Chapter Sixty-One: The Great Sun Sword Formation

With a wave of his hand, Du Qingfeng dispelled the remaining sword light, his gaze sharpening to a single point as he watched dozens of pitch-black blades of energy streak toward him. His brow twitched—a sign of extreme tension. These seemingly ordinary yet terrifyingly powerful little energy blades were the greatest adversary he'd ever faced; their ruthless force compelled him to draw upon every secret technique he possessed.

These dreadful black blades were manifestations of the Ultimate Killing Intent wielded by the Sky-Slaying Leopard, though not its purest form. The beast’s cultivation was still weak, and the Killing Intent it could muster fell far short of its true potential. Yet even so, Du Qingfeng could not easily counter them.

As the blades rushed closer, Du Qingfeng gripped his ancient sword, raising it upright before his chest. Loosening his hold, the sword floated and spun rapidly in the air, unleashing a tremendous suction that drew the chaotic elemental energy from miles around, swallowing it like a giant whale.

After absorbing such vast energy, the Taiyi Ancient Sword became solid and radiant. Fine threads of sword qi, delicate as silken strands, cascaded from the hilt, spreading outward from where Du Qingfeng stood, vanishing into the void.

Though this sequence seemed slow, it unfolded with lightning speed. Du Qingfeng pressed his palm to the sword hilt, his expression solemn and voice calm as he intoned, “Sword Domain rise—Great Sun Sword Formation, assemble.”

The words had barely left his lips when the sky within ten miles dimmed abruptly, the sun vanishing in a strange and sudden eclipse. In the instant the anomaly occurred, the attacking black blades seemed to encounter an invisible barrier. They paused in midair, then flickered as if lost between worlds—vanishing utterly before the eye.

In that fleeting moment of uncertainty, the Taiyi Ancient Sword shuddered with an earth-shattering sword cry. Its blade flashed, splitting into countless avatars that gathered above Du Qingfeng’s head, densely arrayed into a radiant red-and-white sun.

The white sun fashioned from the sword’s avatars spun again, spreading its fearful suction outward. The tiny sword threads hidden in the void now revealed themselves, blanketing the sky. Each thread’s tail was anchored to the sun’s edge, channeling spatial energy that was absorbed by the sword-formed sun.

By now, the black energy blades were only a few dozen meters from Du Qingfeng.

Far away, the Sky-Slaying Leopard observed Du Qingfeng’s actions with disdain. In its mind, the Ultimate Killing Intent was the most domineering force in existence; any attack fashioned from elemental energy or laws of nature was frail and powerless before it.

Though the Ultimate Killing Intent had awed all ages, the beast forgot one truth: mighty does not mean invincible. If that were so, why did its kind never rule the world in ancient times? The answer: they were not alone.

The Taiyi Ancient Sword in Du Qingfeng’s hand was itself a divine weapon renowned throughout history. Its former master rivaled the Sky-Slaying Leopard at the Supreme Realm, perhaps even surpassing it in fame.

This Sky-Slaying Leopard had only attained the rank of a primary sacred beast. But as a descendant of a primordial supreme being in this ancient world, it held a unique status among monsters. Pampered since birth, it grew arrogant, believing that, apart from its own kind, all other beings were mere background.

Such thinking led it to bully other monsters at will; none dared protest, for its father was tyrannical and the great beasts showed it favoritism. Thus it became conceited, respecting only a select few.

After failing to capture the fox sisters today, its heart was heavy with rage. By chance, it encountered Du Qingfeng passing through. The presence of a human in the ancient world was rare, and since the two races had always been at odds, it would never allow such a meeting to pass unchallenged.

Thus began their deadly confrontation.

In the briefest instant, Du Qingfeng finished arranging the Great Sun Sword Formation. Watching the energy blades hurtling toward him, he clasped his hands together and formed a strange seal, murmuring, “Great Sun Sword Formation—Grind!”

At his command, the spinning white sun flared with blinding light, illuminating the heavens. Countless red-and-white sword threads filled the void, forming dozens of thick strands that converged, crushing down upon the black blades.

In the blink of an eye, the strands collided with the blades, encircling them like a grinding mill and steadily eroding their energy.

In moments, several blades faded away, much to the annoyance of the Sky-Slaying Leopard, who had hoped to see Du Qingfeng humiliated. In a mere instant, dozens of blades were reduced to a handful.

At last, all the blades were annihilated. The sword threads vanished into the void, and only then did Du Qingfeng exhale in relief.

The Sky-Slaying Leopard roared in fury, dark elemental energy erupting around it in a raging vortex. Dense strands of Ultimate Killing Intent surged forth, drifting above its head, intertwining and gathering until they condensed into a deep-black spear. An icy aura that chilled the soul swirled around the spear, distorting the space within several meters as if on the verge of shattering.

This spear, forged from Ultimate Killing Intent, was one of the beast’s innate abilities—called the Soul-Pinning Spear. Its name alone hinted at its formidable power.

Du Qingfeng’s calm eyes narrowed; he hadn’t expected the leopard to possess such a devastating technique, and his vigilance rose.

“Wretched human, you have exhausted my patience. Prepare to face my wrath! The dignity of the Sky-Slaying Leopard is not for a mere human to defy. Die!”

The beast’s cold, venomous words echoed forth.

The pitch-black spear, several yards long, quivered and blurred, spanning the distance in an instant. The space it crossed vibrated with a thunderous roar, as if it carried a storm to strike Du Qingfeng.

“So fast...”

Du Qingfeng barely had time to marvel before he manipulated the sword formation in a swift counterattack. Several strands of sword energy appeared, intercepting the spear.

The spear crashed into the shield formed by the sword threads—“Woom!” The sword’s cry rang out, so loud it seemed to pierce the heavens. Then came the brittle sound of shattering ice.

The shield of sword threads was frozen solid by the spear’s icy killing intent, then shattered and scattered into the void. Du Qingfeng’s face turned pale, blood surging in his chest, but he forced it down.

The spear, undeterred by the broken defense, sped onward, closing the distance in a breath. Alarmed, Du Qingfeng instantly redirected the sword formation to retaliate.

Strands of spatial power shot from the white sun, instantly coalescing into a transparent spear of equal length. With a tremor and a flash, it struck the black spear.

The two spears collided; the transparent one shattered instantly, unable to resist. Yet instead of dispersing, its fragments formed a tiny portal that swallowed the black spear.

“Spatial Teleportation...” The Sky-Slaying Leopard’s cold eyes flashed with disbelief; it hadn’t expected this human to master such a skill, returning its Soul-Pinning Spear.

Indeed, not far from its side, the space rippled and the spear shot out. The leopard quickly summoned it to float above its head.

Having resolved the crisis, Du Qingfeng’s brow was beaded with sweat; it seemed controlling spatial teleportation, even over short distances, consumed him greatly.

“Not bad! I underestimated you. But how many more times can you use spatial teleportation?” The leopard’s voice was icy and mocking.

It was true—spatial teleportation was beyond Du Qingfeng’s own power; only the special abilities of the Great Sun Sword Formation allowed such feats. Since its formation, the sword array had absorbed only a pitiful amount of spatial power. Teleportation could be used at most twice, but that was not enough to resolve the present danger. Though mysterious, spatial teleportation could not truly harm the spear; it could only delay the threat.

“Let’s see how long you can endure!” The leopard sneered.

The black spear flashed again, shooting across space toward Du Qingfeng. The true power of the sword formation had yet to fully manifest; now, his only option was to buy time, with just one teleportation left.

As expected, the spear was teleported once more. This time, perhaps due to insufficient spatial power, the direction was off—it emerged from the earth itself.

The fragile ground split open as the spear’s destructive force carved a broad ravine. Seeing this, the Sky-Slaying Leopard laughed heartily. “Such tricks—do you still hope to resist me? This time, I’ll annihilate your soul!”

It grinned viciously, directing the spear with a thunderous hum straight at Du Qingfeng.

With spatial power depleted, and though the sword formation continued to absorb energy, he could no longer support teleportation. In this dire moment, he had no choice but to gamble everything.

By now, the white sun had absorbed immense elemental energy, growing even more solid. Du Qingfeng continued to form seals with his hands, sending one after another into the sun.

Amid fierce humming and a sword cry that shook the heavens, the solid red-and-white light from the sun converged at a single point, quickly forming a plain, ancient greatsword.

Its simplicity radiated supreme majesty, the aura faint but its solemn grandeur permeating the space.

At that moment, the scene was witnessed by Leng Tian, who was rushing toward them.

Martial Path Extreme Edge, Chapter Sixty-One: Great Sun Sword Formation—complete!