Chapter 1070: Sword Reverses Yin and Yang to Open the Hell Gate, Ten Kings of Hell Step into the Mortal World

Before he could think further,

The next second, Mei Jiren provided his answer.

Facing a Half-Saint, Mei Jiren had never imagined that merely using the first realm of the "Wu" and "Jiu" Jian Shu would defeat him!

The lingering sound of the Jiu Jian Shu had not yet faded when another overlapping voice emerged.

"Jian Shu has a name, called Gui. The way of Gui creates barriers of yin and yang, seals the gates of the underworld. Now, this sword opens the gate, and a hundred ghosts roam the night."

As the words ended, darkness fell.

Xu Xiaoshou, though in a state of invisibility, still felt as if he had entered the domain of the night watch once more, his six senses nearly lost.

The Jiu Jian Shu had just barely established the gate to hell, and the shadowy entities emerging from it were still illusory sword forms—mere falsehoods derived from the Jiu Jian Shu.

But now, under the guidance of the Gui Jian Shu, these shadowy entities, these illusions, all transformed into fierce, clawing ghosts.

They rampaged through the realm, blotting out the sky and sun, countless in number!

What was more, the Ten Kings of Hell under Mei Jiren's feet broke free of their restraints at the same moment, soaring into the air and charging ahead.

The ghost kings led the way, followed by the lesser ghosts crossing the border.

Mei Jiren, the one commanding the hundred ghosts, seemed possessed by a spirit at that moment, his intent directed at the mortal world, his aura turning incomparably cold and eerie.

This sword had finally taken full form!

As it reached its end, the Miracle Forest truly created a scene of "Hundred Ghosts Roaming the Night," with ghostly figures rampant across the wilds and piercing shrieks filling the sky.

The ear-splitting screams were terrifying, evoking tears and chills in all who heard them.

"Gui Jian Shu, first realm, Soul Control Trickery..."

Xu Xiaoshou's hair stood on end, his pupils trembling as he watched in sheer terror.

This was his first time seeing the Gui Jian Shu from the Jiu Jian Shu—he could say he was truly scared!

Because Mei Jiren had first laid out the two major realms, the Gui Jian Shu he unleashed was shockingly extraordinary!

Such a dazzling and peerless sword—could even those specialized in the soul path withstand it for a moment?

And what about Jiang Buyi—did he possess any defenses for the soul and will?

To put it another way,

Under the enhancement of "Jian Xiang," this sword could undoubtedly sever the divine soul of a Half-Saint.

As for the so-called Half-Saint Jiang Buyi...

Does your soul have the highest level of Half-Saint defense?

"This was the right choice!"

A hundred li away, two figures crept closer through the rustling underbrush.

Beneath the pitch-black sky, with a cold moon overhead, Xiao Kongdong gazed at the scene of the hundred ghosts roaming the night ahead, his entire body trembling with excitement.

"What is this?!"

Ye Xiaotian was stunned.

What had he just seen?

He had only been squatting outside the battle for half a breath, and Mei Jiren had already unleashed how many realms of the nine Jian Shu?

Weren't people always saying that ancient sword cultivators exhausted their lives just to master the first realm of one of the nine Jian Shu? How come for some people...

The realms seemed as abundant as free goods, spilling out endlessly?

"This is Mei Jiren!"

Xiao Kongdong clutched his sack tightly, staring straight ahead without blinking. "The world only sees Mei Jiren's gentle and refined side. No one realizes that his true nature has always been like this from the beginning—it's just that no one in the past could force him to draw his sword."

"Gui Jian Shu?"

Even Ye Xiaotian, despite his denseness, could tell from the hundred ghosts crossing the border what this was.

"That's right."

Xiao Kongdong nodded slightly, his excitement overflowing as he murmured to himself: "The sword reverses yin and yang to open the gates of hell, the Ten Kings of Hell tread into the mortal world. The cycle of reincarnation collapses, Fengdu falls, and a million souls with banners command the ghosts... Without a doubt, this is the most authentic Gui Jian Shu, this is 'Soul Control Trickery'!"

Ye Xiaotian was stunned for a while: "I get the logic, but what are you even saying?"

This guy—why does he spout off like that every time he encounters the nine Jian Shu... Some kind of mantra? A mental formula?

"Look carefully—is the scene ahead exactly as I described?"

Xiao Kongdong didn't explain further, his eyes fixed intently, afraid to miss even a single frame.

Ye Xiaotian looked again, comparing it.

Well, it was true—Mei Jiren's Jian Xiang had summoned the nine swords, establishing the gate to hell, and the Ten Kings of Hell he had been standing on were now rushing forward.

But...

"I see the first two lines, but where are the rest? Where's Fengdu? Where are the soul banners?"

The more Ye Xiaotian looked, the more his heart crawled with unease. Ancient sword cultivators were all freaks!

"If you saw the last two lines, you'd be on the brink of death."

Xiao Kongdong didn't even turn his head, speaking rapidly as he explained: "That's what the teacher summarized for the two major realms when he first performed Gui Jian Shu. The first part describes the first realm, 'Soul Control Trickery.' The latter is the second realm, 'Lord of Fengdu.'"

"Once it reaches the 'Lord of Fengdu' level, if he uses the sword..."

"Either you and I get caught in it, our divine souls forcibly controlled by the sword wielder to become part of the hundred ghosts roaming the night, harming others."

"Or, you're the sword wielder's target, facing a million soul armies of Fengdu all by yourself!"

"Such a sword could drag away even ghosts and gods, let alone a minor Wangzuo like you?"

Ye Xiaotian: "..."

Freaks!

Ancient sword cultivators were all freaks among freaks!

Could soul attributes really be cultivated later in life?

"But if it's just 'Soul Control Trickery,' can it really kill a Half-Saint?" Ye Xiaotian asked again. "Why didn't Mei Jiren use the last two lines you mentioned?"

"I don't know."

Xiao Kongdong had no answer and could only speculate: "Maybe he can't, or maybe he's holding back?"

Holding back... Ye Xiaotian was dumbfounded.

A Taixu fighting a Half-Saint, and you're saying the weaker side is holding back?

Is this really a Taixu? Really a sword immortal?

"Just watch."

Xiao Kongdong didn't want to say more.

"Even if he's holding back, with the three major realms of ancient Jian Shu combined so perfectly, plus the 'Jian Xiang' enhancement, this is already beyond what a typical Half-Saint can withstand."

The flowing colorful immortal clouds formed his body, and the Half-Saint in the clouds was stunned.

In the heart of the battle, Jiang Buyi was completely bewildered.

At that moment, as the sole target, he felt utterly overwhelmed.

Who could have imagined that a mere sword immortal below Half-Saint level, after using "Jian Xiang," could unleash a sword this powerful!

"Is this even one sword?"

Jiang Buyi was on the verge of cursing inwardly.

One sword unleashed, enhanced by "Jian Xiang," covering three major realms.

It forcibly elevated from the Taixu level to a height that could profane and even slay saints!

Jiang Buyi finally understood Mei Jiren's earlier words.

He hadn't been boasting at all!

"This sword... can injure a Half-Saint, perhaps even kill one, but I'm not sure yet."

That "not sure yet" was because he hadn't tried it before—it wasn't added just to deceive or exaggerate!

"Madman!"

Jiang Buyi cursed in anger.

He wasn't a master of the soul path.

His only solace was a Half-Saint-level soul defense treasure, which might barely suffice now.

But even if it did...

After withstanding this soul-wounding Jian Shu that was nearly on par with slaying saints, what good would it do him?

Jiang Buyi regretted it—he should have just left earlier. Face didn't matter; getting his soul injured in this fight would be a real loss!

But there was no medicine for regret in the world.

With the ghost kings at the forefront and the hundred ghosts crossing the border, their claws outstretched and heading straight for him, Jiang Buyi realized he was locked in.

He had no choice but to take this sword head-on!

Since he had to play the fool, even if his face ended up swollen, he had to hold on!

"Hold on!"

"Jiang Buyi, you are a Half-Saint!"

From utter arrogance to his will being completely crushed by "Jian Xiang."

At that moment, Jiang Buyi didn't even notice that he had developed fear toward a sword cultivator below Half-Saint level.

On a normal day, he would have immediately dispelled any emotion that could become a future inner demon.

But with the crisis at hand, he couldn't worry about that anymore.

"Lost Soul Saint Tower!"

Jiang Buyi, who had never used a weapon from start to finish—thinking it beneath him to do so against weaker foes—summoned a defensive sacred artifact for the first time.

He raised his hands.

Dark, murky sacred light descended from the sky.

It was a soul-attribute sacred tower that combined offense and defense, semi-transparent and profoundly mysterious. As soon as it appeared, it enveloped Jiang Buyi completely.

The tower stood ten zhang high and nine chi thick, providing a solid sense of soul security to anyone inside.

But as soon as the sacred tower settled, Jiang Buyi sensed something was wrong.

A faint premonition of blood told him that this tower alone might not withstand Mei Jiren's extraordinary soul attack.

"Immortal Demon Fragment!"

Through the semi-transparent soul sacred tower, everyone could see Jiang Buyi hastily summoning a bronze ancient fragment from within his body.

The fragment started no larger than a palm, but after infusing it with sacred essence, it grew to over a person's height and began spinning rapidly, floating in front of him.

Faintly, it exuded a power that surpassed that of a Half-Saint.

"Mei Jiren!"

Jiang Buyi suddenly roared.

Even the Immortal Demon Fragment was trying to activate on its own to protect him—this was beyond his expectations.

But with this treasure from the Lei family treasury, capable of withstanding attacks from a Saint Emperor, now out, he feared nothing.

Physical, elemental, mental, soul attacks... the Immortal Demon Fragment could handle them all!

In his panic, Jiang Buyi found his lifeline and no longer dreaded any ancient sword cultivator's attacks.

"Come on!"

Jiang Buyi coldly declared: "This saint stands right here! If I retreat even a step, consider me..."

He hadn't finished his sentence when a calm voice, like the Grim Reaper reading a decree, suddenly echoed in his ear.

"Jian Shu has a name..."

Jiang Buyi's mentality shattered in an instant. A cold wind pierced from his soles straight to the top of his head.

The nine Jian Shu had already reached three major realms!

What are you doing?

What more do you want?

You old thing, get out of here!

Jiang Buyi had no idea what else Mei Jiren, this ancient sword cultivator, might unleash.

In his terror, he could only follow his instincts, abruptly waving his hand and ejecting the nine soul defense sacred artifacts stored within his soul.

A bell, a cauldron, a shield, a pearl, a talisman, blood essence, a dragon soul, crystal armor, and an eyeball...

Nine items in total formed an impenetrable barrier inside the Lost Soul Saint Tower, wrapping Jiang Buyi in absolute soul defense.

But even with that airtight defense, when the hundred ghosts descended, Mei Jiren's unruffled voice still pierced his eardrums, making his hair stand on end and his spine chill.

"Jian Shu has a name, called Huan. The way of Huan..."

"Is a splendid paradise, a divine kingdom in the heavens, vast and boundless, eternal and unfalling..."

"It turns truth to falsehood, falsehood to truth, all is illusion, space-time ensnared..."

The lingering sounds exploded word by word.

Jiang Buyi's mind instantly went blank.

"Impossible!" He roared in shock and fury.

But before the sounds fully settled, Jiang Buyi horror-struck watched as the Lost Soul Tower around him turned illusory, allowing the hundred ghosts to pass right through!

And the nine sacred soul artifacts that had wrapped him so tightly now seemed to create a distance between him and them—a span like "a foot becomes a world apart"!

"What is this?"

"Space attributes? Time attributes?"

"You're just an ancient sword cultivator—how can you master so much? You're not some Bahon... This is impossible!"

Jiang Buyi went mad, erupting with endless sacred power around him to form a protective shield.

But the next second, even that shield drifted away from him, as if a compassionate bodhisattva trying to shield the entire Void Island from harm.

The hundred ghosts were right in front of him!

They...

These ghosts...

They all came through!

"Space-time leap..."

In the final moment, even Jiang Buyi understood what Mei Jiren's ultimate Jian Shu was.

The first realm of his Huan Jian Shu, Space-Time Leap, was used as support, sending everything that had been set up earlier directly to him.

The sword light magnified in his pupils.

The ghosts sublimated in an instant.

Whoosh.

Jiang Buyi felt himself floating, entering a realm of absolute beauty and splendor.

His entire body had entered another space-time, where the Lost Soul Saint Tower was gone, the Immortal Demon Fragment was gone, and the nine soul defense sacred artifacts were gone.

What remained...

Were the sudden ghosts and their piercing wails.

Jiang Buyi snapped awake.

It wasn't that he had floated into another space-time; it was that Mei Jiren's sword had sent all his soul defense sacred artifacts into another space-time.

And unleashed the full force of his soul attack on Jiang Buyi, who was left without even "clothing for defense."

—Absolute soul attack versus a defenseless Half-Saint not specialized in the soul path.

Outside the battle,

Xiao Kongdong suddenly sprang to his feet, and Ye Xiaotian clapped his hands over his head in shock.

Even Xu Xiaoshou, in his invisible state, couldn't help but cup his dropped jaw in awe at this exquisite, god-like "Space-Time Leap."

Boom!

Without any suspense, the manifested airborne great sword from the Wu Jian Shu was the first to blast Jiang Buyi's physical body out from among his various soul defense sacred artifacts, across the parallel space-time, and into the rear of his soul sacred artifacts.

Then...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Nine sword cries signaled the end of the Jiu Jian Shu's fixed hell gate, as they shattered through the air and pierced into Jiang Buyi's Half-Saint true body—at his forehead, throat, chest, both shoulders, both palms, and both feet!

With a barrage of sizzling sounds, flesh tore and blood spilled.

Jiang Buyi was firmly locked in place, suspended in the void, his eyes wide and shaking as he awaited the hundred ghosts.

The Ten Kings of Hell followed the swords, slamming into him with a boom and forcibly ejecting his soul from his physical body.

His thick, robust, and unusually powerful Half-Saint soul, in the face of these vicious, several-zhang-tall ghost kings, was like meat on a chopping block, at their mercy.

Rip!

One arm torn off, one leg ripped away, head twisted off, waist snapped...

In a flash of brilliance, Jiang Buyi's soul disintegrated in the air behind his physical body!

The lesser ghosts swarmed over, night crows pecking at the soul.

The sight was bloody and horrific beyond words.

"Aaaahhhh—"

The agonizing remnants of his soul echoed through the nine heavens.

Soon...

The world finally returned to calm, and the Miracle Forest ceased its operation.

Three onlookers outside the battle were all left with chills running down their spines.

"Ah."

Mei Jiren gazed at the desolate scene ahead, silently closing his eyes. Then, as the Jian Xiang dissipated, he let out a long sigh. "As I said, this sword can injure a Half-Saint, perhaps even kill one."