After assimilating Liu Ningxuan's memories, Immortal Ying Tian beamed with vitality, and even the atmosphere around the Sword Tower grew somewhat less eerie.
Immortal Ying Tian had been gathering information on ancient affairs all along, wishing to understand the predecessor of this body.
Unfortunately, ancient history was a fractured mess, like scattered sand, making it exceedingly difficult to piece together.
Obtaining Liu Ningxuan's piece of ancient history made up for a bit of the regret in his heart.
Suddenly, Immortal Ying Tian sensed two fierce attacks shooting violently toward his back.
By the time he turned his head, the two attacks were less than three inches from the space between his brows!
"Return of Ten Thousand Swords to the Origin!"
"Palm Lightning!"
Taking advantage of the moment when Immortal Ying Tian was absorbed in digesting Liu Ningxuan's memories, the Sword Tower Supreme and Yun Mengmeng had joined forces once more to launch an attack.
Thanks to Immortal Ying Tian's distraction, they had been granted the chance to build up power for a strike.
Countless beams of sword light surged from every direction, responding one after another under the Sword Tower Supreme's guidance. Like a meteor shower streaking across the sky, they fused into the Hanguang Sword with unstoppable momentum.
Her Soul Sword Dao domain unfurled beneath her feet, and various sword qi demons merged into the Hanguang Sword as well. The Sword Tower Supreme's eyes burned with resolve and finality. This strike had originally been prepared for Liu Ningxuan, but now it had to be used against the far more formidable Immortal Ying Tian.
A dazzling radiance blossomed in Yun Mengmeng's palm like the birth of primordial thunder, accompanied by deafening peals. Yun Mengmeng desperately compressed the lightning, concentrating it relentlessly to a single point.
Seeing this, Immortal Ying Tian tilted his head back, then violently jerked it forward, sending both the Sword Tower Supreme and Yun Mengmeng flying with a direct headbutt!
"Haha! Quite capable! It was worth deliberately leaving an opening."
"He doesn't have the Tribulation Responding Dao fruit!" the Immortal Fairy suddenly said.
"Why?"
"If he possessed the Tribulation Responding Dao fruit, Palm Lightning wouldn't even dare approach him! Yet just now, he withstood Palm Lightning's attack head-on!"
"No Tribulation Responding Dao fruit, no ancient memories, and just now he even said 'this body'... Could it be that Immortal Ying Tian used the Corpse-Severing Method or the Corpse Liberation Transcendence Method?"
"The Corpse-Severing Method and Corpse Liberation Transcendence?" It was Lu Yang's first time hearing these two terms.
"This immortal has used the Corpse-Severing Method before—that time when I slew the 'me' who possessed the rudimentary Extinction Dao fruit."
"The Corpse Liberation Transcendence Method is when the physical body is left behind and the immortal soul transcends."
"Though both methods can certainly make one stronger, the risk of failure is tremendous. The outcome of failure is what you see before us: an immortal corpse is left behind, which is then reborn, forgetting its past life to become a brand-new entity."
"It's just unclear which method Immortal Ying Tian failed at."
"The good news, however, is that since this immortal corpse lacks the Tribulation Responding Dao fruit, Immortal Ying Tian isn't dead yet."
"If Immortal Ying Tian had perished, the Tribulation Responding Dao fruit would have transferred to this immortal corpse."
Lu Yang couldn't help asking, "Could it be that the immortal corpse developed sentience on its own?"
He felt that an immortal corpse gaining consciousness also fit the current Immortal Ying Tian.
Lu Yang recalled the Immortal Fairy mentioning that the true form of Immortal Suiyue, the Jianmu tree, had actually died once. After endless ages, a new Jianmu sprouted from the old one, giving birth to a new sentience, and that new sentience was Immortal Suiyue.
The Immortal Fairy shook her head. "Impossible. For an immortal corpse to develop sentience requires an exceptionally long time. Three hundred thousand years isn't nearly enough."
Learning the origin of the current Immortal Ying Tian did not resolve their deadly impasse; Lu Yang and the others still faced an extremely perilous predicament.
Once the Sword Tower Supreme and Yun Mengmeng were defeated, no one would have the power to stop Immortal Ying Tian, and that would mark the end for Lu Yang and the rest.
"Immortal-Startling Strike!"
Suddenly, the Sword Tower Supreme let out a crisp shout. Through some unknown means, she became several cuts stronger than even her state during the Return of Ten Thousand Swords to the Origin!
"Don't!" Mingtai cried out. As the Sword Tower Supreme's sword spirit, he knew all too well what the Immortal-Startling Strike entailed: it was an ultimate sword strike fueled by burning the soul. Once unleashed, his master's only remaining remnant soul would vanish as well!
Hearing Mingtai's cry, two streams of clear tears slipped from the corners of the Sword Tower Supreme's eyes, yet she thrust forward toward Immortal Ying Tian with unwavering resolve!
Immortal Ying Tian was dismissive; he wanted to see just what power this sword strike possessed.
Amidst dazzling sword light, several drops of immortal blood dripped from between Immortal Ying Tian's brows.
The Sword Tower Supreme's life-sacrificing blow had finally managed to injure Immortal Ying Tian.
Meanwhile, the Sword Tower Supreme's remnant soul turned tenuous and faint. With a resounding clang, the Hanguang Sword clattered to the ground.
She couldn't even maintain her grip on the sword!
Touching the immortal blood between his brows, veins bulged on Immortal Ying Tian's forehead as he flew into a rage. "I originally intended to play around with you a bit longer before killing you, yet you truly don't know what's good for you!"
Before this, Immortal Ying Tian had taken blows deliberately; had he fought in earnest, he could have prevailed in an instant!
"You're courting death!"
Immortal Ying Tian struck out with a wrathful palm. Winds surged and clouds roiled as heaven and earth changed color, pressing down so hard that no one could draw breath.
Yun Mengmeng suddenly appeared, shielding the Sword Tower Supreme.
Boom!
Yun Mengmeng was blasted backward, but fortunately, possessing the rudimentary Immortal Dao fruit allowed her to recover from her injuries.
Immortal Ying Tian sneered coldly, having discerned that Yun Mengmeng was no simple early Tribulation Transcendence cultivator; possessing a rudimentary Dao fruit with healing effects made her a half-immortal.
Yet so what if she was a half-immortal?
"You want to die together? Then I'll grant your wish!" Immortal Ying Tian braced himself to channel his power once more.
This time, he would leave no survivors!
"Wait! You can't kill them!" a voice suddenly rang out, firm and resolute.
"Who goes there?!"
Immortal Ying Tian hadn't felt anyone pass through the Qiankun Shroud. Was it someone inside?
Soon, his gaze settled on Lu Yang.
Having absorbed Liu Ningxuan's memories, Immortal Ying Tian recognized Lu Yang.
It was the little cultivator who possessed the legacy of this body.
Seeing Lu Yang step forward, the crowd suddenly remembered that Lu Yang had obtained Immortal Ying Tian's inheritance. Perhaps this connection might convince Immortal Ying Tian to spare them.
"I received Immortal Ying Tian's inheritance! Don't you want to know where I met him and obtained it?!"
"If you kill the two of them, I won't tell you the location of the inheritance!"
A sneer curled on Immortal Ying Tian's lips. In an instant, he teleported right in front of Lu Yang and clamped a hand down onto his head.
"Why would I need you to tell me? I can just search your soul."
Lu Yang met Immortal Ying Tian's gaze unflinchingly, completely unafraid of death. "When I received the inheritance, Immortal Ying Tian placed a restriction in my mind. If anyone searches my soul, the restriction will trigger automatically and destroy my spiritual space to ensure the location of his inheritance remains unknown! If you don't believe me, feel free to try!"
Immortal Ying Tian felt drums beating in his chest, uncertain whether it was true or false.
He truly wanted to know Immortal Ying Tian's location.
"Then if you tell me the location of the inheritance, the restriction won't trigger?"
Lu Yang shook his head gently. "Of course it will still trigger."
Immortal Ying Tian flew into a rage. "You're playing with me!"
Lu Yang continued shaking his head. "Although I can't state it directly, I can hint at it by telling a story. That way, we can bypass the restriction."
Immortal Ying Tian's eyes lit up. That was indeed a clever workaround. "Fine! I won't kill the two of them, nor will I kill the rest. Speak!"
"How do I know you'll keep your word?"
Immortal Ying Tian sneered. "Brat, do you have a choice?!"
Lu Yang gritted his teeth. He truly had no choice; right now, he could only gamble that Immortal Ying Tian was a man of his word.
"You have to put up a barrier so they won't know what I'm saying."
Immortal Ying Tian saw through Lu Yang's concern—that once the story ended, he might kill all the witnesses. To make Lu Yang believe he would keep his promise, he casually cast a barrier.
"Satisfied now?"
Lu Yang nodded and slowly began, "This story starts in a place called the Xinhuo Dynasty..."
Chapter 996