Chapter 429: Sinful Habit, Long Time No See

What is that?

It’s sword qi… incredibly strong sword qi.

At the frontmost Dongling Hill, atop the crumbling half-wall, over a dozen cultivators tasked with defense and warning were all crammed inside a narrow arrow tower.

The Descendants arrived too suddenly; the city fell in an instant, its armies surging in, leaving them no time to escape—they could only hide here.

Every time a Descendant soldier passed by their arrow tower, it felt as if they were stepping directly on their hearts.

They saw no hope; their eyes held only the terror of death, yet they still clung to the desperate hope that some great human cultivator would come rushing back to rescue them.

But to their astonishment, though no great cultivator came from outside the city, a powerful sword qi suddenly began howling through the sky behind the Descendant army.

They instantly felt hope, and pressed their faces against the cracks between the bricks to look out.

Just as they leaned forward, a fierce gust of energy, sharp as a blade, slammed toward them.

BOOM!!!!!!

The next instant, a sword qi surged upward like an ancient beast awakening from a ten-thousand-year slumber, roaring up from the depths of the abyss.

The sword qi was broad and tyrannical, like a mountain, carrying a primal weight and ferocity as it slashed down from behind the Descendant army.

Amid the thunderous roar, a straight, empty gap was violently carved through the Descendant army, as if it were a tidal wave split in two.

Where the sword qi passed, a deep, massive trench was torn open from the earth; countless Descendant soldiers never even screamed before exploding into crimson mists, their remaining limbs crushed into blackened soil.

Inside the arrow tower, the hidden cultivators stared at this horrifying scene, their faces filled with shock.

Then a heavy wave of air surged onto the wall, blowing them blind; they could barely make out a white-robed figure hurtling toward them.

Wherever he passed, the fierce sword qi swept away the blood mists, cleansing them utterly.

With a dull thud, they held their breath, feeling gravel falling from above—they knew the newcomer had landed on the wall above them.

At that moment, someone trembled as he climbed onto the wall, gazing up at the broken parapet.

There stood a swordsman—a very young swordsman.

He wore white robes, held a single sword in one hand, his eyes swirling with molten gold, and endless mysterious light surrounded him; his aura surged violently, causing the surrounding winds to roar.

Merely the lingering sword qi filled these city defenders with overwhelming pressure; though he stood before them like a scholar, he seemed as towering as a mountain.

They had felt this pressure before—last time, it came from Qi Zhengyang, the Grand Master of Sword Dao of Lingjian Mountain, who had drawn his blade during the city’s defense.

“I arrived a little too late.”

On the wall, Ji You muttered to himself.

While struggling to break through in Qingzhou, he was hunted by Descendant generals and ministers; after a brutal battle, his physical form nearly shattered, and after repairing himself for a long time, he immediately rushed here.

He was the first to learn that the Descendants had produced another Immortal-born, and had long foreseen humanity’s defeat—he knew they couldn’t withstand another assault.

But he never expected the Descendants to breach the city so fast—he had simply cut his way through their army, following their advance.

At that moment, Ji You turned to the cultivators peering from the arrow tower: “What are you hiding here for?”

They exchanged glances: “Uh… we can’t escape.”

“Leave immediately—go west.”

“May I ask, Young Master—”

The first to recover bowed respectfully, wanting to ask the newcomer’s identity—but before he finished speaking, he saw the swordsman crush the parapet stone beneath his foot.

As shattered stones flew, the figure, wrapped in a wind that tore through the sky, shot forward like a falling star, hurtling toward the battlefield within the city.

As he flew past, every sword left abandoned on the ground by fallen owners began to vibrate violently.

ZHENG—QIANG—

Within moments, hundreds of swords scattered across the ground rose in unison, drawn by an invisible spiritual will, forming a vast torrent of sword energy that surged upward behind the figure!

Seeing this, everyone stared wide-eyed; many in Qingyun Realm used swords, but only one person could wield them like this.

At this moment, in the center of Taogu County City.

The fleeing crowd surged like a broken dam, flooding every street and square, a dark, endless sea of despair.

But the defensive line had already shattered the moment the Dongling Mountains collapsed.

Whether Lingjian Mountain disciples, Tian Shu Academy students, or members of noble clans, none knew where to retreat—they merely struggled blindly in chaotic instinct.

Of course, some had lost all will, utterly devoid of any desire to resist…

In the southern part of Taogu County City, the remaining defensive line trembled like a dike battered by relentless tides.

Ahead of that collision of waves, the patriarchs of major Central States clans and Elders of immortal sects, drenched in blood, still frantically swallowed and expelled spiritual energy, refusing to yield.

At that moment, above the desperate battlefield, a towering figure clad in ancient, shattered armor tore through a dense web of spells and appeared.

As he hovered in midair, a dense, utter black light gathered and compressed in his palm, finally forming a black mountain seal enveloped in an ominous aura.

The moment the seal formed, its crushing weight seemed capable of pinning down mountains and rivers—a roaring black dragon hurtling down toward the fragile human defense line below!

The patriarchs and elders fighting below felt their bodies suddenly weighed down, as if crushed by invisible mountains; even lifting their arms became excruciatingly difficult.

BOOM—the thousand sword qi of Lingjian Mountain were crushed outright; the clan elders and sect masters at the front were blasted backward.

“Father!!”

He Lingxiu’s face turned deathly pale as she screamed in anguish, watching her father He Ye crash to the ground like a broken kite, landing right before her eyes.

Almost simultaneously, the sky-obscuring mountain seal rose again; the shadow of death surged down like a tide.

At the same moment, a scream pierced the line.

Among the fleeing crowd, Fang Jincheng, dressed in brocade and silk, let out a terrified shout.

He had completely forgotten his earlier boast about wanting to kill a few enemies—he saw the shadow of death approaching and instinctively thrust out his palm.

In his terrified, twisted pupils, reflected was the shocked, desperate face of Lu Hanyan—the very woman he had pushed forward to take the blow.

He didn’t want to die—so someone had to stand in front of him. It was a simple truth…

“Hanyan!”

Seeing Lu Hanyan fly out of the line, Lu Xiong and Lu Qingqiu’s minds went blank—they lunged forward instantly.

Wen Zhengxin whirled around, eyes wide with disbelief, and drew his sword toward Fang Jincheng.

But at that moment, Fang Xiang, head of the Fang family, suddenly appeared, radiating overwhelming energy toward Wen Zhengxin, his gaze filled with threat and murderous intent.

Fang Jincheng was his grandson—he would never let anyone harm him. Yet he failed to notice a sword qi slicing down from the void.

PUFF!!!!!!

Fang Jincheng, still reeling from shock, felt a searing pain—his peripheral vision turned crimson—his arm, the one he had used to shove Lu Hanyan, had been cleanly severed at the shoulder, thudding to the ground.

It was an incredibly sharp sword qi—but it hadn’t aimed merely to sever his arm.

BOOM—a violent burst of energy exploded as the sword qi intercepted the black mountain seal mid-air.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye; those around hadn’t even reacted yet.

All they saw was Lu Hanyan suddenly dashing forward—then the wild sword qi.

Now, under everyone’s gaze, a man stood alone before the line, sword in one hand, his sword intent exploding skyward, holding back the Descendant general’s annihilating seal mid-air.

Between the clash of sword qi and the seal, several ordinary Descendant soldiers at the front couldn’t withstand the shock—they exploded into crimson mists.

Dust-choked yellow sand, eerie blood mists.

In the chaotic void, Ji You and the Descendant general stood face to face, their auras colliding like tiger roars and dragon cries.

At that moment, stunned, Lu Hanyan slowly came to her senses—she realized the killing intent hadn’t struck her; instead, she was held in a man’s arms.

Then she felt a sharp slap on her rear—and the arm around her waist instantly released her.

Immediately, the man pressed forward with his single sword, unleashing his second strike.

No one saw where the sword came from, nor how he swung it—when they looked up, they saw a magnificent sword qi, like a raging river, surge from the line and pierce the heavens!

BOOM—the seal shattered; the Descendant general recoiled violently.

“It’s that human who awakened his Dao in the Great Wilderness!”

“It’s him—it really is him.”

Seeing the killing intent blocked, those at the front of the line began retreating frantically, putting distance between themselves and the Descendants.

During this retreat, Gong Buyi, rescued from Qingzhou, instantly recognized the man’s face and cried out.

Around them, the cultivators, panting, raised their heads with stunned, uncertain expressions: “Is there really such a person?”

“Yes—it’s him!”

“I can confirm—it’s that man.”

Among the crowd, Qiu Ruyue, pale-faced, widened her luminous eyes, gazing at the figure with awe: “In Qingzhou’s mountains, he saved me…”

In truth, many had sensed upon his first strike that they didn’t recognize him—but now, hearing Gong Buyi’s cry, they realized: this was the legendary human, unremarkable in appearance.

At that moment, from within the city, continuous explosions erupted, sending endless dust swirling into the sky.

They could see from afar the sword-wielding figure darting across the heavens, his wild sword Dao pouring like a silver river from the Nine Heavens.

In major battles, the usual tactic was for great cultivators to lead the charge, with soldiers following the path they tore open.

This reduced casualties and accelerated advancement.

But beneath this white-robed figure, the Descendant army’s flood had been forcibly halted at the center.

At that moment, Gong Buyi’s expression changed: “No… no, that’s wrong…”

He Lingxiu frowned: “What’s wrong?”

“We traveled from Qingzhou to here in only one month—this man… he should have been only at the Yingtian Realm—how could he have grown so strong so suddenly?”