Chapter 2696 Attacking the Heart

The snow-white sword aura enveloped the region, its energy striking fear into many hearts. Any opponent, even when at the same cultivation stage as Yun Muzhe, would be put under immense pressure.

From this, one could see that despite Yun Muzhe’s overwhelming confidence in insisting on fighting Lin Xun alone, he showed not the slightest bit of negligence when it came to the actual battle.

In fact, being supreme Ancestors who were qualified to participate in the Origin Sect Ancestral Court's successor selection, none of them were stupid.

Who hadn't heard of Lin Xun's dazzling achievements over these years? Who would dare to treat him as an ordinary cultivator?

Therefore, Yun Muzhe had started the fight with the force of thunder. Just as he had declared, he wanted to defeat Lin Xun using the strongest sword art in his arsenal!

Kaboom!

The skies rumbled and mountains collapsed under the ocean of sword qi. However, this stunning sword strike praised by every other supreme Emperor Ancestor crumbled inch by inch before Lin Xun, who had remained rooted in his spot from start to finish.

All he had done was flick a finger, and then, the sky-blotting sword qi had dispersed like rain.

The pupils of his enemies shrank, and their gleeful expressions froze on their faces. This single exchange allowed them to realize that something wasn't what they had expected.

“This is all you've got, and you claimed you'd let me taste a crushing defeat?” sneered Lin Xun.

Standing opposite him at a distance away, Yun Muzhe looked calm as ever, his sword heart still firm and unperturbed.

He took a deep breath, and his aura climbed and climbed until his entirety resembled a matchless sword. He took steps in the air, slashing out with each step. Each qi sword deployed was more powerful than the one before it.

When he finished executing the ninth strike, nine brilliant qi swords intersected in the sky in a three by three grid, also known as the nine palaces pattern.

Such was Nine Palaces Sword Cage, the most powerful sword art of Yun Muzhe that he had devoted his entire life to create!

BOOM!

Sword energy soared to the ninth layer of heaven. The sword cage dropped down like a divine punishment that aimed to imprison and dissect Lin Xun.

The attack had the attention of all the spectators outside. Even Immortal experts secretly nodded in approval.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Yet, facing it, Lin Xun remained motionless, merely reaching out his hand and making a grasping motion.

A massive hand then appeared in the air. Its five fingers seemed capable of holding up the sky, and its palm looked like a bottomless abyss. When the hand descended, the sword cage emitted sounds of exploding.

Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, Lin Xun's massive hand crushed the Nine Palaces Sword Cage to pieces!

“How...” The supreme Emperor Ancestors of the Donghuang’s Four Clans gawked intensely.

Yun Muzhe had used one of his most powerful killing moves, which had been unrivaled among anything his peers were capable of and famous throughout the entire Seventh Heaven Domain. Despite that, it had been squashed just like that!

That shocking scene left the audience outside gasping in disbelief. They had always known that Lin Xun was heaven-defying, but resolving such a devastating attack so casually? It was simply beyond comprehension.

“Still too weak.” Lin Xun shook his head.

There was not a hint of mockery or disdain, just a casual remark, but what it implied finally put a crack in Yun Muzhe’s ever composed expression. Anger welled up in him. He was being humiliated by someone he had never taken seriously before!

However, Yun Muzhe was no ordinary person. Not letting the anger cloud his judgment, he took a deep breath and struck again.

Boom!

Visible to the naked eye, snow-white Ancestral law power rushed out from him in the shape of countless swords. Densely packed and intertwined, they formed a fast-running energy torrent.

In the sky right behind him, a dazzling, majestic figure appeared, emanating sword intent so blazing that the region quaked under it, plants turned to ash, and everything shattered. It was Yun Muzhe's dao will! As soon as it appeared, it fused into the dao sword in his hand.

“Cut!” With a cold and domineering shout, Yun Muzhe chopped out with his whole cultivation.

Heaven and earth shook violently as if unable to withstand the power of this strike. The supreme Emperor Ancestors nearby subconsciously pulled away.

The crowd outside was astounded. The horrifying power of such a sword strike was anything but normal!

Right at this moment, Lin Xun finally moved. He neither retreated nor evaded, but instead charged forward. A mysterious abyss floated around him like a black hole silently rotating in the starry void, swallowing all matter and light in its wake.

Kaboom!

The peerless sword struck down and clashed with the great abyss, producing earth-shattering friction and explosions that made everyone's scalp tingle.

Under shocked gazes, Lin Xun moved like a bamboo shoot breaking out of the ground. He forcefully rammed apart the sword that was slashing at him, sending a splashing rain of sparks into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, he already arrived in front of Yun Muzhe. Color drained from the latter's face. His pupils constricted, and his usually steely dao heart was also being rattled at this moment.

He had never dreamed that the sword strike carrying his entire cultivation and willpower would be vanquished by Lin Xun in such a devastating manner. He felt as though his determination had been crushed along with it!

Unspeakable rage, bewilderment, and disbelief hit him like a flood, leaving him utterly dazed. He could no longer appear calm like he had been before.

How...how is this possible?!

“Can you tell me what it means by ‘there is always a higher mountain’ now?” Lin Xun's eyes were deep and frosty, his indifferent voice stabbing into Yun Muzhe's heart like a knife.

“Die!” The veins on his forehead bulged as he furiously swung his sword.

Lin Xun's hand was even faster. He grabbed the sword, flipped it over, and smacked the tip on Yun Muzhe's handsome cheek.

Bam!

Yun Muzhe's cheekbone collapsed, horrifying all who witnessed it. Blood spurted as his teeth fell off in chunks. His hair scattered.

The force even knocked him flying, but Lin Xun interrupted it by grabbing his neck. Holding the guy up like a little chicken, he smiled, “I waited for so long to meet you again, but I didn't think that after so many years, you are still the same. Your strength hasn't improved one bit.”

In the distance, the expressions of the participants from the Donghuang’s Four Clans had changed drastically, now filled with shock and confusion. Chills seeped into their hearts. Yun Muzhe had been defeated so easily!

In the first two exchanges, Lin Xun had remained in the same spot while countering every attack. In the third move, he suddenly hit back, not only shattering Yun Muzhe's strongest attack but also capturing him!

This scared the wits out of the supreme Emperor Ancestors of the Donghuang’s Four Clans. They refused to believe it.

Meanwhile, the people outside had already adjusted themselves to such a scene. Still, though, seeing Yun Muzhe being seized in such an embarrassing way made it hard to remain calm. The ancestor of the Yun Clan was seething. Having nowhere to vent his rage, his old face was extremely hideous.

“Now this is called ‘there is always a higher mountain,’” commented Jun Huan happily.

The remark resonated with many spectators.

Who else is to blame for that? They have a huge advantage in numbers, but they insisted on fighting Lin Xun one-on-one. Isn't that just asking to be beaten?

Yun Muzhe struggled fiercely, his eyes glowing with a chilling hatred, “This is the Absolute Sunder Battlefield. Even if you win, all you can do is eliminate me from the selection!”

Lin Xun sighed, “Can’t you understand your situation? The current you is not qualified enough for me to personally eliminate you.”

Yun Muzhe was stunned. If words could kill!

Not qualified enough...

For someone as proud and lofty as Yun Muzhe, this statement was like a heavy hammer to his heart, giving him a sense of shame he had never felt before.

Not qualified enough...

His vision went black. The anger in him burned so bad that he spat out a mouthful of blood!

“This damn monster is trying to destroy Muzhe's dao heart!” roared the ancestor of the Yun Clan as his killing intent skyrocketing, his rage reaching its peak.

The others also felt chills running up and down their spines.

He’s killing him, by attacking his heart!

Just then, everyone saw a graceful figure arriving from afar on the battlefield. Dressed in a long green skirt, she was as beautiful as a goddess.

Lin Xun, who was about to do to Yun Muzhe what he had done to his previous enemies, was taken aback.

It's her?

That graceful, stunningly ethereal woman was none other than Dugu Youran!

“Brother Lin, could you...do me a favor and let him go this once?” Dugu Youran looked hesitant and conflicted, as though she was making a difficult decision.

The field went silent. All eyes were on Lin Xun and Dugu Youran.

When the supreme Emperor Ancestors of the Donghuang’s Four Clans hadn't come up with anything to rescue Yun Muzhe, Dugu Youran appeared and asked for this favor from Lin Xun! No one could have expected this.

Even Jun Huan was caught off guard.

What a pretty little lady. Is she romantically involved with my junior brother?

Immediately, Jun Huan thought of something and revealed an odd look.

If so, then her request would only end up wrecking Yun Muzhe further...

Sure enough, Yun Muzhe looked like he had gone mad, his eyes bulging as he shrieked, “Youran, who told you to beg him on my behalf? Why did you do that, why?! Even if I die, I will never accept your mercy!”

After shouting at Lin Xun, he coughed up blood again. Stars were swirling in his head, and his mental state was on the verge of crumbling.

His defeat being witnessed by the woman he loved most was already humiliating enough, but to add insult to injury, she asked the man who had defeated him to let him off. Her action was trampling his heart to pieces.

Dugu Youran's expression faltered; she hadn't expected such a turn.

Lin Xun sighed softly, “Miss Youran, do you know that your cousin once attempted to use Senior Bai Jianchen's hand to kill me back in the ninth Immortal Heavenly Pass?”

Dugu Youran was astonished, “No, it can’t be?”

Lin Xun said, “It's understandable that you don't know. If it weren't for Senior Bai Jianchen's warning, even I wouldn't have known how cruel and despicable your cousin is.”

Dugu Youran stared wide-eyed at Yun Muzhe, who was lying there with his hair disheveled and barely breathing, and asked angrily, “Cousin, is that true?”

Yun Muzhe's mind was a spiraling mess at the moment. Hearing her question, he hissed, “Death is what an evil remnant like him deserves! I was only trying to enforce justice on behalf of Heaven!”

Dugu Youran bit her lip, her expression shifting between disappointment, heartbreak, and anger.

After a long time, she inhaled deeply and said, “Please pretend I said nothing earlier.”

With that, she turned and walked away. An unprecedented sense of loss and sorrow filled her heart.

She suddenly wondered if she might have been too naive. How could her cousin, whom she had found most reliable and trustworthy since childhood, have done such a despicable thing behind her back...?

It was laughable that she had foolishly stepped forward to plead with Lin Xun for him...when only Heaven knew how agonizing it had been for her to muster up the courage to do so.