He Qing's voice was instantly drowned in a shriek loud enough to tear eardrums, but before the shriek, a faint blue light had already seeped into the core of the blazing golden glow.

Yu Ci watched as the Golden Body of the Amritakundalin made a gesture of looking back, and then everything froze in place!

Silence – not because there was no sound, but because their ears could no longer hear anything else. People only saw, beneath the faint blue light, the long arm holding the Vajra Scepter snap in an instant, followed by a split head and shoulder, the massive Golden Body divided askew, the hair-raising fine cracks spreading in all directions from the diagonal slash.

The sound of shattering, wrapped in a series of fine explosions, echoed loudly. But under the overwhelming shriek, it merely stirred a negligible "splash" before leaving no trace.

People's eyes widened, their mouths agape, watching as the once invincible Golden Body of the Amritakundalin crumbled. As for the faint blue light that caused all of this, after splitting the Golden Body, the halo seemed to expand outward, its momentum undiminished, plunging downward!

The shriek that shook the Brain Palace suddenly changed, from a steel-string-like shrill sound to a noisy roar. The faint blue light was no longer the initial starlight point or sharp thread, but was rapidly expanding, swelling in an instant to the thickness of a bucket, its length dramatically increasing to dozens of feet, accompanied by a turbulent roar, it heavily hit the ground!

Before Yu Ci could figure out the result, a great force pulled him to the side. It was Gan Shi Zhen's emitted Sword Energy. Without any warning, the female cultivator transformed the sharp Sword Energy into a blunt force, enveloping dozens of people within the sword circle and abruptly shifting them to the side.

Even with Gan Shi Zhen's strength, it was impossible to move dozens of people quickly, but the Golden Elixir cultivators within the sword circle were not foolish. Once the shifting force was exerted, they reacted, each exerting their own strength, dragging their wounded subordinates, and desperately leaping towards this side.

At this moment, the faint blue light hit the ground. For a moment, the color completely disappeared, as if it had smashed into the ground, but the next moment, a smoke-like faint blue light mist rose, instantly connecting into a line on the ground.

The ground cracked!

The seemingly winding deep fissure was actually roughly straight. The dazzling blue light erupted from this crack, grazing the back of Shi Song, who was pressing at the rear, scattering the floating blue mist, rising more than ten feet above the ground, like a waterfall flowing in reverse, tearing open with a "whoosh", extending unknowably far.

Shi Song spit out a mouthful of fresh blood, but immediately forgot about his injuries, and, like the others, turned his head, staring dumbfounded at the huge fissure that grazed the southwest corner of Cliff City, tore open the city wall, rushed dozens of miles, split a mountain outside the city in half like cutting tofu, and extended towards the far beyond sight.

Because of Monk Yi Xin's heavy hand, Cliff City had just suffered a devastating earthquake, and at this time the earth's crust was active. After this terrifying strike, the entire mountain range supporting the city trembled, making people wonder if it had caused any irreversible damage to the mountain structure.

"That was close!"

Gan Shi Zhen's pretty face turned pale, she was truly shocked: "Aunt Qing actually lured Xing Tian's Magic Sword from thousands of miles away, fortunately, she controlled it properly, and the angle deviated, otherwise..."

Otherwise what, she didn't say. But looking at the gigantic fissure under their feet, extending for dozens of miles, deep and bottomless - this was only the result of "proper control". The opposite situation, just a fleeting thought, was enough to make people lose the courage to imagine.

"Is Xing Tian's Magic Sword a magical instrument?" asked Yu Ci, a male character.

As soon as the question left his lips, he knew it was ill-conceived. Gan Shi Zhen, a female character, turned around and stared at him. After a moment, she felt it was somewhat impolite and lowered her eyes slightly, saying, "After all, you are a disciple of the Lichen Sect. It's one of your sect's Guardian Magical Treasures. You should be familiar with it."

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A Guardian... Magical Treasure?

Yu Ci was certainly aware that a so-called Magical Treasure is the highest achievement in the Artifact Refining Technique of the Cultivation World. Any one of them possesses great mystical powers capable of moving mountains and seas. Even the most basic one is more powerful than a magical instrument refined through a hundred and eight layers. It is said that a fully refined magical instrument has the chance to be upgraded to a Magical Treasure. But that is just a legend. A single Magical Treasure is indeed a priceless treasure, even ten fully refined magical instruments combined could not be exchanged for it. Only the topmost figures in this realm have the ability and qualifications to possess it.

As for the term "Guardian" added before Magical Treasure, one can imagine its level and power.

But, what does "from a great distance" mean?

"It is said that the Lichen Sect's Xing Tian's Magic Sword is not a Magical Treasure carried around, but is enshrined in the Ancestral Master's Hall of the Sect. When a cultivator within the sect with authority wishes to use it, they can summon it from afar, and it will arrive in a few breaths from thousands of miles away to slay the enemy and then return..."

At this point, Gan Shi Zhen could only shake her head: "I don't know more details, you can ask Aunt Qing, she should be able to answer you."

He Qing? Yu Ci smirked, unsure of how to react. He strained his eyes to see He Qing's silhouette in the sky, but looking at her from below, he felt that her calm reaction to the bloody scene in the mountain city was simply too much!

What a mess!

Upon hearing Gan Shi Zhen utter this, and considering the fact that she was a delicate female cultivator, one could imagine the extent of He Qing's abilities. Yu Ci couldn't help but think:

"What if this Xing Tian's Magic Sword had been used earlier..."

As Yu Ci's thoughts raced, a conversation was unfolding in the sky.

"The rumor is that under the Xing Tian's Magic Sword, all things turn to dust. Now that I see it, it is indeed true. Blood Monk Tu Ling, today you will perish!"

"Your praise is too kind."

He Qing responded faintly, her face pale. Although she was the only one among the Vacuum Walking Cultivators within the sect who had the authority to summon the Xing Tian's Magic Sword, it was still too much for her at the moment. Just slightly adjusting its angle almost drained all her strength. But this did not affect her usual composure. She simply shifted her gaze to the silver-gray mist in the distance, her expression still calm.

In mid-air, the projection of Xuan Yin Immortal's separate consciousness and thoughts had completely vanished, leaving only Ming Lan's silvery-grey mist still hanging in the sky. Soon, the mist dispersed, revealing a figure within. He Qing's eyes shone with a peculiar light as she carefully scrutinized the figure, praising, "Having shed the mortal coil, the Yang Spirit manifests. This must be the true form of Master Ming. Time has reversed, and nothing more… Congratulations on obtaining the Divine Servant's body, Master Ming. The realm beyond illusion must be within your reach."

"It merely took a moment," Ming Lan replied, looking up at the sky with a smile.

At this moment, Ming Lan no longer appeared old and frail. In fact, she looked much younger than she had a few months ago. The long-lost vigor of youth coursed through her body, accompanied by newfound strength, enough to leave anyone familiar with her utterly stunned. However, the two figures in the sky were not ordinary people who would dwell on superficial appearances, and such topics were quickly brushed aside.

Ming Lan's gaze swept over the chaotic ruins of the mountain city, then landed on the site where the Amritakundalin's Golden Body had collapsed. She said softly, "The Blood Monk's methods have always been ruthless. It's a pity, if only Xing Tian's Magic Sword had arrived a moment sooner…"

Her tone was one of compassion, but He Qing's response was decidedly cold, "If not for this, how would we know that Master Ming would intervene?"

Ming Lan's response was straightforward, "A third of the city's believers have already been killed or injured. If I did not intervene, a decade's worth of missionary work would have been destroyed in an instant. How could I then ascend to the realm beyond illusion? Whether it's the Rakshasa Sect or the Xuan Yin Sect, the believers are always the foundation. Everything else is secondary."

He Qing fell silent. Their conversation was, in fact, quite nuanced.

She had always been wary of the Xuan Yin Sect's influence in Cliff City. Even with Monk Yi Xin's solid evidence, she could not erase her suspicions about the Xuan Yin Sect. Not to mention the practical issues of summoning Xing Tian's Magic Sword, her cold response was, in fact, a statement:

I held back my magic sword to observe your attitude, and the Xuan Yin Sect's attitude!

Ming Lan, on the other hand, used the "believers come first" argument to express her stance. She was also explaining that she had no ill intentions against the Lichen Sect. Of course, her previous action of lending a hand was the most important behavior, and all reasons were based on this foundation.

He Qing refrained from further words. As a sect with greater power than the Lichen Sect, the Rakshasa Sect's plans could not be discerned in one or two attempts. Even if they were to discover any malicious intentions, they would have to be put aside for the time being, to seek a compromise. After all, the two major sects were millions of miles apart, and there was no "life or death" conflict at the root of their establishment—at least not now!

Regardless, the matter would end here.

...