyue responded by using the bead once again.
However, this time, after absorbing part of the blood sea, cracks began to appear on the bead. Looking closely, one could clearly see it was densely covered with countless tiny insects!
"Qi-Eating Worms."
Ye Guyue frowned slightly, having deduced the origin of the insects. Lü Yang had mixed these demonic insects into the blood sea, greatly reducing the bead's capacity to absorb it.
With every wave of blood it absorbed, the bead had to endure another layer of gnawing from the Qi-Eating Worms. As a result, the bead was on the verge of being damaged before its power could accumulate to the limit. But if she detonated it prematurely, its power would not be enough to shatter the formation, making it a futile effort.
What was even more troublesome was…
"Whoosh—!"
The next second, a silent and invisible sword light suddenly struck toward Ye Guyue's back. The unstoppable sword edge was about to kill her on the spot!
[Invisible Sword]!
This sword, designed specifically for assassination, was something Lü Yang wielded with great familiarity. Naturally, he had not held it back, hiding it in the blood sea, waiting for the right moment!
In an instant, a loud metallic clash resounded as a dazzling divine light blossomed. In the nick of time, a magical sword blocked the attack.
Lü Yang looked over and saw that the sword's glow was extremely bizarre, devoid of any righteous aura. Instead, it reflected a seductive, naked woman whose silver-bell-like laughter echoed. The sound fell upon the [Invisible Sword], even causing Lü Yang's divine sense to waver slightly.
"This thing… A demon corpse? Or a banner spirit?"
Lü Yang's expression turned strange as he withdrew the [Invisible Sword] and chuckled. "I didn't expect that the righteous leader of the Sword Pavilion would also use the methods of our Holy Sect?"
"Demon of Jiangbei, how do you recognize the profound arts of my Sword Pavilion?"
Ye Guyue replied coldly, "This sword art was derived from the aura of the [Divine Weapon Realm], ranked as a second-grade art. Though it exudes demonic energy, it is the righteous path of controlling demons!"
Almost simultaneously, Lü Yang felt a surge of danger.
The next moment, the [Perilous Concealing Black Cloak] on his body radiated with brilliant light, and seven sword edges pierced through the void, aiming straight for his vital points!
"Crack!"
The protective divine light shattered in an instant. However, Lü Yang had already vanished from his original spot and appeared in the distance, observing with great interest.
The seven sword edges that had just attacked him each had a seductive, smiling, yet ghostly figure behind them. Their forms were illusionary and hard to grasp. In just the blink of an eye, they vanished again, passing through Lü Yang's formation without the slightest hindrance!
"[Nine Offspring Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal Execution Sword Art]!"
Ye Guyue formed a sword seal, and eight magical swords immediately materialized around her. In a flash, they shot toward Lü Yang once more.
"An excellent sword art, but… not yet perfected?"
Lü Yang let out a loud laugh. His Celestial Compass between his brows spun, and under the illumination of his divine eye, he quickly discerned the nature of the swords. All eight demonic swords were merely split offspring swords.
In their maneuvers, there was still a slight flaw.
"The number nine is the ultimate. You should have nine swords. When the nine offspring swords merge into the mother sword, that is when your sword art becomes truly formidable."
"Why haven't you completed it? Oh, I see, I destroyed one of them earlier."
Lü Yang recalled how Ye Guyue had escaped from his and Sui Ying's joint attack. His expression suddenly turned to realization.
On the other side, Ye Guyue's expression grew heavier. She had already done her utmost to conceal her causal traces to prevent Lü Yang from deducing her details. Yet, he had still unraveled the roots of her [Nine Offspring Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal Execution Sword Art]. Such uncanny divination ability was clearly beyond reason. Did this man possess a treasure related to fate?
'This is bad…'
A trace of gloom rose in Ye Guyue's heart. As Lü Yang had said, her sword art was indeed missing one Heavenly Demon Sword Spirit at this moment.
Without it, she could not form the sword array.
If this continued…
'…Am I going to lose?'
At this thought, Ye Guyue bit her lip, unwilling to admit it, yet Lü Yang's strength had clearly exceeded her expectations.
'Unless I can replace the last Heavenly Demon Sword Spirit.'
Thinking of this, Ye Guyue glanced toward Duo Bao Tongzi. She had originally planned to sacrifice him to complete her sword art.
That was why she had intended to send Duo Bao Tongzi to his death earlier. However, Duo Bao Tongzi had surrendered too quickly, denying her the chance. Now, while clashing with Lü Yang, she had no spare energy to kill Duo Bao Tongzi. After considering it over and over, the only available option seemed to be…
Ye Guyue shifted her gaze to Yun Zhiqiu beside her.
The cold indifference in her beautiful eyes made Yun Zhiqiu shudder and whisper, "...Martial Aunt?"
"Zhiqiu, this too is your destined fate."
"Huh?"
Before Yun Zhiqiu could react, a sword light pierced through his body, beheading him. His flesh, blood, and cultivation were all devoured completely.
A stunned soul emerged from the spot.
"Zhiqiu, you have rendered great service this time. In your next life, seek me out, and I will grant you a fortune." Ye Guyue spoke calmly, her tone flat and indifferent.
To the Sword Pavilion, death was not the end.
Reincarnation was but the norm.
However, in the next moment, Yun Zhiqiu's face turned to terror. If it were just ordinary reincarnation, it might have been fine… But right now, he was in a state of depleted fortune and merit!
Reincarnating in this condition meant he would have to spend three to five lifetimes as a beast or livestock before he could return as a human. By then, the five-lifetime lifespan of Foundation Establishment would have long been exhausted. Moreover, he was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Even if he somehow managed to make it through, breaking the mystery of the womb would be near impossible. What difference would that be from having his cultivation ruined?
Yet, he could not utter a single word.
In just a blink, Yun Zhiqiu's soul, filled with unwillingness, fell into the cycle of reincarnation. Immediately afterward, Ye Guyue summoned the ninth Heavenly Demon Sword Spirit.
"Demon, you have caused my junior brother's death. Today, I shall execute you!"
Ye Guyue's gaze blazed like a torch. The nine Heavenly Demon Sword Spirits each wielded a sword, merging as one. Two innate divine powers further empowered them, vastly increasing their might.
[Master of Armament]!
[Radiant Gold Glory]!
"What a magnificent sword…" Lü Yang exclaimed in admiration.
In an instant, a sword light blazed like a flame. Wherever it passed, the blood sea evaporated. The sharpness of the sword intent even made Lü Yang's forehead sting.
Yet in the next moment, he smiled. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
"However, my sword is no less sharp!"
As his words fell, Lü Yang had already drawn out the Abyss Sword from his sleeve. It radiated with blood light, clearly having been prepared for this moment. A piercing sword cry rang out!
Within the fragment of the blessed land, a blood-colored rainbow shot into the sky.
The [Nine Offspring Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal Execution Sword] followed closely, slashing toward him one sword after another!
For a moment, the sky above resounded with a series of explosions. Massive mushroom clouds intertwined with blazing fire and lightning, as if tearing the entire fragment apart!
"Boom!"
This clash completely shattered the [Heaven-Obscuring Blood Sea Grand Formation]. Ye Guyue watched in shock as her [Nine Offspring Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal Execution Sword] let out a mournful cry and, disregarding her commands, turned into light and flew back into her sleeve, refusing to be wielded any further!