Within the Skull Mountain Market, having personally witnessed Lu Yang and Yun Miaozhen both disappear, everyone knew this must be the power of the glass-like magical sword currently suspended in the air. Seeing this scene, Luo Wuya's expression was grave, but inwardly he was secretly delighted.
‘A Foundation Establishment Daoist Master truly has unfathomable divine abilities. Senior Brother actually managed to lure a big fish. The Heaven Evasion Sword… to think this Spiritual Treasure has appeared in the world again!’
Among the one hundred and eight famous swords of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion, this treasure ranked thirty-seventh, first among the Earthly Killing Qi swords. It was not a Spiritual Treasure, yet it surpassed one. It concealed a pocket dimension within.
When battling others, a mere flash of its sword light could teleport an opponent into the cave-heaven, thereby seizing every possible advantage. Inside the cave-heaven, the magical power of a Sword Pavilion cultivator would be replenished by the cave-heaven itself, allowing them to cast ordinary divine abilities without consuming any magical power.
In contrast, once a cultivator not from the Sword Pavilion fell into the cave-heaven, their True Qi would first be cut by thirty percent, then the power of their divine abilities reduced by another thirty percent, and finally, the might of their Spiritual Treasures would be weakened by thirty percent.
With one side weakened and the other strengthened, the overall situation was already decided. This was also why Yun Miaozhen, despite knowing Lu Yang was protected by a dual formation, remained full of confidence. She was certain that the dual formation could not block the Heaven Evasion Sword's capture.
In fact, most things of the Five Elements could not stop the Heaven Evasion Sword. The only way to block the Heaven Evasion Sword with a formation was to use a formation that also involved changes in the void. Unfortunately, such formations were exceedingly rare.
And even if one existed, it was not something a Ninth-Grade Formation Master could set up.
“From the looks of it, this Demon is bound to be executed this time.”
On the other side, the Divine Martial Sect elder, Ouyang Feng, clapped his hands and laughed heartily. Although he could not take revenge personally, Lu Yang's death would still resolve the great hatred in his heart. Hearing this, Luo Wuya could only shake his head without refuting it, because he actually thought the same.
If Lu Yang had the protection of his dual formation, their fight might have been an even fifty-fifty. But having fallen into the Heaven Evasion Sword, it was a situation of certain death. Even if it were him, he would likely be in grave danger.
“However... this is exactly what Senior Brother intended.”
“That Lu Yang doesn't know what's good for him, repeatedly defying the karma connected to Senior Brother. For Senior Brother to deliberately lure that Yun Miaozhen here, I'm afraid he also intended to borrow a knife to kill someone...”
Thinking of this, Luo Wuya became calm and composed. Although they were both Saint Sect disciples, he had no intention of helping. He was just waiting for Lu Yang to be killed so Yun Miaozhen could seize his fortune and open the Witch Ghost Secret Realm.
Meanwhile, inside the Heaven Evasion Sword. The sword light shone down, unstoppable even by the layers of formations. By the time Lu Yang came to his senses and his vision cleared, the place where he stood had completely changed.
As far as the eye could see, there was only a field of rampaging sword qi. As the sword qi descended, Lu Yang immediately felt his own True Qi weaken by thirty percent, and when he tried to use his divine abilities, he encountered many unexpected hindrances. He knew this was the suppression within the cave-heaven.
In the next second, a great heavenly light appeared above, and Yun Miaozhen strolled out from it.
“Primordial Saint Demon, today it is your fate to face this tribulation. Submit to your execution!”
A clear, resonant voice descended from the sky, truly like an immortal delivering a heavenly decree. With a single word, Lu Yang instantly felt as if heaven and earth were his enemies, intent on tearing him to pieces. After speaking, Yun Miaozhen pushed the Daoist crown on her head.
In an instant, a brilliant golden splendor appeared, illuminating the sky. It then split into three, transforming into three rays of light—gold, silver, and jade. They coiled around her like roaming dragons, head to tail, linked in rings, making her appear even more majestic and solemn.
Seeing this, Lu Yang's expression grew increasingly grave. After cultivating for several lifetimes, he was no longer as unfamiliar with the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion as he was at the beginning. With a moment's thought, he recognized the divine ability Yun Miaozhen was using.
“This is the Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower Pill Scripture... a Great Divine Ability of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion!”
At this thought, alarm bells rang loudly in Lu Yang's mind. The Supreme Yin Corpse-Shedding Form Transformation True Art he possessed was also a Great Divine Ability. It was for this very reason that he dared not underestimate the power of a Great Divine Ability in the slightest.
“Looks like I really have to fight for my life now,” Lu Yang's thoughts raced.
According to his knowledge, the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion's Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower Pill Scripture could cultivate three rays of light: gold, silver, and jade. Each ray of light was a superior divine ability in itself.
And to cultivate this Great Divine Ability to Perfection, one had to achieve the "Three Flowers Gathered at the Crown," refining the three rays of light into a single "Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower."
The Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower not only possessed all the effects of the three rays but its power was also multiplied, and it could even boost one's breakthrough to Foundation Establishment!
‘... Fortunately, her divine ability shouldn't be at Perfection yet.’
As the saying goes, the Great Dao is one. If the divine ability were at Perfection, Yun Miaozhen should not have split it into three rays of light in the end, but would only have a single Supreme Taiyi Golden Flower.
‘Perhaps this is my chance...’
Just then, Yun Miaozhen made her move. With a flick of her sleeve, the golden light around her moved with her will, enveloping the area where Lu Yang stood. Lu Yang immediately retreated.
The golden light was called “divine light” and was controlled by the mind. If one's mind was in turmoil, one would self-immolate. Therefore, if even a tiny bit of it shone upon someone, a heart-fire would immediately erupt from within, causing the body to glow with golden light and burst into flames.
Without a way to suppress it, one would surely be reduced to a pile of tribulation ash within moments.
“Go!”
With a thought, Lu Yang sent the Heavenly Demon Transforming Blood Divine Light whistling upward. The monstrous blood light forcefully blocked the descending golden light, and the two forces came to a stalemate in mid-air. Seeing this, Yun Miaozhen immediately pressed lightly between her eyebrows.
In the next second, a sword pellet emerged. Like a streaking light, it vanished in an instant, and when it reappeared, it was already above Lu Yang's head, slashing straight down— Clang clang! The sword qi whistled down, but Lu Yang's Blood Sun Sword Pellet had been isolated outside the cave-heaven.
He could only sigh and manifest a wind-thunder treasured mirror behind his head. The Supreme Firmament Mirror! The mirror's surface shimmered, and in an instant, wind and thunder followed.
The "Supreme Firmament Wind-Thunder Qi" from within the mirror instantly whipped up bolts of thunder, wrapped in a howling yin wind, and forcibly held Yun Miaozhen's sword pellet. It was like a vortex that had seized it and would not let go, the roiling wind and thunder continuously wearing away the sword qi on the pellet.
Seeing this, Yun Miaozhen was not anxious. Instead, she gave a cold smile. Though she acted decisively, she was no reckless fool.
Long before coming to the market and making a move against Lu Yang, she had already investigated him thoroughly. The formation, the Supreme Firmament Mirror, were all within her expectations.
And now, having used the Heaven Evasion Sword to bypass the formation and the sword pellet to pin down the Supreme Firmament Mirror, Yun Miaozhen felt that victory was in her grasp and decided to end it with one final blow. In the next second, Yun Miaozhen shook the silver and jade rays of light beside her.
These two were “qi light” and “essence light” respectively. The former could break all the qi under heaven, while the latter could sever steel sinews and iron bones. Shaken together at this moment, they converged into a single, crystal-clear sword light that slashed down toward Lu Yang!
“As expected of a True Disciple of the Sword Pavilion...”
Seeing this, Lu Yang could only sigh. Yun Miaozhen was clearly no flower in a greenhouse; her execution of tactics and grasp of timing were both remarkably precise. Under these circumstances, she had also mastered a Great Divine Ability.
Although it had not yet reached perfection, it was only missing the final step of fusion. At the very least, she had already fully mastered the three divine abilities that served as its components. In comparison, Lu Yang's attainments in the Supreme Yin Corpse-Shedding Form Transformation True Art were far inferior.
The final divine ability, the "Supreme Empyrean Pardon Treasured Record," was still stuck at a bottleneck, unable to progress an inch. He hadn't even gathered all three divine abilities, let alone mastered them.
“In a fight of magical arts, I am not her match.”
Lu Yang clearly recognized this point. Besides, he was never good at fighting in the first place. What he was good at was using his higher cultivation level to bully the weak.
But what about now? Yun Miaozhen was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, while he was at the eighth. Forget being at the same realm, he was even fighting a stronger enemy from a lower realm.
This was completely against his style.
‘If this were a few months ago, I'm afraid my only choice would have been to start over.’
But now, there was another variable in play. In the next second, facing the two rays of sword light slashed out by Yun Miaozhen, Lu Yang flicked his hand, tossing out two talismans one after another, which exploded in mid-air.
Boom!
With a loud bang, a bolt of lightning and a streak of sword qi shot out, managing to block Yun Miaozhen's descending sword light at the most critical moment!
“Ninth-grade talismans!?”
Yun Miaozhen's eye twitched slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.
“Only two. It's still just a drop in the bucket. How many talismans can you possibly have?”
As a True Disciple of the Sword Pavilion, although she didn't study talisman arts, she was not unfamiliar with them. For a graded talisman, even a ninth-grade one, it would take a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator at least three days to draw one. Moreover, they would have to set aside all other matters and focus solely on crafting the talisman.
Therefore, she was certain that the number of talismans in Lu Yang's hands did not exceed ten. In the next second, Lu Yang waved his hand again. And then, a scene that left Yun Miaozhen dumbfounded appeared.
A second, a third, a fourth... tens, hundreds of talismans spread across the sky! And behind the sky full of talismans, Lu Yang shook the Myriad Spirits Banner, where a host of banner spirits were still working overtime, rushing to produce more.
“How many can I have? Don't compare the output of your little individual cultivator workshop with mine. Let me show you the power of a black-hearted industrial assembly line!”
As his voice fell, the swarm of talismans moved as one. In an instant, sword qi and lightning intertwined, illuminating the entire cave-heaven! And illuminated along with it was Yun Miaozhen's face, twisted in utter astonishment!
(End of this chapter)