Chapter 1097: Pride

The Sword Collection peak was blown to one side, with a great hole blasted open. Large boulders collapsed and shattered. In terms of destructive power alone, this weapon that only the king of a province could possess was truly unheard of. It was possible to say that this was the Fierce King of Chu's strongest form. After all, unlike daemons, human cultivators had never been averse to using external objects. Even sword sects that placed the most emphasis on personal cultivation required an unmatched treasured sword, while the Scarlet Dragon King was the sword in the Fierce King of Chu's hands.

Li Qingshan could not help but sigh. If the Scarlet Dragon King had been present during the battle that day, the outcome really would have been a mystery!

"Your majesty, long time no see. How have you been?" He greeted him with a smile, but with his mouth filled with sharp teeth, his smile obviously became very ferocious in appearance.

The Fierce King of Chu glanced at him and clasped his hands. "I've come late. Thank you for your assistance, dragon king!"

"I'm not assisting you, so there's no need to thank me," the Dragon King of Ink Sea said with composure.

"I obviously understand that, but thanking you is on me. It has nothing to do with you," the Fierce King of Chu said indifferently.

Heh, look at the two of them! Li Qingshan grinned inside, but he also understood that given the current circumstances, they each possessed their own pride. They were not as casual as him.

As a result, a human king, a Daemon King, and a half-human, half daemon stood on the same front lines together despite the numerous disputes that existed between them.

With the three supreme cultivators of the Green province working together, the outcome of the battle seemed to be as clear as day!

"You damned..."

Elder Tian stabilised himself. His face became even more twisted and inhuman, but he could not finish what he was saying.

"A Thousand Autumns in a Painting!" The Dragon King of Ink Sea circled and flew, and the surroundings turned white. Apart from the inky clouds and the graceful, flying ink dragon, everything else in the surroundings had become pale-white like a grand painting that had been unfurled. The entire world, the past and the future, had all been absorbed into the painting.

"Frenzy Blade of Path's End, Descent of the Blood Moon!"

In that moment, Li Qingshan swung the blade a thousand times, merging it into a single attack. A crescent blade aura pierced the air, scarlet-red like blood and scorching like fire, like a blood moon had descended from above. It was unstoppable and unblockable, becoming the most distinct existence within this pale-white canvas.

The Fierce King of Chu rose up into the air, and the Scarlet Dragon King let out another furious roar. A beam of scarlet light blasted out from the main cannon like true dragon fire. It was unstoppable, destroying everything in its path. At the same time, he lifted a tiny, simple, and ancient cauldron into the air with a flip of his right hand, unleashing a domain in the sky. Not only was it completely harmonious with the Dragon King of Ink Sea's "canvas", but it even increased its strength.

They needed no communication, no exchanges of glances. Li Qingshan, the Fierce King of Chu, and the Dragon King of Ink Sea struck out at the same time, but their teamwork was flawless as if they had practised this thousands of times already.

As the painting unfurled and the Green Province cauldron crushed down, the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth actually showed signs of collapse, the thousands of swords all became powerless, and the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth was completely suppressed. The inkiness began to spread, even dyeing the mossy Sword Collection peak as if it had become a component of the painting.

At the same time, the blood moon landed on the Sword Collection peak. Only when the scarlet light landed heavily against the peak did a smooth slash silently appear.

The countless holes on the Sword Collection peak erupted with countless streams of blood-red light. The blood moon within the mountain immediately collapsed, turning into thousands of strands of blade aura, tearing everything apart.

Immediately, the Sword Collection peak became covered in cracks. Blood-red light surged through the place, making it shake violently such that it seemed like it could collapse at any moment.

Li Qingshan thought, This battle seems to have become a little too easy once these two powerful enemies had become allies.

The four Monk Kings gazed at the sky that resembled an ink landscape painting. They all felt extremely shocked. This was the power behind a combined attack by them. The Sword Collection peak that they had struggled so much to stop earlier was actually approaching the brink of destruction with just this attack.

It was exactly because of cultivators as powerful as them that the invasions from the Demon domain had ended in failure time and time again.

Originally, they were planning on coordinating with the Fierce King of Chu to attack the Sword Collection peak, but their response was slightly too slow. After seeing this, they completely stopped worrying, planning on just holding their ground and guarding the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga.

But suddenly, the Sword Collection peak that was on the brink of collapse rapidly grew closer and larger!

"Blood sacrifice to the sword!"

Elder Tian brought his palms together, and his clothes flew apart as tatters. His skin also ripped apart, and blood splattered out, merging with the Sword Collection peak below his feet. The mountain immediately stabilised.

However, elder Tian did not have a single piece of intact skin anymore, revealing his flesh and blood. He bore no resemblance to his previous self. Instead, he was more like a fiend that had crawled out of a pool of blood in hell. He suffered the fate of a sword slave. Everything he possessed could be sacrificed to the sword spirit at any time.

"Origination of the Myriad Swords!"

Elder Tian stood upside down, plunging a hand viciously into the Sword Collection peak like he was wielding a huge sword. The swords all flew back, and the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth suddenly shrank, operating in overdrive.

The Sword Collection peak forcefully erupted and broke free from the canvass, falling rapidly towards Great Buddha mountain.

The four Monk Kings went up to receive it together. The weakened World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn only lasted for a split second before completely collapsing.

Faced with this sight that was no less terrifying than a natural disaster, their instincts told them to dodge immediately, or the only thing awaiting them would be death. However, right below their feet were the foundations of the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga that had stood for over ten millennia. If the Sword Collection peak landed against it, the entire Great Buddha mountain would collapse, and all the disciples would die from the rubble. As a result, the four of them refused to budge.

The Dauntless monk said, "Today is the day we die for the monastery! Holding true to our hearts of chan, to the buddha!"

The three other Monk Kings repeated, "Holding true to our hearts of chan, to the buddha!"

Golden light erupted, and the four Monk Kings turned into a guardian king that stood over three hundred meters tall, raising its arms to receive the incoming Sword Collection peak.

Boom! There was a great rumble, but they did not experience the violent impact they were expecting. A pair of black columns rose up around them, and following it with their gazes, they saw a huge, indomitable ox demon holding up the entire Sword Collection peak on its shoulders.

"Qingshan!" the Unraging monk called out.

"What are you waiting for? Go!"

Li Qingshan grinned as his bones crackled. Even with the Ox Demon Transformation and the numerous abilities of the ox demon, he struggled to contend with the Sword Collection peak's pressure. His shoulder bones completely shattered, his spine bent and fractured, and his flesh and blood went even more without saying, grinding against the rock of the Sword Collection peak and turning into rising flames. However, his pair of horns locked against the mountain peak and held on firmly. His ox hooves sank deeply into Great Buddha mountain, making the head of the buddha crack and collapse.

The Dauntless monk was moved. He said solemnly, "We owe you our lives!" Then he ordered loudly, "All disciples, retreat from Great Buddha mountain immediately!"

He was reluctant to admit it, but they no longer had a place in this battle anymore. They were basically an entire realm of cultivation away from the Sword Collection peak. Only supreme cultivators that had reached the peak of the third heavenly tribulation like the Dragon King of Ink Sea could stand a chance. The others would just be sending themselves to their deaths for nothing.

"You damned insect. Watch as I crush you!" "elder Tian" said, but it was no longer his voice. Instead, the entire Sword Collection peak roared furiously.

Rumble! Li Qingshan's colossal body was basically pushed into Great Buddha mountain. His bones crackled and popped throughout his body, but he only became even more determined. He said sternly, "Come!"

With a dragon's cry, the inky clouds tossed and turned, gathering beside Li Qingshan and lifting up the Sword Collection peak together. The Dragon King of Ink Sea coiled around Great Buddha mountain.

"Reversal of the Five Elements!" The Fierce King of Chu planted a foot on the Sword Collection peak and launched a palm strike at "elder Tian".

"Elder Tian" kept one hand in the Sword Collection peak as he formed a seal with the other.

He had no sword in hand, but he seemed to have the entire Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth in the palm of his hand. The swords and the palm clashed a thousand times in a single instant. Even though his posture was all over the place and his body could not twist or turn freely, he did not lose the upper hand at all. The collateral energy kicked up a storm.

A huge, inky dragon's head rose up from the eastern face of the Sword Collection peak, biting over.

"Elder Tian" pointed his hand at the Fierce King of Chu as his right leg twisted at a strange angle, planting his foot heavily on the dragon's head.

The dragon's head suddenly turned into human form—no different from the Mo Wuhen that Li Qingshan had once seen—raising his arms gracefully and swinging down with his sword.

Clang! With the clashing of metal, all of the flesh on "elder Tian's" right leg vanished, and his bones turned into the edge of a sword, blocking the slash. His left leg transitioned in the same way, extending out with a flash.

The imposing, scarlet light from the Scarlet Dragon King was split into two, and it was deflected as well, hurling towards the Fierce King of Chu and the Dragon King of Ink Sea respectively.

The Fierce King of Chu struck out with his hand. The space before him distorted, and the scarlet light was deflected, flying off into the horizon.

The Dragon King of Ink Sea drifted like ink, avoiding the scarlet light with ease. There was a great rumble several dozen kilometers behind him, and a mushroom cloud rose up into the air. The circular shockwave knocked the retreating monks off their feet.

The four Monk Kings struggled to hide their shock. The swordsmanship was basically unbelievable. It was not a coincidence that they had been defeated in a single strike earlier. As a matter of fact, it could even be described as fortunate.

The Sword Collection peak let out a strange, twisted laughter, filled with fury, delight, hatred, and viciousness, like a madman's hysterical laughter. It was filled with chaos, making it impossible for people to distinguish what was behind the laughter, except its effect was like the sound of demons. The monks all collapsed on the ground, clutching their heads and howling in pain. The Monk Kings had to unleash the Chant of Deva-Nāga, and only then did the disciples survive.

Within the storm, "elder Tian" who bore no resemblance to a human anymore contended against the three powerful cultivators alone.

The landscape and scenery blurred and changed, sometimes a mighty canvas, sometimes the landscape of the Green province, but it never managed to completely destroy the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth.

With the Dragon King of Ink Sea and the Fierce King of Chu's assistance, Li Qingshan felt the pressure on him become much lighter, but only relatively. The Sword Collection peak still weighed on him heavily, almost immobilising him as it ate away at his flesh, blood, and bone. His shoulders had almost been crushed to pulp, completely relying on his body to hold it up.

No matter how powerful his allies were, it was useless if his cultivation was insufficient. However, since when was he the kind to rely on others?

"Moo!"

Li Qingshan lowered his head and sucked in a deep breath, letting out the heavy bellow of an ox. He threw his head against the Sword Collection peak heavily!

Elder Tian suddenly widened his eyes. He never imagined him to still possess the strength to fight back given his state, and his counterattack was so forceful and without any regard.

Boom! With an earth-shaking rumble, the Sword Collection peak was smashed to pieces. A wave of air swept hundreds of kilometers away as countless boulders shot off like rain.

Li Qingshan's skull fractured and blood poured from his head, all turning into flames and roaring away, like his battle spirit that had never been extinguished. Standing on the half-collapsed Great Buddha mountain, he straightened out his body and roared furiously with his head held high, "Come crush me!"

The monks all looked at Great Buddha mountain from a distance. For a moment, their spirits surged, unable to contain their emotions!

The Fierce King of Chu and the Dragon King of Ink Sea exchanged glances, both unsurprised.

With his bearing, just who could praise or belittle him? That was his pride!