Firmament Sword

”They’re here. They’re finally here!” Hiding in the shadows, the brothers Jiang Hanhai and Jiang Tianhai stared without blinking, their faces tense and their eyes filled with raw excitement.

”Brother, that Soul Control is as powerful as they say! Imagine... if we used a little of this on the Sect Leader...” Jiang Tianhai whispered.

”Shut up!” Jiang Hanhai hissed, glaring fiercely at his younger brother. A flicker of fear crossed his eyes as he scolded, ”Are you tired of living?! Do you think the Sect Leader is Xu Luo? If you truly have such thoughts, I’ll kill you with my own hands to keep you from dragging me down with you!”

Jiang Tianhai gave a sheepish smile and said, ”I was just saying...”

”Not even as a joke! Remember, don’t ever get an idea like that again!” Jiang Hanhai shot his brother another fierce glare, then turned back to watch Huangfu Shishi, excitement flaring in his eyes once more.

...

”Alright, Qiqi, whatever you say. But... if you want me to close my eyes, you’re not planning to sneak a kiss, are you?” Xu Luo said with a cheeky grin.

”Oh, you’re incorrigible!” Huangfu Shishi feigned indignation with a pout. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and that fleeting, stunning expression left the distant Jiang brothers, Hanhai and Tianhai, completely mesmerized.

’Damn it... That little slut. She really is head over heels for that bastard Xu Luo. To think she can still act so affectionate with her soul under control. Once Xu Luo is dead... I’m going to show her what a real man is!’ Jiang Tianhai’s eyes flashed with venom as he glared at Xu Luo, hissing under his breath.

Jiang Hanhai was also stunned by Huangfu Shishi’s dazzling beauty. He glanced at his brother, feeling a slight pang of regret. ’Still, he’s my brother. I can’t just steal the woman he has his eye on...’

Meanwhile, Xu Luo slowly closed his eyes and said, ”So, Qiqi... what’s my reward?”

Huangfu Shishi smiled faintly. She drew out a red damask silk, over ten feet in length, and gently... wound it around Xu Luo’s neck.

With his eyes still closed, Xu Luo said with a grin, ”What’s this? Are you tying a scarf on me? It’s not winter, you know. It’ll be too warm!”

”The Red Damask Silk! I can’t believe the Sect Leader actually gave that little slut a Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact... Looks like we can’t just kill her off so easily,” Jiang Tianhai said in surprise.

A strange glint appeared in the eyes of Jiang Hanhai, who stood beside him. He murmured, ’The entire Kaiyang Sect doesn’t have more than five Spirit-Connected Magical Artifacts. I can’t believe the Sect Leader was willing to give the Red Damask Silk to her... Could it be compensation for using her to control the Cangqiong Royal Family?’

As Huangfu Shishi reached out to gently caress Xu Luo’s face, her eyes filled with a soft, smiling light, she couldn’t stop herself from sending him a mental message. ’Luo... are you sure this won’t hurt you? What if they don’t fall for it... what will we do then?’

’Qiqi, just go ahead. Don’t worry,’ Xu Luo replied. ’I have complete confidence in my physical body. Besides, from this far away, as long as I suppress my aura, they won’t notice a thing. And don’t forget how much faith they have in their Soul Control poison! They must have run experiments before. They’d never dream that the poison in your body has long since been neutralized!’

”Yes, you’re right.” Huangfu Shishi finally steeled her nerves and murmured, ”Goodbye... Luo!”

The Red Damask Silk around Xu Luo’s neck suddenly constricted. Xu Luo only had time to let out a shocked cry, ”Qiqi... you...!”

Then, with a thud, his body collapsed into the dust.

”Ah!” Huangfu Shishi suddenly clutched her head, let out a piercing scream, and then... collapsed, unconscious.

”Is... is it done?” Jiang Tianhai mumbled, his mouth hanging slightly open and his eyes wide. ”This isn’t... quite what I expected.”

”The Soul Control poison is potent, but it’s not foolproof against someone with an exceptionally strong will. Huangfu Shishi is immensely talented, had a fortuitous encounter in the Small World, and even broke through to the Transformation Realm. Combined with her deep love for Xu Luo, she was never going to be easy to control. But... it’s fine. Everything is still within our grasp.” Jiang Hanhai shot Jiang Tianhai a meaningful look. ”Go get her. Haven’t you been lusting after her? She’s all yours.”

A wide, lustful grin finally spread across Jiang Tianhai’s face. ’I trust my brother completely. Even if Xu Luo has some heaven-defying treasure on him, I won’t fight him for it. I know he’ll give me anything that’s suited for me!’

Gazing at the unconscious Huangfu Shishi, Jiang Tianhai rubbed his hands together in glee, his eyes filled with excitement. He murmured, ”Finally, the day has come! Huangfu Shishi... my dear junior sister... you are finally... mine!”

Jiang Hanhai followed his brother, his expression cool and calm. He kept a close watch on the fallen Xu Luo, simultaneously releasing his powerful Divine Sense to envelop the body. If Xu Luo showed even the slightest sign of movement, he would unleash a devastating attack in an instant, giving him absolutely no chance to retaliate.

Even in a head-on fight, Jiang Hanhai was eighty percent sure he could eliminate Xu Luo. But caution was his nature; he would never take a risk he didn’t have to. Securing victory with minimal risk was his guiding principle.

Therefore, as he neared Xu Luo, Jiang Hanhai went so far as to activate his Protective True Essence... while simultaneously raising a hand to strike Xu Luo with his palm.

”Hahaha, Brother, are you being a little too careful? Is all this really necessary...” Jiang Tianhai scoffed at his brother’s caution. But in the next instant, his laughter was cut short as if his throat had been seized. His eyes bulged with disbelief.

He watched as the Red Damask Silk on Xu Luo’s neck flared like a crimson streak of light and shot directly toward him!

At the same moment, a monstrously powerful aura erupted from the body of Xu Luo on the ground... accompanied by his laughter!

”You’re courting death!” Jiang Hanhai, who had been on high alert, reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He erupted with power, and with a thunderous BOOM, a colossal Dharma Aspect rose behind him—a Great Seal!

The Great Seal swelled in the air, transforming into a small mountain that descended upon Xu Luo with the force to crush anything in its path!

This was no Dharma Aspect from the Fifth Layer of Transformation Realm, but one belonging to the Seventh Layer of Transformation Realm, a middle to high tier of power!

The mountain-sized Great Seal felt tangible, radiating a tidal wave of pressure that seemed capable of suppressing the entire world!

With a mighty roar, Xu Luo thrust out both fists, unleashing a strike from the Tyrant Technique!

BANG! BANG!

His physical body against a Dharma Aspect!

His fists slammed into Jiang Hanhai’s Great Seal Dharma Aspect one after the other. The one-sided slaughter Jiang Hanhai had envisioned, the one-hit kill he was so sure of, did not happen!

When Xu Luo’s two fists struck his Great Seal Dharma Aspect, they let out two earth-shattering booms, like thunderclaps on a clear day... The sound vibrated through the wilderness, the powerful echo nearly deafening.

PTUI!

Jiang Hanhai violently spat out a mouthful of blood. He stared at Xu Luo in utter disbelief and cried, ”Impossible!”

SWOOSH!

Meanwhile, Huangfu Shishi directed her Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact, the Red Damask Silk, to attack Jiang Tianhai. Her eyes burned with absolute hatred for her shameless sect brother!

”You’re no match for me!” After a brief moment of panic, Jiang Tianhai quickly regained his composure. He refused to believe his brother would lose to Xu Luo. Still, he was utterly astonished that Huangfu Shishi had managed to break free of the Soul Control’s influence. Deep down... he even felt a faint sliver of fear.

Because of this, all lust Jiang Tianhai had felt for Huangfu Shishi vanished, replaced by a single thought: how to eliminate these two perfectly, without anyone ever finding out.

’Good thing we chose a spot so far from the Imperial Capital, and so deserted...’ Jiang Tianhai breathed a sigh of relief. He retrieved a long staff from his Storage Ring. It was six feet long and forged entirely of gold—a Golden Rod!

Wielding the Golden Rod, Jiang Tianhai swung viciously at the incoming Red Damask Silk and said coldly, ”A Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact... You’re not the only one who has one! I have one, too!”

CRACK!

Just as Jiang Tianhai’s confidence surged, he suddenly heard the sound of bones snapping from nearby. He instinctively glanced over and witnessed a scene he could never have believed possible.

His brother—the man he considered a god, someone who could never be defeated—had one arm in Xu Luo’s grasp, twisted at a grotesquely unnatural angle. He knew it was absolutely impossible to bend an arm like that!

Jiang Hanhai, a master at the Seventh Layer of Transformation Realm, had been seized by Xu Luo and had his arm snapped!

”Impossible!” Jiang Tianhai screamed.

In that moment of distraction, the Red Damask Silk that Huangfu Shishi had sent out wrapped around his Golden Rod. The fabric went taut, then lashed out like a whip, cracking viciously toward Jiang Tianhai’s head!

In a panic, Jiang Tianhai only had time to jerk his head to the side. The edge of the Red Damask Silk scraped across his cheek, and with a searing pain, his once-smooth face was torn to a bloody pulp.

”Aargh... You bitch, I’ll kill you!” Jiang Tianhai roared in fury.

”AAAAAAAAH, MASTER MAO CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! MASTER MAO IS GOING TO CHEW YOU UP, BITE BY TINY BITE, AND SAVOR IT, AAAAAAAAAH! I’LL TURN YOU, PIECE BY PIECE BY PIECE, INTO THIS MASTER’S DUNG, AAAAAAAAAH...” With a furious roar, an impossibly fast shadow lunged at Jiang Tianhai.

CRACK!

At that same moment, Jiang Hanhai’s other arm was snapped!

It was brutally... twisted like rope... and snapped clean off!

An unearthly, agonized scream erupted from Jiang Hanhai’s throat. The sound was terrifying. In fact, the pain was so extreme that he had shredded his own vocal cords in that instant, reducing his voice to a desperate, gurgling roar.

His Great Seal Dharma Aspect had been blocked, allowing Xu Luo to close the distance. Jiang Hanhai had never dreamed that Xu Luo’s physical body could be so monstrously powerful. The moment his first arm was snapped, Jiang Hanhai had a terrifying thought: ’This thing in front of me isn’t human! It’s a Pure-blooded Holy Beast in human form!’

”I told you I’d tear you brothers... limb from limb!”

As those words, as cold as a whisper from the Nine Netherworld, reached the despairing Jiang Hanhai’s ears, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fainted.