Strength

"Heaven and earth may be vast, but nothing is greater than reason. Today, this old man will have a proper talk about reason with you!"

Gu Jinlai drew his sword.

"Oh? Then let me witness the swordsmanship of a demon like you!"

Zhang Buyi's true qi surged.

"Clang!"

The divine sword in the sheath on his back trembled free, shooting into the air before being caught in his raised right hand.

"I have practiced the sword since childhood. I cultivated the thirty-six forms of the Cloud Sky Sword Art and have roamed the world for fifty-two years. Countless heretics and fiends have died beneath my sword, including three Core Forming demons..."

"Too much nonsense!"

Before Zhang Buyi could finish, Gu Jinlai strode forward. The sword in his hand became like a streak of white silk slashing through the void, thrusting forth in an instant.

As this sword thrust out, all of his essence, qi, and spirit condensed into a single point. True qi revolved, sword gang burst forth, and the two fused perfectly, making this sword seem like the first beam of sunlight suddenly blooming at noon, illuminating everyone's entire field of vision until their eyes were filled with the brilliant radiance brought by the first sunlight between heaven and earth.

Sword gang!?

Sword Qi!?

Sword intent!?

No!

This was merely a special method created by combining swordsmanship with the reflection of sunlight!

Metallic reflection.

Even elementary school students understood that.

It was only that, through the refraction and amplification of true qi, this ability intensified the light until it was strong enough to blind people.

Zhang Buyi, who had been staring fixedly at Gu Jinlai as though facing a great enemy, had not even had time to fully erupt before he felt heaven and earth swallowed whole by the sword light of this strike!

All colors in the world were seized by the sword light, leaving behind a dazzling white expanse!

"Ah! My eyes!"

Zhang Buyi let out an enraged and alarmed roar.

"Watch out!"

Ma Zheng, standing nearby, erupted with true qi without hesitation.

He used his fist!

A fist that had fused with the essence blood of ferocious beasts, even Demonic Beasts!

If Gu Jinlai's sword was a world-dazzling sword light that illuminated all directions, then Ma Zheng's aura was like a terrifying demon concealed in darkness. Awakened completely by that radiant brilliance shining upon it, it suddenly reached out and threw a punch. Fist force huge enough to blot out the sky descended directly, covering that first ray of light which had propped open the darkness of noon and shattering it all...

One punch!

Facing Gu Jinlai, this monstrous devil of the demonic path who was said to have gone mad in cultivation and lost ninety percent of his strength, he held nothing back and directly unleashed his strongest punch!

"Rumble!"

True qi roared!

The surging, majestic true qi was like a meteor falling from the heavens into the sea, directly sending ripples visible to the naked eye spreading through the tranquil void. The ripples exploded apart, forming a hurricane that swept in every direction, grinding every blade of grass within dozens of meters into powder!

Gu Jinlai's sword soared into the skies and shone upon the world; Ma Zheng's fist shattered the void.

The first things to collide were their sword gang and fist gang.

"Bang!"

Sword gang and fist gang collided in the void, like the first ray of light cast at noon being blocked by a punch from a terrifying demon hidden in darkness.

The sharp sword gang erupting from Gu Jinlai's body was completely covered and shattered by Zhang Zheng's fist gang.

"Pathetically weak!"

After shattering Gu Jinlai's sword light, Ma Zheng charged forward fiercely. His fist gang trembled, carrying force that pierced through the void. With one punch, like a blazing meteor falling from the sky, he smashed heavily into Gu Jinlai's sword!

"Boom!"

Fist and sword collided, exploding with a muffled thunderclap in the void, as though ten kilograms of explosives had detonated at the point of impact. Rolling airwaves mixed with shattered sword gang sprayed wildly in all directions, compressing the air into shockwaves that plowed up the ground within dozens of meters, sending dirt flying everywhere.

The fist force trembled!

It surged fiercely through Gu Jinlai's sword and into his protective true qi.

Even though he was a Core Forming expert with a flawless true body, he still felt searing pain shoot through his arm beneath that terrifying vibration. His sword nearly flew from his grasp, while his ulna and radius creaked and groaned as though about to be shattered by the fist force.

Yet before Ma Zheng's fist force could fully erupt and break, crush the arm holding his sword, a strand of Formless Sword Qi spread upward along the arm that had delivered the punch. It was as gentle as spring rain, yet like the breath of the netherworld.

His fist...

His entire body seemed to have charged forward without hesitation into a room filled with countless fine steel wires too tiny to see.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!"

Blood marks!

Bloodstains!

Sword marks!

Cracks!

Until finally...

"When...?"

Ma Zheng stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

It was the light!

That dazzling light!

When that brilliant light erupted, countless minute Formless Sword Qi strands had already spread throughout the area, weaving across the void.

If he had observed carefully, or if these Sword Qi had possessed astonishing power, he would certainly have noticed them.

But he had been desperate to help Zhang Buyi escape danger. Coupled with his wariness of Gu Jinlai, this monstrous devil of the demonic path, he had unleashed his strongest killing move from the start, with thunderous force and no path of retreat.

As a result, he had completely failed to notice those details that he should originally have been able to notice.

"Demon..."

"Sizzle!"

The cracks spread.

Blood burst forth from them.

Before Ma Zheng could leave behind another word, his body had already been sliced into dozens of pieces by more than ten strands of Formless Sword Qi.

His body shattered, and an incomparably thick stench of blood spread through the air!

"Old Ma!"

"Elder Ma!"

Only then did Zhang Buyi and the other man, Fang Yichen, abruptly awaken from their shock and cry out in grief!

Still unable to recover his vision immediately, Zhang Buyi roared in fury. Relying on his perception of qi, Sword Qi crisscrossed as it swept directly toward Gu Jinlai.

"Give me your life!"

Though Gu Jinlai had focused his attention on Ma Zheng, he had not relaxed his guard against Zhang Buyi in the slightest.

As Zhang Buyi's Sword Qi swept across the air, Gu Jinlai's sword edge flashed rapidly. Sword gang trembled, and as it pierced the void, it likewise stirred up a high-frequency air current. The air pressure shook the void and collided with the Sword Qi Zhang Buyi had swept forth.

It felt like bombing a tornado with missiles!

"Boom!"

At the point where the Sword Qi collided, a ring of shockwaves visible to the naked eye exploded outward, rolling stone chips madly in every direction. Fang Yichen, who had wanted to enter the battlefield, was struck by that force and forced to retreat repeatedly.

One had to know that he was also an expert who had condensed qi into gang!

In his most glorious battle, he had wielded a single sword alone and directly exterminated all three hundred and nine Cloud Mountain Bandits, paying only the price of two saber wounds!

Yet now, he could not even intervene!

"Peak Core Forming! This is absolutely the power of peak Core Forming!"

Fang Yichen screamed inwardly.

Hadn't they said that even the Six Sons of Zhengyi from the Orthodox One Sect could chase Ancient Demon Gu until he cut his hair and cast off his robes!?

Hadn't they said that the Four Evils of Star Province could chase him for one hundred and thirty li!?

Hadn't they said that, to this day, he had still failed to kill any Gang Condensing expert of the Orthodox One Sect in return!?

A conspiracy!

A conspiracy!

This was a conspiracy from the beginning!

Ancient Demon Gu was old and cunning. He had feigned weakness before the enemy, and was most likely trying to lure out the experts of Lin Xiao's faction and catch them all in one net.

Even the Headmaster of Orthodox One Sect had been deceived by him.

Perhaps...

The Orthodox One Sect and he had already joined forces, staging this grand performance together to deceive everyone under heaven!

"Retreat! I must report this matter to the sect. Otherwise, more people will fall for the Old Devil's trick and throw away their lives for nothing!"

With that thought, he followed the impact of that force and withdrew in a swift retreat.

"Golden Wheel Profound Light!"

A sound like a great bell and a mighty cauldron suddenly rang out from within the billowing dust. Sound waves spread, filled with an air of solemn sanctity.

After exchanging a blow, Zhang Buyi, carrying thunderous fury, condensed a golden sword wheel and smashed it down fiercely, its edge sharp enough to cut through everything.

"Good!"

Feeling the resolve contained in Zhang Buyi's golden sword wheel—the resolve to charge forward without hesitation and sacrifice himself to subdue demons—divine light burst from Gu Jinlai's eyes.

He needed an opponent to test his true level.

Among Core Forming cultivators, Zhang Buyi might not have been at the pinnacle, but he was certainly among the best.

Otherwise, he could not have slain three Core Forming experts of the same realm as himself.

With that thought, the mass of true qi within Gu Jinlai's body, condensed like a Golden Core, exploded. Violent power surged from his body under the command of the Great Sun Demon Radiance Art, poured into his sword, and thrust forth explosively.

The instant he drew his sword, brilliant sword gang shot straight into the clouds, like a giant sword tearing apart the heavens, shattering all things as it crashed fiercely into the descending golden sword wheel...

"Bang!"

The center of their battle seemed to have been struck head-on by a cannonball. The explosive force spread outward with a boom, sweeping countless clods of earth and shattered stones in every direction like arrows and completely shrouding the area within dozens of meters. Trees ten meters away were snapped by the force, wood chips spraying everywhere.

If any ordinary person had stood within twenty meters of the two at this moment, they would absolutely have been shaken to death on the spot by the dispersed force.

Even thirty meters away, their internal organs would have burned as they suffered grave injuries.

Even those on the outskirts fared so badly, let alone the two clashing head-on?

True qi trembled.

Although every Core Forming cultivator underwent body tempering, Organ Refining, and Blood Changing to forge their physique, and could nourish their internal organs with true qi, they still felt every tendon and bone in their bodies let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain beneath such a violent collision.

The humerus in Gu Jinlai's arm, which had already been struck by Ma Zheng's fist force, split open with cracks.

"Crack!"

It broke!

"Blood Lotus!"

Almost simultaneously, Gu Jinlai let out a low roar. Behind him, a wheel of blood-colored lotus petals unfurled, like scarlet blood light surging into existence!

The ultimate move of the Red Lotus Sword Qi!

Zhang Buyi, who had studied Gu Jinlai before pursuing him, recognized it immediately.

Once the Blood Lotus was unleashed, all humans and beasts within dozens of meters would be annihilated.

"Thunder Sword!"

Facing Gu Jinlai's ultimate move, madness flashed through Zhang Buyi's eyes. The sword in his hand seemed to transform into lightning as it slashed violently into the Blood Lotus forming around Gu Jinlai!

He intended to destroy it first before Gu Jinlai's ultimate move could take shape.

"Rumble!"

The void roared.

Lightning flashed.

The phantom Blood Lotus formed by Gu Jinlai's true qi had yet to fully condense when Zhang Buyi's later strike arrived first, tearing it apart. It exploded amid violent tremors, turning into streaks of sword light that shot in every direction.

"Die!"

Sword light was like thunder, thunderous beyond measure.

Zhang Buyi's sword carried terrifying sharpness, its remaining momentum undiminished as it slashed toward Gu Jinlai's body.

Yet just as he was about to tear Gu Jinlai apart with Sword Qi, he discovered something first.

Formless Sword Qi.

Formless Sword Qi spread all around him.

In an instant, he thought of Ma Zheng's death.

"Not good!"

Zhang Buyi's expression changed drastically. His sword light whirled sharply, slashing toward the Formless Sword Qi.

But the moment his sword edge changed direction, Gu Jinlai had already taken the initiative to rush forward in a fierce assault. The true qi in every cell of his body was squeezed out, transformed into a surging, roaring torrent, poured into his longsword, and thrust forth, erupting as incomparably sharp Sword Qi.

In the void, another Blood Lotus seemed to bloom, transforming into twenty-six strands of Sword Qi that whistled through the air.

Only, unlike the Red Lotus Sword Qi of before.

Of the twenty-six strands of Sword Qi that erupted this time, sixteen were visible and tangible, while another ten were concealed through optics, shadowless and formless.

And after being amplified through oscillation...

Faster!

Stronger!

Although Zhang Buyi sensed the difference in these Sword Qi, the Sword Qi he had hastily redirected simply could not block them effectively in time.

"Break! Break! Break! Break!"

His hair stood on end as he let out a frenzied howl, his true qi boiling to its utmost limit.

In an instant, the sword in his hand thrust out nineteen sword shadows, intercepting all sixteen visible strands of Sword Qi. He even shattered three of the ten Formless Sword Qi strands!

Every collision between sword lights sent ripples visible to the naked eye spreading through the void, forming exploding shockwaves that tore through the air and rolled up clouds of dust.

But...

The remaining seven shadowless, Formless Sword Qi strands were like ghosts crossing the void, piercing through Zhang Buyi's body with bone-chilling coldness.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!"

Blood splashed.

Arms, thighs, heart and lungs, chest...

Bloody holes pierced through his body one after another, bursting open.

Before this Sword Qi, his protective true qi could do no more than keep his body from being torn apart at once.

Carried by the force contained within the Sword Qi, he staggered back nine steps in a row.

At last...

He stopped.

He looked at Gu Jinlai, the corner of his mouth trembling. "What... sword technique was that..."

Then, before Gu Jinlai could answer, he fell backward helplessly.