Chapter 111: A Joint Effort

The storage ring was packed with high-grade profound stones, estimated to number between four and five million. Su Yizhao transferred the stones and began sorting through the jade slips.

The quantity of stones was secondary; the information contained within the slips was what truly mattered. Through his study of ancient texts, Su Yizhao had learned much about the mainland, but he knew very little about the deep sea. Obtaining information from these slips was vital—it could provide the edge he needed to survive. Fighting an opponent while blind to their situation was far too dangerous. As a Gold-Rank Law Enforcer, he never allowed himself to commit such amateur mistakes.

He pressed a jade slip against his forehead, and a flood of information rushed into his mind. Moments later, his expression unchanged, he discarded it. It contained only trivial information about the Azure Dragon Clan, which was of no use.

He picked up another slip and pressed it to his brow. Suddenly, his expression shifted to one of slight surprise. "A place like this actually exists?" he muttered to himself.

The slip described a secret realm in the deep sea. It held no rare treasures, but it allowed cultivators to gain insights into time and space, enabling them to break through to the Void Realm. The Void Realm was a state of illusion. Space existed, yet it was intangible and invisible—much like the Dao itself, present everywhere yet beyond reach. The Dao was simply the manifestation of universal laws. Once one grasped the laws of space, one could enter the Void Realm and tear through the fabric of reality. The Azure Dragon had reached the Eighth Void Realm by training in this very place.

Su Yizhao pondered this. The secret realm was located in the central deep sea, the territory of the Golden Dragon Clan. The Golden Dragon Clan were the absolute overlords of the deep sea, holding a status equivalent to the Xuantian Sect on the mainland; their commands were absolute, and none dared defy them.

Too dangerous. He dropped the slip. In his current situation, venturing there would be utter madness.

"The Demon Domain?" Su Yizhao exclaimed, clutching another slip. "So that’s why the deep-sea demon tribes are so desperate to reach the surface?"

The information in this slip was brief but immensely significant. The Demon Abyss had appeared, connecting the Demon Domain to the sea. For the past century, there had been signs of demonic energy rising from the ocean floor.

Su Yizhao fell into deep thought. Suddenly, his face changed drastically, and his body twisted violently.

"Boom!"

"Crack!"

A colossal sword descended from the sky, instantly cleaving his residence in two. A razor-sharp sword aura grazed him, while simultaneously, a beam of sword light pierced the space exactly where his throat had been.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two cultivators arrived from the east and west, landing firmly on the main street. Both locked their gazes on the Li family estate, which now lay split in two as if sliced by a giant blade.

"I am here to avenge my cousin. Why did you strike?" one cultivator asked.

The other, wearing a sheathless, broken sword at his waist, had a rugged face and grinned. "Avenging your cousin? Is there any reason more absurd than that?"

The first man’s face was cold as frost. "I am serious."

The rugged cultivator dropped his smile, his expression turning grave. "Being serious doesn't change anything. Look! He’s angry."

Both men’s pupils suddenly contracted as two beams of sword light struck instantly, moving with such speed that the naked eye could not track them. Fear flickered in their eyes; one drew the sword from his waist, while the other swung his giant blade downward.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

Two sharp rings echoed in unison as the sword lights dissipated. But immediately after, thousands more surged toward them—relentless and continuous.

Su Yizhao was shocked and furious. Experts! Both men were at the peak of the Seventh Spirit Realm, just like him, but they were formidable veterans. He knew one of them had to be Zeng Ziping, whose quest for vengeance was understandable. But who was the other?

Su Yizhao shot up from the Li family estate, his hands moving in a blur as he unleashed a rain of sword light upon them. By now, other cultivators were rushing toward the scene.

"Is that 'Giant Sword' Zeng Ziping?"

"And the one beside him—is that 'Single Sword Pierces Heaven' Lang Fengchun?"

"They’ve actually joined forces?"

"Clang, clang, clang..."

Sparks flew along the middle of the street. Su Yizhao’s face was grim as he pushed his "Universe Sword Technique" to its limit. The speed and volume of his attacks were far beyond his usual capacity, yet although the two men were momentarily flustered, they gradually adapted and began to block every strike.

Su Yizhao stopped holding back. "Vine Technique!" he whispered.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Suddenly, thick vines erupted from the ground around the two men, wrapping tightly around them and constricting with immense force. At that same moment, the relentless barrage of sword light descended again.

"They can't even hold their own against him? Who exactly is this?"

More than a hundred yards away, the crowd of spectators grew. Someone shouted in alarm, "It's the 'Brothel Swordsman' Su Yizhao!"

The name rippled through the crowd like a tidal wave, causing an uproar. It was him? The Brothel Swordsman who held the top spot on the Heavenly Ranking?

"A perfected-stage spell? Fellow Daoist Zeng, isn't it time to use your ultimate move?" Su Yizhao narrowed his eyes, staring into the street.

Ultimate move?

"Acceleration!" he whispered. "Phantom Clones! Shift and Swap!"

"Poof! Poof! Poof!"

The sky-filling sword light tore across the street, but Su Yizhao felt a sudden jolt of horror. Where the light passed, there was no one left.

At that moment, a massive sword descended from the sky, a thirty-foot-long blade of light sweeping toward his waist.

"This is what it means when they join forces! There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide! That Brothel Swordsman, ha! He won't be visiting any more brothels from today on!"

"Indeed, he must be feeling quite desperate now."

Over ten thousand cultivators watched the scene from a distance, their voices rising in a constant hum of speculation. Su Yizhao had no time to dodge. He arched his eyebrows and pointed his index finger at the giant sword above him, his mind triggering the release of a Void Treasure from the profound energy pool in his dantian.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!"

"Clang!"

Thousands of sword lights struck the edge of the giant blade with pinpoint precision, while the sweeping sword aura slammed into the Void Treasure.

"This?"

"He actually blocked it?"

The crowd of ten thousand fell silent in stunned disbelief. The tiny, continuous bursts of sword light, seemingly erupting from his fingertip, held the giant sword firmly in place, while the aura that struck the Void Treasure vanished instantly.

"The Cloud-Turning, Rain-Covering Sword!" someone shouted from the distance. "Is that the legendary Cloud-Turning, Rain-Covering Sword?"

As the thirty-foot aura faded, four or five more waves of sword light rippled out from the void, each stronger than the last. The rugged cultivator wore a grave expression, his right hand gripping his sword as he slashed through the air.

Along the street, buildings collapsed under the pressure of the sword waves, crumbling into dust.

"Ten Thousand Forge Slash!"

With a roar, the giant sword rose and unleashed ten thousand shadows in an instant. The Li family estate beneath Su Yizhao’s feet disintegrated into ash.

He hovered in mid-air, his face resolute, his hands moving rapidly. The sword light before him exploded, while layers of foot-thick ice shields materialized to block the onslaught from above. Then, he moved with sudden, blurring speed. In an instant, his afterimages filled the area within thirty yards.

"Perfected-stage Universe Sword Technique!"

"Perfected-stage Ice Shield Technique!"

"Perfected-stage Leaping Technique!"

Cries of astonishment erupted from the crowd. Just then, a figure suddenly shot out from the onlookers, charging directly at Su Yizhao's true form...