Amid the chilling cold and eerie silence, Yun Xiao stood atop a mountain of 70,000 monster corpses, his azure sword glinting in the moonless dark. Beside him, 3,000 Blue Soul sword cultivators readied their swords, a fierce will radiating through them as they faced the incoming terror. Above, dark clouds gathered, and the sharp wind cut through the silence like a knife.
The remaining demon kings and the monster sovereign, Yuexian, perched menacingly on the mountain's cliffs and rivers, their twisted forms seething with hunger and hatred. Ominous and powerful, they let out bone-chilling wails, drooling thick, poisonous saliva, their eyes fixed on Yun Xiao with an unsettling blend of rage and ravenous ambition.
Yun Xiao's voice broke through the stillness, his roar echoing like a thunderclap. "Kill!" His command ignited a storm of scarlet energy, whipping through the battlefield. He charged, his sword a lightning flash in the dark, carving into the horde with the might of a thousand storms.
The cultivators followed his lead, their swords cutting a blood-drenched path towards the monster hordes, driven by a furious desire for justice. They had endured years of suffering, and now, as they faced down bloodthirsty fiends, they swung their swords with renewed determination, each strike forged in the fires of anger and loss.
Among them, Cai Maomao pressed forward, shouting through the madness. "Brother, can you see me? I'm not afraid of monsters anymore!" The boy who once trembled at shadows now wielded his sword fiercely, determined to honor his lost brother.
The battlefield became a crimson storm, Yun Xiao's azure blade at its heart, relentless in his mission. But the demon sovereign Yuexian's expression turned cunning as she watched his fury. "He may still stand, but he is running on spirit alone." She addressed her own elite—a group of ancient monsters, leaders in the northern wastelands, all over 800 years old. "Kill him," she commanded, "and claim the title of the northern lands' greatest monster."
The monster kings' eyes gleamed with malice as they revealed their true forms: a hulking fox with venomous green eyes, a colossal white hawk, and a spider demon with a twisted human torso. Together, they launched at Yun Xiao, their fangs bared and claws outstretched, seeing only a young warrior to devour.
Yuexian's lips curled into a smile as she turned her attention to the black-skirted woman in the distance. "Ah, his weakness..." she whispered to herself. In a flash of white fog, she transformed, slinking through the shadows toward the woman, her mind set on taking Yun Xiao's attention—and his life—with a single strike.
Unaware of the danger, the woman stood watching Yun Xiao from afar, lost in thought. The roar of battle was all around, but her eyes were fixed on the azure mountain, where Yun Xiao's lone figure clashed against the horde.
Back on the battlefield, Yun Xiao faced down the monstrous kings. Their enormous, twisted forms surrounded him, eyes glowing with hunger, saliva dripping as they moved in for the kill. He squared his shoulders, sword ready, his gaze steady and unflinching. With a single command, the three thousand Blue Soul cultivators behind him formed ranks, and together, they unleashed a torrent of power, their combined Sword Souls striking as one.
As he cut through the creatures' ranks, Yun Xiao's voice was resolute, cold, and calm. "Come then," he said, "I will cut down each of you as I have the rest." The monster kings lunged, and he met them with all the fury of the heavens, his azure blade searing through the night.
The battlefield roared to life, as Yun Xiao unleashed a whirlwind of azure sword energy, cutting through the monstrous ranks like a blade through fog. His single strike—the "Ten Scales Sword"—tore through the ranks of ancient monsters, each flash of his blade ending with an eruption of blood and bone. One by one, the monstrous kings fell: the azure fox's head exploded, the hawk's neck severed mid-screech, and the spider's many eyes went dark. Each monster king, 800 years old and laden with vile power, lay crumpled at his feet. With that single sword, Yun Xiao felled ten of the wastelands' strongest beasts, their corpses piling up in the crimson dust around him.
The battlefield froze in awe, an electric pulse sweeping through the Blue Soul cultivators. The name "Yun Xiao" was shouted again and again, his fearless prowess sparking a wildfire of courage. Even the hardened King Elder couldn't contain his awe, his voice thick with emotion. "Seventy thousand demons cut down and ten monster kings felled with a single sword—who else could achieve this?"
Among the watchers, Ning Yan from Xishan felt her previous dismissal turn to shock. Yun Xiao's power and unyielding spirit were undeniable, her derisive thoughts now embarrassing in the face of his undeniable strength.
But the sovereign of the northern wastelands, Yuexian, remained undeterred, her cold eyes narrowing as she observed Yun Xiao's triumph. She sneered, watching him from the shadows as her insidious plan continued. She had set her sights on Yun Xiao's Senior Sister Zhao, who stood far from the chaos, vulnerable and focused on the blue flag atop the mountain. Her white fog stealthily wove its way toward Zhao Xuanran, hoping to strike at Yun Xiao's heart by taking her.
Yet Yun Xiao's eyes caught her movement, his gaze sharp and piercing as he locked onto Yuexian through the throngs of lesser demons. His face darkened with rage. "Do you dare target my Senior Sister Zhao?" His fury blazed hotter, recalling a time when a monstrous snake had nearly taken Zhao's life. Now, to see his beloved sister threatened once more brought a red haze to his vision.
With a mighty roar, Yun Xiao charged forward, his sword vibrating with violent energy. The cultivators around him surged in his wake, their swords slashing a crimson path as they followed him, each driven by a renewed thirst for vengeance. Yuexian turned, her usual arrogance faltering as she watched Yun Xiao slice through her forces with terrifying speed, his path a bloody road straight to her.
Yuexian's face twisted in anger and fear as Yun Xiao closed in. "You dare underestimate me, Yun Xiao?" she snarled, her voice shaking with rage and a hint of desperation. The monstrous sovereign braced herself, her once-hidden power rising like a dark storm around her. She was the northern wastelands' sovereign, a monster not to be taken lightly, one who preferred cunning and traps—but she was still a force of terror and might.
With a clash that shook the battlefield, Yun Xiao and Yuexian's powers collided. His azure blade met her sinister fog, two wills, two storms, raging against one another. His sword, the will of the blue sky, crackled with divine fury, determined to end Yuexian's reign.
As the demonic fog thickened, Yuexian split into three monstrous white foxes, each bearing sharp fangs, claws as deadly as Sword Souls, and three ominous, snow-white tails that swirled across the battlefield. Powdery white fog filled the air around her, making it nearly impossible to see. She was a master of illusion and darkness, and in this fog, she was in her element, each movement a shadow slipping through shadows.
Amidst the chaotic clash, the three thousand sword cultivators hacked through the remaining hordes of northern demons, but Yuexian's sorcery created a battlefield of fear and confusion, giving her the upper hand. She called out Yun Xiao's name, her voice resonating within the fog, and the demonic mist thickened, attempting to engulf him.
Yet Yun Xiao, his resolve as unshakable as steel, did not flinch. His white robes fluttered in the oppressive fog, and with a sudden flash, he grasped his Sword Soul. A piercing three-foot azure blade materialized in his hand, shining through the fog with an indomitable will. He took a breath, focused, and struck to his left.
Clang!
His blade met Yuexian's claw with a resounding impact, shattering her defense. A shriek tore from her lips as her claw splintered, revealing a coiling black venom from the millennia-old serpent monster she had absorbed. Fear flickered in her eyes; this young sword cultivator had not only seen through her illusions but had struck true, disregarding her most feared tricks.
"How... can he see through my fog?" Yuexian's thoughts spun as she struggled to regain her composure. Her sorcery, a hallucinatory fog meant to deceive even the strongest minds, had been her unbeatable weapon for centuries. No one should have been able to see her true form amidst it. But Yun Xiao had locked onto her without hesitation, as if guided by an unbreakable inner light.
With a calm intensity, Yun Xiao raised his sword, eyes blazing with the will of the blue sky. "Yuexian, this is your end."
He lunged forward, the azure blade slicing through the fog, honing in on her heart.