"Boom!"
With the world shaking and the earth groaning, the second immortal mountain fiercely collided with the sword curtain that Su Qingjiu had pierced. Instantly, the tip of the Xunlu sword let out a humming, ringing sound. Su Qingjiu’s expression was grave, her sword intent continuously surging. She had already concluded that the Five Peaks Ancestor was the most terrifying opponent she had ever encountered in her life, without exception.
"Hmph!"
The Five Peaks Ancestor narrowed his eyes, golden light flashing within his pupils. The incomplete divine power of an ancient deity surged continuously. He sneered, "Su Qingjiu, who, along with Lin Wanhua, is known as the dual pillars of the human world's sword dao, is indeed different from other sword cultivators. But ultimately, you are merely a twelfth-realm cultivator. How many of my mountains can you withstand?"
Saying this, he spread his five fingers. With a humming resonance, he dragged out the third immortal mountain and hurled it fiercely towards Su Qingjiu's head.
Su Qingjiu knitted her delicate brows and thrust out the Xunlu sword with her right hand. With her left, she gently flicked her sword finger. Instantly, a white light shot up into the sky. It was her first Natal flying sword, Bai Yu. With a "swish," the flying sword Bai Yu transformed into a giant, plump white fish. It opened its maw and swallowed the Dharma image of the third immortal mountain into its belly. The sword tip rang with a sharp clang, holding its ground against the power of an immortal mountain.
"Oh?"
The Five Peaks Ancestor raised an eyebrow lightly. This time, he was genuinely surprised. How could a twelfth-realm sword cultivator possess such a foundation? If this Su Qingjiu were allowed to grow, she would become even more terrifying in the future.
For a moment, without a second thought, the Five Peaks Ancestor vibrated his five fingers. The fourth and fifth immortal mountains, almost without hesitation, crushed down from afar, heading straight for Su Qingjiu's head.
Su Qingjiu gritted her silver teeth, her life force constantly evaporating. On one hand, she had to resist the crushing assault of the immortal mountains. On the other hand, she had to circulate her sword qi to contend with the corrosive flames of the Undefeated Inner Demon. As a result, Su Qingjiu's face had already turned pale, and her exquisite face was covered in sweat. Although it was a one-on-one fight, her opponent was an exceptionally powerful fourteenth-realm cultivator, making it too strenuous.
"Swish—"
Two streams of sword light surged out from the Sword Concealment Lake together. The second Natal flying sword, Qing Yu, materialized a sword body thousands of feet long, tautening in the air like a crescent moon. The third flying sword, Liu Xu, split into two, respectively holding back the fourth and fifth immortal mountains. With one end connected to Qing Yu, it was like a giant carrying pole in the air, erupting with strong sword light and dragging down the crushing momentum of the two immortal mountains.
The Five Peaks Ancestor's gaze was stern. He grinned sinisterly, "Your tricks are all used up, but mine have just begun."
As he spoke, the Five Peaks Ancestor's body suddenly grew immense. His form hunched over, and like an ancient deity, he rose from the mountaintop. His body was covered in dense golden divine veins, like an ancient wind god resurrected. Wisps of Undefeated Inner Demon flames circled him. He raised his arm, his fist surrounded by flames, and punched fiercely at Su Qingjiu.
"Thump!"
The colossal sound ripped through the heavens and earth. With a single punch, the Xunlu sword was almost smashed into pieces. Su Qingjiu held the Xunlu sword horizontally to block in front of her chest. Her body crashed through a mountain peak and tumbled ungracefully into a forest. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her internal life force churning and boiling; she was already injured.
But she did not hesitate. In an instant, she rose from the ground, raising the Xunlu sword. Wisps of heavy and dense killing intent swirled around the sword, and she fiercely chopped towards the Five Peaks Ancestor's head.
"Presumptuous!"
The Five Peaks Ancestor's face showed anger. He pointed a finger out, and instantly, streams of powerful Undefeated Inner Demon flames surged forth, continuously clashing with the sword light of the Xunlu sword. For a moment, the heavens shook and the earth trembled, as if a terrifying earthquake had occurred throughout the entire Southern Wilderness.
Streams of sword light, brimming with majestic energy, shot into the sky. The cultivators on the mountains of Furong State, Yu State, and Huang State in the south could all see the great battle unfolding in the Southern Wilderness!
"With just you?"
The Five Peaks Ancestor's body soared imposingly, his eyes filled with immensely dense divinity. This divinity was even more profound than Su Qingjiu's Sword Heart Attunement to the Divine. After all, this was the incomplete remains of a wind god who had been bestowed titles by heaven and earth, while Su Qingjiu's Sword Heart Attunement to the Divine was merely approaching the Dao in swordsmanship. They were not comparable.
The next moment, the Five Peaks Ancestor raised his fist and smashed the flying swords Bai Yu, Qing Yu, and Liu Xu away. He waved his palm, and a golden radiance rose around him, transforming into an incomplete divine throne.
"Ah?"
Su Qingjiu's delicate brows furrowed, and her heart was filled with shock. She had considered that this Undefeated Inner Demon had possessed and merged with the remains of an ancient deity, but she had not expected these remains to be so profound, possessing a divine throne during its lifetime. And among the deities in the world, those who possessed divine thrones were all extraordinary beings!
The Xunlu sword shot up into the sky, heading straight for the Five Peaks Ancestor's head. The sword light was radiant and dense. In Su Qingjiu's hands, the Xunlu sword's power far surpassed that in Gu Yanshu's hands. Moreover, Su Qingjiu wielded this divine sword with Sword Heart Attunement to the Divine, and for a time, the sword light was filled with divine radiance, exceedingly bright.
"A mere illusion!"
The Five Peaks Ancestor let out a fierce roar and punched down heavily. Instantly, the tip of the Xunlu sword was suppressed to an extreme curvature, almost folding in half. However, even so, the divine sword only dimmed slightly in its radiance but did not truly break. Following this, the Five Peaks Ancestor delivered a heavy punch onto the sword body.
With a deafening roar, five mountains of turbulent waves pressed down. Su Qingjiu spat out another mouthful of blood, her body like a cannonball, sent hurtling backward and crashing into the body of Mount Wutong.
"Again!"
The Five Peaks Ancestor raised his palm. The incomplete divine throne behind him hummed and rang, carrying the fragmented divine power of the sky and delivering another fierce palm strike.
Within the mountain body, Su Qingjiu's body suffered successive heavy blows, continuously spitting blood. The three Natal flying swords in the air returned one by one to protect their master, but her injuries grew increasingly severe.
In the pitch darkness, her Natal star emitted starlight, as if clothing Su Qingjiu in a suit of starry armor, protecting her from being killed.
After more than ten consecutive palm strikes, the Five Peaks Ancestor unleashed a seal barrier filled with rich divine power. He knew that Su Qingjiu had a star outside the heavens protecting her, making it impossible to kill her in a short period. Thus, he took a different approach and sealed her, achieving the same effect.
Not long after, there was no longer any trace of Su Qingjiu within Mount Wutong.
The Five Peaks Ancestor soared into the sky and stomped down fiercely. Instantly, the main peak of Mount Wutong sank tens of feet. The narrow passages within the mountain closed, completely sealing Su Qingjiu within.
"..."
Not far away, Liu Chenqing of the Qingtian Sect, Li Yuchen of the Lingteng Sect, and others frowned, remaining silent. However, everyone was shocked by what they had just witnessed. Su Qingjiu, known as the guardian of the southern human world, the majestic Great Sword Immortal of Mount Changming, had just been killed by the Five Peaks Ancestor deep within Mount Wutong.
Her aura had vanished; her life and death were unknown.
No one knew if Su Qingjiu would ever exist in the world again.
"Sword Immortal Su..."
Liu Chenqing’s sword-like brows knitted together, murmuring inwardly with great shame. Compared to Su Qingjiu, what was he, Liu Chenqing? Both were at the twelfth realm, yet Su Qingjiu dared to face the Five Peaks Ancestor alone with her sword. He, however, lacked such courage.
"Phew!"
The Five Peaks Ancestor regained his composure. After suppressing Su Qingjiu, he had expended a great deal of effort.
"Ancestor."
Liu Chenqing frowned. "Should we rest for a night and continue our plans tomorrow?"
"Oh?" The Five Peaks Ancestor looked back at Liu Chenqing and chuckled. "We are heading north to fight, seeking to catch the human world off guard with a lightning-fast strike. How can we delay such a grand undertaking because of a single Su Qingjiu?"
He waved his hand and sneered, "The entire army advances. Next target—Mount Changming!"
"..."
Liu Chenqing's heart was shaken and disturbed. Mount Changming was the foremost sword sect of the human race, founded by the peerless Sword Immortal Lin Qing'er. Would it too become history?
There were two most powerful individuals on Mount Changming: one was Lin Qing'er, a thirteenth-realm Great Sword Immortal, who had already ascended to the upper realm and was likely unable to intervene in this calamity.
The second was Su Qingjiu, who unfortunately had been suppressed beneath Mount Wutong and was likely in grave danger.
Without Su Qingjiu's presence, could Mount Changming withstand the fierce assault of the Five Peaks Ancestor?
It was too difficult. Mount Changming, it seemed, was truly beyond saving.
...
Late at night.
Mount Changming.
A woman in a dark blue long dress hovered in the wind, standing at the mountain gate and gazing northward. As the sword light in the sky gradually dimmed, her heart was filled with worry.
Su Xiao, the senior disciple of Mount Changming for this generation, at the peak of the eleventh realm, was also the disciple most relied upon by the elders after Su Qingjiu. With the sect leader junior sister absent, Su Xiao was the true guardian of Mount Changming.
"Guard the mountain!"
Su Xiao looked into the distance and suddenly sensed Su Qingjiu's absence. Her heart was filled with complex emotions. Gripping the talisman stone of the Golden Grain Grand Array, the mountain-guarding formation of Mount Changming, she gritted her teeth. "The sect leader is absent, but we must still do our utmost to defend Mount Changming!"
In the air, streams of figures appeared, all female disciples of Mount Changming.
"Sword formation!"
Liang Xi shouted and, along with a group of disciples, formed several mountain-guarding sword formations.
Just then, amidst the evening breeze, a majestic figure walked across the starry sky from afar. It was the Five Peaks Ancestor.
"Hmph!"
The Five Peaks Ancestor looked down at the entire Mount Changming, his eyes filled with disdain. Glancing at the sword immortal woman guarding the Golden Grain Grand Array, he couldn't help but sneer, "A mantis trying to stop a chariot, seeking your own death!"
Saying this, he summoned an incomplete divine throne. Instantly, the fragmented divine power from the divine throne surged into his body. Then, he delivered a fierce punch towards the Golden Grain Grand Array.
"Boom—"
With a deafening roar, the Golden Grain Grand Array was directly smashed open. This formation had been left by Lin Qing'er years ago.
It could withstand dozens of attacks from a thirteenth-realm cultivator, but it could not withstand the fierce onslaught of a fourteenth-realm cultivator, let alone a fourteenth-realm cultivator possessing an incomplete divine throne!
"Die!"
The Five Peaks Ancestor shot into the grand array like lightning. He raised his palm, and a stone cone shot through the air.
Instantly, a splash of blood erupted. The extremely sharp stone cone actually pierced directly into Su Xiao's forehead, its tip emerging from the back of her head, bringing with it a spray of hot blood.