Chapter 358: Thirteen Sword Sha?

Episode 1: Secret Technique 'Three Autumn Leaves'

Over the years, Meng Chuan had conducted many rescues.

Too many times, he arrived too late. On one occasion, he only managed to witness Xue Feng being killed by Patriarch Huangyao's blade from a hundred li away. Another time, Marquis Ziyu was already dead upon his arrival. He had saved many ordinary Godfiends, including the team Yan Jin was part of. However, there were also numerous instances where he only found the mangled corpses of Godfiends, the demon kings having long since escaped.

Therefore, even though he preferred the unrestricted freedom of the 'Cloud Mist Dragon Serpent Movement Technique,' he devoted more of his focus to the 'Endless Saber.' He prioritized speed.

Thus, when presented with three tribulation-level weapon artifacts, Meng Chuan unhesitatingly chose the 'Blood Blade Disk,' even though the other two were formidable killing artifacts used by tribulation-level grand figures. He chose the 'Blood Blade Disk' – a protective artifact crafted by a grand figure for their descendants – simply because he saw it was proficient in flight and escape. He understood that even a slight increase in speed could save more Godfiend lives, and indirectly, countless mortal lives.

With the Blood Blade Disk beneath his feet, he could cover one hundred twenty li in a single flash! In emergency rescues, such speed was paramount.

“Faster,” Meng Chuan urged, driving the Blood Blade Disk with all his might.

“Yu City is just ahead,” Meng Chuan thought, rushing forward with full force. As he approached the eastern outskirts of the city, he saw hundreds of Triple-Heaven Demon Kings charging frantically towards the eastern city wall. Inside the city, he also witnessed a Fifth-Heaven Demon King, overflowing with demonic power, forcefully brandishing a trident.

With a thought, lines of blood blades, transforming into streaks of light, shot forth from the Blood Blade Disk beneath his feet. Meng Chuan also deliberately unleashed his Godfiend aura to distract the demon king, while numerous strands of Godfiend True Essence shot out in all directions. Some of the hundreds of demon kings outside the eastern city wall were merely a few li away from him.

“Thud, thud, thud…”

From nearest to farthest, numerous demon kings fell like stalks of wheat. The blood blades moved with the speed of true light, fully comparable to the velocity of True Essence threads. Even the Fifth-Heaven Demon King failed to detect them from afar; by the time it realized their proximity, it was too late to react.

“Boom.” The blood blades were swift as light, yet their might was terrifying. If unleashed without restraint, they could reduce dozens of li of terrain to dust. Now, however, their power was fully concentrated into each tiny blood blade.

With the first streak of light, the black trident in the Fifth-Heaven Demon King's hand was sent hurtling away, becoming a mere blur. The second streak of light pierced through the Fifth-Heaven Demon King's head. However, a mighty Fifth-Heaven Demon King's physical body is exceptionally resilient; even with its head destroyed, it would not perish. The third streak of light struck the Fifth-Heaven Demon King's chest, unleashing an explosive force that caused its body to completely rupture and disintegrate into a bloody mess of shattered flesh and bone. Reduced to such a state, the grand demon king, who had only attained the Fifth-Heaven realm a few years prior, finally lost all signs of life.

“Oh? It possesses such a divine ability?” Meng Chuan was slightly surprised.

The Blood Blade Disk was Meng Chuan’s innate artifact, into which he had refined numerous Primordial Spirit thoughts, making it an extension of his soul. Each individual blood blade could also perceive its surroundings. They 'clearly observed' that as the Fifth-Heaven Demon King’s body exploded and shattered, its thick tail also broke apart, with a segment of it hurtling towards the ground amidst the explosion. They also sensed that the demon king's Primordial Spirit had transferred into that tail segment.

“Severing its tail to form a clone?” With a single thought from Meng Chuan, the fourth blood blade, now a streak of light, instantly pierced through the tail segment, utterly pulverizing it.

“No—!”

The demon king's Primordial Spirit, hidden within the tail, wailed in despair before being completely annihilated.

Marquis Xiyue watched in disbelief as the descending black trident was blasted away, and the Fifth-Heaven Demon King was utterly pulverized and killed in a blink.

“I'm alive?” A shiver ran through Marquis Xiyue's entire body, a primal instinct. Her instincts had told her death was imminent, leading to despair. Yet, here she was, alive again, and the Fifth-Heaven Demon King was dead instead?

Marquis Xiyue looked into the distance.

In the distance, a figure emanating a chilling, murderous aura was approaching. It moved at roughly ten li per flash, which was already remarkably fast, significantly quicker than King Anhai. Of course, the Blood Blade Disk had already been put away. Ten li per flash? Meng Chuan was already flying at a leisurely pace.

Meanwhile, the demon kings outside the four city walls had already burrowed into the ground and fled. Apart from a few demon kings killed near the eastern wall, most of the Triple-Heaven Demon Kings had recognized the dire situation and escaped.

“Hmm?”

Marquis Xiyue got a clear look. The rescuing Godfiend was none of the Marquis Godfiends she recognized. He exuded a chilling, murderous aura, wore a mask, and his temples were streaked with gray. The oppressive, deadly presence he projected was unlike anything she had ever encountered.

“This Marquis Godfiend's speed rivals that of a Creation Venerable,” Marquis Xiyue mused to herself. “And with his graying temples, he might be over four hundred years old… He's certainly not any Godfiend I know. Yes, he must be one of the ancient Godfiends who have awakened.”

She knew, of course, that Yuanchu Mountain maintained a group of awakened ancient Godfiends to combat the demon race. The other two major sects did the same. The identities of these ancient Godfiends were highly confidential. They were kept secret even from their own allies, making it difficult for the demon race to uncover their true identities.

“Thank you, Senior Brother, for saving my life,” Marquis Xiyue said, immediately bowing as Meng Chuan approached. Addressing any Marquis Godfiend as 'Senior Brother' was always appropriate. Even for Marquis Godfiends from Black Sand Grotto-Heaven or Two World Island, it was only proper to respectfully address them as 'Senior Brother' if they saved your life.

“I merely happened to be passing by, which is why I arrived in time. You were fortunate,” Meng Chuan stated indifferently, waving his hand to collect all the Fifth-Heaven Demon King’s remains.

“Senior Brother…” Marquis Xiyue wished to say more; she had truly been on the verge of death and felt immense gratitude toward this ancient Godfiend.

“I'm off,” Meng Chuan said nonchalantly, then swiftly flew into the sky. Once enveloped by his boundless domain, he vanished without a trace.

Marquis Xiyue watched from a distance, her mind still reeling, silently pondering, “Those terrifyingly fast streaks of light killed a Fifth-Heaven Demon King effortlessly from a hundred li away? Could it be the Thirteen Sword Fiends?” Killing enemies from a distance, each strike incredibly swift – it seemed only the Thirteen Sword Fiends were capable of such a feat. Sword fiends are not physical entities. This allows them terrifying speed over extreme distances, enabling them to besiege enemies at will. They are also widely recognized as the Godfiend body with the strongest one-on-one killing capability, surpassing even Patriarch Cang Yuan's 'Reincarnation God Body' in terms of combat effectiveness.

As he needed to keep his identity secret, he naturally concealed it even from his own allies. With the 'Phantom Mask' to disguise his aura, Meng Chuan had no concerns about being recognized. When unleashing attacks from the Blood Blade Disk, he deliberately mimicked the 'Thirteen Sword Fiends.' Meng Chuan had once admired the techniques of the Thirteen Sword Fiends Demonic Body, though he hadn't focused on them much. Who would have thought that after acquiring the tribulation-level artifact, the 'Blood Blade Disk,' he would now experience the very sensation of wielding the Thirteen Sword Fiends' power? Lightning fast, capable of slaying enemies at will from a distance.

“Senior Sister,” asked one of the other two Marquis Godfiends who had finally flown closer, “who was that Marquis Godfiend? I don't recall seeing him before.” The other even returned Marquis Xiyue’s sword, which had been sent flying.

“I haven't seen him either,” Marquis Xiyue replied with a touch of melancholy as she accepted her sword. “He must be one of Yuanchu Mountain's ancient Godfiends.”

Inside Yuanchu Mountain's grand hall, Li Guan, Qin Wu, and Luo Tang stood before a massive map displayed on the wall. The moment the red glow indicating Yu City on the map transformed into a burst of colorful light, all three breathed a sigh of relief.

“We won, we won!”

“A great victory!” The other Godfiends gathered before the wall were immensely excited. A green aura would have signified merely overcoming a crisis. However, colorful light signified a decisive victory! Li Guan and the other two, at least, maintained their composure.

“Meng Chuan made it,” Luo Tang said with a smile. “His speed is terrifyingly fast now; I knew he’d arrive in time.”

“Xiyue also survived,” Qin Wu added, a happy smile gracing his face.

Li Guan nodded with a smile. Few Fifth-Heaven Demon Kings infiltrated the human world, and the death of each one in battle drew the attention of the Nine Abysses Demon Saint and his counterparts.

Deep beneath the sea, within a small grotto-heaven:

“The Godfiend who killed Demon King Moye,” the Nine Abysses Demon Saint began, looking up from a scroll to face the black-robed Beijue, “the intelligence suggests it might be a Marquis Godfiend cultivating the 'Thirteen Sword Fiends Demonic Body'?”