Fang Chen chuckled and shook his head. "Sword Immortal Path? Are you two joking? The Nine Mortal Realms don’t have a Sword Immortal Path.”

"If you’re not following the Sword Immortal Path, how were you able to kill Xu Kun with a single strike!” barked Cheng, eyes wide open with caution.

He had indeed never met a Sword Immortal, but when his ancestors plundered the Nine Realms, they had personally fought against them. Based on their descriptions, he was acutely aware of how terrifying that path could be.

The other fourth-transformation immortal had initially planned to suppress Fang Chen quickly, but Core Disciple Cheng and Xu Kun had wasted too much time talking. Now, even if he wanted to strike, he didn't dare do so haphazardly. The power of that single sword strike just now was enough to threaten even a veteran fourth-transformation immortal like himself!

"How was I able to kill Xu Kun?" Fang Chen glanced toward the spot where Xu Kun and the others stood. He said indifferently, "It's because he was too weak."

Xu Kun finally snapped out of his daze. Hearing that, he flew into a rage and tried to rush toward Fang Chen, only to be held back by his two companions.

"Don't act recklessly! We’re just ordinary wandering souls now. If you get too close, you'll be scattered by the shockwaves," one warned.

Xu Kun roared, "He killed me with one hit and then insulted me for being weak! How can I endure this!"

"Wait... those two can still kill him. As for us...to complete our race's great cause, there must always be sacrifices. Over the countless years, the number of kin who have died for this goal is already beyond counting!"

The other sighed. "It's just a pity... we likely won't have the chance to see the day our race reigns supreme over the Nine Realms."

***

Cheng’s gaze landed on the sword in Fang Chen’s hand. "It’s not that he was weak, but the sword you wield is too strong. The Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Divine Sword. It is famous on the Spiritual Treasure Rankings. It truly is no ordinary object.”

He believed he had deduced the reason for Fang Chen’s strength.

"We just need to guard against that sword,” warned the other fourth-transformation immortal. “Don't hold back whatever trump cards you have left."

"You as well. Let’s bring out everything we've got."

A massive black tripod manifested out of Cheng’s body and expanded, becoming colossal. It loomed behind him as he stood, its aura terrifying. Even if it wasn't among the top three hundred on the Spiritual Treasure Rankings, it was infinitely close.

The other fourth-transformation immortal also summoned a spiritual treasure, a divine mountain shimmering with a multitude of colors.

Fang Chen was surprised. "Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Mountain?"

What a coincidence. The opponent had actually refined an Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Mountain. It was currently a spiritual treasure of impressive power.

Upon seeing the Little Sword, the mountain immediately clamored, "I shall devour this sword!"

"Come and try it if you have the ability." Little Sword took her human form and pointed at the mountain, taunting it. "I managed to take form back then precisely because I devoured a Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Mountain exactly like you. This time, I’ll devour you too!"

***

About fifteen minutes passed without either side taking any action.

"Are you two actually going to strike or what?" said Fang Chen helplessly.

Core Disciple Cheng smiled faintly. "No rush. We’ll observe a bit more.”

The other fourth-transformation immortal was equally composed, showing no irritation at Fang Chen's words.

*** 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Another fifteen minutes passed.

"Still not attacking? You're clearly afraid of my sword but refuse to admit it. A hundred days is a short time. Once it’s up, I’ll just crush the Grand Teleportation Immortal Talisman and leave," Fang Chen said.

"Why aren’t you striking then?" Core Disciple Cheng’s eyes narrowed slightly. "It's because you aren't confident either, right? That’s why your sword strike earlier only targeted Xu Kun and the others, and not the two of us."

Fang Chen remained silent. In his current state, he indeed wasn’t certain he could kill them. If he wanted to kill a top-tier fourth-transformation immortal, he could do it without consuming his lifespan. It was hard and would require time, but it wasn’t impossible. However, slaying two fourth-transformation immortals at the same time in his current state was beyond his reach.

He also had to guard against them targeting Little Immortal Honglian. The fact they could casually incapacitate her suggested there were matters he didn’t yet understand.

Fang Chen chuckled softly. "Alright, the immortal essence I lost earlier has mostly been restored. If you still won't act, then I shall."

In an instant, eleven figures abruptly appeared behind him. The lowest cultivation among them was a first-transformation immortal, while the highest had already reached fourth transformation, though his potent aura was slightly weaker than that of Core Disciple Cheng and his companion. This didn't mean Fang Tianzun was inferior to them. It was simply that he had only recently promoted to fourth transformation.

The two men were shocked at the sudden appearance of Fang Chen’s avatars.

"They are..."

That was the natural formation brought about by the Hundred Day Red. Although the formation only lasted a hundred days and possessed no offensive power, it rendered even a Grand Teleportation Immortal Talisman useless. Generally, even Ancient Immortals could not force their way in.

Where did these eleven come from?

Due to the presence of Fang Tianzun, the two became even more wary of Fang Chen, not daring to strike at that moment.

Following that, one avatar after another slowly walked into Fang Chen’s body, merging with him. With every avatar integrated, Fang Chen’s aura grew a level stronger. First was Fang Renjian, then Fang Wushi, then Fang Yanguang. Before long, ten avatars had returned to their origin. Fang Chen’s current aura was clearly more than thirty percent stronger than before. Finally, there was the last one, Fang Tianzun.

When Fang Tianzun completely transformed and became a part of Fang Chen, Fang Chen’s aura suddenly surged, faintly rivaling the fourth transformation realm!

"Not good!"

Realizing the danger, Core Disciple Cheng and his partner felt a sense of impending doom. Both launched an attack on Fang Chen immediately.

Fang Chen sighed. "Too slow."

At this moment, he was in his absolute peak state. Because of the Primordial Immortal Eyes and the fact that Fang Wushi had merged with him, the movements of the two men appeared at least ten times slower in his eyes than they had just moments ago.

"This sixth sword shall slay demons today."

A dazzling, brilliant sword glow erupted like a scorching sun suspended in midair, then instantly swept out in all directions. It was like a terrifying shockwave, yet also like a landslide or a tsunami to the eyes of a commoner. It instantly submerged the two fourth-transformation immortals.

Xu Kun and the other two watched blankly, unable to snap out of it for a long time. It wasn't until the wandering souls of the two fourth-transformation immortals drifted before them that they finally snapped out of their shock.

Xu Kun asked in disbelief, "You two are dead too?!"

Core Disciple Cheng’s expression was complex. He nodded. "Dead."

"We shouldn't have talked so much nonsense with him! If we had struck immediately, we wouldn't have ended up like this!"

The other fourth transformation immortal, who had been taciturn from the start and let Core Disciple Cheng and Xu Kun engage in a war of words with Fang Chen, was now fuming. He began to lash out at their behavior, directly citing it as the key to their defeat.

Core Disciple Cheng said coldly, "I only wanted to probe and see what he knew. If he were a chess piece of a Yang God, he would surely have information we could use."

"Actually, we can just chat openly and share information with each other," said Fang Chen as he approached them.

The five wandering souls exchanged glances and then looked at Fang Chen in unison, exclaiming in shock, "You can see us!?"