Yiyi could not help but be horrified by the attack.

Qin Yun was extremely serious. Over the past half year since he had experienced a breakthrough in his Sword Dao, he had often meditated over Starlord Covetous Wolf"s sword art. It benefited him greatly. He was not threatened in any way when pit against Yunshe, but Wuli Jiushou"s initial attack was enough to make him feel repressed.

"Break." Qin Yun put his Dharmic powers into his Misty Rain Sword.

The Misty Rain Sword streaked across the sky as a sword flash that spanned a thousand feet. It cleaved at the Fiend Cloud Trident in the same mighty way Pangu had brandished his ax to split the Heaven from Earth.

"Bam!"

A deep and dull sound rumbled when the two weapons collided.

The force of the Misty Rain Sword"s attack seemed to be devoured by the Fiend Cloud Trident. The trident had paused slightly, and it was enough to make Wuli Jiushou reveal a hint of shock. However, his body still rapidly came at Qin Yun in a phased state.

"As expected of a supreme-grade Numinous treasure. Even if Wuli Jiushou can only bring out a portion of this supreme-grade Numinous treasure"s might, it is still very terrifying. I have to avoid it." With a thought from Qin Yun, the Misty Rain Sword instantly flew so fast it produced numerous afterimages. Its trajectory turned unpredictable as it surrounded Wuli Jiushou and unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks. This was none other than the Seven Kills Sword"s Waning Waxing Moons.

Waning Waxing Moons was all about odd and unpredictable changes.

Instantly, dozens of sword shadows a.s.saulted Wuli Jiushou from various directions.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Wuli Jiushou brandished his Fiend Cloud Trident as it stirred the wind and clouds. He was ranked first or second among the twenty-nine Combat Generals for a reason. He was very skilled in melee combat but he also put up an impregnable defense.

Qin Yun could also sense the Misty Rain Sword seemingly fall into a vortex upon approach. However, the Misty Rain Sword retreated upon contact, fully expressing its unpredictability.

"What an impressive flying sword. How is he able to control a sword so deftly? Is he a sword immortal?" Wuli Jiushou speculated inwardly. "The only sword immortals in the Three Realms that can condense an Essence Soul are from the Grand Supreme sword immortal lineage. That group of Grand Supreme sword immortals are not to be provoked. If one is killed, the rest will respond in kind. But if he"s really from the Grand Supreme sword immortal lineage, why would he be willing to become a Guardian?"

"Yes, if he"s a Guardian, it means he"s not a Grand Supreme sword immortal! He must have just obtained a powerful sword Numinous treasure and happens to be good at controlling it." Wuli Jiushou had this thought in mind when suddenly—

The Misty Rain Sword was attacking in its unfathomable manner until the Fiend Cloud Trident delivered an excellent parry that sent it back. Without hesitating, it delivered a new attack.

The sixth move of the Dreamlike Sword—First Lightning Encounter.

"Bam!"

The Misty Rain Sword and the Fiend Cloud Trident collided once again. But this time, the collision was light. It did not even produce any shock waves.

However, the converged strength was transmitted straight into Wuli Jiushou"s arm through the Fiend Cloud Trident, and went deep into his body.

Even though the Misty Rain Sword had delivered less of its usual strength, the remnant might was able to make Wuli Jiushou"s body turn heavy. His lifeblood began to boil over as he swung his Fiend Cloud Trident a little slower.

"Pfft!"

The Misty Rain Sword immediately followed up with another strike.

Wuli Jiushou, who had lost some speed with his Fiend Cloud Trident, failed to block the Misty Rain Sword, allowing it to stab into his chest. His black armor was a rare superior-grade Numinous treasure armor but Qin Yun"s attack was the tricky First Lightning Encounter. The superior-grade Numinous treasure armor was only able to weaken a portion of its might as the remnant forces seeped straight into Wuli Jiushou"s body.

"Hmph." Wuli Jiushou felt his body convulse as a mouthful of blood rushed up to his mouth. His expression flushed red.

This alarmed the spectating Yunshe, Chufu, Menggu, and all the other Combat Generals.

A newly promoted Guardian did this?

He actually managed to place Wuli Jiushou at a disadvantage?

"Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+ Woos.h.!.+" Another huge group of figures arrived obstreperously. Among them were six Combat Generals and dozens of Guardians. They were in no hurry and had been flying leisurely. They were even watching the distant battle using a spell. When they realized that Yunshe was no match for Qin Yun, they immediately sped up and finally arrived.

"What"s happening?"

"Even Wuli Jiushou is at a disadvantage?" The group of Combat Generals and a large number of Guardians found it unbelievable.

As for the sixteen in-name disciples from before, they kept even lower profiles when they found themselves in the middle of a large group of Combat Generals and Guardians with powerful auras. However, they were also astounded by the man named Qin Yun who stood in front of Yiyi.

Had he really managed to single-handedly resist Wuli Jiushou, who enjoyed an extremely high standing among the Combat Generals?

"Who exactly is Junior Sister Yiyi"s father?"

"He"s only at the Essence Soul realm despite being so powerful?"

"Does he have some special origin?" They mumbled in secret.

…

The spectators were alarmed. Wuli Jiushou was feeling embarra.s.sed. What was his ident.i.ty? He had actually been injured by an Essence Soul.

"Hmph, I had planned on capturing you alive so I was holding back. I never expected this. It looks like I have underestimated you." Wuli Jiushou sneered as his body started to s.h.i.+ft and twist.

Boom!

He became a gigantic humanoid demon that was ten thousand feet tall. Although he still had a humanoid body, he now had a grotesque and ugly fish head on top of it. The fish whiskers flailed in the sky as clouds naturally seemed to swirl around him.

"He has revealed his true form. To think Wuli Jiushou has been forced into this state." Chufu and company thought secretly.

"Boom!!!"

The Fiend Cloud Trident that had similarly expanded to tens of thousands of feet long swept over like a heavenly column. It carried immense clouds with it as its might was much more immense than before.

Qin Yun stood in front of his daughter, his eyes sharp while he controlled his Misty Rain Sword to tear through the surging wave and clash with the trident.

"Bam!"

Now, the First Lightning Encounter was being blocked by the layers of clouds. Even though layers upon layers of clouds were torn through, it still had a ways to go to intercept the Fiend Cloud Trident"s surface.

Despite the obstruction of the clouds, the flying sword was still able to permeate some of the converged force. It delivered some of its power into Wuli Jiushou"s body but the remnant forces were just too weak. Wuli Jiushou was able to completely ignore it as he stared viciously at Qin Yun.

"Bright Moon Cold Nights."

"A Thousand Hates."

"Stars Like Rain."

Numerous sword moves were cast one after another.

It could be the descent of an extremely cold domain, the relentless a.s.saults of a thunderstorm, or an extremely keen sword move.

No matter what, the Fiend Cloud Trident managed to fend off all of them.

"Qin Yun, Wuli Jiushou"s use of the Fiend Cloud Trident at full strength is able to match a seventh or eighth firmament Skydemon. If you can"t withstand it, quickly admit defeat. Do not let yourself be killed in a single strike of his trident." Chufu sent a voice transmission.

Qin Yun gave the distant Chufu a glance. He had really let Chufu down this time.

"Boom!"

The Fiend Cloud Trident was already in front of him.

"Cyclic Sword Flas.h.!.+" Qin Yun cast the sword move he was most skilled at. It also represented the pinnacle of his Sword Dao.

"Hum–"

The Cyclic Sword Flash, which was like a curtain of water, formed a gigantic sword flash sphere, enveloping Qin Yun and Yiyi within its thousand-foot barrier.

"Boom!"

The Fiend Cloud Trident possessed a terrifying might that pounded the Cyclic Sword Flash. The spot that was struck depressed as the water curtain began churning, dissipating the force across the entire Cyclic Sword Flash. Following that, the depressed spot was restored.

"Oh?" The eyes on Wuli Jiushou"s ugly fish head were filled with shock.

"Fiend Cloud Tear." Wuli Jiushou was incensed.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Fiend Cloud Trident struck again and again. The Cyclic Sword Flash depressed each time but still managed to withstand each attack.

Qin Yun reflected inwardly when he saw this. "In terms of foundation, I"m probably better than Arhat Tenside and Ape Fiend Junior of the Effulgent Great World. They are both peak third firmament Essence Souls. Their Dharmic powers are no way weaker than third Firmament Skyimmortals. My Sword Dao realm is even higher. The Dharmic formulation used to condense my Essence Soul was created personally. My Dharmic powers are probably comparable to a third firmament Skyimmortal of the Grand Supreme sword immortal lineage."

As a mortal, he had a purplish-gold Golden Core foundation.

His Essence Soul realm had a similarly extremely robust foundation.

"Fifth or sixth firmament Skyimmortals of the Grand Supreme sword immortal lineage are all able to fight people above their levels. They can probably beat Wuli Jiushou to a pulp!" thought Qin Yun. "Compared to them, my Dharmic powers and weapon are slightly weaker. I should be able to deliver the strength of an ordinary sixth firmament Skyimmortal. Although I"m not Wuli Jiushou"s match, I can still survive against him."

"The Dharmic formulation I used to condense an Essence Soul used the Heavenly Cycle Sword Dao as its foundation. My Cyclic Sword Flash is what I"m best at," thought Qin Yun.

The Heavenly Cycle Sword Dao pursued ultimate perfection.

A perfected Heavenly Cycle… was similarly and extremely, an unbreakable defense.

…

Wuli Jiushou was attacking with all his might, forcing Qin Yun into a defensive posture. However, he was unable to break through his final defense.

It placed Yunshe and the other Combat Generals and Guardians at a loss.

"Sister-in-law, what do we do?" A Combat General beside her asked with a voice transmission. "Should we help?"

"Jiushou"s strength far exceeds ours. Even if we were to help, we might not be able to crack that sword barrier," replied Yunshe through a voice transmission. "It will be even more embarra.s.sing if several Combat Generals fail to crack it."

"Yea." The companion beside her nodded slightly.

Wuli Jiushou continuing this one-on-one fight sounded better.

As for them combining forces? It would be alright if they successfully cracked the barrier but they would only be more embarra.s.sed if their combined efforts failed.

******

In Treasure Elephant Palace.

It was desolate and quiet in the palace where Yellow-robed Supremacy resided. There was not even a single attendant in its halls.

A Daoist-robed man covered in yellow fur was leaning against a pillar along a corridor. He was in a drunken stupor.

It was said that Supremacy was in seclusion…

But in fact, at his realm, a true seclusion would take thousands if not tens of thousands of years. Although he claimed to be in seclusion, he truly meant that he did not wish to meet any of his subordinates. He wanted to stay in silent solitude.

He was inebriated from his years of constant drinking.

The man waved his hand as projections appeared beside him.

"Dad! Dad!"

Two children ran over as a beautiful woman watched smilingly from the side.

Back then, he carried one child in each hand chuckling. His smile was radiant.

The projection dissipated.

The man cried even as he laughed, as though he were deranged. He continued drinking his alcohol, so sloppily that it stained his clothes.

"Oh?"

He suddenly turned his head, and his cold gaze penetrated all the obstructions and into the distance. He saw the scene of Wuli Jiushou and company attempting the capture of Qin Yun.

"They can"t even take down a mere Guardian." The yellow-furred man in the Daoist robe threw the alcohol flask and it smashed onto the ground a distance away.

He vanished into thin air.

…

Wuli Jiushou was furiously brandis.h.i.+ng his Fiend Cloud Trident as his strikes seemed to make the world shake. Yet he was unable to do a thing to the Cyclic Sword Flash. The Combat Generals and Guardians watching on the side, as well as the in-name disciples, were either in a dilemma or stunned agape. None of them knew what was to be done.

Suddenly, a figure appeared silently.

He was dressed in an ordinary Daoist robe, his body covered in yellow fur. Clearly, he was a demon and his eyes were cold.

Wuli Jiushou was keeping mind of his surroundings constantly. The moment he discovered the newcomer, he immediately shrunk to his original state in shock. He, together with Yunshe, Chufu, Menggu, and the other Combat Generals and Guardians, bowed reverently. "Supremacy."

"Master." The sixteen in-name disciples, including Senior Brother An, were extremely respectful, not even daring to take a breath.

"Master." Yiyi was slightly slower. With the color in her face drained, she immediately bowed reverently.

When Qin Yun saw the yellow-furred man, he could sense his terrifyingly cold and sinister aura. The aura emanated flagrantly, as though the explosion of just a sliver of it would be enough to reduce him to smithereens. Qin Yun immediately dispelled his Cyclic Sword Flash and bowed reverentially. "Supremacy."