Chapter 153: Perfection of the God-Slaying Ghost-Vanishing Sword

Fang Wang opened his eyes and looked at the grand hall within the heavenly palace, a look of expectant a smile appearing on his face.

The Immortal-Slaying Great Sage was, after all, a Great Sage; his lifelong painstaking efforts should surely be formidable!

If it took less than five hundred years to master, it would be unworthy of a Great Sage's prestige!

The most powerful swordsmanship ultimate technique in Fang Wang's possession was the Sword Sage's Heaven and Earth Sword Intent, but the Sword Sage's "Sage" was merely an honorific title, not a true sage of swordsmanship. In his view, there should be a vast chasm between the Sword Sage and the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage.

Fang Wang closed his eyes, recalling the sword forms and mental incantations of the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword once more.

The figure of the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage emerged in his mind, his sword forms fierce and his sword momentum astonishing.

After a long while.

Fang Wang materialized the Heavenly Rainbow Sword and began to practice the sword.

First, he would cultivate the sword forms to their absolute limit, and only then pursue a higher realm!

Filled with fighting spirit, Fang Wang concentrated entirely on his sword practice, losing all track of time. Within the heavenly palace, only the sound of him wielding his sword echoed, continuous and unbroken.

How much time passed, he knew not. By the time Fang Wang felt a sense of exhaustion, he had yet to fully master the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword.

Hardening his heart, he refused to turn back to look at the timekeeping clock, choosing instead to master it first before checking.

Time continued to flow.

When Fang Wang finally mastered the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword and looked back, six hundred years had already passed!

He had merely mastered the basics; he had not yet reached the great accomplishment stage, let alone the realm of perfection!

One must remember that Fang Wang had already mastered grand consummate sword techniques such as the Astonishing Hong Divine Sword Art, the Nine Heavens Azure Thunder Sword Array, the Heaven and Earth Sword Intent, and the Spirit-Nurturing Sword Qi. His comprehension of swordsmanship and his foundational base far surpassed those of others, yet even so, it still took him six hundred years just to learn the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword.

Remarkable!

The Immortal-Slaying Great Sage had truly not been boasting. If ordinary mortals wished to master the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword, they would likely need to have already reached the Mahayana Realm, and wishing to achieve great accomplishment would probably require a cultivation level two tiers higher than the Mahayana Realm just for a chance at success.

Fang Wang roused his spirits, forcing himself to dwell on the formidable power of the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword. Adjusting his mindset, he continued his sword practice.

From small accomplishment to great accomplishment, it took him another five hundred years!

Eleven hundred years—and this was purely time spent practicing the sword without sleeping or meditating on other arts, equivalent to two or three thousand years of sword practice for ordinary cultivators.

Next was the most difficult realm of perfection!

This was likely a state of perfection that even the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage himself had failed to reach!

Fang Wang's heart began to tremble.

He felt that he had still been too young, underestimating Fang Hanyu's words and overestimating his own attainments in swordsmanship.

A full eight hundred years passed before Fang Wang finally drove the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword to the realm of perfection!

This sword had already surpassed mortal imagination. Its sword intent could absorb the willpower of all things in the netherworld. To say it without exaggeration, this sword had no upper limit!

Nineteen hundred years—this was the first time Fang Wang had ever gone into seclusion for so many years in one single breath...

When he reopened his eyes, the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage was still wielding his sword, demonstrating the forms to him.

Fang Wang did not interrupt him, staring blankly at the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage with lifeless eyes.

The Immortal-Slaying Great Sage had been observing Fang Wang's expression the entire time and could clearly sense the tremendous emotional shifts within him, yet he did not stop.

Evaluating the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage's swordsmanship through the lens of the perfected Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword, it appeared rather crude, with numerous flaws.

Although the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage had deliberately performed the sword forms to be simple and easy to understand, Fang Wang could tell at a glance that the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage had barely scraped into the realm of great accomplishment.

Just like that.

After executing the sword forms ten times, the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage slowly lowered his sword. He looked expressionlessly at Fang Wang and asked, "Junior, how much have you remembered?"

In his heart, he held no more hope, because Fang Wang's subsequent state had clearly been abnormal.

Fang Wang replied, "差不多了 (Almost enough)."

His demeanor was indifferent, completely contrasting with his previously polite posture. It was not that he was deliberately putting on airs, but rather that he had not realized it himself; having just emerged from nineteen hundred years of seclusion, his entire mind was numb.

"Oh? Almost enough? Then execute it and let this old man have a look," the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage said, raising an eyebrow before tossing the wooden sword in his hand to Fang Wang.

Fang Wang raised a hand to catch the sword. Adjusting his grip with one hand, he asked, "I wonder what realm the Senior thinks I can achieve?"

Upon hearing this, the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage could immediately sense Fang Wang's conceit. He found it rather amusing; it seemed this brat had not truly grasped the profound mysteries of the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword and had merely memorized the physical forms.

"Wield the sword, then. If you can astonish this old man, I wouldn't mind bestowing yet another fortuitous encounter upon you!"

Hearing this, a trace of a smile finally appeared on Fang Wang's face.

His previous cultivation of the Heavenly Gang Saintly Body True Technique had triggered a celestial mansion fortuitous encounter, and he hoped this time would be the same.

Fang Wang slowly raised the sword. He did not execute any formal sword stance, but as he lifted the blade, a frigid, chilling sword intent burst forth. Wisps of sword qi drifted from the wooden sword, flowing along his arm toward his back, gradually coalescing into the phantom shadow of a ghost and deity.

This ghost and deity possessed broad shoulders and a wasp-like waist, a human-like form pitch-black from head to toe, clad as if in divine and formidable armor. Even without a clear facial expression, it exuded an overpowering, peerless aura of dominance. In its hand, it likewise grasped the projection of a sword—an exceptionally long blade, towering even taller than the entirety of its own phantom body.

The ghost and deity of the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword!

This ghost and deity was projected from the depths of Fang Wang's own heart, and could also be understood as the incarnation of his sword intent!

For different individuals practicing the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword, the posture and strength of the condensed ghost and deity would vary!

The Immortal-Slaying Great Sage's eyes widened. Casting aside the dignity of a Great Sage, he asked with a trembling voice, "You... How is this possible? Have you practiced this before?"

Fang Wang looked at the hand gripping his sword, the ghost and deity behind him mirroring his exact movement.

He countered with a question of his own, "Could it be that Senior has left behind inheritances in other places as well?"

The Immortal-Slaying Great Sage fell silent.

In truth, he had regretted asking the moment the words left his mouth, driven solely by his overwhelming shock which caused him to overlook the past.

This was, after all, the proudest painstaking creation of his entire cultivation life...

This brat learned it just by watching ten times?

How could that be possible...

Unable to accept it, the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage stared fixedly at Fang Wang and demanded, "Is there anyone else in the current age who knows this sword? Are there any similar sword techniques?"

Back then, he had relied on the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword to roam unhindered across the world, and countless people had witnessed the brilliance of this sword. He had every reason to suspect someone had imitated his art.

Fang Wang was growing somewhat impatient with the questioning. With the ghost and deity now manifested, he already sensed that he possessed the power to shatter this illusion. Directly, he spoke, "If Senior refuses to believe it, you are entirely free to doubt. My Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword has already surpassed Senior's. Would Senior like to witness the realm of perfection that you yourself never managed to reach?"

Hearing this, the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage froze. Immediately afterward, flushed with shame and anger, he said in a deep voice, "Junior, do you truly believe that merely by watching this old man's sword forms ten times, you could drive this sword to a realm that surpasses mine?"

Fang Wang raised the wooden sword in his hand high above his head, the ghost and deity behind him doing the exact same. In an instant, the sword held by the ghost and deity erupted with sword qi that pierced the heavens, and black flames raged furiously, instantly piercing a pale, gaping hole through this dark spatial void.

An unimaginably vast and heavy pressure enveloped the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage, causing his expression to involuntarily shift.

He could feel that Fang Wang's sword intent was utterly pure, indicating that he had not yet even begun to absorb the netherworld willpower. This was ample proof that Fang Wang had only just learned it, yet even as a novice, the sheer might of this sword intent...

At this moment, as he gazed upon Fang Wang, the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage's heart was filled with a profound sense of defeat.

The painstaking creation of his entire lifetime had been learned by a junior in a remarkably short span of time, and moreover, had surpassed his own attainments.

Anyone in his position would find it difficult to accept.

Fang Wang spoke up, "Senior's supreme swordsmanship is truly formidable. Throughout my life, I have already acquired numerous ultimate techniques, including the three great true techniques of the Dragon-Subduing Great Sage, yet not a single one can compare to the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword. Through this sword, I can perceive Senior's attainments in swordsmanship; you are definitively the number one swordsman within my current understanding, unmatched in the present age. As for the past and the future, I cannot judge."

Hearing these words eased the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage's mood somewhat, though a bitter smile still remained written across his face.

The black space began to collapse, fracturing like a shattered mirror.

Raising his eyes to look at Fang Wang, the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage took a deep breath and asked, "Junior, tell this old man your name."

Fang Wang replied, "This junior is named Fang Wang—Fang as in circle and square, Wang as in hope."

The Immortal-Slaying Great Sage continued, "Very well, I have remembered your name. You may keep my sword stone; it will guide you to find my tomb palace, within which you can inherit my sword intent, allowing you to bypass tens of thousands of years of detours. However, you must at least reach the Heaven and Earth Universe Realm before you can break through the protective barrier of my tomb palace."

Upon hearing this, Fang Wang immediately bowed in gratitude.

The Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword required the absorption of netherworld willpower. The Immortal-Slaying Great Sage must have absorbed a vast amount of netherworld willpower during his lifetime; if he could devour it, it would indeed save him countless years of detours.

A smile blossomed on the Immortal-Slaying Great Sage's face—and this time, his smile was brimming with anticipation.

Immediately following.

Fang Wang's consciousness returned to reality.

Opening his eyes, the first thing that met his gaze was the purple jade stone clutched in his hand, and a smile broke across his face.

Not only had he acquired a formidable skill, but he had also secured a major fortuitous encounter!

Splendid, simply splendid!

Fang Wang once again projected his spiritual sense into the sword stone. This time, his consciousness entered a expanse of darkness, deep within which flickered a single beam of light, allowing him to orient himself relative to directions in reality.

The Heaven and Earth Universe Realm, was it?

Fang Wang was not yet clear on what the Heaven and Earth Universe Realm entailed, so he could only inquire about it later.

Withdrawing his spiritual sense, he stored the sword stone into his Dragon Jade Ring and stood up to his feet.

A proper relaxation was in order!

Finding Little Purple—who was still chatting away with Zhu Yan—Fang Wang hoisted the serpent up without warning.

"Aiyah, Master, where are you taking me?"

"To a place devoid of monsters."

"Ah? Yay, yay!"

Little Purple instantly became excited, casting a smug look back at Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan wore a strange expression, inwardly baffled: Could it be that his master truly had a penchant for this sort of thing?

Shaking his head, he walked toward his own cultivation spot, preparing to resume his training.

The Battle-Stellar True Technique was simply too difficult, preventing him from studying it without interruption for fear of delaying his overall cultivation progress.

...

Bringing Little Purple to the sandy shore, Fang Wang set it down. Meeting its expectant gaze, he stated calmly, "With nothing better to do, I intend to drill you a bit."

Little Purple's eyes lit up as it asked, "How shall we drill?"

Looking down at the creature, Fang Wang said, "Don't you love practicing the sword? I'll teach you."

"Ah?"

"Are you ready?"

With a wave of Fang Wang's hand, a wooden branch flew into his grip, while another branch flew through the air, landing right in front of Little Purple.

Little Purple hurriedly clamped the wooden branch in its jaws.

"This sword technique is called the Immortal-Slaying Ghost and Deity Sword. Mastered to the great accomplishment stage, it allows one to roam the mortal world unmatched," Fang Wang said softly. With that, he began to wield his sword.

Hearing this, Little Purple grew ecstatic once more, its serpentine eyes fixed unwaveringly on Fang Wang.