Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 918 (1): A Saber Descends With a Starry River in Tow
The fierce, synchronized assault from the ruthless throuple had unleashed such overwhelming force that Sovereign Withered Wood felt that if he had been in Luo Chuan’s shoes, he would have faced certain death. Yet, astonishingly, even their combined might could not bring Luo Chuan down. The clash just sent ripples that knocked stars from their orbits and tore gaps in the array.
Watching from afar, Sovereign Withered Wood felt his heart clench in shock.
When did Luo Chuan grow so powerful? Had he possessed such strength just twenty days ago, my mountain-guarding array would not have stood a chance.
No, forget that. If Luo Chuan had this level of power earlier when Zhao Changhe and Ye Jiuyou cornered him, would he have even needed to flee?
He quickly snapped himself out of these thoughts, turning swiftly to the newcomers who had arrived to stir trouble. “Well, given the state of things, if you two wish to join in, then by all means, be my guests.”
The two exchanged glances, speechless.
Join? Are you joking with us? We’re not insane enough to dive into this chaotic deathtrap with some mysterious powerhouses who have popped up from god knows where!
“Daoist Brother Withered Wood,” one of them asked cautiously, “who exactly are this man and these two women?”
“I have no idea.”
“And when exactly did Luo Chuan become this strong?”
Sovereign Withered Wood folded his hands into his sleeves. “I also have no idea.”
Silence fell between them as they turned back to watch the battle, each quietly assessing the situation. Withered Wood had clearly intended to prevent others from interfering initially, but now, seeing how terrifying the combatants were, he could not even be bothered. Who would be foolish enough to step into a quagmire when it was not even clear who was friend or foe?
He himself had entertained the notion of plucking the ripe fruit from the chaos, but now, with the outcome hanging by a thread, it clearly was not yet time. And even if there was fruit to pick, who said only Withered Wood could do it?
Their attention returned to the heart of the battle. Luo Chuan’s robes were shredded, his body streaked with blood, muscles bulging fiercely beneath his torn skin. His once-refined, handsome features had twisted into a monstrous visage. His eyes blazed crimson as sinister veins crawled across his face in a demonic pattern.
Sovereign Withered Wood and the others immediately recognized this as demonic qi surfacing. In Zhao Changhe’s eyes, this was simply the second phase of a boss enemy.
Luo Chuan’s aura had spiked dramatically. If the Other Shore Realm was divided into stages, he had ascended from the middle stage directly to the absolute peak.
On the other hand, his opponents were heavily wounded. Blood trickled from their mouths, and their faces were pale. Clearly, the previous clash had taken a heavy toll.
Luo Chuan growled through heaved ragged breaths, “Ye Wuming, you should thank this man for sacrificing himself thirty years ago to prevent your suicide attack... Otherwise, even with your soul shattered, you never would’ve killed me.”
Ye Wuming’s lips pressed together, silent.
Indeed, with Luo Chuan hiding such terrifying power, killing him would have been impossible back then.
In fact, deep down, they had always had a vague suspicion about this. Luo Chuan had intentionally baited Ye Wuming into her suicide strike, deliberately creating a false opening to lure her in. Zhao Changhe had long suspected as much, though he had never openly admitted it. Not to mention, back then, he had not even truly realized Luo Chuan’s intent; his only motivation had been to save Ye Wuming, no matter what excuse he had to use.
Ye Wuming had once wondered how Luo Chuan could pull off such a maneuver. But now, she finally understood.
Back then, she had only just barely touched upon the Other Shore, and her threat to Luo Chuan hinged entirely on leveraging the entire Heavenly Tome’s world as her weapon. However, Luo Chuan also had his own hidden world to support him. Death would not come so easily for someone like him.
That world had been the foundation for his potential breakthrough into higher realms.
Now, however, Luo Chuan’s world had collapsed, and with it, his hope for ascending to an even greater height. At the moment that his world disintegrated, he extracted its core essence, merging it into himself in a final act of desperate, irreversible empowerment, temporarily catapulting himself to the pinnacle of the Other Shore.
In exchange, Luo Chuan had forever severed his path forward. In essence, his future was shattered beyond recovery, leaving nothing but a burning, undying hatred in his heart.
Gnashing his teeth and burning with fury, Luo Chuan snarled, “All of you... will regret what you’ve done today. Die!”
Boundless blood burst forth and the void was instantly turned into a sea of blood.
The Ye sisters swiftly retreated into the Heavenly Tome, leaving only Zhao Changhe standing outside, arms crossed protectively before him, clinging to the tome as he was sent flying back ten thousand li.
Only then did Ye Wuming realize the profound truth. The path of flesh and blood hidden within the Spirit Tribe had always been Luo Chuan’s deepest cultivation secret. A bitter irony tugged at her heart. Back then, she had guided Zhao Changhe to inherit Lie’s vicious blood precisely because she believed Lie had nothing to do with Luo Chuan. Yet now, the wheel had turned full circle, and Luo Chuan’s most profound secret turned out to be this very path...
Of course, Lie’s path of vicious blood and Luo Chuan’s demonic cultivation were not the same thing. However, Zhao Changhe’s experience with Lie’s methods still granted him a profound understanding of this type of power.
Amidst the boundless sea of blood, Zhao Changhe abruptly halted his retreat and propelled himself forward, grasping the hilt of his saber with both hands as he executed a sky-splitting slash.
The dark crimson radiance from his saber blended seamlessly into the boundless sea of blood, blurring the lines so thoroughly that onlookers could not discern where his energy ended and Luo Chuan’s began.
Even Zhao Changhe’s eyes mirrored Luo Chuan’s, blazing crimson with not even a hint of white left visible—just an intense, bloody glow.
At first glance, it appeared to be his usual combination of No Man’s Land and Scattering the Gods and Buddhas, the ultimate techniques Zhao Changhe had used to punch far above his weight since his emergence in the world of martial arts.
Luo Chuan thrust his sword forward contemptuously. “You’ve run out of tricks. Die!”
Clang!
Sword and saber clashed violently once more. Yet in that instant, Luo Chuan’s heart inexplicably jolted. And in the distance, Sovereign Withered Wood felt an identical sensation.
This was not Scattering the Gods and Buddhas at all; it merely borrowed its form. Ultimately, it was just a vertical slash.
With crystal clarity, Sovereign Withered Wood felt the power of the stellar array he had meticulously arranged being wrested away, the celestial bodies that were supposed to follow their circular trajectories suddenly veering off course and gathering into a torrential river.
As Zhao Changhe’s saber descended, thousands of stars surged downward like the Milky Way itself crashing onto the battlefield.
This was the ultimate saber move Zhao Changhe had long sought to perfect, perfectly embodying his lifelong pursuit, a starry river cascading down.
This was no longer merely symbolic; this was sheer, unbridled physical force!
Saber intent alone was one thing, but Zhao Changhe had now somehow managed to harness actual cosmic might.
Whirling around in shock, Sovereign Withered Wood saw a woman floating nearby, appearing indistinct as if suspended amid rippling water. Her hands formed complex seals, transferring all her immense power directly to Zhao Changhe.
It was Piaomiao, who had just returned from intercepting the demonic cultivators, channeling all her energy to empower Zhao Changhe.
In another direction, four women sat cross-legged in midair, arranged in an intricate formation. Behind them, vivid images of the Four Idols coalesced, forming constellations that manipulated celestial energies and channeled them into Zhao Changhe as well.
The Four Idols Formation was never meant merely for killing; it was designed to support its god. The celestial power of the Four Idols marshaled the stars, converging their boundless might upon the master of the night sky.
In the absence of the sun and moon, the blood-red glow emanating from the saber-wielding figure was the sun itself.
Zhao Changhe was now the core of his own galaxy.
Sovereign Withered Wood’s jaw dropped. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Holy heavens, when she said it wasn’t just the two of them, she was not joking!
He had thought that having the sisters who were both at the Other Shore was terrifying enough, but to think there was still more. Every single one of these women was at least at the third layer of Profound Control! And the woman who seemed to embody the qi veins of the mountains and rivers appeared to already be half a step into the Other Shore!
Luo Chuan was not facing a single opponent. He was fighting an entire army.
No, this was the power of an entire world, the essence of an era. Luo Chuan’s hastily constructed world, crudely built upon corrupted energies from demonic cultivators, could not possibly compete.
Rumble!
Stars plummeted from the heavens, completely engulfing Luo Chuan.
Zhao Changhe coughed violently, spurting out a mouthful of fresh blood as he was sent flying backward. Yet Luo Chuan was also severely shaken, desperately suppressing the blood rising to his throat as he pursued, aiming to deliver a final blow. “You did well, but unfortunately—”
Before he could finish, Zhao Changhe’s eyes flashed with a sharp, cold light. He abruptly let go of Dragon Bird, reaching out instead to grab Luo Chuan’s sword. The body cultivation techniques Zhao Changhe had practiced altered the structure of his palm, concentrating all defensive energies there as he clutched Luo Chuan’s sword in a death grip.
Instinctively, Luo Chuan tried to pull back, sending a spray of blood cascading from Zhao Changhe’s wounded palm.
Meanwhile, Dragon Bird, animated by the twin-pigtailed girl within, lashed out independently, slashing toward Luo Chuan’s exposed neck from behind. At the very same moment, a radiant glow burst forth from Zhao Changhe’s embrace.
Like a phantom, Ye Jiuyou emerged from within the Heavenly Tome, her two palms striking straight toward Luo Chuan’s chest and abdomen.
At that moment, Ye Jiuyou was no longer merely Ye Jiuyou.
She was the merged embodiment of both Ye sisters, wielding the entire might of the Heavenly Tome’s world within her hands.
This was unquestionably the strength of at least the mid-to-late stage of the Other Shore Realm, delivered in a sudden, devastating strike.
Stunned senseless, Luo Chuan finally realized that Zhao Changhe’s overwhelming attack earlier had never even incorporated the Ye sisters’ combined power. Earlier, he had actually singlehandedly managed to match him.
What a terrifying, cunning family...
No, why exactly are the Ye sisters cooperating so flawlessly? How could they possibly be working together as though they’re one being without the slightest hesitation or suspicion?
