Chapter 828: You Are Already Dead!
"Leave you with an intact corpse?"
A slow, mocking smile crept onto Shen Anyu's lips as he regarded Xiao Fan.
"Xiao Fan, is this how you repay me for saving your life?"
Faced with Shen Anyu's half-smile, and catching the disdainful glances from Liu Ruyan and the other two women, color flooded Xiao Fan's face. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out, a mixture of shame and indignation rendering him speechless. A hot spike of resentment pierced through his embarrassment.
'You ungrateful wretch, Shen Anyu!' he fumed internally. 'If I hadn't pleaded with my Master on your behalf, he would have torn you to pieces by now!'
As if reading his thoughts, the smile vanished from Shen Anyu's face, replaced by a cool indifference. "Do you honestly believe that old fossil has me cornered?"
With that, Shen Anyu's gaze shifted to Xiao Qingtian, his voice dropping to a frigid whisper. "Old man, you dared to lay a hand on my women. For that, you will die."
"Heh heh… A mere snot-nosed brat dares to run his mouth in front of this old man?" Xiao Qingtian scoffed, his expression dripping with contempt. If the old ancestor of the Shen family were here, he would turn tail and flee without a second thought. But this… this junior was only at the late-stage of Qi Refinement. To a great cultivator like himself, standing at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, the boy wasn't even worth a second glance.
"Die!"
Xiao Qingtian attacked again, but this was no casual strike. His internal spiritual energy surged, and a massive, shockingly lifelike dragon's claw, formed of condensed white cloud, materialized from thin air. Every scale was perfectly distinct, shimmering with power. It tore through the atmosphere, leaving five long, white gashes in its wake as the air screamed in protest, roaring as it descended upon Shen Anyu.
To Liu Ruyan and the others, it was as if a tsunami had been summoned from the heavens. They couldn't see the dragon's body, only the colossal white claw that blotted out the sky, a cage of pure force that offered no hope of escape.
This was the Dragon God Scripture, one of the core inheritances of the Yunhai Sect, a technique of immense power and vast spiritual energy. It was the primary art Xiao Qingtian cultivated, setting him leagues above common itinerant cultivators. Though he was only at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, his combat prowess was comparable to an ordinary cultivator at the late-stage—a true Martial God!
The White Dragon Divine Claw descended, blanketing the world. The ground in its path, a swath of land dozens of meters wide, was instantly ripped apart, gouged with deep furrows. The terrifying downdraft was a physical force, making Liu Ruyan and the others stumble, nearly lifting them from their feet.
In that critical moment, Shen Anyu stepped forward, placing himself before them. His body became an unshakeable shield, deflecting the terrifying wind and pressure. He clenched his hand into a fist and threw a simple punch skyward.
A pillar of pure, lightning-bright light erupted, shooting into the heavens. It met the White Dragon Divine Claw and, without a hint of resistance, shattered it into nothingness.
But it didn't stop there. The pillar of light, its momentum unchecked, continued its ascent, stretching for ten thousand meters into the sky. It blasted through the cloud cover, tearing a long, clean channel through the heavens before its light finally faded.
The sight left Xiao Fan, Liu Ruyan, and the others utterly mesmerized, their minds reeling. This was a true battle between immortals.
Xiao Qingtian's face darkened, the last vestiges of contempt finally draining from his heart. The Shen Anyu before him cultivated both the martial and immortal paths, and his strength was no less than his own. A Land Immortal of the martial path was indeed equivalent to a cultivator at the early-stage Foundation Establishment realm.
"Heh heh… It's a good thing this old man has a trump card," Xiao Qingtian snorted, though his expression remained grim, a forced arrogance in his tone. "Otherwise, killing you might actually require some effort."
Suddenly, a shimmering white divine sword materialized in his hand. The instant it appeared, the very space around them seemed to freeze, solidifying like ice.
A Domain! This was a power that only cultivators of the Golden Core Stage—or treasures of that level—could possess!
This small corner of the world now belonged to the white divine sword. Xiao Qingtian, holding the weapon, seemed to grow taller, his presence expanding until he was a towering giant, an unrivaled god looking down upon the world.
"The White River Sword," Xiao Qingtian said, his voice echoing in the unnaturally still air. He gently caressed the blade, his old eyes tinged with emotion and a deep melancholy. "A true Dharma Treasure, gifted to me by my Senior Brother. He hoped I would use it to avenge the Yunhai Sect… to kill every last member of the Heavenly Emperor Palace."
He seemed to be lost in memory, recalling the night before his sect's annihilation. His own talent was lacking, his body had been injured, and his lifespan was running short. Reaching the Golden Core Stage was a dream long abandoned. But his disciple, Xiao Fan, possessed outstanding talent—he held the hope of breaking through to the Nascent Soul, perhaps even the Soul Transformation realm, and one day succeeding in their quest for vengeance.
But before that, he had to eliminate Shen Anyu, this descendant of their sworn enemy. If news of their survival leaked, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Beneath a Domain, all who are not of the Golden Core Stage are but ants!"
Xiao Qingtian looked down at Shen Anyu with renewed disdain. He poured his spiritual energy into the White River Sword, and his already white hair seemed to lose all color, becoming as pale as snow. The wrinkles on his face deepened, carved by the strain.
Even for him, activating the White River Sword was an immense burden that consumed his very life force, and he hadn't even managed to unleash its full power.
But even a fraction of its true might… who in the entire Secular World could possibly resist it?
"This is bad…"
The blood drained from the faces of Liu Ruyan, Zhong Lingyin, and Murong Jieyu. A silent scream of alarm echoed in their hearts.
They were completely immobile, frozen like tiny insects trapped in amber as the air around them turned as solid as stone. The entire area was enveloped by the White River Sword's Domain. They couldn't fight back; they couldn't even twitch a finger.
'You scoundrel… you absolutely cannot die…' Liu Ruyan's charming eyes grew red as she prayed with all her might.
'Brother Shen, if you die, I won't live on alone!' Despair washed over Zhong Lingyin. Never before had she hated her own weakness with such intensity.
'It seems today is the day of my tribulation,' Murong Jieyu sighed internally. 'It's a pity I won't be able to repay Shen Anyu's kindness… not anymore.' She had survived an encounter with the Tieshan Martial Arts School only to run into someone even more terrifying. A sliver of regret pierced her despair. If she had known she was going to die, she would have kissed him a few more times.
"Master has such a trump card?" Xiao Fan was both shocked and overjoyed. He never imagined his master possessed a Golden Core-level divine sword. Shen Anyu was doomed.
But then, Shen Anyu laughed.
He raised his head, the bones in his neck creaking audibly as they fought against a pressure equivalent to the bottom of the deepest abyss. He looked straight at Xiao Qingtian.
"Old fossil, I didn't expect you to have such a pleasant surprise for me."
"The White River Sword, is it? In that case, I won't be polite. I'll be taking it!"
As his voice fell, Shen Anyu's captivating peach-blossom eyes underwent a startling transformation. The pupils swirled, one turning pitch-black, the other brilliant white. They spun rapidly, becoming twin vortices that seemed to warp the very fabric of reality, emitting an esoteric power that transcended space and energy—the power of time itself.
The Great Divine Ability, the Two-Aspects Life-Death Mystical Light!
This was the reason Shen Anyu had chosen not to cultivate the Heavenly Venerable-level technique Chen Yuhua had offered him. He had continued to practice the Two-Aspects Life-Death Medical Scripture precisely for this incredible divine ability, one that could directly manipulate the lifespan of others. Its value was astronomical, ranking among the most expensive items in the System's entire mall!
An unmatched, extraordinary power swept across the scene, so deep that even the Golden Core Domain of the White River Sword could not suppress it.
"What… what is this power?"
Xiao Qingtian's expression finally shattered. A moment ago, everything had been under his absolute control, but now this anomaly had appeared. Staring into Shen Anyu's swirling black-and-white eyes, his heart seized with a primal terror.
What kind of power was this? It was so strange, so terrifying, that it gave him a premonition of his own imminent death.
'Not good! I have to kill him now!'
Xiao Qingtian's face was grave. He no longer cared about the drain on his spiritual energy, desperately pouring everything he had into the White River Sword, preparing to unleash a final, decisive strike.
But Shen Anyu just offered a faint, placid smile.
"Die."
The word was spoken softly, yet it thundered in Xiao Qingtian's soul. His expression twisted in horror. The terrifying shadow of death, once a mere premonition, now grew so thick it was almost tangible. He abandoned all thoughts of attacking, his survival instincts screaming at him to flee. With a desperate leap, he tried to cross hundreds of meters in a single bound.
Shen Anyu simply shook his head, a pitying smile on his face.
"You are already dead."
He watched the frantically escaping figure of Xiao Qingtian with the calm of a man observing a foregone conclusion.
How potent was the authority of time itself? Even if Shen Anyu had only scratched the surface of understanding the Two-Aspects Life-Death Mystical Light, it was not something a mere Foundation Establishment realm cultivator could ever hope to resist.
And at that very moment, within the otherwise placid Baiwu Mountain Valley, the faintest of ripples began to spread through the air…
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