Chapter Sixty-Two: Formidable Technique

The sword body was only about the size of the ancient Taiyi Sword, but the faint aura it emanated was enough to weigh heavily upon the heart, making the soul tremble in fear. This seemingly ordinary yet terrifyingly imposing red-and-white miniature sword was none other than the famed "Origin Sword" of ancient times, whose power had shaken the world through the ages.

At the very instant the Origin Sword appeared, the Sky-Slaying Leopard felt a chill in its heart. The aura radiating from the sword made it keenly aware of danger—an instinctive sense of mortal peril. Seeing the Origin Sword take shape, Du Qingfeng’s expression finally eased a little. No one understood the power of the Origin Sword better than he did. Though the Sky-Slaying Leopard’s spear was equally formidable, he was confident that with the Origin Sword, he could confront it head-on.

Neither side noticed the arrival of Leng Tian, a testament to the extraordinary nature of Judah’s Void Transformation. Observing Du Qingfeng’s sword formation and the small sword formed of red and white energy, Leng Tian could clearly sense the tremendous power hidden within it.

“So this is his true strength!”

“Wow! That’s actually the Origin Sword—this guy is something else!” Judah’s exclamation made Leng Tian realize that this simple, unadorned little sword surely had an extraordinary origin. Otherwise, with Judah’s pride, he would not speak with such amazement.

“So, you know where it comes from?”

“Not exactly. In the vast repository of inherited memories I possess, the records on the Origin Sword are scant. There are only two words used to describe it: ‘terrifying.’”

As Judah spoke, his usually sly face twitched involuntarily.

Leng Tian’s sword-like brows furrowed slightly as he watched the techniques unleashed by both sides, instinctively comparing them to his own. The result was clear: his chances of winning in a frontal clash were vanishingly small.

Du Qingfeng’s face was solemn and dignified as he formed seals with his hands, staring at the oncoming spear. With a shift of his hand seals, he pressed two fingers together to form a sword and pointed toward the spear, softly uttering, “Sever...”

The world instantly darkened. The Origin Sword trembled and let out a mighty hum, its song echoing across heaven and earth. In a blur, it crossed the intervening space, instantly closing the distance between the two combatants. As it materialized, the sword’s blade angled slightly back, facing the Divine Nail Spear head-on. With a flash of white light, it slashed toward the spear like a bolt of thunder.

Where the sword passed, space itself roared and ruptured. One could even see a faint, hair-thin black line—a testament to the terrifying power of this strike, enough to tear through the fabric of space itself.

This blow was ferocious and ruthless to the extreme. Its speed was so great that even Leng Tian, watching from afar with the enhancement of his tricolored vision, could only catch a fleeting shadow before the Origin Sword collided with the spear.

Before the disbelieving eyes of the Sky-Slaying Leopard, the Divine Nail Spear was cut cleanly in half by the Origin Sword. But that was not all—after slicing through the spear, the Origin Sword, momentum undiminished and carrying the might to cleave mountains and rivers, continued straight for the still-stunned Sky-Slaying Leopard.

This outcome was beyond Leng Tian’s expectations. He had thought the two weapons would be evenly matched, or perhaps both destroyed, but never imagined the Origin Sword would so effortlessly shatter the pitch-black spear.

Sensing the imminent danger, the Sky-Slaying Leopard snapped out of its stupor. Its eyes blazed with fury. From birth until now, it had never suffered such a setback—the invincible Divine Nail Spear, undone with ease by a mere human. How could it not be consumed by hatred?

With an enraged roar that pierced the heavens, even the clouds above were scattered by the force of its cry.

Like a blaze, dark elemental energy erupted from its body, shooting skyward. A pillar of darkness, tens of meters high, radiated an ultimate, bone-chilling cold. Thick streams of murderous energy, each as thick as a thumb, spiraled around the pillar. The dark element in the heavens raged, pouring down like rain into the towering column.

Meanwhile, the Origin Sword’s slash arrived in a flash. The Sky-Slaying Leopard’s eyes shot forth two beams—swords of energy forged from ultimate killing intent—striking the Origin Sword like lightning.

This was the Sky-Slaying Leopard’s innate technique, known as “Death’s Gaze.” Its power even surpassed that of the Divine Nail Spear.

The two black energy swords clashed with the Origin Sword, but after only a few breaths, both dissipated, vanishing into nothing. At the same time, the Sky-Slaying Leopard’s body trembled slightly.

Though the Origin Sword shattered the twin Death’s Gazes, it too was blasted backward by the immense force, thrown in the direction from which it had come. After breaking through both of the Sky-Slaying Leopard’s innate techniques, the Origin Sword itself began to grow faint, its substance less solid than before.

With a single-handed gesture, Du Qingfeng summoned the Origin Sword back above the white sun. Threads of sword energy shot from the sun, pouring into the Origin Sword in a steady stream. Vast amounts of spatial power and red-and-white light flowed along these threads, continuously feeding into the sword’s body.

Countless dark elements gathered from the world, merging into the pillar of darkness. The swirling murderous energy around it deepened in color, shifting from dazzling brilliance to somber darkness—like the endless abyss, exuding a silent savagery and a cold so intense that even Leng Tian, standing far away, felt a chill sink into his very soul.

Empowered by the overwhelming influx of dark elements, more and more murderous energy coalesced, the many finger-thick strands intertwining and growing in strength.

In the distance, Du Qingfeng stood in white robes fluttering, feeling the oppressive aura of the Sky-Slaying Leopard. His heart grew heavier even as he desperately drew the world’s energy into the sun sword array, bolstering the Origin Sword’s might.

Leng Tian watched quietly as the two titans gathered their strength. He could not help but sigh; he realized that in the past, he had truly been like a frog at the bottom of a well. Comparing his own techniques to theirs, the difference in refinement was painfully obvious.

After more than two centuries of martial pursuit, all he had witnessed in this vast journey of the Way amounted to less than a grain of sand. How vain his pride as a so-called genius seemed now!

He pondered which path of technique he should take in the future. Du Qingfeng followed the path of the sword, while all his own skills relied purely on brute strength.

At this thought, Leng Tian recalled the majestic figure of the rainbow giant in that mysterious space—the overwhelming aura that crushed all before it, the primitive, unadorned fist techniques. Each punch brought the force of heaven and earth to bear, as though every blow could shatter the very laws and destroy the world.

“That is the ultimate manifestation of strength! I wonder when I’ll be able to ascend such a peak, to casually wield the power to command heaven and earth, making the very laws retreat before me!”

A brilliant light flashed deep in his eyes. “Yes, this is the force that can break all techniques!” Leng Tian’s face broke into a broad, delighted grin.

If he could cultivate the Heaven-Shaking Ninefold Force to the level of the Platinum Sacred Body, he should be able to stand toe to toe with these two. But as for how to advance the Seven-Colored Divine Gang, he had no idea; it remained his greatest weapon. And if his bloodline awakened further, granting him the supreme technique “Mountain Force,” perhaps he could truly face such attacks head-on.

Thunder rumbled and echoed endlessly!

Focusing his mind, Leng Tian saw above the Sky-Slaying Leopard’s head a pitch-black sphere, formed from ultimate murderous energy, rolling and exploding with a deafening roar.

Hundreds of streams of murderous energy poured from the dark elemental pillar, constantly feeding into the sphere, causing its light to flicker and its size to swell and contract. With every expansion and contraction came a thunderous boom.

Within dozens of meters around the sphere, space itself seemed to thicken. The wild energy of the world, upon entering this area, slowed to a crawl, struggling to move as if mired in mud.

Du Qingfeng’s expression grew even more grave as he sensed the ominous aura emanating from the sphere; a desire to flee began to take root in his heart.

By now, the Origin Sword had grown even more solid than before, its blade swelling to more than twice its former size. Yet the world’s energy still poured into it, while fine threads of spatial power flowed into the sword along the sword energy filaments.

Du Qingfeng sensed that the Origin Sword had reached the limit of what he could control. Staring at the sphere floating before the Sky-Slaying Leopard, his eyes flashed with resolve. He gripped the Taiyi Sword in one hand, struck his chest with the other, and spat a mouthful of blood onto the ancient blade.

“Condense...”

With that word, the Taiyi Sword floated above his head. After absorbing the blood, the weathered and mottled exterior faded away, revealing a blade clear as pure water.

His hands formed seals at lightning speed, finally shaping a rune, which he then sent into the Origin Sword.

As the rune entered, the Origin Sword rippled like water, seeming to melt yet retaining its form. With a turn, it left the white sun, the sword threads dissolving into points of light that melted back into the sun.

In a flash, the sword appeared above the Taiyi Sword. Flowing like water, it merged with the ancient blade, and the fused sword became like a pool of clear water, rippling in concentric waves.

He formed seals again, shouting, “Great Void Destruction Slash—Rise!”

Du Qingfeng’s hands flashed through another series of seals, his voice ringing out.

The ancient sword spun rapidly, drawing the world’s energy into it like a heavenly river in reverse, shrouding the spinning blade in a tidal surge of power. The sword’s cry seemed to pierce the shackles of time, echoing from the primordial past.

As the sword’s song rang out, the ancient blade, submerged in the torrent of energy, swelled at an astonishing rate. In moments, it had grown over ten meters long, its blade entwined with red-and-white light, while countless hair-fine black threads laced the surrounding space.

A dull boom resounded, rolling across the sky.

At the same time, the sphere in front of the Sky-Slaying Leopard vanished, replaced by a towering black crescent hanging in midair, its matchless, fierce edge piercing space with countless tiny holes.

Leng Tian was shaken to his core; he had never imagined that the two combatants’ techniques could reach such a degree, splitting even space itself. If they truly clashed, who knew what devastation would result!

“Boss, I think we’d better keep our distance. These two are absolute monsters!” Judah’s eyes betrayed a trace of fear as he looked at the ultimate techniques being unleashed, though only a trace.

Martial Dao: The Pinnacle, Chapter 62—Formidable Techniques, complete.