Chapter 1008: Victory or Defeat

In the sword discussion area, sword energy surged and sword light overflowed everywhere.

The mountain stones on the ground were cut with spiderweb-like cracks by the sword energy, and the surrounding forest trees were also ground into powder by the powerful sword energy collisions.

Qin Cangliu employed the Qin family's secret art, the Vast Sea Horizontal Flow Sword Art, while Linghu Xiao used the Chongxu Solution Sword True Decrees, the signature technique of Chongxu Mountain.

One was a pure water-type sword art.

The other was a variant of water-moon solution sword true decrees.

Both were superior Dao methods. One was vast like the sea, the other clear like the water moon. Two distinct but beautiful water-blue colors intertwined, containing terrifying killing power that would make even Foundation Establishment cultivators change color upon seeing it.

The confrontation between the two geniuses was truly too intense.

With sword energy flowing, the other disciples from Taixu Sect and Gui Water Sect had to avoid the edge and find another place to fight.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and didn't use the Fireball Technique to meet Qin Cangliu. Instead, he gave them space for a solo battle.

For Xiaoxiao, a competition between heavenly talents was also a good opportunity.

Xiaoxiao's talent was extremely good and his comprehension was extremely high, but after all, he was young and lacked much combat experience. So currently, he was still just a good treasure sword "embryo."

Mo Hua wanted to use the sword discussion assembly to temper Linghu Xiao, letting him "sharpen" this treasure sword little by little to become stronger.

The edge of a treasure sword is ground out.

Like this, they could go further in the sword discussion assembly.

Xiaoxiao himself could also forge ahead fearlessly in the way of the sword.

Mo Hua avoided Qin Cangliu and began to use the Fireball Technique to support Cheng Mo and the others.

And Linghu Xiao and Qin Cangliu, two top sword Dao geniuses, also began their heartfelt battle.

Their eyes held only each other.

For geniuses, the more they are of the same level, the more they can inspire each other's fighting spirit.

Once they defeat a heavenly talent, confirm their Dao heart, and confirm their entire Dao, they can also advance further.

This was not only for the sword discussion but also for their mutual sword Dao.

Therefore, both of them began to spare no effort, meeting blow for blow, fighting to the death.

Exquisite sword moves, like antelopes hanging their horns, emerged endlessly, and powerful sword energy, like blooming lotuses, was brilliant and dazzling.

This match instantly became the focus of the Fang Tian Painting Shadow.

Everyone's gaze was drawn by this brilliant, bright, and killing intent overflowing sword discussion between heavenly talents.

Everyone in their hearts unanimously exclaimed:

"This is a true sword discussion!"

"This is a true heavenly talent!"

"Such exquisite supreme sword art, the killing between sparking heavenly talents, is only fitting for this top sword discussion grand event."

"What is the Fireball Technique..."

They traveled thousands of miles to come to this Qian Xue state border to see this scene.

Not to see someone hiding in the forest, using the Fireball Technique to shoot people.

The battle situation became increasingly fierce.

The slaughter of sword energy approached white-hot.

All watching cultivators were fully focused and their minds tense without exception.

A suspense also arose in everyone's hearts:

Who will win?

Although Qin Cangliu's reputation was not prominent, it could be seen from the previous exchange that his sword Dao attainment was incomparably exquisite. It was only because of his origin and family background that he entered the twelve flows of the Gui Water Sect.

Purely based on talent, even if he didn't enter the four great sects, entering the sword Dao sects of the eight great gates would be more than enough.

Given time, he would inevitably become an extraordinary great sword cultivator.

And Linghu Xiao, there was no need to say more.

He was a sword Dao genius rare in five hundred years at Chongxu Sect. His comprehension was astonishing, his talent visible to the naked eye. Although he was still slightly immature now, he was like a sword embryo guarding its clumsiness. Once tempered, he would reveal an astonishing edge.

This peak confrontation was also rare in the Xuan character bureau.

Anyone could win, but similarly, anyone could lose.

Everyone watched this hearty duel without blinking, witnessing the outcome of this heavenly talent sword discussion.

And in the sword discussion area, time passed bit by bit.

The sword energy slaughter was non-stop, and the battle situation continued to intensify little by little.

After an unknown amount of time, almost all the people had fought to the state of "oil exhausted and lamp dry," and their spiritual power was already running low.

But the fighting intent in Qin Cangliu's eyes became fuller and fuller.

His temperament was steady and slightly cold, and he almost rarely showed emotions. But fighting with Linghu Xiao until now, he also involuntarily showed an excited and bloodthirsty expression.

This was a true opponent!

This was true killing!

Only such a sharp opponent could become his "whetstone," allowing him to undergo tempering and advance further in the way of the sword, climbing towards a higher peak.

At this moment, he completely forgot himself, his eyes only on the sword.

A golden light covered his whole body.

Qin Cangliu activated the Golden Body Talisman, borrowing the power of the talisman to protect himself. He held his long sword horizontally, his gaze surging, his eyes containing rivers.

Spiritual power also surged like rivers, and the sword energy emitted brilliant light. Astonishing power gathered within the long sword.

Vast Sea Horizontal Flow Sword Style.

The final style of the Vast Sea Horizontal Flow Sword Decrees.

A great killing move of a superior sword art.

Qin Cangliu wanted to decide the victory with this sword decree killing move, incorporating his lifelong effort.

This was an invitation to a confrontation between heavenly talents.

Linghu Xiao did not evade and also activated the Golden Body Talisman.

Under the cover of golden light, his gaze was bright. Above his long sword, a layer of ice-blue moonlight seemed to light up, and his whole being seemed to fuse with the sword.

Person like sword, also like moon.

The cold moonlight, also like sword light, revealed an ethereal killing intent.

Confrontation of sword art great killing moves.

This was the key point to deciding the victory in the sword discussion, and it also meant a huge flaw.

Ouyang Xuan slashed open the enemy with one sword, taking the lead. His long sword was like a peak, stabbing towards Qin Cangliu.

Cheng Mo and Situ Jian also immediately understood and immediately threw down their opponents. Regardless of everything, they rushed towards Qin Cangliu to kill him.

The disciples of Gui Water Sect also woke up and counter-attacked towards Linghu Xiao to kill him.

Getting involved in this kind of superior killing move collision was almost certain death. Ordinarily, they would avoid it in time.

But this was in the sword discussion, and there was a great array protecting them.

Life and death could be disregarded. Their only purpose was "win"!

Therefore, the disciples on both sides, regardless of everything, obstructed the killing moves of the opposing sword Dao geniuses.

Ouyang Xuan's sword light, Cheng Mo's great axe, and Situ Jian's Departing Fire Sword all struck Qin Cangliu's body, reducing the power of his body's Golden Body Talisman little by little and obstructing him from releasing the Vast Sea Horizontal Flow Sword.

Four streams of ice-cold Gui Water sword energy also stabbed into Linghu Xiao's body, eroding his golden body and hindering his Chongxu Sword move.

The disciples on both sides entangled and killed each other.

At this critical moment, Qin Cangliu's gaze suddenly opened. He roared fiercely, almost exhausting all his strength, and before the Golden Body Talisman shattered, he chopped out the Vast Sea Horizontal Flow Sword.

Linghu Xiao's gaze was solemn. He silently bit his teeth, withstood the pincer attack of the four people from Gui Water Sect, and also almost exhausted all his strength, releasing the Chongxu Solution Sword True Qi.

For a time, one side's sword light was like water, like the Vast Sea Horizontal Flow, covering the sky and earth.

The other side's sword energy was like the moon, like the daylight moon glow, clear and severe.

Sword moves collided, erupting with brilliant light and extremely strong fluctuations.

Countless fine fragmented sword energy, like rivers flowing in reverse, the vast sea and bright moon, entangled and killed each other, then swept outwards, tearing mountains and splitting stones, turning grass and trees to ash, swallowing everyone.

Just watching on the Fang Tian Painting Shadow was shocking.

This beautiful but dangerous scene, woven from superior sword art and top sword energy, was deeply imprinted in everyone's hearts.

Everyone held their breath and concentrated, for a time all forgetting to breathe.

It wasn't just the Foundation Establishment realm disciples whose hearts were shocked.

Even some Golden Core and even Featherization cultivators were all stunned.

At this time, their realm was high, and their strength was naturally stronger than these disciples.

But in the past, when they were still in Foundation Establishment, their strength might have been far from this level.

These Qian Xue heavenly talents, in the Foundation Establishment realm, could burst out such astonishing killing power. Once they entered Golden Core in the future, or even broke into Featherization, how strong would their strength be? It was simply unimaginable.

"This is... Qian Xue sword discussion ah..."

This sigh almost simultaneously floated in the hearts of most cultivators in the field.

Whether low-ranked or high-ranked cultivators, all were shocked by this.

On the Fang Tian Painting Shadow, sword energy was still entangled in battle, the explosions were still spreading, rolling up smoke and dust covering the mountains.

As the sword energy dissipated, the explosions gradually stopped, and the smoke and dust gradually scattered.

A trace of tense suspense floated in everyone's hearts.

In the end... who won?

Just now's sword Dao killing move collision, almost all the disciples from both sects who participated were caught up in it.

This was truly the decisive move.

It determined both life and death, and also victory and defeat.

The winner stayed, the loser exited.

So in this confrontation between heavenly talents, between Qin Cangliu of the Qin family and Linghu Xiao of Taixu Sect, whose sword energy was stronger in the end?

Who was the true winner?

Everyone's hearts involuntarily rose.

On the Fang Tian Painting Shadow, the smoke and dust slowly scattered, finally revealing a human figure.

The killing just now was too tragic. The collision of superior Dao methods caused almost all the disciples from both sects to be wiped out.

Only one person was still alive, still standing in his original place.

Everyone quickly saw his face clearly.

He wore a black water Dao robe, his face was pale and cold, his breath was weak. At this time, his clothes were tattered. He stood alone holding his sword, tragic and elegant, yet making people exclaim.

"Qin Cangliu!"

"He actually won!"

"Extraordinary..."

"Truly wonderful!"

"Gui Water Sect won Taixu Sect, Qin Cangliu of Gui Water Sect won Linghu Xiao of Taixu Sect..."

On the viewing platform, a crowd of elders from various families and sects had moved expressions and diverse thoughts.

The elders of Gui Water Sect stroked their beards and nodded, their eyes showing relief.

But the next instant, their expressions were all startled. They stared at the Fang Tian Painting Shadow, their pupils shrinking slightly...

In the sword discussion area.

Qin Cangliu stood alone, empty around him. Linghu Xiao had also disappeared. Only he remained in the field.

"I... won?"

"I defeated Linghu Xiao."

"My sword Dao is correct..."

Qin Cangliu's heart was full of emotions. The joy of fighting to exhaustion and defeating a strong enemy, like bamboo shoots after rain, rose from the bottom of his heart and spread throughout his body.

He became even more firm in his sword Dao.

"Won..."

Qin Cangliu murmured, then his heart relaxed and he blinked his slightly dry eyes.

He only blinked once.

When he reopened his eyes, he suddenly discovered that at some point, a person was already standing in front of him. A pair of fair fingers pointed at his forehead. There was fire light gathering at the fingertip, and then...

There was no then.

This series of changes was too fast, so fast that he simply had no reaction.

A human figure appeared, fair fingers pointed, fire light flashed, his forehead burned with pain, and the discuss Dao jade shattered.

When Qin Cangliu regained his senses, he found himself already outside the area.

He lost.

Qin Cangliu stood in his original place, stunned for a long time. His heart was filled with mixed feelings, complex and hard to describe. For a time, it was a bit difficult to accept.

Even harder to accept than him was the audience outside the area.

They had just been cheering for Qin Cangliu, praising his timely victory, and being convinced by the performance of the heavenly talent...

Then silently, a human figure appeared. Fingers gently pointed, and one fireball just sent Qin Cangliu away.

Everyone felt as if their throats were suddenly choked.

The field instantly fell silent.

A tragic hero, dying under the sneak attack of a despicable person.

A generation of sword Dao heavenly talent, defeated by the Fireball Technique.

A wonderful and tragic confrontation between heavenly talents drew a slightly absurd "bad ending."

A crowd of cultivators only felt a breath stuck in their chests, unable to say a word.

Mo Hua's single Fireball Technique silenced everyone in the field.

But no matter the process, losing was losing, winning was winning.

Mo Hua was in a joyful mood.

To achieve the biggest victory with the smallest cost, a small Fireball Technique ending the match was the most appropriate.

The sword discussion ended. Mo Hua, Linghu Xiao, and the others prepared to leave Discuss Dao Mountain.

When they reached the road intersection, they encountered Qin Cangliu again.

Qin Cangliu stared intently at Mo Hua. His eyes contained extremely complex emotions: hate, admiration, anger, and a faint trace of resentment.

All these emotions accumulated in his heart. Qin Cangliu found it hard to speak, and finally only choked out one sentence:

"Mo Hua, I remember you..."

After he finished, he turned around and walked away without looking back.

Mo Hua was still in a good mood. This was not the first time he had heard this sentence.

Instead, Situ Jian behind him sighed silently.

Little Senior Brother's sword discussion enemies had increased again...

Everyone walked towards Taixu Sect.

On the way back, Linghu Xiao remained silent.

Mo Hua secretly glanced at him a few times and softly asked: "Xiaoxiao, do you feel bad?"

Linghu Xiao shook his head, but then turned his head, saw Mo Hua's clear and sincere gaze, and subconsciously nodded, admitting: "I lost."

Mo Hua asked him: "Then do you think you will win for a lifetime?"

Linghu Xiao was startled and shook his head.

Even if his talent was good and his sword art was strong, it was impossible to truly never lose a single match in his lifetime.

At least today, he lost to Qin Cangliu.

But precisely because his talent was good, it was also impossible for him to always lose. In the end, he would still win more often.

Mo Hua nodded, "Yes, most cultivators in this life will have wins and losses."

"Winning and losing, in essence, are actually the same thing. They are the Great Dao's enlightenment to cultivators, shaping your cultivation path."

"Winning is to firm your path, losing is to correct your path."

"If you win, you just continue walking down. If you lose, then check for shortcomings, refine step by step..."

Mo Hua continued: "This is the truth I have comprehended from array formations."

"In the eyes of others, I might be a genius of array formations, the leader of array Dao. In the discuss array assembly, I killed in all directions and was invincible in array formations."

"But actually, when I learned array formations, I always failed."

"If I couldn't learn an array formation, couldn't draw it, and always failed, I would always learn, always practice, always comprehend... Like this, failing more times, I would gradually succeed."

The Dao stele could break through the limit of divine sense quantity, allowing him to practice array formations more often than ordinary cultivators.

This also meant that the number of times he failed to draw an array formation was dozens, even hundreds of times more than ordinary cultivators.

It was precisely because he failed too many times in array formations compared to others.

Therefore, he would be so strong that array masters of the same generation would find it hard to look up to him.

"True strength is shaped by countless failures."

"Don't mind the praise of others. Don't feel that a so-called 'genius' must just forge ahead, accumulating wins and never losing."

"These are all vulgar people's ideas."

"A true genius's eyes are only on their own Dao."

"A true sword cultivator's eyes are only on their own sword."

"Everything else is nothing."

"Only one's final pursuit is real. All wins and losses are fleeting clouds."

Linghu Xiao's heart was touched. After pondering for a moment, he said with firm eyes: "Little Senior Brother, I remember."

Cheng Mo and Situ Jian were also somewhat thoughtful.

Even Ouyang Xuan beside him looked at Mo Hua with a surprised gaze.

Mo Hua saw that Linghu Xiao understood and nodded.

Xiaoxiao was the sword Dao genius of Taixu Sect, and also his little junior brother.

Mo Hua truly hoped that he would not be disturbed by worldly fame, uphold his own sword Dao, become strong little by little, and in the future become a heaven-piercing great sword cultivator...

After that, everyone returned to Taixu Sect.

The sword discussion ended, and they rested briefly.

There was still one thing Mo Hua cared about very much, which was about the "Fireball Technique."

He then specially found Xie Ling and asked about others' evaluations of his Fireball Technique.

During the sword discussion, he was on the field, isolated by the great array, and could not hear others' discussions.

He also didn't know what views others had on his Fireball Technique.

Mo Hua really wanted to know if his idea, inherited from Kui Lao, that "all Dao methods have their strengths, their application is wonderful, and they exist in one's heart, and the Fireball Technique can also be very powerful," had been understood by people.

Therefore, he wanted to find someone to ask.

Xie Ling won two matches in the Huang character bureau and was just eliminated. Although it was a pity, he had also done his best, at least without regrets.

Afterward, he always watched from outside the field, and naturally could hear others' discussions.

When Mo Hua asked this question, Xie Ling hesitated a little, seeming unwilling to speak.

Mo Hua asked again and again. Xie Ling was helpless, then softly said:

"Little Senior Brother, others say you are insidious, shameless, using the Fireball Technique to 'pick heads'..."

"He is a despicable array master who will use the Fireball Technique."

Mo Hua was stunned, then somewhat disbelieving.

His own exquisite Fireball Technique, no one could actually comprehend.

They even called him "picking heads"...

Mo Hua felt a bit weary.

Seeing the situation, Xie Ling then timely flattered him:

"Little Senior Brother, your Fireball Technique is really powerful. I was shocked when I watched it at that time. I didn't expect the Fireball Technique could be used like that..."

These words of flattery were somewhat naive.

But Mo Hua's heart still felt a trace of warmth.

His little junior brothers were still good.

Since that was the case, he himself had to make an effort to make Taixu Sect one of the four great sects, and let his little junior brothers all become "geniuses of the four great sects"...

The words were like this, but the situation of Taixu Sect in the sword discussion gradually became severe.

One day, the sword discussion temporarily ended. Taixu Sect, as expected, fell to second place.

The current ranking was Tianjian Sect first, Qiandao Sect third, and Longding Sect fourth.

Taixu Sect had not maintained its first place.

Moreover, its second place was also precarious.

The atmosphere of the entire sect became somewhat suppressed...