Even Xuan Yun had not anticipated this.
He stared at the overlapping mountain ranges, unable to remain calm any longer, his shock evident on his face.
He couldn't understand or figure out how Qiānlíng, who hailed from a minor secret realm, could possess such formidable Fortune. Moreover, judging by its power, it hadn't been refined over just a decade or two.
If anyone was truly shocked, it was likely the people from the Xiaoluo Secret Realm, especially Qiānniǎo.
She had always known Qiānlíng possessed great Fortune, and not just one kind. However, in her memory, she had never seen Qiānlíng refine it. Only once, when they were very young, had she seen Qiānlíng manifest it. Back then, the Minor Thousand Mountains Fortune Qiānlíng summoned was more like a dazzling radiance, without even the shape of mountains, let alone any significant power.
If Qiānlíng hadn't manifested the Minor Thousand Mountains Fortune today, Qiānniǎo might have even forgotten that Sister Ling'er possessed such a Fortune. She simply never imagined that after all these years, Qiānlíng's Minor Thousand Mountains Fortune had grown so powerful that it could scatter and dissipate the supernatural sword techniques unleashed by over a hundred members of the Jinwu Li Clan.
This was utterly terrifying!
Was it over?
No, it wasn't.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One after another, illusory and solid mountain ranges condensed and overlapped, not only shaking the over a hundred members of the Jinwu Li Clan until they staggered but also churning their blood and qi, damaging their minds, preventing their divine sense from coalescing, their immortal spirits from circulating, and their immortal power from condensing.
"Heavenly Profound Guide, Ten Thousand Swords Soar!"
As Qiānlíng leaped into the air, she spun like a tornado. In an instant, countless flying swords materialized across the sky. The over a hundred members of the Jinwu Li Clan were scared out of their wits. Despite their fear, they immediately tried to defend themselves. However, with their minds damaged and divine sense scattered, they couldn't condense their immortal power and were utterly unable to block the sky full of flying swords.
This scene was as shocking as it could be.
As insane as it could be!
When the overlapping mountain ranges ceased to multiply and the sky full of flying swords stopped their chaotic dance, the over a hundred members of the Jinwu Li Clan were all lying haphazardly on the ground. Some had their immortal armor shattered, some had their immortal spirits damaged, some were covered in wounds from sword slashes. Even the three Sixth Heaven experts who had cultivated for millennia were now in a wretched state, lying disheveled on the ground. As for Ding Da, hailed as the Taibai Golden Immortal, he was disheveled, his face ashen, half-kneeling on the ground, his entire body covered in sword wounds.
Silence.
Utter quiet.
Every single person present, without exception, stared with wide eyes and gaping mouths, looking as if they had witnessed a heavenly miracle. Gazing at Qiānlíng in mid-air was like beholding a goddess descending. Beyond shock and awe, there was more disbelief, more incredulity.
"Heavens! What kind of supernatural ability is this? What kind of sword art? This is just... too incredible!"
Looking at the utterly wretched, injured, maimed, and crippled over a hundred members of the Jinwu Li Clan, Qiānniǎo was so excited and thrilled she could barely speak coherently.
Gu Qingfeng exhaled a wisp of spiritual smoke and chuckled, "This is called the Heavenly Profound Ten Thousand Swords Art. How is it? Passable, right?"
"Passable? It's far more than just passable! No! This isn't passable at all; it's simply too incredible! When did Sister Ling'er cultivate such a supernatural sword art? How come I didn't know anything about it? And... Heavenly Profound Ten Thousand Swords Art... it sounds so familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere."
Gu Qingfeng looked at the dumbfounded Qiānniǎo and teased, "Do you still think reality is cruel now?"
"I..." At this moment, Qiānniǎo's mind was a complete blank, her thoughts utterly chaotic. She just shook her head subconsciously. "No... not cruel at all."
"Was it exciting enough?"
"Too... too exciting."
Yes.
Too exciting.
From the beginning, when Xuan Yun got angry and stopped intervening, leaving Qiānniǎo feeling desperate and lost.
To Qiānlíng stepping forward to accept the challenge, making Qiānniǎo anxious and fearful.
Now, witnessing with her own eyes Qiānlíng utterly defeating the Jinwu Li Clan, Qiānniǎo was shocked, unable to believe it was real.
This feeling of falling from heaven into hell, then soaring from hell back to heaven, repeated several times—it had to be said, it was truly thrilling.
"Was it surprising enough?"
"Surprising? It's even more surprising than the biggest surprise imaginable."
First, the Ninth Heaven Taibai cultivation. Then, the majestic Thousand Mountains Fortune. And now, the Heavenly Profound Ten Thousand Swords Art that defeated a hundred people in one move.
These successive, massive surprises had left Qiānniǎo speechless with shock.
Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily, draining his cup of wine in one gulp. "So you see, life is full of surprises everywhere."
"Life is full of surprises everywhere?"
Qiānniǎo murmured these words, suddenly remembering that when she had dragged the little drunkard out of bed earlier, this guy had said the same thing—'life is full of surprises everywhere'—and said he'd let her experience it. Back then, Qiānniǎo thought he was talking nonsense. Only now did she realize Gu Qingfeng wasn't spouting nonsense at all, but rather... it seemed like he had known all this would happen.
Not far away.
Liúlí, like the onlookers gathered on the floating island, was filled with inner shock. It took her a long time to regain her composure. She murmured, "This is truly unbelievable... I always thought Sister Ling'er was only at the Fifth Heaven cultivation level. I never imagined she was this powerful. First, the Taibai Ninefold Golden Aura, then the acquired Fortune Minor Thousand Mountains, and now this incredibly powerful supernatural sword art. Heavens! Sister Ling'er is truly amazing."
Beside her.
Xuan Yun's handsome face wore an extremely complex expression. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, as if trying to calm his tumultuous emotions.
This complexity contained shock, awe, envy, jealousy, and even a hint of displeasure!
Like Liúlí, he had always believed Qiānlíng was merely a Fifth Heaven Golden Immortal.
He never could have imagined she was a Golden Immortal who had cultivated the Taibai Golden Aura.
If it were just the Taibai Golden Aura, it wouldn't have affected Xuan Yun so much.
But Qiānlíng also possessed a Fortune that was hard to come by.
This truly shocked Xuan Yun.
Of course.
Whether it was the Taibai Golden Aura or the acquired Fortune, Xuan Yun was shocked, but not to the point of envy or jealousy.
What truly made him envious and jealous was the supernatural sword art Qiānlíng had executed last.
Although he didn't know what supernatural sword art Qiānlíng had used, he could tell it was a genuine supernatural sword art in the truest sense.
In the Great Desolate, not all sword arts could be called supernatural abilities. Most sword arts were merely immortal path sword techniques. Truly deserving the name 'supernatural sword art' were exceedingly rare.
Earlier.
He had stopped mediating, wanting Qiānlíng to realize his importance and come begging to him instead.
Upon discovering Qiānlíng was a Taibai Golden Immortal who had even cultivated the Taibai Golden Aura, he thought such cultivation alone was far from enough to challenge over a hundred people from the Jinwu Secret Realm.
He had planned to wait until Qiānlíng was in dire straits, then step in. That way, he could make Qiānlíng realize his importance, understand how much face he carried, and further make her know that without him, she was nothing.
That wasn't the most important part.
Most importantly, Xuan Yun also wanted to take this opportunity to display his magnanimity in front of the crowd. After all, many onlookers were gathered on the floating island. When word spread later, his reputation would reach new heights.
But now.
All his plans had fallen through.
Because there was no chance for him to intervene. Qiānlíng had single-handedly defeated over a hundred members of the Jinwu Li Clan.
Not only did this ruin Xuan Yun's plans, it also made him feel he had lost face. Naturally, he was very displeased deep down.