novelHire Chapter 856.31: This Sword, It's Called Desolation.
Chapter 856.31: This Sword, It's Called Desolation.
...Upper Realm, Celestial Court.
Thunder Ministry, Nine Heavens Response Origin Mansion.
This was the hub governing punishment across all realms.
There were no auspicious clouds or auspicious auras, only year-round unceasing thunder, and the heavy, suffocating residual echoes of war drums.
In the center of the great hall, a [Myriad Realms Thunder Pool Mirror] was suspended.
The mirror's surface rippled, reflecting not scenes of peace and revelry, but a corner of the Lower Realm where a mortal Sword Cultivator was defying the heavens.
On the high seat.
The Thunder Ministry's Puhua Celestial Venerable leaned on one hand, gazing across the vast sea of mortal dust with keen interest at that white-clad figure struggling within the sea of thunder.
"Interesting."
The Celestial Venerable lightly tapped the armrest with his finger, "The Lower Realm's Turbid Qi has just begun to recover, the Great Dao is not yet stable, yet this child can use a mortal body to provoke such a tribulation. This unyielding backbone... it's quite reminiscent of that one from back then..."
He did not finish his sentence, shaking his head as if unwilling to mention that name.
"Pass down the order, tell the Wind Master and Rain Master to hold back a little. If this child can withstand the nine heavenly tribulation bolts, recruit him. The Thunder Ministry is in need of a sharp blade."
Cherishing talent.
This was the greatest grace the immortal gods could bestow upon ants.
In his eyes, the struggles of the Lower Realm were merely a play to amuse the heavens.
If the play was good, he'd reward them with an official position.
Unfortunately, the [Myriad Realms Thunder Pool Mirror] had only just been activated; it could only see the situation in the Lower Realm when the first tribulation bolt was gathering.
Otherwise, if Puhua Celestial Venerable knew that Bi Yue Wu, Tu Fu Xing, and the twelve Yuanchen had all died at the hands of that Sword Cultivator within the [Myriad Realms Thunder Pool Mirror], one wonders if he would still be sitting so calmly.
However.
"REPORT—!!!"
A shrill, desperate cry tore through the solemnity of the Thunder Ministry hall, interrupting the Celestial Venerable's leisurely mood.
Immediately after.
*BANG!*
A deafening crash.
The hall doors shattered.
A bloody streak of light, covered in wounds, its Divine Soul on the verge of dissipating, stumbled and crashed in, dragging a long trail of blood across the mirror-smooth floor.
The bloody light faded, revealing the mutilated body of Divine General Zi Shu.
His hair crown was completely shattered, his hair disheveled, missing an arm and a leg. The face that was once arrogant now held only one emotion—
Fear.
Bone-deep, as-if-he-had-seen-a-ghost fear.
"Zi Shu?!"
Puhua Celestial Venerable shot to his feet, his perpetually half-slit phoenix eyes snapping wide open.
"What happened? Where are the twelve Yuanchen?"
"Dead... all dead..."
Zi Shu clawed at the ground, his nails breaking, blood dripping.
He didn't answer the Celestial Venerable's question. Instead, like a madman, he pointed at the white-clad figure in the mirror, shrieking hysterically:
"It's him! It's that Sword Cultivator!!"
"One sword... just one sword!!"
"Chou Niu, Yin Hu, the others... they didn't even have time to summon their treasures before their heads were chopped off!!"
"He's a monster! He definitely doesn't belong to the Earth Star Lower Realm, he must have a great secret on him!!"
*BOOM—!*
The great hall fell deathly silent.
It was as if even the thunder had held its breath at this moment.
The assembled Immortal Officials exchanged glances, a chill running up their spines to the crowns of their heads.
The twelve Yuanchen, when forming their array, could battle a Celestial Immortal.
Yet they were all killed by a single sword from a Lower Realm mortal?
It sounded like a fantasy, an utterly absurd joke.
But the blood on the ground couldn't be faked.
Zi Shu's shattered Dao Heart couldn't be faked.
"What did you say?"
Puhua Celestial Venerable's figure instantly appeared before Zi Shu. He grabbed the collar of Zi Shu's remaining clothes and lifted him up, "Say it again?"
"Slaughtered... all slaughtered..."
"One sword per... one sword per!!"
Zi Shu trembled like a leaf, snot and tears smeared across his face, "Celestial Venerable! If this child does not die, where will the Celestial Court's majesty stand?! He... he also told me to deliver a message..."
"What message?"
"He said... this mortal realm does not welcome dogs..."
Zi Shu's voice grew smaller and smaller, finally dissolving into a desperate sob:
"If you dare reach your hands down again, he'll... he'll poke a hole in this sky!"
*CRACK.*
The jade thumb ring in Puhua Celestial Venerable's hand shattered into dust.
He released his grip, letting Zi Shu collapse limply to the ground.
That originally majestic, indifferent face now held not a shred of talent-cherishing intent.
Replacing it was towering fury and icy Killing Intent.
Whether the Sword Cultivator had actually said those words, or if Zi Shu had embellished them, no longer mattered.
"Good."
"What a fine mortal."
"What a fine... 'poke a hole in the sky'."
The Celestial Venerable laughed in extreme anger, his laughter like rolling thunderclaps that shook the great hall.
"Killed my true gods, disrupted my laws, insulted my heavenly countenance."
He whirled around, glaring fiercely at the white-clad figure in the Thunder Pool Mirror who was still battling the thunder and was now looking up at the sky.
Their gazes met.
Though separated by two realms, it was as if they could see the killing intent in each other's eyes.
"This is no longer a tribulation crossing."
The Celestial Venerable's voice was cold as ten-thousand-year-old profound ice, every word carrying the scent of blood.
"This is rebellion."
"Transmit my decree!"
"Immediately seal the Lower Realm's ascension channel! Invite the [Immortal-Slaying Platform]'s beheading blade out of seclusion!"
"Notify the Nine Heavens Thunder Dukes, the Twenty-Four Ministry Cloud-Gathering, Rain-Assisting, Dharma-Protecting Celestial Lords... bring out for This Venerable One the fiercest, most vicious, most poisonous 'World-Destroying Divine Thunder' from the Thunder Pool!"
He waved his great sleeve. The originally clear surface of the Thunder Pool Mirror instantly turned a shocking ink-black.
"He is not permitted to cross his tribulation."
"For This Venerable One... blast him to pieces!!"
"YES!!!"
Within the hall, the Immortal Officials, filled with murderous aura, acknowledged the order in unison.
The war drums began to beat.
This time, it wasn't for some so-called heavenly examination.
It was for destruction.
...
Lower Realm, atop the floating peak.
The wind stopped.
The originally purple-red tribulation clouds churned violently at this moment like boiling ink.
Chen Huaian narrowed his eyes, looking at the sky.
Such a grand display... were a hundred thousand Heavenly Troops and Generals about to descend?
However, he had overestimated Lingxiao Palace's regard for him.
No heavenly troops arrived.
The Thunder Dragons came first.
"ROAR—!!!"
A scalp-numbing dragon roar shook the heavens.
The cloud layer split, countless purple lightning bolts twisting, intertwining, transforming into three thousand Thunder Dragons as thick as millstones.
They were not lifeless things, but rather avatars of the Heavenly Dao's will, manipulated by the Thunder Ministry's true gods.
Three thousand Thunder Dragons, like a torrential downpour, carrying a wind of destruction reeking of blood, pounced down towards the tiny figure atop the floating peak.
This scene was like ten thousand dragons devouring a heart.
"Dragons? Hahaha!"
Chen Huaian raised his gaze and snorted lightly, his nose catching the scorched, bloody scent in the wind.
He suddenly felt a bit thirsty.
If there was wine, he'd raise a great cup in toast.
Without wine, he'd substitute with blood.
"Mere fake dragons! Perfect to go with the wine!"
Chen Huaian executed a Sword Flourish. The sword blade hummed, like a drinker tapping his bowl.
"The bright moon rises over Tianshan..."
As the chant began.
The Sword Light rose with it.
This sword was very slow, slow like a crescent moon slowly climbing over a mountain peak.
This sword was also very cold, cold enough to make the figures of the wildly raging Thunder Dragons in the sky grow sluggish.
Desolate, cold moonlight spilled over the floating peak.
"...amidst the vast sea of clouds."
—Slay the Immortal·Moon Over the Pass.
The moonlight fell.
*Pfft, pfft, pfft.*
Dense sounds of tearing silk exploded in mid-air.
The hundreds of Thunder Dragons charging at the forefront abruptly halted.
Immediately after, dragon heads and dragon bodies separated neatly, the cuts smooth as mirrors.
A sky full of thunder plasma splashed down.
"ROAR!"
The Thunder Dragons behind showed no fear; instead, they were enraged by this sword.
One Thunder Dragon seized an opening, its fangs wrapped in wild thunder biting down, viciously piercing into Chen Huaian's left shoulder.
Thunder entered his body, his Meridians scorched and withered.
Chen Huaian grunted, his body swaying slightly.
He reversed his grip on the sword, directly thrusting the blade into the Thunder Dragon's vitals, twisting his wrist.
*BOOM!*
The dragon head exploded.
Chen Huaian pulled out his long sword, bringing up a spray of thunder plasma.
"Exhilarating!"
He laughed heartily, his figure like a lone swan, crashing into the dragon swarm.
One poem, one sword. One step, one kill.
Upon the floating peak, scorched earth was everywhere.
By the time the last Thunder Dragon turned to ash, Chen Huaian stood leaning on his sword.
That set of white robes was already half charred black, half crimson red.
*BOOM—! BOOM—! BOOM—!*
The drumbeats in the sky changed, becoming muffled, heavy, each strike landing in the gap between heartbeats.
Nine majestic figures stepped forth, shattering the thunderclouds, slowly descending.
Purple-gold heavy armor, twin wings sprouting from their backs.
Those were the Nine Heavens Thunder Dukes.
The leading Thunder Duke's face was expressionless. He raised his golden chisel and tapped it towards Chen Huaian from afar.
*CRACK.*
A bolt of green lightning, only as thick as a finger, ignored space, instantly piercing through Chen Huaian's chest.
*THUD.*
Chen Huaian was sent flying backward, crashing into a pile of rubble, stirring up a cloud of dust.
His chest bone collapsed, his internal organs shattered.
"Form the array."
The Thunder Duke waved his hand coldly.
The nine took up positions of the Nine Palaces. Thunder transformed into nine towering bronze pillars that crashed down, firmly trapping Chen Huaian within.
The thunder light was like a prison, continuously contracting.
Within the dust.
A blood-stained hand forcefully gripped the sword hilt.
Chen Huaian stood up swaying, spitting out a mouthful of clotted blood mixed with flecks of flesh.
"Cough, cough... Finally, a few with some bite!"
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes gradually turning wild.
A cornered beast still fights, let alone a man?
*SHING—!* The Black Scales Sword pointed diagonally at the ground, dragging out a deep sword scar.
"Fighting south of the city..."
The voice was hoarse, carrying the smell of blood.
The Sword Stance changed abruptly.
No longer the clear coldness of moonlight, but the mire and tragic intensity of a battlefield's mountain of corpses and sea of blood.
"...dying north of the walls."
Chen Huaian took a step forward. The wounds on his body split open, blood spurting out, instantly dyeing the sword body red.
He ignored the approaching wall of thunder, his eyes only on those nine aloof figures.
"Dead in the wild, unburied..."
The sword tip scraped across the ground, raising a mournful shriek.
"...crows may feast!"
—Slay the Immortal·Fight the Desolation.
The Green Lotus Sword Manual fused with the Immortal-Slaying Sword was no longer constrained by those fixed Sword techniques.
One sword, one poem. One poem, one sword.
Poem out, sword out. Poem complete, sword complete.
This sword, it's called desolation!
*Zheng—!!!*
A crimson Sword Qi storm erupted with Chen Huaian at its center.
No defense, all offense.
Trading injury for injury, life for life.
*BOOM!*
The thunder cage shattered.
"Madman!"
The Thunder Dukes' expressions changed drastically. Before they could even retreat, they were swept into that blood-colored Sword Qi storm filled with the will to die.
*Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!*
Flesh and blood flew everywhere.
Five Thunder Dukes were shredded into fragments without even time to scream.
The remaining four had their golden armor shattered, their faces filled with terror.
Chen Huaian dragged his mutilated body, walking out from the bloody mist.
His left arm hung limply, pale white bone fragments piercing through skin and flesh, exposed to the air.
But he seemed utterly unaware.
Those eyes, caked with blood, stared fixedly at the remaining prey.
"Four lines left."
He grinned, revealing blood-stained teeth.
"Who will listen?"
The four Thunder Dukes were terrified out of their wits, turning to flee.
Chen Huaian took a great stride forward, the Sword Light clinging like maggots in the bone.
"For the lord... I strike the fou..."
A cold gleam flashed.
Two heads soared into the sky.
"...sing a song."
*Pfft!*
The last two Thunder Dukes clutched their throats, plummeting from the clouds.
Heaven and earth fell silent.
Only Chen Huaian's heavy, ragged gasps sounded, like a broken bellows.
He had won.
But he had also reached his limit.
Suddenly.
The sky cracked open an eye.
A cold, aloof eye, overlooking all living beings—a Thunder Eye.
Then, a majestic, hundred-zhang-tall illusory figure stepped out from the Thunder Eye.
He wore purple-gold imperial robes, holding a black thunder whip.
It was precisely the Thunder Ministry's First True God, the Thunderous Puhua Celestial Venerable!
...