Translator: CinderTL
A hundred miles away.
Six streaks of sword light were darting through the clouds at subsonic speed.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Return to the capital at full speed! Do you really want to test whether the new Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy's sword is sharp or not?"
"Is Li Chunjun out of his mind!? It was the Chiyang Sword Sect that killed his entire family. Why isn't he seeking revenge against them instead of targeting us? We didn't offend him!"
"Facts have proven that the Sect Master's early alliance with the Chiyang Sword Sect and the Wuji Sword Sect, and their joint efforts to suppress the Taixu Sword Sect, was absolutely correct. Even if we didn't target the Taixu Sword Sect, they would never let us go."
"The situation is stronger than individuals. There's no point in talking. Hurry back to the capital! The capital has the Six Harmonies Linked Array composed of six fourth-order formations, which is enough to ensure our safety."
The six Core Formation cultivators communicated via Divine Sense as they flew.
Their tone was filled with resentment.
Originally, they had been watching from the sidelines, hoping that the Chiyang Sword Sect and the Taixu Sword Sect would fight to the death, while they looked for opportunities to benefit. But now…
The fire had directly burned them.
Where could they go to reason this out? The six of them were flying at a considerable speed.
Soon, they were within five hundred miles of the capital of Star Province.
At that moment, one of the Core Formation cultivators suddenly exclaimed, "What's that sound?"
Immediately after, another Core Formation cultivator looked into the distance: "The clouds over there… seem off, as if they've been split by a Sword Qi that pierced through the void."
Sound?
Clouds?
Sword Qi!? When the two Core Formation cultivators mentioned this, the remaining ones seemed to suddenly realize something, abruptly awakening.
"Not good! A Flying Sword!"
"A Flying Sword is attacking!"
"Be careful!"
Shouts of alarm instantly spread among the six Core Formation cultivators.
"Whoosh!"
In the next moment, the sonic boom of a sword traveling faster than sound approached from afar.
But none of the Core Formation cultivators had time to carefully sense it.
Silently, as if it didn't exist, the sword light suddenly appeared in front of the six Core Formation cultivators.
What was particularly unbelievable to them was that the Flying Sword had torn through the clouds from dozens of miles away, entered their Divine Sense range, and even invaded their precise control range without them sensing any abnormality.
It was as if the Flying Sword didn't exist, instinctively ignored by them.
Only now, as the Flying Sword suddenly pierced through the head of one Core Formation cultivator and continued to penetrate the second and third, did the remaining cultivators react in terror.
"When did it get here!?"
"When did this Flying Sword reach us!?"
"Damn it! The trail left by the Flying Sword tearing through the air even split the clouds. Not only could it be sensed by Divine Sense, but it was also visible to the naked eye. Why didn't I feel any warning, as if I instinctively thought there was no Flying Sword, just emptiness!?"
The remaining three Core Formation cultivators immediately activated their Protective Magical Artifacts and Talismans, causing a burst of radiant light.
But in the next moment, the blazing and violent Blazing Phoenix Fire erupted from the Flying Sword.
It was as if an Innate Divine Being had suddenly emerged from the void, burning the sky with destructive flames.
The Core Formation cultivators, who had done their utmost to activate their Protective Magical Artifacts and Talismans, had no time to unleash their trump cards before their bodies were completely engulfed by the fiery phantom of the Flame Phoenix.
...
"Whoosh!"
Several miles away, the Scarlet Sky Sword returned to Li Chunjun's hand.
"The Great Void Destruction Sword Intent is quite useful, but its level is still too low," he remarked.
Under the influence of the Great Void Destruction Sword Intent, everyone seemed to overlook the presence of the Scarlet Sky Sword, making it difficult for them to detect it even when it was right upon them.
Of course, it was only difficult to detect.
Even with just the entry-level Great Void Destruction Sword Intent, when the flying sword began its slaughter, it was enough to jolt those Core Formation cultivators awake, no matter how slow they were to realize it.
"Moreover, it is ultimately a composite Sword Intent, or perhaps my understanding of this Sword Intent is still far from sufficient. I have only barely managed to give it a rudimentary form, which makes its consumption even greater than that of the fully mastered Flame Phoenix Sword Intent."
Li Chunjun sheathed his sword, and his powerful Divine Sense swept across the surroundings once more.
Before long, he seemed to sense something again.
Seeing that Zhou Yuechen had hurried over, he directly said, "Follow me in a moment."
"Sword Prodigy, be careful. Once you make your move, they will surely spread the news and become alert. When you intercept them, please pay close attention to the surrounding movements," Zhou Yuechen quickly reminded.
"Just six Core Formation cultivators. Killing them won't take more than half a breath. There won't be enough time for them to spread the news," Li Chunjun said, then flashed away, heading straight for the horizon.
Zhou Yuechen was momentarily stunned, then a look of disbelief flashed in his eyes.
Six Core Formation cultivators!? Half a breath!? To kill six Core Formation Realm cultivators in such a short time!? What terrifying strength is this!?
Even a Nascent Soul True Lord might not be able to do that, right? Has Sword Prodigy Li's true combat power already reached such a level!?...
On the other side.
Li Chunjun continued his swift assault.
This time, fewer people were coming, only five. And among them, only one was a Golden Core cultivator.
Facing the assassination by the Great Void Destruction Sword Intent, throughout the entire process, not only did the four True Core cultivators fail to lock onto the Scarlet Sky Sword's location, but even the Golden Core cultivator became a victim of the sword before he could react.
The efficiency of this Sword Intent's assassination was astonishingly fast.
However, when intercepting the third batch of Core Formation cultivators, Li Chunjun was eventually exposed.
This group of cultivators numbered more than nine, led by three Golden Core cultivators, two of whom wore Spirit Jade that could calm the mind and focus the spirit.
Although this Spirit Jade couldn't withstand a fully mastered Sword Intent, it still provided some resistance to Sword Intent.
As a result, before the Scarlet Sky Sword imbued with the Great Void Destruction Sword Intent could strike, they were already alerted.
Despite the fact that all nine of them still couldn't escape the Scarlet Sky Sword's assassination, the chase spanned over two to three hundred miles.
By the time Li Chunjun had hunted down seven of them, the other two were less than a hundred miles away from the capital of Star Province.
Considering that another eight-member squad had appeared within the range of his Divine Sense, he immediately changed direction and headed towards that squad.
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...
A few minutes later.
Upon receiving the news, Dongfang Wu hurriedly led his group to appear at the central formation hub established around the capital.
This formation hub was built in the shape of an altar, spanning ten miles in all directions, offering an extremely wide field of view.
Thus, this True Inheritor could clearly see four figures, one chasing and three fleeing, dozens of miles outside the formation.
When one of the Core Formation cultivators recognized one of the three figures, he couldn't help but exclaim, "It's An Xiu and the others!"
Dongfang Wu's heart sank.
An Xiu!
It was their Zhou Tian Sect's rare genius, who had cultivated for only over forty years and had already reached the True Core stage, with the Golden Core within sight. There was great hope for him to break through to the Nascent Soul stage in the future. If we were to watch him fall before our eyes...
"We can't save him! Leaving the formation to rescue him would be suicide! We can't withstand Li Chunjun's sword!"
"Exactly, he wants us to leave the formation and die, so he can defeat us one by one! Several of our teams have already disappeared! Most likely, they're in grave danger!"
"With fifty-three Core Formation cultivators on our side, and with Dongfang Wu, the True Inheritor, here, if we all charge together, why should we fear a single Li Chunjun!?"
The atmosphere in the field was chaotic.
Amid the debate, everyone's gaze eventually fell on Dongfang Wu.
The final decision would have to be made by this True Inheritor.
Seeing An Xiu getting closer, Dongfang Wu gritted his teeth and said, "Stay within the formation and do not move!"
"Dongfang True Inheritor!?"
"Obey the command!"
Dongfang Wu said firmly.
At that moment, An Xiu and his two companions, who were less than sixty miles from the capital of Star Province, suddenly accelerated, seemingly using some forbidden technique, and in an instant, they widened the distance between themselves and Li Chunjun, rushing within fifty miles of the capital's formation!
This scene immediately filled the Core Formation cultivators, who were unwilling to watch their genius die before their eyes, with both shock and joy.
"True Inheritor!"
Everyone's gaze fell on Dongfang Wu again.
"No!"
Dongfang Wu was resolute and calm. "Can't you see? Li Chunjun could easily catch up with An Xiu and kill him, but he deliberately didn't. He's waiting for us to leave the city! We must not fall for his trap!"
"Dongfang True Inheritor, An Xiu is the Sect Master's disciple. If he dies outside the capital of Star Province, the Sect Master will surely blame us, and then..."
A Core Formation cultivator who seemed close to An Xiu retorted gravely.
"Didn't Dongfang True Inheritor just say that Li Chunjun is only a Core Formation cultivator? If we each throw a Talisman at him, he'll be dead if he gets hit!"
"We're not Zhou Wu Gou, who only had about twenty Core Formation cultivators with him. We have fifty-three, and we have far more Talismans than Zhou Wu Gou! If we still don't dare to leave the city to rescue our people under such circumstances and watch him be killed by Li Chunjun before the city, what face will our Zhou Tian Sect have from now on!?"
"Fifty-three against one, the advantage is ours!"
Other Core Formation cultivators also spoke up, some even eager to rush out of the formation immediately.
Seeing the crowd's fervor, Dongfang Wu was on the verge of losing control of the situation. He had no choice but to say, "Then we'll only rescue An Xiu and his two companions. After the rescue, quickly retreat back into the formation. Do not engage with him!"
"We will follow the True Inheritor's command!"
"Hahaha, with one nose and two eyes, I want to see just how strong this Li Chunjun really is!"
"The Chiyang Sword Sect has made Li Chunjun out to be so fearsome, perhaps because they suffered a great loss at his hands and didn't want to lose face, so they exaggerated his strength! At the end of the day, Li Chunjun is just a native of the Blue Star Minor Realm, and he's said to be very young. I don't believe he can really stand against fifty-three Core Formation cultivators!"
"Our Zhou Tian Sect excels in Battle Formations. We can set up a Battle Formation to go to their aid. With the power of the Battle Formation, we can even fight against a Nascent Soul for a while. No matter how strong Li Chunjun is, he can't surpass a Nascent Soul True Lord!"
The Core Formation cultivators, having received their orders, were greatly boosted in morale.
Many people often only believe what they want to believe.
Some facts, even if they have heard about them, are still denied because they have not witnessed or experienced them firsthand.
Even when authoritative institutions come forward to confirm these facts, they still insist on arguing against them.
In this situation, out of the fifty-three Core Formation cultivators, seventeen remained to hold the fort and maintain the operation of the formation.
The remaining thirty-six, led by Dongfang Wu, formed a Dipper Calamity Dragon Formation and charged out with high morale, heading straight for Li Chunjun.
"Let this Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy, Li Chunjun, see that the battle formation power of our Zhou Tian Sect is far beyond what the Chiyang Sword Sect can match!"
(End of the Chapter)
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