Chapter 201: Phoenix Blood Stone

A muffled thud echoed, and a bloody hole, nearly piercing through, appeared in his arm.

"Ah!"

Sun Chaozong cried out in agony. He hastily pulled back, creating distance between himself and Jiang Fan.

What he didn't expect was that Jiang Fan had no intention of prolonging the fight. As his opponent retreated, Jiang Fan skillfully maneuvered, lightly circling around him, then thrust his sword towards Tie Bubai, who was on the carriage.

Tie Bubai, filled with shock and anger, stood up. His muscles tensed, making him look like a solid mass of iron. He sneered, "Do you think you can kill me?" Jiang Fan's previous sword strike had allowed him to gauge Jiang Fan's capabilities. With the opponent's sword skill, he couldn't possibly be harmed. He believed he could nullify the opponent's swordsmanship with just his muscles!

Unexpectedly, as Jiang Fan reached the carriage, he suddenly transferred his black sword to his left hand. His right hand gripped the hilt of the sword on his back, and with a clang, it was unsheathed. A blinding purple light suddenly flashed across the world, bearing an icy, unparalleled sharpness as it slashed downwards towards Tie Bubai!

At the same time, Sun Chaozong proved worthy of being a master of body cultivation; despite his arms being pierced and bones fractured, his combat power remained undiminished!

"Harm my master, die!" he roared. His fists struck, like two fierce tigers slamming into Jiang Fan's back!

In this scenario, even if Jiang Fan killed Tie Bubai, he would still suffer the full force of Sun Chaozong's blow, which would surely shatter his heart! However, Jiang Fan showed no intention of dodging! Gripping the purple sword, he roared and brought it down with full force!

As the purple sword approached, Tie Bubai finally realized its extraordinary nature, his face contorting in horror. He cried out in panic, "Stop! Stop! What enmity do I have with you... Aargh..."

The purple sword's aura was terrifying; it could cleave through anything from a distance! Even before it fully descended, Tie Bubai's mighty and invincible iron body split into two, like tofu, from the middle. In his eyes, a look of unwillingness remained. Even in death, he couldn't believe it: he, the esteemed Grand Elder of the Giant Sect, had died just like that.

"Master!!!" Sun Chaozong roared, his eyes bloodshot, as he witnessed the scene. His unmatched fists slammed into Jiang Fan's back.

Bang!

Jiang Fan was instantly sent flying! But just before he flew off, he forcibly twisted his body and swung his sword fiercely behind him. Then he was sent flying five or six zhang (roughly fifteen to eighteen meters), crashing into a large boulder. There was a loud crash as the boulder shattered instantly.

Jiang Fan lay in a pile of dust, coughing violently, his lips covered in bloody foam. The upper part of his clothes had been torn apart by the terrifying force of the punch, revealing a gleaming blue protective armor. It was the premium armor he had bought for a hefty price at the auction, capable of withstanding a blow from a Core Formation Stage Level 5 cultivator.

Lying amidst the stone dust, it took him a while to recover his strength before he slowly struggled to his feet. "Thankfully, I had this armor," Jiang Fan muttered, wiping the blood from his lips and feeling fortunate. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to employ such a life-for-life fighting style."

He looked up at Sun Chaozong. His strike just before he was sent flying must have inflicted a significant injury on him, right? He walked over to check, but he only found one of Sun Chaozong's arms! Sun Chaozong himself had already fled. Looking intently, he saw a flickering figure speeding towards the main town. Jiang Fan mused that if he pursued now, he should be able to catch up before Sun Chaozong reached the town. However, the recent commotion had been enormous; it was uncertain whether powerful cultivators from the town would rush over. Moreover, his target was Tie Bubai. Since he had killed him, it was best to retreat quickly to avoid further complications.

Of course, he didn't forget to thoroughly search Tie Bubai's body. To Jiang Fan's dismay, because of the body being split in two, the five crystal tokens, each worth 100,000, were all severed in half! The Swiftwind Orb, which the Giant Sect had acquired at the auction, was also completely shattered. "The purple sword's power is too great; it's not always a good thing!" Jiang Fan couldn't help but complain.

However, to Jiang Fan's surprise, there was a high-grade wooden box in a satchel slung across Tie Bubai's waist. Opening it, he found a stone that seemed to be burning. "Phoenix Blood Stone? It's actually a Phoenix Blood Stone!" Jiang Fan was in disbelief. This was a body-refining material absolutely essential for cultivating the second layer of the *Ironblood True Scripture*! This item had long been extinct in the Nine Sects' land and hadn't appeared for decades! And Tie Bubai actually had one in his possession? "There's hope for cultivating the second layer of the *Ironblood True Scripture* now!" he exclaimed. "If I can cultivate to the second layer, with the Phoenix Blood Sacred Body, my physique will be strong enough to fearlessly face Sun Chaozong, even crush him!" He carefully put it away as if it were an invaluable treasure. After a final check to ensure nothing was left behind, he immediately used his movement technique and swiftly vanished.

Soon after, Sun Chaozong, clutching his severed arm, arrived with several powerful body cultivators. Upon seeing how Tie Bubai had died, their eyes all trembled. "What kind of sword is this, to cleave Grand Elder Tie into two with a single strike?" one asked. "The cut was smooth, with no jagged edges even on the severed bones. This shows the sword's unparalleled sharpness; even a top-grade magical artifact couldn't achieve this!" another added. "No matter what it is! We must find out!" a third declared. "Killing the Grand Elder of the Giant Sect means an unending feud with the Giant Sect! From today onwards, investigate all purple longswords within the Nine Sects' territory. Unless we find this person, our Giant Sect will never rest!"

By the time Jiang Fan returned to the Azure Cloud Sect, the news had already reached the sect at top speed. Liu Wenchen had even summoned the elders from each peak for this matter. They all looked surprised. Liu Wenchen sighed with emotion, "Fortunately, he died within the Giant Sect's territory. If he had died within our Azure Cloud Sect's territory, we would be in an indefensible position." Wen Hongyao couldn't help but murmur, "If we had known this, we should have just executed him directly that day. What a close call! Our Azure Cloud Sect almost bore the accusation of assassinating the Giant Sect's Grand Elder." Zhao Wuji and several other elders nodded in agreement. Liu Wenchen also felt a touch of regret, saying, "Indeed, we didn't consider it thoroughly enough that day. Had we executed Tie Bubai in public, the Giant Sect would have been in the wrong and wouldn't dare utter a word. However, with Tie Bubai's mysterious death in the Azure Cloud Sect's vicinity, the Azure Cloud Sect would be at fault, and the Giant Sect would certainly come seeking retribution! His soft-heartedness almost brought unnecessary trouble to the Azure Cloud Sect."

So, he awkwardly changed the subject, "But who killed Tie Bubai? The killer acted just past the border, clearly showing consideration for our Azure Cloud Sect, not wanting to implicate us. Yet, even with his tendons severed, Tie Bubai's physique was already perfected. Without Core Formation Stage Level 2 strength, he couldn't have been killed! Do we have such a person in our Azure Cloud Sect? Or was it one of you elders who did it?" Everyone shook their heads. Why would they go kill him for no reason? Liu Wenchen was puzzled, "Strange. Is it possible that our Azure Cloud Sect still has an unknown powerful cultivator hidden among us?"

After pondering for a long time without an answer, Liu Wenchen decided to stop asking and said, "Tomorrow is the disciple ranking. Grand Elder, your peak is hosting this time. Are you prepared?" The Grand Elder had received much criticism during the recent turmoil, and his prestige had been significantly damaged. Therefore, he intended to regain his prestige by undermining the prestige of the Sect Master's Peak, bringing it down to his own low level. The method was simple: he would use this disciple ranking to deliberately give the lowest possible evaluations to the disciples from the Sect Master's Peak. That way, with the Sect Master's Peak's prestige damaged, his own Reincarnation Peak wouldn't seem so disappointing.

Feng Guzen calmly said, "Sect Master, rest assured, this elder has made all the necessary arrangements. However, Sect Master, are you prepared? Don't let any unqualified disciples appear. If so, they will be expelled from the sect, and you, too, will lose face."

Liu Wenchen immediately thought of Jiang Fan, his expression darkening. He snorted, "You needn't worry about that!"

Meanwhile, Jiang Fan, after returning, immediately headed for his courtyard. He quickly closed the door. Then, eager, he let out the little qilin and excitedly asked, "Where's the jade talisman? Quick, let me see it!" This ultimate weapon, capable of intimidating the Nine Sects, had actually fallen into his hands! It was hard for him to remain calm.