It's Gone Too Far

Ghost Slaying Blade Art vanished completely, replaced by Ghost Devouring Blade Art.

This didn't surprise Liang Qisheng, but the notes on Ghost Devouring Blade Art left him utterly astonished.

It even gave him a brand-new understanding of the data.

"Ghost Devouring Blade Art has four forms total. With my current realm and killing power, I can only learn the first one."

Once Ghost Devouring Blade Art was recorded in his mind, Liang Qisheng felt as if he'd been struck by sudden enlightenment—countless pieces of information flooded in, and his grasp of the blade art instantly became clear.

This Ghost Devouring Blade Art had only just appeared, and given Liang Qisheng's own realm and level, he could merely begin familiarizing himself with the first form.

As his understanding of the blade art deepened and his own realm improved, the subsequent techniques would unfold one by one.

Floating Light!

Shua!

When Liang Qisheng's eyes snapped open, a surge of Sha Qi burst forth from the depths of his gaze.

He saw the blade in his hand slash out toward the air, and in an instant, a streak of black flowed across the edge.

That was black blade intent, carrying an incredibly fearsome momentum.

The power contained within it was suffocating—a surging, razor-sharp force that split the air before him in two.

It was as if the blade could cleave everything in heaven and earth into halves.

"This aura?!"

Liang Qisheng's expression shifted. He felt that as this technique was unleashed, his mind seemed to empty out, as if some formless power had been drawn away.

At the same time, it stirred his entire body's blood and qi, unleashing a terrifying force.

"No, this... this is spiritual power?!"

"Could this be what they call 'Ghost Slaying Soul Seizing'?!"

Of course, this was just his guess.

This was his first time using this move, yet it gave him an extremely unsettling feeling.

Even he found it somewhat hair-raising when he used it.

Before, the Great Perfection-level Decapitation Blade Technique—a single strike poured with all his mind and killing intent—had cleanly beheaded Shopkeeper Lin without hesitation.

Overcoming a stronger foe with a weaker force, though tinged with ambush, was sharp and terrifying.

And now, every slash he made was like that.

Even more powerful, with changes to his spirit and increased consumption.

Liang Qisheng stood there, motionless, as if savoring the shift in aura from the technique he'd just unleashed.

Yet he had no idea that as this aura surged and spread through the small courtyard, it stirred the Demon Blade still resting in the ancestral hall behind.

Inner courtyard, ancestral hall's inner chamber.

"Buzz!"

The Decapitation Ghost Blade, always placed on the offering table—this Demon Blade, without anyone touching it, began to tremble violently as if stimulated by something.

The blade quivered, faint red light seeping outward.

The heavy, incessant shaking of the blade created a surging wind in the room, the ripples of vibration clearly visible.

It was like a pool of clear water, its surface starting to tremble.

The ripples of vibration spread outward through the air in dense waves, causing the entire room to shake.

"What's happening?"

"...This aura is?!"

At this moment, the first to sense this abnormal change was naturally the founding ancestor of the executioner lineage.

Chen Delu, who was in seclusion, was abruptly jolted awake. He snapped his eyes open, a flash of daylight seeming to flicker in his pupils.

A peculiar aura drifted around him, giving him a familiar feeling.

"This aura is..."

Suddenly, Chen Delu's eyes went wide, brilliant light bursting from them.

His gaze was filled with disbelief.

He hadn't felt this aura in decades.

Ever since he sealed his blade and settled in Blade-Casting Town, he'd trained many disciples, but not one had truly inherited the core legacy of his school.

Though there were promising apprentices like Zhao Hu, who had quietly built up some assets, the number of skilled hands was greater than outsiders imagined.

But the Seven Kill Blade had always been his sore spot—no one could truly control the Decapitation Ghost Blade, and that knot in his heart remained untied.

Yet now, as that unique aura of the Seven Kill Blade suddenly surged again, growing more intense, even Chen Delu, the executioner's founding ancestor, was stunned for a moment before snapping back to reality.

"How is this possible? The inner courtyard's ancestral hall has always been guarded. Someone managed to stir the Seven Kill True Intent within this Demon Blade from a distance, without even touching it."

"Which disciple? Zhao Hu? No, that one's a blockhead."

"Xiao Wu? Impossible, he's still far off. Then..."

Chen Delu swept his sleeve, and a wave of qi surged forth, the wind howling through the entire room as it slammed the doors open.

His figure moved like a gust of wind, shooting out the door and vanishing into the courtyard.

At this moment, the old man's mind was also in chaos; the change had come too fast, leaving him somewhat dazed.

But after running through the list, he found no disciple who could have reached this stage.

Like a gale, like a swooping eagle descending.

Just as Chen Delu arrived at the courtyard of the ancestral hall, he suddenly heard a blade's cry, a long howl piercing the sky.

Chen Delu's face shifted dramatically as he heard an invisible streak tear through and shatter the doors of the inner hall, transforming into a red light that shot away amidst a chorus of terrified screams.

His gaze locked onto it, and he saw that the long blade, which had always rested on the offering table, was now vibrating violently without anyone wielding it, turning into a rainbow of light as it broke through the air and fled.

"Could it be... could it have actually stirred the demon blade? That aura is definitely the Seven Kill True Intent, no mistake?!"

Chen Delu had been uncertain before, wondering if his judgment might be off, but when he saw the Ghost Slaying Demon Blade break through the air, his eyes nearly popped out.

He realized then that his earlier guess might have been too conservative.

Someone had definitely comprehended the pure Seven Kill True Intent; otherwise, the Decapitation Ghost Blade could never have undergone such a drastic change.

"All of you, fall back and guard the inner courtyard."

Waving his sleeve to halt a group of ghostly figures that suddenly appeared, Chen Delu's face darkened as he chased after the blade alone.

"Go!"

With that, Chen Delu's steps quickened, his form turning into a blur, like a roc spreading its wings, vanishing in an instant.

Meanwhile, Liang Qisheng, standing in the training ground, had yet to retract the long blade he had swung, when a terrifying blade cry, enough to shake the soul, echoed in his ears.

It nearly shattered his eardrums, leaving his head buzzing.

When he looked up, his face suddenly changed, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

An extreme chill ran from his neck down through his entire body, almost making him feel as if he had already been decapitated and torn apart.

Right before his eyes, an icy blade tip was nearly pressed against his forehead.

The surging Sha Qi rushed at him, making him feel as though he could be drawn and quartered at any moment.