Chapter 151: Ancient Sword vs. Cheng Qian

The sudden turn of events instantly darkened Ouyang Chunqiu's expression. His gaze toward Xuanyuan Jian, who had rescued Lu Yining, was filled with murderous intent.

After catching Lu Yining, Xuanyuan Jian leaned his body against the roadside guardrail. Then, turning his head to cast an icy glare at Ouyang Chunqiu, he flashed into the void.

"Xuanyuan Jian of the Xuanyuan family, here to challenge you!"

Without uttering another word, Xuanyuan Jian flicked his right wrist. The moment the Xuanyuan Divine Sword appeared in his hand, he charged straight toward Ouyang Chunqiu. Having been tempered by the baptism of the power of heaven and earth, Xuanyuan Jian's cultivation had undergone a massive breakthrough. He was now a martial venerable expert, specifically at the mid-stage of the Martial Venerable realm. Coupled with the divine artifact in his hand, the Xuanyuan Divine Sword, Xuanyuan Jian possessed the strength to fight Ouyang Chunqiu head-on.

Moreover, as a family with a heritage spanning hundreds of years, and with Xuanyuan Jian being the heir of the Xuanyuan family, no one would believe that he lacked a few trump cards up his sleeve.

Feeling that the threat posed by Xuanyuan Jian was even greater than that of Lu Yining, Ouyang Chunqiu immediately raised his vigilance to the maximum. After all, having just been through a grueling battle, Ouyang Chunqiu's internal spiritual energy was already depleted. With Xuanyuan Jian launching an attack without a word, Ouyang Chunqiu found himself thrust into a passive position.

High in the void, powerful sword qi and spiritual energy continuously collided, producing intermittent sounds of explosion. Wielding his scepter, Ouyang Chunqiu engaged in a fierce and fiery battle with Xuanyuan Jian.

On another front, led by Xiao Yu, a powerful martial king, the Twelve Descendants grew bolder with every clash. Facing numerous Law Enforcement Hall elders in the Synthesis stage and Enforcers in the Nascent Soul stage, they showed not the slightest trace of timidity. Every strike they made carried ferocious power. Meanwhile, Xiao Yu was surrounded by more than ten Synthesis-stage elders, and the two sides fought to a standstill.

Compared to those two battlefields, the one between Gu Jian and Cheng Qian was far more brutal. Gu Jian seemed to have employed some technique to elevate his strength, transforming himself from a mere martial king into a martial venerable. Although a gap in strength still existed between Gu Jian and Cheng Qian, Gu Jian was, after all, a sword cultivator. Every single attack from a sword cultivator carried fierce and piercing momentum, leaving Cheng Qian, a Tribulation-stage cultivator, deeply confounded.

"Sword Control Art!"

Wielding a long sword radiating golden light, Cheng Qian soared into mid-air. The precious sword in his hand instantly transformed into hundreds of sword images, forming a ring before him that stabbed toward Gu Jian.

"Sword Transforms into Illusions!"

Down below, Gu Jian showed not a trace of panic. At that very same moment, he executed his martial skill, continuously waving the Fallen Immortal Sword in his hand. Streams of sword qi illusions took shape one after another, flying up to meet the net of swords in the void.

Clang, clang, clang!

The sword images clashed in the void, emitting a series of piercing screeches. Seeing his attack completely blocked, Cheng Qian waved his large hand, and the flying sword instantly returned to his grasp. He immediately drove his spell.

"Wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, flash and rumble!"

Following Cheng Qian's cry, a small, dark cloud appeared out of nowhere in the void above, immediately followed by rumbling peals of thunder.

Boom! Splash!

First came the roar of thunder, and then a streak of lightning darted straight out of the dark cloud, aiming directly at Gu Jian on the ground. Seeing this, Gu Jian flashed out of the way, effortlessly dodging the lightning strike. Immediately afterward, his figure transformed into a streak of light and soared upward.

"A single sword breaks all laws!"

A stern shout echoed from the void as Gu Jian's sharp sword qi suddenly flashed, slashing directly toward the gathering dark clouds.

Struck by the sword qi, the dark cloud did not disperse as Gu Jian had anticipated; instead, the roaring thunder grew increasingly loud.

"Damn it, I refuse to believe I cannot scatter you! Sword breaks the void!"

Accompanied by Gu Jian's sharp roar, an even fiercer wave of sword qi than before was slashed out from the divine sword in his hand.

"Disperse for me!"

The moment Gu Jian finished speaking, the sharp sword qi struck the dark cloud dead-on. Under this blow, the dark cloud—which had crackled incessantly with lightning just moments before—rapidly broke apart and ultimately vanished into thin air.

Seeing his spell broken, Cheng Qian's eyes narrowed. He crossed his hands over his chest once more, rapidly changing hand seals. "Wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, wind-thunder lightning strangle!"

As Cheng Qian's voice fell, a fierce gale abruptly swept through the surroundings, whipping the robes of both men into a frenzy. Amidst the howling wind, Gu Jian faintly sensed the converging power of thunder and lightning pressing in on him from all sides.

"Man and sword as one!"

Gu Jian had no time for idle thoughts; his immediate priority was to evade Cheng Qian's strangulation technique. Holding the divine sword vertically in front of his chest, Gu Jian twisted his hands, and destructive sword images instantly materialized all around him.

With a focused gaze, Gu Jian pointed his divine sword straight toward the firmament. At that very instant, the sword images surrounding him swiftly swept inward, enclosing Gu Jian tightly within.

"Scatter, Fallen Immortal Sword!"

Enveloped by the sword images, Gu Jian's body gave a violent jolt, and the surrounding sword images instantly dispersed outward, charging to slaughter the converging forces closing in around him.

In a split second, the power aggregated by Cheng Qian's spell was thrown into complete disarray by these surges of powerful sword qi illusions, vanishing into the surroundings shortly thereafter.

"You—how can you be this strong?!"

Cheng Qian was utterly shocked by Gu Jian's overwhelming dominance. A mere martial king, even if he used a secret technique to elevate his strength to the martial venerable realm, should not possess such terrifying might. He himself was a Tribulation-stage expert, a figure equivalent to a Martial Saint among martial artists. A full major realm separated the two of them, yet Gu Jian's techniques had failed to inflict a single injury upon him. How was Cheng Qian supposed to accept this?

"It seems the strength of a Tribulation-stage Vice Hall Master isn't all that impressive after all," Gu Jian said, pointing his divine sword directly at Cheng Qian with a mocking smirk.

"Ah, it's because of that sword! You must possess such formidable power solely because of the sword in your hand. This weapon is clearly beyond the comparison of ordinary spiritual treasures; only a divine artifact could possess such might!"

Gazing at the divine sword in Gu Jian's hand, Cheng Qian spoke with an expression of unmasked greed. This only solidified his resolve to acquire the divine sword. In his mind, such a divine artifact deserved to be owned only by a great figure like himself!

"Kid, I must admit you are a rare genius among sword cultivators. But your cultivation realm is far too low; you simply cannot unleash the true might of the divine sword in your hand. How about we strike a deal? Give me the sword, and I will spare your life." Collecting his composure, Cheng Qian said with a smile.

"Ah, I used to hear people say that the folks in your Law Enforcement Hall are utterly shameless, and it turns out to be entirely true. If even a Vice Hall Master is this foolish, one can only imagine the subordinates."

Hearing Cheng Qian's words, Gu Jian found himself amused, immediately replying with biting sarcasm.

"Brats, you are truly obstinate. Do you really think that boosting your strength to the martial venerable realm with a secret technique allows you to stand on equal footing with me? I can sense your aura steadily weakening—that must be due to the time limit of your secret technique. Refuse if you wish; it matters little. Once your strength is completely exhausted, I will simply kill you and take the sword myself." Cheng Qian wore a sinister smile.

Hearing this, Gu Jian's expression turned grim. Cheng Qian was entirely correct; after such intense combat, the strength he had gained through the secret technique had reached its absolute limit. Once the secret technique wore off, he would truly become nothing more than a fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others.

"I didn't expect you to see through it. But no matter. You've been on the offensive the entire time; now, it's your turn to taste my attack."

Knowing that Cheng Qian's assessment was accurate, Gu Jian made up his mind. Before the secret technique expired, he would stake everything on one final, desperate struggle. Although Cheng Qian was in the Tribulation stage, their previous exchanges revealed that Cheng Qian's actual combat prowess wasn't overwhelmingly formidable. While killing Cheng Qian might be beyond his current means, inflicting injury upon him should not be a problem.

Having made his decision, Gu Jian let out a heavy breath, his body shuddered violently, and a powerful aura surged into the skies.

Sensing the sharp, piercing momentum emanating from Gu Jian, Cheng Qian grew solemn. He harbored a lingering fear toward Gu Jian as a sword cultivator; after all, judging from their fight thus far, although he appeared to have the upper hand, his barrage of attacks had left Gu Jian merely exhausted without causing any substantive injury. This alone was proof of Gu Jian's formidable nature.

The two men stood locked in a gaze, staring fixedly at each other. Yet the aura emanating from both of them continued to climb steadily, as though each was condensing their ultimate strike to bring a swift end to the battle.