Chapter 937: Returning the Debt

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

At the side of the Holy Zhi Palace, Yuan Hong was seen leading the Heavenly Battle Matrix while wielding the holy item, the Infinite Ruler. His offensive capacity at the moment was the strongest under the Saint Plane.

Worse still, Yuan Hong was backed with intense anger to avenge all those of his own who fell at Taihang Mountain, meaning that he had no mercy whatsoever for his opponents. Many mighty ones from Zhisheng Cliffs were squished in an instant right there and then.

“Get into formation.” Ge Feng did not forget to shout when doing battle with the nine at Qin Zhuang’s side. When Qin Zhuang and the other eight brought the holy sword with him, no one was able to stand in their way. Despite not having the holy sword at the moment, he was still capable enough to deal with Ge Feng, who was wielding a holy item.

The sages of the Zhisheng Cliffs joined the fray without falling into a mess and began to take their formations.

Roar! Yuan Hong’s roar resounded throughout the sky. His golden ape body became even larger. One step shook the air around them. He held the incredibly huge Infinite Ruler high, which continued to extend, then turned into a seemingly endless weapon. While Yuan Hong was not versed in Wuliang Rules, the ruler itself held the power of the great path of Wuliang, which enabled the resulting attack to manifest as Wuliang itself, rendering it practically limitless in power.

The mighty ones from Zhisheng Cliffs felt as if the sky was blocked out. The Infinite Ruler was brought down hard from above, making it seem like an apocalypse for everything below. Even top notch sages wielding holy items would not have been able to withstand the force of such an attack.

A thundering boom was heard as yet another group of mighty ones was reduced to dust by the ruler, killed right there and then.

A group of mighty ones gathered at another spot of the peaks of Zhisheng Cliffs faraway, getting a matrix prepped and charged. The one taking the lead was an elder with silver hair and beard, who was apparently a member of the elder generation who had been training hard for many years at Zhisheng Cliffs. He gave up after challenging the divine path and failing, giving up entirely and resorting to simply isolate himself in Zhisheng Cliffs and training. While he was not ranked in the Sage and Saint Ranking, his actual powers were not all that far behind the ones who ranked near the end of the ranking.

Light gathered at the center of his brow, infinite spiritual power emanating from within. Spiritual-type holy items were imbued at the spot, and it was the most treasured of holy items in Zhisheng Cliff’s inventory. Many mighty ones stood behind him and siphoned their spiritual powers at the silver-haired elder’s brow. Frightening sura soon gathered in the space around him; its might encompassing Zhisheng Cliffs.

The ley lines shifted, and the boulders at the crust of the earth moved, extending countless boulders, blocking all the buildings and palaces at the lower side of the Zhisheng Cliffs, sealing them below ground. The sages were fighting hard while the nobles were unable to do anything. He isolated the entire lower side of Zhisheng Cliffs from the battlefield, protecting all of them within.

“Earthly Guardian.” A line was heard uttered by the elder. The aura was incredibly frightening. Yuan Hong took a look in their direction before heading towards them. One terrifying massive monster after another appeared in the air. The black dragon howled, a massive python spitting black mist, the black turtle emitting icy powers, with many other top-class monsters bringing their might to the battlefield.

Ye Futian brought more than just the mighty ones from the Holy Zhi Palace in that assault that time; he brought a powerful army of demonic beasts as well. The Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State had someone who was adept in taming beasts.

“Humanoid Guardians,” the elder shouted once again and one massive golem clad in rocky armor after another emerged, guarding Zhisheng Cliffs.

Boom. The earth shook as Yuan Hong took one step after another, crushing everything beneath his feet. Seeing that Yuan Hong was bringing the Heavenly Battle Matrix and closing in, the silver-haired elder cranked his spiritual will power to the limit. Terrifying storms whipped up in the sky and divine light shone. One gigantic figure after another emerged from the storm as if they were being summoned from the heavens, descending like gods.

“Heavenly Guardian.” The elder’s voice shook, sounding as if the move had taken a severe toll on him. The figure summoned glimmered in dazzling light as if it was shining with true holy light.

The elder’s eyes turned extremely demonic. The Heavenly Guardian had opened its eyes, looking just as demonic. The elder extended his hand behind him. Dazzling light shone from within Zhisheng Cliffs, raining down onto the Heavenly Guardian. A holy hammer appeared in his hand, bursting with terrifying holy light.

“Some aura indeed.” Ye Futian took a look at the massive, majestic Heavenly Guardian and the holy hammer. Zhisheng Cliffs was the number one land of lineage in the Yu State, which meant that they were anything but weak. While they might have paled in comparison to the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, Ye Futian did not underestimate them. As such, not only did he had his teacher, Douzhan, led the figures from the Barren State to meet up with him, but he had also mobilized his demonic beast army. It would have been very difficult to take down Zhisheng Cliffs otherwise.

Things at the Saint Level were easy in comparison, but Ye Futian had not planned that the Village Chief would join in the fray. If he were to do so, Emperor Xia might have declared that there were to be no rules in the fights in the Nine States, and the saints would have been free to act against anyone as they wished. It would have easily turned into a disaster for the Barren State if that were to happen.

While Zhisheng Cliffs was by no means weak, the Holy Zhi Palace was not what it used to be either. After the Sacred War broke out, many who were ranked on the Barren Sky Ranking joined the ranks of the Holy Zhi Palace and trained there, furthering their training at the Sage Hall. Zhisheng Cliffs, on the other hand, had yet to be able to gather the top forces in all of Yu State to join in the fight. As such, the Barren State would certainly come out on top in this battle.

At that moment, the summoned Heavenly Guardian wielding a holy item descended upon Yuan Hong. Thunder flashed in the heavens as it happened, and the might of the great path descended along with the holy hammer, seemingly about to crush everything beneath it.

Yuan Hong did not dodge. The golden great ape continued to stand tall like a mountain while the power of the matrix continued to course all over his body in a frenzy. His stout body drew an arc in the space as he streaked by, bringing the Infinite Ruler onto the holy hammer. The two holy items clashed in midair. Devastating light rained down from above like beams foretelling the advent of an apocalypse. Zhisheng Cliffs was caught in the calamity. The earth within a several hundred miles radius shook.

Outside Zhisheng Cliffs, there were who came on pilgrimages saw the fight above Zhisheng Cliffs, feeling shivers running through their spines as their minds rattled. They had never seen battles of such a frightening scale and had never thought that there were actually people who would have assaulted Zhisheng Cliffs.

Those were the mighty ones from the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State. It was said that Zhisheng Cliffs had invaded the Barren State years ago, and now, the Holy Zhi Palace was retaliating with extreme prejudice.

Zhisheng Cliffs of the Yu State was, at the moment, dealing with a life and death crisis.

The Sword Saint at Ye Futian’s side stepped out and the demonic blade appeared in his hand. Terrifying demonic aura coursed about the air in an instant, manifesting as boundless demonic blade will, sweeping the place about while gushing into the Sword Saint’s body.

The Sword Saint seemed to have metamorphosed right there and then. His calm and collected silhouette turned incredibly imposing, while his eyes shone with a dark, demonic light. It was as if his entire being had demonized. His body had merged completely with the blade as well as demonic powers around him.

He had wielded the demonic blade in a fight against Kong Yao back in the battle of the Holy Zhi Palace all those years ago. He had broken into Archmage Plane in the present day. The power unleashed by the blade was more powerful than it had been all those years ago.

The blade howled as murderous intent gushed from within. The space around him seemed to have turned into a dark world, devoid of life, with him at the center. Even though he had broken into Archmage Plane, he still felt that he was not the one who was wielding the demonic blade when it was activated; rather, it felt more like it was the blade that was wielding him instead.

The Sword Saint looked like a devil as he entered such a state.

The light of darkness coursed above Zhisheng Cliffs and a dark beam of the blade fell from the sky, like a blade wielded by a devil. One strike and it already seemed as if the space before the Sword Saint was cleaved open. One mighty one after another from Zhisheng Cliffs was killed on the spot. Many mighty ones were shocked by what was happening before their eyes. Their minds shuddered at the terrifying blade technique.

One Humanoid Guardian after another soon came, intending to stop the Sword Saint, who continued to move forward like a devil with unparalleled blade will around him. No tricks were played. Yet another wave of the blade and the space was cleaved again.

The frighteningly imposing Humanoid Guardian was bisected right there and then before turning into nothingness. The sight frightened countless mighty ones from Zhisheng Cliffs, as they came to feel the fear of death.

True battles were never about numbers. In the world of cultivators, truly powerful beings were able to take on armies of thousands alone. Emperor Xia would not have forbidden saints from acting against those below them in the rules of the Sacred War otherwise. When a saint made a move, everyone below Saint Plane would have be wiped clean without any chance of survival.

It became apparent that the Sword Saint became a being at the pinnacle of the Sage Plane. No army could stand for long before him.

Other than battle matrixes, Ge Feng and Nie Yan, who were wielding holy items, were the only ones who were capable of standing in their way. However, at the moment, both of them had their hands full and were unable to turn their attention elsewhere. Furthermore, the number one figure below the saints at the Zhisheng Cliffs, Kong Yao, was not in Zhisheng Cliffs.

“Big brother sure has become more powerful than before.” Ye Futian turned to look at the Sword Saint. He first saw the Sword Saint use the demonic blade during the battle of the Holy Zhi Palace. Ye Futian’s big brother felt as if he was consumed by the blade as he struggled to control it. Several years later, said big brother had grown more powerful and had trained outside as well. While he was still incapable of controlling the blade, he was able to use it in a more fitting manner.

It was practically a free-for-all at Zhisheng Cliffs. The Heavenly Guardian summoned by the elder was extremely powerful. It clashed with Yuan Hong in a frenzy, with every strike seemingly able to bring down the sky.

Ge Feng was stopped by Qin Zhuang and the other eight. The battle between both sides looked terribly dangerous, so much so that one mistake could have been fatal.

Nie Yan, yet another mighty one ranked on the Sage and Saint Ranking, was taken on by both Yun Shang, the lord of the Ice Temple, and Huang Xi, preventing them from being overwhelmed. Other than that, You Chi, Zhuge Qingfeng, and other mighty ones joined the fray alongside many of the enormous monsters.

All of Zhisheng Cliffs was embroiled in a bloody battle at the moment. There was yet another group of mighty ones outside the battlefield who did not make a move. They were all of the elder generations of Zhisheng Cliffs, staying hidden while their eyes followed Ye Futian.

Ye Futian naturally took notice and noted that those people were formidable. Their goal was apparent from the fact that they did not join the fight—they were finding openings to target him. As soon as the Palace Lord was taken down, the fight would be over.

They were entirely unfettered by the fact that the odds were overwhelmingly stacked against Zhisheng Cliffs, and many continued to perish. They had no intentions of intervening, and that said a lot about their temperament. However, Ye Futian behaved as if he had not noticed. He sat cross-legged in midair and the Guqin spirit manifested before him. He lowered his land and began to play the instrument. A tune was soon heard throughout the battlefield.

It was a tune that was full of rage yet was lined with a tinge of sorrow. Many were able to feel the vague underlying sorrow and brutality, with the place being washed by a bloodbath. The illustration seemed to have merged with the battlefield, becoming a part of the battle.

Ye Futian continued to pluck at the strings as he recalled what had taken place in Crouching Dragon Mountain, Taihang Mountain, and the Holy Zhi Palace. All of his thoughts translated to his fingers as he played, making the attacks of Yuan Hong, the Sword Demon, and many others become increasingly pointed and overwhelming. Their minds were reminded of what took place all those years ago.

That day, Zhisheng Cliffs was made to settle the blood debt they created all those years. With the three holy lands joining hands to eliminate the Holy Zhi Palace, then they would pay for such a course of action with blood!