Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 601 Blood and Fire Burn the Sky, Slaying the Scoundrels; Thirty-Six Deadly Slayers Capture the Netherwing (Seeking Donations and Subscriptions!)

The Golden Dawn Shuttle struck successfully and vanished into nothingness in an instant, leaving only the left half of Lu Cheng's body in a mess, with broken flesh and torn pieces of flesh that were a shocking sight.

Blood gushed out like a spring, then was licked and devoured by the lifeblood fire burning all over its body, making a sizzling sound.

Intense pain surged through his soul like a tidal wave, but Lu Cheng's mind remained calm and serene, as if surveying the world from above.

His remaining right eye blazed with fiery golden light, piercing through the pervasive blood-red hue and the eerie, ghostly aura of the secret array, instantly taking in the entire battle:
Venerable Tianmu stood calmly and composed in mid-air. His magical power was still as deep as the sea. At this moment, he took out an ancient jade ruler. His body was filled with spiritual energy, which was watertight. Moreover, his extremely domineering demon-breaking divine light was ready to be unleashed at any time. The Spirit Clan was indeed the number one clan in the Earth Immortal Realm. The foundation of the Mahayana cultivators in the clan was so profound that it was hard to describe.

Kill this scoundrel?

It cannot be accomplished without exhausting all strength and taking a long time, and blood is life force, the most powerful weapon in Lu Cheng's hands, which he will never squander extravagantly.

“The Heavenly Eye Venerable possesses profound magical power, excelling in both offense and defense. I need to find those who are strong in offense but weak in defense, so that each person I kill will greatly reduce the pressure.”

Lu Cheng's gaze shifted.

Lady Youying's figure became increasingly elusive, her aura almost merging with the shadows of the secret array. Her pair of dark eyes flickered uncertainly, clearly intimidated by Lu Cheng's previous ruthlessness in severely injuring Wangyou and killing Qingming Daoist. Her spirit had been dampened, and at this moment, she instinctively focused on defense rather than offense.

Of course, this demon is skilled in mental illusion magic, and my current thoughts are very likely the impressions that the other party has subtly conveyed to me.

Like Lady Youying, the Forget-Worry Hermit has lost his edge and is no longer a threat.

The Devouring Centipede, this naturally unique insectoid demon saint, was fiercely attacked by the Netherworld Ghost Scorpion. Although it severely injured the Netherworld Ghost Scorpion, it was also stung hard by the opponent. Now it is somewhat weak, but its sturdy carapace, comparable to a ninth-order defensive magic weapon, is indeed difficult to completely break in a short time.

Master Wujian, this man is the most dangerous!
At this moment, he was sitting cross-legged in a corner at the edge of the secret formation, with an ancient flying sword that emitted bluish-white sword light lying across his lap.

Although he was recuperating and recovering from the exhaustion of using the ultimate sword technique, countless tiny sword energy threads were hidden around him, weaving and connecting in the void, as if an invisible net was being quietly woven.

This person is more offensive than defensive, and what is most terrifying is that he is extremely skilled in sword fighting strategy. If he is allowed to live, he could kill me countless times!
"But if you're going to kill him, you can't show that you want to kill him!"

Once the desire to kill arose, a plan was immediately devised.

They wanted to kill Master Wujian, but they couldn't attack him directly.

Lu Cheng suddenly raised his remaining right arm, and the Blood River Banner fluttered angrily in the wind, bursting out with an unprecedented crimson and ferocious radiance.

"You Winged Envoy, give me your life!"

A roar that shook the heavens and earth was filled with intense hatred and resolute madness.

The Blood River Banner transformed into a roaring, ten-thousand-foot-long blood dragon. No longer concerned with its own defense, it gathered all the remaining magic power that Lu Cheng could mobilize at this moment, along with its burning life-blood fire, and charged straight at the Youyi Envoy Ji Ming, who remained seated high in the sky with an unfathomable aura.

This seems natural and reasonable. Any outstanding cultivator, when forced into such a deadly predicament, would, after realizing that he could not survive, make a final, desperate strike against the person he hates most in his last moments. It seems to be the most normal choice.

This Blood Dragon Strike, with its overwhelming momentum and resolute killing intent, far surpasses any previous attack!
Wherever the ten-thousand-foot-long blood dragon passed, the ghostly energy of the secret array melted away like snow being poured on boiling water, and the space collapsed inch by inch, emitting mournful cries of unbearable pressure.

It was as if Lu Cheng had abandoned all defenses and placed all his bets on this final gamble, aiming to capture the leader first, kill the Netherwing Envoy, break through the Ghost Spirit Array, and seek a glimmer of hope.

"Oh no, he's going to break through the formation by decapitation!"

"Stop him! We must not let the envoy suffer any harm."

"A cornered beast makes a desperate counterattack; this scoundrel's fate is sealed!"

The Heavenly Eye Venerable's pupils shrank suddenly, and the ancient jade ruler in his hand shone brightly. A highly condensed beam of light, seemingly capable of severing the river of time, struck first, attempting to break the spine of the roaring blood dragon. At the same time, his figure flashed, chasing after the blood dragon's attack route.

Although Lady Shadow was afraid, she knew even more that if the Winged Envoy died, the punishment from the Spirit Lord's Council would be more terrible than death.

She let out a shriek, her figure completely disappearing into the shadows. Countless jet-black shadow spikes, carrying the power to corrode the soul, pierced towards Lu Cheng's broken body from all directions, attempting to relieve the siege by attacking Wei.

The Devouring Centipede, wounded by poison, flashed a fierce light in its eyes and forcefully summoned its demonic power. It opened its ferocious maw, and a terrifying vortex of suction power, capable of devouring stars, appeared out of thin air, covering a large area, intending to pull Lu Cheng and the blood dragon into its belly.

Although it is known that this method of using the weak to attack the strong is difficult to achieve, it can delay the opponent for a while, and his companions will naturally intercept the scoundrel.

Master Wujian also unleashed his sword strike. With a single swing, countless swords were born, their countless sword beams converging into an endless torrent, surging forth like a raging sea.

The carefree hermit had the weakest magical power and was seriously injured. Now that he was at the bottom, he simply stopped attacking.

Their reactions, up to this point, can be said to have all fallen into Lu Cheng's calculations.

Just as the jade ruler's spiritual light was about to touch the blood dragon, the shadow thorn pierced the protective flames, and the vortex of devouring essence shook Lu Cheng's figure.

The seemingly unstoppable, massive body of the ten-thousand-foot-long blood dragon, under Lu Cheng's exquisite magical control, actually completed an unbelievable "dragon turning its body" in the impossible. A blood-red Tai Chi diagram spiraled and rose around Lu Cheng.

The ultimate secret of the "Male and Female Dragon and Tiger Demon-Refining Sword Scripture" is the Tai Chi Dao Diagram. From the positive to the negative, from life to death, from extremes to their opposites, it is truly as incredible as drawing fire from water or planting lotus in fire!

Therefore, the crimson dragon head suddenly tilted to the side, and its massive body, like a taut bow released from its tension, tore through the Devouring Centipede's suction vortex at a faster speed and a more cunning angle, avoiding the lock-on of the Jade Ruler's spiritual light, ignoring most of the Shadow Spikes, and instantly switching targets.

The target is no longer the Winged Envoy, but Mr. Wujian, who was originally far from the core battlefield and is now rescuing people by flying sword.

"Wu Jian, be careful!" Venerable Tianmu realized he had been tricked and shouted in his mind.

However, it was too late.

At this point, it is impossible for anyone to reverse the magic power again and take effective countermeasures.

However, instead of showing any panic, Mr. Wujian, who was locked onto by Lu Cheng's sword intent, revealed a chilling sneer.

"Attack where the enemy must defend, and annihilate those who come to defend. Young friend Lu, we've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Before he finished speaking, the void within a hundred feet in radius of where he was sitting suddenly lit up.

Countless streaks of bluish-white sword energy appeared out of thin air, crisscrossing and layering, instantly forming a complex and mysterious "Void Heavenly Sword Formation" filled with killing intent.

This sword formation was not hastily created, but rather quietly laid out by Master Wujian using most of his own sword energy during the brief moment when he was feigning an attack on the Netherwing Envoy in Lu City to attract everyone's attention. Now, it was time to lure the enemy into the trap.

Lu Cheng's Blood River Banner crashed headlong into the core of this cold killing formation.

"Heavenly Annihilation, Ten Thousand Swords Slay!"

Master Wujian drew his sword technique, and the flying sword on his lap emitted a clear and melodious dragon's roar.

In an instant, the entire sword formation shone brightly, and billions of sword energies, condensed to the extreme, like a high-speed rotating strangulation vortex, carrying the sword intent and energy to annihilate all life, frantically cut and strangled the Blood Dragon and Lu Cheng in the formation.

Chichi, chichi, chichi——!
A series of teeth-grinding cutting sounds rang out, slicing space into countless tiny mirror-like fragments. The blood dragon roared in agony as its massive body was pierced and torn apart by countless sword energies. The dragon's body, formed from pure blood energy and Lu Cheng's magical power, rapidly disintegrated and collapsed.

Lu City, located at the eye of the storm, suffered unimaginable devastation.

His only remaining right arm was instantly shredded into a bloody mist by several sword energies, followed by his legs, and his chest and abdomen were pierced with countless holes. His torso and head, burning with blood and shimmering with golden light, were also instantly severed in the dense hurricane of sword energy.

This death came too quickly and too tragically! He was almost instantly subjected to slow slicing and dismemberment!
Boom!

A blood explosion originating from within the sword formation and spreading outwards.

The light of the Void Sword Formation slowly faded, revealing a scene of utter devastation.

The blood dragon vanished completely, leaving only a few wisps of residual bloodlust and minute cracks in the space where it had been cut. Lu Cheng's aura seemed to have been utterly annihilated.

Master Wujian's prediction was correct; he successfully slew the formidable enemy. However, his face showed no sign of triumph; instead, it was slightly pale, clearly indicating that activating such a powerful sword formation had taken a heavy toll on him. Even more critically, his correct prediction and successful strategy also meant that his opponent had taken notice of him.

"Even the Nine Deaths Venerable, who cultivated the immortal body of Taoism, could only cultivate to the tenth level of power before his life force was exhausted and he died."

Even if you were to be resurrected from the dead today, you would only have the power of four lives remaining, which would still be insufficient to kill me.

In that area, which had been nearly obliterated by the sword energy, a tiny, extremely faint spark of crimson light flickered.

Immediately afterwards, it was as if blood and fire had spread across the land, covering everything.

boom!
A blood-red figure lunged out from the center, its blood filling the sky and its aura engulfing the universe. The primordial energy of heaven and earth was inexhaustible, and its own blood and energy were endless. Even if the primordial energy of heaven and earth were exhausted, it would still be immortal as long as it merged with the Great Dao.

"kill!!!"

Next, Lu Cheng launched seven rounds of attacks at Mr. Wu Jian.

However, each attack was anticipated and defended against by Master Wujian. In addition, the full-force interceptions by Venerable Tianmu, Lady Youying, Wangyou Sanren, and Tunyuan Tianwu resulted in Lu Cheng being ambushed and defeated six times. Yet, he traded his life for a position, and even faced death.

The closer they got, the less room Mr. Wujian had to maneuver, and the more fierce and invincible Lu Cheng's close-quarters combat techniques became!

The thirteenth life, that burning right fist formed from pure blood and fire and Lu Cheng's indestructible physique, ignored spatial distance, carrying all the power, will, anger and killing intent that Lu Cheng could squeeze out at this moment, and slammed it hard towards Master Wujian's face.

Wherever the fist passes, it locks souls for thousands of miles, causes the void to collapse, and makes all laws retreat!
"You...!" Master Wujian was terrified. His proud, clear sword heart was now trembling under the influence of a pure and extreme killing intent.

In the rush, he only had time to hold his natal flying sword horizontally in front of him while frantically activating his protective sword aura.

Clang, click...

A deafening metallic clang rang out, and the extraordinary flying sword that had accompanied Master Wujian for countless years was shattered.

Beneath that fist burning with blood and fire, it shattered inch by inch, like fragile glass.

Even with undiminished momentum, the fist shattered the hastily formed protective sword aura and landed solidly on Master Wujian's chest.

puff!
It pierced right through him; it was as if Wu Jian's body had been struck head-on by a burning ancient star.

His sternum shattered instantly, and his internal organs were reduced to dust under the violent power of blood and fire. He was sent flying backward like a rag doll, spitting out not only blood but also shattered internal organs, his eyes filled with disbelief, horror, and despair.

There was no other way; he had done the best he could within his capabilities. However, the fact that a Taoist immortal body had been resurrected thirteen times in a row was something that hadn't happened even in the Earthly Immortal Realm for tens of thousands of years, or rather, it had never happened from ancient times to the present.

The ancients did not follow the times, and the present does not follow the same flaws. In ancient times, the innate spiritual energy was indeed more refined, and many innate gods, demons, and true spirits lived there. However, in terms of the development of Taoist methods, the Earthly Immortal Realm has been making continuous progress over the past tens of millions of years. In ancient times, there were innate gods, demons, and true spirits who could bring the dead back to life multiple times, but that was an innate instinct bestowed upon them by heaven and earth, and they themselves did not know why they could do it.

Historically, the one who mastered the art of immortality was a wandering immortal more than two million years ago, who could die and be resurrected twenty-four times before finally ascending to heaven.

However, he possesses the innate bloodline of ancient gods and demons. Although he is a hybrid, he is somewhat different from normal humans. Then there is the Undying Venerable, who remains to this day.

"I never imagined your body-refining techniques had reached such an incredible level. If you were to focus solely on swordsmanship, what level would you reach? Perhaps you would be no less formidable than you are today."

Despite his remaining body and irreparable injuries, Master Wujian still wanted to say something, but Lu Cheng in front of him used his left hand to form a sword, with a point of compressed golden-red light gathered at the fingertip.

With a flick of his fingertip, a golden-red ray of light, as thin as a hair yet so dazzling it was impossible to look directly at, instantly pierced through Master Wujian's brow.

The light in Master Wujian's eyes froze and died instantly. His broken body and his primordial spirit, which had been trying to escape, were completely ignited and incinerated from the inside out by the terrifying golden-red sword fire under this one finger.

The Supreme Elder of the Jue Tian Sword Sect, a giant of swordsmanship, and the strategist Master Wu Jian, has now perished, body and soul!

"Enlightenment Sword..." Venerable Tianmu's eyes widened in shock and rage.

"Impressive! It's truly unimaginable that the immortal body of Daoists could be cultivated to such a level. Master Lu, now that Daoist Qingming and Master Wujian are dead, I have no intention of pursuing anything further. If you are willing to surrender, I will exchange the contract and directly grant you their original positions in the Spirit Venerable Society. What do you think?"

Just then, the Winged Envoy, who was high in the sky and protected by the power of the Ghost Spirit Array, suddenly spoke and said these words.

Even now, all he's thinking about is trying to recruit Lu Cheng. And he seems completely unconcerned about the feelings of Tianmu, Youying, and the others.

Lu Cheng's body, wreathed in blood and flames, swayed slightly, and his aura dropped again. The cost of killing powerful enemies, especially the well-prepared Wu Jian, far exceeded his expectations.

But the flames in his eyes burned even more intensely and wildly!
To cultivate the Taoist Transformation and Ascension Techniques, one must possess an extremely formidable fighting spirit from birth.

I will not let the sky obscure my vision, I will not let the earth bury my heart, I will make all living beings understand my will, and I will make all Buddhas vanish like smoke!
Only in this way can one cultivate this technique to its most profound level.

Lu Cheng turned his head sharply, his fiery eyes locking onto Lady Youying, whose mind was shaken and whose movements had slowed slightly due to the death of Master Wujian.

"You're next!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Cheng's figure once again transformed into a burning blood rainbow tearing through the void, rushing straight towards Lady Youying. His speed was even more decisive than when he attacked Wu Jian earlier.

The battle has progressed to this point, and everyone's strength has been revealed. Among all the opponents:
The Venerable Tianmu possesses the strongest magical power and the deepest spiritual foundation.

Master Wujian is second best, and his sword fighting skills are still above those of Venerable Tianmu, but he is slightly inferior in terms of foundation.

Lady Youying came next, followed by Daoist Qingming and Devouring Centipede, with Forget-Worry Hermit being the weakest.

As for the Spirit Lord and the Winged Envoy, he has not made a move since setting up the Ghost Spirit Secret Array. He is mysterious and unpredictable. Lu Cheng has been locking onto him with the Tongxuan Sword, while conserving his life force to prepare for a potentially terrifying enemy. Even if he cannot defeat him, he must preserve the mana to escape using the Four-Nine Escape Technique.

“Lord Ghost Wing Envoy, if you do not take action soon, we may not be able to complete today’s mission.”

After much hesitation, Venerable Tianmu finally spoke these words. Given his arrogance, it was clear that he had been pushed to his limit to say such a thing.

He guessed that this Taoist Lu Cheng must have had some extraordinary encounter, obtained a very profound book from beyond the realm, and successfully cultivated it, which would have made it possible for him to cultivate such a terrifying Taoist immortal body.

As he spoke, Venerable Tianmu blocked Lu Cheng's escape light. This was because Lady Youying was skilled in using the illusionary magic of the mind to conceal and assassinate. If Lu Cheng were to successfully get close to her, the outcome of the battle or the life or death would be decided in an instant.

Two intense beams of light collided at one point. Venerable Tianmu summoned the jade ruler, divine mirror, flying sword, and divine shuttle. The divine shuttle, in particular, was incredibly mysterious and sharp!
Each time it was unleashed, it could kill or even severely injure Lu Cheng. In this direct battle, Lu Cheng was even at a disadvantage until he was killed again by the Golden Dawn Shuttle, which came and went like lightning.

At this moment, only Venerable Tianmu, Lady Youying, Devouring Yuan Centipede, and Youyi Envoy Jiming, who sat motionless with an increasingly gloomy aura, remained on the battlefield.

Between heaven and earth, blood and energy converge.

From there emerged a Taoist priest in a blood-red robe. As the head of the Taiqing Sect, Lu Cheng was naturally quite wealthy. However, after the battle, almost all of his magical artifacts and clothing had been destroyed. Now, his Taoist robe was made of condensed blood energy.

The direct loss amounted to hundreds of millions of spirit stones.

"Is this person's immortality based on the Blood River Banner and the blood energy permeating the world? If the Blood River does not dry up, the person will not die. Although it is mysterious, considering that it is related to a tenth-tier spiritual treasure, it is somewhat possible."

Thinking of this, Venerable Tianmu said to Lady Youying and the Devouring Yuan Centipede:
"You two go and break through that Blood River, I'll hold off this fiend! That Blood River supernatural power is very likely the key to his immortality!"

"I see!"

"We'll head there right away!"

Lady Youying and Devouring Centipede had already lost much of their fighting spirit after being beaten by Daoist Lucheng. Upon hearing what Venerable Tianmu said, they were filled with hope and immediately went there without considering whether it was true or not.

The Devouring Centipede arrived at the edge of the Blood River and the Ghost Spirit Secret Array, where their energies intertwined. Realizing that this was the foundation of the terrifying Taoist's immortal body, it let out a hiss. No longer caring about its injuries, it twisted its massive body violently, and a large amount of foul-smelling poisonous blood gushed out from the gaps in its scales. At the same time, its body lunged forward, transforming into a violent thrust, recklessly crashing into the Blood River and the Netherworld Flag blocking the edge of the secret array.

Lady Youying used various demonic arts and secret techniques to weaken the seal and strengthen the Devouring Centipede. At this moment, the Blood River and the ghost energy were intertwined. Breaking the Blood River's restriction would break the Ghost Spirit Secret Array's restriction. However, Youyi Envoy Jiming did not stop them. Naturally, the demon and the monster became even more unrestrained.

"Roar! Open the gate for me, Saint!"

Bang bang bang bang bang…

The Devouring Centipede burned some of its vital energy, making it exceptionally violent. As time passed and blood splattered, the blood river swirled and the ghostly energy of the secret array was forcibly smashed open, creating a huge gap.

At this time, Lu Cheng had already died four times in succession under the magical treasures and supernatural powers of Venerable Tianmu, but Venerable Tianmu also had three defensive magical treasures destroyed, and bloody fist wounds began to appear on his originally spotless body.

However, he allowed Lady Youying and Devouring Yuan Centipede to break through the Blood River Restriction without even turning his head, and continued to devote all his energy to fighting against Venerable Tianmu.

He alternated between using the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Sword and the Boundless Blood Sea Flying Sword, but he used them far more cautiously than he used his own physical body, only using them to restrain the opponent and then leaving immediately to avoid injury.

"It seems that the Venerable One's judgment was wrong. This River of Blood has little to do with that Taoist's immortality!"

Lady Shadow murmured to herself, then exchanged a glance with the Devouring Centipede:
“I can sense that the Taoist priest is fearless and wholeheartedly focused on fighting and killing. This time, I'm afraid the Spirit Lord is really wrong.”

The next moment, the massive, battered body of the Devouring Centipede, like a stray dog, disappeared into the void rift without looking back, vanishing without a trace in an instant, having simply fled.

Lady Shadow glanced back at the battlefield, especially at the Winged Envoy Ji Ming, and sensed immense fear emanating from him.

"Although forcibly breaking into this ghostly secret array is not a good choice, the entanglement of the magic power of two tenth-order immortal artifacts will inevitably lead to some loopholes, and perhaps we can escape alive! This is also what he hoped for. He did not expect that the envoy of the Spirit Venerable Society would be a fox borrowing the tiger's power."

At this moment, Venerable Tianmu's face was ashen and his eyes were extremely solemn. He looked at Daoist Lu Cheng, who was covered in blood, whose aura was constantly weakening but whose killing intent soared to the sky, as if he had crawled out of a sea of ​​blood. For the first time, he felt a strong sense of apprehension, and even a trace of fear!
"Envoy of the Silent Sea. This fiend has gone mad. Its immortality is too bizarre. We must join forces to suppress it quickly." Venerable Tianmu shouted in a deep voice, while pushing the ancient jade ruler in his hand to its limit. The spiritual light transformed into layers of mysterious white lotuses to protect his body, and the jade ruler's spiritual light was ready to be released, pointing towards Lu Cheng.

However, what responded to him was an overwhelming, dark red light that seemed to obscure everything, with blood flames burning the sky and filling his vision.

This siege turned into a messy battle in the end. Lu Cheng had no other means to use, so he used his lifeblood fire to push all the potential of his body, drive his indestructible physique, and combine it with his powerful escape techniques to create a great massacre.

As the battle progressed, Lu Cheng made more mistakes than he had made in the past thousand years combined. However, his opponent was also exhausted, his magic power was weakening, and his divine sense was becoming difficult to operate. Even among the Spirit Clan, the Heavenly Eye Venerable held a revered position.

He was a god-like figure in the Immortal Realm, but today, this god-like figure is about to be drowned by blood that has reached his neck.

(End of this chapter)