Volume 3 Chapter 76

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Volume 3 Chapter 76: The End (Part 2)

Finally, the heart that burst from Li Xuhan’s chest flew in front of Zhang Xusheng, who grabbed it swiftly, aiming to place it back into the wound on his left chest.

But Venerable Deaf Mute Blind was immensely fast, attacking Zhang Xusheng with his sword just as Zhang Xusheng grasped the heart. In his attempt to retrieve the heart, Zhang Xusheng had lost too much time, leaving him with no chance to evade Venerable Deaf Mute Blind’s attack.

Dark clouds gathered, strong winds arose, thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and with one sword strike, the world changed.

As the "Skyscanner Sword," wielding the power of heaven and earth, approached him, Zhang Xusheng showed neither despair nor tension. Instead, his smile grew wider. At the same time, the right hand that was about to push his heart towards the wound on his left chest suddenly paused. Then, with arms outstretched, he welcomed the incoming "Skyscanner Sword" from Venerable Deaf Mute Blind by presenting his wounded chest.

Seeing Zhang Xusheng’s actions, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind was slightly stunned, not expecting Zhang Xusheng to not evade the attack and instead face it with his wound.

Logically, though Zhang Xusheng’s heart was gone, the wound on his chest should still be his fatal weakness. Besides, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind’s "Skyscanner Sword" was immensely powerful, and even a slight touch would turn him to dust. Seeing Zhang Xusheng face it head-on should have provided Venerable Deaf Mute Blind with reassurance.

But witnessing the faint smile on Zhang Xusheng’s lips and the strange fog of swirling blood and flashing red light within his chest wound, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind felt an ominous sensation, suspecting that things might not be as simple as they seemed.

"No matter what his scheme is, sheer power conquers all. Under the full force of my ‘Skyscanner Sword,’ no one in the cultivation world can be unscathed. Zhang Xusheng’s expression might just be bluffing."

Venerable Deaf Mute Blind thought to himself.

Hesitating for just a moment, confident in his strength and the power of the "Skyscanner Sword," Venerable Deaf Mute Blind decided not to withdraw the sword. Instead, he attacked Zhang Xusheng with even greater speed.

Finally, with the force of thunder and lightning and the power of heaven and earth, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind’s ‘Skyscanner Sword’ swiftly plunged into the strange wound in Zhang Xusheng’s chest, right up to the hilt.

Strangely enough, though the ‘Skyscanner Sword’ was over three feet long, once it pierced Zhang Xusheng’s left chest, it seemed to vanish entirely. Upon checking Zhang Xusheng’s back, there was no sign of the sword’s tip.

At the moment the ‘Skyscanner Sword’ pierced, the dark clouds dispersed, the strong winds ceased, and the thunder and lightning vanished. The once formidable power of the sword was completely swallowed and overshadowed by the tiny mist of blood from the wound on Zhang Xusheng’s chest.

More terrifyingly, through the connection with the ‘Skyscanner Sword,’ Venerable Deaf Mute Blind could clearly hear the faint sounds of countless people’s agonized cries and wails before death. It sent chills through him. Even with his thousand years of cultivation reaching a state of calmness, he couldn’t help but shudder in fear.

As Venerable Deaf Mute Blind’s mind trembled, the blood mist began to invade the ‘Skyscanner Sword,’ filled with an incredibly powerful and strange energy. This pollution gradually weakened the spiritual connection he had with the sword.

Feeling the abnormal change in the ‘Skyscanner Sword,’ Venerable Deaf Mute Blind could only describe his emotions as ‘inconceivable.’ For two thousand years, since he unintentionally acquired the ‘Skyscanner Sword,’ he had been nurturing it day and night with Spirit Qi and Divine Sense. Over the years, his connection with it had become closely intertwined, never expecting it to be so easily disturbed.

Alarmed, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind prepared to retrieve the ‘Skyscanner Sword,’ but the movement of the blood mist from Zhang Xusheng’s wound became even more fierce, emitting a tremendous suction force. As a result, the ‘Skyscanner Sword’ didn’t come out but instead slowly sank deeper into Zhang Xusheng’s body. No matter how much effort Venerable Deaf Mute Blind exerted, he couldn’t pull the sword out in the slightest.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xusheng, into whose body the ‘Skyscanner Sword’ was inserted, showed no sign of pain. Instead, the mocking smile on his face grew even more pronounced. He leaned forward, closer to the struggling Venerable Deaf Mute Blind, and quietly said, "Venerable Deaf Mute Blind, didn’t you hear what my teacher told you? My body contains the souls and essence of nearly ten million mortals and cultivators. To survive without a heart, the inner transformation of this wound was of utmost importance. Not only the ‘Skyscanner Sword,’ but even the legendary ‘Slayer Sword’ would not harm my body in the slightest."

As Zhang Xusheng’s head moved closer, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind could clearly feel the breath from Zhang Xusheng’s words.

However, eager to reclaim the ‘Skyscanner Sword,’ Venerable Deaf Mute Blind ignored Zhang Xusheng’s taunts and unleashed all his Spirit Qi, striving with all his might to retrieve the ‘Skyscanner Sword.’

Although Zhang Xusheng’s ability to transform his body to the extent of swallowing the "Skyscanner Sword" is a mystery, the sword has been Venerable Deaf Mute Blind’s cherished artifact for thousands of years, holding both great value and deep emotional significance, and he naturally couldn’t afford to lose it.

Venerable Deaf Mute Blind’s face turned serious, a flash of light emanated from his body, and an impressive aura surged as the "Skyscanner Sword," which had been gradually disappearing into Zhang Xusheng’s chest, began to slowly retract under his powerful Spirit Qi, causing a flicker of pain on Zhang Xusheng’s face, his brow furrowing slightly.

However, the flicker of pain vanished quickly as Zhang Xusheng continued, "To think you managed to wound my body this much. Your power is indeed strong, but you’ve placed too much trust in it. You’ve been isolated for too long, have your tactics vanished? Honestly, my senior brother is much harder to handle than you. As a lesson, I’ll be taking this ‘Skyscanner Sword’. I suddenly remembered a friend who might like it."

Hearing Zhang Xusheng’s words, a flash of anger crossed Venerable Deaf Mute Blind’s eyes, yet he still didn’t respond, instead focusing all his strength on pulling the "Skyscanner Sword" out. He employed its destructive power, stirring it continuously within Zhang Xusheng’s body, hoping the pain would force Zhang Xusheng to voluntarily give up the sword.

Venerable Deaf Mute Blind was considered one of the most experienced cultivators in the current cultivation world, having even survived the last great disaster. Although somewhat exaggerated and excluding those who secluded themselves, he was undisputedly top-tier in skill. Therefore, he believed that under his full-force attack, even if Zhang Xusheng appeared unaffected, he was bound to be hurt. With continuous assault, Zhang Xusheng would eventually give in, allowing him to not only reclaim the "Skyscanner Sword" but also exploit Zhang Xusheng’s weaknesses.

It’s known that Li Xuhan was severely injured because he wanted to know the list of traitors from the Penance Valley, causing delay and thus putting the responsibility on Venerable Deaf Mute Blind. If now Li Xuhan was injured while Zhang Xusheng escaped unscathed, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind would not be able to face the Jiuhua members.

Yet Zhang Xusheng seemed to instantly understand Venerable Deaf Mute Blind’s thoughts, and the sarcasm on his face deepened. He raised his left hand, turning his middle finger into a thin, long sharp spike aimed at Venerable Deaf Mute Blind’s head. Simultaneously, the blood mist from his chest wound surged wildly onto the "Skyscanner Sword".

Venerable Deaf Mute Blind felt an overwhelmingly powerful and strange energy, unobstructed, invade his body through the "Skyscanner Sword". As it entered, he felt his mind bombarded by emotions of slaughter and madness, much stronger than the wailing he previously experienced. Under the influence of this energy, a sense of madness and slaughter quickly spread within his mind.

Alarmed by these changes, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind was shocked. Seeing the spike aimed at his head, he decided to abandon retrieving the "Skyscanner Sword" and swiftly let go, retreating backward.

Just as Venerable Deaf Mute Blind was retreating, Zhang Xusheng’s once rosy face suddenly turned pale. He coughed up blood, and the "Skyscanner Sword" plunged entirely into the wound on his left chest. Without hesitation, Zhang Xusheng swiftly flew toward Jiuhua Mountain.

By the time Venerable Deaf Mute Blind had rid his body of that strange energy, Zhang Xusheng had already flown beyond Jiuhua Mountain. Observing Zhang Xusheng’s changes, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind realized that he had been tricked. If he had continued his attack a little longer, even Zhang Xusheng’s mastered Immortal Body might have collapsed.

At first, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind was sure that Zhang Xusheng was bluffing, but he ended up being deceived by Zhang Xusheng’s ruse.

Unfortunately, Zhang Xusheng’s scheme succeeded, and it’s too late to do anything now.

Zhang Xusheng’s speed was incredibly fast, even among Mahayana Stage cultivators, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight.

Yet, Venerable Deaf Mute Blind did not give up, confidently believing he could catch up with Zhang Xusheng, and he pursued him without pause beyond Jiuhua Mountain.

Indeed, just as Zhang Xusheng shot out from a broken point in the "Nine Pole Array," a multicolored barrier suddenly appeared, enclosing him tightly.

Outside the barrier, five Penance Valley cultivators, each with distinct features, were continuously forming mysterious hand signs to control the barrier, which kept shrinking and trapping Zhang Xusheng securely. The powerful sword strike from Venerable Deaf Mute Blind meant that Zhang Xusheng was momentarily unable to escape.

"Xuanwuxing!"

After seeing the five figures outside the barrier clearly, Zhang Xusheng snorted coldly.

These five people were the Xuanwuxing brothers from Penance Valley, known for their reputation second only to Xuanmoda and the Venerable Deaf Mute Blind. Rumor had it that their cultivated Taoist methods were somewhat related to the Five Elements Sect, dividing their study into the Five Elements Taoist Method. Although they were only at the Golden Core Stage, together they could rival a Mahayana Stage master.

Earlier, Zhang Xusheng set up that wager to buy time, allowing him to connect with his heart, and Venerable Deaf Mute Blind agreed to the wager, not only to get the list of traitors in Penance Valley but also to wait for these five fellow brothers.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xusheng was shocked. If these five had arrived just a teacup’s time earlier, even if he could severely wound Li Xuhan, facing the combined assault of Venerable Deaf Mute Blind and Xuanwuxing, escaping would have been very difficult.

Even now, he was trapped by Xuanwuxing, and Venerable Deaf Mute Blind would soon arrive. In his current state, the chances of winning were slim.

Just as Venerable Deaf Mute Blind was about to arrive, a purple figure suddenly appeared beside the multicolored barrier, shooting a purple long dragon at each of the Xuanwuxing brothers in an instant. Caught off guard, Xuanwuxing hurriedly defended, allowing Zhang Xusheng to join forces with the figure in purple to break through the barrier and flee without delay.

When Venerable Deaf Mute Blind arrived, he saw Zhang Xusheng’s figure disappear and heard Zhang Xusheng’s indifferent voice, "Deaf Mute Blind, Xuanwuxing, this troubled water originally had nothing to do with you, but since you’ve entered, I won’t let you leave either."

Even though Venerable Deaf Mute Blind had cultivated for a thousand years and feared nothing, hearing Zhang Xusheng’s words sent a chill through his heart, making him quietly worry about the future fate of Penance Valley. He even momentarily forgot the frustration of Zhang Xusheng’s escape and the loss of the "Skyscanner Sword."