"Well done, Autumn Beam."
In that jet black world, Wang Lu’s voice coldly echoed.
The next moment, the whole dark world shattered like a broken glass.
However, although the debris completely disintegrated, the free-roaming black fire solidified, and countless of fragments were bonded together like paste, seemingly unable to be extinguished. The primordial spirit of Sword Demon suddenly swelled up millions of times until it blotted out the sky and occupied the entire world.
Although it was just only restored, the Mahayana Stage primordial spirit still possessed inconceivable magical ability. The world that was nearly crushed into countless of pieces, in just a short moment, was instantly solidified by him.
However, in this dark world, there was a part where he inexorably could not stop from getting away—the surviving light source in the center of this world, the core of Wang Lu’s Jade Mansion.
Sword Demon stood in the darkness, incomprehensibly looking at the Wang-Lu-shaped primordial spirit within that Jade Mansion.
"You…"
Wang Lu’s gaze was as cold as ice as he said, "Do you want this? Then here it is."
Sword Demon was silent for a while, and then his gaze suddenly turned sharp; countless pieces of black fire dragons from the shattered world suddenly formed an enormous dragon that roared and charged into Wang Lu’s Jade Mansion, trying to pollute this last bit of light.
Boom!
A deafening, soul-stirring, and frightening explosion reverberated. The black fire dragon collapsed before the Jade Mansion. As the last barrier, that bright light was actually impregnable!
"Is this your trump card?" Sword Demon asked.
Wang Lu said, "One thing you’re right, Master is indeed a great person, therefore… Regardless of whether she truly has an excellent perception when she created the method, or that she had experienced too much that she had the foresight to anything, but when she first taught me the cultivation of Non-Phase Method, there’s something that she exhorted me to remember no matter what. I can change the method and start over, tossing away Non-Phase Method like a pair of worn out shoes. But, no matter what, I must not change my core."
With that, Wang Lu let out a laugh. "Therefore, when cultivating Primal Chaos Heaven Splitting Sword, all the other places freely made contact with the sword qi, except here, where it remained independent, which protected my last bit of light."
Sword Demon said with sinking voice, "I’m indeed surprised that you actually managed to carefully set up this layer of defense. This lowest level operation of Non-Phase Sword actually has the ability to deceive my eyes. But, so what if you can protect your last bit of light?"
Wang Lu thought for a moment before replying, "You can possess my body, but you can’t tarnish my heart?"
"What a joke," Sword Demon lightly said, and then he proceeded to stimulate the movement of the demonic fire to continue to stick together the fragments of the world, trying to integrate them once again. And then, with a flat tone of voice, he said, "Outside of your Jade Mansion is the result of your entire ten years of cultivation. Your magical power, your Non-Phase Golden Body, and everything are all here."
Wang Lu smiled. "Now they’re yours, you’re welcome."
Sword Demon didn’t speak. For him? That was easier said than done.
Without the light from his core, the rest was nothing but a pile of meat. What was the difference between a living person and a lump of flesh? It was the Jade Mansion occupied by Wang Lu. And what Sword Demon needed was a fresh body, absolutely the top best in the world Void Spirit Root, rather than a pile of useless meat. Not to mention, at this time, his primordial spirit has been settled and already have inseparable connection with this world (inside Wang Lu). If the world shattered, he would not end up well.
However, for Wang Lu, if he merely possessed his Jade Mansion while discarding the rest, it meant that all the achievement of his ten years of immortal cultivation would melt like snow in the summer. Henceforth, he would just be like an average person who has never cultivated.
"Do you think it would be miserable? I still have my primordial spirit, Jade Mansion, and Non-Phase Immortal Heart… at least, I will still retain all of my experience and memories. Even if I completely lose my cultivation, at worst, I would just need to spend another ten years of cultivation. Merely ten years, do you think that’s a long time?"
"You’re just deluding yourself. People advance courageously in immortal cultivation, not having to start over from the beginning. If you self-destruct your cultivation, I’m afraid even your Void Spirit Root can’t hold on. The surrounding spiritual energy is unlikely to condense into a loser’s body."
"So what? It’s better than being possessed, don’t you get it?"
This was indeed a simple truth, however, if simply understanding the truth, one could make the right decision, then there would be no one making bad decisions that led to sufferings and pain.
Knowing perfectly well that corruption would be detrimental to the country, yet unable to stop the receiving hand... Knowing perfectly well that taking drugs could ruin life, yet the heart’s desire could not be subsided... Knowing...
Indeed, it was better to give up the cultivation than being possessed by other people. However, how could one not hesitate when they have to bury their ten years of cultivation?
Sword Demon was somewhat helpless. Had he known this earlier, he wouldn’t have used too much power to suppress Autumn Beam and left some to guard against Wang Lu. If he could maintain the pressure throughout this time, Wang Lu might not necessarily have the opportunity to achieve this step. However, considering that Autumn Beam didn’t even hesitate to try to perish together, a slight mistake from him might also give her a chance to come back.
As for Wang Lu… if he wanted to take the risk to court death, that was up to him. It was indeed a pity that the peerless Void Spirit Root would be destroyed, however, not far away there was Sword Spirit Root. Although Sword Demon was unwilling to possess a female cultivator, since he has no other alternative...
Thinking about this, Sword Demon was ready to pull out and retreat. However, when he was about to do that, he suddenly saw a boundary to this dark world in the form of an orange jade monument.
Sword Demon was inwardly surprised. This world has obviously fallen under his control; only the core was under the protection from Non-Phase Method, and all of the rest were within his grasp. However, the appearance of this jade monument was completely unnoticed by him! Where the jade monument stood, the demonic qi dissipated, unable to approach. When he used his primordial spirit to feel it, he felt a tearing pain.
What exactly was the origin of this jade monument!?
While thinking, Sword Demon tried to circumvent this unknown jade monument. The world could collapse in a matter of minutes, so there was no need to die together with this reckless kid.
However, when he was near the border, an orange whip swept towards him with a speed faster than his reaction. In a flash, half of Sword Demon’s body was swept away and suddenly melted like snow!
"What the heck is this thing?"
Sword Demon was greatly startled this time. Although he was still in a weak condition, after all, he was a peak Mahayana Stage primordial spirit, how could he not withstand that orange whip? Moreover, the orange jade monument has actually blocked the entire space; Sword Demon couldn’t find any way out!
Wang Lu, as one of the leads among the five uniques, surely has more life-saving props than just Heavenly Sword Talisman, it was just that… Sword Demon really couldn’t think that Wang Lu would use this precious props at this time! There were so many chances that he could use these props in the previous crisis, but in the end, he chose not to; he really could keep his composure!
However, on the other hand, how could he be recruited if he didn’t conceal too deep? This orange jade monument has the ability to isolate the two worlds and ought to be used to defend oneself and trap the enemy. However, if Wang Lu had used this orange jade monument ahead of time, it would’ve been a wasted treasure instead.
Because Sword Demon could not fight him recklessly with those stage props. Instead, Sword Demon would disappear and then re-emerge when the effectiveness of these stage props fade away. And in this deep part of the sword tomb where all the way out were sealed, even if Wang Lu could have a temporary reprieve, as long as he could not get out of this place, he would eventually fall in Sword Demon’s hand.
… Did this guy plan this from the beginning? No, that’s obviously impossible! Though he is indeed clever, he is not a prophet. The only possible explanation is that he is a natural attacker. In his hand, the defensive props become a perish together prop.
Thinking to this, Sword Demon said with a sinking voice, "... I can give you your body back, you don’t have to do anything."
Wang Lu, however, laughed instead. "Zhong Shengming, this is so unlike you. You were unbeatable in your entire life, how could you ever be soft to your opponent? How could you be afraid of dying? You are not even afraid of the four in nine divine tribulations, how could you be afraid of my ‘heaven and earth apart’? If you say this thing again, I will despise you instead."
During the laughter, the pitch black world continued to break up, but Sword Demon was actually unable to pull them back together.
"I will ask you one thing, do you want to live or die!?"
"Of course I want you to die and I live!"
"..." Sword Demon was finally being rendered speechless by this nearly crazy Wang Lu. At this time, words were meaningless.
He quietly looked at the bright light, towards the smiling and extremely calm eyes of Wang Lu. Although his laughter contained several degrees of madness, in his face, there was not the slightest bit of fear of death, anxiousness, or any other negative emotion. There was only an incomparable smile.
This kid has really given him a last moment surprise.
Retaining the core method while cultivating the Primal Chaos Heaven Splitting Sword, as well as this heaven and earth orange jade monument move… this game of intrigue has actually been won by Wang Lu at the last moment.
The situation was completely unexpected, even for a Mahayana Stage cultivator.
After being stunned for a long time, Sword Demon finally helplessly shook his head. "Fine, you win. Although I’m unhappy with this result, but, since I’m willing to take the gamble, I have to prepare to concede." After a pause, Sword Demon’s face sank. "That’s enough."
During his talk, the dark clouds suddenly spread open, and the black fire that enveloped the sky melted like snow, revealing a clear sky.
On the ground, countless of demonic qi totem silently sank and lied dormant.
"That’s enough." Sword Demon repeated his words. "Stop here."
Stop here your ass! Wang Lu completely paid no heed to him. Since he had made the decision, of course, he certainly wouldn’t waste all his previous efforts just because of a few words from the other. Moreover, for this kind of ancient demon, he couldn’t feel assured even if he directly saw him turn into ashes. Thus, any method that he could use would be fully used by him. He would not leave this thing to chance.
"Hahaha." Seeing how Wang Lu stubbornly refused his offer and wholeheartedly welcome the perish-together outcome, Sword Demon laughed happily. "You, this kid, when I wanted to kill you, you stubbornly refused to die, but when I don’t want to kill you, you obstinately want to die! Humph, I’m actually being serious about wanting to help. Unfortunately, that’s not what the rules say."
With that, he stopped smiling, and the whole world froze like time had suddenly stopped. Billions of pieces of fragments were then forcibly bonded together and then made contact with Wang Lu’s Jade Mansion, despite the latter’s continuous effort to cut it. In the meantime, the orange monument was pressured down by an inexplicable invisible force. With something akin to a trembling groan, it slowly descended below the horizon.
"I said again, that’s enough."
Sword Demon coldly said, and correspondingly, Wang Lu stopped his effort in the Jade Mansion.
All the means have been used, even his last trump card—the jade plate given to him by Lady Boss—but it seemed that it was not enough.
The opponent was simply too strong. Peak Mahayana Stage cultivator who managed to challenge the four in nine divine tribulations… Perhaps even if the Nine-Tailed Fox that previously wreaked havoc in Blue River Region were here, it might not necessarily be able to contend against Zhong Shengming. Although Zhong Shengming was merely a primordial spirit, what Lady Boss gave him was merely a piece of jade plate.
And just at this time, Sword Demon said, "No need to be discouraged. You’ve won. What is happening now is the interference from the upper-level, it has nothing to do with me."
Wang Lu was somewhat surprised and also puzzled. Upper-level interference?
Sword Demon coldly humphed. "Don’t you realize it yet, you and I are only two insignificant pieces of this sword tomb."