Chapter 77

First, I wish everyone a happy Chinese New Year. In this Year of the Horse, may everyone take the lead, achieve success, and have a prosperous year. Of course, I still have to shamelessly ask for recommendations and favorites, thank you, thank you!

***************************

As the sword was thrust out, if it possessed most of Bai Shi's cultivation, the iron sword would whistle out, and at the tip of the sword, a nearly transparent force would appear. The moment this force appeared, a sword's phantom would also manifest around the iron sword!

Emperor Qi's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately stepped forward. The moment he took this step, snow began to dance around his feet, completely enveloping his body. At the same time, he abruptly swung the black staff in his hand. After this swing, a massive crack appeared in the void in front of him, and within this crack, a huge staff shadow emerged.

Seeing the staff shadow appear, Bai Shi, who was hovering in mid-air, suddenly paused. In this pause, he abruptly swung his palm, and the force condensed in his palm instantly shot out with a whistling sound. Its speed was so fast that it collided with the staff shadow the moment it appeared.

The rumbling sound echoed. Amidst this rumbling, Bai Shi's body suddenly flipped in mid-air, and his speed dramatically increased. Just as Emperor Qi leaped up, Bai Shi instantly appeared in front of him, thrusting his iron sword at Emperor Qi's body.

Emperor Qi's body froze. The speed of Bai Shi's movement made his eyes widen in shock. In this shock, he seemed to have no time to counterattack and could only abruptly swing his black staff to clash with Bai Shi's iron sword.

The moment the black staff and the iron sword collided, a wave of residual force spread from the point of contact. Amidst the rumbling, Bai Shi extended his other palm and pointed.

As he pointed, it seemed as if he possessed the power of the heavens, and a transparent force emerged from his fingertip. As this force emerged, it immediately transformed into a sharp sword, which thrust towards Emperor Qi's left arm.

This sword, formed from an intangible force, was a different achievement that Bai Shi had attained when he comprehended the unity of man and sword. When he released it, Emperor Qi had no time to react. His eyes widened in shock, and his body trembled slightly. He could clearly see the sword pierce his left arm, and blood splattered as a bloody hole appeared where the force had penetrated.

Emperor Qi let out a scream to the sky, retreating rapidly in pain. His scream was not just from physical pain but more from the fear in his heart!

This fear made him look at Bai Shi with a different expression, one of awe and fear of a powerful opponent!

"How is this possible! You, a Spirit Profound Realm sword cultivator... how can you transform force into a sword!"

Emperor Qi rapidly retreated, his voice filled with madness and disbelief.

In fact, the moment he saw the intangible force transform into a sharp sword, his heart had already trembled violently. This tremor made him realize something, but he dared not believe it.

Because, in his memory, no one in the Spirit Profound Realm had ever reached the state of unity between man and sword!

This scene made the black-robed men present look at Bai Shi with fear, a fear that came from deep within their hearts, causing their bodies to tremble violently.

Xiao Yishen, sitting in the snow, was no different. However, his fear was not of impending death like the black-robed men, but rather a look of disbelief, much like the madly screaming Emperor Qi.

"He... can actually transform force into a sword!"

Even though he was not a sword cultivator, Xiao Yishen clearly knew that to achieve the unity of man and sword, one must either have extremely powerful strength, directly fusing one's soul with the sword, or reach a certain level of enlightenment, where the soul must be pure.

And what Bai Shi was displaying was the second possibility!

"No wonder, when I couldn't sense his strength in the treasure hall... his soul is indeed so pure that I couldn't perceive it!" Xiao Yishen frowned, as if he had understood something.

In contrast, the expressions of the strong men beside Xiao Yishen were even more complex. They clearly knew that Emperor Qi was an early Soul Profound Realm cultivator, someone even their sect leader, Xiao Yishen, was helpless against. Now, with just one move from Bai Shi, Emperor Qi had retreated in fear, revealing a mad and terrified look.

This not only changed their perception of sword cultivators but also instilled a sense of awe towards Bai Shi in mid-air!

"There are many things you haven't thought of!"

As Emperor Qi retreated, Bai Shi said in a low voice. After this low voice, he took another step, and in an instant, his figure flashed, appearing in front of Emperor Qi with astonishing speed.

"This finger is for injuring my brother... the next finger is for your pursuit that day!"

Bai Shi's words echoed, as if piercing through everything, making Emperor Qi's body tremble again. As his eyes widened in shock, he saw Bai Shi point at him without any resistance.

The moment Bai Shi pointed, a sound of bones breaking was heard, and another bloody hole appeared where he pointed, this time on Emperor Qi's right arm.

The moment his right arm was pierced by Bai Shi, Emperor Qi's black staff suddenly fell to the ground, and his body trembled as he let out another painful scream, retreating again!

At this point, Emperor Qi no longer chose to confront Bai Shi head-on. The two finger strikes had made him realize that even a head-on confrontation would be futile, just like the strong men who had died before.

He could only scream madly, and the soul behind him, following his rapidly retreating body, quickly retreated. As he retreated, the aura of his soul and the power it combined with gradually dissipated.

"This time, I won't use my fingers, but my sword... I will use my sword to prove how confident you were in challenging me!"

Seeing Emperor Qi retreat again, Bai Shi took another step. This time, his body did not approach Emperor Qi but suddenly raised his iron sword. With his divine sense gathering, the sword was instantly imbued with Bai Shi's power, emitting a suffocating aura.

At the same time, Bai Shi's steps suddenly shifted, and a strange set of steps was instantly executed. As he executed these steps, the power on the iron sword seemed to be several times stronger than before!

"This is sword technique, a high-level sword technique!"

In the snow, Xiao Yishen clearly felt the aura in the void. The sudden widening of his eyes made him see Bai Shi's strange steps and clearly understand that Bai Shi was executing a set of sword techniques!

At the same time, Emperor Qi's body suddenly retreated, and his eyes abruptly closed, sensing some danger. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with a lively look, and he slowly spoke.

"With my soul's realm, I move my soul's power... to resist the spirit's realm, in an indestructible body!"

As Emperor Qi's voice echoed, a strong wind suddenly appeared around his body, swirling like a hurricane. At this moment, his soul, which had been behind him, appeared in front of him.

The moment his soul appeared in front of him, a massive force erupted, and in the instant of this eruption, a pushing force made the hurricane around Emperor Qi's body rush towards Bai Shi.

Seeing the hurricane approaching, Bai Shi's body suddenly paused. In this pause, he did not use any magical techniques but suddenly grabbed the void with his other palm. Immediately, a humming sound appeared around his body, and a massive force gathered in his palm.

"Break!"

With the gathering of this force, Bai Shi's body suddenly flipped in mid-air. In this flip, a massive force seemed to envelop his body, and his palm swung out, the powerful force condensed in his palm tearing through the void and whistling out, colliding with the approaching hurricane.

The hurricane, struck by the massive force, produced a rumbling sound that echoed in the sky. In this echo, it was clear to see that the hurricane and the force Bai Shi had swung out instantly turned into thin, thread-like shadows, dispersing in the void.

More importantly, the moment the hurricane dissipated, Bai Shi's body had already approached Emperor Qi's. As he approached Emperor Qi, he let out a deep cry, and the soul behind his body immediately gathered on the iron sword in his hand, transforming into a roaring divine dragon!

At Xiao Yishen's location, his body trembled violently. In this tremor, his gaze fell on the scene of the soul transforming into a dragon, a scene that seemed to be etched into his heart, becoming an eternal moment!

Even though he did not know the origin of this strange sword technique, he could clearly feel its terrifying power from the aura.

The moment this sword was swung, Bai Shi's body and the iron sword itself directly pierced through Emperor Qi's soul in front of him, and... his physical body!