A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 451 Ending
Ren Qianxing shook off the lake water from his body, his gaze turning cold as he looked at the Chess City shrouded in a misty haze. Just as he turned to leave, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted. The Chess City in the mist instantly shattered, and countless fragments fell into Mirror Lake, stirring up waves that surged endlessly and spread outwards.

Ripples swirled, waves surged, and the entire Chess King Cave shook violently. Ren Qianxing swayed slightly, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly steadied himself. Looking at the gradually collapsing Chess City, his heart bled. After all this time and effort, and at such a high price, there were still countless grains of sand.

"However, being able to bury Gu Xu and the others in Chess City can be considered an unexpected gain."

Ren Qianxing comforted himself, gripping the Ling Shuang sword tightly. He thought that as long as he went out, who in the entire martial arts world could be his opponent? Even without the treasure, he could unify the martial arts world and become the supreme ruler.

As the waves crashed in, Ren Qianxing's figure darted towards the outside of the Chess King Cave. However, just as he was traversing the mountain path, a golden light suddenly formed a protective shield, blocking Ren Qianxing's path. Upon seeing this, he snorted coldly and casually slashed down with his sword. With a soft sound, the golden light shield shattered instantly. But before Ren Qianxing could make a move, a piece of silk cloth shimmering with spiritual light flew out from the shattered golden light shield. Blood threads were densely woven on it, forming a warp and weft pattern. It spun in the air, and suddenly hundreds of golden flying swords shot out, their momentum like fire and their speed like thunder.

"The wordless book!"

Ren Qianxing's expression changed immediately. He thought that the wordless book had disappeared after pointing out the correct direction, but he did not expect it to appear here. Could this be another trick left by Gu Xu?

Regardless, Ren Qianxing was filled with rage. He raised the Frost-Slaying Sword high and swiftly slashed across the world. The light blade swept around, and the sound of metal clashing was deafening. Ren Qianxing grunted, and his movements became even more swift. The blood-red sword light wore down the golden flying swords one by one. Half a moment later, the wordless heavenly book dimmed and fell to the ground. Ren Qianxing didn't even look at it and destroyed it with a single sword strike, turning it to ashes and disappearing.

Having removed the obstacle, Ren Qianxing dared not delay any longer and hurriedly ran towards the outside of the Chess King Cave.

At the same time, just before Chess City completely collapsed, Sword Master and the others managed to leave in time. They returned to the bottom of Mirror Lake through the waterway beneath Chess City, rushed out of the water, and turned around to look back. They saw that the magnificent and towering Chess City had been reduced to a pile of ruins and was slowly sinking to the bottom of the lake.

"There are still some vengeful spirits at the bottom of the lake. Do not linger. Also, be careful not to be swept away by the swirling waves."

Sword Master gave a reminder, carefully pushing aside the swirling currents and swimming towards the shore. The others followed cautiously behind him.

"Where is the Taoist priest?"

Yan Zangfeng looked around but couldn't find Gu Xu, so he asked.

"The Taoist priest has other important matters to attend to; he is waiting for us outside the Chess King Cave."

After explaining, the Sword Master continued swimming forward, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as everyone was about to swim to the shore, Yan Zangfeng's ears twitched. He turned around and saw the surging clouds of blood mist. He felt a chill run down his spine and shouted at the Sword Master. Huangfu Changhen and the other two turned around at the same time. Seeing the blood demons and evil spirits rushing towards them at high speed, their hearts sank. Now, they were truly willing but unable to deal with so many evil creatures.

However, upon seeing this, the Sword Master expressionlessly took out a crystal, activated his true energy, and threw it towards the blood mist. The fire crystal spun rapidly, flashed with crimson light, and instantly formed a large net of flames that enveloped the Blood Fiend. To everyone's astonishment, the Blood Fiend was continuously refined by the flames, and its mournful cries echoed throughout the valley. In just a few breaths, the Blood Fiend was completely swept away.

With a casual wave of his hand, the Sword Master brought the fire crystal back into his hand and put it into his bosom. He nodded to Huangfu Changhen and the others, who came to their senses, looked at each other, and continued swimming forward.

"Luckily I didn't use my lightness skill to walk on water, otherwise I don't know what would have happened if I had been caught in this swirling current."

After getting ashore, Huangfu Changhen watched with lingering fear as the small whirlpool swallowed up an ancient tree, and he couldn't help but feel secretly terrified.

"The Taoist priest is still waiting ahead. Let's not waste any more time and go."

The group used their inner energy to dry their clothes, rested briefly, and then headed out of the Chess King Cave. A short while later, they passed through the cave safely and arrived at the outer room. The moon was high in the sky, and it was exactly midnight.

“There are signs of a fight here, Lord City!”

Yan Zangfeng looked at the grass that had been disturbed outside the cave, the broken stones, and the clear sword marks. His expression changed. The sword marks were all half a foot deep in the stone, and the edges showed a reddish halo. Such sword marks were all too familiar.

"It's a sword move that transcends lifetimes; Ren Qianxing is indeed not dead."

Sword Master's expression turned slightly cold. This was within his expectations, but the sword move that separated worlds made him tremble with fear. Guan Yutian's cultivation was truly not in vain. He had actually allowed Ren Qianxing to directly master the Sword of Separation to the highest level. If Cang Feng had fought him before, even with the Heavenly Will Four Symbols Technique protecting him, he could only withstand three swords at most.

"Gentlemen, over there!"

With her keen senses, Abbess Sixin pointed, and everyone looked in the direction she pointed. Under the cold moonlight, on the peaks of two mountains, two figures flashed and flew away, their sword energy soaring into the sky and starlight flashing. Despite the great momentum of their battle, they made no sound. Clearly, their skills had reached the pinnacle, and they controlled their power with exquisite precision.

"It's the Taoist priest and Ren Qianxing."

"go!"

Sword Master used his lightness skill to quickly run towards the mountain peak, and Huangfu Changhen and the other two followed closely behind. Only Jian Yin's eyes flickered slightly, and the Four Symbols Sun-Shooting Arrow on his back emitted spiritual light. After a long silence, Jian Yin sighed, gripped the treasure bow in his hand, and looked at Ren Qianxing with a firm gaze.

"The Frost Sword is the source of chaos in the martial world. It must not be left behind. Ren Qianxing has been in power for decades under Guan Yutian. Apart from Daoist Gu Xu, probably no one can suppress him."

As Jianyin ran towards the mountain peak, he pondered that the Four Symbols Sun-Shooting Arrow had been created to eliminate variables. Now it seemed that although the anomaly was Daoist Gu Xu, the variable was Ren Qianxing.

Atop the mountain peak, Ren Qianxing appeared like a demon god descending to earth. Behind him, a demonic statue gradually came into focus, its face blue with fangs, its hair red and its skin black, its body covered in demonic patterns, surrounded by evil aura, its four eyes gleaming with a ghostly light, and its eight arms wielding demonic weapons. Ren Qianxing stood beneath the statue, his Ling Shuang sword as red as blood, specks of crimson light like jewels adorning its surface, forming a long, blood-red river around it. As the sword energy surged forth, the statue's eyes deepened, and the statue became even more lifelike. On the other hand, Gu Xu, opposite him, presented a completely different scene. He was surrounded by radiant light, his divine aura soaring to the heavens. Above his head, a treasure mirror shone with a clear, watery light, illuminating the area for miles around as if it were daytime, dispelling the darkness. Sword energy, like celestial stars, formed a net of swords before him.

"What's going on with Ren Qianxing? Judging from his aura, he can actually hold his own against the Taoist priest."

Yan Zangfeng and the others stood atop a nearby mountain, watching the strange phenomena displayed by both sides, and were greatly alarmed.

"Master, have you discovered anything?"

Sword Master looked at Ren Qianxing's appearance without changing his expression. Although Ren Qianxing seemed to have a strong aura, he was certain that Ren Qianxing was no match for the Taoist priest. However, he needed to know exactly how Ren Qianxing had become like this.

"It must be because of the Frost Sword. The city lord should also know that the Frost Sword took sixty years to forge and was imbued with the spirit of the Nine Dragon Stone, a rare treasure that is only seen once in a hundred years. In addition, it absorbed a large amount of blood and resentment from Mirror Lake. Both the righteous and evil forces have converged into one sword. If he absorbs it, this power will be enough to destroy the world!"

Master Sixin only glanced at Ren Qianxing before being attacked by the demonic statue, her face turning pale instantly. Huangfu Changhen immediately channeled his true energy into her. After calming down, Master Sixin explained the situation to everyone.

"The Frost-Piercing Sword must not be left behind!"

Sword Master had already made up his mind that once the Taoist priest defeated Ren Qianxing, he would throw the Frost Sword into the lava pool to destroy it completely.

Ren Qianxing, frustrated by his prolonged attacks, swung his Frost Sword horizontally, unleashing a crimson blade of light that pierced the void and hurtled straight towards Gu Xu. Gu Xu, seeing this, remained unfazed, pointing his finger and conjuring countless azure lightning sword energies into a single sword of energy that struck the crimson blade of light precisely. The crimson blade shattered into countless beams of light, while the azure lightning sword of energy, unstoppable, slashed towards the demonic statue behind Ren Qianxing.

"drink!"

Sensing the other party's intention, Ren Qianxing's aura surged again, and he raised his long sword high. Dark clouds covered the moon and the starlight was completely obscured, plunging everyone into boundless darkness. Only the glow emanating from Gu Xu in the distance stood out, like a beacon in the darkness, calming everyone's minds.

"This golem must be the vengeful spirit of the broken Frost Sword from previous generations. No wonder it has such great power."

Gu Xu focused his eyes and clearly saw the changes that had occurred on Ren Qianxing. He then glanced at the Ling Shuang Sword, which had undergone a transformation. Countless broken sword shapes floated within it, and the murderous aura had solidified into a tangible form. Perhaps this Ling Shuang Sword carried the malevolent energy of all the Ling Shuang Swords that had been destroyed over the past five hundred years. The eight broken demonic weapons on the demonic statue behind him clearly confirmed this.

Ren Qianxing's eyes flashed with anger as he watched the approaching Azure Thunder Sword Qi. He roared and the crimson light of the Frost Sword flashed repeatedly. The evil aura around Ren Qianxing was instantly tinged with crimson light, spreading outwards like ripples on water. When it collided with the Azure Thunder Sword Qi, the crimson and blue light flickered erratically. In the blink of an eye, the Azure Thunder Sword Qi and the crimson evil aura canceled each other out.

Just then, Gu Xu's eyes flickered slightly, his five fingers formed a claw, and with a clenched fist, a stagnant force enveloped Ren Qianxing. The surrounding evil energy paused, and as Ren Qianxing looked astonished, he saw Gu Xu press forward with one palm, and the stagnant evil energy shattered with a bang. Before it could gather, a beam of green light fell, and the evil energy was instantly refined clean.

Ren Qianxing coughed up a mouthful of blood. The demonic statue behind him shifted between reality and illusion several times before finally stabilizing. Although it did not shatter, its surging malevolent aura was greatly reduced, and it was no longer as rampant and violent as before.

"Alright, the Taoist priest has already suppressed Ren Qianxing. Everyone, shall we step forward and lend him a hand?"

Huangfu Changhen clapped his hands in approval and turned to look at the Sword Master. Upon hearing this, the latter shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Let's not go up and cause trouble for the Daoist. With the Daoist's abilities, it's only a matter of time before he takes down Ren Qianxing. Let's just wait quietly to the side and not cause any trouble."

Upon hearing Sword Master's words, Huangfu Changhen and Master Sixin nodded in agreement. Yan Cangfeng, on the other hand, stared intently at the two combatants. Because he cultivated the Heavenly Will Four Symbols Technique, he was extremely sensitive to the natural energy. He found Ren Qianxing's all-consuming evil power very repulsive, while the creative energy revealed by Daoist Gu Xu made him feel very comfortable. The final move of the Heavenly Will Four Symbols Technique, "Lightning God's Wrath," was always just a little short. Now, by comprehending the Daoist's energy flow, Lightning God's Wrath was gradually moving towards perfection.

Ren Qianxing was severely suppressed by Gu Xu's repeated attacks. Looking at the sharp sword energy and heavy force that were everywhere outside, Ren Qianxing straightened up, wiped the blood from his mouth, held his sword horizontally to his chest, and ran his right hand across the blade. Blood stained the demonic sword, and the sword's red light suddenly shone brightly. Then, a blood-red pillar of light appeared from Ren Qianxing's body. It could be clearly seen even from thousands of miles away. Wherever the blood-red pillar of light covered, all life was extinguished and devoured by the image of the demon god.

"He's courting death."

Gu Xu's eyes sharpened, and he shone the treasure mirror on the image of the demon god. The clear light spread, and the image of the demon god immediately let out a shrill scream. Streams of black smoke rose from its body, like water being poured into a pot of oil, and it instantly exploded. Then, with a deafening roar, the entire mountain peak was struck as if by lightning. Rocks crumbled, and the ground was littered with debris. When the dust settled, the image of the demon god behind Ren Qianxing was already badly damaged. Half of its eight arms had been broken off, and only one of its four eyes remained. Half of its body was missing, and the remaining half was covered in wounds. Even if Ren Qianxing tried his best to reassemble it, he still could not repair it.

"Heaven and earth are boundless, yin and yang transform themselves, the mysterious light purifies demons, by decree!"

Gu Xu performed a hand seal, and the Azure Thunder Sword tore through the dark clouds, revealing the reappearance of the cold moon and starlight. The Pure Soul and Clear Heart Mirror soared through the sky, its light intensifying with the help of the moonlight and starlight, directly enveloping the demon god and Ren Qianxing. Ren Qianxing was trapped by the light and cried out in agony, while the demon god fared even worse. Under the refinement of the light, his body shrank continuously, and after a final, shrill scream, he turned into a black mist, churning endlessly, continuing to resist the refinement of the demonic power.

Just then, Abbess Sixin nodded in the direction of Gu Xu, immediately sat down cross-legged, and with a light wave of her hand, strands of zither music pierced through the clouds and transformed into countless blades of energy that rushed into the rolling black mist. When they collided with the mist, the black mist rolled even more violently.

Taking advantage of this opening, with the help of the Seven Absolutes Qin music, Qingguang's speed in refining the black mist increased faster and faster. In just a few breaths, the black mist, which was about an acre in size, turned into a pitch-black bead that floated in the air. This bead seemed to have a spirit and shot towards Ren Qianxing, who was trapped by Qingguang, with a whoosh.

Seeing this, Gu Xu simply unleashed a sword aura to block it. He reached out and took the pitch-black bead, which landed in his hand. After examining it, he found that the bead contained nothing but resentment and malevolence. If left unchecked, it could unleash a great calamity in the martial world within a few years.

With a few casual seals, Gu Xu descended from the sky and landed in front of Ren Qianxing. Looking at the unconscious Ren Qianxing, Gu Xu reached out and took the dimly lit Ling Shuang Sword in his hand. After sealing the sword with Ice Soul Mystic Light, Gu Xu grabbed Ren Qianxing and, in a few leaps, arrived beside Sword Master and the others.

"With this matter concluded, we will leave the rest to the city lord."

"Rest assured, Daoist Master, I, Jian, will surely restore peace to the martial world in less than three years."

(End of this chapter)