Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 397: Chapter 393: The Demon Slaying Sword Awakens

”Defeat me? Ridiculous.”

Extreme Heaven Monarch simply stood there, motionless, yet his aura was as vast and deep as the ocean.

To the many Martial Artists present, Extreme Heaven Monarch seemed like a god. His overwhelming aura, powerful enough to make the very heavens and earth change color, struck terror into their hearts. Many with weaker Cultivation immediately fell to their knees, trembling uncontrollably.

Even the three True Monarchs were horrified, feeling as if they were facing a Primordial Giant Beast.

This was the terror of Celestial Martial Realm Magical Power.

Just how powerful was the Celestial Martial Realm?

Those who reached this stage could remake the world. For instance, with a single move, they could turn the land into a desert or carve out a great river.

The desert at the border of Qing Province and Lei Province, for example, was created by a battle between Celestial Martial Realm Kings.

”But you’re not a true Celestial Martial Realm expert, after all. The Magical Power in your body is finite. Every bit you use is a bit you lose. How long can you possibly last?”

But Ning Jiang was utterly fearless.

Although Extreme Heaven Monarch had condensed some Magical Power, there was still a significant gap between him and a true Celestial Martial Realm expert.

A true Celestial Martial Realm expert’s Magical Power would be vast and inexhaustible, but Extreme Heaven Monarch only had a small amount. Once unleashed, he would only have a single burst of power.

After that burst, Extreme Heaven Monarch’s hard-won Magical Power would be completely depleted. It would take him dozens or even hundreds of years of arduous Cultivation to recover it.

A century of Cultivation for a single strike. This was why Extreme Heaven Monarch’s words were laced with such immense hatred for Ning Jiang.

”It’s more than enough to kill you!”

Hearing Ning Jiang’s words, the killing intent in Extreme Heaven Monarch’s eyes surged. The very space around him grew frigid due to his emotions.

Originally, all he had needed to do was continue to slowly accumulate Power and convert it all into Magical Power to step through the gates of the Celestial Martial Realm.

But now, Ning Jiang had forced him to use this accumulation, which meant he was once again a step further away from the Celestial Martial Realm.

”Fight!”

Ning Jiang shot into the sky, his fighting spirit soaring.

Extreme Heaven Monarch, however, merely extended a finger and tapped it gently forward.

RUMBLE!

The world lost its color.

A massive torrent of Spiritual Qi, as thick as tree trunks, surged wildly from all directions, coalescing before Extreme Heaven Monarch into a colossal finger ten thousand feet long. This giant finger was like that of a Divine Spirit, blotting out the sun and obscuring the entire sky.

As the finger descended, it was as if a pillar of heaven was collapsing, crushing all hope and beauty deep within one’s heart.

Furthermore, Ning Jiang felt as if the entire world had turned against him. The finger carried the surging Power of Heaven and Earth, its might boundless.

”Sword Suppressing Sun and Moon!”

The Demon Slaying Sword unleashed a sky-piercing Sword Qi as Ning Jiang raised it with both hands and, holding nothing back, swung down with all his might.

This single strike was powerful enough to cleave the entire Extreme Heaven Sect in two.

BANG!

However, this peerless strike, before the heaven-propping colossal finger, was as fragile as glass. It shattered at a terrifying speed.

The colossal finger, its momentum undiminished, continued its descent toward Ning Jiang.

All of this seemed to happen in slow motion, but in reality, it occurred in a flash. The giant finger arrived in an instant, and Ning Jiang could only swing the Demon Slaying Sword horizontally before his chest to block the attack.

BOOM...

With a tremendous crash, the immense force sent his body flying like a cannonball. He was blasted back several thousand feet, spitting a mouthful of blood as he went.

HISS!

Everyone gasped in horror. A single finger had been enough to injure Ning Jiang. Was this the Power of the Celestial Martial Realm?

”He’s too strong. There’s no way Ning Jiang can defeat that kind of Power.”

”’Below a King, all are but ants.’ That saying is absolutely true.”

The three True Monarchs and the many disciples of the Extreme Heaven Sect were ecstatic.

”Do you feel it now? This is the terror of Magical Power. And that finger strike just now? I only used half of my Power. Do you still think you can defeat me?”

Extreme Heaven Monarch stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze as cold as ice, looking down on Ning Jiang as if he were an ant.

”Is that so?”

Ning Jiang’s eyes were placid, devoid of any emotion, like the high and distant Celestial Dao. He reached out, gently stroking the Demon Slaying Sword in his hand, and said slowly, ”It’s true that I can’t defeat you. But! It can!”

”Hmph. A mere damaged weapon. What can it possibly do to me?” A flash of disdain crossed Extreme Heaven Monarch’s eyes.

Ning Jiang ignored him and spoke slowly to the Demon Slaying Sword in his hand. ”You have slumbered for hundreds of years. Spirit of the Demon Slaying Sword, will you not awaken? How can the dignity of a King’s Weapon be trampled upon by another?!”

As his voice fell, the Demon Slaying Sword suddenly began to tremble.

CLANG!

The cry of the sword soared, startling the Nine Heavens.

Within it, a will was slowly awakening.

Once a Weapon reaches the level of a King’s Weapon, it will almost always possess Spiritual Wisdom, and the Demon Slaying Sword was no exception.

However, in the battle against the Blood Demon King several hundred years ago, the Demon Slaying Sword was nearly destroyed. The sword spirit within was severely damaged. Like Xie Liuyun, only a wisp of its soul remained, and it had fallen into a deep slumber.

And now, Ning Jiang was awakening the remnant sword spirit within.

Of course, awakening it was not so easy. After all, it was severely damaged and had long since lacked sufficient Life Force.

”I know you are damaged, with only a remnant spirit left. I shall lend you my strength and let your glory reappear in this world once more!”

Ning Jiang’s eyes blazed. As he spoke, the Life Force within his body began to surge madly into the Demon Slaying Sword.

He was converting his own lifespan into a torrent of vitality, injecting it into the Demon Slaying Sword to revive the remnant soul of the sword spirit within.

One hundred years, two hundred years, three hundred years...

His lifespan was rapidly depleting at a rate of one hundred years per breath. A Spirit Realm Martial Artist could live for five hundred years, while an expert at the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm possessed a lifespan of a thousand years.

After about ten breaths, Ning Jiang had lost nearly a thousand years of his life!

’Now, I probably have less than three years of my own life left.’

Ning Jiang whispered. This was an incredibly severe loss. One had to understand that in this world, countless people longed for longevity, wishing for their lives to be as long as possible, ideally to the point of immortality.

Yet he had just sacrificed a thousand years in an instant. Anyone else would have been absolutely unwilling to pay such a terrible price.

But he didn’t care in the slightest. Three years was enough time for him to break through to the Earth Martial Realm. Once he reached that realm, his lifespan would increase to three thousand years.

And as nearly a thousand years of his lifespan surged into the Demon Slaying Sword, the remnant soul of the sword spirit within received enough Power to awaken completely!

RUMBLE!

A terrifying, world-shaking sword might erupted, threatening to tear the sky asunder. A Power that could shake heaven and earth began to awaken.

In that instant, for a hundred miles in every direction, every Martial Artist was affected by this sword might.

Hundreds of thousands of Martial Artists fell to their knees involuntarily, trembling in fear and awe.

”This is... the Power of Laws!”

Extreme Heaven Monarch’s expression changed drastically, and terror appeared in his eyes.

”Extreme Heaven Monarch, this is a true King’s Weapon. Experience it for yourself!”

Ning Jiang spoke calmly, raised his arm, and brought the sword down.

SHIIING!

The moment the sword descended, all space within a hundred-mile radius instantly froze, as if time itself had stopped.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a single beam of sword light, as thin as autumn water, that streaked past Extreme Heaven Monarch.

BANG!

After the sword light passed, the frozen space shattered and returned to normal. Extreme Heaven Monarch let out a heaven-shaking roar, a sound filled with utter panic and rage.