Chapter 176: The Forest Sword Art Belongs to Me—No One Can Take It
Zhao Liepeng squinted as he looked at the person approaching.
Shen Mo gazed back at Zhao Liepeng from afar.
"Attack!"
With a shout, Zhao Liepeng immediately drew a massive saber, utilizing his agility technique as he dashed forward.
Thirty elders from the Thunderfire Sect followed suit, each summoning their own spiritual weapons.
Shen Mo spoke calmly, "If anyone fails to claim a head, be prepared to face punishment upon our return."
"Hahaha!"
The group of elders, including Elder Li, burst into laughter.
Shen Mo was right.
These elders, led by Elder Li, were all equipped with a full set of spiritual weapons enhanced with fourth-grade demon crystals.
With such luxurious equipment, if they couldn't even slay a single Core Formation cultivator, it would be utterly shameful.
"Kill!"
Shen Mo's voice rang out as he charged forward.
In the next moment, dozens of cultivators from both the Qingxuan Sect and the Thunderfire Sect collided like two raging torrents crashing into one another!
The moment they clashed, the Thunderfire Sect's cultivators realized something was wrong.
How could the spiritual weapons of the Qingxuan Sect be tougher and stronger than theirs?
Every encounter left them at a disadvantage.
Worse, their spiritual energy was being violently disrupted, leaving them unable to calm it for a long time.
At the same time, Zhao Liepeng and Shen Mo engaged in a fierce battle.
"Shen Mo, after publicly killing Zhang Mo, do you really think you're strong enough to show off in front of me?" Zhao Liepeng sneered, bringing his giant saber down.
A thunderous blade light, spanning dozens of meters, slashed straight toward Shen Mo's head.
Shen Mo casually waved his hand, and four grand gates suddenly appeared, with the fourth one surrounded by crackling lightning, as if it were a massive gate constructed from thunder itself.
The four gates stood in front of him.
Shen Mo, unhurried, continued walking toward Zhao Liepeng.
Boom!
The thunderous blade light struck down.
In the next instant, it shattered like glass, breaking into countless fragments.
The four grand gates, however, remained standing, unmoved.
Shen Mo smiled faintly. "Zhao Sect Master, if you don't give it your all, you might die very quickly."
This strike was not even one of Zhao Liepeng's stronger techniques—it was merely a casual probe.
He hadn't even tried to dodge.
After all, the Four-Gates Technique was an Earth-tier defensive martial skill.
Blocking this kind of attack without a scratch was an easy feat.
Zhao Liepeng's face darkened. "Impressive. You really do have some skill."
"I originally planned to capture you alive and hand you over to my incompetent disciple to deal with."
"But since that's not happening, I'll no longer hold back. Now, die!"
"Thunderfire Annihilation Technique—Twin Thunderfire Blades!"
Spiritual energy surged wildly, drawing in the world's spiritual essence and converging on the giant saber.
At the moment when the spiritual energy reached its peak, Zhao Liepeng suddenly slashed down!
Boom!
Even though it was a single strike, two overwhelmingly powerful blade lights appeared.
One blade light crackled with thunder.
The other blazed with fierce flames!
This was the ultimate technique of the Thunderfire Annihilation Technique, a move that could only be mastered when the technique was cultivated to its highest level.
The Thunderfire Annihilation Technique was the Thunderfire Sect's most prized Earth-tier martial skill. Only those with both thunder and fire attributes in their physique could cultivate it.
Wan Renjie had only managed to reach the fourth level of the technique.
But Zhao Liepeng had already mastered it!
"And this is your strongest attack?"
Shen Mo shook his head.
He didn't use the Nine Suns Divine Phoenix Technique or the Heavenly Flame of Creation.
Nor did he rely on his demonic armor or the Ice Dragon's blood.
Instead, he took out something he hadn't used in a long time.
The Forest Sword Art.
Previously, the Forest Sword Art was only one-fourth complete, yet it still unleashed incredible power.
Now, the four parts had been united.
Its power had increased exponentially.
This was the perfect opportunity to test the might of the Earth-tier spiritual weapon, the Forest Sword Art!
Shen Mo slowly unfurled the Forest Sword Art.
Clang!
In an instant, a sword aura, like flowing ink, shot forth.
At that moment, the sky darkened, as if the entire world had lost its color.
Only black and white remained in the world.
The ink-like sword energy expanded rapidly, as though blown by the wind.
In the blink of an eye, it swelled to a height of thirty zhang (approximately 100 meters), towering toward the heavens and seemingly capable of splitting the entire city of Tianshui in two!
Seeing this astonishing ink sword energy, Zhao Liepeng's pupils constricted sharply.
What was this?
Shen Mo had never used this move before!
The elders of the Qingxuan Sect and Thunderfire Sect involuntarily stopped fighting.
They gaped in awe at the ink sword energy, which looked as if it could cleave the heavens, utterly speechless.
Inside Qingfeng Tower.
Sensing that the formation was no longer under attack, Wei Xiongtie and Xiao Fan were momentarily stunned, and they hurried out of Qingfeng Tower.
The moment they stepped outside, Wei Xiongtie was immediately struck with awe by the sight of the enormous ink sword energy.
"How… incredibly powerful!" Wei Xiongtie muttered to himself.
Xiao Fan, however, quickly regained his composure.
After all, he had already merged with the memories of his past life. On the surface, he was still just a Core Formation cultivator, but inwardly, his mind was already at the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
"That ink sword energy comes from the Heaven-Cleaving Sword Art, something I left behind in my past life. I didn't expect it to end up in his hands," Xiao Fan murmured, frowning.
The opportunity he had left behind in his previous life had now fallen into the hands of someone else.
This left him feeling a little uneasy.
"But Shen Mo only has the first part, the grass-character portion of the Sword Art. It's only one piece."
"When I retrieve the other parts of the Heaven-Cleaving Sword Art in the future, I'll take back the grass-character portion from him as well."
"What's mine will always be mine—no one can take it from me."
Xiao Fan snorted coldly.
In the air above.
The ink sword energy collided violently with the Thunderfire Twin Blades.
A deafening explosion instantly rippled outward in all directions.
All the surrounding buildings were reduced to rubble.
Some overly bold rogue cultivators, standing too close, were instantly shredded into pieces by the countless sword and blade lights.
Other reckless cultivators who dared to look directly at the scene were temporarily blinded, collapsing to the ground in agony, screaming in pain.
Only Core Formation cultivators were able to withstand the brilliance of this attack.
Boom!
The shockwaves spread outward.
A figure was sent flying backward, terror etched across his face.
It was none other than Zhao Liepeng, the sect master of Thunderfire Sect!
His clothes were in tatters, and blood dripped from his body.
A deep sword wound marred his chest.
The ink sword energy continued to ravage his flesh, preventing the wound from healing.
At this moment, the composure of a sect master was nowhere to be seen.
"His spiritual weapons, all forged with fourth-grade demon crystals... He's too strong, far too strong!" Zhao Liepeng's eyes were filled with fear.
"Sect Master Zhao, running away in defeat isn't something a leader of the Five Sects of Xuanjiang should do."
However, before he could get far, a young figure appeared in front of him with a flash.
It was none other than Shen Mo, completely unscathed!
Shen Mo looked at Zhao Liepeng with a mocking smile.
Zhao Liepeng's pupils shrank again, and he immediately turned to flee in the opposite direction.
But a gust of wind swept past him from behind.
In the next instant, the demonic armor's ice spikes had already pierced through his back!
He barely lifted his head, still seeing only Shen Mo's figure.
"So... fast... so strong..."
Blood spurted from Zhao Liepeng's mouth as disbelief filled his eyes.
"Your spiritual weapons... all forged with... fourth-grade demon crystals..."
"The Earthfire Furnace... it's in your... hands!"
Shen Mo smiled faintly. "Sect Master Zhao, you're quite clever, figuring it out so quickly."
"But unfortunately, you were still a step too late."
Squelch.
Shen Mo withdrew his arm.
A massive hole had appeared in Zhao Liepeng's chest.
Inside, his mangled internal organs could be seen.
Thud.
Zhao Liepeng's body fell from the sky.
It landed like a sack of rotten meat, splashing into a pool of foul-smelling sludge.
The Thunderfire Sect's sect master, Zhao Liepeng, was dead!
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