# Chapter 3034: Pure Yang Sword Spirit Awakens
Frost City Demon and the Human Skin Lantern had clearly also sensed that their side's momentum was lost. The only reason they hadn't immediately retreated was that they still placed their hopes on Wu Yue.
But they were well aware that even if Wu Yue could win that life-and-death battle, she would likely be severely weakened and might not necessarily be able to take down the mysterious Xuanyuan Lian.
For this reason, they fought while retreating, gradually increasing the distance between themselves and the Xufeng Divine Ship, Zhang Ruochen, and Xuanyuan Qing. As long as they weren't surrounded, they could advance to attack or retreat to escape.
When momentum is lost, so is fighting spirit!
Zhang Ruochen had no intention of interfering in a battle at the Taibai level. He said, "You, Xuanyuan Qing, are wholeheartedly devoted to the public good, yet you are not an inflexible person. Otherwise, you wouldn't have helped me conceal my identity, nor would you have given me the Radiant Divine Sword to return to the Heavenly Court side."
Xuanyuan Qing was helpless. "How could I not want to be as resolute as Fourth Master of the Wind Clan? But the Heavenly Court is filled with internal conflicts, many hatreds as sharp as needles and spears. If I didn't understand the art of gentle persuasion, how could I resolve conflicts? I would only trigger them, causing rivers of blood to flow."
"In that case, why don't we make a deal?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Xuanyuan Qing had long anticipated that when Zhang Ruochen praised her as "wholeheartedly devoted to the public good" and "not inflexible," he must have had an ulterior motive. How could Zhang Ruochen be like those other cultivators who flattered her, the daughter of the Heavenly Venerable?
She said, "You still want to save those Hell Realm gods?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't you want to save Clear Sky Sword King?"
Xuanyuan Qing stepped forward, walking to a position parallel with Zhang Ruochen. Her celestial gauze fluttered, carrying a moving demeanor like a green lotus in water. She said, "Clear Sky Sword King is, after all, a Great God. It was only because Wu Yue shattered his spiritual will with her powerful spiritual power that he was controlled by dark forces. It's not his fault. If his consciousness were clear, he would never have done such a wrong thing."
Zhang Ruochen gazed into the distance at the Xufeng Divine Ship stained with blood. "If the cultivators of the Wind Clan and the Radiant Divine Temple heard these words, they would probably bear resentment toward you."
"So what? This is the truth!"
Xuanyuan Qing continued, "Clear Sky Sword King indeed committed a great mistake, but can't he even be given a chance to reform?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "You can do this because you borrow the Heavenly Venerable's influence. Even if they are dissatisfied in their hearts, they won't show it in front of you. But how many people died because of the great mistake Clear Sky Sword King made? If Fourth Master of the Wind Clan falls, it would be strange if the Wind Clan could forgive him. If you protect his life, you are essentially making powerful enemies for yourself."
Xuanyuan Qing laughed, her voice as pleasant as a lark's song. "I thought you would have some profound insight, but it turns out you're worried about this. To be honest, over the years, my brother and I have resolved countless hatreds and conflicts for the sake of Heavenly Court's internal unity. But have they truly been resolved? No, they haven't. In fact, many hatreds have been drawn to us. How could I not know this?"
"You're right, I do borrow the Heavenly Venerable's influence. But as long as the Heavenly Venerable's influence exists for one day, they cannot do anything to me, Xuanyuan Qing."
"If one day the Heavenly Venerable's influence is no more, even if I am shattered to pieces, what does it matter?"
"But that's not what I pursue! What I pursue is that if one day I, Xuanyuan Qing, become strong enough that I don't need to borrow the Heavenly Venerable's influence to suppress them, then I can truly spread my wings and make the sun and moon shine in a new sky."
Zhang Ruochen finally looked at her, seeing a breathtakingly beautiful profile. In those sparkling starry eyes was a backbone that many men lacked—a person with true ideals and dreams.
How many fools exist in this world?
Before him, there was Xumi Saint Monk's grand vow of "If Hell is not empty, I will not become a Buddha," and Zhang Ruochen's own foolish dream of "The sea embraces all rivers, encompassing everything." Now Xuanyuan Qing was also a persistent traveler on the path of "Even if shattered to pieces, I fear nothing, daring to make the sun and moon shine in a new sky."
All were unrealistic fantasies.
And the path she needed to walk, the suffering she needed to endure, the blood she needed to shed, the pain she needed to taste—these were still far from enough. Her future would inevitably be even more difficult than Zhang Ruochen's.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Actually, not all conflicts need to be shouldered by yourself. Clear Sky Sword King is half a disciple of Zhao Gongming. Even if he deserves death, he should be handed over to Zhao Gongming for judgment. If you say this, wouldn't it be a perfect solution for both sides?"
A strange light flashed in Xuanyuan Qing's eyes. "You shattered Zhao Wuyan's divine source with one sword, yet preserved Clear Sky Sword King's complete divine source. It seems you had planned this all along. Tell me, what kind of deal do you want to make?"
"I want all three gods imprisoned in the divine ship's divine prison," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xuanyuan Qing said, "Impossible. Only one for one."
"Clear Sky Sword King is a Great God, and at the peak of the Taiyi realm," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xuanyuan Qing relented. "Fine! You can take the Ice King's son and the Yaksha Clan's ancestral realm world lord. But Blood Butcher's sins are extremely grave, and he is the disciple of the Death God Venerable. The Wind Clan and the Radiant Divine Temple have suffered such heavy casualties—this is a blood feud deep as the sea. We must keep at least one orthodox Hell Realm god for them to torture and vent their hatred."
"Torture..." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xuanyuan Qing said, "The Wind Clan cultivators will surely make him wish he were dead rather than alive. Flaying, scraping bones, extracting souls, and refining marrow—these would be the lightest punishments."
Regarding Xiao Hei, Xuanyuan Qing naturally knew some of his background and had no intention of harming him.
As for the Yaksha Clan's ancestral realm world lord...
Xuanyuan Qing had certainly already obtained the star chart. The value of keeping him was no longer great. It was better to sell Zhang Ruochen and the Yaksha Clan a favor by releasing him, which could instead become a major asset against the Darkness Temple.
As for Blood Butcher, he probably truly couldn't escape being tortured to death as a sacrifice to the souls of the dead.
If Zhang Ruochen were a cold-blooded and heartless person, he might have agreed. But Zhang Ruochen had witnessed several things Blood Butcher had done in recent years.
Especially on Xinghuantian, when Blood Butcher saved Chi Kunlun from the Bone Clan gods without coveting the Abyssal Ancient Sword. At that time, all cultivators in the world knew that Zhang Ruochen had been crippled by Qingtian, his life and death unknown.
Under such circumstances, being able to do this was the main reason Zhang Ruochen later gave him a spot to enter the Sundial for closed-door cultivation.
"Hua!"
Five-colored divine light bloomed in the void, divine power ripples spreading in all directions.
Feng Yan succeeded in condensing his divine source. Above his head, divine throne planets appeared one after another. He let out a hoarse long roar, and the sound of blood flowing within his body was like a rushing river.
At this moment, he had a body of mud and stone, three heads and six arms, looking mightily divine. He was circulating the secret technique that Fengyun Ba had previously taught him.
In the distance, the Pure Yang Divine Sword, suppressed within Frost City Demon's divine realm world, trembled violently, releasing scorching hot Pure Yang divine power that even divine talismans could not suppress.
"The sword spirit of the Pure Yang Divine Sword is really still alive... this aura..." Frost City Demon's expression changed drastically.
The aura erupting from the Pure Yang Divine Sword was ancient and heavy. The divine qi surging from within the sword body, even just a wisp, tore apart his divine realm world.
Could it be the Heavenly Venerable divine qi left in the sword by Pure Yang Heavenly Venerable?
All the gods present sensed a terrifying aura that made even their divine souls tremble, as if Pure Yang Heavenly Venerable himself were about to awaken.
Feng Yan formed a strange connection with the Pure Yang Divine Sword. Even the divine light flickering on his body was consistent. His hair rushed upward like a waterfall of flames. He clenched his hand in the void and roared, "Pure Yang, return!"
"Boom!"
The Pure Yang Divine Sword emitted an earth-shattering sword cry, breaking through the divine talismans suppressing the sword body.
Frost City Demon's divine realm world was shattered by that powerful force. His divine body was wounded by the residual sword qi, leaving dozens of scars. His eyes were filled with shock as he watched the Pure Yang Divine Sword fly toward Feng Yan.
Flee!
Only this single thought remained in his mind.
Shattering space, Frost City Demon fled into the Void World, directly using an escape secret technique, disregarding direction, only wanting to get far away from this place.
Divine artifacts have grades of superiority and inferiority.
The artifact spirits of divine artifacts also have grades of superiority and inferiority.
Some legendary powerful divine artifacts, guided only by their artifact spirits, could contend with Infinite Realm gods. Throughout history, there had even been divine artifacts that became Heavens.
The divine artifact itself was a Heavenly Venerable, and no one could control it.
Legend had it that the sword spirit of the Pure Yang Divine Sword had lived since the era of Pure Yang Heavenly Venerable, always in a state of near-death slumber. No one knew how powerful it would become once it awakened.
"Frost City Demon, where do you think you're going?"
To undergo his tribulation, Feng Yan had been suppressing the grief and hatred in his heart. Now, with the divine sword in hand, his pent-up emotions erupted like volcanic magma.
The Pure Yang Divine Sword slashed out. The blazing flames were so intense that Zhang Ruochen and Xuanyuan Qing were forced to retreat far away.
"His life is mine."
Qianheng Yishu's voice sounded from somewhere in the darkness, sending out a dark star whose density surpassed that of an ordinary star by ten thousand times.
The Pure Yang Divine Sword split the dark star in two, turning it into two blazing fireballs that flew outward. The sword qi slashed into the Void World, striking Frost City Demon, who had fled extremely far.
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes. He saw Frost City Demon's divine body being split into a bloody mist by the sword qi, and the blood mist was burning.
But it was too far away, separated by the void. He only caught this glimpse before it was obscured by chaos.
Whether Frost City Demon had died in the Void World was unknown.
Qianheng Yishu had already rushed over. Zhang Ruochen didn't want to provoke this terrifying assassin for now, so he restrained his thoughts about the Dark Divine Sword.
The sword spirit of the Pure Yang Divine Sword didn't seem to have fully awakened; it had to rely on Feng Yan to control it.
After slashing out this sword, Feng Yan's divine body couldn't bear it, showing some blood-red cracks.
But he didn't stop there. He slashed out a second sword, aimed at the Human Skin Lantern, who had already fled millions of miles away.
Space seemed nonexistent before the Pure Yang Divine Sword.
In an instant, the dragon-like sword qi crossed the void, splitting the Human Skin Lantern open. Divine qi leaked out in large quantities, and the screams were bloodcurdling.
Large amounts of human skin scattered and burned.
These scattered pieces of skin fled in all directions.
Killing a god was easier at close range.
Killing a Great God was even more so.
The distance of millions of miles had worn away too much of the Pure Yang Divine Sword's power, failing to kill the Human Skin Lantern completely with one sword and burn it to ashes.
But it was already astonishing enough—just a sword, and not even fully awakened.