Chapter 392: Heroes Should Die by My Sword

"Flee?"

"Those who cannot defeat me generally cannot escape me."

Jiang Ding shook his head and pointed a finger.

Boom!

The Great Clarity Flying Sword vanished, rushing toward the golden ape with a sky-filling intent of destruction, its speed far exceeding the limit a Jin Dan Zhong Qi cultivator could achieve by burning their vital blood.

A bone-piercing chill came from behind.

That was the Soul-Destroying Spirit-Breaking Sword, more terrible than the most vicious demonic poison swords; once pierced into the body, death was certain, with no possibility of sacrificing a tail to save one's life—the entire body would turn to dust.

"Kill!"

The yellow leopard turned back and roared, his eyes bloodshot; under the burning of his vital blood, the magic power within his body grew restless, his furry arms bulging with muscle as he gripped the golden blade tightly and slashed backward.

A sky full of golden blade qi followed, covering the entire heavens.

The Great Clarity Flying Sword arrived precisely at that moment.

Ding!

Blade and sword clashed, a huge burst of sparks blooming, followed once again by the terrible sound of Crack!

"Damn it!"

"What kind of flying sword is this!"

The yellow leopard was forced back hundreds of meters by a tremendous force, his tiger-mouth aching, his soul throbbing with sharp pain.

Looking down, he saw the hand gripping the blade was already a mess of flesh and blood, with drops of fresh blood falling into the sky.

On the blade, another crack deep enough to reach the spine appeared; the Zhong Pin Fa treasure blade, refined for hundreds of years, was wailing and trembling, its spiritual light dimming significantly, almost on the verge of shattering and collapsing.

"With one more strike, you will die."

Jiang Ding's voice came softly: "Rest assured, your head will become part of Master Tushan Xiancheng, used to intimidate successors like you, and will not be wasted in vain."

"Does saying this make you feel honored, as if your life was not lived in vain?"

"Your Excellency!"

The yellow leopard felt a great chill in his heart and forced out: "I have connections; I am one of the famous Blood Cloud Eighteen Riders of the Northern Plains."

"My eldest brother is the great cultivator Blood Flowing Cloud, a quasi-Nascent Soul realm expert; he is highly respected among the scattered cultivators of the Northern Plains, having risen from the bottom without judging others by family background, and has slain Jin Dan cultivators from the twenty-eight families of the Zhengmo Alliance many times, even escaping from the hands of a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Liu Dao Sect."

"My eldest brother is righteous to the clouds; he never bullies the weak scattered cultivators outside the twenty-eight families."

"This time, I provoked you of my own accord; if I am defeated, robbed, or injured, he will not intervene."

"But I am his sworn brother; we swore brotherhood with all our brothers and sisters three hundred years ago to jointly resist the Zhengmo Alliance. Over hundreds of years, many have perished, and our bond is deep."

"If I die, without asking the reason, he will surely take revenge for me."

"This time I admit defeat and am willing to fully compensate you, Daoist friend."

The yellow leopard wiped the spiritual imprint from his storage bag, threw it out, and said earnestly: "This matter is known to all Jin Dan cultivators in the Northern Plains; there is no falsehood. I beg you to spare my humble life."

"I am willing to swear a Great Dao poison oath, never to reveal today's events."

"Blood Flowing Cloud?"

"A scattered cultivator expert who rose in the family-ruled Northern Plains?"

Jiang Ding searched the memories of Tian Kuang Dao Ren for a moment and indeed found relevant records; all the experiences were admirable, and he could not help but exclaim: "This person is indeed a hero, arrogant toward the high but never bullying the weak; truly something to yearn for."

"Your Excellency's meaning is..."

The yellow leopard's heart rejoiced.

Relying on this move, he had escaped death many times from the hands of experts, including Jin Dan cultivators from small and medium families; without affecting themselves, out of respect for his eldest brother's reputation, they would still let him live.

"The meaning is, you must still die."

Jiang Ding revealed a slight smile.

"To kill such a hero without cause would harm my Dao heart; I am a kind person and cannot do that."

"But if he comes to my door himself, is that not a great blessing?"

"Haha..."

"Thank you, Daoist friend. Please proceed on your journey."

Boom!

The intent of the Great Clarity Flying Sword was scorching and vigorous, extremely excited, with the intent of destruction spreading in all directions; its sword speed suddenly surged, descending openly upon the golden ape's head.

"Damn sword madman!"

The yellow leopard cursed desperately, his once-warm heart instantly turning ice-cold, and a terrible aura began to spread.

"Kill!"

He suddenly bit his tongue, letting the scalding vital blood mix with magic power to burn, forming a raging flame mixed with blood light.

The flame spread over the golden monkey fur; amidst a sizzling sound, it ignited the flesh and blood, and boundless flames crazily converged toward the golden blade, causing its might to surge step by step, shaking apart the sky-filling clouds and mist, its killing intent wild and chilling.

"Die for me!"

The yellow leopard roared, fiercely swinging this ultimate sublimated slash; boundless confidence returned, as if he had returned to the years when the Blood Cloud Eighteen Riders faced the siege and pursuit of many families.

No matter how great the suffering, it could be slashed through with one blade!

Boom!

Blade and sword struck; flame and sword qi collided, spiritual lights mutually annihilating, and they actually held in stalemate for a moment.

Crack!

Then, a crisp sound appeared, extinguishing all hope, leaving only a vast expanse of ice-coldness.

The golden great blade treasure broke into three pieces, its spiritual light completely extinguished, flying off in all directions.

A deep blue flying sword cut through a black iron shield treasure barely forged, pierced the fragile protective shield, and slashed into the neck covered in golden monkey fur; the body, said to be comparable to a treasure, proved utterly useless.

Boundless destructive sword qi surged in, destroying all life while preserving the body.

"My older brother... will avenge me."

The divine light in Huang Bao's eyes dimmed, and with infinite resentment, he spoke his last words in this world.

A body devoid of any life force fell toward the earth.

Mid-air, the body paused; a dim Jin Dan and a nearly dissipated divine soul, carried by a azure flying sword, hovered before the youth in green robes as the brilliant sword light receded.

"Has the flying sword affected my judgment, making me a bit reckless? Actually, this person could have been let go."

Jiang Ding took out a top-grade Soul-Search Talisman and placed it on the head of the weak divine soul, secretly checking it once.

"Affected?"

"No effect at all."

"I am still cautious. His older brother isn't even at the Nascent Soul stage; I have been as cautious as possible. If I were any more cautious, I would have to bury myself in the ground, care for nothing, and let others snatch my wealth away."

"Of course, provided what this person said is true."

Moments later, the Soul-Search Talisman and the divine soul turned to ash together; a wisp of dim spiritual light was gathered by Jiang Ding and read.

Scenes flashed by, and this person's life appeared rapidly before his eyes.

"It is true."

"This Blood-Flowing Cloud has some substance. Initially, he was merely a horse slave for the Yin family, a mortal noble of the Human Path in the Liu Dao Sect. Relying on a low-level Gong Fa called the Hunyuan Classic left behind by a scattered cultivator, he rose to prominence in the Northern Plains and once escaped from under a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"He perhaps possesses talent on the level of a Dao Son. Of course, due to his postnatal education, without a heaven-defying opportunity, his achievement would fall far short of being comparable to a Dao Son."

"Take, for instance, the Liu Dao Holy Son in this person's memory: he achieved Jin Dan before the age of a hundred, a heavenly prodigy at a hundred."

Jiang Ding said calmly.

"In the joint research of the Immortal Gates and the nine Jiudaxian Sects, achieving Jin Dan too early is a path to disaster. If the divine soul lacks tempering and magic power lacks polishing, the future often requires several times or even ten times the duration to make up for it, and success is not guaranteed."

"The Dao Sons of the nine Jiudaxian Sects polish themselves bit by bit, not pursuing cultivation speed; they start slow and then accelerate, gradually laying a foundation capable of supporting a Void Refining Great Power."

"Cultivating step by step like this, even if no great opportunities arise in the future, one will inevitably achieve Soul Transformation, with a ten to twenty percent possibility of reaching Void Refining."

"As for the likes of the Liu Dao Holy Son, the peak of Nascent Soul is most likely his endpoint; with a great opportunity, he might achieve Soul Transformation, only to have his path end there."

"This is the gap between postnatal Immortal Dao education and the depth of the sects."

3

(End of this chapter)