Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 2172 Chapter 1019: I'm Done Playing
Previously on Immortality Through Array Formations...
The battle was overwhelmingly lopsided.
Facing the formidable Sword Qi unleashed by Xiao Wuchen, the top disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Taixu Gate disciples found themselves utterly unable to resist.
Linghu Xiao stood no chance whatsoever.
In mere moments with a handful of sword swings, Xiao Wuchen had Linghu Xiao pinned down completely.
Each attack flowed with an archaic and majestic essence, emerging naturally and carrying a subtle harmony with the Heavenly Dao that merged seamlessly into the emptiness. Every blow unleashed a mighty Sword Qi forged from dense Spiritual Power.
Linghu Xiao poured all his strength into blocking each one.
As Xiao Wuchen swung his blade, Linghu Xiao was forced back a step each time.
Clad in his pristine white Taoist robe adorned with Sword Patterns, Xiao Wuchen appeared strikingly handsome and aloof, his stance poised and refined.
And Linghu Xiao, the hope of all, a
prodigy appearing once every five centuries in Chongxu, could merely clench his teeth and fight on in desperation, looking completely flustered and chaotic.
He no longer evoked the image of his earlier dominance, where his Sword Qi swept through foes without mercy.
Right then, the truth dawned on everyone clearly.
What makes someone a true prodigy?
What marks a real genius in Sword Dao?
Reputations can be real or fabricated.
Yet the sword reveals only honesty.
The instant their blades met, the gap in power shone through plainly.
Watching Linghu Xiao's sorry state, the onlookers felt a touch of pity inside, though without much scorn or delight in his misfortune.
They recognized Linghu Xiao's considerable strength.
During the earlier Sword Discussion, he had already proven his prowess.
Simply put, Xiao Wuchen outclassed him.
The Four Great Sects remained the pinnacle, after all.
Xiao Wuchen, the leading Sword Dao disciple among the Four Sects from the Heavenly Sword Sect, soared far beyond ordinary reach.
Even the brightest talents from the Eight Great Gates, impressive as they were, merely perched atop their own heights.
This was the essence of Sword Dao.
In cultivation level, Xiao Wuchen held a clear edge too.
He had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment.
Linghu Xiao, by contrast, barely surpassed the typical late Foundation Establishment stage.
To be precise, the Foundation Establishment Realm splits into just three phases: initial, middle, and late. Beyond that lies the breakthrough to Golden Core.
However, condensing the Golden Core proves incredibly challenging.
Many Foundation Establishment cultivators, without rare fortune, linger just shy of Golden Core for some time.
This wait might last only a year, or drag on for decades or even a hundred years.
Countless others remain trapped forever.
Hence, a special interval exists between late Foundation Establishment and Golden Core, varying per individual but often prolonged.
In this span, practitioners keep refining their cultivation, as Spiritual Power grows denser and more stable, building a firm base for the eventual Golden Core attempt...
Perhaps they had tried for Golden Core already and fallen short.
Or their Magical Treasure core might have taken shape, though the Golden Core itself had not...
All these phases together form what is known as Foundation Establishment Peak, denoting a state beyond standard Foundation Establishment but short of true Golden Core.
Xiao Wuchen occupied this advanced stage, whereas Linghu Xiao did not.
A clear gap in cultivation thus widened his Sword Dao shortfall even further.
Upon the Sword Discussion platform, Linghu Xiao faltered against Xiao Wuchen, his actions awkward and strained.
The rest fared even poorer.
The Heavenly Sword Sect squad ranked among the strongest at the Sword Discussion Conference. Apart from Xiao Wuchen, the other four Heavenly Sword Sect disciples were far from ordinary.
These four might lag a bit behind Linghu Xiao in might.
Against Ouyang Xuan, they held the advantage.
Versus Cheng Mo and Situ Jian, their superiority was overwhelming.
This represented a total domination in raw "hard power" from the sect's followers.
Consequently, as the five from Heavenly Sword Sect unleashed their fearsome Sword Qi barrage, the Taixu Gate members labored intensely, barely holding on.
Mo Hua's predicament matched this grim reality.
With his allies fully overpowered, his spells lost their bite.
He depended solely on his footwork to "endure" amid the blades of
the Heavenly Sword Sect opponents.
Yet such "endurance" held no value.
The outcome was evident.
Taixu Gate inched closer to total loss.
A few in the crowd yearned for a "miracle," dreaming of a hero rising to reverse the flow.
Regrettably, no such wonder appeared.
The feeble inevitably fall.
Linghu Xiao became the initial casualty.
He battled fiercely beneath Xiao Wuchen's sword, chasing any spark of inspiration,
but in the end, he couldn't shift the momentum.
Beneath the dual gaps in cultivation and Sword Dao, Linghu Xiao pressed on until spent, 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 remaining fighters wore down one by one, collapsing in sequence...
The observing cultivators sank into quiet reflection.
Disillusionment crept over many faces, erasing prior hopes with looks of letdown.
Folks had anticipated a thrilling showdown of talents, sparks flying like thunder and flames, powers colliding fiercely.
Though one side was fated to yield, it ought to offer a dazzling clash of elites.
The Sword Dao masters from Heavenly Sword Sect and Taixu Gate deserved a
"supreme confrontation."
Instead, it turned into a profound letdown.
Taixu Gate's defeat came too decisively, lacking any real tension from beginning to end.
Linghu Xiao offered zero contest to Xiao Wuchen, the Heavenly Sword Sect's foremost.
Let alone Mo Hua.
Now, whispers of schadenfreude emerged: "Is this all Taixu Gate amounts to, after Three Sects Unification?"
"It's ridiculous that three sects at 'Eight Great Gates' level merging still can't overcome a single Heavenly Sword Sect team..."
"Three Sects Unification brought only isolation."
"Still, making it this far stems from their merger. Without it, they'd fare even worse..."
"The difference is just too vast, an absolute steamroll..."
"Squandered hopes..."
"Pointless..."