"You’re asking for death!" Pei Zi Yun shouted out as he raised his sword to strike back.

"Zhng!" The sound of their swords clas.h.i.+ng could be heard. The swordsman tilted his sword to get a better angle, and Pei Zi Yun twisted his body to narrowly avoid the strike. In that next moment, Pei Zi Yun counterattacked with an incredible speed. He stabbed out and hit the swordsman right in the abdomen, causing guts and blood to spill out. He struggled for some time, screaming out in agony.

"That’s not right!" Just as he exhaled a sigh of relief, Pei Zi Yun suddenly smelt something extremely strange. He also heard the sound of something being sucked up. His face fell.

"Primordial Spirit Sword, go!"

A burst of light was emitted from his sword, as a piercing whistling sound could be heard. In that next instant, a certain icy feeling overwhelmed his entire body. The vines seemed to turn rigid the minute the wave of coldness swept across before they shattered and vanished into thin air.

About ten meters behind, a single ray of light pierced through, revealing Pei Zi Yun. He looked as if he had climbed over thousands of mountains and even travelled through both Yin and Yang. His face was pale, lips were purple and sweat stained his robes. However, it still wasn’t time for him to rest. He landed on the ground with a nimble somersault the minute the vines gave way.

"Boom!" The entire Shan Shen Temple exploded in a large blast, sending debris flying high up into the sky.

The three remaining Daoists were fleeing as they turned back to watch the spectacular explosion. One of them cleared his throat before laughing, "He must be dead."

Elder Xu waved his hand, "We’ve already destroyed his Fate Lantern, hence I can’t tell if he’s alive or dead. But we should hurry disperse. If he’s dead, we don’t have to check. If he isn’t, all the more reasons we shouldn’t check."

They charged into the forest for cover. Elder Xu looked around and realized there was no movement nearby. He then retrieved a talisman from his robes, "Come, let’s use this concealment talisman and get out of here."

The talisman lit up before it jumped out of his hand before bursting into flames. One of them exclaimed out in shock, "No! I’ve lost control of my powers."

Even before his final words could be spoken, the reflection of a sword became visible to them. The light from a sword illuminated all their faces. In that instant, the Daoist who was speaking gave a shriek before his entire head was lopped off. The person next to him was about to draw his sword when he was stabbed as well, the tip of Pei Zi Yun’s sword emerged from his chest.

The remaining two froze in fear. Elder Xu’s face was ashen, "How’s that possible, I’ve placed so many explosives back in the temple and even used the Th.o.r.n.y Vines Spell to retrain you. How did you manage to get away? I even placed a self destructing spell on your Fate Lantern, which should’ve been destroyed by now. You soul should be damaged, causing you to remain immobile for some time. How did you escape?"

"Very sly and crafty. Haha, but you calculated wrongly." Pei Zi Yun whispered to him, "I have ways of suppressing your curses and Dao techniques."

"But I won’t tell you more about these methods!" Seeing Elder Xu’s face twitching in fear, Pei Zi Yun laughed out once more. "Do you think that when you die, your spirit would be able to find out how I did it? Let me tell you, keep dreaming!"

"You’re a Yin Master. Based on your advanced level of spells, I could tell that you’re skillful. Now tell me, how good are you at sword fights?"

"Not everyone is like me, proficient in both Dao arts and sword skills."

"Otherwise, Dark Altar Sect wouldn’t have sent along Daoist swordsmen and fighters, right? Most people are only well versed in one aspect."

"I’ve already given you enough time to show me your skills, come on!"

Elder Xu’s cheek muscles were still twitching, this time in anger, "Don’t be c.o.c.ky. We’ve already managed to stall you by several days. You’re too late, your sect has been reduced to nothing but a wasteland. Even if you return, you won’t be able to see anything left."

As he spoke, a blurry shadow emerged from the sky as he charged at Pei Zi Yun. The minute he touched Pei Zi Yun, he fell into the sky from the impact, as if there was an invisible screen around Pei Zi Yun.

Pei Zi Yun groaned out in pain as he waved his sword. "Pu!" He decapitated the a.s.sailant, causing fresh blood to spurt out from his neck, rising up to almost a meter.

"Cough cough cough!" At that time, Pei Zi Yun revealed a look of utter exhaustion and started coughing vigorously.

Next to the Earthen Altar

It was raining heavily as raindrops caused ripples to form on the puddles on the ground. A group of swordsmen were standing at attention. All their robes were soaked and sticking to their skin, but n.o.body moved a muscle.

Those who were holding umbrellas were all Elders.

An Elder sprinted towards them from a cave not far away. Everyone’s eyes were on him as he bowed to the Senior Elder, "Senior Elder, Elder Xu and the rest of his men have been completely wiped out."

Hearing these words, everyone around gasped in shock as they broke ranks. The Senior Elder’s brows were creased tightly in a frown, but the rest of his face didn’t show any expression. After a long time, he broke out in a laugh, "We’ve managed to obtain his Fate Lantern, and yet he managed to kill them? Someone as useless as him is better off dead."

"Send the orders to everyone at the foot of the mountain. Give them the order now. Launch the attack on Free Cloud Sect!"

"Yes!" Someone immediately whipped out a talisman from his robes. Seconds later, the sounds of shouts and screams could faintly be heard some distance away.

When Senior Elder heard this, he turned to look at the earthen altar. It was already completed and was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with energy. From time to time, flames would lick out of the altar. He then sighed, "The protective s.h.i.+elds of Paradise are indeed very strong. We even need our Earth Immortals to attack along with us in order to break through."

"Thankfully we still have two tiles acquired."

The Senior Elder pulled out the first tile, which was red in colour, similar to that of meat. It almost looked alive.

Just seeing this tile, the few Elders around seemed somewhat disturbed. Senior Elder raised his hands, causing everyone to fall silent.

Senior Elder then placed the tile into the altar before he turned to the rest of the Elders and instructed them, "Cast the spell!"

"Boom!" Everyone around turned their attention towards the earthen altar and directed all their energy at it. The altar lit up brighter than ever with all the energy being absorbed from the Elders. The tile started to take on a deeper shade of red.

"We invite the Patriarchs to descend!" The Senior Elder yelled out, as everyone around fell to their knees.

"Boom!"

The entire tile exploded as the dusts from the tile started taking the shape of a shadow. This shadow was half transparent, but was still visible to the naked eye. The shadow then turned to Senior Elder and asked, "Where’s King Lu’s imperial tile?"

"It’s here!" Senior Elder then stepped forward to hand over the second tile. The shadow didn’t receive the tile directly. Instead a bright light shone down from the shadow as it enveloped the tile causing a yellow glow to surround it.

"I present King Lu’s tile, to break through Paradise!" The Senior Elder fell to his knees once more. In that instant, the redness from the tile and the yellow light merged to form a red serpent. The serpent started circling the shadow, who gave a low groan and looked like he was in some discomfort. Without any hesitation, the shadow collapsed to the ground.

Light then scattered in all directions.

"Boom!" Everything turned completely dark before becoming bright once again. The shadow had taken corporeal shape of a human body. He wore robes made of pure feather and had a crown of stars. His entire body seemed to be emitting a sort of red glow, as an unspeakable dignified aura surrounded him. Just by looking at him was enough to strike fear into hearts.

This person raised his head to look up, and saw that a split had formed within the curtains of heaven. Spiritual energy spilled out unceasingly, but was surrounding the split, as if it was trying to mend it. A faint ray of light seeped out too, as it split through the darkness around it.

This light managed to s.h.i.+ne onto the ground, causing a buildup of light on the surface. The light revealed a plot of land of about several kilometers. There was a mountain right in the middle of the s.p.a.ce. Although it was called a mountain, it wasn’t very tall. The mountain was surrounded by dense vegetation and shrubs.

Right atop the mountain was a magnificent structure, which was basking in a faint red glow. Every single walkway and window was radiating red light from it, as if the interior was lined with red candles. Within the structure, there were several large halls. One of them stood out among the rest, as if it was holding up the heavens with its magnificence. At that moment, a bolt of lightning descended and wrapped itself around the person.

"Boom!" He raised his hands and spoke out in a rumble as a tiny dragon roared beside him. The entire scene bore with it a certain supernatural ambience.

Soon after, a giant which stood at several meters tall came out from within the main hall. He was dressed in a majestic robe, and was the True Sovereign Patriarch of Free Cloud Sect. He looked at this man who was standing before him, and raised his voice cautiously, "Dark Altar Sect’s Earth Immortal’s clone ?"

"Although you are an Earth Immortal who’s currently alive, you’re far from where your strengths are. Now that you’re here in my Paradise, how much power can you wield?"

Hearing the True Sovereign speak out, the Earth Immortal's Clone didn’t reply. He cast a glance at his surroundings and laughed out. "The incense here within the heavens are indeed fragrant. Looks like this Paradise shall do."

"Afterall, it’s still a Paradise. Although the foundations are thin and weak, there’s still some fortunes stored up. Additionally, you’ve received the conferment of t.i.tle from the dynasty and have a genius within your sect who seems extremely promising. If we were to give you a little more time, you might be able to acc.u.mulate a stronger foundation and evolve your Paradise, making yourselves stronger. It’s a pity that today, all that will end."

Hearing him speak, Imperial Qi started to materialize and surround the True Sovereign. The little dragon was somewhat mesmerized and yet afraid of the Imperial Qi but it was still bouncing and floating in the air.

"Cast the spells!" The True Sovereign instructed. More than a dozen more people appeared beside the True Sovereign. In that instant, a protective spell was erected. The crack within the heavens was completely mended at this point, preventing more spiritual energy from leaking out. Soon after, an immense crus.h.i.+ng wave was sent out.

"That’s hilarious. Do you really think that a mere protective spell is going to contain an Earth Immortal?"

The Earth Immortal’s clone let out a laugh as the little dragon flew high up into the heaven and roared. In that instant, the clone transformed into a shadow as it struck out. The entire Paradise shook violently, as cracks started to form.

The True Sovereign summoned an aura before asking, "Do you think you’re the only one with Imperial Qi?"

The Imperial Qi which had been circling around the True Sovereign from Free Cloud Sect burst forth as it transformed into an Imperial Edict which loomed over his head. The Edict was extremely dazzling as it radiated a light all around.

The Earth Immortal's Clone pointed out a finger, "Go!"

The little dragon charged forward towards the True Sovereign and bit down on the Imperial Edict. The Earth Immortal's Clone then spun as he turned into a shadow as he charged towards his target. With just a single punch, his entire fist went through the True Sovereign.

The True Sovereign let out a huge scream as a gaping hole formed in his body. He managed to last for several seconds before exploding and disintegrating.

"Kill!" The rest of them charged forward as they hurled magical talismans at him. The talismans transformed into cloud and smoke as they a.s.saulted the Earth Immortal's Clone. Each talisman branded an inscription on the body of the Earth Immortal's Clone. Soon after, rain of fire pelted down upon him, causing sizzling sounds as green smoke wafted in the air.

The Earth Immortal's Clone started chanting before an umbrella appeared over his head and started revolving. The umbrellas repelled the talismans which burst into flames the minute it came into contact with the umbrella.

The Earth Immortal's Clone gave a laugh as he dashed towards a female Immortal and attacked her with a single blow. She gave out a loud scream of agony as she fell."Senior brother, save me…." While she was in mid air, her body had started to disintegrate.

Even before her words had been completely uttered, a ray of light shot through her, speeding up her death.

"Junior sister?" This Earth Immortal's Clone had just slain a pair of Immortals just like that. Everyone else fell into panic and rage. There were only a dozen of them holding up the entire Paradise.

The True Sovereign ordered, "Attack!"

The minute he gave the order, the large hall spewed out a beam of red light which collided against the umbrella over his head. The umbrella started to glow brightly before it exploded and was completely destroyed. The waves from the impact slammed onto the True Sovereign, causing his entire body to glow.

"Wow, that’s impressive. I don’t know what methods you used to attack like that, but you even managed to destroy my protective treasure. But I must ask you, how many times can you attack like that?" The Earth Immortal's Clone gave a cold smile. Deep within his heart however, he was extremely apprehensive. This was his first time trying to conquer other sect’s Paradise as well. He didn’t expect the resistance to be this strong. The crus.h.i.+ng pressure had already reduced his own capabilities by more than half!

Now to completely wipe them out would be extremely difficult as well. He turned to look at the Yang realms. Looks like Dark Altar Sect wasn’t going to be able to take over Free Cloud Sect anymore. If they had the ability to, their Paradise should have fallen by now, but it was still holding up very well!