Chapter 143: One Sword

Pang Yue stood up and smiled, saying, "Since Elder Ping has such a fine mood, how could Pang refuse?"

A trace of delight flickered in Ping Shanchen's heart, but on the surface, he maintained the dignified demeanor of a grandmaster. "Master Pang has just entered the Golden Core stage," he said, "and I shall not bully you for your shallow magic power. Let us spar until a point is made and go no further, what do you say?"

Pang Yue nodded, feigning a slight look of relief, and replied, "Very well."

He walked to the center of the grand hall, stood firmly, and looked at Ping Shanchen with a smile.

The fact that he was the human tribulation for Ping Taiyan was likely already known to the core members of the Ping family.

Their arrangement this time was presumably intended as a test to gauge his true capabilities.

The other Golden Core cultivators in the hall seemed rather curious about the strength of Yuwen Bi's new disciple, and all eyes were now focused on the arena.

Ping Shanchen smiled as well.

He had not expected things to progress so smoothly beforehand.

To say Pang Yue lacked schemes would be an understatement; the man was simply naive!

A thought struck him, and he simply said, "In that case, I shall adopt a defensive posture. Master Pang, you may use your most formidable methods. If you can break my defense, consider it my defeat. How about that?"

In this way, he would be able to observe and thoroughly comprehend his opponent's offensive divine abilities...

"Very well."

Pang Yue continued to nod.

Quite a few people seated around chuckled silently.

This Pang Yue was, after all, still a bit too green, allowing himself to be led entirely by the nose.

Ping Shanchen formed a hand seal with one hand, and layers upon layers of dark yellow, heavy brilliance suddenly emerged around his body.

These lights continuously stacked upon one another, instantly forming the phantom of a mountain peak that enclosed him within.

Inside the mountain phantom, countless runes flowed and flickered uncertainly, appearing extraordinary.

"Master Pang, take heed. My Thousandfold Mountain secret art is difficult to break, even for ordinary tier-two magical treasures..."

Ping Shanchen offered a "friendly" reminder.

There was one more thing he left unsaid: this Thousandfold Mountain secret art was not only adept at defense, but could also rebound offensive force.

If the attacker were the least bit careless, they were very likely to be severely injured by their own rebounded attack.

"Is that so..."

A curious look appeared on Pang Yue's face. With deep, profound eyes, he gazed at the mountain phantom outside Ping Shanchen's body, secretly urging the Primordial Wuji Stele to deduce and instantly perceive the essence of this divine ability.

Over a hundred layers of spiritual light were stacked together, linked by countless runes to form a formation resembling a mountain.

Not only could it dissipate various types of attacking force, but it could even bounce the attacks right back.

This was a method of forming an array through a single person's power alone.

For a cultivator in the Dao Foundation realm, neither soul nor magic power was sufficient to sustain such a spell.

If an ordinary cultivator encountered this, they would undoubtedly unleash their strongest strike to shatter these layers of spiritual light to the maximum extent, or disrupt the internal flowing runes to sever the connections between the lights, breaking the whole into parts before defeating them layer by layer!

"I think not!"

Pang Yue suddenly chuckled and pointed a finger at Ping Shanchen.

An invisible sword beam flashed forth.

The sword beam instantly vanished into the mountain phantom, and in the blink of an extremity, it darted through the countless runes at a astonishing speed. Its sharp sword qi instantly pierced through the layers of spiritual light!

Before the Invisible Sword, the formation and operational pivot of the Thousandfold Mountain held no secrets whatsoever.

The sword light wove through the intertwined gaps of the Thousandfold Mountain like a swimming dragon with pinpoint precision.

To outsiders, however, there was only a faint murderous intent permeating the air, and nothing could be seen at all.

Just as Pang Yue's voice fell, Ping Shanchen suddenly felt an inexplicable chill rise from the depths of his heart.

Immediately following, his scalp tingled, and warning signs flared wildly in his mind!

Splendid spiritual light instantly surged from his body, propping up a thick defensive barrier.

The next moment.

The dazzling, flame-like protective light around his body was abruptly cleaved in twain!

A slender, straight fissure appeared right across Ping Shanchen's protective radiance.

He stared at Pang Yue in astonishment, his eyes filled with utter incomprehension.

Plop.

From the center of his brow downwards, Ping Shanchen was cleanly sliced into two halves by an invisible, colorless sword light!

His life force and soul were thoroughly destroyed by the fierce, icy sword qi.

Echoing in his ears was still Pang Yue's sentence—"I think not..."

Was that meant to say my Thousandfold Mountain secret art could not even block a tier-one magical treasure?

Among all the people present, not a single one could actually see the Invisible Sword. However... no fewer than ten individuals could sense the murderous intent and the flight trajectory of the Invisible Sword.

That sword strike just now was truly far too fast.

Fast to the point of being unbelievable!

Moreover, the strike was executed with such decisive crispness, as though he had studied Ping Shanchen's Thousandfold Mountain secret art for decades, knowing every single variation of the rune flows, instantly dismantling the core defensive power of the Thousandfold Mountain.

Even more terrifying was that the protective spiritual light fully projected by a senior Golden Core master offered no resistance whatsoever before this flying sword, parting as though it were made of paper!

Many present could achieve the feat of slaying Ping Shanchen in a single blow, but very few could do so with the deft and ruthless method Pang Yue had displayed.

"Luoshan, you saw it clearly, didn't you?"

A mellow voice sounded beside True Person Luoshan, the vice-master of the Thunder Demon Hall.

He transmitted his voice in reply: "Clearly seen. His pupil technique, deductive arts, and swordsmanship are all extraordinary. Although the Invisible Sword is tier-one, its sharpness is no less than that of a tier-two flying sword..."

"This person is extremely adept at combat. In a span of inches, he can perceive the essence of his opponent's divine ability, use his pupil technique and deductive arts to crack it, and then slay his opponent in one fell swoop with unimaginably swift swordsmanship."

The other party transmitted back: "Shanchen was too careless..."

True Person Luoshan continued: "Should we send someone else to test him further? Peeking through a tube to view the leopard, our gains thus far are limited."

...

In the arena.

Pang Yue had slain Ping Shanchen with a single sword stroke as if he had merely done something utterly trivial. Wearing an expression of regret, he said, "It was Pang's carelessness, not expecting Fellow Daoist Ping's defensive methods to be so frail, failing to withdraw my hand in time... Ah, I deserve to be punished, truly punished!"

Among the many Golden Core cultivators present, at least five or six possessed strength comparable to Ping Shanchen's.

Seeing this scene, a chill gripped their hearts.

Senior Golden Core masters possessed agile thoughts and vast divine sense; with just a slight mental rotation, they could deduce the details of the duel between the two.

Yet the result was utterly disheartening.

Pupil technique, deductive arts, swordsmanship... combined, their might was actually this immense!

Especially that blindingly fast invisible sword light, which was practically impossible to guard against. Coupled with its offensive power rivaling a tier-two magical treasure, there was simply no way to counter it!

Pang Yue swept his gaze around the hall and asked slowly, "Are there any other fellow daoists who wish to spar a round or two with Pang?"

Although the middle and late-stage Golden Core cultivators present were tempted by the sight and intended to test their mettle against Pang Yue, they ultimately could not swallow their pride—after all, Vice-Sovereign Yuwen Bi was watching from above...

Meanwhile, among the early-stage Golden Core cultivators, those hailing from the six major clans took Ping Shanchen as a reference and instantly extinguished any thoughts of testing him.

With Yuwen Bi backing him up, no one in this True Demon Hall would dare utter a word of dissent, even if he killed someone.

Pang Yue stood quietly in the center of the grand hall, waiting.

Then, a Golden Core elder from the Thunder Demon Hall leisurely rose to his feet, cupped his hands, and said, "My hands are itching; I have come specifically to seek instruction on the high arts of Fellow Daoist Pang."

Pang Yue turned his gaze toward him and said, "Fellow Daoist Wang Xian, Pang is also most eager to experience the divine abilities of the Thunder Demon Hall."

This Wang Xian was an early-stage Golden Core elder of the Thunder Demon Hall, and his lightning arts were quite renowned within the Demonic Talisman Sect.