Afterwards, countless purple swords pierced through this place, Zhang Nanting slightly smiled, in his eyes full of delight.

But the next moment, those purple qi suddenly shattered, that flying sword which should have pierced through Chen Chao’s body gradually revealed, suspended in midair, unable to advance an inch, and the root cause was because someone had stretched out a palm to press against the sword tip.

Zhang Nanting was puzzled and did not understand. His flying sword was named Purple Cloud, it was back then his master who took out from Three Streams Manor a piece of ancient profound iron obtained in the early years and sought Sword Qi Mountain to forge it. For this, Three Streams Manor had also paid a considerable price back then. So this flying sword though not as good as Sword Qi Mountain’s so-called "Hundred Year Sword sword", but it could definitely be counted as one of the sharpest flying swords in the world.

Let alone flesh and blood body, even an ordinary magic artifact, encountering this sword under full exertion, most likely would also not be intact and undamaged.

But at this moment, the flying sword could not pierce through the body of the young martial artist before his eyes, this truly made Zhang Nanting feel puzzled.

However, in the instant he was distracted, the other party had already slapped the sword body. The flying sword changed direction, then was slapped by that young martial artist opposite, and then crashed over to this side.

That young martial artist suspended in midair only blew at his palm, then narrowed his eyes.

The flying sword came with fierce momentum. Although Zhang Nanting was connected to it in mind, but at this moment was actually also unable to completely control it. He could only do his best to block the momentum.

The flying sword’s speed in the end only became slow for an instant, then directly pierced through this sword immortal’s shoulder.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and smiled, “Got a bit lucky, but next time you will not be so lucky.”

Zhang Nanting. carried back several dozen feet by the tremendous force of the flying sword, stood firm after retreating. Gritting his teeth, he forcibly pulled out the flying sword from his shoulder. At this moment, the flying sword was full of his own fresh blood.

A sword immortal who could travel this world without obstruction, at this moment before Chen Chao, actually was no different from an ordinary sword cultivator.

“If you have any trump cards, quickly use them. If you still don’t use, most likely there will not be much chance.”

Chen Chao’s kindly reminder, no matter how one looked at it, seemed like a kind of mockery.

Zhang Nanting did not speak, only heavily slashed his forefinger and middle finger across the sword edge, then joined them together, smearing downward at his glabella.

A line of fresh blood, following his glabella, was slowly flowing at this moment.

After that, behind Zhang Nanting, a purple figure began gathering. At first it was only several dozen feet, then slowly enlarging, unexpectedly forming a giant dharma idol of several hundred feet.

When great demons of the demon race fought with their dharma idols, their true bodies could often stretch to a thousand feet. This was a secret art unique to the demons, something nearly every great demon could perform. But for humans, the methods varied depending on their schools of cultivation.

Back when Chen Chao battled Guo Xi and the others, he had witnessed them employ a technique called Spirit Exorcism, which drew on ancient heroic souls for their own use. Yet now, as Zhang Nanting revealed the colossal dharma idol behind him, Chen Chao could clearly see that the face it bore was none other than Zhang Nanting’s own.

The towering dharma idol appeared on the mountainside, leaving the qi refiners by the lake utterly stunned. They were all from the qi refiner lineage, and naturally were no strangers to such arts, but they could plainly see the gulf between Zhang Nanting’s secret art and their own.

This was not spirit exorcism at all, but Zhang Nanting refining an avatar akin to a Yin spirit. The key difference was that the former relied on external force, while the latter depended solely on one’s own cultivation.

"Three Streams Manor truly hides capable figures," one qi refiner could not help but lament. Until today, they had never even heard of such a person from Three Streams Manor.

It was their first time seeing him.

From the distant lake, Tu Beihai whose face was deathly pale, rose back to the surface. This Manor Lord of Three Streams Manor now stood upon the waters, head lifted toward the mountains, expression grave.

Though his junior brother displayed such frightening might at this moment, Tu Beihai had crossed hands with Chen Chao earlier. He knew that this young martial artist was by no means an ordinary Nepenthe Realm.

In truth, he should have realized it sooner. When word spread that the temple master of the Glazed Temple who was at the end of Nepenthe had died at Chen Chao’s hands, he had assumed Chen Chao had joined forces with some Great Liang Nepenthe cultivators.

But looking at it now, that was not the case.

It might truly have been this young martial artist, with his own strength alone, who had slain the temple master of Glazed Temple.

Otherwise, why would even the Infatuation Daoist Temple have kept silent in the end?

......

......

The towering dharma idol raised a massive flying sword and pressed it down.

That giant sword, several dozen feet in length, descended with a torrent of sword qi. The entire sky was swallowed in an instant by a terrifying tide of purple clouds.

Zhang Nanting clutched his chest as purple blood seeped from the corner of his lips.

Just as Chen Chao had said, this was his ultimate trump card. Unleashing it now, he harbored the intent of killing Chen Chao without fail.

Hence, this sword carried devastating power!

Yet the young martial artist standing before that enormous dharma idol merely raised his head to look at it, without the slightest ripple of emotion. This sword might have crushed the will of ordinary Nepenthe cultivators, making them believe it was impossible to resist. But for Chen Chao, when had he ever been an ordinary Nepenthe?

As for the feeling of not being able to rival?

It was only in facing him that those in the Nepenthe Realm would know such a feeling.

Chen Chao drew in a deep breath, then exhaled lightly. As the giant sword was about to descend, he shot upward from the ground, rising first to meet it.

Chen Chao's move left even Zhang Nanting momentarily stunned. This technique, if not unique in the present age, was one only a handful of Nepenthe cultivators could perform. Yet instead of dodging it, Chen Chao had chosen to face it head-on?

At first, Zhang Nanting was baffled. Then fury overtook him. He bit through his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, hastening the giant sword’s fall, making it even more overwhelming.

To be defeated or even killed by this martial artist, he could accept as no more than being inferior in skill. But to be humiliated like this, he could not accept it no matter what.

Yet his fury was instantly replaced by disbelief. For that young martial artist had soared skyward like a black rainbow, colliding with the colossal sword in the blink of an eye. Without a moment’s pause, he shattered the purple sword brimming with endless sword qi, then smashed straight into the brow of the towering dharma idol.

Between heaven and earth came a cracking sound, as if a great mirror had been shattered in an instant.

Before the eyes of countless qi refiners, the awe-inspiring dharma idol shattered at once, collapsing like a tall building into countless fragments tumbling downward.

Zhang Nanting vomited a mouthful of blood, unable to remain standing, and dropped to his knees.

The young martial artist who had shattered the dharma idol did not slow his momentum. He spared no glance for Zhang Nanting on the mountain path, but instead shot directly toward the mountain peak.

Ancestral Hall!

Chen Chao hovered in midair, then stomped down heavily.

An even more shocking scene appeared before the eyes of the many qi refiners.

It was an incomparably massive boot that suddenly descended here, about to crush the Ancestral Hall of Three Streams Manor directly beneath it!

Tu Beihai watched this scene, somewhat dazed. Three Streams Manor had stood for several hundred years, never having suffered such a humiliation, yet it had happened precisely during his tenure as Manor Lord.

After today, what face would he have to meet the successive ancestors of Three Streams Manor?

......

......

Over at the Ancestral Hall, at the moment when Chen Chao's enormous boot descended, a streak of green light suddenly shot out from within, colliding with that boot.

"Ancestors are manifesting their spirits?!"

Tu Beihai, whose mind had just been shaken, now had his eyes light up with vitality, murmuring to himself.

Yet although that streak of green light was imposing, when it collided with the boot, it could only barely hold on, unable to drive it back completely.

The two auras clashed in midair, shaking the entire mountain.

Terrifying pressure spread in all directions. Even the qi refiners who had not yet ascended the mountain were trembling in fear at this moment.

A majestic voice resounded between heaven and earth.

"Boy, how dare you destroy my Dao lineage?!"

That voice rang out from the Ancestral Hall, echoing in everyone's ears.

Qi refiners were indeed the most mysterious cultivators in this world. Their methods, so numerous and so profound, were far beyond what ordinary cultivators could compare with.

Yet that boot, after shattering the green light, still hung in the sky, and then fell without hesitation, not caring at all about the so-called ancestor manifesting.

Streams of flowing light shot out from the Ancestral Hall, like a colorful glow, continuously crashing toward that boot in the sky.

Another grand clash erupted.

But no matter how much colorful glow there was, that boot never retreated, causing the qi refiners watching by the lakeside to fall into silence.

"What cultivation realm has this Lord Warden Commander actually reached?!"

Only after a long time did a qi refiner slowly speak, his voice filled with doubt and shock.

"The latest news that spread was that this Lord Warden Commander had reached Nepenthe, but he killed the temple master of the Glazed Temple while still in the Nepenthe Realm. It has already been about a year since then."

"In just a year, could he have reached the end of Nepenthe?!"

A qi refiner spoke, but even he himself found it unbelievable after saying it, for there was no precedent in the cultivation world of someone advancing so quickly.

"Could he really be the next Great Liang Emperor... no... he might even be more terrifying than the Great Liang Emperor. Back then, even that Great Liang Emperor did not advance so fast."

"Let me share some news. A few days ago, it was spread that the temple master of Infatuation Daoist Temple, while comprehending the Dao on Mount Xi, already stepped into the end of Nepenthe."

An informed person slowly spoke, bringing up Yun Jianyue.

"This..."

"What I mean is, since the temple master of Infatuation Daoist Temple can now break through to the end of Nepenthe and become a great daoist sage, then for this person to step into the end of Nepenthe is not impossible either."

Although Chen Chao's reputation in the foreign lands had always been poor, so much time had passed that people had already accepted the fact: Chen Chao was no less of a genius than Yun Jianyue.

"Truly terrifying..."

People were silent for a long time, until they could only utter this sentence.

Yes.

Terrifying.

Such a young yet peerless martial artist.

How could this not be terrifying?

......

......

On the mountain summit, even with the so-called ancestor manifesting, in the end, those multicolored glows still failed to stop that boot from descending. The Ancestral Hall began to collapse, turning into ruins.

Yet at the same time, within the ruins, one shadow after another flew up. Figures with immortal bearing or awe-inspiring pressure appeared here.

These were all powerful existences of Three Streams Manor from past generations.

No one knew what methods they had used to allow themselves to continue existing in this world.

Although it was only a different form of existence, it was still existence nonetheless.

But even upon seeing so many phantoms, Chen Chao remained unmoved. He silently placed his hand upon the hilt of Cloud Mud at his waist.