Zhu Yao simply felt a bundle of flames burning in the depths of her heart, searing to the point she thought of destroying everything. Even her initially white-coloured lightning phoenix, was slowly being dyed in red. However, that cultivation wacko was clearly not taking her seriously. Though the sudden disappearance of those few people earlier had shocked him a little, he had merely been stunned for a short while, before he began to unleash his attacks.
The pressure of a Demigod was instantly released, as though he was intending press Zhu Yao onto the ground.
However…
It was completely ineffective!
Zhu Yao was still standing upright.
How is this possible?
His face carried utter disbelief. A mere Azoth Core practitioner was actually able to resist the pressure of a Demigod.
The so-called ‘pressure’ was actually an aura unleashed by the spiritual energy in one’s body, which was why the higher one’s cultivation was, the stronger the pressure would become. And, to improve a practitioner’s cultivation, one had to absorb spiritual energy, so based on a practitioner’s instincts, one would be suppressed by fear of someone who possessed an even denser amount of spiritual energy than his or her own. Basically, other than the suppression from the amount of spiritual energy, more of it was due to a person’s will and fear.
However, Zhu Yao was currently filled with rage. Other than wanting to bash the person in front of her to death, she basically had no other thoughts. Afraid? My ass!
The lightning phoenix which had been completely dyed in red let out a long cry, before charging straight over once again.
The man was startled for a moment, before giving up on increasing his pressure on her. He summoned the black serpent, the materialized form of his own sword intent, and met her attack. The two sword intents clashed. Sand and rocks flew into the air, and the entire floating mountain began to rumble. Shattered rocks fell off the ceiling, allowing light from the outside to seep through the cracks.
The man frowned. He had initially thought that he could easily deal with his opponent. Forget about her not fearing his pressure, what caught him off guard was her sword intent which actually carried such powerful might.
The interior of the floating mountain was empty in the first place. With such a huge disturbance, signs of collapse had already appeared. A hint of worry crossed through the man’s voice, as his main body was still within the pool of blood. If the mountain were to collapse, it would definitely influence him. He had no choice but to split some of his attention on protecting the blood pool beneath.
The moment he split his attention, the control of his sword intent weakened, and her sword intent was actually capable of matching his. The phoenix and serpent battled for a long while in the sky, yet neither was able to subdue the other. Every single time he scattered the lightning lights, they would once again regenerate in the next moment.
Though Zhu Yao had already circulated all of her spiritual energy, her cultivation was still two large realms beneath his opponent’s. She was desperately holding on by relying on the fury in her heart, but her spiritual energy was close to depleting. In just a few moments, she would definitely die under her opponent’s sword intent.
Only then did her reason which had been burned off by her anger return bit by bit. Puking out a mouthful of blood, her red sword intent flashed for a moment, showing signs of collapse.
The man coldly laughed, a hint of ridicule flashed past his eyes. A mere Azoth Core practitioner actually dared to challenge him. Such a preposterous person she was.
Zhu Yao’s situation grew even more difficult. In about seven minutes or so, her spiritual energy would be depleted completely.
Was she regretting her actions?
No!
She did not regret staying here alone! Little Eighth was the youngest treasure of her Phoenix family, and in her heart, he was still but a child. Yet, he was imprisoned alive by this lunatic for so many years, and he died in such a miserable fashion. No matter what, she could not forgive this murderer.
If this was the modern era, she would have called the police and have the law seek justice for Little Eighth. However, this was a xianxia world where the strong was revered, and furthermore, her opponent was a Demigod, a supreme being in the Lower Realm. No one was able to put him in his place. Then, she will be the one! If the world was unable to seek justice for Little Eighth, then she will!
She came too late and was unable to save Little Eighth. The only thing she could do, was punish this murderer with her own hands.
Little Eighth, look! Your seventh elder sister will definitely make this bad person pay.
Murderer! Forfeit your life!
If her cultivation was not sufficient, then she will raise it! If her spiritual energy wasn’t enough, then she will take in spiritual energy! Zhu Yao’s heart sank. As she inserted even more spiritual energy into her sword intent, she focused her mind and gathered spiritual energy into her body.
In an instant, the lightning phoenix which had been wrapped around by the black serpent fiercely grew by a two times its original size. With a back slash, it slapped the black serpent onto the ground.
The man retreated a step back, his face was filled with shock as he looked towards Zhu Yao.
What are you planning to do?
He then realized that the surrounding spiritual energy was beginning to stir, and they poured towards Zhu Yao.
Taking in spiritual energy into your body… Are you seeking death?
The spiritual energy that was directly taken in was extremely disarrayed. If one were to lose focus in guiding them into his or her Dantian, the spiritual energy would rampage continuously in his or her meridians. She had actually had the insane idea of taking in the spiritual energy she was missing while battling him. This was basically suicide.
I had thought that you were a smart one, but you were actually such a moron. You actually seek your own death.
The man coldly laughed. With a flick of his hand, his sword intent once again charged towards Zhu Yao.
If this continues on, you won’t live either.
Zhu Yao did not reply, and simply controlled her sword intent, desperately willing it to approach his opponent. The streaks of lightning on the phoenix’s body zap thunderously onto the surroundings, and the collapse of the mountain grew even more intense. Some of the rocks had even begun to smash towards the pool of blood, but they were blocked by the formation protecting it.
The moment his focus loosened, the lightning phoenix faintly begun to overwhelm the black serpent.
A hint of fury flashed across his face, as he said with a frown.
Hmph! If you continue to rampage like this, don’t even think about leaving this place alive yourself.
Leave this place alive!?
Zhu Yao glared back.
I never planned on staying alive the moment I stayed behind. My only goal, is to prevent you from ever crawling back up.
As the saying goes, hardness beats softness, sharpness beats hardness, and recklessness beats sharpness. She currently possessed that recklessness!
The man was stunned for a moment, varied emotions appeared on his face. A moment later, he calmed down, and said with a sunken voice.
So what if you’re not afraid of death? Do you think your desperate attempt at taking in spiritual energy into your body will be effective? You’re basically too late!
If taking in spiritual energy was such a fast process, then there wouldn’t be people spending several thousand years yet be incapable of ascending.
Your intake of spiritual energy is basically unable to catch up to your consumption…
Before he could even finish, the atmosphere in the entire space completely changed. As if a spiritual energy whirlwind had suddenly risen, the surrounding flourishing spiritual energy began to rampage. As if they were being attracted by something, they began to wildly poured in his opposite direction.
The various types of spiritual energy turned into a spiritual whirlpool, charging into the skies and breaking apart the mountain peak. Before the sun rays could shine down, the hole at the top had already been completely occupied by the flow of various spiritual energy. The entire floating mountain instantly turned into something similar to an active volcano.
However, actual volcanoes blast out magma, while the one here was pouring out spiritual energy.
A spiritual energy turbulence! And it was even a turbulence of five different types of spiritual energy!
How… How is this possible?
She was simply taking in spiritual energy into her body, so how was she able to attract this much spiritual energy?
The man was stunned, the emotions on his face changed several times. Suddenly, the thought that she might actually kill him surfaced.
No! He had plotted this for so many years in order to defy the heavens and change his fate. He did not hesitate to offend the God race, and had even captured so many demonic beasts. He had conducted so many experiments and was just a single step away from succeeding. As long as he were to obtain the inner core of a God race, he would be able to ascend to the Higher Realm. How could he possibly fall short now!?
His heart was in a fluster, and his eyes were filled with ruthlessness. Taking the opportunity while the spiritual energy had yet to be completely absorbed, he waved his hand and summoned countless icicles, attacking her in an overwhelming manner. He was after all a Demigod, so how could he possibly lose to a practitioner who was merely at the Azoth Core stage? Earlier, he did not directly deal the killing blow was all in order to retrieve the method of obtaining the inner core from her. Presently, it was evident that he could not allow this person to live.
Dense packs of icicles came flying over, and there was basically nowhere for her to flee to!
Since she was unable to flee, she decided to stay. Zhu Yao cast an art and slammed her palm onto the ground. Countless lightning streaks rumbled and charged into the air. Half of the mountain body which was damaged by the spiritual energy instantly collapsed.
Little Eighth’s body which had been pinned to the mountain fell onto the ground at this moment as well.
Zhu Yao’s heart clenched, yet she had already turned numb from the pain of wildly pouring various types of spiritual energy into her body. Spiritual energy occupied every inch of her meridians, wildly destroying her body which was restored not too long ago. Every corner of her skin was torn with flesh protruding out, and every corner of her body was in intense pain.
The long-awaited turbulence of spiritual energy! Ever since she possessed the Harmony Spirit Veins, spiritual energy turbulences had no longer occurred whenever she took in spiritual energy into her body. Initially, she had thought that because she only had great affinity with lightning spiritual energy, there would be no such turbulences when absorbing the five elemental spiritual energy. Later on, she slowly realized that spiritual energy and affinity was not separated by the types of spiritual energy at all. She was merely subconsciously taking note of the types of spiritual energy when guiding them into her body in the past, and so did not take in the five elemental spiritual energy.
With those restraints now removed, the other spiritual energy were no longer rejected. As expected, the phenomenon of spiritual energy turbulences would still occur, and this phenomenon was exactly the thing she was looking forward to.
The five elements clashed against each other, and the spiritual energy wildly destroyed her body. Yet, Zhu Yao did not have the strength to spare to control these rampaging spiritual energy, and simply used them right away.
The sword intent which was still covered entirely in red just earlier, was slowly being dyed in the colours of various spiritual energy, and in but just a few moments, it expanded several tens of times in size. Her opponent’s black serpent sword intent was no longer able to suppress it. Instead, it was immediately suppressed, and with a long cry, the black serpent disappeared in the air.
Puaah…
The man spat out a mouthful of blood. The rebound from one’s sword intent was not something even a Demigod could go unscathed from. His expression instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a cauldron. He looked at Zhu Yao who had already been covered entirely in blood, surrounded by the rampaging spiritual energy. An Azoth Core. He had cultivated for so many years, yet he actually lost in the hands of an Azoth Core practitioner!
His expression turned even more sinister, his eyes grew even more venomous, and his entire body was filled with bone-piercing hatred. He dodged the lightning streaks that filled every corner of his surroundings as he watched the lightning phoenix whose size was already approaching to that of the dead Phoenix on the ground. With an annihilative force, it charged straight towards him. Gritting his teeth, he instantly materialized countless swords and fended it off.
He could not die! How could he die? He was someone who had crawled back up from purgatory, so how could he possibly die in the hands of an Azoth Core practitioner? Since he had already defied the heavens once, then naturally, he should be able to defy the heavens again!
A black aura instantly emitted out of the man’s body, and it slowly crawled up to the sides of his face, making him look exceptionally ominous. Casting an art with a wave of his hand, the blood within the blood pool, as if it was being attracted, gathered towards his hands, revealing an enormous blood-red formation. The formation then flew straight towards the lightning phoenix in the air.
The moment the blood formation made contact with her sword intent, the lightning phoenix emitted out a screeching cry.
Zhu Yao felt as if her organs were burning, as though there was something slicing her very soul. She used all of her willpower to endure the pain and prevent herself from fainting.
The hell, this old lady is going all out!
She immediately accelerated the guidance of spiritual energy, allowing her own meridians to be shattered to nothing but smithereens. In any case, she was no longer able to feel any pain.
Her sword intent instantly expanded once more. As it let out a long cry towards the heavens, it slashed through the blood formation. With the whistle of the wind, it directly penetrated through the lunatic practitioner’s body.
The man simply felt her divine sense dispersing from the charge, blood from the corner of his lips splattered onto the ground. His face was filled with utter disbelief.
He really was defeated by an Azoth Core…
No!
His eyes fiercely widened as he looked in shock at Zhu Yao, whose human appearance could no longer be discerned.
Nascent Soul… early-stage Nascent Soul… mid-stage Nascent Soul… late-stage Nascent Soul… Demigod…
Her cultivation was still rising rapidly!
A hint of fluster flashed across his eyes, as he fled towards the mountain peak.
With such a wild expansion of spiritual energy, that old hag would not be able to hang on for long. As long as he dragged the time out, she would die on her own. He merely had to leave this place temporarily, as long as he could fly out of this mountain…
Suddenly, his leg tightened. A streak of lightning had chained his leg, and with a powerful pull, his entire body was immediately yanked back.
With a bang, he was smashed onto the ground. Next to him was the enormous head of a phoenix, its fiery red eyes were looking straight at him. Probably due to his mind playing tricks on him, he was actually able to see the bone-piercing hateful intent seeping out of its pair of eyes, as if it could swallow him whole the very next moment.
He crawled a few steps away immediately out of fear. His arrogance was long gone, and what replaced was the fear of imminent death.
The lightning phoenix in the air cried out, and a purple lightning bolt came striking straight down, causing his skin to tear and his flesh to bloom. He felt his Dantian scattering, and he was no longer able to gather spiritual energy.
No… Don’t kill me.
Just as the sword intent was about to pounce onto him once more, it disappeared in the instant it made contact with him.
Zhu Yao was no longer able to hold on either, as her legs gave way and her body collapsed onto the ground. The rampant spiritual energy scattered into the air as well.
The entire site quietened down in an instant.
The man was first stunned for a moment. Suddenly, as if he had understood something, he began to laugh out wildly.
Hahahaha… This is the will of the heavens! Even a God race was in the grasp of my hands, so what if you’re powerful? In the end, you still couldn’t beat me.
His Dantian was destroyed and was no longer able to use spiritual energy. Picking up the flying sword that fell on the side, he dragged his body which was in a wrecked state comparable to Zhu Yao’s, and limped over towards her. Hi smile was filled with incomparable arrogance.
Aren’t you going to take revenge for that stupid Phoenix? I really want to see just who… Puaah…
Before he could finish, several blood-coloured icicles pierced out from within, immediately penetrating his entire body. His eyes widened greatly, as if he completely did not understand what had just happened. Carrying a heart filled with unwillingness and resentment, he let out his final breath.
Zhu Yao loosened her hands after the cast of her final art. A water-type mystic art, the life-saving mystic art which she taught Little Radish back then. She never expected that she would use it right here.
She won in her gamble! She had exacted revenge for Little Eighth, obtaining the justice he deserved.
Zhu Yao heaved a sigh of relief. Her body no longer had even an ounce of strength, and even her consciousness was turning a little blurry.
She was going to disconnect now, right?
Suddenly, the ground shook. As if the pool of blood was boiling, it began to emit out blood-red bubbles. The man who had turned into a bloody hedgehog in front of her eyes earlier, instantly disappeared into thin air.
In the next moment, that cultivation wacko once again slowly rose from within the pool of blood.
His sinister laughter instantly resounded through the entire mountain depths.
Heheheheh… You thought you could kill me off so easily?
Three words surfaced in the depths of Zhu Yao’s heart.
What the hell!
