Chapter 170 — The Divine Sword
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 1 of 6
Midair, Daoist Zhenren Yanyan's brows were tightly knit as he faced the Beast Sovereign before him, a figure that looked as though it had crawled out of the nethermost hell. It was not only he—every righteous cultivator below was likewise struck dumb, staring at that monstrosity suspended in the air: its whole body black as ink, its enormous frame knotted with bulging muscle, and from its body there extended no one could say how many thick, sturdy arms—at a rough count, no fewer than several hundred. Add to that a head and face deformed by sorcery into something even more hideous and terrifying, and here truly was a demonic beast the likes of which had never been seen since the beginning of the world.
After the silence passed, a restless stir and clamor rose through the crowd. Beyond the heart-stopping shock, most people felt a kind of it-was-only-to-be-expected relief: such southern barbarians as these were indeed utterly vicious by nature. Was this thing before them—neither man nor ghost, neither demon nor devil—anything that could have been born of the world's natural order?
In midair, Daoist Zhenren Yanyan drew a deep breath and slowly laid the ancient Slaying Immortals sword across his chest. Dazzling white radiance flashed ceaselessly from the blade, enveloping not only the sword itself but his entire right arm that gripped it. From the outside, the sky was filled with sword shadows, the Slaying Immortals formation imposing and majestic, and Daoist Zhenren Yanyan himself like an immortal—yet somehow, beneath that ethereal, otherworldly exterior, his face too was beginning to pale.
"Fiend," said Daoist Zhenren Yanyan, his voice like a great bronze bell and a mighty drum, its tone deep and rolling as it spread outward, carrying more murderous gravity than in days past, "will you not awaken even now and surrender yourself to be bound?"
The thousand-armed monster that was the Beast Sovereign's incarnation clearly paid no heed to his words; and since the transformation, its voice had changed from its earlier even tone to something hoarse and grating, like worn sandpaper rasping against a steel edge. It sneered, "Surrender to be bound? Heh—let me first flay you alive, then I'll slit open the bellies and dig out the hearts of these wretches at your feet, one by one, and send them to keep you company in the underworld. How would that suit you?"
Murderous qi flickered between Daoist Zhenren Yanyan's brows. He spoke no further. At the guiding of his sword mudra, sword qi danced across the heavens, and the Slaying Immortals formation stirred to life once more. For all its arrogant bluster, the monster dared not be careless before this peerless sword formation, unseen in a thousand years, and it steeled itself to face it.
Then came the ringing clash of gongs and drums, starting suddenly and rolling from far to near with a booming roar. Seven strands of colored radiance flew up from the ancient sword Slaying Immortals and shot straight into the sword formation above, and at once strange light flashed across the sky, sword shadows crisscrossed, and in the blink of an eye seven great single-colored sword formations had re-coalesced, just as before, aimed at the monster that was the Beast Sovereign's incarnation.
The Beast Sovereign loosed a low growl, black qi coursing across the surface of its immense body like flowing ink, its hundreds of grotesque hands opening and closing as it faced the storm about to break.
With a long, piercing cry, Daoist Zhenren Yanyan soared upward like a mountain hawk, straight into the clouds. At that cry, white light surged, the Slaying Immortals sword swayed, and the vast Slaying Immortals formation rumbled into motion, countless single-colored qi-swords slowly wheeling about to fix upon the Beast Sovereign.