Xiahou Zhen watched as Qin Yun gradually landed on the summit. He smiled and said, "Meng Yiqiu, I"m really very impressed with you! Despite knowing that you have a chance of shattering the void and ascending, you are still willing to engage in a life-and-death battle with me."
"A life-and-death battle?" Qin Yun shook his head. "It"s difficult to find an opponent on that level. You were not my match thirty years ago. Even with all the years that have pa.s.sed, it is still a question if you can pose any threat."
"That"s true." Xiahou Zhen nodded. "Although I have made some breakthroughs, your talent far exceeds mine. It"s impossible for you to not progress at all in thirty years. Regardless, I have to thank you for giving an old man that"s on his deathbed this final chance. I will definitely use all my strength. You have to be careful too. I will show no mercy when fighting in close proximity."
"Haha, I will not show mercy either. Be careful," roared Qin Yun.
Boom!
Qin Yun shot into the sky with a whoosh. At the same time, countless amounts of Sword Qi appeared from the surface of his body. It surged forward and instantly enveloped a region more than a kilometer across. Qin Yun himself flew to a spot about half a kilometer away on the mountaintop.
Sword of Heaven Earth!
The Sword Qi joined together to form a world that spanned more than a kilometer. It completely enveloped Xiahou Zhen within.
"Sword Qi? Just mere Sword Qi is nothing to me. It"s best you draw your sword quickly." Xiahou Zhen instantly drew his saber and charged at Qin Yun while slas.h.i.+ng at the Sword Qi!
Sword Qi was condensed from Quintessential Essence to begin with. As such, it didn"t contain much strength.
It was incomparable to true divine weapons! It was no wonder Xiahou Zhen looked at it with disdain.
In this entire world, no one fought their equals with Sword or Saber Qi.
"Sword of Heaven Earth! It"s Father"s Sword of Heaven Earth!" Not far from Mt. Pool Returning"s foot, Meng Huan"s eyes lit up. Apart from Qin Yun, he was the person who understood the Sword of Heaven Earth the most in this world. He was after all ranked on the Heaven roll and had read many sword technique manuals. However, he truly believed that the Sword of Heaven Earth was the most impressive manual among all that the manuals he had ever read.
"Oh?" After Xiahou Zhen charged into the Sword of Heaven Earth, he found himself under constant attack by the surrounding Sword Qi. The impediment he received increased as blow after blow arrived. Each singular blow posed little threat but when they came one after another, he felt like he was a bug trapped in a spider"s web. The more he struggled the greater the impediment.
"Pew!"
Sword Qi gathered together and formed an extremely powerful singular Sword Qi that tore through Xiahou Zhen"s battle saber. It streaked across his clothes and sliced a gaping wound across his chest.
"What?" Xiahou Zhen was alarmed. He looked at Qin Yun who was hovering in midair. "He has yet to take action, and he is still standing afar. He hasn"t even drawn his sword. Just his Sword Qi alone can injure me?"
Xiahou Zhen had guessed that his opponent would be stronger after so many years.
After all, Qin Yun was among the handful of peerless figures in history. However, it shocked Xiahou Zhen that Qin Yun was capable of injuring him just with mere Sword Qi alone.
"All possibilities are taken into account." Meng Huan"s eyes were s.h.i.+mmering. In the past, all Qin Yun did was practice. This time, he was using only Sword Qi to deal with Xiahou Zhen. It made Meng Huan see the true strength of the Sword of Heaven Earth. It excited him greatly. "The Sword of Heaven Earth has eight Ultimates in the four cardinal directions! The eight Ultimates can fuse arbitrarily, resulting in uncountable combinations and permutations of sword moves. Any attack from the enemy has a response at the ready."
"All that Sword Qi can be formed to make an encirclement attack, demonstrating "change" to the limit!"
"If Father draws his sword, the number of changes will reduce greatly. However, the attacks" strength would increase exponentially. Xiahou Zhen would only end up losing even more badly." Meng Huan turned more and more excited as he watched.
As for the various spectators beneath the mountain.
Experts from all over the world—from the three imperial families, numerous top sects and factions, itinerant cultivators—all were staring in bewilderment.
"What?"
"A domain formed from Sword Qi can hold back Xiahou Zhen? It even injured Xiahou Zhen?"
"When has Sword Qi ever been this strong?"
"The gap between them is just too large."
Many people found it unbelievable.
Especially the Wei Kingdom"s Xiahou royal clan. They found it unbelievable that their patriarch would be repressed to such a state. However, they could see that their patriarch"s clothes were tattered and his body was covered in blood! And at that moment, Qin Yun was still standing in midair and had yet to draw his sword!
High in the sky.
"Meng Yiqiu. As expected of Meng Yiqiu." Xiahou Zhen"s silver hair flailed in the wind. His body was covered in blood as he turned more deranged. "I entered seclusion for thirty years, gaining insight into the "Heart Fiend Saber Art." I never expected mere Sword Qi to force me to use it."
"Oh? Feel free to use it." High in the sky, Qin Yun had still not drawn his sword.
Just his Sword of Heaven Earth was enough to repress his opponent.
"Alright, first strike."
Xiahou Zhen attacked.
When his first strike was produced, the sky darkened. Violent winds began howling as Xiahou Zhen"s eyes turned red. His entire being resembled a legendary fiend.
"Only true madness can deliver such a saber art." Qin Yun"s eyes lit up. The saber"s strike was just too powerful. Sword Qi was ultimately incorporeal. It was constantly cleaved apart as Xiahou Zhen stormed over.
"Somewhat interesting." Qin Yun instantly drew his sword.
Clang!
Frost Sword was unsheathed.
"The second strike!" Xiahou Zhen"s voice was filled with craziness. His voice resounded through the world as saber flashes that were burning with purple flames came cleaving over in close proximity.
At that moment, an ice-cold sword flash streaked across the sky, easily blocking the bloodthirsty saber flash.
If Xiahou Zhen"s Heart Fiend Saber Art was a terrifying saber art that was produced after five hundred years of cultivation and while the user was in a deranged state, giving it the might to render the world asunder, then Qin Yun"s sword arts were like an attack from an immortal. They were otherworldly, for they easily and completely repressed Xiahou Zhen"s terrifying saber attack.
"The third strike!" Xiahou Zhen turned more frenetic.
Boom!!!
The sky reverberated as the saber flashes turned more unrestrained. Xiahou Zhen constantly unleashed a barrage of crazy attacks, instantly causing tumultuous pandemonium. The entire Mt. Pool Returning began crumbling as countless boulders flew off wantonly.
"Impressive."
Not far from the foot of the mountain, a watching Li Ruji was astounded. "Xiahou Zhen"s saber art is extremely bloodthirsty. It"s as though it was born for decimation! If I were to fight him again, I would probably die within ten strikes."
"Master." Standing to the side, Xue Chong could not help but ask. "But with Elder Meng"s sword arts, he is able to completely repress Xiahou Zhen."
"That"s because it"s no longer a sword art that belongs to the mortal world."
Li Ruji shook his head. "Our Chu Kingdom"s a.r.s.enal holds many powerful manuals. Many of them were the core teachings of experts that have stepped into the Dao! The most powerful ones can barely reach Xiahou Zhen"s level. As for Elder Meng"s sword art… it far exceeds any of the manuals I have ever seen! It"s no longer of the same level. Look, no matter how deranged Xiahou Zhen is, Elder Meng"s sword art can easily parry his attacks and repress him!"
"Impressive. Truly impressive." Li Ruji could not help but comment. "I suspect that Elder Meng is already capable of shattering the void and ascending. However, he has not departed because there are still things tying him down."
"He is able to shatter the void and ascend?" Xue Chong was alarmed.
"Yea. Your level is insufficient to fully appreciate it." Li Ruji"s eyes were filled with shock. "Elder Meng"s sword art has already reached an unfathomable state. All sword arts in this world will appear rudimentary in front of his. This is the level of G.o.ds and immortals."
People were astounded as they watched the battle that caused destruction all around them.
It was akin to a battle between G.o.ds and fiends of legend!
"The sixth strike!"
A crazy bellow was filled with hysteria.
Rumble! Mt. Pool Returning itself blasted and crumbled. Countless boulders were tossed around as the towering mountain exploded. The scene was shocking.
"Oh no."
"Quickly run!"
"Be careful!"
The people watching the battle at the foot of the mountain were appalled. Boulders that weighed thousands of kilograms came whistling over. Existences at the Connate intent realm might have barely been capable of withstanding them, but how many of the surrounding spectators had achieved the Connate realm?
"There"s no need to panic." A clear voice reverberated through the surrounding tens of kilometers as it rang in everyone"s ears.
They saw the countless amounts of rubble that was flying at them from the blast rapidly reduce in speed. Then, the rubble actually came to a stop! After stopping in midair, the rocks flew in another direction, towards a deep valley a distance away. With all the rocks, it only took about thirty seconds to fill the entire valley! They even formed a tiny hill.
As for the original Mt. Pool Returning, it had been blasted into a ma.s.sive, deep crater. A distance away, a river constantly discharged its waters into the crater. Mt. Pool Returning was gone and it would one day become a lake!
"Boom!"
Pandemonium continued above the crater. Xiahou Zhen was still fighting Qin Yun.
"This… This…"
Countless people were astounded by what had happened.
"Moving the mountains to fill the seas this is, and nothing less."
"The ability of a G.o.d! The ability of G.o.ds!" People were in a daze.
Many people had seen the rubble flying towards them. Most scary of all, the boulders were just about ten feet from them! Yet, the boulders stopped and flew away.
Most miraculously was that despite there being so many spectators, none of them were harmed!
"Elder Meng"s Dao domain can move an entire mountain?" Li Ruji was astounded. Although he had stepped into the Dao and was ranked third on the G.o.d roll, that only made him more aware of how terrifying such abilities were.
Destroying a mountain was very easy.
However, stopping the falling rubble with one"s Dao domain and then moving it into another valley was many times harder than destroying a mountain.
"I also have a Dao domain but compared to Elder Meng… this gap, this gap is just too great." Li Ruji muttered inwardly. "Is this the gap between an existence that can shatter the void and me?"
"This is Yiqiu"s strength?" Gong Yan"er, Meng Yiqiu, Zuo Tang, and the other people with close ties to Qin Yun were reeling in shock.
"My father is actually this powerful." Meng Huan was astounded. By his side were Zhong Lin and his three children. The three children stood completely still with eyes wide. Their grandfather was capable of moving mountains to fill seas! The three children would probably never forget the scene that had happened before their very eyes.