Chapter 591: The Dream of a Thousand Autumns Vanishes (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Outside Baijian Villa.

The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and the moonlight spilled down.

Only, having been drenched by a rain of blood, the area for a hundred miles around was stained a deep crimson, with not a shred of artistic conception to speak of.

A group of martial artists cast their gazes toward Yu Liancheng, or more accurately, toward the long sword in his hand.

Could this be the Peerless Divine Weapon of legend?

Yet it appeared so restrained in its brilliance, completely unremarkable, as if it were merely a black long sword with a rather peculiar design.

But the earlier scene of the divine weapon's emergence—the heavens weeping blood, ghosts and gods howling, and wild thunder booming—was not in the slightest bit fake.

Boom!

Holding the divine weapon, Yu Liancheng seemed to transform into a vast ocean. A violent and terrifying aura vented in all directions as he stared coldly at Di Shitian.

This fellow who compared himself to Heaven was, in his eyes at this moment, nothing more than a pig or dog waiting to be slaughtered.

"Damn it, I want to see just how powerful this so-called Peerless Divine Weapon is!?"

This gaze that regarded him as a pig or dog had clearly enraged Di Shitian.

His eyes, which always carried mockery and contempt, burned with raging fury.

In terms of combat power, Di Shitian was not Yu Liancheng's match to begin with, and now, having lost an arm and shed phoenix blood, his strength had greatly diminished. Conversely, Yu Liancheng had obtained a Peerless Divine Weapon.

With one waning and the other waxing, defeat was certain.

Under such a perilous situation, it instead stirred up Di Shitian's competitive spirit.

His entire body's phoenix blood began to burn, and he transformed into a vortex, frantically absorbing the most Yang and rigid power between heaven and earth, turning it into the most terrifying Earthly Mahamudra.

The next moment, infinite water vapor condensed in the void before him; the temperature plummeted, and the air condensed into ice.

As Di Shitian reached out with his single arm, dozens of giant ice claws condensed, and with a whistling sound like ghosts crying and gods howling, they clawed toward Yu Liancheng.

Yu Liancheng's eyes flashed with divine light, and he thrust his sword out; the airflow emitted a sharp whistling sound. This move, placed in the martial arts world, could be considered brilliant and peerless, and only a very small number of First-class Swordsmen could execute such a sword strike. Yet in Yu Liancheng's hands, it appeared plain and unremarkable, even insulting the prestige of the "Ten Thousand Daos Boundless."

Crack!

Crack!

However, the moment the sword tip collided with the ice claws, the claws did not hesitate in the slightest and instantly shattered. The ice claws turned into countless tiny ice shards, splashing out in all directions.

The ice claws were formed from ten-thousand-year cold ice and carried terrifying power; thus, even just the ice shards hitting the ground were like whistling cannonballs, instantly blasting out countless craters, yet no smoke or dust dispersed because they were instantly frozen by the cold air.

This also proved from the side that it was not that Di Shitian's "Xuexue Zhua" was weak, but that this sword strike of Yu Liancheng's was simply too strong.

"How can the destructive power of this sword be so strong!?"

Di Shitian's brows were tightly locked; even if his Xuexue Zhua were to be broken by an opponent, it should not have been so effortless.

Countless ice claws shattered, and the long sword was less than three feet from Di Shitian.

A sharp, icy aura rushed toward his face, and even Di Shitian, this immortal person who possessed phoenix blood, felt a strong sense of threat.

It was as if something extremely terrifying would happen if he were pierced by the sword.

He could only execute the "Seven-No Realm," his figure turning into countless particles of dust to dodge this sword.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out; his ethereal figure appeared from the air, stumbling backward with a pale face, and he said in disbelief: "This sword can actually injure the Primordial Spirit?!"

It turned out that although Di Shitian's body had turned into countless particles, he had intended to use his Primordial Spirit to unleash the most terrifying and inconceivable "Jie Shen Jie" among the Four Tribulations of the Sacred Heart.

However, he had been struck by this sword of Yu Liancheng's.

His Primordial Spirit was instantly severely wounded.

Had he not reacted in time, this sword would have been enough to cause his Annihilation of Body and Soul.

"So, are you ready to die?"

Yu Liancheng smiled.

"Then let's see who the one dying is!?" The aura of this thousand-year-old ghost, Di Shitian, suddenly surged; his figure flickered, and he actually conjured four human shadows, surrounding Yu Liancheng from the front, back, left, and right. Each one was indistinguishable from the real one, as if real and illusory. And in the next moment, the four shadows separately unleashed the Four Tribulations of the Sacred Heart, simultaneously blasting outward.

The Four Tribulations of the Sacred Heart are divided into Evil Blood Tribulation, Heavenly Heart Tribulation, Startling Eye Tribulation, and Jie Shen Jie. All four tribulations are mysterious and inexplicable, strange and hard to fathom. Yu Liancheng transformed the "Ten Thousand Daos Boundless" into a glove, condensing it on his right hand. His right hand swirled in the air, executing the "Operating the Palm to Control the Universe" of the Xuanwu Divine Palm; this light swirl seemed to grasp the universe in his palm.

The power of the four tribulations was simultaneously captured by his palm, and then, with a burst of force, the power of the four tribulations was blasted toward the four Di Shitians with a force several times more violent than before.

And the four Di Shitians simultaneously emitted "Crack, crack" sounds, then exploded into pieces.

It turned out these four were all formed from black ice.

And the real Di Shitian had already appeared behind Yu Liancheng, his thousand years of internal energy, pushed by the Immeasurable Maha, venting in an extremely violent manner.

Yu Liancheng had long since sensed it.

His figure swirled, carrying a hurricane, and he casually pushed out a palm, colliding head-on with Di Shitian.

Purely in terms of internal energy, the only ones who could compare to this old monster were indeed Xiao Sanxiao and those two turtle sons, but fighting does not rely solely on internal energy; furthermore, Yu Liancheng had absorbed the internal energy of the Chang Sheng Bu Si Shen, and with the addition of the Earthly Mahamudra and the Ten Thousand Daos Boundless, this seemingly breezy palm had the power to destroy the heavens and the earth.

After a "Bang" strike, Di Shitian spat out fresh blood and flew backward, tumbling.

"Haha, Yu Liancheng, you've fallen for it. How could your wisdom compare to this seat's thousand years? The Jianlu is this seat's true goal!?" However, in the midst of flying backward, Di Shitian looked up and laughed.

And the direction he was flying backward in.

Was precisely the Sword Pool.

And Di Shitian, borrowing the force of that palm, combined with his own superb movement technique, instantly crashed into the Jianlu.

"What is this fellow doing?"

Yu Liancheng felt a slight doubt in his heart; it couldn't be that he was using Bujingyun as a hostage to make him spare his life.

This fellow was, after all, just an alchemist, lacking the winning spirit of a martial artist; if he really chose this, it would not be surprising.

However.

Soon Yu Liancheng knew he was wrong.

Dead wrong.

And at the same time, he became excited.

As a master who was about to be the first to die by "Ten Thousand Daos Boundless," a Di Shitian with depleted health was, in the end, somewhat regretful.

But the Di Shitian before him right now was finally qualified.

The supreme Yang power between heaven and earth surged madly toward the Sword Pool.

"Chirp~"

At the same time, a series of sounds resembling a vertical bamboo flute came from the Sword Pool.

But everyone knew that it was not the sound of a flute, because the sound of a flute could never be this grand, nor could it be this melodious and pleasant.

The one emitting this sound was... a phoenix!

A gorgeous and beautiful phoenix, reborn from the fire.

Its entire body radiated an incomparably noble aura; its phoenix eyes were wide open, filled with Zhihui and spirituality. A single phoenix cry surpassed all zithers and flutes, piercing through heaven and earth.

But this phoenix, which only existed in legends, the moment it swept its gaze toward Yu Liancheng, lost its elegance and was instead filled with violence and killing intent; those raging flames burned even brighter.

Yu Liancheng understood.

This was not a phoenix, but Di Shitian who had obtained phoenix blood.

Just like Duan Lang, who had obtained two dragon pellets and gained the characteristics of a dragon during his fierce battle with Feng and Yun. And Di Shitian, who had obtained the phoenix blood alone, could even transform his body into a phoenix.

It was just a pity that his one thousand seven hundred-plus years of time had consumed too much of the phoenix blood. Even his "Image of Returning Spirit" was not strong enough. Yet right now, he was burning his phoenix blood, and with the help of the supreme Yang and rigid Heaven-level Maha, as well as the raging flames of the Sword Pool, he had finally transformed into a phoenix again; only, after this transformation, Di Shitian's phoenix blood would decline once more.

And right now, Di Shitian was at his wit's end and had no choice but to do this.

"Chirp!"

The phoenix's elegance faded, and the light of humanity returned to its eyes, carrying even more deep-seated hatred and ferocity.

The flames in the Sword Pool surged along with it; the fire phoenix spread its wings, red flames scorching the sky, and pounced toward Yu Liancheng, bringing up layers of heat waves that evaporated all the moisture in the air.

"Well come!"

A flash of brilliance shone in Yu Liancheng's eyes; he stomped his right foot on the ground and, without dodging or evading, killed his way toward Di Shitian. And "Ten Thousand Daos Boundless" suddenly transformed into a saber.

A cold, forest-like long saber.

Many martial artists present recognized the shape of this saber.

Because this saber had once dominated the martial arts world, winning the title of "North Drinking Mad Saber" for a saber-wielder surnamed Nie.

——Snow Drink Saber.

Yu Liancheng's expression instantly turned cold and frigid, as if shrouded in a layer of ice.

His person was cold.

His heart was cold.

His saber was even colder.

Because only when the person is cold, the heart is cold, and the saber is cold.

Can this saber technique be thoroughly unleashed.

This strike was the Cold Blade Icy Heart of the Aohan Six Arts.

With one slash, the originally unbearably scorching Heaven and Earth Furnace seemed as if it were about to turn into a world of ice and snow. A saber light over ten zhang long followed this slash, with the momentum to split heaven and earth in two. And the biting cold power carried within the saber was enough to make everyone feel chilled to the bone.

And the magnificent phoenix let out a long cry, its wings flying and spreading, flames sweeping toward the sky to meet the huge icy saber aura.

The icy saber light and the scorching flames collided, and a cold yet stifling explosion erupted between heaven and earth. Yu Liancheng had already transformed into a bolt of lightning, appearing before the magnificent phoenix; his entire person merged with the ice saber in his hand, his figure vanished, and he stood amidst streaks of crisscrossing saber light, sweeping toward Di Shitian like a violent storm.

The phoenix reached out its claws to grab, bringing up a mass of flames that swept over.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In an instant, the flames and phoenix claws collided repeatedly, even sparking flashes of fire.

And the power of this phoenix was unexpectedly formidable. It broke through the saber light and grabbed heavily onto Yu Liancheng.

His clothes were instantly shredded, yet those sharp claws capable of tearing through mountain rocks only left two white marks on Yu Liancheng's body. His defensive power was now too strong; it was simply impossible to truly injure him.

Although the sharp claws could not scratch his skin, the vast and immense power caused his entire skeleton to rattle with a series of popping sounds.

Yu Liancheng's reaction was also extremely fast; he unleashed a strike of "No Two Saber Technique: Clouds Sever the Blue Sky," using ten percent of his power, as if the very heavens were about to be severed by this strike.

Clang!

"Ten Thousand Daos Boundless" struck the phoenix claw with pinpoint accuracy, and the phoenix let out a painful cry as phoenix blood sprayed down.

For some reason, after this phoenix cry, there seemed to be a terrifying malice between heaven and earth that silently and imperceptibly invaded the phoenix's body, causing its energy to weaken without it knowing.

This was not because of that strike from Yu Liancheng.

If one could understand phoenix language, perhaps one could understand the reason.

That phoenix cry just now was this noble phoenix cursing.

"Damn it."

Yu Liancheng's figure swirled like a hurricane, finally breaking free from beneath the phoenix claws. He did not let up; strands of Demon Qi escaped from "Ten Thousand Daos Boundless," and the Demon Qi transformed into figures of Yu Liancheng, each occupying one side, with weapons like sabers, staffs, and spears appearing in their hands, and then simultaneously using different martial arts.

——Ten Directions All Extinguished!

As soon as this move was unleashed, the momentum was surging, like an army of thousands, like giant waves filling the sky, submerging the entire phoenix.

The phoenix let out a miserable shriek, and the feathers on its body withered, falling like a colorful, magnificent snowstorm. Its massive body represented terrifying power, but it also meant it was easy to be attacked.

However, in the phoenix state, Di Shitian's "Image of Returning Spirit" could be utilized to the extreme; even though "Ten Directions All Extinguished" left behind streaks of tragic wounds, they could be rapidly healed.

Amidst the phoenix cries, flames swept across the sky, and strands of scorching, violent gale winds rose up, as if wanting to tear Yu Liancheng apart.

Yu Liancheng's mind stirred, transforming "Ten Thousand Daos Boundless" into armor that instantly covered his entire body, further supplemented by his Protective True Qi. Under these two layers of defense, even the phoenix fire could not easily injure him for a time.

And it was fortunate that he had this armor to protect his body; otherwise, under the flames and sharp claws, his Protective Qi Cover would have shattered one after another, and his clothes would have been burned to ashes, giving Mo Baisuzhen and the others a feast for their eyes.

……

One man and one phoenix fought fiercely between heaven and earth.

And this scene, which originally could only appear in myths, was now truly revealed before everyone's eyes.

And as the man and phoenix exchanged blows, Yu Liancheng suddenly discovered that the phoenix's right wing was far less flexible than the left, and its power was also far inferior.

Yu Liancheng thought for a moment and understood the reason.

The phoenix was transformed by Di Shitian.

And Di Shitian's right arm had been forcibly torn off by Yu Liancheng.

Even though he had managed to restore his right arm at this moment by relying on the "Phenomenon of Returning Spirit," it was far from being as nimble and flexible as his left arm.

With his opponent having this flaw, Yu Liancheng naturally would not let it go easily.

That attack, like a violent storm, was directed entirely at the right arm.

A flash of panic crossed the phoenix's eyes.

Di Shitian began to lose his nerve again.

The longer this phoenix state lasted, the greater the consumption of phoenix blood.

Seeing that he could not end the battle quickly and was being crazily attacked on his right wing by his opponent, this guy started wanting to flee again...

Boom!

However, what Yu Liancheng was waiting for was the moment his mind collapsed.

A battle between experts is an all-around clash of body, True Qi, spirit, and techniques; there can be no carelessness.

But as it happened, Di Shitian was not a pure martial artist.

Yu Liancheng's expression turned slightly stern, and he slashed down with his blade again.

The blade light shone into Di Shitian's eyes; in a trance, he had already appeared in a magnificent, golden palace, surrounded by civil and military officials.

"Xu Fu!

"

A majestic voice rang out. Di Shitian shuddered and looked up to see a figure wearing an imperial crown. Upon seeing this figure, this guy who compared himself to God was actually panicked and trembling all over.

Impossible!

This is not him!

Could it be that I have fallen into an illusion?

As expected of an expert with a thousand years of cultivation, he instantly understood the strangeness of Yu Liancheng's previous blade strike.

Yet, in the very next moment, he felt a heart-wrenching pain, as if his entire person had been split in two.

He had been hit!

He had been hit after all!

It turned out that the blade Yu Liancheng had swung was a Demon blade.

A Demon blade that could reflect the Darkness and fear in a person's heart.

And this Demon blade, at a certain moment, could even erupt with power ten times its own.

This kind of power was difficult for even a phoenix to withstand.

Above Baijian Villa, the phoenix vanished between heaven and earth. A figure flew backward, crashing heavily hundreds of feet away, coughing up blood incessantly. A hideous blade scar extended from his forehead down to his nose bridge, philtrum, lips, jaw, and throat...

This blade had nearly split him in two.

But in the end, he had not been split in two.

Perhaps it was because of the phoenix blood, or perhaps it was because... the blade had shown mercy...

Yu Liancheng's figure drifted before Di Shitian and smiled.

"Old Di, we can be considered friends who have shared life and death. Look at you, you are about to die, why not give your thousand years of internal energy to me? Don't worry about whether I can withstand it; I have long been prepared."

As he spoke.

He took out a yellow crystal sphere.

—The Evil Emperor Relic.

A miserable smile appeared on the corner of Di Shitian's mouth.

His eyes gradually dimmed.

A thousand lifetimes, the dream shattered.

PS: The second update is here. Still 160 monthly votes away, not far now. Please vote, please vote.