When the phoenix soared to its peak, its massive body exploded with a bang.
*Skree, skree, skree, skree—*
Countless streaks of red-gold light scattered like a rain of meteors and fire, only to condense and take shape in an instant.
Within moments, they transformed into over 1,000 flying swords burning with the divine flame of nirvana.
Like the most loyal guardians, these flame flying swords carried an aura sharp enough to incinerate everything. They slowly rotated around Shangguan Yunzhu as she hovered in mid-air.
At that moment, Shangguan Yunzhu was bathed in the pure divine flame of nirvana. Her hair moved without wind, her sleeves flapped loudly, and red-gold flames flickered in her eyes.
Her entire aura became sacred, majestic, and filled with a crushing sense of destruction, making her look like a completely different person.
“Ugh… Why is there even a power-up phase…?”
Lu Qiancha looked up with her small face at the god-like figure in the sky. Feeling the overwhelming, terrifying pressure that made it almost impossible to breathe, she couldn’t help but mutter a resentful complaint in a low voice.
“This is ‘Nirvana’.”
Shangguan Yunzhu floated in the center of the blazing sword domain. Her voice echoed, clearly reaching Lu Qiancha’s ears below.
Her gaze fell upon the wolf cub, carrying a rare sense of seriousness and caution.
“This is the strongest form I can currently control; the power is extremely violent. Xiao Qiancha, if you feel you cannot endure it, you must immediately speak up and admit defeat. My mastery over this power is not yet perfect.”
Under the mountain-toppling pressure from Shangguan Yunzhu, Lu Qiancha’s little heart beat uncontrollably, and she felt a faint sense of guilt and fear deep down.
But she pursed her small lips and stubbornly lifted her face. Her blue eyes sparkled with a refusal to give in as she argued stubbornly, “Hmph! Don’t get ahead of yourself! It’s not certain yet who will win or lose!”
Hearing this, Shangguan Yunzhu remained silent for a moment. Hovering in the center of the blazing sword domain, she slowly raised her hand and made a grasping motion in the empty air.
*Buzzing—*
The 1,000 flame flying swords surrounding her body trembled in unison! Each sword tip shed a wisp of pure red sword light.
Like 100 rivers returning to the sea, they instantly converged in her palm, condensing into a red-gold small sword. It was only about one foot long but emitted a terrifyingly high temperature.
Although the small sword was tiny, the heat waves it contained caused the air to twist under the unbearable burden.
“Senior Brother, be careful!” From the sidelines, Gantang felt the terrifying aura within that red-gold small sword, which far surpassed anything before. Her voice changed tone out of fear as she screamed, “I feel like something big is coming!”
Lu Qiancha’s small face was as tense as jade as she stared fixedly at the red-gold small sword that seemed capable of incinerating the soul.
She took a deep breath, suppressing her churning blood, and whispered to herself to boost her courage, ‘Hmph… It’s not like I don’t have some trump cards of my own…’
Before her words could land, the demon cube in her hand spun and transformed rapidly once again.
*Click.*
As the light faded, a massive, fiery red metal mushroom with an exaggerated design appeared in her hands—the magnet-shroom king.
Lu Qiancha struggled to hold the magnet-shroom king’s massive, magnet-like cap with both hands, exerting all her strength to lift it high.
The magnet-shroom king’s pair of tiny, mung-bean-like eyes lazily glanced at the dense cluster of flame flying swords in the sky. Suddenly, visible ripples of strong magnetic force lit up around its body.
“10,000 Swords Returning to the Ancestor—!” Lu Qiancha provided a fitting voice-over for the moment.
*Buzz—*
An irresistible, terrifying suction that seemed capable of twisting the laws of the world itself suddenly erupted from the magnet-shroom king’s cap.
Then, a jaw-dropping scene unfolded.
The 1,000 flame flying swords in the sky, which had previously been as easy to command as her own limbs, suddenly lost control as if grabbed by an invisible giant hand.
They let out a panicked buzzing and collectively broke free from Shangguan Yunzhu’s control, racing toward the magnet-shroom king.
Even the red-gold main sword in Shangguan Yunzhu’s hand trembled violently and let out a mournful cry, forcibly breaking free from her grasp.
It turned into a streak of light and merged into the river of flaming swords that was surging toward the space above Lu Qiancha’s head.
In an instant, the sky full of crimson flame flying swords formed a massive, scorching, slowly rotating wheel of fire swords with the magnet-shroom king as the core, hovering above Lu Qiancha’s small figure.
Shangguan Yunzhu’s eyelid twitched violently!
She opened her mouth in disbelief, staring at her empty palm, then looked up at the blazing sword domain that had defected and was now circling above her opponent’s head. Her mind went blank for a moment.
‘This… How is this possible?!’
These flying swords were formed from her divine flame of nirvana and her own pure ling power, connected to her mind like an extension of her body. How could they be sucked away like ordinary iron swords?
Shangguan Yunzhu was full of questions; the current situation was completely beyond her comprehension. Refusing to give up, she frantically pushed her divine sense, attempting to regain control.
However, her divine sense was like a clay ox entering the sea. The 1,000 flame flying swords did not respond to her call at all.
It was as if, from the moment of their birth, the ling power flowing within them belonged to Lu Qiancha, and she was their only recognized master.
“A sword comes from the west, soaring to immortality from beyond the heavens.”
Lu Qiancha finally experienced being the Sword Immortal she had dreamed of, commanding thousands of flying swords. Her small face flushed red with excitement as she couldn’t help but recite a powerful sword mantra once again.
With a single thought, the magnet-shroom king hovering above her head seemed to receive the command, and its massive cap suddenly tilted.
*Rumble—*
It was like opening a floodgate.
The massive flame sword wheel composed of 1,000 flying swords of the divine flame of nirvana instantly disintegrated.
It turned into a destructive rain of red-gold meteors, letting out a terrifying scream that could incinerate all things as it poured down like divine punishment toward the helpless Shangguan Yunzhu below.
Shangguan Yunzhu’s pupils shrank to the size of needles. As the original owner of these flying swords, she knew their power better than anyone. She absolutely could not take them head-on.
In the blink of an eye, she pushed her shenfa to the limit! Her figure turned into a red streak of light as she did her best to dodge, weave, and block within the limited range of the martial arts arena.
*Ssh, ssh, boom, boom!*
Most of the flying swords grazed her body and slammed into the protective light barrier at the edge of the martial arts arena.
Deafening explosions erupted continuously, sounding like heavenly thunder blasting in her ears. The terrifying heat and shockwaves caused the entire barrier to twist violently, letting out a tooth-aching groan.
Even worse, the sound vibrated and overlapped repeatedly within the enclosed space of the barrier, creating ear-splitting screeches and echoes powerful enough to tear eardrums.
“Waaah—!”
Bearing the brunt of it, Lu Qiancha was dizzied by the terrifying noise.
She hurriedly dropped the heavy magnet-shroom king and pressed her two small hands tightly over the extremely sensitive furry ears on top of her head.
“Cough… *cough, cough, cough*…”
When the dust and energy storm subsided slightly, Shangguan Yunzhu’s figure stumbled out of the smoke and dust, slowly descending.
Even though she had done her best to dodge, it was still difficult to escape unscathed under the onslaught of the blanket-like sword rain.
Her fiery red dao robe was now in tatters, covered in charred burn marks and jagged tears.
Bright red blood seeped from her wounds, mixing with the grayish-black dust from the explosions, making her look battered and miserable. Blood continued to spill from the corners of her mouth, and her aura had withered to the extreme.
“Ugh…” Lu Qiancha was also left disoriented by the noise earlier, her head feeling as if hundreds of bees were buzzing inside.
But she forced herself to endure the dizziness, stood up unsteadily, and gripped her spear tightly again. Her blue eyes stared warily at the grounded Shangguan Yunzhu.
“Cough… *cough, cough*… I admit defeat.”
Shangguan Yunzhu coughed up a few more mouthfuls of congested blood, her voice hoarse and weak.
The moment her flying swords were forcibly stripped away during her Nirvana state, causing her ling power to be completely drained, she knew there was no longer any suspense in this sparring match.
To keep pushing would only be asking for humiliation.