Chapter 1278: Ji Lingzhen

This surge of sword qi descended from the sky with a might almost comparable to a comet. The surrounding space froze as soon as the sword qi appeared, making it nigh impossible to avoid the attack.

"Grand Dominion realm primary stage?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in astonishment.

Who could have thought that the old man hiding in the stream would actually be a real Grand Dominion realm expert, stronger than even Pavilion Master Yue himself!

More importantly...

"His comprehension of swordsmanship is also on par with Ma Minghai, reaching Half-Quintessence!"

To possess superior cultivation and exceptional mastery of swordsmanship...

Even normal Grand Dominion realm primary stage experts would find it hard to rival him!

Si la!

In the midst of Zhang Xuan's shock, the sword qi had already appeared before him, colliding with the one-meter Dominion he had constructed around him.

Kacha!

The sword qi sliced right through his Dominion like butter, opening a small gap that allowed it to advance forward unhindered.

"Halt!" Zhang Xuan swiftly concentrated the strength of his Dominion to hinder the sword qi as much as it could. At the same time, he also thrust his palm forward in order to fend it off.

Peng!

Despite the defenses Zhang Xuan had put up, the tremendous might of the sword qi was still too much for him to bear. His face paled, and he was sent flying straight into a massive tree behind him.

To think that even when using his full might together with his barrier, he would still be unable to withstand the other party's attack!

"It's no wonder why Ji Lingfeng is unable to defeat you. You actually managed to grasp the primary form of Dominion... To be able to achieve this despite being only at Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, your talent is really beyond my imagination!" On the other hand, seeing that his slash had only injured Zhang Xuan, the old man in the stream remarked wintry.

The coldness in his eyes deepened as he continued, "All the more reason to kill you!"

A genius of this caliber was bound to come from a powerful lineage. Since they had already made a move, they would have to ensure that the other party was killed through and through, or else this matter would come back to haunt them in the future.

They couldn't afford to take such a risk!

"Who are you?" Struggling to his feet, Zhang Xuan spat through gritted teeth.

"Since you are already bound for death, I'll at least fulfill satisfy this little curiosity of yours. I am the Sword of Faint Warble, Ji Lingzhen, and the Boss of the black market is my younger brother, Sword of Faint Whispers, Ji Lingfeng!" the old man, Ji Lingzhen, said.

"Ji Lingzhen?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

He had been in Qianchong empire for a day now, and toward those two names, he only had four words to say... Never heard of it!

"Now that your curiosity is satisfied, it's about time for me to send you off on your trip down!" Ji Lingzhen spoke coldly.

Unwilling to waste his breath anymore, he flicked out another sword qi with his finger.

This attack was even more fearsome than the one before.

As soon as the burst of sword qi was released, the entire formation began shaking, as if even the grade-8 Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation wasn't resilient enough to withstand the might of the sword qi!

If he could wield such strength without a sword in hand, how powerful would he be armed? With a face livid with graveness, Zhang Xuan knew that he mustn't take Ji Lingzhen's attack face on.

Thus, he flicked his wrist, and a formation plate appeared in his hand.

It was the very same formation plate which Ji Lingfeng had thrown out previously, but Zhang Xuan had managed to take it for his own!

Hong long!

Instead of using it to trap Ji Lingzhen, Zhang Xuan used the formation to shroud himself instead, and his silhouette swiftly disappeared in the mist produced by the formation.

A Beguilement Formation could be used to trap others, but it could also prevent the enemy from finding one in the short-term.

But of course, such a course of actions had its own setbacks too.

Firstly, it would be much easier for the enemy to break the formation from the outside. Secondly, placing oneself in the midst of a Beguilement Formation was as good as trapping oneself in a cage! Even if the cage was shrouded with a cloth, a relentless barrage of attacks from the outside would still eventually wear down and destroy whatever that was on the inside.

"Interesting. Let me see how long you can hide for!" Chuckling softly, Ji Lingzhen took a step forward and sent another burst of sword qi over.

It sliced an opening through the mist easily, reminiscent of a sword cutting through mud. Astonishingly, instead of caving back in to fill up the opening, the mist actually remained firmly parted, as if there was some kind of force preventing them from converging in once more.

With just one look, it was obvious that the formation plate had been ruined.

Regardless of whether a formation was constructed using formation flags or a formation plate, there were two ways to overcome it. First, understanding the principles behind it and finding its flaws or Life Gate. Second, using brute force to destroy it.

Ji Lingzhen's formation plate was only at quasi grade-8. It could still trap Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle or Half-Grand Dominion realm cultivators, but against a true Grand Dominion realm expert, let alone one who had comprehended Half-Quintessence, it was inevitable that its resilience would be lacking.

A slash to overcome all means!

As long as one's strength had reached a certain mark, regardless of what kind of ridiculous abilities others were to throw at one, a single slash would be able to put them right back in place!

And the current Ji Lingzhen wielded such strength.

Zhang Xuan had many means up his sleeves, but against Ji Lingzhen, they were all sorely lacking.

After slicing the mist into two, Ji Lingzhen waved his hand slightly.

Kacha! The mist dissipated without a trace, and a severed formation plate fell to the ground.

Without the formation to conceal him, Zhang Xuan's silhouette appeared once more.

In just a few breaths, the young man had changed into a fresh set of clothes. More than that, his aura seemed to have become loftier, and his eyes carried disdain from everything in the world. If one had to describe his attitude, it would be that of the indomitable conqueror of the world, peerless and unmatched by any other.

If not for the identical face and soul, Ji Lingzhen would have really thought that the young man had swapped positions with someone else.

"No matter what means you use, there's no way you will be able to bridge the vast difference in strength between the both of us. Even if you change your clothes and disposition, it won't make a difference at all. It's all futile!" Sneering coldly, Ji Lingzhen flicked another sword qi at Zhang Xuan once more.

Si la!

The air was split apart once more, and a chilling glint whizzed swiftly across the air.

He can't even deal with such trash? He sure is regressing with time... Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment.

With a swift step, his figure suddenly blurred.

Wu!

In the blink of an eye, he suddenly appeared in mid-air and threw a fist forward.

Huala!

"Do you really think that you stand a chance against me?" Seeing how the young man who had struggled to withstand even a single burst of sword qi from him was attempting a counterattack, Ji Lingzhen scoffed in disdain.

A cold glint flashed across his eyes, and he flicked another burst of sword qi forward.

That burst of sword qi clashed directly with Zhang Xuan's fist, and a powerful shockwave rippled from the collision, causing the entire formation to tremble non-stop.

The collision lasted for just an instant before the sword qi shattered into countless fragments and scattered the surroundings, leaving sharp gorges all over the ground.

"What?" Astonished by the outcome of the collision, Ji Lingzhen widened his eyes in astonishment, and he unwittingly took a few steps back.

Earlier, even when using a technique similar to a Dominion, the young man was still unable to fend against his sword qi. Yet, just by changing his clothes, it was as if the young man had turned into a completely different person! To actually catch his sword qi with a brute punch...

Furthermore, he shockingly realized that... the other party's fist seemed to be even more resilient than his sword qi?

"I don't believe it. There's just no way a person's cultivation could grow that quickly. He must have used some kind of method, some kind of method!" Shaking away his astonishment, Ji Lingzhen flicked his finger with greater force than before, sending forth a sword qi far stronger than before.

Halfway in its movement, the sword qi abruptly divided into countless surges of sword qi that filled up the entire sky. These surges of sword qi seemed to harmonize with one another, releasing the metallic call of a sword, resembling waves in a sea.

Sea of a Thousand Blades!

This was one of the most powerful techniques of the Sword Lagoon, and clearly, Ma Minghai wasn't the only one who had managed to comprehend this move.

Si la!

The sea of sword qi swiftly gushed toward Zhang Xuan, and a black streak seemed to vaguely appear along the path where it passed by, as if even space was unable to withstand its stupendous might.

"A mere child's play!" Zhang Xuan sneered coldly as he took a single step forward.

He raised his palm high in the sky and pressed it down powerfully.

It was the same palm strike which was used against Ji Lingfeng earlier, but its might was far stronger than before. Even when faced against the sea of sword qi, it was like a swat smacking away a fly, an unquestionable suppression.

Right after resolving the sea of sword qi, Zhang Xuan immediately flitted forward, appearing before Ji Lingzhen in the blink of an eye. Without any hesitation, he shot a fist toward the latter's abdomen.

Peng!

Caught off guard, Ji Lingzhen didn't even manage to put up his defenses when a colossal might sunk into him. His lungs suffocated in that instant, and 'sou!', he was sent flying diagonally the ground.

He tumbled along the ground many times, creating hole after hole in his wake.

"How can this be? This is impossible!" In this moment, the severely wounded Ji Lingzhen had nothing but disbelief left inside his head.

It wasn't too long ago that he wielded the absolute advantage in the battle, so how could the other party suddenly overpower him by so much in just a few moments?

He wasn't just any ordinary Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivator, he was a genius who had comprehended Half-Quintessence! There was not a single person in Qianchong Empire who came close to being a match for him! Yet, someone as strong as him wasn't able to receive a single punch from that young man...

Was that young man really just a Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle cultivator?

Very quickly, Ji Lingzhen's disbelief turned into rage. He had been an indomitable existence to those around him for a good part of his life, and he couldn't accept being defeated by a mere young lad so easily.

"Screw this!"

Suppressing his injuries, he pushed himself out of the pit he was in forcefully. In this moment, the elegance and grace he had when he first appeared had already turned into unkempt and fury.

"Screw this? The only one who is going to be screwed here is you!" Zhang Xuan replied coldly as his figure blurred once more.

This time, the attack that Ji Lingzhen found himself faced against wasn't a punch nor a palm strike but a kick.

"You..."

This kick wasn't a battle technique, and there was nothing notable about it skills-wise either. However, the might it wielded was staggering, to the point where it felt as if no human could stand against it. For a moment there, Ji Lingzhen felt as if the heavens were collapsing down on him!

"Damn it! Damn it!" Ji Lingzhen cursed furiously as he quickly drove his zhenqi furiously, sending out as many sword qi as he could.

In an instant, a sphere constructed out of sword qi surrounded him.

Battle technique, Great River of Swords!

This was a defensive technique that served to create a spherical river of sword qi around one, neutralizing any external attacks that were to land on it. In terms of defensive ability, it could be said to be even stronger than a Dominion!

Kacha!

As soon as the kick landed on the sphere, a resounding 'jiya!' echoed deafeningly in the surroundings, seemingly threatening to burst the spherical river of sword qi.

With a livid face, Ji Lingzhen gritted his teeth and infused even more sword qi into the defensive technique, attempting to sustain it.

"Hmph!" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up as he intensified the strength exerted by his leg.

Boom!

Under the swiftly growing might of the kick, the sphere eventually came to its limit and burst.

Pu!

Ji Lingzhen spurted a mouthful of fresh blood as he flew out once more, crashing forcefully to the ground.

"You actually think that you could kill me with skills like yours? You sure know how to dream!" Zhang Xuan slowly walked over on mid-air before stopping right above Ji Lingzhen. With his hands behind his back, he gazed sternly down on the latter, reminiscent of a peerless God of War.

"I..." At this point, Ji Lingzhen's mental defenses had already collapsed. Frightened by the imposing disposition of the young man before him, he couldn't help but crawl backward in fear.

The young man was simply too strong!

Without using Dominion or any powerful battle technique, just by sheer brute strength, the young man was able to overcome all of his means. To make things worse, the young man's body was also unbelievably resilient. Despite clashing multiple times with his sword qi, there wasn't the slightest scratch to be seen on his skin at all!

At this rate, he might really just die!

"Just what kind of existence is this fellow?" Ji Lingzhen couldn't help but feel a shred of regret.

Had he known that the young man would be so powerful, he would have never agreed to help Ji Lingzhen and place himself in this mess.

He thought that the other party was just an insignificant shrimp whom he could crush to death at a wave of his hand, but in the midst of his battle, he realized what he was faced against was an inviolable dragon instead!

"This won't do. I'll really die like this! Since that's the case, I can only give it a try then..." Ji Lingzhen gritted his teeth and toughened his resolve.

He swiftly rushed toward the stream before slitting his wrist with a flick of his finger. Fresh blood began spurting out wildly.

Tzzzzzzzzz!

As more and more fresh blood flowed out of his body, Ji Lingzhen's face shriveled more and more, and his black hair swiftly turned snowy white. It felt as if his vitality was flowing away along with his blood, causing his rapid aging.

With a feeble but indignant voice, he exclaimed, "Over the years, I have offered countless blades to you... Now, I have even tributed the Sword of Faint Whispers, Sword of Faint Warble, and even my own fresh blood to you... Isn't it about time for you to appear? Or are you just going to lie dormant here for your entire life?"

Hong long long!

The earth began shaking uncontrollably, and the water in the stream raged furiously. The Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation shrouding this area also began to shake intensely as a result of this furious surge of power, seemingly on the verge of collapsing altogether!

"What's that?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.