Chapter 466

Chapter 466: One Sword Shocks the Thunder

The Purple Mansion Thunder proved devastatingly powerful. Within mere breaths, cracks spiderwebbed across the Immortal artifact Glazed Umbrella. A slight increase in the thunder’s ferocity would shatter it completely.

Inside the Blue Light Starship, Ying Wujun’s trio turned ashen. The thunder’s might surpassed their worst fears. At this rate, they’d never reach the spatial passage alive. Worse, what unknown dangers lurked beyond that portal?

Jue Chen paled further, his face becoming deathly white. At the fourth-level Golden Core stage, he stood as the weakest despite his rare talents and protective treasures. If even the Glazed Umbrella—a defensive Immortal artifact—faltered against the Purple Mansion Thunder, how long could his lesser artifacts last? Surviving through raw cultivation alone? Preposterous! Only those who’d endured the Golden Core stage’s heavenly tribulation could withstand such divine punishment.

"Brother Xingyun, you must hold!" Jue Chen blurted, abandoning his usual disdain for Su Xingyun.

Su Xingyun’s laugh held no mirth. "Expecting longevity? This umbrella could fracture before your next breath."

Jue Chen’s lips trembled beneath bloodless cheeks. "Impossible! Your cultivation towers above late Golden Core experts! None save Brother Ying himself could rival—"

"Save your flattery," Su Xingyun snapped. "My limits are what they are. The umbrella fails."

Jue Chen fell silent, trembling.

"Enough!" Ying Wujun barked. "Immortal artifacts don’t crumble like clay pots. Su Xingyun—stop frightening him. You know Jue Chen’s status as Flying Star Sect’s heir apparent. His safety is paramount."

Su Xingyun snorted. "Then why bring this fourth-level whelp to Thunder Falls Valley’s core? Death wishes should stay home."

Ying Wujun’s eyes frosted over. "Silence."

Channeling true qi into the starship, Ying Wujun accelerated toward the spatial passage.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Purple Mansion Thunder hammered the Glazed Umbrella. Cracks multiplied, spiderweb fissures deepening into ragged tears.

"Steady!"

Sweat beaded Ying Wujun’s brow as he drove the starship. Even his formidable cultivation offered no confidence against the thunder’s wrath.

Su Xingyun gritted his teeth. Each thunderclap reverberated through his soul—the Glazed Umbrella had been his life’s focus for a decade. The crushing pressure and wild strength threatened to break both artifact and mind.

"Not… today!" Roaring, Su Xingyun forced a drop of essence blood from his forehead. It flashed crimson before merging with the umbrella.

The battered artifact blazed gold, transforming into a radiant sphere that enveloped the trio.

"Claim first treasure rights upon entry," Ying Wujun conceded, jaw tight.

"First pick? Barely compensation for my essence blood!" Su Xingyun snarled. "Less talk, more speed!"

Ying Wujun needed no urging. Every second under the thunder drained reserves they’d need beyond the portal.

Ye Yun’s group watched the Blue Light Starship lurch forward. Mere hundred zhang remained through the thunder’s domain to the space distortion.

At the portal’s threshold, a colossal lightning bolt—thicker than ancient trees—slammed the Glazed Umbrella.

Golden light flared and died. The umbrella hung in tatters, its yellow glow extinguished. One more strike would expose the trio completely.

With final flicker of light and shadow, they vanished into the spatial passage.

Zhong Huali’s group exchanged grave looks. If two Immortal artifacts barely sufficed for Ying Wujun’s team, what hope had lesser cultivators?

"Abandoning your quest, Zhong Huali?" Ye Yun teased.

Zhong Huali’s face darkened. "Abandon? That word left my vocabulary at birth."

As his words fell, Zhong Huali strode forward, intending to enter that space and confront the Purple Mansion Thunder directly.

Ye Yun blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected Zhong Huali’s resolve to be this unyielding. For a brief moment, his impression of the man shifted slightly.

Yet no change of perception could erase their rivalry. Only by obtaining both the Thunder Wood and Ice Spirit Herb would true victory be claimed. With their capabilities, this had long ceased being an ordinary competition.

Just as Zhong Huali prepared to cross into that space, a figure streaked across the sky trailing sword light sharp enough to condense murderous intent.

The sword radiance flowed like rushing water, piercing through the air without pause as it shot straight into the Purple Mansion Thunder’s domain.

"Who’s this fool?"

"Using sword flight in Thunder Falls Valley? Seeking death!"

"Look! It’s just a youth! The thunder will blast him to ashes!"

Gasps erupted like startled birds.

The lethal sword light suddenly froze mid-air, revealing a white-robed youth standing beneath the crackling Purple Mansion Thunder.

A purple lightning bolt crashed down violently toward him.

Expression unchanging, the youth coldly raised his translucent sword. A teal sword arc flashed, not defending against the thunder – but slashing upward to meet it head-on.

"Who is this arrogant brat?"

"Does he think the Purple Mansion Thunder is a joke? Even Sixth Level Golden Core experts wouldn’t dare this!"

"Let’s watch the thunder scatter his bones!"

Mocking shouts erupted, the crowd certain this was a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

The teal sword light collided with the divine thunder.

Instead of vaporizing the youth, the Purple Mansion Thunder… paused. Frozen mid-descent by the sword’s radiance.

Seizing this opening, the youth stepped forward calmly. His billowing white robes made him resemble a living sword stabbing heavenward.

BOOM!

The thunderbolt struck… two feet behind him.

Deafening silence followed the earth-shaking blast. Even the ever-present thunder seemed muted.

Ye Yun’s eyes widened. "Him? He came to the Great Qin Empire? And blocked divine thunder with sword intent?"

Du Jianyin. The white-robed youth was the Du family’s once-in-a-millennium genius from the Jin Kingdom’s second-greatest clan. The same Du Jianyin who’d escaped the Heavenly Sword Sect battle after receiving his Ancestor’s Golden Core enlightenment, vanishing with half the clan’s cultivation knowledge.

Now he stood at the Third Level of the Golden Core stage, wielding sword intent that outmatched Ye Yun’s in raw power – though Ye Yun’s remained purer in essence.

Gasps rippled through even late-stage Golden Core experts. Intercepting divine thunder? Unthinkable! Unless…

Without pause, Du Jianyin advanced. Each step saw his sword light briefly stall descending thunderbolts, his movements tracing an unhurried path through the storm.

Ten breaths. That’s all it took him to cross hundred zhang and reach the distorted spatial passage.

The mightiest Purple Mansion Thunder yet came crashing down.

Du Jianyin raised his translucent sword. Hundreds of sword arcs surged upward like inverted rain, piercing the colossal lightning.

KABOOM!

The thunder detonated mid-air, its wild strength bleaching color from the world. All other lightning hung frozen, as if paying homage.

Beneath the fading radiance, Du Jianyin’s robes fluttered wildly – but his stance never wavered. With final glance skyward, he stepped into the twisting portal.

Crack!

His sword shattered into glimmering fragments that dissolved like morning mist. This priceless blade – sacrificed without hesitation to block the final strike.

Ye Yun’s face tightened. The once-arrogant youth had transformed. This calculated ruthlessness… This ice-cold resolve…

The crowd stood dumbstruck. A Third Level Golden Core youth had breached the core area’s defenses through sheer sword intent!

"If swords work, our attacks must too! This can’t be real Purple Mansion Thunder!"

"Then you try!"

"Unless you’ve comprehended blade intent or spear intent, it’s impossible!"

Murmurs spread as the crowd eyed the warping space with growing unease.

"I’ll prove it!"

Amid the tension, Zhong Huali stepped forward – ready to challenge the thunder.