"Deciding this seat's life and death at will—do you truly believe yourself invincible under heaven—pfft!"
Immortal Ying Tian barely managed two lines to keep up appearances before clashing with Gray Doudou, only to be kicked flying straight away. Had he not been fully clad in immortal armor, that single kick would have claimed half his life.
What staggering strength!
Immortal Ying Tian wore a look of utter disbelief. This offensive power was simply absurd; even wielding immortal weapons, he did not possess such might.
Gray Doudou was not one for conversation. Confronted with Immortal Ying Tian's repeated demands of "Who are you?", she showed not the slightest inclination to answer, attacking continuously in silence.
Gazing upon the two immortals, Immortal Ying Tian and Gray Doudou, Yun Mengmeng once again confirmed that her half-immortal cultivation truly fell short in the outside world, good only for throwing her weight around inside a secret realm.
One could say Immortal Ying Tian's emergence was a coincidence, but Gray Doudou's appearance could hardly be called one as well.
This proved that out in the world, immortals were everywhere!
The Sword Tower Supreme also felt that leaving behind a remnant soul to protect the Sword Tower was rather superfluous.
How had the Sword Tower attracted so many immortals? Who could possibly protect it against this?
"Take a strike from my halberd!" Immortal Ying Tian roared, brandishing the Hundred Refinements Hegemon Halberd. This was the immortal weapon he took immense pride in, its weight rivaling a hundred thousand great mountains; a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator would perish just by brushing against it.
A celestial blade suddenly coalesced in Gray Doudou's hand. Space collapsed, and time fell into disarray. In truth, it was not an actual blade at all, but merely a beam of light bearing Gray Doudou's intent of death and finality.
The heavenly blade destroyed everything in its path. The moment the Hundred Refinements Hegemon Halberd touched it, a notch was blasted into the halberd.
Before Immortal Ying Tian could even react, Gray Doudou pressed down harder with her wrist, pouring her will into the celestial blade. As easily as slicing through hemp stalks, she cleaved the Hegemon Halberd in two. The halberd head crashed to the ground with a loud clang, gouging out a bottomless crater as the earth trembled.
Seeing that Gray Doudou intended to strike him next with the celestial blade, in his desperation Immortal Ying Tian hastily raised the halberd shaft across his chest to block.
Swish, swish.
With two chops from Gray Doudou, the halberd shaft was sliced into three segments, becoming nearly impossible to hold.
The hundred-thousand-year-old Bodhi wood was no different from tofu before the celestial blade.
"Three Heads and Six Arms!"
Immortal Ying Tian roared. Large swellings bulged from his neck as two additional heads emerged, and two pairs of arms sprouted from beneath his ribs and his back.
With three heads and six arms, he wielded six immortal artifacts: the Soul-Severing Immortal Spear, the Sky-Storing Purple Gourd, the Sea-Overturning Immortal Seal... Every artifact had consumed a vast quantity of immortal gold and was drenched in immortal blood. Any single one brought into the outside world would be a priceless treasure—a genuine immortal artifact.
If Yun Mengmeng had acquired just one of these immortal artifacts, she could have dealt with Liu Ningxuan all by herself without the Sword Tower Supreme's assistance!
Confronted with Immortal Ying Tian brandishing six immortal artifacts, Gray Doudou remained unmoved, not even batting an eye. She willingly dispersed the celestial blade, letting the intent of death and finality return to her body. Ferocious crimson flames ignited around her, resembling the karmic fire of Buddhism, yet carrying the wails of ten thousand ghosts!
Immortal Ying Tian frowned. He could not discern the origin of this fire, sensing only extreme danger.
This was a flame refined from the Extinction Dao fruit—the World-Ending Fire that had reduced the Xinhuo Dynasty to ashes.
In terms of pure destructive might, no flame could compare to this World-Ending Fire.
Unfortunately, Immortal Ying Tian did not know the power of the World-Ending Fire; had he known, he would have turned and fled long ago.
"Die for this seat!" Immortal Ying Tian spat a mouthful of immortal essence blood, causing the six magical treasures to emanate increasingly terrifying might.
Gray Doudou burned from head to toe with the World-Ending Fire. The instant the Soul-Severing Immortal Spear touched her, the spearhead melted straight away, turning into a molten lump of mixed immortal gold.
"How is this possible?!" Immortal Ying Tian was dumbfounded. This was an immortal artifact! How could it melt in an instant?!
"Your artifact-refining skills are even worse than the real Immortal Ying Tian's. A waste of immortal gold," Gray Doudou evaluated coldly. In the final years of the Xinhuo Dynasty, she had fought the true Immortal Ying Tian when he held various immortal artifacts; he had been vastly harder to deal with than this empty husk before her.
"Sky-Storing Purple Gourd!"
Popping the gourd's stopper, a suction force terrifying enough to distort space attempted to draw Gray Doudou inside. Anyone sucked into the purple gourd would turn into pus and blood in mere moments.
Gray Doudou casually flicked a burst of extinction energy. With a loud bang, the purple gourd exploded outright, shattering into fragments.
"Sea-Overturning Immortal Seal!"
"Eight Trigrams Mirror!"
"..."
Immortal Ying Tian brought out one immortal artifact after another, yet before the overwhelmingly powerful Gray Doudou, they were practically useless—like mere toys she could destroy at will!
Immortal Ying Tian realized the gulf between them was far too vast. He even suspected that even if he possessed the Tribulation Responding Dao fruit, he still would not be her match.
Flee!
He could cross tens of millions of li in a single stride; taking just one step would carry him to the ends of the horizon.
Unexpectedly, Gray Doudou stamped her foot lightly, stomping upon space itself. The spatial laws fell instantly into chaos. No matter what immortal arts Immortal Ying Tian unleashed, he was merely running in place.
"Nothing more than this."
Gray Doudou approached Immortal Ying Tian step by step. Under his terrified gaze, she seized his head. The World-Ending Fire flared inside his body, burning from inside out, from soul to flesh, scorching his seven facial apertures into hollow voids and leaving behind nothing but a charred corpse.
In his dying moments, he finally deduced what Gray Doudou had meant by "aware of her existence."
She was the Lord of the Heavenly Court Lu Yang had spoken of...
He had been played by Lu Yang...
Gray Doudou casually tossed Immortal Ying Tian's corpse aside, searching for Lu Yang's presence.
Suddenly, her hair stood on end, and the gray mist swirling around her grew unstable. She sensed an imminent, catastrophic doom if she did not flee immediately.
It was that Yun Mengmeng, who claimed to be the Cult Master of the Heavenly Court Cult!
This really was a trap!
Ever since the East Sea incident, she had refrained from moving against Lu Yang or Ao Ling precisely because she feared Yun Mengmeng would use them as bait to lure her out!
Damn it! The very thing she had been dreading had come true!
At that thought, Gray Doudou didn't even bother searching for Lu Yang's whereabouts—she took to her heels and fled.
Seeing Gray Doudou flee in panic, Lu Yang knew Eldest Senior Sister was about to arrive.
"Phew, it's finally over."
Only then did Lu Yang dare step out of the Green Blade Sword, though he was so weak his footing was unsteady.
Although he had suffered no physical injuries, the mental strain of conversing with Immortal Ying Tian—who was harboring murderous intent toward him—had been immense; he had dreaded that any slight movement might arouse Ying Tian's suspicion.
Even after Gray Doudou arrived, he hadn't dared relax, remaining strung taut throughout.
Now that the situation was settled, the taut tension unwound, and the accumulated exhaustion surged to the fore, leaving him drowsy.
Yet he knew there was still one matter left unfinished; he could not sleep just yet.
Seeing Lu Yang suddenly appear, everyone was overjoyed.
"Lu Yang, you're fine!" Yun Mengmeng had the highest cultivation and ran the fastest, rushing over and wrapping Lu Yang in a tight hug.
"G-gently... I won't be fine in a second," Lu Yang gasped through gritted teeth. Yun Mengmeng had nearly crushed his bones.
"Oh! Oh!" Yun Mengmeng quickly released him in fright.
"Master!" Amid the cheerful relief, Mingtai's mournful cry drew everyone's attention back.
The Sword Tower Supreme's remnant soul was fading rapidly, nearly transparent. Had she not hung on by a thread out of concern for Mingtai's safety after Immortal Ying Tian appeared, she would have vanished long ago.
"Mingtai, Sister won't be able to look after you anymore. Take good care of yourself."
"Master—!" Mingtai wept inconsolably. Having finally reunited with his master, before they could even catch up properly, how could they already be parted by death?
The Sword Tower Supreme said softly, "Don't be sad. Life and death are the way of things. You've followed Sister for so many years—have you still not comprehended such a simple truth?"
She wanted to wipe away Mingtai's tears, but alas, she no longer had even the strength to touch physical matter.
The crowd fell silent, the joy of surviving a fatal catastrophe dampened considerably.
"Senior Sword Tower Supreme, I have an idea that might preserve your soul," Lu Yang said, approaching Mingtai with Yun Mengmeng supporting him.
"What is it?"
"Relinquish the rudimentary Dao fruit, execute Man and Sword as One, and become a part of the Hanguang Sword."
Hearing Lu Yang's suggestion, the Sword Tower Supreme's dim eyes gradually brightened.
Right! Why hadn't she thought of that?
If Liu Ningxuan could push Man and Sword as One to the absolute extreme, there was no reason she couldn't do the same.
The Sword Tower Supreme sat in meditation on the spot, continuously recalling the key principles of Man and Sword as One and recalling Liu Ningxuan's state, vaguely grasping how he had achieved it.
Before long, the Hanguang Sword began to quiver ceaselessly, merging with the Sword Tower Supreme's soul.
Man and Sword as One!
With the Hanguang Sword as her foundation, the Sword Tower Supreme's nearly transparent soul gradually grew solid again.
"Master!" Mingtai wept tears of joy, hugging the Hanguang Sword and bawling once more.
The Sword Tower Supreme smiled playfully and tapped Mingtai's nose. "Now you're the master."
Seeing the final matter settled, Lu Yang finally set his mind at ease and collapsed into slumber, not waking no matter how anxiously Yun Mengmeng called out to him.
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yang was awakened once more by Yun Mengmeng's voice. Drowsily opening his eyes, he saw that familiar, reassuring figure.
Eldest Senior Sister had arrived.
Vaguely, he saw Yun Mengmeng tugging at Eldest Senior Sister's clothes, crying out anxiously, "Xiao Zhi, hurry and save Lu Yang! He's the Sword Dao master I just found for you—nothing can happen to him!"
Lu Yang, who had been about to wake up, peacefully went right back to sleep.
Senior Yun Mengmeng, in my next life, I definitely won't save you.
Chapter 998