While vigorously operating his Zhen Yuan, Ye Chen said indifferently, "You think I"m that stupid? You, Ghost Moon, are merely a Spiritualist. Even if you were a Sea of Soul Master, these words still wouldn"t have meant a thing."
Hearing these words, the injured Duan Lingyun and spectating w.a.n.g Tong were stunned. It seemed as if Ye Chen didn"t put Sea of Soul realm"s Spiritualist grade experts in his eyes at all. For them, this was simply inconceivable. Even though Spiritualists were the lowest ranked in the Sea of Soul realm, they were in Sea of Soul realm after all, having shed off their mortality. If a martial artist with peak Clasping Yuan cultivation base were to challenge an Astral Reaching expert, there were a few who would have the ability. However, to challenge Sea of Soul realm expert with peak Astral Reaching realm cultivation, the odds for it were almost zero. There were countless geniuses in the southern sector, comprising of those from regions such as South Rudra, Thunder Region, Misty Snow Region, and Cloud Billow Region. Among all these geniuses combined, the number who could accomplish such a feat could be counted on one"s fingers. The ratio was less than a person per region. Moreover, all of the ranked top five geniuses were from regions blessed by heavens such as the Thunder Region, and Thunder Princess was one such genius.
"So, he was actually expecting Ghost Moon." Murong QIngcheng realized that the reason he waited to break through into the peak of late Astral Reaching realm before leaving Three Yin City was certainly to battle against Ghost Moon. Otherwise, he wouldn"t have broken through in such a hurry, and could have easily broken through en-route.
The gazes of the three people fell on the Ghost Moon, expecting how he would respond. The latter"s face somewhat trembled, as a sinister killing intent spread out and could be felt several li away. Under its effect, the trees around him started to rapidly wither and ignited in a pale white flame.
"There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Why do I feel your att.i.tude to be more of arrogance?" Ghost Moon sneered," Unfortunately, arrogant geniuses will die sooner than later, just like shooting stars in the sky that are only resplendent for a brief instant."
"Shooting stars are short-lived, but they can leave behind an eternally painful memory. You are welcome to try." Ye Chen"s forehead swelled slightly. This was the moment he had to exert himself fully, as there was no longer any room to hold back. He also wished to know what kind of display his strongest sword intent would put on.
"Preposterous! Since you don"t want to do it yourself, I"ll do it for you. I"ll break your limbs and cut your tongue. Then we"ll see if you dare to remain this arrogant." Ghost Moon grinned, his sharp teeth faintly giving off a chill.
The two immediately proceeded onto exchanging blows. Duan Lingyun and w.a.n.g Tong, who were not a.s.sured of their safety, moved a few li further away. The level of destruction that Sea of Soul realm experts could bring forth was simply outrageous. They had the means of changing the topography of the land itself.
w.a.n.g Tong watched Ye Chen with a worried gaze. He didn"t know where Ye Chen"s confidence came from, but he had heard Ghost Moon"s name. The latter"s reputation was not baseless. If the former wished to defeat him with a cultivation base of peak Astral Reaching realm, it would be as tough as ascending heavens, almost impossible.
On the other side, Duang Lingyun smiled coldly. Although he was regretful that he couldn"t kill Ye Chen by himself, he was clear that a dead genius was no longer a genius. Only if a genius survived would he or she have a chance to ascend to the top.
Buzz!
The air around w.a.n.g Tong faintly warped, and Murong Qingcheng appeared beside him.
"Miss Murong, are you not worried?" w.a.n.g Tong asked.
She said, "I"ve already seen so many miracles created by him. He is not the kind of person to boast without confidence. Actually, he is someone more cautious than anyone else."
"More cautious than anyone else?" w.a.n.g Tong was skeptical.
Pop!
The air under his foot bust like a huge balloon as Ghost Moon"s body leaned forward and the winnowing basket in his right hand expanded, making a wrapping motion towards Ye Chen. An enormous, greenish black ghost hand appeared, covering the sky and shrouding the sun. It instantly enveloped the area around Ye Chen.
"Kid, it"s too late to regret now. Die!"
The ghost hand closed, causing the surrounding summits to explode. Ye Chen"s entire being descended into a pitch-black world. It looked as if he was about to be crushed into mincemeat by the hand.
A nasty grin appeared on Duan Lingyun"s face, as if antic.i.p.ating the horrible outcome of Ye Chen.
"Green Lotus Sky!"
A m.u.f.fled shout rang out from within the ghost hand, carrying an overflowing sword intent that entered into everybody"s ears. The next moment, a green sword radiance emerged like a huge tree growing from his hand, instantly growing more than three hundred meters high. The ghost hand exploded, and its aura was completely ripped apart.
"What? Instantly breaking my Imprisoning Ghost Hand?"
Ghost Moon"s eyes narrowed. He wasn"t surprised that Ye Chen didn"t die in one move, but that fact that his move was broken by the opponent in a single move made him unresigned. A red tinge appeared on his face.
Breaking off the clutches of the ghost hand, Ye Chen ascended a thousand meters into the sky. Holding the Greenwood sword with both hands, he slashed it down swiftly. With that motion, a frightening scene occurred. Linked with the sword, a sword light branding a huge green lotus expanded for dozens of hundred meters. Slas.h.i.+ng the heaven and earth and creating primal chaos, it flashed down, severely falling down towards Ghost Moon"s head. Before it arrived, the mountainous terrain underneath Ghost Moon burst open, and a thousands of meters long and pitch-dark ditch opened up, engulfing all the summits along the way.
"Sword soul level sword intent?"
Ghost Moon was astonished. As cultivation base was separated in various levels, sword intent was the same. After condensing a sword soul, the sword intent was called sword soul level sword intent. He didn"t know whether Ye Chen had condensed sword soul or not, but this sword intent was definitely of sword soul level. He had once experienced a sword intent of a Sea of Soul realm sword artist. That person"s sword actually seemed inferior to Ye Chen"s.
"No wonder you dared to be arrogant before me. Your sword intent has reached such degree. But, if you think this much is enough to contend against me, you"re gravely mistaken." Ghost Moon suddenly let out a roar as his two hands folded by the chest in a clawing gesture. With that, two huge ghost claws blocked the incoming sword intent.
"You"ll know once you try." With his body slightly tilting, Ye Chen held the sword hilt with his left hand while his right hand locked in a reverse grip before fiercely slas.h.i.+ng down.
Buzz!
The sword light was linked with Greenwood sword. The sword slashed down, and the sword light followed the pattern. The two crisscrossed ghost claws were shredded apart as if cut through a saw. In the face of an imminent crisis, a pair of claw sheaths appeared on Ghost Moon"s hands. As they received the sword light, huge sparks burst out.
"Upper grade offensive artifact!" Ye Chen sucked in a breath. If the opponent didn"t have an upper grade artifact, he would have some hope of prevailing over his opponent. However, the difficulty had become twice now. Gaining the upper hand wasn"t impossible, but defeating the former seemed impossible. Of course, it was because he had a secret move. If not for that move, he couldn"t hope to even out against the former.
w.a.n.g Tong sucked in a breath of cold air. In the engagement just now, Ye Chen had actually managed to gain a little bit of an upper hand. This was simply beyond his cognition. But, it seemed like this would be it. Ghost Moon was Sea of Soul realm expert, and on top of that, he had an upper grade artifact.
"Do you have still have a hidden card up your sleeve?" Murong Qingcheng"s brows faintly creased. The battle power of Sea of Soul realm had clearly distinctive layers, but even these layers had further distinctions. For example, possessing an upper grade artifact or not created a huge gap. Ghost Moon was a supreme elder of a sixth grade sect, so he naturally wouldn"t lack an upper grade artifact. She believed that Ye Chen wouldn"t have overlooked such a point. As for how he would deal with him, she was not clear.
Wearing the claw sheaths, Ghost Moon was shamed into anger. And, the reason for that was not anyone else but himself. He was forced to use an upper grade artifact to resist the incoming calamity. Although it was because of contempt that he hadn"t used his full strength, one shouldn"t forget that he was a Sea of Soul realm expert.
"Alright, you"ve succeeded in provoking my anger. The next move will ensure your death." If he couldn"t kill Ye Chen even with an upper grade artifact, he would truly be ashamed to let others see his face. Of course, he didn"t believe that Ye Chen could escape this calamity either.
"Hundred Ghost Thousand Strikes!"
The black sheaths erupted with a black light that could seize one"s heart and soul. Following a wave from Ghost Moon, countless claw images filled the sky, charging toward Ye Chen in waves. Wherever they went, the sky trembled fiercely, warping in layers and blurring the scene.
Pop!
A summit nearby exploded, with smoke and dust soaring into the sky.
Amidst this chaos, Ye Chen"s face didn"t show any change. Putting the Greenwood sword back into sheath, his palm unfolded and held the hilts of all three swords together. Green Lotus Zhen Yuan poured into the sheath while following his palm, and the three swords linked together according to a unique rule.
Buzz!
A sword cry echoed, piercing through the sky, hearing which, the hair on the body of Murong Qingcheng, Duan Lingyun, and w.a.n.g Tong went erect. At this moment, a sword intent erupted from Ye Chen""s body, perfectly harmonizing with the sword aura. The entire world seemed to have transformed into a sword. Mountains were swords, trees were swords, gra.s.s was sword, and water was also sword.
Following this, an astonis.h.i.+ng sword light shone, causing the sky and lands to lose color.
Three swords as one.
Ye Chen pulled out the three swords, all linked through Zhen Yuan, causing the combined might to increase drastically, attaining the might of an upper grade sword. Under this amplified might, Ye Chen"s sword intent and sword aura involuntarily mixed like water and milk, and under their effect, the surroundings become exceptionally fierce. Even a tiny stone had the ability to kill a person.
It was to the extent that a three hundred meters tall waterfall, attracted by the sword intent, transformed into a clear and sparkling sword that floated overhead behind Ye Chen,
"Kill!"
With a slash, the claws covering the sky exploded. At the same time, the waterfall-transformed huge sword flew towards Ghost Moon.
"Impossible! Even if it"s an upper grade artifact, it shouldn"t be this powerful."
Ghost Moon was dumbfounded. Previously, he had only used sixty percent of his strength. At present, even with the upper-grade artifact and eighty to ninety percent strength, he still couldn"t deal with his opponent. His vehemence immediately took a huge hit, doubting whether his eyes were actually seeing things right.
"There are many impossible affairs going on under the heavens. You don"t have the strength to make me feel despair. Now, try my sword as well."
With three swords as one, Ye Chen issued the second slash while taking the advantage of the situation. The intense sword Qi sc.r.a.pped off tens of mountain heads.
Hearing these words, Ghost Moon"s complexion turned exceedingly ugly, flickering between red and green. A trace of blood appeared in his eyes, as a frightening, sinister aura soared into the sky. With his ghost-swallowing-moon robe fluttering, his figure looked like a devil, evoking a terrorizing sensation.
"Ignorant b*stard, you think you can make me regret my previous words and actions with this bit of strength? You overestimate yourself too much and are too ignorant."
As he said these words, Ghost Moon"s body was ignited in a dense white ghost fire, condensing into ghost heads. Even under the sun, there wasn"t a trace of warmth. It was filled with a severe chill and gave off a feeling as if it would burn everything down.
Bang!
Following Ghost Moon"s punch, wails of ghosts and wolfish cries echoed as the pale-white ghost fire drowned the horizon. Countless ghost heads could indistinctly be seen on the surface of the fire, opening their mouth and roaring.
"How stupid! To thoroughly provoke the wrath of elder Ghost Moon... If he is not angered, he would at most kill you, but if he is, even death would be a positive outcome. That feeling of one"s spirit being pulled out and soul being devoured by something ghastly… it"s unbearable." Duan Lingyun was deeply familiar with Ghost Moon. A cruel and nasty smile appeared on his face.