Chapter 252: I Even Have to Praise Her

“No, that’s not the real him. It’s just a shadow from the past!”

The True Master from the Daoist Sect clutched his chest. A long sword mark was there, the flesh split open, and the flowing blood had already dyed his Daoist robes red.

As a True Master of the Daoist Sect, he undoubtedly knew more about the Chang’an Daoist than anyone else.

“How dare you!”

The Daoist Sect True Master’s voice was filled with fury. To have an ancestor of his own sect summoned to fight as an enemy was, without a doubt, a grave provocation against the Daoist Sect.

Xuan Huai Master said in a clear voice, “Daoist Celestial Cyan, as a True Master of the Daoist Sect, you must know how to deal with… his phantom.”

This True Master of the Daoist Sect was none other than the second-strongest True Master of Celestial Sword Peak, after the Heavenly Sword Peak Master himself. His Daoist title was Celestial Cyan Master, his strength was considerable, and he cultivated the Qingyun Sword Way.

At this moment, Celestial Cyan Master’s expression was extremely grim.

He hadn’t lost his senses yet. Instead, he was carefully considering how to deal with the Meng Xuanyi before them.

Xuan Huai Master asked urgently, “Why isn’t this wound healing?!”

The Chang’an Daoist phantom, conjured by Meng Xuanyi, had only struck once, yet that single sword blow had gravely wounded Xuan Huai Master, leaving a gash so deep the bone was visible.

Xuan Huai Master hailed from the Qingcao Sword Sect and had cultivated the Wood Sword Dao to the Sixth Realm. Even when injured, he could use the Wood Sword Dao to mend his own wounds.

But now, no matter how he channeled his Dao, the terrifying injury showed no sign of improving.

Celestial Cyan Master explained, “It has long been recorded in our sect’s annals: the Chang’an Sect Master’s blade is imbued with killing intent. Those struck by his sword cannot heal their wounds.”

Upon hearing this, the faces of all eight True Masters filled with alarm.

‘Unable to heal?’

“Unless we kill the Chang’an Sect Master, or… the Chang’an Sect Master forgives our sins and willingly retracts his killing intent.”

Killing the Chang’an Daoist’s phantom was an impossible fantasy.

Their opponent had only drawn his sword once, and all eight True Masters were already injured. A few more strikes, and all eight would perish here today.

Getting their opponent to retract his killing intent was even more absurd; the phantom summoned by the Dream Race was clearly meant to kill them all.

Xuan Huai Master gave a bitter laugh. “The Dream Race has a trump card like this? What about the Daoist Sect Master? We need to get him here to deal with this.”

Celestial Cyan Master’s expression grew even graver. “The Sect Leader entered Beyond the Heavens alone and has not yet returned. The one at Celestial Mountain now is the Vice Sect Leader, but the Dream Demon activated the Grand Array. We have no way to inform the Vice Sect Leader of the situation here.”

The Chang’an Daoist had ascended five hundred years ago. These people were finally experiencing the same terror the chaotic Cultivation Realm had felt fifteen hundred years ago, when it first laid eyes on the Chang’an Daoist.

One man, one sword.

His mere presence was enough to make them lose their will to fight.

Xuan Huai Master gritted his teeth. “Then what do we do? Just wait to die?”

“Where is the Qingcao Gate Master now?”

“He left yesterday and hasn’t returned.”

Perhaps all they could do was wait for death.

Celestial Cyan Master said, “Everyone, it’s time to risk it all! If we can tear a crack in the Grand Array, the Vice Sect Leader on Celestial Mountain will sense that something is wrong here. This is our only chance!”

There was still a path to survival.

They would have to risk self-detonation to shatter the Array, just to let the Red-clothed Sword Immortal on Celestial Mountain know something was amiss.

The Red-clothed Sword Immortal’s blade could fall upon this place in an instant.

Their sliver of hope lay right there.

The True Masters all came to the same conclusion, and so, they no longer hesitated.

But before they could act, the Chang’an Daoist in the sky unleashed another strike.

This sword strike seemed extremely slow; one could even see the patterns it traced as it tore through the Void, its blade streaking across the Celestial Vault.

The next moment, the sword ignored the interval of space and time, suddenly appearing beside them.

It didn’t fly; it simply appeared, as if it had been there all along, waiting for your neck to meet it.

DANG!

Golden light erupted, like a blazing sun crashing to the earth, brilliantly illuminating the gloomy sky.

Sanskrit characters flowed around the body of the Ten Thousand Buddha Palace True Master.

The Buddhist Golden Bell Shield!

But the next moment, cracks spread across the Golden Bell’s surface like a spiderweb.

Before that seemingly slow sword’s edge, the brilliant golden light was as fragile as a thin sheet of paper. With a crisp shattering sound, the Golden Bell completely disintegrated, turning into a sky full of glittering dust.

The Ten Thousand Buddha Palace True Master’s face turned ashen in an instant. He spat a mouthful of crimson blood toward the sky as his body fell, his aura depleted, and he passed out completely.

“I never thought… I’d see the day I did a good deed. Sigh.”

A massive, pitch-black coffin appeared out of thin air, blocking the path of the sword light. The coffin expanded rapidly in the wind, instantly growing to the size of a small mountain. It then swallowed all eight True Masters in one go, the lid slamming shut with a BOOM and cutting off all light.

Withered Corpse Master of the Corpse Puppet Sect, at the Sixth Realm.

“Withered Corpse?”

Xuan Huai Master’s voice held a trace of relief from having survived a disaster.

However, before the words had even left his mouth…

RUMBLE!

A blinding light brutally tore through the top of the heavy coffin.

The sword glow, which seemed capable of annihilating anything, struck again, like a calamity sent down by the Celestial Dao itself.

Xuan Huai Master felt his mouth go sour, unable to stop the trembling terror in his heart. “His… a mere phantom can be this powerful?”

Celestial Cyan Master sighed softly.

“To think I’d get to see the Chang’an Sect Master’s swordsmanship again… I suppose it’s… never mind.” 𝖿𝖗ⅇℴ𝑚

He said no more. Instead, he prepared to self-detonate along with his very Dao, to see if he could buy them even a moment’s respite.

The sword glow was already upon him.

‘But what’s the point of stopping it? It would only mean living a moment longer. Even if we block this strike, our opponent can just strike again.’

Celestial Cyan Master’s cultivation surged violently throughout his body like boiling water. Spiritual Power surged backward through his meridians, and his body began to visibly swell beneath his skin.

In that instant of impending destruction, high above in the firmament, the sea of blue clouds that hung in the highest heavens suddenly poured down as if the celestial river had burst its banks.

Amidst the roiling waves of clouds, a figure seemed to descend, treading upon the Void. No one could see the person’s face; everything was hazy, as if in a dream.