Chapter Sixty-Four: The Old Master Strikes

Fortunately, everyone knew that now was not the time to argue with Zhou Yuan. Seeing that Zhang Xiao showed no signs of poisoning, their gazes swiftly shifted toward Li Peng of the Five Poisons Sect. Noticing the reproachful looks, Li Peng appeared deeply frustrated. His Piercing Heart and Breaking Intestines poison was indeed a lethal toxin that even cultivators at the Spirit Refining stage could not withstand, yet inexplicably, it had no effect on Zhang Xiao.

“Go assist Zhou Yuan quickly. Even with the Seven-Colored Merit Pagoda, Zhou Yuan is no match for Zhang Xiao,” Yang Wansan of the Demonic Sect shouted sharply. The demonic banner in his hand churned with demon clouds that enveloped him as he charged toward Zhang Xiao. But the clone had painstakingly drawn the others close, and there was no way Yang Wansan would be allowed to escape so easily.

“Borohamiyede,” the clone uttered in an ancient tongue, and abruptly, the Buddhist realm behind him unfurled, forcibly pulling Yang Wansan back.

The power of the Buddhist realm, enhanced by the Golden Wheel of the Buddha, surpassed even Zhang Xiao’s. One after another, divine Buddha phantoms appeared, chanting profound Buddhist scriptures, while golden lotuses descended from the heavens. Zhang Yifan and the others’ faces darkened deeply.

Especially the Shaolin Abbot, Yuan Zhen, whose eyes widened in disbelief as he exclaimed, “The Buddhist Realm! This is...”

Zhang Xiao’s clone’s performance left Zhang Yifan and the others wide-eyed, firmly placing Zhang Xiao at the top of their kill list. No longer caring about concealment, they began unleashing their most potent techniques.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiao, relying on the protection of the Seven-Colored Merit Pagoda, found Zhou Yuan curled up inside, and for the moment had no means to assist him directly. He approached Lan Fang, placing his fingers on her pulse, and sighed in relief. Though her body was empty and her spiritual energy scattered, fortunately, her core essence remained intact. With some recuperation, she would recover. Zhang Xiao then infused her with pure yang energy to aid her restoration.

Carrying Lan Fang on his back, Zhang Xiao faced mounting pressure on the clone’s side. Surrounded and relentlessly assailed by eight experts, the clone relied on the Buddhist realm’s power to barely hold the line. It had to distract the enemies and prevent them from pursuing Zhang Xiao himself, but the pressure was overwhelming. Seeing this, Zhang Xiao’s figure shot toward the clone with incredible speed.

“Roar!” Zhang Xiao bellowed as golden light burst forth from his body. Though his Buddhist realm was not as exquisite as the clone’s, it was remarkably resilient. The onlookers were stunned beyond measure—if the clone possessed the Buddhist realm, how could Zhang Xiao himself also wield such power? In the blink of an eye, Zhang Xiao merged with the clone.

Now, clad in crimson-gold scaled armor and wielding a long sword, Zhang Xiao appeared like a fearsome demon, yet radiated a sacred aura. The clone sat serenely behind his head within the golden Buddhist wheel, resembling a living Buddha, emitting beams of holy light that merged seamlessly with Zhang Xiao’s Buddhist realm.

“Kill him!” Zhang Yifan roared, pressing a jade dagger to his forehead. A drop of golden blood seeped from the wound onto the dagger. This golden blood was no ordinary substance—it was the purified essence of Zhang Yifan’s divine consciousness, known as divine blood, a hundred times more precious than vital energy.

Seeing Zhang Yifan use his own divine blood as a focus, it was clear he was desperate. Yang Wansan and the others followed suit, unleashing their secret weapons against Zhang Xiao.

“Hmph! During the Nine Sect Competition, you were no match for me. Before, you were not, now you are not, and never will be,” Zhang Xiao sneered coldly. His Heavenly Yang Sword erupted with blinding sword lights, sweeping fiercely forward.

The first to suffer was Li Peng of the Five Poisons Sect. His Five Poisons Hand was utterly ineffective against Zhang Xiao. The intense pure yang sword energy scorched his poisonous palm into black smoke, unable to consolidate. Zhang Xiao moved like a phantom, aided by the Buddhist realm. Though not as swift as a merged-body cultivator’s instantaneous movement, his agile and unpredictable movements dazzled the eyes.

Often, as Zhang Xiao struck with one sword, he simultaneously unleashed another pure yang sword energy in a different direction. Li Peng could not evade both; forced to endure, he raised his ancient human-head shield, which creaked with cracks that filled him with dread.

Suddenly, a rainbow light shot swiftly toward Zhang Xiao.

The jade dagger imbued with Zhang Yifan’s divine blood now revealed terrifying power. The rainbow light tore open spatial rifts along its path. Zhang Xiao’s expression changed, summoning the Five-Colored Cloud Banner to transform into a multicolored cloud shield before him. The dagger struck the cloud banner with a muffled “clang,” successfully blocking the attack.

Yet, an invisible force penetrated the cloud shield, striking Zhang Xiao. Were it not for his incredibly sharp physical body, this blow might have severely injured him. Even so, his internal energy churned violently, nearly breaking free of control.

At that moment, Ge Tianming, leader of the Nine Fiends Palace, wielding a pitch-black greatsword, ruthlessly slashed at the Five-Colored Cloud Banner. The intense murderous aura shattered the cloud formation of the banner. Zhang Xiao’s right hand trembled, launching several spiral spikes that forced Ge Tianming to retreat.

“Five Hearts, Five Ghosts!” Ouyang Zhongshi of the Demonic Sect held a jade mirror, releasing a stream of black smoke. Within the swirling smoke, a skeleton with a gaping maw lunged toward Zhang Xiao. Simultaneously, Song Qing of Mount Shu cried out angrily, “Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, unparalleled in heaven and earth! The mighty heavenly sword severs the world!”

With Song Qing’s shout, a colossal sword cleaved through the sky, heading straight for Zhang Xiao. Along its path, grass, trees, and stones shattered into dust under its overwhelming power. Zhang Xiao’s face paled. Without hesitation, a golden wheel manifested at his brow, wrapped in Buddhist chants. The phantoms of arhats and bodhisattvas encircled its core, a miraculous manifestation of the Buddha’s Golden Wheel itself.

Zhang Xiao formed a hand seal, and the Golden Wheel transformed into countless golden Sanskrit characters. These characters quickly reassembled into a golden sword. Clutching the sword, Zhang Xiao roared, “Buddha’s Slash to the Ten Directions!” With a mighty swing, a golden flame burst forth, colliding fiercely with the mystical arts unleashed by Ouyang Zhongshi and Song Qing.

Meanwhile, atop the main peak of Kunlun, disciples from the nine great sects gathered in the Jade Void Hall, watching the spectacle before them with joyous expressions. Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled violently, followed by a deafening explosion that sounded like the very heavens splitting.

Faces changed instantly. They all summoned treasures and flew out of the hall. One of the eighteen peaks surrounding the main Kunlun peak suddenly shattered. Massive boulders, each weighing thousands of pounds, slammed into Kunlun’s main peak and neighboring peaks. The scene horrified everyone present.

Though the surrounding peaks were not large, no one dared claim they could shatter one. Amid the swirling dust and mist, several figures burst forth, led by none other than Zhang Xiao himself.

Behind him trailed only seven streaks of rainbow light. The collision had torn apart the formation set by Tianlong’er, while Song Qing and Ouyang Zhongshi suffered backlash.

Zhang Xiao seized the opportunity to break free from the formation and accelerated rapidly, charging beyond Kunlun’s bounds.

“Young master! I was suppressed just now,” came Zi Yan’s voice from the Xuanyuan Talisman. Hearing her voice, Zhang Xiao’s heart swelled with joy. “Quick, use the Great Teleportation Array to send us away.”

“Hmph! Coming to Kunlun and destroying one of its peaks, do you think you can leave so easily?” At that moment, a massive azure hand tore through the sky, reaching for Zhang Xiao. Though it had not yet arrived, the surrounding space froze once more. Zhang Xiao’s heart jolted. “I didn’t expect those old monsters to make their move.”

I sincerely apologize for today—I had urgent matters at home and only just returned at 10 PM. Seeing the time, I began writing immediately. There isn’t much time left, so this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. My apologies to everyone.