Chapter 542 — The Heavenly Realm's Number One Jinx

I do not kill women," Zhe Huali said calmly.

Chanyuan did not relax in the least, and continued her unhurried retreat.

Only when she had withdrawn a li or more did she turn and flee at a run.

In the very instant she turned, the muscles of Zhe Huali's whole body bulged; he sprinted with all his strength and, with a boom, outstripped sound itself. Both hands drew the blade, and he chopped down vertically. The blade shadow reached Chanyuan's back in the blink of an eye.

She turned in midair, her sword core flying out, swelling outward with a ringing sound. Before the flying swords could burst forth one by one, the blade shadow fell from above her head.

Zhe Huali halted, sheathed the blade, and turned to leave.

"I still have to let the person in the painting witness my master's blade art.

I cannot be wounded, so I struck you from behind. " His expression remained calm as he cocked an ear, following the sound of iron being forged. "Woman, in the instant you turn, your flaw is greatest. Before me, never show me your back.

" Behind him, Chanyuan fell. Elsewhere, whole swaths of mountains toppled. Two figures fought furiously among the ranges; peak after knife-steep peak was pierced through and dissolved into shattered runes that vanished into thin air.

The battle ended quickly.

Yuhe touched the wound on her face. Her opponent had already been killed, yet she had been wounded all the same.

The woman looked up and caught the blade light flashing and vanishing in the sky. She knit her brows. "Zhe Huali, you are as flamboyant as that iron-forger.

But I am not fully certain I can beat you!

" She turned and departed. "I need to find the other junior brothers and sisters, and then root you out! " The sandbox world was vast; finding the others would not be easy.

Within the sandbox world, battles erupted in several more mountain ranges. When the powers of the Taihuang Heaven encountered demon elites, they naturally did all in their power, exhausting every means to slay their foes.

Thus when foe and friend met, the fighting often ended within a scant span of time; powers died or were crippled, and the slaughter was savage.

Yet even in that brief time they fought across more than ten li. In their wake, mountains were pierced through, even collapsed and ruined, the devastation truly considerable.

There were even those who used great divine powers to wreck a hundred li in every direction—a terrifying sight.

Of course, this was the sandbox world, not the true world.

Out in the open, these powers of the Seven-Star realm, mighty as their abilities were, did not possess such destructive force. At the Place Where Axe and Spear Crossed, however, all was stillness. Sang Hua, elated, finished laying her traps and lay hidden, quietly waiting for enemies to come and fall into her sure-kill snares.

Time passed little by little. After one shichen, the girl poked her head out of her hiding place, her two long braids hanging down.

Another shichen passed. Sang Hua sat on the axe head, chin propped on her palm, swinging her legs in utter boredom. Another shichen passed.

Sang Hua lay on the back of the axe, gazing up at the sky.

"Where is everyone? " She sat up abruptly, somewhat frantic. "Where did everyone go?

Isn't this supposed to be contested ground?

Enemy or friend, at least one of them should show up! " Outside the sand-painting world, god after god and demon after demon watched the battles within, some delighted, some anxious.

Before long, the fighting inside the sand-painting world erupted almost across the board. When Shen Mu killed three in a row and lay stiff on the ground to lure a fourth opponent, many of the gods and demons could not help but grow alarmed, sweating for the demon woman lurking on the nearby mountain.

Fortunately, the demon woman did not fall for it and turned away, and only then did the gods and demons atop the hall breathe a sigh of relief. "My lord, truly a successor in your own line!

" came the excited voice of the Black Tiger God.

The Woodcutter Sage's face was expressionless, while Vajra smiled.

Their eyes met, then parted. When they saw Zhe Huali cut down both Huang Yue and Chanyuan, two of the Taihuang Heaven's young masters, with two strokes of his blade, the many deities of the Taihuang Heaven could not help but break into a cold sweat, deeply worried for the rest of their powers. But the most worried of all was Sang Hua's father, the Venerable God Sang Ye, who clenched his fists in panic, his palms slick with cold sweat.

"Good girl, don't come out, just stay put. . .

" The Venerable God Sang Ye stared fixedly at the Place Where Axe and Spear Crossed in the sandbox world. When he saw Sang Hua jump down from the axe, his face changed, and he chanted inwardly, "Don't go out, whatever you do, don't go out. .

.

" Sang Hua ran outward. "Don't run into any enemies, don't run into any enemies.

. .

" Ahead of Sang Hua, a demon woman was walking toward her. The Venerable God Sang Ye nearly fainted. "We're done for.

. .

"