The Zhu Xian Sword is Drawn!

Qin Chuan hovered in mid-air, sensing the increasingly terrifying energy fluctuations below, and finally, a flicker of change appeared in his eyes.

He chose not to evade; the Six Paths Reincarnation Eye rotated slowly, and a force diametrically opposed to Shinra Tensei began to condense in the palm of his left hand.

"Bansho Ten'in."

The very moment the golden orb of light in the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's maw was about to be unleashed, an irresistible, terrifying gravitational force slammed into its body!

"Roar?!"

The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's massive frame stiffened abruptly, and the Geng Metal Death Ray, condensed halfway, instantly spiraled out of control under the pull of the gravity.

It felt as if an invisible giant hand had seized it firmly, then yanked it violently toward the sky.

Its multi-ton body was lifted off the ground uncontrollably, its massive form forcibly "uprooted" from the earth and sent flying toward Qin Chuan's position.

"Boom!"

The uncontrolled Geng Metal Death Ray failed to fire into the sky, instead blasting diagonally into the ground behind the beast.

Golden light exploded; the ground looked as if it had been plowed by a giant blade, and a charred, bottomless trench a hundred meters long formed in an instant.

Along the edges of the trench, all the rock and soil had been transmuted into a bizarre, glass-like state.

Meanwhile, the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger was already in mid-air, flying straight toward Qin Chuan like a boulder tossed into the sky.

Its face was etched with utter bewilderment.

Repulsion? Attraction?

Everything that had happened today had completely overturned its twenty-five-thousand-year worldview.

What kind of monster was this human!

Qin Chuan watched the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger being "sucked" toward him, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

On the ground, the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's speed and agility could still cause him some trouble.

But once in the air, it became a living target with no leverage and no way to dodge!

Qin Chuan gripped the Zhu Xian Sword tightly in his right hand, pouring his soul power into the blade without reservation.

Hum!

The archaic Zhu Xian Sword emitted a clear, resonant chime. Along the slender blade, those strange, dragon-scale-like patterns lit up section by section, radiating a heart-stopping aura of destruction.

The moment the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger was pulled before him by the gravitational force, Qin Chuan released his control of Bansho Ten'in.

Due to momentum, the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's body continued to surge upward for a distance before gravity took hold, and it began to plummet rapidly.

New strength had yet to be born, and the old was spent.

This was its most helpless, most defenseless moment in the air!

"Now!" Qin Chuan's figure vanished instantly in mid-air.

The next second, he appeared above the falling Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger. Gripping the sword with both hands, his entire body merged with the Zhu Xian Sword, and like a black meteor streaking across the sky, he slashed down with all his might!

He had poured every ounce of his strength into this strike!

He intended to cripple this giant beast in one blow!

"Splutch!"

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was dull yet distinct.

The peerless sharpness of the Zhu Xian Sword was displayed to the fullest in this moment.

The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's hide—its pride and joy, capable of resisting the attacks of ten-thousand-year soul beasts—was as thin as paper before this ancient weapon of slaughter.

The blade pierced its nape, traveled along the spine, and continued downward, nearly slicing half of its body open!

"Awoo~~!" A scream of extreme agony erupted from the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger, the sound filled with endless pain and despair.

Scalding blood, like a burst dam, gushed from the massive wound, showering the air in a rain of blood.

"Boom!"

The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's massive body slammed back into the ground, kicking up a sky full of dust.

It rolled and struggled frantically on the ground, attempting to stand, but the horrific wound that had run the length of its back had severed its spinal nerves.

Its hindquarters had lost all sensation.

Qin Chuan's figure descended slowly from the air, landing not far from the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger.

The Zhu Xian Sword in his hand remained unstained by a single drop of blood; it was still archaic and sharp, as if the gutting strike from a moment ago had not been dealt by it at all.

Qin Chuan looked at the giant beast wailing in a pool of blood, his eyes devoid of the slightest pity.

This was the law of the jungle.

Either you die, or I do.

He stepped forward slowly, preparing to deliver the final blow to the giant beast.

However, the moment he drew near, a flash of suicidal madness erupted from the golden pupils of the dying Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger!

It knew it could no longer survive.

But even in death, it would drag this human who had brought it endless humiliation down to the grave!

"Roar!" The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger used its final ounce of strength, snapping its massive jaws wide open.

This time, what condensed within its mouth was not a golden ball of light.

It was a... black soul core!

That was the essence of its twenty-five thousand years of cultivation! It was going to self-destruct its soul core!

A destructive aura, ten times more terrifying than the Geng Metal Death Ray from moments ago, instantly shrouded the entire area.

The air seemed to solidify, and the surrounding light began to collapse toward that black soul core.

Qin Chuan's pupils constricted sharply; he had not expected this beast to be so fierce!

The power of a self-destructing soul core was enough to raze everything within a kilometer to the ground; even a Soul Emperor, at such close range, would undoubtedly face certain death!

Madman! Qin Chuan cursed inwardly, though his body's reaction was lightning-fast.

He did not retreat.

Because he knew it was already too late.

Before the energy of the soul core's detonation could sweep outward, he could never escape the core radius of the explosion.

The only path to survival was to stop it!

"Shinra Tensei!" Qin Chuan roared, thrusting his left hand forward with all his might.

A repulsive force, more powerful than any he had unleashed before, surged like a bursting dam, slamming violently into the black soul core that had already begun to destabilize!

He intended to use absolute force to push it back and shove it into the beast's belly before the soul core could detonate!

The repulsive force and the destructive energy of the soul core collided mid-air with a thunderous boom!

There was no sound, no light.

Only an eerie, all-consuming silence!

At that point, space itself was torn asunder!

Black spatial rifts spread out like spiderwebs, frantically devouring everything in their path.

Trees, rocks, soil, and even light were being drawn into that void of darkness.

The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's body was the first to be swallowed by the spatial rifts; it didn't even have time to let out a scream before it was reduced to nothingness.

Qin Chuan, too, felt the terrifying suction emanating from the spatial rifts.

His body was pulled uncontrollably, sliding toward that zone of death.

"Bansho Ten'in!"

At the critical, hair-breadth moment, Qin Chuan locked his target onto a massive boulder weighing several tons in the distance.

A terrifying gravitational force erupted, and using the reaction force, his body was launched like a cannonball in the opposite direction of the spatial rifts.

Even so, his left arm was still grazed by the edge of a spatial rift.

"Hiss!" Qin Chuan drew a sharp breath. The black sleeve on his left arm had vanished without a sound, and the exposed skin bore a wound so deep the bone was visible. The edges of the wound were charred black, with not a drop of blood flowing out, as if the flesh there had been thoroughly devoured by the void.

He dared not linger, flickering a few times until he appeared a kilometer away.

Only when he could no longer feel that suction did he stop and look back.

He saw that the battlefield from moments ago had completely vanished.

In its place was a bottomless, massive crater over a hundred meters in diameter.

The edges of the crater were smooth as a mirror, as if a god had used a spoon to forcibly scoop a piece out of the earth.

And in the very center of the crater, the spatial rifts were slowly healing, eventually vanishing from sight.

Everything returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened.

Only that massive crater remained, silently testifying to the terror of the battle that had just transpired.

Qin Chuan looked at the wound on his arm, his heart still racing with lingering fear.

I was careless. I still underestimated the resolve of a ten-thousand-year soul beast's final counterattack.

He took a few deep breaths, steadying his agitated emotions.

Although the process had been perilous, it was finally resolved.

Now then... what about the soul ring?

Qin Chuan cast his gaze toward the massive crater.