Encirclement

"Boom!"

The roar of artillery fire filled the air.

Shells, accompanied by piercing whistles, rained down on the more than a thousand cultivators charging into the Dragon Sparrow Manor.

Even though the weakest among this thousand-person column was at the Qi Refining Realm, and above them were True Person Immortals of Spirit Refining, Great Cultivators of Spirit Transformation, and even True Lord of Primordial Spirit, who continuously activated their flying swords, their Sword Qi crisscrossing and slicing apart and detonating the cannonballs shot into the sky from a thousand meters, hundreds of meters, and a hundred meters away, the occasional attacks that landed in the crowd could still knock several people over.

Those who react even slightly poorly will be torn to shreds by the force of the explosion.

The protective True Qi, powerful enough to withstand the slashing of swords and spears and the barrage of arrows, was utterly useless against this intense and violent power.

Even...

It will make their death more painful.

After all, ordinary people hit by artillery shells are instantly killed.

However, most cultivators at the Qi Refining Realm, protected by their True Qi, cannot be blasted to pieces. Instead, they suffer from missing limbs and end up in excruciating pain.

"Charge! Charge! Full speed ahead! Storm Dragon Mountain! Slaughter these thugs who have invaded our Jiangzhou!"

"The dignity of my Dragon Sparrow Manor shall not be defiled! Anyone who offends my Dragon Sparrow Manor, no matter how far away, shall be punished!"

"Once we breach Dragon Mountain, defeat the Star Province Allied Forces, and storm into Lingxiao City, we will slaughter the entire Gu Clan, leaving no one alive!"

In this situation where they could only passively take the beating, and with the deliberate exaggeration and guidance from the higher-ups of Dragon Sparrow Manor, the anger in the hearts of the protectors, deacons, and disciples was stirred up to the extreme.

They all sprinted towards Longteng Mountain at top speed.

Twenty li, fifteen li, ten li, eight li...

Longteng Mountain is getting closer and closer.

It had even entered the range of the sword attacks of the Spirit Transformation cultivators.

However, due to the orders of Long Xiangtian and Huo Yuqing, and the fear that there might be an ambush at Longteng Mountain, these Spirit Transformation cultivators held their breath and did not draw their swords immediately. Instead, they stared intently at the direction of Longteng Mountain and raised their aura to the extreme.

"Stay calm! Stay calm!"

Long Xiangtian roared, controlling the emotions of the Spirit Transformation elders.

He had already received the news that Xin Tianqi and the others originally planned to ambush them halfway when they drew their swords, but since there were thousands of them moving out at the same time, they had to retreat in advance to avoid being surrounded by thousands of experts.

In other words, Master Huo has foiled the conspiracy of Star Province.

But this also shows just how treacherous and cunning the people of Star Province are.

Therefore, they must be fully alert in the upcoming battle and cannot afford to be complacent in the slightest.

"Um!?"

Just then, Huo Yuqing, standing beside Long Xiangtian, seemed to sense something. "Wait! Who!?"

The next moment, the blade of her flying sword shot out rapidly, unleashing a sharp beam of light that hurtled towards one of the small pits.

Just as the sword light was about to strike the small pit, divine light surged forth.

A dazzling beam of light seemed to surge from the pit, slamming into her flying sword as it hurtled forward.

That dazzling light...

"The Eternal Heavenly Curse, a soul secret technique derived from the ultimate cultivation of the Great Sun Ninefold Refinement Visualization Method!?"

The thought flashed through Huo Yuqing's mind instantly.

The entire Star Province...

In the entire area south of the Milky Way, there is only one person who has cultivated the Great Sun Ninefold Refinement Visualization Method to its ultimate level!

"Gu Jinlai!?"

Huo Yuqing roared angrily.

"Boom!"

The beam of light from the Eternal Heavenly Curse struck Huo Yuqing's flying sword.

Even though her Spirit Sparrow Sword was made from spiritual materials used to refine Dao artifacts, containing five major characteristics: sharpness, penetrating the air, toughness, immeasurability, and divine transformation, it still felt violently shaken under the bombardment of the Eternal Heavenly Curse.

However, the Divine Transformation characteristic itself enhances the flying sword's resistance to soul techniques and divine attacks, as well as increases the perception intensity between the Primordial Spirit True Lord and the flying sword.

Thanks to this characteristic, Huo Yuqing's Spirit Sparrow Sword recovered after only a brief tremor.

"Be on guard against Xin Tianqi! He dares to ambush me?! Today, I'll show him what a True Lord of the True Lord Primordial Spirit truly is!"

Huo Yuqing let out a long roar, and the sword's edge shifted, the true essence contained within the flying sword seemingly transforming into illusory dragon and sparrow shadows.

Guided by the Primordial Spirit, the dragon sparrow transformed into streaks of light, carrying a breathtaking trajectory, heading straight for the Gu Jinlai to assassinate.

The speed is unbelievable.

"Um!?"

Gu Jinlai's expression changed instantly.

In his attempt to build up momentum for his final strike, he inadvertently released a burst of energy.

After all, this energy was accumulating so powerfully that even with his spiritual awareness, he couldn't remain silent when it was about to be fully charged.

So he was mentally prepared.

When Huo Yuqing discovered him, he immediately used the Eternal Heavenly Curse to intercept him.

But unexpectedly...

This single-target soul technique, arguably the most powerful he possessed, caused almost no real damage to the Spirit Sparrow Sword!

It should be noted that the core of the sun he visualized was blazing brightly, and when he released his soul-secret technique, it was several times greater than that of other celestial masters.

Furthermore, his spiritual awareness has truly reached the level of a Heavenly Monarch, and his True Spirit has even crystallized, making his form stable and allowing him to unleash even more spiritual awareness. The Eternal Heavenly Curse he releases is more than double what it was before!

But under these circumstances, they were still unable to subdue Huo Yuqing's Spirit Sparrow Sword!

This is the power of a peak True Lord Monarch wielding a quasi-Dao artifact!?

No wonder that even though the Heavenly Lord is said to be on par with the Celestial Person, when it comes to direct combat, the True Lord never really take the Heavenly Lord seriously.

What they feared were only the various Spirit Artifact crafted by the Heavenly Lord and the powerful beasts he cultivated.

Gu Jinlai have been thinking at an extremely fast pace.

Realizing that the Eternal Heavenly Curse had been ineffective against the Spirit Sparrow Sword, and that the opponent had unleashed a deadly move like the Dragon Sparrow Combination Strike, he reacted swiftly.

When the Dragon-Sparrow Combination Strike is wielded by the sword technique "Spirit Sparrow Soaring to the Sky," it is just as Xin Tianqi said: the sword strikes are astonishing, unstoppable, and like a celestial horse galloping through the sky.

Even those who have grasped the essence of the art Gu Jinlai are no exception.

He could only feel that several parts of his body were about to be pierced by the Sword Qi, but he couldn't catch the trajectory of the Sword Qi at all.

Upon realizing this, his body suddenly expanded, and a great sun shone behind him, radiating boundless light and heat.

The Great Sun's Divine Light.

The Cheng Ying sword in his hand was rapidly swung and spun, as if it had transformed into a wall of steel shield.

Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin: Thousand Leaves.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Guided by the artistic conception, the rapidly spinning Cheng Ying sword, resembling a shield wall, bursts with sparks.

Several dragon sparrows crashed into it, only to be torn to shreds by the violent force of the Cheng Ying Sword.

But...

A dragon sparrow still managed to tear through Thousand Leaves' seemingly impenetrable defenses and blast its way into his body.

The firelight flickered.

Blood spurted out.

His spirit armor was no match for the Sword Qi, which was as sharp as a celestial bird, and it instantly Sword Qi his body.

Moreover, this spirit bird seemed to possess a life of its own. When it shot into the body of the Gu Jinlai, it spread rapidly and with great agility, as if it wanted to wreak havoc inside him until it shredded his entire body into dust.

"This swordsmanship..."

Gu Jinlai, expressions have changed, yet the eternal furnace within the body burns ever-evolving.

The polymerization of deuterium and superdeuterium released a burst of intense and violent energy that swept across his limbs and bones in an instant.

At the same time, all the abnormal energy that had invaded his body was burned into nothingness.

This effect...

Like purification!

Purify all foreign energies within the body with pure, extreme, and violent power.

Even the Sword Qi formed by the combined attack of the dragon and the sparrow, which seemed to have a life of its own, was no exception.

After purifying the Sword Qi that had invaded his body, the divine light of the great sun behind him shone brilliantly.

Although even the Eternal Heavenly Curse could not destroy the spirituality within the Spirit Sparrow Sword, it clearly trembled when hit by the Eternal Heavenly Curse, and even revealed its form.

It is clear that the Soul Secret Technique is not ineffective against the Spirit Sparrow Sword, it's just that the effect is not as good.

In this situation, although the brilliant light emanating from the Great Sun Divine Light could not harm the Dragon Sparrow Sword, it prevented Huo Yuqing from easily manipulating this quasi-Dao weapon as he could in the outside world, and even from performing the Dragon Sparrow Killing Move.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he unleashed a fierce slash with his Cheng Ying sword.

Although he did not release the violent power formed by the polymerization of deuterium and superdeuterium because the Eternal Furnace needed to build up its strength, he possessed the physique of a mid-level Great Demonic Beasts, and with the Great Sun True Demon body he manifested at this moment, the power contained in each of his sword strikes was no less than that of any high-level Great Demonic Beasts.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

He has slain three swords in succession Gu Jinlai.

The immense power contained within the Cheng Ying Sword relentlessly bombarded the Ling Que Sword. Even though Huo Yuqing controlled the sword with her Primordial Spirit and continuously unleashed the powerful energy contained within it, the energy from the Cheng Ying Sword's attack still dissipated, causing the sword to tremble violently and sparks to fly everywhere.

Damn it!

Huo Yuqing let out a low growl.

She, with her Primordial Spirit controlling the sword, tried her best to make the Spirit Sparrow Sword fly back.

However, under the influence of the Great Sun Divine Light from Gu Jinlai, her control was already somewhat affected. In addition, the frantic slashes from Gu Jinlai shook her Spirit Sparrow Sword.

Each strike caused her Primordial Spirit to tremble, as if her connection with the Spirit Sparrow Sword was about to be severed.

In this situation, she was temporarily unable to escape from the grasp of the Gu Jinlai sword.

And...

Although the Spirit Sparrow Sword is a quasi-Dao weapon and has the characteristic of "toughness", the Cheng Ying Sword from Gu Jinlai is no less impressive.

Although it doesn't reach the level of a quasi-Dao artifact, it is still one of the best among top-grade Spirit Artifact.

If the Cheng Ying sword continues its relentless slashing...

The Spirit Sparrow Sword will shatter.

"What are you all standing there for?! Draw your sword!"

Huo Yuqing roared, "Gu Jinlai is right before our eyes. He is the pillar of Star Province. If we can kill him, no matter how many conspiracies and schemes Star Province may have, they will all vanish!"

Seeing this, Long Xiangtian and Ye Qianqiu, who were on guard against Xin Tianqi's sneak attack, no longer hesitated.

"Yes!"

"Everyone, draw your swords and shoot down Gu Jinlai!"

"Be careful, he might break through and escape if he sees things are going badly!"

"Elders of Dragon Sparrow Manor, heed my command! Surround Gu Jinlai! Even if it means your own death, stop him and do not let him escape! Gu Jinlai's life or death will directly determine the final fate of this great battle!"

Loud shouts came continuously from Ye Qianqiu, Long Xiangtian, and even Long Yinfeng, the master of Longque Mountain Villa.

Upon receiving their command, the Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators shouted sternly.

Having suppressed their emotions to the extreme, they held nothing back any longer, each unleashing their flying swords. The Sword Qi soared into the sky, carrying the overwhelming power of thunder as they bombarded the Gu Jinlai world.

Around him, one after another, True Person of Spirit Refining, and even Protectors of Core Forming Formation, surged in from all directions like a tide.

They had initially scattered due to fear of the artillery firepower on Dragon Mountain, but now...

Gu Jinlai been surrounded by them, and they don't believe that the people of Longteng Mountain would dare to fire their cannons again!

With the frantic rush of the True Person of Spirit Refining, a massive encirclement quickly formed, surrounding the Gu Jinlai in layers upon layers.

This scene greatly reassured Huo Yuqing, Long Xiangtian, and the others, as if they had already seen the dawn of victory.

" Of Gu Jinlai, today you are destined to die!"