Chapter 1148: The Ferocious Combat Power of the Ten Remnant Sword Ghost from the Upper Era

"Hee hee hee hee—"

Before they saw the person, they heard the strange laughter.

The great array of Zhenhuang Dian cracked with a sharp sound from outside, and thick, frosty white mist seeped in through the gaps, eventually solidifying into a solid figure.

This person...

How to put it? He was an extremely wretched sight!

His entire body was pitch black, covered in dried black-red bloodstains, with a faint smell of charred flesh emanating from him.

His disheveled and stiff hair, along with the hair on his body, stood on end like angry spikes, perfectly embodying an unconventional kind of "unrestrained freedom"!

At first glance, aside from a few tattered strips of cloth hanging on him, he looked like a creature that had crawled out of a pile of coals.

On top of that, his body was riddled with scars, as if from slashes and stabs by sharp weapons.

The most severe injury was on his left arm.

The newcomer had his left forearm severed at the elbow, with holy power wrapped around the wound, preventing any blood from dripping, but also stopping new flesh from regenerating.

"Han Ye!"

Xu Xiaoshou's heart skipped a beat.

He didn't recognize the person by his face.

From his appearance, this thunder-struck mess was unrecognizable.

But that familiar ice-system ability, the frosty white mist, and the Bansheng pressure... In the vast Zui Yi Dian, probably only Han Ye, whom he had seen in the Bu She Ting, could match that.

"Oh ho, and a young lad?"

Han Ye staggered in from outside with stiff movements, his tone casual and optimistic despite everything.

It was as if the injuries on his body belonged to someone else, and his soul was currently soaking in a heavenly hot spring, enjoying joy and freedom.

"You there, hand over some clothes for this great one to wear!"

As Han Ye walked, he casually tore off the ragged black strips from his body.

His originally fluffy white tail had turned into a club-like charred black, hard and straight, twitching with effort to cover his vital parts.

Gu Qingyi and Gu Qing'er fell silent.

They could hardly believe their eyes.

This utterly disheveled guy seemed to be a... Bansheng?

But he had none of the demeanor of a Bansheng, not even punishing them for making him "meet the saint" in such a state.

This was completely different from a Bansheng who would summon heavenly phenomena to intimidate anyone who dared call out to them.

"What's with the staring? Clothes! Don't understand 'clothes'? A robe! Something to cover up, just give me anything!"

Han Ye grumbled and cursed as he finally stumbled into the great hall.

His body occasionally sparked with electricity, making him twitch and pause each time, but that didn't dampen his carefree spirit.

"Damn it all, my eyes are almost blinded from the lightning, thought it was an afterimage—turns out there are three people here..."

As Han Ye approached, he muttered to himself, trying to rub his eyes with his left hand, only to realize it only went up to the elbow—way too short.

He spat in annoyance and switched to his right hand.

Xu Xiaoshou paused for a moment, then smoothly pulled a set of clothes from his spatial seal and tossed it over.

After Han Ye put them on haphazardly and splashed some ice water on his face, he seemed to finally see everything in the hall clearly, and his gaze turned serious, chilling the air.

"Well, I'll be damned! Ancient sword cultivators? And two of them?"

This remark carried no goodwill—instead, it was full of hatred and venom!

Gu Qingyi's vigilance shot up to the maximum, dark little swords appearing in his eyes, slowly converging toward his forehead and turning red.

From that tone, this uninvited Bansheng from the void crystal was clearly hostile toward ancient sword cultivators!

Sure enough...

"This great one hates ancient sword cultivators the most, you damn ancient sword cultivators, all of you go die!"

"Hee hee hee hee—"

With a sharp shriek, Han Ye's face twisted, his knees bent, and with a boom, he leaped high into the air, attacking without warning!

He raised his single arm to the sides, and behind him, a massive half ice wing burst open with a boom, radiating a thick aura of ghost beasts.

The ice wing, infused with endless holy power, spread out fully before sweeping forward with tremendous force.

"Maniac!"

Gu Qing'er didn't think twice, cursed in anger, and charged upward.

Sword intent surged from his entire body, instantly manifesting countless golden little swords in the void, charging fearlessly at the Bansheng.

"Senior brother, go first, I'll hold him off..."

"Hold off my ass, get back!"

Gu Qingyi clutched his sword with one hand and grabbed his junior brother's neck with the other, flinging him backward.

At the same time, a point of blood-red light bloomed at his forehead, and with a hum, holy power erupted from his body.

"Jian Gui predecessor, I beseech you to act."

Boom!

Han Ye's half ice wing slashed down from the sky like a blade, shattering space.

In the next second, amidst the black ghost beast power and ice-blue holy power, accompanied by a clang of sword hum, ten sword lights shot out fiercely.

Swish swish swish swish...

The sword lights were like shadows, formless and insubstantial, slicing through the void.

In the nick of time, Han Ye finally reacted—this young man in front of him was no pushover?

But his full-force strike in rage was hard to pull back, and those sword lights were beyond what a junior should be capable of—he hadn't anticipated this at all!

"What the hell?"

He barely managed to twist his body, and with a thud, Han Ye shifted his ice wing from offense to defense, blocking in front of him, but it was still shattered into ice fragments in an instant.

The sword lights pierced through the fragments and viciously struck Han Ye's body.

"Hee—"

A scream rang out.

Han Ye was sent flying by the sword lights, blood spraying everywhere.

Fortunately, the ice wing had blocked most of the damage, so he wasn't killed on the spot, but the intense slashing force sent him crashing through the hall's walls, breaking through the outer great array, and hurtling into the unknown void.

Bang bang bang bang bang...

Through the cracks in Zhenhuang Dian's shattered array, they could vaguely hear the sounds of Han Ye smashing through countless labyrinth walls along the way.

Hiss!

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

He had intended not to intervene, wanting to see what Gu Qingyi was capable of.

If Gu Qingyi couldn't hold off, he would have shouted to stop the reckless fight—since he knew Han Ye.

But...

Han Ye!

A Bansheng-level ghost beast!

His furious strike was shattered by Gu Qingyi, and the man was blasted out of the great array?

A shadow seemed to loom over his head...

Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly upward and finally saw what had sent Han Ye flying.

It was a humanoid monster over three zhang tall, ferocious and gray, with sharp, elf-like ears, no eyebrows, a single eye, and a massive mouth stretching to its cheeks, baring sharp fangs.

It wore tattered white prison clothes—a wrinkled, sleeveless long tunic that covered its thighs, leaving its limbs exposed, with no pants.

The reason it was prison clothes was the black character "Qiu" on the white fabric.

What was most shocking wasn't the bizarre humanoid form, but the ten bloody wounds on its body and the ten ragged, rusty swords embedded in them!

Some were long swords, some short, some massive, some slender...

These swords, radiating a savage aura, pierced through its chest, angled under its ribs, extended from its right palm, and were lodged in its knees.

Three swords were thrust from its back forward, and one went straight into its skull from the top.

Open its mouth, and you could even see the mottled blade of the savage sword piercing through its body from top to bottom!

"What the hell is this?!" Xu Xiaoshou's mouth went dry.

This savage "Jian Gui" had the strongest sword intent he had ever seen!

Completely different from Mister Si Ren's restrained style, it was utterly unrestrained, the epitome of ruthless, unsheathed blades!

"Gu kid, one strike, one first-grade spiritual sword—remember that?"

Jian Gui lowered its single eye, looking at Gu Qingyi.

Gu Qing'er was trembling in the back, not daring to speak, his eyes on Jian Gui filled with terror, as if he had been brutally beaten by this monster before.

"Of course I remember."

Gu Qingyi, almost instantly, drew a first-grade spiritual sword from his spatial ring and offered it with both hands.

Jian Gui didn't move the arm with the sword protruding from its palm; instead, it used its other hand, which had only three fingers, to hook the spiritual sword and bring it to its face.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

It methodically bit the first-grade spiritual sword into pieces... and swallowed them!

Swallowed???

Xu Xiaoshou inhaled sharply.

He knew all too well how tough and strong a first-grade spiritual sword was.

Yet Jian Gui had snapped it with its teeth and actually swallowed it, digesting it?

"Gu kid, you said,

When will you give me the Evil Sword? As long as you hand it over for me to eat, I'll let you boss me around as you like."

Jian Gui grinned, chewing and speaking, savoring it with a satisfied expression, as if tasting some delicacy.

"Predecessor, you're joking. I don't have many first-grade spiritual swords, let alone Yue Lian?"

Gu Qingyi seemed afraid of Jian Gui too, clutching the Evil Sword tighter, and added, "Yue Lian is my master's sword; you shouldn't think about it."

"He's already given it to you, so it's yours now!"

Jian Gui laughed with its massive mouth, swallowing the sword fragments and hilt completely, then turned to Gu Qing'er cowering in the corner.

"What about you, Gu the second? When are you giving me a gift? Your junior brother gave one; you should show some gesture."

It stared intently at the blood sword on Gu Qing'er's back, the Absolute Beauty.

"In your dreams! Bullshit!"

"My junior brother didn't give it; you're just robbing!"

"You hungry ghost, you bandit! I'd die before giving you the Absolute Beauty!"

"If you threaten me again, I'll tell our master I can't beat you and have him deal with you!" Gu Qing'er blustered toughly.

"Gaga gaga..."

Jian Gui laughed menacingly, glanced deeply at Gu the second, and looked away.

It suddenly turned, fixing on Xu Xiaoshou, leaning down with its massive mouth almost enveloping his head.

"Little brat, what are you looking at!"

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou could clearly see the mucus on the broken sword blade exposed in Jian Gui's wide-open mouth and smell that heart-piercing "fragrance."

Ugh~

He couldn't hold back and dry-heaved, quickly backing away.

"You little brat..."

Jian Gui narrowed its single eye. "Why can I smell a familiar scent on you? Hmm, there's..."

As the cracks in Zhenhuang Dian's great array sealed, the frosty white mist returned once more.

Han Ye's return interrupted Jian Gui's thoughts, accompanied by his strange cry.

"The Ten Broken Sword Ghost?"

"Who are you, kid, to summon the Ten Broken Sword Ghost?!"

Xu Xiaoshou could clearly hear a tremor in that voice—fear!

And not just a little, but an endless, suppressed terror.

The Ten Broken Sword Ghost tilted its head sideways with a crack of bones.

Its head wasn't severed by the long sword piercing its skull; its gaze just became displeased, very displeased!

"I hate being interrupted when I'm talking."

This was said with its back to Han Ye, face-to-face with Xu Xiaoshou.

But Xu Xiaoshou could clearly feel that when the Ten Broken Sword Ghost spoke, its attention had shifted to the returning Han Ye.

Jian Gui stepped back, and Xu Xiaoshou felt the sky lighten a bit, the shadow before him fragmenting.

Han Ye was horrified.

This speed...

He hurriedly crouched down, spreading bat-like wings behind him to curl around and protect his body.

Clang!

Jian Gui appeared like a phantom in front of Han Ye, slashing down heavily with a single sword from its hand.

Han Ye flared his wings desperately, trying to deflect the broken sword strike.

But the force of Jian Gui's slash exceeded his expectations once again!

With a rip, Han Ye's wings were severed on the spot, and the long sword from Jian Gui's palm tore a deep gash into his shoulder.

"Damn you!"

Han Ye raged, transforming into his full ghost beast form, towering immensely.

Yet, for someone like Han Ye, whose movements were already sluggish compared to Jian Gui, enlarging his body only made it harder to track Jian Gui's actions.

"Pathetic."

Jian Gui snorted, swinging its arms down and hitting the two slender swords embedded in its ribs.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Those two slender swords tore through Jian Gui's flesh, and as Han Ye enlarged, they sliced through space, spinning into decapitating weapons aimed at Han Ye's head.

"Shit!"

Han Ye was losing it.

His speed was top-tier among Bansheng-level ghost beasts, yet he couldn't match even a fraction of Jian Gui's sword speed. How could he fight?

He had no choice but to shrink back to human form to dodge the fatal strike!

"The dull fool."

As soon as Han Ye reverted, another mocking voice drifted into his ear.

In the next second, darkness enveloped his head.

The ferocious Ten Broken Sword Ghost had appeared before him at some point, shrinking to his size, then spreading its arms for a tight embrace.

At that instant, Han Ye's face turned green!

Who would dare enjoy an embrace from Jian Gui?

With ten swords piercing its body, this sharp hug was unbearable!

"Get the hell away from this great one!!!"

Han Ye summoned a thick ice armor and flung his limbs outward to blast Jian Gui away.

As his holy power fully erupted, even the heavens froze solid with rampant frost.

But even this couldn't stop Jian Gui!

The savage Jian Gui grinned, unaffected, and gently hugged Han Ye.

In that moment, the world went quiet...

Xu Xiaoshou's eyelids twitched wildly.

Gu Qingyi gritted his teeth.

Gu Qing'er suddenly hugged his chest, tightly shutting his eyes, as if recalling some nightmare.

Sssch! Sssch!

The first and second sounds were from Jian Gui hooking its feet, the broken swords in its knees slicing through Han Ye's legs like tofu.

"Ah—"

Agony hit, and Han Ye screamed in torment, his face turning deathly pale, as if enduring unbearable torture.

Sssch! Sssch! Sssch!

The third, fourth, and fifth sounds were from Jian Gui thrusting its chest forward, the three swords piercing from its back through to the front, shattering Han Ye's ice armor and stabbing into his right chest, mid-chest, and left chest heart.

Ugh...

Han Ye lost the ability to scream, his eyes losing focus.

He, a Bansheng, was taken down in a few strikes by Jian Gui, subjected to cruel torment, unable to move.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Sounds of breaking wind came from afar, growing louder, and Han Ye seemed to remember something, his back to it but his pupils dilating in terror.

The three spectators, Xu Xiaoshou, Gu Qingyi, and Gu Qing'er, turned their heads simultaneously to look.

They saw the two slender swords that Jian Gui had flung from its ribs earlier—failing to behead Han Ye—now circling back like homing bones.

Sssch! Sssch!

These sounds were the swords returning and embedding back into Jian Gui's ribs.

Of course, Han Ye, hugged against Jian Gui's chest, took the full brunt of this savage sheathing.

Ugh!!

Han Ye spat out a huge mouthful of blood, splattering it on Jian Gui's shoulder.

Jian Gui's three-fingered left hand gently cradled Han Ye's body, while its right hand lifted high, a sharp broken sword extending from its palm.

"Wait..."

"Stop..."

The swords of the Ten Broken Sword Ghost seemed to carry some special ability.

Even as a Bansheng, Han Ye was incredibly weakened after being struck by seven swords.

His speech was slurred and unclear.

Jian Gui acted as if it heard nothing, its single eye emotionless.

It had finished eating Gu kid's first-grade spiritual sword and knew its task after emerging.

Even if it had previously guarded Wen Ting and looked down on the Gu family trio, these three were still Wen Ting's disciples. Since it was assigned as their bodyguard, it had to do its job.

Besides, Gu kid had paid for its services.

Tai Xu could make a move—that was training.

But a Bansheng attacking a young person was shameless.

People like that deserved to die; why cling to life?

Whoosh!

Jian Gui's right arm blurred in the air, slashing down fiercely with its palm blade.

Han Ye was nearly in despair.

He shouldn't have been taken down so easily.

But he had been too careless!

He had just lost half his arm to Rao Yao Yao and been blasted by the holy tribulation, nearly killed.

With less than a tenth of his strength left, he provoked this monster.

On the brink of death, a familiar figure flashed in Han Ye's eyes.

He recognized the Ten Broken Sword Ghost, but not because of Gu Qingyi.

Rather, he had seen someone like this before, trampling all dignity while this monster followed.

That monster was also humanoid with no eyebrows and a single eye, ten swords in its body, incredibly fast and ruthless strikes...

If it came to "swords," that one seemed to be the true darling of the sword path, a born child of swords, overwhelmingly strong.

Of course, even that special, red ghost contract-bound "sword spirit" like the Ten Broken Sword Ghost had to yield before that person.

"Ba..."

"Ba... Zun... An..."

Han Ye uttered a feeble sound—this was his final, desperate plea for life.

Sssch.

Jian Gui's palm sword barely grazed Han Ye's neck skin, drawing a line of red blood, then stopped.

Even with such speed, it could control itself perfectly, stopping or sparing as it wished.

Jian Gui grabbed the utterly weakened Han Ye with one hand and yanked him outward.

Sssch la!!

Han Ye felt the broken swords piercing him deliver excruciating secondary damage, making his body convulse and spasm in pain.

That familiar, torturous agony felt like a dull knife sawing and scraping his wounds, preventing any healing.

"You know Ba Zun An?"

Jian Gui held the limp Han Ye, tilting its head in surprise.

If it hadn't been certain of what Han Ye said earlier, Xu Xiaoshou, even rushing to stop it, had hesitated.

But now, seeing the savage Jian Gui halt its beheading and casually mention that familiar name, Xu Xiaoshou was almost sure of his previous guesses.

Han Ye was one of Ba Zun An's people, part of the backup plan!

From this, it seemed his attempt to exchange for the Secondary Face Gate meant it had fallen into enemy hands—likely the Sheng Shen Hall.

"This person is useful; we can't kill him." Xu Xiaoshou turned to Gu Qingyi.

Gu Qingyi quickly added, "Jian Gui predecessor, please spare him; he's of great use!"

Jian Gui silently glanced back at Gu Qingyi.

Gu Qingyi felt his scalp tingle.

Truth be told, if possible, Gu Qingyi didn't want to summon the Ten Broken Sword Ghost.

He could just use the red ghost contract to borrow a bit of its power, like when facing Jiang Bu Yi, using only a fraction without harming innocents or causing accidents.

The Ten Broken Sword Ghost was just too ruthless!

It was the final lifesaving measure his master Wen Ting had given him, a unique "sword spirit" born from the resentment of countless broken, damaged, and famous swords in the Zang Jian Zong.

Before this, the Ten Broken Sword Ghost had wandered with Wen Ting.

Zang Jian Zong had only produced three "sword spirits" throughout history.

The oldest one was contracted by You Tu Laozi and called the "Ten Broken Sword Old."

In recent times, besides the one Wen Ting contracted and passed to him, only his friend Ba Zun An had another "Ten Broken Sword Ghost."

These two Ten Broken Sword Ghosts were almost like twin brothers, born at the same time, growing together, and eventually serving Wen Ting and the Eighth Sword Immortal, separating as the two went their ways.

Gu Qingyi knew some of the Ten Broken Sword Ghost's origins and understood it was a fearsome monster from his master's era that only Wen Ting could control.

From the moment he left Zang Jian Zong, he never thought of using it as his own combat power.

But earlier, when Zhenhuang Dian's great array broke and this ice-system Bansheng attacked without a word, targeting ancient sword cultivators...

Gu Qingyi didn't know which ancient sword cultivator had injured this madman, leading to his indiscriminate hatred.

But ancient sword cultivators were few in this world; how could they be bullied so easily?

Gu Qingyi was furious, especially seeing his junior brother trying to hold the line, so he unleashed his strongest force without hesitation.

You ice-system Bansheng are tough, right?

My Ten Broken Sword Ghost is the guardian from my master's era.

If you can beat it, then the Gu brothers and all ancient sword cultivators are yours to kill!

Now, things had turned out this way.

The Ten Broken Sword Ghost had taken down Han Ye in seconds.

But Han Ye's dying mention of "Ba Zun An" shocked Gu Qingyi too.

The Eighth Sword Immortal, the sword god of the East Region—who didn't know him?

Moreover, for Zang Jian Zong, that name held another layer of meaning.

Strictly speaking, given Wen Ting and Ba Zun An's relationship, if Gu Qingyi met him, he should address him as something like "martial uncle."

Wen Ting and Ba Zun An were sworn brothers who had bowed their heads in brotherhood!

"Who are you, and how do you know Ba Zun An?" Gu Qingyi asked cautiously.

He wasn't sure if this mad Bansheng was friend or foe, so he didn't reveal their connection.

But then, the repeater Gu Qing'er chimed in from behind, with the same tone and manner, but different words:

"Who are you? Do you know my eighth martial uncle?"

The Han Ye, dropped from Jian Gui's hand, collapsed on the ground, his body rigid like an ice sculpture, only his pupils shaking violently.

What did he say?

Eighth... martial uncle?

These two were that demon's... nephews???