Chapter 116: Killing Zhou First Season (Hit Again)
It was often said that Chen Changsheng was a genius of cultivation. After the many events of the past two years, this judgment had been universally acknowledged across the continent. Yet, in truth, many did not know where his true strength lay—was it in the quantity of his true essence or his ability to comprehend? Reading through the Daoist Canon was certainly an extraordinary feat, but between the accumulation of knowledge and the capacity for battle, some concrete means were always needed to serve as a bridge.
It was only after the three great events—escorting Su Li ten thousand miles south to his home, the dozens of sword battles before the National Academy, and the Battle of Naihe Bridge—that people gradually came to realize that Chen Changsheng's greatest strength was his sword.
This surprised many, especially the priests of the National Church, and even stirred a faint unease within them.
Of course, the National Church also had its sword techniques, such as the National Church's True Sword, the Radiant Light Sword of the Heavenly Dao Academy, and the Southern Sect's Fasting Sword. But the Church's true foundation lay elsewhere. As the successor to the Pope, Chen Changsheng's greatest skill was not the divine arts of the National Church, nor the Daoist methods from the Daoist Canon, but the sword techniques inherited from the Li Mountain Sect…
Zhou Tong saw Chen Changsheng even more clearly. He knew that Chen Changsheng's strength lay not only in his sword talent but also in the sword itself.
He vaguely knew that Chen Changsheng had encountered a fortuitous opportunity in the Zhou Garden's Sword Pond. He had tried to send people to find where the lost famous swords were hidden, but over a year had passed, and the secret agents of the Purification Department, spread across the world, had only found one in the National Academy's latrine. The rest of the famous swords had vanished without a trace, which made him vigilant.
What made him even more vigilant, and what was plainly visible, was the sword Chen Changsheng now held in his hand.
The Stainless Sword, the latest divine weapon to appear on the Hundred Weapons Ranking.
This short sword had no other miraculous qualities except its sharpness.
But as the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion's commentary noted, anything pushed to its extreme becomes terrifyingly formidable.
This short sword was so sharp that it could effortlessly pierce the Tianhai Clan's divine artifact—the Six Imperial Divine Armor.
Though Zhou Tong was a powerful cultivator at the peak of Star Gathering, with a body as tough as steel, he dared not test his flesh against this sword.
Moreover, he did not want Chen Changsheng to fully unleash his sword cultivation.
Thus, earlier in the room, the moment he saw Chen Changsheng lift his head, he had decided on his countermeasure.
He released his Blood Sea Star Domain, waiting for Chen Changsheng to break it with his sword. Using an extremely risky and highly mind-consuming method, he forcibly detached himself from his own world and grasped the Blood Sea in his hand.
Chen Changsheng's sword was trapped in the Blood Sea, held in his hand, tightly controlled by the oppressive pressure.
No matter how sharp that sword was, it could not touch his body or soul. No matter how profound Chen Changsheng's sword path was, it had no room to unfold.
Thus, Chen Changsheng's Wisdom Sword fell entirely into the void, then into his calculations.
Feeling the immense power transmitted from the sword's edge, sensing the bloody and terrifying pressure, and looking up at the large red official robe dancing in the air of the room, Chen Changsheng's face turned deathly pale.
Since the Wisdom Sword had been drawn from its sheath at the Plum Garden Inn, it had consumed too much of his mind and obsession.
This was the first time since learning the sword on the wasteland that his Wisdom Sword had been completely ineffective.
His sword was controlled by a powerful enemy in hand, his sword path stuck in the Blood Sea, unable to be executed.
His face grew pale, whether from excessive loss of mental energy or a loss of confidence.
The Stainless Sword, tainted by the Blood Sea, was no longer as bright and could not continue its sword moves. But he still had one sword move that could be executed without any action.
His divine sense fell upon the snowy plain outside the Netherworld. The snowflakes formed from starlight danced wildly, then instantly ignited, unleashing infinite light and heat in an extremely brief moment.
A powerful aura and seemingly solid flames burst forth from the sword's edge, attempting to break through the foul blood orb in Zhou Tong's palm.
With a thunderous roar! A fierce wind howled through the room, and countless rays of light burst from between Zhou Tong's fingers, so intense that the bones of his palm seemed visible through the skin!
The Blood Sea orb encasing the short sword trembled violently, its surface heaving, occasionally splashing drops of blood that hissed as they hit the hard bluestone floor, corroding it!
Zhou Tong's expression grew grave. He knew Chen Changsheng had a sword technique that could greatly enhance the output of true essence, but he had not expected this sword to be so ferocious!
A sharp cry burst from his thin lips again. The night wind swept in from outside, rustling his large red official robe, and a cold, powerful aura emerged!
As the red robe danced wildly, Zhou Tong's form seemed to multiply several times, directly bursting through the rear half of the house, transforming into a dharma image over ten zhang tall!
Chen Changsheng's sword furiously spewed light and heat, sword intent, and killing intent!
Countless bright rays and invisible sword intent shot from between Zhou Tong's fingers, carving countless stone chips from the room's walls.
Yet, his sword could not truly break through Zhou Tong's palm, could not escape from the blood orb formed by the Blood Sea Star Domain!
This was the insurmountable gap in cultivation realm between the peak of Star Gathering and the peak of Penetrating Darkness. No matter how high Chen Changsheng's sword cultivation was or how sharp the Stainless Sword was, it seemed there was no way around it.
Before Zhou Tong's demonic dharma image, Chen Changsheng, standing on the ground, looked as insignificant as an ant. The light, heat, and sword intent radiating from his sword appeared dim in Zhou Tong's palm, like fireflies on the verge of being extinguished.
Would this assassination on an early autumn night end like this? Would Chen Changsheng's "seeking life through death" ultimately lead only to a helpless death?
No. Though they were fireflies, if there were enough of them, they could still illuminate the deep night, eventually setting the plains ablaze, even the heavens. The Burning Sword taught to him by Su Li, derived from the Golden Crow Secret Sword, used the momentum of the Burning Heaven Sword, but its true spirit came from the final form of the Li Mountain Dharma Sword. The characteristic of that sword was… recklessness!
Chen Changsheng had come to kill Zhou Tong today without any thought of returning alive. He was truly seeking life through death, having long cast aside life and death.
He knew he was about to die, so naturally, he could be more reckless than anyone else.
If there truly was a so-called Heavenly Dao above the stars, it should be able to sense his state of mind at this moment. If there truly was a so-called fate among the stars, his fate was still in his own hands.
Suddenly, another tiny firefly appeared, on his wrist.
That firefly grew brighter and brighter until it became a star.
Then, more bright spots appeared on his body, like stars being lit one by one.
Those stars appeared at his qi apertures.
On Cold Mountain, he had done something similar. At that time, he had nearly died. But now, since he was going to die anyway, and he was already prepared to die, why would he care about that?
He had long been ready, in this courtyard blooming with crabapple flowers, to light those qi apertures again, to let the Star Sea descend upon his body once more!
Starlight fell from the sky, silently crossing the ruined house, landing on him, making the stars on his body even brighter.
Countless stars appeared faintly within his robes, connecting into lines, into patches, forming star charts, condensing into… a star domain!
After Cold Mountain, Chen Changsheng was gathering stars again!
Zhou Tong's expression shifted slightly.
He knew that on Cold Mountain, Chen Changsheng had been severely injured trying to gather stars. He had never expected that at this moment, Chen Changsheng would attempt to gather stars again—and actually succeed!
Starlight converged into Chen Changsheng's body. His aura did not diminish but instead surged, blocking the Blood Sea's pressure. The light and heat erupting from the sword's edge seemed as if they would melt the blood orb in Zhou Tong's palm, and the sword intent was already showing signs of piercing through the blood orb!
Zhou Tong's face turned somewhat pale. His black hair snapped the hairband, wildly dancing in the night wind. He raised his aura again, forcibly gripping the sword intent in his hand!
As long as Chen Changsheng's Stainless Sword could not break through his Blood Sea Star Domain, he had no chance of losing this battle!
If the battle continued like this, with Chen Changsheng's sword controlled and unable to gain momentum, there was indeed no possibility of breaking through Zhou Tong's Blood Sea.
Even if he succeeded in gathering stars, he was only at the initial stage of Star Gathering, still far from the peak.
But just because his Stainless Sword could not move did not mean he could not draw his sword, because the sheath named Hidden Edge still concealed countless swords.
With a tearing sound, the space in the room seemed to split open. Over a dozen clear sword marks appeared inexplicably on the trunk of the crabapple tree outside!
An ancient sword flew out from the sheath in his hand, sliding along the body of the Stainless Sword, stabbing into the Blood Sea in Zhou Tong's palm!
This sword was named Yue Nu, the famous sword that Mo Yu had once wanted but failed to obtain. It had slept for centuries in the grassy sea of the Zhou Garden, covered in rust, its former brilliance dimmed. But after two years of nourishment in the Hidden Edge, it had regained its former sharpness!
With a whoosh, the Yue Nu Sword stabbed directly into the Blood Sea!
Then, countless swords flew out from the sheath one after another, charging into the Blood Sea without hesitation!
For centuries, the Zhou Garden's Sword Pond had buried over ten thousand famous swords. It was only when Chen Changsheng walked onto that grassland with his yellow paper umbrella that these swords awakened. Together with Chen Changsheng, they fought the beast tide, broke the soul pivot of the Zhou Mausoleum, propped up the sky, and finally left the Zhou Garden with him, returning to a world they had left long ago.
Many famous swords returned to their original sects, such as the Fasting Sword and the Radiant Light Sword. Some swords encountered new opportunities, like the Shanhai Sword and the Demon Commander's Banner Sword. Many swords were hidden by someone in various corners of the National Academy, and many more remained by Chen Changsheng's side—at least six thousand of them.
As comrades and brothers-in-arms, today Chen Changsheng was challenging the most powerful and terrifying enemy of his life, facing the most difficult and dangerous situation. How could they stand by?
The swords all left their sheaths, vying to be first, charging forward!
In an instant, the courtyard was filled with a dense, chilling sword intent!
Not only the crabapple tree, but even the hard bluestone slabs were covered in countless straight sword marks!
Cheng Jun let out a terrified shriek. His cultivation level suddenly surged, and he shielded himself with both hands like iron plates, fleeing toward the back of the house.
…
…
(First, hitting again is only natural—it's our old habit, or rather, our old shamelessness. Second, yesterday Xiao Nan got her marriage certificate, Dun Huai's son turned one year old, and old comrades are all achieving new merits. How can we say we have no clothes? We share the same cloak, comrades. Quite emotional, reminiscing about the past, looking forward to the future—everything will be better. The Legend of the Chosen will be even better to read, and everyone will be happier. I bow respectfully.)