Desperate Straits

Ye Xuan, a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, not only possessed outstanding talent, but also extraordinary combat strength.

He even wielded the Flying Immortal Sword, ranked one hundredth on the Divine Weapon Scroll.

Especially when Ye Xuan paired the Flying Immortal Sword with that exceptionally powerful sword art, his combat strength surged more than tenfold. Even Zhang Xiong had to fear him somewhat, and Ye Xuan had ultimately slipped away.

This only made him more determined to kill Ye Xuan. He had to seize such a divine weapon and sword art for himself.

With the Flying Immortal Sword and that sword art, his strength would surely rise to another level.

His cultivation had already reached the peak of the Eighth Stage Form Manifestation Realm.

Ye Xuan, meanwhile, was merely at the Sixth Stage Qi Transformation Realm.

There was a full two major realms between them.

Even if Ye Xuan possessed the Flying Immortal Sword, so what?

If he could not unleash the Flying Immortal Sword's true power, it was no different from a fire poker.

He could swat this ant to death with ease.

Thus, he immediately began hunting Ye Xuan down, swearing not to stop until he had seized the treasure.

"Heh heh—"

"Ant of the Divine Sword Sect!"

"Did you think that by hiding like a turtle with its head tucked in, you could escape this elder's pursuit?"

"Hmph—"

In the air.

With contempt curling his lips, Zhang Xiong looked down at the dense forest below with eyes like cold lightning. A chilling aura radiated from his body, while surging black Qi sent ripples through the surrounding space.

Within the forest, small trees snapped apart. Ordinary animals and weaker demon beasts were crushed directly into bloody mist by the terrifying black Qi.

Once the remaining demon beasts came to their senses, they fled madly for their lives.

They had sensed the terror with utter clarity.

Great terror!

Seeing this, Zhang Xiong grew even more arrogant. His sharp, lightning-cold gaze searched for Ye Xuan's hiding place.

Suddenly.

His eyes lit up. Through his aura sense, he detected faint spiritual energy fluctuations somewhere below.

Zhang Xiong snorted coldly, a playful curve rising at the corner of his mouth. His face instantly lit up with excitement, like a great gray wolf discovering a little white rabbit.

Then his expression turned cold.

Whoosh—

Amid a piercing shriek, he drew the sword from his back. Terrifying spiritual energy solidified into black Sword Qi as he slashed fiercely toward the source of the spiritual energy fluctuations.

"Die—"

In an instant, an oppressive Sharp Aura filled dozens of yards around them, grinding countless withered branches and fallen leaves into powder.

Forging a sword with Qi!

This was the mark of the Eighth Stage Form Manifestation Realm!

It was truly extraordinarily powerful!

Ye Xuan looked up at the rapidly descending black Sword Qi, brimming with overwhelming might. His scalp instantly went numb, the hairs on his body stood on end, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

An intense sense of mortal danger abruptly seized his heart.

His expression instantly became even grimmer. Not daring to slacken in the slightest, he poured the spiritual energy from his Qi Sea outward, wrapping it tightly around himself without a single gap.

At the same time, he could no longer afford to conceal himself. His body shot from its original position as he tried to evade the Sword Qi attack.

Boom!

Almost at the same instant, the terrifying Sword Qi slashed down where he had been standing.

Pfft!

Though Ye Xuan had dodged away at top speed, he was still struck by the lingering force of the Sword Qi.

Like a kite with its string cut, his body was sent flying more than ten meters away.

At the same time, a metallic taste rose in his throat, and he sprayed a mouthful of blood far into the distance.

He could clearly feel as though his internal organs had all shifted out of place, waves of heart-wrenching pain crashing over him in an instant.

"Cough, cough... The Eighth Stage Form Manifestation Realm truly is terrifyingly powerful." Ye Xuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, deep wariness surfacing in his eyes.

"Ant, I advise you not to mistake the height of heaven and the depth of earth!"

"If you know what is good for you, obediently hand over the Flying Immortal Sword and the sword art. Then sever your own meridians and kneel before me, shouting three times that everyone from the Divine Sword Sect is trash."

"Perhaps if I am pleased, I may even let you cling to life."

Zhang Xiong stood high above, looking down at Ye Xuan with an invincible air.

"Elder? I think you're just a shameless old bastard!!"

"Trash? Your entire Iron Sword Sect is trash!"

"You despicable, shameless old bastard, you want this young master to kneel to you? Why don't you take a look at what the hell you are first?"

"You still want to snatch my Flying Immortal Sword? I'm afraid you just want to snatch a fart and eat it!"

Ye Xuan cursed him outright.

"You—"

Zhang Xiong was dumbfounded from the cursing. Then he flew into a rage, and the aura radiating from his body became even more sinister and frigid.

"Little bastard, you have guts. You have successfully enraged me." Zhang Xiong spoke in a hoarse, low voice.

His voice was like a blade scraping across rusted iron, making goosebumps rise uncontrollably.

As soon as he finished speaking, he slowly raised the sword in his hand. Amid swirling black Qi, he suddenly slashed toward Ye Xuan's position.

In that instant, it seemed as though the entire sky held only a black sword dozens of meters long, slowly descending.

It was as if this strike could cleave open the void and split the earth, with nothing in creation able to withstand its edge.

A bone-piercing Sharp Aura locked tightly onto Ye Xuan.

Upon sensing the destructive aura contained within this strike, Ye Xuan's handsome features began to twist, and his eyes blazed with frenzied fire.

"Second form of the Nine Heavens Sword Art—Crashing Waves!"

Ye Xuan let out a furious roar.

Hum—

As a clear sword cry rang out, a Sharp Aura like raging waves swept forth.

At the same time, a blood-red sword radiance pierced the heavens.

Even the massive black sword that blotted out the sky and covered the earth paled in comparison.

Terrifying sword intent shot straight into the clouds, making the entire space tremble.

At this moment, centered on Ye Xuan, invisible Sharp Aura surged outward like crashing waves pounding against the shore.

In an instant, violent winds raged, and everything in the path of that invisible Sharp Aura was reduced to ash.

Nothing could stand against it!

Tyrannical beyond compare!

This was the second move of the Nine Heavens Sword Art—Crashing Waves!

This was the might of the Flying Immortal Sword!

Once this move was unleashed, its power came in an endless stream, like crashing waves striking the shore, refusing to rest until death!

Looking over, Ye Xuan's entire body was wrapped in crimson, like a man made of fire.

His clothes began to tear apart, his arms began to tremble, and cuts began to appear across his skin.

Before long, his entire body was drenched in blood, a horrifying sight to behold.

With his current strength, he simply could not use the second move of the Nine Heavens Sword Art.

If he forcibly unleashed the second move of the Nine Heavens Sword Art, Crashing Waves, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance that the terrifying Sword Qi would tear him to pieces alive.

But at this very moment, did he have any other choice?

His features were contorted and his expression savage. His eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, his teeth clenched tight, his entire body trembling uncontrollably as both hands gripped the Flying Immortal Sword with all his strength.

The terrifying backlash of the Flying Immortal Sword left him wishing he were dead. It felt as though countless sharp blades were slicing through his flesh again and again, and he was nearly unable to endure it before passing out.

If he had not cultivated the Heaven-Defying Sword Body Art and possessed the divine ability to devour Sword Qi, he would have long since been torn apart by the Sword Qi.

"He's gone mad. This brat has absolutely gone mad! He doesn't even care about his life anymore!" A trace of horror appeared in Zhang Xiong's gaze as he looked at Ye Xuan.