Spatial Storm

An exquisite flying sword shot out from between Qin Sang's brows. Accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder, it transformed into a streak of lightning and revealed itself before everyone's eyes. In this moment of crisis, Qin Sang held nothing back, unleashing every bit of power he could command. The ebony sword made its stunning entrance. The thunderous momentum of the Sword Qi Thunderclap, paired with the aura emanating from the ebony sword itself, not only shocked the handsome youth to the core, but also drew the eyes of Yu Shanting, Granny Jing, and Old Man Star-Grasper. In an instant, the ebony sword crossed the distance between the two. The handsome youth's eyes widened in sheer terror. The only thing he could do was manipulate his precious saber, pouring out endless saber gleams in layers upon layers of shadows to obstruct the ebony sword. *Whoosh!* A layer of blood-red light surfaced along the ebony sword's blade, and in that instant, its sword light turned into crimson lightning as well. A wash of blood-red light splashed out. Carrying an aura of foul corruption, the light splattered squarely onto the blade of the precious saber. The moment the saber touched the blood light, its brilliance suddenly vanished. At a speed visible to the naked eye, the saber's bright sheen deteriorated into a decayed, ashen gray. In an instant, the treasured blade turned into ordinary iron. *Crack!* The entire blade shattered! Even a magic treasure would lose its power for a brief time upon being touched by the Blood Filth Divine Light, let alone a mere magic tool. Without the slightest resistance, this top-grade magic tool was destroyed on the spot. The flying iron shards stung the handsome youth's eyes, while the unhindered ebony sword brought with it the chill of imminent death. Terrified, the handsome youth opened his mouth to scream, yet no sound came out. Then, a shaft of moonlight descended from the sky at a speed no slower than the ebony sword. Granny Jing dared not let the handsome youth unleash the Xutian Thunder either. Almost at the exact moment Qin Sang decided to deploy the ebony sword, she had forcibly driven her own magic treasure. *Flash!* The brilliant moon suddenly blazed, shooting down a beam of moonlight that pierced through the space conjured by Old Man Star-Grasper's silver robe. It fell upon the handsome youth, locking onto the Xutian Thunder in his grasp and forcibly snatching it away. The ebony sword trailed the moonlight by only a fraction of an instant, on the verge of piercing the handsome youth's heart and slaying him where he stood. Seeing the support from Granny Jing's moonlight, Qin Sang relaxed slightly. A sudden thought struck him, and at the final moment, he forcibly reined in the ebony sword's sword qi, deflecting its path slightly. *Thwack!* Blood sprayed. The handsome youth could only watch in despair as the ebony sword struck. The sword sank into his body, but it did not pierce his heart, sliding just past his vitals instead. Yet the moment it penetrated the youth's body, Qin Sang covertly detonated the sword qi within the blade, shredding the youth's meridians into a tangled mess. This stripped the handsome youth of all combat capability while stopping short of causing irreparable injury. Had Qin Sang faced the youth alone, he naturally would never have dared take such a risk. But with Granny Jing's assistance, it was a different matter. Suppressed by the moonlight, the youth was completely powerless to resist. As the sword qi ran rampant through his body, the excruciating pain of having his meridians severed contorted the handsome youth's face until he finally collapsed into unconsciousness. *Whoosh!* The ebony sword punched clean through the youth's chest and emerged from his back. Qin Sang sprang into motion, darting swiftly toward the handsome youth. At the same time, his gaze shifted toward Old Man Star-Grasper. The ebony sword followed his gaze, letting out a resonant hum as it flew straight for the old man. Now that the ebony sword had been revealed, there was no longer any need to conceal it. Qin Sang decided to help Granny Jing slay Old Man Star-Grasper and Yu Shanting. A quick victory would eliminate future trouble, preventing complications born of delay. He did not care what fate befell Granny Jing, but he had no desire to end up hunted across the entire Lesser Cold Domain. The ebony sword was an authentic magic treasure. Even someone as powerful as Old Man Star-Grasper would not dare disregard it. It was a pity the Blood Filth Divine Light had been spent. The light could only be used once before requiring a period of recovery. Had he known Granny Jing had the strength to spare for reinforcement, there would have been no need to waste the Blood Filth Divine Light on the handsome youth. Saving it for Old Man Star-Grasper would have yielded miraculous results. Even so, Qin Sang did not regret his choice. In that situation, holding back had been out of the question. If the youth had managed to trigger the Xutian Thunder, regrets would have come too late. However, when Qin Sang looked over, his expression abruptly shifted. Perhaps because Granny Jing had distracted herself to aid Qin Sang, the lofty, bright moon had dimmed slightly. Seizing the opportunity, Old Man Star-Grasper drove his river of stars to converge rapidly toward it. Compressed to its limit, the star river surged with overwhelming power, showing signs of suppressing the moon. Old Man Star-Grasper caught his breath and suddenly tapped his chest with one hand. His entire body shone with brilliant starlight, mirroring the celestial river. The source of this starlight was countless crystalline chains tightly wrapped around him. Translucent and as bright as crystal, the chains appeared fragile, but were in truth exceptionally sturdy. Wound from head to toe like some cruel instrument of torture, they bound Old Man Star-Grasper securely. These chains had materialized out of thin air; not a single link had been visible before. His silver hair whipped wildly. Old Man Star-Grasper threw his head back and roared at the heavens, looking completely mad. *Snap!* A crisp sound rang out as a chain snapped. With that first break, the other chains followed suit, more than half of them shattering in an instant. At the same time, Old Man Star-Grasper's aura skyrocketed at a terrifying speed, surpassing the Foundation Establishment stage in the blink of an eye and continuing to climb. *So Old Man Star-Grasper was using those chains to suppress his cultivation?* Qin Sang realized what the chains were for. Then, recalling Granny Jing's earlier warning, a look of alarm surfaced on his face. He focused his gaze and saw that, as Old Man Star-Grasper's aura erupted beyond the Foundation Establishment realm, the surrounding space seemed stained by ink, plunging into utter darkness. Within that darkness, faint fluctuations stirred. Though subtle, they sent a chill through anyone watching, for deep within those tremors, cracks barely discernible to the naked eye were beginning to appear. Granny Jing had said that the space within Heaven-Pointing Peak was exceedingly fragile. If an intruder exceeded the Foundation Establishment realm, the spatial fabric would shatter at best, or trigger a spatial storm at worst! A spatial storm was a phenomenon that would force even Nascent Soul grandmasters to retreat. Old Man Star-Grasper had suddenly broken his chains and unleashed his cultivation without restraint—had he lost his mind? Before long, Old Man Star-Grasper gave Qin Sang his answer. The old man seemed equally aware of how terrifying a spatial storm was. Dread and urgency filled his eyes as he swiftly pointed downward, sending a streak of flowing light plunging into the center of the square. The debris from the stone pillars piled there was smashed into fine powder by the light, exposing what lay concealed beneath. At the very center of the square sat a circular stone platform. It was not large, less than two zhang in diameter, and projected slightly above the innermost ring of stones. The flowing light swept away the dust on its surface, revealing its true form. Having weathered countless ages, the mottled, dark gray stone platform radiated a sense of boundless antiquity. Across its top, crude strokes carved out profound, mysterious runes. The flowing light melted into the stone platform, swallowed whole without a shred leaking away. In the next breath, the runes across the platform flared with brilliant light.