Chapter 64: The Truth Beneath the Stone Part 1

Zhou Gui’s expression shifted violently. Though only a single drop of serpent blood had splashed into her eye, it felt like a searing brand. Within moments, her vision warped. The people and objects around her twisted into grotesque, alien forms.

Her offensive slowed. For a heartbeat, she could no longer distinguish whether the sky-reaching serpent before her was a hallucination or reality.

It must be fake, she hissed internally. The Dieshan Alliance doesn’t have such a celestial monster. That is the Golden-Stone Heavy Sword!

Zhou Gui hesitated for a fraction of a second before slamming a hand against her own skull, trying to shock herself into clarity. Unfortunately, the blood had already seeped deep into her eye. The phantasms only grew more numerous, more vivid, and more terrifying.

She tried to scream, but the visions became so horrifying they choked the sound in her throat.

Sang Chencao shook off the severed half of the snake carcass from her wrist. With a cold sneer, she vaulted upward. She did not aim for the objective of Plucking the Blossom; instead, she blurred into a lightning-fast streak, circling the Golden-Stone Heavy Sword.

No one could see when she drew her blade. No one could even see the sword itself—only a hazy, grey afterimage flickering through the air. Then came a deafening clang as she struck the stone.

Every strike landed with the weight of a thousand thunders, a roar that shook the soul.

The spectators watched, slack-jawed. This movement technique, this level of internal power… it seemed enough to rival Feng Rong in her prime. It was a tragedy that Feng Rong was gone. If she were still alive, many whispered that she would have been only half a step away from ascending to immortality.

Rumors in the martial world claimed that those who reached the pinnacle of martial arts could shed their mortal coils and live as long as the heavens. Whether it was true or not, few knew. However, those with profound inner qi could indeed live forty or fifty years longer than the average person. Feng Rong truly was… a loss.

Feng Yun’ai leapt from the eaves, sprinting directly toward the side courtyard used for storage.

The time had come. She only hoped Sang Chencao wouldn’t make a mistake.

On the stage, the air was a chaotic mess of sword light and shadow, yet no blood flowed. Instead, amidst the rhythmic ringing of steel, another deep gouge appeared on the Golden-Stone Heavy Sword.

Sang Chencao wore a frigid smile. As she moved, the sword shadows spiraled with her, a ring of light that looked like a serpent constricting the heavy stone pillar.

On the other side, Zhou Gui was also hacking away at the towering stone sword.

Zhou Gui’s breathing was in shambles. Her eyes were bloodshot and bulging, her appearance bordering on Entering a Demonic State. Her strikes were vicious, but they lacked all precision; she was flailing wildly.

In her mind, she was no longer fighting a woman; she was battling a celestial serpent. Terrified and enraged, she saw Sang Chencao and the snake as one, and she was determined to slaughter them both.

The crowd was baffled. They couldn’t fathom why Zhou Gui’s swordplay and footwork had suddenly devolved into such a mess. If this was still a pursuit, it looked more like Sang Chencao was toying with her like an insect.

“Why is Zhou Gui hacking at the stone monument?” someone shouted in horror. “Her mind is gone! At this rate, she’ll never pluck the blossom!”

“What went wrong? How did she fall into a demonic state so instantly?”

“I saw it! That girl had a snake on her wrist. Zhou Gui crushed it into a pulp—could the snake have been poisonous?”

“The Hero Recruitment Meet forbids poison! This is the work of a demoness! She dares to frame Acting Alliance Leader Zhou!”

“But she isn’t plucking the blossom either. She’s just attacking the stone sword. What is she doing?”

No one understood. Seeing that Sang Chencao had no immediate intention of killing Zhou Gui or winning the match, they couldn’t grasp her motive.

Is she just playing?

Zhou Gui’s hacking grew more frenzied. Even when Sang Chencao deliberately showed herself, Zhou Gui’s gaze never shifted to her for a moment.

With eyes nearly bursting from their sockets, Zhou Gui swung her sword. There was no technique left, only raw internal power poured into every blow, making the stone monument groan and tremble.

Sang Chencao’s smile deepened. She leapt high, her blade leaving and returning to its sheath in a single breath. By the time a ten-inch-deep crack appeared on the stone, her weapon was already hidden again.

The Golden-Stone Heavy Sword was not made of forged metal; it could not withstand such a focused, rapid assault. Following a series of sharp, discordant cracks, the stone monument became riddled with fractures. It began to sway.

At that exact moment, Sang Chencao channeled the full extent of her power and struck the cold iron chains anchoring the stone sword on either side.

CLANG!

The stone sword shattered into fragments of varying sizes, exploding outward with a force more lethal than the most sophisticated hidden weapons.

The crowd surged with energy to block the debris. Those with weaker cultivation scrambled to crouch and cover their heads.

The Sword Trial Stage looked as if a mountain had collapsed. The earth shook, and thick clouds of dust and stone powder rolled out like the gaping maw of a giant beast, threatening to swallow everything in sight.

The dust forced the spectators into fits of coughing. Several sect leaders stepped forward, channeling their inner qi to blow the fog away.

As the haze cleared, the devastation on the stage was revealed—a scene of ruin that looked like the aftermath of an Earth Dragon’s surge.

Where were Zhou Gui and the mysterious girl?

Zhou Gui lay collapsed on the ground. Sang Chencao held her down with a single finger pressed against her neck. With just that slight pressure, Zhou Gui was rendered immobile, her red-rimmed eyes trembling with madness.

She was no longer the poised, smiling Acting Alliance Leader from before. She was a raving lunatic who had lost her senses.

But then, the crowd looked at the heap of rubble. Green vines were weaving through the collapsed stone, their lush branches forming what looked like a specially woven casket. Lying within was a sleeping figure.

It was—Feng Rong!

The crowd gasped in collective shock, their souls nearly leaving their bodies. Some stood frozen for a long time, a chill creeping down their spines.

Who else could it be but Feng Rong?

But Feng Rong was dead. How could she still look so… alive?

No, she was dead. Those tangled vines were growing out of Feng Rong’s nose, mouth, and ears. A living person would never look like that.