Chapter Forty-Six: Absurd

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Though stunned by her breathtaking beauty, as sword cultivators, their combat philosophy held no notion of mercy for a beautiful woman. Since she stood upon the arena, becoming their opponent, there was only one path—to defeat her!

The opponent before him was formidable; Han Yuan’s sword core warned him of this. Her cultivation was only at the second stage of Foundation Establishment, and aside from her beauty, she seemed ordinary, her gaze even a little vacant.

Without further hesitation, Han Yuan unleashed his sword light, fracturing it into countless beams that swept toward her like a storm. At the same time, his sword core in the spiritual palace formed three swords of intent around him, controlled by his divine sense, trailing right behind the sword light.

An ordinary mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would be hard-pressed to survive such a fierce assault, yet Bai Youxuan merely lifted a finger and tapped thrice in the void—no defense at all, simply withstanding the fractured sword light head-on.

“Crack!”

Three sharp sounds echoed as the swords condensed from sword intent shattered inch by inch beneath Bai Youxuan’s gentle taps.

“Hiss—my fingers are actually pierced. You are truly strong!”

Bai Youxuan winced; her forefinger was pierced by the three swords of intent, but only lightly so—no bone was harmed—just a few drops of dark red blood oozed out, radiating a chilling cold.

Seeing this, Han Yuan’s eyes narrowed, his expression growing ever more grave.

A body comparable to the Golden Core stage, yet cultivation only at the second level of Foundation Establishment—perhaps this battle was not unwinnable!

He prepared to soar into the air, but Bai Youxuan moved faster, vanishing in an instant and leaving behind a shattered arena, unable to withstand the explosive force of a Golden Core body.

“Take my coffin!”

Bai Youxuan was stunning, her voice melodious, her figure exquisite—yet her weapon was utterly unexpected, evoking a sense of violent beauty. With both hands, she wielded a coffin forged from unknown jade, heavy as it was, swinging it with ease as though it were an extension of herself, closing in on Han Yuan.

As an internal sword cultivator, Han Yuan did not fear close combat, but the immense force from the coffin changed his face; he knew he could not withstand it directly. Employing his cunning footwork, he barely evaded the blow.

Clearly, fighting her in the arena was impractical—the limited space made it easy for her to seize an opportunity and swat him like a fly with that coffin, greatly restricting the agility of a sword cultivator.

The rules stated that stepping off the arena meant surrender, but flying in the sky beyond its bounds was permitted. Without hesitation, Han Yuan soared upwards.

“Damn!”

The next scene made even the ever-cool Han Yuan curse aloud. Bai Youxuan, relying solely on her physical body, flew through the air with speed no less than his own. The only chance to keep her at bay was gone—how could he possibly fight?

Da Xi could hardly bear to watch: “This isn’t fair. A Golden Core against Foundation Establishment, and she’s only early Foundation Establishment. Corpse Mountain Old Fiend, you’ve gone too far!”

Corpse Mountain Old Fiend chuckled, “What are you saying? Isn’t her cultivation Foundation Establishment, second stage? Her body is just a tiny bit stronger, but she’s not trained in body cultivation—just born with divine strength. It’s not unreasonable. If you’re unhappy, have your disciple surrender!”

Wei Cangyuan stroked his beard and laughed, “Well said, Da Xi. If your disciple can’t win, let him concede.”

Da Xi cursed them inwardly as fence-sitters, but could not argue further. After all, their points were valid—Bai Youxuan had not cultivated body refinement techniques, only had a naturally powerful body, and her cultivation was at the second stage of Foundation Establishment. It was reasonable, yet unfair all the same.

High in the sky, Han Yuan felt utterly stifled. His opponent combined offense and defense, with absurdly strong recovery. His fractured sword light felt like mere scratches, unable to inflict real harm. Concentrated attacks might breach her defenses, but only just.

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Each attempt at hurting her forced him into peril—one swing of her coffin could crush him like a fly. It was a case of hurting the enemy a thousand, but suffering ten thousand himself—how could he fight?

After dozens of breaths, Han Yuan suddenly erupted, hovering above Bai Youxuan and shouting, “Sword Array: Beheading!”

His sword core unleashed all its sword intent, etching array patterns into the air around Bai Youxuan, trapping her within. Above her, a massive spiritual sword took shape, its violent, fierce sword intent roaring, sending shockwaves through the air.

“Cut!”

Bai Youxuan did not interrupt Han Yuan’s attack. She was delighted, directly meeting the giant sword and swinging her coffin upward.

Boom!

The explosion of sword intent and brute force created a vacuum of spiritual power in the sky. Bai Youxuan, at its center, spilled blood from the corner of her mouth. Though her body was unmatched, her cultivation was only at Foundation Establishment, second stage—the force destabilized her spiritual power, leaving her slightly injured within.

“Opportunity!”

Han Yuan, who had planned to surrender after this move, brightened. He summoned his strength, wielding his sword of intent, and charged at Bai Youxuan’s heart.

Clang!

To his dismay, a red barrier appeared on Bai Youxuan’s body, released from her clothing—a superior spiritual artifact! Its solid aura made clear its quality.

Da Xi protested, drawing his sword and aiming it at Corpse Mountain Old Fiend: “Hey, this is too much! A Golden Core against a Nascent Soul is bad enough, but you gave her a top-grade defensive spirit robe? How can we fight?”

Corpse Mountain Old Fiend coughed, “Actually, it’s not her fault—the robe was given to her by a senior of the Extreme Yin Corpse Sect, and it triggers on its own. I can’t control it. But Da Xi, your internal sword cultivator disciple is no ordinary case either. That sword core’s power doesn’t belong to him, does it? I smell a hint of Nascent Soul. Let’s call it even. It’s even a sharp gold attribute sword core, no wonder it penetrated my spiritual power earlier.”

Da Xi scratched his head, withdrew his sword, and awkwardly laughed, “Haha, really? Oh, so it is! That kid got lucky and received a sword core nurtured by a former branch master, with lingering Nascent Soul traits. I hadn’t noticed—apologies. Let’s call it even. After all, this girl is more impressive. My Sword Pavilion admits defeat!”

Having been exposed by Corpse Mountain Old Fiend, Da Xi was about to transmit to Han Yuan to surrender, but Han Yuan beat him to it, decisively conceding.

He was no fool—a Golden Core’s defense plus a superior spiritual garment rendered Bai Youxuan invincible. How could he fight?

“Friend Bai, your strength is overwhelming. I am not your match—I concede.”

Bai Youxuan blinked her large eyes, naively asking, “Surrender already? But your attacks felt so fierce. Won’t you feel uncomfortable conceding? How about fighting a bit more?”

Han Yuan’s forehead darkened. Fierce attacks were pointless—he, at Foundation Establishment’s second stage, could not breach her defense, and his last beheading move had exhausted him completely. He had no strength left.

“I can no longer fight. You are victorious.”

With that, Han Yuan left in style, but turned and ran swiftly, fearing Bai Youxuan might swing her coffin at his back and crush him to a pulp.

Bai Youxuan took Han Yuan’s place as arena master, loudly declaring, “Who wishes to challenge me?”

She swept her gaze around—every disciple avoided her eyes. They understood clearly: this was the Corpse Sect’s troublemaker. No wonder Corpse Mountain Old Fiend had said the winners could challenge each other—it was to pave the way for this monster, explaining his confidence.

Luo Tuan was among the few who met Bai Youxuan’s eyes directly, smiling easily, “A Golden Core body, huh? Interesting—I’d like to try.”

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Zhuge Yukun sneered, “With your strength, do you need to bully others? I recall you’ve killed a Golden Core before?”

Qiao Yixue was shocked by this, exclaiming, “Senior Luo, you really killed a Golden Core?”

Li Li, seeing Qiao Yixue’s admiring gaze toward Luo Tuan, grew displeased and retorted, “So what? I’ve killed two myself.”

As Luo Tuan and Li Li’s group were caught up in talk of killing Golden Cores, Zhou Xuanhong suddenly moved, stepping onto his flying sword and shouting, “Corpse Sect demoness, don’t be arrogant—I’ll fight you!”

“Hey, Junior Zhou, get back here!”

“Such courage!”

“Epic!”

Luo Tuan, sensing trouble, followed Zhou Xuanhong, intending to pull him back, but it was too late—Zhou Xuanhong activated a Gale Talisman, stepping onto the arena before Luo Tuan could reach him.

“Foolish!”

Xuan Qizi’s eyelid twitched; he reached out, trying to grab Zhou Xuanhong from the arena.

“Eh, Friend Xu, why so hasty? This youth is also early Foundation Establishment—why shouldn’t he take the stage? I like young men with blood—let him prove himself.”

Corpse Mountain Old Fiend blocked Xuan Qizi, dissipating his spiritual hand.

Xuan Qizi snorted, forming another spiritual hand to seize Zhou Xuanhong, “This boy is my only disciple, and has been married to the Extreme Yin Corpse Sect’s top true disciple. This is no trivial matter—he cannot be allowed the slightest mishap!”

In the past, Xuan Qizi would have been glad to see Zhou Xuanhong die at the hands of the Corpse Sect—then, when the top true disciple blamed them, the Corpse Sect would suffer. But today was different; Zhou Xuanhong had been chosen as heir to the prized body—nothing must go wrong!

Corpse Mountain Old Fiend, ever shrewd, sensed something odd in Xuan Qizi’s words. He had met Zhou Xuanhong a month prior and knew he was with Xiao Na, so he believed Xuan Qizi’s claim somewhat. Yet he was puzzled—Xuan Qizi seemed to care greatly for Zhou Xuanhong’s safety. Logically, he should wish the Corpse Sect to kill Zhou Xuanhong—why this concern now?

There was a mystery here!

Though unsure where the issue lay, opposing Xuan Qizi was always safe.

He intervened again, dispersing Xuan Qizi’s spiritual hand and snorted, “Friend Xu, you go too far! Just because your disciple is yours, ours are not? Your Xingyan Sect has lost no cultivators, while Da Xi and I have lost several disciples. If you keep blocking, do you think we have no temper?”

Da Xi, having lost disciples, was also displeased, “Corpse Mountain Old Fiend is right. The rules were set by us; do you mean to go back on your word?”

Xuan Qizi’s face darkened, but he dared not speak further. They were all powerful figures within their sects—if he offended them, Xingyan Sect would suffer greatly in the future.