Soaring the Heavens

Chapter 362: Might of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword

Translator: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit

The both of them finally understood why this guy had given them the two transcendent artifacts so easily.

"The blue mountains never change, and the jade waters flow on forever. Take care, you two. If an opportunity presents itself in the future, the three of us can reminisce about old times once more. I will be going on ahead now!"

Miao Yi was not nervous at all. He bid his farewells and was about to turn around and leave. He really had no way of fighting this battle on his own. He had no choice but to escape!

Suddenly, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei exchanged glances, then called for Miao Yi to stop simultaneously, "We’re not done here. Where do you think you’re going?!"

This was contrary to Miao Yi’s expectations. Puzzled, he couldn’t help replying, "I say, you two, you’re not thinking of trying to hand me over to them to redeem yourselves, are you? Aren’t you familiar with how those people are already? They’re all scoundrels who are even willing to throw their lives away upon seeing a transcendent artifact. Not to mention, I’m not a pushover either. Will you believe that? If I wished to escape, you two might not be able to catch me either! And besides, even if you two could catch me, they definitely won’t allow you two to keep those transcendent artifacts either. Do you two really want to spit out the treasures that you’ve only just received? You’re not sick in the head, are you?"

He wasn’t lying. Given the current situation, if he really wanted to escape, the other two might not even catch him.

The reason behind that was simple. He already had two tiny mantids awaiting orders next to their mounts’ bellies. Right behind Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei’s calves, next to their mounts’ bellies, the two tiny mantids raised their sickles, ready to stab into their calves at any time.

If they let him go, then Miao Yi wouldn’t make his move. Since these two would wish to protect their own transcendent artifacts, there was a high chance that Miao could use them to his advantage. If they were both in the enemy camp, then if the Red Scarves Alliance were to catch up to Miao Yi, he could have those two continue to help him escape. That was why he’d given away the two transcendent artifacts so willingly. It was necessary to part with certain things when he needed to.

If the two of them wouldn’t let him go, or if they even tried to attack him, then Miao Yi wouldn’t be courteous either. He didn’t mind using the tiny mantids to kill them both where they stood, take back the treasures, and immediately make his escape.

In short, whether they chose to be his friends or foes, and whether it would end in life or death, it all depended on the both of them.

Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei didn’t know that Miao Yi still had a backup plan. Seeing this guy act so calmly even at such a crucial moment, and without even an ounce of nervousness, they inwardly praised him, ’This guy is completely unshaken!’

Sikong Wuwei chuckled. "If we let you go so easily, then we really are sick in the head."

Miao Yi’s eyes slowly narrowed, ready to make his move. Suddenly, Zhao Fei sighed. "I’ll have to agree with one point of yours. There are enough open spots for the few of us to join the top one hundred survivors in the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade. Naturally, we’ll have to work together to take them. Sikong, do you think everyone on the other side can place within the top one hundred?"

Sikong Wuwei chuckled. "Of course not. There are over a thousand of them on the other side."

Zhao Fei then asked, "Sikong, our cultivation can be considered to be at the highest level out of all the participants in the Sea of Constellations. Even if we can place within the top one hundred in the end, do you think the three major sects would be willing to see us there once we submit to them?"

Sikong Wuwei shook his head. "They won’t. The three major sects will definitely surround us and eliminate us first in order to raise the chances for their own disciples to place within the top one hundred."

Miao Yi revealed a faint smile on his face as he listened to the both of them. He said, "But I am only a White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator. Your chances of success will be lower if you work with me."

Zhao Fei replied, "Didn’t you, a White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator, kill plenty of Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators already? Can a White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator that’s capable of killing a Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivator still be measured by normal definitions?"

Sikong Wuwei nodded and said, "A White Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator that even dares to offend the Hall Master is pretty badass."

Zhao Fei added, "Our enemies have been so relentless in their pursuit. They clearly intend to avenge the deaths of the fallen disciples of the three major sects. Maybe they will pardon the others who only participated in the culling of the three major sects’ disciples, but I fear those who led the charge like us will likely suffer quite a bit. Even if they are willing to let us go, our fates will definitely be that of servitude to them!"

Sikong Wuwei said, "In that case, why don’t we fight for our own fates instead?!"

Zhao Fei replied, "That’s right! In the past, we didn’t have anything that could contend with them. But now that we each carry a mighty artifact, do we still need to fear them? They are being so cautious about making the first move and are trying to sow discord between us instead. Clearly, they are a little afraid of us as well. Sikong, for what reason did we choose to stay and face them earlier on?"

"To beat the shit out of them!" Sikong Wuwei chortled, suddenly brandishing a black hammer in his hands. It instantly shone with a blue light and expanded to gargantuan proportions. With a swing of his arms, he immediately hurled it out towards the enemy a thousand meters away.

A loud boom suddenly resounded, causing the crowd on the other side to jump up in fright. They had been waiting to see Miao Yi and his group fall out with one another. They’d never thought that it wouldn’t happen, much less that Miao Yi and his group would retaliate so suddenly.

Dong Quan and the rest were shocked to see Sikong Wuwei wielding the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. If one were to say that Miao Yi would fail to demonstrate such a might if he was the one wielding it, then this issue obviously became non-existent when Sikong Wuwei was the one brandishing it.

Gu Sanzheng waved his hand, and a long black box instantly appeared on his back. Resembling a box that was used to store a qin, it lay tilted towards one shoulder and was inscribed with various holy scriptures. Countless sword hilts were protruding from the end of the box closest to Gu Sanzheng’s shoulder, all shining with a resplendent silver sheen. It was none other than the ’Thunderclap Sword Furnace’ that Zhao Lingtu had mentioned before.

Pointing once with his finger, the Thunderclap Sword Furnace on Gu Sanzheng’s back started to shine with a blue light.

Shing shing shing shing shing...

A series of crisp, ringing sounds echoed forth as the flying swords shot out of their scabbard in rapid succession like a thunderclap. Their might was astonishing. One after the other, a hundred and one silver flying swords shot towards the oncoming massive hammer. Each of them carried an amber-like hue and seemed almost transparent to everyone else.

"He actually refined this Second Grade Transcendent Artifact using Crystalline Silver?" Miao Yi gasped.

Zhao Fei quickly remarked, "This is no ordinary Crystalline Silver. It is a high-density Crystalline Silver, free from any impurities. Only then is it be possible to see such an amber hue. It is extremely difficult to purify to such a state. A transcendent artifact refined using such a material will not be any weaker than one refined using normal Crystalline Obsidian. However, its conductivity of transcendence energy will be much higher than the latter. It is a great material for refining transcendence artifacts."

Miao Yi instantly thought about the tiny mantids. Yao Ruoxian seemed to have mentioned that the tiny mantids could excrete high-density Crystalline Silvers which were free of any impurities.

Boom boom boom...

A series of explosions quickly resounded. Gu Sanzheng’s Thunderclap Flying Swords had already started clashing with Sikong Wuwei’s Mountain Suppressing Hammer.

Noticing that the situation wasn’t good, Zhao Fei brandished the Spirit Illusion Greatsword with a flip of his hands and tossed it skyward. The Spirit Illusion Greatsword instantly multiplied to ten, to a hundred, a thousand, and finally to ten thousand duplicates. In the blink of an eye, the sky was instantly shrouded by flying greatswords, causing everyone’s hair to stand on end.

Miao Yi and his group didn’t understand the capabilities of Gu Sanzheng’s Thunderclap Flying Swords at all, whereas Gu Sanzheng and his group understood the Mountain Suppressing Hammer very well. Gu Sanzheng was aware of the impressive might of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. Even with his Thunderclap Flying Swords, he didn’t dare clash against it head-on.

The first Thunderclap Flying Sword left its scabbard and shot towards the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. It didn’t try to block it from the front, but viciously struck the side of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer instead.

However, the raw power of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer was immense indeed. The vicious onslaught of a single Thunderclap Flying Sword had actually done nothing to change its speed or trajectory. When they saw this, the expressions on the forces of the Red Scarves Alliance twisted in fear. Would they be able to survive at all if that Mountain Suppressing Hammer really were to descend over their heads?

As the controller of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, Sikong Wuwei laughed maniacally, feeling rather good about himself.

Gu Sanzheng’s expression turned serious. He extended two fingers on both hands, forming sword-like gestures as he hastily waved his arms towards the sky.

Then, the Thunderclap Flying Swords all swooped in, one after another, and viciously struck the side of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. The hundred-and-one Thunderclap Flying Swords quickly circled about the air like a silver halo, constantly attacking the Mountain Suppressing Hammer with an unbelievable speed. The scene it created was nothing short of beautiful.

In an instant, the halo of swords had circled around the air countless times and struck against the Mountain Suppressing Hammer countless more. Finally, they were able to send the Mountain Suppressing Hammer flying off to the side.

Sikong Wuwei felt dazed by the sight.

Ye Xin’s black thorny whip suddenly lashed out. Shining with a blue radiance, it extended through the air like a snake. The originally several-meter-long whip grew to a hundred meters in length as it flew out, instantly wrapping around the shaft of the Mountain Suppressing Hammer, and was about to pull it over.

Sikong Wuwei lost all semblance of a smile and quickly invoked his arts to call back the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. How could he possibly allow the treasure he’d just received to fall into the enemy’s hands on its first battle?

Fortunately, Zhao Fei realized something was amiss beforehand and countered with his Spirit Illusion Greatsword. The rain of greatswords in the sky viciously bombarded the enemy.

When Ye Xin saw this, she immediately loosened the whip’s grip on the Mountain Suppressing Hammer and called it back. Ye Xin twirled the whip around her like a dragon, creating a nigh-impenetrable barrier as she hastily protected herself and her mount.

Boom! The Mountain Suppressing Hammer crashed to the ground, creating a large crater. Then, it swiftly spun back to its wielder.

Gu Sanzheng clapped his palms and called back the hundred-and-one Thunderclap Flying Swords. The swords flew around him, creating a barrier.

Tan Lao raised his arms, then the battle armor on his chest and back immediately split into sixteen individual plates of armor. They shone with a blue radiance and quickly expanded, transforming into sixteen mighty shields with sharp spikes around their edges. The sixteen shields whirled around Tan Lao to protect him.

The large army behind these three felt utterly dismayed. Even though they knew most of the flying greatswords were illusions, they were unable to discern whether they were real or not. These people frantically waved their weapons to block the Spirit Illusion Greatswords raining down on them. However, they were wasting their strength as they mostly struck the illusions instead.

But even if it was a waste of strength, none of them dared to stop as they could hear screams of agony around them from time to time. There were people already being struck down by the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. In mere moments, dozens had already fallen to the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. The screams continued to echo about, causing the survivors to feel anxious and afraid.

A single Spirit Illusion Greatsword had not only forced the three number one disciples of the three major sects to be on their toes, but it had also struck terror in the hearts of the thousand-strong army. Its might was extraordinary.

The illusions cast by the Spirit Illusion Greatsword were simply too real. It not only projected the form of the original, it fully emulated all its aspects, including sound and smell. It was indiscernible from the real one even with transcendence vision. It was a mystery how such an artifact had possibly been refined.

If someone were to see a greatsword flying towards them, even if they knew it was most likely a fake, they would still be afraid to lower their defenses. What if it was the real one?

A series of clanging noises would constantly echo forth from the Thunderclap Flying Swords circling around Gu Sanzheng, the whip dancing about Ye Xin, and the sixteen shields flying about Tan Lao. They were clearly under attack by the enigmatic Spirit Illusion Greatsword.

The screams of agony behind those three were also a testament to the terrifying strength of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword.

It was not without reason that Ba Wenjing had been so confident in sweeping the competition in the Western Star Sea with just a single Spirit Illusion Greatsword. The artifact was indeed deserving of such arrogance. Sadly, his luck had not been so good, resulting in him suffering such a crushing defeat under Zhao Lingtu’s hammer. One could never be too careful in this Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade.

"What a powerful transcendent artifact. How could that crude Mountain Suppressing Hammer suppress such a mystifying transcendent artifact? I fear not even the Mystic Yin Mirror is a match for this Spirit Illusion Greatsword!" Ye Xin exclaimed. She was a little perplexed as to how the Spirit Illusion Greatsword could have lost to the Mountain Suppressing Hammer.

"To think this Miao Yi would willingly give away two mighty artifacts to another..." Time and again, Gu Sanzheng was kept feeling bewildered by this sequence of events. Suddenly, he shouted, "Tan Lao, assist me!"