Chapter 144: Cleaving the Mountain

The Flip-Sky Seal descended with the force of a collapsing mountain, overwhelming everything in its path.

In the distance, onlookers felt an involuntary surge of terror. The sheer, crushing momentum—imbued with the very wrath of heaven and earth—was so absolute that a single glance inspired a sense of utter helplessness.

It paralyzed the will and unnerved the soul.

"This seal is nameless, yet I call it the Flip-Sky. With heaven and earth as my witness, it eternally seals the cosmos. Suppress—suppress—suppress!"

As the Flip-Sky Seal plunged downward like a crumbling peak, Guangchengzi’s solemn voice reverberated through the void. His tone carried the absolute authority of a master over this realm—resounding, majestic, and commanding the very heavens and earth to obey his decree.

Yet, piercing through this magnificent and awe-inspiring voice came the unmistakably crisp sound of a sword's hum...

Nan Luo’s face remained entirely devoid of emotion, showing neither joy nor sorrow. With a draw of his blade, a blinding flash of light dragged across the sky. It sliced through the void, rushing upward in defiance of the crushing majesty above.

A sharp, piercing cry rang out, cutting through the boundless winds and turbulent waves just like the biting gleam of the sword.

"Cleave-Mountain—"

As this cold, clear voice pierced the firmament, everyone watched as a brilliant white light suddenly erupted from the back of the Flip-Sky Seal—which had been descending with the weight of a mountain. Instantly, the sword light blossomed into a radiance that pierced the heavens. The Flip-Sky Seal split into two halves in the blink of an eye, and the majestic momentum that had carried the wrath of heaven vanished without a trace beneath that soaring brilliance.

Guangchengzi’s face paled, his eyes filled with disbelief. True to his status as the senior disciple of the Yuxu Palace, though his heart was shaken to its core, his expression remained composed... He did not even bother to look at the bisected Flip-Sky Seal. Instead, raising his hands, he rapidly executed a set of incantations while chanting, "Yin and Yang abyss, condense through the nine heavens. Hear my command, Jade Clarity Divine Lightning."

Following Guangchengzi’s rapid incantation, the Daoist standing beside him also executed the exact same hand seals. In an instant, a deafening explosion echoed from the highest heavens. Two bolts of purple lightning plunged straight down from the firmament toward Nan Luo, merging midway into a single, much thicker pillar of purple thunder.

Underneath the might of the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning, the void shattered inch by inch like glass struck by a heavy blow. The entire space was suffused with a purple radiance, and all living creatures cowered beneath the overwhelming celestial majesty.

All of this transpired in the mere fraction of a second after Nan Luo split the Flip-Sky Seal. Guangchengzi’s spell had already been cast, and the Nine Heavens Divine Lightning was already hurtling down from the sky...

All the terrifying majesty of heaven was concentrated within that fused purple divine thunder.

Before the distant onlookers could even process the fact that the Flip-Sky Seal had been cleaved in two and its divine might dispersed, Guangchengzi’s voice commanding the power of heaven and earth had already echoed through the void, followed immediately by a deafening crash. Two purple bolts of lightning had already struck downward, merging mid-air, and plummeted toward Nan Luo at a speed the naked eye could not follow.

Right as the purple divine thunder from the nine heavens poured down in an instant—just as the crowd was struck dumb with horror at the descending thunder—Nan Luo suddenly soared into the air... Following a thunderous explosion from the highest heavens, all sound in the world seemed to vanish completely, leaving an absolute, profound stillness. Even time itself appeared to slow to a crawl in that fleeting moment.

Across the entire sky, there seemed to exist only two things: that single streak of void-shattering purple divine thunder, and Nan Luo ascending to meet it with his sword.

Sword and thunder collided, and heaven and earth fell silent.

Surrounded by a faint, five-colored mist, Nan Luo’s face appeared exceptionally stern in the glow of the purple electricity. The instant the Qinyan Sword met the descending divine thunder from the nine heavens, Nan Luo suddenly chanted in a cold, clear voice: "Yin and Yang abyss, transform into divine thunder, guided by the sword—"

His voice resonated through the void, ethereal and untraceable, resembling the profound teachings of the Great Dao originating from the nameless, capable of commanding heaven and earth. This was an incantation Nan Luo had reassembled over years of chanting the scriptures of the *Huangting Classic*...

As his voice drifted through the void, the twin-fused purple thunderbolts of the nine heavens were actually drawn by the guidance of the Qinyan Sword and plunged toward Guangchengzi and his companion.

Guangchengzi was utterly appalled. He would never have imagined that Nan Luo possessed the ability to redirect the very divine lightning he had summoned. Leaving no room for hesitation, as the purple divine thunder crashed down upon him, he flicked his sleeve and instantly transformed into a streak of pure light, fleeing toward the Yuxu Palace.

As the purple divine thunder struck and Guangchengzi fled in a flash of pure light, the sharp-eyed Daoist also prepared to make his escape. Suddenly, Nan Luo shouted, "Huanglong—!"

The Daoist could not help but look up, only for a dazzling brilliance to fill his vision... An overwhelming, monstrous killing intent surged into his mind, freezing his very thoughts. The Jade Clarity Immortal Art circulated frantically within his body, yet it proved utterly incapable of dispelling this bone-chilling intent to kill.

Knowing escape was no longer possible, he frantically unleashed countless spells. A layer of pure light enveloped his body as a myriad of hand seals materialized, instantly filling the void and forming diverse runes that seemed to summon the Great Dao itself.

The distant onlookers, alongside their awe of Nan Luo, could not help but think that the twelve disciples of Yuxu Palace truly lived up to their legendary reputation, managing to cast such a vast array of spells in the span of a single heartbeat at this critical juncture.

Most of these spells were defensive in nature—appearing as shields, walls, and mountains, while another seemed to be a mighty river spanning the void, complete with howling tempests swirling within it, as if containing endless profound truths of the Great Dao...

That streak of white light was naturally the manifestation of the Qinyan Sword. Its brilliance sliced through the void, shattering shields, collapsing mountains, reversing the great river, and tearing the howling winds to shreds. The sword light cleaved through everything with the force of a bamboo splitting, rendering whatever type of spell stood in its path utterly incapable of delaying the Qinyan Sword for even a fraction of a second.

Huanglong had only just finished unleashing all his spells when the sound of a sword's hum reached his ears, immediately swallowed by a heart-rending, soul-shattering pain.

The onlookers in the distance were utterly stunned. Previously, even upon witnessing Nan Luo’s towering killing intent and his ability to cleave the Flip-Sky Seal, they had not truly believed he would dare to actually harm Guangchengzi or Huanglong. Yet now, they had just witnessed a flash of white light, following which True Person Huanglong’s body was split right down the center into two halves, blood spilling across the ground...

"He actually slew True Person Huanglong? How is that possible? Is he not afraid of Primeval Lord of Heaven?"

Having slain Huanglong, the Qinyan Sword paused in the void for a split second before shooting straight up into the high heavens.

"Cleave-Mountain—"

Following this crisp shout, the radiance exploded, and the Qinyan Sword instantly transformed into a colossal sword, devouring boundless spiritual energy as it descended straight toward the jade-white stone steps below. Its momentum was that of a mountain-splitting strike, giving the distinct impression that it intended to hack the ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps to pieces with a single blow.

"Audacious! Who dares to act so presumptuously before Yuxu Palace?"

The voice echoed from hundreds of miles away, yet by the time the words fell, the speaker had already materialized directly above Nan Luo.

He too wore an apricot-yellow Daoist robe, his hair bound by a stellar crown, his eyes burning with fury.

The moment he appeared, he wasted no more breath. Reaching for his waist, a multicolored feather fan instantly materialized in his hand... With a sweep of his arm, a sea of flames that blotted out the sky swept toward Nan Luo.

Nan Luo had originally been standing in the void, having just used his flying sword to execute Huanglong. At this moment, the Qinyan Sword had already transformed into a giant sword several dozen zhang long, plummeting straight down from the high heavens toward the stairway that seemed to lead directly to the firmament.

The moment that voice rang out, a figure materialized from the void. Nan Luo turned his head to look, only for the overwhelming sea of flames to surge forward, instantly engulfing him. Those flames seemed hot enough to burn straight through the void, drawing boundless heaven and earth vital energy into their raging inferno.

Suddenly, a puzzled voice reached the ears of the Daoist holding the multicolored feather fan: "Phoenix feathers?" Startled, he whipped his head around, only to see that Nan Luo had somehow already appeared atop the hilt of the Qinyan Sword...

The massive Qinyan Sword continued its descent toward the steps below, while Nan Luo stood quietly upon the hilt, looking as though he had merged entirely with the weapon. The fan-wielding Daoist was deeply shocked. He had thought Nan Luo was consumed by the flames, never expecting the man to have slipped away without a sound, leaving him entirely unaware.

A flicker of astonishment crossed his mind, and with another wave of his hand, a sea of flames burst forth from top to bottom across the void, surging down toward Nan Luo.

The Qinyan Sword did not descend quickly, but as it fell, endless heaven and earth vital energy integrated into the blade. With every fraction of an inch it dropped, the momentum of the Qinyan Sword grew heavier.

The sea of flames burned in the void, instantly churning wildly the moment it appeared and rolling toward Nan Luo. Its speed was so terrifying it seemed to defy all distance.

Standing quietly atop the hilt of the Qinyan Sword, Nan Luo raised a hand and pointed at the advancing sea of flames, uttering a soft command: "Disperse—"

The moment the word left his lips, the boundless sea of flames vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed at all. Only the churning, restless vital energy of heaven and earth remained rippling through the space.

The fan-wielding Daoist was struck dumb with astonishment, finding it utterly unbelievable. Ever since he had acquired this magical treasure, almost nothing could survive its burning, and no opponent had ever been able to endure beneath its flames for even a fraction of a second. Yet today, before his attack could even touch his target, it had been dispersed with a mere word.

Refusing to accept this, he waved his fan once more, and the sea of flames reappeared across the sky. This time, the moment the fire manifested, he suddenly paced out the Big Dipper steps in the void, his body dissolving into a hazy afterimage. Chanting incantations under his breath, he swung the feather fan three consecutive times, releasing three streams of fire. The blaze instantly intensified, emitting a sharp, hissing sound as it burned the very void to the point of fracturing.

Suddenly, his rapidly flickering figure in the void froze. Wielding the feather fan with the weight of a thousand jun, he swept it toward Nan Luo and shouted sharply, "Burn-Sky—!"

The towering sea of flames transformed into three blazing dragons, lunging at Nan Luo from three separate directions. Wherever they passed, the void trembled as if about to shatter.

All of this—from the Daoist pacing the stellar steps to his three successive waves of the fan—transpired in the blink of an eye.

With a light chuckle, Nan Luo opened his mouth, and those three fire dragons—imbued with the power to burn the heavens—were swallowed straight into his stomach.

Immediately afterward, he chuckled lightly and said, "In the Dao of the Five Elements, you are inferior to me. How could arts of the Five Elements possibly hope to harm me?"