078 True Legacy (Part Two)
“Is that the extent of your skill, sir?”
Pang Yue’s gaze pierced through the chaotic flames and sword radiance, falling upon Ning Daozhen.
“Beyond magic power, your divine sense, soul, and supernatural abilities are all inferior to mine, yet you dare dream of cutting short my path? How laughable!”
His voice was calm, transmitting clearly into Ning Daozhen’s ears.
“Do you know… how Ning Daoyu was slain by me?”
A mocking smile curled at Pang Yue’s lips. In front of him, a flash of clear light revealed a blade as cold as autumn water.
A superior-grade magical weapon: Butterfly Loves the Flower.
Ning Daozhen’s expression shifted slightly. Rage surged in his heart, entwined with his murderous intent, prompting him to accelerate the activation of the Flaming Sparrow Array.
“Just like this!”
With Pang Yue’s words, he raised his hand and formed a sword seal. The Butterfly Loves the Flower sword suddenly turned into a streak of cold light and vanished.
In the next instant,
A sword light, nimble as a shooting star, leaped across the horizon—like a silken thread traversing the sky. It was exquisitely subtle, passing through the Flaming Sparrow Array in a heartbeat and coiling toward Ning Daozhen’s throat.
Ning Daozhen stared at Pang Yue, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
He made no visible move, merely exhaled gently toward the front.
Flames erupted!
On the sword radiance, a layer of fiery haze appeared out of thin air, clinging and burning fiercely, instantly slowing the sword’s advance.
Moments later,
The Butterfly Loves the Flower flying sword halted before Ning Daozhen, transforming into a few drops of molten iron, dripping into the sea.
A superior-grade magical flying sword was destroyed in his hands, just like that.
At that moment,
A shrill screech pierced the air.
A sharp sword cry instantly drowned out all other sounds between sea and sky.
A pale, deadly sword radiance shot forth, brimming with boundless killing intent. It circled in the air, then slashed down with sudden fury!
The timing of this strike was flawless—perfection incarnate!
Ning Daozhen had poured all his power into the Flaming Sparrow Array; his final reserve was spent against Butterfly Loves the Flower. Just as he finished exhaling, his magic power dipped into a trough, and the pale sword radiance struck.
Before the sword even reached him, an endless murderous intent surged within Ning Daozhen’s sea of consciousness, assaulting his soul and will like waves, throwing his mind into turmoil.
Even with Ning Daozhen’s composure, he couldn't help but become momentarily dazed.
Sword light descended.
He was about to be cleaved in two!
Everyone watching felt the same thought rise unbidden: Too late!
The sword was too swift; all felt powerless, unable to intervene.
Suddenly,
A massive black hand, wreathed in demonic energy, emerged out of nowhere before Ning Daozhen.
The hand’s index and middle fingers gently pinched, capturing the pale sword radiance.
The Seven Kill Sword quivered like a fish, struggling between those two fingers.
Cold sweat broke across Ning Daozhen’s body; his heart thundered.
Never in his life had he been so close to death.
“How did he do that? His soul, his divine sense… how can he still control the sword?”
He stared blankly at Pang Yue, all stray thoughts gone, only questions remaining.
Li Nian’an’s voice echoed from the heights above: “Ning Daozhen, do you have any objections to Pang Yue becoming a true disciple?”
Ning Daozhen came to himself, bowed toward the sky, and replied, “No objections.”
“In that case, you may withdraw.”
Li Nian’an spoke coolly.
“Thank you, Elder, for saving my life.”
Ning Daozhen said, then swept his sleeve and recalled the Flaming Sparrows, vanishing in a flash of fire.
The demonic hand released its grip, returning the Seven Kill Sword to Pang Yue.
The hand made a seal toward Pang Yue, and at once, spiritual energy swirled like a vortex around him, surging madly into his body.
In the blink of an eye, his magic power was fully restored!
That seal was nothing short of miraculous.
Among the onlookers, all but a select few found Pang Yue’s victory over Ning Daozhen incredible, and began discussing it fervently.
Especially Pang Yue’s swordsmanship at the end—swift as lightning, endlessly transforming, chilling to the bone.
When a sword cultivator, adept at killing, combines with the techniques of the Demonic Sect, what terrifying methods might emerge?
…
Mount Zhuoguang.
Ping Taiyin rose silently and strode out.
Ping Shanyue set down his teacup and looked to the Vice Lord of the Thunder Demon Hall, asking, “Brother Luo, what do you make of this youth?”
Master Luo Shan shook his head. “I can only discern half of his depth.”
“His soul is exceptionally strong, his supernatural abilities deeply refined, his swordsmanship mysterious and divine… It seems he has many hidden techniques.”
Ping Shanyue sighed. “Though Ning Daozhen was not slain, his Dao heart is broken. If he cannot recover, he may never reach the Golden Core.”
“That is precisely Pang Yue’s brilliance,” Master Luo Shan nodded. “Think—could we have achieved such a feat at the Foundation Establishment stage?”
“It’s a pity he’s provoked someone he shouldn’t have…”
Luo Shan smiled wryly, sipping his tea.
Ping Shanyue gazed at the water mirror, saying, “We’ll see how many secrets he still hides; otherwise, it will be difficult indeed to overcome Taiyin.”
“Taiyin’s Thunder Blade happens to counter his swordsmanship.”
…
Deep within the Hall of Justice,
Two young attendants grew excited, rushing to a quiet chamber, calming themselves, and whispering, “Master, Pang Yue won the first round. Now he’s to face Ping Taiyin, the true disciple of the Thunder Demon Hall, in the second round.”
“I know.”
A distant, inscrutable voice sounded from within.
The attendants hurried back to the bronze mirror, as if afraid to miss a moment.
…
Within the True Demon Hall,
He Miaox’s face was grave, unmoved as an ancient well.
He watched the water mirror, maintaining his initial posture, as steady as an immovable mountain.
…
Ping Taiyin left Mount Zhuoguang, transformed into a streak of lightning, and with several flashes covered a hundred miles in an instant.
Soon, he halted his light, his form materializing between sea and sky.
Opposite him stood a tall, handsome youth, poised in the void.
He wore a gray Daoist robe; his temples lightly touched with white, refined in demeanor, with an aura of demonic power about him—clearly he had cultivated the Demonic Talisman Sect’s legacy to an extraordinary depth.
Ping Taiyin spread his hand, lightning crackling, quickly forming a blade of thunder.
Gripping the Thunder Blade, he exuded a flawless, complete momentum; the blade’s intent swept across, locking onto Pang Yue.
“Let us begin,” Li Xian’an’s deep voice resounded from above.
Suddenly, three talismans appeared around Ping Taiyin.
A crimson fire light gathered.
A green, fine wind gathered.
A white thunder light gathered.
The three talismans shone, absorbing all the spiritual energy within ten miles like whales drinking, leaving nothing behind.
“Thunder Prison!”
Blade light flashed!
Ping Taiyin said nothing, striking directly.
Cold, ruthless thunder blade radiance flowed like water, covering a hundred feet in the blink of an eye; the blade light surged, sweeping over all within.
Pang Yue merged with his sword; the Seven Kill Sword transformed into a lively radiance, darting and flashing within the blade light, clashing thousands of times in an instant.
The outburst of the blade technique surpassed even the sword.
Ping Taiyin, having mastered three hall techniques, possessed profound cultivation, far beyond Ning Daozhen and even further above Pang Yue.
He had forged a unique path, creating the Three-Colored Divine Thunder, supplemented by an ancient blade art—his killing techniques far exceeded his peers.
Now, he trapped Pang Yue with blade radiance, forcing him into a direct contest, attacking weakness with strength!
Exploiting his advantage, to strike at the other’s shortcoming!
Though unable to use magical treasures, the power unleashed by his Thunder Blade rivaled a first-grade magical artifact!
If not for the Seven Kill Sword’s core—refined from Golden Core-level bones—it would have shattered under the repeated clashes.
“Sky Split!”
Ping Taiyin always pursued swift victory.
Life and death balanced on a knife’s edge.
Thousands of blade lights fused into a single line, slashing straight down!
With this swing, the great principle of the Dao manifested, splitting sea and sky asunder.
The Sky Split Slash!
This strike brimmed with lofty demonic intent, instilling a sense of inescapable despair.
Yet the white bone sword radiance, in that narrow gap, spawned countless transformations, countering the blade light with unfathomable skill—so perfectly that neither side prevailed.
Ping Taiyin’s heart was surprised; he called out once more: “Mountain Sever!”
Sharp blade light flashed, slashing horizontally.
Just then, a streak of icy thunder appeared in the void!
Boom!
Thunder struck the blade radiance, clashing thousands of times in an instant!
Ice Soul Thunder Force!
At the nineteenth layer, the Ice Soul Thunder Force shone brilliantly, its overwhelming power shattering Ping Taiyin’s blade radiance.
Where the ice thunder passed, electric arcs twined, frost fell—a strange and mesmerizing beauty.
“World End!”
Ping Taiyin swung his blade swiftly; its radiance was pure, crystal-clear, yet fiercely sharp, exuding an indomitable intent to cut through all.
The concentrated blade light swept through layers of space, shattering the forces of heaven and earth, as if the sun fell to earth—carving a deep, bottomless trench across the sea.
Blade light summoned red, green, and white thunder, colliding with the ice thunder.
Countless bolts raged!
A tremendous roar shook the void.
Blade radiance suddenly exploded, disintegrating into thousands of clusters of thunder light, dispersing in midair.
Ping Taiyin pointed his Thunder Blade at Pang Yue, grinning fiercely. “You’re impressive—to force me to unleash four consecutive strikes!”
His figure was tall and imposing, his features rugged, matching the earth-shaking aura just displayed—a true dominance.
If he possessed a third-grade magical treasure, he might rival Shen Tuhao of the True Sun Sect!
Pang Yue, by contrast, appeared relaxed.
The nineteenth layer of Ice Soul Thunder Force exceeded his expectations.
It easily blocked Ping Taiyin’s blade techniques…
If he reached the twentieth layer, could a single thunder strike annihilate Ping Taiyin?
“Let me offer you another thunderbolt, friend!”
Pang Yue smiled calmly, forming seals with both hands. Dozens of thunderbolts, thick as barrels, nearly solidified, filling a hundred feet around with radiance!
Lightning descended!
Ping Taiyin laughed wildly, holding his blade one-handed, a manic gleam in his eyes.
He folded the blade radiance, imbuing it with a serene, transcendent aura, and slashed lightly.
“Reincarnation!”
Where the blade passed, the sky faded to black and white.
A blade radiance appeared bizarrely in Pang Yue’s sea of consciousness, striking directly at his soul.
Outside,
Countless Ice Soul Thunder Forces converged, engulfing Ping Taiyin.
Within the thunder, a jade ruyi appeared, shedding gentle light, steadfastly blocking the radiance.
Ping Taiyin emerged unscathed!
“A second-grade magical treasure—Law-Destroying Ruyi!”
On the Moon-Swallowing Golden Toad in the sky, the Luo family’s Golden Core cultivator snorted angrily.
Ping Taiyin broke the rules!
Within the sea of consciousness,
Facing the incoming blade radiance, Pang Yue’s soul stirred. His divine sense condensed into a crystalline hand, which grasped the blade light and crushed it!