Archfiend

Chapter 212: Danxia Temple (31)

BOOM! Just as Xu Yangyi’s Falling Moon and the three great divine abilities were on the verge of clashing, a domain of red and black radiance suddenly erupted!

Fang Cheng had already welcomed Nangong Xiaoran’s arrow!

In the middle stage, Fang Cheng’s and Xu Yangyi’s power were equally matched. At this moment, the red radiance quickly fell apart in the wake of an explosive echo. Fang Cheng himself continued to peddle backwards for a couple paces. Both his legs dredged out several-meter-long trenches on the ground. After steadying his figure, the shadow armor all over his body unexpectedly fell away with a whoosh!

As for him, he grunted heavily. A trace of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. The middle-stage him against the pampered son of the Nangong Clan, one of the Five Great Demon Clans, was too difficult to manage. Nonetheless, he didn’t fall back a step. Instead, he firmly blocked the front of Ling Xiaozi and Xu Yangyi’s battle.

“The cloudy summit whistles lonely with the frosty morning moon.” Without any hesitation, both of his claws leaned on the ground. His whole body was planted in a black formation, and the surrounding shadows were being absorbed by him at lightning speed. The phantoms of giant wolves were faintly visible besides him. “The great plain traversed alone through snow, wind, and earth…” He faced up and howled. Every pore on his entire body… jetted out a limitless amount of black qi. A full four to five meters in size, a black wolf’s silhouette drifted behind him.

“Thousand Wolves Solitary!!!”

“AWWOOO!!” The shadows behind him looked upwards and howled in chorus. Subsequently, Fang Cheng pounced towards Nangong Xiaoran with full power as he carried an endless black light-tail that filled the sky.

The corner of Nangong Xiaoran’s mouth held a sneer. “Worthy of being a Dao-Master Disciple… Only until I was at late-stage Qi Condensation did I awaken an elysial divine ability. But in this place, geniuses are all around. Do you think you can still skip boundaries and counter-kill like you’re facing those ordinary cultivators?” 

“That’s nothing more than an opera of us geniuses versus ordinary cultivators…” Even confronted with the giant wolf’s direct charge and the black qi streaks which caused his feathers to rustle and dance in the air as they blew on his upper body, he sneered indifferently, “Considering you’re a Core Formation ancestor’s disciple, I’ll let you off. Turn back now, and I will spare your life.”

Without any response, the giant wolf manifestation’s eyes merely released a crimson edge. Its charging force became even greater!

“Courting death!” Nangong Xiaoran’s smile vanished. He reared his head back and made a hawk’s cry. Afterwards, the two wings behind him began to gently fan open. The talismans on the surface of his wings glimmered monochromatically. In the next second, a deluge of golden qi feathers struck like rain water!

“Feathers Fall On The Three Realms…” His entire being revolved like a spinning top. Unexpectedly, as he flew higher and higher, each of these sword-like feathers deeply penetrated the ground!

Squelch squish squelch! An untold number of feathers easily broke through Fang Cheng’s black qi, similar to slicing tofu. Following a heavy groan, the giant wolf’s charging power surprisingly increased again! Merely, everyone could see that this path had already become stained with bloody patches. 

Fang Cheng understood very well that he couldn’t withdraw now… The stronger that Nangong Xiaoran was, the more impossible it was for him to retreat, otherwise, his junior brother’s side would certainly be hard to support!

Already, the killing intent in Nangong Xiaoran’s eyes was flickering, and he laughed coldly, “Since you want to seek death, don’t blame me…”

All of a sudden, a giant golden bow flashed in his body. An arrowhead was pointed straight at Fang Cheng! At the same time behind Fang Cheng, an expanse of tide-like qi began to swell!

Xu Yangyi had long since raised his blade upwards. The blade was wreathed with a soaring black flame. In the wake of each of his flourishes, an afterimage was left in the sky. Facing the three divine abilities that cloaked the world, he didn’t fall back by the slightest margin!

“Life Sacrification… Starfire! Wind Brandishes Traces!” These three moves superimposed over each other. In the sky, his speed transformed him into an afterimage—difficult to perceive with the naked eye—instantaneously! The only thing visible was the mark of his actions. Surprisingly, Falling Moon brought forth a limitless amount of black flames in the sky!

The night was deep, silent, and dark. However, this darkness was purely unable to mask the several meters of black flame that Falling Moon drew out! Regardless, these black flames oddly burned in the air! Even after several seconds, they didn’t stop burning!

As if it was burning the air!

All was in his control. Without any tricks, the front of him had already been illuminated by the brightness of divine abilities! Xu Yangyi’s serene expression conveyed an unparalleled killing intent. Exhausting all of his power, he fiercely slashed forward and roared in fury, “OPEN!!!” 

Swoosh! Infinitely black in color, a dragon accompanied his wave. For the first time, it released a deafening roar. “ROAR!!!”

Two meters long and black, a flame-blade scar suddenly appeared in the air.

BOOM!!! A streak of qi, mingled with countless colors, rocketed up! There existed black, red, azure, and white, multicolored and gorgeous. These colors carried a heart-shaking trembling! This vestige was the collision of the magik artifact-assisted Ten Cardinals Red Lotus against Ling Xiaozi’s three divine abilities!

Swoosh! An extreme wind pressure fiercely erupted from the collision site! As if solid, this blast swept through the entire landscape. The sand and dust that filled the air even formed a small sandstorm! Several seconds later, all was quiet. As for the impact area, only a massive pit, over a dozen meters in radius and over a meter deep, remained!

Ling Xiaozi’s pupils shrunk. With crystal clarity, his spiritual sense was telling him… to disappear… In this clash of four divine abilities, he had put forth three, yet they were actually equal to Xu Yangyi’s single move! 

No! He looked towards the ground at once. Over yonder, black flames were still wreaking devastation. This...

He sucked in deeply. His deduction wasn’t wrong… To his surprise, his three divine abilities didn’t leave a sliver of regret! They had been cleaved away by the other’s blade! However… he was promptly stricken dumb.

Swish… Xu Yangyi collected his blade and stood in his original position. Black flames coiled around him from head to toe like he was a devil god that had walked out from hell. His face wooden in expression, he studied Ling Xiaozi and suddenly laughed as he extended a hand. Using his thumb, he ruthlessly dragged it over his neck!

Ling Xiaozi didn’t respond. After an unknown number of seconds passed, his hand began to shake. Incredulous and in disbelief, he shivered as he lifted up his hand. Like he was having a stroke, his finger motioned towards his neck.

A moist sensation… Little by little, his face visibly started to pale. He stretched out his finger in front of him to take a look. His finger was already covered in bright-red. His neck… had actually been slashed by the blade tip while he was none the wiser! The blade had penetrated inwards by no less than a millimeter!

Those that Falling Moon desired to behead had no chance to evade it!

Even with three great divine abilities in front, this formless blade tip had still cut his neck!

Under his immense shock, he deeply eyed Xu Yangyi, turning around and leaving. His heart was no longer in the battle. This person… was strong, very strong! His magik artifact was moreover strange! If he and Xu Yangyi continued this deathmatch, there was a chance, or perhaps it could be said to be more likely, that he would meet his demise here!

He hadn’t felt that invisible blade, nor had his protective magik artifact warned him… In such a manner, Xu Yangyi’s blade had mysteriously cut him! In this place, a feeling known as fear surfaced in his heart for the first time. Had the power been a tad greater, his head would’ve landed on the ground! Furthermore… the other still hadn’t used that spiritual-sense attack method. He no longer risked continuing the fight!

The CSIB’s science exploration group was the only squadron not to attack. Right now, they looked towards the direction that Ling Xiaozi was fleeing, their gazes brimming with shock!

This… was presently the first battle outcome!

In the other region, Ye Old Four and Fahui fought like wildfire, both of them unstoppable. The two of them had attacked with true flame. Fahui had already ceremoniously revealed an ancient sutra page. Rays of golden light and brahmic chants curled around it. Golden sanskrit characters revolved around and struggled together with Ye Old Four’s strange pearl parasol.

However, the Dao Sect’s two other swords were likewise laying siege to the Ye Clan. The Ye Clan was in a position of defense, only attacking once in a while. 

Earlier on, the Ming Clan and the Yi Clan had clashed at some unknown time. Sister Nine manipulated the ancient armored corpse and brilliant qi rays erupted. Victory or defeat wouldn’t be decided within a short time at all!

Yet no one had anticipated Xu Yangyi’s bout… On paper, the Xingtian Legion’s battle power was the weakest, only with a single late-stage Qi Condensation! However, in a one-on-one between a Mountain-Protector Sword and a legion commander, the conclusion had saw Ling Xiaozi actually retreating in defeat! In addition, the time hadn’t exceeded ten minutes! 

“This Fellow Daoist Xu… is very strong…” Cultivator Li, who had briefly met Xu Yangyi, said gravely, “To force one of the Four Swords to pull back… If this spreads, his name will surely rise to the heavens!”

“Hehe…” another middle-aged cultivator barked twice in dry laughter. “In this kind of place… those who aren’t strong enough have already met an early death outside.”

“Among those able to come here and broaden their horizons concerning Danxia Temple’s overall view… who isn’t a dragon or phoenix among men?”

Xu Yangyi watched the rear view of Ling Xiaozi’s back but didn’t give pursuit. It seemed to be a single blade, but only he knew in reality how much spiritual force that blade had drawn from his body!

At least half! 

And yet, using this blade to startle Ling Xiaozi into leaving was something that he HAD to do. Because he understood very clearly… that Fang Cheng, his senior brother, was in the middle of obstructing Nangong Xiaoran for him. As for Fang Cheng, he was in no way the opponent of Nangong Xiaoran who was already at late-stage Qi Condensation.

The present combatants were the apex geniuses of China’s cultivation world. No possibility existed for a counter-kill. Without the slightest hesitation, he hefted his blade and charged, yet his eyes quickly sharpened.

Fang Cheng was a bloody mess all over, having shed his demon form earlier on. He stood in his original position, not falling back by a single step! Ahead of him, Nangong Xiaoran was faintly panting for breath, yet didn’t have so much as scar.

Fang Cheng’s entire body was pierced with feathers. Seeing Xu Yangyi come over, he rasped out, “Fin… ished?”

“Senior Brother.” A hot stream bubbled in Xu Yangyi’s heart, and he powerfully clapped Fang Cheng’s shoulder. “Leave the rest to me.”

Fang Cheng laughed, not saying anything. He went belly up and collapsed.

Xu Yangyi pulled out the feathers from Fang Cheng’s vitals one by one. These feathers were solid like iron and had penetrated straight into Fang Cheng’s flesh by several centimeters. Xu Yangyi’s fist softly clenched. His principles were based on treating others on how they treated him.

Fang Cheng, who he hadn’t been acquainted with for very long, had braved mortal danger to block Nangong Xiaoran for him. He would remember this sentiment. And revenge was the first method...

Steel-like feathers were pulled out and thrown onto the ground, making clanging noises. A minute later, Xu Yangyi stood up. Without a word, Falling Moon was lifted up with a single arm and pointed straight at Nangong Xiaoran. “Come… accept death!”

“If you leave Danxia Temple today, I’ll cut myself down right here.”

Nangong Xiaoran stared blankly as if he hadn’t clearly heard whatever Xu Yangyi had said. A couple seconds passed, and he suddenly faced the sky and began to howl madly in laughter!

“You? Just on the basis of you?!” Having his fill of laughter, he lowered his head and studied Xu Yangyi. He said indifferently, “I’ll give you a chance. Cast yourself under the banner of my Nangong Clan and be of use to me. I’ll act as if I never heard your words just now.”

What answered him was the point of Xu Yangyi’s blade, resplendent like snow. It didn’t shake by the slightest hair.

“Do you know…” Nangong Xiaoran waited several seconds and sneered. “Based on just this action, you ought to die ten thousand times.”

“Qiao Wu,” he said tranquilly.

“This old servant is here,” an aged voice seemed to be like a shadow, answering from some unknown place.

“Quan Liu.”

“This old servant is here.”

Thirsting for blood, Nangong Xiaoran licked his lips. “Bring me his head!”