Free Web NovelChapter 1525: Chapter 1525: How Did He See Through It?
"Soul Piercing!"
Just when Xue Qi was brimming with confidence, believing she could definitely dodge that incoming flying sword, she suddenly heard these two words coming from the coarse-clothed youth’s mouth.
"Soul Piercing? What is that?"
At that moment, Xue Qi was filled with confusion, yet she did not notice that on the Black Light Wooden Sword flying rapidly towards her, an invisible force had already emerged with Yun Xiao’s soft utterance.
Clearly, at this moment, what Yun Xiao was employing was the third move of the Dragon Taming Nine Swords, which emerged naturally when he broke through to the Heavenly Rank Floating Life Realm: Soul Piercing!
As the name implies, Soul Piercing means attacking the soul. Now, Yun Xiao already had a quite adept grasp of the Dragon Taming Three Swords, but this Soul Piercing was something he was performing for the first time.
If facing an opponent with much higher cultivation or some soul experts, perhaps Yun Xiao’s Soul Piercing might not be very effective, but against someone of the same level like Xue Qi, he had great confidence.
Even though Xue Qi was also a Heavenly Rank Poison Vein Master with a soul power that surpassed many Heavenly Rank Low-Level Refiner Masters, Yun Xiao at this moment was a genuine Heavenly Rank Intermediate Refiner Master.
With the enhancement of a Heavenly Rank Intermediate Soul, the effect of Soul Piercing would undoubtedly be better. This was Yun Xiao’s true trump card. He believed that under the Soul Piercing sword, the battle would soon come to an end.
The invisible power of Soul Piercing reached Xue Qi’s body through the air, piercing into her forehead. Only then did she realize that she had unknowingly fallen into Yun Xiao’s trap once again.
Unfortunately, with the Soul Piercing power already entering her body, no matter how many tricks Xue Qi might have, there was no turning back. Her fate seemed sealed, and the only hope for her rescue now was an external force.
"Ma Nu, save me!"
Knowing that it was impossible to dispel that invisible power, Xue Qi shouted in desperation as her consciousness was about to fall into chaos, realizing that only Ma Nu, a Heavenly Realm Middle Stage cultivator, was her last hope.
"Damn it!"
Ma Nu, who had been dominant all along, never imagined such a result. How could the esteemed direct disciple of the Dragon Empress be defeated by a peer-level youth from the Tenglong Continent?
Previously, Ma Nu never thought Xue Qi would lose. In the Central Three Realms Plane, Xue Qi’s cultivation technique and meridian techniques were enough to crush cultivators of the same level.
Who would have thought that in such a short time, Xue Qi would fall into the hands of the boy named Yun Xiao and now stand on the brink of losing her life.
"Get out of my way!"
At this moment, a surge of hostility arose in Ma Nu’s heart, seeing that even a moment’s delay would result in Lady Xue Qi, in a special state, being pierced through the chest by a wooden sword, he was becoming impatient.
This was someone the Dragon Empress had instructed him to protect with his life. Ma Nu knew in his heart that if Xue Qi died, his own life would also meet its end. Even if the Dragon Empress spared his life, he’d have no face to continue living in this world.
Boom!
Under Ma Nu’s furious strike, the force of his blow was several times more violent than before, directly sending Wu Zhukong flying with blood spraying from his mouth. Despite the minor realm difference in the Heavenly Realm rank, there was a limit to his strength.
Previously, Ma Nu believed victory was assured and didn’t want to expend too much effort, otherwise, Wu Zhukong would have fallen long ago. Now, seeing Xue Qi’s life hanging by a thread, how could he not unleash his full strength?
With this strike, Wu Zhukong was severely injured, causing Hou Tianlie and others’ expressions to change dramatically, realizing that the situation might be about to flip.
No matter how decisively Yun Xiao defeated Xue Qi, he was ultimately just a Cloud Ascending Realm Middle Stage youth. Truly, if Ma Nu freed up, even if Yun Xiao could strike Xue Qi first, the fate awaiting him and Demons Mountain would be destruction.
Whoosh!
Ma Nu’s speed was astonishing. He knew it was too late to save Xue Qi now, and besides, it was an Ancient Divine Artifact; trying to intercept the flying sword’s assault was unrealistic.
Thus, Ma Nu made a quick decision, rushing angrily towards Yun Xiao. This was attacking where the enemy must save; when his own life was threatened, there was no way Yun Xiao could easily control the flying sword to harm him.
One must admit that Ma Nu’s reaction at this moment was extraordinarily accurate. In front of a Heavenly Realm Middle Stage powerhouse, even with all his confidence, Yun Xiao dared not be the slightest bit careless.
Snap!
A piercing screech was heard from the sky. The Dragon Taming Sword, which was initially aimed at Xue Qi to pierce a transparent hole through her, suddenly turned in mid-air and shot rapidly towards Ma Nu’s back.
"Die!"
But Ma Nu was ultimately not Xue Qi, a Lingyun Realm cultivator. With his dignified strength at the Middle Stage of the Heavenly Realm, he did not pay much attention to the flying sword behind him, assured that he could strike down the young boy before the sword could reach him.
"Damn it!"
Seeing Ma Nu neither dodge nor evade, Yun Xiao’s expression also turned somewhat grim, because he knew clearly that his Dragon Taming Flying Sword would definitely not make it in time.
"Huh? Is this the Illusionary Void Palm?"
However, in the next moment, when Yun Xiao glimpsed at the oncoming palm strike from Ma Nu, which was shifting between reality and illusion, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
To be honest, even if Yun Xiao unleashed the power of the Five Elements Ancestor Veins, raising his Meridian Qi Cultivation to the Middle Stage of the Lingyun Realm, there was still a whole Great Rank difference between him and Ma Nu, making them incomparable.
In such a situation, even if Yun Xiao used all his tricks, or even borrowed the power of Golden Snake Worm Little Five, he might still not be able to defeat Ma Nu. This was the gap in realm that could not be bridged by any external force.
However, Yun Xiao’s luck was quite favorable, as the Heavenly Realm Middle Stage expert named Ma Nu before him was someone he was once extremely familiar with, and he knew the latter’s techniques very well.
For instance, the Illusionary Void Palm Ma Nu was currently using was a powerful Heaven Rank Advanced hand technique. If it were any other ordinary Middle Stage Lingyun Realm cultivator, they would be utterly helpless.
The Illusionary Void Palm, true to its name, deceives the eye with illusionary movements, making it impossible for the opponent to discern the actual target of the strike. For example, Ma Nu’s palm seemed to aim for Yun Xiao’s left chest, but its true aim was entirely different.
Everyone below believed that Ma Nu was about to strike Yun Xiao in the heart, intending to kill him instantly, but only Yun Xiao knew that the palm’s actual target was his throat.
Though called a hand technique Meridian Technique, the Illusionary Void Palm could transform into fingers and then into claws, further enhancing its fearsome reputation throughout the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud.
In Ma Nu’s view, how could this native boy from the Hidden Dragon Continent possibly see through the illusions of the Illusionary Void Palm? As he aimed to confound and strike Yun Xiao’s chest, he had already transformed his palm into a claw, targeting the young man’s throat.
Swish!
Suddenly, a blood-red flame appeared before Yun Xiao’s throat. Apart from its color, the flame seemed ordinary, but its hidden energy shocked Ma Nu greatly.
"How did this boy see through it?"
Ma Nu was startled when he saw the location of the blood-red flame, as his claw had not yet reached Yun Xiao’s throat, yet the opponent had already made a preemptive move.
If the blood-red flame had appeared over Yun Xiao’s left chest, Ma Nu would not have been surprised, but its appearance before the throat was too strange.
This clearly indicated that Yun Xiao had anticipated Ma Nu’s claw strike. If this wasn’t coincidence, then this boy’s sensing ability was truly frightening.
In truth, Yun Xiao’s formidable sensing ability played a role, but it was mainly his familiarity with Ma Nu’s Illusionary Void Palm. With premeditation, Yun Xiao managed such an early counter.
"This flame is peculiar!"
As soon as the blood-red flame appeared, an inexplicable sense of unease rose in Ma Nu’s heart. In the next moment, a claw shadow flickered across Yun Xiao’s throat, failing to harm the boy in the slightest.
"So that’s how it is!"
Below, Hou Tianlie, Xiao Bailin, and others, all genuine Heavenly Rank Soul Experts, saw the fleeting claw shadow with their keen eyes.
Witnessing this, Hou Tianlie could not help but feel a sense of awe, startled by Ma Nu’s surprising tactic and immensely shocked by the plain-dressed youngster seeing through it all in an instant.
Even for Hou Tianlie, as a Late Stage Lingyun Realm expert, if caught off guard by Ma Nu, he might have fallen for the first trick.
Seeing Ma Nu’s palm striking at his chest, in such a critical moment, how could one think of anything else? The first instinct would be to fortify the chest against the attack.
In a battle between masters, opportunities vanish in an instant. Even if one realizes the actual target is the throat after defending the chest, making any further moves would be too late due to Ma Nu’s speed.
The entirety of this exchange happened in a flash, with one attacking mysteriously and the other dodging skillfully, making the brief encounter thrilling for the onlookers.
However, after the brief astonishment, the moods of the Demons Mountain and Spirit Fighting Commerce cultivators were entirely different. Even if the young man evaded the first strike, the situation today remained unchanged.
No matter what, Ma Nu was still a mighty expert of Middle Stage Heavenly Realm, a full Great Rank above Yun Xiao. The avoidance just now might have been sheer luck for Yun Xiao. In the continued battle, he remains powerless to reverse the situation.
