Chapter 1530: Reversal (I)
Brilliant radiance surged violently across the sky. Murong Yan's expression changed drastically as the black qi in his hand recoiled at astonishing speed. A flicker of hesitation flashed through his eyes.
Although the spirit artifact in his hand was now the target, a countermeasure immediately formed in his mind, The best choice is probably to step forward, enter that gate myself, then find a chance to escape with divine ability!
But the moment that thought surfaced, Li Zhouwei's smile suddenly seemed to loom larger and larger in his eyes, instantly stirring suspicion in his heart, If this were a one-on-one fight, I could simply make the trip myself. But things are different now... Battles shift in an instant. If Chi Buzi is waiting nearby, or if the [Frosty Absolute Sword] seizes the opportunity to kill me... would I not be walking straight into disaster instead?!
That suspicion delayed him for only a moment, yet Li Zhouwei had been waiting precisely for this instant. His [Heaven-Venerating Gate] divine ability had already reached perfection, and its speed was terrifyingly fast. However brief that hesitation, how could Murong Yan still have time to escape? He no longer even had the chance to enter the gate himself!
Boom!
Bright light blazed violently into the heavens as a radiant heavenly gate stood suspended beneath the sky where countless divine abilities collided. It seemed as though the rising sun itself was ascending within it. Brilliant white light poured forth so dazzlingly that the cultivators on both shores lowered their heads, unable to look at it directly.
Yet beneath the heavenly gate, a tiny gray point of light still trembled. It resembled a fiend suppressed beneath the gate, struggling unwillingly against its seal. From time to time, it managed to force the gate upward by a fraction, but it could no longer break free.
Murong Yan had already retreated, his expression extremely ugly. His hand was now empty!
[Heaven-Venerating Gate]...
Murong Yan naturally knew how formidable that divine ability was. Yet as a cultivator of Valley Water divine abilities, what he feared least was suppression and refinement. Thus, he had always held a trace of contempt toward those abilities. But now, as he faintly sensed wave after wave of crushing pressure coming from the spirit artifact, even his expression began to change.
At the same time, sheets of white light pouring from the heavenly gate surged forward like a tide, steadily driving away the dark glow of [Dawnless Deceit] and carving out its own domain within the radiance of Valley Water.
Meanwhile, Li Zhouwei stood atop the heavenly gate, calmly feeling the faint tremors rising beneath his feet as he silently reinforced the suppression. His halberd pointed through the air, gleaming brilliantly.
I underestimated just how tyrannical [Heaven-Venerating Gate] truly is! Even if I entered the gate myself, escaping without using Valley Water divine ability would already be difficult, let alone a spirit artifact! thought Murong Yan.
Having carelessly lost his favored weapon in a moment of negligence, Murong Yan was both furious and alarmed. His face darkened further as surging demonic qi spiraled out from his sides, gradually forming a massive black qi disk behind him.
Streams of black light transformed into rolling clouds. They started to circle around him like a colossal hundred-tailed scorpion displaying thousands upon thousands of venomous stingers while keeping its true body hidden deep within the darkness.
Heavy Cloud Phantom-Destroying Valley Light!
Golden light flared within Li Zhouwei's eyes as strands of [Bright Light Heavenly Surge] gathered around him once more and surged forward to meet the attack.
Unfortunately, [Bright Light Heavenly Surge] had never been particularly high in quality, and it had also been cultivated through rapid advancement. Naturally, it struggled against those streams of black qi. Though ribbons of radiance surged forward seemingly without end, they were steadily forced back inch by inch by the black qi.
Boom!
Yet Li Zhouwei's brow flashed as [Heavenly Radiance, Hidden Light] streaked across the sky. Like a dazzling firework, it vanished almost instantly, yet it struck Murong Yan with uncanny precision through the layers of concealing smoke.
The surging black qi immediately faltered, but the assault was far from over. No matter how Murong Yan concealed himself within the black qi, [Heavenly Radiance, Hidden Light] would always flash through the sky and strike his true body with perfect accuracy, repeatedly interrupting the spell art in his hands.
For a time, white light streaked endlessly across the sky, causing the black clouds to flicker between brightness and darkness.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
Although [Heavenly Radiance, Hidden Light] was not particularly fast and could not always keep up with Murong Yan as he shifted through the black clouds, it always managed to interrupt his spells, keeping his offensive stalled the entire time.
After an unknown amount of time, the spell finally weakened. The rolling black clouds around Murong Yan dissipated as his face turned grim. He pressed two fingers together before him while raising his other hand forward. Forced to abandon the maintenance of [Heavy Cloud Phantom-Destroying Valley Light], he finally gained the opportunity to summon a strand of Valley Water demonic light.
The light was dark and heavy, like layers of thick gauze. It moved within [Dawnless Deceit] as naturally as a fish through water, yet instead of approaching directly, it prowled ominously through the air. Meanwhile, faced with the incoming weapon, Murong Yan not only refused to retreat, he instead pressed forward aggressively. Dark light flickered within his eyes, making him appear even more ferocious.
Boom!
A storm of golden radiance exploded across the sky. Murong Yan barely managed to catch the halberd between both hands as boiling vapor and Radiant Light erupted from the point of contact. At the same time, his demonic qi began depleting at a shocking rate.
Colors churned wildly within his eyes as his mouth suddenly expanded, splitting all the way to his ears. A swirling vortex of purple-black radiance grew deep within it, swallowing every trace of Radiant Light before him. At the same time, surging purple-black demonic qi wrapped itself around Da Sheng, forcibly suppressing its might.
The golden blade in the sky trembled lightly. Li Zhouwei spun around with a flip of his hand and leaped upward, charging directly into the incoming purple-black demonic qi. One boot slammed onto [Da Sheng], bending the weapon's shaft slightly as brilliant radiance also began gathering at the center of his brows.
That seemingly light step transmitted an unimaginable amount of divine ability mana. Dense golden cracks instantly spread across Murong Yan's hands, and two of his fingers were sliced clean off, flying into the air. His pupils suddenly constricted before widening sharply.
But the power of [Da Sheng] did not end there. The unarmed one today was no longer Li Zhouwei. The mysterious brilliance of [Effect Attachment] flared dazzlingly once more.
Although its true body remained forcibly restrained, that golden shadow was launched upward by Li Zhouwei's heavy stomp. Its blade sprang up between Murong Yan's hands and plunged directly into his throat, nearly piercing straight through his neck.
The enormous expanding purple-black vortex flickered unstably. Only through Murong Yan's profound cultivation was he able to forcibly maintain the spell art. But the brilliant [Heavenly Radiance, Hidden Light] had already arrived right on cue!
Hiss...
Blinding golden radiance flashed forth as scorching light rushed toward him. The dazzling gold reflected within Murong Yan's pupils as his spiritual sense swept frantically through the air, only to discover that Li Zhouwei's hand had already reached the [Brilliant Yang King's Axe]!
Not good!
He reacted almost instantly. The purple-black radiance within his mouth immediately halted and withdrew as he attempted to retreat, yet what dimmed even faster was Li Zhouwei's [Heavenly Radiance, Hidden Light]!
Li Zhouwei merely brushed lightly across the Brilliant Yang King's Axe, showing no intention whatsoever of picking it up. Instead, he raised his boot, shifting from a stomp into a kick that smashed heavily into the weapon's shaft.
Bang!
Murong Yan had already withdrawn his spell, leaving Da Sheng in his grasp without restraint. That kick sent Da Sheng hurtling forward wrapped in intense Bright Yang radiance. The weapon finally tore free from his hands, severing several fingers in the process before slamming brutally through his heart and lungs.
Pfft!
Golden light from [Effect Attachment] appeared upon the halberd, yet unexpectedly flickered brightly before vanishing again. Li Zhouwei's eyes suddenly lit up as his hands met before his chest, barely trapping a pitch-black strand of Valley Water demonic light that wriggled like a fish!
Creak...
The demonic light slowly pushed forward between his palms, producing a grating sound that set one's teeth on edge. Thick demonic qi burst against his face while Murong Yan took the opportunity to cough up a mouthful of blood, disappointment instantly surfacing on his expression.
Once his spell had been seen through, he immediately changed tactics. He had deliberately pressed forward and seized the opponent's weapon precisely for this moment. Yet he had never expected the other party's relentless barrage to be so overwhelming that his spell art would be prematurely interrupted!
Boom!
Intense radiance exploded within Li Zhouwei's hands as streaks of demonic qi, sharp as blades, pierced through the white light and swept across the sky. Amid the brief collision, both figures vanished from their positions once more.
Pfft.
Murong Yan reappeared with golden light flickering within his chest and abdomen. The wound was deep enough to expose his organs. Both hands had lost all five fingers, leaving behind only bare palms and jagged white bone.
Not a trace of pain appeared on his face. With a casual flick of both hands, white bone regenerated as flesh rapidly crawled over it. In mere moments, his hands had completely recovered. The massive wound across his chest and abdomen also healed swiftly, temporarily concealing the golden radiance beneath it.
When it came to healing, as a Valley Water devil cultivator, only cultivators of [Horn Wood] in the entire world could rival him. Even then, [Horn Wood] specialized more in healing others, while [Valley Water] excelled in self-recovery. Between equal divine abilities, they still fell short of him by a margin!
Yet there was not the slightest pride within his eyes. Instead, a trace of uneasy hesitation flickered through them, He chose to wound my chest... rather than pierce my qihai...
As he hesitated, Li Zhouwei likewise flung away the demonic qi in his palm. Misty white qi gathered within his hand, slowly healing his injuries. [Da Sheng] hovered quietly beside him while four streams of white light circled around it.
In the instant the two faced each other in midair, it seemed both had sensed something wrong from the other's eyes. At that moment, streams of brilliant light descended from the heavens as a Maha with black serpents coiled around his body and a horse-like face appeared out of nowhere, with several golden bodies floating beside him.
Daisi had arrived!
Within the formation, Ning Wan silently maintained control while resisting Shilou Yingge together with Zhusheng. They were already struggling heavily under the opponent's True Fire, and now, as streak after streak of brilliant light tore through the snow, her expression changed immediately.
"Fellow Daoists, why have you all come north?!"
The Maha's booming laughter rang out across the sky once more, immediately drawing loud cheers from the cultivators below. Unfortunately, Mahas were generally detested figures to begin with, and Daisi was among the most hated of them all. Murong Yan visibly frowned, while Shilou Yingge, who had already been fighting easily, merely cast over a cold glance.
Yet the expressions of the southern cultivators had already shifted. Li Zhouwei weighed the situation inwardly and frowned slightly, This is a little too early...
Meanwhile, Daisi swept his gaze across the northern group and immediately began cursing inwardly, What kind of people are these?!
Daisi was a Maha of the Emptiness Dao. The Gao Family had always held a deep grudge against them. Though Shilou Yingge advocated restoring surnames, the hatred between their clans was absolutely real. How could he possibly expect their help?
The Murong Family, however, was the exact opposite. Strictly speaking, their own turbid void Maha Liangli and the foremost figure of the Emptiness Dao, Zhelu, had both been elevated with the Murong Family's support. They should have been extremely close allies... yet Daisi knew his own people best.
Zhelu would never willingly become a puppet who obeyed the Murong Family and the Great Desire Dao. In recent years, he had increasingly begun making his own arrangements... and for someone like Daisi, maintaining the right political stance mattered more than anything. He truly did not dare get too close!
Moreover, Daisi recognized that White Qilin clearly. Though greed burned fiercely within his heart, the thought of personally interfering still frightened him somewhat. The [Frosty Absolute Sword] was also far too formidable. After taking one glance around, he ultimately decided that this Mansion Water sword cultivator was the easiest target!
Thus, he burst into loud laughter and descended atop the clouds.
