Nangong Wenjian's words echoed across the sea of clouds, carrying unquestionable confidence and a barely perceptible trace of anticipation.
He lingered no longer. His white-robed figure, like a lone wild swan, suddenly became a streak of light that shot straight toward the horizon.
The clamor on the Sword Viewing Platform grew louder. Everyone's eyes followed the vanishing white light, tremendous disappointment and even more intense curiosity welling up in their hearts.
Would the Devil-Slaying Sword Venerable... accept the challenge?
Lü Tianxing frowned deeply and quietly spread out his Divine Sense. He too was curious about just who the Devil-Slaying Sword Venerable was.
A thousand li from Heaven-Reaching Peak, Nangong Wenjian slowly descended onto a mountain that was rarely visited and shrouded in clouds and mist all year round.
A fierce mountain wind swept past. A green pine stood firm by the cliff's edge, still verdant after weathering wind and rain.
Nangong Wenjian stood alone by the cliff, his white robes whipping in the wind. His expression was calm, seemingly without the slightest trace of tension, but Sword Intent blazed around him, and falling leaves silently turned to powder as they drew near.
He stood still as an abyss, gazing into the depths of the sea of clouds as he waited.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
No one knew how long had passed.
The mountain wind suddenly stopped for an instant.
Nangong Wenjian's eyes, calm as an ancient well, finally showed the faintest ripple.
He slowly turned around.
At some unknown time, a person had appeared three feet behind him.
The newcomer wore a white robe and was not tall. Against the vastness of heaven and earth, his figure even seemed somewhat slight.
His face was utterly ordinary, but his eyes were deep as if they held the starry sky of eternity. They were calm and undisturbed, yet seemed capable of seeing through every sharp edge in the world.
As he stood there, his presence merged completely with the ancient pine behind him, the mountain rock beneath his feet, and the falling leaves. If Nangong Wenjian had not seen him with his own eyes, even his incomparably powerful Divine Sense would not have detected the slightest trace of him beforehand.
"Devil-Slaying Sword Venerable?"
Nangong Wenjian's voice was still clear, but it carried an unprecedented trace of gravity.
He could sense that the person before him was not at Void Return. Like him, the man was a Spirit Transformation cultivator of roughly the same realm.
But that presence, as weighty as a mountain and as vast as the sea, was beyond his grasp.
Han Xuanji looked calmly at Nangong Wenjian, his gaze holding neither hostility nor contempt.
This time, he had thrown caution to the wind.
By coming here, he had as good as admitted his identity.
He had no choice.
Who told the Divine Profound Sect to be so useless? Though he kept a low profile, deep down he did not want the sect to lose so much face.
On the other hand, he also wanted to see just how strong this world's peerless geniuses were and test his own strength while he was at it.
"Good."
Brilliant light burst from Nangong Wenjian's eyes. It was the ultimate exhilaration of finding a worthy opponent.
Even though they had yet to exchange blows, he could faintly sense the strength of the man before him.
He held nothing back. His immense presence erupted!
"Clang-!"
A clear sword cry rang through the valley, as if it would pierce the nine heavens!
The sword case on his back opened, revealing seven flying swords arranged inside, brimming with killing intent.
The sword light was not particularly dazzling, but it was condensed and pure to the extreme. The blades hummed, drawing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into a frenzied convergence. Sword Qi crisscrossed the valley in an instant, and countless strands of invisible Sword Intent sprang into being, densely filling the void, each imbued with an edge sharp enough to tear apart the soul!
At this moment, he used himself as the conduit and turned heaven and earth into a sword!
Even the hard rock beneath his feet silently developed fine, spiderweb-like sword marks.
An invisible domain unfolded. This was the Sword Domain Nangong Wenjian took pride in, powerful enough to crush those at the same realm.
Han Xuanji was slightly surprised. His opponent's move was somewhat like Sword Intent Forms a Domain. It seemed he had already begun to touch upon that stage and had gained some understanding of it.
"Please!"
Nangong Wenjian gave a clear shout and took one of the simple, ancient-looking longswords in hand, his Sword Intent fierce.
Faced with terrifying Sword Intent capable of instantly shattering an ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivator's mind, Han Xuanji remained expressionless. He did not even look at the Sword Qi that crisscrossed the sky, capable of shredding everything.
Han Xuanji slowly raised his right hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and formed an exceedingly profound sword hand seal.
The spiritual power within him erupted like a volcano, and an indescribable force sprang into being.
It was not a sharp edge, but absolute "control," a power that saw through all techniques and reached straight to their source!
The Sword Domain Nangong Wenjian took pride in, condensed until it seemed solid, silently melted away like ice and snow in sunlight the instant it came into contact with that power!
It was not shattered by brute force. Rather, it was as if a higher-level power had "smoothed" and "put it in order." That violent, unruly Sword Qi became gentle and docile, then... vanished entirely!
Nangong Wenjian's pupils contracted. Had his Sword Domain, which drew upon the power of heaven and earth, fallen apart so easily?
This went completely beyond his understanding of the sword path!
Yet something even more terrifying was still to come.
Han Xuanji pointed gently forward.
Great Desolation Sword Finger!
There was no mighty torrent of Sword Qi, no dazzling radiance.
There was only a single "thread," condensed to the extreme.
A three-inch Sword-Ray, finer than a strand of hair and almost transparent, emerged soundlessly from his fingertip.
Fast!
So fast it surpassed thought and perception!
In Nangong Wenjian's sight, the Sword-Ray seemed to cross the distance of space itself. The instant his Sword Domain collapsed and his mind reeled, it had already appeared three inches before the center of his brow!
It was as if an invisible hand had seized Nangong Wenjian's heart!
All the blood in his body seemed to freeze at that moment!
For the first time in his life, he felt the presence of death so clearly, and felt so helpless!
The Sword Intent, speed, and reactions he took pride in all failed before that seemingly faint, three-inch Sword-Ray!
He did not even have time to block or dodge!
Fortunately, the Sword-Ray was not aimed at the vital point between his brows.
Ding-!
A crisp sound, so faint it could almost be overlooked, rang out like a jade bead dropping onto a jade plate.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
A barely perceptible crack quietly appeared at the tip of the exceptionally high-grade spirit sword in Nangong Wenjian's hand.
Immediately afterward, a terrifying force, condensed to an inconceivable degree, traveled along the blade and through his arm, driving into his whole body like countless invisible steel needles.
"Pfft-!"
As if struck by lightning, Nangong Wenjian turned paper-white in an instant. A great mouthful of scalding blood burst uncontrollably from his mouth, staining the white robes over his chest red.
The web between the thumb and forefinger of his sword hand split open, and the longsword nearly flew from his grasp. The irresistible force sent him staggering rapidly backward. With every step, the hard rocky ground sank deeply beneath his feet, leaving spiderweb-like cracks!
He retreated all the way to the green pine by the cliff, where his back slammed heavily into its gnarled trunk, shaking pine needles loose like rain.
Nangong Wenjian barely managed to steady himself. Leaning on his sword, he knelt on one knee and gasped violently, every breath stirring the agonizing pain churning like rivers and seas inside him.
He had lost.
A single finger had made him realize that beyond every person was someone greater, and beyond every heaven another heaven.