Chapter 564: When No Heroes Exist, Mere Boys Become Famous

The sword of the Senior Qian trigram, majestic as the wrath of Heaven;

The sword of the Kun trigram, heavy as a mountain range, pressing down on all four directions;

The sword of the Xun trigram, sharp and agile, entering every crevice; the Xun wind destroys souls. The sword of the Li trigram, the sword of the Zhen trigram, the sword of the Gen trigram...

The Eight Trigrams Breaking-Forbidden Great Array: eight heavenly swords hang across the sky, trapping and slaying the Golden Radiance Daoist at the center. Array patterns densely cover the space; destructive sword qi arises spontaneously, cleaving, cutting, and stabbing.

The ten-thousand-li barren, spirit-less desert of yellow sand shattered and crumbled. Heavenly and earthly Qi reversed its flow, returning once more under control.

"No heroes, so that a mere boy becomes famous?"

Anger appeared in the eyes of the Golden Radiance statue.

Since he had been invincible under heaven ten thousand years ago, after slaying all his enemies, he had not heard such words for a very long time.

"Iron Dragon!"

He pointed with a finger.

Roar!

The ground writhed and shattered; canyons sprang forth, rocks collapsed, and then a terrifying, several-hundred-zhang-long Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon, its body covered in backward-facing spikes, burst from the earth, charging up at the eight trigram swords in the sky.

Boom!

The eight swords descended, carrying destructive sword intent, striking down fiercely, forcing the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon back several li.

Eight huge sword marks appeared on the dragon's body, nearly cleaving the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon into several segments. At the wounds, eight sword injuries—Li Fire, Xun Wind, Earth Fiend, and others—clung like a festering sore, continuously destroying the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon's body; its iron scales fell away with a rustling sound.

The Heavenly Dragon roared repeatedly but could not break free.

"Nothing special."

Jiang Ding said calmly.

Surrounding the Eight Trigrams Breaking-Forbidden Array, the patterns hummed and rotated, swallowing the Heavenly and earthly Qi from dozens of kilometers around, pouring it all into the eight swords, which struck down once more. Destructive sword intent firmly covered all four directions, leaving no opportunity for any Jin Zhi karmic ambush.

Anger in the Golden Radiance statue's eyes intensified; it pointed again at the wailing, struggling Iron Dragon.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, the Iron Dragon raised its head and let out a long roar. Jin Chong Guang array patterns spread and filled the surroundings; then, nearly endless Jin-attribute Qi flew in from all directions, merging into the Iron Dragon's body, rapidly restoring its slashed and scattered form.

In the blink of an eye, it had returned to its original state, its momentum even greater.

Jiang Ding even saw the earth rolling and writhing; many iron ores and metal-attribute heavenly treasures and rare herbs mysteriously dissolved and collapsed.

Even many treasures exposed by cultivators turned into droplets of water, lost control, and transformed into dense Jin-attribute Heavenly and earthly Qi, which the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon swallowed in a single gulp.

Jin Zhi Karma!

Commanding the metal element of the Five Phases, a mere scrap of immortal technique!

"Immortal..."

Jiang Ding took a deep breath, filled with dread toward such a terrifying thing.

Roar! Roar!

Ding ding ding!

The eight trigram swords and the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon clashed fiercely.

The eight swords were peerlessly sharp, further empowered by Li Fire, Xun Wind, Earth Fiend, and others attached to them, surrounded by destructive sword intent. With each strike, the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon bore a deep wound.

However, it swallowed all kinds of metal; once a wound appeared, it instantly healed as before. It could be called immortal and indestructible; no matter what injury it suffered, it showed no fear.

The dragon's mouth, lined with sharp teeth, gathered the utmost sharpness of Jin Zhi; with one bite, gaps appeared in the void.

At one moment, it bit the Zhen trigram sword, which it could not control in time. Lei Chong Guang exploded; the dragon's mouth shattered, yet it paid no heed, forcibly leaving a row of fine wounds on the Zhen trigram thunder sword, deep enough to see the bone.

"Pfft!"

"Help..."

This terrible power spread to the Eight Trigrams Breaking-Forbidden Array. Below Bai Mei True Person, dozens of Jin Dan cultivators suffered severe injuries, vomiting blood; their heads bore blood holes made by teeth bites, just a hair's breadth from piercing the skull and exploding the head.

At another moment, the dragon's mouth bit the Earth Kun sword, and again dozens of Jin Dan cultivators were severely injured.

Only the Kan department commanded by Liu Yun, the Senior Qian department commanded by the Six Holy Sons, the Xun department commanded by Hei Hei Louxi, and the Li department commanded by the Liyang Sword Disciple wielded their four trigram swords with extraordinary agility.

No matter how the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon bit and gnawed, it was dodged; instead, wounds were left on its body, continuously draining its strength.

Jiang Ding simply used these four people's swords to fight head-on, while Bai Mei True Person and others, whose four trigram swords were slightly inferior, struck the dragon's tail, body, and other relatively weak points, making the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon roar repeatedly.

As time passed, the aura of the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon gradually fell from its peak state.

"Jin Zhi Karma..."

Jiang Ding's eyes flashed.

He judged that the Golden Radiance Daoist's strength was declining.

First, the surrounding Jin-attribute Heavenly and earthly Qi and heavenly treasures were limited; even with commands, there was a limit, unable to flow endlessly.

Second, commanding Jin Zhi Karma consumed the soul immensely. The Shuo Yang Canghai Tianjun himself naturally feared nothing, but here only a single strand of divided soul existed, so it was insufficient.

As time passed, the power of the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon slid to a certain level.

"Cut!"

Jiang Ding seized the opportunity, controlling the Eight Trigrams Breaking-Forbidden Array to direct part of the array's power toward the Zhen trigram thunder sword.

Boom!

A thunder sword formed above the heads of Bai Mei True Person and others in the Zhen department, then vanished amidst crackling lightning.

When it appeared again, it had arrived at the tail of the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon.

One slash downward!

Crack!

Only a crisp sound was heard; sparks flew in all directions, and the hundred-zhang-long tail of the Iron-Clad Heavenly Dragon was forcibly severed.

The severed tail fell from the sky, forming a mountain of metal and iron on the ground. At the broken peak of the mountain, thunder overflowed, and destructive sword intent covered all four directions.

If left unchecked, it would become a deadly zone for Foundation Establishment and other cultivators, unbroken for a hundred years.

"Awooo…"

The Iron Armor Sky Dragon shrieked, its aura dropping another large notch.

The Eight Trigrams Eight Swords hacked and thrust without pause; the flesh and blood around its body was continuously shaved away, falling to the ground and turning into metal iron ingots the size of boulders one after another, the material reaching third-grade.

There were even some fourth-grade metal-attribute heavenly materials and earthly treasures, all of them utterly pure and refined, rarely seen in the outside world.

"How dare you, junior!"

"If I didn't only have a wisp of a split soul, and my formation was not broken and tattered…"

Panic flickered in the eyes of the Blazing Gold statue.

After ten thousand years, this wisp of a split soul had developed considerable self-awareness, possessing the instinct to survive.

He clenched his teeth.

"Junior! Stop!"

"End the fight here, and I shall pass on to you a peerless divine art that can lead straight to True Immortal!"

The Blazing Gold statue roared.

Jiang Ding's expression was cold, unmoved.

Lead straight to True Immortal?

How dare he say it.

He himself, a person in the immortal sect nearly a Dao Child, did not dare claim to possess any True Immortal Gong Fa, remaining humble at all times, knowing the gap, not daring to utter wild boasts.

A mere cultivator from a small realm truly dares to say it out loud.

"Good grandson, I have a Mi Fa here…"

Seeing this path was useless, the Blazing Gold statue switched targets, transmitting its voice in secret; the voice was kind and gentle, seeming to carry deep affection, the warmth of blood ties.

"Ancestor…"

The Six Dao Saint Child's heart suddenly thumped violently; his several-hundred-year Dao heart was shaken beyond measure, wondering what rare treasure had been promised.

"What Mi Fa?"

Jiang Ding's voice suddenly cut in, seemingly carrying curiosity, with not the slightest killing intent.

"You old thief, you wanted to kill me earlier, I share no sky with you!"

The Six Dao Saint Child Yin Dao cursed angrily, pouring all his magic power and divine sense into the Senior Qian formation, condensing sword after sword of Senior Qian Dao Heavenly Swords that hacked down, slicing off piece after piece of flesh and blood from the Iron Armor Sky Dragon, which smashed deep pits into the ground as they fell.

"Wolf-hearted, dog-lunged beast!"

Knowing the plan could no longer succeed, the Blazing Gold statue was so angry its face turned green.

The Eight Trigrams Formation-Breaking Array flowed ceaselessly, the eight swords fell like a rain of swords, the Iron Armor Sky Dragon's aura was continuously weakened, soon about to fall to the level of Nascent Soul.

"Since you lot seek death…"

The Blazing Gold statue clenched its teeth, reached out a hand, grabbed the Iron Armor Sky Dragon and pulled it before itself, opened its mouth and bit at its neck, devouring it raw in a few bites, swallowing it whole into its belly.

Its entire body suddenly swelled up, inflating into a round sphere, leaving only a slit for its eyes.

"Gold-Piercing Divine Light!"

The Blazing Gold statue roared.

At the command of Jin Zhi's karma, all power surged into its pupils; the swollen body instantly shrank into a single mass, only ten zhang tall, an extreme contrast.

And then,

Boom!

A resplendent pillar of light bloomed with boundless Jin Chong Guang, born from within the pupils, formed by two golden dragons coiling around each other, piercing a neat, pitch-black hole through space, vanishing in an instant.

"Is that all?"

"Then you can die."

Jiang Ding's expression was bland.

Once Jin Zhi's karma could no longer affect him, blocked by the Sword Intent of Extinction, the outcome was already sealed.

Clang!

He drew the silver long sword at his waist.

"No…"

The expressions of the Six Dao Saint Child and the others changed drastically; the attractive force transmitted from within the Eight Trigrams Formation-Breaking Array instantly increased dozens of times over, brutally, brooking no refusal, drawing out the magic power and divine sense from their entire bodies.

Still not enough!

The terrifying attractive force continued to come from within the array, demanding more, and clearly informing them,

If there was none left, then lives would be used to offset the debt!

Under the suppression of the array, resistance was useless.

With no choice, the many cultivators had no choice but to burn one or two drops of essence blood, generating more magic power that surged into the formation patterns.

Boom!

Under the unprecedented ocean of magic power, the magic power and divine sense of more than three hundred Jin Dan cultivators were gathered and transformed.

Senior Qian, Kun, Dui, Kan, Gen, Li, Zhen, Xun,

The eight swords' light blazed forth!

They flew over one by one, merging into the silver long sword in Jiang Ding's hand, twisting and deforming, fusing into one, finally forming a terrifying flying sword wreathed in black and white twin qi, with chaotic qi permeating it.

The ultimate form of the Eight Trigrams Formation-Breaking Array — the Yin Yang Sword!

"Slash!"

Jiang Ding released the sword hilt, softly uttering the word.

Whoosh!

The black-and-white flying sword shot out soundlessly; along its path a neat sword-scar appeared in space, and in the span between heartbeats it traversed the vast distance, piercing straight into the Blazing Gold statue's Gold-Piercing Divine Light.

Boom!

In the crushing pressure that suffocated even Jin Dan cultivators, the surrounding void shattered in sheets; the light of heaven and earth flickered unstably, now dimming into utter darkness as if plunged into polar night, now blazing brilliant as broad daylight.

After a long while,

the divine light formed by the two golden dragons shattered, collapsed, and vanished into nothing.

"No!"

"I am a split soul of Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun — dare you kill me, and calamity shall surely follow…"

The blazing-gold statue roared in terror.

Whoosh!

The black-and-white flying sword, its spiritual light much dimmed, pierced straight through the blazing-gold statue's brow.

The blazing-gold Daoist's body went rigid.

In an instant, the split soul shattered and was destroyed, never to regain its vibrant vitality again.

Crack!

Cracks appeared on the hundred-zhang-tall blazing-gold statue, spreading from the brow outward in all directions, diffusing across the entire body like a spiderweb.

A moment later,

the statue crumbled and collapsed, breaking apart into chunks of metallic rock that tumbled to the ground.

All returned to stillness.

(End of this chapter)