Chapter Sixty-Three: Du Qingfeng Is Defeated

Leng Tian nodded in agreement and drifted back several miles before coming to a halt, waiting for the final showdown between the two titans.

At this moment, Du Qingfeng’s giant sword above his head had swelled to its utmost, and the thunderous sword cry howled like a tempest, as if echoing from the dawn of antiquity—a peerless, boundless sword might! With a great shout, the heart of the Great Sun Sword Formation, that red-and-white solar sphere, contracted its radiant white light inward under Du Qingfeng’s command. Then, in an instant, it became a white band of energy that wrapped itself around the giant sword, soon to be completely absorbed and leaving behind a towering, solid, red-and-white sword as simple and imposing as the heavens themselves.

Seeing the sword had absorbed all the formation’s energy, Du Qingfeng’s eyes shot forth two piercing beams of light. He let out a long howl, raised both hands to grip the hilt tightly, and fixed his gaze on the Celestial Panther, roaring, “Come! Let’s settle this with life and death!”

A massive, pitch-black crescent hung above the Celestial Panther, its unmatched edge radiating outwards, sweeping the ground. The green grass within a mile was razed to nothing by the sword energy, exposing the black earth beneath.

As it stared at the giant sword above Du Qingfeng’s head, the Celestial Panther felt immense pressure. Though proud by nature, it understood the limits of what could or could not be done. From the beginning of the battle until now, the shock its opponent had given it had deeply shaken its understanding. It had believed this would be an easy victory—never had it imagined things would escalate to this extent.

This pitch-black crescent was its trump card, the strongest technique it could wield at its current cultivation: “Moon Reincarnation.” This was the fiercest of the Celestial Panther’s innate abilities; it was said that if a deity-level Celestial Panther performed it, it could even cross ranks to slay transcendent powers!

But in the Celestial Panther’s present state, what it displayed was only a shadow of its true essence—yet even so, its might was enough to suppress demons and sweep away devils.

For an ordinary cultivator of the Transcendence Realm, without a fearsome ancient treasure, meeting this move would mean certain death!

Hearing Du Qingfeng’s resolute challenge, the Celestial Panther’s eyes blazed with fighting spirit. Its cold voice echoed through the void: “You are the first to force me to this extent. As an opponent, you have my respect—but that does not mean I will let you live! My Moon Reincarnation has never before met an adversary. Today, I shall consecrate its ancient, earth-shaking power with your blood!

‘Reincarnation—Moon Slash—go…’

As the Celestial Panther’s steely words rang out, the enormous crescent slash left behind a string of illusory shadows, as if it pierced through layer upon layer of time and space in an instant, cutting across the boundaries of reality. The afterimages rippled and faded; they were not truly crescent shadows, but a result of the technique’s speed pushing space itself to the limit, slicing it apart, though it healed almost immediately.

Those pitch-black phantoms were projections left by the instant shattering of space; the reason the illusions vanished and the space rippled like water was because the healing was not yet stable.

As Du Qingfeng watched the onrushing crescent, he was filled with deep dread at the sight of space breaking and mending in an instant.

He gripped the hilt with both hands, the sky-piercing sword suspended above his head, his eyes wide as he roared, “Great Void Annihilation Slash—cleave!” The enormous sword, several yards in length, swept forth with majestic force, as if to rend heaven and earth, meeting the Moon Reincarnation Slash head-on!

There was no outward surge of power, nor the terrifying destructive force of the Moon Slash—only a profound, ancient weight. At this moment, the giant sword itself became ethereal, its entire form flickering in and out of reality like space itself.

Heaven and earth changed color, elemental storms raged, and beasts of lesser cultivation trembled in their dens, some even losing control from terror.

In an extremely secluded part of the Azure Sea and Jade Sky Domain, an old man with two horns and long eyebrows opened his tightly shut eyes, gazing toward the grasslands. He muttered, “What is the Celestial Panther up to now? Do they truly believe that their noble bloodline allows them to act with impunity? Have they forgotten how their ancestors were suppressed?”

A trace of helplessness colored his tone. He withdrew his gaze with a long sigh, continuing with some melancholy, “It seems the later generations of Celestial Panthers still do not understand. What use is their earth-shaking pride if it leads them to the brink of extinction? If they cannot find their way back, true annihilation is inescapable! But so be it—even glory has its destined end; why should I concern myself?”

With that, the old man with horns and long eyebrows slowly closed his eyes and returned to his meditative trance.

A thunderous boom reverberated across the grassland. The unstoppable shockwave of energy spread outward like ripples across a still lake, sweeping to the horizon. Even the drifting clouds in the sky were scattered by the blast!

Great Void Annihilation Slash and Moon Reincarnation Slash collided, and both were obliterated in the clash, shattering space within a hundred yards into a collapsed void! Dark gray currents of space energy surged within, and at the moment both combatants’ techniques broke apart, a violent tremor ran through their bodies, each coughing up a mouthful of blood—Du Qingfeng’s face turned deathly pale, and the Celestial Panther’s eyes dimmed.

The Taiyi Sword in Du Qingfeng’s grasp reverted to its ancient, mottled appearance, as though the previous strike had drained some of its luster, lying silent in his hand.

The collapse of space sealed all the terrifying power released by the destruction of their techniques in dark gray spatial energy, until the void healed and returned to normal. Not a trace escaped, sparing the grassland from catastrophe.

Leng Tian watched all this unfold, but he was not as shocked as before. Before losing his cultivation, he had been a supreme cultivator at the level of Sanctification. He had initially been impressed and envious of their strength, but compared to his own peak, such attacks were hardly worth mentioning!

Back in his days at the Transcendence Realm, Leng Tian could shatter the void with his bare fists. Space collapse caused by clashing techniques like this was something he could casually achieve at the Saint Transformation level, so he didn’t take it to heart. What truly interested him was the nature of the energies the two combatants wielded.

Du Qingfeng’s face was pale, his breathing heavy, sweat beading on his brow, and even his sword hand trembled slightly. He was now extremely weak, relying on sheer willpower to stand. He feared that, if his opponent noticed, there would be no chance for reprieve.

Though he did his utmost to conceal his frailty, the Celestial Panther’s sharp senses caught the flaw. A chill flashed in its dim eyes.

Inwardly, it seethed: “Damn human, to make me so wretched—how infuriating! To offend the dignity of the Celestial Panthers is to court punishment!”

A faint ripple ran through space, and a hidden killing intent seeped out. Though it was slight, Du Qingfeng sensed it at once and thought, “Not good…” He hadn’t expected his adversary to have a final move, launching a fatal strike upon discovering his weakened state.

A half-meter-long spear appeared bizarrely a dozen feet in front of Du Qingfeng, exuding a soul-freezing murderous intent that made him involuntarily shudder.

Du Qingfeng’s eyes contracted sharply, his Taiyi Sword raised before him. In an instant, countless Taiyi Swords split forth, swirling and arrayed before and behind him, while his own body became insubstantial, fading away until it disappeared.

Those ancient sword avatars twisted and transformed, astonishingly taking on Du Qingfeng’s appearance, brimming with vitality and indistinguishable from his true self.

This was Du Qingfeng’s final life-saving technique: avatars conjured by the Taiyi Sword, with his real body slipping away, hidden by the sword’s Space Escape Art.

Each of these avatars carried Du Qingfeng’s aura, serving both to confuse his enemy and to cover his own retreat, ensuring his safe escape.

Several avatars scattered in all directions at incredible speed. “Trying to run? Do you think you can escape?” The Celestial Panther sneered viciously, driving the black spear to pierce through one avatar’s chest, which dissolved immediately into the void without resistance.

Three avatars were destroyed in quick succession, all within the span of a breath. “Let’s see how you escape now!” the Celestial Panther snarled, shattering over a dozen more avatars with the spear.

But none were the real body. This sent the Celestial Panther into a towering fury. Its rage surged to the heavens, its killing intent truly awe-inspiring.

“Ah! I’m going to catch you and tear you to pieces!” The Celestial Panther howled, its voice piercing the sky. Far away, Du Qingfeng’s brow furrowed, his face grim.

He knew all too well that in this ancient realm, the demon beasts ruled. If they all turned to hunt him, there would truly be no escape. Yet there was nothing he could do; his priority was to heal his internal injuries as quickly as possible—otherwise, he would have no chance to reverse his fate.

“What are you yelling about? Think you’re all that? With your Uncle Juda here, it’s not your turn to act up!” Juda’s brash words suddenly cut off the Celestial Panther’s roar.

“Heh… Boy, you’d better lie down now!”

As the words fell, the Celestial Panther felt its soul shudder; its head became heavy as lead, its body wobbled, and with a thud, it collapsed unconscious.

A streak of crimson light flashed in the void, enveloping the Celestial Panther and whisking it away in an instant. Indeed, it was Leng Tian making his move, collecting it into the Infernal Prison!

Being the boss and catching sparrows feels great—my little brothers will carry on this legacy!

“Du Qingfeng has lost! It seems that in this ancient realm, even entering Profundity is no guarantee of safety!” Leng Tian sighed inwardly: with Du Qingfeng’s cultivation, he was still unable to suppress this demon panther!

“Boss, what do you plan to do with this show-off panther?” Juda smacked his lips, drool already at the corner of his mouth.

Martial Dao’s Razor Edge, Chapter Sixty-Three: Du Qingfeng Defeated—Update Complete!