The First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 448: Chapter 448: I Have Underestimated You_1

In the blink of an eye, streaks of potent spirit light burst forth from Yang Xuan’s magic robe, attempting to block the Demon Slaying Sword Qi. Having held the position of core chief for so many years, he had naturally accumulated incredible wealth. Both his outer magic robe and inner armor were top-quality items. Even so, they struggled to completely nullify the sharpness of the Demon Slaying Sword Qi, despite the sword Qi having already been weakened by the golden-armored warrior and a Grade V talisman. With two shrill explosions, both layers of protection were successively torn apart. The Demon Slaying Sword Qi instantly pierced Yang Xuan’s Dao Body, slashing a gruesome, terrifying wound across his chest.

If it were merely a flesh wound, it would be insignificant for a peak Spirit Sea Realm cultivator; with their body’s natural healing ability, they could recover completely in a short time. However, the residual Sword Qi that had entered his body and was now rampaging within, wreaking havoc, posed the true threat. In a sense, a cultivator’s Dao Body is both resilient and fragile. Its strength lies in its ability to channel terrifying power, unimaginable to ordinary people, from a mere body of flesh and blood. Its fragility, however, stems from the fact that without specialized external magic cultivation, a cultivator’s Dao Body simply cannot compare to the physical forms of demonic beasts, Heavenly Demons, or other such creatures. Furthermore, a slight mishap could damage their Chakras or Dantian, leaving hidden injuries that would affect their Dao Path even after healing. Although Yang Xuan had also cultivated a type of external magic, his physical vitality was far from robust and couldn’t compare to Shen Mo’s steel-like constitution.

As the Sword Qi invaded his body, Yang Xuan’s expression turned grim. He immediately activated his cultivation method, attempting to dispel the residual Sword Qi using some unknown technique. Simultaneously, he retrieved a Healing Elixir and consumed it, forcefully mending the wound on his chest. Only then did a dreadfully sinister skull, clutching an exotic Demonic Qi in its maw, fly out from the Nine Yuans Illusionary Tower and land in Shen Mo’s hand. Shen Mo offered a faint smile, storing the skull and the Demonic Qi it held into his Universe Bag.

This menacing-looking magic artifact was one he had seized from Wang Yuanxing, the most powerful figure in the Wando Archipelago and a Grade I Priest of the Bright Sand Country. Its most potent ability was to seal magic artifacts and spiritual items. During his bloody battle with Wang Yuanxing, Shen Mo had used this very skull to entangle the Ruyi Soul Stealing Needle, a weapon specialized in breaching defensive magic artifacts and magic. After witnessing the wondrous abilities of the Nine Yuans Illusionary Tower, Shen Mo knew it posed a significant counter to him. After all, most of his prowess stemmed from his extraordinary swordplay and magic. With the pagoda present, his abilities were severely restricted, preventing him from leveraging his greatest strengths. Thus, Shen Mo had previously risked injury to forcibly breach the Nine Yuans Illusionary Tower’s structure, sending the skull inside. Now, it had indeed performed a miracle, seizing an exotic Demonic Qi and destroying the pagoda’s most crucial component. With any one of its nine Demonic Qis missing, the Nine Yuans Illusionary Tower could no longer deconstruct sword Qi or magic. Its power as a magic treasure had plummeted from the heavens to the earth in an instant.

COUGH, COUGH... PTUI! Yang Xuan spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, still laced with sharp sword intent. Evidently, he had managed, through some unknown means, to suppress and expel the remnants of the Demon Slaying Sword Qi that had invaded his body. ”I underestimated you!” Yang Xuan said, his expression solemn. He glanced at the Nine Yuans Illusionary Tower again, then with a wave of his hand, shrank the pagoda and stored it in his Universe Bag. At this point, the pagoda had lost its greatest efficacy and would be of little use in the ensuing battle. Rather than let it be destroyed by the aftershocks, it was better to retrieve it. Later, by infusing the missing Demonic Qi, its power as a mid-grade spiritual tool could still be restored.

Shen Mo didn’t stop him from retrieving the pagoda magic artifact. A faint smile touched his eyes as he said, ”Likewise!” By this point in the battle, even Shen Mo had to admit that Yang Xuan, the core chief of the Riverside Sect, indeed possessed remarkable skills. Even without his pagoda magic artifact, the array of techniques he displayed far surpassed other cultivators at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm and peak Class III experts. Against a Heavenly Demon of the same rank, it likely would have perished at his hands long ago. ”HAH!” Yang Xuan sneered, the fighting spirit in his eyes flaring with greater intensity. ”In that case, there’s no need for me to hold back any longer!”

As his voice fell, a small, exquisite stone portal flew out from his chest. It expanded in the wind, transforming into a normal-sized doorway in the blink of an eye. The next moment, Yang Xuan stepped through it. Then, to Shen Mo’s astonishment, two figures, identical in appearance and aura, emerged from the other side of the doorway. Shen Mo immediately unleashed a Universe Sword Qi, attempting to destroy the portal, but the Sword Qi seemed to pass through empty space, phasing directly through the doorway’s frame without causing any damage.

”It’s useless; this exotic treasure doesn’t exist in this Space-Time!”

”It’s useless; this exotic treasure...”

”I merely borrowed a sliver of its divine might through the stone doorway. Even with heaven-defying abilities, you’d struggle to destroy it.”

”I merely borrowed...”

The two Yang Xuans spoke in perfect unison, their tones and rhythms identical, creating an eerie, overlapping sound.

Afterward, the two indistinguishable Yang Xuans stepped back into the doorway. When they emerged, they had multiplied from two to four. This rapid duplication repeated five times, until thirty-two ”Yang Xuans” stood before Shen Mo, still impossible to tell apart. Or perhaps, every single one of them was real. Their Dao Bodies, souls, and the True Yuan within them were all undeniably real, making them genuine existences. Then, the stone doorway, as if its power was exhausted, silently faded into nothingness.

”Let’s fight!”

”Let’s fight!”

...

The thirty-two ”Yang Xuans” shouted in unison, their combined presence shockingly powerful. Shen Mo also noticed that the spiritual items on his person—such as his damaged magic robe and inner armor, and his Universe Bag—seemed to have their powers sealed, not even a flicker of spirit light emanating from them. The throng of ”Yang Xuans” also refrained from drawing any magic artifacts, instead directly unleashing magic and martial arts techniques at Shen Mo.

After a moment’s thought, Shen Mo understood that this miraculous technique also had numerous limitations; for instance, it couldn’t replicate Yang Xuan’s magic artifacts or spiritual items. This wasn’t hard to comprehend. If it could duplicate magic treasures and the like, Yang Xuan would have created thirty-odd Nine Yuans Illusionary Towers much earlier. Such a quantity of mid-grade spiritual tools, by sheer numbers alone, could have overwhelmed Shen Mo. Even so, thirty-two cultivators, all at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm, simultaneously unleashing magic was a truly terrifying spectacle. A barrage of magic techniques, each with distinct glows and effects, instantly engulfed Shen Mo. But in the next moment, a horrifying Sword Light erupted, annihilating the torrent of incoming magic.

”The Big Dipper Array, Conversion!” Shen Mo’s voice rang out leisurely, accompanying the dissipation of the magic spirit light. The grand and vast Sword Array, after shredding an astonishing number of magic techniques, flared with seven points of starlight. In a flowing movement, they enveloped an area tens of miles wide. All thirty-two ”Yang Xuans,” each possessing peak Spirit Sea Realm cultivation, were ensnared within The Big Dipper Array.