Chapter 149: Guarding You Safe All the Way

A surging river of blood roared, filled with endless corpses drifting along its current. Amidst the crimson waves, a gorgeously vibrant butterfly fluttered tremulously.

High in the empyrean clouds above the blood river, a pitch-black brush danced, every stroke and slash carrying the terrifying aura of a soul-reaping deity.

Deep within the mountains beneath the blood river, an eerie, verdant demonic banner whipped about, its unfurling causing the very colors of heaven and earth to shift.

The Reincarnation Brush seemed to exist in an alternate dimension, elusive and untouchable. It inscribed soul-stirring characters one after another. With every single black ideogram that plummeted, numerous blood-corpses in the river were blasted into nothingness. Although the crimson waves smashed against these dark characters, they remained unable to break free...

Furthermore, the demonic banner below was fused with the spiritual veins of the mountains and rivers. Endless demonic energy surged into the skies, constraining the blood river and preventing it from putting up its full resistance against the Reincarnation Brush above.

The blood corpses in the river roared, their malevolent aura piercing the heavens, yet caught in this pincer attack from above and below, they were completely unable to escape for the moment.

Right at that instant! A streak of dazzling light tore through the void from the highest heavens.

The beam of light hurtled from the distant sky, radiating blinding brilliance the moment it approached, slashing directly toward the Reincarnation Brush.

As the radiance flared, a cold and slightly low shout echoed from within the brilliance: "Shatter Peak――!"

"Clang――!"

Sword and brush collided, producing the crisp ring of metal striking metal...

Nan Luo felt an unfathomable aura transmitting from the Qingyan Sword. Even intercepted by his sword intent, it still caused his soul to tremble inexplicably.

Meanwhile, the Reincarnation Brush froze mid-air. After a slight shudder, it did not launch an immediate counterattack. Evidently, the lethal sword intent contained within Nan Luo's strike was not so easily neutralized. The instant Nan Luo steadied his mind, the Reincarnation Brush moved.

A furious roar echoed from the brush, carrying a demonic power that made the very void shudder. This time, instead of attacking the blood river, the brush instantly inscribed a character in the void...

"Obliterate――!"

This character was as dark as ink, seemingly containing endless profound laws of the Great Dao. A mere glance gave one the sensation of their soul drifting away. The moment the character formed, it plummeted toward Nan Luo, moving with a speed as swift as a falling gaze.

The moment Nan Luo laid eyes on the character, the Qingyan Sword lashed out, sword light soaring into the sky and murderous intent surging like a tidal wave.

"Boom――!"

The pitch-black character shattered upon impact with the sword, but he sensed a terrifying aura slithering up along the blade. Heart tightening, he surged his magical power, driving his sword intent. The Qingyan Sword instantly flooded with a tidal wave of killing intent, and only then was the horrific aura expelled...

In merely these two exchanges, the blood river had already broken free from the demonic banner's restraint within the mountain, tearing through the void and vanishing.

Nan Luo, currently occupied with fending off the Reincarnation Brush, failed to notice that the moment the butterfly departed with the blood river, it seemed on the verge of fluttering back toward him, only to be swept away by the crimson current in the end. Seeing the blood river escape, the Reincarnation Brush immediately abandoned Nan Luo and tore through the void in pursuit. Nan Luo chased closely behind, only to be blocked by the demonic banner below.

The demonic banner whipped about, turning the winds and clouds of heaven and earth upside down. A sky-full of verdant, eerie demonic mist churned, seemingly imbued with the most profound and lethal poisons. The green mist shifted unpredictably, at times morphing into giant hands, at times blanketing the entire sky... Its ingenious methods left Nan Luo temporarily unable to break away...

At that very moment, numerous trails of escaping light approached from all directions. Seeing Nan Luo entangled by the demonic banner, they didn't bother asking questions before immediately unleashing various spells and magical treasures.

These people were either cultivators who had fled when the blood river passed through, or those whose close friends and relatives had been swallowed by the river and had subsequently given chase. From afar, they had witnessed Nan Luo fighting the Reincarnation Brush and allowing the blood river to escape. Now, seeing him momentarily unable to shake off the mountain's demonic banner, they swarmed forward, eager to slay Nan Luo.

The entity within that mountain had been sealed into the spiritual veins just like Nan Luo back in the day... Nan Luo naturally knew that this being possessed near-infinite magical power and was exceedingly difficult to kill. Therefore, he had never intended to fight him in the first place, hoping only to break free as quickly as possible so he could pursue the Reincarnation Brush and prevent it from hunting down the blood river.

Although he did not condone the blood river's path of devouring all living beings, Bei Ling was within it. If the blood river were halted, it would likely not be long before countless individuals flooded the area. By then, no matter how immense the blood river's magical power, it would struggle to escape, and Bei Ling would find herself in mortal danger.

By now, several streams of escaping light had already flown in. Without a single word, they waved their hands, and spells and magical treasures descended like a torrential downpour...

Nan Luo let out a soft cry, and the green sword in his hand blossomed into layers of sword lotus around his body. Those spells vanished without a whisper upon entering the lotus, while those magical treasures were instantly churned into powder.

The Five Elements were the primordial foundation of heaven and earth, and most spells could not escape this categorization. When the Five Elements spells fell into the sword light, they immediately dissolved. Although Nan Luo did not chant the profound sounds of the Great Dao or lightly utter the word "disperse" as he had before the Yuxu Palace, he had integrated that very concept directly into his sword.

It was only at this moment that Nan Luo truly comprehended the marvels of the *Yellow Court Canon*. Through the *Yellow Court*, he could seamlessly merge various Daoist techniques... The deeper his understanding of the *Yellow Court*, the more effortlessly all spells would come to him, unbound by any rigid form.

Those whose magical treasures had been shattered by Nan Luo's sword light instantly turned pale, and they quickly unleashed another flurry of spells.

A sky-full of magical techniques erupted in brilliant radiance, almost entirely concealing Nan Luo's figure. Then, Nan Luo's soft shout rang out: "Disperse――!"

The heavens and earth instantly cleared, and the spells vanished into nothingness. The crowd was struck with terror, but Nan Luo had already transformed into a streak of light, plunging directly into the mountain. The giant demonic banner trembled slightly, preparing to sink back into the void, but the Qingyan Sword had already slashed down.

"Splat――!"

The demonic banner, on the verge of vanishing into the void, was violently knocked back out, tumbling to the ground severed in two... Without pausing, Nan Luo hoisted his body and swept away.

A furious roar echoed from the depths of the mountain, and a giant hand formed of spiritual energy lunged to grab Nan Luo.

Suspended in mid-air, Nan Luo's body suddenly expanded several zhang in height, and the sword in his hand grew to monstrous proportions. Turning around, he swung his sword in a fierce slash, and the spiritual hand shattered instantly. Emerging from the mountain, he was met with a blinding sea of light—countless individuals had unleashed an untold number of spells. After shattering the giant hand, his body shrank back to its normal size in an instant, and the sword in his hand bloomed with ten thousand rays of light. Whether spells or magical treasures, anything that fell into its radius vanished without a trace...

With a wave of his hand, all spells were eradicated, and not a single magical treasure could withstand even a single strike from the Qingyan Sword. The crowd was utterly appalled, temporarily lacking the courage to attack. Even if they wished to, they knew they were utterly helpless against Nan Luo.

Nan Luo merely cast a calm glance at the dozens of people before him, then turned and strode away.

Once upon a time, he had walked these mountains trembling with caution; now, he could utterly disregard the provocations of the multitudes.

Just as he turned to leave, others refused to let him go. Dozens more trails of light closed in from the distance. Among them, someone shouted furiously: "Nan Luo, as a heavenly star monarch, you actually assisted that demonic entity in escaping! Surrender yourself immediately and follow us to the Heavenly Court to face the Jade Emperor!"

Among the newcomers were indeed agents of the Heavenly Court. Nan Luo merely glanced at them, ignored them entirely, and lifted his foot to leave. Those people seemed aware of Nan Luo's blistering speed in escaping. Launching a preemptive strike, they unleashed several magical treasures in a flash.

Following the attacks of those trailing behind, the cultivators whose spells had been broken and treasures destroyed by Nan Luo earlier made another move. This time, they manifested their true forms, and in an instant, various exotic beasts and rare insects filled the void. Roaring, they lunged at Nan Luo. For a moment, deafening roars shook the heavens, while demonic energy, malevolent auras, spells, and treasures flooded the entire space.

"Clang――!"

A single chord of sword-singing rang out, exceptionally clear amidst the roars. The soaring murderous intent instantly suppressed the various demonic and malevolent auras.

The sword light plunged straight into the firmament, blossoming into billions of rays of light. Like clusters of blooming plum blossoms, or drifting snowflakes――――

Spells, dispersed――

Magical treasures, shattered――

The exotic beasts and rare insects that had transformed into their true forms and charged forward were sliced into severed corpses under the sword light, raining down into the mountains below.

Those who realized the situation was dire turned and fled. Nan Luo gave no chase. The exact instant he sheathed his sword, the mutilated corpses were still tumbling through the void, and the sky-full of bloody mist had yet to disperse.

Nan Luo did not spare a glance for those who fled. Gazing only in the direction the blood river had vanished, he murmured softly: "You guarded my mortal flesh for ten years, and I shall escort you safely through this journey."