Faced with the extremely powerful Ten Terrestrial Yin-Terminating Sword, Chu Yang's sword radiance was destroyed at the first instance.
The sword shadow in his soul shook from Luo Qingwu's attack. Faced with her relentless attack, the sword shadow strained and tried to retaliate.
"Stabilize!" Chu Yang forced the sword shadow in his soul to quiet. Under everyone's gaze, it was not about whether he could resist her moves. If he were to reveal his actual skills, he would not be able to hide from Lin Feng and the rest.
In the time it took for him to do that, Chu Yang himself stood at this original position, unmoving He did not even tried to dodge but instead, remained grounded to where he was like a mud doll. He was like dummy for Luo Qingwu as he bore the full brunt of this attack.
The protective enchantments of the Dharma Hall kicked in and saved Chu Yang.
He did not tried to parry it nor avoid it. Luo Qingwu's move was hence, lethal to him. However, he did not feel any pain but instead, he was sent out of the arena.
Chu Yang was dazed for a while. Then, he regained his composure. He realized he had lost.
The purple-robed girl in the battleground retracted her sword radiance, inverted her Xuanche Sword and bowed to Chu Yang, saying, "Daoist Chu, thank you." With that, she disappeared. A purple light flashed in the void. She had already been sent back to the Grand Heavens Pavilion.
The black-robed young man awkwardly turned his neck and looked at his surroundings. Then, he looked at his palms. Immediately, he had a strong desire to look tearfully into the sky.
He was defeated by Luo Qingwu in a single second!
"This was not how it should have played out..." Chu Yang did not know whether he should cry or laugh. If he tried with all his powers, the results may not be like this. While he could not use his true powers, the results should not have been so awkward.
Earlier on, in his battle with Dao Yuting, while he lost it was nowhere as pathetic as his defeat right now.
It was a pity that he had tried to calculate every possible outcome earlier. He went through every possible result in his mind many times and he deliberate every single step. He went through every single detail of his plan, which to him seemed foolproof.
The only thing he did not consider was how strong Luo Qingwu was and that she would use her most powerful move first. It was as if she was fighting against someone she had to kill immediately and could only kill with all her strength.
Chu Yang vowed that the move Luo Qingwu used just now would have been as dangerous to Nascent Soul stage cultivators as it was to Aurous Core stage cultivators.
"Regardless whether it's my performance or your impression of me, I know that I, as a disciple of the Ethereal Mountain Sect, is not match for an immediate disciple of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. However, must you really treat me as such?" Chu Yang's tears flowed freely in the wind as he felt a deep pain in his heart.
Earlier on, he did not fear losing. Instead, he feared losing too plainly and without being able to demonstrate his skills. He feared being forgettable.
Looking at it now, was there a more embarrassing way to lose than losing to one's opponent in a single move?
Showing off his own skills? He did not even have a chance to act before he was beaten unceremoniously. How could he still talk about showing off his skills and leaving an impression?
Perhaps his opponent would even be puzzled as to why was he so weak.
As he had to control the sword shadow in his soul, when Luo Qingwu displayed her skills, Chu Yang was immobile. Hence, it appeared to others that he was paralyzed by fears by Luo Qingwu's attack.
"This impression is no good," Chu Yang chuckled bitterly to himself. "It's fine, it's fine. Doing so, Luo Qingwu's performance appeared extremely outstanding. It's still worth it."
Just as Chu Yang had thought, his defeat was too abject. It was the typical, humiliating kind of defeat and was a stain on his previous performance.
Cultivators in the Dharma Hall discussed intently and many of them were changing their opinions of him. Many of them began to suspect that Chu Yang's ability to progress so fast was because of luck.
The cultivators of the Ethereal Mountain Sect had their heads lowered and all of them were sighing. While they were in their own luxurious lounge, they could feel themselves getting mocked by the others.
The Scarlet Cloud Sect was extremely gleeful. The group of young cultivators from the Scarlet Cloud Sect were almost delirious with joy. The sadness they exhibited earlier when Chu Yang entered the third round was almost completely gone.
Some of them looked at Chu Yang and thought, "Could this guy have fallen in love with the disciple of the Celestial Sect of Wonders? That was why he could not react and instead, could only stand there dumfounded like a puppet, causing him to be struck by the sword radiance so quickly."
"Who knows? He doesn't appear too dumb though. Furthermore, if he marries the disciple of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, then he would have truly won."
"He is not the only smart one. How many people do you think have the same plan as him? Many of them probably gave more serious thoughts to this plan and realized that it isn't feasible, unlike him, who dumbly chose to go ahead with it."
"You are right, the idea is good but he lacks the ability to execute it. Hence, it can only be a fantasy."
"Speaking about it, the immediate disciples of the Master of the Celestial Sect are truly exceptional, including Luo Qingwu. The move she just used would have struck terror into the hearts of Nascent Soul stage cultivators too. You can't really blame Chu Yang for failing."
"That's right."
Due to his performance just now, Chu Yang had an idea on how others would critique him. He did not care what others think, but he just extremely unsatisfied with his performance against Luo Qingwu just now. This would probably leave a bad impression on her and hence, all Chu Yang could do was to shake his head in regret.
"Sigh, all I can do is to wait for another chance. However, Qingwu more than adequately showed off her abilities. That is worth celebrating."
As Chu Yang walked away at his own pace, he sighed silently to himself, "Now, I have to think of a way to appease First Disciple and Master. I disappointed them this time. However, with my earlier performance, I believe I managed to help the Ethereal Mountain Sect."
"Qingwu, Qingwu... she should be back in the Grand Heavens Pavilion now, right?"
After she finished her spar with Chu Yang, Luo Qingwu was sent back to the Grand Heavens Pavilion. Her jet-black Xuanche Sword had disappeared and Luo Qingwu bowed to the many elders in the pavilion. "Greetings everyone, I hope my performance did not disappoint."
With that, she returned to her seat.
Yan Mingyue smiled and said, "Using your Pure Yin powers to form Yin-Terminating powers, you are truly astounding."
There had been pure Yin disciples in the Great Void Sect. While they managed to cultivate their Pure Yin powers to its maximum, they were unable to use it to form Yin-Terminating powers.
Luo Qingwu smiled and replied, "You are too kind, Senior Yan. I was only able to do so under my master's guidance."
Lin Feng, who was on the master's seat, smiled and said, "My disciple just started learning the way of the sword. I hope her performance had been satisfactory."
The Heavenly Master Swordmaster looked at Luo Qingwu for a long while. Then he shook his head and said, "It has been more than satisfactory. The Master of the Celestial Sect of Wonders is too humble. You are truly an expert swordsman too. While your disciple's technique is different from your Heaven-Destroying Sword Qi, it has its own strong points and unique aspects. While it may appear slightly clumsy right now, I can see a bright future ahead for her."
The many Immortal Soul stage elders all stared at Luo Qingwu. In their hearts, they agreed.
While Chu Yang did lose very clumsily, everyone on-scene was more than able to recognize that Luo Qingwu's Ten Terrestrial Yin-Terminating Sword was superior to many of the later-generation cultivators of this spiritual conference.
Fewer than ten of them would be able to parry her move, let alone defeat her in a fight. Furthermore, many of those who could do so hailed from her own Celestial Sect of Wonders.
"Earlier on, we all thought that the Yin-Terminating Entity from the Great Void Sect, Chen Xingyu, may be able to defeat Luo Qingwu. Looking at it now, it does not appear to be the case." Many people on scene sighed. "This is the power of an immediate disciple of the Celestial Sect of Wonders."
"While the Celestial Sect of Wonders does not claim to be sword sect, the Master of the Celestial Sect, along with his disciples, are all well-versed in the way of the sword."
The disciples of the Heavenly Master Sword Sect, the Sun Moon Sword Sect, the Vast Sea Sword Sect and the Sword of Radiance Sect all bore painful expressions on their faces. "Let's not talk about the Mount Shu Sword Sect, even the sword cultivators of the Celestial Sect of Wonders are so strong."
In the luxurious lounge of the Great Void Sect, Chen Xingyu's expression had returned to normal. He stared blankly into space and the other disciples of the Great Void Sect around him said nothing. After a long while, Fan Xuefeng asked, "Junior Chen, if it were you..."
Chen Xingyu smiled warmly and said honestly, "If it's only one move, then it's fine."
Fan Xuefeng and the rest opened their mouths, then they decided to say nothing
After a long while, Fan Xuefeng asked suddenly, "In our Great Void Sect, we have pure Yang entities too. Would they be able to derive Yang-Incinerating powers like Zhou Yuncong?"
Chen Xingyu thought for a while. He did not give an immediate response. Then, Lin Daohan's voice rang in the luxurious lounge, "It's possible, but extremely difficult."
After saying that, Lin Daohan's voice rang no more.
In the Grand Heavens Pavilion, Yan Mingyue turned her head to look at him. Telepathically, she asked, "Luo Qingwu was able to use her Pure Yin powers and turn them into supremely-powerful Yin-Terminating powers. While it can be attributed to her innate ability as a Pure Yin entity, we cannot neglect the efforts put in by her sect and master too."
Lin Daohan nodded his head and then shook it, sighing, "Other than that, there are other reasons too. Based on preliminary speculations, I believe that she required a place that's extremely cold and brimming with Yin energy to train it along with a special object."
Yan Mingyue's gaze flashed and she said, "Underneath Mount Yujing, there's a black sea. Perhaps that's the place you are talking about. What about the special object?"
Lin Daohan shook his head slowly, "I can't be certain."
Lin Daohan thought for a while and then shook his head again. "Nope, that can't be it."
Yan Mingyue asked, "Big Senior, when the Three Mountains of the Ying Sea appear, would our sect intervene?"
Lin Daohan replied, "Strange things are happening in the Barren Expanses and our masters are observing it very carefully. I need to be careful about the Samsara Sect's actions too. Hence, we won't intervene with the appearance of the Three Mountains of the Ying Sea this time. All we will do is to sit tight and observe."
"While the Great Zhou Empire has geographical and first-mover advantage, too many factors would affect the events of the Ying Sea now. Hence, no one can predict what will happen."
Lin Daohan paused for a while and then said quietly, "In comparison to the Ying Sea, the sect and I are more concerned with Lin Feng's Stone Flute and Stone Steps."
Yan Mingyue fell silent for a while and then asked, "I understand. The Stone Steps is linked to the Stone Flute that had gone missing earlier. Big Senior, what are the uses of these treasures?"