Cultivation Starts from Farming Chapter 993 - 427: Swordsmanship Stirring Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi_3

A cruel satisfaction flickered across the gaunt cultivator’s lean features.

He efficiently began to scavenge the battlefield, pocketing the opponent’s storage bag and the azure flying shuttle spirit treasure. His smooth, practiced movements left no doubt that he was well-acquainted with the grim business of killing and pillaging.

"Friend, your skills are truly remarkable."

A calm voice suddenly cut through the air.

The gaunt cultivator’s body went rigid.

In the next instant, he conjured several spirit treasures, radiating a dull orange light, to shield his physical form. He rapidly retreated, his gaze a mixture of suspicion and wariness as he scanned the source of the voice.

There, not far off, stood a cultivator clad in green robes. His appearance was unremarkable, and his aura was deliberately concealed. The gaunt cultivator had no idea when this person had arrived.

This realization sent a shiver of alarm down his spine, heightening his vigilance.

Xu Ping offered a faint smile to the gaunt cultivator. "I find myself quite intrigued by that swordsmanship you displayed earlier, the way it could stir the primordial qi. Would you perhaps be amenable to a trade for it?"

Upon hearing this, a chilling intent flared within the gaunt cultivator’s heart.

That particular swordsmanship was his greatest asset and most guarded secret. Anyone who coveted it was destined to perish.

Nevertheless, he maintained an outward appearance of calm, feigning reluctance and difficulty. "My friend, you jest. This is a secret passed down within my sect, not something I can simply reveal."

"I implore you, friend, do not force my hand..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes suddenly blazed with ferocity. The golden longsword erupted in a blinding radiance, hurtling towards Xu Ping with the oppressive force of primordial qi, moving like a thunderbolt.

In this strike, he unleashed every ounce of his power, drawing upon the peak might of his mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation. He was confident that even a fellow cultivator at the same peak stage would struggle to emerge unscathed.

Yet, faced with this sudden, malicious assault, Xu Ping merely uttered a soft "tsk."

He casually raised two fingers, forming them into a blade-like shape.

"Zheng!"

A streak of emerald green Sword Qi shot forth from his fingertips, striking with pinpoint accuracy at the tip of the golden sword light.

The seemingly unstoppable sword light, imbued with primordial qi, disintegrated like snow under the spring sun the moment it collided with the emerald green Sword Qi.

The accompanying intangible pressure of primordial qi dissipated into nothingness, and the cultivator himself was left to bear the brunt of the backlash.

"Impossible?!"

The gaunt cultivator’s face contorted in horror.

He could not fathom how this individual could so effortlessly dismantle his divine sword technique.

Even a late-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator would find such a feat nearly impossible!

Xu Ping’s expression remained unchanged, his faint smile still in place. "It seems a friendly conversation is not what you seek, is it?"

The gaunt cultivator realized he had made a grave miscalculation, the will to fight extinguished within him. His Escape Light flared to life, and he prepared to flee by any means necessary.

"Planning to leave so soon?"

Xu Ping’s gaze hardened. To preempt any desperate, mutually destructive move or an elusive secret technique, he decided against holding back.

He opened his mouth.

A nearly invisible, dark thread, moving with impossible speed that defied spatial distance, instantly pierced the gaunt cultivator's brow.

Soul-Breaking Needle!

"Argh!"

The gaunt cultivator let out a cry of unimaginable agony. His body convulsed violently, blood seeping from his seven orifices, his Sea of Consciousness feeling as though it were being impaled by countless steel needles.

With Xu Ping's current Divine Sense directing the Soul-Breaking Needle, it was an overwhelming force that a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator of the First Rank simply could not endure.

Xu Ping materialized before him, tapping his finger. Several restrictive seals were cast into the cultivator's body, completely immobilizing both his Nascent Soul and all his mana.

Afterward, he seized the cultivator as if he were a lifeless puppet and tossed him into the dark expanse of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

"Once we are clear of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain, I will properly interrogate you to uncover the mysteries of your swordsmanship," Xu Ping mused to himself.

Capturing a peak mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator alive was considerably more arduous than simply ending their life. Had it not been for the Soul-Breaking Needle’s precise targeting of Divine Sense, such a swift and clean success would have been improbable.

However, just as Xu Ping was preparing to depart after securing the gaunt cultivator,

"Roar!"

A thunderous roar, brimming with raw violence and madness, suddenly erupted from the depths of a nearby mountain peak, one that had been fractured by the preceding battle.

Moments later, the entire mountain peak imploded, sending stones hurtling through the air as a colossal lizard-like demon beast, its body encased in thick bone armor and its eyes burning with a blood-red intensity, burst forth from the ruins.

The potent energy it radiated reached an astonishing level, comparable to a Tier Four Top-grade Demon Beast.

Moreover, clearly ravaged by the pure demonic qi present, it had succumbed to frenzy. Sensing Xu Ping's proximity, it charged at him with reckless abandon.

Xu Ping's countenance grew grim.

He had not anticipated that the recent conflict would rouse such a formidable entity, its den situated perilously close.

Confronted by a rampaging Tier Four Top-grade Demon Beast, Xu Ping knew he could not afford any laxity.

With a mere thought, the Soul-Breaking Needle morphed once more into a streak of darkness, hurtling directly towards the demon beast's Divine Soul.

However, this beast had forfeited its sentience, its Divine Soul thrown into disarray. The Soul-Breaking Needle managed only to induce a transient falter and a mournful cry, failing to inflict immediate, crippling damage as it might upon a human cultivator.

Seizing this fleeting advantage, Xu Ping unleashed his full might.

"Clang!"

The Canghua Divine Wood Sword resonated with a sharp, draconic keen, ascending into the heavens.

Simultaneously, seventy-two subsidiary swords, each a spirit treasure of considerable grade, arrayed themselves like disciplined soldiers, forming an imposing sword formation.

A colossal sword pressure washed over the surroundings, engulfing the charging demon beast.

Myriad streams of Sword Qi descended like a relentless downpour, striking the beast's resilient bone armor, creating a grating, metallic symphony!

The demon beast, wracked with pain, devolved into even greater fury. Its enormous tail lashed out, its claws tore, and demonic qi surged as it engaged in a savage counter-assault against the sword array.

The devastating impact of their clash was truly terrifying, causing the already unstable environment to convulse violently. Small, obsidian fissures in space began to manifest and expand, emitting an aura of utter destruction.

"I cannot afford to prolong this confrontation!"

Xu Ping's brow furrowed deeply, realizing the urgent necessity for a swift conclusion.

If he didn't, the proliferation of these spatial rifts could very well jeopardize his own existence.

Without further hesitation, Xu Ping summoned the Puppet Array.

Buzz!

Instantly, an overwhelming pressure descended, pinning the beast.