The Blood Fiend Hall envoy's demonic spear stabbed forth with a shrill whistle through the air. The skull phantom at its tip opened its gaping jaws and spewed streams of Soul Corroding Demonic Qi. Wherever it passed, even the bluestone floor of Qingyun Platform was corroded into tiny pits. Ling Yun did not dare receive it head-on. His toes tapped the ground, and he rode the Wind Element Sword Intent Murong Shuang sent him to retreat. The Sky-Rending Sword carved a black-gold arc before him, and its Sword Qi collided with the demonic qi, swallowing it in an instant—this was the first display of its power to actively devour demons since the Sky-Rending Sword had awakened its demon-devouring trait.
"Oh? Your sword can actually devour demons?" A flicker of surprise crossed the envoy's eyes before he sneered. "It is nothing but mortal iron, yet you dare show off your meager skill before a divine artifact of the Blood Fiend Hall!" With a twist of his wrist, the skull phantom on the demonic spear swelled wildly, transforming into a demonic shadow over three meters tall that lunged at Ling Yun. The demonic qi surrounding it was enough to make an ordinary Great Swordsman Realm cultivator lose consciousness in an instant.
Ling Yun activated the Chaos Sword Body. The six-colored Sword Intent beads spun rapidly within his dantian. The Metal, Fire, and Earth Element Sword Intents formed a shield, while the Water and Wind Element Sword Intents became flowing tassels around the blade. A pale green halo protecting his soul radiated from the Soul Protecting Pill Su Qingyuan had previously given him, shielding his Sword Soul from corrosion. "Clear Sword Heart!" he shouted. A faint white gleam surfaced in his eyes, and he instantly saw through the demonic shadow's weakness—at its chest, a thread of demonic qi flowed sluggishly. That was the gap in the envoy's power when he wielded the demonic spear.
"Five Elements Demon Devouring Slash!" Ling Yun leaped into the air, the Sky-Rending Sword carrying the Sword Soul Origin of Sword Mound Mountain as it thrust straight into the demonic shadow's chest. The instant the black-gold Sword Qi struck the shadow, the Metal and Fire Element Sword Intents detonated the demonic qi at that sluggish point. With a thunderous boom, the demonic shadow collapsed. The envoy was blasted three steps back by the shockwave, and the skull phantom on his demonic spear dimmed considerably.
"Ling Yun, catch!" At that moment, Su Qingyuan's voice rang out from the eastern side of Qingyun Platform. She held a white jade porcelain bottle in hand, its surface wrapped in the spiritual radiance of her Wood Spirit Body. Like a green meteor, it flew toward Ling Yun. Inside were the freshly refined Demon Breaking Pills. The bitter, clean fragrance emanating from them made the surrounding demonic qi retreat of its own accord.
Ling Yun caught the porcelain bottle and, without hesitation, poured out a dark-red pill and swallowed it. As the Demon Breaking Pill entered his stomach, it instantly transformed into a cool medicinal force that surged through his meridians and into his dantian, merging with the Chaos Sword Body. The bottleneck that had trapped him at the middle stage of the Great Swordsman Realm shattered with a crash. The six-colored Sword Intent beads in his dantian swelled dramatically, especially the Water Element Sword Intent bead, which changed from pale blue to deep blue—he had broken through to the late stage of the Great Swordsman Realm!
"Impossible! You actually broke through in battle?" The envoy's expression changed drastically, his eyes full of disbelief. He activated the demonic spear once more. Demonic qi poured from the formation-core stele at Qingyun Platform's southeastern corner, flowing along the spear as the skull phantom at its tip lit up again. "Soul Devouring Array, lend me your demonic essence!"
The pattern of the character "Baleful Intent" on the formation-core stele lit up. Black demonic patterns spread across the ground, winding toward Ling Yun. If they entangled him, not only would his Sword Soul be drained away, but he would also become a "sacrifice" for the Soul Devouring Array. Just then, Murong Shuang arrived with Elder Bai of the Purple Haze Sword Sect and three elders from other neutral sects. Elder Bai's violet Sword Intent formed a sword net that blocked the spreading demonic patterns. "Blood Fiend Hall envoy, you openly use a demonic array in Qingyun City. Do you take our Seven Great Sword Sects for mere decorations?"
Seeing this, the cultivators of the other sects also came to their senses—the rumor Zhao Family had spread, claiming that Ling Yun was colluding with demonic cultivators, collapsed without being attacked. The ones truly colluding with demonic cultivators were the Zhao Family! They drew their swords one after another, their Sword Intents weaving into a net that surrounded the cultivators of the Zhao Family and Blazing Fire Gate.
Ling Yun looked at the situation before him and knew the time had come to reveal the truth. He took out the jade slip he had found at Sword Mound Mountain and infused it with Sword Intent. The jade slip instantly transformed into a golden screen of light that hovered at the center of Qingyun Platform. The screen clearly recorded how, three hundred years ago, the Zhao Family Ancestor had colluded with the Blood Fiend Hall and betrayed ancient sword cultivators. It also exposed the current plot of Zhao Kun and Zhao Hao, father and son, who cultivated the Sword Devouring Art, slaughtered the Ling Family, and intended to use the Soul Devouring Array to refine every cultivator in the Qingyun Region.
"This is a jade slip left behind by ancient sword cultivators. The writing upon it is ancient script long lost in the Mortal Realm. Among the elders present, Elder Bai has studied ancient documents and can verify its authenticity!" Ling Yun's voice spread throughout Qingyun City through his Sword Intent. "The Ling Family's Annihilation happened because we possessed a fragment of a sword manual recording the Zhao Family's crimes. Zhao Hao used a forbidden move on the life-and-death arena, and Zhou Xiong colluded with the Blood Fiend Hall to intercept me—all of it was to bury this truth!"
Elder Bai stepped forward and carefully examined the words on the screen of light, his eyes filled with shock. "That is correct! This is indeed ancient writing, and its contents match the fragments held in the Scripture Depository of the Purple Haze Sword Sect! The Zhao Family actually concealed their crimes for three hundred years, colluded with the Blood Fiend Hall, and sought to overturn the Qingyun Region!"
The cultivators beneath the screen of light erupted completely. Those who had previously supported the Zhao Family switched sides one after another. The Zhao Family and Blazing Fire Gate cultivators turned deathly pale, forced back again and again by everyone's Sword Intent. Zhao Hao hid among the crowd and tried to slip away quietly, but Murong Shuang's Wind Element Sword Intent ensnared him. "Zhao Hao, do you think you can still escape?"
Seeing that the tide had turned against him, the envoy's eyes flashed with viciousness. He suddenly spun around and thrust his demonic spear toward the formation-core stele in the southeastern corner. "Even if I die, I will take you all down with me! Soul Devouring Array, explode!" He intended to detonate the formation core and make the cultivators on Qingyun Platform perish alongside him.
"Don't even think about it!" Ling Yun sprang into the air, the Sky-Rending Sword carrying his post-breakthrough Sword Intent as it stabbed straight into the envoy's back. Black-gold Sword Qi pierced through the envoy's black robe, completely severing the demonic essence within him from the demonic qi of the formation-core stele. The envoy spat out a mouthful of black blood. The demonic spear slipped from his hand, and his body crumpled softly to the ground, devoid of breath.
After landing, Ling Yun immediately activated the Earth Element Sword Intent and smashed the formation-core stele in the southeastern corner to pieces. The instant it shattered, the demonic qi around Qingyun Platform dispersed somewhat, but the formation-core steles at the other three corners still emitted demonic qi—the Soul Devouring Array had not yet been fully destroyed.
Elder Bai walked to Ling Yun's side, his eyes filled with approval. "Ling Yun, you not only exposed the Zhao Family's crimes, but also stopped the envoy from detonating the formation core. You have rendered a great service. Next, we must destroy the other three formation cores as quickly as possible, lest the Zhao Family has further schemes in reserve."
Su Qingyuan and Murong Shuang also came to Ling Yun's side. Su Qingyuan handed over the remaining Demon Breaking Pills. "There are three Demon Breaking Pills left. Give them to the other elders—they can strengthen their ability to resist demonic qi." Murong Shuang added, "I have already contacted the disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect. They are setting up defenses around Qingyun City to prevent the Zhao Family's people from escaping."
Ling Yun accepted the Demon Breaking Pills and distributed them among Elder Bai and the other elders. A glint of determination flashed through his eyes. "The Inter-Regional Sword Convention begins tomorrow. The Zhao Family will surely make its final struggle at the convention. Tonight, we will destroy the remaining formation cores. Tomorrow, at the convention, we will thoroughly settle the crimes of the Zhao Family and the Blood Fiend Hall!"
Night fell, and the lights of Qingyun City came on, yet the city was no longer as bustling as usual. Ling Yun, Su Qingyuan, Murong Shuang, Elder Bai, and the others divided into four groups and headed for the other three formation-core steles of Qingyun Platform. The black-gold radiance of the Sky-Rending Sword shone especially brightly in the night, guiding their way forward—a reckoning that concerned the survival of righteousness in the Mortal Realm was about to formally begin at tomorrow's Inter-Regional Sword Convention.
Before you continue