Chapter 77: The End of All Things
Boom!
The formations unleashed a spectacle of terror. Every bolt of lightning and blade of wind was enough to kill a peak Return to Void cultivator.
With so many formations activated simultaneously, even a peak Mahayana expert would meet their doom, and a Half-Step Immortal could suffer severe injuries with a single misstep.
Luo Changqing, already injured, was immediately hurt further the moment he stepped into the formations. A bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket struck him directly.
"Ah!"
"Li Changsheng!"
Puh!
Despite this, Luo Changqing proved his mettle as the Vajra Sect's Dao Child. After withstanding over a dozen lightning strikes, he only spat out a mouthful of blood, his face growing even paler.
As he slowly adapted to the simultaneous attacks of the formations, Luo Changqing began to stabilize his footing and move toward the edge of the formation, seemingly on the verge of escaping its range.
Boom!
A gigantic hand slammed down, sending Luo Changqing flying back to the center of the formation.
Li Changsheng stepped into the formation, staring coldly at Luo Changqing. "Today next year will be your death anniversary."
Luo Changqing looked at Li Changsheng with hatred and unwillingness. "Li Changsheng, who exactly are you? Did the outer sects contact you? Did they provide you with resources and so many formation disks?"
Luo Changqing's heart grew cold. No one understood the situation in the Tiannan Region better than he did. The people sent into the Tiannan Region a hundred thousand years ago were all branches of a few major families, none of whom had access to the most top-tier legacies.
It was impossible for a seventh-tier formation master to emerge in the Tiannan Region.
Even in the outer realms, few factions could produce so many seventh-tier formation disks at once. Li Changsheng must have received support from those major families to set up such a formation outside the secret realm.
"Die!"
Li Changsheng couldn't be bothered to waste words. He stepped forward, charging toward Luo Changqing.
Though within the formation's range, Li Changsheng's every step seemed to land on the formation's nodes. No lightning or wind blades struck him, while Luo Changqing, overwhelmed by the powerful spells, could only watch helplessly as Li Changsheng closed in.
Despair filled Luo Changqing's face.
As if making a final decision, a ancient black sword appeared in his hand.
Puh!
A mouthful of heart's blood sprayed onto the black sword.
The sword seemed to awaken, exuding a mysterious aura as it floated above Luo Changqing's head.
"Li Changsheng, even if I die today, I'll drag you down with me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the black sword disappeared.
Crack!
The next moment, the black sword reappeared within three feet of Li Changsheng, stabbing fiercely toward his brow.
"I've been prepared for this!"
Li Changsheng showed no panic.
Six formation disks suddenly appeared in his hand, and white true essence surged into them.
Boom!
Six layers of light barriers, each a different color, formed around Li Changsheng. Instead of retreating, he charged toward the black sword.
The sword slammed into the light barriers.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out.
The black sword effortlessly pierced through three layers of barriers. By the time it broke through the fourth, its power had waned. Three breaths later, the sword shattered the sixth barrier and struck Li Changsheng's brow.
Clang!
A bell-like sound echoed, audible throughout the Black Wind Mountain range.
That's it?
Li Changsheng reached out and gripped the black sword, squeezing with all his might.
Boom!
The black sword emitted a mournful cry, cracks spreading across its surface.
Puh!
The black sword was intimately connected to Luo Changqing's mind. Another mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
"How is this possible? Where did you get so many formation disks?"
Despair filled Luo Changqing's face. The black sword was a secret treasure bestowed by his master. When wielded with his peak Mahayana cultivation, it could kill a late Half-Step Immortal.
But now, Li Changsheng's six seventh-tier defensive formations had weakened the treasure's power to the point where it couldn't even break through his defenses.
"Was I being overly cautious?" Li Changsheng murmured to himself.
After returning to Misty Valley, aside from crafting ten killing formations, he had also found time to create several defensive formations. A wise man doesn't stand under a dangerous wall. Who could say how severe the injury mentioned in the simulator would be?
Hence, he had to prepare an extra layer of protection.
Li Changsheng stepped forward, appearing beside Luo Changqing. His right hand slammed down toward him.
Luo Changqing summoned his true essence, raising both hands to meet Li Changsheng's fist.
Boom!
Luo Changqing's arms exploded into a mist of blood, followed by cracks spider-webbing across his body.
"When my master returns, he'll never let you go!" Luo Changqing roared.
His body exploded into dust, dissipating into the heavens and earth.
Li Changsheng reached out and took Luo Changqing's storage pouch. He let out a long breath and said, "After killing you, I feel much more at ease."
Shaking his head slightly, Li Changsheng retrieved the ten formation disks he had set up earlier. He stepped into the still-open portal of the secret realm.
Inside the secret realm, Ximen Xue breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Li Changsheng enter.
Although her master had been dominant in the secret realm, who knew if such a powerful figure had other trump cards?
"It's over!" Li Changsheng smiled slightly.
He first went to where Elder Su had been killed and retrieved his storage pouch.
Then, he summoned his sword and flew with Ximen Xue to the spiritual pool at the center of the secret realm.
"I know you have questions, but wait until I've healed before I explain everything," Li Changsheng said gently to Ximen Xue.
"Alright, I'll follow your lead, Master!" Ximen Xue nodded.
Li Changsheng sat cross-legged by the spiritual spring.
The Vajra Sect's secret realm was incomparably more potent than the desolate secret realm in the Devil's Sea. The spiritual energy here was abundant, comparable to the core of a high-grade spiritual vein.
On the surface, Li Changsheng was meditating to recover from his injuries.
In reality, he was tallying his gains from this venture.
He had already obtained all the techniques and divine abilities he needed during his last simulation. Now, he was counting the spirit stones, spiritual herbs, and other materials.
"With so many treasures, even if I looted the Su family, the Medicine King Sect, and the Long family combined, I wouldn't have as much!"
After finishing his inventory, Li Changsheng's face lit up with joy.
While the storage pouches of Luo Changqing and Elder Su didn't contain many spirit stones—only around sixty million—they were filled with countless rare materials. Li Changsheng even found dozens of hundred-thousand-year spiritual herbs, each worth millions of spirit stones.
And that was just the beginning.
The jade boat Luo Changqing had piloted was a quasi-immortal artifact worth billions of spirit stones, and it was practically priceless.
Even in the outer realms, a quasi-immortal artifact was a treasured heirloom of a major sect, never to be sold.
Sigh.
Suppressing his joy, Li Changsheng murmured, "Top-up."