Chapter Ninety-Eight: A White Rainbow Pierces the Sun — Please Recommend and Bookmark

Hearing the fiend’s brazen words, the already pale faces of the ghost soldiers blanched even further. Though anger simmered in them, they lacked the strength to act rashly.

“Seeking death! Open the grand formation. I refuse to believe you dare strike the City God Temple!” Yin Bing, the blood and vigor of his former life clearly not yet faded, had earlier been pressed down by the fiend’s overwhelming momentum and had shown some loss of composure. But now he had fully assumed the bearing of a righteous defender, utterly ignoring the pallid faces of the Judge and the ghost soldiers beside him, and said with a cold snort, “You insignificant fiend, you crooked and heretical thing, and you dare attack the divine path of gods and spirits! You are courting death!”

A flash of killing intent crossed the young woman Luo Qi’s eyes. What City God was this, so rigid and obstinate? Having already fallen into the ghostly path, he was still so unyielding—did he not fear his soul being scattered to the winds? Though she thought this, she still did not dare behave with abandon, clearly wary of the power of the divine order, and could only lunge toward Liu Ping.

Hearing the City God stand up for him, Liu Ping smiled. After this brief circulation of breath and several successive cleansing charms, he finally broke free of the poisoned state. His body no longer felt limp. Channeling spiritual power, he shot into the sky, sword in hand, swiftly leaving the City God Temple, while his voice drifted back behind him. “City God, thank you for your righteous aid! I shall surely treat you to a drink another day! This is between me and this monster—how could I drag you into it?”

“Hahaha! Well said!” Luo Qi’s face lit up with wild delight. Since Liu Ping himself was throwing his life away, she had no one to blame but him. She immediately, together with the corpse fiend beside her, gave chase after him.

Watching Liu Ping and that fiend disappear into the heavens, the ghost soldiers all let out a breath. The might that fiend had displayed earlier was truly terrifying—it was already infinitely close to the level of a demon marshal or ghost marshal, was it not?

“My lord?” The Judge looked at Yin Bing with a complicated expression. At first, he had looked down on this newly appointed City God, who knew nothing and understood nothing. And the earlier handling of the matter had indeed been far too rash. Yet for reasons he could not explain, a sense of admiration had risen within him, and in his words and actions there was an unconscious reverence far beyond before.

City God Yin Bing sighed and shook his head, saying nothing.

By the time Liu Ping had fled to the open wilderness, Luo Qi and the corpse fiend had at last caught up. In truth, if she had gone all out from the start, she could have reached him very quickly. But because it had been inconvenient to act in the city, she had not hurried to overtake him. Now, seeing no one around, she quickly increased her speed and instantly closed the distance.

A realm of half-step demon marshal was far beyond what Liu Ping could compare with now, yet he had still escaped alone. Clearly, this was not the reckless act of someone ignorant of heaven’s vastness. He knew what should be done and what should not.

If death were truly unavoidable, and he could only hide from disaster within the City God Temple, then he would never have left.

But if there were even a sliver of life to seize—if he could carve out a future by force—then it was worth the struggle!

To him, these two fiends were nothing more than his whetstone.

What if they were strong?

Liu Ping laughed, his heart brimming with boldness. Gripping the Azure Severance Sword, he no longer fled and instead met them head-on.

One Sword Levels the Heavens!

The upright sword intent transformed into a rainbow of light, carrying with it an irresistible surge of momentum as it crashed forward. With just one strike, it seemed capable of cleaving apart all things; even the heavens themselves could be leveled by a single sword. With such grandeur and majesty, why should he fear an opponent only a little stronger?

Facing Liu Ping’s killing blow, Luo Qi’s eyes filled with caution. She did not meet it head-on, but swiftly withdrew to evade the strike.

Though the power was decent, it was easy enough to dodge. This made Luo Qi sneer again and again. “Is that all the strength you have? Did you really kill Luo Yi? Was I mistaken about you?” Then she added, “If that is all, then you can die!”

With a soft burst, her body split instantly into two halves, and a green-furred monster crawled out from within. Its movements were extraordinarily nimble. It turned into a gale and pounced straight at Liu Ping.

“Kill!”

With both hands raised high, black light burst forth, as though devouring all things, suffused with an ominous aura.

“One Sword Levels the Heavens!”

Liu Ping did not fear at all. He charged to meet it, thrusting his sword forward. Sword qi surged in mighty waves, originally bearing the power to shatter everything. Yet compared with Luo Qi in terms of spiritual force and sheer might, the difference was simply too vast. What should have been an overwhelming suppression now seemed faintly tragic instead. It was truly pitiable.

Boom!

The two sides collided. Liu Ping was sent flying backward at once. A sweetness rose in his throat, and he nearly could not stop himself from spitting out blood. Biting down hard, he forced the blood back down. Even so, a thread of it still slipped from the corner of his mouth.

Luo Qi was unharmed, though she was clearly not feeling well. Her heart jolted violently as she silently marveled at the sword intent. Truly formidable! A fierce light flashed in her eyes. Liu Ping absolutely could not be left alive.

Panting heavily, Liu Ping felt as though his whole body had come apart, yet his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and the corners of his mouth could not help but lift into a smile.

Such clashes, such life-and-death duels, were immensely beneficial to swordsmanship.

He could clearly feel his sword path growing at a terrifying pace.

Swordsmanship was, in its essence, a path of slaughter.

Without battle, merely practicing move after move could certainly hone one’s skill and perhaps even give form to sword intent. But it could not go far. Only through repeated collision after collision could one truly understand the pure art of killing.

“Again! One Sword Levels the Heavens!” Liu Ping showed no fear whatsoever. Sword in hand, he charged at Luo Qi once more, taking the initiative to attack this formidable enemy.

Sword qi erupted again. Even Luo Qi, under the pressure of that righteous sword intent, involuntarily caught her breath. Seeing Liu Ping like this, she could not help but grow furious. This fellow actually dares challenge me again? How arrogant!

She glanced at the corpse fiend watching from the side and silently ordered him to lie in ambush, ready to strike at any moment, then personally charged at Liu Ping.

Sword intent and black radiance collided once more. Liu Ping was flung away yet again. It took him great effort to steady himself, and his clothes were already in tatters. Gone was the slightest trace of his former grace and elegance; he now looked no different from a beggar.

Pain surged through his body like a rising tide. Liu Ping grimaced, baring his teeth. Indeed, the path of slaughter was not something ordinary people could handle!

“Still, again! Hahaha!” Sword in hand, Liu Ping once more rushed toward Luo Qi. Sword qi raged like a torrent. Under such ferocious pressure, Luo Qi’s attacks could only cancel each other out against his, with only a small portion landing on him, unable to kill him, or even seriously wound him.

Seeing Liu Ping actually laugh in such a crazed manner, Luo Qi could not help but stare in stunned disbelief. “You’re insane! Do you really think I can’t kill you? What’s the point of this last-ditch struggle?”

Her face twisted into ferocity. The green fur all over her body instantly turned black. A pair of eyes blazed with red light as though fire were burning within them. Her claws lengthened at once, dark and sinister, clearly bearing a deadly poison.

She vanished from where she stood in a flash, her speed so great that even Liu Ping was stunned. He had never imagined that when Luo Qi fully erupted, she would be this terrifying.

Looking back, when he had clashed with Luo Yi, he had first used a magic treasure to heavily injure him, then slain him. In truth, he had been very fortunate then.

And yet, what of it?

Liu Ping had already comprehended a new sword technique.

The second form of the Upright Sword: White Rainbow Pierces the Sun!

A dazzling beam of light appeared, in fact formed from sword qi itself, faster even than Luo Qi’s speed, intercepting her before she could finish her charge.

“Pfft!”

With that one blow, Luo Qi could not help but cough up a mouthful of blood. She stared at Liu Ping in disbelief, a boundless humiliation surging through her. She, a dignified half-step demon marshal, had actually been wounded by a mere first-rank human immortal. It was a disgrace beyond words.

“Don’t get too pleased with yourself!”

Behind Liu Ping, a voice suddenly rang out, coming from both left and right. It was the corpse fiend that had been split in two and become two separate beings.

“Die!”

The two red-haired monsters attacked Liu Ping at the same time. Acting on Luo Qi’s instruction, they had lain in wait from the very beginning, and now, at last, they found their chance and struck together.

A pincer assault from both sides, and a sudden ambush at that—let’s see how Liu Ping can withstand this!

Yet on Liu Ping’s face, they saw not the slightest trace of terror. On the contrary, there was only disdain.

“Before making your move, you tell me not to get too pleased with myself? Do you really think victory is already in your grasp?”

With a cold laugh, ten magical artifacts appeared at once beside Liu Ping, five to the left and five to the right, forming a simple wing-like formation and pointing directly at the two corpse fiends.

The corpse fiend, having crept in for a sneak attack and grown arrogant with success, had just felt elation in his heart when he suddenly saw five magical treasures aimed squarely at him. His face instantly went as white as paper, and he could not help but cry out in alarm, his heart trembling all the while.

“What is this?!”