Firmament Sword

"Not enough!"

Xu Luo stated calmly, pointing his Beidou Sword downward. With a deafening roar, the massive mountain gate of the Kaiyang Sect below collapsed!

A massive, bottomless fissure appeared, starting from the gate's location and spreading out into the mountain range behind it!

BOOM!

A constant, trembling roar echoed from deep underground. One by one, mountain peaks began to collapse, crashing into the raging river in the deep valley below.

In an instant, the Kaiyang Sect's domain was turned upside down!

Countless people fled in a mad panic, their faces filled with terror. They didn't even know what was happening.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

The tremendous noise was incessant. Within a radius of hundreds of miles, almost every mountain collapsed!

Shangguan Qing coughed up another mouthful of blood. His gaze toward Xu Luo was filled with undisguised, venomous hatred.

The elder powerhouses from the Divine Power Realm were all dumbfounded. Some couldn't help but shed tears.

"And then there's you!" Xu Luo pointed his Beidou Sword at Shangguan Qing from a distance.

Shangguan Qing gritted his teeth and glared at Xu Luo. "Are you determined to see us both destroyed?"

"You think I'm going too far?" Xu Luo sneered. "Aside from those who came to attack me, I haven't touched a single one of the old, the weak, the women, or the children of your Kaiyang Sect! Shangguan Qing, what were the orders you gave your secret squad back then?"

Shangguan Qing's expression changed abruptly. His eyes, fixed on Xu Luo, were filled with shock as he said, "What secret squad? I don't know what you're talking about!"

Xu Luo looked at Shangguan Qing and said, "Even now, you're still playing dumb? Shangguan Qing, for what you've done, killing you a hundred times over wouldn't be enough! Now, I'm only asking you to cripple your own cultivation and live as a commoner, and you refuse?"

When Phoenix told him about the crisis, Xu Luo couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, filled with lingering fear, even though it had happened long ago.

When the incident occurred, Xu Luo had already left the Imperial Capital. Based on the timing, he would have been in the Southern Domain, recuperating at the Starlight Sect.

At the time, rumors were spreading across the Central Plains Star Continent that Xu Luo was dead.

The Kaiyang Sect saw this as an opportunity. In their eyes, without Xu Luo, the secular Royal Family was pathetically fragile.

So, Shangguan Qing secretly dispatched a large number of Transformation Realm Powerhouses to infiltrate the Cangqiong Imperial Capital. Their objective was nothing less than to massacre the entire city!

When Xu Luo first heard this, he thought Phoenix must have misspoken. Only after confirming it several times did he realize that she hadn't been wrong. The Martial Artists of the Kaiyang Sect were just that utterly depraved!

They didn't just want to exterminate the Royal Family and the Xu Family; they wanted to butcher the entire city!

Then, they planned to pin the blame on the group that had come from the Ancient Race.

At the time, nearly all the major sects had met the powerhouses from the Ancient Race and had witnessed their arrogant, condescending attitudes.

Therefore, as far as Shangguan Qing was concerned, if he just pushed the blame onto the people from the Ancient Race, almost no one would suspect a thing!

Once everyone was convinced, the Kaiyang Sect... would step forward as the patron sect of the Cangqiong Empire and install a new emperor.

By then, everything would be set in stone.

The Xu Family would be no more, and neither would the Huangfu Royal Family!

An entire Dynasty would become the private property of the Kaiyang Sect.

The root of all this was the discovery of a massive Spirit Stone Vein in Cangqiong. It made the Kaiyang Sect realize that the secular world, which they had previously disdained, also possessed vast resources. And so, they decided they wanted to bring the entire country completely under their control.

At that time, Sui Yan had not yet finished constructing the City Defense Array...

And so, a group of powerhouses from the Kaiyang Sect stormed in, killing indiscriminately.

Dressed in the attire of Ancient Race Martial Artists, they killed on sight, sparing no one—man, woman, old, or young.

At the critical moment, it was thanks to Ling Fengxian. She appeared suddenly, like a goddess descending from the heavens. With Li Wenxi, Qiushuiduan, and others also present in the Cangqiong Imperial Capital, they joined forces and finally managed to repel the band of crazed butchers.

Afterward, the truth was tortured out of the captives. When they learned it, everyone was consumed with uncontrollable rage.

But Shangguan Qing's methods were flawless. There wasn't a single shred of evidence on the bodies of those Transformation Realm Martial Artists to prove they belonged to the Kaiyang Sect!

This force, in particular, was under the sole command of the successive Sect Leaders of Kaiyang. Even most of the sect's own upper echelons only knew of its existence. They had no idea of its true strength or the identities of its members.

So, even though they knew perfectly well that the Kaiyang Sect was behind it, they had no proof and could only suppress their hatred for the time being.

After Xu Luo's return, Phoenix's expression was still grim when she told him about it. She said that in just a short time, several hundred people in the Cangqiong Imperial Capital had been killed.

There were no wounded on the entire street; everyone was killed in a single strike. The street ran with rivers of blood, and the stench was overwhelming!

Upon hearing this, Xu Luo was utterly shocked. At that moment, he became completely determined to eradicate the Kaiyang Sect, that cancerous blight.

Sect Leader Shangguan Qing, in particular, was too sinister and ruthless. He was a man who would stop at nothing and never considered the consequences.

Even so, on account of Shangguan Qing having treated Huangfu Shishi relatively well in the past, Xu Luo hadn't wanted to kill him outright, giving him a choice instead.

But Shangguan Qing was not only ungrateful, he was constantly looking for a chance to strike back. Since that was the case, there was truly nothing left to say.

Shangguan Qing said defiantly, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Xu Luo sighed and cast a seemingly casual glance at Shangguan Qing...

"You could have been considered a great leader of your generation. If I had the choice, I truly wouldn't have wanted to kill you myself. You brought this upon yourself," Xu Luo sighed.

Two rays of light shot out, transforming into divine beams that pierced directly through Shangguan Qing's forehead, leaving two bloody, finger-sized holes.

Blood mixed with white brain matter gushed out. Shangguan Qing's eyes were wide, as if he still couldn't believe it was real. Even at the moment of death... he couldn't believe that Xu Luo would actually kill him.

'Your actions were too extreme. You left yourself no way out, yet I... I gave you a path to survival, and you refused to take it...'

Xu Luo sighed, glanced at the petrified elders of the Kaiyang Sect, then turned and left.

From this day forward, the Kaiyang Sect was no more.

...

Ji Bingyu sat beside Xu Luo, chattering nonstop. In the past few years, the pretty young girl had blossomed into a peerless, city-toppling beauty, and her personality seemed to have changed quite a bit as well.

The Ji Bingyu of the past had never been this talkative.

But... perhaps it was because she was talking to Xu Luo.

"How come you're here alone? Where's my sister?"

"She's at home? Then what are you doing here? Did you come to see me?"

"Hey, I know that's not it, but you don't have to be so blunt about it! A girl has her pride, you know?"

Xu Luo sat there, smiling, watching the lively girl before him as if she were his own little sister.

"Alright, alright, you're no fun! Hmph, in a little while, I'm going to the Cangqiong Imperial Capital to visit my sister! And then I'll tattle on you and say you've been chasing after other girls, haha!"

"..." Xu Luo was speechless. At the same time... he did feel a twinge of guilt. 'Does Lin Luoxue count as one of those girls? I guess she does...'

Afterward, the Heavenly Cauldron Sect Master, Ling Fengwu, emerged from her seclusion. She was delighted to see her legendary son-in-law and invited him to stay for a few more days, suggesting he could also offer some guidance to the sect's disciples.

But Xu Luo refused and didn't stay long. Ji Bingyu alone was more than enough for him to handle. If he also had to deal with all the female disciples of the Celestial Cauldron Sect, who gazed at him with such soft, adoring eyes, he felt he'd be completely overwhelmed.

He spoke with Ling Fengwu for several hours, sharing some of his own cultivation insights. He held nothing back, even telling her about the eleven layers of the Divine Power Realm.

This information might not mean much to Xu Luo anymore, but to Ling Fengwu, it was incredibly precious.

Far too many people stumbled at the threshold of the Divine Power Realm Peak simply because there was no one to share insights about the higher levels with them!

As she watched Xu Luo leave, Ling Fengwu sighed to herself. 'Back then, I almost broke that couple up... Luckily, my younger sister stopped me. Otherwise...'

Glancing at Ji Bingyu, whose gaze was somewhat dazed with infatuation, Ling Fengwu sighed inwardly. 'Who wouldn't be captivated by such an outstanding man? As for whether or not you can win his heart... that will depend on your own destiny.'

...

At the Jade Balance Sect, Xu Luo and Xushan sat across from each other, drinking wine from large bowls. Xu Qing stood to the side, pouring for them with a cheerful smile. Only, the occasional glance she cast at Xu Luo held a trace of deep affection, as if there was much she wanted to say to him.

If any other members of the Jade Balance Sect were to witness this, their jaws would drop in astonishment.

The revered goddess of the Jade Balance Sect was actually acting as a maid, pouring wine for a man her own age. It was truly unbelievable.

But Xu Qing performed the task with perfect ease, showing no discomfort at all. She even looked a bit like an attentive young wife...

Her father, Sect Leader Xushan, also wore a natural expression, clearly seeing nothing wrong with the situation.

"Sect Leader Xu, you should be on the verge of taking that next step. Congratulations!" Xu Luo said suddenly, looking at Xushan.

"Aren't you the same? No... wait, right now you're... huh?" Xushan's brow furrowed slightly. Looking at Xu Luo, he found he couldn't seem to see through him anymore.

When a great opportunity had fallen from the heavens, Xu Luo had not forgotten Xushan, who had helped him in the past. He had shared a portion of that fortune with Xu Qing, and one with Xushan as well.

As a result, Xushan's strength had now just barely crossed the threshold into the Saint Realm. He might not have reached the Half-Saint Realm yet, but he wasn't far off.

Although he had heard stories of Xu Luo's exploits on the Sect Continent, Xushan didn't believe his strength could have reached the Saint Realm.

But now he suddenly found that he couldn't read Xu Luo's level at all.

Xu Luo smiled. "The Divine Power Realm has eleven layers in total," he said. "I'm currently at the peak of the tenth layer!"

HISS!

Xushan sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

Xu Qing, who was standing to the side with the wine pot, ready to pour, also froze for a moment. Her beautiful eyes rested on Xu Luo's face, filled with admiration.

Xushan sat in silence for a long time before letting out a soft sigh. "As expected of a reincarnated star. You truly are different! It's just a pity... the power within my body has already solidified. I'm powerless to break it down..."

As he spoke, Xushan glanced at Xu Qing, who was standing nearby. "But you... you still can!"

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