Chapter 376: Shaming Oneself Beyond the Continent

“What are you all watching?” Over at the Half-City shop, the Black Demon and his cohorts had only just stepped through the threshold when they caught sight of the large screen, which was currently engulfed in rolling, turbulent thunderclouds.

“Come and look!” Tang Yuan, the shopkeeper of the Yuanheng Pavilion, was watching with great relish, a bowl of instant noodles cradled in his hands. He gestured with his chopsticks like a general pointing out the layout of a grand battlefield. “They say someone over in Jiuhua City has instigated the great factions to cause trouble for Boss Fang. Apparently, they even captured a fair few of our newly joined members, and now he's gone straight to storm their stronghold!”

“Remarkable!” The Black Demon slapped his thigh in sudden exclamation. “Just a while back, our Black Demon Guild went through no small amount of trouble to reel in a few newcomers, and I was wondering why several of them hadn't come online lately. Could it be...”

His eyes remained glued to the screen.

The realization struck him in full force. “Could it be those sniveling curs too...?! How far is that place from here? Can we fly there on our swords?!”

In an instant, he leaped up, itching to draw his blade and hack someone to pieces.

On the other side, at the Jiuhua City shop, Dong Qingli and the other latecomers looked at the vast sea of “666” rolling across the screen in bullet comments. They could not help but ask in curiosity, “What is going on today? Why is the screen so lively?”

“Hahahaha!” Song Qingfeng pointed at the screen, bursting into a fit of laughter. “You missed it just now! That brat from the Taixi Faction actually dared to flaunt his lightning techniques before the boss. In the end, the boss countered with a single stroke of the Divine Sword Lightning Controlling True Spell. Just look at the look on that brat's face now!”

“Where? Where is it?!” Hearing this, many people in the vicinity turned their gazes toward the screen, instantly catching sight of Feng Xi’s expression, which looked as though he had just swallowed a dead fly.

“What... what sort of technique is that?!” Feng Xi shrieked.

Since time immemorial, the spells of the Taixi Faction had stood at the absolute zenith of the entire cultivation world. This was precisely the reason why, despite only being in the Early Divine Sea Realm, he possessed such overbearing arrogance.

Under ordinary circumstances, a cultivator in the Early Martial Emperor Realm could triumph over one in the Early Divine Sea Realm. However, the cultivators of the Taixi Faction belonged to that select few who defied ordinary conventions.

Their attainments in the mystical arts far surpassed those of most cultivation sects. Yet now...

The spellcraft he took such pride in seemed like the stumbling, clumsy steps of a toddler before Fang Qi, utterly laughable and naive. Even the lightning he had painstakingly gathered moments ago was now converging toward the terrifying, vortex-like calamity cloud spinning directly above Fang Qi’s head!

Then, the lightning descended!

A chorus of gasps and anguished wails rang out. The disciples of the Taixi Faction, who had been attacking en masse with such menacing momentum only a moment ago, were thrown into disarray. Feng Xi, who had been insufferably arrogant just seconds prior, was now white-faced with terror.

“Aaaahhhh—!” Amid the agonizing screams, thick pillars of lightning, wide as barrels, poured down from the heavens.

Duan Yue quickly dispatched a bullet comment: “Friends from Jiuhua City, what sect is this? I am truly impressed! Even the Nanhua Heavenly Light before its refinement was no match for the Divine Sword Lightning Controlling True Spell, yet this fellow actually dared to flaunt lightning arts in front of Boss Fang?!”

“Are our fellow daoists from Half-City watching too?”

“Amazing, Boss! To think that even the cultivators from Half-City are tuning in!”

Song Qingfeng pressed a hand to his forehead and sent a comment: “This emissary from the Taixi Faction has brought shame upon his house, and he’s managed to do it all the way across the ocean to the other continent...”

“It certainly seems so!”

“Hahahaha, magnificent!”

“This time, the humiliation has truly spread beyond the continent!”

“How dare you, you insolent whelp!” At that very moment, several immensely powerful auras erupted from within the mountain gates. In a brutal, overbearing fashion, they pressed down directly upon Fang Qi and Nalan Hongwu, who stood before the entrance.

In front of the gates, the two men felt a terrifying spiritual pressure crash down upon them, heavy as a monolithic mountain.

A shrill, thin voice echoed from deep within the mountain: “To think that possessing a modicum of skill would make you forget the vastness of the heavens and earth.”

Another deep, heavy voice rumbled: “Conceited fools, to dare flaunt your meager tricks before the Taixi Faction!”

Several miles away from the mountain gates, inside a small cliffside pavilion, two cultivators—one black-haired, the other white-haired—sat opposite each other, engaged in a game of chess.

“To think Feng Xi would actually lose. They do possess some capability.”

“No matter their capability, they are nothing more than mere warriors. What is there to fear?”

When cultivators dealt with warriors, their advantage lay in their myriad long-range methods. At a distance of several miles, a warrior would often be slain several times over before ever catching sight of their foe.

Even as that terrifying spiritual pressure descended, the black-haired cultivator pinched a black chess piece between his fingers and set it down.

Before the mountain gates, a stone statue of a Qilin suddenly sprang to life. It let out a thunderous roar and, charged with the force of ten thousand catties, lunged ferociously at the two men!

Not only that, but the array formation shifted in concert with the terrifying spiritual pressure. The two found themselves acting as if trapped in a quagmire, their feet seemingly anchored by heavy boulders, unable to shift or move, their bodies weighed down as though injected with lead.

“Not good! It's an array formation!”

“They've fallen into an ambush!”

The hearts of the audience watching the live stream tightened.

“Begone!” Nalan Hongwu bellowed in fury, driving a fist ruthlessly against the Qilin’s claw.

A world-shaking boom echoed as the violent surge of energy rippled out, sending him flying backward from the sheer impact.

The white-haired cultivator then allowed a white chess piece to fall.

Right where Fang Qi stood, a bolt of lightning struck down without a sound. Had Fang Qi not reacted with lightning speed, that single strike would have reduced him to charred ash.

Simultaneously, dozens of statues in the surrounding area came to life.

Countless strange beasts and rare birds launched an relentless onslaught according to a sequence that seemed chaotic yet adhered strictly to mystical principles. From time to time, heavenly thunder erupted, and soulless winds capable of corroding bone and spirit swept through. Forget two people; even if a hundred more were to arrive, they would find it difficult to cope.

“Hahaha! They truly know nothing of the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth.”

“Indeed.” The black-haired elder smiled. “Our sect’s Millstone Array is designed specifically to deal with these ignorant fools who dare trespass upon our mountain. No matter how high their cultivation, within this array, their spiritual energy will soon be ground to nothing, leaving them to wait for death.”

“To think a mere Millstone Array at the gates could push them to such a state.” The white-haired elder sneered. “And yet they dared come to our Taixi Faction to stir up trouble. They are simply courting death!”

“Warriors of this caliber are like ants.” The black-haired elder shook his head. “A mere flick of the finger, and they are crushed.”

“They will likely never even catch a glimpse of our faces, dying without ever knowing how they perished,” the white-haired elder boasted.

“Hahahaha!” Looking at Nalan Hongwu and Fang Qi still struggling within the array, the two old men exchanged a glance and burst into laughter.

Before their laughter could fade, a streak of black sword light seemed to cleave through the heavens, descending from the outer skies.

The sword energy was like a ribbon of silk, instantly transforming into a terrifying, world-splitting colossal blade.

The smiles froze upon their faces.

Immediately after, a panicked, furious roar rang out: “Where did this sword come from?!”

It was not just the black sword. At that very moment, a silver light, resembling a silver serpent, slithered across the sky before dissolving into a boundless curtain of swords that filled the firmament.

“This...” The white-clothed elder shrieked frantically. “What is this?!”

On the bullet comment section:

“This is the Sword Controlling Technique! (Funny Face)”

“It's time you two stepped out to see the world. Two old fogies sitting on a mountain playing chess all day? And you expected to plot against the boss with just this?”

“They will likely never even catch a glimpse of our faces, dying without ever knowing how they perished!”

“Hahaha, they will likely never even catch a glimpse of our faces, dying without ever knowing how they perished!”

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