Shi Luo Ye

Chapter 834 Slaying an Immortal in a Painting

West Shu, East Yue.

A figure in white, as pure as snow, descended. Lin Wanhua, sword in hand, stood on a giant rock atop East Yue's peak, surveying the surrounding mountains. East Yue had already sunk by at least several hundred zhang in the current land-sinking calamity, its majestic aura far from its former stability. Furthermore, a wisp of demonic energy still permeated the mountains.

With a gentle flick of her sword, a towering Sword Immortal manifestation, thousands of zhang high, arose. It strode across the peaks, its eyes calmly observing the land below.

Suddenly, Lin Wanhua stopped, her gaze fixed on a certain spot in the mountains. She smiled and said, "Since we've met, why pretend not to know each other?"

"Ouch..."

From within a massive rock face amidst the mountains, a figure emerged. It was Xu Changyou, who had returned to East Yue from Ling Que Lake. He was a spirit and demon of the mountains and had not followed Yu Zhi, Fu Sheng, and the others back to the ancestral mountain of the Northern Region's demon race. This was Xu Changyou's choice: to assist the demon race in sinking the pillar of Shu Prefecture. In return, he received fifty thousand Golden Scale Coins and a Golden Dawn Lamp. Now, both the Golden Scale Coins and the Golden Dawn Lamp were in the storage bag at Xu Changyou's waist. Naturally, he wished to put as much distance as possible between himself and the chaos, to hide in the mountains, refine the Golden Dawn Lamp, and spend the Golden Scale Coins. It would be enough to cultivate to the verge of the fourteenth realm.

Alas, he had not expected Lin Wanhua to arrive so quickly.

Xu Changyou, clad in a black long robe, cupped his fists towards Lin Wanhua in the air and chuckled, "Lin Sword Immortal, long time no see. We parted ways in the Great Desolation, and I didn't expect that upon meeting again, you would already be a peak thirteenth-realm Sword Immortal. It truly is astonishing."

"Indeed."

Lin Wanhua smiled faintly. "I also didn't expect Xu Changyou, who once prided himself on being a carefree wanderer, to once again become a running dog of the demon race. The Xu Changyou who was once so arrogant, believing his cultivation should uphold heaven and earth's righteousness, must have died. Otherwise, how could he have done something like shattering the East Yue pillar of the human race?"

"Lin Sword Immortal..."

Xu Changyou frowned. "Do you truly intend to attack me?"

"Precisely."

Lin Wanhua curled her lips and smiled. "Back in the Great Desolation, I lacked the power to kill you, Xu Changyou. But now I do. As for that other one, feel free to act if you wish, or don't. If you don't come to me, I will eventually seek you out. What Qin Suihan could not achieve back then, I, Lin Wanhua, your junior, will accomplish."

From afar, a faint sigh echoed.

Xu Changyou's gaze turned cold. He suddenly prostrated himself on the ground, slamming his fists into the earth. Instantly, his body began to swell, once again employing the divine ability of Fa Tian Xiang Di. In the blink of an eye, the "Changyou" form grew to be as tall as East Yue itself. The middle-aged man in the black long robe transformed into a colossal beast, pounding his fists against his chest and roaring, "Lin Wanhua, do you really think you're a fourteenth-realm Sword Immortal? We are both thirteenth-realm. What makes you think you can kill me, Xu Changyou?"

Lin Wanhua smiled slightly. "Watch closely."

With that, Lin Wanhua ascended into the sky. A radiant sword energy shot upwards, piercing the clouds as if connecting heaven and earth. The next moment, Lin Wanhua raised her long sword, her ethereal sword intent creating an unfathomable aura. Just as Xu Changyou looked up at the sky, Lin Wanhua's sword descended in a perfectly straight line through the firmament.

"You!"

Xu Changyou roared, crossing his fists in mid-air, demonic energy surging all around him. Lin Wanhua's sword was by no means simple; it caused the heart of the thirteenth-realm great demon to tremble incessantly. He dared not block the sword with his physical body, relying instead on the demonic energy within him to condense a qi shield to resist Lin Wanhua's strike. However, what Xu Changyou did not expect was that as Lin Wanhua's sword struck his fists, a strand of flying sword suddenly burst forth from the Sword Lake within her, emitting a buzzing hum. The moment this flying sword appeared, it was on the verge of self-detonation!

A peak thirteenth-realm Sword Cultivator detonating a natal flying sword upon meeting? How utterly bizarre!

"Lin Wanhua!"

Xu Changyou's pupils contracted violently. He was on the verge of madness, roaring, "You madwoman! To kill me, are you willing to descend in realm?!"

The next moment, a golden radiance shot directly into Xu Changyou's brow and then exploded. It was Lin Wanhua's second natal flying sword, Xinhua. The divine ability of Xinhua was to directly attack the enemy's soul. Having followed Lin Wanhua for many years, this flying sword had made countless contributions. Now, Lin Wanhua had detonated Xinhua without hesitation!

"Boom—"

With a thunderous roar, Xu Changyou's mind went blank. The flying sword's divine ability bloomed within his spiritual nexus, virtually instantly obliterating his soul. Following that, Lin Wanhua's second sword descended. With a soft "swish," Xu Changyou's mountain-like colossal body was cleaved in two by Lin Wanhua's sword, as if cleaving a mountain.

"Lin Wanhua, you are ruthless..."

Before dying, Xu Changyou could only utter these words.

Lin Wanhua descended gracefully and plucked the storage bag from Xu Changyou's waist. It contained not only 50,000 Golden Scale Coins but also a Golden Dawn Lamp. The Golden Dawn Lamp was a supreme treasure of the demon race's ancestral mountain. It was perfect, and Lin Wanhua accepted it all. These 50,000 Golden Scale Coins were valuable. Fusu Great Wall had always been a place of hardship. With the addition of 50,000 Golden Scale Coins, the foundation of Fusu Great Wall could be significantly strengthened. As for the Golden Dawn Lamp, she would keep it; it might be of great use in the future.

Then, she raised her hand and drew the thirteenth-realm demon core from Xu Changyou's skull into her palm. The demonic energy was extremely potent, so Lin Wanhua directly sealed it with a wisp of sword intent. She had already decided where it would go. During the battle at Ling Que Lake, Wu Zhi's five demon soul swords were shattered. She was currently in need of high-level demon cores to refine swords. It was perfect; she would give it to Lin Zhao, who would then give it to Wu Zhi, thus gaining favor with two people at once.

"Hmph..."

Lin Wanhua, sword in hand, looked up at the distance. The fiery red figure had already disappeared into the mountains. Nine-Tails had not returned to the ancestral mountain with Yu Zhi, Fu Sheng, Ning Yuansheng, Nan Qingfeng, and the others. It was likely that she intended to continue her schemes in East Yue, leaving behind some foreshadowing for the human world in hopes of a comeback in the future. But she underestimated the cultivators of the human world. How could they be so careless twice?

Now, Nine-Tails was gone, and Xu Changyou was dead.

Lin Wanhua was not in a hurry. She sat cross-legged on a giant rock and took out a shimmering flying sword blank from her storage bag, beginning to refine it into her natal artifact. In fact, the reason Lin Wanhua dared to detonate Xinhua to kill Xu Changyou was because she had recently acquired a new blank. Its divine abilities were similar to Xinhua's, and it could be refined into a new Xinhua. Since she had found a better one, exchanging Xinhua for the life of a thirteenth-realm great demon was a guaranteed profitable deal. Moreover, with the 50,000 Golden Scale Coins, the Golden Dawn Lamp, and a thirteenth-realm demon core, this deal was so profitable that Lin Wanhua could barely suppress a smile.

First, she would refine the sword. After recovering her cultivation, she would make a trip to the East Sea. All debts must be repaid. They absolutely must not let those beasts in the East Sea think that no one in the human world dared to manage them.

...

Ling Que Lake.

Wei Huarou suddenly turned her head, looking into the distance, her beautiful eyes filled with concern. She then looked at Su Qingjiu and said, "Little Jiu'er, Nine-Tails is about to return north. Should we intercept? If Nine-Tails can be killed, it would be removing a great harm for the human world. However, Nine-Tails is, after all, a former fourteenth-realm entity. Killing Nine-Tails might bring you significant karma. Are you willing to bear this karma?"

Su Qingjiu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Since Sect Master Wei has spoken, what reason do I have not to bear this karma?"

"Good."

Wei Huarou turned to Lin Zhao. "Lin Zhao, Jiu'er and I will go to kill Nine-Tails. You stay here to clean up the aftermath."

"Can you kill her?"

Lin Zhao frowned. "What are the odds of victory? If it's below ninety percent, it's still better to act cautiously."

Wei Huarou couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. Xu Shuo, Huang Tingyu, and the others were stunned. This Sect Master Wei was not only powerful but also extremely beautiful.

"Don't worry, the odds of victory are one hundred percent," Wei Huarou said.

"Then that's fine."

Lin Zhao nodded. Immediately, Wei Huarou and Su Qingjiu transformed into two streaks of sword light and flew towards the East Coast. Wei Huarou, in particular, flew at an astonishing speed, her Dharma body ascending, covering over a thousand li in an instant.

Lin Zhao took a deep breath and said, "Should we... collect the remains of the realm-sacrificers?"

"Yes!"

Xu Shuo, leaning on his long sword, was already a tenth-realm Sword Cultivator, though his injuries were not severe. He led a group of Mohist cultivators to search for the remains of human cultivators submerged in the lake, collecting them one by one. Lin Zhao's expression was particularly somber. What saddened him was that Liu Xingshu had been struck by Gu Yanshu's sword and turned into a rain of blood, his body long since merged with the entire Ling Que Lake, making it impossible to collect his remains.

"Old Huang."

He frowned and said, "Find the demon corpses and collect all their demon cores. Wu Zhi needs a large number of demon cores to re-refine ten demon soul swords. I've already spoken to the Second Brother Xu. All the demon cores from this battle will go to the Mountain Peak Villa, as a small compensation from the Mohist Ancestral Hall and Wenlin to our Mountain Peak Villa."

"Alright."

Old Huang nodded. As a demon himself, he was most familiar with demonic energy. He walked on the lake, his sword intent gathering the demon cores of the fallen, and in a moment, he held over a dozen demon cores from the upper fifth realm. It was a pity that no twelfth or thirteenth-realm great demons had died, otherwise, the battle at Ling Que Lake might have resulted in profit instead of loss for Wu Zhi.

...

On the East Coast, a majestic footprint landed on the celestial barrier above. The ground slowly sank, forcing a figure hidden in the woods to reveal herself. It was Nine-Tails, clad in red. Currently, Nine-Tails had only seven and a half tails remaining, but her realm was still at the peak of the thirteenth realm, making her absolutely not to be underestimated.

Yu Zhi must have had considerable confidence in Nine-Tails' strength to leave her behind in East Yue to make arrangements.

Unfortunately, she was still spotted by Wei Huarou.

"Sect Master Wei, are you so eager to die?!"

Nine-Tails' fiery red Dharma form shot into the sky, and a sharp claw flashed towards Wei Huarou's fair neck.

But in that instant, Wei Huarou's delicate eyebrows furrowed. She swung her sword and severed a corner of the Shan He She Ji Tu (Map of Mountains and Rivers). Twisting this inch-long piece of scroll in her hand, she tossed it out. Instantly, all things between heaven and earth transformed into an ink wash scroll, and Nine-Tails was actually sealed within this corner of the scroll, unable to move!

"Little Jiu'er?"

Wei Huarou raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled, "Can you 'slay an immortal within a painting'?"

"Here I come!"

Su Qingjiu's beautiful eyes were filled with golden streams of light. Sword Heart Communion was pushed to its peak at this moment, her entire being suffused with pure divinity. She then unleashed her strongest sword strike.