Chapter 548: Heaven-Shaking Thunder, Divine Sword as a Guide, Ten Thousand Li of Clear Skies (II)

Whoosh!

Before the man himself arrived, the golden light reached first. Its form left no doubt—a sword!

Luo Chen drew in a deep breath and rose to his feet. The Mystic Flame Sword slipped into his grasp as though summoned by instinct. Step by step, he retreated, the tip of his blade tracing arcs through the air while rings of crimson light rippled outward.

One after another, circles of blazing scarlet light bloomed before him, each one forming a barrier against the incoming sword. It was a fire-element defensive art that Luo Chen had learned in the early years of his cultivation. Though simple in structure, it carried the force to melt space itself and dissolve all attacks.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

With each collision, a ring of light shattered beneath the might of the golden flying sword. One after another, his defenses crumbled. Fire arts had never been known for their defensive strength, and Luo Chen had never studied this particular art in much depth. It was no surprise that the defense fell quickly.

Still, this was far from the end of Luo Chen's tricks. His left hand thrust forward with tremendous speed. A deep-blue barrier surged into existence, and spirit energy condensed to its utmost limit. The sword pierced into the water-like shield with ease, flowing through it like a fish in its natural element.

This time, Luo Chen had reversed the current. He had fallen for the sword trick once before, and he wouldn't make the same mistake again. With Glazed Skyveil practiced to Perfect Mastery, he could alter the flow of spirit power within it at will. Just a minor shift in spirit energy, and now the sword's movement slowed to a crawl inside the shimmering blue curtain.

The golden flying sword crept sluggishly through his barrier. Yet no matter how refined the Glazed Skyveil had become, it was still facing a strike from a Golden Core cultivator, and not an ordinary one at that. This was Di Wanyun's full-powered attack, bolstered by the unsealed Withering-Flourishing Seal. Even a second-tier water-element defensive spell pushed to its utmost couldn't fully withstand a metal-element flying sword renowned for its piercing might.

Slash!

The fish leaped from the water with all its might!

Luo Chen's crimson-cloud Daoist robe flared out like an inflated balloon. But this supreme-grade defensive robe was pierced through as if it were nothing but a thin sheet of paper; for a moment, it seemed that every one of his defenses had been stripped away.

Yet as the sword was about to embed itself into his chest, a thick layer of earthy-yellow armor plates revealed themselves, layer upon layer, shielding his body. The Turtle Spirit Armor, a second-tier defensive spell! Luo Chen had already cast it in advance. It was his final line of defense and one forged for exactly this moment.

At last, the flying sword ran out of strength and could no longer pierce any deeper. But just as the golden light began to pull back, preparing for another assault, a harsh glint flashed in Luo Chen's eyes.

"It would be rude not to return the favor! Old bastard, take one of mine," Luo Chen barked.

Far above, Di Wanyun had just stepped into Trapping Hollow Valley. His expression twisted with cruelty as he glanced down.

The ground quaked violently as countless vines erupted from the earth, surging skyward in an untamed frenzy. In the blink of an eye, they wove together into a writhing forest that clawed toward the heavens like a living wall. Each vine was covered in countless razor-sharp thorns, brimming with malice.

And that wasn't all! From the tops of those vines, buds began to bloom. Petals unfurled into delicate pink flowers, soft and graceful, releasing a faint, sweet fragrance into the air. The brighter the bloom, the deadlier the poison! The true danger of the thornflower lay not in the vines themselves, but in these seemingly innocuous flowers!

Until now, Luo Chen had only used the vines for entanglement, accelerating their growth to trap his foes. But this time, he held nothing back. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred thornflower vines bloomed into a prison both horrifying and beautiful.

Di Wanyun paused briefly, a mocking sneer curving his lips. "You dare flaunt a mere first-tier spell before me?"

With a sweep of his sleeve, the raging vines twisted and buckled. The snarling jungle sagged in defeat, bending like grass in the wind. A clear path opened within the floral prison. It was a road paved for Luo Chen's death. Yet before Di Wanyun could advance further, Luo Chen's left hand slammed down.

"You think that's all I've got?!"

From the skies above, a colossal mountain came crashing down with a thunderous roar. Its descent had been timed perfectly, landing just as Di Wanyun attempted to break through the vine prison. Faced with this crushing force, the weathered elder spat forth a torrent of overwhelming power that shattered the mountain midair.

Hmm?

For the first time, Di Wanyun's arrogant expression twisted in surprise. Within the shattered mountain was another smaller peak. It was not just a Thousandfold Summit—it was something more.

Luo Chen had used his artifact-control methods in advance, fusing layer upon layer of ore and stone onto the construct, transforming it into a true weaponized fortress. Only now did its true form reveal itself.

"Even with this, it won't be enough to suppress him," Luo Chen muttered under his breath.

He adjusted his hand gesture, steering the falling Thousandfold Summit. Once it neared ten zhang from Di Wanyun...

"Explode!"

With a low shout, Luo Chen detonated the supreme-grade enchanted artifact that had accompanied him for years.

Boom!

A tremendous force erupted, with Di Wanyun caught at the very center of the blast.

Di Wanyun quickly summoned back his Thousand-Phantom Gold Cloud. A streak of golden light reinforced his defenses.

"Detonating your own enchanted artifact..." Di Wanyun said coolly, his tone edged with faint disdain. "Quite bold, but against me, it is useless."

Amid the swirling dust and smoke, Di Wanyun stepped forward at an unhurried pace, his robes untouched and his expression coldly composed. He appeared utterly unscathed. Yet the moment his cloudy eyes fell upon the young man standing in the distance, sword in hand, his gaze turned sharp for the first time.

The ground rumbled beneath them. Spirit pressure surged like an oncoming tide. High in the sky, a phantom mountain began to take shape once more. It wasn't Thousandfold Summit, nor was it the Earth Summit, yet the suppressive force it exuded far surpassed all before.

Di Wanyun let out a cold snort and thrust his palm forward. A brilliant column of enchanting light surged toward the phantom mountain, yet the mountain remained untouched.

"That's... not an earth-element technique?" Di Wanyun murmured.

The next instant, the phantom mountain shattered with a thunderous roar and collapsed in on itself!

"Landslide!"

The devastation unleashed by a crumbling mountain was on full display; spirit energy detonated in waves that rolled forth like a flood. Di Wanyun's expression grew extremely grim. This spell reached the third tier! Even for someone like him, it demanded caution.

Golden light burst from his body, forming an impenetrable shield. Both hands wove rapidly through the air, golden light flashing with each motion. He carved through the incoming destruction, slicing the force of Landslide into fragmented waves.

Each time he cleaved through one wave, another wave rose to meet him. And when, after several breaths, Di Wanyun emerged from the Landslide's range, blood was seeping from the corner of his lips.

He had been wounded!

No one would have imagined that an Adept attempting to kill a mere Initiate would be injured like this. Even if it was just a minor internal shock to his organs, it was still an injury. That alone was practically unheard of. Should word of this spread, the entire Jade Cauldron Domain would erupt in shock.

Di Wanyun's gaze locked once more upon Luo Chen. For the first time, there was no mockery in his eyes; only cold, measured solemnity.

"Extreme defenses, devastating offensive spells, near-instant casting of Vine Bind and earth-element spells," he murmured slowly. "Your mastery of spellcraft is the strongest I've seen in my entire life. Which is exactly why I must kill you now. Pay the price for my son's life!"

Just as he prepared to summon his Thousand-Phantom Gold Cloud again, Luo Chen suddenly smiled. "Do you want to see your son? He's right there. Can't you see him?"

With a casual wave, Luo Chen flipped over a piece of rubble. A head lay there, eyes wide open in death, its face scarred and twisted in agony. Di Wanyun froze.

In the next moment, a mirror appeared. Ripples shimmered across its surface, reflections like the moon on the surface of a pond.

A scene played out vividly upon the mirror's surface. Thunderclouds churned in the sky. Lightning raged in every direction. A longsword struck from behind. Sword orbs whistled through the air. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the illusion shattered. The watery moon cracked and vanished.

"That's not my son!"

Puh!

Mirror Flower Water Moon's illusion shattered. Luo Chen coughed up a mouthful of blood, and he felt his head splitting with pain. A fresh crack snaked across the bronze mirror in his hand. That severed head was indeed not Yan Leizi's; he had only exploited the Divine Ghost Heartmirror's power during Di Wanyun's moment of verbal distraction to forcibly cast the third-tier illusion spell he had learned a while back, Mirror Flower Water Moon.

It was a spell Luo Chen hadn't fully mastered; he had merely used the blooming thornflowers from Vine Bind to secretly trigger Flower Fairy, layered it with Water Mirror and Spirit Beguilement, and finally used the Divine Ghost Heartmirror as a conduit to barely pull it off.

The goal wasn't to make Di Wanyun sink into a full illusion. That was simply not possible. What Luo Chen needed was just a fleeting moment. Enduring the backlash of the spell, Luo Chen gripped the gray sword scabbard in one hand and slashed outward with his other, fingers joined like a blade.

The sudden slash tore through the air. When Di Wanyun snapped out of the illusion, what greeted him was an earth-shattering sword energy roaring toward him.

An ordinary Initiate capable of wielding true sword energy!? Impossible!

Di Wanyun was momentarily stunned; then, terror surfaced in his expression! Instinctively, he summoned a defensive enchanted treasure. The Thousand-Phantom Gold Cloud was his life-bound enchanted treasure, the one he had refined most deeply. It excelled in both offense and defense, capable of adapting to nearly any combat scenario, but that didn't mean it was his only option.

Even so, the hastily summoned treasure had only just begun to take shape when the blinding sword energy pierced straight through and completely shattered it.

It wasn't just one strike. There were seven. In the blink of an eye, seven streams of sword energy had aligned like stars in the sky, forming a dazzling constellation. In unison, they had struck with such titanic power that the defensive treasure shattered in a single thunderous blow.

The sword energy surged forward, straight toward Di Wanyun's brow. At that moment, golden light radiated from his forehead. The fearsome sword energy abruptly slowed, as if caught in a viscous stream.

Luo Chen's face twisted as he thrust his hand forward.

"Break!"

With that command, the seven streams of sword energy merged into one, bursting into brilliance.

Ding!

Di Wanyun lowered his hands, staring at the ground in disbelief. A single drop of blood dripped from the center of his brow. Then, his head jerked up.

"I'm going to kill you!"

Di Wanyun charged into Trapping Hollow Valley, and the Thousand-Phantom Gold Cloud transformed into a golden warhammer as it came crashing down.

Luo Chen glanced at the crimson dot between Di Wanyun's brows. Was that truly all his previous strike had accomplished? Had Di Wanyun drawn upon his Golden Core essence at the very last moment?

It was said that Golden Core cultivators fused spirit consciousness and divine consciousness. There was no need for conscious effort; instinct alone could trigger their divine perception, allowing them to defend and retaliate at a moment's notice.

Is that how he had blocked an attack that rivaled the strike of a Golden Core sword cultivator? What a pity...

With a quiet sigh, Luo Chen slowly extended his palm.

"A mantis trying to stop a chariot! Still trying to resist?" Di Wanyun yelled.

Seeing Luo Chen raise his hand, Di Wanyun's fury boiled over. The golden warhammer in his grasp slammed down with explosive force.

Boom!

In the next instant, an illusory figure appeared behind Luo Chen. She was tall and graceful, and her face was serene, yet her eyes were sharp as frost, unyielding and cold. The figure mimicked Luo Chen's motion, raising a palm to the sky.

Suddenly, an immense chill surged forth, waves of black ice pouring into the air. In the blink of an eye, the world for thousands of li around them was swallowed in frost. The golden warhammer froze mid-strike, suspended helplessly in the sky.

Di Wanyun's expression twisted with rage as he stared at the phantom. "The Black Ice Talisman! That wretched woman... still protecting him even now! Die!"

With a furious roar, the golden warhammer shattered layer upon layer of black ice as it continued its descent.

Boom!

With that single, earth-shattering strike, Luo Chen was slammed into the ground and vanished into the depths below, swallowed by the earth without a trace. At the end of the day, the Black Ice Talisman, although crafted by an Adept, was merely a talisman. Even if it had the full power of the creator, what of it? Even if that detestable Fairy Ruthless were to appear in person, Di Wanyun would face her without fear.

And yet, that brat was still alive.

Di Wanyun narrowed his eyes. He could still sense Luo Chen's presence below, not just lingering, but pulsing with shocking vitality.

He's not just proficient in spellcraft and tricks.

His physique is incredibly resilient.

A rare talent, someone who cultivated both physique and qi in equal measure,

Di Wanyun thought darkly.

That last blow was buffered by that bitch's talisman; no wonder he survived.

As Di Wanyun prepared to descend into the crater to finish the job, a frigid gust swept across the valley. From afar, a voice cold as ice called out.

"Fellow Daoist, spare his life! Let him live, and I will offer you three pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Black Ice."

A sharp snort escaped Di Wanyun's lips. His divine consciousness surged outward in a powerful wave, not toward Fairy Ruthless, but straight into the depths of the earth where Luo Chen had fallen. He had never intended to grant Luo Chen a swift death; he had planned to capture the boy alive and slowly grind him into despair. Yet now that Fairy Ruthless had arrived, he had no time for games.

He opted for a swift kill, intending to obliterate the boy with a single sweep of his divine consciousness. Yet when his divine consciousness swept through the depths, it returned empty. Di Wanyun froze, disbelief flashing across his face.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine soul resisted my divine consciousness?

He took a single step to the edge of the crater and peered down.

Far below, Luo Chen stood bloodied and disheveled, yet he was still alive. He clutched his longsword tightly, murmuring an incantation under his breath. The final syllables were already spilling from his lips. Suddenly, he raised the sword skyward.

In that instant, a formation disc surged with tremendous power, its surface coming alight as all eighteen seals burst open in unison.

Countless intricate runes erupted outward like a vast spiderweb, spreading rapidly across the valley. In the blink of an eye, the entire Trapping Hollow Valley within a ten-li radius was wrapped in their glow.

A mysterious energy rose from the formation. In the heavens above, thunderclouds bellowed in response, shaking the sky. Di Wanyun's head snapped up, panic finally showing on his face. Without hesitation, he leaped into the air, attempting to flee.

"Almighty thunder of the heavens be drawn by the divine sword!"

A deep chant thundered through the valley. A bolt of lightning, thick as a barrel, roared down from the heavens and struck Di Wanyun head-on! Struck squarely, Di Wanyun's body locked up, and he plummeted from the sky. Halfway through his fall, he shuddered violently, forcing his rigid frame to twist midair. He still wasn't giving up and was trying to escape again. However...

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Within that boundless sea of thunder and lightning, Di Wanyun's figure flickered, rising, falling, vanishing, reappearing. The golden light around him dimmed with each strike until it finally winked out.

Whoosh!

Fairy Ruthless came to an abrupt halt in mid-charge. Winds swirled violently around her; clouds spiraled in the wake of her momentum. At the same time, her face paled in horror as her eyes locked onto the terrifying sight before her.

"Was that thunderstorm summoned by Luo Chen? The might of heaven and earth... so terrifying.... How can we Golden Core cultivators hope to withstand it? Di Wanyun... He's done!"

She murmured to herself and remained rooted in place, not daring to step even one pace closer to Trapping Hollow Valley. Even though her heart was seized with worry for Luo Chen's safety, all she could do was wait. A storm of this scale and intensity could not possibly last long. All she could do now... was wait!

Yet as time dragged on, her heart grew heavier with every passing moment. This was a force beyond what any Golden Core cultivator could endure. Luo Chen, at the center of it all, likely wouldn't make it out alive.

Just as despair began to grip her heart, a colossal pillar of light burst upward from the earth!

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

In a single instant, it pierced through the tens of thousands of layers of thunderclouds. The dark clouds that had shrouded the Jilei Nine Mountains for centuries began to recede in swirls and gusts of wind. The sky cleared, sunlight poured through, and the heavens stood crystal bright across thousands of li.

The storm had ended, but who had survived it?