Chapter 168: Sword Technique Kills Lu Canyang

Lu Canyang was enraged, his eyes instantly bloodshot, like a rampaging beast. With a furious roar, he moved like lightning. The Gouchen Demonic Blade in his hand whistled through the air, cleaving down with thunderous might directly at Zhuo Qingfeng.

This single strike embodied his full fury, its power so fierce it was unstoppable. The blade light flickered, as if it would cleave the very air around him in two.

But before his blade could descend, Gu Mo struck with his sword. Enraged, Lu Canyang redirected his blade, chopping towards Gu Mo instead.

A deafening clang, like the tolling of a great bell, reverberated through the air, making everyone's eardrums ache.

Where the blade and sword met, in an instant, sparks erupted like a meteor striking the moon. Those myriad tiny sparks, reminiscent of fireflies on a summer night, danced freely around the two figures.

A powerful, overwhelming shockwave surged outwards. The ground beneath their feet groaned and slightly subsided, as tiny cracks, like a spiderweb, spread in all directions.

Lu Canyang's eyes widened in fury. With another roar, he unleashed his right fist, which whistled through the air with unstoppable momentum, aiming directly for Gu Mo's face. The force of the punch seemed to tear at the very air itself.

At the same time, Gu Mo swiftly gathered his energy, unleashing his left fist. In an instant, a powerful, scorching aura surged from his body—the Blazing Sun True Qi. Flames surged on Gu Mo's fist, and the intense heat distorted the surrounding air, as if a small sun had materialized out of nowhere.

With a thunderous "bang," the two fists collided with immense force, like two cannonballs crashing into each other.

For that instant, time seemed to stand still. The surrounding stone pillars, now just rubble, were sent toppling by the powerful airwave.

The immense impact caused Lu Canyang's body to shake violently. His feet gouged two deep furrows in the ground as he slid back two steps before regaining his balance.

Looking at the Autumn Water Sword in Gu Mo's hand, its sharp blade now bore a shocking notch, carved by Lu Canyang's fiercely unmatched strike.

Although the Gouchen Demonic Blade's brutal aura was suppressed, its inherent sharpness remained undiminished.

The Autumn Water Sword was a renowned blade of its era, far from an ordinary weapon. However, compared to the Gouchen Demonic Blade, it was simply not on the same level.

Lu Canyang's eyes were blood-red as he glared at Gu Mo, snarling, "I told you, you're destined for an early death. Today, you will surely die by my hand!"

Zhuo Qingfeng shouted, "Brother Gu, don't be afraid of him! Lu Canyang's Kirin Sacred Blood has been suppressed by the sarira; he's got no real power left. He was terrified of Master Dingchan! Forty years ago, he sensed Master Dingchan was about to surpass him, which is why he frantically forged the Gouchen Demonic Blade and ultimately succumbed to devilry..."

"Shut up!"

Lu Canyang let out a hysterical roar.

Zhuo Qingfeng continued to mock, "He's been lingering on for forty years, and before his Kirin Sacred Blood fully matured, he didn't dare to make a sound, only scheming from the shadows. Master Dingchan died yesterday, and only today did he dare to reveal himself! But he never expected that even in death, Master Dingchan could still suppress him! Hahahaha..."

"I'll kill you!"

Lu Canyang let out a heart-rending roar that vibrated the very air around them. The boundless hatred in his voice sent shivers down one's spine.

Before his words even faded, he stomped his foot, instantly cracking the ground. He shot forward like a bolt of black lightning, wielding his chillingly gleaming long blade with thunderous might, charging wildly towards Zhuo Qingfeng.

The blade light flashed, and wherever it passed, the air was sliced open with a hissing sound.

Without a moment's hesitation, Gu Mo lightly tapped his toes on the ground and floated up as nimbly as willow catkins. He executed several sword flourishes with his Autumn Water Sword, his movements fluid and graceful, like a swimming dragon emerging from water, as he moved to intercept Lu Canyang.

He knew Zhuo Qingfeng's frantic mockery of Lu Canyang was intended to disrupt Lu Canyang's mental state and create the best opportunity for him to strike.

Immediately, the moment he intercepted Lu Canyang, Gu Mo's right hand rapidly shifted finger positions. In an instant, three sharp streams of Six-Meridian Divine Sword qi whistled from his fingertips. These sword qi, condensed and solid, struck Lu Canyang with unstoppable force.

The three streams of sword qi instantly sliced into Lu Canyang's body.

But at that very instant, a sudden change occurred.

Lu Canyang's body suddenly dematerialized like smoke, transforming into a dense mass of shadow. Meanwhile, the shadow originally cast on the ground strangely twisted and elongated, turning into a living person—Lu Canyang—in the blink of an eye. He had instantly materialized directly in front of Gu Mo.

Taking advantage of the moment Gu Mo's old strength had dissipated and new strength hadn't yet risen, Lu Canyang's long blade, imbued with boundless killing intent, chopped down on Gu Mo's head with lightning speed. The strike came too suddenly for Gu Mo to dodge. With a sharp "crack," the Autumn Water Sword was chopped clean in half!

Having landed his strike, Lu Canyang's offensive did not slow in the slightest. Like a madman, he gripped his long blade with both hands and chopped wildly at Gu Mo.

With every descending strike, a powerful airflow erupted, stirring up terrifying tornadoes in the air. Wherever these tornadoes passed, sand and stones flew, trees were uprooted, and the ground was violently gouged into bottomless furrows.

"I told you, even without the Kirin's divine power, I am still number one under heaven! Gu Huatong is nothing!" Lu Canyang roared.

Lu Canyang let out a hysterical roar, his blade chopping wildly at Gu Mo.

His long blade danced wildly, its fierce gleam like surging black waves, striking at Gu Mo in relentless succession. The blade wind whistled, sending sand and stones splattering, gouging shocking furrows in the ground, and pulverizing all vegetation.

Seeing his Autumn Water Sword broken, Gu Mo no longer hesitated, casually discarding the snapped hilt.

In an instant, his aura abruptly shifted. The Blazing Sun Divine Art circulated at full power, causing his body to glow with a scorching red light, as if he were engulfed in raging flames. Then, his palms flipped, and he unleashed the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, a technique that shook the martial world.

His body moved like lightning, his palms whistling through the air. A "Sudden Assault" strike, unleashed without warning, slammed into Lu Canyang with fierce, overwhelming force, like Mount Tai descending.

However, a strange scene played out once more.

Lu Canyang's body instantly dematerialized like smoke, turning into a shadow once again. At the same time, several shadows on the ground began to stir, seemingly solidifying.

Gu Mo's expression turned solemn. He rapidly retreated while simultaneously unleashing several powerful palm strikes. However, each time, he only struck the illusory shadows.

His strike having failed, Gu Mo used his backward momentum to quickly readjust his stance.

He took a deep breath, his true qi circulating rapidly. Then, forming his fingers into a sword-finger gesture, his aura instantly became ethereal and elusive.

In that flash of lightning,for a moment, the very aura of heaven and earth seemed to shift.

The air around Gu Mo seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, forming a peculiar energy field. Within this field, heaven and earth transformed into a chessboard, and all things were imbued with a unique rhythm, becoming pieces in a grand game.

In that moment, Gu Mo seemed to stand beyond heaven and earth, treating them as a chessboard and all creation as his pieces. His entire being merged with his surroundings, achieving a miraculous state of unity between man and nature.

His eyes revealed a transcendent serenity and composure. The sword-finger in his hand moved with a subtle gesture, seemingly casual, yet imbued with boundless profound meaning.

Each subtle movement of his sword-finger was like placing a crucial piece on the chessboard. Seemingly understated, it secretly contained profound mysteries, taking the initiative and controlling the entire course of the situation.

Lu Canyang suddenly felt the scene before his eyes transform. He was pulled by a mysterious force into a strange world.

This place was permeated with dense sword intent. The surrounding scenery was sometimes clear, sometimes blurry, constantly shifting as if moving with Gu Mo's sword-finger.

He looked around in horror, finding himself on a giant chessboard, with Gu Mo standing at the other end, gazing at him with a lofty, superior gaze.

Lu Canyang was greatly horrified. He felt as if he were being forced to play a game of chess with Gu Mo. He channeled all his true qi, once again condensing the wondrous shadows, manifesting five or six of them that scattered in all directions.

In that instant, he seemed to see himself place a white piece on that chessboard.

Gu Mo, however, placed a large number of black pieces, encircling his single white piece.

At that very instant,the scene before him changed. The chessboard was gone,and the pieces had vanished.

The ruins were still ruins, and the people were still there.

Only,

Gu Mo extended his sword-finger.

It was the Shangyang Sword from the Six-Meridian Divine Sword. A sharp stream of sword qi whistled from his fingertip, like a brilliant meteor, instantly striking Lu Canyang's forehead.

As the sword qi pierced his body, Lu Canyang's frame violently shuddered, and an expression of disbelief contorted his face. Immediately afterward, a bloody hole burst open at the back of his head, and blood and brain matter gushed out.

"Ah!"

Lu Canyang's body swayed, tottering, yet he didn't instantly die as Gu Mo had expected. Suddenly, he threw his head back and howled. The sound, full of unwillingness and madness, seemed to come from the Nine Netherworld Hells, like a mortally wounded beast still fighting desperately, each cry filled with anguish. It startled birds into flight and made leaves rustle.

Gu Mo frowned. Without hesitation, true qi surged through his body and circulated to his arms. He then executed "Twin Dragons Seizing Water," a move from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

He swiftly raised his palms, both hands imbued with overwhelming momentum. Faint, dragon-shaped true qi shimmered within his palms as he slammed them down with thunderous force onto Lu Canyang's head.

"Boom!" A massive explosion, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, erupted in the confined space. Lu Canyang's head exploded like an overripe watermelon, sending red and white matter splattering in all directions.

The moment his head exploded, the blood from his wound surprisingly ignited, then began to burn and spread into his body. The flames were a bizarre, blood-red hue, leaping and surging with crackling sounds.

In just a moment, only a pile of ashes remained.