Fairy, you call this repaying a debt of gratitude?

"First him, then you, and then the son of that treacherous minister who sits high in the court but is utterly useless—all of them will die by my hand."

Xie Lingran's long, snow-white hair flew wildly, surrounded by a greenish-blue aura.

He stood atop the mountain with his arms crossed, looking down at everyone with an arrogant gaze. His boastful words echoed across the peak, lingering for a long time.

He certainly has the ability to be arrogant now.

After forcibly stripping away and absorbing nearly half of the evil dragon's spiritual power from Shen Wei's body using the Dragon Imprisoning Formation, Xie Lingran's cultivation level was completely restored, soaring to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and even approaching the late-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

This formidable strength is even greater than it was during his peak.

His ability to crush and severely injure two Nascent Soul cultivators in an instant, all by himself, is the most powerful proof of this.

Before this, he was already nearly fifty years old, but his cultivation level had stopped at the late Nascent Soul stage. Although this level of cultivation would be considered exceptionally gifted for an ordinary cultivator.

But he is Xie Lingran, Gu Lengyue's father, and a genius who once amazed the world.

The reason he ended up in this situation was because of the formation he had modified, which had long since changed its purpose—the Dragon Imprisonment Formation.

The reason is that after the host merges with the demonic dragon, they are firmly bound together. If the dragon is forcibly separated by a secret method, the host's meridians will be completely shattered and the soul will be destroyed, leaving no chance of survival.

However, Xie Lingran possessed a special bloodline, which was not fully integrated, so he managed to survive.

But this doesn't mean there was no cost. It nearly destroyed his cultivation, causing him to fall to rock bottom, and also made him completely lose the ability to suppress that demonic dragon seed.

His once black hair turned completely white in an instant. His lifelong cultivation, unparalleled talent, and youthful vigor were all destroyed by his own greed.

Having lost everything, Xie Lingran could only lie in hiding on the mountaintop, waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to realize his long-cherished wish!

And that opportunity has arrived!

Shen Wei stood on the bluestone platform, with snowflakes falling softly from the sky. His black hair was tinged with white, adding a touch of sternness to his handsome face.

He stretched out his limbs, raised his eyes to look directly at the arrogant Xie Lingran above him, without a trace of fear on his face: "Are you living in constant fear? You're right."

As he spoke, he placed his hand on the scabbard and stepped up the snow towards Xie Lingran.

As they drew closer step by step, Shen finished speaking:

"But my unease isn't from fear of the power within me, it's from hatred—hatred for not being able to kill all those who deserve to die in this world!"

The moment the words left his mouth, a sharp "clang!" rang out from his waist as his sword was drawn!

Shen Wei held the sword in one hand, the blade leaving winding marks on the snow.

Dressed in a black robe, he walked through the snow as if no one else was there. The falling snowflakes could not conceal his eyes, which were burning with murderous intent. He would stop killing with killing on this mountaintop and settle all grudges!

Instantly, that eerie yet familiar aura surged up from his entire body once more. The falling snow melted away before it even got close to him. The dark, malevolent energy filled his body and then flowed into the plain black sword, making "Shadowfall" the sword that a bloodthirsty Asura should use.

He stopped ten steps away from Xie Lingran, his dark eyes once again looking at Xie Lingran above him, and said, word by word:

"Today, I will make you return all the power that belongs to me, not a single bit less!"

Looking at Shen Wei's resolute back, Gu Lengyue couldn't bring herself to say the words she wanted him to leave quickly.

She should have known that this duel was inevitable the moment he uttered the words, "Your sword is broken, so I will become your sword."

"I've said it before, that was never your power. Someone of your lowly bloodline is not worthy of wielding such formidable strength!"

No one answered.

The next moment, Shen Wei moved. He transformed himself into a sword, breaking through the shackles and the wind and snow, and responded with sword light to the vast sky!

"Then let's give it a try! Let's see who is truly worthy to wield this power!"

"Only me!"

Xie Lingran roared, his furious cry shattering the snow curtain. He did not dodge, but burst forward with extreme speed, crashing head-on into Shen Wei's sword light.

"Bang!"

High in the sky, two figures, one above and one below, were locked in a stalemate, unleashing a powerful gust of air that crushed the snow and wind into water vapor, which then dispersed in all directions.

At the moment of impact, Shen Weiding looked over and found that Xie Lingran's fist had become boned, and its hardness was no less than that of the "Shadowless" in his hand.

"Heh, didn't expect that, did you? This power can be used like this, doesn't it? Now do you feel that this power is being wasted in your hands?"

"Ha, if I could, I would rather I had never had this power..."

"Oh?" Xie Lingran seemed to recall something, a sinister sneer creeping onto her face. "Now that you mention it, I do remember. You're Lu Yu's son. If your father had been wise enough to follow me back then, your Lu family wouldn't have suffered such a tragic end, being wiped out as a whole."

"Follow you? For the sake of empty power, you'll stop at nothing, betraying morality, abandoning family, and slaughtering the innocent. Even if my Lu family is destroyed a hundred times, I would never stoop to your side!"

"How could someone like you possibly understand the suffering I've gone through?!"

Xie Lingran, having been hit where it hurt, roared loudly again, unleashing a powerful force with an overwhelming momentum that could crush everything.

Shen Wei knew that a direct confrontation would be extremely disadvantageous, so he nimbly retreated, barely avoiding the devastating spiritual energy attack.

But Xie Lingran was completely blinded by rage and gave him no chance to breathe.

With a low shout, Xie Lingran teleported, instantly closing the distance by several feet. Her bony fists, wrapped in cyan-green spiritual energy, slammed down on Shen Wei's vital points with domineering force.

He unleashed a flurry of punches, so fast they were like afterimages. Shen Wei had no time to dodge. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and a mouthful of scarlet blood immediately welled up at the corner of his mouth, staining his lips red.

"Look!" Xie Lingran pressed her advantage, her punches growing increasingly ferocious, her tone maniacal: "This is the difference between us! The same power in my hands can shake the heavens and the earth, but in yours, it only leaves you passively taking hits! What makes you think you can compete with me?!"

Shen Wei steadied himself, and his "Shadow Slash" was as fast as lightning, giving Xie Lingran no chance.

Seeing that her attacks could not break through Shen Wei's sword, Xie Lingran quickly made a hand seal with her left hand. The powerful green spiritual energy around her instantly gathered and transformed into a sharp spiritual claw blade. It was wrapped with a strong evil aura, bypassed Shen Wei's sword, and cunningly grabbed at his heart!

This move is both fast and ruthless, a deadly strike that is the ultimate in killing.

At the critical moment, a sharp glint flashed in Shen Wei's eyes, and instead of retreating, he advanced.

He abruptly abandoned his parry, twisting his waist to dodge the claw blades while channeling all his spiritual energy into the sword.

In an instant, the jet-black longsword, seemingly plain and unremarkable, revealed a devastating sharpness.

Shen Wei gave a low, cold shout, flicked his wrist, and thrust his longsword diagonally out!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a jet-black sword light piercing through the wind and snow, precisely striking Xie Lingran's hastily retracted arm.

Xie Lingran hadn't expected him to break the deadlock against the odds. Unable to dodge in time, his arm was grazed by the black blade of the sword, his sleeve instantly ripped open, and a fine, bloody gash appeared on his skin, instantly oozing out crimson blood that soaked through his snow-white clothes.

A sharp pain shot through him, causing Xie Lingran to stagger half a step, but he quickly regained his balance. He looked at the wound on his arm, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Today, I will not only take your dragon seed, but also cripple your cultivation and take your life! I will make you understand completely that I am acting in accordance with the will of Heaven!"

The next instant, he formed a complex and mysterious hand seal with his hands, and his body was filled with green spiritual energy, which intertwined in mid-air to form a huge dragon-shaped phantom.

The phantom lurked in the wind and snow, its face ferocious, causing the world to tremble. No one dared to look directly at this ancient beast, even if it was just a phantom!

Only Shen Wei raised his eyes to gaze at the terrifying dragon shadow, feeling a chill in his heart, yet without the slightest intention to retreat.

He held his sword horizontally before him, standing alone amidst the swirling snow, intending to confront the terrifying dragon shadow with the power of his sword.