Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword

On the surface, both parties seemed equally matched, but in reality, Zhang Zaiyun had lost.

He was at the Initial Separation Third Layer Heaven, two minor realms higher than Zhou Heng. Had it been a fight on equal footing, he would have been utterly defeated long ago! Moreover, how could he possibly defeat Zhou Heng, who had seized the initiative, without overpowering him in strength?

Zhang Zaiyun’s face turned an iron blue, as if someone had viciously slapped his face, burning painfully!

"Kid, don’t be smug. The depth of the Heavenly Star Sect is beyond your imagination!" he stared at Zhou Heng fiercely, "Though your strength is great and you have the upper hand, other factors also decide life and death!"

Zhou Heng genuinely didn’t understand where his resentment was coming from; it was those two who had provocatively come to his door. Was he supposed to just let himself be killed without complaint?

However, even if Liu Shengjie hadn’t provoked him, he hadn’t planned on letting this guy off.

"Four Yuan Returning Fiend Banner!" Zhang Zaiyun shouted, and suddenly, four banners appeared behind him, each two feet long and divided into black, white, red, and green, incredibly peculiar.

"A Magic Artifact?" Zhou Heng’s eyes narrowed.

"Wrong," Zhang Zaiyun’s face filled with pride, "it’s a Forbidden Artifact! How could a disciple nurtured as a priority by my sect not have something for self-defense? This is a Forbidden Artifact created by an Open Heaven Realm expert, usable only once, but enough to annihilate an Initial Separation Realm existence with a mere flick of my hand!"

"How does your battle power matter when you can’t compare to my foundation?"

Zhou Heng gave a slight smile and said, "Let’s see what use these bizarre banners actually have!"

"You’ll see!" Zhang Zaiyun barked, "You should feel honored that I’m using one of the Four Yuan Returning Fiend Banners to annihilate you!"

"You’re boasting through the roof, just make your move!" Zhou Heng was eager to try; he had never heard of a Forbidden Artifact before.

"Let’s see how tough you can talk!" Zhang Zaiyun shouted, "Green Fiend Banner, rise!"

With a whoosh, the green banner behind him soared into the air as if controlled by an invisible hand, fluttering wildly. "Annihilate!" He pointed swiftly at Zhou Heng, and immediately, the green banner blasted towards him.

The terrifying power spread out, as if a Land Cleaving Realm expert had arrived, crushing everything!

"Die!" Liu Shengjie yelled excitedly on the side. This was an attack at the Land Cleaving level; even Princess Shuiyue couldn’t block it without deploying the corresponding Treasure!

Boom!

The Green Fiend Banner descended, but just as it was about to touch Zhou Heng, everyone’s vision blurred for a moment, and then the banner disappeared!

"How is this possible!" Zhang Zaiyun’s complexion drastically changed. His master had given him the Four Yuan Returning Fiend Banner, but it wasn’t made by his master. It came from an Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestor of the sect, obtained by his master on his behalf.

Despite each banner only being usable four times, each strike could unleash the power of the Land Cleaving level, enough to annihilate four Initial Separation Realm experts. Moreover, he himself was at Initial Separation Third Layer Heaven, which made him nearly invincible here!

But just now, he lost the Divine Sense connection with the Green Fiend Banner as if the Forbidden Artifact had vanished into thin air.

Even if Zhou Heng hadn’t died under the compression of the Green Fiend Banner, he wouldn’t have been as shocked, but for it to disappear silently was completely beyond his understanding, leaving him staring blankly.

Zhou Heng showed a smile, having just summoned the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, and opened its gate wide, swallowing the Green Fiend Banner!

Indeed, he couldn’t wrap up something with a resisting consciousness into the Treasure Pagoda with his Divine Sense, but if the opponent was hell-bent on crashing in, it was like walking into a trap. His Divine Intent swept over, only to "see" the Green Fiend Banner lying quietly on the first floor’s stone bricks of the tower.

"It seems your secret weapon malfunctioned!" Zhou Heng shrugged, intentionally shook his head, and sighed, "Seems like your master has duped you, bringing out this trash to fool you!"

Zhang Zaiyun was both angry and anxious, but having just boastfully claimed his sect’s depth, now the Green Fiend Banner had been mysteriously captured, leaving him puzzled and wary!

"I refuse to believe you have such means!" he yelled fiercely, convinced that if Zhou Heng could counteract a Forbidden Artifact made by an Open Heaven Realm expert, the Treasure that had captured the Green Fiend Banner must also be of the same level!

Yes, it must have been given to him by An Luochen!

But An Luochen had only just advanced to the Open Heaven Realm; how many such restrictions could he have made? One? Two? At most!

Compared with the foundation of the Heavenly Star Sect, it’s far lacking!

"Black Fiend Banner, rise!" Zhang Zaiyun shouted again, and the black banner behind him immediately fluttered and then whooshed incredibly fast towards Zhou Heng.

The same trick again; at the moment the Black Fiend Banner struck, Zhou Heng summoned the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, its gate wide open, inviting the guest into the urn.

Everything was as before, utterly empty, eerily quiet.

Zhou Heng deliberately frowned, then revealed a hint of joy.

Zhang Zaiyun’s eyes were wide. He had caught a glimpse of a phantom, but hadn’t seen exactly what it was as it disappeared too quickly! Nonetheless, he caught the change in Zhou Heng’s expression, first worry then joy?

Hmph, I understand! freewebnøvel.coɱ

Although his Forbidden Artifact resembles a fishing net, capable of neutralizing other Forbidden Artifacts, the quantity isn’t substantial; he must have exhausted them already, which is why he showed concern yet feared me noticing it, thus he disguised it intentionally with joy!

Such petty tricks, does he think I’m as easy to fool as a three-year-old child?

Indeed, An Luochen had just broken through to the Heaven-Opening Realm, how could he have had enough time or materials to craft Forbidden Artifacts? It’s not something you can make just by injecting Spiritual Power into an item, the process is exceedingly complex!

Two Forbidden Artifacts, that’s pushing it! This also aligns with my previous speculation.

"Zhou Heng, you should feel proud, because you have made me use three of the Four Yuan Returning Fiend Banners on someone as lowly as you!" Zhang Zaiyun regained his condescending demeanor, looking down on Zhou Heng completely, as if clinging to the thighs of a Heaven-Opening Realm expert was all he achieved.

What a petty victory!

"Die!" he shouted again, "White Fiend Banner, rise!"

Whoosh, the third banner soared into the air, striking towards Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng smiled to himself, this fool fell for it! He intended to collect these four banners, just needing to kill Zhang Zaiyun and they would become masterless objects, then he could refine them!

He was only worried that Zhang Zaiyun wouldn’t deploy the Four Fiends Return-to-Origin Banner, but might choose to self-destruct instead, thus he had devised a scheme to make Zhang see a glimpse of victory.

As the White Fiend Banner approached, Zhou Heng collected it again.

"Zhou Heng, you, you, you—you tricked me!" Zhang Zaiyun, being able to cultivate to the Third Layer of Initial Separation Realm before fifty, was definitely extremely intelligent, but he had never anticipated the immense power of the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, and thus fell for Zhou Heng’s trick. However, fool me three times, and it would be true folly not to realize it by now.

"Ah, I just tried randomly; I didn’t expect you to be so gullible!" Zhou Heng slightly smiled, purposely shrugging his shoulders.

Lin Fuxiang and An Yumei burst into sweet laughter, while Gu Zi remained indifferent, her expression unchanging.

Zhang Zaiyun took several rapid breaths, trying to calm his mind, and said, "We admit defeat! Return the Four Yuan Returning Fiend Banner to me, and we will leave immediately!"

Zhou Heng, caught off guard, couldn’t help but burst into laughter, saying, "Do you really think your skin is that thick, what makes you think I should return the item to you?"

"Because I’m a disciple of Heavenly Star Sect!" Zhang Zaiyun puffed out his chest, "No matter if it’s you or An Luochen behind you, you’re nothing in front of Heavenly Star Sect! Offending Heavenly Star Sect, anyone would only face destruction!"

"Should I act scared to satisfy your vanity?" Zhou Heng’s expression turned cold, "Since you’ve said it like this, why don’t I just eliminate you all together then!"

"Hahaha, I admit your strength is not much less than mine, and you also have comprehended ’Momentum’, making your Battle Power formidable! But even if I decide to run, you couldn’t possibly catch me!" Zhang Zaiyun who was previously arrogantly talking about killing and stealing treasures was now proudly boasting about his ability to escape, completely unaware of how shameless he was!

Zhou Heng couldn’t help but laugh, comparing speed with him? At full use of Swift Cloud Radiant Step, even an expert of Land Cleaving Realm wouldn’t qualify to compete with him in speed within ten minutes, let alone those merely in the Initial Separation Realm!

Such big sect disciples truly had no shame, using force to bully when powerful, and hiding behind their sects when facing a strong opponent, never losing out either way!

"Shameless!" Lin Fuxiang made a face sarcastically at the side, her pretty face animated and radiant, but unfortunately, neither Zhang Zaiyun nor Liu Shengjie had the heart to appreciate it.

Zhou Heng pointed at Liu Shengjie, saying, "You might escape, but are you abandoning your cousin here?"

Liu Shengjie’s face turned pale, clenching his fists tightly. Just a few months ago, Zhou Heng was just a slightly stronger ant, yet who would have expected the tables to turn so quickly, and now he was at Zhou Heng’s mercy!

His life truly lay in Zhou Heng’s hands, as Gu Zi kept a strict watch on him, giving him no chance to escape.

"You wouldn’t dare!" Zhang Zaiyun confidently declared, "If you dare touch a hair on my cousin’s head, you would be provoking Heavenly Star Sect. Think about whether you can afford to offend the top sect of Cold Blue Country!"

Whoosh, a figure moved, a black Sword Waterfall emerged from nowhere, followed by a splash of crimson blood, and snugly, an arm dropped to the ground.

"Aaaaah—" Only then did Liu Shengjie let out an extremely agonized scream, he looked incredulously at his empty right shoulder, then at the familiar arm on the ground, experiencing excruciating pain, screaming continuously.

If it had been the outside world, he could have immediately reattached the severed limb and aided it with Spiritual Medicine; there might have been a chance for healing, but here? No chance!

"You, you, you!" Zhang Zaiyun pointed at Zhou Heng, trembling all over, Zhou Heng had moved far beyond just a hair, even taking down an entire arm!

Madman, did he not even care about the threats from Heavenly Star Sect?

Zhou Heng lightly shook the Black Sword in his hand, murder flickering in his eyes: "Liu Shengjie, let’s settle our old scores first!"

Swish, another swipe of his sword, and Liu Shengjie’s left arm also separated from his body.

In front of Zhou Heng, who had mastered Momentum and wielded the sharp Black Sword, Liu Shengjie was utterly defenseless!(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote for it or favorite it on QiDian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)