Chapter 358: Supreme Sword

High above, six powerful cultivators of the Integration stage clashed, each displaying their unique abilities. The cultivators below watched, dazzled, and even Lu Yang and his four companions observed with unwavering attention, as battles between Integration stage cultivators were incredibly rare.

However, one person showed no interest in the Integration stage battle. Instead, he glared intently at the ancient cultivator couple, gritting his teeth.

"Damn ancient cultivators, you're everywhere!" thought Vice Sect Master Shi, who was at the BBQ shop. He wished he could join the fight himself, beat up the ancient cultivator couple, and ideally, kill them and turn them into corpse puppets to vent his frustration.

Because of this turn of events, the Qingzhou Grand Event would surely end abruptly for safety. Regardless of the battle's outcome, the authorities would have to conduct a thorough investigation.

The Qingzhou Grand Event was scheduled to last eight days, but it was now only two days in. He had come to Qingzhou for a field inspection, to see if there was a market for BBQ. He wanted to know what kind of skewers Qingzhou residents preferred, to make localized preparations.

It turned out the BBQ shop was very popular in Qingzhou, with broad prospects. He had also planned to use the Qingzhou Grand Event to build the BBQ shop's reputation and open up the Qingzhou market. Now, all of that was just talk.

"Ancient cultivators, huh? Don't let me run into you!"

In terms of cultivation and combat power, he was far superior to the three sect vice masters. If he joined the battle, it would undoubtedly be a one-sided victory. Unfortunately, his identity was special, so he could not participate. If his true identity were discovered, he would be doomed.

"Steal the Sky, Exchange the Sun!" The male cultivator formed hand seals. Dark clouds covered the sky, blocking the sunlight, and the sky instantly turned pitch black, so dark one couldn't see their own hand. In the darkness, eerie teeth-grinding sounds echoed, as if a colossal creature was chewing bones.

"Parade of a Hundred Ghosts at Night!" Another voice shouted—the female cultivator's. She released endless black mist, which swirled in clumps, floating in the air and gradually forming into various ghostly figures: man-eating ghosts, seductive ghosts, blade ghosts, headless ghosts, corpse-borrowing ghosts, and more.

The hundred ghosts were silent and lifeless, like an army of the undead, poised to overwhelm the human world. If not for the restrictive rules, the death qi from the hundred ghosts could turn this entire mountain into a desolate wasteland, leaving no one alive. Even knowing the area below was unaffected, the sight still terrified the timid, making their legs tremble and urging them to flee.

"Listen, don't be afraid," said the Integration stage cultivator maintaining the rules to Lu Yang and his four companions. "With the Prefecture Overseer here, these are just petty tricks." After some conversation, they learned his name was Xia Qun, an early-stage Integration cultivator.

"Furthermore, the Prefecture Overseer possesses national destiny, which is more than enough to deal with these unsophisticated ancient Integration stage cultivators. I wonder when I'll get to become a Prefecture Overseer myself."

"Don't be strangers with me. Actually, I have a connection with your five great immortal sects; you could say I'm half a senior brother to you all."

"Lord Xia, have you ever joined an immortal sect?" Lan Ting asked, puzzled.

"Well, no, I haven't. But I did take your immortal sect's entrance exam. The questions were incredibly difficult, you know? I was eliminated in the first round. I almost became your senior brother, so it's not too much to say I'm half a senior brother, is it?"

Lan Ting: "..."

"I originally planned to try out for the Dao Inquiry Sect. On my way there, I coincidentally took the imperial examination—and I passed! That's how I ended up in officialdom." Xia Qun was quite talkative, and his chatter eased the tension for Lu Yang and his companions.

"Indeed, they are heretics!" The Prefecture Overseer held a large seal. A continuous surge of power flowed into his body, and his aura rose higher and higher. The ancient cultivator couple's eyelids twitched, seeing that their opponent was infinitely close to the Tribulation stage.

The Prefecture Overseer radiated a faint glow, like the dawn breaking through the night. This faint glow suddenly intensified, dispelling the darkness and scattering the death qi from the hundred ghosts. However, the hundred ghosts still remained, brandishing weapons and swaggering defiantly.

Behind the male cultivator stood a monstrous, grotesque spirit, as vast as a mountain, holding a bone club capable of plucking the sun, moon, and stars.

"Attack!" With a command from the female cultivator, the vast army of hundred ghosts marched forth, rushing towards the Prefecture Overseer's side.

"Leave these to me, Twelve-Tiered Pagoda!" Sect Master Zhang stood at the forefront, emitting strange sounds from his nostrils. A golden pagoda appeared above the hundred ghosts, radiating immense aura. The army of hundred ghosts let out wails of agony, and half of them perished there.

"As expected of the Chonglou Temple, which often deals with ghosts; the Twelve-Tiered Pagoda is still so effective against specters," Dean Hong quipped. He then opened "Words of the Sages," and characters sprang to life from the book, charging towards the remaining army of hundred ghosts.

"Confucian methods, turning words into soldiers. What a pity a brute like me can't learn it," Sect Master Mi said, watching enviously as Dean Hong fought with mere finger movements.

"If I can't learn it, so be it." Sect Master Mi roared, then went berserk, his eyes unfocused as he lost his sanity. He lunged at the female cultivator like a leaping ape.

The female cultivator raised a fist and met Sect Master Mi's punch. To her surprise, Sect Master Mi, a mid-stage Integration cultivator, was nearly her equal in strength, despite her being at the peak of the Integration stage.

"It seems he's exchanging temporary loss of sanity for power." The female cultivator was no simple opponent; she discerned Sect Master Mi's method after only a brief exchange. "Nothing to fear!" she scoffed. "Combat involves more than just brute strength."

"What about us two, then?" Sect Master Zhang and Dean Hong arrived after dispatching the hundred ghosts and surrounded the female cultivator.

On the other side of the battlefield, the Prefecture Overseer summoned a Mountain-Moving Sage, who hurled a mountain at the male cultivator's monstrous spirit. The spirit met it with its bone club. The mountain, formed from national destiny, exploded upon contact with the bone club, sending a towering wave of energy that dispersed the dark clouds above.

The Prefecture Overseer then summoned an Axe-Wielding Sage, who swung a massive axe at the male cultivator. The male cultivator's expression changed. He pulled the monstrous spirit in front of him to block the blow, and black blood immediately gushed from the spirit's chest.

"Heh, to cultivate the Heaven and Earth Dharma Idol into such a grotesque form, that's certainly some skill," Immortal Fairy quipped, scoffing at the male cultivator's techniques. "Or perhaps, as the saying goes, 'form follows the heart,' and he just likes looking like that?"

"Who will win?" Lu Yang whispered.

"Naturally, it will be the Great Xia side," a voice replied. "Great Xia's overall combat power is a tier higher than theirs, and they have national destiny assisting them. National destiny can defend and attack; how can ancient cultivators win?"

"Is that so?" Lu Yang pondered, feeling something was off.

"You forced my hand!" The male cultivator roared in rage, pulling a golden scissor from his robes. The scissor transformed into two golden dragons, soaring through the sky, emitting dragon roars that disrupted the spiritual energy fluctuations on the battlefield. The appearance of the golden dragons was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, its ripples spreading across the entire surface. The spiritual energy throughout the entire Qingzhou region began to fluctuate.

"A Dharma Treasure refined by a Tribulation stage cultivator!" The Prefecture Overseer had seen such treasures in the Imperial City. Integration stage cultivators needed to pay a heavy price to activate such a treasure.

"Fortunately, my wife and I sacrificed an entire city of people before our slumber; otherwise, it would have been truly difficult to activate the Golden Dragon Scissors."

"Go!" The male cultivator commanded, making the two golden dragons entwine around the monstrous spirit's arms, then sending it to attack the Prefecture Overseer.

The Prefecture Overseer activated the power of national destiny. The national destiny transformed into a long sword as vast as a river. One side of the sword was engraved with 'Myriad People,' and the other with 'Mountains and Rivers.'

"The Projection of the Grand Supreme Sword! The Prefecture Overseer is fighting for his life!" Xia Qun exclaimed. "Using the Projection of the Grand Supreme Sword once means the Prefecture Overseer won't be able to engage in marital relations for three months."

"I'm telling you, deploying the illusory image of the Grand Supreme Sword comes at a heavy cost, but its effect is absolutely formidable. Unless a Tribulation stage cultivator appears, the Prefecture Overseer can use the illusory image of the Grand Supreme Sword to chop both these ancient cultivators to death."

The Projection of the Grand Supreme Sword collided with the golden dragon-entwined monstrous spirit. The dazzling light made everyone present unable to open their eyes.

"Who won?" No one could discern which side was stronger or weaker.

When the smoke cleared, the Projection of the Grand Supreme Sword was shattered, the golden dragons vanished, the Golden Dragon Scissors were broken, and the monstrous spirit was severed at the waist, its black blood gushing continuously. The male cultivator was severely injured, spitting blood. In contrast, the Prefecture Overseer looked radiant, as if no collision had occurred.

"The Prefecture Overseer won!" The cultivators below cheered. Sect Master Mi and others also breathed a sigh of relief. If the Prefecture Overseer had lost, it would have been very difficult to stop the two ancient cultivators.

Clap—clap—clap—

Rhythmic clapping echoed, a thin sound that nevertheless silenced all others. When the third clap resonated, the entire venue became eerily quiet. A red-robed figure appeared in the center of the battlefield, stepping through the void. If one were to probe with spiritual sense, they would find no trace of spiritual power within him, as if he were a mortal. But how could a mortal appear here?

The red-robed figure smirked, then slowly said, "I've long heard that the Great Xia's national destiny is extraordinary. Seeing it today, it truly is remarkable. It can protect the common people, enhance cultivation and combat power, and even transform into an illusory sword."

"Although I cannot discern what kind of sword this is, for an illusory image to sever a Tribulation-level Dharma Treasure, its true form must surely be above the Tribulation stage."

"It seems the battle I painstakingly arranged was not in vain; I have gained much."

The Prefecture Overseer's expression turned grim, as if facing a formidable enemy: "You arranged this?" He had wondered why, after a thorough inspection, the secret realm was deemed safe with no dormant ancient cultivators, yet these two ancient cultivators appeared. Now he understood: there was someone behind the two ancient cultivators.

Below, Meng Jingzhou was somewhat panicked: "The Prefecture Overseer looks very troubled. The opponent is a Tribulation stage cultivator!" If a Tribulation stage cultivator were to go on a rampage here, who could stop them?

"What do we do?" Meng Jingzhou transmitted to Lu Yang.

"It's fine, they can't cause much trouble," Lu Yang replied calmly.

"Where does that confidence come from?" Meng Jingzhou turned his head in surprise. He then saw a strikingly beautiful woman with a cold expression standing beside Lu Yang.

Xia Qun stood silently nearby, not daring to speak.

"Senior Sister?!"

Lu Yang had long suspected that someone was manipulating events behind the scenes, so to be safe, he had called his Senior Sister over in advance.