Chapter Eighty-Six: The Great Cataclysm (1)

On the way back, Jiang Feng finally came to understand just how deeply the townsfolk of Jiuyan revered martial prowess.

Almost everyone who saw him would rush over in a frenzy, falling to their knees in worship, and then offer their most treasured possessions, begging him to take them as disciples. In just a few days, Jiang Feng had transformed from the Jiang family’s hot potato and eternal sinner into Jiuyan Town’s master of Nether Arts, an idol and role model!

With no other choice, Jiang Feng had to employ the Twenty-five Forms of Shadow Dance Soul-Shattering Steps, taking to the skies to avoid the hordes of blind admirers.

While he was flying, a sudden voice rang out in his mind-sea—it was Jue: “By the way, kid, that pack of lies you told your grandfather the other day was really something. You even dragged out the Nether Prison.”

Jiang Feng fell silent for a long while before replying, “Senior Jue, there’s actually something I’ve always kept secret from you. Sealed within my body… there truly is a Nether Prison.”

“Really?” Jue’s eyes bulged wide in surprise, but then he relaxed and chuckled, “I played along pretty well, didn’t I? Come now, kid, why try to fool me? You’re far too young to have anything like a Nether Prison sealed inside you.”

Jiang Feng could only smile wryly; since Jue didn’t believe him, there was no point in arguing further. He left the mind-sea with a few bitter laughs and focused on his journey.

Thanks to his greatly increased nether power, the Shadow Dance Soul-Shattering Steps felt more natural than ever. With a sharp whistle, he relished the wild currents swirling furiously around him, his heart swelling with boundless pride, and, all at once, he surged forward even faster!

And just at that moment, disaster struck.

Three streaks of sword light suddenly shot toward him from behind, stirring up a violent surge of energy. Their speed was blinding, like meteors chasing the moon, and they swept arrogantly over Jiang Feng’s head, coming to a halt in front of him. Their forms resolved into three unremarkable wooden swords, though the faint sword aura emanating from them was chillingly sharp.

“The aura on these wooden swords—it’s Fang Yichen!” Jiang Feng’s face drained of color. He knew that after using the Myriad Phantasms in the Jiuyan Tournament, Fang Yichen wouldn’t let the matter rest. Yet he hadn’t expected Fang Yichen’s reprisal to come so swiftly—the tournament had only just ended, and already his adversary was here to kill.

Sure enough, as Jiang Feng finished speaking, Fang Yichen’s figure appeared beside the wooden sword. He sized up Jiang Feng with arrogant eyes and declared, “Jiang Feng, I have waited for you long enough. Hand over the Rivers and Mountains Vase and the Lapis Lazuli Cauldron of the Azure Emperor, surrender quietly, and I might let you keep your dignity. If you resist, let me remind you—even the Diamond King has his wrathful moments, and the Bodhisattva, too, has a time for righteous fury!”

“Hmph, you bald bandit,” Jiang Feng retorted, his expression shifting between light and shadow. “The Fang family may be powerful, but don’t forget—behind me stands the great Jiang family. And if you dare seize the Lapis Lazuli Cauldron, you’ll be offending Master Xuanxing of the Langya Trading Association as well. If you act so lawlessly, beware—these two powers may well devour your Fang family whole!”

As he spoke, Jiang Feng raised his voice to a thunderous volume, employing the Eight Dragons Sonic Annihilation, sending his words rolling across the sky.

“Hmph, the Jiang family? The Langya Trading Association? In my hand, I hold the Bloodshade Fruit. Once I take the Rivers and Mountains Vase and the Lapis Lazuli Cauldron from you, my cultivation will soar by leaps and bounds—what can they do to me? From this day forth, I, Fang Yichen, will hold the fate of Jiuyan Town in my grasp, wielding supreme authority. Not only the Fang family—even the Langya Trading Association will be mine, sooner or later!” Fang Yichen laughed maniacally, his usually benevolent, Buddha-like visage now twisted and fierce. He used his nether power to seal off the space; though Jiang Feng had spoken at the top of his lungs, under Fang Yichen’s shroud, no sound escaped for anyone outside to hear.

As Fang Yichen’s words fell, Jiang Feng’s mind seemed to fill with flashes of golden light, so dazzling he could hardly open his eyes. It was as though even the midday sun couldn’t outshine this radiance.

This was a purely spiritual assault.

Outwardly, nothing had changed; the day remained bright and clear, birds sang, and auspicious clouds drifted across the sky.

“What terrifying power—just a few words have nearly shattered my spirit. Back then, I actually fought with a fragment of him for so long. Truly, ignorance is bliss; the more you know, the greater your fear.” As Jiang Feng felt the oppressive aura emanating from Fang Yichen, he recalled how he’d once fought Fang Yichen’s avatar to a standstill and snatched away the Rivers and Mountains Vase. Had he possessed today’s cultivation back then, he might not have dared to face Fang Yichen at all.

For the higher one’s cultivation, the more one senses the opponent’s dreadfulness.

“Hmph, are all members of the Fang family so arrogant? Rumor has it your family’s creed is to serve Jiuyan Town with merit and virtue. But if you’re all like you—plotting daily to seize the patriarch’s seat and the leader’s mantle—how would you ever accomplish such virtue?” Though fear gnawed at him, Jiang Feng knew that escaping Fang Yichen’s attack range was a fantasy. He might as well fight ruthlessly; perhaps he could find a sliver of hope. As he spoke, he exuded the bearing of a ruler supreme, his face a mask of scorn.

Fang Yichen’s rage mounted at Jiang Feng’s defiance. Suddenly, he sneered, “That lovely beauty of yours, that gentle wife, is still imprisoned by me. Do you mean to abandon her to her fate?”

Jiang Feng realized he had to think carefully.

Wang Yingying, the divine beast, and Jue’s two Redwater Tigers were all in Fang Yichen’s hands. The divine beast and the tigers were nether beasts—Fang Yichen could easily erase their memories and make them his own. But Wang Yingying was different; Fang Yichen followed the way of Zen and harbored no lust for women, so he had no interest in her. She was most likely being used as leverage against him!

“Don’t believe his lies. If you yield now, you’ll lose all leverage to save them!” Jue was an old hand at this—he’d heard threats like Fang Yichen’s countless times—so he immediately warned Jiang Feng.

“That’s true. No matter what I do now, it won’t help me. I might as well fight with everything I have—perhaps things will turn around.” Jiang Feng’s eyes sharpened to a blade’s edge, and suddenly he threw back his head and laughed. “Fang Yichen, do you take me for a three-year-old child? Even if I handed you those treasures, you’d kill me first, then return to murder Yingying and claim the divine beast and tigers for yourself. Do you think I can’t see through your schemes? Today, I’ll avenge Jiang Lei—not that I cared for him, but he was a member of my clan, my father’s own brother!”

He unleashed his full nether power, pouring it forth in billowing waves that coalesced in the air into clouds, from which countless sonic-dragons condensed, glaring down at the world below. With a roar, they set the heavens swirling and the winds howling, the sky boiling with rolling waves of energy.

This was the result of him wielding his vast nether power and the Eight Dragons Sonic Annihilation—he conjured not only many sonic dragons, but more than eight!

Crackling and snapping!

The nether barrier Fang Yichen used to seal off sound was torn and rent by the thunderous roars of these dragons, emitting a host of piercing noises that almost made Fang Yichen want to cover his ears.

“Hmph, Jiang Feng, I hadn’t expected your cultivation to have grown so much in such a short time!” Fang Yichen sneered inwardly. Jiang Feng’s power now far surpassed what he’d shown in the Jiuyan Tournament; clearly, he’d not used his full strength when dueling Fang Ping.

Jiang Feng responded with a cold laugh. “If you hadn’t come to the tournament, that would’ve been a real misfortune. Enough with the pleasantries—show me everything you’ve got!”

“Heh, you’re refreshingly direct. Very well, let me show you the might of my Woodpeak Aurora Sword!” As Fang Yichen spoke, his right hand silently gripped the wooden sword’s hilt. In an instant, dazzling light shot forth, illuminating heaven and earth; even the murky air seemed to clear under its radiance.

Jiang Feng, his nether power surging, realized he’d reached a state of complete mastery. No longer hesitating, he let the sensation flood his body. The Rivers and Mountains Vase was intimately familiar with Fang Yichen’s nether force, and with a single breath, Jiang Feng could sense his opponent’s movements. He shifted rapidly, leaving afterimages in the air—any observer would have watched in awe.

At the same time, the roaring sonic dragons cheered Jiang Feng on, some swooping down from their nether-forged clouds with regal might, descending like celestial dragons bearing heaven’s wrath. Fang Yichen, meanwhile, looked like a monk who had broken his vows, his shaven head gleaming, face twisted with killing intent, meeting Jiang Feng in a desperate struggle.

But victory and defeat are seldom decided by numbers or momentum.

From the Woodpeak Aurora Sword, countless rays of vital energy burst forth. Jiang Feng suddenly remembered that when he’d fought Fang Lingtai, the man had used similar techniques—attacks powered by an endless tide of life force. Yet Fang Yichen’s sword light was far more terrifying, so cold and sharp it seemed even vitality itself could become a weapon, filling the heart with inescapable despair.

“Incredible. Using life force as a sword—such a sinister technique. Hmph, it hardly suits his supposed identity as a Zen master,” Jue marveled, but then cursed aloud. He’d seen all Fang Yichen’s crimes and loathed him to the core, wishing nothing more than to see him destroyed.

And all these words, Jiang Feng relayed without omission.