A thousand years ago, when it was still the Underworld Sword Sect, the previous Sect Master, Shangguan Bie Li, accepted the invitation of the previous South Wind Ancient Country Emperor to travel from Snow State to The Wilderness to quell the chaos there.
Alone with his sword, he single-handedly fought over a thousand Wilderness Cultivators, only to be trapped by the suddenly appearing Blood Refining array and eventually perish within it.
And a thousand years later, the Evil Qi filling the sky was once again reflected in the old man’s eyes.
The task that Shangguan Bie Li had not completed, he, Shangguan Wendao, would accomplish today.
The overwhelming tide of energy from the old man’s sword strike surged crazily toward the nearly hundred evil spirits. This terrifying momentum far surpassed the Mid Stage Tribulation Passing!?
"It’s Shangguan Wendao from the Sword Sect!"
A shout of terror burst from the mouth of the leading Evil Cultivator.
All the evil spirits’ expressions instantly froze.
If the Evil Qi gathered around the horde of evil spirits was a torrential river, then the Spiritual Energy surrounding Shangguan Wendao was an ocean.
This was the very reason that, despite its decline, no Sect dared to even contemplate encroaching on the Underworld Sword Sect.
Shangguan Wendao fiddled with the Earth Sha Pearl in his hand—the very one that had disappeared with the Blood Refining array!
He merely made an opening stance; his hand held no sword, only that green fishing rod.
Great was the silence, devoid of any sound.
Suddenly, a circle of sound waves spread fiercely, causing several miles of the river beneath their feet to instantaneously cave downward, like a smooth "water bowl."
With a rumbling sound, the water bowl shattered, splashing up thousands of layers of spray.
Every one of the evil spirits was sent flying backward. This Sword Ten technique shattered them as easily as breaking rotten wood, leaving no room for doubt.
Tenth Form: Rolling Wave!
The leading man in black vomited fresh blood, clutching his chest as he quickly retreated, speaking with difficulty, "Run."
This one sword strike, merely touched by a sliver of Sword Qi, had already nearly exhausted his Qi Sea, and countless fine bloodlines appeared on his body, staining his black clothes.
Above the Tribulation-Crossing Stage!
The true peak of the Twenty-One Provinces!
However, before he could finish speaking, the nature’s spiritual energy once again roiled violently.
The residual Sword Qi from that one strike caused the great waves on the entire river surface to surge like layered mountain peaks. His tattered clothes rippled and billowed ceaselessly.
A dozen or so evil spirits forcefully expelled a mouthful of black blood, collapsing heavily onto the ground.
This one sword strike, merely its aftermath, had violently torn apart their internal organs.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—
The several dozen surviving evil spirits exchanged glances, all reading shock in each other’s eyes.
The Evil Qi around them surged, and they instantly intended to leave this place.
The fisherman seated on the small boat lowered his eyes slightly, his voice hoarse, "Thinking of leaving?"
"Can you?" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵
"Stay for this old man..."
Around him on the surface of the water, over ten waterspouts appeared instantly, which then morphed into dragons. Sword Qi, impossible to dispel, was intertwined amidst the tumbling waves; these were over ten Sword Dragons.
Subsequently, within a radius of several miles, the great river churned, and giant waves soared as more water dragons emerged from within.
With a distant point of his fishing rod, all the water dragons surged forward.
The heavens overturned, and the earth was inverted.
"After searching for so long, I’ve finally encountered the one in charge..."
"Sword Eight: To the Other Shore!!"
Shangguan Wendao’s gaze, sharp and cold, fixed on the distant sky as he murmured to himself.
As if sensing something, the sword placed on the low table of the small boat instantly flew into the sky, slashing across the waists of the fleeing evil spirits.
Beneath such terrifying Sword Qi, the Evil Cultivators were like helpless ants under the vast sky, powerless to resist.
「And at that moment.」
An indistinct black shadow suddenly appeared in the sky above Dongting Stream.
With his arrival, the river’s surface had already become murky. Countless fish, unable to escape in time, were killed by the tremendous Spiritual Energy in the water, their dead bodies floating to the surface.
On the river, Shangguan Wendao still maintained his previous pose, unmoved, as if he were a statue, while the sudden black shadow in the sky was already less than a hundred measures from him.
The eyes of the leading man in black lit up instantly. Looking up at the sudden shadow in the sky, he exclaimed with surprise, "Supreme!!"
The host of evil spirits did not hesitate. A burst of dark fog rose from their bodies, and they instantly disappeared from this world.
As the terrifying black shadow drew nearer, more and more water dragons gathered between the two, water dragons overlapping water dragons.
Sword Qi overlapped with Evil Qi; the two melded together.
In an instant, only two colossal Great Cultivators remained between heaven and earth.
This was a contest of inner strength.
Shangguan Wendao still had not risen from the small boat. His conical hat was blown away by the strong wind, revealing his pale hair.
A glint of light flashed in his murky eyes. "I presume you are the mastermind behind all this..."
"Let this old man remove your mask and see who you truly are!?"
The shadowy figure laughed uproariously at the sky, his eyes narrowing beneath the mask, his voice low and deep, "Unexpectedly, Sect Leader Shangguan, who disappeared for so many years, would appear in the Sacred Land.
"However, as for removing my mask..."