Chapter 289: Nethergod Blocks the Way, Sword Qi Startles the Swan

In the ice crevice, the chill remained bone‑piercing, but the slight warmth of having survived the catastrophe and the excitement of success temporarily dispelled part of the fatigue.

Wang Ping and Lei Zhen each took a pill and seized the time to regulate their breath and recover.

In the battle for the Ice Abyss Key, both suffered huge consumption; Wang Ping's divine sense and spiritual power were both overdrawn, and Lei Zhen's thunderous power was nearly exhausted.

Although they had just escaped the most immediate danger, this extremely cold ice plain fraught with peril was certainly no place to linger and heal.

After roughly half an hour, their breaths stabilized a little; they dared not delay further, determined their direction, and prepared to quietly withdraw from the ice plain to head south and meet at the scorching place indicated by the token's resonance.

However, as they left the ice crevice and fled into a relatively flat glacier valley blanketed in thick snow, a strange aura, like a venomous snake lurking beneath the snow, silently began to spread.

Around the valley, the wind and snow that had been raging suddenly weakened considerably, leaving heaven and earth in an eerie silence. The air, besides the ice plain's innate cold, gained an added yin‑chill, deathly still, as if it could freeze the soul.

That was not the cold of ice and snow, but… the aura of death.

Wang Ping halted his steps instantly; Lei Zhen also became alert almost simultaneously. The two stood back‑to‑back, eyes flashing like lightning, scanning the surroundings.

"Which petty villain hides his head and shows his tail!"

Lei Zhen bellowed, his voice like thunder, shaking the surrounding snow to flutter down, yet he could not dispel that yin‑chill deathly aura.

"Heh heh… your alertness is not bad."

A dry, hoarse sound, like the pulling of a torn bellows, drifted from all directions, making its exact location hard to pin down,

"Being able to snatch the Water‑route Key from under the noses of the Ice‑Soul Spirit King and the Profound Ice Ancient Beast—quite impressive for the two of you."

As the voice faded, five dense, light‑absorbing gray‑black shadows rose soundlessly from the snow ahead, to the left, and to the right.

The shadows writhed, gradually solidified, and took shape as five figures enveloped in wide black robes.

Embroidered on the black robes was the insignia of a blood‑colored skull and twisted chains—the mark of the Nethergod Clan!

The leader, tallest of them, had beneath his black robe a pallor like a corpse's skin, and his eyes glowed scarlet, like a fiend choosing its prey.

His aura was deep and yin‑chill, and he was indeed a Golden Core Perfection cultivator; moreover, the purity and intensity of his deathly qi far surpassed that of the Netherworld Sect followers we had met before, even faintly bearing a divine majesty and the venom of a curse.

"Nethergod Clan… Xue Cha!" Lei Zhen's face grew grave as he whispered to Wang Ping,

"He is the famed slaughter‑god of this generation of the Nethergod Clan; it is said he has cultivated the Nethergod Scripture to the realm of Death Qi Domain, his whole body wielding deathly arts that are mysterious and hard to guard against, specially eroding spiritual power and soul, extremely troublesome. The four beside him are also not weak—at least late Golden Core."

Wang Ping's heart sank. Having just endured a great battle and not yet recovered, and now in this ice‑plain environment, the Nethergod Clan's deathly qi, though yin‑cold, is not of the same origin as the plain's extreme cold, so it affects them relatively little; yet they face a well‑rested, clearly targeted elite squad of the Nethergod Clan, putting them at a grave disadvantage.

Xue Cha's scarlet eyes examined Wang Ping with interest, lingering a moment on the storage bag at his waist that faintly emitted water‑type fluctuations, then he rasped,

"The Water‑route Key is indeed on you. That saves me the trouble of tangling with those ice lumps." His gaze then turned to Wang Ping,

"And you… Wang Ping, right? In the Hundred Races Pavilion you were somewhat special. Outside the Ancient Sword Tomb you slipped away quietly, and now you've teamed with Lei Zhen to seize the Water Key… the secret you carry may be worth even more than the key."

"Cut the nonsense!" Lei Zhen's body flared with lightning again, though not as fierce as in his prime, still fierce: "Want the key? Ask my fist first!"

"Heavenly Punishment Thunder Method, utmost yang and utmost rigid—indeed a bane to deathly qi." Xue Cha showed no concern, lightly raised his hand, and said, "Too bad you two are now spent arrows. Moreover, our Nethergod Clan's deathly qi is no ordinary yin evil. Nethergod Domain, open!"

As his words fell, a ring of gray‑black ripples burst outward from him, instantly covering a radius of several hundred zhang! Inside the domain, light dimmed, temperature plunged, and a thin gray‑black mist filled the air.

Wang Ping and Lei Zhen immediately felt their spiritual power circulation turn sluggish, and their souls seemed shrouded in a layer of dust, sending waves of weakness and drowsiness.

Moreover, an invisible, malicious deathly qi, like a bone‑deep ulcer, tried to seep in through their pores, breath, and every crevice, to erode vitality and contaminate spiritual power!

"Lei brother, be careful! This domain can weaken vitality and pollute spiritual power!"

Wang Ping shouted low, his five‑element spiritual power circulating rapidly; especially the Yi Wood vitality in his wood‑element power and the True Sun Fire aura in his fire‑element power were aroused, forming a thin layer of intertwined green‑red spiritual light on his surface, strenuously resisting the deathly qi's erosion.

His Point Spirit Gravity Technique was also subtly laid beside him, twisting the approaching deathly qi.

Lei Zhen then shouted angrily, blazing white lightning erupting explosively, forcing open a thunder‑domain around himself; where lightning met deathly qi, a "hiss‑hiss" corrosive sound rang out as they wore each other down.

"Death‑struggle." Xue Cha sneered, waved his hand to give the order, "Take them down! People… try to keep them alive!"

The four Nethergod Clan experts at his side moved at once! They did not charge straight ahead; instead, they flickered and merged like ghosts into the surrounding gray‑black deathly qi, their forms becoming elusive and hard to lock onto.

At the same time, they began chanting obscure incantations; gray‑black chains coalesced from the deathly qi and shot like poisonous snakes at Wang Ping and Lei Zhen, their surfaces bearing faint, twisted faces wailing in pain—aimed at the soul!

"Lei brother, I'll handle the chains; you protect yourself and wait for a chance to break the enemy!" Wang Ping quickly assessed the situation, knowing they must settle the fight swiftly, or else under the opponent's domain and deathly‑qi erosion they would not last long.

He formed seals with both hands, and his Wood Golden Core and Fire Golden Core blazed forth simultaneously!

"Yi Wood Divine Thunder, purge the evil!"

"True Sun Fire, burn away the gloom!"

With a flick of his left hand, numerous threads of azure lightning, as fine as cowhair yet brimming with vitality and purifying power, shot out precisely to meet those gray‑black chains.

Though the Yi Wood Divine Thunder is not as fierce and violent as the Heavenly Punishment Thunder Method, its innate purifying and demon‑destroying power makes it a purer, more direct counter to deathly qi, curses, and other yin evils!

Hiss—hiss—hiss!

The azure lightning threads struck the gray‑black chains; the twisted faces on the chains emitted ever more shrill wails, quickly fading and disintegrating—while the threads themselves also suffered considerable consumption.

With a pull of his right hand, a filament of golden‑red flame leapt from his fingertips; initially weak, it swelled in the wind and instantly became a sweeping wave of scorching golden‑red fire, rolling toward the deathly qi that filled the surroundings!

True Sun Fire, utmost yang and utmost fierce, the source of all fire, is practically the natural nemesis of yin‑evil deathly qi!

"True Sun Fire?!" Xue Cha's scarlet eyes widened in surprise for the first time—he had not expected Wang Ping to command such pure True Sun Fire!

He hastily strengthened his domain; the dense deathly qi surged like a solid wall toward the fire wave, trying to extinguish it.

Boom!

The fire wave and the deathly‑qi wall collided, erupting in a violent energy clash; gold‑red and gray‑black intertwined and annihilated each other.

Wang Ping, after all, was not in good shape; though his True Sun Fire counters deathly qi, its quantity was insufficient, and for a moment it was actually blocked.

Meanwhile, the four Nethergod Clan experts who had merged with the deathly qi seized the chance to launch a surprise attack from four tricky angles!

Each produced a pallid bone blade, a black soul‑summoning banner, or a mourning staff entwined with resentful spirits; their attacks were soundless yet aimed straight at vital points, utterly ruthless.

Lei Zhen roared, disregarding consumption, and burst forth again with blazing lightning; his fists became a sky‑filling thunder‑shadow, meeting two opponents—where lightning struck their deathly‑qi artifacts, explosions rang out nonstop, temporarily holding them back.

But the attacks of the other two experts had already closed in on Wang Ping's rear and flank!

At the critical moment, Wang Ping's face remained calm. He did not turn back, nor did he employ any other five‑element techniques to defend.

In an instant, his entire mind and spirit sank into the depths of his dantian, into that invisible "sword" that had been silently nurtured by his own essence, qi, and spirit, blended with five‑element metal spiritual power.

That was the fruition of the Sword Nurturing Technique!

Since receiving this secret art from the Qingyu Great Adept, he has constantly followed its method, taking himself as the furnace and myriad laws as fuel, quietly refining that initial strand of sword intent.

He fused his insight into the birth and death of the five elements into it, engraved the destructive will of thunder into its blade, imparted gravity's steadiness and unfathomability to its momentum, and poured all the tenacious mind and sharp intent forged through his cultivation, battles, and life-and-death experiences!

This sword is formless and substanceless, hidden in the dantian, nurtured by the soul. It is never drawn unless at a critical moment.

Because each draw is not only to kill enemies, but also a huge consumption of one's own essence, energy, and spirit, and also a tempering and trial of this strand of innate sword qi.

But now, facing the Nethergod Clan's strange death qi domain and siege, ordinary means cannot win quickly, and prolonged battle will surely be dangerous!

"Raise troops for a thousand days, use them in one moment. Today, I will open your blade with the blood of the Nethergod Clan!"

Wang Ping silently chanted in his heart, and his eyes suddenly shot out an unprecedented sharp radiance! That radiance was not an external display of spiritual power, but a pure to the extreme, seemingly able to cut all things and sever laws, "intent"!

He pointed his fingers like a sword, without turning back, merely making a light slash at the attacks coming from behind and the flanks, seemingly casual.

There was no earth-shaking momentum, no dazzling burst of sword light.

Only a thread as fine as a spider's silk, nearly transparent yet bearing an indescribable sharpness and platinum luster, extended silently from his fingertip.

At the instant this line appeared, time seemed to freeze for a moment.

The gray-black death qi permeating the air, as if encountering the sharpest paper cutter, silently split to both sides, revealing the astonished figures of the Nethergod Clan experts behind.

The sinister yin-qi magical treasures in their hands—whether bone blades, soul-summoning banners, or mourning sticks—upon contact with this platinum fine line, silently snapped in two like a hot knife cutting butter!

The fracture surface was smooth as a mirror; the resentful spirits and death qi clinging to it could not even utter a wail before being completely annihilated!

The feral smiles on the faces of the two Nethergod Clan experts froze instantly, replaced by boundless shock and fear!

They could feel that the fine line contained a will of sharpness pure to the extreme, fierce to the extreme, seemingly able to sever all tangible and intangible things!

That was not sword qi condensed from spiritual power, but more like… a manifestation of law!

"No good!" The two had their souls fly out, desperately trying to retreat and dodge.

But, it was too late.

The platinum fine line, as if alive, traced a beautiful, traceless arc like an antelope's horns in the air, lightly grazing the necks of the two.

There was no blood spatter, no flying heads.

The two merely stiffened, the light in their eyes instantly dimming and extinguishing.

Immediately afterward, their bodies, together with their black robes and protective spiritual light, turned to the finest ash like weathered sand sculptures, silently scattering in the gray-black death qi domain, not a trace of remnant soul left!

One sword, double kill! Both form and spirit destroyed!

This shocking scene not only caused the two Nethergod Clan experts fighting Lei Zhen to hesitate and lose their composure, but also made the pupil of the distant domain controller Xue Cha contract sharply, his crimson eyes filling with incredulous astonishment!

What kind of sword is this?! How is it possible?! His death qi domain, his clansmen's protective spiritual light and yin evil magical treasures, before that fine line, were as flimsy as paper!

And just as the platinum fine line had slain the two and seemed about to exhaust and dissipate, it seemed to "smell" a richer, purer source of death qi—Xue Cha!

The line paused slightly, then shifted direction, transforming into a stunning platinum sword light that ignored spatial distance, shooting straight at Xue Cha's face! Wherever the sword light passed, the death qi within the domain automatically parted and dissipated, as if making way for it!

Xue Cha's face drastically changed! He felt a deadly threat! The sharpness and murderous aura contained in that sword light made even this Nethergod Clan's god of killing feel his soul prick with pain!

"Nethergod Guard!" He roared, no longer bothering to maintain domain suppression, he fiercely slapped his chest, and the bone talisman hanging at his neck, jet-black as ink and carved with a ferocious ghost head, suddenly shattered!

The vast, pure death qi and resentful power surged out from the shattered bone talisman, instantly condensing before him into a thick black shield covered with twisted ghost faces!

Upon the shield, a faint Nethergod phantom appeared, emanating strong protective and cursed aura, obviously a life-saving secret treasure!

Screech——!!

The platinum sword light fiercely stabbed onto the black ghost shield!

There was no huge collision sound, only a grating noise as if metal were being slowly cut. At the point where the sword light touched the ghost shield, blazing white platinum and black light erupted, death qi and sword qi wildly consuming and annihilating each other!

The ghost shield violently trembled, the ghost faces on its surface issuing painful wails, cracks rapidly spreading across it! Yet it ultimately blocked that stunning sword strike!

The sword light's power finally exhausted, slowly dissipating in the air.

And the ghost shield before Xue Cha, with a soft "click", completely shattered, turning into drifting black mist that vanished. Xue Cha himself let out a muffled groan, his face paling further, obviously the secret treasure destroyed and his mind shaken.

He stared fixedly at Wang Ping, his crimson eyes filled with dread, anger, and a hint of barely perceptible fear. That sword light… was too terrifying!

Had he not been granted a life-saving Nethergod bone talisman by his clan, he would have been severely injured even if he hadn't died just now! This person actually still hides such a terrifying trump card!

After Wang Ping unleashed that sword, his face instantly turned as pale as paper, his body swayed imperceptibly, and a strong sense of emptiness welled up within him.

One strike of the Sword Nurturing Art consumed more than he had imagined, nearly draining the greater half of his remaining essence, energy, and spirit. Yet he forced himself to stand firm, his gaze still sharp as a sword, coldly locking eyes with Xue Cha; his hand, unbeknownst when, had already grasped the cold jade box containing the Waterwalk Key, poised for a desperate, all‑or‑nothing fight.

Lei Zhen also seized the moment to burst forth his last strength, driving back the two other Nethergod Clan experts whose minds and spirits were wounded, flashing to stand before Wang Ping; though his breath was weak, his fighting spirit rose high, he stared fixedly at Xue Cha.

For a moment, the field fell into a strange stalemate. The death qi domain's power greatly waned due to Xue Cha's distraction.

Xue Cha's face shifted unpredictably. Wang Ping's shocking sword's deterrence was too great; he couldn't tell whether the opponent could still unleash a second sword. Although Lei Zhen was spent, the eruptive power of his Heavenly Punishment Thunder Law was not to be underestimated. Most crucially, the commotion just now had been significant; one could not rule out drawing other strong beings or remnant ice soul spirits upon the ice plain...

"Very well… Wang Ping, I have remembered you." Xue Cha finally squeezed these words out from between his teeth, his voice hoarse,

"The Waterwalk Key is temporarily kept with you. Heaven Pillar Mountain… we will meet again! Then, I will surely take your life and retake the key!"

Having said that, he without hesitation waved his hand, rolling up the remaining two subordinates, his body death qi surging, transforming into a gray-black evasion light that sped off into the distance, quickly vanishing amidst the wind and snow of the ice plain.

Only after the Nethergod Clan's aura had completely dissipated did Wang Ping slowly exhale, his body swaying slightly, supported by Lei Zhen.

"Brother Wang, are you alright? That sword just now… was damn cool!" Lei Zhen, both worried and excited, exclaimed, "What sword technique is that? I couldn't even see it clearly!"

Wang Ping shook his head, swallowed a few pills that restored divine sense and spiritual power, and weakly said: "The sword-nurturing secret technique consumes too much; it cannot be used again in the short term. This place is not suitable for lingering; we must leave quickly."

Lei Zhen also understood the gravity, asked no more, supported Wang Ping, and the two again employed evasion light, swiftly withdrawing from the ice plain.

During flight, Wang Ping inwardly inspected his dantian. The wisp of innate sword qi that had been nurtured for a long time, having undergone its first "unsheathing to drink blood," though it had not directly drunk blood, had slain two experts of the Nethergod Clan; their deathly aura and lingering souls could also be regarded as a special "blood food," which did not dissipate but became somewhat more condensed.

Only its hue, previously pure platinum, now faintly bore an almost invisible trace of extremely light dark-red killing qi; the edge was restrained yet seemed even more perilous.

The Sword Nurturing Art says: "When the sword is drawn, it drinks blood; killing qi arises spontaneously." Killing qi is not demonic, but rather the manifestation of the sword's edge and the fruit of slaughter; it can be controlled and used, and is also a resource for tempering sword intent.

"Nethergod Clan Blood Slaughter..." Wang Ping silently noted this name.

This person is formidable in strength, employs mysterious methods, and repays grudges; he will surely become a great enemy in the future.

The wind and snow of the ice plain howled again, covering the battle's traces and lingering deathly aura.

Two somewhat disheveled yet resolutely determined figures finally broke out of the frigid ice plain's bounds, racing southward toward the scorching place where everything ultimately converges.

The third key, and the final stage of Heaven Pillar Mountain, await.