The sword light stretched over a hundred zhang, radiating supreme golden might. Wherever it passed, the void itself nearly froze solid.
Just as Ian Song was about to be cut down by the sword light, he suddenly raised his right hand.
His palm was pure white, without a hint of brilliance.
In the next instant, he swung his palm and struck out!
"Pah!"
The pure white palm swept across, and the hundred-zhang sword light, brimming with endless power, shattered instantly—splintering into stardust and vanishing into the void.
"Th—this can't be possible!"
Witnessing this, Gavin Jin was so terrified he stumbled backward again and again. The sword light unleashed by the sword talisman was supposed to be able to slay an early-stage Golden Immortal—how could the opponent shatter it with a single palm?
"Run!"
But he quickly came to his senses, and without hesitation, dashed into the courtyard, smashed through the wall, and fled.
Seeing Gavin Jin flee, the other Earth Immortals lost all courage to stay and scattered in every direction.
"None of you are leaving!"
Ian Song blurred into a shadow and shot out like a missile.
Inside the Divine Temple.
Staring at the hundred-plus unconscious, restrained Earth Immortals, Cici's eyes narrowed with delight. Just twelve Earth Immortal blood pills were enough for her to break through to seventh-generation vampire.
"Joy, these guys are all yours!"
Cici didn't continue absorbing.
"No!"
Joy shook her head. "Even if I absorb their blood essence, I still won't reach sixth-generation vampire. But you can!"
"That's right! Joy's bloodline is way too strong—the further she goes, the more blood energy she needs!" Ian Song chimed in.
Sure enough.
After absorbing the remaining Earth Immortal blood essence, Cici successfully advanced to sixth-generation vampire, gaining power on par with a Golden Immortal.
Suddenly, Ian Song remembered that the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal still had two Golden Immortal subordinates.
If you add the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal himself, that's three Golden Immortals—enough for Joy to evolve to sixth-generation vampire.
After taking care of Gavin Jin and his Earth Immortal crew, Ian Song didn’t leave Stonecrest Town—instead, he brazenly decided to stay.
Soon enough.
The Nine-Sun Sword Immortal quickly received word of Gavin Jin’s defeat.
"My lord, why not let me go handle this?"
Connor Wei volunteered. He was one of the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal’s two Golden Immortal lieutenants, and his strength had already reached the peak of early-stage Golden Immortal.
"That’s not wise!"
The Nine-Sun Sword Immortal, Victor Tu, shook his head. "Gavin Jin had my sword talisman, but he still wasn't a match for Ian Song. If you go, you might not be able to kill him!"
At first, Victor Tu hadn’t paid much attention to Ian Song, but now he realized he’d underestimated him.
"My lord, how about I go with Connor Wei?"
The other Golden Immortal, Terry Wanyan, stepped forward and spoke up.
Victor Tu thought for a moment, then nodded.
These two were his most carefully cultivated subordinates. Together, they were stronger than an average mid-stage Golden Immortal. Even if they couldn't beat Ian Song, they could still escape safely.
The next evening.
In the Stonecrest Town inn, Ian Song suddenly opened his eyes and murmured, "They're here!"
He had arrayed a grand formation over all of Stonecrest Town, mainly to prevent the enemy from escaping. So, the moment Connor Wei and Terry Wanyan set foot in town, he knew.
Although his formation skills had multiplied since reaching Human Immortal, he still wasn’t sure he could trap Golden Immortals.
Soon enough.
Footsteps echoed outside the inn, and then two brown-robed men, each wielding a longsword, strode inside.
"You must be Ian Song?"
Connor Wei fixed Ian with a blade-sharp gaze, as if his eyes could slice open the void itself.
"Why bother asking when you already know?"
Ian Song replied with a teasing smile.
"In that case, prepare to die!"
A crimson sword light burst forth, filling the entire inn lobby like a dazzling sunset—stunningly beautiful.
"Excellent swordsmanship!"
Ian Song added, "But it's missing something."
"Ching—!"
The Azure Flood-Dragon Sword flashed out, turning into a streak of blue-green light that pierced the sunset glow. In an instant, the crimson brilliance faded, and sword-light like lightning enveloped Connor Wei.
Just then, Terry Wanyan struck.
His silver-white sword light was ethereal and traceless—when it pierced you, you could never tell where he was aiming.
"Not bad, but you're still too green to play swords in front of me!"
Ian Song had assumed the sword arts of the Immortal Realm would be peerlessly refined, but now he saw they were just average—far inferior to the Heavenbreaker Sword Canon.
In the blink of an eye, the three had already exchanged over a hundred moves.
Connor Wei and Terry Wanyan grew more and more alarmed as the fight went on—they even began to resemble the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal himself.
"That's enough!"
Ian Song let out a soft sigh as the light of his sword suddenly dimmed.
When his sword light flashed again, it directly knocked the longswords from both their hands.
"Pfft, pfft!"
The sword light flashed again, striking both of them squarely in the brow. Instantly, they collapsed like clay statues.
With a casual wave, Ian Song swept both of them into the Divine Temple, then stepped inside himself.
Half an hour later.
After refining the blood essence of both Golden Immortals, Joy opened her eyes, a hint of regret flashing through them. "Still not quite enough!"
"It's fine. Once you absorb the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal's blood essence, that'll be enough!"
Ian Song said indifferently.
The only question was whether the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal would dare come to Stonecrest Town.
One day!
Two days!
Five days!
Ten days passed, but the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal still hadn’t shown up. Ian Song was getting frustrated—had that guy chickened out for good?
With no other choice, Ian Song waited another month, but that guy still didn’t come to Stonecrest Town.
"It’s been so long—looks like that guy’s never coming to Stonecrest Town!" Ian Song muttered. The system had given him only three months, so if the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal wouldn’t come, he’d have to go to Whitecrest City himself.
One day later, in Whitecrest City, City Lord’s Mansion.
The Nine-Sun Sword Immortal was gathered with four others.
Suddenly, a jade talisman flew in. Victor Tu reached out and caught it, then smiled faintly. "Ian Song has left Stonecrest Town—he should be headed for Whitecrest City."
"Come on, Victor, you’re way too careful! With the five of us, we should be able to handle him no problem—why wait for him to come to Whitecrest City?" said a yellow-robed man, unconvinced.
Victor Tu replied slowly, "That man has a mysterious secret art. He hasn’t formed an immortal body and his cultivation is only late-stage Human Immortal, but he already has Golden Immortal strength! If we can obtain his secret art and master it, maybe we’ll have a chance to return to our master’s side!"
"What?"
The other four were all startled by his words.
The yellow-robed youth complained loudly, "Why didn’t you say something earlier about something this important?"
Victor Tu said seriously, "That man is far too cunning. I’m confident the five of us together can beat him, but if he escapes, we’ll lose our chance at the Heaven-shaking secret art. That’s why I’m waiting for him to come to Whitecrest City. Once he steps inside, even wings won’t let him escape!"
"You’re sure he’ll come?"
asked the blue-robed man.
Victor Tu replied confidently, "He’ll definitely come. Even Connor Wei and Terry Wanyan couldn’t beat him, so he probably doesn’t rate me very highly. I even made him wait over a month on purpose—he must think I’m scared of him, so he’ll absolutely come to Whitecrest City looking for me!"
Dozens of hours later, Victor Tu received another jade talisman transmission. He smiled with delight. "He’s here—less than a hundred miles from Whitecrest City!"
The other four showed excitement and anticipation.