Chapter 263

: Disappearing Daming Lake
Translator: 
TransN 
 Editor: 
TransN
It was said that it was very cold when one was in a high place. With a high state, Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu’s numerous Taoist Swords that were casually sprinkled onto the lake like a rainstorm were also very cold. The lake water condensed into blades that were covered by a thin frost and had already become the ice.
Numerous frost-covered swords covered the light from the top of the Firmament above the valley and came to the lake as a dark mass. At this time, a flower-like umbrella opened before the swords, whose color was as dark as the night sky and suddenly dwarfed all other swords.
At this critical moment, Ning Que opened his big black umbrella.
Just like clichés that people were tired of seeing, this choice was not surprising. But just as the commonly used words in essays were essentially gathered by scholars over the years, the big black umbrella could withstand all dust in the world, cover eyes and the sun, and would not leak in the face of a heavy rain.
Small and sharp Taoist Swords hit in the thick greasy surface of the big black umbrella densely like a real thunderstorm, uttering huge depressing percussion sounds. The Taoist Swords could not pierce the umbrella and all became broken pieces of ice due to the forceful impact, then turned into mist and dissipated before the black umbrella.
When Ning Que held the umbrella, he pulled Mo Shanshan behind him. The two squatted under the big black umbrella as if a semicircular night appeared above their heads, leaving no gaps.
Although the Taoist Swords could not pierce through the big black umbrella, the forceful impact accumulated and remained on the umbrella surface, and then passed to Ning Que’s hands clenching the umbrella along the handle that was made of certain material.
He lowered his head and frowned. His arms trembled constantly and his fingers turned pale. He had exhausted all his strength, but could not withstand a burst of strong impact from the black umbrella over and over again.
Numerous Taoist Swords turned into a complex sword array in the air beside the lake. They fell down in an orderly way and launched a continuous bombardment. Their speed became faster and faster and even their icy blades were followed by bright red tails as if they were burning!
The big black umbrella handle slipped from Ning Que’s fingers and hit his chest heavily!
Fresh blood dripped from his lips accompanied by a painful muffled sound. However, his left hand clenched the middle section of the umbrella handle. He hooked his right hand to the upper frame of the black umbrella tightly like a wire and used his chest to support the handle of the umbrella.
The bombardment of the Taoist Swords continued. The power from the big black umbrella surface became stronger and stronger. His fingers hooking the umbrella frame were cut and shed blood. The frame even gradually sank into his fingers.
Ning Que stared at the vaguely visible white bones of flesh and blood, his cheeks becoming pale due to intense pain. Even his body started to tremble, but he still had no intentions of letting go.
He had always been cruel to himself, especially at the critical moment of life and death. So he would not let go of his black umbrella before numerous Taoist Swords beside the lake. Because he knew that he and Mo Shanshan would die if he were to let go.
The blood flowing from his broken fingers did not drip down to the ground, but on the umbrella surface along the umbrella frame. Suddenly there appeared a touch of light in his sense of perception. But at this moment, he really had no energy to look for that light’s true appearance. He could only stare at the dark umbrella surface and wish that the Psyche Power of Tao Addict would exhaust quickly.
After shooting Prince Long Qing with an arrow, he knew that the Divine Hall, especially that Tao Addict, and himself had become sworn enemies. But there were still much admiration and respect in his gaze when it landed on the black umbrella.
A Divine Talisman bag Master Yan Se had personally written on, the epoch-making Primordial Thirteen Arrows combining wisdom and energy of the back of the mountain of Academy coupled with Calligraphy Addict Mo Shanshan who had understood Half Divine Talisman. What kind of power was this?
The Tao Addict had entered Knowing Destiny State on the snow cliff. An ordinary Knowing Destiny State Grand Cultivator would have died on the spot in the face of such a power and Ning Que’s hidden treacherous means, or Ning Que and Mo Shanshan’s hidden treacherous means. But the Tao Addict did not die.
Although seriously wounded by the two Talisman Arrows, the crazy Tao Addict still did not die. She had not only survived but also stood on the lake’s thin ice indifferently. Though restricted by a Restriction Fu, she resolutely gave up her most precious Natal Item and made up her mind to suppress Ning Que and Mo Shanshan with numerous Taoist Swords.
Ning Que had heard that the West-Hill Divine Palace hierarch had once praised the Tao Addict for being good at different kinds of cultivation methods. Now it seemed to be true. The Tao Addict not only had a wonderful state but also owned a more shocking quality demonstrated in the battle, namely her perseverance, determination and endless means. He could not help thinking. 
I actually can’t kill you even by doing so? It seems that I must find ways to kill you.


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Although this Restriction Fu in the Daming Lake was not employed by a Talisman Master and had thus lost some talisman power, it was very scary in both the duration and strength, for it was written by Master Yan Se after all. Even if it was Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu, who had a high state and a strong ability, she had no way to get rid of it in a short time.
She was once again shot in her pale shoulder by a Primordial Thirteen Arrow. Beads of blood clots tightly clung to her naked upper arm, looking somewhat bloody. Her tidy solemn bun had already become a mess. When her strands of dark hair floated in the air, they were bound to her cheeks by the Restriction Fu. Under the contrast of her black hair, her pale skin looked particularly beautiful as well even though she looked somewhat shabby.
However, Tao Addict did not show the slightest expression on her face but looked at the big black umbrella beside the lake coldly.
As a core disciple of Headmaster of Academy, Ning Que looked so weak. But the Academy had sent Ning Que to practice in the world on behalf of the back of the mountain and would surely give him some means of life-saving. Therefore, she was not surprised while lamenting the great defending ability of the big black umbrella.
What really surprised her or even felt faintly respectful of was the ability Ning Que had shown in the battle. This ability did not refer to his state or control of Breath of nature, but his clever use of all fighting methods and his precise choices on the timing of attack that could even be vaguely called as some temperament.
Today, in the Daming Lake, in order to kill Ning Que she had almost exhausted her mind and employed the Haotian Divine Skill that she rarely used and understood not long ago. And she finally even used the hierarch’s powerful Taoists Law of numerous swords in Haotian Taoism sect. However, she still could not kill Ning Que and was even seriously injured by him.
All of them, including the miserable wounds on her shoulder, the still slightly warm blood on her palms and blood clots clinging to her upper arm, made Ye Hongyu feel angry, ashamed and even mad. But her eyes began to burn like those sword-shape water formed by scaly ice and revealed a frenzied coldness–this kind of eyes could only appear in the face of a truly admirable opponent.
She had come to Peach-Mountain of West Hill looking for strongmen and searched for heroes in all corners of the world in order to prove herself. She had fought with many masters over the years, but very few people had gained her respect or even admiration. Because in her opinion, those so-called masters did not know how to employ their states and vigorous strengths and were just as worthless as stubborn scholars.
Until today, when she encountered Ning Que, the weakest World Wayfarer in the history, who was actually a very rare cultivator who understood the essence of fighting. Although he had a low state now, he was bound to be extremely powerful when in a fight between life and death–she was very certain of this, for she was also such a person.
The big black umbrella supported them under the torrential Taoist Swords and seemed like it might collapse at any time, but had not collapsed. The mist that came from the ice swords became denser and denser, gradually burying the umbrella. The Tao Addict looked at it blankly and said seriously in her heart,
I can’t kill you even like this? It seems that you really have to die.

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Ye Hongyu was addicted to Tao and in proving Tao via life and death. So she fanatically chased after fighting. Ning Que was addicted to life and clung on to life instead of braving death. So he fought in a hard way. Though their reasons were different, the explicit qualities they formed were somewhat similar. If they found out about each other’s childhood, they would probably be clear that they were the same kind of human beings.
Because they had the same temperament and philosophy, they admired each other and developed a more intense wish to kill. Because it was not easy to kill the other, they respected each other and had to kill the other.
The Taoist Swords attacked the black umbrella, while the umbrella resisted the swords. The Tao Addict standing above the lake could not move her body at all and the wounds on her shoulder were still bleeding. It was uncertain when her Psyche Power would be depleted. Ning Que who was hidden under the umbrella could not move either. The wounds between his fingers kept bleeding and he was not sure when he would drop the umbrella.
As time went by, Ye Hongyu looked pale but had no sign of Psyche Power exhaustion. Ning Que lowered his head and tightly closed his lips that looked pale due to the loss of blood, with no intention of letting it go.
The battle scene beside Daming Lake changed from the extremely dynamic state to an absolute still one, except the sword and the umbrella. But the hidden dangers were more and more intense, for destruction would come when one side could not hold on.
The situation seemed to have entered a dead end. Both of whom were so ruthless as not to see the result of this dead end. Whether they survived or died could only depend on whoever could hold on to the end.
In this case, there seemed to be a girl who had been forgotten. But she was Calligraphy Addict who could not be forgotten. In fact, it was she who offered the ultimate solution to this plight of life and death.
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Mo Shanshan stood up outside the big black umbrella.
Ning Que felt very surprised.
Watching the oncoming dense Taoist Swords, the Talisman Master girl calmly bit her finger. Blood dripped from her fingers, which she gently stretched out in the air.
After her action, the oncoming Taoist Swords suddenly became a bit slow.
The droplets of blood dripping from her slender fingertips were suspended in the air strangely.
Then Mo Shanshan’s fingertip gently dipped into the blood suspended in the air, as if a slender brush dipped in Huangzhou muddy ink. She dragged a piece of invisible paper in the air and drew a bloodline.
It was still the Half Divine Talisman. But this time it no longer followed an invisible line but a clear bloody line. The talisman intention besides was not less than the original one but more vivid, as if it was alive.
The most powerful Half Divine Talisman written by Calligraphy Addict in her life did not go to the Tao Addict standing on the lake surface. Because it was too far away and she knew that she would not be able to knock down the mighty girl even if she shot the Tao Addict.
She sent her Half Divine Talisman to the Daming Lake!
Just as a dry brush that had drawn an ink picture, it rushed to fresh water in an urn to clean itself.
There suddenly appeared more numerous fine bloodlines in the clean water of Daming Lake, just like cinnabars.
With this stroke as a guide, an ancient aura arose from the bottom of the lake, making one feel a heart-stirring sense of worship.
The Daming Lake became alive again. The steaming water gurgled and mist encircled the whole valley.
The Daming Lake disappeared without a trace. The lake water lost its wave sounds and mist covered everything.
That ancient aura gathered in the rich water mist and suddenly soared, instantly occupying the entire verdant valley. Then it instantly climbed the spectacular Snow-capped Peak and finally soared towards the distant dark sky.
It seemed that it was about to tear off this sky.