Journey of true Cultivation

The Crowned Ghost Prince gazed at the green barrier before him and spoke coldly, "Come out, Basilisk. You already know the situation,why be so cautious?"

As soon as the Crowned Ghost Prince spoke, the young master understood what was happening. Without hesitation, he waved his hand, and both he and the elder descended gracefully from the barrier.

Hovering above the Crowned Ghost Prince, the young master and the elder locked eyes with him, their gazes filled with cold indifference.

"So, you are the honored guest visiting my humble pavilion, Crown Prince Defying Phantom. We meet again," the young master, known as the Dragonic Basilisk, said with a smirk.

Defying Phantom simply smiled back, his expression just as cold. "Indeed, we meet again, Dragonic Basilisk. I believe the last time we crossed paths was when I attacked the Azure Heir. Time truly flows like water, doesn't it? Back then, you were nothing more than a lowly Spirit Forging stage cultivator, and now you stand on the same stage as me at the Soul Fusion stage. As the old sages say, nothing is impossible."

"Heh, indeed, Defying Phantom, nothing is impossible," Basilisk chuckled, his voice laced with irony. "At that time, I truly feared for my life, but look where I stand now? The Grand Elders and Clan Head even went so far as to hire a professional Dragon Slayer to kill a mere snake. Amusing, isn't it? Even though that very Dragon Slayer hunted down their own heir and slaughtered him before their very eyes, they didn't lift a finger. As I expected, those old fogies care about nothing but benefits,nothing more, nothing less. Only my foolish Clan Head still grieves over the eldest heir."

His voice was filled with irony, and he chuckled as if amused by his own words.

With the formalities now over, Elder Blue Scale began to transform. His once-human body shifted into a more draconic form. His skin became covered in brilliant blue scales, two long, sharp azure horns grew from his head, and his round pupils contracted into vertical slits. His aura surged, becoming even more dominant.

Seeing the elder's transformation, Defying Phantom merely smiled coldly, but the young master chuckled, as if he had already anticipated every move.

Without hesitation, Elder Blue Scale lunged at the young master, his attack swift and decisive.

Yet, before his strike could land, young master Basilisk vanished,fading away like an illusion.

Elder Blue Scale was filled with shock, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. Then, from every direction, a ghostly chuckle echoed through the wind.

"Hehe… Defying Phantom, did you really think I didn't know that Elder Blue Scale was a spy planted by the other elders? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I figured it out a long time ago."

With those words, Young Master Basilisk reappeared on the other side, his hands casually folded behind his back, a cheeky smile playing on his lips.

Seeing this, Defying Phantom let out a sigh, as if accepting the inevitable. "So, the betrayal was already seen through…" His voice was calm, but a hint of amusement flickered within his gaze.

"Well, it was worth a try. Even if Blue Scale had only betrayed you during our battle, the outcome wouldn't have changed much. But in the end, he made his move too soon. And you, Basilisk,you already knew, even when I told them you'd probably figure it out. But, well… what does it matter now? What's done is done."

Defying Phantom's expression shifted into one of quiet readiness. "Shall we fight? We've talked enough. Both of us have already made our preparations,so why delay any further?"

Young Master Basilisk chuckled lightly before nodding in agreement. "Indeed… what's the point of this meaningless talk?"

Then, in an instant, his voice turned cold and ruthless, filled with an overwhelming killing intent.

"You both can die now."

With those words, Young Master Basilisk activated the array of runic formations he had meticulously crafted over the past 50 years. Instantly, the runes ignited with brilliance, cutting through the very fabric of space around the Illusion Forest, sealing them within.

As the formations took effect, the flow of true spiritual essence and heavenly essence surged into chaos, distorting the surrounding world.

For a fleeting moment, both Defying Phantom and Elder Blue Scale were caught off guard by the space-severing runic formation. Though it was not truly a threat to them, the sheer rarity of such an advanced formation being deployed stunned them momentarily. After all, very few runic formation masters ever utilized these techniques due to the immense cost.

That brief instant of hesitation was all Young Master Basilisk needed. Without wasting time, he absorbed all of his True Qi, along with the nearby true spirit essence and heavenly essence, channeling them into his spiritual sword.

The unveiling of the Spiritual Sword was an unexpected surprise,one neither Defying Phantom nor Elder Blue Scale had anticipated. Their eyes narrowed as they immediately gathered their True Qi in response, summoning their own weapons.

Defying Phantom's three draconic flying swords hovered in the air, their aura exuding overwhelming dominance, while Elder Blue Scale summoned his pair of elemental gauntlets, each pulsing with condensed energy.

Without hesitation, Elder Blue Scale launched himself at Young Master Basilisk, his fists glowing with condensed water essence. From his strike, an illusionary dragon materialized, roaring forward with immense force, crashing toward Basilisk in an attempt to overwhelm him.

But this kind of probing attack was nothing to Young Master Basilisk.

With a calm expression, he wielded his long spiritual sword and casually slashed forward.

The moment he executed Slashing the Heavens, the very essence of the heavens responded. The simple sword strike transformed into a devastating force, a mighty slash that devoured everything in its path. As it clashed with the illusionary dragon, the dragon was immediately consumed and erased from existence, vanishing as if it had never been.

The devastating might of the attack did not stop there,it surged forward at an even greater speed, streaking toward Elder Blue Scale. Despite his attempt to retreat, the slash reached him, smashing into one of his elemental gauntlets.

Crack!

The gauntlet shattered instantly.

A surge of fear and dread overtook Elder Blue Scale. He had barely blocked a fragment of the attack's full power, and yet one of his prized elemental gauntlets had already been destroyed.

But as panic threatened to cloud his mind, Young Master Basilisk saw an opening.

His figure blurred, and in an instant, he appeared mere meters away from the elder,close enough that a single stroke of his spiritual sword could take his head.

With deadly precision, he swung.

The cold steel of the blade was mere inches away from beheading Elder Blue Scale when

Clang!

A flying blue sword intercepted the attack, slipping into the gap between the elder's neck and Basilisk's blade at the last possible moment, stopping it just long enough for the elder to retreat.

But before he could even sigh in relief, a glint of silver flashed through the air.

A knife materialized out of nowhere,silent, fast, and deadly.

It tore through the space between them and pierced directly through Elder Blue Scale's skull.

Like a hot knife through butter.

"Hmph." A sneer escaped Young Master Basilisk's lips as he looked at Defying Phantom coldly.

"Did you really think the elder could escape when I had already devised a plan for his execution the moment he betrayed me? Did you truly believe I am that naive?"

"Naive? You?" Defying Phantom scoffed, a cold smile forming on his lips. "Who would dare to call the Demonic Basilisk naive? But then again, you shocked him so thoroughly that he never stood a chance. You always have an unknown scheme lurking in the shadows, and you trust no one except your servant. We were careful… just not careful enough when dealing with you. Who would have thought you had already planted his death sentence long before this fight even began?"

With that said, Defying Phantom summoned his flying blue sword, letting out a soft sigh as he glanced at the corpse of Elder Blue Scale.

Yet, unlike Defying Phantom, Young Master Basilisk did not spare his former servant even a single glance, as if the man he had known for tens of thousands of years had never mattered in the first place. His gaze remained locked onto Defying Phantom, utterly indifferent.

Raising his hands, he formed a hand seal, and immediately, the surrounding heavenly essence and true spiritual essence surged toward the sky, condensing into a colossal sword. Its form crackled with raw power, its massive tip poised and aimed directly at Defying Phantom.

Observing this unfolding formation, Defying Phantom's lips curled into a smirk.

"Oh? The Sword Piercing Earth runic formation? A solid choice. A pity that it's a common technique used among top tier sects and clans."

As he analyzed the formation, Defying Phantom moved his three Royal Dragon Crystals into his palm. Hovering above his hand, the red, black, and blue crystals radiated an eerie light. Infusing them with his soul essence, they fused with his three flying swords, their blades warping and distorting into even more fearsome shapes.

Then, the transformation began.

The three swords shattered into countless shards, swirling in the air like fragmented reflections. The shards moved as if guided by an unseen force, merging together to form the shape of a massive dragon. Its body pulsed with an ominous glow,its head red like smoldering embers, its spine a deep abyssal black, and its tail shimmering with an eerie blue.

A three colored dragon, forged entirely from blades.

Seeing this monstrosity take form, Young Master Basilisk clicked his tongue in mild annoyance.

With a single motion, he directed his hand toward the three colored dragon, and in perfect synchrony, Defying Phantom raised his hand toward the gigantic sword above them.

In the next instant, the two titanic forces clashed.

The enormous sword and the dragon of countless blades collided, shaking the very fabric of space around them.

Both of them clashed, but the gigantic sword began to slowly shatter. Seeing this, Young Master Basilisk had already foreseen this outcome. Defying Phantom had mentioned that the Sword-Piercing Earth runic formation was well known across the cultivation world.

The young master had chosen this formation despite its widespread recognition because, even though it was common, its raw power made it effective in most situations. Most cultivators lacked the knowledge or ability to counter it properly. However, this time, his gamble had failed.

But even so, he had a backup plan.

With a swift motion, he unsheathed his spiritual sword and began forming intricate hand seals with both hands. However, Defying Phantom was prepared as well. After all, he knew that the Draconic Basilisk was a man of caution, always scheming and preparing for any possible scenario. It was expected that he would have another trick hidden up his sleeve.

The gigantic sword finally collapsed, and its shattered fragments rained down toward Defying Phantom. But with a wave of his hand, the three colored dragon coiled around him, shielding him from the descending shards.

As soon as the rain of shards ceased, Young Master Basilisk's second plan unfolded.

"Bind."

At his command, the shattered fragments of the sword glowed with a golden hue and merged into the ground, transforming into Heavenly Chains that surged forward, entangling the three colored dragon.

Seeing his dragon bound by chains, Defying Phantom did not hesitate. He poured a massive amount of soul essence into his three Royal Dragon Hearts, causing one of the chained shards to break free and transform into a red sword that hovered beside him.

With one sword freed, the once three colored dragon was now reduced to only two colors,black and blue. However, the single red sword remained unbound, floating ominously around Defying Phantom, its energy surging with untamed power.

Seeing this moment of weakness, the young master gripped his spiritual sword with one hand and shot forward toward Defying Phantom.

But Defying Phantom had already anticipated this. A cold smile curled on his lips as he stomped against the ground.

Just as the young master closed in, a massive black earth spike erupted from the ground, aiming straight for his position.

With no other choice, the young master slashed downward, his spiritual sword infused with soul essence, cutting through the earth spike in a single stroke. The two halves of the shattered spike crashed onto the battlefield, but before he could regain his footing, Defying Phantom had already launched his second attack.

In one hand, he wielded the red sword, and in the other, he raised a purple black flamed lamp.

The eerie flames flickered, releasing an aura of death. The young master instantly understood what was about to happen.

"The ghosts are joining the battle."

Just as he had predicted, the purple flames flickered wildly, and wherever they touched the ground, small flame ghosts emerged, rising from the embers like vengeful spirits.

Now, with hundreds of flame ghosts surrounding him, the young master let out a disdainful snort before beginning his transformation.

His pupils narrowed into vertical slits, his arms and skin became covered in thin, dark azure scales, and atop his head, four small azure horns emerged, forming what resembled a crown, with two larger ones at the forefront.

With his new draconic form, the young master let out a low growl, and suddenly, the surroundings ignited in dark azure flames.

Everything,the battlefield, the air, even the true spiritual essence itself,was engulfed in the raging azure inferno.

The flame ghosts shrieked as the dark azure fire devoured them, their forms disintegrating in an instant.

A small smirk formed on the young master's lips as his glowing azure eyes locked onto Defying Phantom.

The azure flames surged violently, gathering at a single point, like a raging tidal wave ready to crash.

Defying Phantom's eyes widened slightly as he realized too late

His flame ghosts had vanished.

And in the next instant, the azure flames swallowed him whole.

But as the azure flames consumed Defying Phantom, a massive surge of true spiritual essence erupted, reconstructing his body. However, this time, it no longer bore any human-like features. Instead, his form had transformed into something far more terrifying,a ghostly apparition, devoid of physical constraints.

This was the very state that had earned him the infamous title of Crowned Ghost Prince, the being feared across the Underworld.

Now, with Defying Phantom in his true form, the real battle had begun. A fight where only one would leave alive.