Firmament Sword

Tang Xiao roared with laughter. “Come on, you mutts from the Jin Family and Blazing Flame Province! Put your backs into it and kill your granddaddies! In any case… you won’t be able to cover this up!”

Yu Tianjie also roared with laughter. “Someone is bound to spread the word. When that happens, it doesn’t matter if anyone else believes it—as long as Celestial Brilliance does!”

Shao Zheng asked with a look of pure innocence, “Will our sect annihilate the Jin Family?”

Tang Xiao said viciously, “We’ll wipe them out, root and stem. Not a single one will be left alive!”

“What about the ones from Blazing Flame Province?” Shao Zheng asked again.

“Anyone who offends Celestial Brilliance will be slain, no matter how far they run!” Ming Youyue declared, her expression imperious. She threw a poison Elixir, which exploded into a vast cloud of green smoke.

The group from the Jin Family and Blazing Flame Province was fuming with rage, but they knew in their hearts that she wasn’t wrong.

After all, too many people had witnessed this ambush. The only way to keep it a complete secret was to kill them all!

However… those people had scattered and fled. Hunting every last one of them down was easier said than done.

By contrast, the cultivators from Blazing Flame Province felt far less fear. As powerful as Celestial Brilliance was, it was a major sect in Xi Hezhou, not their own province.

The distance between the two was incredibly vast. Even if Celestial Brilliance wanted to start a war, it would be no easy matter.

Besides, fighting a war on someone else’s home turf was a major disadvantage.

Even in its fury, Celestial Brilliance probably wouldn’t be so quick to mobilize against Blazing Flame Province.

But the Jin Family was different!

Everything the Jin Family had… was in Xi Hezhou. They couldn’t leave even if they wanted to. It would be much easier for Celestial Brilliance to get its revenge!

Although the Jin Family’s deep-seated power was enough to make anyone hesitate, that “anyone”… did not include Celestial Brilliance!

An enraged Celestial Brilliance could absolutely make the entirety of Xi Hezhou tremble.

And so, the first to bear the brunt of their wrath… would be the Jin Family, located right there in Xi Hezhou!

Jin Ming gritted his teeth. “Don’t be afraid! If we held back for fear of retaliation, what would be the point of our cultivation?”

“But the Young Master is right! Hesitation is pointless!” an old Venerable from the Jin Family roared. “Even if we backed down now, Celestial Brilliance wouldn’t! So… abandon any unrealistic fantasies! We eliminate them, and that’s that!”

Tang Xiao and the others cried out inwardly. ‘We’re really at the end of our rope.’ In truth, that last wave of attack Elixirs had been nearly all they had left.

It had caught the enemy off guard and inflicted massive damage.

But by the same token, they had no more trump cards left to play.

Meanwhile, their enemies still outnumbered them several times over!

“Looks like… we brothers might truly die here today,” Tang Xiao said in a somber voice. “But even if we die, we’re taking that traitor Jin Ming with us!”

“That’s right. We kill that bastard first!” Yu Tianjie said coldly.

Shao Zheng said, “Why so glum? I’ve still got a ton of attack Elixirs on me!”

As he spoke, he grabbed a handful and tossed them directly at the enemy.

BOOM!

A crowd of young powerhouses from Blazing Flame Province and the Jin Family scattered like startled birds, scrambling back in a panic.

And yet, the barrage of attacks they were expecting never came.

Shao Zheng chuckled. “Fooled you! What do you think these attack Elixirs are, eggs? Do you think I have a chicken that lays them, an endless supply?”

“You little thief, die!” a young powerhouse from Blazing Flame Province roared in fury, lunging at Shao Zheng with his sword.

Shao Zheng raised his hand again, chuckling. “This one’s for real, though!”

The Blazing Flame Province youth’s charging figure screeched to a halt in mid-air, and he shot backward in retreat.

The violent reversal of his momentum sent his qi and blood into turmoil, nearly damaging his Inner Mansion. He barely managed to swallow the mouthful of blood that rose in his throat.

And the result… was still nothing.

Shao Zheng feigned surprise. “Oh dear… that wasn’t it either! How can you be so gullible? You believe me just because I say so?”

AARGH!

The youth was incandescent with rage. He and several others unleashed earth-shattering attacks. This time… even if it were real, they swore they would not retreat!

Shao Zheng threw up both hands, and a volley of Elixirs shot out like arrows.

A youthful, boyish voice rang out at the same time: “It’s real this time! I’m not kidding!”

“Like I’d believe…” The youth’s words were cut short by a deafening roar that filled the sky.

RUMBLE!

BOOM!

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The violent explosions chained together, blasting that patch of sky to smithereens!

As for the youth and the others who had charged forward, they were obliterated by the pile of attack Elixirs!

Even the body of a Great Saint Realm cultivator couldn’t withstand a bombardment from so many enhanced Bursting Pills.

When the smoke and dust settled, not even a trace of them remained.

At that moment, everyone trapped within the Ten Extremes Pill Array also perished in the barrage of Elixirs.

Shao Zheng let out a thunderous roar: “Detonate!”

Instantly, the thousands upon thousands of attack Elixirs making up the entire Ten Extremes Pill Array detonated at once.

The void bloomed with countless, brilliant fireworks!

Dozens of young powerhouses from Blazing Flame Province who failed to dodge in time screamed in agony. Some were blown to bits, while others were merely blasted black and charred, yet still alive.

Others lay on the ground with severed arms and legs, groaning in pain.

The sheer carnage wrought by a single boy armed only with Elixirs left everyone stunned.

Tang Xiao looked at Shao Zheng and grinned. “Junior Brother Shao… if we make it out of this alive, this battle will be the one that makes you famous!”

“Really? Will I be very famous?” Shao Zheng asked.

Ming Youyue smiled. “You will. Your name will echo across the lands!”

“Th-that’s great! Does that mean girls will like me?” Shao Zheng asked, his face a picture of innocence and his eyes filled with yearning.

“You can count on your big sister for that!” Ming Youyue laughed. “By then, countless beautiful girls will be throwing themselves at you!”

“I… I only need a dozen or so,” Shao Zheng said, looking embarrassed. “Any more than that… I’m afraid I couldn’t support them.”

“‘Only… a dozen or so?’” The corners of Tang Xiao’s and Yu Tianjie’s mouths twitched violently.

Even the heavily wounded Yu Tianying and Lv Di, collapsed on the ground nearby, couldn’t help but roll their eyes. ‘This kid sure isn’t greedy at all!’

That these Heavenly Brilliance Disciples could remain so unflustered in the face of disaster, still able to joke and laugh, was a testament to their bearing and courage. It was a moving sight.

But to the people from Blazing Flame Province and the Jin Family, it was the ultimate insult and a show of utter contempt.

At this point, the Jin Family had just over seventy people remaining. More than two hundred had died, but the survivors were almost all elites at the Peak of the Great Saint Realm, along with seven or eight experts in the Venerable Realm and five or six old masters at the Venerable Peak.

As for Blazing Flame Province, they had over ninety people left. These were almost all young powerhouses at the Peak of the Great Saint Realm, including a dozen or so young Venerables. There were also two elders whose cultivation levels were indiscernible; they had been holding the rear and had yet to make a move.

A massive number of enemies had them completely surrounded. Breaking out was now impossible.

Yet Tang Xiao and his friends had not given up hope.

Because their leader hadn’t arrived yet!

The one belief that kept these young disciples fighting was their faith in Luo Tian!

They firmly believed their leader would come, and that he… absolutely had the power to turn the tide of this battle!

And this… was something more than mere trust. It was a form of faith.

Jin Ming’s gaze turned frigid. Staring at the Heavenly Brilliance Disciples, who were bristling like porcupines, he finally played his ultimate trump card.

“All disciples of the Jin Family, hear my command! Anyone who slays a Heavenly Brilliance Disciple will be rewarded with five million Top-level Immortal Spirit Stones! If you fall in battle, your family will be compensated with one million Top-level Immortal Spirit Stones!”

Great rewards breed courage. This was an astonishing fortune, enough to make even a Venerable risk their life!

Immediately, a dozen or so figures shot out from the Jin Family’s ranks, charging fearlessly toward Tang Xiao’s group.

The fewest people charged at Shao Zheng, as no one knew if he still had any attack Elixirs.

Besides, the kid was too damn tricky. His bluffs and feints made it impossible to tell what was real and what was fake, or whether a single word he said was true.

Over on the Blazing Flame Province side, a final rally began.

“You all saw it! When we entered these ancient ruins, you saw how that bitch from Celestial Brilliance… slaughtered our elders!”

“Does that not fill your hearts with hatred?”

“HATE!” The fewer than one hundred powerhouses from Blazing Flame Province let out a heaven-shaking roar.

“Then what are you going to do about it?”

“KILL THE CELESTIAL BRILLIANCE DOGS!” the crowd roared as one.

Their blood boiling, the powerhouses of Blazing Flame Province charged. Their vitality surged like dragons as they roared and rushed toward Tang Xiao and his group.

This… was the final charge!

The temporary alliance between the Jin Family and Blazing Flame Province was making its final push!

Zhong Jiuyan and Wang Tong moved silently to stand beside Tang Xiao and the others. Even if they were to die… they would die on their feet!

The light of fearless defiance, of accepting death, shone in everyone’s eyes.

Tang Xiao muttered, “Leader… it’s up to you to avenge us now.”

“Kill!” Jin Ming raised his sword, pointing it toward the Cangqiong.

“Kill!” A young powerhouse from Blazing Flame Province also raised his Long Sword. Its cold light flashed, and his killing intent surged toward Chongxiao!

BOOM!

The group, all of roughly the same cultivation realm, bore down on them. The sheer pressure of their combined aura was enough to strike terror into one’s heart.

And yet, Tang Xiao and his group did not retreat a single inch.

Because behind them were two of their own, heavily wounded.

Yu Tianying and Lv Di!

They had been wounded protecting their fellow disciples!

They were brothers. They were of the same sect!

Fellow disciples, brothers and sisters in arms, were as close as family!

If they were to live… they would live together!

If they were to die… they would die together!

RUMBLE!

A torrent of terrifying attacks slammed into them.

The attacks from Tang Xiao, Ming Youyue, and Yu Tianjie all struck Jin Ming simultaneously, blasting their former Eldest Brother and sending him flying backward, spraying blood wildly.

But in that same moment, the three of them were struck by ferocious attacks as well.

Tang Xiao spat blood!

Ming Youyue spat blood!

Shao Zheng spat blood, but at the same time, he threw out his final batch of attack Elixirs, instantly killing, poisoning, or maiming dozens of enemies!

Yu Tianjie spat blood!

Zhong Jiuyan, with a swing of his one remaining arm, lopped off an opponent’s head, only to be run through the chest by another’s sword…

Wang Tong spat out a mouthful of essence blood to power a palm strike that killed a Blazing Flame Province powerhouse, but at the same time, two other foes slammed their fists into him, sending him flying.

But in the eyes of all the Heavenly Brilliance Disciples, not a trace of fear could be found!