Chapter 68: A Single Sword Strike

Shen Chang'an gripped the withered wooden sword, looking at Su Xiuyan with a calm expression.

"Daoist Shen, I must admit, you are the opponent who has caused Su the most pressure in all these years."

Su Xiuyan spoke slowly, yet he was not in a hurry to engage in combat. Instead, he said coldly, "I knew from the very beginning that if I came alone, or brought only a few experts, I would never be able to stop you."

"Therefore, I brought a massive force, because you, Shen Chang'an, are worth it."

"Should I perhaps thank you for the compliment?" Shen Chang'an said softly.

Su Xiuyan shook his head and sighed, "Does Daoist Shen feel that victory is already in your grasp?"

Shen Chang'an did not speak; he merely stared fixedly at Su Xiuyan.

"Does Daoist Shen think that I, Su Xiuyan, am an arrogant and conceited fool, ostentatiously marching here with so many people just to set myself up as a living target?"

Shen Chang'an still remained silent, but his grip on the sword hilt tightened.

A ferocious smile surfaced on Su Xiuyan's face as he said coldly, "Daoist Shen, oh Daoist Shen, I, Su Xiuyan, have never underestimated you, and I dare not underestimate Li Qingqing either."

"Having fought with her for so many years, how could I not know her methods? Leveraging momentum, borrowing strength, effortlessly finding loopholes in others—she executes this to perfection. How could I not be aware of it?"

"But unfortunately... I knew from the start that I could never outmaneuver her or play games better than her. If I wanted to fight her, I could not stand on the same chessboard with her, otherwise, I would surely die."

"Thus, the moment I left Yuyang Ghost City, I sent out a distress signal. Do you understand? Right now, an expert from my sect is on the way. It won't be long before he arrives here."

"Of course, he won't make a move against Li Qingqing, after all, she is also a Saintess. But as for you lot of self-righteous hypocrites, what do you think will happen to you?"

One must admit that as a Holy Son, although arrogant and self-opinionated, Su Xiuyan indeed possessed exceptional traits. Otherwise, merely having a special physique would at best make him an Elder Protector of the White Lotus Sect, rather than its legitimate successor.

His words were not merely meant for show; more importantly, they were intended to pressure Shen Chang'an and make him lose his composure.

Once composure is lost, swordsmanship becomes chaotic. And once the swordsmanship is chaotic, killing Su Xiuyan would no longer be such an easy task.

As long as he could hold out for this period of time and wait for the White Lotus Sect experts to arrive, the stalemate would naturally be broken.

"Well? Daoist Shen," Su Xiuyan said with considerable pride, "If you surrender the Dragon Girl right now and pledge allegiance to the White Lotus Sect, I can still make the decision to spare your life."

Frankly speaking, if it were Su Xiuyan himself in such a situation, even if he wouldn't kneel and beg for mercy, he would definitely be unable to resist trying to slip away.

He watched Shen Chang'an, eager to see how the other man would react.

Ever since he first laid eyes on Shen Chang'an, this man had been extraordinarily composed. Even when previously cornered to the brink of life and death, he had dared to calmly and unflinchingly charge forward to fight him to the death.

He truly longed to see this man kneeling to beg for mercy or fleeing in panic.

In contrast, Shen Chang'an merely glanced indifferently at Su Xiuyan.

With that single look, a sudden chill rushed up Su Xiuyan's spine, and he felt an inexplicable terror.

That was... the ultimate horror between life and death!

I will die. I am definitely going to die.

An inexplicable thought surged up, and shortly after, Su Xiuyan began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Are you finished speaking?" Shen Chang'an asked calmly.

"You, you..."

"Taking advantage of the time you spent talking, I have gathered enough sword qi. It is time to send you on your way."

As his words fell, Shen Chang'an shifted his sword hilt. A surging, majestic azure glow emerged, and several wisps of sword qi circulated around the blade, intertwining and revolving to form a repeating cycle of reincarnation.

"Hoo—"

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Shen Chang'an flicked his sword hilt, and his figure vanished in an instant.

With a flash of the blade and the unity of sword and spirit, Shen Chang'an's essence, qi, and divine awareness simultaneously sank into the sword edge. The withered wooden wood sword instantly radiated boundless might, with sword light surging and cutting through the air in a single, sudden slash.

Hum!

A massive tear was ripped open in the air, with fierce winds continuously pouring into it. Shen Chang'an executed a single slash, and as the sword edge paused for a split second, a faint trace of light was vaguely seen flashing across heaven and earth.

Immediately afterward, a massive head soared into the air.

Pure Yang energy pervaded Su Xiuyan's entire body, driving his power to its absolute limit.

Yet, even so, he could not withstand this single sword strike from Shen Chang'an.

Only on the verge of death did he realize one thing... he should never have stood before Shen Chang'an, allowing the other man to study him for so long.

Shen Chang'an exhaled a breath. Not a single drop of blood stained the withered wooden sword; that twisted, eerie piece of dead wood was sharper than any metal blade, taking lives without leaving a trace of blood.

Su Xiuyan should not have lingered before him for so long—especially not after Shen Chang'an had mastered true swordsmanship.

Doing so was equivalent to exposing all his weaknesses to Shen Chang'an, letting the latter scrutinize them at leisure before beheading him with a single stroke.

With Su Xiuyan dead, Shen Chang'an reached out to search his corpse. Finding nothing else, he simply removed a cyan jade thumb ring from his hand.

Su Xiuyan did not use a bow, so wearing such a thumb ring naturally meant it was unusual.

Shen Chang'an pulled it off and channeled his spiritual power into it, immediately seeing a vast space open up. It was indeed a magical treasure containing a pocket dimension within.

"Is the White Lotus Sect truly this wealthy? I wonder if Li Qingqing possesses such an item as well..."

Shen Chang'an shook his head and cast aside other thoughts. Wielding his sword, he swiftly charged into the thick of the battlefield.

The battle had to be brought to a swift end. If the experts of the White Lotus Sect arrived and found Su Xiuyan decapitated, there was no telling how furious they might become.

With Shen Chang'an joining the fray, the tide of battle instantly began to tilt.

The presence of a divine sword wielder like Shen Chang'an had a monumental impact on the battlefield. This was not merely a matter of Shen Chang'an's personal combat prowess, but even more importantly, a matter of morale.

Everyone had clearly witnessed the sudden ambush launched against Su Xiuyan by Shen Chang'an and Li Qingqing just moments ago. Now that Shen Chang'an had returned alone and Su Xiuyan was nowhere to be seen, what had transpired needed no explanation.

The death of a commanding leader is already extremely damaging to morale. When the opposing side's leader wields a divine sword and appears invincible, the blow to morale becomes catastrophic.

This reinforced the notion in their minds that the master of the sword could not be killed, which in turn made them feel the utter futility of their resistance.

Even if they managed to slaughter everyone else, Shen Chang'an would still remain immortal—could any of them hope to survive in the end?

Plagued by such thoughts, the morale of the White Lotus Sect forces rapidly collapsed. Before long, individuals began to flee, followed by a massive rout, until everyone was running for their lives and dared not fight any longer.

If not for the lingering apprehension regarding the approaching White Lotus Sect experts, the victors would likely have pursued and killed them all.