Chapter Thirty-One: The Triple Sword Aura in Its Complete Form

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“How laughable. You claim to have King Ren as your backer now, but how is that any different from my earlier claim that we are disciples of the Azure Mist Sword Sect? Can he come here to help you?”

Huo Qing gave a derisive snort, looking at the old man as though he were a fool.

Sure enough, the old man’s expression darkened at once. In a sinister voice, he said, “Since that is the case, there is no need for me to waste my breath persuading you. The four of you will not be leaving here today!”

Throwing back his head, the old man let out a long cry. A clear eagle’s call rang across the heavens. Half of his body transformed into the form of a ferocious gray eagle, more than a dozen yards in size.

His sharp, icy eyes locked firmly onto Huo Qing as a vast force, surging like a tide, swept outward.

Huo Qing tightened his grip on the Spirit-Piercing Sword and murmured, “So this is the beast-form of a Fusion Realm expert?”

The mark of entering the Fusion Realm was to compress one’s qi palace and refine the core of a spirit beast possessing at least a fourth-grade bloodline, thereby acquiring that beast’s abilities.

After reaching this realm, aside from the disparity between the first and ninth stages, the strength of the beast core one had refined became the decisive measure of power.

For instance, a first-stage Fusion Realm cultivator who happened to refine the core of a spirit beast with a seventh-grade bloodline could absolutely rival a third-stage Fusion Realm expert who had refined the core of a beast with only a fourth-grade bloodline.

Judging from the form the old man had assumed, he should have refined the core of a Mountain Gray Eagle possessing a fourth-grade bloodline.

In this form, it was likely that he had unleashed the entirety of his combat strength.

Boom!

The eagle’s talons tore through the air, and terrifying gales erupted in every direction. Huo Qing’s heart jolted, and he hurriedly used the Sword-Whirling Dance to leap away.

Crack!

A deep pit several yards across appeared beneath his feet. Amid the billowing dust, Huo Qing had already appeared behind the old man.

“Fortunately, he is only half a step into the Fusion Realm. Otherwise, I really would have had to retreat this time.”

Huo Qing drew a deep breath, his expression exceedingly solemn.

It seemed that once this mission was over, he would have to find a way to break through to the Heavenly Spirit Realm. Otherwise, if he encountered someone who had touched upon the Fusion Realm, he truly would find it difficult to resist.

Especially the Han Family, with whom he had a blood feud…

He could not remain in the Azure Mist Sword Sect forever. Sooner or later, he would have to settle accounts with the Han Family.

“I’ll use you as my whetstone!”

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Huo Qing’s lips curled slightly as he gave a low shout. “Heavenly Dipper Sword-Pattern Art!”

Reciting the incantation, he brought both hands down with all his strength. Two tangible sword auras shot forth, crossing one another as they slashed toward the old man’s neck in the shape of a cross.

Yet when such a fierce attack struck the old man, it merely left behind a pale mark. It had not even damaged his flesh.

“Boy, are you giving me a massage?”

The old man let out a feral laugh. With a powerful beat of his wings, which were as sharp as clashing blades, countless feathers swept across the sky and descended upon Huo Qing.

“Ten Thousand Feathers in Flight!”

A chilling murderous intent radiated from the old man. The feathers filling nearly his entire field of vision rained down in a dense, explosive barrage.

“Let’s see me turn you into a porcupine!”

At this, a mocking smile tugged at Huo Qing’s lips. He stopped dodging altogether and instead sat cross-legged on the ground, as though he had closed his eyes and resigned himself to death.

“Hahahaha! Weren’t you acting so arrogant earlier, boy? What’s this? Have you accepted your fate now?”

The old man laughed wildly, his features twisted as he wantonly indulged in the delight surging through his heart.

Not far away, the three women of the Ancient Poetry Elegance group were struggling to hold on. Seeing this, their faces went deathly pale, and they closed their eyes in despair. They had never expected that even Huo Qing would be powerless to resist.

Could it be that this mission would not only end in failure, but that they would also lose their lives here?

As the countless metallic feathers descended, the ground where Huo Qing stood began to tremble violently. Within a hundred-yard radius, the scene became impossible to see clearly.

Yet strangely, not the slightest trace of blood burst forth from the center.

“Could it be that not even a shred of flesh remains?”

The old man frowned. In the next instant, his heart gave a violent jolt. He looked sharply toward the dust cloud and saw a golden barrier slowly rising within it.

Beneath that barrier, the earth had been blasted away to a depth of more than three feet. The terrifying destructive force was plain to see.

“You really are a lucky brat. I never expected you to possess such a technique.”

The old man’s face darkened like stagnant water. This youngster had repeatedly shattered the limits of his understanding, filling him with a growing sense of dread.

Could this boy be a member of some great clan?

Huo Qing slowly rose within the barrier and drifted down to the ground. Then he spat out a mouthful of blood. The light covering the barrier’s surface rapidly dimmed before it trembled violently and collapsed in an instant.

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Amid the fragments, two Heavenly Martial Seals fell into his hands. Deep cracks had torn across their centers, as though they might split them in two.

“My old friends, you’ve suffered.”

Huo Qing’s voice was hoarse. He gently stroked the surface of the Heavenly Martial Seals before placing them back into his Cosmos Pouch.

Seeing this, the old man felt a trace of unease rise inexplicably within him. His expression turned ugly.

“Boy…”

“Old fool, did you really think I had no way to deal with you?”

Huo Qing cut him off. He slowly raised his head, and his expression gradually became twisted and ferocious. A baleful aura, as though it had crawled forth from the depths of the Netherworld, gathered upon his face.

He shifted his stance, revealing three sword auras behind him, each only the length of an arm.

Though these three sword auras were smaller than the ones before, they had been compressed and refined to the utmost limit. If the three sword auras he had used when battling the three late-stage Heavenly Spirit Realm experts had been forcibly produced and contained flaws, then the three before him now represented their true, complete form.

They even carried a trace of returning to simplicity.

He had already begun preparing the moment the old man unleashed that overwhelming barrage. Only three fully perfected sword auras would give him sufficient confidence to kill the old fool here.

Huo Qing made an inviting gesture and chuckled. “Please, have a taste.”

The old man’s expression changed drastically. He beat his wings and abruptly turned to flee.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

The sword auras flashed brilliantly, their peerless sharpness spreading outward like ripples. In the next instant, the three sword auras shot forth like arrows, piercing through space and trailing shrill whistles as they tore through the air.

Feeling the violent tremors approaching from behind, the old man’s heart jolted as well. He immediately roared, “Do you really think I’m afraid of you?”

He came to an abrupt halt and spread his wings wide, spanning a distance of a hundred yards, before slamming them together. They became as sharp as steel blades, their edge so terrifying that even Huo Qing’s body prickled with pain.

“Azure Eagle Divine Art: Azure Eagle’s Void-Splitting Slash!”

Vast spiritual power surged across the steel-like wings. A heaven-rending blade radiance cleaved downward, accompanied by a deafening eagle’s cry, colliding violently with the three sword auras flying toward him.