Young Noble Be Monster Slaying
Chapter 933: The Sword of Killing and Ring of Reversal (II)

Lu Chengchou didn’t recognize the Whale-Riding Immortal, but the Whale-Riding Immortal recognized him right away. After all, back during the Mount Shu Summit, he had been one of the key figures working behind the scenes to support Chu Liang.

Without a word, he formed a hand seal. The bottomless ravine surged upward, and a colossal tidal wave roared forth. Black water soared into the sky, transforming into a vast army of watery phantoms, all ready to crush the tiny Lu Chengchou!

However, Lu Chengchou remained completely unfazed. He opened his mouth and spat out a streak of black sword light!

The Whale-Riding Immortal clearly saw the attack and dodged aside, but to his surprise, the little sword twisted in midair and began to chase after him as if it had locked onto its target!

With no other choice, the Whale-Riding Immortal raised his palm to block it. A sickening squelch followed as the blade punched a bloody hole through his flesh. Black mist spread outward from the wound, cutting off his ability to circulate energy and begin the healing process.

Only after striking its target did the tiny sword flash back through the air and return to Lu Chengchou’s body.

"Hee-hee-hee... Do you really think I’m still the same man at the Mount Shu Summit?" Lu Chengchou laughed gleefully. "Even Wen Yuan wouldn’t be able to withstand a single strike from me now!"

"If you're so powerful now, why haven’t you gone back to take revenge?" Chu Liang asked suddenly.

Lu Chengchou was momentarily stumped. After a brief pause, he roared, "You’ll be the first one I kill!"

With that, he opened his mouth and spat out the same shadowy blade.

By now, Chu Liang had seen it clearly. Lu Chengchou’s cultivation realm hadn’t truly changed. He was still technically at the seventh realm, but his body had been destroyed and his soul torn apart. The foundational qi he retained was no stronger than that of a fifth or sixth realm cultivator. He didn’t even possess the power of a true master of Heavenly Origin. All his strength came from that tiny sword.

No one knew where the sword had come from, but it was clearly a legendary weapon. It moved as fast as a gale, its edge could slice through anything, and the spiritual force it carried was impossible to block. The most terrifying part was that Lu Chengchou could control it with absolute precision.

But no matter how invincible the weapon, its wielder’s low cultivation remained a glaring weakness.

As the tiny sword flew toward him, Chu Liang turned into a streak of lightning and shot into the distance, fully activating the Great Dao of Distancelessness. At the same time, he shouted, "Focus on him first!"

As long as he could kite the sword for a while, the others could finish off Lu Chengchou like swatting a fly.

The moment the shadowy sword flew off in pursuit, the Sword Emperor of the West Sea and Jiang Yuebai closed in from both sides. Their sword qi surged forward like a crashing tide, bearing down on Lu Chengchou!

But just then, a black iron ring flew out from the side of the ravine. It spun rapidly as it circled around Lu Chengchou, intercepting the sword qi. The attacks were caught in its spiral, redirected, and flung back the way they had come.

The Sword Emperor of the West Sea’s attack flew toward Jiang Yuebai, while Jiang Yuebai’s sword qi was redirected toward the Sword Emperor. Both had just unleashed a powerful strike, and caught off guard by the sudden rebound, they quickly raised their swords to defend themselves. Even so, they staggered back several steps under the force of the impact.

The Whale-Riding Immortal acted again. He formed a seal and pointed forward. Sensing that something was wrong with the black ring, he avoided forcing his way through. Instead, he activated the technique known as the Five Labors and Seven Injuries.

To his surprise, the spinning black ring reflected even intangible spells. In an instant, the curse rebounded and struck him instead.

"Pffft." He spat out a mouthful of black blood and forcibly dispelled the curse from his body. But after being injured twice in such quick succession, a deep frown creased his brow.

On the other side, Chu Liang created hundreds of clones to throw off the tiny sword, but the black blade ignored all of them and went straight for the real him. It sliced across his thigh in an instant, resulting in blood splattering everywhere before it flew back to its master like it had just won a fight.

The fact that Chu Liang could survive the pursuit of that tiny sword without being killed on the spot was already a clear sign of how strong he was.

Despite their wielder’s pitifully low cultivation level, the combination of an indestructible sword and a ring that reflected every attack and spell caused serious trouble even for top-tier cultivators!

"You people are really hard to kill," Lu Chengchou snapped, turning his eyes toward Jiang Yuebai and the Sword Emperor of the West Sea.

"Retreat for now," the Whale-Riding Immortal ordered. He had thought about bringing out Mount Shu Sect's Vessel of God to force their way through, but he was worried that Lu Chengchou would target his daughter or Chen Erniu instead. Neither of them would be able to survive even a single strike from the black sword. Based on how the weapon behaved, it could not be blocked by anyone else and would not stop until it hit its chosen target.

With a wave of his hand, the four of them withdrew together.

Lu Chengchou still burned with the desire to kill, but he was bound to this place and couldn’t give chase. He stood at the mouth of the Devil-Slaying Ravine, grinning with wicked delight.

"Come back here again, and next time you’ll leave with more than just a couple of bloody holes!"

Having finally avenged part of his grudge against the Mount Shu Sect, his voice was filled with smug satisfaction.

…

Only after retreating several hundred li from the Devil-Slaying Ravine did the four finally stop to regroup.

"That flying sword and iron ring are far too powerful. They must be the work of the Divine Ruins Monastery," the Whale-Riding Immortal said with a frown. "If we want to get through, it seems our only choice is to force our way in with the Vessel of God."

The group fell silent for a moment.

They hadn’t even reached the Divine Ruins Monastery yet, but they had already witnessed its terrifying strength. On this journey alone, they had faced a skeletal dragon that had slumbered for tens of thousands of years, only to be awakened and empowered to fight at the peak of the eighth realm. And now, two cultivators who were barely seventh realm had each been given an artifact that made them frighteningly strong. It was hard to believe.

That tiny sword and iron ring would easily rank within the top twenty of the Catalog of the Mortal World’s Ten Thousand Treasures, yet they had been casually handed over to someone like Lu Chengchou. This suggested that within the Divine Ruins Monastery, artifacts of that level might not even be seen as anything special.

The thought alone was enough to bring a sense of hopelessness.

Even if they managed to break through here, could they really break into the Divine Ruins Monastery?

Just as the atmosphere grew heavy, Chu Liang looked up with a smile. "No need. At least not yet. "The Vessel of God is our final trump card. We should save it if we can. Those two aren’t actually that strong. It’s their artifacts that are powerful. Getting past them might not be as hard as it seems."

The Whale-Riding Immortal asked, "You have a plan?"

"I’ve got a few ideas," Chu Liang replied with a nod. "But I’ll need your help."

Seeing the confidence in Chu Liang’s eyes, the Whale-Riding Immortal gave a firm nod and got ready for another attempt.

Moments later, with the wound on his palm still unhealed, the Whale-Riding Immortal appeared once again at the edge of the Devil-Slaying Ravine and shouted, "Come out and fight!"

Before long, Lu Chengchou’s tiny wooden figure flew over once more.

He said with a sneer, "You’re not afraid of dying, are you? Still bold enough to come back? All healed up, huh? And now you think you can take on our Sword of Killing and Ring of Reversal again!"

"Sword of Killing and Ring of Reversal?" It was the first time the Whale-Riding Immortal had heard the name of the artifact. He chuckled and said, "We’ll know once we try."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Chengchou had already opened his mouth and spat out the black miniature sword again, shouting, "Life-Taking Sword, go!"

The sword named Life-Taking Sword once again turned into a shadowy streak and shot toward the Whale-Riding Immortal. The same deadly move, and seemingly no way to counter it.

However, the Whale-Riding Immortal didn’t try to dodge this time. He flipped his hand, formed a seal, and pointed both fingers directly at Lu Chengchou.

Young Noble Xunyang was hiding in the shadows, iron ring in hand and ready to act. The ring spun into motion and was just about to shield Lu Chengchou from the incoming divine technique when Xunyang suddenly felt his entire body freeze. A surge of chaotic energy invaded his mind and seized control of his limbs before he could react. His hands moved on their own and pulled the ring back.

Lu Chengchou had already braced himself, ready to mock the Whale-Riding Immortal from within the protection of the Wind-Reversing Ring. But at the final moment, the ring abruptly lifted, halting just three cun above his head.

In that instant, a surge of black water shot up from below and swallowed him whole.

"Mmmphhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

An overwhelming force pressed in from all sides, and Lu Chengchou nearly died on the spot. Fortunately, the wood used to sculpt his current body had been sourced from the Divine Ruins Monastery. It was more durable than most things in the human world and that was why the little wooden figure did not get crush on the spot.

He immediately summoned the Life-Taking Sword back to his hand and slashed open the prison of black water, barely escaping with his life. Then he turned toward Young Noble Xunyang, eyes blazing. "What the hell are you doing? Trying to get me killed?"

But Young Noble Xunyang still couldn’t move.

Amid the surging tide of black water, Chu Liang had already drawn near. With the Soul-Seizing Puppet, he easily invaded Xunyang’s divine soul. Compared to Xunyang, who was only in the seventh realm, Chu Liang’s cultivation was far superior.

The reason he chose to control Xunyang instead of Lu Chengchou was simple. If the ring had landed on Lu Chengchou, Chu Liang wasn’t confident he could break through its defense. More likely, the attack would have bounced back and struck him instead.

There was no need to take that risk.

Boooooooooooom!

Under the control of the Whale-Riding Immortal, the black water surged down once more in a massive wave. It swept across the sky and completely severed everyone's senses.

Chu Liang put on the Mask of Myriad Forms. With a twist of his body, he transformed into Lu Chengchou and rode the waves straight toward Young Noble Xunyang.

At that moment, Young Noble Xunyang had just broken free from the Soul-Seizing Puppet’s control. As soon as he saw "Lu Chengchou" appear before him, he opened his mouth to speak—

Smaaaack!

A heavy slap landed squarely on his cheek.

Though Lu Chengchou was just a small wooden figure, he possessed immense strength. The slap sent Young Noble Xunyang flying more than ten zhang, and the left side of his face swelled up instantly.

"Useless trash!" Chu Liang barked furiously. "You can't even manage a proper defense. What use are you? If this happens again, I’ll kill you myself. Now follow me!"

With that, he turned and dove back into the tide.

Xunyang was both shocked and furious, his heart filled with grievance. He hadn’t even had the chance to explain how he had been struck by a divine technique before being hit again without warning.

But he was a guest living under someone else's roof, and he still feared the authority of Lu Chengchou’s father. In the end, he could only swallow his resentment and obey.

The moment he stepped forward, the great waves calmed once more.

Lu Chengchou and Young Noble Xunyang reappeared and locked eyes, both of them visibly seething.

Whoosh.

A spark of divine light fell on Lu Chengchou, and the smoldering flame in his eyes flared into a blazing inferno.

"I brought you here, gave you shelter, gifted you a life-saving technique, and you can't even manage to cast a ring shield? What use are you? Were you planning to let me die so you could run off with the Life-Taking Sword? Dream on. Without the mnemonic chant, you can't even control that sword. I, however, know the ring's chant. Maybe I should just kill you and take both artifacts myself."

Young Noble Xunyang was still trying to wrap his head around the sudden outburst. He was about to defend himself when another flash of divine insight struck him.

"You moron. I was clearly hit by a divine technique, that's why I couldn't deploy the artifact. And you're doubting my loyalty? You tricked me into coming here. Now I’m trapped for a hundred years, and you think I enjoy it? Just a hundred days with you disgust me to no end. If it weren’t for your father, I would’ve killed you long ago. You want to kill me? Fine. Go ahead and try."

Hidden in the shadows, Chu Liang had cast two Evil Heart Curses, completely igniting the fury in both their hearts.

The clash between the Life-Taking Sword and the Wind-Reversing Ring was the meeting of the unstoppable and the unbreakable.

And in that very instant, they collided in a thunderous clash! Boooooooooom!