Chapter 39: Coming Back?
Duanmu Hong was somewhat doubting his life. Having been struck by the Blood Transformation Blade and simultaneously his Divine Soul crushed by the Spirit Platform, he should be dead beyond resurrection.
As for being resurrected by some Spirit Elixir?
Impossible!
In such a situation, even the Daluo Immortals couldn't revive him!
"Indeed, we saw it too."
The Elders didn't doubt Duanmu Hong, as they had witnessed the 'remote livestream', seeing with their own eyes how Jiang Cheng died.
"What exactly happened?"
"Could it be that he was pretending to be dead?"
"If only we had stayed to check his corpse back then..."
Although the Elders did not directly say he did wrong, Duanmu Hong's face couldn't hold its composure, feeling the Patriarch's authority challenged.
He even started to suspect himself, wondering if he had been too careless, leaving before killing the target.
If he had struck another blow at the time, there shouldn't have been any issue.
"Since he's still alive, then I shall kill him again!"
His face turned livid, his gaze seemed ready to devour someone.
"I refuse to believe he can't be killed!"
"Huh?"
"Going again?"
This time, Duanmu Hong didn't fetch the Blood Transformation Blade, he flew straight out.
Leaving behind a cold remark.
"Anyone I, Duanmu Hong, intend to kill, has never lived to see the second day!"
Jiang Cheng naturally couldn't have imagined that the one who just killed him would still hold a grudge against him.
While flying until he was eight thousand miles from the Red Sun Sect, he was attacked again.
This time, Duanmu Hong hurriedly intercepted him, and the two practically collided head-on.
Though he didn't have the Blood Transformation Blade, upon meeting, Duanmu Hong immediately unleashed the strongest killing move of the Duanmu Family's Dark Spring Sealing Flame Sword.
Instantly, the realm turned dark.
Ghost Qi filled the air, the ice-cold aura seemed to grow from within, piercing deep into the Divine Soul, trying to extinguish its flames.
This swordsmanship was developed by the Duanmu Family specifically to counter the Great Sun Flame Sword of the Red Sun Sect.
Even the names of the sword techniques correspond to each other.
However, the current Jiang Cheng wasn't the Jiang Cheng of one hour ago.
Spirit Platform Sixth Layer, which is a whole layer higher than Duanmu Hong's Spirit Platform Fifth Layer.
More importantly, this swordsmanship of Duanmu Hong's... he's familiar with.
Exceedingly familiar.
Not long ago, among the resurrection rewards given by the system to him, wasn't this very swordsmanship, the Dark Spring Sealing Flame Sword?
He skillfully summoned the Spirit Sword, rushing forward to meet it.
In this moment, the area turned into an even colder ghostly realm.
Truth be told, Duanmu Hong himself felt like he had seen a ghost.
He thought it would be a piece of cake, a single move and done.
Instead, Jiang Cheng withstood the attack, not only withstood it but was using the Duanmu Family's swordsmanship.
Not only using the same swordsmanship, but his swordsmanship Realm wasn't lower either!
How could this be?
The Duanmu Family possesses more than one sword technique, but this Dark Spring Sealing Flame Sword is taught only to direct lineage disciples, not even some branch elders have learned it.
Moreover, even within the direct lineage, no one has ever mastered this swordsmanship to the Sixth Layer!
And Jiang Cheng in front of him, had actually mastered the same Eighth Layer as him!
How could this be possible?
His surprise didn't end there, he realized the opponent was also using the Duanmu Family's Water Cold Heart Technique.
Indeed, without cultivating the Duanmu Family's Heart Method, one cannot use the Dark Spring Sealing Flame Sword.
The opponent's cultivation Realm being the same as his own was too absurd.
Jiang Cheng on the opposite side started to understand the situation.
Turns out this time the system had replicated him?
With this identical cultivation and swordsmanship, he almost thought he'd met a clone.
Fortunately, the system gave him Spirit Platform Sixth Layer, just one small Realm higher than the opponent, reliably securing an advantage.
As the fight continued, Duanmu Hong became more and more alarmed.
Who is this person?
How did he learn the Duanmu Family's Heart Method and swordsmanship?
To achieve this Realm, it couldn't be done in fewer than several hundred years, did he infiltrate the Duanmu Family centuries ago?
Does he have backing from other forces?
In these centuries, how much intelligence and resources have they stolen from the Duanmu Family?
What secret machinations have they conducted that were unfavorable to the Duanmu Family?
Those Elders watching the battle from afar, in the Duanmu Family, shared similar sentiments.
"How... how can he be this powerful?"
"This swordsmanship, this cultivation technique, could there be a mole in our Duanmu Family?"
"There must have been a high-ranking betrayal, otherwise the last few layers wouldn't have leaked."}
"Indeed, without an inside accomplice, such a feat couldn't be achieved."
"I remember now, two hundred years ago, the Fifth Elder perished, was there someone secretly causing trouble?"
"And eighty years ago, the mysterious disappearance of my grandson Duanmu Ziyue..."
In that moment, suspicions brewed among the Elders within the hall.
Suspicion and distrust filled their gazes as they glanced at each other.
Swish!
Duanmu Hong finally couldn't hold back, risking injury, suddenly distanced himself.
"Hold! When did you steal our cultivation technique and swordsmanship?"
Watching him interrogate fiercely, Jiang Cheng inwardly scoffed.
You old scoundrel, weren't you the one who killed me last time?
Otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence.
And you're shamelessly self-righteous?
"Heh, I want to ask that question too, where did you steal learn it from?"
He deliberately reversed the charge, to irritate this old scoundrel.
Sure enough, Duanmu Hong was nearly furious enough to blow his top.
"I? Steal learn? This is our Patriarch's cultivation technique, created by our ancestors, why would we need to steal learn it?"
Jiang Cheng disdainfully retorted, "Your Patriarch's cultivation technique? How many years has it been inherited?"
"Fourteen thousand years, the technique enlightened by the ancestor is vast and never publicly revealed, you definitely must be..."
"Alright, alright, I understand now."
Jiang Cheng impatiently waved his hand, "More than ten thousand years ago, the cultivation technique of our Feixian Sect was once stolen, turns out it was your ancestor who stole it."
"Seems like your ancestor was nothing more than a petty thief..."
Dealing with people like Duanmu Hong, Brother Cheng was quite experienced.
"You!"
Only evil can deal with evil, Duanmu Hong nearly fainted from fury, his livid face turned pale.
Even the reputation of their ancestor was insulted, how could they tolerate it?
Within the hall, the Duanmu Family's Elders turned red-eyed, gnashing their teeth, cursing relentlessly, wishing to immediately cross thousands of miles to hack Jiang Cheng to death.
"Die!"
Duanmu Hong had held back for too long, his heart was overwhelmed by anger, causing his speech functions to falter without retaliation.
In the end, he could only strike again.
This time, he unleashed his Spirit Platform right from the start.
"Patriarch's Spirit Platform is of Profound Grade!"
"A Spirit Platform is impossible to steal, this kid is doomed..."
"Patriarch's Spirit Platform Shadow Transformation Secret Techniques have also reached Fourth Layer!"
Then seen was a verdant square Spirit Platform above Feiling's head, radiating like jade, smoke encircling slowly, resembling something from an Immortal Realm.
Beams of light emitted from the smoke, even viewed from afar would cause a ripple within the Divine Soul, seemingly threatening to swallow it entirely.
And upon that Spirit Platform, Duanmu Hong's Divine Soul glared furiously, chanting True Words.