Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Knowing that there were no more words to be spoken between the two of them, Xuan Hao happily met with the ancestor from the Blue Sea Empire. Exchanging a few quick blows to gauge each other’s strength before both retreated at the same time.

Soon, Xuan Hao pulled out the sword that he had been given by Yi Min years ago, before he used his sword intent and qi to envelop and protect it. Using it not because it was a strong artifact or anything along that line, but more so to have something to channel his power through.

Whoosh~

Not much different from him, the ancestor from the Blue Sea Empire also pulled out his weapon of his own, a spear.

Crackle~~~

The air trembled under the clash of their domains as the two floated above the jagged peaks of the mountains. Below them, hordes of demon beasts cowered, their primal instincts screaming for them to flee. The heavens boiled with energy, lightning crackling wherever the two domains met each other as the rest of the world seemed to hold its breath. Waiting for the inevitable.

Xuan Hao, clad in a simple set of azure robes that he had picked up to avoid drawing too much attention to himself while outside the sect, gripped his sword tightly. His expression was calm yet sharp as he understood that the real battle was about to start now that both had managed to get a general understanding of the other’s strength.

Opposite him, the ancestor from the Blue Sea Empire, Bai Shenyang, hovered in midair, his crimson robes fluttering like fire with streaks of golden threads embroidered along the sides, a stark contrast to his rather simple azure robes. In his hands rested his spear, pulsing with eerie black runes. Another clear difference from his sword that wasn’t anywhere close to the spear.

Although he didn’t know much about this specific Celestial Immortal Realm cultivator from the Blue Sea Empire, he at least knew a little about, one being his name, another being that he seemed to specialize in Dao of Darkness. Earning him the title of the Celestial Demon, though… This mostly had to do with him naming his techniques things that would normally be a dead giveaway of them being demonic techniques…

”You won’t be able to get away from this without a few injuries!” Bai Shenyang growled, his dark eyes flickering with anger. ”Even if the Star Shattering Sect is a powerful ancient sect, there is a reason why you ancient sects don’t dare to appear in the world fully and remain hidden away! Don’t think me or the Blue Sea Empire behind me is afraid of you!”

With a roar, Bai Shenyang thrust his spear forward. Shadows coiled around its tip before erupting into a thousand phantom spears-

”Demonfang Descent!”

Each spear shimmered with dark energy, twisting through space to strike from multiple angles at once.

Faced with this kind of omnidirectional attack, Xuan Hao’s expression remained unchanged. He simply raised his sword and stepped forward, his figure blurring as he used the Illusory Light Steps-

Whoosh-! Whoosh-! Whoosh-!

Following which a dozen afterimages flickered into existence, each shifting unpredictably as the phantom spears pierced through them, hitting nothing but air.

In terms of sheer speed without the use of the Dao of Space, there was hardly anything that could match the Dao of Light.

Clang!

A single arc of silver met the tide of spears, shattering them into nothingness. Xuan Hao had taken advantage of his speed to dismantle the spear technique with a simple strike that would have been impossible without the element of surprise that his movement technique had caused his opponent who clearly had not expected him to also be proficient in the Dao of Light.

However, not one to be dissuaded, Bai Shenyang gritted his teeth and surged forward, his body flickering between reality and illusion using a technique that had made him stand out among other Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators, Phantom Devil Steps, a movement technique that allowed him to traverse space in erratic patterns. Making it difficult for even Xuan Hao to predict where his sword was coming from as it lashed out at him with suffocating power, infused with the Dao of Destruction.

Although only comprehended to the Elementary Realm, it was still terrifying and was hailed as one of the strongest Daos when it came to offensive power.

Knowing that it would be impossible to avoid, Xuan Hao narrowed his eyes slightly as his sword shifted into the flowing stance of the Rain Sword. The first sword art he had picked up back in the day and at this point refined into his main defensive sword art, though he had not really had the opportunity to test it out before today.

Swish~

Ching!

Soon enough, his blade moved like a gentle drizzle, parrying Bai Shenyang’s wild thrusts. Sparks ignited as terrifying fluctuation spread out whenever the spear and sword clashed hundreds of times in mere seconds, their movements a blur to the panicking demon beasts below who were soon reduced to dust under the terrifying ripples of power created by a clash between someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm.

On the side of Bai Shenyang, frustration started to become apparent in his eyes. Unsatisfied with how he was seemingly being played with by his opponent-

Swish~!

Crack-!

And in response, he suddenly twisted his spear and slammed it into the ground.as black cracks spread out like a spiderweb beneath them, distorting space.

”Demon Abyss Rend!”

Before Xuan Hao could react, a massive void opened beneath him, pulling him into a spiraling abyss of dark qi that would have annihilated anyone with strength below the Celestial Immortal Realm instantly.

But this spatial distortion didn’t have the intended effect on him due to his high comprehension of the Dao of Space, as he merely exhaled before his body flickering once more and he vanished from the abyss entirely using the Drifting Cloud Steps, reappearing high above Bai Shenyang.

His sword gleamed with overwhelming brilliance, his aura rising like a tidal wave. He raised his blade, and the world trembled beneath his will, he finally had a chance to try out the Heaven Splitting Sword Art.

”Earth Splitting Sword!”

With a single downward slash, a golden arc of sword intent descended like a divine judgment. The mountains below split apart, forming a massive chasm that swallowed countless demon beasts that had thought themselves lucky to have found a hiding place from the battle, while space itself groaned under the sheer power of the sword.

Seeing this attack, Bai Shenyang’s eyes widened, but he did not retreat. He planted his spear into the air, as dark energy surged around him.

”Demon Abyss Barrier!”

A towering vortex of black qi erupted around him, twisting and turning in a grotesque manner before countless runes emerged from his spear, fusing into the vortex that then twisted into an abyssal wall of layered defenses-

BOOOOOM-!

When the Earth Splitting Sword crashed down, the impact sent shockwaves through the land, flattening peaks and scattering the clouds above and below.

Bai Shenyang gritted his teeth, his arms trembling as the force of the sword above threatened to break through his defense. The ground beneath him crumbled, and his barrier shattered layer by layer.

But just as the final layer began to crack, he roared.

”Demonfang Reversal!”

Following which he thrust his spear forward, channeling every ounce of his remaining strength. A spear shadow, dark as the void, pierced through the remnants of the Earth Splitting Sword, dispersing the remaining energy. Though exhausted, Bai Shenyang stood his ground, his breath ragged but his eyes burning with even more anger as he felt himself being the one on losing side of the exchange just now.

Above, Xuan Hao’s gaze remained steady looking down on Bai Shenyang. ”Impressive,” he muttered to himself with a hint of excitement in his eyes. ”But how well can you do against this?”

Taking a step forward, the sky itself seemed to bend and twist, as his sword rose once more, its edge radiating a sharpness far beyond the Earth Splitting Sword from earlier. The air stilled and the wind ceased for a moment, as even the sky itself seemed to hold its breath when the sword began to move down towards Bai Shenyang.

”Sky Splitting Sword!”

A single slash. A boundless light. A blade of pure sword intent tore through the air, splitting the very sky in half. The overwhelming force descended upon Bai Shenyang like divine retribution.

Bai Shenyang’s pupils shrank when faced with this attack. He had no time to dodge, no time to counter… And so, with a defiant roar, he raised his spear, summoning every last shred of his power to block the incoming sword.

”Demonfang Dominion!”

A final explosion of darkness erupted from the depths of his dantian as it coiled around his spear before clashing against the radiant sword light. The fabric of the world screamed under the collision. Mountains collapsed, the sky distorted, and the space shattered around them under the terrifying power.

For a moment, it seemed that the two were equal as two terrifying forces continued clashing with each other. Xuan Hao looked down coldly from above as he pushed down, while Bai Shenyang looked up from above. His spear pulsed violently refusing to yield.

But then-

Crack~!

His spear fractured. His defenses crumbling along with it, as the Sky Splitting Sword pierced through, slamming into his body and sending him hurtling across the battlefield like a falling star.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crashing through mountain after mountain before finally stopping, buried under a pile of shattered stone.

A brief silence soon fell over the world as the battle came to an end.

Then, from the rubble, a coughing sound could be heard before Bai Shenyang emerged, his robes torn, blood trailing down his lips.

However, none of this mattered to him as he turned to stare up towards Xuan Hao with unyielding eyes, but his body was already exhausted. His power was drained. He had no choice but to give up continuing his fight with Xuan Hao even though he knew his opponent shouldn’t be in a much better situation than himself after the last clash between them.

”Haaa… You win this one, Elder of the Star Shattering Sect!”

With a deep breath, he turned and vanished, his escape technique flickering like a dying ember in the wind.

Xuan Hao watched without chasing before slowly placing his sword back into his interspatial ring as a similarly exhausted expression appeared on his face.