Chapter 642: Returning You a Palm

Almost all cultivators stared blankly at the sky, watching the giant palm descend.

With no further movement, the massive, heavy, substantial pressure prevented them from acting further.

They could only watch as the "sky" tilted and collapsed.

Yet some cultivators could still move.

Yue Wushuang's hair tore free from its bun and hairband, each strand standing upright like a row of sharp swords.

He said nothing; behind him, the coalesced sword intent trembled, gathering into his body.

The sword essence boiled without reservation, surging across Yue Wushuang, forming a colossal sword based on the Five Elements Sword Intent as its foundation, the Annihilation Sword Intent as its edge, with myriad sword intents swirling around it.

The terrifying power distorted everything around it; the dazzling giant sword became a blurred, razor-sharp, all-destroying chaotic sword shadow!

Becoming one with the sword, at this moment Yue Wushuang stepped onto the peak of his own strength!

The chaotic sword shadow aimed at the giant palm descending from the sky.

Yue Wushuang felt that if he swung this sword, he could cleave the collapsing heavens, possibly soaring directly into the Tribulation Transcendence stage!

He raised his natal sword high and surged upward!

Heaven-Shaking Sword!

One Sword to Cleave the Nine Heavens!

The chaotic sword shadow and giant palm collided; power did not dissipate but condensed to the extreme, with only ripples of black spreading outward in the sky.

Wherever it passed, anything touched instantly turned to dust.

Fortunately, only a solitary towering peak was affected; as for the surrounding birds and beasts, they had already scattered during the sneak attack by non-sword cultivators.

In comparison, the raging wind from displaced air, with flying sand and stones, was insignificant to the cultivators.

The raging wind, the entire mountain gate trembling within it.

The sword shadow dissipated, the giant palm shattered.

The Heaven-Shaking Sword against the Heaven-Tilting Palm seemed a mutual loss.

Yet from the dissipating sword shadow, Yue Wushuang fell from the sky, crashing heavily to the ground, his hair disheveled, wild as a madman's.

His breath waned, he swayed, unable even to stand, only able to half-kneel on the ground.

Yue Wushuang gripped his natal sword with one hand behind his back, supporting himself so he would not fall.

Cracks began to appear on the sword blade, spreading to the hilt, then "spreading" onto Yue Wushuang himself.

Within a few breaths, fine, dense wounds like cracks appeared on Yue Wushuang's body, black in color, just like his natal sword, as if he were porcelain on the verge of shattering.

Blood seeped from the wounds, turning him into a blood-man.

Even the shallow depression in the ground was covered with a layer of blood.

The whole person appeared to carry a sense of desperate, tragic desolation.

In contrast, Tang Luo stood not far from Yue Wushuang.

His expression flat, he looked down from above at Yue Wushuang, retracting his hand; the center of his palm showed not a single trace of injury.

The shattered great palm print merely represented that the power Tang Luo released was "shattered" in the collision.

It is not that one cannot counter-injure Tang Luo by breaking the great palm print; it's just that this is not something a Void Refinement junior can accomplish.

Yue Wushuang's Heaven-Shaking Sword, exerted with all his strength, merely managed to barely block Tang Luo's casual strike.

The field fell silent, save for the breathing of the wounded cultivators.

"I... did not... lose..."

Yue Wushuang slowly raised his head, struggling to speak.

"Oh?" Tang Luo slightly raised his tone.

"A crime not of battle." Yue Wushuang glanced around, sweeping over his somewhat excited defeated subordinates, "Do you lot of trash also wish to defeat me, Yue Wushuang?"

"You should not exist!"

Yue Wushuang snapped his head toward Tang Luo, "You are heavenly will; I lost only to heavenly will!"

Appearing out of nowhere, fundamentally unstoppable powerhouse.

Yue Wushuang did not feel he had lost; if he must lose, it was only to the heavens above.

It is heaven that does not allow the appearance of a sword cultivator emperor like him.

Thus, a Tang Xuanzang appeared.

"There is some sense to that." Tang Luo said, "But it's not so mysterious. You give me a sword, I return you a palm."

Having said that, he ignored Yue Wushuang's gradually widening eyes, turned, and swayed outward from the Qing Tian Sword Sect.

"..."

"..."

No one dared block Tang Luo's path; a road cleared, even if there happened to be a severely injured person, they struggled to roll aside.

"Tang Xuanzang!"

Yue Wushuang's roar came from behind.

"I leave this to you." Tang Luo did not turn back, "In a few days I will take the key to the Heaven Sword Ground."

These words were not for Yue Wushuang, but for the other cultivators, sword and non-sword alike.

Behind him, fierce battle erupted again; only when sword cultivators fell or non-sword cultivators fled would it truly end.

"Tang Xuanzang!"

Yue Wushuang's dying beast-like roar came again.

He said Tang Luo was heavenly will, a non-battle sin, he lost under heavenly will, so naturally he must also die under heavenly will.

Like the various "tribulations" of the Tribulation Transcendence stage.

Unexpectedly, Tang Luo did not kill him; his life would end at the hands of those underlings he utterly despised.

For the proud Yue Wushuang, it was a blow.

You are not a "defier of heaven" who needs Heaven's Will to target you; don't think too highly of yourself. One sword stroke for one palm strike — that simple.

Incidentally, also settling the score for him screwing me over.

It doesn't need to be much; one palm strike is enough.

Leaving the Qingtian Sword Gate, Tang Luo arrived at the vicinity of the Myriad Demon Ridge; Lieyang Venerable and the others were still locked up.

Those two non-sword cultivators hadn't died either.

But every single one of them was in a half-dead state.

"Master!"

The temporary jailer, gatekeeper Ao Yulie, seeing Tang Luo approach, immediately flew over.

Xiaotian Dog appeared, jumping onto Tang Luo's shoulder.

"Let these people go. Where's Bajie?" Tang Luo said.

"Second Senior Brother said there are some heaven-and-earth treasures suitable for artifact refining in this world; since he's started refining anyway, he'll just refine a bit more. He's been gone collecting for several days now." Ao Yulie said.

"Mm." Tang Luo nodded.

Xuan Bian differs from ordinary magic treasures.

Many magic treasures emphasize all sorts of subtle and marvelous uses; once refined, they're done, and wanting to change them later is extremely troublesome.

It's like renovation — renovating a raw shell is actually simpler than re-renovating an already-renovated second-hand house.

Re-renovating isn't just destructive demolition; this part must be kept, that part improved.

You also have to consider secondary damage and such issues.

Xuan Bian is simple and crude, simply featuring sturdiness and toughness.

As long as it can withstand it and isn't easily broken, that's fine.

Everything else doesn't need to be considered at all; whatever good materials there are, as long as they can be smelted without conflict, just pile them on.

Even if the weight keeps stacking up, it doesn't matter.

Even if it's heavier than the Golden-Hooped Rod, Tang Luo can still use it just the same.

For this kind of simple, crude weapon, Zhu Bajie actually finds refining especially enjoyable, like freely splashing ink and wielding the brush, letting the horse go where it will.

That kind of comfort.

Refining artifacts happily in the setting sun — that was Zhu Bajie's youth.

"Master, things are settled on that side, so you're not doing the undercover thing anymore?" Ao Yulie asked; since he was releasing these people, it proved Tang Luo wasn't doing the undercover thing anymore — the great undercover undertaking was already complete.

"Mm." Tang Luo briefly explained the matter.

"Tsk."

Ao Yulie shook his head and sighed, "Some people — if they didn't make trouble, they wouldn't die."

If Yue Wushuang had truly been as "forthright" as when he talked with Tang Luo that day, his great undertaking might really have succeeded.

But he just had to scheme against people — he spared no one.

"Hey, whoever-you-are, you're free now. Go back to your sects on your own." Ao Yulie shouted toward the makeshift prison cells.

Actually, there were no restrictions here; these people had been heavily injured by Tang Luo — they simply couldn't possibly escape Ao Yulie's "clutches."

After being beaten quite a few times during this period, they united — even the two non-sword cultivators united with them — all single-mindedly wanting to break out of prison.

Then they got beaten again.

Currently in a state of utter despair, having lost all hope — a salted-fish state.

After shouting that, Tang Luo and the others left.

A group of people remained unmoved.

Double-agent Elder Mo said in a deep voice, "It might be a trap; we'll wait and see."

There are this many Spirit Severing and Void Refining cultivators here; dragging them along benefits Yue Wushuang's great undertaking!

"Exactly."

The originally most hot-tempered Lieyang Venerable said, "We should seize the time to recover and heal; with strength restored, everything can be discussed."

During this period, whenever they wanted to heal, Ao Yulie would appear before them, hehe-ing as he attacked.

Not worsening their injuries was already a stroke of luck — let alone recovering.

Now Ao Yulie suddenly ran off; in a situation where they completely couldn't understand what was happening, adapting by staying unchanged was the way — seizing the time to recover was the proper path.

A double agent, two non-sword cultivators, and a group of sword cultivators, here diligently cultivating and recovering.

The scene looked quite harmonious.

Three days passed in a flash.

The Qingtian Upheaval, the Qiangtian Shocking Change — like a storm, it swept the entire cultivation world.

Yue Wushuang, God Monarch Yue Wushuang, was the center of the storm.

And Tang Xuanzang became the "Immortal Envoy," "Heaven's Will," and such roles.

The sects that Yue Wushuang screwed over miserably naturally cursed him roundly, but beyond that, Yue Wushuang didn't suffer reputational damage.

On the contrary, in private quite a few people evaluated Yue Wushuang as having the bearing of a Great Emperor.

Only a pity he lost to Heaven's Will.

Even Cangjian Mountain Villa and Shushan Sword Sect had a bit of such voices.

No helping it — only with comparison does hurt come.

Fengxian True Person is a bit better; Sword Maniac is single-mindedly devoted to the sword. To speak honestly, right now even Cangjian Mountain Villa's sword cultivators want to directly turn hostile against that bastard thing.

Even disregarding any sentiment, purely as a transaction — you, Sword Maniac, single-mindedly devoted to the sword, should at least make a move to protect Cangjian Mountain Villa.

Result: you only gave a "Dao lineage will not perish" — heartless and ungrateful to this degree, letting Cangjian Mountain Villa's sword cultivators be thoroughly disappointed.

Of course, from a rational standpoint, when Yue Wushuang went looking for Jian Chi Yixin, he was already riding roughshod over Flying Dragon Cavalry.

Otherwise he wouldn't have confronted Jian Chi Yixin directly.

If they fell out completely, the most likely outcome was the extermination of Cangjian Villa, severe damage to Qingtian Sword Gate, letting a third party profit.

Cangjian Villa couldn't even preserve its Dao lineage.

Reason is one thing, emotion another; sword cultivators haven't truly forged themselves into swords.

Jian Chi Yixin still lives, but he has already "died."

Who knows if Yue Wushuang, aware in the underworld, would feel glad.

The strongest three swords have become a thing of the past.

After the great chaos, the cultivation world will welcome a new chapter.

At that time, sword cultivators will no longer be the sole protagonists; non-sword cultivators haven't all perished in this "Heaven-Toppling Upheaval."