Chapter 87: Heaven's Collapse

The instant the sword qi appeared, Patriarch Tingyou also looked up at the sword pressure that had pressed down on his head for a thousand years, causing him to fall from the clouds.

The next second, his face twisted violently:

"True Person! A thousand years! A full thousand years!"

"How much longer do you intend to trap me?"

"Do you truly seek to extinguish my Witch-Ghost lineage!?"

As his voice fell, the sword qi in the sky paid it no heed whatsoever, silently appraising something, as if ready to crash down and strike at any moment.

Patriarch Tingyou knew this was the karmic retribution he had concealed during his possession attempt a thousand years ago, still taking effect.

However, now that his vital energy was fully exposed, it would not be long before the Golden Core sword qi completely identified him, then sent a single sword strike to take his life.

"I refuse to accept this!"

Thinking this, Patriarch Tingyou suddenly spun around to face Lu Yang: "Today, I will borrow your life to defy heaven itself and extend my Witch-Ghost lineage once more!"

As his voice fell, Patriarch Tingyou manipulated the 【Yanmo Hall】, causing it to crash down with tremendous force!

Lu Yang activated his array talismans, once again drawing upon the power of the formation to reinforce his defenses, yet this time, no matter what wind, thunder, water, or fire he summoned, it could not harm Patriarch Tingyou in the slightest.

This was because a gap in status had appeared.

With the Eight Great Elders returning to their positions and the 【Yanmo Hall】 made complete, Patriarch Tingyou's status had already surpassed Lu Yang's, and he was rapidly approaching the direction of Foundation Establishment!

"It is useless; since you forced me to expose myself and reassemble the 【Yanmo Hall】, all your methods are worthless. This supreme divine ability was deduced jointly by us Foundation Establishment experts of old; if nine perfected Foundation Establishment cultivators were stationed within, we might have borrowed the power of a Golden Core position to fight a True Person!"

Patriarch Tingyou's tone was filled with pride.

Among all the lineages under heaven, which one did not wish to endure forever, which one did not wish to ascend another level? The Witch-Ghost Path was one of them, and it had nearly succeeded!

If not for that generation's Sect Master of the Yushu Sword Pavilion...

That True Person...

That strand of sword qi...

"... ill!!!"

Patriarch Tingyou roared, and the status of the 【Yanmo Hall】 continued to climb, actually entering the ascension state that only appears when breaking through to Foundation Establishment!

"Junior, let me show you the true extreme of Qi Refining."

Patriarch Tingyou sat high upon the 【Yanmo Hall】, his vital energy lofty and distant; in the blink of an eye, he broke through nine layers of heavenly barriers, standing within the "Foundation Establishment Realm"!

The next second, Lu Yang's pupils contracted sharply!

Because he had broken through before, he knew that breaking through to Foundation Establishment consisted of two steps: the first was ascending to the "Foundation Establishment Realm," and the second was constructing the Immortal Foundation.

At this very moment, Patriarch Tingyou had completed the first step, ascending into the "Foundation Establishment Realm."

However, he did not choose to construct an Immortal Foundation.

Instead, he began to—

Fall!

Seeing Patriarch Tingyou stand atop the "Foundation Establishment Realm," he pointed a finger outward while simultaneously beginning his descent; instantly, a shadow enveloped Lu Yang's entire mind and spirit.

He understood Patriarch Tingyou's displayed method almost instantly: it was an attack launched from the level of the "Foundation Establishment Realm" at the cost of a failed "breakthrough"! But judging solely by its power, this strike was hardly inferior to that of a true Foundation Establishment True Person!

This was called—

"Heaven's Collapse."

In the next instant, the shadow crashed down.

Lu Yang's figure was instantly swallowed by it; the ground within a hundred li collapsed, all array talismans shattered simultaneously, and the swirling dust rose like an earth dragon ascending to the heavens.

The collision of the single strike resembled the dome of heaven pressing down, churning muddy waves into the sky!

For a moment, only rolling shockwaves boiled and brilliant lights interwove, lasting for a long time before gradually dissipating, finally revealing Patriarch Tingyou's wretched figure.

It must be known that 'Heaven's Collapse' was no ordinary divine ability.

Strictly speaking, it was not even a divine ability, but rather a technique.

Of the two steps to break through to Foundation Establishment, failure in the second step meant certain death, while failure in the first step depended entirely on the individual cultivator's foundation; those with a strong foundation could survive.

'Heaven's Collapse' was a self-detonation technique created on this basis, purely suppressing opponents with one's foundation, utilizing the momentum of a failed ascension's fall to attack the opponent; although the user would inevitably suffer heavy injuries from the failed ascension, exchanging that for a Foundation Establishment-level strike was considered worth it.

"To achieve a quick victory, only this way will work..."

Patriarch Tingyou's expression was calm; after the eight elders returned to their positions, he relied on the 【Yanmo Hall】 to firmly suppress Lu Yang, but firm suppression did not guarantee a quick victory.

Furthermore, with the Golden Core sword qi hovering above, he could not afford to waste time.

Therefore, he chose this extremely brutal method, striking Lu Yang down to the brink of death in one blow, so that he could proceed to the final step of his plan.

"... yriad Souls Devouring Spirit Heaven-Seizing Great Art."

As Patriarch Tingyou formed hand seals, a strange fluctuation instantly spread out, not targeting Lu Yang, but rather the City of the Unjustly Dead below.

The next second, the City of the Unjustly Dead capsized!

In the blink of an eye, every living being within the City of the Unjustly Dead was slaughtered by Patriarch Tingyou! Moreover, it was not just the city; at this moment, blood light splashed up from all corners of the Secret Realm!

Immediately following this, visible streams of soul light surged toward Patriarch Tingyou, finally clustering around his soul to transform into a streak of flying light and lightning, rushing toward Lu Yang's location with lightning speed, a triumphant and ferocious grin still on his face.

"Nurturing spirits for a thousand years, they were destined to be used at this very moment!"

However, the next second, his smile suddenly froze.

As the dust settled, Lu Yang stepped out, not critically injured and near death as he had imagined, but merely with blood-stained robes, appearing largely unharmed!

"So that's how it is; it wasn't the Golden Core sword qi conducting a massacre, it was you."

Lu Yang sighed, understanding the cause and effect.

Why were there so many extra people inside the Witch-Ghost Secret Realm? Because a certain secret art of Patriarch Tingyou required them; they were all livestock raised as resources!

The reason the Secret Realm in his previous life had turned into a land of death was likely because Patriarch Tingyou had killed everyone to perform his secret art, yet failed to deceive the Golden Core sword qi, resulting in his own soul scattering into nothingness. Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn't help but sigh, looking at Patriarch Tingyou with a hint of pity.

He pitied him for surviving a thousand years in hiding, only for it all to be in vain.

"This is impossible!"

Patriarch Tingyou's face was hideous as he looked at Lu Yang in disbelief: "You clearly suffered my 'Heaven's Collapse' strike; how can you be completely unharmed?"

Lu Yang smiled faintly: "To be honest, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve."

【Purple Talent · A Few Tricks Up My Sleeve】

【A Few Tricks Up My Sleeve: No matter how terrifying the attack, as long as it remains within your capability limits, you can handle it with ease for a couple of moves.】

With his current cultivation base, even the Qi Condensation Realm fell within his capability limits.

Even "Heaven's Collapse" was no exception!

In an instant, despair appeared on Patriarch Tingyou's face; Lu Yang's strength was not weak, and if he had been critically injured and near death, his possession attempt would have been one hundred percent successful.

But if Lu Yang had only suffered minor injuries, the situation was entirely different.

His certainty of victory plummeted immediately from ten out of ten to five out of ten, or even lower!

However, at this point, Patriarch Tingyou had no retreat left; he could only gather his entire mind and spirit, rushing into Lu Yang's sea of consciousness amidst the swarm of ten thousand souls!

He had to stake everything on this single effort!

Destroy Lu Yang's sea of consciousness in one strike, then possess and replace him!

The next second, Patriarch Tingyou saw inside Lu Yang's sea of consciousness.

Lu Yang's soul calmly rose, making a few casual moves as if aided by gods, effortlessly and elegantly flinging him directly out of the sea of consciousness!

Patriarch Tingyou: "???"

Because Lu Yang's actions were so relaxed and effortless, Patriarch Tingyou didn't even realize what had happened until he was thrown out of the sea of consciousness.

"I told you, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve."

One move to handle "Heaven's Collapse," one move to handle the possession attempt.

"No——!!!"

Patriarch Tingyou, whose possession attempt had failed, only had time to let out a miserable scream.

Clang! Clang!

The next second, a magnificent strand of sword qi fell from the heavens, without discrimination shattering his soul directly; countless thoughts exploded, resembling a brilliant cluster of stars.

Seeing this, Lu Yang said nothing, sweeping his wide sleeve to immediately gather all the scattered thoughts back; these were transformations of spiritual sense from a shattered Foundation Establishment soul, containing most of the memories of Patriarch Tingyou, the last Sect Master of the Witch-Ghost Path; to speak bluntly, these were priceless treasures!

(End of Chapter)