Sword Aura to the Heavens
Chapter 99 - 98 Borrowing a Sword

Chapter 99: Chapter 98 Borrowing a Sword

When Li Fan and Chen Yan were locked in battle, the other battlefields grew even more fierce.

The old patriarch of the Song Family was entangled by the arriving Five Realm demons, leaving Song Kun, the Song Family Patriarch, to face the Peng Demon alone.

Under the night sky, the dark Peng Demon’s wings continuously struck, each slash resembling a sword of flowing light, carving through the night. Song Kun’s furious shouts echoed in the air, accompanied by the splatter of blood.

"Father, save me!" Song Kun shouted desperately, his body riddled with injuries, barely able to hold on. This Peng Demon was a peak Five Realm Great Demon, an exceedingly rare breed with astonishing strength, whereas he was merely at the mid-stage of Condensation Realm, perpetually pinned down and overwhelmed in mid-air.

From below came an enraged howl, as the Song Family Master fiercely collided with the demon. The surrounding buildings instantly shattered, leveling rows of houses into rubble. Cultivators in the far distance retreated, not daring to approach the battlefield.

Yet, even with such intensity, the Song Family Master still couldn’t break free from the demon and was unable to assist Song Kun.

"Run!" The Song Family Master bellowed toward the sky, causing the hearts of surrounding cultivators to sink.

Nobody had expected this dead-end situation to be overturned by the Chen Family.

Though it was reversed through an alliance with demons.

No wonder the Chen Family dared to invade here.

Who would have thought the ones to perish would be the Song Family and the Cui Family?

Song Kun, realizing he could not resist the Peng Demon, turned and fled at lightning speed. However, how could his speed match that of the Peng Demon?

In the darkness, a streak of dim golden light erupted—the Peng Demon’s terrifying speed allowed it to cross the space in a blink, descending above Song Kun’s head.

Looking up, Song Kun saw a pair of dim golden eyes and the massive demonic body. The Peng Bird’s gigantic claws, like iron and steel, slashed downward, faster than the human eye could discern.

"Splurt..." The claws tore open Song Kun’s chest directly, penetrating into his body. Song Kun let out a miserable scream as a glowing, radiant orb was pulled from within him—his cultivated inner core, dense with mana, radiating dazzling light amid the darkness.

Song Kun’s eyes filled with despair as his body plummeted downward, while the Peng Demon opened its mouth and swallowed the core whole.

The inner cores condensed by cultivators in the Condensed Core Realm are also immensely nourishing to demons, just as their Demon Cores serve as great supplements for human cultivators.

And it is precisely because of this dynamic that demons and humans are natural-born enemies.

Not of the same kind, one must perish—in mutual hunts where survival of the fittest becomes the natural law.

Shadowy light flickered again; with a squelching sound, Song Kun’s heavily injured head was brutally cracked open, leaving behind a grotesque death.

A cultivator in the Five Realms Condensed Core Realm, the patriarch of the Song Family, had perished miserably here.

Among the unseen onlookers, many represented top-tier factions from Chuzhou City, but none dared to act impulsively, choosing instead to observe the battle from the shadows.

The Peng Demon held overwhelming dominance; someone capable of confronting it within Chuzhou City would be hard to find—no one wanted to stake their life in this contest.

And how had the Chen Family managed to ally with the Peng Demon?

For over a decade, the Chen Family had risen swiftly. Could this Peng Demon have been supporting them all along?

"Mr. Peng, there’s another ’Thunder Core’ here." From another battlefield in the shadows came a voice—it was Chen Family Patriarch Chen He, locked in combat with Cui Lengzhou. That battlefield was engulfed in thunder and lightning. Chen He, at the mid-stage of Condensation, had failed to gain the upper hand during the duel.

Watching the Peng Demon kill Song Kun, Chen He knew their victory was inevitable—no one here could stop the Peng Demon.

For over ten years, the Chen Family had ’raised demons’ for this exact purpose.

The ’Thunder Core’ referred to by Chen He naturally meant Cui Lengzhou’s inner core.

The Peng Demon’s dim golden eyes swept toward Cui Lengzhou’s position. Its wings, flashing with flowing light, transformed into dark lightning, killing swiftly toward Cui Lengzhou.

Chen He retreated explosively, giving the battlefield to the Peng Demon.

Cui Lengzhou’s eyes glowed with thunderous light; storms of lightning raged overhead. Holding a Thunderbolt Spear, bathed in crackling lightning, his towering figure stood as if a Thunder God descended. He showed no trace of retreat in the face of the charging Peng Demon.

In the darkness, a beam of purple light tore across the night, the spear striking forward unstoppably, aiming at the incoming presence. Massive claws descended, gripping directly toward the thunderous spear.

Boom... Thunder exploded, and the spear was extinguished. A terrifying force surged forward, as the claws continued toward Cui Lengzhou’s body, once again aiming to excavate his inner core as they had with Song Kun.

The Lion King Dharma Form roared, while a Thunder God phantom stood tall in the sky behind him, merging into Cui Lengzhou’s body. He roared aggressively and launched a Thunder God palm strike forward, illuminating the night with lightning.

Under the purple lightning, crimson blood splattered into the air. Cui Lengzhou’s body was struck and sent flying, his palm wounded and bleeding.

Although he had reached the fifth realm of martial arts, the Golden Body Realm, the Peng Demon’s physical body had already reached the peak of the Five Realms.

The Peng Demon’s dim golden eyes flashed with a strange color; this human cultivator’s physique was remarkable.

"Let’s go again!" Cui Lengzhou shouted without an ounce of retreat, his fighting spirit surging to the heavens. The Martial Spirit phantom merged into his body, embodying the essence of a true Thunder God. His aura continued to climb higher and higher.

"Such powerful fighting spirit," Chen He marveled at Cui Lengzhou. After crossing blades with Cui Lengzhou, he finally understood why this man had been able to kill the former Cui Family leader, Cui Mu.

Earlier, Chen He had shown signs of decline in their duel; if their battle had continued, he undoubtedly would have perished.

Cui Lengzhou’s aura was like a raging storm, growing stronger the longer he fought.

He possessed a unique spirit, akin to a fearless martial artist, undaunted by life or death, driven solely by the call to battle.

The Peng Demon’s eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty intent as its massive body transformed again into lightning, tearing across the night sky.

Meanwhile, Li Fan wielded his sword seed, aiming to attack Chen Yan.

But just as his sword seed was about to strike, a sense of danger overwhelmed him. The sword seed instantly turned back, avoiding an unseen hand reaching out from the darkness—but the hand missed.

Li Fan’s sword seed withdrew back to his brow, while his gaze remained fixed ahead.

From the shadows, an elder stepped forward, appearing beside Chen Yan. The senior’s gaze carried a chilling and deathly aura, triggering great discomfort.

"Ancestor," Chen Yan called out, as though clutching at salvation.

A moment earlier, he had barely escaped death at Li Fan’s hands.

Chen Yan, merely at the Foundation Establishment Realm, had almost perished in a duel against Li Fan, who was in the Out-of-Body Realm. The fact enraged him as he shot a venomous glare at Li Fan.

"Ancestor, he’s the Li Mountain disciple. His sword intent has been expended and poses no threat," Chen Yan said.

The elder nodded, his sinister gaze fixed upon Li Fan.

"Your sword seed seems quite peculiar. Let me extract it for further study," he said with cold indifference, stepping forward to capture Li Fan alive and dig out his sword seed.

Li Fan’s aura was extremely depleted. His eyes glanced toward where Cui Lengzhou was battling the Peng Demon, realizing the dire danger Cui now faced.

Such prolonged combat was not sustainable.

Li Fan could care less about Song Kun’s death; the Song Family had never been virtuous, colluding with the Wuyi Sect and oppressing the innocent—nearly ruining Li Hongyi.

But Cui Lengzhou was someone he absolutely had to save.

Turning his focus back, Li Fan faced the elder approaching him to extract his sword seed.

"Who told you I only possess one sword intent?"

As Li Fan uttered those words, an eruption of sword aura surrounded him. The tremendous space filled with a swirling sword energy cyclone, encircling his body, growing stronger and spreading outward, enveloping the elder and Chen Yan within its grip.

This storm of sword aura continued to expand outward. At that moment, in the darkness, everyone within range felt an overwhelming sword intent, shock evident in their expressions as they stared toward its source.

Who was this?

The elder, mid-step, froze with his right foot hung in mid-air, his sinister gaze momentarily startled. After the brief hesitation, he dropped his foot and fixed a chilling stare at Li Fan, cloaking his body in protective mana.

"This is what you meant by ’one sword intent?’" the elder asked frostily, directing his words at Chen Yan.

Chen Yan’s face turned pale. How could he have possibly known?

The prior sword intent was from Wen Ruyu, Li Fan’s senior brother. It was not unusual for Wen Ruyu to leave behind a sword intent in Li Fan’s body at great cost.

But what was this sword intent?

Who was Li Fan in Li Mountain?

These Great Sword Cultivators—such a nuisance.

"Little Junior Brother."

In that instant, Wen Ruyu’s voice echoed in Li Fan’s mind.

"Senior Brother," Li Fan responded, connecting his consciousness to Wen Ruyu.

"I’ll lend you my sword," Wen Ruyu said abruptly, not even waiting for Li Fan’s approval. Li Fan could clearly sense, from another direction in Chuzhou City, a sword racing toward him at incredible speed.

Within his mind, beside the sword seed, a radiant beam erupted in blinding brilliance.

Li Fan sighed internally, deeply resolved not to borrow his senior brother’s sword.

He didn’t want his senior brother to become subservient to him.

Yet, his senior brother volunteered the sword.

Just as Wen Ruyu had said on the Li Mountain that day, "I will become your sword."

But this wasn’t what Li Fan desired.

His senior brother was not his sword.

"Don’t dwell on it—control the sword. I’ll be there soon," Wen Ruyu’s voice reassured him again, sensing his hesitation.

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Li Fan replied, no longer torn by the matter. To him, his senior brother was always his senior brother.

Above the skies of Chuzhou City, people across various locations raised their eyes upward. They saw a beam of light streak past overhead, illuminating the night.

"What is that?" Curious people in Chuzhou City gazed up at the radiant beam in awe.

"It’s a sword!"

Today, the Chen Family rebelled.

Demons attacked the city.

Has a Great Sword Cultivator entered Chuzhou City?

That sword raced forward, speeding toward a specific direction, leaving behind a trail of light in the sky.