Chapter 19: Sealing Sword of the Sacred Cloud Mountain
Xiu Meixiang looked at Liu Ming with worried eyes, but there was also a lot of trust in them. She slowly curled her fingers into her palms and bit her bottom lip a bit, trying to have faith in the little she knew about him.
'I can't say I'm the bravest among my sisters, and I probably have the least talent too. I always feel very uncomfortable when my cultivation talent is compared to that of my elder sisters. However, Lord Liu makes me feel different about my abilities. He told me the same thing that Sect Father did when I was abandoned by my family…'
She wore a strong look on her otherwise baby face.
'He said that while a person's cultivation talent is important for advancing, without drive and intent, they will never reach the heavens.'
With hope in her eyes, she watched what might be the final stage of this confrontation.
'I have faith that he'll win today, and I'm sure of it!'
Liu Ming lifted his sacred sword and moved towards Ling Zou and his chaotic sword-wielding deity.
The young patriarch's glare was as hard as steel.
"You say my techniques lack refinement and that my knowledge is shallow compared to yours. But I, Liu Ming, will show you that even a dragon can be slain with a single stroke of the sword. Get ready, old man, because today the heavens will witness your downfall at the hands of someone you underestimated."
Ling Zou laughed loudly.
"Bold words from a small fry. I am a Foundation Spirit expert, and I'll show you that I can even outshine cultivators at the Core Spirit stage!"
He spread his arms, increasing the range of his spiritual pressure.
Even Su Yan and her sisters could feel the weight of his powerful aura.
But Liu Ming kept walking forward, undeterred.
To him, Ling Zou's aura was as light as a feather.
His initial interest faded, replaced by disappointment.
Disappointed in his opponent's cultivation level…
Disappointed in his supposed technique refinement…
"I'll make this quick."
Liu Ming stood firm, holding his sacred sword. The golden blade shimmered with a deadly light.
His eyes glowed golden, and he moved so quickly it seemed like time itself had paused.
His speed was so extreme that it changed everyone's perception. One moment, he was standing still, and the next, he was right in front of Ling Zou.
The confrontation was swift and explosive.
Liu Ming swung his sword with immense power, sending out a wave of golden light that cut through the air.
But Ling Zou was ready.
Dark Flame Sword Protection!
He countered with a dark, swirling energy that blocked the attack.
Their clash of energies created a massive shockwave that shook the very ground beneath them.
Liu Ming didn't care.
He channeled his Qi, making his eyes glow even brighter. He launched another attack, this time more focused and precise.
Ling Zou responded with a grim smile, recognizing Liu Ming's skill and power. He raised his hand and summoned an intricate array of spirit symbols that became a four-layered barrier.
"As if that'll save you!"
Liu Ming's blade struck the barrier, and for a moment, it seemed like the attack would be stopped. But then, with a surge of energy, the blade broke through, shattering the dark symbols and piercing Ling Zou.
The impact was blinding, and a burst of golden light engulfed both cultivators.
As the light faded, Liu Ming spoke holy words that carried an ancient power. With his blade still glowing, he executed nine flawless slashes at Ling Zou.
The first slash pierced through Ling Zou's defenses, weakening his final protective barrier.
The second disrupted Ling Zou's meridians, obstructing his Qi circulation.
The third targeted his heavenly grotto, destabilizing his cultivation base.
The fourth paralyzed him, cutting off Qi flow to his limbs.
The fifth and sixth slashes inscribed Liu Ming's sacred formation onto Ling Zou's body, binding it with Liu Ming's spiritual energy.
The seventh inflicted a deep spirit wound, causing internal Qi chaos.
The eighth completed the sacred formation, leaving Ling Zou vulnerable.
With the ninth slash, Liu Ming activated the formation, locking Ling Zou in a state of paralysis and spiritual turmoil.
It was absolutely grand!
It was unimaginably fast!
The heavens split apart, and the last piece of this ancient family technique descended!
Sealing Sword of the Sacred Cloud Mountain!
Ling Zou coughed up blood.
"Wh-, what's happening to me?"
His eyes went wide with horror.
The slashes collectively formed a complex, ancient formation on his body, derived from the Sacred Cloud Mountain's ancient scripts and designed to summon the mountain's essence. The formation channeled Liu Ming's Qi, creating a link between Ling Zou and the Sacred Cloud Mountain!
A grand and majestic spiritual manifestation of the mountain appeared above the two cultivators.
"Y-, you're going to…" Ling Zou coughed up more black blood.
Liu Ming was now standing a safe distance from the paralyzed old man. He nodded gracefully, staring at him with absolute disappointment.
"Yes, I'm sealing you."
The mountain descended slowly as its immense spiritual pressure started sealing Ling Zou completely. When the mountain crashed onto the old man, it formed an ethereal seal that trapped him within an impenetrable barrier of sacred Qi!
Ling Zou tried to escape using his pocket-body.
"I refuse to be defeated by the likes of you!"
His distorted spiritual existence was already warping itself out of the seal.
The female disciples readied themselves.
"What do you need us to do, Patriarch?" Su Yan asked, unsheathing her saber.
Liu Ming held out a hand and shook his head. "No need…"
On the spot, golden chains emerged from the spiritual mountain and shackled all of Ling Zou's limbs.
"WH-, WHAT?!" the old man grunted.
Now, even his pocket-body was bound by the Sacred Cloud Mountain.
Zuuuuuu~!!
With a brilliant burst of golden light, Ling Zou and the Sacred Cloud Mountain soared back up into the heavens like a shining pillar.
Ling Tian's eyes were wide open with fear and horror.
His body was shaking, and his legs wouldn't move.
"N-, no… you killed my father!"
He started breathing heavily, as though he was going to scream like a madman.
Liu Ming winked and smiled playfully.
"Ah~ I'm not a monster. I left him in a state of perpetual emptiness, where all he feels is the weight of Sacred Cloud Mountain crushing his soul."
He followed up with a child-like laugh.
Ling Tian fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands.
"Impossible… father is a Foundation Spirit expert. He should've escaped that attack by passing his spiritual mark into his pocket-body. He could've even switched with his pocket body!"
The young master gritted his teeth, realizing he had just lost everything.
Liu Ming shook his head and clicked his tongue, like a teacher disappointed by a student's wrong answer.
"The seal isn't just a physical restraint; it extends into the spiritual realm, locking the target's soul and preventing any form of escape or communication. Your father is now in a state of suspended animation, fully aware but unable to act or use his powers. The sealing effect also lasts indefinitely, sustained by the sacred Qi embedded within the formation."
This meant there was no way to free his father.
For Ling Tian, the only way was to destroy the formation, but it was embedded in Ling Zou's body, which was also sealed.
The young master threw his head forward and screamed.
"RAAAAAAAHH!"
He screamed until his throat started to bleed.
Sigh~
Finding the noise too disturbing, Liu Ming appeared in front of him and delivered a powerful kick to the young master's face, cracking his skull and sending him rolling on the ground like a dirty rag.
The young patriarch frigidly stared down at the pitiful image of Ling Tian.
Raising his hand, a sacred sword appeared in it.
"Ling Tian, you epitomize the filth that taints the world of cultivation. Your existence is a stain upon the name of the Sword God School. You, who used your status to prey upon the innocent, are nothing more than a coward hiding behind borrowed power.
"Your Dao protectors, your father. Those who shielded you from the consequences of your vile actions… they've all fallen, not out of loyalty, but in the vain hope of redeeming a wretch unworthy of redemption. Look at yourself now, no power, no nothing… empty. You're a disgrace to your lineage and to the path of the sword.
"There will be no reincarnation for you, no hope of rising from the ashes. You will be erased from the annals of history. May the abyss welcome you, Ling Tian, for even hell would spit out a creature as despicable as you.
With those final, merciless words, Liu Ming's sword fell to end Ling Tian's life.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone