500,000,000 AFK Points consumed, Invincible Avatars being reconstructed
"Arrogant mortal insect."
Lie Shan's three faces were ripped open simultaneously, and six thick arms pressed down hard.
The five gray-black Tribulation Rings on his back detached from his spine, grew to a thousand feet in size in the wind, and merged in mid-air, transforming into a rotating gray-black millstone that ground down on Chen Changqing's head.
Before the millstone had even completely settled, the space below could no longer bear the weight and began to collapse inch by inch.
At the Questioning Platform, the beams of several side halls had snapped and tiles had slid off in pieces.
"Step back."
Without turning his head, Chen Changqing flicked his toes off the bluestone slab and leaped into the air.
The Five Tribulations Ruin Clan's power is indeed formidable. If this millstone were allowed to strike solidly, most of the thousands of wounded fellow disciples below would be killed or injured just from the aftershocks. The battlefield must be moved to the sky, and we can also use our physical bodies to test just how much this Five Tribulations Commander is capable of.
He hung the Immortal Execution Sword at his waist and clenched his right fist tightly.
The "Primordial Nine-Turn Body Refining Art" was circulating at full speed within his body, and a faint layer of crimson-gold patterns appeared on the surface of his bronze skin.
The seventh-stage Immortal Artifact Body is now fully activated.
"Heavenly Emperor Divine Fist, Heavenly Collapses."
Chen Changqing threw his right fist upwards.
A crimson-gold fist imprint shot into the sky, transforming in mid-air into a furnace of fist energy that swept across the heavens, directly colliding with the center of the first gray-black Tribulation Ring.
"Clang--"
A deafening clang of metal clashing exploded amidst the sea of clouds.
The first gray-black Tribulation Ring was forcefully smashed upwards several feet by this punch, and more than a dozen fine cracks appeared on its surface.
Chen Changqing sank three zhang (approximately 10 meters) downwards. His right sleeve turned to ashes in the violent shockwave, revealing his bare forearm muscles bulging and bones crackling.
Its power far surpasses that of the judge in the Nine Netherworlds, and the Ruin Qi entwined within the Tribulation Ring specifically corrodes life force, penetrating even the slightest touch into the pores. Simply smashing it with fists is too strenuous; one must use the Sword World to cleanse the surrounding Principle, denying it the opportunity to draw upon the power of heaven and earth.
"With your cultivation at the first stage, you managed to withstand one of my rings without dying. No wonder you dare to speak so arrogantly."
A cruel smile appeared on the face in the middle of the Lie Shan, and all six hands simultaneously changed hand seals.
"Then let's see how many rings your brittle bones can withstand. Four rings falling at once, crush him!"
Rumble.
The remaining four gray-black Tribulation Rings overlapped, increasing their weight more than tenfold, causing the protective Gang Qi around Chen Changqing to crack and pop.
On the Questioning Platform below, Jian Zhenzi and the others held their breath, their palms sweating profusely.
"Changqing, don't try to take it head-on."
Chen Yuan supported himself on the stone steps to stand up and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Chen Changqing was in mid-air when he suddenly Treading the Void.
"Invincible Sword World, open."
Buzz.
The Pure Yang Sword Dao World, spanning a radius of a hundred miles, instantly unfolded. Countless longswords formed from crimson gold Sword Qi floated between heaven and earth, their tips all pointing upwards, forcefully resisting the four descending gray-black Tribulation Rings.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle
The Tribulation Ring spun, crushing hundreds and thousands of crimson-gold Sword Qi. However, the Sword Qi within the Sword World were inexhaustible, with each batch growing back after being shattered, effectively trapping the thousand-foot millstone in mid-air, unable to advance an inch.
Taking advantage of the situation, Chen Changqing drew the Immortal Execution Sword and flashed, appearing ten feet in front of Lie Shan's chest.
"The Immortal Execution Sword Technique, Spirit Slaying."
With a single swing of his sword, the Sword Light's light sliced through the left side of Lie Shan's ribs.
Without dodging or evading, the Lie Shan crossed its two left arms in front of it, its thick gray armor withstanding the sword strike, leaving only a three-inch-deep white mark. At the same time, its two bone blades on its right side slashed downwards, smashing heavily into the mountain below the Sword World.
"Boom."
Chen Changqing blocked the bone blade with his sword, using the force to deflect most of the impact, but a strange, hidden force still leaked down the sword and drilled straight into the Earth Veins beneath the Questioning Platform.
The entire Main Peak of Mount Shu swayed twice.
In the first round of probing, this beast didn't protect its vitals; instead, it channeled its strength into the ground?
Chen Changqing flipped his wrist, and his Sword Qi surged. He unleashed more than a dozen sword strikes, each aimed straight for the throats of the three faces of Lie Shan.
With a wild laugh, Lie Shan unleashed six bone blades that danced like a black whirlwind. With each strike that clashed with the Immortal Execution Sword, about 30% of the force was not directed at Chen Changqing, but instead reverberated towards the back of the mountain following the aftershocks of the exchange.
One combination, two combinations, three combinations.
After three consecutive head-on clashes, Chen Changqing's hands went numb, and his heart sank deeper and deeper.
Something's not right.
This Five Tribulations Ruin Clan, despite clearly possessing the strength to suppress me, has been deliberately faking the fight. It never intended to kill me in the shortest time; instead, it was using me as a target, using the noise of our clashes to gradually channel Ruin Qi into the Earth Veins behind the mountain.
The back mountain is the Ancestral Land Sword Graveyard.
Master Chen Yuan just said that they've been burrowing into the Ancestral Land for the past three days. Could it be that something is hidden beneath the Sword Graveyard, requiring a specific frequency of vibration from the outside to awaken it?
Just as Chen Changqing's thought flashed through his mind, a beam of azure light suddenly shot into the sky from the direction of the back mountain.
Immediately afterwards, a shrill and furious roar echoed across the mountain peaks.
"Who destroyed the core of the Sword Graveyard? Come out here."
That was the voice of True Lord Qingxiao.
Immediately afterwards, with a loud "boom", the Sealing Sword Great Formation that had stood for 30,000 years in the Ancestral Land behind the mountain was not broken by the two Three Tribulations Ruin Clan outside, but was actually blasted open from the very core of the Sword Graveyard, creating a gap a hundred feet long.
Countless ancient Ancient Swords, left behind by ancestors throughout the ages, flew out from the gap and wailed as they were embedded in the mountain walls behind the mountain.
High in the sky, the First Ancestor, who was fighting to the death with the Five Tribulations Ruin Clan, suddenly turned around, his white beard trembling, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
"There's a ghost inside the Sword Graveyard. Heavenly Origin, retreat quickly and guard the Inner Sect."
Just as Heavenly Origin Patriarch was about to break free, the two Three Tribulations Ruin Clan who were entangled with him simultaneously let out strange cries, completely abandoning their fight with him and True Lord Qingxiao. They transformed into two streaks of gray-black light and rushed directly towards the gap that had been blasted open in the back mountain.
"Haha, it's done!"
Lie Shan stopped wielding his bone blade, looked down at Chen Changqing, and his three faces were full of mockery.
"You Human Race have a saying: 'The strongest fortified city is most easily breached from within.' Even the tortoise shell that Mount Shu guarded for 30,000 years had to obediently open its gates to me."
Chen Changqing hovered in mid-air, glancing back at the billowing black smoke rising from the back mountain.
Normally, only the Nine Elders and successive Sect Master can enter the Sword Graveyard Tomb; even the Inner Sect's Holy Sons cannot step inside without a warrant. Now, the outer formation hasn't been broken, but the inside has already exploded.
Either there's a traitor among the higher-ups of Mount Shu who has defected to the Ruin Clan, or something suppressed at the very bottom of the Sword Graveyard is actively welcoming these outside scum.
Regardless of which type it is, we must eradicate this malignant tumor today.
"You want to go save your ancestor?"
Lie Shan took a step forward, his hundred-foot-tall body blocking Chen Changqing and the back mountain, six bone blades pointing at his nose.
"Too late. My two lieutenants are both at the peak of the Three Tribulations stage. Once they rush into the Sword Graveyard, they can retrieve what's inside in less than ten breaths. As for you, you'll stay here and play with me."
On the back mountain, True Lord Qingxiao and Heavenly Origin Patriarch were already heavily injured. At this moment, the shockwave from the self-destruction of the Sword Graveyard caused their Qi and Blood to surge. They could only watch helplessly as the two peak Three Tribulations Ruin Clan crossed the defense line, unable to stop them.
"Changqing, don't worry about me, go stop those two beasts first. We can't let them get down to the bottom of the Sword Graveyard."
The First Ancestor, having endured a blow from the residual energy left by the Lie Shan, with half his body stained red, roared in this direction.
Upon hearing this, Lie Shan laughed even harder, and the five Tribulation Rings behind him pressed down again, completely sealing off Chen Changqing's space to move left and right.
"Being overwhelmed with work must be unpleasant, right?"
Chen Changqing looked at the smug face in front of him and shook his head.
Who told you I'm all alone?
When breaking through to the Nine Netherworlds realm, all five Avatars did indeed self-destruct and sacrifice themselves. However, the foundation of the "Invincible Avatar Technique" remained intact, and the Twelve Primordial Spirits were completely unharmed. They also had 1.7 billion AFK Points brought from the Nine Netherworlds, so they could create manpower whenever they wanted.
"System, consuming 500 million AFK Points, re-condense the Invincible Avatar."
Chen Changqing gave the order in his mind.
[Ding. Consumed 500,000,000 AFK Points. Invincible Avatar is being rebuilt...]
[Congratulations, host! You have successfully condensed six avatars of First-Tribulation Pure Yang Tribulation Immortals Avatar combat power is equal to that of your original self.]