MTLNOVEL Chapter 322.5: Master, Please Resolve This Disciple's Doubts
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
Lingxu's figure was unstoppable.
He shattered three layers of defensive formations instantly, appearing before the Ascension Emperor.
The Ascension Emperor looked as if he'd seen a ghost.
Though in truth, he'd seen something far more terrifying than any ghost.
The Ascension Emperor gripped his Immortal-Slaying Sword and swung violently, thrusting the blade forward.
In that instant, a hair-thin ray of light appeared in the air.
Yet this seemingly insignificant light erupted with terrifying energy, tearing through the heavens like a cosmic rift.
The crisp yet fierce ringing of swords echoed between heaven and earth.
Time itself appeared to freeze while space distorted unnaturally.
Everything along the path of that light ray was torn asunder.
Only Lingxu's fist continued advancing, drawing infinitely closer.
"You killed my Shushan disciples!!!"
"You bastard, DIE!!!"
His fist embodied heavenly principles.
Bones and tendons became mountains, blood and qi transformed into thunder.
"BOOM—!!!"
One punch to break all techniques.
All the supreme experts besieging Mount Shushan now abandoned their original targets to focus on Lingxu.
Not just the sixty-plus supreme experts—countless ancient demons, fiendish beasts, and heretic cultivators released from the Demon Subduing Pagoda joined the assault.
When these demons who'd suffered millennia of torment saw Lingxu, they reacted as if confronting the murderer of their entire bloodline.
On this battlefield now...
Regardless of race, faction, or allegiance, all shared one common goal—to kill Lingxu.
"He's lost his sword!!"
"Kill him!!"
"No one in this world is truly invincible!!"
"..........."
Lingxu retracted his fist, compressing the air within a thousand-mile radius.
Having returned to his home territory, the suppressed Great Dao should have nourished his body.
Yet...
Yet the tributary of the River of Time beneath the Happy Old Man suddenly boiled violently.
Countless temporal reflections of Lingxu appeared across its surface.
This was the Happy Old Man's prepared contingency—
Using the Great Dao of Time to keep Lingxu perpetually weakened.
The war cry rolling from Lingxu's throat birthed hurricanes, shredding the surrounding demons into fibrous tatters.
Punch!!
"BOOM!!"
Lingxu represented invincibility.
The Great Dao crumbled.
His battered figure flickered unpredictably across the battlefield.
None could track his movements—
Appearing before you one moment, above you the next...
Fist energy compressed to its limit suddenly erupted, smashing against the indestructible Great Dao barrier.
Blinding speed. Overwhelming power.
Not the slightest flourish.
Simple and direct, yet utterly unstoppable.
A swordless Lingxu was weakened—but that didn't make him beatable.
The Great Dao barrier shattered instantly under the terrifying fist force, exploding into countless fragments.
Spiderweb cracks of void energy spread across Lingxu's knuckles.
Blood streamed between his fingers, staining his pale hands crimson.
Amidst his roaring laughter...
Several supreme experts' blood already stained his hands.
Lingxu seized the Ascension Emperor's Immortal-Slaying Sword.
The divine blade vibrated violently in protest.
Yet when Lingxu clenched his grip, even this peerless weapon submitted.
Lingxu looked up—countless flying ships still swarmed like locusts from beyond the heavens, blotting out the sky.
With a single-armed swing, he unleashed the sword's power.
A deafening explosion followed.
Cultivators aboard the ships suddenly felt the world turn upside down.
Then golden light consumed their vision.
A colossal golden sword energy bisected the heavens.
Lingxu's sword cleaved the sky itself.
"Again!!"
Lingxu laughed wildly.
Many had already begun retreating.
Not just a few—dozens.
They'd realized one truth: Even if Lingxu had but one breath left...
The next to die could be any of them—but never Lingxu.
RUN!!
Who ever believed Lingxu could be defeated?
Idiots!
Worthless scum.
Brains full of shit.
"Wheezing gasps!!"
"Where are you running?! If we don't kill Lingxu today, we all die!"
The Ascension Emperor's hoarse screams echoed.
But when his eyes met Lingxu's gaze in the distance, cold sweat instantly drenched his forehead.
Buddhist chants continued resonating.
Lingxu glanced over, ignoring the trembling emperor.
He turned toward the Buddhist Sage, raising the Immortal-Slaying Sword.
"Master!"
The Buddhist Sage manifested a colossal dharma form. "Amitabha."
Sword met palm.
After the clash, cracks spiderwebbed across the sage's hand.
Yet Lingxu soon found himself surrounded by demons from the pagoda.
He fought free.
The Crimson Flood Dragon attempted escape—Lingxu hurled the Immortal-Slaying Sword.
The dragon's agonized wails filled the air.
Without a second glance, Lingxu fixed his gaze on the coffin brought by Western Paradise Heaven.
The massive coffin lay amidst ruins, its seals loosening.
Finally, overwhelming Outer Realm demonic energy erupted, along with countless pagoda demons.
A withered hand gripped the coffin's edge from within, as if its occupant sought to rise.
Demons tainted by this energy instantly lost their minds, becoming pure killing beasts.
Centered on Mount Shushan, the demonic miasma spread rapidly.
Soon it would engulf all of Zhongzhou.
The Buddhist Sage had already fled with his disciples.
Others followed suit upon seeing the danger.
Lingxu inhaled deeply before the spreading corruption.
If left unchecked, Zhongzhou would drown in blood...
"Master!!"
A familiar voice snapped Lingxu from his thoughts.
He looked down at the severely wounded Li Xuanxiao.
"Xuanxiao..."
"Master!"
Li Xuanxiao knelt before Lingxu, speaking solemnly.
"Master, we must flee."
"Have all Shushan disciples retreat. I've prepared teleportation arrays in the Sword Mound, controlled by an ancient sword spirit. They can evacuate us all."
"Where there's life, there's hope! Master, let us go..."
Lingxu studied his disciple briefly before turning to Mount Shushan.
This peerless warrior's eyes revealed helplessness.
His ramrod-straight back seemed to sag momentarily.
"...Flee?"
"Shushan's suffered enough. Lead us away, Master. With you and our disciples, we can rebuild."
"The pagoda's destroyed, demons run rampant."
"Outer Realm demons emerge—the world will plunge into chaos. Our enemies will have no energy to pursue Shushan."
Li Xuanxiao poured out his arguments in one breath.
"Let Shushan bide its time. Revenge will come."
Lingxu remained silent, his expression resigned.
"How could I face Shushan's ancestors if I abandon the world to demons?"
"Master...the world betrayed Shushan first!!"
"This disciple begs you—think no more of this. Lead us to safety."
Lingxu closed his eyes.
Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him.
Yet he knew—he alone couldn't afford to collapse.
After a long pause, he reopened his eyes.
"The innocent don't deserve this!!!"
"Master, I don't understand! Please resolve this disciple's doubts!"
Li Xuanxiao kowtowed forcefully.
Lingxu observed his disciple's white hair—a sign of severe poisoning.
Li Xuanxiao continued: "Master, I don't understand."
"After decades of cultivation, endless caution and effort..."
"All I wanted was to protect Shushan and this world."
"Yet today I realize I might have been wrong. What exactly was I protecting?"
"What has Shushan been guarding? The entire world turns against us."
"Has Shushan truly erred these years? Does virtue truly go unrewarded?"
"If the virtuous fall into hell while evildoers reach paradise..."
"If heaven's justice is false—then what meaning do our actions hold? Master, please enlighten me!"