C1358 Iron Blood Shura

Alonso wore a smile of ease.

"This sword, forged from the bones of your partner, is truly remarkable. Many within the Everlands and the Sword Sect believe you crafted it from your partner's skeleton after their demise."

Alonso gently shook his head, still smiling. "I know that's not the case. The sword spirit within your Immortal Sword is none other than your beloved."

"You've simply found a new way to be together. Still inseparable, still side by side!"

As he spoke, Alonso's silver lance precisely touched the tip of the Withered Sword.

Puff!

The eerie Withered Sword could no longer muster even a glimmer of light.

Xi Quan's eyes, deep with the essence of her swordsmanship, now mirrored the same lifeless aura as her Withered Sword's spirit and intent.

She stared at Alonso, her mind reeling with shock, struggling to grasp the reality before her.

What astonished her most was how the Shura's grand commander could be so intimately aware of her deeply buried secret—a secret unknown to most of her Sword Sect brethren.

For the first time, she experienced a sense of dread and unease.

"Far too weak."

Alonso refrained from striking again. Hovering above the gravely wounded Xi Quan, he gazed at Ji Ningshuang trapped within the Earth-Tethered Cage and declared, "You're aware, aren't you? There's an exchange of vitality between you and the cage. I've been restraining you with the cage while simultaneously striking at Xi Quan, and it hasn't been much of a strain."

His words quietly invigorated the surrounding Shura warriors.

"Have you not attempted to escape?"

Alonso continued, his surprise evident. "I've been waiting for you to sever the cage's hold and unite with her in combat. Why such composure?"

The tip of his silver lance now pointed downward at Xi Quan's crown.

His expression grew icy. "One thrust of my spear, and your senior sister, who has shielded you for most of your life, will be no more. Ms. Ji, will you continue to wait? Will you really let me take her life?"

It was clear that Alonso was pressuring Ji Ningshuang to draw her sword and actively break free from the Earth-Tethered Cage.

Ji Ningshuang maintained a serene demeanor as she observed Xi Quan, now at Alonso's mercy, her thoughts inscrutable.

Elsewhere, Zhou You's face was etched with bitterness as he let out a soft sigh, "I'll go ahead."

With a swift flick of his whisk, Zhou You's portly figure opened up a dazzling passageway, bursting through it in an instant.

"Spare him!"

Zhou You's voice boomed from above the Shattered Star where Alonso was located.

On the Dragon Slaying Stage, Yu Yuan had been intently watching the "snow bear" from the Frostlands. Once Zhou You had departed, he couldn't resist approaching the snow bear.

Facing the enigmatic creature, he inquired, "What exactly is your stance?"

Woo! Woo!

The snow bear responded with a low, plaintive growl only after Zhou You had left.

The meaning behind its cries was clear...

The Sword Sect's representatives, including all the cultivators from the Everlands, had let down Nie Qingtian. They all deserved death!

The snow bear sought vengeance for Nie Qingtian in its own way!

It aimed to slay the Sword Sect's intruders and Xi Quan, who practiced the Withered Sword, as retribution against the Sword Sect!

It conveyed to Yu Yuan that Nie Qingtian's demise and the fall of the Everlands involved all factions, with the Sword Sect being the most complicit party!

Hence, its animosity towards the Sword Sect was justified!

"This..."

Yu Yuan, who had intended to offer words of persuasion and plead for leniency, found himself at a loss for words.

He fully empathized with the snow bear's sentiments and was genuinely moved...

The Titanblade had been pivotal for the Everlands, upholding order within the Moonfall Sanctuary and establishing the Sword Prison to contain the malevolent demons that fled to extraterrestrial realms. It supported the five supreme forces in their battles against formidable extraterrestrial adversaries.

Yet, its fate was to be betrayed by its own kind.

After his passing, the five supreme forces, along with others privy to the truth, remained silent about him, deliberately obscuring the legends surrounding his name.

The Otherkin, whom he had vanquished, likewise chose to ignore that disgraceful chapter of their history.

Intelligent life forms, both extraterrestrial and terrestrial, opted to erase him from memory, diminishing his legacy.

Contrastingly, an alien beast remained steadfast, guarding the legacy he left behind—the River of Swords—in the Glimmerdrift Nebula for centuries.

It longed for vengeance!

On the Dragon Slaying Stage, Yu Yuan gazed at the snow bear, struggling to find words.

He had intended to intercede on Xi Quan's behalf, to offer some conciliatory words, but then he remembered the alien beast from beyond the stars, and the secret deeds Nie Qingtian had performed after his disappearance...

"You've had it tough."

Ultimately, all he could do was let out a heavy sigh.

"I've long admired the great Shura. I am Zhou You, hailing from the Everlands of the Skyreach Consortium."

Stepping through the spatial gateway, he arrived in an instant at the Shattered Star where Alonso and Xi Quan were. He bowed deeply and asked earnestly, "May I ask for a favor on behalf of the Skyreach Consortium and take her with me?"

All eyes quickly turned to Zhou You.

Ji Ningshuang, trapped within the Earth-Tethered Cage, flashed a bright light in her icy gaze.

She had surmised that with Xi Quan's appearance in the Glimmerdrift Nebula, others from the Skyreach Consortium and Boulderdawn would soon follow.

Known for his mastery of space magic, Zhou You had made a name for himself even before Pei Yuling. If anyone could arrive in the blink of an eye, it was him!

Her gamble had paid off!

Another reason she hadn't rushed to escape the Earth-Tethered Cage was her intuition that Alonso was indifferent to Xi Quan's fate.

His aim was to use Xi Quan's peril to force her into a hasty assault on the Earth-Tethered Cage.

She realized that if she attempted to refine the Stardust sword light while preparing a contingency, she would sustain severe injuries instantly.

She might break free from the Earth-Tethered Cage, but she also risked cutting short her journey of advancement.

The future of her swordsmanship could be ruined here.

"Is this what you want, Alonso?"

Enlightened, Ji Ningshuang felt a measure of comfort seeing Zhou You truly before her.

"Mr. Zhou, I'm aware that you've been confined in the Sword Prison for many years, only recently emerging."

Alonso acknowledged with a smile and commendation, "The moment you tore through the sky and appeared in the Glimmerdrift Nebula, I sensed it. Mr. Zhou, you truly live up to your reputation, displaying a level of composure and acumen far surpassing that of the likes of Pei Yuling. Had you not come of your own accord, capturing you would have been no easy feat."

Zhou You's face paled as a strong sense of foreboding surged within him.

"However, Mr. Zhou, do you have a penchant for jesting?" Alonso's smile slowly vanished, replaced by a cold and piercing gaze. "I recall, not too long ago, our patriarch was nearly unable to return to the Dark Realm after being ambushed in Ionodios by the Skyreach Consortium and Boulderdawn. Mr. Zhou, could you enlighten me on this matter?"

Zhou You opened his mouth to defend himself.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A dense cold fog, birthed from the River of Swords, enveloped Alonso, Xi Quan, and Zhou You, as it separated from the rest and encircled the Shattered Star where they stood.

The space around them seemed to solidify, slowly succumbing to the creeping ice.

Zhou You inhaled deeply, realizing that his previous hopes of using his space magic to teleport away were now nothing more than a futile fantasy.

"Do you think I spared you from the Withered Sword's edge for no reason?" Alonso sneered. "I was waiting for you to come to me!"

With a flick of his silver lance, a boundless cascade of golden and silver light engulfed Zhou You.

The golden light, emanating from Alonso's vitality and mingling with the wall above the spear, carried a binding force that made escape difficult for Zhou You.

The silver edge, a manifestation of the spear's inherent strange power, was icy, incisive, and unstoppable.

Together, the golden and silver radiance, imbued with blood magic and Alonso's understanding of the rules, effortlessly shattered Zhou You's spatial barriers.

Zhou You brandished his whisk, conjuring ephemeral new realms that formed and vanished in the blink of an eye.

He darted through the fissures of the worlds he had fabricated, but the relentless golden and silver holy lights pursued him doggedly.

As they obliterated his makeshift universes, the lights also left their mark on his corpulent form.

He darted through the air like a bolt of lightning, shedding blood in each fleeting new world.

The Shura warriors observed their commander: he had trapped Ji Ningshuang with the Earth-Tethered Cage, severely wounded Xi Quan, and demonstrated his ability to slay with the Withered Sword at any moment.

Yet he chose not to deliver the final blow, waiting in silence...

Indeed, he had been waiting for Zhou You from the Skyreach Consortium to walk right into his trap!

He wielded the silver lance with such mastery that even a cultivator well-versed in space magic and at the Unbound level was left bloodied from head to toe.

Meanwhile, Du Yuan and Yue Mu, already wounded, were under siege by three platinum Shura, and their predicament was dire.

As for the Sword Sect's Solar Spirit lurking in the shadows, he was nearly dead.

Their supreme commander had taken full control of the situation. Neither the visitors from the Everlands nor the covert members of the Boulderdawn had gained any advantage.

Bang!

Zhou You, without invoking his Divine Visage, still managed to land with such force beside Xi Quan that he created a deep cavern in the frigid earth.

At the bottom of the cavern, Zhou You whimpered and wailed, his voice coming in fits and starts.

"Another one."

A cold smirk returned to Alonso's lips as he gazed into the abyss. His eyes twinkled with amusement.

The next moment, he called forth the crystal ball once again.

One of his eyes suddenly drew close to the crystal ball, turning a pure golden hue as if a divine golden flame was kindling within.

Inside the Dragon Slaying Stage, Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit abruptly looked up.

Above him, in the Silent Star, a golden sea of light materialized out of thin air.

Within this golden sea, a flame burned, shaping itself into the form of an eye.

"Hmph!"

He instantly realized that Alonso was using the crystal ball's power to peer at him, as if to flaunt something.

"We Shura have never feared the myriad forces of the Everlands, nor the Skyreach Consortium," Alonso's voice echoed from the shattered stars and within the golden sea of light. "For millions of years, no creature from the Everlands has dared to cause trouble in our Glimmerdrift Nebula. Now, with our patriarch injured, those from the Everlands are increasingly disregarding our rules."

"If that's the case, then I shall make them understand exactly how we respond to their insolence."

​