The First Immortal of Destiny

BOOM!

During its fierce battle with Lin Zhaozai, the Evil-eating Centipede was struck by the swinging iron chains. Even its sturdy carapace couldn’t withstand the force, and it exploded into a cloud of dark green blood mist.

Under intense pain, the Evil-eating Centipede’s vicious nature became even more pronounced.

Its pincer-like jaws, resembling poison-infused iron tongs, clamped onto Lin Zhaozai. They bit down on his Crystal Shield, making a GRIND! GRIND! sound.

A potent venom—blackish-green yet shot through with iridescent colors—squirted from its poison glands. However, it failed to corrode the radiant Crystal Shield, instead sliding off like raindrops on a lotus leaf. The residual poisonous miasma sizzled and dissipated into black smoke.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

Lin Zhaozai’s body jolted fiercely, shaking off the Evil-eating Centipede’s massive demonic body.

Next, Lin Zhaozai drew a circle in the air. Accompanied by profound magical fluctuations, the Evil-eating Centipede seemed to have its five senses and spiritual sense shielded. Its massive demonic body began to roll and twist erratically in mid-air, its jaws even snapping shut on the latter half of its own torso.

Just then, Shen Mo’s long-brewing sword technique was unleashed.

His one head and two arms visibly aged and withered, forming a stark contrast with the vibrant vitality of the rest of his body.

The next instant, his central head opened its mouth.

A sword light, so dazzling it seemed to dim all else, so terrifying in its presence that it silenced its surroundings, erupted from his mouth. It slashed towards Lin Zhaozai at a speed beyond mortal comprehension!

The vessel for this ”Demon Slaying Sword Style” was none other than the Taiyi Sword, a top-grade Spiritual Artifact.

This was achieved by using the body-sacrificing method to offer up a portion of his Essence and Qi, burning his origin power, and unleashing his self-created Senluo Sword Technique.

Further augmented by his Skill [Sword Body], Destiny [Uncommon Victory], and other enhancements, its sheer destructive power had already transcended the scope of the Golden Core Realm, possessing some of the flair of a Heavenly Monarch’s methods!

PUFF!

The sword light formed by the Taiyi Sword pierced in from Lin Zhaozai’s front and exited from his back…

The Crystal Shield enveloping him, like shattered ice, began to crack and peel away. A line of blood emerged from his brow, tracing down his nasal bridge, mouth, jaw, chest, abdomen, and all the way to his groin. Strangely, apart from a thin crimson line, not a single drop of fresh blood spurted out!

Lin Zhaozai gave Shen Mo a profound look. Then, a blood-red light pulsed from his body, and in the blink of an eye, he reverted to his skeletal form, tightly bound by iron chains.

His skull, vertebrae, ribs, and other bones were split down the middle. Thick, viscous blood and marrow continuously churned at the breaks, desperately trying to keep the skeleton from completely falling apart while simultaneously mending the fractured bones!

WHOOSH!

The Taiyi Sword circled in the air and flew back into Shen Mo’s hand.

Seeing this Evil Monarch revert to his skeletal form once more, Shen Mo knew this was his most vulnerable moment. Despite having just executed the body-sacrificing technique, which had greatly depleted his Essence and Qi, he seized the opportunity, repeatedly swinging the Taiyi Sword to unleash vast swathes of Sword Light!

Unlike his first sword strike against the skeleton in the Demon-Suppressing Tower, this time, with the aid of the Taiyi Sword, a top-grade Spirit Sword, every wisp of sword Qi carved a deep gash into Lin Zhaozai’s bones, nearly severing them completely.

However, after just a few sword strikes, Lin Zhaozai seemed to recover. A boundless blood-red light surged from his body as he executed an escape technique, dodging the remaining sword Qi!

Previously, he had drawn upon the might of The Big Dipper Array to shatter the Demon-Suppressing Tower, and in doing so, another layer of his Imprisonment had been removed.

Shen Mo clearly perceived that Lin Zhaozai’s use of Escape Skills was more agile than before, and his strength was also steadily recovering and growing.

The Demon-Suppressing Tower and the imprisoning chains were intrinsically linked, designed to suppress and confine Lin Zhaozai. Therefore, their restraining power over him was immense. Even after recovering a significant portion of his strength, he couldn’t break free from these layered shackles by his own power alone.

Consequently, this Evil Monarch simply used Shen Mo’s hand to destroy the Demon-Suppressing Tower.

After that, he only needed to sever the chains binding his soul to truly regain his freedom. Then, the vast heavens would be his to roam!

Whether he had plundered the Ancient Vine Sect to supplement his blood-sustenance and cultivation resources, or to leverage external forces to destroy his Imprisonment, or perhaps both, was uncertain.

But for Shen Mo, deeply investigating Lin Zhaozai’s true intentions no longer held much meaning.

”I have completely and utterly offended this Evil Monarch; there’s no room for reconciliation between us. Even if he swore a Dao Oath, promising not to trouble me from now on, I wouldn’t trust him.”

”What’s more, he has that look of someone who won’t rest until I’m dead…”

”It would be best to seize this chance while he’s weak and completely eradicate him. Failing that, I must at least inflict grievous wounds that will take him decades, even centuries, to heal, thereby buying myself precious time for cultivation.”

”Otherwise, once his strength recovers to the Divine Bridge Realm level, I’ll be the first to suffer!”

These thoughts flashed through Shen Mo’s mind like lightning.

When facing enemies like Zhu Zhao of the Taiyi Sword Alliance, if he found himself momentarily outmatched, retreating for the time being was a viable option.

With his cultivation progress, his strength grew virtually every day. He would be able to handle Zhu Zhao more easily in a future encounter; Zhu Zhao couldn’t pose a fatal threat to him!

But Lin Zhaozai was different from other formidable foes. He was already a late-stage Divine Bridge Realm expert who cultivated Evil Magic. Once he shed his shackles, it wouldn’t take long for him to recover his peak strength. No matter how fast Shen Mo’s cultivation speed was, it couldn’t compare.

Having made an enemy of such an entity, rather than hoping he wouldn’t bear a grudge, it was far better to use every available means to severely injure or even kill him!

”Kill!”

A glint of grim determination flashed in Shen Mo’s eyes as he raised the Taiyi Sword and charged forward once more.

Sword Light howled, and Immortal Law surged!

The Ancient Vine Sect’s mountain gate was rapidly reduced to a field of devastation amidst their battle.

Mountain peaks crumbled to dust, rivers ceased to flow, and starlight shattered into myriad fragments!

Just as Shen Mo and Lin Zhaozai were locked in their fierce struggle, the Golden Core Realm cultivators rushing to reinforce the Ancient Vine Sect all sensed the terrifying residual power of their Magic Duel from hundreds of miles away. Instantly, the expressions of nearly all the arriving cultivators changed. They halted their escaping lights at a great distance, extending only their five senses and spiritual sense to observe the battle.

”This… what calamity has the Ancient Vine Sect provoked? Such terrifying might! I fear even an old man like me would perish in a single exchange if I went up there!”

”Shen Qingyun’s strength is considerable, and he has a peak Class IV Spirit Pet assisting him; there are few opponents for him below the Divine Bridge Realm. Yet even he is in such a wretched state. That skeleton, even if it hasn’t become a Heavenly Monarch, is probably not far from it.”

”Should we go forward and lend Fellow Daoist Shen a hand?”

”If you want to go, then go! I know my own limits; I don’t want to get involved in such a terrifying clash. Fellow Daoist Shen might be able to withstand that skeleton’s killing techniques, but if they were aimed at me, I would face certain death and the dissipation of my Dao!”

”In my opinion, the Ancient Vine Sect’s mountain gate is now mostly destroyed. Fellow Daoist Cen and the others have either perished or fled... There’s no longer much use in fighting to the death.”

Witnessing the terror of their Magic Duel, none of the arriving reinforcements, including the guest Elders hired by the Ancient Vine Sect at great expense, dared to enter the fray.