Chapter 211: Divine Empowerment Granted

Tingqiu Mountain was precisely where the old man found himself. Desperate to escape, he had exhausted all his means. He burrowed through the earth and mountains with a Void Earth Escape Talisman, used a priceless Life-Substitute Talisman to block a fatal blow, and even consumed a Mountain God Stone.

Despite this, the old man remained anxious. It was a good thing he had activated the Life-Substitute Talisman without hesitation the moment he began his escape. Had he tried to conserve it, it would have been too late by the time the immortal sword was unsheathed. Even an immortal cultivator's reaction speed could not possibly match the speed of the immortal sword's light.

Even with such decisive use of the Life-Substitute Talisman, the old man was not entirely unharmed. The instant the immortal sword's light swept past, the old man, who should have escaped unscathed, was still affected by its power. The pain felt as if the talisman had not substituted him at all, but as if he had been directly slain. A part of his spiritual essence had been severed, and for a moment, the old man thought he had died.

This fleeting experience had made the old man profoundly understand that once truly struck by an immortal sword, under the influence of its sword intent and aura, his body and soul would undoubtedly be annihilated. Any thought of his primordial spirit escaping or his corpse dissolving would be an absolute delusion.

The old man was utterly terrified by the immortal sword's might. Legends spoke of immortal artifacts possessing unfathomable divine powers, and immortal swords, as weapons of slaughter, were exceptionally formidable. He had previously harbored a desire to witness one firsthand, but certainly not in this situation!

"Mountain God, save me! Mountain God, save me! Please, Mountain God, hurry and save me...!"

The old man chanted, his voice growing increasingly agitated. As an immortal cultivator, he struggled to control his physical state, and cold sweat drenched his entire body.

Meanwhile, his body, still under the effect of the earth escape, continuously burrowed deeper into the tricky ground, drilling into the hearts of towering peaks, hoping for even a sliver of psychological comfort.

However, the old man was not a true earth spirit after all. Even with a Void Earth Escape Talisman, the deeper he burrowed, the greater the consumption of his magical power.

'Why isn't it here yet, why isn't it here yet! I don't have a second Life-Substitute Talisman!'

The old man even had a sudden realization: even a treasure like the Life-Substitute Talisman had its limits. He had narrowly escaped death the first time, but his spiritual essence had still been severed. If he had a second talisman, even if it could truly "substitute" him, he would undoubtedly die. At that point, due to the spiritual connection with the talisman, his spiritual essence would likely be annihilated, no different from instantaneous death.

Ji Yuan soared through the sky, his spiritual eyes wide open, probing the aura of the surrounding mountain ranges. Besides the pristine white snow, the mountains and land displayed extraordinary spiritual charm and presence. This majestic, unnamed mountain range, unknown to Ji Yuan, was likely one of the border markers between Da Zhen and the northern state of Tingliang.

A moment later, Ji Yuan finally detected the old man's faint and elusive aura. He was desperately burrowing through terrain where the mountains were thick and imbued with strong earth energy, likely trying to use it for concealment. His escape method was clearly extraordinary.

However, having withstood an attack from the Green Vine Sword and severed the energetic connection, Ji Yuan had never dared to underestimate the old man to begin with.

The Green Vine Sword hummed. All snow and wind within a ten-foot radius around the immortal sword in the sky shattered. The next moment, the sword vibrated.

"Zheng..."

With a ringing sword hum, the blade was drawn almost halfway, a full foot and six inches, six inches more than the previous strike. A bolt of silver light descended once more.

The old man, just escaping from a mountain's core, suddenly felt an extreme surge of alarm. A sense of impending doom overwhelmed him.

'My life is over!'

As soon as this thought arose, a sudden change occurred.

"Boom..."

The mountain above the old man suddenly exploded at its center. A colossal hand, formed of rock, stretched out from the mountain's core, reaching for the sky. Its swing happened to intercept the descending sword light mid-path, causing powerful magical energy and divine light to erupt.

"Bang... Boom...."

The old man, stunned, perceived the energetic changes above him. It was as if he could see countless rocks, plants, and trees exploding and scattering amidst the snow in the sky. Crushed stones and mud rained down, and a vast shadow, frictionally displacing the air, pressed down.

"Whoosh whoosh...."

"Clatter-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble..."

The colossal arm, formed of mountain rock and earth, could not withstand the sword light and snapped off, crashing onto a nearby small peak. The earth shook, surrounding peaks' snow shattered, and avalanches occurred everywhere, filling the sky with snow mist and dust.

"Boom..."

A towering giant figure rose from the mountain amidst the swirling snow mist. Its broken arm, along with countless rocks, flew back up and re-merged with its body, which now emanated an intense divine light. This was not the light of incense offerings, but rather the condensed power of legitimate mountain ranges.

The pain from moments ago made the Mountain God roar furiously, his voice resonating like a great bell.

"I am the rightful deity of Tingqiu Mountain! What fiend dares to..."

"Om."

On the Green Vine Sword's sheath, the character "Cang" (conceal) vanished as "Feng" (edge/sharpness) lit up. The sword hummed, unleashing its intent. All the wind and snow within sight were completely shredded, and the sky astonishingly cleared. Even new snow falling from high above melted into the boundless sharpness.

An endless, biting sharpness, many times more severe than the deepest winter, permeated the heavens.

The Mountain God's latter half of the sentence was abruptly choked off. His colossal body, like a dwarfed peak, withstood the surrounding avalanches. He looked down at the old man, who appeared as small as a sesame seed or a pea below him. Although he had known that for this fellow to use up a Mountain God Stone, he must have encountered something major, this was somewhat exaggerated.

He couldn't help but transmit a subtle message into the old man's ear.

"What the hell kind of being did you provoke, you bastard!?"

Only then did the old man regain his composure, checking himself all over for any cracks or injuries, and confirming he was not dead. He hastily bowed repeatedly to the majestic Mountain God, shouting for help.

"Mountain God above, no matter what, you must save my life this time!"

As for Ji Yuan's true background, the old man genuinely had no idea.

With the sword hanging overhead in a standoff, it was not appropriate to waste words. From that previous sword strike, it was clear the other party absolutely intended to kill.

The Mountain God, dozens of feet tall with a body of rock and earth resembling a mountain peak, slightly tilted his head back, gazing at the white-robed immortal cultivator standing on a cloud a hundred feet away. His booming voice, like a great bell, resonated through the mountain region once more.

"Esteemed immortal, I am the Mountain God of Tingqiu. Immortal Li below is an old acquaintance of mine. Might you..."

"You may!"

Ji Yuan stood on the cloud, his pale eyes unwavering and devoid of emotion as he faced the majestic and robust Mountain God. Although it was his first time seeing such a mountain god, despite a slight tremor in his heart, no other expression showed on his face.

The Mountain God was momentarily taken aback by Ji Yuan's plain tone. But before the Mountain God and the old man below could express their delight, Ji Yuan's next words floated out effortlessly.

"I can overlook why a dignified Mountain God like yourself has a past connection with this heretical fiend," Ji Yuan said. "However, this evil cultivator has accumulated countless wicked deeds, even daring to dabble in sinister arts like the Nine-Son Ghost Mother. Today, he absolutely cannot be allowed to walk free!"

As he spoke, Ji Yuan ascended higher on his cloud, rising above the Green Vine Sword, and began to gather power with a sword-finger gesture.

This seemed like a deterrent, but in reality, it was a deliberate move to create distance. A mountain god of this caliber possessed considerable might, and Ji Yuan dared not get too close.

At the same moment, the Green Vine Sword's momentum grew stronger. Combined with the melting snow curtain above, its profound sword intent and the clear, pristine, biting killing intent below intensified.

As Ji Yuan raised his body and pressed down with his sword-finger, the immortal sword's power, drawn downwards for an instant, surprisingly gave the impression of dragging the snowy white above down with the green-tinged sword intent. The three elements—white above, green in the middle, and clear below—naturally blended for a brief moment, subtly creating a peculiar feeling of sword intent carrying the might of heaven itself.

As if a natural spiritual endowment, Ji Yuan, upon realizing this subtle change, instinctively and decisively inverted the flow of Heaven and Earth's Creation. He diffused the 'Heaven's Might' concept into the air. At this moment, intent and power superimposed and stabilized between the ethereal and the real. The immortal sword, suspended in the air as if carrying the might of heaven, exerted immense psychological pressure.

The sword was not even fully unsheathed, yet it already possessed a might as if the very sky were collapsing.

'A sword suspended, its power like the sky tilting!'

This feeling simultaneously arose in the hearts of Ji Yuan, the Tingqiu Mountain God, and the evil cultivator.

The difference was that Ji Yuan was deliberately experiencing and following the sensation to create this psychological pressure, while the latter two were left with only an increasingly intense intuitive feeling.

Undeniably, the immortal sword's might was formidable, but formidable as it was, it certainly didn't inherently possess this exaggerated, sky-collapsing oppressive feeling.

The Tingqiu Mountain God was the strongest opponent Ji Yuan had faced directly in a one-on-one confrontation so far.

Ji Yuan knew his own strengths and weaknesses; his advantages were very prominent. The immortal sword possessed unparalleled might, and his cultivation progressed at divine speed. He also had wondrous methods like the Samadhi True Fire and edicts and immobilization techniques extended from the Edictal Sound. He had researched the Sleeve Universe and transformation arts. Additionally, he possessed the Immaculate Body and spiritual eyes that could perceive auras, and he could even, to a certain extent, manifest artistic concepts by reversing Heaven and Earth's Creation.

But his shortcomings were also very obvious. After all, his years of cultivation were still few. Apart from the Green Vine Immortal Sword, his other methods, including his personal cultivation, had great potential but lacked profound foundation. His ability to bluff was strong, but if it came to a life-and-death struggle with this Tingqiu Mountain God, Ji Yuan certainly didn't want to test if his relatively small body could withstand it. After all, the opponent's divine power and might didn't seem like something an immortal sword could simply crush and destroy.

As for the divine binding art, Ji Yuan didn't dare to land and use it right now. Moreover, the Tingqiu Mountain God didn't look like he could be easily bound by his magical powers.

Originally, from the change in the Mountain God's tone, Ji Yuan had already concluded that the other party was somewhat apprehensive. Taking advantage of this, while appearing slightly tougher, he used the activation of the immortal sword's momentum to mask the fact that he was creating distance.

But he hadn't expected that his unintentional action would lead him to comprehend a new application of "power/momentum" (势, 'shi'). It truly felt like a miraculous divine ability bestowed by heaven.

'This is a heart-slaying sword!'

As this realization dawned, Ji Yuan's greatest thought at this moment was to stabilize this state, and immediately after dealing with the evil cultivator, return to thoroughly comprehend this moment's opportunity for Dao insight.

This mindset naturally manifested externally, giving Ji Yuan an air of nonchalance. It was as if neither the Mountain God nor the evil cultivator, under this sky-tilting sword momentum, were worthy of his full attention.

As direct experiencers of this sky-tilting momentum, the Tingqiu Mountain God bore unimaginable pressure. The old man, moreover, was already pressed to the ground by the immense psychological burden, unable to even straighten his body.