Free Web NovelChapter 247: Chapter 243: Four Extremes One Sword, Severing Life and Death
A surging killing intent roiled in Ning Jiang’s chest, ready to erupt at any moment.
His eyes turned impossibly cold, as if holding an ancient, biting wind. They contained not just indifference but also an indescribable, deathly stillness, like a frozen lake in winter.
He truly intended to kill!
When a Martial Artist’s strength was lacking, they had to know forbearance, feigning weakness and enduring humiliation to diligently advance.
But with sufficient strength, one’s character should be unyielding. They should slay gods who stand in their way, unrivaled under the heavens.
Shangguan Yu had injured him, cursed him as a little beast, and threatened that if Ning Jiang couldn’t provide a satisfactory explanation after the Secret Realm, he would go to the Yanyue Sect and start a massacre. These things had already ignited the killing intent in his heart.
Ning Jiang was usually a quiet person, like a True Dragon hiding among the clouds, showing no hint of his power. But once provoked, no matter who it was, they would have to bear his thunderous wrath.
"What did you say? Kill us? I think you’ve really gone mad."
Hearing Ning Jiang’s words, the two Divinity Transformation Realm experts thought it was an absurd joke, their faces filled with disdain.
"Die, brat."
Lei Yuan, Sect Leader of the Cyan Splendor Sect, struck out, forming a Thunderous Giant Palm. Lightning coursed over it, crackling.
Surprisingly, he was a Thunder Attribute Cultivator, just like Ning Jiang.
However, compared to Ning Jiang’s Purple Thunder, his was merely the most ordinary form of lightning.
"Ninth Elder, go!" Grand Elder Meng Nanfeng and the others immediately prepared to rush forward and intercept Lei Yuan.
"Slash!"
Ning Jiang did not retreat. He took a step forward, grasped the Ice Soul Sword with both hands, and slashed.
A deathly-white Sword Aura tore through the air, shooting forward.
"SHRRIP!"
The Thunderous Giant Palm was instantly torn apart, split in two.
"How is that possible?" Lei Yuan’s expression faltered in shock.
"Is that... Primordial Spirit Power?" Beside him, Shen Maocai of the Fire Cloud Sect stared at Ning Jiang, his eyes wide with shock.
Unbelievably, a ripple of Primordial Spirit Power was emanating from Ning Jiang.
"You’re a Primordial Spirit Realm expert? No, that’s not right. You’re in the Spirit Realm. This isn’t your power! Brat, who in the world are you!?" Shen Maocai’s voice was filled with immense shock.
"Do you know him?"
Ning Jiang made a grasping motion, and a translucent, fist-sized figure appeared in his hand.
"Brother Shen, save me!"
The moment the figure appeared, it roared at Shen Maocai.
"It’s Elder Cai Lin! You bastard, how is Elder Cai Lin in your possession?" Shen Maocai’s eyes flashed. "I see. You really are connected to that Meng Daoyi. Did Meng Daoyi give you this Primordial Spirit?"
"Wrong. Completely wrong! Haven’t you all been looking for Meng Daoyi?" Ning Jiang’s eyes flew open, his gaze shooting out like a sword. He said, word by word, "I am Meng Daoyi!"
His words struck like lightning.
Shen Maocai’s expression changed drastically. He stumbled back three steps, staring at Ning Jiang, dumbfounded.
’The one who attacked our Fire Cloud Sect, who trapped and killed Grand Elder Cai Lin, and who fought the Demon King in the Demon Cave... that was Ning Jiang?’
"Elder Lei Yuan, the situation has changed! We should retreat for now and report this to the Star Sword Sect. Let them deal with him!"
The mere name "Meng Daoyi" was enough to make Shen Maocai, a grandmaster of the Divinity Transformation Realm, think of retreating.
Although Ning Jiang’s Cultivation didn’t seem high, his actions all demonstrated how extraordinary and mysterious he was.
Cai Lin had already fallen at Ning Jiang’s hands, and he had no desire to be the second.
"Alright."
Lei Yuan also agreed. The name Meng Daoyi was famous and carried a fearsome reputation; he had to take it seriously.
"Thinking of leaving? It’s too late. Both of you will stay here today! Cai Lin, your mission is over. Fulfill your final purpose!"
"No!"
Cai Lin roared in fury, but it was no use. His Primordial Spirit began to burn, transforming into streams of Power that surged into Ning Jiang’s body, causing Ning Jiang’s aura to climb rapidly.
Back at the Fire Cloud Sect, Ning Jiang had used a Secret Technique to burn a portion of Cai Lin’s Primordial Spirit Power, granting him a massive boost in speed to escape the pursuit of the Fire Cloud Sect’s Sect Leader.
Back then, he had only burned a tenth of the Primordial Spirit; now, he was burning it completely.
BOOM!
Three breaths later, before the stunned eyes of Meng Nanfeng and the others, Ning Jiang’s aura stepped into the Divinity Transformation Realm, almost indistinguishable from that of a true expert of that Realm.
"Kill."
Ning Jiang, wielding the Ice Soul Sword, took a single step and appeared directly above Shen Maocai’s head.
"Winter’s End!"
A frigid aura enveloped an area a hundred yards in every direction, and the entire space seemed to plunge into the dead silence of a harsh winter.
A deathly-pale Sword Aura descended, more than ten times stronger than before.
"Fire Cloud Hand Seal!"
Shen Maocai roared as the Spiritual Qi in his body surged madly into his palm. His entire arm became wreathed in roiling flames. He struck out with a palm that pressed down on Ning Jiang like a mountain.
However, this earth-shattering palm strike was sliced open by the Sword Aura, which continued onward without losing momentum and struck Shen Maocai.
PFFT.
Shen Maocai spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward, a gash so deep the bone was visible appearing on his chest.
If his Protective Spiritual Qi hadn’t blocked some of the impact, that last slash would have taken his life.
"How can he be so strong?"
Shen Maocai was both shocked and enraged. Logically, even if Ning Jiang’s strength had reached the Divinity Transformation Realm, he shouldn’t be able to wield that power so perfectly.
After all, how could someone who had never stepped into the Divinity Transformation Realm possibly master a brand-new level of power right away? It was like giving a sword to someone who had never practiced; they naturally wouldn’t be able to use it well.
But the feeling Ning Jiang gave him was that he was incredibly familiar with the Divinity Transformation Realm. He wielded this power with absolute perfection, even more smoothly than Shen Maocai himself.
’Why do I feel like I’m less familiar with the power of the Divinity Transformation Realm than he is?’ Shen Maocai thought in shock and anger.
"Ning Jiang... no, Meng Daoyi! Who in the world are you? Where do you come from? What is your sect?"
"A dead man doesn’t need to know that much," Ning Jiang said, his gaze indifferent.
"Brat, don’t get arrogant! Take this! Five Thunders Bombarding the Top!"
Seeing Ning Jiang ignore him, Lei Yuan, who was standing to the side, flew into a rage. He spread his five fingers, and five bolts of thunder erupted, sweeping forward.
Each bolt of thunder pulsed with a tyrannical power sufficient to kill a Spirit Realm Peak expert. As the five bolts neared Ning Jiang, they merged into one, becoming as sharp and deadly as a spear.
"Using thunder in front of me? You’re just embarrassing yourself. Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Seal, break."
Ning Jiang snorted coldly. Purple Thunder surged, and ninety-nine bolts of lightning rapidly condensed into a square Thunder Seal. It was incomparably fierce as it smashed forward.
The seal smashed down with the force of an Ancient Giant hurling an Ancient Divine Mountain, powerful enough to turn the world upside down.
When the two attacks collided, the Nine Tribulations Celestial Thunder Seal tore through Lei Yuan’s attack with unstoppable force, continuing on to strike Lei Yuan himself.
"ARGH!"
Lei Yuan let out a miserable scream, blood pouring from his Seven Apertures. He was grievously injured.
"’He’s so strong! The Ninth Elder was really hiding his true power!’ Meng Nanfeng and the others were filled with awe."
With one sword and one seal, both Divinity Transformation Realm experts were heavily injured.
Two Divinity Transformation Realm experts coming to intercept a group of Spirit Realm Masters should have been a simple matter. Who would have thought there was a hidden dragon among them?
This dragon was usually quiet and unassuming, but once angered, its wrath shook the heavens and the earth.
"Flee!"
Shen Maocai and Lei Yuan were terrified by Ning Jiang’s two attacks. They discovered that Ning Jiang’s control over the power of the Divinity Transformation Realm was far superior to their own.
To make an analogy, with the same amount of power, they could only unleash fifty or sixty percent of its potential, but in Ning Jiang’s hands, he could unleash one hundred, or even one hundred and twenty percent.
How could they possibly fight this?
"Neither of you is leaving today. I’ll let you witness the strongest technique of the Four Seasons Sword Technique!"
As he spoke, Ning Jiang raised his sword high.
SHRRIP!
A torrent of Sword Intent shot toward the sky, and the terrifying Sword Qi churned the clouds above, blasting a massive hole in them.
The Four Seasons Sword Technique appeared to only have four stances: Spring Birth, Summer’s Glory, Autumn Withered, and Winter’s End.
In the Sword Dao Sect that once possessed the Four Seasons Sword Technique, most disciples also believed it only had these four stances. But those who were truly gifted would discover that beyond these four, there was actually a deeply hidden, ultimate sword technique.
It was the four techniques combined into one: the Four Extremes One Sword.
The Four Extremes One Sword was like the cycle of the four seasons, determining the life and death of all things, severing the fates of men!
Back then, that Sword Dao Sect had hundreds of thousands of disciples, yet the number who could cultivate the Four Seasons Sword Technique to the level of the Four Extremes One Sword could be counted on one hand.
And once one reached the level of Four Extremes One Sword, they could, with only a Spirit Realm Cultivation, even kill a Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm expert.
"Four Extremes One Sword—Sever Life and Death!"
As Ning Jiang’s voice fell, so did his sword.
The world suddenly darkened, as if all light had been absorbed into his sword.
SHRRIP!
Immediately after, a Sword Aura bloomed. This Sword Aura was as black as ink, seeming to symbolize the end of all things, the finality of death, the terminus of the soul, and the very essence of decay.
"No!"
Shen Maocai and Lei Yuan let out cries of absolute terror, as if they had encountered the most horrifying thing in the world, scared witless.
The next moment, their bodies were engulfed by the black Sword Aura.
Three breaths later, the Sword Aura vanished, and everything returned to calm.
Along with the Sword Aura, the bodies of the two Divinity Transformation Realm experts had also vanished!
"Not even bones remained; they had been utterly annihilated, turned to ash and smoke."
Witnessing the power of this single strike, Meng Nanfeng and the others all sucked in a sharp breath, their scalps tingling with shock.
"The Ninth Elder is simply a peerless monster! Compared to this strike, what does Jian Xinghe even count for? Only now do I realize that the Ninth Elder was holding back his strength during the Qing Province tournament." The various elders were utterly shaken.
"Grand Elder, all of you should return to the Yanyue Sect first. Wait for me to take Shangguan Yu’s life, and I will follow shortly!"
Ning Jiang’s voice was calm, and his words made it seem as if Shangguan Yu were a mere chick that he could kill at his leisure.
"Alright."
Meng Nanfeng and the others nodded. They had been completely won over by Ning Jiang’s strength and knew that no more words were necessary. All they had to do was believe in him.
"Ninth Elder, you must be careful."
After offering a final word of caution, the elders left.
SWOOSH!
Brimming with killing intent, Ning Jiang transformed into a streak of sword light and shot toward the Star Sword Sect.
’Shangguan Yu, since you’re so eager to meet Meng Daoyi, then I’ll come to you in my identity as Meng Daoyi!’
’I only hope you won’t be terrified when you see me!’
He took out a black and white mask and put it on his face. At the same time, he channeled the life force within his body into his white hair.
Instantly, his full head of white hair turned pitch-black at a speed visible to the naked eye. It continued to grow until it reached past his feet, giving him a bizarre and demonic appearance.
