Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Combat of Perfected Lords, 1 Million Dead

World Purger Fei Xue’s voice rode the waves of the boundless Celestial River, spreading throughout the world and bringing an abrupt silence to all of creation.

Who dared to fight her?

In that moment, countless Perfected Lords felt the ripple. One by one, they opened their eyes and cast their gazes toward the Overseas, their expressions probing.

’Are they really going to fight?’

Some Perfected Lords, those who loved a bit of chaos, even felt a faint stir of anticipation. After all, the world had been at peace for a long time. The last great calamity had been five thousand years ago!

Recalling that time, more than one Perfected Lord had died in that great calamity. The last to fall was the True Monarch of Celestial Destiny, now known as the Perfected Fortune. The Long Brilliance Treasure Light Grotto Heaven had shattered spectacularly, the heavens had rained blood, and all of creation had mourned in unison—a scene not witnessed in many long years.

’Might they see it again today?’

“Amitabha!”

With a single utterance of the Buddha’s Name, Bhumba Bodhisattva of the Pure Land was the first to withdraw their aura, completely ignoring World Purger Fei Xue’s provocation.

The other Perfected Lords were not surprised to see this.

Everyone knew that a Bodhisattva from the Pure Land could throw their weight around in their own territory, but they were somewhat weaker outside of it. It was only natural for them to back down.

Likewise, the Daoist Court Emperor was the second to withdraw his aura.

Instantly, the gazes of all the Perfected Lords turned to the South, to Zenith Cliff of the Sword Pavilion, and to the youthful Perfected Lord who sat there, fair-faced with a hand resting on the sword across his knees.

The youthful Perfected Lord remained silent.

He lowered his gaze to the longsword across his knees. This was his Lifebound Flying Sword. With this very sword, he had once carved a path of slaughter all the way to Foundation Establishment Perfection.

Yet, ever since he had attained the Golden Core, this sword had never once left its sheath. Even when he destroyed the Wu Ghost Sect, he had merely projected a strand of Sword Qi, never truly drawing the blade. A thousand years had now passed. ’Can this sword still be drawn? Is it still sharp? Do I still possess the Sword Heart I once had?’

“…Heh.”

The youthful Perfected Lord abruptly raised his head, his gaze seemingly meeting World Purger Fei Xue’s from across the vast distance to the Overseas. Then, he suddenly chuckled. “Are you trying to stir my Heart Thought?”

“Xue Feihong, do you truly wish to fight me?”

World Purger Fei Xue’s response was simple and direct: “You hardly act like a Sword Cultivator—so indecisive. Do you wish to follow in Fortune’s footsteps?”

“Come out and fight. You might still have a chance.”

As her voice faded, the youthful Perfected Lord fell silent once more. He glanced over his shoulder at the Foundation-Stage Cultivator behind him, then closed his eyes and sank into deep thought.

But at this moment, his thoughts turned to someone else.

’Tingyou…’

He truly didn’t act like a Sword Cultivator. A true Sword Cultivator would have fought Tingyou to the death back then, not rushed to complete the ’Seeking Gold’ before him.

’…So be it. One must always fight for the next life.’

The youthful Perfected Lord opened his eyes, his decision made.

The next second, this True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde vanished from Zenith Cliff, where he had sat in meditation for a century. And high in the heavens, a star suddenly flared to a brilliant radiance!

Witnessing this, World Purger Fei Xue threw back her head and laughed.

“Excellent!”

As her voice faded, World Purger Fei Xue vanished as well. Now, the two had both retracted their colossal Dharma Bodies, with only their respective Fruits remaining manifest.

In the next instant, the sun and moon vanished and the stars all dimmed, leaving only the two stellar bodies transformed from their Fruits to blaze with celestial light.

At the same time, strange phenomena occurred in both the North and the South. Heavy snows began to fall, and floods burst from the mountains, assailing houses and ramparts everywhere.

Some houses were washed away. Others remained standing firm.

This was no natural disaster, but a man-made one. Because the two Perfected Lords were engaged in combat, Heaven and Earth had naturally responded, giving rise to these unnatural spectacles.

And this was limited to the mortal realm. At this moment, all Dao Foundation Cultivation Techniques across the land related to the ’Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth’ and the ’Fruit of Gully-Rill Water’ produced a similar reaction. Cultivators of these opposing techniques suddenly felt an intense revulsion for one another, as well as a strange sort of appetite.

’Kill them! Devour them!’

Their instincts screamed that if they slew a Cultivator of the opposing side, their own Cultivation would immediately advance by leaps and bounds. This was a blessing from their Fruit—their fated opportunity!

In an instant, blood stained the earth.

Except for the Stain Sect’s Sea of Clouds, the Sword Pavilion’s Climbing Path Celestial Abyss, and a few other major powers presided over by a Perfected Lord, the entire world was plunged into chaos!

Cultivators of the ’Fruit of Gully-Rill Water’ and the ’Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth’ could not control the murderous urges in their hearts. Even clan members, dear friends, and married couples turned on one another, fighting to the death with no regard for their own lives. Only Foundation-Stage Cultivators could barely maintain a sliver of clarity.

When Perfected Lords engage in Combat, millions of corpses fall, and the world is draped in mourning!

「Overseas」

Lü Yang looked up, his expression blank.

When World Purger Fei Xue had slain everyone in a single breath, he could still barely perceive the changes. Now, however, he was completely blind to what was happening.

It took a voice calling his name to rouse him from his stupor.

Lü Yang managed to retract his gaze, only to find Progenitor Tingyou standing beside him, a gloating smile on his face.

“Zhengde… that old bastard from the Sword Pavilion is losing.”

Lü Yang asked curiously, “Progenitor, you can see them fighting?”

“I can’t.”

Progenitor Tingyou shook his head. “However, when I was alive, I was a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator who practiced the ’Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth.’ Even in death, I retain a slight connection to it.”

“I can clearly feel my own power weakening… This has nothing to do with my current condition. Instead, it’s because the lord of the ’Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth’ is at a disadvantage. The Fruit is transferring the pressure it is under to the Foundation-Stage Cultivators below, causing our Dao Foundations and Abilities to weaken…”

“But it’s still far from over.”

At this, Progenitor Tingyou shook his head. “This is all just the aftershock of the Perfected Lords’ Combat. To determine a true victor will likely take some time yet.”

As he finished speaking, he glanced at Lü Yang again and shook his head.

“It’s a pity you don’t cultivate the ’Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth’.”

“Otherwise, at a time like this, if you were to find and kill a few cultivators whose Dao Foundation is the ’Fruit of Gully-Rill Water,’ you’d almost certainly be favored by the Fruit Position. You’d have a great chance of breaking through to the next Realm.”

“Of course, if that happened, the ’Fruit of Wall-Surface Earth’ might turn the tables and suppress the ’Fruit of Gully-Rill Water’ in turn. For a Perfected Lord, such a shift in the Fruit’s power provides only a minuscule boost, but in a battle to the death, it could easily be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

’So that’s how it is…’

A flash of understanding hit Lü Yang. ’So that’s the role Foundation-Stage Cultivators play for Perfected Lords! No wonder they bother to nurture them!’

This was a question he’d had for some time.

Since there were only thirty Fruits in the world, why didn’t the enthroned Perfected Lords simply slaughter all the Foundation-Stage Cultivators related to their own Fruit?

Wouldn’t that eliminate all competition?

Otherwise, you could end up like the Perfected Fortune—suppressed by Perfected Chong Guang after falling from his Fruit Position. Imagine the humiliation. It was the ultimate disgrace for a Perfected Lord.

Now, it seemed, there was another reason entirely.

No wonder they said one only became a “true person” after reaching Foundation Establishment. To a certain extent, Foundation-Stage Cultivators could actually influence the conflicts between Perfected Lords!

’But that alone doesn’t seem to be enough.’

’They can influence a Perfected Lord’s Combat, but what if the Perfected Lords simply choose not to fight? There must be a deeper reason, something crucial to a Perfected Lord’s own cultivation…’

Thinking this far, Lü Yang dared not pursue the thought any further.

Compared to such lofty matters, Lü Yang was far more delighted by the spoils from his corpse-looting. The Storage Bag was filled with the glow of treasures. A quick scan with his Divine Sense revealed a staggering four Superior Sentient Artifacts!

’It’s true what they say: murder and arson are the quickest path to riches!’

Superior Sentient Artifacts were normally incredibly rare. Each one possessed a Divine Effect, practically granting a Foundation-Stage Cultivator an extra Talent Skill and giving them a decisive edge in Combat.

Before today, the only items he possessed that counted as Upper Grade were the Prophetic Orrery and the Abi Sword.

After today, he had four more!

Ye Xingfeng had been the wealthiest of the lot. In addition to his Lifebound Flying Sword, the Star River Sword Pill, he had somehow possessed two other Superior Sentient Artifacts.

Ying Tongshou had been less wealthy, but he still provided one Superior Sentient Artifact.

Of course, now all of it belonged to him. And that wasn’t even mentioning the half of a True Treasure left behind by the Primal Daoist Evil after its death—the Emperor’s Golden Seal of Tushita!

This round of corpse-looting had yielded a massive harvest!

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