Free Web NovelChapter 65: Chapter 40: A Life-and-Death Battle
The day was bright and clear, the sea placid. Large fish occasionally leaped from the waves, and gulls skimmed past, creating a scene of utter tranquility.
Before long, however, the sea began to rumble and heave. Towering waves surged, their reach extending for miles, cresting at hundreds of feet. As if heaven and earth themselves were in turmoil, the sky darkened. In the span of a few breaths, the world changed color. The fish and birds were gone, either swept away by the roiling waves or having fled to parts unknown.
A colossal wave erupted, and within it, a jet-black true dragon thrashed, its furious roar shaking the heavens.
"Wretch! Do you think you can defeat me?!"
"Is that so?" Xuzhuang’s voice suddenly rang out. The black dragon let out a pained roar as it was violently hoisted out of the water.
It was the tangible, massive hand of the Innate Tai Su Qi Grand Capture. It held the black dragon in a death grip, trying to crush it. But Dragon Pattern Talismans manifested on every one of the beast’s scales, which roiled with Demon Fiend. Its thrashing unleashed a raw power capable of shattering mountains and churning seas. The five fingers of the Great Capture hand closed, only to be forced open again. In the contest of strength, the hand had hoisted the dragon clear of the water, but it was still unable to subdue it.
Xuzhuang then burst from the sea. The moment he was clear of the water, he rode the wind, soaring upward. A streak of black light followed close behind, bursting from the waves to reveal the Black-armored Youth. He appeared unharmed from the front, but the armor on his back had been slashed open by a deep sword gash running from his left shoulder to his tailbone, exposing the black-scaled skin underneath.
The Black-armored Youth hefted his great halberd. Demonic Power coursed beneath his skin, making his muscles swell. With a savage swing, he brought the weapon down toward Xuzhuang.
Xuzhuang made no move to dodge. His eyes were locked on the black dragon as he let out a deep cry.
A stream of Core Power shot from the crown of Xuzhuang’s head, empowering the Innate Tai Su Qi Grand Capture. The massive hand was suddenly imbued with boundless strength and finally clenched its five fingers shut, pinning the black dragon.
The Black-armored Youth stared at Xuzhuang’s defenseless back, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. He ultimately pulled back his great halberd, twisting sideways and flipping through the air to land hundreds of feet away.
In the next instant, sixteen streaks of sword light shot out from the sea in a single, deadly line, striking the spot where he had just been. He had barely dodged them.
The Black-armored Youth spat, tightening his grip on his halberd. A deep wariness grew in his eyes.
This was the first time he had ever fought such a tenacious human cultivator. The man’s Swordsmanship was sublime, his killing power utterly terrifying. During their struggle beneath the waves, a single mistake was all it took for his treasured armor to be slashed open.
He didn’t know if Xuzhuang had other defensive measures, or if one clean strike from his halberd could decide the battle. What he did know was that he had no confidence he could withstand a relentless assault from those sixteen beams of sword light.
Xuzhuang ignored the youth behind him. Even with the boost from his Core Power, his Innate Tai Su Qi Grand Capture had only just pinned the black dragon, and after only a few breaths, he was already feeling the immense strain.
This was the first time he’d felt strained while using the Innate Tai Su Qi Grand Capture since he’d mastered it. In a one-on-one duel, he could simply keep channeling his Core Power until the black dragon was fully imprisoned, but his current predicament didn’t afford him that luxury.
The Black-armored Youth, who had yet to reveal his dragon form, was no pushover. The cultivation level of these Black Dragon Brothers was far beyond that of the good-for-nothing Eighth Prince. No wonder they were the ones assigned to guard the Dragon Palace Treasure Vault.
Besides these two, there were also two jiaolongs. Though not as formidable, their harassment from the flanks still sapped Xuzhuang’s concentration.
With his current cultivation, he didn’t have to be stingy about using his Core Power to fight, but he couldn’t afford to squander it wantonly, either. He needed to conserve some for what was to come.
Seeing a crack form in the grip of his Innate Tai Su Qi Grand Capture as it was forced open yet again, Xuzhuang heaved a sigh. He commanded the massive hand to slam the black dragon downward!
At that exact moment, a jiaolong burst from the waves, only to be struck head-on by the descending black dragon. The dragon and jiaolong crashed together in a tangled heap.
Without a moment’s pause, Xuzhuang opened his mouth and exhaled a long plume of white energy.
One Breath Thousand Jin Technique!
At this critical juncture, Xuzhuang spared none of his Magical Power. The energy he exhaled flowed out in a continuous stream, coalescing in midair to form a mountain peak.
With a low shout, Xuzhuang lifted the ethereal mountain and viciously smashed it downward!
Although he had not cultivated the One Breath Thousand Jin Technique to a particularly profound level, its might was already extraordinary when fueled by his vast Magical Power. The weight of a mountain peak formed by such a technique was simply immeasurable!
The dragon and jiaolong were still tangled together. Before they could separate and flee, they saw the mountain smashing down on them. Terror filled their eyes. They desperately unleashed their Demon Fiend, condensing it into a barrier denser than steel to meet the attack.
BAM! The Thousand Jins Mountain slammed into the Demon Fiend. It paused for a fraction of a second before a strange, muffled thud echoed out. The roiling Demon Fiend failed to hold for even an instant before it collapsed and dispersed. The mountain continued downward with unstoppable force, intent on crushing them!
"Jiao Liu!" the black dragon roared. The jiaolong’s body shuddered, and a look of grim resolve flashed in its eyes. Its body suddenly swelled as it surged upward, putting its very life on the line to halt the mountain’s descent. In that brief window, the black dragon seized the opportunity and escaped the crush zone.
The instant Jiao Liu made contact with the Thousand Jins Mountain, a series of sickening cracks echoed from within its long body. It held for only a moment before blood poured from its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Its body went limp, like a sack of boneless flesh, and was crushed down into the sea.
The black dragon had no time to appreciate its subordinate’s fierce loyalty. Xuzhuang had already formed a sign for his Sword Technique, and eight of the sixteen beams of light split off to shoot straight for the dragon.
A glint flashed in the Black-armored Youth’s eyes. He had been so hard-pressed by Xuzhuang’s sixteen beams of sword light that he was forced to retreat again and again, unable to catch his breath, let alone use any of his own skills.
Now that Xuzhuang had sent eight of the beams elsewhere, the pressure on the Black-armored Youth instantly lessened.
’A perfect chance!’ the Black-armored Youth thought. He swung his great halberd in a wide arc, parrying several of Xuzhuang’s sword beams. With a deep shout, a round mirror rose from behind him. It shot out a beam of black light that seemed to ignore all distance, striking Xuzhuang in an instant. Immediately, Xuzhuang’s reflection appeared within the mirror’s surface.
"Freeze!" the Black-armored Youth roared. Instantly, both the real Xuzhuang and his reflection in the mirror stiffened.
"Excellent!" The black dragon was overjoyed. Seeing Xuzhuang immobilized, the flying sword beams weakened. It immediately swiped a claw through the ocean, pulling up a colossal wave and refining it into Xuanming, which it then condensed into an ice spear and hurled at Xuzhuang.
The Xuanming ice spear whistled through the air and, just as the youth had hoped, pierced straight through Xuzhuang!
But the moment of impact, there was no spray of blood, no flash of frost. The spear simply passed through as Xuzhuang’s figure dissolved into a wisp of mist, vanishing like a popped bubble.
Tai Su False Form Method!
Xuzhuang hadn’t focused on this particular Taoist Skill, as he had yet to cultivate the Tai Su True Form Scripture. It was only a third-rank art. Fortunately, he had used a great deal of his Core Power for its substance and an immense amount of Magical Power to give it form. Since the Black Dragon Brothers hadn’t cultivated anything like the Eyes of Golden Flame, they completely failed to see through the illusion.
Before the two brothers could react, the sixteen sword beams that had faltered when Xuzhuang was "frozen" suddenly erupted with renewed vigor. They moved like lightning, slashing toward them in a deadly, crisscrossing web.
A chill of mortal terror shot through the Black-armored Youth. In desperation, he frantically poured all of his Demon Fiend into his armor, causing it to bulge outward as he curled into a ball. A rapid series of metallic clashes rang out, and the violent impacts shook him so hard that blood seeped from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Then, finally, it stopped.
In the end, his armor had blocked Xuzhuang’s assault, though it was now shattered to pieces.
But the youth felt no relief. Instead, a jolt went through him. ’How could I have blocked Xuzhuang’s attack so easily?’
He snapped his head up to look.
The eight sword beams were crisscrossing as they descended. The black dragon was quick to react. Though it was too late to dodge, it had enough time to channel its Demon Fiend across every one of its black scales.
It had withstood strikes from Xuzhuang’s Flying Sword before. With a body tempered by nearly a thousand years of Demon Fiend, it was confident it could endure this.
But at that very moment, Xuzhuang suddenly materialized above it. He formed a sword-finger sign and gave a low shout.
The instant the eight beams of light touched its hard black scales, they seemed to turn illusory, passing straight through them and into its body.
This was the very scene that greeted the Black-armored Youth when he looked up.
He watched as the eight beams of light erupted from within the black dragon’s body! A spray of blood, flesh, and shattered bone was carried out with them. Its spine had been severed in countless places.
The black dragon let out a sorrowful wail and began to plummet from the sky.
With a flick of his Sword Technique, Xuzhuang sent the eight beams of light wheeling around to pursue the falling dragon.
"No!" The Black-armored Youth swung his halberd and lunged forward to help, but Xuzhuang was dividing his attention without his Swordsmanship suffering in the slightest. The remaining eight beams of light had the youth completely surrounded. He dodged left and right but couldn’t break through the cordon. Grinding his teeth, he suddenly roared, "Jiao Lang!"
SPLASH! The sea surged as a jiaolong, dripping with blood and covered in wounds, burst from the water. Its blood-soaked maw gaped as it charged straight for Xuzhuang.
Xuzhuang didn’t flinch, shouting in a deep voice, "Lieyun!"
In response, the sea churned once more. With a piercing shriek, Lieyun burst from the water. Its massive body was also grievously wounded, but it seemed not to care. A boundless ferocity flashed in its eyes. Though it moved second, it arrived first, its four claws digging deep into Jiao Lang’s flesh to hold it fast. Lieyun’s cavernous maw opened, each sharp tooth glinting coldly, and it bit down hard on the other jiaolong’s spine.
"ROAR!" Jiao Lang let out a wretched howl, twisting its head around to bite viciously back at Lieyun. The two jiaolongs began to tear into each other once more.
During this exchange, Xuzhuang’s sword beams shot forward. Just as they were about to behead the black dragon, he suddenly faltered, and the attack halted. He felt a throbbing at his temples. ’Have I succumbed to a demonic obsession?’ he thought. ’Humans and demons walk different paths, it’s true, but isn’t it enough to defeat and repel them? Why must I slaughter them all?’
In that moment of hesitation, the black dragon finally escaped into the sea. As Xuzhuang stood wavering, his heart suddenly leaped, and an inexplicable, silent terror washed over him.
Instantly recalling his sword beams, Xuzhuang whirled around. He saw that the Black-armored Youth had discarded his great halberd. He was holding an icicle in one hand while drawing a finger from his other hand across his forehead.
Trickles of fresh blood dripped from the gash onto the icicle, gradually staining it crimson. An intense feeling of danger exploded within Xuzhuang.
Xuzhuang’s gaze sharpened. All sixteen beams of sword light returned, merging into one before him. In an instant, he tuned out the entire world, his vision narrowing until only the Black-armored Youth and the icicle in his hand remained.
His hands flew through a series of seals. Not daring to hold anything back, he channeled his Core Power and Magical Power with all his might. The energy surged like a torrential flood, the sheer force of it seeming to make the very surface of the sea tremble.
"Hah!" Xuzhuang roared. His immense Core Power and Magical Power poured into his sword pellet, which instantly erupted with light as brilliant as the sun. With a point of his finger, it shot forward.
The attack flew with enough force to sunder the heavens and split the earth, yet it was completely silent.
In that moment, Xuzhuang felt as though he had touched the threshold of ultimate finality. It was a single strike that could shatter a hundred Divine Techniques and a thousand Spells.
Terror flashed in the Black-armored Youth’s eyes. Not daring to delay a second longer, he gave a low shout and unleashed the half-bloodstained icicle.
The sword beam was ferocious, but the icicle was no less impressive. The moment it was released, it summoned a howling, frigid wind and a blizzard that stretched for miles.
In the instant after they both struck, the icicle and the sword pellet violently collided in midair.
BOOM!
It was not a silent clash after all. Rather, the sound was so immense it drowned out all else in the world. Accompanied by a blinding flash of infinite light, the sea itself was split asunder, only to crash back together again...
And so, the fierce, brief confrontation came to a close. Snow drifted down from the sky, and the surface of the sea was now covered in countless glaciers, each one scarred with deep sword gashes...
The Black-armored Youth and Xuzhuang stood in the air, separated by a great distance. A jiaolong floated protectively before each of them, facing the opponent, their bodies covered in frost and sword wounds.
A streak of azure light wobbled unsteadily through the air before returning to Xuzhuang’s hand.
The Black-armored Youth’s face was deathly pale. The wound on his forehead had already closed, and his eyes, fixed on Xuzhuang, were wide with utter shock.
’That was a Sixth Rank Taoist Skill!’ he thought. ’Refined with a Secret Technique by my father, a Dragon Race Venerable who has achieved the Demon Embryo Nascent Soul! Even if he didn’t cast it himself, its power shouldn’t be something any Golden Core Cultivator could possibly withstand!’
"Let’s go!" The Black-armored Youth suddenly moved, transforming into his dragon form. Taking the jiaolong that had shielded him, he landed on a glacier and grabbed the body of his second brother.
To his surprise, Xuzhuang didn’t pursue. The youth gave Xuzhuang one last, deep look, then plunged into the sea.
Jiaolong Lieyun asked weakly, "Master...?"
Xuzhuang was silent for a moment before extending a hand from his sleeve, revealing the sword pellet in his palm. A ghastly crack had split the surface of the once-perfect sphere.
