Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 2172 Chapter 1019: I'm Done Playing
Previously on Immortality Through Array Formations...
The battle unfolded in a completely lopsided manner.
The disciples from Taixu Gate found themselves utterly powerless against the overwhelming Sword Qi unleashed by Xiao Wuchen, the top prodigy of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Linghu Xiao stood no chance whatsoever.
A mere handful of sword swings from Xiao Wuchen left Linghu Xiao entirely overpowered.
Each attack exuded an timeless and majestic aura, flowing effortlessly as if born from nature itself, infused with a subtle harmony to the Heavenly Dao that merged seamlessly into the emptiness. Every blow unleashed a formidable Sword Qi forged from dense Spiritual Power.
Linghu Xiao had to pour all his strength into blocking each one.
With every swing of Xiao Wuchen's blade, Linghu Xiao was forced back another step.
Clad in his pristine white Taoist robe adorned with Sword Patterns, Xiao Wuchen displayed a strikingly handsome yet aloof face, his stance tall and refined.
And Linghu Xiao, the one carrying everyone's expectations, a prodigy emerging once every five hundred years from Chongxu, could merely clench his teeth and fight on in desperate turmoil, his form a picture of total chaos.
He no longer evoked the image of his earlier dominance, where his Sword Qi swept through foes on every front.
Right then, the truth dawned on the onlookers crystal clear.
What makes someone a true prodigy?
What marks a genuine genius in Sword Dao?
Renown can be real or fabricated.
Yet the sword reveals only honesty.
From the instant their blades met, the gap in abilities shone through plainly.
Witnessing Linghu Xiao's wretched state, the crowd felt a touch of sorrowful pity inside, though without much scorn or delight in his misfortune.
They recognized Linghu Xiao's considerable prowess.
During the earlier Sword Discussion, he had already showcased his might.
Simply put, Xiao Wuchen outclassed him.
The Four Great Sects remained the elite among them all.
Xiao Wuchen, the leading disciple in Sword Dao from the Heavenly Sword Sect among the Four Sects, loomed like an untouchable celestial being.
Even the brightest talents from the Eight Great Gates, for all their power, merely perched atop earthly summits.
This defined the essence of Sword Dao.
In cultivation level, Xiao Wuchen held a clear edge as well.
He had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment.
Linghu Xiao, by contrast, barely surpassed the typical late stage of Foundation Establishment.
To be precise, the Foundation Establishment Realm splits into just three phases: early, middle, and late. Only after surpassing that does one advance to Golden Core.
However, condensing the Golden Core proves incredibly challenging.
Most cultivators at Foundation Establishment, without extraordinary fortune, linger just shy of Golden Core for some time.
This span might last merely a year or stretch to decades, even a full century.
Countless individuals remain trapped there forever.
Hence, a distinctive interval exists between late Foundation Establishment and Golden Core, varying per person but often prolonged.
In this time, practitioners persist in their cultivation, as Spiritual Power slowly intensifies and stabilizes, building a sturdy base that offers an opportunity to form the Golden Core...
Perhaps they had tried advancing to Golden Core and fallen short.
Or their Magical Treasure core might have taken shape, though the Golden Core itself had not yet emerged...
All these phases together form what is called Foundation Establishment Peak, denoting a state beyond standard Foundation Establishment but short of complete Golden Core.
Xiao Wuchen occupied this elevated stage, whereas Linghu Xiao did not.
A clear difference in cultivation thus amplified his shortfall in Sword Dao.
Amid the Sword Discussion platform, Linghu Xiao faltered against Xiao Wuchen, his actions laced with awkward desperation.
Conditions proved even grimmer for his comrades.
The Heavenly Sword Sect's squad ranked among the strongest at the Sword Discussion Conference. Apart from Xiao Wuchen, the remaining four Heavenly Sword Sect disciples boasted solid skills too.
These four might fall a bit short when measured against Linghu Xiao.
Yet they surpassed Ouyang Xuan.
And they far outmatched Cheng Mo and Situ Jian.
This represented an absolute domination in raw "hard power" from the sect's followers.
As a result, the relentless barrage of Sword Qi from the Heavenly Sword Sect's five members left the Taixu Gate group scrambling desperately, barely holding on.
Mo Hua fared no differently.
His allies lay completely subdued, rendering his spells largely ineffective.
He depended solely on his evasion skills to "endure" beneath the blades of the Heavenly Sword Sect opponents.
Yet such "endurance" held no purpose.
The outcome stood evident.
Taixu Gate inched closer to total defeat.
Certain viewers clung to hopes of a "miracle," yearning for an individual to reverse the momentum and alter the flow.
Regrettably, no such miracle materialized.
The feeble inevitably fall.
Linghu Xiao became the initial casualty.
He battled fiercely beneath Xiao Wuchen's sword, chasing any spark of a breakthrough,
but in the end, he couldn't shift the balance.
Faced with the dual gaps in cultivation and Sword Dao, Linghu Xiao pressed on until drained, only to face a chilling cut from Xiao Wuchen that finished him.
Linghu Xiao perished by Xiao Wuchen's blade.
The tide turned sharply for the worse.
The rest started wearing down, collapsing one by one...
The observing cultivators sank into quiet reflection.
Numerous expressions shifted from anticipation to letdown.
They had anticipated an intense showdown of talents, sparks flying like thunder and flames, a clash of raw force.
Though one side was fated to yield, it ought to have sparked a dazzling contest among prodigies.
The Sword Dao masters from Heavenly Sword Sect and Taixu Gate were set for a "supreme confrontation."
Instead, it ended in profound letdown.
Taixu Gate's defeat came too decisively, from beginning to end, devoid of any real tension.
Linghu Xiao held zero ground against Xiao Wuchen, the unrivaled leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Let alone Mo Hua.
By now, whispers of schadenfreude emerged: "So this is the might of Taixu Gate after the Three Sects Unification?"
"It's ridiculous that three sects at the 'Eight Great Gates' level merging still can't overcome a single Heavenly Sword Sect..."
"The Three Sects Unification brought only isolation."
"Still, making it this far stems from their merger. Without it, they'd be even feebler for sure..."
"The gap is just too vast, an utter rout..."
"Squandered hopes..."
"Pointless..."