Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 123 Master of the Void Blade
Ling Xuan hovered in mid-air, his gaze calmly sweeping over the powerful figures around him, his voice clearly carrying to every corner: "Everyone, I was just cultivating a secret technique, not because any treasures appeared. I apologize for disappointing you."

"Hmph, you think it's a cultivation secret technique just because you say so?" Lord of the Sinking Fire sneered, his voice booming like thunder in everyone's ears.

His fiery red jade eyes were fixed on Ling Xuan, his tone filled with unquestionable authority, "Hand over what you have on you so I can examine it. If there really is no source of that strange aura from just now, I will return your things to you. I, a universe lord, would not covet such trivial possessions of yours."

Regardless of whether Ling Xuan had just obtained a powerful treasure, he would not let go of the top-tier domain-level treasure on the other party's body.

That's something even the Lord of the Northern Prisons covets.

“I said it’s not a treasure, and it isn’t. I wouldn’t casually show any treasures I possess.” Ling Xuan met the gaze of the Lord of the Sinking Flame without the slightest fear, responding calmly.

After breaking through to the Quasi-Emperor realm, he had enough confidence in his own strength.

Although the Lord of Sinking Fire is a powerful ruler of the universe, his strength is only average. Even with a divine body that has a thousand times the genetic power, his combat strength is only at the second-tier level.

He is only slightly stronger than some of the most powerful and unparalleled universe overlords. He has just broken through to the Quasi-Emperor realm and has also rushed to the fifth level of Quasi-Emperor in one go. He is not without the power to fight.

More importantly, this Lord of the Sinking Flame is also a universe master who has perfected the Dao of the Fire and Void Beast God, and Ling Xuan is currently comprehending the Dao of the Fire and Void Beast God. A battle with this Lord of the Sinking Flame might bring him some benefits.

The Lord of Sinking Fire's entire body exuded the aura of the Fire-Void Fusion Law, as if he were the embodiment of the Fire-Void Fusion Law. Just one glance was enough for Ling Xuan to feel that his peak of the first level of the Fire-Void Fusion Law was beginning to loosen, and it seemed that he could break through to the second level at any moment.

"Arrogant." Upon hearing this, the Lord of Sinking Fire's expression turned ugly. As a renowned and great cosmic lord, when had he ever been so contradicted by a top cosmic overlord?

Even the most powerful cosmic overlords are nothing more than ants who have not yet become masters of their own universe.

His combat strength is barely comparable to that of a newly broken-through first-tier universe master. How can he be compared to a veteran universe master like myself?

A surge of violent rage rose from the depths of his heart, instantly igniting the air around him. The churning flames surged like a tide, engulfing him.

The Lord of Sinking Fire stopped wasting words and directly revealed his killing intent.

With a flick of his enormous hands, two giant hammers, each over a thousand kilometers long, appeared out of thin air.

The hammer was made of an unknown dark red metal, covered with dense golden runes that seemed to move around like living things, emanating a terrifying aura that sent chills down one's spine.

"Die!" The Lord of the Sinking Fire roared, his voice seemingly transcending the barriers of time and space, carrying the savagery and ferocity of the ancient wilderness, slamming into Ling Xuan's eardrums.

His arm muscles bulged, and he swung the giant hammer in his hand fiercely at Ling Xuan.

The giant hammer ripped through the sky, and wherever it passed, space was like glass struck by a heavy hammer, instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks. These cracks intertwined with the shattered fragments of space, forming a destructive torrent hundreds of kilometers wide, surging towards Ling Xuan with a force capable of scorching the heavens and destroying the earth.

The moment Shen Huo made his move, Ling Xuan clearly felt the complete fluctuations of the Fire-Void Fusion Law within the other party's body. The fluctuations were like surging waves, constantly impacting his senses.

Stimulated by this fluctuation, the previously loose bottleneck of the Fire-Void Fusion Law within his body was instantly broken, and a brand new power surged within him, allowing him to successfully break through to the second level of the Fire-Void Fusion Law.

"Good timing!"

Ling Xuan stared at the terrifying torrent with a solemn expression, his eyes growing ever sharper.

He could clearly feel the power of the Fire and Void Law contained within the torrent; that violent and domineering power was enough to annihilate a cosmic overlord in an instant.

However, the Quasi-Emperor Law within him was also fully activated at this moment, and an overwhelming power surged through his limbs and bones.

The vast imperial might was as imposing as a prison, and the surrounding space and time all submitted to it at this moment.

He clenched his right hand, and the Heaven-Slaying Blade, which had also broken through to become a quasi-Emperor weapon, appeared in his hand.

"Break through illusions!" Ling Xuan shouted in a low voice, which was not loud, but it carried a kind of resolute determination that saw through everything.

A dazzling silver-white blade of light shot out like a meteor chasing the moon. This blade of light appeared slender, but it embodied his complete understanding of the first move of the Heaven-Slaying Blade Technique, "Breaking Illusion." Without any earth-shattering momentum, it precisely struck the connection point between the giant hammer and the torrent of spatial laws—the weakest point of the entire attack.

A deafening clang echoed through the heavens and earth, as if two stars had collided.

The silver-white blade light collided with the torrent of flames, bursting forth with a blinding light that caused the surrounding powerful figures to instinctively close their eyes.

The Lord of Sinking Fire felt an overwhelming and unstoppable sharpness coming from the giant hammer. That power, like a drill, surged wildly into his arm along the handle of the giant hammer, constantly annihilating his divine power.

What shocked him even more was that the seemingly unstoppable torrent of flames and space was actually torn open by this blade of light, creating a gap several kilometers wide. The flames and spatial fragments at the gap were instantly annihilated.

"Interesting. Your secret technique is quite impressive. You've actually created the ultimate secret technique of a universe master." The Lord of Sinking Fire steadied himself, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, before coldly snorting, "But this is just the beginning. Don't think you can be arrogant in front of me just because of this."

Having said that, the Lord of Sinking Fire swung his giant hammer again, this time manipulating the Fire-Void Fusion Law with even greater precision.

As the giant hammer swung, the surrounding space began to twist and fold, forming a series of constantly rotating vortexes. Within these vortexes burned eerie blue flames, emitting a powerful suction force, attempting to pull Ling Xuan into them and annihilate him in the struggle between the flames and the space.

"Break through illusion!" Ling Xuan used the same move again, the Quasi-Emperor weapon, the Heaven-Slaying Blade, swirling nimbly in his hand, its blade light constantly shooting out.

Each blade of light precisely slashed towards the core of the vortex. Those seemingly powerful vortexes were shattered under the attack of the "Breaking Illusion" blade of light, and the flames dissipated as well.

"Is this all you have in your swordsmanship? It's far too monotonous." The Lord of the Sinking Fire frowned slightly as he watched his attacks being neutralized time and time again, his tone laced with sarcasm. "If that's all you've got, you might as well surrender and hand over what you have, and perhaps I'll spare your life."

"This move is enough to deal with you." Ling Xuan's tone was calm, but the blade in his hand became even sharper.

His figure flickered constantly, weaving through the gaps in the Lord of Sinking Fire's attacks like a ghost. Each strike of his blade carried the intent of piercing illusion, aiming directly at the Lord of Sinking Fire's vital points.

Seeing that Ling Xuan remained unmoved, the Lord of Sinking Fire's anger intensified. He suddenly crossed his two giant hammers, and the runes on the hammers instantly lit up, forming a huge fiery cross. The space around the cross began to burn.

He slammed the giant hammer down on Ling Xuan, and a fiery cross erupted, transforming into countless tiny threads of fire, like a giant net that enveloped Ling Xuan.

These seemingly thin threads of fire possess terrifying penetrating power, capable of easily tearing through space. Ling Xuan's eyes narrowed, and he activated the Quasi-Emperor Laws within his body at full power. The Heaven-Slaying Blade swung rapidly in front of him, creating an impenetrable curtain of blades.

The "Breaking Illusion" blade light flashed continuously on the blade screen, severing the incoming flame threads one by one. The flame threads collided with the blade light, bursting out with dense explosions, like firecrackers.

The powerful figures around were deeply shocked by this earth-shattering battle.

"This Void Blade Venerable is too powerful! He can actually stand up to the Lord of Sinking Fire head-on!"

One of the powerful figures couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, his face filled with disbelief.

"Yes, the Lord of Sinking Fire is a veteran Universe Lord who is renowned throughout the universe. Could it be that Venerable Void Blade has also broken through to the Universe Lord level?"

Another powerful figure remarked, his eyes filled with awe.

"It's not impossible. The universe has a long history, and many powerful individuals have been able to break through quickly after obtaining a treasure that perfectly suits them. It's likely that Venerable Void Blade just obtained a supreme treasure that perfectly suits him, thus taking the final step."

"Look, the immense pressure emanating from the Lord of the Void Blade is vying with the Lord of the Sinking Flame for control of a spacetime," said Venerable Purple Rain.

"If that's true, Venerable Void Blade is clearly already a Universe Master. Moreover, he is a Universe Master of a special life form. Once he breaks through, his life gene multiplier is stronger than that of an ordinary life form. In addition, with his powerful secret techniques, his strength is no weaker than that of the Lord of Sinking Fire."

"But I clearly didn't see the descent of the fundamental laws of the universe just now. To become the master of the universe, one needs the descent of the fundamental laws of the universe to transform the body, right?"

"Perhaps the Lord of the Void Blade also has an even more powerful clone. The descent of the fundamental laws of the universe is selective, and this clone of the Lord of the Void Blade has already converted divine power elsewhere."

"That's the only explanation; otherwise, it just doesn't make sense." Everyone nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)