Deep within the Earth Vein, Zhang Yu's Divine Soul Clone, still shaken, stared at Jiang Feng's terrifying Sword Intent that shattered the cycle of reincarnation, and anxiously asked himself:
"System, Hong Yue, do you think— with the Soul Snatching Chain, plus Zhou Wentao and Xia Hongjue —they can defeat Jiang Feng?"
"No chance."
Hong Yue, unusually, abandoned her coquettish tone, her voice becoming serious:
"Jiang Feng has already mastered the Ruthless Dao."
Zhou Wentao and Xia Hongjue had only just begun to grasp the basics of the Soul Path. Although both were at the peak of True Immortal, their Combat Power was on completely different levels, making them incomparable.
As for the Soul Snatching Chain...
She paused, then sighed:
"If its original owner Xie Bi'an, were still alive, he would naturally not be afraid of Jiang Feng."
But now it's just an unclaimed, deadly weapon, utterly incapable of withstanding Jiang Feng's Ruthless Sword Intent that severs cause and effect and shatters the cycle of reincarnation.
"Holy crap, is it that awesome?"
Zhang Yu clicked his tongue, then asked in confusion:
"He's already so strong, how come he's only at the peak of True Immortal?"
"Shouldn't he have broken through to the Heavenly Immortal long ago?"
"Silly boy, you don't understand."
The system picked up the conversation, its tone unusually solemn:
"Jiang Feng's ambitions are far-reaching."
With his level of cultivation, breaking through to the Heavenly Immortal would have been a natural progression for him long ago.
The reason he hasn't broken through yet is probably to refine the Ruthless Dao to perfection before attempting to break through to the Heavenly Immortal realm.
Then, by using the Heavenly Immortal Tribulation to temper his Dao foundation, he condensed the Love Dao Law!
"Once he succeeds, he will no longer be an ordinary Heavenly Immortal, but one step away from reaching the Supreme Realm."
"Hiss..."
Zhang Yu gasped, "She's ruthless."
His mind raced, and he asked again, "If I were to fully integrate the 108 Peaks Grand Formation the Soul Refining Sect and unleash its full power... would there be a chance?"
"If it were an ordinary peak True Immortal, perhaps it would be worth a try."
Jiang Feng had mastered the Ruthless Dao, and his Sword Intent could slay Heavenly Immortal.
Even if you completely control the Soul Refining Sect Grand Formation, you still can't withstand his merciless sword strike that can shatter all laws.
Hong Yue shook her head slightly, but after a moment of silence, she slowly spoke again:
"Unless... you use that thing as the Formation Eye of the formation."
"What is it?" Zhang Yu asked urgently.
He was referring to the Exterminating Immortal Sword Fragment.
This time, the system answered, its voice carrying a warning:
"Piracy is piracy; nothing they say is reliable."
Have you ever considered that the Exterminating Immortal Sword is the number one killing treasure of the Heavenly Dao, and the murderous Sha Qi contained in its fragments is something even Heavenly Immortal dare not easily taint?
If you let this kid, with his Feathered Realm Cultivation, control it, he probably won't last a single breath before being devoured by the Sha Qi and his Divine Soul is destroyed!
"Good."
Hong Yue, unusually, did not refute, and spoke in a serious tone:
"The Exterminating Immortal Sword Fragment represent the most desperate situation, a gamble with everything for mutual destruction."
A single misstep could lead to one's own demise before even harming the enemy.
Zhang Yu fell silent.
"However, since I've come up with this method, I naturally have a solution."
Hong Yue's voice carried a hint of smugness, as if she had finally gained the upper hand over the system:
"This kid's Cultivation weak, so naturally he doesn't dare to use the Exterminating Immortal Sword Fragment as the Formation Eye."
But what if—he first manipulates the Soul Snatching Chain, and then Soul Snatching Chain as a 'carrier' and 'bridge' to indirectly control the entire Grand Formation?
"That's... not entirely impossible."
The system pondered for a moment, then questioned:
"But that Soul Snatching Chain is extremely vicious, how could it be...?"
At this point, the system seemed to suddenly remember something:
"I almost forgot, Xie Bi'an, the owner of the Soul Snatching Chain, is under your Heavenly Court's command. If you ask, his Law Treasure will naturally..."
"That's right."
Hong Yue chuckled softly, her tone carrying a hint of arrogance:
"The original owner of the Soul Snatching Chain, Xie Bi'an, was just a minor Yin Deity under the command of my Heavenly Court back then."
When Xie Bi'an saw me, he would respectfully call me "Grandma".
If I were to speak, would this broken chain, lost in the mortal world, dare disobey me?
"..."
The system, unusually, did not offer a rebuttal.
Who is Xie Bi'an?
Now it was Zhang Yu's turn to be confused.
The name sounded familiar, and a thought suddenly struck him. He said:
"When I was on Earth, I read a novel called 'Joy of Life,' and one of the Third Princes's subordinates was named Xie Bi'an, I think..."
"Ignorant and incompetent!"
The system cursed irritably:
Xie Bi'an is the White Impermanence in your Mortal legends!
The Soul Snatching Chain was the very magical Law Artifact he used to travel between the realms of Yin and Yang, capturing and binding souls!
"Oh--!
So it was him!
Zhang Yu suddenly realized, and was deeply shocked.
Although he knew the name White Impermanence, he didn't know that his real name was Xie Bi'an.
"No wonder the Founding Patriarch of the Soul Refining Sect was able to establish the sect with this rope; it turns out he obtained a treasure left behind by Yin Deity of the Underworld..."
He muttered to himself, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
If Hong Yue can truly command the Soul Snatching Chain, then he can use the Soul Snatching Chain as a medium and the Exterminating Immortal Sword Fragment as the Formation Eye to fully activate the 108 Peaks Grand Formation and unleash its power to the extreme!
Even if Jiang Feng achieves mastery of the Ruthless Dao by then, he might still be able to put up a fight!
Zhang Yu is an impatient person; once he decides to do something, he does it immediately.
He sat cross-legged deep within the Earth Vein, his Divine Soul spreading out like a spider web, frantically gathering and integrating control of the Soul Refining Sect '108 Peaks Grand Formation with the Main Peak's Formation Eye as its core.
He had already secretly taken control of the 107 peaks, and the Main Peak's Grand Formation had just been shattered by Jiang Feng's sword and the Soul Snatching Chain going berserk, so now he was spared the trouble of a "forceful attack".
Now, with his God-level Formation skills, he only needs to quickly sort out, repair, and connect the Grand Formation to completely control the entire Soul Refining Sect mountain range!
"Buzz--!"
The Earth Vein's spiritual energy, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, converged wildly towards the Main Peak.
The Formation Runes flickered, and faint sounds of dragon roars and tiger howls could be heard coming from underground, but they were masked by the aftershocks of the earth-shattering battle in the sky and went unnoticed.
--
In the sky, the battle had reached its climax.
Jiang Feng, fully aware of Zhou Wentao and Xia Hongjue's tricks, disregarded them and actively confronted the Soul Snatching Chain.
In his eyes, Zhou Wentao and Xia Hongjue, and the Soul Snatching Chain, were nothing more than roadside weeds; two or three of them made no difference.
Every swing of his longsword carried Ruthless Sword Intent that severed cause and effect and shattered the cycle of reincarnation.
"Clang--!!!"
The sword struck the Soul Snatching Chain, unleashing a piercing metallic clang. The rope trembled violently, its eerie light exploding, and countless souls within it wailed in unison.
Zhou Wentao and Xia Hongjue seized the opportunity to attack, one with Dark-Gold Soul Seal like Heaven and Earth Net, the other with a gray robe billowing and Ten Thousand Ghosts' Wails, attacking from both sides.
But Jiang Feng casually swung his sword, the sword light splitting into countless fragments, like a galaxy falling down, shattering all their attacks. The aftershocks were so strong that the two men coughed up blood and flew backward.
"Too strong... Is this the power of the Sword Sect cultivator?"
"Even with the Sect Master and the Grand Elder both being at the peak of True Immortal realm, and the sect's most powerful Divine Artifact, they couldn't gain the slightest advantage!"
"Jiang Feng hasn't even used his full strength yet... If he were serious, the battle would probably be over by now!"
Below, the members of the Soul Refining Sect watched in horror, their eyes filled with shock and despair.
Helian Jue's face was deathly pale, and the sword wound on his chest was still throbbing with pain.
Only then did he truly understand the vast difference between himself and Jiang Feng.
Zhang Lingyun stood still, her scarlet eyes fixed on the figure in green robes in the air, her nails digging deep into her palms, drawing blood.
She hates it.
She hated the Jiang Family's ruthlessness, hated Jiang Feng's power, and hated her own powerlessness even more.
Jiang Pojun's Remnant Soul resided in Qiu Ruobai's body. At this moment, his face was ashen, and his eyes were filled with resentment and helplessness.
He had thought that with Jiang Feng's help, he could clean house today and wipe away his shame.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Feng suddenly had the idea to take Jiang Ling as his apprentice, which caused his revenge plan to fail in the womb.
"The game is over."
Suddenly, Jiang Feng spoke from mid-air.
He brandished his longsword, and a burst of azure light erupted around him, with a ten-thousand-foot-long sword shadow faintly appearing behind him.
Amidst the sword shadows, the Milky Way vanished, the cycle of Heavenly Dao turned, and an aura of destruction that made heaven and earth tremble slowly spread out.
"With this sword, I will send you—into the cycle of reincarnation."
He slowly raised his sword, and wherever the tip pointed, the void crumbled inch by inch.