Chapter 91: Chapter 37: What Great Sect’s Pride? It’s Prides I Slay (End of Volume 2)
Helan Ruojin fell silent. He no longer wore his signature smile, and his eyes turned cold.
"You junior have a silver tongue! After you die, I will pull out all your teeth and refine them into a Magical Artifact. Hmph, I am a Great Sect’s Pride. What makes you think you can send me to my death? Some gaps in power cannot be bridged simply by burning your lifespan."
In truth, just as Du Youqian had said, Helan Ruojin could no longer handle the situation with ease.
Although the Reverse Blood Qi Transformation Technique was consuming Du Youqian’s lifespan at a terrifying rate, it had also massively enhanced his power.
The threefold power increase made every one of Du Youqian’s attacks incredibly potent. Helan Ruojin was struggling to defend himself. Moreover, controlling three Spiritual Artifacts was drastically increasing his consumption of power, and he was now stretched thin.
As for Lin Sha, she fought as if she had no regard for her own life. Her goal, of course, was to take down Helan Ruojin in the span of a few finger-snaps, to prevent Du Youqian from truly burning through his lifespan and dying.
If she had known a Secret Technique that consumed lifespan, she would likely have used it without hesitation.
Helan Ruojin was afraid of heavily injuring Lin Sha and foiling his own plans. On several occasions when he had a clear chance to counterattack, he instead gritted his teeth and endured Lin Sha’s heavy blows.
And the monkey, that dishonorable little beast, used its agility and tough hide to cause Helan Ruojin no small amount of trouble.
It couldn’t actually harm Helan Ruojin, but it could constantly harass and distract him.
Helan Ruojin was truly growing exhausted, his internal Magical Power nearly depleted!
However, he firmly believed that Du Youqian would run out of lifespan in a few more finger-snaps. And even if he didn’t, he would be too weak to continue fighting.
’And Lin Sha, with such a ferocious fighting style, how long can she last?’
’Her Magical Power must be on the verge of running out, too!’
’When that time comes, I’ll be able to capture her alive with ease and use my Secret Technique to plunder her Dao Foundation.’
Everything was proceeding according to Helan Ruojin’s plan.
A smile reappeared on his face!
Three finger-snaps, a little over twenty seconds, passed in a flash.
Du Youqian brazenly ’refilled’ his time again!
This time, the Reverse Blood Qi Transformation Technique would only last for a single finger-snap, about seven seconds, yet it would burn forty years of his life!
After activating the Reverse Blood Qi Transformation Technique this time, the contradictory feelings of power and weakness appeared in him simultaneously.
The power came from the technique’s amplification. This time, Du Youqian’s strength had been boosted sixfold!
A casual strike from him now neared the level of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage!
The weakness, however, was because his lifespan was almost completely exhausted.
Although he still appeared young, the consequences would soon manifest.
At that point, he might age in an instant and die, passing into oblivion!
Even if he didn’t die immediately, the backlash from using the Reverse Blood Qi Transformation Technique four times in a row would likely cause his un-enhanced physical body to disintegrate.
Helan Ruojin’s face was filled with shock. "You junior, you’re insane!"
"No!" Lin Sha’s reaction was even more intense than Helan Ruojin’s.
She was on the verge of madness. If not for a childhood spent in harsh, bloody, and fierce competition, which had instilled in her the habit of never stopping in the middle of a fight, she would probably just want to hold Du Youqian and quietly die with him.
But in her way of thinking, such an option didn’t exist. If you were in a battle, you had to give it your all.
So she unleashed all her remaining strength without reservation. Once it was spent, if Qing Lang died, she had no desire to live on alone anyway.
There was no need to hold anything back.
In that moment, her outburst also put immense pressure on Helan Ruojin.
Helan Ruojin, whose defense had been watertight until now, finally showed an opening. There was an infinitesimal pause in the circulation of his Magical Power.
This was the moment!
"Binding the Azure Dragon with Bare Hands!"
The sixfold amplified power, nearing the level of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, carrying all the determination of Du Youqian who had burned nearly a hundred years of his life in less than five minutes, landed on Helan Ruojin.
It struck at the exact instant Helan Ruojin’s Magical Power faltered and paused.
With this blow, even he, a former Great Sect’s Pride and a Foundation Establishment Third Layer Cultivator, was hit and his body was frozen in place.
’Dammit!’
The thought had just risen in Helan Ruojin’s mind when Lin Sha’s Spiritual Artifact, the Red Ribbon, wrapped around him with hateful intent, threatening to crush every bone in his body.
The monkey shrieked, dropped its iron rod, and nimbly leaped onto Helan Ruojin’s head. With a single gouge, it pulled out a bloody string of something.
"AAAAHHH!" Helan Ruojin screamed in agony. His face was a bloody mess, with only two empty sockets where his eyes had been.
At that exact moment, Du Youqian’s Sword Qi erupted. SHINK SHINK SHINK! It pierced Helan Ruojin’s body hundreds, even thousands of times, turning him into a man of blood. Not a single part of him, from his skin to his internal organs, was left intact.
Now, even with an Immortal’s methods, it would be impossible to save him.
"Hahahaha! So what if you’re a Great Sect’s Pride? It’s Prides like you I’m meant to kill!" Having been suppressed for so long, Du Youqian could finally vent his frustration.
The Jade Pivot Divine Thunder Talisman and the Golden Radiance Breaking Talisman he had been preparing to use were ultimately not needed.
But after a few laughs, his voice quickly grew hoarse and faded.
Without the support of Helan Ruojin’s Magical Power, the Flying Sword beneath his feet was no longer controlled and plummeted downward.
As he fell, the Red Silk tightened, and the continuous sound of CRACK! CRACK! from breaking bones echoed.
In truth, this was merely venting her anger, because Du Youqian’s Sword Qi had already severed all of Helan Ruojin’s life force. He was only hanging on by a thread.
THUD! Helan Ruojin’s body slammed heavily onto the ground.
The colorful tiger and the mountain boar charged forward gleefully, roaring impatiently as they began to tear and bite at the body.
Helan Ruojin occasionally let out a half-hearted groan of pain...
Lin Sha and Du Youqian also landed, dismounting from their magical artifacts.
"Qing Lang!" Lin Sha’s almond-shaped eyes filled with tears as she gazed at Du Youqian.
She wanted to run over and hug Du Youqian, but she didn’t dare approach.
Because Du Youqian looked so frail right now, with white hair and wrinkled skin, as if he would fall apart at the slightest touch.
It wasn’t that she was disgusted by him growing old and ugly. She was worried that, having just finished a battle with her own blood and qi surging, she wouldn’t be able to control her strength. What if she hugged him too hard and accidentally crushed him to death?
The monkey landed too, looking at Du Youqian, at a loss for what to do.
"I’m fine... I just need to rest a bit."
Du Youqian’s voice was so hoarse and weak he could barely continue speaking.
He knew it too. He didn’t have long to live. The Life Force in his body was rapidly draining away, leaving him incredibly weak. His physical body was quickly disintegrating—this was the price of using the Reverse Blood Qi Transformation Technique.
Such a powerful enhancement naturally came with a cost worthy of its might.
Lin Sha reached out her hand, but hesitated, not daring to touch Du Youqian’s face.
She was afraid that upon her touch, Du Youqian would turn to ash and scatter to the winds.
"Qing Lang! Don’t... don’t die!" Lin Sha wasn’t hysterical; her tears just flowed silently.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t sad. On the contrary, her sorrow was so extreme that no hysterical outburst could make her feel even a little better.
Before Du Youqian’s astonished and moved eyes, in just a few short moments, Lin Sha’s head of black hair turned snow-white.
She hadn’t activated any lifespan-consuming Secret Technique. She was simply so grief-stricken that the Supreme Purity Emotion Scripture she cultivated had backfired on her.
Du Youqian grew worried. ’She isn’t going to kill herself out of love, is she?’
Just then, he made a somewhat awkward discovery: it seemed he still had a few days of his lifespan left.
However, his physical body was genuinely on the verge of collapse.
’Speaking of which, if my body collapses, does that count as a violent death or dying of old age?’
He quickly came up with an idea.
In an aged voice, he said, "Sasha, I’m not going to die. I know a way to extend my lifespan. Don’t follow me. Don’t worry, once I succeed, I’ll come find you. I promise. Remember, you have to wait for me!"
Lin Sha gave a sad smile, her white hair swaying though there was no wind. It was unclear if she believed him. "Qing Lang, remember your words. You promised me! I’ll wait for you. No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait. You have to come find me!"
"I will!" Du Youqian forced a smile with his last bit of strength and took one more deep look at her.
Then, he decisively activated the Secret Technique "Thousand Miles in One Line".
A Secret Technique that burned Essence Blood and shortened one’s lifespan to enhance an Escape Technique.
And he was gone.
Behind him, a heart-wrenching cry, suppressed with pain and despair, erupted.
The cry carried such immense power that it seemed to make heaven and earth grieve in unison, and all the birds and beasts mourn along with it.
Du Youqian had actually wanted to escape back to Soul-shaking Mountain and bury himself under the peach tree.
But he had barely escaped, perhaps not even five hundred li, when his consciousness began to blur and he quickly plunged into darkness.
