Chapter Eleven: The Mountain Stronghold's Execution of Immortals

Jade Void Palace was filled with a stern and heavy atmosphere, everyone’s nerves taut to the extreme.

Qingxu and Duobao—both were outstanding among the second generation disciples of the Three Pure Ones, each the senior disciple of their respective sects, one for the School of Elucidation, the other for the School of Interception.

In terms of cultivation alone, Qingxu was considerably stronger, but that did not guarantee victory. One must remember that strength consisted of cultivation, magical treasures, supernatural powers, the mastery of Daoist arts... As long as the difference in cultivation was not overwhelming, the outcome always remained uncertain.

"Junior Brother Duobao, please," Qingxu said with a calm flick of his Five Fires Seven Birds Fan, his voice clear and tranquil as the wind and clouds.

Strictly speaking, there was no clear hierarchy between Xuandu, Qingxu, and Duobao—they were all disciples taken on around the same time after the Three Pure Ones had each established their own schools.

Hearing Qingxu’s words, Daoist Duobao felt a surge of anger. As a fellow disciple under a sage, he was highly proud, unwilling to concede to an equal.

"I was just about to seek instruction in your supernatural arts!" he replied with a cold laugh. Forming a mudra with both hands and chanting incantations, a celestial radiance of the Supreme Purity surged from his body, and a terrifying aura, suffused with the power of thunder, swept through the entirety of Jade Void Palace.

"The Divine Thunder of Supreme Purity?"

Though each of the Three Pure Ones possessed their own unique thunder arts, they all traced back to the same origin. Qingxu, highly accomplished in the Divine Thunder of Jade Purity and well-versed in all manner of techniques, instantly recognized Duobao’s spell.

There were myriad thunder arts in the prehistoric world, ranging from the most basic Palm Thunder, through Heavenly Thunder, Yin Thunder, Yang Thunder, Celestial Firmament Thunder, and the like. Yet, the Divine Thunder of the Three Pure Ones was the pinnacle—also known as the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder—surpassed only by a handful of others such as the Dutian Divine Thunder, the Heaven’s Retribution Thunder, and the Profound Mystery Divine Thunder.

Without having attained immortality, even possessing the relevant cultivation methods would not allow one to practice the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder of the Three Pure Ones.

As the head disciple of the Lord of Tongtian, Duobao possessed extraordinary talent and exceptional aptitude, rivaling even the innate deities. Under the guidance of a sage, he had established a perfect Daoist foundation and mastered countless supernatural powers; after centuries of arduous cultivation, he had finally achieved some success in the Supreme Purity Divine Thunder.

Both the Grand Supreme and the Primordial Lord could see through Duobao’s supernatural art. What surprised them was that, despite his early Earth Immortal cultivation, he had already entered the gateway of the Supreme Purity Divine Thunder—truly remarkable!

"This Daoist Duobao is indeed impressive," thought the Grand Supreme quietly.

The Primordial Lord, however, began to feel uneasy. Since Qingxu had entered his tutelage, he had focused on assiduous cultivation but was not yet adept at magical combat. Though he had been granted a powerful spiritual treasure, he had not had time to refine it fully. Faced with Duobao under such circumstances, his chances of victory were slim indeed.

Crackling, sizzling—!

Blinding flashes of lightning flickered, and an overwhelming destructive force bore down upon Qingxu.

Blue-violet thunderbolts swirled around Duobao, who at this moment seemed like the incarnation of the God of Thunder, ready to reduce any obstacle before him to ashes.

Whoosh! Boom!

Bang!

With a wave of his hand, a beam of Supreme Purity Divine Thunder, dozens of feet long, shot forth, piercing through the void in an instant, ignoring all distance, and struck Qingxu directly. The eyes of all the second generation disciples saw nothing but billowing black smoke and rampant electric arcs, the thunderous roar echoing unceasingly.

The disciples of the School of Interception all wore expressions of delight, while those of the School of Elucidation were filled with worry.

"To take a direct hit from my Supreme Purity Divine Thunder, that should at least be a grievous injury. Looks like I won’t need to use my ultimate trump card this time!" Duobao was overjoyed.

Just as Duobao was rejoicing, Xuandu was astonished, and the disciples of both sects were caught between excitement and anxiety, a clear voice emerged from the smoke and lightning.

"Junior Brother Duobao, your supernatural power is truly formidable, and your mastery of the Supreme Purity Divine Thunder is impressive!"

"What?" gasped the crowd. Duobao’s eyes widened in disbelief. To take a direct hit from his strongest thunder magic—an Earth Immortal would be dead or at the very least severely wounded—yet Qingxu seemed barely affected.

As the smoke cleared and the arcs faded, Qingxu’s figure emerged, revealing that he too had employed a great supernatural power.

From the Jade Purity line, he utilized the peerless secret art—Auspicious Cloud Golden Lotus!

Above Qingxu’s head floated a cloud of more than an acre in size, pure and limpid as water, radiant with celestial light. Upon it bloomed hundreds of golden lotuses, each the size of a palm, their petals unfurled, each bearing a golden lamp, blazing with Samadhi True Fire. Around the lotus platform, golden rays cascaded in dazzling streams.

Celestial light, golden brilliance, true fire, the power of auspicious clouds...

Against this protective magic, even Duobao’s mighty Supreme Purity Divine Thunder could do little.

Having withstood the Divine Thunder, Qingxu could not help but sigh inwardly. Even so, his Auspicious Cloud Golden Lotus had suffered considerable damage under the onslaught, and that was after using the Five Fires Seven Birds Fan to deflect half the force.

"Duobao is indeed a mythic power, the future Buddha-to-be! Even now, his extraordinary talent is already apparent!"

Retracting the Auspicious Cloud Golden Lotus, Qingxu waved his treasure fan, summoning five raging fires that surged forth like boiling rivers and seas toward Duobao. At the same time, the Azure Abyss Sword slipped from his other hand and hovered in midair.

Compared to his supernatural arts and spiritual treasures, Qingxu’s greatest strength was the swordsmanship he had developed himself.

Measured against Guangchengzi’s Two Forms Yin Yang Sword Technique, Qingxu’s swordsmanship was more than twice as formidable!

The Azure Abyss Sword was an acquired spiritual treasure, forged by Qingxu himself, and thus perfectly attuned to his will.

"A flower, a world!"

With a great cry, one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred talismans within the Azure Abyss Sword spun rapidly, emitting an intense blue light that stung the eyes. Waves of sharp sword energy and the power of Geng Metal surged forth, filling the air with piercing howls and rending shrieks.

The overwhelming power of Geng Metal transformed into countless golden swords suspended in the air, all aimed at Duobao from every direction. In their center shone a ‘blue sun’ the size of a winnowing fan.

Standing beneath this blue sun, sensing the deadly sword intent surrounding him, Duobao felt a tremendous sense of danger.

Bang!

The blue sun exploded, but to Duobao’s confusion, the blue radiance did not fall. Instead, it coalesced in midair, taking the form of a lotus flower.

As the lotus blossomed and the golden swords moved, in an instant, Duobao felt the world shift around him. All at once, he was surrounded by vast emptiness, no longer in Jade Void Palace.

"What kind of supernatural art is this? Isn’t this a bit too much?" Investigating his surroundings, Duobao found this boundless world indistinguishable from reality; illusion and truth were blended, all determined by the mind.

"Daoist Duobao, now is not too late to concede. Otherwise, do not blame your senior brother for disregarding our shared tutelage," Qingxu’s voice echoed through the heavens and earth.

“Hmph! Qingxu, your swordsmanship is indeed imbued with unfathomable power. However, it’s a pity—for I have my own way to break it.” Duobao sneered coldly.

“If you have a way, why not use it?” Qingxu was supremely confident in his supernatural art.

By using the Azure Abyss Sword to create a virtual world and forcibly draw the opponent’s mind into it, only if their spiritual cultivation was not far below his own could they resist; with the help of this virtual world, he could even erase the opponent’s spirit. The annihilation of the spirit meant utter obliteration—no hope of return, not even for a sage. Of course, Qingxu had no intention of truly destroying Duobao’s spirit; after all, he had to answer to the Lord of Tongtian.

"My heart is compassionate; I do not wish to slay you. Since you court death yourself, I shall oblige."

After a moment’s inner struggle, Duobao sighed softly. His mind trembled, and four ancient swords flew forth from his spirit.

One black, one red, one grey-white, one green!

Once unleashed, these four swords radiated a terrifying aura of slaughter—the primordial killing intent of antiquity.

"What? The Four Swords of Zhu Xian?" Qingxu was shocked. He had long heard of the legendary power of these swords. In the War of Deification, when combined with the Four Symbols Formation Diagram, they formed the Zhu Xian Sword Formation, which required four great sages together to break—a feat without precedent.

Slay the Immortal, Extinguish the Divine, Trap the Celestial, Sever the Fate—each sword possessed its own miraculous power, and even a Golden Immortal of the highest rank would be drenched in blood before them.

"Hahaha, indeed—the Four Swords of Zhu Xian! Once these treasures are unleashed, there is no turning back. Qingxu, I had not wished to push you to the brink, but you have only yourself to blame!" Duobao laughed wildly, as if victory were already his.

"Your Four Swords of Zhu Xian are nothing but counterfeits. What power can a mere imitation possess?" After his initial shock, Qingxu quickly regained his composure, recalling Duobao’s particular expertise. Both he and Master Yun Zhongzi were fanatical treasure forgers, striving to replicate all the world’s magical weapons. The difference was that Yun Zhongzi followed the proper path, painstakingly recreating treasures step by step, while Duobao pursued raw power—his imitations, though nearly matching the true artifacts in might, could only be used for a single strike, after which they would disintegrate into dust.

"Impossible! How could you tell these were fake?" Duobao was incredulous. These counterfeit Four Swords of Zhu Xian were his ultimate trump card; aside from his master, no one should have known of them. Yet Qingxu had instantly seen through the ruse, and it was clearly not a guess.

"Do you really think you can fool me with such a crude imitation? Daoist Duobao, your tricks are exhausted!" Qingxu replied with scornful disdain.