Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Duel in the Blessed Land Fragment
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Inside the blessed land fragment.
Ye Guyue's beautiful eyes gleamed with icy resolve as she appraised the blood sea churning over Black Mountain straight ahead. At last, she made up her mind.
"Zhiqiu, come with me to break the array."
Though Many Treasures Child had surrendered without yielding much intel, Lu Yang had at least revealed several shifts in the array's patterns. Ye Guyue had committed them all to memory. Confident she had the means to crack it, her face swiftly regained its composure. She summoned an escaping light and plunged straight into the array!
"Well played!"
Lu Yang grinned at the sight. He shook his banner flag, summoning the blood sea to crash down in suppression.
But Ye Guyue simply plucked a treasure pearl from her robe.
"Go!"
She tossed it casually. The pearl dropped into the blood sea and erupted in brilliant radiance. Like a whale gulping the ocean, it devoured every last blood wave!
As the blood sea poured in, the pearl—once clear and pristine—gradually flushed crimson. Its aura grew increasingly savage.
Lu Yang's brows shot up. He halted the blood sea's descent on the spot, grasping her ploy at once. The pearl absorbed ambient qi. She was biding her time, letting it guzzle enough blood sea before detonating it with a spell—turning his own weapon against him to shatter the array in one stroke!
The [God-Seizing Smoke] lurking in the blood sea was even less of a threat.
Ye Guyue needed only to anchor her sword heart. No matter what soul-rattling trick he pulled, her sword intent would slice right through. Nothing could touch her.
"Nice move."
Lu Yang remained unruffled. He unslung the centipede-bee pouch from his waist next, unleashing over a billion qi-devouring insects. They merged into the blood sea and surged toward Ye Guyue.
She met them with the pearl once more.
This time, however, fissures spiderwebbed across the pearl's surface after it absorbed the blood sea. A closer look revealed countless insects swarming within!
"Qi-Devouring Insects!"
Ye Guyue's fine brows knit. She'd deduced their origin. By lacing the blood sea with these demonic bugs, Lu Yang had slashed the pearl's capacity to the bone.
Every blood wave it slurped meant more ravenous bites from the insects. The pearl couldn't build to critical mass before the bugs wrecked it. Detonate too soon, and the blast lacked the punch to rupture the array—a futile drop in the bucket.
Worse still...
Swish—!
The next instant, a sword beam—silent, colorless, formless, and traceless—slipped onto Ye Guyue's back. The unstoppable edge was poised to claim her life!
[Formless Sword]!
Lu Yang wielded this assassination specialist with effortless flair. No reason to hold back now. It had lain in wait amid the blood sea!
In a flash, a clash of metal rang out. Divine lights bloomed as a law sword intercepted at the last possible second.
Lu Yang peered over. The blocking sword's gleam was profoundly eerie—no hint of righteousness. Instead, it mirrored a voluptuous nude beauty, her tinkling laughter like silver bells. The sound alone made even Lu Yang's divine sense quiver faintly.
"This thing... a demonic corpse? Banner spirit?"
Lu Yang's look turned peculiar. He recalled the [Formless Sword], then chuckled.
"Who'd have thought the mighty Sword Pavilion—righteous path's vanguard—would stoop to our Holy Sect's tricks?"
"Jiangbei fiend, how do you know our Sword Pavilion's arts?"
Ye Guyue's tone was glacial.
"My sword formula draws on [Divine Weapon Realm] qi. It's second-grade caliber. Demonic though the qi may be, it's the righteous path of demon mastery!"
At that exact moment, alarm bells screamed in Lu Yang's mind.
The [Hundred Evils Repelling Danger-Averting Mysterious Cloak] flared to life. From the void, seven sword tips stabbed out at once, zeroing in on his vitals!
Crack!
The cloak's glow shattered in short order.
But Lu Yang was already gone, reappearing at a distance to eye the scene with keen interest.
The seven blades that struck at him each trailed a nude beauty, smiles playing on their lips. Their forms were phantasmic and elusive—a blink, and they vanished. Lu Yang's array meant nothing to them. They glided and pierced at will!
"[Nine Sons Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal-Slaying Sword Art]!"
Ye Guyue formed her sword sign. Eight law swords materialized around her. In an instant, they streaked toward Lu Yang for the kill.
"Fine swordplay. Shame... it's incomplete."
Lu Yang boomed with laughter. The Heaven-Scrutinizing Instrument whirred in his brow. His law eyes pierced the veil, laying the swords bare: eight demon blades, all child offshoots.
A faint flaw in their shifts.
"Nine's the limit. You need nine swords total. Fuse the nine children into the mother blade—that's when it gets dangerous."
"Why not finished? Ah. I wrecked one before."
Lu Yang recalled Ye Guyue's uncanny dodge against him and Sui Ying's combo strike. Realization dawned.
Meanwhile, Ye Guyue's face grew taut. She'd veiled her karma completely to thwart any divination. Yet Lu Yang had sniffed out the [Nine Sons Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal-Slaying Sword]'s roots. That freakish prophetic power defied reason. A heavenly secret treasure?
'The tide's turning against me.'
Gloom shadowed her heart. Just as Lu Yang said, one sword-wielding heavenly demon short.
No array without the full set.
If this dragged on...
'...I'll lose?'
The notion tightened her lips. She refused to accept it. Yet Lu Yang's prowess had surpassed all forecasts.
'Unless I replace that last demon.'
Her gaze flicked to Many Treasures Child. Her plan had been to forge it with him, patching the sword art's gap.
Hence her earlier push for him to charge. But he'd flipped too quick, robbing her chance. Now locked in duel with Lu Yang, she had no bandwidth to off Many Treasures Child either. Which left just one play...
Ye Guyue's eyes shifted to Yun Zhiqiu at her side.
The chill in her gaze sent a shudder through him.
"...Senior Uncle?"
"Zhiqiu, this is your karmic boon."
"Eh?"
Before Yun Zhiqiu could process, a sword beam impaled him. Off with his head. Flesh, blood, and magic power—all devoured clean.
A dazed soul popped up in his place.
"You've earned great merit this time, Zhiqiu. Seek me after rebirth. I'll grant you fortune."
Ye Guyue spoke evenly, utterly serene.
Death was no finale in Sword Pavilion.
Rebirth was par for the course.
But terror seized Yun Zhiqiu's face the next beat. Normal rebirth? Sure. But his qi and merit were both tapped out!
That meant three to five lifetimes as beasts at best before human again. Foundation Establishment's five centuries? Long expired. Early stage to boot—even surviving wouldn't break the womb lock. Cultivation might as well be scrap.
No words would come.
A blink later, Yun Zhiqiu's soul plunged into the wheel, seething with regret. Straightaway, Ye Guyue forged the ninth heavenly demon.
"Fiend! You took my junior brother's life. Today, you pay!"
Her eyes blazed. The nine demons gripped blades apiece, merging in a heartbeat. Two innate divine powers layered atop, amping the might.
[Soldier Armor Lord]!
[Aid Gold Radiance]!
"Sharp blade indeed."
Lu Yang's face lit with awe.
Instantly, sword light flared like conflagration. Blood sea boiled away in its wake. The edge's intent stabbed Lu Yang's brow like needles.
The next instant, though, he grinned.
"But mine's no dullard!"
With that, he loosed the Avici Sword from his sleeve—blood aura at peak charge. Sword keen howled forth!
A crimson rainbow lanced skyward in the blessed land fragment.
The [Nine Sons Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal-Slaying Sword] gave chase, blades hammering in sequence!
Explosions ripped the vault in staccato fury. Titanic mushroom clouds laced with firebolts and lightning threatened to rend the fragment asunder!
Boom!
The clash pulverized the [Blood Sea Covering Heavens Grand Array]. Stunned, Ye Guyue watched her [Nine Sons Mother Heavenly Demon Immortal-Slaying Sword] wail in defeat. Defying her will, it flashed back into her sleeve—spent beyond recall!