Chapter 46: Yun Chaoxian
Chapter 46: Yun Chaoxian
Previously...
When Chu Liang activated his divine abilities, he genuinely believed he was using the Hundred Swords Seal.
However, the moment he invoked the Crimson Executioner, he felt something strange.
It was a surge of emotions that had been suppressed for countless years—wrath, hatred of evil, and impatience. It was the long-sealed sword of righteousness going wild with joy now that it could finally strike down evil again.
This was the awakening of the sword of righteousness!
Whoosh—
Under Chu Liang's will, the Crimson Executioner began to split. The one sword split into ten, ten into a hundred, a hundred into a thousand, and a thousand into ten thousand...
A mysterious force suddenly erupted and propelled him straight up toward the sky. It was as if a gust of wind was lending him its power.
Boom!
There was a sudden burst of sword qi in midair, producing an explosive noise. A myriad of swords filled the sky; there seemed to be no end to them!
Even Chu Liang was immensely stunned by the sight.
Is this the Ten Thousand Swords Seal?
Perhaps, it was a technique even greater than that. If it were an ordinary Ten Thousand Swords Seal, there wouldn't be so much power contained in each of those swords. The ten thousand Crimson Executioners rained down on the colossal black tiger.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
When a beam of swordlight slashed the Tiger King, it only grazed him. Demonic qi seeped out from the wound, but there wasn't a single drop of blood. However, there were over ten thousand of these swords, so the result would be magnified greatly.
The first wave of attacks caused the Tiger King to let out a pained roar!
"Aoooo—"
The tough man seized the opportunity to leap backward. While doing so, he didn't forget to pick up the World-Dominating Halberd from the ground. Now with the halberd in hand, the power of his qi changed immediately, becoming five times stronger than before!
Nevertheless, there was no need for him to take any further action. The torrent of swordlight rained down a second wave of attacks.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
The beams of swordlight swirled around chaotically like bees returning to their hive. They revolved around the black tiger, flying in and out of his massive body. It appeared as though he was shrouded in a dazzling halo of light and color.
The process seemed lengthy, but in reality, the myriad of swords had rained down many waves of attacks on the Tiger King in the blink of an eye. Tiger King's eyes had dimmed, and he was glowing strangely.
"Aaaaahhhh!" the Tiger King roared strangely.
Rumble!
As a result of the myriad of swords piercing him, the Tiger King exploded with a loud bang and a fountain of blood! The blood splattered onto the ground!
Blood was all that remained of the Tiger King, as even his bones had been destroyed. He had been obliterated.
A golden phantom floated into Chu Liang.
Immediately after, the Crimson Executioner flew back to Chu Liang, gleaming with the red of a bloodbath.
Chu Liang suddenly remembered the weapon's description... This sword serves as a symbol of righteousness. When confronting an enemy tainted by great evil and their qi suffused with blood, the sword undergoes a surge in power.
That said, this boost in power... Isn't it a bit too much?
Going from the Hundred Swords Seal to the Ten Thousand Swords Seal was an increase of at least a hundredfold!
He hadn't seen the divine swords spoken of in legends. However, he had seen valuable swords in the Mount Shu Sect, and not a single one of them was in the same league as the Crimson Executioner.
The Crimson Executioner was outrageously powerful. Even Chu Liang, its owner, was astounded.
So, of course, the shirtless tough guy was extremely shocked. He stood in place for quite a while before he finally walked over to Chu Liang with his huge halberd in hand.
Composure returned to his gaze as he said, "I am Yun Chaoxian of the Great Astral Sect. Thank you very much for your help, sir!"
"Chu Liang, Mount Shu Sect," Chu Liang replied.
"So, you're a disciple of the Mount Shu Sect. It's an honor to meet you," the tough guy expressed very politely with his hands cupped together in respect.
"So, you're from the Great Astral Sect. No wonder you are so brave and powerful," Chu Liang immediately responded courteously.
He could see the tough guy's appearance clearly now. Yun Chaoxian wasn't just tall and robust; he was also rather handsome with straight, tapered eyebrows, round eyes, and sharp facial features.
Yun Chaoxian's gaze was filled with reverence as he looked at Chu Liang.
Chu Liang was about to have an exchange of pleasantries with Yun Chaoxian, but he suddenly recalled something, and his expression turned serious.
"Hang on...!" Chu Liang uttered.
With that, he immediately turned and ran outside.
Yun Chaoxian wasn't sure what was going on, but he followed Chu Liang out with his halberd in hand.
Chu Liang rushed out of the cave to find the surrounding area deserted, without even a glimpse of a demon's shadow.
These lesser demons cherished their lives greatly. As soon as they saw their king was dead, they scattered in all directions like birds and beasts before an impending disaster, deathly afraid of fleeing too slowly. Chu Liang only lagged a little behind them, but it was indeed too late for him to capture any of them.
"Ah..." Chu Liang sighed disappointedly. "They've escaped, all of them..."
Yun Chaoxian asked curiously, "Brother Chu, why are you concerned about those lesser demons? They can't do much anyway. You've slain that Black Tiger Demon. That's enough to suppress the rebelling demons in this area."
"I..." Chu Liang began and then paused. He continued, "I'm just doing my part to eradicate evil."
Yun Chaoxian cupped his hands together in reverence again and expressed, "Brother Chu, you are so awe-inspiringly righteous. I truly admire you."
Since all of the lesser demons had already fled, Chu Liang and Yun Chaoxian descended the mountain together and had a chat along the way.
Actually, Chu Liang already knew a bit about what Yun Chaoxian was telling him. It had been reported in The Seven Stars Gazette that the Great Astral Sect's four most outstanding core disciples specialized in using the saber, spear, sword, and polearm respectively.
The most famous one was, of course, Senior Disciple Ren Hongdao, and Yun Chaoxian turned out to be the one who specialized in using the polearm.
"The Great Astral Sect is located in the northwest. This time, when those four divine envoys came from the far west and entered the territory of the Yu Dynasty, it drew my sect's attention," Yun Chaoxian said. "So, the sect ordered the four of us to each kill one of the four envoys."
"But little did I know that the man I was hunting down was extremely cunning..." Yun Chaoxian continued, sounding rather resentful at this point. "He challenged me to a fight. He drew a circle and said that neither of us should bring weapons into it. Whoever stepped out of the circle first would lose and be at the mercy of the other.
"I agreed and entered the circle to fight with him. I only punched him once. Who knew that he would use that as an opportunity to fly out of the circle, hoist my World-Dominating Halberd onto his shoulder, and run away!
"I said he had lost. But he just said that I could deal with him however I liked if I could catch him. That's just unethical!"
"..." Chu Liang fell silent for a moment.
He remembered the divine envoy from earlier mentioning that he had encountered a disciple of the Great Astral Sect. He'd said that the disciple had been skilled but lacked intelligence. It was indeed an objective assessment.
Judging by Yun Chaoxian's cultivation level alone, he was indeed a formidable opponent. He managed to stand his ground in a passionate showdown against the true form of a fifth-realm demon king. Moreover, he had trained with a polearm since childhood, so all of his skills were focused on that kind of weapon. Yet, when he fought against the Tiger King, he had done so barehanded!
Weapons were of utmost importance for martial artists. Without a suitable weapon, Yun Chaoxian could only unleash about sixty percent of his true power at most. Yet, he still managed to show such mighty prowess. When he was wielding the World-Dominating Halberd, it was likely he was no weaker than the geniuses from the average immortal sect.
Purely in terms of cultivation level, it's uncertain if Senior Sister Jiang Yuebai would be able to defeat Yun Chaoxian easily since they follow different cultivation paths. However... in a real fight, Senior Sister Jiang may be able to find a hundred ways to defeat him.
After all, it's pivotal that a cultivator can use their brain well.
"Brother Chu, what do you think of going with me to hunt down that asshole?" Yun Chaoxian asked, suddenly inviting Chu Liang to join him.
"Hmm?" Chu Liang was surprised. "Brother Yun, why do you want me to come along?"
"That demon divine envoy is treacherous and cunning. He specializes in schemes to jeopardize humans. He must be eliminated by all means. But I may not be strong enough to deal with him alone," Yun Chaoxian explained, gazing at Chu Liang with a face full of reverence. "Brother Chu, with the extraordinary powers you've cultivated, you should be called a genius. If you help me, we can definitely slay that evildoer!"
"My extraordinary powers..." Chu Liang muttered while hesitating about what his decision should be.
"Yes! Ever since I was a child, I've never been awed by anyone. But I was truly impressed when I saw your divine abilities today!" Yun Chaoxian nodded repeatedly, his eyes beaming with admiration. "Actually, your aura seems pretty ordinary and unremarkable. I wouldn't have even imagined that you'd be this formidable if I didn't witness you use the Ten Thousand Swords Seal!"
Oh, yes.
Chu Liang smiled.
It's not just you... Even I had no idea I was this powerful.