Chapter 1236: Reduced to Ashes

The immortal artifacts layered over the Azure Edge Sword, meticulously refined by Immortal Yingtian, were shattering layer by layer. Even the innermost miniature world of the Azure Edge Sword was shaking violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

Jiang Ping'an, on the other hand, felt the barrier created with the power of national destiny undergoing inhumane abuse, a truly horrific sight. The spherical barrier twisted under the impact of the self-detonation, stretching upwards and downwards, resembling dough on a cutting board being indiscriminately kneaded.

Jiang Ping'an and Emperor Zhongtian watched with pounding hearts, finally understanding why everyone else had reacted so strongly earlier. Those who were slow to flee would meet the same fate as Yao Sheng.

Only Yao Sheng remained inside the barrier. He was covered in wounds, spitting immortal blood. His immortal gold armor had been shattered by the self-detonation, with fragments embedded in his flesh. Never since ancient times had he sustained such severe injuries.

But he had survived it after all.

Immediately after, he saw the blood mist that had floated in the air following the self-detonation re-coalesce into Yunzhi's body. Immortal Buxiu appeared radiant and energetic, having not enjoyed such a satisfying self-detonation in a long time.

Yunzhi, however, wore a somewhat strange expression. It was her first time experiencing the sensation of self-detonation, and she found it quite embarrassing. If she had known this, she wouldn't have borrowed the body; she would have dealt with Yao Sheng herself.

Before preparing for the second round of self-detonation, Immortal Buxiu glanced downwards at the Azure Edge Sword, which stood solitary, plunged into the ground. As for the scattered remnants of immortal artifacts next to the Azure Edge Sword, they were automatically ignored. Granting the Azure Edge Sword an immortal state was a rule she had established before the self-detonation. Shandu Space and the barrier were also granted an immortal state by her.

“Again!”

Since she had already vented enough with her fists earlier, it was time for a clean finish!

Immortal Buxiu once again erupted with dazzling light, initiating a second self-detonation. The speed was so swift that Yao Sheng didn't even have a chance to utter his 'Word is Law' ability; he could only recite it mentally.

“Absolute Defense.”

Dark mist coalesced, and layers of immortal gold completely enveloped Yao Sheng. But it was useless. The second self-detonation dispersed the dark mist, tore through the immortal gold, and left Yao Sheng's immortal body riddled with holes.

Everyone in the Azure Edge Sword's miniature world found this situation extremely strange. They weren't surprised that Yao Sheng couldn't withstand the self-detonation, but rather why the Azure Edge Sword remained completely unharmed during it! Keep in mind, the first self-detonation alone destroyed three space-type immortal artifacts!

“Wu Yao's artifact-refining skills are stronger than mine?” Immortal Yingtian was the most disheartened. His artifact-refining skills, as the venerable Ancestor of Artifact Refining, were actually inferior to those of a later-generation immortal.

“You are forsaken by the Five Elements.”

The Nine Heavens Breathing Earth, Jianmu, Weak Water, Heavenly Fire, and Quintessence of Five Metals reappeared, this time intending to completely seal Immortal Buxiu. Unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, even an attack was a luxury. As soon as these Five Elements immortal objects appeared, before they could display any power, they were pulverized by the self-detonation, their immortal essence completely lost.

Yao Sheng's mental incantation was equivalent to possessing the Dao Fruit of Rejuvenation, causing his injuries to recover rapidly. But no matter how quickly he recovered, it couldn't match the speed of Immortal Buxiu's self-detonation!

“Did the self-detonation stop?”

During the self-detonation, the people in the Azure Edge Sword's miniature world dared not extend their immortal senses outwards, knowing that any such attempt would result in pulverization, rendering them unable to see anything. Now that the Azure Edge Sword had stopped trembling, everyone extended their divine senses. They saw that Yao Sheng's immortal body was not only completely gone, but even his three immortal souls, seven mortal souls, and foundation were severely damaged. He resembled a tattered rag doll, withered and powerless.

“Buxiu, well, you are truly something!” Yao Sheng gritted his teeth, revealing a malicious expression. He had lost this battle completely. Could it be that his previous successful sneak attack was only possible because Buxiu had been in a very strange state at the time?

However, the matter was not yet over. “Buxiu, don't think you're the only one who can self-detonate!” Yao Sheng's body also began to glow, exactly like Immortal Buxiu's earlier, clearly indicating he was about to self-detonate as well!

“Oh no, he's trying to escape!” Lu Yang reacted, shouting urgently. Yao Sheng could feign death and escape using his 'Word is Law' ability even during the Tribulation Transcension period, so as an immortal, he could certainly do the same! Lu Yang even suspected that Yao Sheng could maintain two 'Word is Law' abilities simultaneously in the same space-time, with the feigned-death escape ability constantly active!

Yao Sheng laughed heartily. “What if they know my trick?” he thought. “Do they have a countermeasure? The world is vast; there's nowhere I cannot go. To catch me, Yunzhi must voluntarily merge with the Dao! Yunzhi, do you dare to merge with the Dao?!”

Either he would self-detonate and escape, or Yunzhi would pay the price of merging with the Dao, becoming the Firmament, to search for his traces! Yunzhi's dismissive attitude infuriated him. Did she truly think he was so easily manipulated?

“It's a dilemma. Let's see what choice you make!”

Yunzhi still maintained her contemptuous attitude toward Yao Sheng. She remained silent, showing no signs of panic, as the method for dealing with such situations had already been discussed with Immortal Buxiu during their battle.

Just then, Immortal Buxiu suddenly pulled out a hoe from behind her back and swung it at Yao Sheng's head, leaving only a shallow mark. Yao Sheng, however, showed a look of terror: “Th-this is—”

The hoe was ordinary, unremarkable, just like a hoe used by an old farmer in the fields. Coincidentally, Lu Yang had seen this hoe before, and its owner was standing right next to him. Lu Yang turned to look at Jiang Ping'an: “Is this the hoe Senior often uses?”

Jiang Ping'an, dressed as an old farmer, chuckled: “This isn't a hoe; this is the Taishang Sword.”

“The Taishang Sword?!” Lu Yang suddenly remembered that during the Qingzhou celebration, when cultivators from the Great Yu Tribulation Transcension period attacked, the Qingzhou Governor had used a phantom of the Taishang Sword, which had directly nullified the rules governing the Great Yu's Tribulation Transcension cultivators. A phantom of the Taishang Sword had such an ability, so could it be that...

“The true power of the Taishang Sword is to nullify Dao Fruits?!”

Jiang Ping'an smiled humbly: “It's not quite that exaggerated. It depends on the opponent's strength. The stronger the opponent, the shorter the nullification time. Yao Sheng here is so powerful, I estimate it will only nullify him for about five seconds.”

Lu Yang glanced sideways, knowing that in battles between immortals, sometimes a mere breath of difference could decide victory or defeat. To nullify a Dao Fruit for five seconds was already terrifying enough. Jiang Ping'an was indeed not skilled in combat, even with the Taishang Sword. Therefore, he preferred to lend it to immortals who excelled in combat.

“But why is the Taishang Sword a hoe?” Lu Yang asked. Had it not been for the hoe's divine efficacy, he would never have connected it to the Taishang Sword. The other immortals also wanted to know the reason.

Jiang Ping'an rolled his eyes. This was a simple question: “Everyone knows my Taishang Sword is dangerous, so if I take it out, wouldn't my opponent be on guard? Given that, why not change the Taishang Sword's appearance? See how well this works? Yao Sheng didn't even react.”

The self-detonation process was irreversible. Yao Sheng, unable to activate his 'Word is Law' Dao Fruit and realizing his escape method had failed, could only watch as his body glowed, plunging into despair.

Boom! He turned to dust.