Chapter 764: Open Heaven vs. Giant Spirit

Heavenly Slash, Thousand and Four Waves! Giant Spirit Axe Might!

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

With a thunderous collision, Zhong Shan was pushed back a thousand zhang, while the bearded man only stepped back half a step!

"A mortal sword, wielded by someone at the Tianji Realm Fifth Level, to have such power—you should be proud. But a mortal sword is still just a mortal sword. It can never match my Giant Spirit Axe, which is a top-tier Earth Immortal weapon. Hmph, a mortal sword against it? Ridiculous!" the bearded man sneered.

"An Earth Immortal weapon?" Zhong Shan raised an eyebrow.

"A top-tier Earth Immortal weapon!" the bearded man glared, his eyes flashing with pride.

"Hahaha, just an Earth Immortal weapon, and you, a Celestial Immortal, only wield an Earth Immortal weapon? And you're proud of that? How laughable!" Zhong Shan laughed wildly.

In battle, Zhong Shan's taunts were usually deliberate, hoping to find his opponent's biggest weakness through their reactions.

"You know nothing, you barbarian from the Small Thousand World. Do you think Immortal weapons are like mortal weapons that you can just forge at will? Hmph, Immortal weapons require not only the best materials but also an understanding of the laws. You, a barbarian, know nothing. My Giant Spirit Axe contains half a rune from the Open Heaven Axe. It holds the guidance of the Heavenly Dao. It is among the finest of Earth Immortal weapons. Dying under this axe is a great honor for you!" the bearded man sneered.

"Half a rune from the Open Heaven Axe?" Zhong Shan was momentarily taken aback.

"Afraid now? Hahaha, you must have heard of the Open Heaven Axe in the Small Thousand World. It embodies the guidance of the Heavenly Dao. My Giant Spirit Axe contains half a rune from it. Today, you will not escape death!" the bearded man boasted proudly.

Zhong Shan was momentarily stunned, then looked at the bearded man with determination and put away his sword.

Seeing Zhong Shan put away his sword, the bearded man frowned. Was this guy surrendering?

"If you surrender and come with me to see the young master, I will spare your life!" the bearded man said coldly.

"Surrender? You're not qualified!" Zhong Shan shook his head and sneered.

"Courting death!" The bearded man lifted his axe and struck again.

Zhong Shan extended his palms, which emitted a strange silver light, enveloped in a faint white mist with countless runes floating within.

Seeing Zhong Shan's palms, the bearded man raised an eyebrow, sensing something strange.

The Giant Spirit Axe in the bearded man's hand suddenly trembled, as if in fear.

"What technique is this?" the bearded man was startled.

"Try it and find out," Zhong Shan sneered.

With a wave of his hand, Zhong Shan unleashed a massive palm in the void, grasping at the bearded man with a terrifying pressure.

The bearded man saw the palm and, for some reason, felt as if a sharp blade was coming straight at him. That blade felt very familiar—like his own axe.

A palm that felt like an axe?

The bearded man didn't dare to be careless and swung his Giant Spirit Axe with all his might, sending out a huge axe beam to meet the giant palm.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The giant palm in the void grabbed the axe beam, holding it firmly.

"Snap!"

Another phantom palm appeared, as Zhong Shan's other hand unleashed a similar giant palm, also grabbing the Giant Spirit Axe.

The bearded man was horrified to find that his axe seemed stuck, unable to move. How could this be? How could these palms be so powerful? What kind of technique was this? How could someone at the Tianji Realm Fifth Level immobilize his weapon?

"Impossible, impossible!"

"What technique is this? Heavenly Slash! Tornado Rend!" Zhong Shan's voice was icy cold.

Heavenly Slash, Tornado Rend!

This was a technique Zhong Shan had created long ago, focusing on tearing rules apart. Now, Zhong Shan was applying it to tear the laws themselves. Using his hands, it was naturally easier than slashing with a sword.

"Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

With a powerful roar, Zhong Shan twisted his hands, following the pattern of the laws and forcefully pulling apart!

"Rip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The immense energy of the Giant Spirit Axe was torn in two, and the force continued towards the bearded man.

"Rip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

With the appearance of a black spatial tear, the Giant Spirit Axe itself was split down the middle from the blade.

"No~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The bearded man seemed to be in a dream, unable to accept the reality that his most powerful weapon was being torn apart by a mortal's bare hands. This was a top-tier Earth Immortal weapon, infused with half a rune from the Open Heaven Axe, yet it was being torn apart by a mortal?

What kind of Small Thousand World was this? Or was he still dreaming?

The sheer force made it impossible for the bearded man to pull back the Giant Spirit Axe. The tearing force was too overwhelming. In just an instant, the Giant Spirit Axe was split into two jagged pieces, and the tear continued to grow.

"Impossible, it's just the blade. The body of the Giant Spirit Axe is the strongest!" the bearded man tried to reassure himself.

At that moment, a strange energy from the Giant Spirit Axe seemed to flow into Zhong Shan's palms. His palms glowed even brighter with a silvery light, and the phantom hands in the void became more solid and powerful.

"The Open Heaven Axe rune? You're absorbing the Open Heaven Axe rune? Impossible, no one can take it!" the bearded man shouted in shock.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The Giant Spirit Axe was torn apart. What remained was the lower half, with the blade split in two. One half was still in the bearded man's hand, while the other half was torn away by Zhong Shan and casually thrown aside.

The half rune from the Giant Spirit Axe had been absorbed into Zhong Shan's palms. With the rune gone, the Giant Spirit Axe became a useless scrap.

The bearded man looked at Zhong Shan in terror, then at the ruined Giant Spirit Axe in his hand. The once powerful Earth Immortal weapon was now barely recognizable, almost resembling a Fang Tian Halberd.

The bearded man's mind was linked to the Giant Spirit Axe, and the destruction of his weapon caused him severe mental trauma. However, the spiritual damage was nothing compared to the heartbreak of losing his treasured weapon.

An Earth Immortal weapon!

The bearded man looked up at Zhong Shan, now seeing him as a terrifying monster from the Small Thousand World.

At this moment, Zhong Shan's hands had returned to normal, and he once again gripped his great sword.

Heavenly Demon Body Refining Technique, Sixth Level!

Heavenly Slash! Thousand and Eight Waves!

Zhong Shan unleashed another strike, a tremendously powerful slash. The force of the blow sealed everything around them. The bearded man, in his Celestial Immortal realm, found himself unable to escape. How could this be?

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The overwhelming power of Zhong Shan's strike bore down on the bearded man. He was unable to comprehend how someone at the Tianji Realm Fifth Level could wield such devastating power. As the blow descended, he knew he had no way to counter or escape.

With nowhere to run, the bearded man faced his impending doom, realizing too late that he had grossly underestimated his opponent.

The Giant Spirit Axe was destroyed, and the bearded man could only draw a shield-like Immortal weapon.

However, this weapon was far inferior to the Giant Spirit Axe.

"A mortal weapon? A mortal weapon can still kill a Celestial Immortal!" Zhong Shan shouted arrogantly.

Heavenly Slash, Thousand and Eight Waves!

Zhong Shan's strike slammed into the Immortal shield.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The Immortal shield shattered, but Zhong Shan's force did not diminish, and his sword continued its downward arc.

"Ah~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The bearded man let out a scream as he was cleaved in two by Zhong Shan.

A Celestial Immortal? So what?

Zhong Shan sheathed his sword and let out a long breath.

On the other side, the golden-skinned burly man faced an unprecedented terror.

The Baji Heaven Tail's speed was no longer slow. One tail resembled the Slaughtering Immortal Sword, the other the Absolute Immortal Sword. The two incredibly sharp tails were overwhelmingly powerful. In the past, even the Divine Beast Kunpeng couldn't handle the Baji Heaven Tail. How could this fool, who only refined his physical body, be a match?

Is physical toughness enough to withstand Zhong Shan's sword?

How could it compare to the Slaughtering Immortal Sword's sharpness or the Absolute Immortal Sword's might?

Under the Baji Heaven Tail's fierce assault, the burly man's body was riddled with wounds, blood gushing out.

Seeing the bearded man cleaved in two by Zhong Shan, the golden-skinned man tried to flee in terror.

But it was too late. The Baji Heaven Tail had already ensnared him.

The Slaughtering Immortal Sword-like tail aimed for his head, while the Absolute Immortal Sword-like tail targeted his dantian.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

Slaughtering God, Destroying Soul!

Another Celestial Immortal fell.

"Rumble~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The Celestial Immortal's "world" abruptly vanished, turning back into a vast black hole, and the Baji Heaven Tail disappeared as well.

Looking at the two fallen Celestial Immortals, Zhong Shan showed a trace of disdain. "The Celestial Tribulation of the Grand Thousand World is said to be stronger than that of the Small Thousand World. I can't imagine how weaklings like you managed to survive it."

While Zhong Shan showed disdain outwardly, inwardly he made various speculations. In the Small Thousand World, people undergo the Celestial Tribulation with their mortal bodies and weapons, relying solely on their own strength. But in the Grand Thousand World, ordinary weaklings wouldn't survive the tribulation. Those who did must have relied on powerful Immortal weapons provided by their backers.

With a final look of contempt at the two corpses, Zhong Shan collected them. They were useless to him, but perhaps Mr. Corpse could make use of them.

The black hole gradually dissipated, and the sky returned to normal.

To Zhong Shan's surprise, as the black hole around him vanished, he saw that Li Si had already dealt with all his opponents.

There had been over forty strong cultivators left, including three Celestial Immortals. Li Si had taken them all down so quickly?

"Emperor Zhong Shan, you are impressive!" Li Si praised with a smile.

"Prime Minister Li, you flatter me!" Zhong Shan said, taking a deep breath.

Li Si appeared more mysterious the more Zhong Shan observed him. And Great Qin was even more enigmatic. Just how deep were Great Qin's resources? How powerful was Ying?

The numerous strong cultivators watching from afar hadn't all left. Seeing Zhong Shan and Li Si's display of strength, they were filled with awe.

"Unfortunately, the most cunning ones escaped. Be careful in the future, Emperor Zhong Shan," Li Si warned.

"Oh? I need to be careful?" Zhong Shan raised an eyebrow.

"With your dynasty about to ascend, they might come after you," Li Si said with a smile.

Without further ado, Li Si stepped away and quickly disappeared into the distance.

Watching Li Si's retreating figure, Zhong Shan fell into a brief silence.

At that moment, Jian Hong and Liu Wushuang flew over.

"Return to the court!" Zhong Shan commanded solemnly.