Chapter 164

The 【Agni Sword】, having accumulated its power to the extreme, unleashed its true might at this moment—the crimson blade light severed Senior Wu Cang at the waist without any resistance.

It was not merely a waist-severing.

The Agni Sword's blade light could only be described as brutal; what it unleashed was less like sword qi and more like a catastrophic flood bursting through a dam.

Thus, after severing Senior Wu Cang, the blade light did not halt for an instant—it continued forward, exploding the array Senior Wu Cang had used to seal off the interior and exterior, bursting out of Buitian Peak, soaring straight into the clouds, causing several True Persons from the Sacred Sect who had been lying in wait outside Buitian Peak to show expressions of shock.

For a moment, the sky turned entirely crimson.

Several Sacred Sect True Persons standing at Foundation Establishment gazed remotely at the blade light, yet could see nothing clearly—only feel the surging destructive force within it.

"What an 【Agni Sword】!"

"This thing is really that powerful? Were previous sword masters not so fierce because they sacrificed the two True Persons from Shenwu Sect to awaken it?"

"This is serious."

The onlookers exchanged glances, all seeing horror in each other's eyes, wondering if they themselves faced this sword strike, they too would suffer grave qi damage.

If this had been a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator, they would not have been surprised.

The same power—when the Master of Buitian Peak underwent Tribulation Crossing and faced heavenly lightning—had erupted several times, and even surpassed this in strength.

But who was the Master of Buitian Peak?

A Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator striving for late-stage True Person status—even among mid-stage cultivators, he was among the elite; for him to unleash such an attack was only natural.

But what of Lu Yang?

A Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivator who had only broken through less than a century ago—and yet he had unleashed such a stunning sword strike; this strength alone was enough to draw the attention of all present.

Long after, the sword qi finally ceased.

At this moment, many True Persons inside and outside the Sacred Sect had reacted, turning their gazes toward the source.

They saw that the endless sea of clouds, which should have been perpetually shrouded in mist, now had a section completely cleared of vapor, revealing the majestic land beneath the cloud sea!

That was a sword scar!

If this had not been the Sea of Connecting Clouds, and if Senior Wu Cang had not absorbed most of the damage, this sword strike might have cleaved through all thirty-six layers of qi clouds!

Under these circumstances, the scene within Buitian Peak could no longer be concealed—Lady Ruoxiang, Chen Shuqian, and Chen Xinan were all startled awake, revealing their forms; once again, Buitian Peak, which had been a hot topic months ago, became the focal point of every Sacred Sect True Person.

"Huh."

Under the gaze of all, Lu Yang calmly retracted the Agni Sword suspended in midair, then formed a hand seal and unleashed a divine technique's radiance.

【Differentiate the Same and the Different】!

The divine technique's light washed over his entire body, surging through his seven orifices and expelling from his organs and viscera the "Heavenly Furnace Fire" that had nearly burned through his entire body.

At his third eye, the Qiu Tian Yi, transformed into a divine eye, emitted a radiant glow, helping him locate every minute injury to ensure no hidden threat remained.

In fact, the 【Qiu Tian Yi】 had also played a crucial role in this battle.

Under the treasure's radiance, every move Senior Wu Cang made had escaped none of his perception, allowing him to anticipate his opponent's actions before they occurred.

Without the aid of this celestial artifact, Lu Yang could never have seized the battle opportunity so precisely, nor could he have endured the Heavenly Furnace Fire to land a crippling blow on Senior Wu Cang.

Yet even so, Lu Yang did not kill Senior Wu Cang.

In midair, the waist-severed Senior Wu Cang did not hesitate for an instant—not even uttering a threat—he instantly transformed into a flash of escape light and vanished into the distance.

Seeing this, Lu Yang made no move to pursue.

'Foundation Establishment mid-stage… so strong, too strong. Overcoming a superior opponent is still too difficult for me.'

This battle was a mutual ruin!

He had taken a direct hit from the Heavenly Furnace Fire—his dantian body burned through more than half—while Senior Wu Cang's dantian body had been severed at the waist, his dao foundation also pierced by a single sword strike.

But in the end, he came out ahead.

Because this final sword strike successfully triggered the 【Human Butcher】 mystery of the Agni Sword—the blade's surface now shimmered with a scarlet blood glow.

'Though I failed to kill him, I directly defeated him in open combat, crippled his dantian body, and even severed a small fragment of his dao foundation—essentially taking away half his life—and I did so as the weaker party, barely meeting the 【Human Butcher】 standard, granting the Agni Sword's qi a significant boost.'

Holding the Agni Sword, Lu Yang could clearly sense it.

Since Senior Wu Cang's dao foundation was of the Wood element, and Lu Yang had shattered it with the Agni Sword, next time he faced a similar technique, the Agni Sword would possess a suppressing ability against it.

This was the mystery of the 【Human Butcher】.

Any technique, dao method, or spiritual treasure—once defeated once—could be suppressed in its essence; upon the next encounter, one would hold absolute advantage.

Thus, if you defeat enough people with the Agni Sword, you can suppress the vast majority of techniques in the world, gaining an innate special offensive trait—able to cut through all Five Elements; then, even if you merely swung the sword randomly, you could shatter ten thousand techniques with a single strike.

'As for these injuries, they're nothing.'

Lu Yang exhaled deeply; a cluster of 【Qing Luan Noon Fire】 ignited in his heart, generating Yi Wood, nurturing all things, rapidly repairing his damaged dantian body.

Meanwhile, within Sacred Fire Cliff.

A streak of light descended into a hidden meditation chamber, from which emerged a dignified True Person, saying: "In the end, Lu Yang barely won."

The man's face was unmistakable—the young True Person who had earlier conversed with an elderly True Person outside Buitian Peak, confidently declaring, "I can fight Lu Yang." His name was 【Tuan Xu】. Even after witnessing Lu Yang's earth-shattering sword strike, he felt a flicker of shock, yet remained composed.

Soon, a figure appeared within the hall.

The moment he appeared, the dim meditation chamber suddenly glowed—countless lantern lights illuminated the night, revealing a face carved like stone and axe.

"Master's prediction was correct."

Tuan Xu immediately bowed and saluted: "That Duanmu Yuan Tu is indeed my greatest rival; no wonder Master Chongguang holds him in such high regard."

Though both were True Persons of Foundation Establishment, Tuan Xu's demeanor and posture showed not the slightest arrogance—he placed himself entirely beneath the other, for the man's name was 【Hong Ju】, not only his former master from his Qi Condensation days, but also one of the Sacred Sect's rare Foundation Establishment Perfect cultivators.

"As expected."

Inside the chamber, the True Person Hong Ju leaned casually against the lamplight, his tone casual: "This boy has great fortune—he must possess a superior celestial artifact of fate."

"Ordinary causal methods cannot touch him."

"Had he not been audacious enough to blow up the eight-hundred-li earth vein of Skull Mountain, leaving behind a lingering curse, I would have had no opportunity to act against him."

As he spoke, Hong Ju's hand produced a book.

The next instant, the book opened spontaneously without wind, pages flipping violently with thunderous sounds, finally stopping on one page—clearly displaying a line of black characters:

【Senior Wu Cang kills Lu Yang】!

"This 【Tongming Yiyun Lu Book】 was entrusted to me by the True Lord before his reincarnation; it is a treasure of the Fruit Seat, wondrous in ten thousand ways, capable of altering cause, effect, and fortune."

"With this treasure, I have linked the causal fate of Senior Wu Cang and that Duanmu Yuan Tu. Marking a 【Kill】 sets the 【Fruit】 between the two; henceforth, no matter what 【Cause】 arises, it will only lead to this one 【Fruit】. Under the pull of fate, Duanmu Yuan Tu will inevitably die by Senior Wu Cang's hand in the future."

Having spoken, True Person Hongju shook his head regretfully:

"It is a pity this treasure consumes merit and fortune too greatly to be used rashly; otherwise, where would be the need for such trouble? Removing Master Chongguang would be but a matter of lifting a hand."

"In any case, Master's purpose this time has been achieved."

True Person Tuanxu spoke softly: "Everything was Senior Wu Cang's own initiative; no one will suspect us, and that Duanmu Yuan Tu, having suffered this heavy blow, will find it difficult to leave the Sect for at least ten years."

"Once the time passes, his breakthrough to the Mid-Stage will also be delayed."

"And as long as he does not break through to the Mid-Stage, Uncle Chongguang cannot go to that region, nor can he ascend to seek the Gold; Ancestor Daoist Hong Yun still has a chance."

"Hmm."

True Person Hongju nodded slightly upon hearing this: "Although Senior Wu Cang is from a scattered cultivator background, fond of bravery and fighting, and ignorant of cause and effect, his array of divine powers is still quite formidable."

"Struck by his Departed Fire, it is enough to keep that Duanmu Yuan Tu stable for over ten years."

"Even if Master Chongguang intervenes to let him recover early, as long as the two fates remain linked, in the end, we can still use Senior Wu Cang's hand to remove that Duanmu Yuan Tu."

"As for Senior Wu Cang—being from a scattered cultivator background with no background, if he dies afterward, so be it; giving him to Master Chongguang to vent his anger counts as making full use of a person's talent."

(End of this chapter)