Chapter 35:A Battlefield Deep in the Imperial Palace
The situation on the battlefield deep within the palace changed in the blink of an eye. Just as everyone thought victory was within their grasp, a piercing chill suddenly descended, instantly coating the ground in a thin layer of frost. A sinister-looking ice mage, clad in blue-white robes, appeared like a ghost on one side of the battlefield, an ice spike coalescing in his hand, aimed directly at the group.
A Three-Way Melee: The Clash of Ice, Fire, and Flesh
"Hmph, more accomplices!" A sharp glint flashed in Liu Jing's eyes as righteous aura surged around him. "Junior Brother Wen, this ice-wielder is mine! You deal with that half-human, half-ghost Qingwen!"
"Be careful, Senior Brother," Wen Buhuo replied tersely, his figure already shooting towards Qingwen like an arrow from a bow.
Meanwhile, Song Meng, his battle lust long held in check, could wait no longer. With a flick of his silver spear, a cascade of spear blossoms erupted as he charged with unstoppable momentum towards the mountain of flesh that was the Minotaur Demon: "Big lump, come and face your Grandpa Song for three hundred rounds!"
The battlefield was instantly cleaved into three zones:
-
Liu Jing vs. The Ice Mage: True to his status as an elite mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, Liu Jing attacked with a storm of thunder and fire. He summoned a crimson fire-command banner, transforming it into several fiery serpents that coiled and lashed out, forcing the ice mage into a step-by-step retreat. Liu Jing, relying solely on passive defense, completely dominated the fight.
-
Song Meng vs. The Minotaur: This side was a scene of sheer savagery. Song Meng's spear techniques were vast and sweeping, each strike aimed at the Minotaur's vitals. However, the Minotaur's hide was astonishingly thick and tough; the silver spear clanged against its body as if striking metal, leaving only shallow white marks. In contrast, every swing of the Minotaur's fist carried a howling gale force, compelling Song Meng to evade repeatedly. The fight was arduous for him.
A Bitter Struggle with Qingwen: The Vine Prison
Wen Buhuo's battle was the most deadlocked. After his demonic transformation, Qingwen had completely lost his human form, becoming a massive monstrosity of flesh and blood. Countless dark red tentacles and barbed demonic vines erupted from his body, turning a radius of several dozen zhang into a thorny death domain.
"Wen Buhuo! Today is your day to die! I will drain you dry!" Qingwen's distorted voice echoed among the vines.
Wen Buhuo's expression was grave. His Golden Fu Mother-Child Blades transformed into nine streaks of golden light swirling around him, severing the incoming vines one by one. Yet, these demonic vines seemed endless; for every one cut, two more instantly grew back. They were also exceptionally resilient, draining his spiritual power immensely.
"This won't do. Senior Brother Song over there can't hold on much longer, and the Minotaur's strength is still increasing. I must end this quickly!" Wen Buhuo thought anxiously, catching a glimpse of Song Meng's perilous situation from the corner of his eye.
He held back no longer. His hands flew through a series of hand seals like a turning wheel as he chanted a low incantation: "Mother-Child Chain, Strangle!"
The nine flying blades instantly merged, transforming into a golden disk of light about a zhang in diameter. With a piercing screech of cutting force, it smashed violently towards Qingwen's main body.
"Pathetic trick!" Qingwen roared furiously. Countless vines rapidly wove together before him into a heavy wooden shield. With a thunderous "Boom!" and a shower of wood splinters, the light disk embedded itself deep into the shield but was ultimately lodged fast.
Just as Qingwen felt a surge of triumph, a cold glint flashed in Wen Buhuo's eyes. This was precisely the moment he had been waiting for—when his opponent was fully committed to defense.
He slapped his storage pouch, and a talisman emanated an ancient aura, its surface densely inscribed with shimmering silver runes—the life-saving Talisman Treasure bestowed by his master!
"Go!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Wen Buhuo channeled a massive surge of spiritual power into the talisman. It instantly burned to ashes, transforming into a sky full of silver specks of light. In the next moment, these specks coalesced into thousands of silver light arrows, each about an inch long, densely packed, blotting out the night sky.
"Talisman Treasure — Myriad Arrows Pierce the Heart!"
"No!!!" Qingwen sensed the threat of death and let out a despairing shriek, frantically trying to mobilize more vines for defense.
But it was all too late. The silver arrow rain descended like the sickle of death, pouring down with an unstoppable, penetrating power. The resilient demonic vines were as fragile as thin paper before the might of the Talisman Treasure.
Thump-thump-thump-thump—
A dense series of sounds, flesh being pierced, rang out. The massive body of the demonized Qingwen was instantly riddled like a sieve. Dark red demon blood gushed forth as his twisted form rapidly disintegrated and dissolved within the silver light. Even his primordial spirit failed to escape, utterly annihilated into nothingness.
Desperate Straits and an Outburst: The Phoenix Incinerates the World
Almost at the same instant, a scream erupted from the other side. Liu Jing, seizing an opening, blasted the ice mage into a charred corpse with a Palm-Surfacing Thunder technique.
"Huff... huff..." Even Liu Jing's spiritual power was heavily depleted from the successive battles, his face pale.
Now, only the Minotaur Demon remained on the field. Seeing its two companions perish instantly and finding itself surrounded by three enemies, a flicker of cunning and resolve passed through the Minotaur's fiery yellow bovine eyes.
It threw its head back and roared at the sky, then hammered the ground with both fists, raising clouds of dust. Using the dust as cover, it plunged headfirst into the large pool of thick, congealing blood left behind after Qingwen's death.
Gurgle-gurgle—
The blood on the ground boiled as if alive, rapidly converging towards the Minotaur. In the blink of an eye, it formed a massive, continuously pulsating crimson cocoon. An evil aura, several times more terrifying than before, was gestating within it.
"Not good! It's undergoing a secondary demonic transformation!" Wen Buhuo's face changed dramatically. "Once it completes this, even the three of us combined might struggle to handle it!"
Song Meng, his palms sweaty as he gripped his spear, gritted his teeth. "This damned thing's hide is too thick. We can't even make a dent!"
At this moment, Liu Jing stepped forward. Gazing at the evil blood cocoon, an unprecedented blaze of furious fire burned in his eyes—a deep-seated, bone-chilling hatred for the demonic path.
"Such heaven-defying, utterly repulsive demonic arts must not be allowed to exist in this world!" Liu Jing's voice trembled with rage, his entire being radiating an almost fanatical righteousness.
"Junior Brother Wen, Junior Brother Song, stand back!"
Liu Jing shouted loudly, his expression resolute. He suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto a Talisman Treasure that was crimson like fire and radiated astonishing spiritual pressure.
Wen Buhuo's pupils constricted: "That's... a top-grade Talisman Treasure that requires expending essence blood to activate? Is Senior Brother Liu going all out?!"
As the essence blood merged, the talisman instantly transformed into a dazzling red light that shot into the sky. A clear, high-pitched phoenix cry, awe-inspiring and soul-shaking, echoed through the night.
The red light circled once in the air before morphing into a fiery phoenix, several zhang in wingspan, its entire body blazing with raging flames.
"Phoenix Talisman Treasure, cleanse this demonic filth! Be annihilated!"
Liu Jing's face instantly turned deathly pale, but the power of this wrath-fueled strike was earth-shattering.
The fiery phoenix, carrying the force to obliterate heaven and earth, wrapped in towering waves of heat, descended like a falling meteor, striking the blood cocoon on the ground with unerring accuracy.
There was no cataclysmic explosion, only a heart-stilling silence.
Where the fiery phoenix passed, everything was instantly vaporized. The pulsating blood cocoon, along with the Minotaur Demon inside, didn't even have time to scream before being utterly annihilated into a wisp of smoke under the absolute heat, leaving not even a trace of residue.
On the palace grounds, only a vast, charred crater several dozen zhang in diameter remained, still radiating scorching heat.
Wen Buhuo stared at the scene, deeply shaken, turbulent waves surging in his heart: "Such a powerful Talisman Treasure! That force probably approaches a strike from a Core Formation cultivator!"
He turned to look at Liu Jing. This usually steady senior brother was now extremely weak, but the fanaticism and indignation that had yet to fade from his eyes gave Wen Buhuo an inexplicable sense of unease.
"Senior Brother Liu's state of hating evil... isn't it somewhat too extreme? Acting so recklessly, damaging his own foundation to exterminate demons... I fear this might become a heart demon for him in the future." Wen Buhuo remained vigilant, burying this concern deep within his heart.
0 comments