Chapter 558: My World, A Darkness

"The space... it's about to collapse..."Amidst the Red Clothes, Xin turned his head and spoke, feeling his throat dry.

He wasn't afraid of the power of these young masters. He was simply startled by the Throne-level commotions created by these young, Grandmaster-level individuals.

It was rare enough to encounter even one such genius who could challenge beyond their rank. Yet now, they were appearing one after another, each stronger than the last.

He Yuxing, who wielded the "Four Swords"; Gu Qingsan, who could transform into the Hanging Sky Sword; and the Sword-bearer, whose blade, just two fingers wide when unsheathed, could cleave heaven and earth...

"This isn't right!""Is this even considered challenging beyond their rank? They're clearly crossing an entire major realm to attack! Grandmasters, comparable to Thrones?"

When his gaze fell upon the Sword-bearer, Xin's eyes grew even more uncertain. This one was definitely more than just comparable. With that single sword strike just now, ordinary Thrones wouldn't even be enough for him to kill, would they?

"Get a few people to reinforce the defenses. Use some energy to stabilize the space around Lijian Grassland. Try not to let it shatter any further." Lan Ling's face was devoid of expression. She knew this was just the beginning. She turned and said, "Miss Zhiwen, I might need your help."

"You've probably comprehended the Sky Sealing Array by now, haven't you? You can use it to temporarily protect this space."

Originally, if Yu Zhiwen hadn't come, the responsibility of controlling the spiritual array would have fallen to her. But now there was a substitute. Although the girl's cultivation wasn't high, her insights into the Way of Spiritual Arrays were no less than her own.

With someone else taking on this task, Lan Ling was naturally freed up. After all, if she had to both operate the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array" and command the entire Red Clothes squad, she could manage it. But her thoughts certainly wouldn't be as clear as they were now, commanding alone.

"Understood." Yu Zhiwen nodded gently. She wasn't skilled in direct combat to begin with. And the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array" was inherently a Heavenly Secret Array. Having this opportunity to withdraw from the battlefield, comprehend it, and fine-tune the grand array all at once was truly a rare experience.

"Remember to call me if you can't hold on, don't hurt yourself," Lan Ling instructed, seeing Yu Zhiwen covered in sweat."Mm."

The "Four Swords" landed. The stalemate lasted only a few breaths before it was broken.

Gu Qingsan, who had transformed back into human form in mid-air, suddenly flew down, heading straight for the fierce sword on the ground. But just then, "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Several figures shot out simultaneously from all directions.

In the underground pit, Xu Xiaoshou quickly pulled down his little junior sister, who had started to rise in excitement, effectively chilling her enthusiasm. He looked at the "Four Swords," which was just a few feet away, and couldn't help but swallow.

"Stay put.""Master!" Mu Zixi exclaimed, "But the 'Four Swords' are right there...""Shut up."

How could Xu Xiaoshou not see the "Four Swords" right in front of him? But the more immediate the moment, the more he had to resist the temptation. Look at who had rushed out all at once: Gu Qingsan, He Yuxing, the Little Monk Bule, Lei Shuangxing... Every single one of them was from the younger generation.

Clearly, the Red Clothes' recent words had struck a chord with these individuals. If they could take the "Four Swords" out legitimately, in the name of the White Cave trial-takers, without causing a bigger conflict, even the Storyteller probably wouldn't stop this action.

After all, if they succeeded, he wouldn't need to intervene. And if the Red Clothes later broke their promise, then it would be broken. Things were already planned for the worst-case scenario. The Red Clothes breaking their promise and the Storyteller intervening again would be the normal outcome. But if they could keep their word, wouldn't that be a huge gain?

Xu Xiaoshou could completely empathize with these people's psychology. The only thing that kept him rationally suppressing his actions was the absence of any ghost beast representatives among those who rushed out.

His "Perception" shifted. Xin Gugu was hidden not far away. Clearly, if he wanted to seize the sword, this distance was nothing. But this guy was a Throne. Once he rushed out, not only would his identity as a stowaway be revealed, but one of the wanted posters Xin had scattered earlier also featured him. At that point, it would definitely provoke the Red Clothes' fury.

"Can't move. The 'Xuyue Gray Palace' hasn't made a move yet. They must have some other ace up their sleeve.""Going out now would still be walking straight into danger!"

As he pondered, the ground suddenly shook. The first one to leap ahead of the "Four Swords" wasn't Gu Qingsan descending from the sky, but the Little Monk Bule, who was closest to the fierce sword on the ground.

"Hehehe, then this poor monk won't stand on ceremony!" Bule grinned foolishly at the sky, then extended his right hand, radiant with Buddhist light, and gripped the hilt of the "Four Swords."

"Boom!" The ground suddenly shook, and black demonic energy rippled outwards. At the same time, demonic patterns crept from his palm up the Little Monk Bule's entire right arm.

But this fellow was incredibly stubborn. With a grimace, golden "Vow Power" surged towards his right arm, pushing the demonic energy back to his elbow.

"How dare you, you brat?!" Gu Qingsan's roar, snatched from the void, made Xu Xiaoshou, still underground, feel dizzy. Where did this guy learn that line?

"Hyaaah—" The little monk ignored him. With a desperate cry, he pulled out the "Four Swords." Then, he swung it at Gu Qingsan, who was whistling down from the sky.

"Whoosh!" An imposing black sword qi was instantly unleashed. Gu Qingsan's face turned green. He hadn't expected that the "Four Swords," which he had worked so hard to knock down, would be snatched by someone else in the end.

"You little brat, get out of my way!" With a loud roar and a blur of his figure, Gu Qingsan pierced through the black sword qi, his two fingers pressed together, stabbing straight down from above the firmament.

"Useless?" Bule's mouth twitched as he felt the stark contrast between the immense power in his hand and Gu Qingsan's complete unharmed state.

"Go away, go away!""Let this poor monk bear the burden of such a fierce demonic sword alone.""If I don't descend into hell, who will?"He grunted and hoisted the black sword, which was taller than himself, and began a passionate, indiscriminate hacking in all directions.

Instantly, dozens of fierce demonic sword qi scattered outwards from the center, some even tearing open the ground and slashing right over Xu Xiaoshou's head.

"This little rascal..." Xu Xiaoshou was irritated. Undoubtedly, such chaotic swordsmanship... No, what the little monk was doing couldn't even be called swordsmanship; he was just wildly hacking with a black sword. But it had to be said, in this situation, his attacks were indeed very effective. Not everyone possessed the "Supreme Sword Dao Body" and mastered "Swordless Art" like Gu Qingsan. Facing the incoming black sword qi, even Lei Shuangxing and others had to temporarily evade.

For a moment, after his passionate hacking, Bule's only remaining opponent was Gu Qingsan, descending from the sky.

"A finger technique descending from the heavens?" The little monk knew that his "Four Swords" attacks couldn't harm Gu Qingsan in the slightest. He immediately plunged the sword into the ground, formed a hand seal with two fingers, and looked up furiously.

"Little Wrathful Buddha!" Golden light flared brilliantly. At his command, Bule's body glowed with resplendent Buddhist light, instantly forming a nine-foot-tall illusory Buddha image.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. This illusory image wasn't as magnificent as the one he had seen that day. But its power was completely under the Little Monk Bule's control.

"Chì!" The little monk split his two fingers, one pointing to the sky, one to the ground. With a thunderous explosion, the Wrathful Buddha's illusory image burst forth with golden light, directly shattering this portion of space.

"My heavens!" Gu Qingsan was startled. He could transform into nothingness. But with space shattering, if he were to go further down, his current "Supreme Sword Dao Body" simply couldn't withstand the spatial currents.

"What awareness!" Unable to help but flip in the void in amazement, Gu Qingsan was about to make his move when he heard the "Four Swords" beside Bule vibrate with a hum.

"Hmm?" The little monk also turned his head to look. He saw He Yuxing, the only one who had previously touched the "Four Swords," standing dozens of feet away, covered in blood, but already beginning to summon the fierce sword with his sword intent.

"Whoosh!" In contrast to the naturally opposing Buddhist light, the "Four Swords," a supremely ominous item, immediately responded to the summons, shooting straight towards He Yuxing.

"Hey, my sword!" Bule instantly panicked. Not daring to retract the Buddha's illusory image, he took a step and kicked himself out of the shattered space.

"Hmph, your sword? What a joke!" He Yuxing sneered and gripped the flying "Four Swords" with one hand. Compared to the other sword cultivators present, he had an undeniable advantage: he had touched the fierce sword. Given their shared origin, he could slightly guide the direction of the "Four Swords" with his sword intent.

"Sorry, this sword still belongs to me..." Before his words fully fell, He Yuxing felt a chill down his spine.

"Tap.""Tap."A soft sound came from behind him. He turned his head in horror, only to see a blind man, extremely ugly with blurred features, standing before him. And the slender, needle-like sword in the man's hand was now pressed against his throat.

"When did he..." He Yuxing's pupils constricted; he couldn't believe it. His spiritual sense immediately swept behind him. The location where that person had been moments ago was now a faint, gradually fading illusion. An illusion?

"Gulp!" He knew he shouldn't swallow at this moment. But as his Adam's apple involuntarily bobbed, a thin, long bloodline appeared on He Yuxing's neck.

"Sorry, it's not an illusion." Lei Shuangxing's husky voice sounded, "And the sword isn't yours either." His right arm gently eased forward.

"Bang!" Dozens of feet behind He Yuxing, shattered rocks abruptly exploded. Everyone's gaze was instantly drawn there, thinking something else had happened. But in an instant, they sensed something was wrong and immediately turned their heads back. Only after that sound did He Yuxing himself grunt, his body, full of disbelief, sent flying backwards. At his throat, a terrifying bloodied hole gushed blood.

"Hiss." At this, the entire scene fell silent."Illusion Sword Art?" Gu Qing'er looked at his Senior Brother in surprise. The blind man's true body, so realistic that even he was fooled, was actually an illusory image created by the Illusion Sword Art?

"Mm." Gu Qingyi nodded gently."So strong. Now Junior Brother has a formidable opponent." Gu Qing'er was shocked. As the most difficult of the Nine Great Sword Arts to cultivate, his understanding of the Illusion Sword Art was only superficial. In the entire Sword Tomb, the only one who had inherited this sword art was his Senior Brother before him. And that blind man could also achieve such a level?

"It's not just the Illusion Sword Art; that one sword of his..." Gu Qing'er hesitated, "Point Dao?"Gu Qingyi nodded silently.Gu Qing'er was once again deeply alarmed. Where did this swordsman come from? The obscure... Shenyue Immortal City, has such a figure?

As he was still thinking, Gu Qingyi spoke:"It's not just Point Dao...""He has basically mastered Penetration Dao, Constraint Dao, and even Quake Dao among the Three Thousand Sword Dao.""This ancient sword cultivator is very strong. Even if you were to go, you might not be his match."

Gu Qing'er's face instantly paled. So many Sword Daos, and he's still a peak Sword Grandmaster. Where did this guy pop out from? Is there any place in this world that can cultivate such a monstrous ancient sword cultivator?

"My goodness!" Hidden in the dark, Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. This seemed to be the first time he had witnessed Lei Shuangxing's sword dao strength when fighting without treasures. But this was too strong! With that sword strike just now, he hadn't even clearly seen how it was delivered. Just such a casual thrust, and the person was pierced? And not just pierced, but like an arrow piercing a hundred targets... no, several hundred targets? Looking at the giant rock that exploded dozens of feet away, even his Grandmaster body, if it were to block that sword, would probably be pierced through!

"Oh my god, how am I supposed to get these 'Four Swords' now?""They're all monsters!""Mommy, I wanna go home..."

"Did it miss?" Lei Shuangxing tilted his head, listening intently to something. After a long pause, his brow furrowed. He knew that at the critical moment, He Yuxing had tilted his head, snatching back a fraction of his life from that certain-death sword strike. However, the suppressive power of the Three Thousand Sword Dao was even more terrifying than mere Heavenly Dao power. That guy should be completely out of the running for the "Four Swords."

Indeed. He Yuxing, who had slammed into the ground, desperately clutched his throat, unable to utter a single word. The spiritual energy within him circulated wildly, solely to suppress the injury. But at the wound, the condensed, compressed, terrifying sword intent was the most lethal thing he had ever encountered, second only to the "Four Swords." Like a maggot burrowing into bone, the sword intent not only couldn't be driven out but also couldn't be extinguished. Relentlessly, it clung tightly to his throat passage, forcing him to devote every last bit of his energy to it, unable to spare any thought for anything else.

"Tap.""Tap."The terrifying sound echoed once more. He Yuxing's body trembled, his face ashen. He finally understood. A Sword Grandmaster from a small place like him, no matter how talented, was only exceptional relative to a mere county. That Hanging Sky Sword, the swordsman whose blade was two fingers wide when unsheathed, and this person before him... They were all Sword Grandmasters, yet the disparity was like heaven and earth. He didn't even understand what kind of sword technique had pierced him, let alone how to fight against it. A chasm of difference, vast as the heavens and earth! Unsolvable. Simply unsolvable!

Listening to the "tap-tap" sound in his ears, He Yuxing's body began to tremble violently. This sound, like the pacing of death, approached him step by step, yet he was... powerless!

"Tap." The sound finally stopped before him. Through his blurred vision, he could vaguely discern the blind man slowly extending his hand, seemingly about to grasp his throat. He Yuxing closed his eyes in despair. "Forgive me, Fairy Lan, I've disappointed you..."

"Clang—" The sound of a sword chiming rang out beside him. He Yuxing's eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes. Under the gaze of the entire audience, Lei Shuangxing, holding the "Four Swords" in his left hand and the "Soul Extraction Staff" in his right, slowly raised his head."They're watching me..."Lei Shuangxing, holding both weapons, seemed to be savoring something. After more than a decade, he had finally appeared before the Holy Divine Palace once again. Yet, his world was already plunged into darkness...