Chapter 247: Too Cowardly to Accept Death or Defeat

The cultivators from the True Universe and the Guanxuan Universe were shocked.

They never thought that the two of them would choose to continue fighting, not to mention burning their souls for the sake of it. The fight was beyond the point of no return. They wouldn’t rest until either of them was dead!

Ye Qing and Rong Ruo’s aura grew fiercely as their souls burned brightly.

Boom!

Spacetime shattered as a horrifying shockwave spread between heaven and earth.

Rong Ruo glared sinisterly at Ye Qing while holding his sword tightly. Moments later, he vanished and turned into a beam of sword light.

Rumble!

A low rumbling echoed as Rong Ruo burned even fiercer than ever. His soul form had become blurry, but his sword energy had become stronger than it had ever been. The next sword move was akin to seeking death, as it would decide his fate.

However, Rong Ruo remained steadfast as he swung his sword, tearing apart spacetime as the cataclysmic sword energy made a beeline for Ye Qing.

Ye Qing saw that and muttered, “Teacher, I will repay your benevolence in my next life!”

Ye Qing roared and rushed with the Nine Dao Laws orbiting him.

Rumble!

Ye Qing’s power had also reached its peak, and he threw all caution to the wind—life or death be damned!

Fight!

The onlookers stared with still breaths as both Ye Qing and Rong Ruo’s moves collided with each other.

BOOM!

The sound generated by their collision shattered everything in the vicinity as a horrifying shockwave burst out, annihilating every inch of spacetime that dared to stand in its way as it spread throughout the Xuzhen Battlefield.

Ye Qing and Rong Ruo flew several kilometers along with the shockwave.

They soon managed to stop themselves in mid-air, but their condition was so severe it wouldn’t be an understatement to say that they could die anytime.

Swoosh!

A figure dashed out of the golden spacetime tunnel and appeared in front of Rong Ruo.

The figure belonged to a young man in white, and he opened his palm, revealing a black soul wood. The black soul wood emitted a dark light that enveloped Rong Ruo’s dissipating soul.

At the same time, a rift in the world itself opened up, and a mysterious soul power emerged from the rift, flooding toward the young man in white.

The onlookers could see that the soul power belonged to Rong Ruo. It was what remained of his soul after he had decisively burned it up.

The onlookers were stunned upon realizing that the young man in white was capable of reserving life and death by basically reforming the puzzle pieces of Rong Ruo’s soul and returning it back to the latter.

Cao Bai and the others stared at the young man in white with narrowed eyes.

Rong Ruo’s soul soon stabilized.

Meanwhile, an illusory figure appeared next to Ye Qing.

The illusory figure belonged to Ye Qing’s teacher. Ye Qing’s teacher waved his right hand, and a powerful stream of energy flooded Ye Qing. Ye Qing’s soul soon stabilized, and he started to recover from his injuries.

The sight made the cultivators from the Guanxuan Universe heave a sigh of relief.

The expression on Ye Qing’s teacher was complex as he stared at his student.

He truly didn’t expect that he would have such an unyielding disciple.

He was actually willing to face death for the sake of something he believed in. Aside from heartache, Ye Qing’s teacher felt proud of Ye Qing. Clearly, his disciple placed great importance on morals and relationships.

Ye Qing’s teacher seemed to have sensed something as he turned to look in the distance. His expression turned heavy upon seeing the young man in white.

The young man in white would be a difficult opponent.

All eyes were on the young man in white, as everyone couldn’t quite believe what he had done to help Rong Ruo. A few Divine Spirits soon recognized the young man in white and one of them exclaimed, “Zhuge Haoyue!”

The remaining Divine Spirits were stupefied. Zhuge Haoyue was ranked fifteenth on the True Martial List, and he was the youngest Ancient Divine Sorcerer of the True Universe.

Divine Sorcerers were equal to Divine Mages in the Guanxuan Universe. Those with the Divine Dao Bloodline running through their veins were the previous hegemons of the vast expanse, and the Great Daoist Brush Master used the Divine Dao Bloodline as the foundation for creating Ancient Divine Sorcerers.

Ancient Divine Sorcerers were individuals walking on the path to the summit of cultivation using spells and other forms of sorcery.

When the Great Daoist Brush Master left the True Universe, he shared his knowledge with the Guanxuan Universe, which led to the creation of canons for the sake of embarking on the Divine Mage path.

The realms into which Divine Mages were categorized were strikingly similar to the physical realms. At first, Divine Mages would have to start from the ground up to the peak of the Nine Realms.

Afterward, the following realms were—the Sky Realm, the Immortal Realm, the Saint Realm, the Imperial Realm, and finally, the Great Imperial Realm.

Meanwhile, the Ancient Divine Sorcerers of the True Universe were split into ten levels first before they could truly become Ancient Divine Sorcerers.

Afterward, bonafide Ancient Divine Sorcerers were categorized into the following realms—Ancient Sky Sorcerers, Ancient Law Sorcerers, Ancient Immortal Sorcerers, Ancient Saint Sorcerers, Ancient Holy Sorcerers, Ancient Imperial Sorcerers, and Ancient Great Imperial Sorcerers.

There wasn’t that much difference when it came to overall prowess if one were to compare the Divine Mages of the Guanxuan Universe to the Ancient Divine Sorcerers of the True Universe.

However, there was a vast difference between their cultivation methods.

What the True Universe was practicing now was the Divine Spell Bloodline that the Great Daoist Brush Master had left behind. Using that as the foundation, they created a cultivation method that was suitable for divine spirits.

The True Universe had created a cultivation method suitable for Divine Spirits using the Great Daoist Brush Master’s Divine Law Bloodline as the foundation, while the Guanxuan Universe’s version was the unadulterated version of what the Great Daoist Brush Master had left behind.

It was unclear which of the two was stronger than the other, but there was only one way to find out for sure—fight!

Rong Ruo slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes widened upon seeing the young man in white.

“Brother Haoyue!” he exclaimed.

Zhuge Haoyue nodded and said, “Go ahead and rest. Let us fight the rest.”

Rong Ruo went silent with a gloomy look.

Zhuge Haoyue smiled softly and said, “You didn’t lose, and you didn’t make us lose face.”

Zhuge Haoyue gestured with his palm, enveloping Rong Ruo’s soul with a gentle energy and pushing him aside.

Rong Ruo stared deeply at Zhuge Haoyue before sitting down cross-legged.

Zhuge Haoyue looked at Ye Qing. Ye Qing’s soul was still blurry.

Zhuge Haoyue turned to look at Cao Bai.

“I want someone to fight me.”

Cao Bai stepped up. A sword light flashed, and he appeared in front of Zhuge Haoyue.

“I’ll fight you,” said Cao Bai.

Zhuge Haoyue nodded. “Great.”

Cao Bai stuck his finger out.

Hum!

Three resonant sword hums echoed, and three swords flew out of Cao Bai’s sword case. They moved extremely fast, and they appeared in front of Zhuge Haoyue in the blink of an eye.

Cao Bai didn’t dare to underestimate Zhuge Haoyue. He decisively used three swords.

He had decided to give it his all!

The three swords flew, and Zhuge Haoyue responded by sending a beam of divine light toward Cao Bai.

Cao Bai’s eyes flashed sinisterly as he rushed toward Zhuge Haoyue and swung his sword.

Boom!

Cao Bai’s sword light was shattered, and he flew backward.

The moment he recovered and stood on his two feet, the space above his head abruptly split open, revealing a beam of divine light.

Cao Bai’s pupils constricted. He opened his palms, and his sword intent transformed into a sword that flew shot to the skies.

Boom!

Cao Bai’s sword intent shattered upon colliding with the beam of divine light.

However, Zhuge Haoyue clearly had no intention of giving Cao Bai enough time to even breathe as three beams of divine light manifested in front of the latter. Each divine light contained a horrifying energy seemingly capable of destroying a small world.

Cao Bai was shocked.

He clenched his fists, and quite a few sword lights flooded out of him.

Boom!

The sword light shattered into innumerable light fragments as Cao Bai was sent flying at least a hundred meters away. As soon as he stopped, a beam of divine light shot toward him once again.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Cao Bai swung his sword.

Clang!

The sword light shattered, and he succeeded in defending himself, but Cao Bai had no choice but to retreat.

The cultivators of the Guanxuan Universe looked somber at the sight.

Zhuge Haoyue was completely dominating Cao Bai, and Cao Bai’s sword seemed to be unable to stand up to Zhuge Haoyue’s beams of divine light.

Boom!

Cao Bai was sent flying once more, and a beam of divine light chased after him.

Cao Bai glared sinisterly at his enemy. He decided to throw all caution to the wind and abandon all defenses for the sake of attacking. He kicked off of the ground with his right leg and turned into a beam of sword light that made a beeline for Zhuge Haoyue.

Rumble!

Cao Bai’s aura reached its peak as he unleashed the full extent of his power as a Great Sword Sovereign.

Clang!

Cao Bai’s sword struck the oncoming beam of divine light, and the divine light quivered before exploding. Cao Bai then resumed his journey toward Zhuge Haoyue.

Meanwhile, Zhuge Haoyue remained calm.

He extended his hand and gently pressed down.

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed, and Cao Bai cut a sorry figure as he went flying. He flew at least a few hundred meters before being able to stop himself. Blood dripped down the corner of his lips, and his clothes were dyed crimson from the blood pouring out of the wound in his chest.

Zhuge Haoyue stayed his hand.

He stared at Cao Bai and said, “Admit defeat, and I won’t kill you.”

Admit defeat. Cao Bai chuckled. He would have no qualms admitting defeat fighting his fellow cultivators of the Guanxuan Universe, but he couldn’t afford to lose against a cultivator of the True Universe.

There was only one outcome—either he would win or perish. Defeat wasn’t in his dictionary, especially against the denizens of the True Universe.

Cao Bai smiled sinisterly as he balled his hand into a fist.

Shwaaa!

Flames abruptly burst out of him, and his fleshly body melted at a visible rate.

However, Cao Bai wasn’t done just yet.

Boom!

A horrifying energy burst out of him, creating a tempest of profound energy.

Cao Bai had chosen to burn his soul!

The expressions of the Guanxuan Universe’s denizens changed drastically.

Zhuge Haoyue’s eyes narrowed. He waved his hand, and a beam of divine light shot out toward Cao Bai.

“Hahaha!” Cao Bai boisterously laughed before slashing out with his sword.

Clang!

The beam of divine light shattered, and a sword light appeared before Zhuge Haoyue.

Zhuge Haoyue remained calm. He opened his palm and closed it abruptly.

Rumble!

A spacetime wall appeared in front of him.

Boom!

The spacetime wall trembled as Cao Bai’s attack landed on it.

It seemed impossible to shatter the spacetime wall, but Cao Bai remained undeterred. He growled and unleashed a flurry of attacks.

Crunch!

A crisp noise echoed as the spacetime wall burst into pieces.

Zhuge Haoyue took advantage of that explosion to move forward.

He pointed at Cao Bai, and a concentrated ray of divine light struck Cao Bai’s sword.

Clang!

A shrill noise reverberated, and Cao Bai’s figure trembled upon being struck by the powerful vibrations that his sword had transmitted to him. The immense force that his sword had to take also sent him flying away.

Swoosh!

Zhuge Haoyue vanished into thin air, and a beam of divine light struck Cao Bai, sending him flying at least several kilometers away.

It took Cao Bai quite a while to recover from the blow, and when he finally landed on the ground, his fleshly body was no more. He was in his soul form, and even his soul was unstable, looking as though it were a candle in the middle of a tempest.

The disciples of the Sword Sect unsheathed their swords to interfere in the fight.

“Stop!” a furious roar echoed somewhere.

Everyone turned and found Senior Chen Guanzi standing in the distance with his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. He stared deeply at the severely injured Cao Bai and said, “We can afford to lose in these solo battles. Do not interfere!”

The Sword Sect disciples went silent. They turned to look at Cao Bai and found that Cao Bai’s soul was still burning brightly despite his predicament.

Rip!

A spacetime rift manifested, and a sword light emerged from it.

A figure soon appeared when the sword light dimmed, and the figure belonged to none other than Ye Guan.

Ye Guan rushed over to Cao Bai’s side.

Ye Guan was shocked to find that Cao Bai had decided to burn his soul. His voice was trembling as he muttered, “Senior Cao…”

Cao Bai broke out into a smile.

“Junior Ye… my apologies. I couldn’t win…” he muttered.

Ye Guan shook his head. He hurriedly retrieved the Path Sword to absorb Cao Bai’s soul into it, but Cao Bai interrupted him. “There’s no need.”

Ye Guan looked at Cao Bai.

Cao Bai smiled softly and explained, “Don’t let the True Universe think that we’re too cowardly to accept death or defeat. Junior Ye. I’m sorry… I’m sorry that I can’t follow you to the True Universe. It truly is a pity… what a pity…”

Cao Bai clenched his fist.

Boom!

His soul abruptly crumbled into nothingness.

Great Sword Sovereign Cao Bai was no more!