His words were deeply inflammatory.
Especially after he played the Demon Flute. Though he appeared to be attacking Li Yang, he was actually stirring anger and agitation in everyone.
Indeed.
The Phoenix Sword was terrifyingly powerful.
It was a sword with a sword spirit.
But as Li Yang had said, even the strongest sword needed a sword cultivator to wield it.
Li Yang was only at the first level of Foundation Establishment, so he could only unleash power at that level.
But Li Yang was no ordinary sword cultivator.
As the eleven-on-one battle erupted, the Phoenix Sword gradually took on a keen, slaughtering sword intent.
And as the battle reached a fever pitch, under that crushing pressure, it stopped resisting Li Yang altogether and instead became utterly obedient.
"Shhk!"
Especially when Li Yang managed to cut down a formidable opponent even under such extreme conditions, it fully awakened the thirst for slaughter etched into the Phoenix Sword's very instincts.
Weapons were born to kill.
During its time with its master, it had mostly lain dormant, or been wielded to unleash mighty divine abilities that could destroy heaven and earth.
Those battles had been grand, involving powerful beings at lofty realms, but they had never satisfied it.
Now-
A keen blade bit into flesh and stole living, breathing lives, fully awakening its primal desire.
It grew excited.
Especially since this was no one-sided massacre.
Every enemy here stood at least five or six cultivation levels above its wielder, and they unleashed every trump card they had, secret arts and pseudo-divine abilities coming one after another.
Yet its wielder-its temporary master-still handled them with ease, darting freely across the sky and cutting down his enemies with overwhelming force.
This was not eleven people ganging up on Li Yang.
It was Li Yang ganging up on all eleven of them!
"Shhk!"
Li Yang cut down Golden Dragon next.
Dragon blood gathered in the air into an enormous dragon head, its majestic draconic might crashing down.
The other prodigies turned deathly pale beneath the pressure and hastily retreated.
Then came the third... the fifth... the seventh!
Li Yang was wounded too, but he only grew more excited.
With the Phoenix Sword in hand, he swept through them as though no one stood in his way!
His already ferocious attacks, bolstered by the Phoenix Sword, annihilated any defense on contact.
And having entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, he could now fly on his sword without relying on a sword-flight talisman. It felt more natural, was faster, and left virtually no delay between maneuvers.
He had his fill of killing.
He marveled at what miserable days he had endured using a First-Rank Six-Pattern Spirit Sword.
The Phoenix Sword had its fill of killing too.
It marveled at how dull its days gathering dust beside its master had been.
Li Yang's blood boiled.
The Phoenix Sword's blade trembled and sang.
Gu Zang and the others, however, were terrified.
Only four remained now.
Gu Zang, the male cultivator from the Supreme Truth Jade Radiance Palace, and two disciples from Great Orthodox Lineages in Kun Province.
They had hoped the others' deaths would wear Li Yang down.
But watching this sword maniac only grow more and more comfortable, they could no longer suppress the urge to retreat.
"We were wrong! We made the wrong choice! We should've run long ago!"
"This fellow isn't an unrivaled prodigy-he stands supreme in the way of the sword!!!"
Those two fled first.
But one of them had an escape trump card of insufficient rank, and Li Yang blocked him with a slash that severed the void.
Normally, only a Nascent Soul True Person possessed the ability to sever the void.
But the Phoenix Sword had granted Li Yang this heaven-defying power.
The good news: the Phoenix Sword did not belong to Li Yang, so he could not unleash its true power.
The bad news: the Phoenix Sword did not belong to Li Yang, so its sword spirit's power would not be dragged down by his low cultivation.
That was precisely why Li Yang, with his first-level Foundation Establishment cultivation, could slaughter a group of mid- and late-stage Foundation Establishment prodigies while keeping them firmly suppressed.
"Fellow Daoist, you've already proven your strength. But I'm no evil fiend, and there's no grudge between us. Nor am I trying to take her life-I wouldn't dare." The male cultivator from the Supreme Truth Jade Radiance Palace paused in thought. "Name your terms and let me have her."
Li Yang raised his sword and slashed at him.
"It's your life I want!"
He had already given the man a chance.
If he insisted on lingering, he had to be prepared to die.
"You really dare to kill me?! Here in Kun Province, you dare provoke my Supreme Truth Jade Radiance Palace?!"
Li Yang said nothing. Through his actions, he showed the man a fact he had already demonstrated many times-
I'm a sword maniac. Stop fucking throwing your background around. That shit doesn't work on me!
Though the male cultivator unleashed every means at his disposal, he was no match in the end.
Even the final life-saving trump card bestowed by his sect master was cut apart like rotten wood.
With a "shhk," he was sliced in two.
At this point-
Only Gu Zang remained.
His aura was powerful, and he had barely made a serious move this whole time.
"I'm curious. Slaughtering the prodigies of all these factions so recklessly-aren't you afraid of bringing trouble upon your sect?" Gu Zang asked casually.
"Slaying demons to uphold the Dao, defending myself, and fighting fair battles. Which of those would bring trouble?" Li Yang asked in return.
Gu Zang smiled without answering.
He knew there was no getting through to this sword maniac with such talk.
"Very well. You've cleared away everyone who was in the way. Your mission is complete. Now, I invite my master to descend!"
Gu Zang withdrew his demonic qi and spread his arms.
Demonic markings emerged all over his body, transforming into layer upon layer of summoning formations.
Rumble-!
Black clouds pressed overhead, extinguishing all daylight.
Trees, earth, and stones below were swept up. A strange, multicolored demonic qi affected countless animals, causing them to experience emotions such as "anger," "depression," and "joy."
When those emotions reached their peak, some died as fury assailed their hearts, some killed themselves in profound depression, and others went mad with overwhelming joy.
Li Yang's brows knitted tightly.
The scene looked familiar.
It was exactly like the descent of the Six Desires Demon Venerable's projection after he killed Shen Lou'er.
This is bad!
The enemy had to be nearby.
Li Yang did not hesitate in the slightest, nor did he feel any impulse to flee immediately.
He charged in with his sword once more.
This was different from the way Shen Lou'er had summoned the Demon Venerable's projection.
Perhaps killing Gu Zang would interrupt the summoning.
"Heh." Gu Zang sneered. "I admit I'm no match for you. That's why your opponent isn't me."
As he spoke, another voice began overlapping his.
It was the voice of another man.
All the terrifying, high-grade seven emotions demon essence in the surrounding world surged into Gu Zang's body, and his aura rose steadily.
A domain also appeared around him, steeped in intense emotional fluctuations.
Li Yang charged inside with his sword, and the scenery before him immediately transformed into his most deeply buried memories.
He saw his parents, beaten into cripples, sprawled beside his younger sister's waterlogged, pale corpse, weeping bitterly...
He saw his enemies enjoying happiness with their whole family, holding a family gathering in their courtyard late at night, making a mockery of karmic retribution...
As he looked at his shattered family, the fury in his heart threatened to burst through his chest!!!
Clang!
A clear sword cry rang out, calming him as his eyes flooded with blood and the spiritual power surging under immense pressure inside him threatened to explode his body.
The Phoenix Sword possessed a spirit. Unaffected by the domain surrounding Gu Zang, it awakened Li Yang from the illusion.
But what replaced the illusion was killing intent that soared into the heavens!
With his fury fully aroused, Li Yang's spiritual power raged wildly. The slaughtering sword intent within it stained even the space around him blood-red.
Like a drop of red ink forced into a multicolored painting, it slashed those complex, varied emotions into shattered fragments!
He had long suspected Gu Zang was an evil fiend. Now that it was confirmed, he had no hesitation left-slay this vile beast!
"Such a tenacious Dao heart, and such a fierce sword. Who knows how much blood of my fellow Daoists it has tasted? All the more reason I cannot let you live!"
Terrifying killing intent shone in Gu Zang's eyes as well. His voice belonged to someone else, and his pupils had turned seven-colored.
Ning Xinyao shouted a warning just then. "Run, junior brother! He's the Seven Emotions Demon Venerable! You're no match for him!"
And he was not the only one!
In a hidden corner, Xuan Shi had not left.
Another figure was reflected in his pupils-the Six Desires Demon Venerable!
"Li Yang! This Venerable has found you! I told you-I would make you experience the pain of losing someone precious too!"
Meanwhile.
In the sky beyond Yongning Commandery, a forbidden zone for powerful cultivators.
Lu Feng and an unfathomably powerful sword cultivator suddenly opened their eyes.
"Seven Emotions Demon Venerable, you finally couldn't hold back!"
Lu Feng turned to the three Mystic Heaven Sword Sect prodigies at peak Foundation Establishment behind him and said gravely:
"Go reinforce Junior Brother Li Yang at once. Surround the body the Seven Emotions Demon Venerable intends to possess. I'll follow Senior Yuan to kill his true body, and the Six Desires Demon Venerable!"
Before you continue