Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 288: Chapter 193: Scheme_1
“Ugh!?” Xu Yang’s eyes hardened as he lowered his head.

Before him, emerging from the murky yellow haze, a sword revealed its sharp edge.

It was the high-grade Spiritual Treasure—Tianshu!

Comprising the essence of the Three Mountains and Five Sacred Peaks, and the metallic aura of rocks and stones, it possessed a magnetic elemental force that was particularly effective in restraining metallic weapons.

Most Flying Swords were metallic, and Tianshu was no exception. Entrapped within such dense Earth Aura, it should have been immobilized.

But now…

“Bang, bang, bang!” The Tianshu Sword moved, its sharpness increasing explosively as it spun within the murky Earth Aura, unleashing blinding thunder, lightning, and fire, seemingly drilling open the thick terrestrial aura.

Xu Yang’s brow furrowed as he raised his hand, reaching for the Spirit Sword.

Unexpectedly…

“Bang!” The Tianshu Sword twisted, breaking free from the restraints, and then swiftly retreated, escaping the murky Earth Aura.

Xu Yang’s expression remained unchanged. He continued to reach towards his opponent without altering his momentum.

However, Tianshu transformed; the sword turned into light, and the light into shadows, scattering wildly.

Sword control technique!

In an instant, a crisscross of sword shadows fluttered.

Xu Yang stopped in his tracks and surveyed his surroundings.

Within the void, threads of sharp brilliance interwove like a net, ensnaring his body.

Refining the sword into threads!

The ultimate toughness, the supreme sharpness, the extreme edge.

Only with fourth-tier Swordsmanship, that has reached divine heights, could one possess such ability.

Had Chen Zhang accomplished Swordsmanship so profoundly divine?

Tianshu refined the sword into threads, the threads into a net, cloaking Xu Yang’s body.

At the same time, from all directions in the sky, countless rays of starlight rained down.

The Star Mirror, the Star Mirror, the Cycle of Heaven Constellation Mirror.

The Spiritual Treasure reappeared, its power urged anew; a soul-grabbing starlight beam arrived in an instant, crossing the spatial chasm to shine upon the Taoist Man’s Heavenly Court’s forehead.

The soul-stealing divine light of the stars!

A fourth-tier cultivating skill, the divine ability of the stars!

Aimed at the Primordial Spirit, soul-destroying and mind-dissipating; without an equivalent Spiritual Treasure or Divine Skills for protection, a single strike could be decisive.

The Earth Aura was murky and dispersed, partly blocking the starlight, but still, some managed to penetrate and shine upon the Taoist Man’s Heavenly Court.

Instantly, the starlight scoured, soul-destroying and dispiriting.

The Taoist Man stood rooted to the spot, as if he had lost control of his Divine Soul.

At this moment another…

“Rumble!” The earth shook, the stars shone masterfully, as the Seven Star Command Banner rose from the mountains, drawing down a star to crash into the earth.

Array of the Big Dipper, a fourth-tier Divine Power, Seven Stars summoning the devastating might of Pojun!

Pojun, also known as Yao Guang, The Seventh Star of the Big Dipper, master of destruction and fighting, is the premier offensive divine ability within the Array of the Big Dipper.

“Boom!!!” With the Seven Stars summoning and Pojun descending from the heavens, smashing down upon the netted Xu Yang, who stood under the soul-stealing starlight, unable to fend for himself.

Three Spiritual Treasures, three Great Divine Powers, combined into a fatal assault.

With the Taoist Man out of his senses and no way to escape, the Pojun Starlight crashed down upon him, the brilliant starlight engulfing the murky Earth Aura.

“Rumble!” The stars fell, crashing into the earth, shaking the ten directions’ forests and creating countless gorges and serpentine valleys.

At the center of the myriad gorges lay a vast crater.

Within the abyss, dust billowed, with flickers of starlight, leaving the outcome uncertain.

Alive or dead?

From the heavens, a man stepped out on the air, hundreds of sword threads returning as light into the sheath on his back.

It was Chen Zhang.

His body was still stained with fresh blood, but the shattered left arm had already been restored, and his expression shifted. After reclaiming his Spirit Sword, he looked down from above on the abyss: “Such Spiritual Treasures…”

“Boom!!!”

He had yet to finish speaking when a loud boom was heard.

Within the Abyss, Pojun Starlight shattered.

A figure leapt out, slamming down another seal that overturned heaven and earth.

Chen Zhang’s eyes focused, and Tianshu Sword was unsheathed instantly, transformed into light, and light into threads, weaving a tight sword net in the void that enveloped the thunder and fire-filled Earth Aura Seal flipping towards the sky.

“Bang!!!”

The moment the two forces clashed, it was over in an instant; every thread of the sword net snapped, layer by layer, the sword net shattered; only the thunder and fire Earth Seal remained, not fading away, still flipping the skies, determined to corner its opponent into a deathtrap.

At this critical moment…

Space shifted, and the formation’s patterns changed.

Chen Zhang’s figure became light and disappeared from the formation directly.

The Earth Seal flipped the heavens, inversely rising to the firmament, crashing onto a void spot, demolishing a node.

Soon after, as the formation’s layout changed, this node was also obliterated.

Xu Yang’s figure emerged, standing within the void, with little surprise, just a sigh.

“My way knows only the Skill of Heavenly Mechanism, not the treacherous hearts of the world!”

After the sigh, he looked at the crowd, returning to a cold demeanor as he calmly said, “Well played!”

“You flatter me, friend; we should be the ones admiring your divine abilities, which even the Tianshu Great Array couldn’t conceal from your senses. We, on the other hand, were completely oblivious, a true disgrace indeed!”

A light laughter in reply, Dikui’s figure reappeared, still as composed as ever.

To the left and right in the sky, Chen Zhang and Yuyao also appeared with cold expressions.

Xu Yang stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent: “You think these little tricks are enough to keep me here?”

Yuyao smiled playfully, her words teasing: “With your level of divine ability, surely you are no ordinary noble expert, yet you hide and target the young, don’t you think it demeans your status?”

Chen Zhang also spoke from the side: “Such shamelessness, no matter who you are, today you must stay here. Let the world know that the Big Dipper Immortal Sect is not for everyone to bully or offend!”

The tone and expression were entirely different from before.

Xu Yang wasn’t surprised by this.

Because these two were no longer the Chen Zhang and Yuyao they had been before, but…

Spirit Separation and Converting to Thought, Deity Transformation Venerable!

This was a plot, a conspiracy, a trap!

The reinforcements of the Tianshu Sect did not only rely on three Spiritual Treasures and a group of Nascent Soul cultivators as simple as that.

There were also the divided spirits of two Divinity Transformation Venerables, hidden within the Spiritual Treasures, serving as the final measure.

These two Venerables were none other than the masters of Chen Zhang and Yuyao, the Elders of Big Dipper Immortal Sect who have undergone Divinity Transformation, Sword Venerable Dongcang and True Man Taihua.

One a Sword Cultivator and one a practitioner of the cultivating skills, both with achievements that shadow creation itself, and divine abilities attained, notable for the North Doulou Heavenly Sword Net and Star Soul-grabbing Light within the Big Dipper Immortal Sect. They were indeed prominent figures.

Although the Void Spirit Cave Heaven rejected all forces above the Nascent Soul, the divided spirits of Divinity Transformation Venerables were not the same as a second Divinity Transformation, and could enter the Void Spirit Realm without hindrance.

With this, they had their second reliance besides the Spiritual Treasures—Divine Skills!

Temporarily controlling their disciples through divided spirits and commanding the Spiritual Treasures allowed them to execute the Art of Divine Abilities.

Although the divine abilities displayed in this way were far less powerful than those of their true bodies, they were still sufficient to influence the battle and determine victory, defeat, life, or death at a critical moment.

A sword and a spell, two Great Divine Powers.

Besides these, there was still one person in reserve.

Dikui, this once Deity Transformation Venerable, now a Grandmaster of Array Formation, had also mastered a divine ability, an Array of Divine Ability.

Three Spiritual Treasures, three Divine Skills, along with the power of Tianshu Great Array, these were all their methods, their confidence.

With these methods and the previous preparations, why did they not reveal them before?

It was a trap, a snare!

Yunji had long since communicated the happenings in this realm, which naturally also included the incident where his Heavenly Mechanism Jewel Pupil tried to spy on the other party, only to be countered and slain by True Martial, losing over a hundred years of lifespan.

Knowing that the other party understood the Technique of Heavenly Mechanism, how could they reveal their trump cards?

The previous arrangements, half-truth, half-false, all acted out for show.

They set the stage to lure the guest into the pot, finally drawing the opponent into the trap, into this array of certain death.

The plot had succeeded.

And now…

Dikui smiled faintly, observing his opponent: “Friend, your divine abilities are admirable. With a body of Nascent Soul, you took a combined strike from the three of us, not only survived but also had the strength to spare, impressive, indeed impressive!”

“But…”

Yuyao, no, True Man Taihua took over the conversation, smiling lightly, “How much strength do you have left?”

“What good will more words do?”

Chen Zhang, Sword Venerable Dongcang, was even more straightforward, holding the Tianshu Sword, he coldly said, “Let’s make it clear under the sword!”

Surrounded from three sides, when things come to a head, deadly intentions are revealed.