Chapter 2481: Divine Artifact Seized
Yu Qianchen fell, and the crowd was horrified.
This was the Divine Maiden of the Destiny Temple from five thousand years ago.
In that era, Yu Qianchen was considered the most outstanding and powerful prodigy in the world, leading the Hell Realm for a thousand years, unmatched at the same cultivation level. She represented the Destiny Temple, leading the Hell Realm’s armies, sweeping through countless great worlds and slaying numerous Great Saints.
In the eyes of all cultivators in the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms, she was once synonymous with invincibility, the most terrifying female demon, the supreme ruler of the Hell Realm.
As for the conflicts between divine realms, they were too far removed from them and wouldn’t affect them, so they didn’t have much impact.
Five thousand years ago, when she stepped down from the position of Divine Maiden, she was already a top-tier powerhouse below the divine realm.
With five thousand years of accumulation, her cultivation had reached the pinnacle. Others who claimed to be “Supreme Realm peak” or “Demi-God” could not last ten breaths in her hands before being defeated.
In fact, just her spiritual power at the sixty-ninth and a half level was enough to dominate the world.
Yet, such a powerhouse who once shook the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms was killed by Xue Lingxian with a single sword strike. It was easy to imagine how terrifying Xue Lingxian’s reputation would become once this news spread.
“Sword Thirteen! I never thought there would be a cultivator who could master Sword Thirteen to such a great extent at the Great Saint realm. With this one sword, Xue Lingxian can roam the mortal world and be invincible under heaven.” Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly.
Zhang Ruochen considered himself a sword prodigy, but he was still comprehending Sword Eleven and hadn’t yet reached mastery.
Only those who cultivated the *Wordless Sword Manual* knew how difficult it was.
The further one went, the harder it became.
It wasn’t something that could be achieved through hard work and time alone.
Duan Lingfeng felt as if he had been suffocating, only recovering after a long time. “What a terrifying sword strike! Could a False God withstand that sword?”
“Uncle Master, this Xue Lingxian is invincible below the divine realm, isn’t he? I think even Lord Wuma couldn’t block that sword just now.” Shang Yue’s voice trembled.
Duan Lingfeng shook his head. “Not necessarily! When Wuma Jiuxing’s saber momentum reaches its peak, he can cut down a kalpa with one slash, making him unstoppable. For powerhouses at their level, without a battle, how can we know who is stronger?”
...
...
As Yu Qianchen’s ghostly form dissipated, the words “Sword Thirteen” shouted by Gong Nanfeng only reached Xing Luo’s ears.
Xing Luo was no ordinary cultivator; he was one of the top existences in the world. Seeing that although Xue Lingxian had killed Yu Qianchen, he was also severely injured, Xing Luo shifted his form like a ghostly apparition and struck out with a palm.
As he struck, sacred dao rules condensed into the shadow of a pagoda.
Supreme-level high-rank sacred art, Great Pagoda Palm Seal.
Xue Lingxian’s gaze was calm, as if he had anticipated this, and he lightly pushed out a palm.
“Boom!”
Xing Luo was forced back seven steps in succession.
Not only was Xue Lingxian’s palm strike incredibly powerful, but the terrifying lightning surging from his palm left three charred, hideous wounds on Xing Luo’s right arm.
The wounds were deep enough to reveal bone, blood oozing out, causing unbearable pain.
His entire right arm seemed to lose sensation, unable to channel any power.
Xue Lingxian, on the other hand, was sent flying several miles away, blood streaming from his mouth.
The blood hole pierced through his chest by the Extreme Ferocious Blade was also spurting blood, the wound unable to heal.
His aura of essence, energy, and spirit grew even weaker.
Killing Yu Qianchen had cost him a tremendous price. His spiritual power and physical body had suffered severe damage, causing him to fall into a disadvantage when clashing with Xing Luo.
Xue Lingxian let out a long roar, and the blood flowing from his chest flew back, transforming into countless hair-thin silk threads that wrapped around his body.
The wound on his chest slowly healed.
Xing Luo retrieved the Extreme Ferocious Blade, shock in his eyes. “How is this possible? The baleful aura and supreme power of the Extreme Ferocious Blade have already invaded his body through the wound. How can it heal so easily?”
Xue Lingxian radiated a silver glow, and the butterfly wings on his back emitted a bloody light, turning the world half silver and half blood-red.
He was indeed severely injured, but his momentum did not diminish. The stone sword in his hand rang out again, its sharp sound representing his unyielding will.
Xing Luo let out a long sigh. “I came for Wuma Jiuxing, but I never expected to encounter you first. This era, as the prophecy says, is indeed more brilliant than any before. Monsters emerge one after another, and the strong will step over their bones to enter the divine realm in the most glorious way.”
Xing Luo grabbed the ghostly divine mask floating in the air and put it on. A starry sky unfolded beneath his feet, and a colossal ghostly god figure appeared behind him, his unleashed power surging dramatically.
Anyone could see that Xue Lingxian was heavily injured, while Xing Luo, aided by the ghostly divine mask, had greatly increased his combat power.
One side was rising, the other falling.
If the battle continued, Xue Lingxian would surely lose, and there was even a risk of falling.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Xue Lingxian did not flee. Instead, he swung his stone sword and took the initiative to attack. The surging blood energy from his body turned into a rolling river of blood, like the Yellow Spring in the universe, colliding with the starry sea beneath Xing Luo’s feet.
On the other side, Granny Haitang attacked the three High Priests of the Destiny Temple, attempting to seize the divine artifact, the Celestial Pivot Needle.
Granny Haitang launched a spiritual power attack, forcing the three High Priests to struggle to resist, leaving them no energy to activate their supreme sacred artifacts. In the spiritual power duel, the three High Priests were at a disadvantage, retreating with every step Granny Haitang advanced.
Wuyue Minghuang, who was healing his injuries, stood up, holding the Heavenly Mandate Halberd, and said, “The spiritual power of the three High Priests is not weak, but even combined, they can’t withstand her. Is this Seven-Colored Begonia’s spiritual power really still below the seventieth level?”
Xianyuan Sha also stood up, looking warily at the aged figure walking through the sky full of seven-colored flower petals.
Gong Nanfeng’s expression was serious. The Celestial Pivot Needle in his hand emitted rings of divine light ripples. “Help me.”
Gong Nanfeng tossed the Celestial Pivot Needle into the air, struck his chest, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
After absorbing his blood, the Celestial Pivot Needle erupted with a divine might like a mountain roar and a tsunami. Beams of divine light pierced through the clouds, dyeing the sky for millions of miles.
Wuyue Minghuang, Xianyuan Sha, Que, and Bore each mobilized their power, turning it into pillars of light that surged toward the Celestial Pivot Needle.
The Celestial Pivot Needle’s power increased further, its emitted light causing Zhang Ruochen, thousands of miles away, to feel a sharp pain in his eyes. On the back of the Xuanwu Divine Corpse, other spiritual power masters screamed, blood flowing from their eyes as they all went blind.
This was still thousands of miles away. If they were closer, they would have been shattered by the divine artifact’s power.
Shang Yue, Yunheng Iron Blood King, and others were all horrified.
Although they were top-tier Great Saints, they had never seen a divine artifact. How could they have imagined a divine artifact to be so terrifying?
Just the light waves emitted by the divine artifact could severely wound Saint-level cultivators thousands of miles away.
Duan Lingfeng was excited and fervent, shouting, “The time has come. Now it’s our turn to take the stage and seize the divine artifact. All Great Saints, perform your duties. All spiritual power masters, fully mobilize your spiritual power to activate the formation inscriptions.”
Wrapped in the concealment formation, the Xuanwu Divine Corpse moved toward the core of the battlefield.
The Great Saints under Bai Qinger’s command were both fearful and excited.
Seizing a divine artifact—what a grand feat.
...
The Celestial Pivot Needle flew out, carving a path of light, destroying the space around it and disrupting time. The sea of flowers manifested by Granny Haitang couldn’t block the Celestial Pivot Needle at all, instantly turning to ashes.
No power could withstand a divine artifact.
In the eyes of all Destiny Temple cultivators, Granny Haitang was already doomed.
“Sword Pavilion!”
Granny Haitang dispersed her physical form, returning to her original shape, transforming into a seven-colored begonia blooming in the void.
The begonia tree was a thousand miles tall, with countless flowers. The seven-colored light emitted by the petals illuminated the earth and the starry sky.
Under the influence of the Celestial Pivot Needle, the petals withered rapidly, branches and leaves decayed, and it seemed the entire begonia tree would wither...
An ancient pagoda flew out from the decaying branches and leaves.
The pagoda spun rapidly, surrounded by wisps of mist. Within the mist, tens of thousands of ancient swords flew, producing sharp whistling sounds.
It was the Sword Pavilion.
“Boom!”
The Sword Pavilion collided with the Celestial Pivot Needle, unleashing a powerful energy storm that scattered in all directions. Mountains were destroyed, and the earth split apart.
Gong Nanfeng looked at the sky, his hands involuntarily clenching. “How can it withstand a divine artifact’s strike? So that’s it, so that’s it. I understand...”
Suddenly, a white light appeared in the sky, growing brighter and brighter.
It was a sword.
A sword emitting pure light attribute power.
“Everyone be careful, it’s the Great Radiant Sword.” High Priest Fulu said.
Like the *Radiant Heavenly Scripture*, the Great Radiant Sword was a divine artifact of the Radiant Divine Temple.
The Great Radiant Sword before them was only a replica, but its grade was still high, reaching the level of a Seven-Yuan Monarch Sacred Artifact.
“Pfft!”
The Great Radiant Sword cleaved Xianyuan Sha’s body in two.
The pure light power contained in the sword was specifically designed to counter Hell Realm cultivators. Xianyuan Sha’s two halves couldn’t reform, and the flesh at the wounds turned into specks of light.
The three High Priests of the Destiny Temple were furious. Although they intended to lure out the Heavenly Court’s hidden experts in the Hell Realm and wipe them out in one fell swoop, the appearance of Xue Lingxian and Granny Haitang had become unexpected variables.
The Heavenly Court side’s intervention at this moment was clearly an attempt to profit from their mutual losses.
Of course, they didn’t know that the Great Radiant Sword was being powered by dozens of Great Saints on the back of the Xuanwu Divine Corpse. These Great Saints were Bai Qinger’s subordinates.
With Xianyuan Sha gone, the Celestial Pivot Needle’s power greatly diminished.
In the void, the seven-colored begonia tree regained its vitality, blooming with vibrant flowers. From the Sword Pavilion pagoda, countless war swords flew out, forming a sword formation that trapped the Celestial Pivot Needle, attempting to forcibly pull it into the pagoda.
The Sword Pavilion spun, and space and time spun with it, forming a space-time vortex.
Countless space rules, time imprints, and sword dao rules wrapped around and entangled the Celestial Pivot Needle, pulling it. The pulling force was far stronger than that of the Purple Gold Gourd.
On the back of the Xuanwu Divine Corpse, a group of Great Saints controlled the Great Radiant Sword, harassing the three High Priests.
Duan Lingfeng stood at the center, fully releasing his spiritual power. Instantly, countless formation inscriptions appeared on the Xuanwu’s back. Within the formation, the world grew dark, and fierce winds howled.
The spiritual power masters assisting Duan Lingfeng in activating the “Xuanwu Heaven-Swallowing Formation” were horrified to find that the formation beneath them was like a bottomless pit, not only quickly draining their spiritual power but also beginning to devour their sacred souls and blood.
“Lord Earth Master, I can’t hold on anymore. Please stop the formation!”
“This formation... isn’t something we can activate... Ah... help... help me...”
“I understand, I understand. When they decided to seize the divine artifact, we were already doomed. Now, we’ve just become the formation’s essence... We’re all just tools of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions...”
...
One by one, the spiritual power masters were drained by the formation.
Their spiritual power, sacred souls, and blood were all absorbed, turning them into dried-up corpses.
Duan Lingfeng held his staff, laughing wildly, both at their ignorance and pitifulness, and also excited because he was about to seize the divine artifact.
Zhang Ruochen pretended to be drained as well, disguising himself as a shriveled corpse lying in the formation.
He could roughly guess that Xue Lingxian and Granny Haitang’s seizure of the Celestial Pivot Needle was related to rescuing Yunshen Daozhu. He wanted to disrupt Duan Lingfeng’s plan and let Granny Haitang use the Sword Pavilion to take the Celestial Pivot Needle.
But reason told him that Duan Lingfeng, controlling the Xuanwu Heaven-Swallowing Formation, was at his peak combat power.
If he acted now, even with Zangjin Baihu’s help, it would be difficult to succeed.
Just as the Celestial Pivot Needle was being drawn into the Sword Pavilion’s space-time vortex and about to be taken...
“Whoosh!”
Space trembled.
The massive body of the Xuanwu Divine Corpse burst through the clouds, its claw shattering the space-time vortex and swallowing the Celestial Pivot Needle in one gulp.
“How dare you seize a divine artifact? Kill without mercy!”
High Priest Nutian roared, charging forward with High Priest Death, each unleashing their supreme sacred artifacts.
With the Xuanwu Heaven-Swallowing Formation empowering it, the Xuanwu Divine Corpse’s combat power was unmatched. A snake tail whipped out from the Xuanwu’s back, sending the two High Priests and their two supreme sacred artifacts flying back.
The snake tail was part of the divine corpse, but after being struck by supreme sacred artifacts, it shattered.
A large amount of divine blood spilled onto the ground.
Activating the Xuanwu Heaven-Swallowing Formation had drained Duan Lingfeng’s spiritual power greatly, leaving him unsteady. Not daring to prolong the fight, he quickly activated the space formation he had prepared earlier.
“Whoosh!”
With a flash of white light, space trembled violently.
The massive body of the Xuanwu Divine Corpse vanished from the sky.
The Celestial Pivot Needle had been seized by a powerhouse from the Paradise Realm!
This outcome caught all cultivators off guard.
The various factions engaged in battle, whether the titans of the Ten Dark Powers or the strongest of the Destiny Temple, all stopped.
God Venerable Fulu retrieved the Great Radiant Sword, staring at the sky, lost in thought for a long time. He asked, “Has anyone deduced who took the Celestial Pivot Needle?”
All cultivators shook their heads.
God Venerable Fulu looked around and asked in surprise, “Where is Gong Nanfeng?”
Everyone shook their heads again. No one had noticed where the Minister of Works had gone. Perhaps, in the chaos, he had been hit by a battle shockwave and turned to dust.
High Priest Death was furious, roaring, “Block all wormholes on Ice King Star. No cultivator is allowed to leave. Investigate! Find out which Heavenly Master or World Hand from the Heavenly Court side came to Ice King Star.”