Firmament Sword

Suddenly, both of them looked up at the same time, their gazes fixed on the sky behind them. In the far distance, two figures were flying in from high above.

”Damn it!” Su Qingyi’s brow furrowed. ”You have to go! Now!”

”Don’t be ridiculous! If I leave now, am I supposed to just watch you die?” Su Qianqian was no weak-willed girl. At a time like this, words were useless. ’They’ve definitely seen us together. If I leave now, Su Qingyi is a dead man!’

”You foolish girl! You’re the one they’re after, why would they kill me? I’m from the Su Family’s main lineage. What could they possibly do to me?” Su Qingyi was frantic. High in the sky, he watched the two figures grow from small specks to distinct shapes, drawing closer and closer. ”Hurry up and go!” he urged.

Su Qianqian took a deep breath. A black tower suddenly materialized behind her. She looked at Su Qingyi and smiled. ”Brother Qingyi, even though my heart already belongs to another, I truly want to thank you. I’m happy to have this chance to fight by your side. As for the two who are coming... will you have the heart to strike them down?”

Su Qingyi raised an eyebrow and laughed heartily. ”They’re just a couple of Servants. Kill them!”

It was too late to run now. Su Qingyi decided to go all in. From the moment he’d decided to help Su Qianqian escape, his mind had been made up.

As Su Qingyi spoke, a giant Purple Dragon Vine rose up behind him!

It was the very same Dharma Aspect Su Qianqian had cultivated years ago, which she had long since taught to Su Qingyi.

In the sky, the two figures seemed to tear through the void itself, arriving in front of them in an instant and descending from above.

They were two withered old men with eyes that flashed like lightning. Despite their appearance, they were brimming with vitality, and their auras were shockingly powerful. They were two masters who had surpassed the Ninth Layer Peak of the Divine Power Realm to reach the Half-Saint Realm!

They flanked Su Qingyi and Su Qianqian, one on the left and one on the right. Though there were only two of them, they projected the presence of an entire army.

The very atmosphere seemed to form a cage, trapping Su Qingyi and Su Qianqian within.

The old man on the left spoke in a heavy voice, ”Su Qingyi, you’ve made a grave mistake. Are you not going to surrender immediately?”

”Grave mistake? Hah! What a joke. What mistake have I made?” Su Qingyi faced the two elders and their immense pressure without a trace of fear. His gaze was icy. ”You two. If I’m not mistaken, you’re the Patriarch’s Close Guards. Don’t you know who I am? How dare you address me directly by my name? Who gave you that audacity!”

”Facing death’s door and still spouting nonsense. Su Qingyi, the Patriarch has authorized us to take action against you. If you remain obstinate and refuse to see reason... then don’t blame us for what happens next!” the old man said with a sneer.

”Who did you say is at death’s door?” Su Qingyi shot the old man a sidelong glance and said nonchalantly, ”The Celestial Maiden and I are just out for a stroll to clear our heads. Do we need your permission for that? Or are you saying that the Su Celestial Maiden and I are prisoners of the Su Family?”

The old man on the right said gravely, ”Su Qingyi, there are no outsiders here. There’s no need to play dumb. You know exactly what you’re doing. Withdraw your Dharma Heaven and Earth. The two of you may be strong for your age, but you’re no match for us. Besides, more people will arrive before long. It will be even more humiliating for you to be captured then.”

The elder on the left chimed in, ”That’s right. There’s no one else here, so you can drop the act. Just come back with us quietly. We can put in a good word for you with the Patriarch later. We’ll say you were momentarily confused and wanted to leave the family, but that you saw the error of your ways and came to your senses...”

”Hahahaha!” Su Qingyi roared with laughter. He looked at the two elders and said, ”Saw the error of our ways? Came to our senses? That’s hilarious. You’re just afraid we’ll fight you to the death, aren’t you? Enough talk! If you want a fight, you’ve got one!”

Just then, Su Qianqian, who had been standing to the side, summoned the black tower. It instantly expanded, soaring to a height of hundreds of feet.

The black tower possessed its own spirit, unlike an ordinary Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact. It moved to crush one of the elders directly!

”You dare to attack?” The elder sneered. Two beams of light shot from his eyes, striking the black tower and producing a deafening clang of metal.

The black tower trembled, and a series of sonic booms echoed through the air.

Then, a verdant green vine rose up from behind the elder and wrapped itself around the black tower.

Su Qianqian let out a sharp cry as her Purple Dragon Vine Dharma Aspect appeared behind her. The vine moved like a dragon, radiating astonishing power. Each leaf on it emanated a cold aura, its veins were starkly defined, and a purple liquid flowed within them, giving off a potent energy.

”The Purple Dragon Vine... Our Su Family’s ancestral Dharma Aspect. To see it in your hands is like casting pearls before swine!” the elder facing Su Qianqian said coldly. ”The Patriarch is too merciful, letting a peerless Cultivation Technique like this stay in your possession for so many years. If it were me, I’d have tortured the secrets out of you long ago instead of wasting breath.”

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In the sky, the verdant green vine and the Purple Dragon Vine tangled together, lashing out at each other and producing thunderous booms!

Meanwhile, the black tower relentlessly attacked the elder.

”A mere Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact dares to be so insolent before me? Begone!” A small black sword suddenly appeared in the elder’s hand. He sent it flying, and it transformed into a black streak of light, shooting toward the tower like a bolt of lightning.

CLANG!

With a deafening clang, the black tower shuddered. The small black sword, however, had shattered into a fine powder that scattered to the winds.

The elder was stunned. ”Impossible!” he exclaimed in disbelief. ”My sword was forged from Black Vajra, the most durable metal in the world! How could it possibly shatter?”

Although it wasn’t his Lifebound Magical Artifact, the destruction of the Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact still took a toll on the elder. His insides churned and his qi and blood roiled, but he managed to forcefully suppress the backlash.

At the same time, the look in his eyes as he stared at the black tower turned to one of greed.

Meanwhile, the other elder had engaged Su Qingyi. He fought with the effortless grace of a Grandmaster, completely suppressing Su Qingyi with every move.

In terms of cultivation realm, the gap between them was simply too vast; Su Qingyi had no chance of victory.

To prevent Su Qingyi from fighting desperately, the elder took his time. He glanced at the black tower in the sky and said nonchalantly, ”That tower, if I’m not mistaken, is forged from the top-tier divine material, Cosmic Black Gold. It’s naturally much harder than Black Vajra. A truly rare treasure. I’m sure the Patriarch wouldn’t mind relinquishing it.”

The elder fighting Su Qianqian nodded. ”In that case, I’ll have to ask you to put in a good word with the Patriarch for me, brother. I will be sure to reward you handsomely in return!”

”Of course. I have little interest in such things myself; my only passion is for ancient texts. Just make sure you get some for me, brother, and we’ll be square.”

”Consider it done! A trivial matter.”

The two Half-Saint Realm masters were completely at ease, paying Su Qianqian and Su Qingyi no mind. To them, the pair were merely two juniors at the Ninth Layer of the Divine Power Realm who could be suppressed with the flick of a finger.

And so, they felt no need for discretion, brazenly discussing how they would take Su Qianqian’s black tower Magical Artifact right in front of her.

SLAP!

The elder fighting Su Qingyi reached out and viciously slapped him across the face!

Half of Su Qingyi’s face immediately swelled, and his eyes glinted with a furious, maddened rage.

’How often does one get a chance to bully a scion of the main lineage like this?’ the elder thought, delighted. ’Those direct descendants are always so high and mighty, acting arrogant even when their strength is just a fraction of ours. It’s a rare opportunity. I have to relish it.’

A flash of pure rage ignited in Su Qianqian’s eyes.

’There’s a line between killing an enemy and humiliating them.’ ’These two Close Guards of the Patriarch... they had crossed it!’

With a grit of her teeth, she tapped into the nascent, unrefined power within her. An astonishing aura instantly erupted from her body.

”This is...” The two elders were both shocked.

The elder facing Su Qianqian suddenly felt a sense of dread and beat a hasty retreat.

BOOM!

Su Qianqian’s Purple Dragon Vine Dharma Aspect transformed into a giant whip, lashing the spot where the elder had just stood and gouging a deep trench in the earth.

The entire cliff face cracked open horizontally, sending massive boulders tumbling into the abyss below.

At the same time, the elder’s verdant green vine Dharma Aspect was shattered to pieces by the Purple Dragon Vine.

As the elder retreated, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The light in his eyes suddenly darkened.

”It’s that power!” he exclaimed, his own aura swelling to an immense size.

The other elder’s expression turned serious. ”Just stall them!” he said in a low voice. ”Wait for reinforcements!”

Su Qianqian’s face took on an unhealthy flush, and her entire body seemed to be overflowing with qi and blood, filled to the absolute bursting point.

In that instant, she erupted with the combat power of a Half-Saint!

Her entire presence had changed. For a moment, she was overwhelming her opponent, who struggled to even parry her attacks.

At the same time, as Su Qianqian’s combat prowess surged, the black tower’s power grew in tandem, emitting an aura so strong it was terrifying.

Streaks of black light shot out from each tier of the tower, lancing toward the opposing elder.

A beam of black light pierced the shoulder of the elder fighting Su Qianqian, leaving a bloody hole from which fresh blood gushed.

The elder then discovered in horror that half of his body was beginning to go numb. He roared, ”Su Celestial Maiden... you dare use poison!”

Su Qianqian remained silent, her gaze unwavering. She projected a chilling, ultimate beauty.

She was like a completely different person from the Su Qianqian of moments before.

”Die, ant!”

An icy voice escaped Su Qianqian’s lips. Her aura transformed once more, growing impossibly strong. It surged past the level of a Half-Saint... and in an instant, reached the aura of a Saint!

”Heavens... what is happening?” The two Half-Saint masters of the Su Family, who had initially been toying with them like cats with mice, were now utterly horrified.

Behind Su Qianqian, the Purple Dragon Vine had grown and transformed into a True Dragon!

A great Purple Dragon, with menacing horns and bared claws, lunged at one of the elders!

The black tower let out a hum that resonated through the heavens as it flew to crush the other elder who was fighting Su Qingyi.

BANG!

One elder was struck by the great Purple Dragon’s tail and sent flying. His body exploded in mid-air, and he perished instantly.

RUMBLE!

The black tower slammed down, crushing the other elder beneath it, leaving not even bones behind.