The First Venerable of All Paths

"this......"

Seeing Shangguan Yun suppressed by the sword formation, Fei Ying and the others were once again stunned.

"Is that a sword formation?"

Jade Face covered her mouth and exclaimed, "I've heard that even some sword geniuses find it difficult to condense a sword formation. Young Master Fang... could he be a god descended to earth?"

"I think he's not a god, but a sword immortal."

Niu Meng said with a hint of excitement, "I once had the honor of visiting Zhongzhou and witnessed a sword cultivator fighting with someone, but even he did not have such skills."

"A sword immortal."

Wen Kang sighed again, saying, "It's truly enviable."

Not just him, but everyone else was the same.

Who in this world doesn't envy sword cultivators?

He wields a sword with divine power, and can take a man's head from a thousand miles away.

Soaring through the heavens and earth on a sword, carefree like an immortal.

"Master Zhong, I've already said it, my young master is one in a million."

Old Zhong rolled his eyes, a smug look on his face, and said, "Now you believe me, right?"

"But senior, no matter how strong Brother Fang Xuan is, his cultivation level is only at the Divine Intent Realm."

Canglang said worriedly, "Even if he uses secret techniques to enhance his cultivation, he's still several minor realms below that old scoundrel Shangguan Yun. No matter how strong the sword formation is, how can it kill him?"

"So you're just ignorant."

With a pained expression, Master Zhong scolded, "Sword cultivators are known as the best at killing among those in the same realm. Do you think that's just a joke?"

"And my young master..."

Seeing the resentful looks in everyone's eyes, Master Zhong quickly changed his tune, saying, "My young master has a solid foundation and is further enhanced by the sword formation. This mere ant at the peak of the eighth level of the Divine Intent Realm is nothing to us; it's a sure thing."

As he spoke, Grandpa Zhong leaned back in his recliner, sipping his tea contentedly and humming a little tune.

At this moment.

Within the sword formation.

Seeing that several attacks had been in vain, failing to shake the sword formation in the slightest, Shangguan Yun began to get anxious.

His cultivation level was indeed much higher than Fang Xuan's.

But even that can't withstand such a drain.

Most importantly, Fang Xuan didn't engage him directly in combat. He simply trapped him within the sword formation, slowly depleting his spiritual energy before launching a fatal blow. Then, Fang Xuan's fate would be...

Thinking of this, a flash of madness crossed Shangguan Yun's eyes.

"We can't continue like this. Even if it comes at a price, we must break this sword formation."

Shangguan Yun took a deep breath, and his spiritual energy circulated wildly within his body.

"Buzzing!"

As spiritual energy surged, Shangguan Yun quickly formed hand seals, condensing three more large spiritual energy seals.

"Three Mountain Seals of the Heavenly King!"

Shangguan Yunchao spat out a mouthful of blood essence from each of the three large seals, instantly turning the seals blood-red and releasing a monstrous aura of bloodlust.

Infusing the seal with his essence and blood, its power is several times greater than the original Heavenly King Three Mountains Seal.

"Break it!"

Shangguan Yun used a large seal to protect himself, holding one seal in each hand, and hurled it out, smashing it into the menacing sword formation in front of him.

"Boom!"

The seal crashed into the sword formation, the sword light flickered, yet it was indestructible and could not be shaken in the slightest.

However, just to maintain the operation of the sword formation, Fang Xuan's divine soul was greatly depleted.

Fang Xuan swallowed a pill and used the Thousand Soul Illusionary Dream Technique to restore his spiritual power.

At the same time, the hundred-foot-long sword dragon rushed into the sword formation like a celestial river.

The two dragon claws, formed from the sword energy of Guixu, smashed towards the two large seals respectively.

"Snap, snap!"

With just one strike, the two blood-red seals, as fragile as thin paper, shattered and broke on the spot.

"puff!"

Shangguan Yun suffered a backlash, immediately spitting out a mouthful of blood, and his life force rapidly declined.

"Fang Xuan, Fang Xuan!"

Shangguan Yun's eyes were bloodshot as he roared angrily, "If you have the guts, fight me head-on! What kind of skill is it to hide and cower!"

Although Fei Ying and the others outside could not see the scene inside the sword formation, they could hear Shangguan Yun's roar and fury.

"Has Shangguan Yun been beaten senseless?"

Canglang sneered, "Brother Fang Xuan is a sword cultivator. A sword cultivator who doesn't use his sword to kill enemies and instead wants to fight him head-on is simply delusional."

"You say Brother Fang is incompetent? I think he's the one who's incompetent."

With a huff, Yu Mian said, "Why doesn't that old thief at the peak of the eighth level of the Divine Intent Realm lower his cultivation and fight Brother Fang fairly and squarely?"

"Therefore, this old thief is the most despicable."

Niu Meng said, "Fang Xuan wouldn't actually agree, would he?"

"Snapped!"

Zhongye jumped up and slapped Niu Meng on the head, cursing, "That old bastard is stupid, and you're stupid too? My young master won't fall for that."

"Yes, yes, senior is right."

If it were anyone else, who would dare to treat him like that? Niu Meng would definitely chop them in two with an axe.

But the old man before them, who showed no signs of aura fluctuation, was not only Fang Xuan's subordinate, but also an unfathomable super strong expert.

"However, why do I feel like Shangguan Yun is injured?"

Du Feng said in a deep voice, "It seems that the sword formation is even stronger than we imagined."

"Indeed."

Flying Eagle echoed, "Shangguan Yun's voice is weak, which is a sign of damage to his qi and blood and a great depletion of his spiritual energy."

The group exchanged glances, and in each other's eyes, they saw a look of shock.

Therefore, Fang Xuan's strength is indeed comparable to that of a peak eighth-level expert in the Divine Intent Realm.

Canglang and Wen Kang were the most shocked.

When Fang Xuan killed the Blood Spider and the Mad Fire, he did not display all his skills and strength.

Moreover, even now, Fang Xuan probably hasn't used his full strength.

Where exactly is his limit?

Fang Xuan also heard Shangguan Yun's roar, but only sneered.

"A head-on confrontation?"

I am a sword cultivator.

It is the most foolish thing to use your own weaknesses to attack someone else's strengths.

"The sword formation shifts, move!"

Fang Xuan formed hand seals and activated his divine soul. Within the Guixu Sword Formation, even more sword energies intertwined and slashed at Shangguan Yun.

Although Shangguan Yun was protected by the Great Seal, its power was constantly weakening due to the backlash. Faced with the suddenly accelerated power of the sword formation, countless cracks began to appear on the Great Seal.

More importantly, the Stegosaurus suddenly opened its mouth wide.

"laugh!"

A powerful sword aura shot out from the dragon's mouth, slashing towards Shangguan Yun.

The sword formation and the sword dragon alone put Shangguan Yun under immense pressure.

Anxiety about life and death grows in my heart.

"Snap!"

The dragon unleashed its sword energy, shattering the seal instantly.

"Pfft!"

Shangguan Yun coughed up another mouthful of blood, and even the hairpin on her head broke off, causing her hair to fall loose.

"Fang Xuan, you shameless brat!"

Shangguan Yun, with disheveled hair, covered in blood, pale-faced, and extremely weak, was barely breathing.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably.

"Once I break through your great formation, I will make sure you die a horrible death!"

He was angry, he hated, he was resentful.

Because Shangguan Yun, who was in the sword formation, was constantly consuming a large amount of spiritual power, blood and energy, and soul.

However, even now, he hasn't been able to touch the hem of Fang Xuan's clothes.

This feeling of frustration and helplessness made Shangguan Yun feel like he was going to vomit blood.

This is what makes sword cultivators so troublesome.

They don't even need to fight you head-on. They can simply use their natal flying sword to choose an excellent position and leave you helpless and unable to fight back.

Under such intense swordplay attacks, there was no room for error.

Otherwise, what awaits them is a sudden, unexpected sword strike that will severely injure them.

"No matter how many sword techniques you possess, you can forget about killing me!"

Enraged, Shangguan Yun stuffed a pill into his mouth.

"Ugh!"

As the elixir was refined within his body, Shangguan Yun's aura suddenly surged.

His cultivation level did not improve, but his blood and qi surged several times over, becoming violent and ruthless.

Numerous blood-red veins protrude from its body, making it look ferocious and terrifying, like a demon.

"This is......."

Niu Meng's eyes narrowed sharply, and he exclaimed, "Beast Blood Pill? Has that old scoundrel Shangguan gone mad?"

"What?"

Du Feng's expression changed drastically, and he said in a deep voice, "He's going to fight to the death."

Beast Blood Pill is a type of pill made by refining various kinds of demonic beast blood with the help of various medicinal herbs.

This elixir has only one function: to instantly increase the body's Qi and blood several times over.

However, the Beast Blood Pill also has significant side effects. Not only can it only last for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, but it also leaves the user feeling weak for a long period afterward.

In severe cases, it can even rupture the martial meridians, affecting future martial arts cultivation.

"If we don't fight this hard, he might really die tonight."

Flying Eagle said, "Compared to losing our lives, fighting to the death still offers a glimmer of hope."

"Indeed."

Wen Kang nodded and said, "Where there's life, there's hope. This Shangguan Yun is indeed decisive and ruthless."

Li Guanlan frowned slightly, a hint of worry in his eyes.

But after glancing at Master Zhong, she suppressed her worries.

This senior figure is beyond even her comprehension; he is undoubtedly a martial arts master whose skills have reached the pinnacle of cultivation.

With him around, Shangguan Yun can't cause any trouble.

"Sizzle!"

As his blood and qi surged, Shangguan Yun's body also grew taller and larger, bursting through his clothes.

"Fang Xuan, you forced me to this!"

Shangguan Yun's body was covered with various patterns, vaguely resembling a series of demonic beasts covering his body.

"The Wolf King's Seal!"

Shangguan Yun roared and slammed his fists forward.

"Awooo!"

From the crimson patterns on his body, a crimson wolf materialized, brandishing its sharp claws and pouncing on the sword energy unleashed by the sword dragon.

"Snap!"

The sword energy and the blood-red wolf both dissipated.

Shangguan Yun spat out another mouthful of blood, but his aura not only did not weaken, but instead became even more violent and powerful.

"The Bear King's Seal!"

Shangguan Yun, resembling a wild beast, slammed his fist into the sword formation without hesitation.

Behind him, a blood-red brown bear, several tens of feet long, raised its paw and slapped at the sword formation.

"sucker Punch."

A cold glint flashed in Fang Xuan's eyes as he drew his sword.

"cut!"

The sword-like aura of the Azure Dragon, with a flick of its tail, resembled a giant sword slashing across the sky, shattering the blood-red brown bear's massive fist and cleaving it in two at the waist.

"Wow!"

Shangguan Yun coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes turned completely bloodshot, and he looked like a madman.

"Die! Die! Die!"

He swung his fists, repeatedly striking the sword-qi dragon, but without any discernible pattern.

The sword energy dragon fought fiercely with it, causing the sword formation to shake violently.

"Click click click!"

The sword formation continued to operate, stabilizing the four directions.

"Bang!"

Shangguan Yun's blood surged, sending the sword energy dragon flying.

"Go to hell!"

Shangguan Yun roared ferociously, throwing punches like a whirlwind at the sword dragon.

However, the sword dragon's eyes shone brightly, releasing two chilling sword energies.

One red and one green.

The red one transforms into a fiery phoenix.

Phoenixes take flight!

The green condensed into a flame-like green lotus.

The Azure Lotus Shines Brightly!

Fang Xuan seemed to stand atop the head of a sword dragon, like a sword immortal descending to earth, exuding boundless majesty.

He pressed his palm forward, his lips moved, and his killing intent was terrifying.

"With both swords drawn, they vanquish the void and annihilate!"