Chapter 223: Chapter 140: Suppressing the Ten Heroes
The battle had only been raging for a little over a hundred breaths, but amidst the seemingly fierce exchange, Lu Maozhi had already fallen into a disadvantage. He was defending more than attacking, his Sword Stance suppressed until it grew sluggish.
’No!’
’I absolutely cannot lose!’
’Not with everyone watching... with Wang Zilan right down there!’
Intense humiliation and resentment burned away Lu Maozhi’s reason like a poisonous fire. He immediately bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, spraying it all over the Cyan Light Sword.
"Essence blood as my guide, let the cyan blade become a dragon!"
"Go!"
VMMMM—!
The Cyan Light Treasure Sword instantly let out a high, piercing cry. The cyan light on its body flared, faintly transforming into a draconic phantom. It violently broke free of Lu Maozhi’s control and shot toward Chen Sheng’s heart like a bolt of cyan lightning, its speed and power several times greater than before.
This was a desperate, life-risking strike that Lu Maozhi had unleashed at the cost of a great deal of his essence blood. It was also the strongest Sword Skill in the Cyan Lotus Sword Technique for fighting an enemy.
Before the sword even arrived, its incomparably sharp and relentless Sword Qi already made Chen Sheng’s skin ache as if it were being torn apart.
"Excellent."
The blood-gold light in Chen Sheng’s eyes flared. With a frantic push of his will, the Nine Nether Yin Fiend and the Six Extremes Golden Bell Technique erupted within him with unprecedented intensity.
VMMMM—!!!
An unprecedentedly solid Golden Bell suddenly manifested.
On the bell’s body, the Golden Light was almost tangible. The blood-colored runes were no longer mere patterns but flowing, spinning flames burning on its surface. Vague, ancient patterns even faintly appeared on the Golden Bell’s exterior.
BOOM—!!!
The cyan, draconic Sword Light slammed viciously into the Golden Bell.
For an instant, time itself seemed to freeze.
The next moment, an earth-shattering explosion erupted.
A blinding cyan-gold light engulfed that patch of sky. A violent, spherical shockwave expanded outward, tearing a void in the surroundings.
CRACK... CRACKLE...
The incredibly solid Golden Bell was finally covered in a web of cracks before it violently disintegrated.
However, the cyan, draconic Sword Light had also exhausted most of its power in the cataclysmic collision. Its light dimmed, and its speed greatly decreased.
’Now’s my chance.’
The instant the Golden Bell shattered, Chen Sheng advanced instead of retreating. He gripped the hilt of the Cold-Intimidating Blade with both hands and madly poured his remaining Evil Qi into it. Facing the weakened cyan Sword Light, he brought his blade down in a single chop.
CLANG—!!!
An even more piercing shriek of metal on metal rang out.
The Cyan Light Treasure Sword instantly let out a mournful cry and was sent flying sideways by the strike, its light completely extinguished.
But the immense recoil also sent Chen Sheng’s qi and blood into turmoil. A trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth as his body was thrown backward uncontrollably.
However, before he had flown back thirty feet, Chen Sheng forcibly twisted his body and stomped on the air, creating a sonic boom as he forcefully arrested his momentum.
He then transformed into a streak of golden light, lunging at Lu Maozhi—whose face was now deathly pale and aura had plummeted from using the forbidden technique—with an even fiercer and more resolute charge.
’This is bad!’
Panic seized Lu Maozhi. Seeing his Cyan Light Sword knocked away and unable to recall it in time, he—in a fit of shock and fury—flicked his sleeve. Several barely perceptible specks of black, cold light shot silently toward Chen Sheng’s vital points.
These were his hidden Poisoned Flying Needles. He normally disdained using them, but to buy even a moment’s respite, he could no longer afford to care.
"Petty tricks. You dare show them off in front of me?"
Chen Sheng snorted coldly. His forward momentum unabated, he threw a punch. The Nine Nether Yin Fiend on his fist condensed as if tangible, and a tyrannical, cold yin energy coalesced with immense power as he smashed it into the empty air.
BANG.
The surrounding air instantly exploded. A shockwave of cold, tyrannical Evil Qi swept out, scattering the Poisoned Flying Needles before they could even get close and sending them flying back.
"HRAAAGH!!!"
Seeing his last resort fail, a desperate madness erupted in Lu Maozhi’s eyes.
He let out a sudden roar and, disregarding the damage to his Meridians, once again activated some Secret Technique to overdraw his potential. He forcibly boosted his already flagging qi and blood as an unnatural bloody light erupted around him. Like a crazed tiger, he charged to meet Chen Sheng.
At this point, he had no path of retreat. All he could do was fight for his life.
’No matter what, I absolutely cannot lose!’
"A desperate last struggle."
Chen Sheng’s gaze was as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice, and the cruel curve of his lips deepened.
His speed suddenly exploded once more. Man and blade became one, transforming into a gold-red flash of light that seemed to sunder heaven and earth as it fearlessly collided with the blood-colored figure staking everything on his charge.
THUD—!!!
The sound was a muffled thud, not as earth-shattering as before, but far heavier.
The next instant, a figure shot out from the center of the collision like a kite with a snapped string, soaring through the sky before crashing violently into a wing of the building below that had not yet completely collapsed.
RUMBLE...
Bricks, stone, and wooden beams collapsed as dust shot into the sky, completely burying the figure.
High in the air, as the dust began to settle, a tall figure slowly descended. He held his blade in one hand, its tip angled toward the ground. His robes fluttered in the strong wind, and his proud, erect posture was like that of a War God descending to the mortal realm, gazing down upon the world.
And this person was, of course, Chen Sheng.
In that instant, the entire area fell deathly silent.
The gazes of nearly everyone present were fixed on the ruins of the building, then snapped back to the proud figure of Chen Sheng standing in their midst, their hearts nearly stopping.
"Cough... cough cough..."
Weak, pained coughs sounded intermittently from beneath the rubble.
After a long moment, the dust slowly settled, and a wretched figure struggled to pull the upper half of his body from the ruins.
It was Lu Maozhi.
But at this moment, he no longer possessed a shred of the elegant demeanor befitting one of the Ning’an Ten Heroes and the True Inheritor of Luoyun Manor.
His fine cyan robes were tattered and stained with dust and blood. His hair was a mess, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose. His face was ashen, and his aura was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind.
He barely managed to prop himself up with his trembling arms, preventing himself from collapsing again.
Lifting his head, Lu Maozhi looked at Chen Sheng standing not far away with his blade, his eyes filled with shock, pain, unwillingness, and a sliver of... fear that he could not conceal.
At that moment, the entire world seemed to have frozen.
Only the whimpering of the wind stirred, carrying with it the lingering stench of blood.
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