Chapter 141: A Sword Strike That Stuns the Soul

Qin Chuan glanced at Gu Qiuyou, a flicker of excitement rising within him. After wandering for so long, he had finally encountered a decent opponent. Feeling his hands itch, Qin Chuan was eager to experience the power of his weapon's third-stage skill.

He drew the Dragon-Patterned Cold Crystal Sword and said indifferently, "My apologies, but I’ve come to kick down your gates."

His calm words carried an air of immense confidence and dominance, making Gu Qiuyou’s scalp tingle. What was the Black Wind Cliff? It was a place whose mere foot-stamping could cause the entire Spirit Realm to tremble. Yet, here was someone—so young—claiming they had come to kick down its gates. It was truly unbelievable and surreal.

Gu Qiuyou appeared to be a man in his thirties, his face deathly pale and unsettling, exuding a grim and eerie aura. He cautiously drew his spirit weapon, bracing himself for battle.

"Ding! Detected Grade 5 Low-tier Bone-Forging Soul-Snatching Sword. Unique quality, level 40."

Hearing the system prompt, Qin Chuan was slightly surprised; it seemed this outer sect elder had some real ability. Gu Qiuyou had spent two hundred years as an inner sect disciple, and his true form was a peculiar skeleton. In fact, the Ghost Realm, much like the Spirit Realm, was a unique plane where bizarre entities could coalesce into human forms. Because they achieved this transformation quickly and could begin cultivation immediately after gaining a human body, they were considered a high-tier plane.

In this scenario, Qin Chuan was effectively fighting two level-40 opponents. Anyone capable of becoming an outer sect elder was certainly no weakling like Shang Xuanyun; at the very least, they possessed significant strength.

At this moment, the Dragon-Patterned Cold Crystal Sword in Qin Chuan's hand emitted a faint red glow, its aura impossible to conceal.

"Eh? A red spirit weapon? And he is only level 34!"
"This... this is a windfall!"

Greed ignited in Gu Qiuyou’s eyes. Even inner sect elders did not necessarily possess red spirit weapons; the Bone-Forging Soul-Snatching Sword he held had been left behind by his short-lived master. Generally, outer sect elders and inner sect disciples used purple spirit weapons. Because of this, Gu Qiuyou had been ostracized by his peers and relegated to guarding the gates. Now, seeing this red spirit weapon, he felt an irrepressible surge of excitement. Red spirit weapons were legendary; their sharpness alone was enough to terrify many.

"If I obtain this red spirit weapon, I will not only hold my head high, but I might even be promoted to inner sect elder—what a glorious prospect!"
"What surprises me even more is that this red spirit weapon is only level 34. Its potential is heaven-defying!"

In his mind, Gu Qiuyou had already claimed the Dragon-Patterned Cold Crystal Sword as his own.

"Ha! You are truly courting death! To think someone at level 34 would dare to speak so boastfully!"
"Let me tell you, you are finished, and the red weapon in your hand will be mine!"

With that, Gu Qiuyou could no longer wait and launched his attack.

As the youngest elder of the outer sect, Gu Qiuyou’s strength was considerable. His base stats were impressive: Attack 1800+, Spirit Defense 2300+, and Agility 2000+. With his spirit weapon in hand, he was even more formidable because of its unique passive ability.

Soul-Snatching (Passive): Deals 0.2% true damage to targets within a ten-meter radius, increasing by 0.2% per level (currently level 15).

As for sword techniques, he practiced the Bone Sword Arts—three moves perfectly synchronized with his weapon. The Ghost Realm was known as the most insidious plane for a reason. These moves were: "Skeletal Forest," "Soul-Chasing Destiny," and "Rising and Falling Bone Sea." His secret techniques included the four-fold Spirit Binding and four-fold Soul Destruction, combined with the "Phantom Peerless" movement technique.

Skeletal Forest: Strikes within a ten-meter radius, summoning ten phantom bone swords to lock onto the target with a 150% attack bonus.
Soul-Chasing Destiny: Emits a shrill screech, causing a two-second stun and 100% attack damage.
Rising and Falling Bone Sea: Hundreds of bone swords erupt from the ground within a ten-meter radius, dealing 120% attack damage.

The spirit weapon’s true value lay in the synergy between its passive and active skills. All attributes were balanced to compensate for the weaknesses of the human form. Using sword skills had limitations; if a weapon's skill was on cooldown, forcing it would greatly diminish its power and control effects, while consuming significantly more spirit energy. Overall, however, the fusion of a human body with a spirit weapon was far superior to a single spiritual item.

Gu Qiuyou lunged forward, not even bothering to activate his sword skills. In his view, killing Qin Chuan would be effortless, regardless of the red weapon. His "Phantom Peerless" movement technique, a specialty of the Black Wind Cliff’s inner sect, allowed for swift and eerie maneuvers.

"Ding! Sword body damaged by 3%."
"Damn, that passive is vicious!" Qin Chuan was slightly startled. This passive was incredibly potent, completely ignoring durability stats.

"Humph, petty tricks." Long Ao’s voice resonated. The dragon patterns lit up, and a mysterious energy surged through Qin Chuan’s entire body.
"Ding! Sword body repaired."

Qin Chuan didn't know it, but when it came to passives, his own was the most formidable in the Spirit Realm—specifically, Long Ao. Long Ao was currently in a soul state and weakened; once he recovered, he would be truly troublesome.

Gu Qiuyou reached Qin Chuan in the blink of an eye and struck.

"Humph, die! This strike will claim your life!" Gu Qiuyou’s face was grim, his eyes burning with malice. He was certain of this strike.

However, in the nick of time, Qin Chuan raised his sword and swept it across.

*Clang!*

Their figures crossed, and sparks flew from the collision of their blades.

"Ugh!" The Bone-Forging Soul-Snatching Sword let out a muffled groan, its body trembling as its speed stat plummeted. While a reduction in speed didn't hinder the immediate fight, this was one advantage of the human-spirit weapon fusion.

Gu Qiuyou glanced at his weapon and felt a sharp pang of pain in his heart. A single collision had left a noticeable notch on his sword.

"How is this possible?" Gu Qiuyou exclaimed in shock. "With my Spirit Defense, I shouldn't have been unable to withstand the sharpness of a level 34 red spirit weapon!"

Spirit Defense was the defensive layer of spirit energy that could also coat a weapon. Gu Qiuyou never imagined that even at his level, he couldn't handle Qin Chuan’s edge. The surprise left him momentarily stunned.

"Master, this is the Dragon-Patterned Cold Crystal Sword. It is incredibly sharp and resilient; we cannot clash directly with our current Spirit Defense," the Bone-Forging Soul-Snatching Sword warned fearfully.

The battle had only just begun, and Gu Qiuyou had already suffered a major setback. He felt utterly miserable. He had expected to dispose of Qin Chuan easily, never imagining that a level 34 red weapon could be this terrifying.

"Master, I also discovered that our passive is ineffective."
"What?! This... how is this possible?"

Gu Qiuyou was shocked yet again. His passive had been a nightmare for many elders; prolonged exposure usually meant death or severe injury. Yet, this formidable ability was now useless. The realization was enough to make Gu Qiuyou suffer internal damage from sheer frustration. Qin Chuan’s strike had truly been a soul-shaking blow.

"This guy is truly bizarre. I must finish this quickly. Next, I will use my sword skills to kill him!"
"Agreed."

Gu Qiuyou and his sword exchanged silent, instantaneous communication. Qin Chuan, however, remained unmoved. With his current stats, why would he fear a mere orange-tier weapon?

Gu Qiuyou spun around, facing Qin Chuan, and let out a shrill, piercing scream.