Once the glare dispelled, the pair's figures re-emerged.
Pah!
The Fengdu's Ghost Emperor spat out a mouthful of coagulated blood, his
dragon robe tattered, the crown on his head shattered long ago, his long hair scattered, an image of utter defeat.
He was deeply shocked, he didn't expect to still fail to block Pei Xuanjing's sword.
Pei Xuanjing couldn't help but admire, the Seven Kills Sword was indeed worthy of its reputation as the divine weapon of the Seven Kills Sword Sect, even surpassing his Shenxiao Sword. It completely bore the sword intent of Pei Xuanjing. Not only was it unaffected, but it seemed to imprint his sword intent as well.
He looked at the disheveled Fengdu's Ghost Emperor and coldly stated: "Let's end it all!"
As he spoke, the Seven Kills sword in his hand swayed again, ready to strike down his opponent.
Nevertheless, the Fengdu's Ghost Emperor wouldn't simply wait for his death.
He let out a swing, and as Pei Xuanjing raised his sword to block, the Fengdu's Ghost Emperor released a sudden eerie and cold Yin Sha Qi, rushing towards Pei Xuanjing with a palm strike.
The Netherworld ghost Qi was even more powerful and unsettling than the Netherworld Death Palm previously used by King Ping. In Pei Xuanjing's life simulation, he had been caught off guard by this move from the Fengdu's Ghost Emperor.
Unfortunately for him, once this kind of move is guarded against, all that is needed is to run the Innate Thunder Gang Qi. His spiritually transformed left palm wasn't afraid of Netherworld ghost Qi at all.
Countless purple and blue electric currents gathered in his left palm, with which Pei Xuanjing too, struck out.
Boom!
The overwhelming force sent Fengdu's Ghost Emperor flying. His entire figure flew backwards.
"Ahh!" he uttered a pained howl. The previous palm strike had not only fractured the root of his left arm's bone, but also allowed countless thunder powers to break in from his palm. The rampaging thunder power was constantly damaging his meridians, and even had the tendency to rush into his body.
He hit his left shoulder with the saber hilt to suppress this thunder power, with an expression full of surprise. He didn't understand why Pei Xuanjing was prepared.
Pei Xuanjing had no intention of explaining, he just sneered, "Die!"
Fengdu's Ghost Emperor smirked, "If you want to kill me, it won't be that easy." Speaking of it, he leaped and fled towards the distance.
He was no fool like the Seven Kills Sword Master who would stick around knowing he was going to die. Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the
Fengdu's Ghost Emperor decisively escaped, without the slightest hesitation.
For a powerful figure of his realm, it would be difficult to detain him if he really wanted to escape.
Pei Xuanjing was naturally unwilling to let him slip away easily. He drew a fierce sword Qi and slashed towards the other party.
"Pei Xuanjing, I'll be back again. One of these days, I'll certainly…" Fengdu's Ghost Emperor didn't care at all. A complacent expression appeared on his face as he lifted his saber to block the sword.
However, before he could finish talking, his voice suddenly stopped, and the smile on his face also froze.
Slurp!
A seemingly insignificant blade suddenly shot out from the sword light, piercing his throat…
Thump.
The body of Fengdu's Ghost Emperor plummeted from the sky and dust rose from the ground where it landed.
"Sigh!" Pei Xuanjing sighed lightly and walked over to the Fengdu's Ghost Emperor's corpse.
The shot that pierced the Fengdu's Ghost Emperor was the broken Shenxiao blade he had earlier kept in his sleeve.
Originally, he thought that Fengdu's Ghost Emperor could be considered a strong man of the older generation, and he wanted to give him a somewhat dignified death.
However, since the other party was unwilling to fight to the death and ran away, Pei Xuanjing naturally didn't show any more mercy. The sword he slashed was merely a disguise, the real killing move was the blade hidden in the sword light.
After all, such a strong person, if allowed to escape, would undoubtedly bring him a great deal of trouble.
With the moon at its zenith and the cold wind howling, Pei Xuanjing stood alone in the center of the mansion, glanced at the surrounding crowd without any interest in their origins, and let his loud voice ring out: "Fengdu's Ghost Emperor is dead, and there is no more Underworld!" Rustle…
These words, when they fell into the ears of everyone around, it was like a bombshell that triggered countless exclamations.
Looking at the figure standing proudly in the dark night, as powerful as a god or a demon, everyone present was dumbstruck. As if this figure had been seared into their hearts forever, impossible to erase.
Pei Xuanjing cared for none of this. With a reach of his fingers into the void, he first took the half of the Shenxiao blade into his sleeve. Then, with a swing of the Seven Kills sword, he decapitated the Fengdu's Ghost Emperor.
Given the current situation, even the most bizarre martial artist, with any kind of skills, would be doomed to death once their head was severed.
At the same time, Pei Xuanjing also found a page from the Netherworld Book on the other party.
[Obtained the strange object – Page of the Netherworld's Book, refining will get
100,000 Taoyun.] *2
A smile appeared on his face, he didn't expect his gains to be so huge this time. Apart from the Fengdu's Ghost Emperor's Ten Thousand-Forged Divine Saber, there were also two pages of the Netherworld Book.
Two pages from a Netherworld Book, after complete refining, could grant Pei Xuanjing 200,000 Taoyun, enough to support him in two life simulations.
Pei Xuanjing reasoning, if he was lucky, two rounds of life simulation might have a transformative effect on his power.
"On top of the three pages of the Netherworld Book I originally had, plus these two, I now have five pages from the Netherworld Book. I wonder what other use these Netherworld Books may have." Pei Xuanjing was musing to himself.
Initially, he thought that the trial to seize the Netherworld Book involved him just having a projection of his brand. He didn't think too much of it.
But when the old celestial master mentioned the name Danling Zi, and everything he did in the projection seemed to have actually happened, Pei Xuanjing was somewhat puzzled.
Was the original Danling Zi just like that available? Or did he borrow the Netherworld Book to dream back to the Taihe Mountain six hundred years ago, having done all the things Danling Zi did back then?
Everything remained unknown.
Even though he had carefully examined the Netherworld Book afterwards, he made no significant discoveries.
Therefore, he was becoming more and more curious about the mysteries of this Netherworld Book.
Holding the two pages of the Netherworld Book in his hand and carefully perusing them, he astutely discovered that these two pages were slightly different from those he had obtained before.
He seemed to see a line of words vaguely on the page that wasn't gold or jade:
[Hungry Ghost Path].
Was this the saber technique that Fengdu's Ghost Emperor just used?
A gleam of brightness flickered across Pei Xuanjing's eyes.
But he didn't look any closer, instead, he stowed the Netherworld Book and slowly lifted his head to gaze at the distant horizon.
Someone was approaching.
A master, no less formidable than the Fengdu's Ghost Emperor just moments ago.
A middle-aged man, dressed in a great cloak, the splendid clothing adorned with some golden patterns at the cuffs. His black hair was held in place by hairpins, and he looked either rich or noble, yet without any air of arrogance.
Despite having not seen this man before, upon laying his eyes on him for the first time, he recognized his identity.
The visitor was the current Sky Demon Sect's leader, Xue Wuheng, who was hailed as the Demon Cult's outstanding talent of the millennium and was assumed to be the hero who was most likely to rebuild the Demon Cult in the last six hundred years.
"Sky Demon Sect leader, Xue Wuheng?" Pei Xuanjing began in a faint voice..
"Pei Brother, it's nice to meet you." Xue Wuheng said calmly to Pei Xuanjing. Then he glanced at the body of the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu and shook his head slightly, "The ruler of the underworld, a generation of heroes, dies here today, that's something nobody saw coming."
Pei Xuanjing's eyes were inscrutable, showing no ripple of emotion. He asked gravely, "You're here for revenge because I killed the Seven Kills Sword Master, aren't you?"
In his view, as the leader of the Sky Demon Sect, who honoredly desired to unify the Demonic Cult, he couldn't stand idly by while the Seven Kills Sword Master was killed. It seemed right both emotionally and rationally for him to step forward.
The two stood facing each other, and though no moves had been made, Pei Xuanjing could feel the powerful aura contained within his opponent. It was utterly terrifying. Among all the opponents he faced in his life, only the old Celestial Master could compare.
It was indeed worthy of the second-ranked position in the Supreme List.
He was on alert in his heart, for facing such a formidable opponent, whose depth of strength was unpredictable and who potentially bore ill-intentions, did not allow any room for relaxation.
Especially after the battles with the Seven Kills Sword Master and the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu, he was not at his peak as they had worn him out significantly.
"The death of the Seven Kills Sword Master has nothing to do with me." Xue
Wuheng shook his head slightly and pointed to the Seven Kills Sword that Pei
Xuanjing firmly held in his right hand: "Not at all, I just came for this."
Although the Seven Kills Sword Sect was part of the Demonic Cult, it was not under Xue Wuheng's jurisdiction. Even from his ambition to reunify the Demonic Cult, the Seven Kills Sword Master was considered his biggest rival.
The Seven Kills Sword Master dying at the hands of Pei Xuanjing today actually helped him clear a hurdle and removed one opponent, saving him a lot of trouble.
Seeing Pei Xuanjing's brows slightly furrowed, Xue Wuheng continued explaining, "The Seven Kills Sword is an inherited treasure of the Seven Kills Sword Sect and one of the treasures of my Holy Sect. It cannot be lost."
Pei Xuanjing raised his eyebrows. He understood that the Seven Kills Sword in his hand was not as simple as he thought. There must be some unknown secrets, otherwise it wouldn't be worth Xue Wuheng coming to claim it personally.
He shook his head, "What if I don't return it?"
"Oh?" Xue Wuheng frowned slightly, surprised at Pei Xuanjing's response. He asked, "In my opinion, the Seven Kills Sword does not suit you."
A Thousand Refinement Divine Weapon like the Seven Kills Sword might be a rare divine artifact for others, but not for a formidable person like Pei Xuanjing.
Powerful warriors at their level were very selective about their weapons; they need to complement oneself. Otherwise, even a Ten Thousand -Forged Divine Weapon would only be momentarily beneficial and would never be used for a
long time.
Although the Seven Kills Sword was extremely sharp and could temporarily enhance Pei Xuanjing's sword power, it was actually ill-suited for Pei Xuanjing's sword path.
As for Pei Xuanjing, the Seven Kills Sword could support his temporary use, but it couldn't bear his Shenxiao Heavenly Will Sword multiple times.
So in the end, it was necessary to seek a master craftsman to forge a true Ten Thousand-Forged Divine Weapon, which truly complemented him.
Otherwise, any Thousand-Refined Divine Weapon would eventually break apart.
"True enough."
Pei Xuanjing didn't deny it. Indeed, the Seven Kills Sword didn't suit his sword path.
Xue Wuheng: "Then why?"
"Because I promised the Seven Kills Sword Master who died just now to hold onto this sword temporarily. There will certainly be an heir practicing the
Seven Kills Sword who will come to take back this sword in the future." He said.
"I see! " Xue Wuheng smiled and nodded.
He thought of the disciples that the Seven Kills Sword Master had taken in within the Sect of Seven Kills Sword.
It seems that you believed that one of your disciples would inherit your legacy in the future and become even stronger than you.
With the thought of the arrogant image of the Seven Kills Sword Master, Xue Wuheng thought mysteriously.
Since you are so confident, I should probably not play the spoiler.
Then, with a smile on his face, he said: "In this case, Brother Pei will keep the
Seven Kills Sword for the time being. Please take care of it."
After finishing speaking, his gaze lingered on the Seven Kills Sword that Pei Xuanjing held in his left hand for a while, and then decisively turned around and left without any hesitation.
He seemed to have come just for the Seven Kills Sword. He didn't even care about the Ten Thousand-Forged Divine Saber used by the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu that had fallen onto the ground. He didn't take an extra look from beginning to end.
"How interesting."
Looking at the Sky Demon Sect's Master who came in a hurry and then left in a hurry, Pei Xuanjing revealed a smile on his face and said to himself.
Originally, he thought that the Seven Kills Sword had some profound mystery, or it was related to some sort of heritage of the Demonic Cult, which would draw the headmaster of the Sky Demon Sect to come personally.
But the man left so easily, making him somewhat uncertain for a moment, wondering if he had misunderstood something.
"Let it be!" Pei Xuanjing chuckled and cast the thought to the back of his mind.
A Ten Thousand-Forged Divine Weapon, truly extraordinary.
As soon as he held this divine saber, Pei Xuanjing felt the extraordinary aspect of this divine weapon, which was never comparable to a Thousand Refinement Divine Weapon.
Whether it was sharpness, toughness, or power, it was unmatched, even by the
Seven Kills Sword he held, which was about to undergo transformation.
True Qi circulated and flowed into the divine saber.
Humming sounds…
This Ten Thousand-Forged Divine Saber blatantly resisted and struggled.
Divine weapons have spirits.
When a divine weapon reaches the Ten Thousand-Forged stage, there would be some subtle changes, giving birth to a weak spirituality.
Pei Xuanjing snorted coldly, his Martial Arts intentions spread out, decisively suppressing it into submission.
In an instant, the divine saber shone brightly, the robust True Qi freely circulated, and with a slash from Pei Xuanjing, a saber qi, which was several feet long, cut through the sky.
"Good saber!" Pei Xuanjing couldn't help but praise.
However, this saber doesn't suit him.
The Thousand Refinement Divine Weapon that he harvested from killing Yama
King was still collecting dust in the secret chamber of Shenxiao Mountain.
After observing for a while, Pei Xuanjing sheathed his saber.
Then, he punched out a giant pit about a dozen feet in diameter and buried the body of the Seven Kills Sword Master.
He moved a huge stone and inscribed: Tomb of the Seven Kills Sword Master, erected by an old friend Longevity Son.
After that was done, he ignored the people in the distance and walked away by himself.
Just then, snowflakes began to fall from the sky. In a short while, the world was covered in silver.
It's done!
On the 19th of the twelfth lunar month following the battle at Dragon Tiger
Mountain, Pei Xuanjing showed up a hundred miles away from Dragon Tiger Mountain, at a mansion and single-handedly killed the Seven Kills Sword Master of the Seven Kills Sword Sect and the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu.
The news of this spread throughout the martial art world in a short time, causing another big commotion.
For a while, various forces were shocked, and countless formidable figures fell into gloom..
Whether it's the Seven Kills Sword Master or Fengdu's Ghost Emperor, both of these men are known as formidable figures in the martial world.
Not to mention that the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu ranks fourth on the
Supreme List, but just considering the Seven Kills Sword Master of the Seven
Kills Sword Sect, his personal strength alone is enough to put him among the top fifty in the martial world.
Both men died at the hands of Pei Xuanjing. How could such a horrifying incident not shock everyone?
Meanwhile, Xue Wuheng made an appearance and had a brief conversation with Pei Xuanjing, which then spread around.
Although no one knew what the two had talked about, many people proclaimed that even Xue Wuheng, who ranked second on the Supreme List, dared not fight Pei Xuanjing. Therefore, even though Pei Xuanjing was killing members of the Demonic Cult, Xue Wuheng did not dare to confront Pei Xuanjing and fled instead.
Some people believe that Bai Xiaosheng will soon need to re-rank the Supreme List, with Pei Xuanjing being able to share the top spot with the old Taoist.
Even though they believe that in this world, most likely only the old Taoist may stand a chance of defeating Pei Xuanjing.
However, considering the old Taoist has lived for three cycles of 60 years and Pei Xuanjing had just turned thirty, it's feared that for the next few centuries, everyone will have to look up to Pei Xuanjing.
Moreover, compared to the reclusive old Taoist who usually stays out of martial world affairs, this Slayer Taoist seemed domineering and difficult to deal with.
Three months have passed since the emperor was assassinated.
Despite the strong insistence of the Great Ming imperial court that the emperor was only injured and not in grave danger, this claim was too far-fetched to deceive the experienced officials in the Court.
After all, although the current emperor tended to be a bit reckless, it was common for him not to hold Great Morning Meetings for consecutive months.
But given the emperor's character, not holding a court meeting for three consecutive months and not showing up in public again was somewhat hard to accept.
After all, even if just to soothe the public, if the emperor was, in fact, severely injured and on his deathbed, he could still make a brief appearance to reassure people.
But now, with no court meeting for three consecutive months, and all imperial decrees coming from the Cabinet in cooperation with high-ranking officials like the six Ministers of state, how could this not raise fresh doubts?
Tiandu, the residence of the Ministry of War's Minister Wang Qiong.
Among the six ministers, the Minister of Personnel and Minister of Household are usually considered the leaders.
But in these years, Minister Wang, who now manages the Ministry of War, has a very high rank in the Court, with only the Cabinet's Yang Tinghe able to rival him.
As a result, after the news of the emperor's assassination, countless officials had visited the bustling Wang Mansion, wanting to pay their respects to the War Minister.
However, without exception, they were all turned away and nobody was allowed in.
That night, unbeknownst to the public, Gu Ji, the deputy imperial censor returned from the Northwest Dao to Tiandu and came to visit the War Minister's residence after his report at the Ducal Palace. With the side gate opened, someone ushered him in.
In the study, the candlelight was bright.
The high-ranking War Minister Wang Qiong, dressed casually, did not exhibit the calm, confident demeanor he usually had outside, and instead looked exhausted and significantly older.
"Bo'an, you've worked hard," he spoke softly, thanking the other person in the study.
Wang Boan, still in his scholarly robe, was sitting behind a desk with a book in his hand. Upon hearing Wang Qiong's thanks, he replied without raising his head, "You're too kind."
Wang Qiong shook his head slightly, acknowledging the enormous effort Wang Boan had put forth during this period.
Ever since they brought Lawlessness back to Tiandu, Wang Boan had been using his strength to heal his injuries.
During this time, if it were not for his continuous assistance, Lawlessness probably would not have survived for so long.
Looking at Wang Boan who returned to his book after uttering a single sentence, Wang Qiong couldn't help asking, "Others are desperate to get some information from me, but you seem to not care at all."
Without raising his head, Wang Boan replied, "If it's something you wanted to mention, you would have said it already. If it's something you do not want me to know, even if I asked, I presume you would not tell me."
"Hahaha…" Wang Qiong, who looked rather tired initially, suddenly began to laugh heartily. He shook his head and said, "If everyone in this world was like you, Wang Boan, I would be saved from many troubles."
His words were clearly intended to convey something.
Since the disturbance in Tiandu, news of the emperor's assassination has spread far and wide, and countless people want to get news from him.
Despite Wang Qiong's furious rebuke, people still relentlessly tried to dig for information, much to his annoyance.
Wang Boan finally put down his book, looked at the tired Wang Qiong and sighed, "The Grand Marshal has been working hard these days."
Even when focused on healing Lawlessness's injuries, numerous news reached his ears.
In times of such complicated situations and undercurrents of turbulences, the amount of strategic planning from different factions was usually too much to ignore, especially for someone like Wang Boan who was taking a break at home.
Not to mention his extraordinary talent for leading troops into battle, but his profound and unfathomable Martial Arts expertise alone was widely regarded among the top ten in Tiandu.
Such a character, no one would want him to be pulled over by the opposing side.
So, even if Wang Boan was passive, people would deliberately or inadvertently leak a lot of information to him as a goodwill gesture.
With Wang Boan's wisdom, even scattering pieces of news were enough to allow him to see through many things and understand some people's concerns.
He knew the heavy burdens and enormous responsibilities that the high-ranking Grand Marshal bore now.
"Ah." Wang Qiong sighed deeply, suddenly asking the study room, "Has the Left
Deputy Imperial Censor arrived?"
"Master, he has arrived, waiting in the side hall."
"Ask the Left Deputy Imperial Censor to come to the study room!"
"Yes, sir."
Wang Boan gave a slight smile, "If you, Grand Marshal, need to discuss some matters with Mr. Gu, I will take my leave first."
Wang Qiong chuckled, "Don't play dumb. You should know why I asked you here today."
Interrupting Wang Boan, he said, "Wait till he comes, and I'll explain everything."
Wang Boan nodded.
"I have seen Minister Wang, I have seen Brother Wang." Gu Ji, who walked into the study room, looked at Wang Boan who was also in the room, flashed a slight surprise in his eyes but remained indifferent, and greeted the two.
Wang Boan also nodded to Gu Ji, "Greetings, Mr. Gu."
"Alright, no need for formalities, just sit down." Wang Qiong waved his hand. After all three took the seats, Gu Ji first introduced what happened in the Northwest Dao.
After hearing his report, Wang Qiong nodded slightly, praising, "You did a good job this time."
"I had this opportunity thanks to you, sir." He replied modestly.
If it were not for Wang Qiong's recommendation, he, a newcomer to the Ducal Palace, wouldn't have gotten the job for the situation in the Northwest Dao.
Wang Qiong didn't say much about this matter but signaled Wang Boan first. Wang Boan shook his head and replied, "There's no one nearby."
Only then did Wang Qiong say to the two, "I've asked both of you here today because I want to discuss another matter. " He paused, then slowly began, "It's about the palace .
Whoosh!
Before he could finish, the two's faces instantly turned serious, gazing intently at Wang Qiong.
Ignoring the change in their expressions, Wang Qiong continued solemnly, "The Emperor has ascended to the heavens.."