Chapter 617: In the old days, how did the Great Sun Sword Child reign over the world?

"In a sword duel, no external objects are allowed."

Taiyin Sword Child Yu Yu Qianzi stepped out carrying a long sword, her teeth clenched in fury.

She looked the same as ever, dressed in a moon-white immortal gown, breathtakingly beautiful, her black hair cascading like a waterfall. Sure enough, she had already advanced to the Jin Dan Zhong Qi realm, and her foundation was absurdly solid.

On her little face, there was nothing but indignation.

"A warship is not an external object."

Jiang Ding said lightly.

This was a fundamental point; he could not let anyone deny it, or his Dao heart really would be shaken.

Because he himself believed exactly this, and would not allow others to talk nonsense, distort black and white, and disregard the facts.

"Not an external object?!"

Yu Yu Qianzi was so angry she laughed, forcing down her fury as she said: "Search through the ages, inside or outside the realm, among all sword Dao experts—has anyone ever carried an enormous mechanical warship as a sword sheath?"

"Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"Can you put your hand on your conscience and tell me whether this is actually a sword sheath?"

She stared into the eyes of the person before her.

"A warship is a sword sheath."

Jiang Ding said without the slightest hesitation.

"Fine, fine, fine…"

Yu Yu Qianzi drew a deep breath, her chest heaving violently; she had never in her life seen someone so shameless.

"Don't get cocky."

"Then I can use external objects too!"

Yu Yu Qianzi pointed at the fifth-grade void treasure Guanghan Palace behind her and threatened: "A single strike from it will take your life. Leave now and I can still spare you. The Taiyin Sword Children have been renowned throughout the ages for their magnanimity—I won't take revenge afterward."

A fifth-grade void treasure!

An Siyan and the other's expressions shifted slightly.

When it came to Sword Children from other sects, they trusted them not at all and were on guard at all times.

"Suit yourself."

Jiang Ding didn't care, and wasn't worried.

In a duel between cultivators of the same realm, using an external object would deal a devastating blow to a sword cultivator's sword heart—equivalent to fundamentally denying the sword in one's hand, no longer trusting it, and letting the precious sword gather dust.

This, perhaps, was advantageous for the Immortal Sect.

It was the Sword Child's own actions that shattered her sword heart; the Immortal Sect had exerted no external influence whatsoever.

As for danger?

There was no danger—at least not within the Immortal Sect.

"You—"

Yu Yu Qianzi was left speechless.

At this moment, she truly felt a measure of hatred for the sword Dao heritage she had received since childhood.

Rely on no external objects; take victory only with the sword in hand!

While forging a razor-sharp blade, it also imposed many limitations.

"This is the crooked path; sooner or later it will cause problems."

Yu Yu Qianzi drew a deep breath, expelled the distracting thoughts from her heart, and became calm as a lake once more.

Clang!

She drew the snow-white long sword at her waist; a clear, soaring sword-humming sound spread in all directions together with the Taiyin Sword Intent, freezing all things, sharp beyond compare and cold to the bone, supremely illusory—the sovereign of the Soul-path sword Dao.

"The previous generation's Taiyin Sword Child is already dead."

"My name is Taiyin."

Yu Yu Qianzi held her sword, bowed slightly, and said quietly: "My lord, please instruct me."

Jiang Ding was briefly taken aback.

Compared to the records in the Great Sun Sword Scripture, Yu Yu Qianzi's sword-duel etiquette seemed far more polite and humble—clearly the bearing of someone from a cultured, well-bred noble house.

Unlike the Great Sun Sword Scripture, which was practically pointing at one's nose and saying, "Come here and die."

He had assumed all sword Dao sects were like that.

"Good!"

Jiang Ding struck out with his sword.

Boom!

The sword came forth, and wind and clouds stirred.

Heaven and earth thundered; the spiritual energy within dozens of kilometers gathered, summoned by the Will of Destruction to converge beneath the sword—glorious light and heat.

Seen from afar, a blazing sun descended from the heavens; even several hundred Jin Dan cultivators would be annihilated by a single strike. It was utterly terrifying.

"Dao Child…"

An Siyan and Jin Jin Lingfeng drew a soft breath.

They had once more witnessed the power of a Dao Child of the Jiudaxian Sect—no wonder they could hold back the Immortal Sect for thousands of years, preventing any eastward expansion to this day.

Once such power matured, armies numbering in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands would be reduced to ash before it.

"This flying sword…"

Yu Yu Qianzi looked at it, not without envy.

The moment the sword master extended her divine sense, it naturally covered fifty kilometers—already comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator. Her own divine sense was only just approaching fifty kilometers, and that was at Jin Dan Zhong Qi.

Between the sword's edges, it carried a Law-Destroying effect inherently; there was no need to activate any sword art—it was simply born with it.

Po Fa Xian Jin!

Taiqing Divine Iron!

Two great divine objects fused into one furnace—even hundreds of millions of sword cultivators coming here would be jealous enough for their eyes to turn red.

Just this single sword strike was already stronger than a sword strike she unleashed at full power in Jin Dan Zhong Qi.

This is the complete-form Sword Son of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, not a counterfeit artificially created by Qingmuxian Sect.

"A bright pearl buried in dust—"

Yu Yu Qianzi sighed softly, drew her sword, and slashed out.

"Such a bright pearl, yet in the hands of such a vulgar swordsman—I feel it is unjust for it."

Beneath the night sky, a hazy Sword Domain unfurled for over forty kilometers; every sword Qi carried the cold will of the Grand Yin Sword Intent—utterly cold, utterly illusory, utterly sharp.

Though it bore no Law Domain's name, it possessed the substance of one, firmly controlling the flow of heaven and earth spiritual Qi within a radius of over forty kilometers; even a Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun could not wrest away control here.

Clang!

In the ethereal sword-chime that was both near at hand and impossibly distant, a bright moon rose within the Sword Domain.

Unhurried, neither fast nor slow.

Without the Great Sun's fury destroying everything—so orderly, elegant, and composed.

An Siyan and Jin Jin Lingfeng held their breath, watching tensely.

Before the two fearsome flying swords made contact, the two Sword Domains began to overlap; one could see that the Jin Dan Zhong Qi Bright Moon Sword Domain was falling slightly at a disadvantage in its clash with the Great Sun Sword Domain.

One could imagine that, were they of the same realm, it would be even more unbearable—a gap existed in the magnitude of power.

The Great Sun flying sword and the Bright Moon flying sword met in the span of an instant.

First came a sizzling sound; the two sword-lights annihilated each other, space dissolved, dissipating into nothingness.

The two flying swords collided thousands of times in an instant!

The swords of Grand Yin and Grand Yang struck each other, annihilated each other, and at times eerily resonated, doubling in enhancement, activating a certain resonance.

After thousands of cleaves of the sword edges,

the Great Sun sword-light gradually dimmed, while the Bright Moon sword-light grew ever more dazzling.

Jiang Ding's expression was silent.

In an instant, the sword edges cleaved each other thousands of times; the sharp clanging threatened to pierce the eardrums of the gathered cultivators.

It appeared evenly matched, but in truth, every time the Taiqing flying sword cleaved, it used sword Qi condensed at weak points to respond to the strong points of the Grand Yin flying sword.

Its swordsmanship and the flying sword's flexibility were somewhat inferior.

Often, before its sword momentum could fully unfold, it was forcibly interrupted by the Grand Yin flying sword.

Clearly the flying sword's strength was greater, yet it fell at a disadvantage in the slaughter.

If this continued, defeat was certain.

Not even a chance to struggle—about to be overcome by the weak defeating the strong.

"This is the price of sword-not-one."

Grand Yin Sword Son Yu Yu Qianzi looked down on him, earnestly instructed, and urged with painstaking words: "If you abandon external things now and focus on the Sword Dao, there is still time; otherwise in the future you will fall into a bottleneck somewhere, and never break free again."

"The Sword Dao does have its constraints, but so many Sword Dao masters don't know this—yet you do?"

"A momentary pleasure will inevitably cost you the price of lifelong regret!"

"Is that so?"

Jiang Ding's expression was calm.

His heart did not stir with any emotional ripple because of her words.

Just as he himself faintly wished to trigger the shattering of the Grand Yin Sword Son's sword heart, the other party seemed to harbor such a thought as well; no matter what, the Central Array Spirit computer would keep its promise—as long as the fault was not hers, she would be fine; the calculation was very clear.

Whether the path of the traditional sword cultivator is right or not, let's not say.

Even if it is right, from where does one walk it?

Will Badaxian Sect teach everything they have?

If one truly believes her nonsense, then in the end being stuck halfway—neither up nor down—would mean being stuck at the Nascent Soul realm for a lifetime, forever unable to break free.

When that time comes, perhaps one might receive a sigh from this Grand Yin Fairy, along with a look of pity, or perhaps a sincere apology, saying that in those days one was young and thoughtless, begging forgiveness and the like.

"Sword, nine."

Jiang Ding said lightly.

Boom!

The Taiqing flying sword, which had been entangled with the Grand Yin flying sword, erupted with dazzling radiance, endlessly scorching; with a boom it broke free.

This was the battlefield initiative brought by even greater power.

Then, the Sword Domain inhaled and exhaled the heaven and earth spiritual Qi of dozens of kilometers, and the Great Sun's light responded at extreme speed, gathering here.

The sword-light inhaled and exhaled endless solar radiance, suddenly splitting into nine, becoming nine scorching dazzling suns!

In an instant, nine suns hung in the sky, destroying the surrounding night; the cool moonlight was utterly driven away, the clouds evaporated completely, revealing a cloudless azure firmament for ten thousand li, without a trace of impurity.

Nine rounds of Great Sun, their radiance illuminating the earth!

The surrounding temperature rose sharply, in the blink of an eye reaching several hundred degrees, over a thousand degrees; mortal life could no longer survive, all reduced to charred remains, not a drop of vitality remaining—destruction was a factor inherent in the sword from the start.

"Is this a sword art you created?"

Yu Yu Qianzi's heart trembled.

Mere dozens of years, and a sword art had gone from nothing to existence, perfectly suited to its user—and this was within the Eastern Extreme Demon Sect, a place that could be called a desert for sword arts.

Such terrifying creative and research ability stirred unease in her heart.

This kind of sword art, within the Moon Vein of Qingmuxian Sect, even with the Sword Son and many elders working together, would require at least several hundred years before it could possibly emerge.

"Ridiculous sword art!"

"Crude and unbearable!"

Yu Yu Qianzi's face betrayed nothing as she mocked mercilessly.

This was the truth.

Compared to the Moon Lineage's sword art, refined over hundreds of thousands of years, this move, Sword Nine, in her eyes had only a spark of spirituality—full of openings, full of flaws, and unable to fully unleash the power of the flying sword and sword intent.

"Moon Depart!"

Yu Yu Qianzi sang softly, like a distant melody from an immortal palace.

Ting!

A crisp sword-chime spread through every cultivator's heart within dozens of kilometers, echoing in the depths of their minds—surpassing even light, surpassing the speed of the flying sword, arriving the instant it was unleashed.

Then, a moon-white sword transformed into light, charging head-on into the very center of the nine great suns—no retreat, no evasion.

An Siyan and the other's expressions changed.

This moon-white sword of light lacked the blazing grandeur of the nine great suns, but its speed—the speed of the flying sword—was far faster than the nine great suns!

Agile and exquisite, a pinnacle of cultivator sword art, nothing could stop it; it followed the shortest winding path through space and arrived in an instant.

"The second realm of the Sword Dao: Sword Qi Thunder Sound."

Jiang Ding Zi murmured.

The sword had not yet arrived, but its sound already had.

This was Sword Qi Thunder Sound—the ultimate speed of the Sword Dao.

Moreover, she had already reached the very peak of Sword Qi Thunder Sound, on the verge of breaking through to the third realm of the Sword Dao, Refining Sword into Silk—so close that it would not be strange if she broke through in the very next second.

This was the sword art of a Sword Sect Sword Child!

Apart from her flying sword being lacking, she had already reached the level of the former Sun Moon Sword Pavilion's Taiyin Sword Child in every other aspect.

In the span of a single thought, the two flying swords had already crossed.

The moon-white sword-light made contact with the first great sun.

Zizi…

At the slightest touch, the first great sun shattered like a dream-bubble—no terrifying surge, no space-melting blast—precisely pierced at the core of the sword art's structure, four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds, destroyed in a single strike.

So it was with the first great sun,

The second, the third, the fourth… all the way to the eighth great sun—every single one the same!

Beneath the moon-white flying sword, the great suns fell!

This newly born Sword Nine sword art, in the eyes of an ordinary Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun, was terrifying, powerful, flawless.

But in the eyes of a Sword Child of a hegemonic sect that had studied sword arts passed down for hundreds of thousands of years, it was riddled with flaws—like a massive wooden war-chariot racing at high speed, looking fearsome, but in reality, a single light stroke at the axle and the wooden war-chariot would instantly shatter and collapse in a roar.

"Before a Sword Dao powerhouse, never use an unfinished sword art."

Jiang Ding noted this scene before him.

Using an unfinished sword art was worse than using the most basic sword-control art—apart from being weaker, it was nearly impossible to find flaws and execute a four-ounces-deflecting-a-thousand-pounds strike.

Basic sword art was too simple to speak of any flaws.

Ting!

At the last great sun, the moon-white flying sword tried the same trick—a single sword strike to pierce the core, four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds—but encountered the Taiqing flying sword's true body suddenly accelerating; in the sliver of a hair's breadth between them, the two flying swords collided head-on, without the slightest flourish.

Boom!

Boom boom!

A terrifying explosion erupted, layer upon layer of surrounding space shattering; the cold, dreamlike moonlight and the scorching, destructive solar radiance exploded across the sky—one moment freezing flesh and trapping the divine soul in an eternal Illusion Realm, the next moment a blazing, domineering high temperature, the pinnacle of destruction, reducing both divine soul and flesh to ash.

In an instant, the result appeared.

The destructive solar radiance gradually faded; sky and earth were once again shrouded in night and the cool moonlight, shifting from the alternation of day and night to moonlight ruling the sky, with nothing else.

A blue-gold flying sword, its spiritual light dimmed, was sent flying.

The moon-white flying sword blazed brilliantly!

"Go!"

The Taiyin Sword Child's eyes suddenly turned chillingly cold, killing intent filling her chest.

The moon-white flying sword abruptly brightened!

A hazy, un-dazzling radiance enveloped the four directions; the moon-white flying sword was faster than ever, exceeding the speed of divine sense's reaction.

Even several times faster than at the initial Sword Qi Thunder Sound!

Amid the clear, soaring sword-chime, that sword-light began to twist and deform, perfectly conforming to the gaps in space; space was no longer an obstacle but became a force that propelled and accelerated it.

Sword Qi Thunder Sound,

And it already bore the characteristics of the third realm of the Sword Dao—Refining Sword into Silk!

This—she meant to slay him before her opponent had fully unleashed his final strength, seizing the gap created by his underestimation!

Yu Yu Qianzi's eyes shone bright as the moon.

She had a premonition: if she succeeded, her sword art, sword heart, and sword intent would surely step onto an entirely new level.

Because this was the contemporary Great Sun Sword Child!

Regardless, this was the result.

Beneath the sword, only the result matters.

No reason needed, no excuse needed—the long-cherished wish of the Moon Lineage over many years, the goal countless Moon Lineage Sword Dao seniors clung to in their hearts at the moment of death, was right before her eyes.

The twisted moon-white sword-light departed, arrived.

This flying sword, carrying who-knows-how-much of the Moon Lineage's hope, erupted with full power, sublimated to the pinnacle, and struck the blue-robed youth with terrifying force.

Boom!

A figure spat blood and retreated several kilometers, blood scattering across the sky, body nearly bent in two; the sword-qi shield on the surface shattered layer upon layer, only to regenerate layer upon layer, until only a thin single layer remained—along with a sword that had teleported to his chest, barely blocking the blue-gold sword body.

"Not dead?"

Yu Yu Qianzi's heart went cold, killing intent surging to the heavens, filled with unwillingness.

"Good,"

"You seized the opportunity very well, I couldn't even react in time."

Several li away, Jiang Ding wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth, using magic power to rejoin his broken body, broken bones and meridians, committing every exposed flaw in his swordsmanship to memory, his eyes blood-red, he said coldly.

"What a pity, your flying sword — I don't know where you picked up this scrap metal, it's too weak. Even though I gave you such a perfect opening, you still couldn't do anything."

Boom!

In the sky, hazy and indistinct, the super battleship Great Sun revealed its form, its cannon muzzle breathing in endless spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, magnetic light illuminating everything above and below, omnipresent, all-pervading.

The particle radar firmly locked onto the distant girl's divine soul!

The Fourth-Order Electromagnetic Thundercloud Array spread its thunder formation patterns in all directions amid the rumbling, seventy-two electromagnetic accelerators humming, the Magnetic Cloud Star-Splitting Cannon fully charged and ready to fire.

"Wait…"

"Calm down!"

Yu Yu Qianzi's scalp and heart both stood on end, an extreme chill sweeping over her entire body, she said in panic: "I'm a guest, a guest! You can't kill me, that would cause trouble!"

"We're in a spar, a spar, understand?!"

Boom!

Within the terrifying blazing Lei Chong Guang, everything vanished.

A flying sword appeared in the sky, dominating all, declaring all. It advanced with majestic grandeur — though it bore no sword Qi, no thunder of sword, no sword refined into thread, paying no heed to the shortest spatial distance, it directly smashed through and shattered space.

But its speed was terrifyingly extreme!

Viewed from the outside, one could only see a moon-white flying sword — pushed to its utmost sublimation, burning its essence and blood — being sent flying by a single slash, a new sword scar of destruction appearing on its blade, its spiritual light dim beyond compare, wailing ceaselessly, flung off to who-knows-where.

In the very same instant, a clear sword light appeared at the girl's waist, carrying the full force of killing intent, intending to cut her clean in two at the waist, grinding flesh and divine soul into dust.

What sword Qi shield, what protective treasure.

In that instant they were utterly useless, too late to activate.

"No!"

Yu Yu Qianzi screamed in terror.

At this moment, she truly experienced the fear that the predecessors of the Moon Vein Sword Dao had felt facing the Great Sun Sword Child.

Normally in sparring there was still back-and-forth, but when it truly became life and death, striking with full power, one sword fell, and all clever tricks became empty — utterly useless.

The gap between them was the immense chasm between a branch force of Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong and a realm dominator, unshakable!

Though they claimed parity, in reality they could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Boom!

In that instant, layers of law nets appeared on the moon-white immortal-skirt girl's body, protecting her — but only enough to preserve her life, nothing more.

"Pfft!"

Yu Yu Qianzi's slender waist buckled, she vomited blood and crashed to the ground, limp as mud, bones throughout her body cracking and snapping — in that instant she didn't know how many bones had broken.

Her dress and skirt were torn, flesh in many places ground to dust, her aura plummeting cliff-like, her eyes losing their luster, blank and wooden.

Jiang Ding closed his eyes, striving to calm the surging killing intent in his heart.

Just now, in the instant that moon-white flying sword descended, he had even thought he was going to die — seventeen bones broken, meridians shattered, arm bone ground to powder.

The heaviest injury since birth.

Was today.

Was from the person before him.

(End of this chapter)