Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1839 - 1109: My Sword Can Sever Celestial Beings!

They did not know that their appearance was exactly in line with the Heavenly Sword True Monarch’s intent.

The Heavenly Sword True Monarch had sent Que Lingyu and Jian Changhe out precisely to draw these people forth.

The instant An Wusheng and the other four appeared, the Heavenly Sword True Monarch’s eyes, calm as an ancient well, suddenly became incomparably sharp.

He extended his hand in a phantom grasp, and the Green Gold Sword appeared out of thin air in his palm.

”Sword hidden in life, sword entrusted to the Divine Soul, seeking life in death, seeking survival in the sword—this sword has been hidden for eight hundred years. It is time for it to enter the world!”

He gently stroked the Green Gold Sword in his hand, complex emotions flickering in his eyes.

”It’s a pity I have only this one sword. After this strike, there will be no more hidden sword.”

”But this one sword should be enough.”

”Enough.”

He slowly tightened his grip on the hilt, slowly drew the Green Gold Sword from its scabbard. His body stood ramrod straight—straight as a sword, unbending, unyielding, with edge fully revealed.

Outside the grand array, in midair, An Wusheng, who had just stepped out, furrowed his brows.

”Hall Master, shall we take them down?” Yu Yuan had not noticed An Wusheng’s oddness; he fixed his gaze on Que Lingyu and Jian Changhe below.

An Wusheng’s brows knitted tighter and tighter, nearly twisted into a knot.

”Wait~~”

He looked toward Hidden Sword Mountain, his expression growing more and more grave.

For some reason, an extremely dangerous feeling arose in his heart, as if a sword were pressing against his chest, ready at any moment to pierce his heart.

”What’s wrong?” Yu Yuan, Ji Wusi and the other two all looked at An Wusheng in puzzlement.

An Wusheng ignored their questions, staring fixedly at Hidden Sword Mountain.

Under the Mountain Protection Array’s shroud, a faint mist coiled around the outside of Hidden Sword Mountain. This mist blocked not only their Spiritual Sense, but also their vision, preventing them from seeing what lay upon the mountain.

An Wusheng could only vaguely make out the Hidden Sword Hall on the mountain, could only see what seemed to be a crowd of figures before the hall doors.

Yet he could still feel that intense sense of crisis, and it was growing stronger and stronger, like an invisible giant hand clenching his heart.

His hands trembled uncontrollably, beads of sweat oozed from his forehead, the hairs on his body stood up one by one.

Yu Yuan and Ji Wusi finally noticed An Wusheng’s abnormal state, and the two of them simultaneously turned their gazes toward Hidden Sword Mountain.

And just then, a clear, sonorous voice came from atop Hidden Sword Mountain.

”With this sword of mine, I can cut down those in the heavens!”

Along with the voice, a strand of Sword Qi that looked utterly ordinary shot forth.

From within the array, from the mountain peak, from before the great hall doors.

The mist dispersed, and An Wusheng finally saw clearly the people standing before the hall, saw clearly the Green Gold Sword in the Heavenly Sword True Monarch’s hand.

His whole body tingled with numbness, and almost by instinct he summoned a Spiritual Artifact to block before him—a Token wreathed in black qi, a Token suffused with dense Dao Rhyme.

The Judge Order—An Wusheng’s Lifebound Spiritual Artifact. Perhaps it was not the most powerful Spiritual Artifact in his possession, but it was the most important to him.

The Judge Order was the weighty implement by which the Unpredictable Ghost Sect wielded judgment over life and death; in its form and function, it aligned with the laws of heaven and earth, its might awe-inspiring, making ghosts and gods shy away.

This Order was forged from Black Soul Iron mixed with gilt gold, two feet three inches long, three-point-seven inches wide, weighing nine jin and four liang. Its front end flared wide like a command arrow, engraved with relief patterns of life-and-death Divine Souls, with faint blood-light flowing between the lines; the rear narrowed into a grip wrapped in dark silkworm thread, adorned with nine copper bells.

Set into the flat of the Order was a perfectly round Taixu Fire Divine Crystal, able to reflect the light and shadow of Divine Souls, able to drive Karmic Fire, able to shackle manifested forms.

Before this Order, no one could escape or hide. Once tainted by its Karmic Fire, whether Daoist Body or Divine Soul, both would suffer the burning of that fire.

This was an artifact oriented toward detection and attack, yet at this moment An Wusheng placed it in front of himself, using it as a Defensive Spiritual Artifact. From this one could see how utterly panicked he was.

But his panic was not without reason.

That seemingly ordinary strand of Sword Qi streaked forth, then silently passed through the space between the five of them.

Before the five could react, the Sword Qi had already gone by.

They even watched with eyes wide open as the Sword Qi slid past, their faces full of bafflement.

This sword didn’t seem to have any killing power!

”Hall Master!” Yu Yuan had just opened his mouth to ask what was going on when a crisp cracking sound rang out.

The two-foot-three Judge Order split from the middle, then, no longer under control, fell downward.

An Wusheng’s pupils shrank suddenly.

His Judge Order had been destroyed; he could no longer control it, and so it fell so quietly.

Yu Yuan and the others were also dumbfounded, but very quickly their astonishment turned to terror.

With a bang, White Bone Mountain’s body burst apart, limbs and chunks of flesh spraying in all directions, every severed surface perfectly smooth.

White Bone Mountain was merely the first; Du Feng followed immediately after.

Next came Yu Yuan and Ji Wusi, though their bodies did not completely explode—they were merely cut cleanly in half at the waist, their upper bodies still intact. Both lowered their heads to look at their lower halves, eyes full of horror and disbelief.

”How can this be!”

Crack—An Wusheng’s left arm, along with most of his shoulder, slipped from his body, revealing the ink-black blood within him.

”Ah~”

An Wusheng let out a scream of agonized anguish.

Yu Yuan and Ji Wusi were also howling in pain, even rolling about in midair.

”Go!”

After barely adapting to the pain, An Wusheng uttered just one word, then fled into the Void.

Yu Yuan and Ji Wusi, relying on the last vestiges of rationality, followed him into the Void.

In front of Hidden Sword Hall, the Heavenly Sword True Monarch slowly sheathed the Green Gold Sword, the razor-sharp aura on him vanishing without a trace, replaced by utter plainness.

”This sword severed Daoist Body and Divine Soul.”

He murmured softly.

The battle outside was still ongoing, but very soon the Ghost Soldiers army received the order to retreat, fleeing in panic under Que Lingyu and Jian Changhe’s pursuit.

Meanwhile, in a mountain hollow three thousand li to the east of Hidden Sword Mountain, An Wusheng, Yu Yuan, and Ji Wusi emerged once more from the Void.

The three lay sprawled in disarray upon the rocks, their faces deathly pale.

”Hall Master, I can’t restore my Daoist Body!” Ji Wusi’s voice was trembling.

An Wusheng looked at his severed arm, his gaze lowered slightly. ”He didn’t cut only our Daoist Bodies, but also our Divine Souls. Our Daoist Bodies can’t be restored.”

As he spoke, he took out a gray arm and forcibly pressed it to the wound.

At the wound, fleshy sprouts grew forth, linking to the gray arm.

After that, he swung the arm once, clenched his fist—the arm seemed no different from his original one.

Yet in truth, there was an essential difference between the two.

This was merely an arm he had taken from a Ghost Soldier; it was not his arm, and could not replace his original limb.

Most importantly, what he had lost was not just an arm—his Daoist Body and Divine Soul had both gone from complete to crippled.

A crippled Divine Soul was almost impossible to restore.

A crippled Daoist Body meant that balance had been broken; it would not only affect his cultivation, but also prevent him from remaining in the Void for long periods.

Golden Core Cultivators were able to walk within the Void precisely because their Daoist Bodies were flawless and without leakage, so the Mana within them did not spill away.

But now their Daoist Bodies were damaged, and damaged in a way that could not be mended. If they remained in the Void for too long, the Mana within them would continually dissipate; this was also why they had emerged from the Void so quickly.

Though the Heavenly Sword True Monarch’s sword did not kill them on the spot, it completely cut off their path of Dao, leaving them with no possibility of ever advancing further.

Even if they somehow found a way to patch the rifts in their Divine Souls, they still would never take another step forward.

Compared to White Bone Mountain and Du Feng, who died on the spot, the three of them could be considered fortunate.

A short while later, Yu Yuan and Ji Wusi also used the limbs of Ghost Soldiers to patch the gaps in their Daoist Bodies. Their expressions were extremely unsightly, their eyes filled with fear.

It was simply too terrifying!

Just one sword, and it had nearly slaughtered all five of them.

Such strength utterly exceeded their understanding.

An Wusheng’s expression was equally grim. He had not only lost an arm, but also his Lifebound Spiritual Artifact—equivalent to losing half his life.

Most importantly, their strength had also been affected.

Now he retained only thirty percent of his former power, and could not even fully exert that thirty percent, for he was no longer able to fight within the Void.