Chapter 471: Xutian Thunder

After another bout of entanglement...

An unexpected scene unfolded.

Amidst the chaotic skirmish, a crisp crack suddenly rang out. It was the sound of a talisman astra being completely drained of power and destroyed.

And the first talisman astra to shatter turned out to be the handsome young man’s black hammer!

Though Qin Sang’s blue mirror had dimmed significantly compared to when it first appeared, it still held on.

The young man froze, clearly stunned. He had never imagined that his talisman astra would be the first to exhaust itself. He had only used it twice! Whereas Qin Sang’s blue mirror had clearly been used far more times.

This unexpected twist nearly threw him off balance. He fumbled hastily in his Mustard Seed Pouch to pull out another talisman paper.

The moment the black hammer disintegrated, Qin Sang’s eyes lit up. He knew this was his chance.

Seeing the young man flustered, pulling out yet another talisman astra, a hint of disdain flickered in Qin Sang’s gaze.

The battle was at its peak.

How could a foe grant him the time to slowly prepare a talisman astra?

Unless he had some unique method to stall for time.

The blue mirror’s remaining power was clearly nearing its limit. As long as Qin Sang held steady and relied on other artifacts to endure a bit longer until the talisman astra shattered, the two of them would return to equal footing.

Given the young man’s high cultivation and wealth of treasures, that should have been within his means.

Any cultivator who had trained in the Chaotic Island Waters for just a year wouldn’t have made such a foolish mistake.

"Go!"

Qin Sang gave a low shout and controlled the blue mirror to carve a blue arc through the air, launching a vicious, well-angled strike while the young man was still dazed.

The young man finally realized his blunder. Panic flashed in his eyes as he hurriedly stowed the talisman astra and summoned a flying sword in haste to counter the attack.

This flying sword was strange. Its front half split into two sharp tips, shaped like a fork. Qin Sang had already experienced its power before; it was not inferior to the Cold Gold Sword.

Just as the blue mirror was about to collide with the flying sword—

It didn’t dodge. Instead, it accelerated, gleaming even more brilliantly, as though it was throwing itself into the clash.

Boom!

The blue mirror shattered into countless fragments.

The flying sword was also flung aside, tumbling through the air. One of its forked prongs had been broken clean off, and a deep, jagged crack ran down the blade.

In that moment of impact, Qin Sang had poured every last ounce of remaining power from the talisman astra into the mirror, unleashing its final burst to destroy the young man’s flying sword.

One side had responded in panic, the other had long since prepared the killing blow. Everything had gone exactly as Qin Sang intended.

The young man’s face turned deathly pale.

Because his spiritual consciousness was linked to the flying sword, he suffered a backlash as well.

The sword was now unusable. Worse still, before he could recover, the Cold Gold Sword was already bearing down on him.

Clearly, Qin Sang hadn’t been satisfied with just breaking the flying sword. He had long since prepared his next strike.

Fortunately, the young man wasn’t completely foolish. Abandoning the fallen sword, he hurriedly retrieved a mirror—its form quite similar to the blue mirror—and hurled it outward with force.

But just as the treasure mirror flew out, a beam of white light suddenly locked onto it.

Drawn by the magnetic force of the Yin-Yang Luopan, the mirror stalled in mid-air for a brief instant, and in that instant, it failed to block the Cold Gold Sword in time.

Swish!

The sharp sword qi stung the young man’s eyes, bringing with it the chilling breath of death.

Terror contorted his face as he let out a cry. The robe on his body suddenly tore apart, releasing a burst of white qi. In that hair’s-breadth moment, the white qi carried him a foot to the side, just barely dodging the Cold Gold Sword’s fatal strike.

Slash!

The Cold Gold Sword grazed past his arm, carving out a deep wound that revealed bone.

The young man screamed in pain, stumbling backward while clutching his wound, glaring at Qin Sang with hatred. Lingering fear etched across his face.

Another top-grade artifact... Might as well call yourself "Daoist Treasure Hoarder."

Qin Sang couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

Though the strike had failed to kill the handsome young man, Qin Sang felt no frustration. He remained calm, steadily manipulating the Cold Gold Sword to press forward, gradually shrinking the space available for his opponent to evade.

As the saying goes, "One misstep, and every step after goes wrong."

Having lost the initiative, the young man was forced into a passive defense, retreating in a flurry, finding it harder and harder to dodge. After evading another sword strike, he quickly shifted position. For a brief instant, his back was to Qin Sang, and he made eye contact with Yu Shanting.

In that fleeting moment, their gazes met.

A flicker of calculation passed through the young man’s eyes. He lowered his head slightly, a ruthless glint flashing within. Seizing the moment while the Cold Gold Sword had yet to swing back around, he suddenly raised the newly swapped-in treasure blade in his hand. The blade gleamed with a fierce, dazzling light as he slashed at Qin Sang with all his might.

At the same time, his other hand brushed across his waist. A gray orb dropped into his palm.

Qin Sang immediately noticed the strange motion and grew wary. With a swift glance, he caught sight of the gray orb.

The orb was entirely gray-white, about the size of a longan fruit, perfectly round and flawless. Occasionally, a thread of silvery-white light flickered across its surface, like a thread-thin bolt of lightning.

It lay silently in the young man’s palm, looking dull and unremarkable, completely lacking the aggressive aura typical of other artifacts. It neither stood out nor revealed its edge.

Yet the moment Qin Sang laid eyes on it, his expression abruptly shifted.

That unassuming orb gave him an overwhelmingly dreadful feeling. A feeling he had only encountered a few times in his life, and each time, it had been when he hovered at the edge of death.

If that orb was released, he might die!

This notion surged into Qin Sang’s mind from nowhere and instantly rooted itself.

In that instant, every hair on his body stood on end.

His pupils contracted sharply as he fixed his gaze on the orb in the young man’s hand. His mind raced.

What in the world is that thing? I have never even heard of it.

Spiritual power began to surge from the young man’s palm, converging upon the gray orb. A crazed glint filled his eyes, and a terrifyingly cold smile curled on his lips.

"I absolutely can’t let him throw that!"

Qin Sang roared inwardly. He cast aside all distractions and made a snap decision, instantly summoning the ebony sword without hesitation.

Though it all sounded complicated, it had taken only a fraction of a second. Qin Sang had never lacked decisiveness.

Just then, he suddenly heard Granny Jing’s voice ring out.

"Be careful! That’s Xutian Thunder!"

Xutian Thunder!

So that’s what it is!

A flash of understanding struck Qin Sang. No wonder. It was the legendary Xutian Thunder from the Xuling Sect!

He had first heard about Xutian Thunder from Shopkeeper Wu, and over the years, had caught wind of a few more rumors but he had never seen one in person, which was why he hadn’t recognized it.

Xutian Thunder was a one-time-use artifact similar to the Profound Yin Thunderbolts, but far more powerful, rumored to be capable of gravely injuring even Golden Core cultivators. It was an extremely terrifying artifact.

It was also the signature treasure of the Xuling Sect.

Legend had it that even the Xuling Sect itself hadn’t successfully refined a true Xutian Thunder in many years.

Some said the refinement technique had been lost. Others claimed that the process was so incredibly difficult that no one in the current Xuling Sect could manage it.

In any case, the Small Cold Domain hadn’t seen the appearance of a Xutian Thunder in ages, and even the disciples of the Xuling Sect rarely spoke of it anymore.

Who would have thought that this handsome young man from the Yuanshen Sect actually had a Xutian Thunder in his hand!