Chapter 154: Chapter 145: Victory and Defeat
"ARGH!"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed between heaven and earth.
Grief and indignation!
Unwillingness!
Despair!
...
The sudden appearance of the Flying Sword had brutally interrupted his breakthrough just as he was on the verge of success, completely shattering Wan Zhengyang’s hope of becoming a True Man.
"Situ Family!"
"All of you can just die!"
A crimson light flooded the sky as a sea of blood surged forth.
Wan Zhengyang, though his body had been pierced by the Flying Sword, was not dead. Instead, he unleashed his insane fury upon the crowd below.
Situ Sheng, in his giant python form, bore the brunt of the attack.
"BOOM!"
The two Peak Great Mages collided head-on. The resulting shockwave swept out for a hundred meters, and the ground trembled violently.
"SWOOSH!"
Wan Zhengyang transformed into a Blood Demon. Over a hundred blood-red phantoms danced around him, letting out screeches and attacking madly.
These blood phantoms had been refined over decades from the flesh and blood of the powerful opponents he had devoured.
If an ordinary Magician were pounced on by one, their flesh and blood would dissolve on the spot.
Even a Great Mage would not be able to withstand an assault from over a hundred of these phantoms.
However, his opponent was no slouch either.
As the Patriarch of the Situ Clan, Situ Sheng, though his Cultivation was inferior to Wan Zhengyang’s, had far more tricks up his sleeve.
He transformed into a giant python, spitting corrosive smoke, and was protected by an indestructible White Bone Whip.
The two "men" were tangled together, and for a time, neither could gain the upper hand.
The situation was already clear.
Although Wan Zhengyang had the support of the Celestial Capital Sect, and even had a True Man acting as a Guardian for his breakthrough, the Situ Clan had the backing of Celestial Star City and the Demon Catchers. Celestial Star City had even sent a True Man and Great Mages to assist.
In terms of top-tier combat power, the Situ Clan had a firm advantage.
Hundreds of Evil Guards wielding Refined Iron Evil Stones suppressed Magicians and their Magic, meaning their ground forces were not weak either.
The outcome...
was set!
However, the counterattack from the General’s Mansion was not to be underestimated. The entirety of Yidu had become a battlefield.
The closer it drew to the end, the more brutal the fighting became.
...
Several Evil Guards, coordinating with a Magician, had Feng Hongda completely surrounded. Chain after chain snaked toward him.
Yin Soul Chains!
"ROAR!"
Feng Hongda had already used a Transformation Technique, becoming a giant bear of immense strength and lunging forward.
However, the Evil Qi on the Evil Guards had a Magic-breaking effect. Although his "Bear’s Paws" could kill an Evil Guard, he would be injured in the process.
What’s more,
he only had one arm left.
The Yin Soul Chains were like maggots boring into his bones; no matter what techniques he used, he couldn’t break free.
His Essence and Divine Soul Power were being rapidly drained.
"THUD!"
A great axe struck Feng Hongda’s back. The immense force sent him stumbling forward, nearly causing him to collapse.
Several figures took the opportunity to pounce.
’It’s over!’
Despair filled Feng Hongda’s eyes. He closed them, awaiting death.
"SHLICK!"
"SHLICK! SHLICK!"
The sound of sharp blades slicing through flesh rang in his ears, but the death he had anticipated never came.
"You’re safe now."
Zhu Ju’s figure appeared beside him. Five slivers of light danced and spun around his body, looking exceptionally mystical.
"Young Master Zhu."
Feng Hongda opened his eyes, his face filled with joy.
"I thought..."
"Thank you."
"Don’t mention it." Zhu Ju flicked his finger. The Five-Pointed Flying Sword looped through the air, slicing an incoming arrow in two before continuing on to shear off the head of an archer dozens of meters away. As it did, he asked,
"When did you join the Situ Family?"
"Because of the matter with Xing Suanzi, I was also being hunted by the Celestial Capital Sect. It was a Magician from the Situ Family who helped me escape." Feng Hongda retracted his Transformation Technique and explained, panting heavily:
"I am all alone in this world. With no other way to repay them, I can only offer my services with this broken body."
"Mm." Zhu Ju nodded.
"Let’s go."
"Let’s go see what’s happening up ahead."
He walked forward with his hands behind his back, controlling the Five-Pointed Flying Sword with his Divine Soul Power to cut down the figures that lunged at them.
With his Minor Achievement in Earth Evil True Body, blades and swords could hardly harm him.
As for Magic...
Protected by the Purifying Heart Bodhi and the Celestial Dragon Eight Sounds, he could ignore anything short of a technique from a Great Mage.
To Zhu Ju, this battlefield filled with killing intent at every step was like a different kind of scenery. His path was completely unobstructed.
"BANG!"
The wall ahead shattered.
Ye Baici, covered in wounds, flew out from it, spitting blood.
"You want revenge?"
An iron-armored giant stepped out from the dust-filled ruins, its crimson eyes filled with contempt and disdain.
"You think you’re worthy?"
"Even if I stood still and let you hit me, your techniques couldn’t even break my defense. You truly overestimate yourself!"
"THUMP!"
A kick lashed out, striking Ye Baici squarely in the chest. The immense force sent her body scraping and rolling across the ground for more than ten meters. The rubble and broken weapons on the ground added even more gashes to her body.
"Useless trash!"
Tie Yan roared:
"Die!"
She leaped high into the air, her thousand-jin Divine Armor plummeting down with the force of gravity.
"CRASH!"
Ye Baici, who had seemed too weak to struggle, suddenly rolled over. As she dodged, her body coiled around Tie Yan like a white python, her palms pressing firmly against the helmet.
"Release!"
Profound Ice Curse!
Instantly,
an extreme cold erupted from her palms, instantly freezing Tie Yan’s helmet-encased head into a block of ice.
The cold spread downwards, and in the blink of an eye, the upper body of the iron-armored giant was frozen solid.
This was the Killing Move of the Ye Family’s inherited Magic, capable of unleashing all the accumulated cold Qi in one’s body in an instant.
Inside the ice crystal,
Tie Yan’s eyes moved. Her expression was still...
Disdainful!
"MOO!"
A dull roar surged across the field.
A giant yak appeared out of thin air. With just an open-mouthed roar, it shattered the ice crystal on the field.
A Great Mage!
"PTOO!"
Ye Baici’s face turned deathly pale. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her eyes filled with despair.
She hadn’t expected that her enemy, the killer of Rouge Saber and the Mute Girl, had taken another great leap forward and become a Great Mage.
In the face of absolute power, all her previous efforts had become a joke.
"Trash!"
Tie Yan cracked her neck, grabbed the back of Ye Baici’s neck, and lifted her up, speaking disdainfully:
"I call you trash and you still won’t accept it? Did you really think I didn’t see through your little act of feigning weakness to let me get close?"
"It was just a little game to amuse myself!"
"Hm?"
Sensing something, she suddenly turned and looked toward the figure at the end of the long street. Flames of fury ignited in her crimson eyes.
"It’s you!"
"Zhu Ju!"
"It is." Zhu Ju studied her, a look of surprise on his face.
"You actually became a Great Mage?"
’Tie Yan has no Physical Body; her Divine Soul is fused with that Divine Armor. Can someone in such a state really become a Great Mage?’
"Didn’t expect that, did you!"
Tossing Ye Baici aside like a piece of trash, Tie Yan sneered.
"Perfect."
"Today’s a good day to finish you!"
"BOOM!"
The ground suddenly shook, and a deep footprint appeared. Tie Yan’s thousand-jin body shot toward Zhu Ju like a cannonball.
With a thousand jin of weight and extreme speed, such a ram would shatter even a sturdy city gate on the spot.
"BANG!"
Powerful Qi surged.
The figure came to a sudden halt.
Astonishment filled Tie Yan’s eyes. She stared at the unmoving figure before her, her face a mask of shock and confusion.
"How could this be?"
’I’ve already broken through to become a Great Mage, so why is the result still the same?’
Zhu Ju’s expression didn’t change.
’That charge was indeed much stronger than before, but I haven’t been idle these past few days either.’
’The key is...’
’The Outer Pill!’
’True Qi comparable to that of a Broken Five Acupoints Innate Qi Refiner has increased the defensive strength of my Protective Gang Force several times over.’
’I could ignore her attacks before, and I can do the same now.’
"ARGH!"
With a furious roar, a yak instantly appeared. It lowered its head and charged viciously at Zhu Ju.
Manifestation of the Divine Soul Dharma Form!
With this charge,
all the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy within several zhang converged, as if an indestructible steel fork was stabbing forward.
"PFFT!"
The Protective Gang Force was brutally pierced.
And then...
"CLANG!"
The remaining force of the yak’s charge slammed into Zhu Ju’s body, but it only made him lean back slightly before it could advance no further.
"Heh..." Zhu Ju narrowed his eyes, a cold sneer on his face.
"Even when I stand still and let you hit me, your techniques still can’t break my defense. What a piece of trash!"
"ARGH!"
Tie Yan roared at the sky. The yak’s body solidified at a visible rate, its power surging.
"Die!"
"Die!"
Divine Bull Breaks the Embankment!
"Hmph!"
Zhu Ju grunted. A divine light burst from his eyes as he spread the fingers of one large hand and brought it crashing down on the bull’s head before him.
Five-Finger Heaven Flip!
True Qi from his Broken Five Acupoints surged from his fingertips, forming a giant hand that pressed down violently on the yak.
"BOOM!"
"MOO!"
The Strong Bull Demon that Tie Yan had transformed into was slapped to the ground.
"You useless thing!"
"You still dare to resist?"
Zhu Ju took a deep breath. The Qi from his Outer Pill connected with his Dantian, and a vast amount of True Qi rapidly converged.
Half of the Magical Power stored in the Outer Pill was drawn out in an instant.
"Die!"
Heaven-Flipping Palm!
"BOOM!"
The ground several zhang ahead sank in unison. The giant yak was smashed to pieces, revealing Tie Yan’s rigid figure.
"CRACK..."
A crack appeared on the Divine Armor. The crimson eyes beneath the helm filled with despair, and then the entire thing exploded.
Under that one palm, her Divine Soul was incinerated.
Tie Yan.
Dead!
Zhu Ju took a deep breath, took out his Qiankun Bag, and collected the shattered pieces of Divine Armor. Only then did he look over at Ye Baici on the ground nearby.
"Can you walk?"
"..." Ye Baici was still in shock. Hearing his voice, she snapped back to her senses with a surprised look and slowly nodded.
"Barely."
"Then let’s go." Zhu Ju looked up toward the center of the battlefield.
"It’s almost over."
"Huh?"
’Someone’s breaking through to become a Mage at a time like this?’
Several streets away, Tang Yan brandished dual sabers, letting out an enraged roar as her Celestial Burning Soul-Seizing Sabers flashed repeatedly.
"SWOOSH!"
Two figures shot past each other.
"Urgh..." Tang Qing’s body trembled. He looked down at his chest, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
"Bitch!"
"You evil spawn... who kills her father and brother..."
"Heh..." Tang Yan turned, her hands trembling slightly.
"Father!"
"You’d rather acknowledge that beast as your son than recognize me. After all these years, can you even remember how many times you’ve called me your daughter?"
"It’s all over now!"
She sheathed her sabers and turned to leave. With each step, her aura grew stronger, until a Profound Light reopened her Forehead Ancestral Acupoint and she advanced to the rank of Mage.
And behind her,
Tang Qing’s body trembled before he slowly collapsed to the ground. The story of this discordant father and daughter had finally reached its conclusion.
...
The center of the battlefield.
"WHOOSH!"
A misty, smoke-like Seven-Colored Flying Sword, glinting with a sharp, cold light, suddenly embedded itself in the back of the Blood Demon’s heart.
The hundred-meter-long White Bone Whip seized the opportunity to rush forward and tightly bind the frenzied Blood Demon. At the same time, the giant python that was Situ Sheng opened its massive maw and bit down on the Blood Demon’s head.
"CRUNCH!"
Blood gushed from the Blood Demon’s neck as the giant python ripped its head, along with the entire spinal column, clean out of its chest cavity.
Wan Zhengyang.
Dead!
"Wan Zhengyang has been slain! Will you not surrender?!"
*
*
*
After the great battle, the city was in ruins.
To celebrate the successful suppression of the General’s Mansion’s rebellion, the City Lord’s Mansion ordered the granaries opened to provide relief for the common people.
The City Lord’s Mansion.
The rear courtyard.
After seeing his guests off, the smile vanished from Situ Sheng’s face. He staggered and nearly collapsed on the spot.
"Father!"
Situ Kongli’s expression changed drastically. She rushed forward to support him.
"How are you?"
"I can still hold on."
Situ Sheng’s body trembled.
"My injuries cannot be discovered. Go... bring me a Life-Locking Pill. I still have to make an appearance later."
"Father!" Situ Kongli’s eyes turned red.
"There are other ways to treat your injuries."
"PTOO!" Situ Sheng spat out a mouthful of blood, his vitality instantly fading.
"Other ways?"
"I know my own condition perfectly well. We don’t have the luxury to consider other options now. If anyone sees my weakness, with the current foundations of the City Lord’s Mansion..."
"I fear the Situ Clan will be lost!"
"Quickly!"
"Get the Elixir."
