Chapter 774

Shh! The man swung the massive halberd in his hand, as if dragging the entire space with it—this moment, time and space were torn apart by the halberd.

Sweeping the halberd in his hand, he tore through the hazy mist of the Heavenly Tomb, revealing the man's appearance.

At this moment, a man stepped out of the Heavenly Tomb passage—a middle-aged man, his face like the moon, eyes like stars, handsome and radiant; even in age, he retained astonishing charm.

Especially as he walked forward step by step, gripping the halberd, his wild, invincible spiritual pressure could not be hidden.

When the middle-aged man stepped out of the Heavenly Tomb passage and appeared before everyone, he stood as if commanding heaven and earth, his halberd capable of reversing the Milky Way, his spiritual pressure dimming sun and moon.

The man stood casually within the Heavenly Tomb, yet he was dazzling—like a bright moon illuminating the night sky.

The middle-aged man did not unleash an invincible spiritual pressure, did not erupt boundless spiritual energy; even his body appeared somewhat ethereal, resembling the energy bodies of the Heavenly Tomb, yet not entirely the same.

Holding a two-meter-long halberd, his demeanor casual, he already radiated an air of towering majesty.

"Huh, my limbs are rusty." The man exhaled deeply, dissatisfied with his previous strike.

"Who is this man? Is he the Flame Sovereign?"

"No, he doesn't seem human."

"Notice his body—it seems formed from a Spirit Array."

Seeing the man appear, the white-robed Marshal's face grew grave; he felt pressure from this man—a pressure he hadn't felt in many years. It had nothing to do with Cultivation Realm; this man possessed an unimaginable strength.

"Who are you? I am Wu Hao, and I do not slay nameless ones." The white-robed Marshal Wu Hao asked in a deep voice.

The man smiled faintly, recalling how long it had been since he last gave his name to an opponent: "Xiao Xuan."

"This guy is as strong as ever." Seeing Xiao Xuan emerge from the third level, Gu Yuan, who was holding off enemies beside him, muttered: "If not for the restrictions of the Dou Qi Continent, who knows how far this man—who once made Hun Tian Di retreat—could have gone."

Xiao Xuan, the invincible powerhouse of the Dou Qi Continent a thousand years ago, the universally acknowledged number-one expert, had challenged Hun Tian Di in his youth—when Hun Tian Di had not yet become Emperor, he could not defeat Xiao Xuan; he once towered over the Nine Realms, his fame resounding!

Hun Tian Di's greatest obstacle to becoming Emperor was not Gu Yuan, not Zhu Kun—it was Xiao Xuan! Had he not needed to consider the Xiao Clan, the fate of the Dou Qi Continent might have changed again!

Fully reviving Xiao Xuan was still impossible for now, but since the Heavenly Tomb arrived in the Great Thousand World and merged with it, absorbing vast amounts of spiritual energy, the soul of the Heavenly Tomb had undergone tremendous change—in short, it had grown far stronger!

This also strengthened the energy bodies within the Heavenly Tomb—like Xiao Xuan, who was already the strongest within it, his power so great he could only reside in the third level, even suppressed by the soul of the Heavenly Tomb.

Now, with the aid of Spirit Arrays, Xiao Xuan could not only move from the third level to the first, but his Cultivation Realm had also returned to its peak!

"Ding!" Wu Hao drew a DivineSword from his space ring; instantly, the blade's song echoed through heaven and earth. At that moment, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes—he swung his longsword, and divine technique light exploded; the blade unsheathed, slashing downward.

As the DivineSword slashed down, it severed Space, severed spiritual force; with one strike, even the soul of the Heavenly Tomb trembled, fearing this blade might cleave the entire Heavenly Tomb apart!

Under this blow, even a Nine-Pin Sovereign could not help but shudder.

"That sword isn't an ordinary Divine Weapon—it's a Semi-Sacred Artifact!!"

Facing Wu Hao's slash, Xiao Xuan's expression turned grave; this white-robed Marshal was not someone who relied on Cultivation Realm to crush opponents—he was intrinsically formidable.

"This is the pinnacle strength of the Great Thousand World. No wonder—the Great Thousand World is impressive! Good!" Xiao Xuan roared inwardly; with a hum, spiritual energy surged through his body. Though he had not yet been revived, with the aid of Spirit Arrays and the Heavenly Tomb's unique properties, Xiao Xuan could still fight.

Instantly, Xiao Xuan's body became like a True Dragon, divine techniques defying heaven; facing the slash, he thrust his halberd forward to block it. Xiao Xuan was an absolute battle genius—he wielded all eighteen weapons as if they were second nature; this thrust was as elusive as a gazelle's horn, leaving no trace.

Boom! Weapon collision—starfire shot skyward; the clash of their forces erupted into the heavens, shattering meteorites in the sky, the impact like a volcanic eruption—each strike carried enough power to shatter Shan Mai.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Under this blow, even the peerless genius Xiao Xuan gained no advantage—he was knocked back several steps before regaining his stance, and Wu Hao likewise retreated several steps.

"Truly worthy of being the top Marshal of the Ten Thousand Phenomena Tower—his strength is overwhelming!"

"But that man named Xiao Xuan is also incredibly strong—he blocked that slash! It's a draw!!"

After retreating several steps, Xiao Xuan sighed helplessly, his expression dimming; in these six thousand years within the Heavenly Tomb, not only had his Cultivation Realm not advanced, but without a physical body, some techniques had grown rusty.

Had he been at his peak, he would have perfectly blocked that slash.

"Can't deny age anymore—I can't kill you now." Xiao Xuan shook his head helplessly, then lifted his head and said: "But stopping you? No problem."

Hearing this, Wu Hao's gaze turned icy; a living corpse dared to look down on him so!

Wu Hao's eyes instantly sharpened, his spiritual pressure turning terrifying—the heavens and earth trembled. He spoke coldly: "You've grown overconfident—you've failed to see the gap between our strengths."

"Rang!" Wu Hao caressed his SacredSword with his left hand, as if awakening the weapon; instantly, the blade blazed like snow, illuminating all directions. When Wu Hao gathered spiritual energy into the blade, it seemed capable of severing all things—within heaven, earth, and starry cosmos, only he remained, blade and man fused as one; beneath his SacredSword, everything became insignificant.

At this moment, all who saw Wu Hao with the blade fully unleashed felt themselves shrink, become utterly insignificant; they instinctively hunched their necks, as if the blade rested upon their own throats, an unreal sensation.

"The Heavenly Blade Supreme of the Ten Thousand Phenomena Tower! One slash severed the Nine Underworld! They say he once slew an Outer Domain demon clan member nearing Demon King strength!" An Old Generation observer who had arrived to watch, seeing Wu Hao's SacredSword in hand, felt a chill in his heart—Wu Hao was no braggart; he possessed real power!

"Very good. Clearly, you've trained hard." Xiao Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly, then he smiled casually.

Xiao Xuan had once towered over the Dou Qi Continent, invincible in strength—but here in the Great Thousand World, facing Wu Hao, he showed not the slightest disdain, treating his opponent with utmost seriousness.

This was Xiao Xuan's first battle after a thousand—or six thousand—years!

"Ding!" The sword's chime rang out; as his words ended, Wu Hao launched another assault—his longsword slashed through empty space, one strike descending; the Semi-Sacred Artifact blade greedily drained spiritual energy, its surface blazing with blinding white light that illuminated the entire Heavenly Tomb, forcing spectators to squint and frown from the glare.

"Divine Soul Heavenly Blade!"

At the sight of this slash, all who saw it felt as if their souls would scatter; the power of this single strike was enough to make every Supreme Realm cultivator's limbs go limp.

"Excellent sword technique—I see the shadow of an old friend." Facing this slash, Xiao Xuan laughed aloud, stepping forward into empty space, ascending to meet the blinding white blade descending from the heavens.

Xiao Xuan swung his halberd—Boom! The sharp blade pierced Space, emitting an explosive roar.

Xiao Xuan's halberd moved with fluid grace; instantly, the entire Heavenly Tomb's power surged. He spun the weapon, and a massive black hole vortex appeared around him; as the halberd moved, it formed an invisible vortex shield blocking the front.

This time, Xiao Xuan did not choose direct collision—he opted for defense and counterattack.

Boom! The longsword struck the vortex, cleaving it in two; a long scar of blade-light stretched across heaven and earth. Even if this strike did not reach Divine Technique level, it was certainly beyond any ordinary Great Round Divine Technique.

Though Wu Hao had severed the vortex, Xiao Xuan did not stop—he spun his halberd smoothly, countering with a horizontal thrust, as if anticipating Wu Hao's strike's landing point; his counterattack predicted the opponent's move, transcending all, piercing through space, driving the halberd straight in!

This was not brute force—it was Xiao Xuan's exquisitely sharp battle instinct, seizing a flaw lasting a fraction of a second.

Dong! Xiao Xuan's counterattack deflected the longsword, then thrust straight forward, aiming for Wu Hao's face.

"Kill!!" White-robed Marshal Wu Hao's heart jolted—he could not believe a living corpse possessed such razor-sharp battle intuition! He roared wildly, leaping backward, his body piercing through heaven and space; sword followed body, riding the blade high in the heavens, once again clashing head-on with Xiao Xuan's halberd assault!

Xiao Xuan and Wu Hao instantly plunged into Space, moving in and out of it; the terrifying impact forces flung countless soldiers of the Ten Thousand Phenomena Tower into the air—some unlucky ones had no time to scream before being swallowed by the spatial black holes created by their clashes.

Their duel became the most captivating spectacle on the battlefield; terrifying power permeated heaven and earth; countless powerhouses on the Ning Tian Continent were shaken—before such power, they all felt their own insignificance.

"Peak confrontation."

"Incredible battle—who is this man named Xiao Xuan? I've never heard of him!"

Yet, as Xiao Xuan and Wu Hao fought, a sudden hum—right then, a massive Teleportation Spirit Array opened above the Ning Tian Continent, within which shimmered divine light.

Through the Teleportation Spirit Array, everyone faintly saw towering mountains rising within, spirit springs, Spiritual Beasts, the Shen Shu in full bloom, flying waterfalls—like a paradise beyond the world.

This massive Teleportation Spirit Array is about to teleport an entire continent from hundreds of millions of kilometers away! A Divine-Star Teleportation Spirit Array!

"T-that… is that the Immortal Realm?" Countless people, seeing this astonishing sight through the Teleportation Spirit Array, were stunned—even if this was only a glimpse, it was enough to imagine the strength of this continent.

"No, that looks like the Purple Mountain Sect! Look— isn't there a colossal purple treasure mountain in the center?"

One powerful figure who had come to watch gasped, his face turning pale as he muttered: "How did the Purple Mountain Sect come here too?!"

"Not surprising. The Purple Mountain Sect are experts at breaking arrays—likely summoned by the Ten Thousand Phenomena Tower to deal with those troublesome Spirit Array Patriarchs."

Although Xun Er had not yet reached the rank of Spirit Array Patriarch, it was she who had destroyed the Four Sects and Bamboo Industry with a Divine-Star Spirit Array, so all tacitly accepted that the Soul Hall possessed a Spirit Array Patriarch.

Hummm! As the array's light flickered, dozens of Purple Mountain Sect disciples clad in purple robes descended from the Teleportation Spirit Array into the Sky.

Seeing another Teleportation Spirit Array appear, Xun Er's gaze sharpened; with a flick of her left hand, a strange array plate materialized upon her Jade Hand with a hum.

The next instant, she swept her hand across it—the plate emitted a clacking sound, its original cross-shaped form shifting and reassembling. As the plate changed, her spiritual energy surged, and with a single stroke, countless Spiritual Seals rapidly merged into the plate.

Now, Xun Er could not fully unleash the Wood Square Array Plate's full power, but she could pre-inscribe part of the Spirit Array patterns onto it, allowing her to deploy arrays swiftly.

Even with the Silver Phoenix Sacred Pen, Xun Er could not single-handedly construct a Divine-Star Spirit Array—she still needed vast quantities of Supreme Spirit Liquid to complete it.

Hum! From the first layer of the Heavenly Tomb, the Ice Bamboo emitted waves of chilling cold. After Xun Er condensed countless Spiritual Seals and engraved a complete Spirit Array onto the Wood Square Array Plate, the wooden block transformed again—becoming a cube like a Rubik's Cube.

"Ice Bamboo Divine Array!"

Xun Er's expression grew grave. As she spoke, the wooden block in her hand rapidly expanded, and from it emerged a colossal Spirit Array covering ten thousand li around the Heavenly Tomb!

This special array plate allows Xun Er to pre-complete part of the Spirit Array upon it, then activate it directly through the plate—enabling faster deployment of powerful arrays.

Hum! Boom!! The moment the array was complete, a freezing slash, radiating endless cold, lashed out toward the legendary array beyond the Sky. The instant the slash struck, ten thousand li froze—Space itself could not resist, and was sealed in ice.

Puff! Puff!! The Ice Array's freezing slash pierced through the Sky, instantly severing the heads of Purple Mountain Sect disciples emerging from the legendary array. Heads soared high—blood had not yet spurted before being frozen solid by the cold.

In a single glance, Xun Er showed no mercy, spoke not a word—her strike was a Divine-Star Spirit Array, her move an absolute kill.

"Too ruthless! This is outright harvesting!"

"Damn, that black-robed person is brutal—he froze the Teleportation Spirit Array and the entire Sky! He's cut off the Purple Mountain Sect's escape!"

"This is definitely a fight to the death with the Purple Mountain Sect."

"You're stupid—the moment the Purple Mountain Sect appeared, it was already a fight to the death. Did you think they'd wait for someone to break the array?"

No matter how many Purple Mountain Sect disciples teleported in, they were merely coming to die.

All had their heads severed by Xun Er's array; heads soared, then froze into ice blocks. Countless icy corpses floated in the Sky—this shocked everyone, for it was not merely bloody, it crushed the spirit of all who witnessed it.

Yet to Wan Sanqian, an Earth Supreme, no matter how many died, he did not care. His gaze locked onto the colossal wooden block above, his voice low: "So it was you who received Ningzhu Array Master's inheritance!"

Wan Sanqian's eyes blazed as he stared fixedly at Xun Er, wrapped in black robes. Due to the Heavenly Tomb and the array, he could not see through her—so he held back, waiting to confirm whether Xun Er had truly received the inheritance.

He wanted not only Ningzhu Array Master's treasures, but his Spirit Array inheritance—that was what he truly desired!

"Since you've received Ningzhu Array Master's inheritance, come with me. That inheritance rightfully belongs to my disciple." Wan Sanqian's aged eyes narrowed slightly, then he whispered: "Rest assured—if you surrender the inheritance peacefully, I'll let you join the Ten Thousand Phenomena Tower as an Elder."

Even though Xun Er came from the Dou Qi Continent, she knew once an inheritance was received, it could not be surrendered. Just as Xiao Yan had received the Yin-Yang Twin Flames and the Breaking the Heavens scripture within the Life and Death Gate—the Yin-Yang Twin Flames were directly fused with the inheritor's Spiritual Soul, branded by Xiao Xuan's Spiritual Soul Mark, utterly impossible to steal.

Only by killing the person or erasing the Spiritual Soul Mark could it be taken—but erasing the mark would cripple the soul. Han Feng had once had his Heart of the Sea Flame's Spiritual Soul Mark erased by the Soul Hall, leaving his soul severely wounded.

Yet Wan Sanqian clearly did not know: though Xun Er had received the inheritance, the Inheritance Spirit had been eradicated by Xiao Yan—so none of the inheritance bore the Inheritance Spirit's mark. Even the Spirit Array was self-taught by Xun Er.

As for Xun Er's reply—there was no need to answer. The array was the answer.

Hum! Xun Er's mind stirred—the colossal wooden block above spun rapidly. The Divine-Star Spirit Array released boundless cold, and a freezing laser shot forth—wherever the laser passed, everything froze: Space, Spiritual Energy, all turned to ice.

"Hmph. Even if you possess Ningzhu Array Master's inheritance, your Cultivation Realm is far beneath mine." Facing the Divine-Star Spirit Array's assault, Wan Sanqian sneered coldly: "Nine Dragons Nine Elephants Technique—Dragon-Elephant Spear!"

Moo! A resounding Dragon Roar and Elephant Cry echoed. Facing the Divine Technique-level assault of the Divine-Star Spirit Array, Wan Sanqian stood midair; behind him, eighteen colossal spectral forms hovered—nine Dragons, nine Elephants radiating astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations.

This counts as yesterday's.

(End of Chapter)