Supreme Sword Exalt

Within the void, a green dragon coiled and hovered. Purple flames surged, demonic clouds billowed mightily, and a Dao scripture floated ethereally... Under Yun Ao’s desperate, all-in gamble, everyone’s qi interwoven and entangled with one another. Even Yun Zhan and the ten others were deeply implicated.

No one dared to act rashly. Even Yan Qianjue, with his arrogant and unrestrained temperament, did not dare show the slightest carelessness. The slightest misstep would result in total annihilation.

Even Yun Ao felt the same. He and his five companions had vaguely sensed the movements from the Great Lu Mountains. They all believed Gu Han was there. As for whether Gu Han could walk out of there safely, they had no way to judge.

The Luoheng Holy Master glanced at the Flame Emperor. “Fellow Daoist, there’s something I do not understand.”

“Please, speak your mind.”

Yan Qianjue and Fu Dahai also looked over.

The Luoheng Holy Master pondered for a moment, then stared perplexedly at Yun Ao, who sat opposite with his eyes closed in meditation. “He’s the strongest person I’ve ever seen in my life. Not to mention us few, even those few who hide deeply in the Central Continent are absolutely no match for him. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the number one person across the five domains...”

Yan Qianjue nodded. “Indeed! Even compared to that old bald donkey, he’s far superior!”

Yun Ao suddenly opened his eyes. Even though he appeared aged and decrepit, his bearing remained undiminished. “Are you wondering why, even though we are so strong, we haven’t killed the Flame Emperor and annihilated the Great Flame Empire? You’re too short-sighted, your scope too narrow.

“Not to mention the Eastern Wasteland, even the five domains is merely a corner of the world in my view. Conquering it is meaningless. What I want has never been any of this.”

The few did not refute him as they all vaguely understood. Compared to the boundless, starry sky, this continent truly did not amount to much.

The Flame Emperor said, “The dragon mark possesses sentience. Unless I willingly give it to him, it will not fall into his hands. It will just dissipate if he kills me.”

Yun Ao sighed. “Yun Tian, you’re too rigid and too direct. You are unsuited for the dragon mark.”

“Yet it chose me.”

Yun Ao smiled. “Therefore, I must make that curse become reality. Turn father and son against each other, and make flesh and blood tear each other apart. I will make you experience the despair of gradually losing everything. Unless you give me the mark, this torment will never cease!”

Yan Qianjue could no longer listen. “Ugh! I don’t care what happened before, but now you’re just hanging on by a thread! How long do you think you can last?”

Yun Ao smiled faintly. “I am a descendant of the Ancestral Dragon. Even if my body perishes and my soul extinguishes, I will never bow my head. As if the likes of you will make me admit defeat!”

Then, he glanced toward the direction of the Great Lu Mountains. “Besides, how long I can last doesn’t matter. As long as he dies today, I still win.”

The crowd fell silent. Everything they had done today was solely for the sake of saving Gu Han. If Gu Han died, regardless of Yun Ao’s outcome, it would be their defeat.

***

Sang Ge died within the Great Lu Mountains. Without sparing his corpse a single glance, Gu Han withdrew his sword and returned.

Yan Qi exclaimed in praise, “Senior, mighty and awe-inspiring! In my observation, your strength is enough to—”

The sound of breaking through the air rang out. Many more barbarians arrived from all directions. Killing Sang Ge was only the beginning, not the end. So many barbarians had come, far more than those who had died in the underground cavern explosion. The great mountains stretched for tens of thousands of li, after all.

The power of the curse, combined with that earth-shattering roar, had drawn countless barbarians toward this place. They discussed among themselves.

“Is it him?”

“It must be him!”

“He’s not a barbarian, yet a sword cultivator. Who else could it be but him?!”

The method of identifying Gu Han was simple and crude, yet very effective.

Yan Qi was so frightened he nearly cried. “Oh no... There’s so many!”

From dozens to hundreds, from hundreds to over a thousand... In no time at all, the few of them were completely surrounded by barbarians. In every direction, even in the sky above, there was a black mass of barbarians. For a moment, the qi of the barbarians linked together regardless of their realms.

Under the pressure, Yan Qi lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to move a cun. Gu Han acted as if he hadn’t noticed. He swallowed a few pills and returned to the group’s side.

Ah Man’s eyes were filled with hatred. “Benefactor, are they here to kill you, too?”

“Yes.”

The hatred in Ah Man’s heart grew even stronger. “One day, I will slaughter them all!”

Each word was deliberate. Anyone could sense the resolute determination in his tone. Even though his aura was not strong, the inheritance gave him a faint sense of suppression that made him stand apart.

Yan Qi lamented inwardly, Ah Man, Ah Man, this is not the time for such bold words. You’ll just provoke them...

Sure enough, a barbarian became enraged. “Bastard! You are a barbarian, yet you dare to side with the Great Flame Empire and—”

A sword aura suddenly flashed past, cleaving the barbarian in two. The sword aura’s momentum continued, cutting down more than ten barbarians behind him before dissipating.

The rest of the barbarians were secretly alarmed, afraid to act rashly. He’s so strong!

Gu Han glanced at the demoness. “It’s time to go out.”

The demoness nodded. “Mhm.”

Yan Qi asked cautiously, “Senior... H-how do we get out?”

Gu Han’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Fight our way out! They chased me for so long. They think I have no temper, don’t they? Follow me!”

He slowly rose into the air. Yan Qi steeled himself, carrying the demoness and the other two on his back, and followed close beside him.

The barbarians immediately grew restless.

“He’s trying to leave!”

“Kill him!”

“Attack! Everyone, attack at once!”

The barbarians at the forefront erupted with qi and charged en masse toward Gu Han. And what greeted them were several zhang-long sword auras. None of them even managed to reach within ten zhang of Gu Han before they all died.

“Kill!”

Suddenly, over a hundred more charged forward. Gu Han’s actions seemed to fully trigger the barbarians’ innate ferocity.

A trace of regret and loneliness flashed in Gu Han’s eyes. “If Senior Chi Yao were still here, he’d probably be heartbroken with distress. He’d probably try to extort another eighty or a hundred bottles of pills!”

As he relentlessly swung his sword, he compressed his spirit power to within a chi of himself. Three strands of sword aura, each several zhang long, flew forth.

No matter how strong the barbarians were, they could not withstand the sharpness of the sword aura. The sword aura sliced through flesh and severed bone, producing one eerie, scalp-tingling sound after another. It was as if a rain of blood had begun to fall.

“M-Maiden...” Although Yan Qi was a demonic beast, it had almost never ventured outside, so he had never witnessed such a bloody scene. He trembled. “D-didn’t Senior say h-he doesn’t like killing? Why does it seem like he...”

It seems like he is very skilled at it. Of course, he didn’t dare to voice this question.

The demoness shook her head. “Not liking to kill doesn’t mean he won’t kill.”

Yan Qi shivered uncontrollably. So, Senior was playing word games with me all along?

Fear aside, he still followed close beside Gu Han, pressing forward. A winding, endless bloody path had appeared upon the originally pitch-black earth, paved with severed limbs and fresh blood.