Chapter 368: Su Li’s Gaze (Part 2)
Chen Changsheng’s sword had reached Xue He’s side, but the truly sharp gaze was Su Li’s.
Yet if a Star Condensation expert could be so easily defeated, how could the Daoist Canon describe the Star Domain as each person’s independent world?
The bright morning light suddenly shifted for an instant.
Xue He reached behind him and drew his second blade. His movements were so fast that a residual image appeared, as if a second version of him had emerged in the dawn light.
The razor-sharp, gleaming blade fell faster than sound, slashing toward Chen Changsheng’s head.
At this moment, Chen Changsheng’s sword momentum was fully spent, and he could not change the short sword’s trajectory, let alone block this strike. What could he do?
A humming sound rang out again from the green sorghum field. A heavy iron sword appeared from nowhere, intercepting Xue He’s blade.
Even Xue He, with his cultivation level, could not sever this iron sword.
This sword was none other than the Shanhai Sword.
Xue He’s expression remained impassive. Another residual image flickered, and with unimaginable speed, he drew the second blade from behind him and struck again.
His movements were so swift that by the time the second blade descended, the Shanhai Sword had only just met the first. Given Chen Changsheng’s cultivation level, he should not have been able to keep up with such speed, because a practitioner at the Penetrating Obscurity realm could not possibly wield a sword that fast. But his swordplay was fundamentally different from others. He did not need to flick his wrist, make any gesture, or even move his fingers—only a flicker of his divine will was required for a sword to leap from its sheath and intercept Xue He’s blade.
The second sword was the Saintess Sword of Nanxi Zhai.
Xue He’s pupils contracted slightly, clearly shaken by these two famous swords appearing from nowhere, but his hands did not slow. Another residual image formed in the morning light, and he unleashed a third blade!
Almost as the third blade fell, Chen Changsheng summoned a third sword.
Only truly powerful swords, those relatively well-preserved, could block the strong blades of General Xue He. Thus, the third sword was the Demon Commander’s Banner Sword.
Everything happened too fast, in the blink of an eye.
The morning light flickered, residual images reappeared, and Xue He seemed to split into six figures, drawing six blades and hacking toward Chen Changsheng’s head. Chen Changsheng appeared motionless before him, yet six swords materialized out of thin air, blocking his path.
Only then did a continuous series of clashing sounds erupt, like a string of spring thunder bursting across the green wilderness.
Xue He’s blades were too fast. If Chen Changsheng had relied solely on his own ability, he could never have parried them. But Xue He likely never imagined that this youth possessed such bizarre methods. What kind of swords were these? This was not the end. Xue He’s six residual images converged into one, and the blade he had aimed at Su Li slanted downward, once again slashing toward Chen Changsheng’s neck.
This was his first blade, and also his last—the true blade.
As this blade fell, the seven blades merged into a perfect world. His blade domain returned to completeness, and all previous flaws vanished without a trace.
As the blade descended, Xue He’s gaze was cold, as if asking Chen Changsheng: Do you still have swords? The terrifying pressure of the seven blades crushed Chen Changsheng’s breathing, slowing even his thoughts. Otherwise, he might have thought of a retort: Do I need to tell you I have over ten thousand swords? But at this moment, even unleashing all his swords would be meaningless. Xue He’s blade domain had returned, and his short sword could not break through, could not pierce the opponent’s body. The gap in cultivation levels was simply too vast to bridge.
Fortunately, Su Li was still behind him, gazing at Xue He with calm eyes like an autumn-water-polished sword.
“Celestial Prefecture,” Su Li said, his gaze falling on Xue He’s ribs.
Chen Changsheng’s short sword followed.
Xue He’s expression tightened. He had reconstructed his blade domain with exquisite skill, yet Su Li had seen through its only weakness with a single glance.
But he was not worried. Su Li was gravely wounded, able only to speak, not to wield a sword. As a Star Condensation expert, with his armor, he was not something this youth at the Penetrating Obscurity realm could breach. So he decided without hesitation to end the battle quickly, ignoring Chen Changsheng’s sword. If one were to analyze this battle of the weak overcoming the strong later, aside from Su Li’s insight and Chen Changsheng’s age-defying strength and composure, the most crucial reason was that Xue He made a fatal mistake at the critical moment.
He never imagined that the seemingly ordinary short sword in Chen Changsheng’s hand was actually one of the sharpest swords in the world. Especially after being tempered by the storms of the Zhou Garden, this short sword had absorbed the Dragon’s Roar Sword’s intent, gained its own sword soul, and inherited the heroic will of Chen Xuanba from countless years ago, enabling it to unleash power beyond its level!
With a soft *pfft*, the short sword in Chen Changsheng’s hand pierced Xue He’s gleaming armor, broke through his body, which was as hard as metal and stone after marrow cleansing, and surged forward like a violent wind, as if to destroy everything in its path.
A furious roar mixed with shock and pain erupted!
Xue He had never expected that a moment of carelessness would allow this Penetrating Obscurity youth to succeed, placing him in such danger. His true essence erupted wildly!
Chen Changsheng’s sword could advance no further. Xue He used his lifetime of cultivation, gathering his star domain at his chest, and forcibly blocked the sword with his true essence, while his blade continued toward Chen Changsheng’s neck! Even if Chen Changsheng’s sword could go deeper, it would at most gravely wound Xue He, but this blade would surely take his head!
That was it.
Chen Changsheng knew he had lost.
He had not expected that a Star Condensation expert, at the brink of life and death, could unleash such terrifying combat power, turning true essence into something almost tangible.
At his age, cultivating to the upper level of Penetrating Obscurity was already a peerless genius, but before a Star Condensation expert, he still seemed fragile, even with Su Li’s guidance and his own peak performance. Losing to Xue He was only natural. Yet why was there still reluctance? Reluctance to die, or reluctance to die without truly wounding Xue He? That wasn’t it. Chen Changsheng knew he could wound Xue He, so he continued to thrust his sword, unconcerned that he might die in the next moment.
In battles between cultivators, it was extremely rare to change a sword’s trajectory at the last moment, because it defied common sense and natural principles—unless such a change was pre-hidden in the sword technique before the strike. Such sword techniques were very rare. In recent years, the most famous of these was the Liao Tian Sword.
The Liao Tian Sword was a Lishan sword technique, a secret sword created by Su Li himself. In terms of subtlety, it even surpassed the Golden Crow Secret Sword.
Chen Changsheng was using the Liao Tian Sword. He knew this technique and had used it during the Grand Examination, but then he had used his fist as a sword. Now, for the first time, he truly employed this sword move.
Chen Changsheng’s sword lifted upward in an incomprehensible manner, carving a seemingly natural line across Xue He’s gleaming armor. The hard armor shattered and sprayed outward!
Like a prairie ignited by lightning, spitting flames toward the sky.
*Crack!* A clear, sharp sound rang out.
A spray of blood burst forth. Xue He’s left arm was severed, flying into the sky.
Almost simultaneously, Xue He’s blade landed on Chen Changsheng’s neck.
A thunderous explosion echoed, and the flames on the prairie were extinguished.
Chen Changsheng’s knees slammed heavily onto the ground before the carriage. The earth shook, and dust billowed.
The Shanhai Sword and the other five remnant swords only then fell from the air, clattering to the ground beside him.