Great Red Immortal Sect

Chapter 558: Counterattack
Border.

Golden lotuses bloom, shimmering with colorful light; the city walls are as if coated with gold powder, their brilliance flowing; chanting of sutras echoes from within the city; and soldiers can be seen everywhere laying down their weapons.

The blue waves surged and churned.

The sword intent flowed back and forth, eventually transforming into a vast tide, like an endless blue mountain range stretching across the heavens and earth.

The power of the Vast Waters, the "Tide Has Faith," is a transformation of the "Controlling the Waves" technique practiced by dragons.

The vast sea flows into the river, thus forming the tide, which is the exact opposite of the "all rivers return" of the Kan River. This is the result of the ancient "Taihao" landing on the shore, and is the true transmission of the Buyang lineage.

Chou Xi's expression was indifferent, revealing no emotion.

Even in Liaodong, she was known for her cold and aloof nature. She immediately raised her hand, formed a hand seal, and gave a soft rebuke:
"open."

The tide suddenly rose, plunging the sun into darkness and scattering the clouds.

Countless sword intents transformed into a vast torrent, rushing down and surging towards that tiny silver figure.

Xu Xuan drew his sword and stepped forward, unleashing his supernatural powers.

The golden energy intertwined, lightning crackled, and finally condensed into a silver line, slashing vertically. The originally mighty tide was cut in half by this silver light and collapsed with a roar.

Countless black and white lightning bolts surged through the waves like dragons and snakes, rushing towards the light blue figure, scattering the calamities in all directions.

The [Heavenly Tribulation] was suddenly activated. With the help of the suppression of the She Lei position, the thunder burst forth, instantly suppressing the ripples around Chou Xi into a calm mirror.

Xu Xuan knew the power of sword intent. He was confident that he could defeat his opponent, but if he were to be struck by it, he would be seriously injured.

The dangers of a duel between two sword immortals are beyond the comprehension of outsiders. A single misstep could result in double injury or even death for both. Unless one is like the sword immortal of Taiping Mountain, who cultivates the Great Dao of Supreme Gold and possesses unparalleled protective abilities.

Both of them used only their spiritual swords and did not use any other spiritual weapons.

At this stage, the key to victory lies in the sharpness of sword intent and the speed of its unsheathing. It all comes down to timing. Switching to another spiritual weapon would give the opponent an opportunity. Even before the opponent has finished casting the hand seals, they have already unleashed a sword strike.

In the blink of an eye, the two spiritual swords had already clashed hundreds of times in the sky. Their completely different sword intents collided, shattering the void and causing the borderland to crack open with fissures, which were instantly filled with waves of lightning.

Her light blue silk skirt swayed precariously in the waves. Chou Xi stepped forward, her face expressionless, like a beautiful statue carved from cold jade.

The celestial laws descended in quick succession, and the [Primordial Order] instantly completed its interaction with the Han River, governing its life and death.

But Chou Xi seemed to have anticipated this. She chanted the incantation, and her whole body emitted illusory rays of reincarnation light, which circulated endlessly, resisting the law.

The sword was also filled with turbid qi, which concealed life force and suppressed the interaction of the elements to a minimum, allowing Xu Xuan to gain only a slight advantage.

She had mastered the [Great Wheel of Karma Technique], an ancient magic of the Great Dao of Reincarnation, reaching the sixth rank. It allows for the reincarnation of life and is not subject to the constraints of karma, which is also the source of her confidence in facing the Heavenly Thunder.

"This person doesn't belong to the underworld; how did they cultivate the magic of 'reincarnation'?"

Xu Xuan instantly understood the other party's method: combining the wonders of reincarnation and turbid qi, entrusting his life to the underworld, and thus escaping the punishment of the village thunder.

Aside from Yin and Yang and the state, if there is any other lineage that can temporarily mitigate the effects of the thunder, the first one that comes to mind is "reincarnation." The rank of the Northern Yin Immortal Lord is high enough to be compared with that of the Thunder Ancestor.

Tian Tuo sneered and said only:

"The Han River's ability to restrain Wen You is not solely due to the methods of that Yuan Han Dragon Lord; there are many other shady dealings involved, including the involvement of the Immortal Dao of Bu Yang."

"It will only be effective if you master the Black Law; for now..."

Xu Xuan's thoughts turned slightly heavy. Whether it was the Yu You Yin Shuai who perished in the sea, the Han Shui's ability to overcome Wen You, or the sword wound on the head of that ghost messenger, all these signs demonstrated the entanglement between the ancient Han Shui lineage and the underworld.

Seeing this, he stopped worrying about the interaction of elements and activated his supernatural power, causing a pool of silver-cast thunder to descend leisurely and suppress the opponent above him.

Black and white lightning crisscrossed as Xu Xuan slashed down with his sword, causing the lightning in the pool to crash down like an angry dragon. The sword intent was unleashed, leaving the opponent with no way to dodge.

"The method of thievery."

The sword immortal from the Northern Liao Dynasty looked up and saw a dazzling sword light of thunder in the sky, carrying a terrifying nature of punishment, falling towards her.

Han Shui has no authority in the heavens. If it were Ren or Gui water, she could still borrow some cloud energy, but right now she has no way to dispel this patch of heavenly lightning.

Given the nature of the opponent's sword intent, it was impossible to evade.

The lightning, like a waterfall, was reflected in a pair of emerald-green eyes. With a light tap of her pale toes, the waves surged again, instantly engulfing her entire life in the vast ocean, omnipresent.

The thunder roared down, but the vast ocean calmly received it, dissipating the killing intent.

The power of the Vast Waters, [hidden without end].

As a means of survival, this supernatural power is far more profound than the ethereal transformation of the universe's "Tracing the Void" and the stillness of the earth's "Quiet Dust Gate," only lacking the "Reignition" of true fire.

Within certain limits, by utilizing the vast [Endless Ocean] she has cultivated, she can completely contain the opponent's killing intent with its immense power, while her true self remains almost unaffected.

The Boundless Vast Sea can dissipate its killing intent at an extremely fast speed, spreading it throughout the world. It is most effective against those Daoist lineages that lack strong killing power, and it is even more unsolvable than the Thunderous [Thunderous Swamp].

With this supernatural power, Dan Ting's [Heavenly Punishment] technique was even difficult to activate, and the killing energy could not be accumulated at all, let alone achieve the great decapitation kill.

Her tolerance for mistakes is far greater than that of Xu Xuan before her, after all, the other party has not yet mastered the [Punishment of Divine Repentance].

Her expression was calm as she shifted from defense to offense, and billowing turbid energy rose from her dark gray spirit sword, merging into the ocean current.

The Turbid Qi Sword, [Wu Xian], is a secret spiritual treasure passed down in the Immortal Path of Bu Yang. It is as famous as the [Yang Shui] and [Xu Hai] of the past, and it is also the only remaining spiritual sword in her path.

This sword possesses the wondrous ability to conceal itself amidst the turbidity. With the sorrowful tide merging into the ocean waves, coupled with the wondrous effect of [Hidden Without End] merging with the vastness of the ocean, her aura instantly became omnipresent, yet also seemed to have completely vanished.

Tian Tuo's tone grew solemn as he spoke in a deep voice:
"The Turbid Qi Spirit Sword should be an ancient artifact of considerable quality, crafted using pure Qi!"

The ocean currents surged and turbid air rose, but Xu Xuan did not hesitate and donned the [Water and Fire Armor].

This Qi Armor is extremely malevolent; each activation consumes a great deal of energy, yet its power is considerable.

The crimson demonic fire and the azure evil water were activated together, and the Nine-Headed Beast began to roar according to his thoughts. The azure and black demonic light intertwined with the water and fire, bursting forth.

"The transformation between water and fire lies in the interaction of Kan and Li, and the ultimate transformation."

Tian Tuo spoke in a somber tone, and the ancient and modern principles of water and fire are only studied by Kan and Li, and the ultimate transformation.

The transformation of Kan and Li occurs when one is influenced by "Lesser Yin," encounters "True Qi" for salvation, and is resolved by "Dangerous Qi."

In order to avoid the divine power of the Taiyin and Taiyang, ancient people who practiced Taoism often used Kan and Li to represent Yin and Yang.

The so-called Nine Infants are the spirit beasts in the position of Kan and Li resolving each other. They are an ominous sign of water and fire. At this time, they also have the nature of being destroyed by the Qi. They will immediately break through this turbid sea and break free from the entanglement.

The tide rose again, crashing down, with a vast sword intent mixed in. Taking advantage of the moment when Xu Xuan activated his armor and his energy flowed, the opponent decisively attacked, the tide crashing down, intending to sweep Xu Xuan's life into it.

'If we encounter Tian Shu, it will probably be even more difficult to deal with.'

Xu Xuan's heart stirred. The Vast Water was not some kind of extreme speed method, so the opponent could use the sword intent to seize the gap when he changed his weapon.

If it were the Divine Thunder, known for its extreme speed, the spirit sword would probably have already pierced through before he even unleashed his spiritual weapon.

Tian Tuo spoke, his tone solemn:
"Use the phases of the moon to receive it."

Xu Xuan understood, removed his armor, and activated the [Illumination of Yin Refining Technique], transforming into a bright white moon hanging high in the sea.

Since the establishment of the Great Crimson Heaven and the presence of both the sun and moon, he has frequently entered the cave heaven to cultivate the Heavenly Eye and Moon Pool techniques using the two celestial phenomena. He has also completely refined the last three [Yin Que Qing Shuang] techniques.

The production of Yin spiritual objects in Ying'e Pool takes an extremely long time; it only started to stir after the cave heaven was descended, and it is about to produce them again.

The six Yin spiritual objects he brought the first time had already been incorporated into this spell, making it a complete and perfected technique!

To be fair, the three Taiyin spiritual objects, when combined and consumed, and slowly refined, would be sufficient to cultivate this technique. However, Xu Xuan did not understand Taiyin and instead chose to rely solely on spiritual objects to artificially construct this spell.

But it has now had a miraculous effect.

He hid within the bright moon, where frost poured down and the yin energy slowly turned, causing the surging tide to pause and its power to diminish.

Xu Xuan seized the opportunity to escape, causing the enemy's sword tide to miss its target.

"Taiyin is effective against Hanshui!"

Xu Xuan's mind raced. Even though there were elements of mutual generation and restraint, magic could not suppress supernatural powers.

If a Taiyin Zifu (a type of celestial being) were to come here, they should be able to completely break through the opponent's supernatural power.

The turbulent sea churned, and Xu Xuan, disregarding the sorrowful Xi, looked southward.

That Pure Land of Vows is almost encompassing the entirety of the six prefectures, like molten gold flowing southward. The Dharma of past lives is the root of present-day teachings, and its practice relies on the power of others. It takes making vows, walking, and reciting the name as the fundamental path of practice, emphasizing the Dharma gates while downplaying the viewpoints.

The Pure Land presided over by Mingying is extremely ancient, and it effortlessly incorporates the immortal paths along the way.

Countless mortals and immortals entered that magnificent, lotus-filled Buddhist kingdom on earth.

One by one, powerful heavenly kings manifested from the golden lotus throne, reciting scriptures, and golden vows flowed like a gentle stream, converging on the central image.

The blazing light of the fire blocked this pure land, having little effect.

Xu Xuan's gaze darkened as he tried to escape, but the surrounding currents surged, giving him no chance to leave.

Chou Xi's figure reappeared, her sword blade flipped, and her aura rose inch by inch.

The azure tide surged again, and the sword in her hand vibrated, its sound like a dragon. She held the sword before her and made a hand seal once more:

"Return."

The waves and tides between heaven and earth were subjected to tremendous force, quickly condensing into a line, transforming into a three-foot-long, entirely black object, as hard as metal and stone, extremely heavy, like an ink stick. Its mere manifestation here shattered the void.

This is heavy water.

This stream of condensed, immense water landed on her sword, and a powerful sword intent arose. A chilling light of immense water began to flicker at the tip of the sword.

The ninth move of the Overturning Flow Sword Manual: [Heavy Water Flow].

As the true inheritor of the [Overturning Flow] sword lineage passed down by True Lord Taihao, Chouxi's own sword intent is [Gathering the Yang], which can gather killing intent to the greatest extent and concentrate it in one place, perfectly matching this move [Heavy Water Flow].

Although the most powerful move in the sword manual is still the [Listening to the Tide], she is not very skilled at using it and is also countered by the opponent's Taiyin magic. It would be better to use the Heavy Water Sword to fight the enemy.

Xu Xuan's mind grew increasingly calm, and he pointed his sword forward, sensing the calamity that was about to befall him.

The Dan Ting in his hand connected with another location high in the sky, releasing sword intent that rushed into the heavens, gradually breaking free from his control, spontaneously condensing calamity and punishment, and beginning to patrol the sky.

He temporarily ignored this tribulation and instead consecrated his sword. The various phenomena of the Thunder Palace manifested, with black and white lightning intertwining in the world, and countless chains shooting towards Chou Xi.

【Si Jie】!
Chou Xi was not flustered. Before she came here, she had already heard about this Jie Bi's killing move, which was to use karma to judge sins and to evolve the Thunder Palace's way of execution.

The punishment of sins by the community is based on karma, and reincarnation is the best way to eliminate karma. The Great Wheel of Karma is a method of using the spiritual light of reincarnation to imagine one's life as a reincarnation, thus escaping evil karma.

She activated the technique, and the light of reincarnation spread around her, causing She Lei to lose his lock for a moment.

Magic is no match for supernatural powers. Even the technique of reincarnation could only stop the opponent's sword move for a moment. The various phenomena of the Thunder Palace in the sky had already carried out their executions again, but they were a moment too late.

In just a moment, the outcome could be decided.

Chou Xi swung her sword, the heavy water crushing the lightning, shattering the void inch by inch. She completely ignored the lightning chains shooting from behind her, letting the black and white lightning pierce through her body.

Her round, crystalline feet trod on the flowing water, and the heavy water on her sword, carrying a sense of overturning, crashed down. This completely solidified heavy water was no longer subject to the control of the Yin.

Xu Xuan felt as if a vast ocean had fallen, seemingly sculpted to the size of a sword, yet its weight remained undiminished; a mere graze would cause injury, and a direct hit would be fatal.

If this heavy water were to strike a person, it would be more terrifying than being suppressed by hundreds of divine mountains. In terms of killing power, it would far surpass the "Foolish Mountain Shift" technique of the Gen Earth element.

He actually has ways to deal with it right now. Whether he uses his Dharma body or his Heavenly Eye, he can suppress it.

However, such an action would not only consume a great deal of magical power, but it would also be difficult to break through the opponent's supernatural powers. How could we rush to the aid of the south in the shortest possible time?

The overwhelming flow of the heavy water was about to crash down, but Xu Xuan simply raised his sword and even deliberately dispersed the still-forming Si Jie.

Chou Xi's expression remained indifferent, and her hand holding the sword did not waver in the slightest. She only knew one thing.

This sword move has never disappointed her.

But the surrounding scenery seemed to slow down in an instant. She could clearly see her sword slashing down, and the heavy water, like ink streaks, shattered the opponent's magical body.

The clouds in the sky parted, the Big Dipper shone brightly, and below seemed to be a surging mass of tribulation light, with heavy thunderbolts falling around it, sensing the heavens and earth and amplifying its power.

As the killing power on the Sorrowful Tide Sword manifested, the power of this calamity light also suddenly increased. The Big Dipper and the Calamity of Exile merged into one, and black and white lightning pulsed endlessly, once again connecting with the Crimson Lightning.

It was through the sword intent of the Transformation Sword that he comprehended the sword technique, [Reversal of Tribulation].

This sword move combines the principles of facing danger and turning calamity into opportunity, using external threats to increase one's own sword power.

Each time this sword is activated, a beam of calamity light must first be unleashed and hung high in the sky. It will only fall down on its own when the user is in imminent danger of death, requiring no manipulation.

This devastating attack, descending through the [Northern Dipper], will inevitably be synchronized with the opponent's killing intent. When it strikes down, it can even borrow the opponent's killing power to increase its own power.

Chou Xi had already sensed something was wrong, but she still didn't dodge or avoid it, and was determined to unleash the heavy water sword.

The calamities descended simultaneously behind her, sword light surged, and two completely different calamities erupted at the same time, completely piercing through her [Hidden End] protection.

A strange golden-bronze color gradually appeared on Xu Xuan's face. The Qingwu in his inner vision was released on a very small scale, and the indestructible nature of the [Taiqing Xuanmiao Dharma Body] was generated, which, together with the treasure-nurturing golden man, resisted the sword intent.

The heavy water sword, as sharp as ink, shattered, leaving dents on Xu Xuan's golden body. His aura surged violently, and he spat out a mouthful of foul blood.

He intuitively sensed that this sword could not be blocked by the Moon Pool, and the other spiritual weapons were too late to activate. Only his Dharma Body and the [Treasure-Nourishing Golden Man], which had already merged with his Dharma Body, could withstand it instantly.

Thousands of buzzing sounds emanated from his body, golden light flowed, and the left chest of his golden body had been cleaved open by the heavy water sword. The intertwined clear and pure energy was also broken through by the vast water sword intent.

Finally, the [Lead-Preserving and Water-Washing Order] was used to freeze the heavy water with the cold frost of Xin metal, which gradually stopped the heavy water.

However, Chou Xi had already been struck by the sword of reversal, which combined killing power.

This sword move not only possessed the power of Xu Xuan's own sword intent, but also combined some of the killing power of the opponent's sword move, making it extremely powerful.

Her left arm was completely destroyed by the lightning, revealing stark white bones. The [Curse of Death of the Big Dipper] and the [Curse of Extinction of True Spirit] were controlled by Dan Ting and penetrated into her inner world through the sword intent.

Right now, she can only activate the light of reincarnation to barely maintain her life by shedding her evil karma, but she has already lost most of her ability to fight.

Xu Xuan slowly repaired his injuries. As a self-activated sword move, [Reversal of Calamity] gave him more room to use defensive techniques during the fight compared to Chou Xi, so his injuries were not serious.

"Among the many Purple Mansions of the Great Li, there are few like you."

These words came from the heart. Since breaking through to the Purple Mansion in human form, Xu Xuan had enjoyed the most exhilarating battle so far, focusing primarily on swordsmanship.

Having both cultivated sword intent, the battle between the two became more pure and the killing intent was even stronger.

Chou Xi's face was somewhat pale, and she still showed no emotion. Drops of blood dripped from her severed arm, staining the hem of her skirt red.

She remained silent, gazing at Tie Sui, who was still fighting in the distance, and called out from afar:

"I don't owe you anything anymore."

The other party turned and left, and the Boundless Vast Ocean and the Reincarnation Aura that had been constantly activated dissipated.

Xu Xuan felt that now was the perfect time to take the other party's life.

He did not make a move, but instead looked towards the battlefield in the desert, his gaze shifting to a demonic figure shrouded in purple energy.

With a light swing of his spirit sword, he flew away on the wind.

Right now, we must quickly defeat these demons and cut off Mingying's support before we can safely uproot the Pure Land in the south.

Jing Xing, who was fighting with Xi Wuyai, suddenly felt a chill. He looked up abruptly and saw a black and white thunder prison surging towards him, causing his demonic energy to boil.

He did not back down; instead, he looked at Xu Xuan with a smile:
"Sword Immortal of Tribulation Repelling, I wonder how my master is doing lately? Has his injury healed?"

"Senior Guan Quan misses you very much and asked me to invite you back to the mountain for a chat."

The sword flashed, Xu Xuan's tone grew cold, and he no longer held back.

The sword intent slashed out, and silver lightning leaped, but it landed on the Vajra riding a white lion on the other side.

The Vajra let out a miserable howl, utterly powerless to resist, and was reduced to ashes by the lightning. It couldn't even return to the Pure Land through the void, and perished completely.

Qinglang broke free from the entanglement, her heart filled with horror.

Previously, Song Shiqing had also repelled a Vajra, but he was unable to truly kill it, allowing it to escape back to the Pure Land. However, this Vajra riding a lion has now been completely annihilated, turning into ashes.

'The Pure Land is so close, yet we cannot escape it.'

(End of this chapter)