Chapter 297: Gu An Takes Action

Chapter 297 Gu An Takes Action

The sword light across heaven and earth gradually faded, but the voice of the Grand Cold Demon Sect’s mysterious grandmaster still echoed across the ocean, snapping the continent’s cultivators out of their daze. They hadn’t seen Gu An just now—only the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord and Qie Wuxing had caught a glimpse.

Yet that vast, overwhelming Sword Intent made them think of one person—

The Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path!

“It’s the Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path! No doubt about it! It has to be him!”

A Profound Mind Realm cultivator from the Taixuan Sect exclaimed, his voice trembling with excitement. He had once been to the Heavenly Mending Platform and felt the Sword Intent embedded in the characters for “Righteous Path.”

Qiao Dai was just as stirred, his eyes ablaze with fervor.

In that moment, he recalled the time the Sword Sovereign descended upon the Seven Star Spirit Realm.

Qie Wuxing, having narrowly escaped death, let out a sigh of relief and backed away immediately, no longer daring to approach the Demonic Shadow Army.

Gu An stood above the demonic mist, both hands gripping his sword. All around him, colossal shadowy figures over a thousand feet tall were dissipating, yet even more shadows advanced, closing in on him. He could already see some tens-of-thousands-foot-tall shadows, and even colossal demon beasts whose true size couldn’t be measured.

【You have successfully seized 10,298 years of lifespan from Meng Chenglang (Seventh Level of the Roving Immortal Stage).】

【You have successfully seized 1,459 years of lifespan from Xu Linxin (Second Level of the Scattered Immortal Stage).】

【You have successfully seized 12,080 years of lifespan from Wuyun Zhenren (Sixth Level of the Roving Immortal Stage).】

…

One notification after another popped up in front of Gu An, but he didn’t strike again right away—instead, he looked around.

He had to admit—the Grand Cold Demon Sect’s response was impressively quick. The moment he made a move, the remaining cultivators didn’t panic. Instead, they immediately formed a formation. And it was a highly advanced one—capable of being established within seconds, imbued with powerful, profound energy.

Once the sword light faded, less than three breaths passed before the entire environment shifted—Gu An suddenly found himself in the starry void of the universe. Beneath his feet, the rolling black mist remained, surrounded on all sides by demonic shadows. At the base of the shadows stood Grand Cold Demon Sect cultivators holding magical artifacts.

As Gu An entered the starry void, those towering figures—ten-thousand feet tall and even more massive—revealed their true forms.

There were savage beasts the size of creation mountains, ethereal female cultivators scattering strange petals, and gigantic birds with wingspans of tens of miles circling high above.

Beneath Gu An’s feet, the demonic mist surged like crashing waves.

“Who exactly are you? If you refuse to identify yourself, don’t blame us for showing no mercy!”

That voice rang out again, colder than ever. With the formation now in place, its speaker seemed to have regained confidence.

Gu An looked up. Above the countless layers of encirclement, within absolute darkness, a pair of enormous eyes stared down at him. It felt as though some incomprehensible being outside the cosmos was watching, exuding suffocating pressure.

【Jie Zun (Eighth Level of the Free Soaring Immortal Stage): 780,450/830,000/880,000】

A monstrous elder who had lived for 780,000 years!

But killing this one would only yield just over 5,000 years of lifespan—how disappointing.

As Jie Zun opened his eyes, the Lifetaking Immortal and the other four Free Soaring Immortals materialized one after another. Thankfully, their remaining lifespan was substantial—Gu An’s mood improved.

“This is the Luo Tian Star-Suppressing Immortal-Slaying Array of the Grand Cold Demon Sect. Once formed, no matter how powerful your techniques, there’s no escape!”

Jie Zun’s voice boomed, full of supreme authority.

The four other Free Soaring Immortals took out their respective treasures and spread to the four corners. As they took position, the starry void rippled, and countless rainbow lights appeared—not illusions, but mysterious energy gathering into form.

Gu An looked up at Jie Zun and asked, “Does the Grand Cold Demon Sect have anyone stronger?”

That single question made Jie Zun’s expression shift. All of the sect’s cultivators turned toward Gu An in alarm, their faces filled with dread.

Stronger?

How could anyone be this arrogant?

Yet because of Gu An’s previous sword strike, not a soul dared to speak against him—all of them now treated him as a deadly threat.

The Lifetaking Immortal’s expression darkened. His gut told him this man wasn’t bluffing.

In that moment, dread filled his heart.

Thank goodness he hadn’t acted recklessly. If he’d gone in alone, he might’ve ended up like his disciple, Bai Hong Zhenren—utterly annihilated.

The Luo Tian Star-Suppressing Immortal-Slaying Array fell into complete silence.

“So, no one stronger? What a letdown. You act so brazenly—I figured you had something real to back it up.”

Gu An spoke again, and without warning, hurled the Tianxiu Sword forward.

Boom!

The sword swept across the black mist, slaying wave after wave of Grand Cold Demon Sect cultivators. Just as the blade reached them, their protective light flashed—but it shattered instantly, offering no defense.

With a single sword strike spanning tens of thousands of miles, he pierced through the Luo Tian Array and returned to the real world.

Back on the continent, cultivators hovering in the sky watched a beam of sword light burst out from the all-encompassing black mist. Their nerves tightened—they had no idea what was happening within that dark haze.

As soon as Gu An unleashed his sword, Jie Zun barked an order: “Attack!”

From all directions, Grand Cold Demon Sect cultivators launched their spells—countless divine arts and techniques formed a multicolored torrent aimed at Gu An.

Gu An raised a hand and grasped at the air—then pulled back.

Suddenly, a person appeared in his palm.

Primordial Yuan Heaven-Grasping Hand!

A divine ability from the Chaos Primordial Saint Art!

This was the first time Gu An had ever used it.

The person caught in his grip was none other than Jie Zun—a white-robed elder whose face now showed nothing but horror and despair.

Gu An crushed him to dust.

Then, wielding the Qinghong Sword, he began the slaughter.

Within the continent, more and more cultivators rushed to the borders. But when they saw the ocean, their faces changed drastically.

That terrifying black mist seemed capable of devouring everything between heaven and earth. It carried the overwhelming sense of impending doom—anyone who saw it would be afraid.

The mist roiled violently, as if countless demons within were surging with bloodlust.

The morale of the continent’s defenders collapsed. No one had the will to fight.

What they didn’t know was that inside the mist, massive numbers of Grand Cold Demon Sect cultivators were heading in the same direction.

All participating disciples had been ordered to reinforce the Luo Tian Star-Suppressing Immortal-Slaying Array!

Rolling thunderclouds covered the sky, enveloping the entire continent in oppressive rumbling.

In the Demonic Domain, within a branch sect of the Taixuan Sect.

Ye Lan stood atop a pavilion, gazing at the heavens. Her hand clutched the Bailing Sword tightly. Though she felt no anomalies from the sword, her heart refused to calm.

“I hope... we can survive this tribulation...”

Ye Lan whispered, silently praying.

Even if she couldn’t see a future of eternal life, she didn’t want her story to end here. There were still so many things she hadn’t done, so many places she hadn’t seen. She still hadn’t fulfilled her promise with her senior brother—how could she accept death?

Beneath the thunderclouds, the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord and Qie Wuxing stood side by side. Both were slack-jawed, unable to remain calm, their faces full of shock.

They weren’t alone—the continent’s cultivators and even the newly arriving ones all slowed their flight, stunned by what they saw.

Amid the endless black mist, massive shadowy figures collapsed and leapt into view. Countless cultivators circled overhead, charging toward a single location—where Sword Light blazed.

Even though they were far away and couldn’t see the battle clearly, they could all feel the crushing force of that Sword Intent.

This wasn’t a balanced battle.

It was a one-sided massacre.

The Grand Cold Demon Sect had massive numbers—enough to form a sea of bodies.

And yet, surrounded by them, Gu An held dual swords, his stance relaxed, each strike slaying swaths of cultivators and demons alike.

His strength struck deep fear into the Grand Cold Demon Sect.

“No way! We can’t beat him!”

“D*mn it! He’s doing it on purpose—he’s not even using divine techniques. Just Sword Qi, and it’s wiping us out!”

“Even the Luo Tian Star-Suppressing Array couldn’t hold—how are we supposed to win?”

“Watch out! His sword’s coming this way!”

“Retreat! Retreat now!”

The world fell into chaos. Every sword strike from Gu An didn’t just claim lives—it shattered the entire sect’s morale.

The Lifetaking Immortal didn’t dare get close. He could only attack from afar, casting giant palms down from the sky—but each one disintegrated upon contact with Gu An. Useless.

Gu An walked leisurely through the black mist, one step and one swing at a time. His motions were casual, with no particular sword form.

Each time the Grand Cold Demon Sect tried to reform the Luo Tian Array, it was dispersed by his Sword Qi.

Gu An looked at the notifications before him, forcing himself to remain calm.

He wasn’t killing for the sake of it.

He was delivering justice on behalf of Heaven.

Suddenly—

Gu An stopped.

The instant he halted, all the Grand Cold Demon Sect cultivators retreated.

A hundred-mile radius opened up around him—no one dared to step in.

The cultivators stood frozen, staring at Gu An.

The Lifetaking Immortal gritted his teeth. “The Sect Master will arrive soon! Hold steady!”

His voice reached every disciple, but it failed to boost morale.

“Hold steady?”

Gu An’s voice rang out—raspy, full of mockery, like he’d heard the world’s biggest joke.

Before the Lifetaking Immortal could respond, Gu An vanished from sight.

Panic swept through the Grand Cold Demon Sect—everyone grew even tenser.

“Above—he’s above us!”

A despair-filled voice cried out.

Countless cultivators and demons looked up—and were left speechless.

A massive figure stood high in the clouds, so tall it was impossible to gauge with the naked eye. Only its upper body was visible, like an illusion. The towering shadow demons below were insignificant before it—it was Gu An.

In that moment, every Grand Cold Demon Sect cultivator felt an irresistible pressure—they couldn’t move.

Those with deeper cultivation instinctively looked down—and saw the black mist surging.

Then, from the mist, emerged a colossal hand, burning with deep violet flames, crashing upward.

The Lifetaking Immortal looked down—his face changed drastically.

That wasn’t land.

It was a hand.

A hand large enough to grab all of them.

From afar, the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord, Qie Wuxing, and all the continent’s cultivators stared in shock.

At the ocean’s edge, a city surged forward at high speed—it was Divine Anomaly City.

On the tower’s summit, Li Ya stood, eyes wide and body trembling.

Within his sight, from the endless black mist, a hand of unimaginable size rose.

Even with his vision, he couldn’t see the entire hand at once.

He had never imagined such a hand could exist in this world.

If Heaven and Earth had a hand—this would be it.