Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

Chapter 186 Kill Zhang Jiexi, Kill Yan Kunlun

Zhang Jiexi stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering amidst the ruins. His gaze fell calmly on Gu Guanqi, and he scrutinized him briefly before saying, "I've long heard that Sword Immortal Gu Guanqi is incredibly arrogant; seeing him today, I can confirm it's true. Now that General Yan and I are joined forces, and tens of thousands of troops are arrayed outside the palace walls, you, a mere lone individual without any help, dare to show yourself?"

Gu Guanqi stood amidst the rubble, his white robes spotless, his Autumn Water Sword hanging at his side. Sunlight streamed down through the gaps in the clouds, bathing him in a pale golden glow.

He looked up at Zhang Jiexi, his tone as calm as still water: "I never need an accomplice when I kill."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiexi paused slightly, then burst into loud laughter. The laughter echoed through the ruins, tinged with mockery: "What a fine 'I never need help to kill'! As expected of a sword immortal, arrogant and conceited! I hope your strength matches your arrogance!"

Gu Guanqi remained expressionless, slightly raising his eyes, and asked, "Will you all come at me together, or one at a time?"

Before the words were finished, a thunderous roar suddenly exploded out.

"Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

'

Yan Kunlun suddenly charged out, his figure enveloped in fragments of the tattered Nine Tribulations Battle Armor, like a ferocious beast unleashed from its cage.

The Vajra Dharma image behind him expanded rapidly the moment his body sprang up, quickly solidifying from a faint, semi-transparent phantom and rising layer by layer.

Golden light emanated from within the Dharma image, illuminating the entire ruins. Dust churned within the pillar of light, and rubble was scattered and rolled by invisible waves of energy.

The Vajra image more than doubled in length in just two or three breaths, its entire body exhibiting a dark golden texture, as if it were a true form forged from ten-thousand-year-old black iron.

The Buddha's face was lowered, its eyes slightly closed, and its lips tightly pressed together, yet a destructive rage was gathering between its brows. It stood there like an iron mountain rising from the earth, blotting out the sky and the sun.

"What are you so arrogant about? I could slap you to death!"

Yan Kunlun let out a roar, like thunder rolling in the sky.

Immediately, he soared into the sky, stepping on the shattered blue bricks, like a shooting star launched from the ground. The enormous Vajra Dharma image moved in sync, raising its right palm from its side, its five fingers spread wide, blotting out the sky and the sun. Dark golden patterns flowed within its palm, those patterns surging slowly like magma, emitting a suffocatingly hot aura.

The palm of the Dharma image descended from the sky.

When that palm struck, it blocked out most of the sunlight.

Wherever the palm strike passed, the air was compressed into visible white waves, layer upon layer, like a moving wall of heaven, crushing the ground with overwhelming force. The broken stone pillars and scattered bricks in the ruins were instantly crushed into dust upon contact with the palm strike, leaving not a single intact pebble behind.

Wei Tanjin lay paralyzed in the ruins, looking up at the gigantic golden hand that blotted out half the sky, his pupils suddenly contracting. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his chest, he screamed hoarsely, "Alliance Leader Gu, don't fight him head-on! This guy has completely adapted to the Celestial Vajra Realm, get out of the way—"

'

The sound was suppressed by the force of the palm strike, becoming intermittent and dissipating amidst the surging air currents.

Empress Dowager Yuwen and Zhao Qingci stood beneath the broken wall behind them, their faces pale, gazing at the giant golden hand descending from the sky.

Empress Dowager Yuwen subconsciously clenched her sleeves. At this critical moment, she realized that Yan Kunlun was in his best condition, far surpassing his condition when he first broke through.

That palm strike was terrifying!

At this moment, everyone stared intently at the scene.

In the center of the battlefield, Gu Guanqi slightly raised his head.

The giant golden palm had already pressed down more than ten feet above his head. The lines on the palm were clearly visible, and a wave of scorching air rushed towards him, causing his long hair and robes to flutter wildly behind him. Yet his face remained calm.

Then, he drew his sword.

The moment the Autumn Water Sword was drawn, a sword's cry, like a bell from beyond the heavens, was clear, resonant, and far-reaching, piercing through the wind and thunder and the surging air currents.

That was no ordinary sword sound. It carried an indescribable "resoluteness," as if the sword had developed self-awareness the moment it was drawn from its sheath.

Gu Guanqi raised his right arm, his Autumn Water Sword pointing diagonally to the sky.

He didn't build up momentum, didn't rely on luck, and didn't make any unnecessary moves.

In that instant, his gaze became one with the sword.

There is no longer any distinction between man and sword; the sword is him, and he is the sword. They are united in one place, forming an inseparable and supremely pure "slash" character.

Then, he drew his sword.

A sword separates two worlds.

The moment that sword was thrust out, the entire world seemed to fall silent.

The sound of the wind disappeared.

The sound of gravel hitting the ground disappeared.

The faint shouts and clashing sounds of the Imperial Guards in the distance were all abruptly silenced in that instant.

Instead, there was a deathly stillness, pure and absolute, like the silence after the end of all things.

The sword light burst forth from the tip of the Autumn Water Sword.

At that moment, that sword strike resembled the crimson of blood left behind after absorbing all the colors of the world.

The sword light condensed into a single line.

That line was extremely thin, as thin as a spider's silk, as thin as the silver edge of moonlight filtering through a crack in a door. It shot out from the tip of the sword, straight, decisively, and without any detour, meeting the giant golden hand that descended from the sky.

The moment the sword light touched the giant golden hand.

There was no loud noise, no explosion of light, and no earth-shattering collision.

There was only a very light and subtle "hiss," like a sharp blade cutting through thin paper.

The line of sword light pierced through the palm of the giant golden hand, penetrating directly through the center and passing through the enormous Dharma image palm without any obstruction.

The sword light continued its undiminished momentum, rising straight upwards, piercing through the Dharma Image's arm, its shoulder blade, and its head.

A straight crack appeared from the center of the forehead to the chin of the twenty-foot-tall Vajra statue.

The cracks are extremely fine, so fine that they are almost invisible.

But it was that invisible crack that caused the entire statue to begin to disintegrate from the inside out.

First, a faint golden light peeked out from between his eyebrows, like a deflated sack.

Then came the jawline, neck, chest, and abdomen, where golden light surged wildly from the cracks, only to quickly extinguish in mid-air.

The dark golden luster on the surface of the image peeled away inch by inch, like gold leaf falling off a wall, fluttering down and turning into countless fine metal dust particles, which were then scattered by the wind.

The Dharma image is collapsing.

Starting from the head, inch by inch, piece by piece, it all vanishes into nothingness.

But the sword light did not stop.

It pierced through the head of the Dharma Image, through the torn clouds behind it, and straight into the sky, as if it wanted to cut all the way to the heavens.

As the sword light faded, Yan Kunlun's expression remained frozen in the arrogance and violence of his earlier remark, "Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

Then, his pupils suddenly contracted.

He looked down at his chest.

There was a hole there, a very narrow and tiny hole.

However, it was only the size of a needle tip and pierced through the heart.

Yan Kunlun's body instantly lost control, his limbs hanging limply, and he fell straight down from mid-air like a piece of withered wood that had been cut down.

"Bang--

'

A dull thud echoed, dust billowing up and settling down.

Yan Kunlun fell backward onto the rubble, his eyes still open, but the light in his pupils had been completely extinguished; his life force had vanished.

The shattered Vajra image vanished completely behind him, leaving only a few wisps of pale golden embers drifting in the wind before disappearing without a trace.

A deathly silence reigned above the ruins.

Empress Dowager Yuwen and Zhao Qingci supported each other as they stood by the broken wall, gazing at the corpse lying on the ground. Then they looked up at the white-clad figure still holding a sword. Their lips moved slightly, and after a long while, they finally uttered, "The Heavenly Vajra—it was actually broken in one move."

Zhao Qingci leaned against the broken wall, staring blankly at Gu Guanqi's back, and said softly, "Yes—they actually won just like that."

This is unbelievable! Just how high is Alliance Leader Gu's martial arts skill?

66

Meanwhile, under the eaves in the distance, Zhao Mingce slowly stood up, gazing at the white-clad figure who had shattered the Dharma Form with a single sword strike. His eyes gleamed with a strange light, and his tone was filled with amazement: "Truly worthy of being called a celestial being! Such skill is truly astounding!"

6

Shen Qingqiu, standing to the side, let out a long sigh and said, "He has never lost before. I knew it, and this time will be no exception, definitely!"

7

In the center of the battlefield, Zhang Jiexi stood at the edge of the ruins, his scarlet official robe fluttering gently in the wind. His pupils contracted slightly, and he muttered, "This sword—who can withstand it honorably?"

.

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly reached out and beckoned.

On the palace wall, a dark, heavy sword case had been hanging for who knows how long.

The sword case sprang up suddenly as Zhang Jiexi moved.

"Zhengzhengzhengzhengzhengzhengzheng66"

The eight sword cries almost formed a single line.

Eight longswords flew out of their sheaths at the same time, their blades gleaming with a cool light in the sunlight, each carrying a distinct character.

Some were as heavy as mountains, some as light as feathers, some as sharp as lightning, and some as soft as silk. They swirled and arranged in the air, like a star map scattered by the wind, hovering around Zhang Jiexi, their sword tips all pointing at Gu Guanqi.

Zhang Jiexi suddenly took a step forward with his left foot.

As he took that step, his figure suddenly became ethereal, as if he had been "diluted" by something in that instant, his outline becoming blurred and transparent, like a drop of ink spreading in water.

He lunged at Gu Guanqi.

The eight longswords moved in response. They no longer flew in parallel, but intersected, spun, and flipped in the air, like a torrent woven from sword light, rapidly flowing around Zhang Jiexi.

The trajectories of those swords intertwined yet never collided, echoed each other yet remained independent, weaving a dense, impenetrable net of swords.

The next moment, Zhang Jiexi seemed to transform into a sword and vanish.

Gu Guanqi's pupils contracted slightly as he thought to himself, "Is it a domain that forms its own world? Or a special cultivation technique?"

He sensed that Zhang Jiexi's aura was intermittent, sometimes present, sometimes absent, as if it didn't exist, yet also as if it did.

The next moment, the eight longswords fell, and at that moment, the sky was filled with a sword intent, as if a vast ocean was pouring in from the Milky Way.

Gu Guanqi drew his sword once more.

A sword separates two worlds.

The crimson sword light bloomed once more, heading straight for the two longswords that were flying towards it from the front.

The moment the sword lights collided, the two longswords had no power to resist. The blades broke in the middle, the broken surfaces as smooth as mirrors, and the broken swords fell helplessly to the ground.

Then, the crimson sword light pierced through the broken sword shadow, penetrated the protective qi, and went straight into Zhang Jiexi's body.

However, the moment the sword light pierced Zhang Jiexi's chest, Gu Guanqi's brows furrowed slightly.

He felt no real resistance where the sword light touched. It didn't feel like piercing flesh; it felt more like throwing a sword into a bottomless pool, the blade sinking in without splashing a drop of water.

Zhang Jiexi's "body" completely blurred in that instant, like a painting soaked in water, its outline quickly becoming indistinct and then disappearing.

The crimson sword light passed through his vanishing afterimage and disappeared.

"It seems to be a domain!" Gu Guanqi said in a deep voice.

At the same time, the remaining six longswords arrived.

They no longer attacked in a straight line, but transformed into six swirling streams of light, rapidly circling around Gu Guanqi. The trajectories of those swords became denser and faster, their sword light intertwining to form a flowing curtain of light that enveloped him.

Then, a terrifying sword intent instantly pressed down.

Then, the light curtain suddenly contracted.

In that instant, everything around Gu Guanqi disappeared.

The ruins vanished. The broken walls vanished. The sunlight and cloud shadows vanished.

The exclamations of Empress Dowager Yuwen and Zhao Qingci in the distance vanished. All sound, all light, all presence were completely cut off in that instant.

He stood in a vast expanse of chaos.

There was no up or down, no left or right, no front or back. All around was an endless gray-white void. The longswords were gone, Zhang Jiexi was gone, and even the ground beneath his feet had ceased to exist.

He simply floated there, as if he had been thrown into a void without beginning or end.

"A trivial skill!"

Gu Guanqi snorted coldly.

That sound, though not loud, was like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, creating ripples in the gray-white chaos.

In the next instant, everything in heaven and earth returned to its original place; ruins, broken walls, sunlight, and cloud shadows—all returned to our senses in an instant.

Everything that just happened was nothing but an illusion.

At this moment, Gu Guanqi was still standing in the same spot.

Zhang Jiexi had already closed in on him, his long, slender finger hovering an inch above his forehead.

A thin golden thread of light, as fine as a hair, condensed between his fingers, like a ray of solidified sunlight. It only needed to move half an inch closer to completely break through his protective aura.

Gu Guanqi remained expressionless, then suddenly raised both hands and unleashed a move that resembled riding six dragons.

A dragon's roar exploded amidst the ruins, and six golden energies, carrying an overwhelming force, slammed head-on into Zhang Jiexi's chest, striking his protective aura.

Zhang Jiexi's figure was like a kite blown by a strong wind, flying backward off the ground, his feet carving two deep grooves in the blue brick floor.

As his body flew backward, he clenched his right hand, and the six longswords suspended in the air hummed simultaneously, carrying a blinding cold light, like six meteors streaking across the sky, attacking Gu Guanqi from six directions at the same time.

The sword light intertwined to form a net.

Gu Guanqi neither dodged nor evaded, but instead unleashed an extremely powerful burst of true energy from his entire body, like a volcano that had been dormant for many years being suddenly ignited in that instant.

A bluish-white aura emanated from him and spread outwards in all directions. The six longswords trembled in unison the moment they touched that aura. The cold light flowing on the blades dimmed for a moment, like candle flames extinguished by a gust of wind, before being blasted away. They tumbled several times in the air and then embedded themselves diagonally into the ruins, their hilts trembling.

The next moment, Gu Guanqi lightly touched the ground with his feet, and his figure had already appeared in front of Zhang Jiexi like a ghost.

He waved his right hand, and countless black silk threads surged from his palm, covering the sky and the earth like a black torrent, enveloping Zhang Jiexi from all directions in an instant.

However, when the silkworm silk touched an area of ​​about ten feet around Zhang Jiexi, it vanished silently, like ice and snow falling into boiling water. It was as if another world surrounded him, swallowing up all external forces without even causing a ripple.

Zhang Jiexi steadied himself, his robes and hair remaining perfectly still, his expression calm. He looked at Gu Guanqi, his hands behind his back, letting the dense silken threads surge around him. He said indifferently, "Gu Guanqi, it seems I'm missing a killing move to kill you, but you can't do anything to me either. How about we call it quits and make peace, wiping away all grudges after today?"

Gu Guanqi smiled slightly, a faint smile devoid of any warmth or malice, and said, "No, I still think it's better to kill you."

Zhang Jiexi raised an eyebrow and said, "I know you have a trump card, but I have one too!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Jiexi ran directly towards the dense black silk threads beside him, instantly surging into the surging silk like a great river. He rushed out without any hindrance, then lightly touched the ground with his feet, rose into the air, still with his hands behind his back, and swooped down towards Gu Guanqi.

At that moment, the surrounding air seemed to freeze, and a heavy sense of oppression suddenly descended, as if hundreds of mountains were falling from the sky.

Gu Guanqi slightly raised his eyes.

In an instant, a thick, inky demonic energy surged forth from his body. It was a calm, profound demonic energy, as deep as an ancient abyss. The demonic energy churned, condensed, and settled around him, transforming into a layer of dark purple light that enveloped him.

The Heavenly Demon Secret and the Heavenly Demon Arena suddenly unfolded.

In an instant, the world became clear and sharp in Gu Guanqi's perception, and he seemed to become the master of this small space.

His will is the rule here, his thoughts are the order here.

Immediately, the Heavenly Demon Domain began to erode towards Zhang Jiexi's direction.

Zhang Jiexi's dive abruptly stopped, and he was frozen in mid-air.

His domain clashed with Gu Guanqi's Heavenly Demon Domain.

At that moment, the air distorted and space trembled.

The rubble on the ground was crushed into dust by an invisible force, the palace walls began to crack, and fine cracks appeared in the void, spreading and breaking apart, making a crisp sound like shattering glass.

Zhang Jiexi chuckled, "You also have a domain? But your domain doesn't seem as strong as mine!"

Having said that, he began to swoop down once again.

Gu Guanqi looked up and unleashed his enhanced Golden Goose Skill.

With one step, he rose into the air.

As he took that step, a black lotus flower bloomed beneath his feet. The lotus was formed from pure demonic energy, its petals layered upon each other, each gleaming with a dark luster, like a night flower blooming from the deepest abyss.

He lifted his other foot and took a second step.

This kick was a golden lotus. The golden lotus was radiant, flowing with a gentle Buddhist light, and Sanskrit characters were faintly flowing along the edges of the petals, like a holy light falling from the Pure Land.

One step into a demonic lotus, one step into a golden lotus.

Demonic energy and Buddhist light, darkness and light, profundity and holiness—two completely opposite forces alternately bloomed beneath his feet, each step causing the demonic field to surge even more intensely.

He walked step by step, ascending through the air, as if there were invisible staircases in the void.

Zhang Jiexi's pupils contracted slightly, and then he pointed with one finger.

As that finger was pointed, it was as if a long river was pouring down from the sky, carrying immense force, surging towards Gu Guanqi. The river contained a vast Daoist aura, as if the will of destiny itself had materialized in that instant, ready to crush and devour everything that stood in its way.

Gu Guanqi continued to walk on air, and at that moment, a series of Buddhist chants suddenly resounded in the void.

The chanting sometimes seemed near, sometimes far, sometimes high, sometimes low, like hundreds of monks chanting in unison in the sky. Yet, the chanting also carried an indescribable eeriness, sometimes solemn like the morning bell of an ancient temple, sometimes alluring like the enchanting sound of a deep valley. These two completely opposite auras intertwined, like vines entwining the edges of Zhang Jiexi's domain, seeping in and disintegrating little by little.

This is the Heavenly Demon Sound, the Heavenly Demon Sound activated by the Cihang True Qi.

These waves of sound, interwoven with the chants of Buddha, demons, and Sanskrit, surged forth like invisible walls, layer upon layer.

Zhang Jiexi's finger force, which was like a cascading galaxy, disintegrated instantly upon touching the eerie chanting, just as ink falling into clear water.

The long river vanished.

Zhang Jiexi's pupils suddenly contracted.

Gu Guanqi had already raised both palms.

As his left hand rose, the Heavenly Demon True Qi surged forth, and dark purple light condensed into a turbulent demonic tide in his palm. As his right hand rose, the Compassionate Qi suddenly soared, and golden Buddhist light gathered in his palm into a budding sacred lotus.

One demon, one Buddha; one darkness, one gold.

Two completely opposite forces intertwined and merged between his palms, slowly condensing into a strange lotus flower accompanied by the eerie Buddhist and demonic chants.

The lotus was half gold and half purple. The golden half radiated a gentle Buddhist light, and every line on the petals exuded holiness and tranquility; the purple half surged with deep demonic energy, and the edges of the petals shimmered with faint dark light, like ghostly fire drawn from the depths of the underworld.

It hovered between Gu Guanqi's palms, slowly rotating, faster and faster, larger and larger. The half-gold, half-purple light merged and sublimated as it rotated, emitting an aura that transcended Buddha and demon, good and evil.

Gu Guanqi loosened his grip.

The Buddha-Demon Lotus left his palm, tracing an arc as it flew towards Zhang Jiexi. Its flight was slow, even deliberate, yet that slowness carried an irresistible inevitability, as if some predetermined destiny was slowly descending.

Zhang Jiexi swooped down, his robes fluttering in the wind.

He pointed his finger again, but the force shattered instantly.

He could only watch as the lotus flower drew closer and closer.

The moment the lotus touched the edge of his domain, it first flashed with golden light, then shone with a brilliant purple light, and then—it bloomed.

In that instant, it was as if a silent bell tolled through the void, piercing the heavens and the earth. The entire ruins trembled, the air within a hundred feet radius suddenly twisted, and the rubble on the ground was bounced up by the shockwave, hovering in mid-air for a moment before falling back down.

As the half-gold, half-purple lotus flower bloomed, its petals unfurled one by one, each carrying a distinct power. The golden petals scattered pure, holy light, like the first snow falling into the mortal world; the purple petals surged with deep, demonic energy, like undercurrents rising in the deep sea.

Buddhist light and demonic energy intertwined, forming a huge vortex in the void.

The vortex spun slowly, and wherever it passed, Zhang Jiexi's domain was like a torn curtain, peeling away and dissipating layer by layer.

A blinding beam of light shot into the sky from the center of the vortex, piercing straight into the clouds.

Within the pillar of light, the Buddha's light and the demonic energy were like two intertwined dragons, entwining, permeating, and sublimating each other.

Zhang Jiexi fell to the ground, his inner energy dissipating uncontrollably like a stream caught in a whirlpool.

His robes were torn by the shockwave, his hair ornament was shattered, his long hair fell over his shoulders, he staggered, his knees buckled, and he knelt on one knee on the ground.

"puff----"

A mouthful of blood spurted from Zhang Jiexi's mouth, blooming into a dark red amidst the interplay of Buddhist and demonic light.

The light gradually faded.

The dust slowly settled on the ruins.

Gu Guanqi stood in the void. A step away from his feet, there was a lingering shadow of a vanished demonic lotus, and a step away, there was the outline of a golden lotus about to dissipate.

He was surrounded by both celestial and demonic energy.

He stood in the air, his ethereal and holy aura of transcendence and purity still present, like an immortal descended from the heavens; yet around him, there was also a faint demonic aura, deep and dark, like a thin mist rising from the abyss.

Zhang Jiexi knelt on one knee on the broken blue bricks, his chest heaving violently, blood still spilling from his mouth.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Gu Guanqi.

"What a perfect example of the coexistence of Buddha and demon—" he said in a deep voice, "I did not lose unjustly."

Gu Guanqi's voice was utterly holy: "You deserve to die!"

After saying that, he flew away towards Zhang Jiexi.

Just then, a whooshing sound came from the air.

The sound came without warning, sharp and piercing, as if the air had been torn apart.

Out of the corner of Gu Guanqi's eye, he saw a streak of dark light shooting towards him from the direction of the palace wall. It was a long spear, completely black, with a layer of dark golden energy wrapped around its tip.

Wherever the spear passed, the air was compressed into a visible white arc, and the gravel on the ground was whipped up by the strong wind, carving a deep ravine along its path.

Before the gun even arrived, the overwhelming killing intent had already pressed down.

Gu Guanqi didn't even turn his head. He simply raised his right hand slightly, spread his five fingers, and made a half-hearted grasp on the long spear that was flying towards him.

In that instant, the black spear, carrying immense force, seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall. The spear suddenly stopped in mid-air, its speed decreasing drastically, from a rapid flight to a slow advance, and finally came to a complete stop, hovering about ten feet in front of Gu Guanqi. The spear vibrated violently, emitting a low hum.

Then, the gun began to shatter.

Starting from the tip of the spear, the dark golden aura disintegrated inch by inch, turning into specks of light that dissipated, and then crumbled into countless tiny iron filings, which scattered in the wind like a cloud of black dust.

Gu Guanqi slowly withdrew his hand and looked up towards the palace gate.

At the entrance to the palace wall, a burly figure stood atop the ruins.

It turned out to be Yan Kunlun.

His robes were tattered, and the wound on his chest, pierced by a sword that seemed to separate them from the world, was still there.

Gu Guanqi's pupils contracted slightly.

He had clearly sensed that Yan Kunlun was dying.

"They're still alive!" Gu Guanqi exclaimed in surprise. "They actually survived?"

At this moment, Yan Kunlun's eyes were bloodshot, and his whole body was surrounded by a thick layer of murderous aura, like a ferocious beast crawling out of the depths of hell. He slammed his fist into the heavy palace gate.

"Boom—!"

The vermilion-lacquered palace gate, weighing several thousand kilograms and studded with copper nails, shattered with a crash, the door panels exploding open to both sides, scattering fragments and revealing a wide passage.

Outside the passage, a dense array of iron cavalry stood ready, their armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight, and the horses' hooves thundering as they pounded the ground.

"Looking at the chessboard, it's still uncertain who will emerge victorious!"

66

Yan Kunlun's voice exploded like thunder over the ruins.

"General, take the spear!"

At this moment, a cavalryman threw a black lance at Yan Kunlun.

The spear traced an arc in the air and landed in Yan Kunlun's palm. The moment the spear entered his hand, the patterns on the shaft suddenly lit up with a dark golden luster.

Yan Kunlun twirled the spear in his palm, pointing the tip diagonally at the ground, and suddenly roared, "Charge!"

'

The moment he finished speaking, the dense cavalry behind him surged forward like a burst dam.

The sound of horses' hooves merged into a deafening roar, like the earth groaning and the sky trembling.

Thousands of cavalry charged simultaneously, the sounds of clashing armor, neighing horses, and shouts mingling together, forming a devastating torrent that swept towards Gu Guanqi's location.

Yan Kunlun mingled among the cavalry, his dark golden aura resonating with the army's killing intent. With each step he took forward, the overwhelming momentum borrowed from the entire army intensified, his aura rising steadily, like a colossal beast devouring a river.

Gu Guanqi stood on the ruins, his white clothes fluttering in the gusts of air.

He glanced at the approaching torrent of cavalry, then at Yan Kunlun, whose momentum was steadily rising.

"Leveraging existing trends?"

Immediately, he lifted his right foot and gently stomped it on the ground.

In the next instant, his figure vanished from the spot.

His figure blurred into a hazy afterimage in the sunlight, like smoke blown away by the wind, leaving no trace to follow.

The next moment, he appeared in front of the cavalry torrent, and then he raised his leg and swept it horizontally.

Wind God Leg - The wind sweeps away the ruins of the building.

The moment that kick was delivered, the entire air seemed to be compressed into an invisible wall.

A cyan wind blade, over ten feet long, shot out from his side, carrying a terrifying wind pressure like a tsunami, and swept towards the torrent of cavalry.

Where the wind blades passed, a trench over ten feet deep was carved into the ground, swirling up rubble and dust into it, transforming into a churning earthen dragon. Dozens of riders at the forefront were thrown into the air by the wind pressure, their armor shattering like paper. Men and horses tumbled, collided, and were torn to pieces in mid-air, blood and limbs splattering in the wind blades, forming a dark red mist.

The first leg had barely stepped out when the second leg arrived.

This kick was faster, and the wind pressure was more intense. One after another, bluish-white wind blades exploded in the cavalry formation, like sharp blades cutting through cloth, tearing the charging formation that stretched for hundreds of feet apart. The front-line cavalrymen were swept by the wind blades and cut in two, armor and all; the rear-line cavalrymen were thrown into the air by the aftershocks, crashing heavily onto their comrades, creating a chaotic pile of men and horses.

Gu Guanqi's figure weaved through the cavalry ranks, as fast as an invisible gust of wind. With each step, large numbers of cavalrymen fell. In an instant, armor shattered, horses neighed, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and severed limbs covered the churning dust.

His gaze swept over the palace walls where soldiers were still pouring in.

Then, with a sweeping kick, the divine wind roared!

A tremendous leg strike erupted, slamming into the palace wall.

A loud "boom" resounded.

The section of the palace wall on the left collapsed with a crash, and the broken bricks and stones rained down on the cavalry like a hailstorm, crushing dozens of riders and their horses into the ruins. The cries of agony mingled with the sound of shattering armor.

Immediately, Gu Guanqi kicked the ground again, and a crack shot into the center of the cavalry formation like a live snake. The ground collapsed with a roar, and dozens of riders and their horses fell into the pit, where they were buried by the surging rubble.

In just a few breaths, seven or eight out of ten of the thousand iron cavalrymen had perished. The survivors reined in their horses and scattered, their formation completely collapsing. The overwhelming momentum of their charge had vanished, leaving only wreckage and cries of agony.

Gu Guanqi's figure emerged from the churning dust. He stood on the back of a wildly galloping warhorse, his white robes fluttering gently in the wind.

He stood on horseback, watching Yan Kunlun's momentum continue to rise, then reached out and the Autumn Water Sword fell into his palm.

He flicked his finger, and the sword emitted a clear, resonant ringing sound, and then—

Draw your sword.

A sword separates two worlds.

The crimson sword light bloomed once more, a ray of light as thin as a hair, yet solid as a substance, as if condensing immense power into a single needle.

The moment the sword light flashed, the wind on the entire ruins stopped.

Yan Kunlun's pupils suddenly contracted, followed by a deafening roar that exploded above the ruins: "Well done—break through!"

'

He gripped the black spear with both hands, the shaft spinning rapidly in his palms, dark gold patterns gleaming from the shaft and spreading along the shaft to the tip.

His internal energy flowed like rivers converging into a vast ocean, all poured into that single spear thrust.

Then, he thrust his spear forward.

That shot carried the overwhelming momentum of the entire army he had borrowed; wherever the gun passed, the air was torn into a pitch-black crack.

The spear thrust was incredibly powerful, as if an iron mountain had poured out from the spear tip, carrying the momentum of a surging army, and crushing towards that line of blood-red sword light.

The spear's momentum and the sword's light met in mid-air.

However, the gun shattered the moment it made contact.

That line of blood-red sword light pierced through the massive, mountain-like spear force without hesitation, just like a red-hot iron needle piercing through thin paper.

The surging air currents crumbled layer by layer before the sword light, like a curtain torn open by a sharp blade, creating a straight rift in the center that surged and dissipated to both sides.

Yan Kunlun's pupils suddenly dilated.

As he retreated rapidly, he channeled all his inner strength, condensing it into a dark golden light wall. The light wall was as thick as a city gate, as solid as an iron wall, and its surface emanated a terrifying aura of killing intent.

But the crimson sword light had already pierced through.

Like the wind passing through the mist, like light passing through flowing water.

"Pfft——

'

A very soft, muffled sound.

The crimson sword light pierced Yan Kunlun's throat with pinpoint accuracy.

The sword light did not dissipate after piercing through Yan Kunlun's body, but instead went straight into the broken wall behind him, disappeared into the blue bricks, and vanished without a trace.

Yan Kunlun's body suddenly stiffened.

"Still... unable to hold them off?" His voice was hoarse, tinged with resentment. "If this were on the battlefield, I certainly wouldn't have lost today—"

'

Before he could finish speaking, his knees buckled suddenly, and his body began to lean forward.

"General—!"

'

"General—!"

66

"Quickly, save the General!"

'

'

The surviving cavalrymen, their eyes bloodshot and their voices hoarse, surged towards Gu Guanqi from all directions. Swords flashed like a forest in the sunlight, and the thunder of hooves roared once more, carrying a resolute determination that disregarded life and death.

Gu Guanqi didn't turn his head, but merely frowned slightly.

"roll."

The sound carried an overwhelming and terrifying sonic wave. Like an invisible giant wave, it spread in all directions, compressing the air into visible ripples wherever it passed.

The charging cavalrymen were thrown into the air as if they had crashed into an invisible giant wall, both men and horses flying through the air. Their armor shattered, their horses rolled, and the cavalrymen coughed up blood and bled from their seven orifices in mid-air, falling dead when they hit the ground.

None of the remaining cavalry within a radius of several dozen feet survived.

Gu Guanqi did not turn around to look at the fallen figures; his gaze remained fixed on Yan Kunlun.

Yan Kunlun's body was tilting downwards, seemingly lifeless.

But Gu Guanqi was still worried, so he suddenly raised his hands, his fingers slightly spread.

In an instant, countless black silk threads surged forth from his palm, covering the sky and the earth like a black torrent, instantly enveloping Yan Kunlun entirely. The silk threads wrapped and covered him layer upon layer, binding his body from head to toe into a pitch-black cocoon, from which terrifying toxins surged forth.

Then, Gu Guanqi suddenly clasped his hands together.

Mingyu True Qi and Wedding Dress True Qi surged out from the palm at the same time. The two completely opposite forces, one yin and one yang, surged into the cocoon and collided and merged fiercely at the core.

"boom-!

'

With a muffled, explosive sound, the black cocoon burst open under the clash of yin and yang. The fragments of the cocoon flew in all directions, and Yan Kunlun's body, which was contained within, had completely disappeared, leaving only a cloud of grayish-white powder, which was blown into the air by the wind, like crushed dust, and dissolved in the afternoon sunlight.

Gu Guanqi withdrew his hands, and the light fell on the dust that was scattering in the wind. He said in a deep voice, "This shouldn't be able to survive, right?"

'

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ruins, Zhang Jiexi had already stood up. He clutched his chest, his face pale, a trace of blood still clinging to the corner of his mouth. He stared in shock as Yan Kunlun was blasted into dust. His pupils widened, and he exclaimed, "Even someone destined for greatness can be killed?"

A flicker of barely concealed panic flashed in his eyes.

He then lightly touched the ground with his feet, and his figure swept away towards the outside of the palace wall like a wisp of green smoke.

Gu Guanqi raised his hand, and the Autumn Water Sword drew an arc and fell into his palm. Then, he twisted his wrist, and the Autumn Water Sword flew out of his hand.

The moment the sword left his hand, a layer of cold luster appeared on its blade, like mercury solidified from moonlight. The sword traced a straight trajectory in the air, its flight like that of a flying knife imbued with life, precisely locking onto the back of Zhang Jiexi's neck as he flew through the air.

Li Xunhuan's flying dagger never misses its mark.

At this moment, Zhang Jiexi had already reached the edge of the palace wall, his toes had touched the top of the wall, and he was about to use the momentum to leap over.

But in that instant, an invisible mental force locked him firmly in place.

He wanted to activate his domain, but he was severely injured and had no strength left.

The next moment, he glanced back, his pupils suddenly contracting as he saw the silver light behind him getting closer and closer.

The next instant.

A thin line of blood, as thin as a hair, appeared on Zhang Jiexi's neck. It started as a very thin line, then quickly widened, and blood gushed from the wound, gleaming a glaring dark red in the sunlight.

Zhang Jiexi's body froze on the wall for a moment.

Then, his head slid off his neck.

His body tilted and fell off the wall, crashing onto the gravel ground beside it with a dull thud.