Liu Zhen said, "What a pity about Mo Shoupin!"
Mu Shuangling said, "She assisted this Sword Grandmaster for years and was the most calculating of all. Escaping from my hands was proof of her ability.
"Though I gravely wounded her, unless I see proof of her death with my own eyes, I will never rest easy!"
Liu Zhen said, "I heard she had a daughter, Xiao Qiu, only twelve years old, utterly ordinary, with almost no cultivation. Mo Shoupin took her out of the Heavenly Sword Holy Land. Later, she died after her sword source shattered. Xiao Qiu's whereabouts remain unknown, but out in those desolate mountains, she has probably long since filled some wolf's belly!"
Mu Shuangling said, "I must find that girl! She inherited Mo Shoupin's swordswoman bloodline and can be refined into a sword slave!"
Liu Zhen was just about to nod.
Suddenly!
A sinister, icy wind swept toward them!
"Hmm?"
Both men looked ahead!
A graceful figure abruptly appeared.
She was barefoot, her slender, exquisite feet resting on the crimson earth, their insteps rising and falling like winding mountain ranges. Her silver-blue battle skirt hung down, its high slits revealing smooth, straight legs. Silver armor and gauze skirts formed a contrast of strength and softness.
Her raised amber eyes were like two beautiful, alluring peach blossoms, flickering, yet deep within her pupils lurked a terrifying coldness!
She was like an empress, so noble, cold, and proud.
She walked out of the Land of Blood Slaughter.
Each step, an illusion.
Every step dreamlike.
In her hand, she carried a golden sword.
The way she held her sword now closely resembled someone.
"Mo Shoupin!
"No! Only your bearing resembles hers! You're not her! Nor are you her daughter! Who are you?!"
Liu Zhen shrieked.
Sushang said nothing. She raised her fair hand, the golden sword gleaming in her grasp.
The sword remained sheathed, yet sword Qi filled the sky!
The entire space trembled at that instant.
This sword Qi made even Mu Shuangling shudder! His eyes widened in disbelief.
Liu Zhen had already spat blood!
Mu Shuangling asked, "Who are you?!"
Sushang stared at him, her elegant, exquisite face showing neither sorrow nor joy. She gripped the hilt, her cherry lips parting slightly. "Zhaoyang, leave your sheath!"
Shing-
A world-shaking sword cry rang out!
The instant Sushang drew her sword, all things became as ash. Sword Qi severed every spiritual resonance. At that moment, Zhaoyang was a sword, the wind and clouds were swords, and heaven and earth were swords!
Thud!
Blood poured from Liu Zhen's seven orifices as he abruptly fell to his knees!
At the third level of Spirit Transformation, he had absolutely no power to resist!
He discovered, utterly horrified, that this woman of unknown origins before him possessed, at the very least, the terrifying cultivation of Tribulation Crossing!
For he had felt that kind of pressure from the holy land's powerhouses before!
A whole major realm separated them!
Mu Shuangling was terrified too!
A Sword Grandmaster who had fought countless battles, he had never known what fear was, but today, he felt it!
That sword, that sword Qi, seemed to have come from beyond the heavens!
"You want to kill me? Who exactly are you?!" Mu Shuangling's eyes threatened to split.
"You're a Sword Grandmaster?
"Then this sword strike of mine deserves to be called a sword immortal!"
Sushang unleashed a streak of sword Qi without any flourishes. It was plain sword Qi, and it was sword Qi that killed.
Mu Shuangling took out the Spirit-Shaking Heavenly Sword!
But he had no confidence!
For the moment the Radiant Sun Sword appeared, he had known without even fighting that his defeat was certain!
The Radiant Sun Sword's Qi formed a vast expanse of dawnlight that bore down on Mu Shuangling. Its terrifying sword intent split Liu Zhen's body apart inch by inch, scattering his soul!
"Who exactly are you?!"
"Death is your final destination. Would knowing who I am make you die any slower?"
"I don't believe I have any grudge against you!"
"A dying man talks too much."
"You!"
Mu Shuangling choked with anger. Knowing he could not escape today and had to use every ounce of strength to face her, he unleashed the Spirit-Shaking Sword Technique!
Holding nothing back!
Sword Qi transformed into a dragon and rushed straight toward Sushang. Amid the dawnlight, the Radiant Sun Sword's intent towered supreme over the ages, sweeping up the Land of Blood Slaughter's Mahayana providence and turning it all into this single streak of sword Qi.
Bang!
An explosive sound rang out.
A crimson rain of blood fell over the forest.
Mu Shuangling, Sword Grandmaster of the Heavenly Sword Holy Land, had fallen!
"Heavens!"
"The providence! Someone stole the providence!"
"The young master is awakening his bloodline!"
"What on earth is going on?"
North of the Land of Blood Slaughter.
The Azure Dragon Clan's young master, Qu Jiangxuan, was catalyzing his bloodline!
Dissatisfied that the Azure Dragon Divine Physique ranked only tenth on the Heavenly Ranking, he had used the Ancestral Dragon Great Dao Bone together with the providence of this hundred-thousand-year-old forbidden land in an attempt to increase his bloodline's concentration.
Yet!
At the final moment, the forbidden land's providence was plundered!
The ritual was interrupted, and the supply of providence fell short. Qu Jiangxuan's fusion failed, and he spat blood from internal injuries!
Several Azure Dragon Clan powerhouses were shocked and furious.
"Damn it!
"Who disturbed this young master?!"
Qu Jiangxuan flew into a humiliated rage, furious enough to kill.
Just then!
Dawnlight descended from all across the sky, shrouding half the heavens, and boundless sword intent radiated supreme, majestic power.
Amid the towering golden light, everyone saw a slender, graceful figure hovering with a sword in hand, her hair dancing like a war god!
"The power of dawn, the workings of heaven and earth-the immortal sword, Zhaoyang!"
"Only one sword in the world stirs the power of dawn when drawn, and that is the Radiant Sun Sword!"
"My heavens, could this be the Radiant Sun Sword?!"
"Wasn't the reward for second place on the Heavenly Ranking the Radiant Sun Sword? Its wielder is Sushang, who possesses the Primordial White Tiger Immortal Physique!"
Everyone was stunned.
Qu Jiangxuan's face twisted savagely. Because Sushang had struck with her sword, the ritual in the Land of Blood Slaughter had been forcibly swept up and transformed into sword intent, ruining his bloodline enhancement ritual. He flew into a humiliated rage.
"Dragon Chancellor!"
"This old servant obeys!"
An old man understood his meaning. He stepped out of the group, shifting slightly as he prepared to go argue their case.
Sushang looked over.
Her expression indifferent, she raised the Radiant Sun Sword in her hand, and sword intent gushed forth.
The Dragon Chancellor stopped in his tracks.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
The might of an immortal sword was terrifying!
She isn't really going to attack, is she?
This woman is actually in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, no weaker than me!
Now I can neither advance nor retreat...
The Dragon Chancellor swallowed, his thoughts running wild.
Sushang was already preparing to draw her sword!
Just then!
"Why bother with him? We're leaving."
Xie Feng called to her.
"Yes, Master!"
Hearing this, Sushang obediently put away her sword, her delicate figure retreating a step. In an instant, the dawnlight dispersed, and the two vanished without a trace.
The sky was as clean as if a dog had licked it.
The Dragon Chancellor gaped in astonishment.
Master?
This was second place on the Heavenly Ranking!
Strictly speaking, first place was mysterious and had never appeared in the world, so she possessed the strongest known physique!
The Primordial White Tiger Immortal Physique!
A mighty cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage!
Someone like her actually obeyed another person's every word and followed his lead?!
"What kind of person can command a Primordial White Tiger?!
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The Dragon Chancellor coughed uncontrollably in fright.
Qu Jiangxuan's expression was utterly gloomy, and no one knew what he was thinking!
His expression shifted between darkness and light...
"Back to the clan!"
Qu Jiangxuan flung his sleeve fiercely and spoke bitterly.
A thousand li away.
A woman sat on a tree trunk, propping up her pretty face as her long, fair legs swayed gently, showing her cheerful mood.
Qiuye!
Her phoenix eyes held a smile.
"You've really done me a great favor this time.
"Thank you~"
Elsewhere.
A man emerged from the shelter of the trees, dressed in black, with black hair and a handsome, jade-like face. His back was straight, his bearing calm. He was none other than the Setting Sun Sect's Holy Son, Chu Shanjun!
"That sword strike was indeed extraordinary. The flaw in the jade was that, powerful as the immortal sword was, there was not the slightest technique. More cultivation is needed!
"But...
"Beautiful as the radiant sun may be, the setting sun comes in the end!
"Will you be my opponent? Or is the person behind you my true opponent?
"Thinking of it this way...
"I somehow find myself looking forward to meeting you both!"