Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Cold killing intent flickered in Nine Heavens’ eyes as Meng Wanshu shot forward.

“Ultimate Frost Expansion!”

Boom!

Her terrifying domain unfolded instantly. She raced across the battlefield, freezing the surrounding space in her wake. Even the great demons she passed were instantly encased in ice.

One of the men’s expressions darkened, and he shouted, “Watch out!”

Boom!

Meng Wanshu’s cultivation had stabilized at the mid-Combined Body Realm, but the destructive power she could unleash surpassed that of many late Combined Body Realm cultivators.

Icy killing intent glimmered in her eyes as she murmured, “Heaven-Opening Tier, Snow Phantom.”

Buzz!

Overwhelming frost sword intent spread outward. An ice-blue hologram appeared behind her, and the surrounding ice-element power inexplicably grew several times stronger. Wherever it passed, it tore the void apart by brute force, leaving countless fine black cracks in its wake.Rumble!

The leading elder’s eyes widened. “Spirit comprehension! That’s ice-aligned spirit comprehension! Be careful!”

The elder leading the group was Pan Ji, the strongest among them and a peak Combined Body Realm cultivator.

Pan Ji’s voice turned grave. “Bingcheng, Ziji, stay alert!”

As soon as he spoke, scorching fire-element power erupted from his sword. He raised it and unleashed three horizontal slashes, sealing off Meng Wanshu’s path. The enormous flaming sword lights flew toward her in a staggered triangular formation.

Meng Wanshu remained calm. She leaped into the air, twisted between two sword lights, then kicked off in midair and shot several zhang sideways to evade the last attack.

She scoffed. “Too slow.”

Before her words had even faded, frost light shimmered beneath her feet. As she activated her sprint technique, she left a trail of afterimages behind and shot toward the two injured cultivators.

The battlefield was engulfed in chaotic sword qi. Meng Wanshu lowered herself and wove between the attacks, her sword lashing out again and again.

Boom! Boom!

Rumble rumble rumble rumble!

The surrounding trees exploded one after another. With nothing but a sword in hand, Meng Wanshu broke through their blockade, slipping through it like a fish through water. In the blink of an eye, she closed in on the two wounded cultivators.

Buzz!

A layer of ice-blue light instantly enveloped the Snow Phantom Sword. Snowflakes drifted through the air, significantly restricting the movements of everyone nearby.

Just then, Pan Bingcheng and Pan Ziji were seized by a fear of death unlike anything they had ever known. With no time to think, they unleashed their domains simultaneously in a desperate attempt to fend off Meng Wanshu’s assault, but she instantly froze them solid.

A ruthless light flashed through Pan Bingcheng’s eyes. Acting almost entirely on instinct, he raised his sword and unleashed a golden sword light. Veins bulged along his neck as he roared, “Lingyun Jade Divine Sword!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

His sword force surged as immense sword intent erupted from his body, though his Sword Courage Realm sword intent paled in comparison to Meng Wanshu’s. Dozens of sword lights swept toward Meng Wanshu.

The man beside him reacted just as quickly. With a wave of his hand, several array trays flew out and formed a barrier ten zhang wide before them. At the same time, his long saber traced an uncanny arc through the air before descending toward Meng Wanshu’s head.

Meng Wanshu remained calm throughout. The ring on her finger flashed, and a mirror suddenly appeared behind her. She reversed her grip on the sword, parting her lips to exhale a stream of icy mist and fine frost. “Song of Spring and Autumn, Burial of Spring!”

Boom!

Unstoppable sword force surged into the air. The Snow Phantom Sword released a clear, ringing cry, and an ice-blue halo bloomed around its blade. Several streaks of freezing sword light flashed through the mirror and vanished.

Two heads flew into the air.

Somehow, the sword lights had bypassed the barrier and appeared inside ‌it. The resulting sword qi gouged a frost-covered trench a hundred zhang long into the earth, forced the remaining cultivators back several dozen zhang, and left the two headless corpses frozen in midair.

Meng Wanshu raised one finger and tapped lightly. The two corpses instantly shattered into icy powder, dispersing into thin air without spilling a single drop of blood.

She stood at the center of the battlefield, sword in hand, her gaze moving between the four cultivators surrounding her. Her breathing was slightly labored, and her face was somewhat pale.

The technique she had just unleashed was one of the most powerful in her inherited memories. Until now, she had never dared to use it. A single strike had consumed nearly thirty percent of her vital force, and that was without drawing out its full power.

The remaining cultivators regarded her solemnly. Meng Wanshu possessed ice-aligned spirit comprehension on top of her terrifying cultivation and combat strength, while none of them had attained spirit comprehension at all.

A cold light flashed in Pan Ji’s eyes. His sword hand had already begun to sweat.

Meng Wanshu had opened the battle by instantly killing two early Combined Body Realm cultivators. They could not afford to underestimate her.

“Little girl, who are you?”

Meng Wanshu did not respond. A cold light flashed beneath her feet, and she vanished from where she stood.

Pan Ji’s face twitched as he shouted, “Form the Golden Spirit Slaughter Array! Trap her and kill her!”

As soon as he spoke, the remaining cultivators flickered into motion, shifting positions in a complex pattern. With vital force surging around them, the four gradually achieved a mysterious balance, and a vast battle array nearly a hundred zhang wide began to take shape.

Meng Wanshu’s beautiful eyes scanned the area rapidly, her divine consciousness extending to perceive their every movement.

A cold smile touched her lips. How could she let them complete the formation so easily?

Her boots suddenly flared with spirit light. Array light flickered around her feet, and the talismans on her ankles began to shine brightly.

Whoosh!

Meng Wanshu instantly appeared behind one of the elders and thrust her sword forward without hesitation.

Clang!

The elder’s heart lurched. He had not even seen her move. Acting almost entirely on instinct, he swung his sword behind him.

Metal rang against metal, and the elder was immediately sent flying. Meng Wanshu’s strike also disrupted the battle array, tearing open a gap before it could fully form.

Just as the elder was congratulating himself on having reacted quickly enough, an enormous dragon claw suddenly pierced through his body from the front.

Roar!

Nine Heavens let out a thunderous dragon cry and smashed the elder into the ground beneath his claw, pulverizing every bone in his body. He lowered his head and unleashed a blast of lightning breath directly onto him. The attack struck like heavenly tribulation lightning, leaving behind a deep crater and no trace of the elder.

Pan Ji’s eyes widened at the sight. Without a moment’s hesitation, he turned and fled. His voice had gone cold. “Cross the valley!”

Meng Wanshu’s lips curved upward slightly. She simply trailed behind them, not getting too close.

The path beyond the valley would not be so easy to cross.