Chapter 73: Sinking Silver Thunder Evil
Chapter 73: Sinking Silver Thunder Evil
For demonic spirits cultivating the Path, those with naturally formidable talents followed the undying Divine Demon Body pathway, like the dragons and phoenixes. Many whose inherent species weren’t exceptional instead strove to cultivate their Primordial Spirits. However, the Great Sage among the demonkind who created the Brilliant Salvation Curse’s mantra was born from the essence of the sun. His natural gifts were unbelievably powerful, in no way inferior to divine beasts like dragons, phoenixes, or qilins, and his physical body was incredibly strong. Yet, sensing that the sheer variety within the demon race made the existing paths unsuitable, he created these six-word mantra verses of salvation!
The original intent behind these six incantations was to practice creating an external Transformation Body, forging a powerful physical vessel to house the Primordial Spirit cultivating the undying Divine Demon Body. As long as the cultivator chanting these mantras reached the stage of Condensing Fiend and Refining Yang, they could perform Soul Seizure and be reborn. Cultivating afterward would be much simpler!
Naturally, Mu Yuan didn’t know these intricacies. Seeing the spell formation change, he was merely extremely delighted. Though the other five symbols hadn’t developed transformations yet, he thought it was only a matter of time, so he wasn’t worried.
Below, Ao Cheng watched his aquatic soldiers suffer heavy losses and grew frantic. A slight opening appeared in his guard, which Ao Lie seized instantly. A barrage of thunder pellets exploded near Ao Cheng, followed by a radiant golden chain tightly binding him. Golden light detonated along the chain as countless barbs emerged, piercing directly through Ao Cheng’s formidable dragon body, sinking deep. Pain made him roar, unleashing dragon might!
The mournful dragon cry echoed incessantly. Hearing that pained shriek, Ao Cheng’s troops were terrified. Their morale plummeted, and their already precarious position immediately collapsed. Mu Yuan seized the opportunity, snatching another large batch into his Black Water Gourd!
Ao Lie was naturally triumphant. Suppressed for so long by Ao Cheng and his brother, the tables had turned, and he relished seeing Ao Cheng beaten so brutally. Years of resentment found release, filling him with immense satisfaction. Yet, Ao Lie ultimately couldn’t bring himself to deliver a killing blow. He only bound Ao Cheng with the Golden Rainbow Chain, inflicting no further harm.
The Golden Rainbow Chain was forged from the sinews and hide of an ancient divine dragon after its nirvana, modeled after the legendary treasure, the Binding Immortal Rope. It also incorporated many secret Dragon Clan arts. Ao Lie’s own Magical Power surpassed Ao Cheng’s. Once ensnared, Ao Cheng naturally couldn’t break free. Fortunately, the Dragon Clan’s physical resilience was legendary. Though the barbs penetrated deeply, it only caused pain, no serious injury.
Ao Cheng’s pained roar shook the surroundings. Mu Yuan, immersed in controlling the Brilliant Salvation Curse, suddenly felt a towering wave of furious energy erupt from the Lingyuan Reef. Shocked, he abandoned his spell and hurled the dozen Flying Swords hovering around him backward as a defensive shield!
That vast aura emerged from the abyss in an instant, reaching Mu Yuan’s rear. Mu Yuan heard a cacophony of sharp cracks and clangs as his Flying Swords snapped entirely, shattered into pieces. Yet, the sacrifice stalled the attacker momentarily. That tiny pause gave Mu Yuan time to react. He regulated his Zhenqi, focused his spirit, and prepared to counter. The opponent possessed extremely high Magical Power, so Mu Yuan dared not be careless upon sensing it!
Glancing up, he saw the man clearly: straight nose, broad forehead, thick eyebrows, pale skin, a neat mustache above his lips, a handsome appearance, and tall stature that exuded magnificence.
His first strike failing, the man withdrew his energy and immediately turned towards Ao Cheng above. With a sharp scissoring motion of his hands, he unleashed a dense golden light. The light coalesced into solid, sword-like projections that instantly slammed against the chain binding Ao Cheng! The Golden Rainbow Chain emitted a sound like a mournful wail. Ao Lie’s face paled dramatically. He swiftly formed hand seals, recalling the chain as it transformed back into a streak of rainbow light. With a low growl, Ao Cheng shifted back to human form, though his clothes were tattered in multiple places, stained with smears of blood. He looked at his rescuer and gasped weakly, “Brother!”
The newcomer was Ao Jing!
Ao Jing gave a curt nod, then turned to Ao Lie, chuckling softly, “You little bastard! How dare you invade my territory today? I will give you a painful lesson you’ll never forget! From now on, see my brother and me? Crawl away!”
The term “little bastard” instantly enraged Ao Lie. Veins bulged on his face, and his robes whipped violently as if ready to tear, swelling with pent-up energy. Before he could unleash his attack, Ao Jing had already charged! His voice boomed like thunder: “Taste my newly mastered Sinking Silver Thunder Evil!”
Though Ao Lie didn’t react immediately, Mu Yuan was already prepared. He recognized instantly that this Ao Jing was far superior to Ao Lie; Ao Lie simply wasn’t his match. If Ao Jing managed to subdue Ao Lie first, Mu Yuan knew his own prospects would be grim.
Ao Lie, while not the purest bloodline, was after all a son of the East Sea Dragon King. Even though Ao Jing was arrogant and disliked him, Ao Jing wouldn’t resort to actually killing another Dragon Clan prince. Mu Yuan, however, was different. He wasn’t of the Dragon Clan, and he was aiding Ao Lie. Ao Jing would show him no mercy!
Honestly, while Ao Lie’s cultivation stage was the Elixir Formation, his grade wasn’t particularly high. He might not even be a match for Mu Yuan’s own Condensing Evil Energy stage. In the early stages of cultivation, the difference in stage power wasn’t always decisive. With high-grade magical treasures, the tide could often turn. But after reaching Elixir Formation and overcoming the tribulations of thunder, fire, and wind, the gap in cultivation level became immensely more significant. Treasure alone couldn’t easily bridge it now!
Ao Jing’s entire body became shrouded in thick, silvery-white fiendish energy. This Sinking Silver Thunder Evil violently churned and condensed, instantly forming into dense clusters of glowing silver pellets. They swarmed forward explosively! Fiendish energies billowed out, icy winds surged, thunder arcs flashed within, all converging viciously towards Ao Lie!
Mu Yuan flashed instantly to Ao Lie’s side, not daring to be the slightest bit complacent. Dealing with Ao Jing was nothing like before. With a sharp fling of his hands, Six Sword Pills shot out! They rapidly swelled amid the turbulent air, transforming into six distinct streaks of azure light – long rainbows that interwove and fused into a shimmering azure canopy. Within this luminous curtain, phantom images of coiling branches and vines appeared, entangling densely as they surged forward to meet the raging tide of Sinking Silver Thunder Evil Ao Jing hurled at them!
An apocalyptic BOOM erupted, deafeningly loud! Mu Yuan staggered violently as the shockwave pounded him, his Zhenqi roiling wildly in his meridians, his very spirit rocked alarmingly. The Sword Pills nearly flew from his grasp! He frantically clenched his will, pouring out his Zhenqi in a wave to forcibly stabilize them!
That momentary collision, however, gave Ao Lie just enough time to react. He released his Ice Fiend Unity Yin Thunder Net! Two distinct types of thunder pellets – fiery silver from Ao Jing, chill-dark from Ao Lie – collided in a chaotic, sparking mass! Mu Yuan saw the nets of thunderballs tearing into each other violently, lightning flashing and deafening thunderclaps tearing the air apart! He knew his ordinary spells would be useless here. Focusing his entire will into the Sword Pills, they flashed and hummed intensely, each instantly shooting forth a single thread of razor-sharp Sword Qi!
A powerful thunderstorm like this would scatter his Sword Qi instantly if it plunged in directly. Only after Condensing Qi into Threads could it survive; the concentrated, solid nature of these threads made them vastly more resilient than dispersed Sword Qi!
The Sword Qi threads, like six faintly shimmering silver wires, streaked with blinding speed, weaving through the cascades of thunder and fire! With a series of sharp shuuush-shuuush-shuuush sounds, they pierced past Ao Jing’s protective Zhenqi barrier! The Zhenqi reacted like ocean waves encountering an intrusion, rolling and surging in furious layers! The invasive threads were like sparks dropped into oil, triggering explosive surges!
Seeing Mu Yuan join forces with Ao Lie to attack his elder brother, Ao Cheng roared furiously! He raised his hand and summoned the Heavenly Dragon Seal again, aiming its crushing pressure squarely at Mu Yuan! Mu Yuan hastily activated his six Brilliant Salvation Curse Talismanic Seals. Solid power flowed from them, forming a barrier against the descending Seal. Still, a heavy force slammed down on Mu Yuan! He grimaced internally: Powerful!
The Heavenly Dragon Seal rolled atop the brilliant glow radiating from the protective seals. Its immense power surged and smashed down like violent waves, wreathed in coiling dragon spirits and violet arcs of lightning. Strangely, Mu Yuan’s curse energy was utterly unable to penetrate its defenses – something he had never encountered before! It felt deeply unsettling.
The Heavenly Dragon Seal inherently relied on overwhelming force to dominate. Mu Yuan, however, was not practiced in such brutally direct Divine Abilities; overly intense, rigid techniques were alien to him. He couldn’t help but recall the numerous Divine Abilities he’d encountered. When it came to sheer, unrelenting force, Monk Yuan Neng’s Infinite Void Great Hand Seal was terrifying. If I knew that, a single great hand print would solve this problem immediately! Chu Yunfei’s Profound Yin Black Fiend Great Capture would also be perfectly appropriate now. Yet his Brilliant Salvation Curse was ill-suited for this kind of direct confrontation!
Earlier, Ao Lie had broken through with his Ice Fiend Unity Yin Thunder Net solely because that treasure itself embodied overpowering force – ruthless and direct by nature. The rule was always: overwhelming power shatters subtlety, and subtle deflections redirect force. Mu Yuan belonged to the latter camp. While he could parry and deflect attacks, destroying them outright was difficult! Defending was manageable, but overcoming them… that was hard!
Ao Cheng, still operating the Seal, was only focused on pressing it down. Previously bound by the Golden Rainbow Chain, he’d suffered some injuries. Now, controlling this single powerful treasure was already taxing enough, though concentrating only on it was an advantage. Moreover, he had already Refined Yang Qi, a whole stage above Mu Yuan! Adding to his burden, Mu Yuan was managing two fronts: holding up the Seal with the spell while also controlling the Sword Pills assaulting Ao Jing! Fighting on two fronts inevitably weakened his focus. Though the Heavenly Dragon Seal was temporarily blocked, its pressure steadily increased. The glow of the six Talismanic Seals wavered, visibly struggling to hold it aloft!
I need to learn some powerful Divine Abilities later. Being at such a disadvantage against these formidable treasures is just intolerable! Mu Yuan thought swiftly. With a flick of his hand, the Green Wood Thunderblade materialized! It transformed into a sinuous serpentine dragon shape, curving and dragging through the air as it sliced towards Ao Cheng – a classic maneuver: Attack Wei to rescue Zhao! He aimed to relieve the pressure by forcing Ao Cheng to defend himself.
As the threads of Sword Qi from the Sword Pills weaved into the storm of thunder and fire, they streaked like six silver lines. Faintly shimmering and lightning-fast, they flickered right to Ao Jing’s torso! Sharp sshhhiing sounds split the air as they pierced Ao Jing’s protective Zhenqi field! The Zhenqi rippled violently like agitated sea waves, layers churning defensively. The probing Sword Qi threads, however, struck like sparks plunging into boiling oil – they unleashed shockwaves of energy!
The mind technique Ao Jing cultivated was the Dragon Clan’s divine art, “Dragon Returns to the Source Sea”. It belonged to the Water Element’s flow pathways, somewhat similar to Mu Yuan’s own Tidal Flow. Yet their underlying principles differed vastly!
The Five Elements Path’s distinct arts captured the unique characteristics of each element but couldn’t encompass their totality. Like Tidal Flow, it emphasized fluidity, transformation, and adaptability. But the path of Water wasn’t solely defined by this nature. Any single Divine Ability possessed both strengths and limitations. “Dragon Returns to the Source Sea” embodied the vastness, the boundless, rolling waves of an ocean, the immense power beneath the surface!
Triggered now by Mu Yuan’s probing attacks, the true might of this divine art manifested instantly. Mu Yuan immediately sensed the Sword Qi threads he controlled plunging into an endless expanse of viscous water! Countless powerful undercurrents in the surrounding Zhenqi crashed and ground together against them, threatening to twist and dissolve the concentrated threads entirely! He concentrated fiercely. The threads erupted with dazzling light! Instantly, their momentum surged like cleaving bamboo! They pierced deeper, forcing their way through this resisting ocean!
Pouring his focus into the Sword Qi threads inevitably meant the Talismanic Seals defending against the Heavenly Dragon Seal faltered slightly. The Seal erupted with renewed radiance! A resonant dragon cry shook the heavens and earth! It descended with amplified force, like a small mountain crushing down! Mu Yuan, previously standing lightly atop the sea floor silt, now instantly sank downwards! Both feet plunged deep into the mud! Vortexes swirled violently around him, churning mud and sand, clouding the once-clear water into murky chaos!
Ao Jing, realizing Mu Yuan’s Sword Qi threads had successfully pierced past his defenses, also changed expression within the water. His Zhenqi surged violently, dark fiendish energy boiling within it! Instantly, a massive silver spear manifested out of thin air! Ding! Ding! Ding-Dang! It danced wildly, engaging Mu Yuan’s Sword Qi threads in a fierce blur! Glows flashed along the silver spear’s shaft as its qi aura pulsed and stretched, parrying the flickering threads in a furious, back-and-forth clash!