Chapter 420: Sword Slaying a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul

Chapter 420: Sword Slaying a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul

The middle-aged man with the pale face was greatly startled, but upon realizing that he was not facing a magical treasure or flying sword, he felt slightly relieved. He quickly performed a series of intricate hand seals, unleashing several streams of spells to block the golden fist projections.

However, upon contact, he found their power far exceeded that of ordinary spells. Barely managing to withstand four of the fist projections, the fifth and sixth golden fists landed directly on his body. The defensive restrictions of another magical treasure he activated in response were also instantly shattered.

Before he could react further, a figure appeared before him, and the middle-aged cultivator felt a heavy punch land on his body.

"Puh!"

The powerful destructive force surged into the pale-faced cultivator's body, causing him to spit out a mouthful of essence blood as his body was sent flying backward.

"Not good!"

At that moment, the pale-faced cultivator caught sight of Qin Yangzi and exclaimed in dismay.

However, when he tried to use a escape technique, he felt a slight hindrance in his spiritual energy and consciousness, preventing him from acting as nimbly as usual. His eyes flickered, and after a moment's hesitation, he bit the bullet and expelled his Nascent Soul from the top of his head, abandoning his physical body to Qin Yangzi's attack.

Without a second glance, he instantly teleported over a dozen feet away.

His decisiveness took Chu Ning by surprise.

However, having faced several Nascent Soul stage cultivators before, Chu Ning wasn't about to let his opponent get away so easily. The Five Elements Spirit Sword, which had been hovering in the air, ready to strike, descended swiftly!

The pale-faced cultivator's Nascent Soul, upon seeing this, immediately employed a teleportation technique to dodge the attack.

"It's a pity I overused the Xuan Bing Yan today," Chu Ning lamented inwardly, but his actions were swift and sure.

With a complex hand seal, he divided the Five Elements Spirit Sword into five separate swords and launched them in hot pursuit of the fleeing Nascent Soul.

The pale-faced cultivator's Nascent Soul had just completed one escape when it found itself surrounded by the five spirit swords. Its face turned even paler, but its movements remained unhindered. Suddenly, a shield with an ancient and peculiar design appeared in the small hand of the Nascent Soul, forming a protective barrier.

Just as it finished setting up this defense, the five spirit swords struck from all sides, piercing the barrier of light.

The Nascent Soul responded by opening its mouth and spraying out several streams of infant fire, creating a flaming shield in front of it. For a moment, the light emanating from the outer barrier intensified, holding off the five spirit swords.

However, the aura surrounding the pale-faced cultivator's Nascent Soul had weakened slightly.

"Hmm?"

Chu Ning's curiosity about the ancient shield grew as he uttered a soft sound of surprise. With a quick hand seal and a pointing gesture, a faint golden light shot out from his hand and merged with the golden spirit sword.

It was the power of Perfection of Metal (or alternatively, Great Perfection of Metal or simply Metal Perfection)!

Infused with this power, the golden spirit sword shone brilliantly, and the previously stable defensive barrier surrounding the pale-faced cultivator's Nascent Soul began to shake violently once more.

This time, even with the Nascent Soul spraying out more infant fire to reinforce the barrier, it was to no avail. The shield lasted only a few breaths before it disintegrated.

The five spirit swords pierced through, instantly impaling the pale-faced cultivator's Nascent Soul.

"Ah!!!"

A pitiful cry echoed as the Nascent Soul was obliterated in mid-air, leaving behind only the ancient shield, which hovered in place.

Chu Ning reached out, and the five spirit swords and the ancient shield returned to his grasp.

Qin Yangzi, who had just destroyed the physical body of the Nascent Soul cultivator, flew over to Chu Ning's side, holding a storage bag and looking pleased.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Chu, for your assistance!" Qin Yangzi said as he handed the storage bag to Chu Ning.

"You should keep the storage bag, Fellow Daoist. Let's go help the others," Chu Ning replied with a smile, placing only the ancient shield and the bone fan wrapped in crimson silk into the storage bag.

Hearing Chu Ning's words, Qin Yangzi politely accepted the storage bag.

As the two prepared to aid the other cultivators, the cultivators from the Demon Path Alliance realized the gravity of their situation.

"Retreat!!!"

The red-browed elder shouted, and the group of cultivators from the Demon Path Alliance began to fall back.

Even the red-browed elder himself, despite taking a hit from Wu Changdong, quickly flew back to create distance.

As for the cultivator who had been fighting Lu Yuezhang, he had already silently retreated before the red-browed elder spoke up.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Seeing the cultivators from the Demon Path Alliance attempt to flee, Wu Changdong, Lu Yuezhang, Fu Jing'an, and the others shouted in unison, giving chase.

Chu Ning and Qin Yangzi joined the pursuit, blocking their escape.

As Wu Changdong trapped the red-browed elder with his Thunder Escape Technique, Chu Ning focused on a black-clad man fighting Lu Yuezhang.

This man's features were the youngest among the Demon Path Alliance cultivators, appearing to be only in his forties.

Clearly, he either possessed a technique to maintain his youthful appearance or was indeed much younger than the average cultivator.

The black-robed man swung his whip, erecting a black spell net in front of him, blocking Lu Yuezhang's attacks.

Taking the opportunity, the black-robed man quickly retreated to create distance.

With his powerful spiritual sense, Chu Ning anticipated the opponent's escape direction and instantly appeared twenty feet away, blocking his path.

Chu Ning's ten fingers danced, shooting out ten water pillars that transformed into chains, entangling the fleeing cultivator.

The black-robed man responded by lashing his whip, causing the black light to intertwine like writhing snakes. Wherever it passed, the water pillars dissipated.

Instead of slowing down, the black-robed man's movements surprised Chu Ning.

Using the Void Escape technique, Chu Ning closed the distance once more. He unleashed the Five Elements Spirit Sword, which flashed with multicolored light as it slashed downward!

At the same time, he waved his left hand, sending forth a transparent blade of light that was visible to the naked eye, aiming directly at the black-robed man's head.

Sensing the formidable power in Chu Ning's attack, the black-robed man finally halted and turned around.

His eyes, like venomous snakes, swept over Chu Ning, and he lashed his whip again.

Black light radiated from the whip, weaving another black spell net in front of him.

The net shimmered with black light, interspersed with traces of blood-red light, effectively blocking Chu Ning's Five Elements Spirit Sword.

"Be careful, Fellow Daoist Chu," Lu Yuezhang, who was rushing over, cautioned. "That net can corrupt magical treasures."

Lu Yuezhang pointed his token forward, causing token shadows to fly out and strike the black net.

However, he dared not use the token treasure to attack directly.

Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat when he heard Lu Yuezhang's warning.

But upon carefully sensing the unchanged spiritual essence emanating from the Five Elements Spirit Sword, he relaxed.

"After infusing it with Black Xuan Gold, my Five Elements Spirit Sword isn't even afraid of the demonic energy from the Outer Realm demons.

How could this filth corrupt my treasure?"

With these thoughts, Chu Ning not only had no intention of recalling his sword but also performed a complex hand seal, causing the sword to shine with even brighter five-colored light.

Seeing this, the black-robed man's serpent-like eyes flickered with surprise.

However, he didn't linger, immediately turning around and fleeing.

Just then, a transparent blade of light shot towards him!

"Spiritual sense attack!"

Sensing the spiritual sense fluctuations in the transparent blade of light, the black-robed man exclaimed in surprise.

He never expected a cultivator in the early Nascent Soul stage to dare use a spiritual sense attack secret technique against him.

The black-robed man, who originally had a chance to dodge, now had a ruthless gleam in his eyes.

He tapped his forehead with both hands, and a black light shot out to meet the transparent blade of light.

Seeing the black-robed man daring to counter his God Slaying Art with a spiritual sense secret technique, Chu Ning's eyes narrowed.

If it were only the God Slaying Art, a cultivator in the mid-Nascent Soul stage might not suffer serious injuries as long as they defended properly.

But by forcibly enduring a spiritual sense attack, they would not only have to bear the brunt of it but also endure the backlash of their own spiritual sense.

Obviously, this Demon Path Alliance cultivator intended to induce a spiritual backlash in Chu Ning.

With this thought, a hint of a smile appeared in Chu Ning's eyes.

When it came to spiritual sense, even if his opponent was in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, he had nothing to fear!

The transparent blade of light and the black light collided in mid-air, creating an invisible wave that rippled outward.

The next moment, the black light was forced backward by the God Slaying Art's transparent blade of light.

The black-robed man's expression turned ashen, but it was too late for him to do anything.

The transparent blade of light and the black light struck his forehead simultaneously.

"Ah!!!"

A painful cry escaped the black-robed man as the spiritual sense attack, coupled with the backlash, caused him immense agony.

"How is this possible? Not only are his spells and techniques powerful, but even his spiritual sense secret technique is so formidable?"

The black-robed man, his eyes now bloodshot, looked up at Chu Ning in disbelief.

There was a hint of madness in his gaze, likely due to forcibly suppressing the spiritual backlash.

However, he couldn't hide the shock in his eyes.

The black-robed man had been in the mid-Nascent Soul stage for many years and possessed a powerful spiritual sense secret technique.

Even if their techniques were equally strong, it would still be surprising for him.

But now, it seemed that his spiritual sense technique was far inferior to that of Chu Ning, who was merely in the early Nascent Soul stage. This was truly unbelievable.

However, the black-robed man didn't have time to ponder whether the technique was weaker or if there was a genuine gap in their spiritual power.

As the two spiritual sense techniques bore down on him, the black spell net was shattered by the combined attacks of Chu Ning's Five Elements Spirit Sword and Lu Yuezhang's token shadows.

Chu Ning's Five Elements Spirit Sword slashed down at the black-robed man.

Gritting his teeth against the spiritual backlash, the black-robed man used a escape technique to fly a few feet away.

But the two spiritual sense techniques were too powerful, and his body stumbled in mid-air, nearly causing him to fall.

At the same time, Lu Yuezhang drew near, his token spewing out countless token shadows.

The black-robed man's face changed drastically as he felt the power of the two attacks.

The long whip in his hand shimmered with black light, lashing backwards and coiling around Chu Ning's Five Elements Spirit Sword.

At the same time, he raised his left hand, unleashing several talismans towards Lu Yuezhang's token attack.

The black whip clashed with the Five Elements Spirit Sword, and in the next moment, it transformed into a massive black python.

The python's scales shimmered with dark light, matching the scales on the surface of the black-robed man's whip.

Its eyes glinted with a strange glow, as if it were alive.

As soon as the black python appeared, it completely entangled the Five Elements Spirit Sword.

Its massive body obscured all the sword's radiant light.

What surprised Chu Ning even more was that while he could sense the presence of the Five Elements Spirit Sword, he was unable to manipulate it at that moment.

"Quite powerful!

Drawing on the power of a beast's spirit, are you? Let's see whose treasure spirit is stronger!"

Chu Ning's eyes flickered, and he swiftly activated the Five Elements Chaos Formula.

In the next moment, he raised his right hand, and the five fingers glowed with five-colored light.

"Swift!"

As Chu Ning cast his formula, five beams of spirit light shot out, striking the black python and then penetrating into its body.

In the next moment, a bird's cry echoed from within the python's belly, and a Liyan Spirit Bird, its body enveloped in flames, drilled out, wrapping around the python's head.

"Not good!"

The black-robed man's face changed upon seeing this.

But what left him dumbfounded was...

Another bird cry sounded, and a massive spirit bird with golden feathers and silver-white wings drilled out.

Its wings stirred up a gale, and it transformed into golden light, wrapping around the python's tail.

Soon after, a bice-green giant qilin with a deep purple snake crown on its head, a giant wolf with azure eyes, and a ironclad dragon with a single horn appeared one after another.

"Five beast spirits!"

The black-robed man's expression was a sight to behold.

He hurriedly tried to cast a formula to reshape the black python back into his black whip, but it was too late.

"Hiss!"

The giant python let out a painful hiss.

In the next moment, under the assault of the five spirit souls, it disintegrated, turning into specks of black light.

This revealed the black whip that had bound the Five Elements Spirit Sword, now exposed in its true form.

However, the black light faded, and it was clear that its spirit power had been greatly diminished.

Upon seeing this, the black-robed man was both shocked and furious. He immediately tried to retract his whip.

But at this moment, how could Chu Ning let him have his way?

The five spirit souls instantly drilled back into the Five Elements Spirit Sword.

In the next moment, the sword shone with brilliant five-colored light, and the black whip that had bound it was instantly severed into several segments.

"My life-bound treasure!"

The black-robed man cried out miserably, spitting out a mouthful of essence blood. It was clear that his vitality had been greatly injured.

Life-bound treasures were connected to a cultivator's soul, and the longer one cultivated and nourished such a treasure, the greater the damage when it was harmed.

This black-robed man had cultivated his life-bound treasure for hundreds of years.

Its damage now greatly injured his vitality.

He had already suffered a serious injury to his spiritual sense earlier, and now his vitality was greatly injured as well, causing his face to turn pale.

Just then, Lu Yuezhang arrived, his eyes shining as he released the treasure form of his token, attacking the black-robed man.

The black-robed man sensed the attack from Lu Yuezhang's token treasure, but after suffering consecutive injuries, he had no time to dodge.

He could only watch helplessly as the token slammed into him.

He managed to muster a defensive barrier with great effort.

However, Lu Yuezhang's token was no ordinary treasure.

Upon impact, the black-robed man's defensive barrier instantly shattered.

In the next moment, the token pierced through his body without losing any momentum.

It then flew out from his back.

"It's your fault! You will all die!"

With a fierce shout, the black-robed man's body exploded as Lu Yuezhang's life-bound treasure passed through him.

He transformed into a black mist that quickly drifted dozens of feet away.

The speed was so fast that even Chu Ning and Lu Yuezhang were unable to react in time.

At the same time, among the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators below, the countless ghostly mist and evil souls released by the Demon Path Alliance cultivators' treasures and spells rushed towards this direction.

Even the bodies of many cultivators began to emit black mist, causing their faces to change drastically.

Many of them quickly lost their spiritual power.

Seizing this opportunity, the Cloudsoar Alliance cultivators launched fatal strikes.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Demon Path Alliance perished.

Strangely, as soon as these people died, they all transformed into black mist and swiftly gathered towards the black mist that had formed after the black-robed man's body exploded.

In the next moment, the black mist condensed and transformed into a human figure.

It was the exact likeness of the black-robed man.

What surprised Chu Ning was that the aura emanating from this figure was even stronger than the previous black-robed man.

It was even stronger than Wu Changdong, the cultivator with the highest cultivation among them, and was almost at the late Nascent Soul stage.

The next moment, the red-browed elder's maniacal laughter rang out through the sky.

"Hahaha, well done, Brother Zhu! Since you want to use the Demon Annihilation Grand Technique, we'll lend you a hand!"

"Not good!" Hearing this laughter, Lu Yuezhang cried out and shouted, "Cloudsoar Alliance cultivators, do not kill your opponents..."

But Lu Yuezhang's words were futile.

Because, as the red-browed elder's words fell, dozens of Demon Path cultivators below suddenly detonated themselves one after another.

This even included several Golden Core cultivators.

Many Cloudsoar Alliance cultivators, caught off guard, were severely injured.

A Golden Core cultivator and over ten Foundation Establishment cultivators failed to defend in time and perished in these explosions.

At this moment, some Demon Path cultivators continued to self-destruct.

"Quick, stop him from absorbing these evil souls!

Otherwise, he'll forcefully raise his cultivation to the mid-Nascent Soul stage!"

Lu Yuezhang exclaimed, and Chu Ning vaguely understood the situation.

Without delay, he flew towards the black-robed man who had transformed from the black mist.

The black-robed man, Zhu, clearly understood that Chu Ning and the others intended to stop him and proactively moved towards the black mist below to absorb it.

In just a short moment, he absorbed over ten streams of evil souls, and his aura grew stronger.

However, before he could absorb more, Chu Ning and Lu Yuezhang arrived.

The Five Elements Spirit Sword and Lu Yuezhang's token treasure simultaneously attacked, forcing Zhu to retreat without daring to face them directly.

Chu Ning quickly said to Lu Yuezhang, "Fellow Daoist Lu, hold him off for a moment. I'll take care of these evil souls."

"Alright!" Although Lu Yuezhang was a little worried about how Chu Ning would handle so many evil souls, he chose to trust him completely. After responding, he decisively attacked the black-robed man, Zhu, who had taken form from the black mist.

At this moment, a gleam flashed in Chu Ning's eyes.

"Little Jin!"

At his soft cry, the golden thunder eagle that had been wreaking havoc below swiftly flew over.

"These evil souls are all yours!"

"Gu!"

As Chu Ning's words landed, the golden thunder eagle let out a joyful cry and transformed into a golden streak, rushing forward.

Its massive wings fanned out, and the evil souls that had been about to rush towards Zhu were blown back.

Then, it opened its mouth and dove, swallowing all the evil souls and ghostly mist in its path.

"Hmph!"

The black-robed man, Zhu, who was fighting Lu Yuezhang and had taken form from the black mist, snorted coldly and uttered a strange, eerie cry.

Hearing this cry, the remaining evil souls and ghostly mist scattered and attempted to fly towards Zhu from various directions.

But it was at this moment that Chu Ning made his move.

A faint golden light shield appeared around his body, and he rapidly flew through the air like a golden lightning bolt.

Wherever he passed, the evil souls and ghostly mist dissipated on contact.

With the combined efforts of Chu Ning and the golden thunder eagle, not a single evil soul or ghostly mist could get close to Zhu.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the evil souls being destroyed one by one, the black-robed man, Zhu, whose body was formed from black mist, let out a cry as eerie as a ghost's wail.

The next moment, the ghostly mist around him dispersed and spread out.

Then, it transformed into a black fog that rolled towards Lu Yuezhang.

Seeing this, Lu Yuezhang's expression changed slightly.

He knew that Zhu's Nascent Soul was hidden within the ghostly mist, controlling it, but the mist obscured his spiritual sense, making it difficult to locate.

Moreover, the ghostly mist was too widespread, and he had no way to avoid it.

Lu Yuezhang quickly activated the token in his hand, creating a luminous barrier around himself.

As the ghostly mist rolled over him, his barrier dimmed but did not completely dissipate.

Lu Yuezhang breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next moment, his expression changed again, and he shouted, "Fellow Daoist Chu, be careful!"

The ghostly mist was now rapidly rolling towards Chu Ning.

And as it reached him, it once again condensed into the form of the black-robed man, Zhu.

"Come at me if you dare!"

Seeing the demon cultivator actively seeking him out, Chu Ning remained unfazed.

With a low cry, he performed a complex hand seal, and the Five Elements Spirit Sword, which had been hovering in his hand, flew out, attacking his opponent directly.

Seeing the Five Elements Spirit Sword slicing towards him, a hateful gleam flashed in Zhu's eyes, which had taken form from the black mist.

He hadn't forgotten that it was this sword that had destroyed his life-bound treasure earlier.

He waved his hands, causing the black mist to shimmer, and then he reached out with both hands to grab the Five Elements Spirit Sword.

Seeing this, Lu Yuezhang's eyes gleamed.

He had personally witnessed Chu Ning using his treasure to sever the arm of an Outer Realm demon.

Even if Zhu's Demon Annihilation Grand Technique was powerful, could it possibly surpass the might of an Outer Realm demon?

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end