NOVEL WEB Chapter 14 Shark
Before An Zhisu could react, Ling Yunpo had already charged forward, sword in control.
The Sword Light stopped right before the withered bamboo old man, and he looked coldly at the opponent, suddenly recalling that Wei Dongliu once mentioned this person after hearing from Wen Yang; it seemed he was an older elder among the Golden Core Realm true people of the Nether Ghost Path.
Oh, that's right, I remember now!
Indeed, Wen Yang had mentioned that this person had once been defeated by a Shushan true person, with his clavicle being pierced through by Sword Qi, nearly resulting in his death.
Afterward, by a stroke of luck, he survived, and his style of fighting changed drastically, becoming sly and unpredictable, only launching restraining maneuvers or lethal strikes; he even suggested to Jiang Liyan to adopt this manner of combat... only to be retorted by Jiang the Witch with "why don't you learn it" and shut him down.
Now that I think about this, since this man specifically wanted to battle me, doesn't that mean the one who nearly managed to kill him back then was the Peak Master of Shushan's Qingluo Peak, Su Jian?
Great, this cheap master has not brought me any advantages since I became his disciple; instead, he has caused me a lot of trouble! Am I acknowledging a master or raising a son?
Ling Yunpo was secretly furious and couldn't be bothered to talk further. The two of them began their magical competition.
The withered bamboo old man, with a sinister air, pointed his finger towards Ling Yunpo across the distance.
A white light emerged from his fingertip, shooting directly at Ling Yunpo's face—this method was deliberately used to obscure the opponent's vision, making it difficult to judge the distance of the spell.
How could Ling Yunpo be fooled by such a move? He didn't even bother to block with his Flying Sword; instead, he executed the Cloud-Parting Eight Trigrams Step at once and, with a blur of his body, he instantly advanced to the withered bamboo old man.
Just as the Green Duckweed Sword was about to thrust, a warning from the Kunlun Mirror was heard:
"Be careful, it's a fake!"
Ling Yunpo's gaze turned stern, and he immediately continued his previously halted steps, vanishing from the spot in an instant.
Almost at the same time he reestablished distance, the withered bamboo old man's body suddenly exploded, turning into a dense green cloud.
Despicable!
Having retreated nearly a hundred zhang away, Ling Yunpo looked at the cloud of smoke, cursing inwardly.
This must be some form of corpse-refining technique, using a body hidden with poison mist to impersonate oneself; by luring the enemy into an attack and then detonating it—though the opponent surely didn't anticipate me attacking at close range, the primary purpose of the toxin must be to contaminate the Flying Sword, rendering it ineffective.
Ling Yunpo, in a flash of lightning, thoroughly analyzed the situation and scanned the surroundings once more, finding no trace of the withered bamboo old man.
"Ah Jing, scan!" he immediately deployed his trump card.
"Over there," Kunlun Mirror quickly displayed a contour.
Ling Yunpo took a closer look and exclaimed, the true body actually used the Earth Escape Technique to hide underground, truly despicable.
He raised his sword finger with his right hand, holding it in front of his chest, and chanted coldly:
"All mountains recede, Chaotic Waterfall Pierces through the Clouds!" Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire
As the sword incantation was voiced, the fourth layer of Sword Dao Techniques on the Green Duckweed Sword, "Chaotic Waterfall Piercing Cloud Ravine," was activated. Immediately, a column of water plummeted down, piercing straight to the depths of the earth.
The withered bamboo old man seemed to have been prepared for quite a while; as the Water System Daoist Magic was smashing down, he swiftly moved away using the Earth Escape Technique, leaving his original position.
The next second, the Myriad Bamboos Sword transformed into countless strands of Sword Qi, densely inserting into the soil.
Ling Yunpo once again formed a Sword technique, activating the "Wood Charm Illusionary Root" Sword Dao technique on the Myriad Bamboos Sword. In an instant, countless Sword Qi transformed into root tendrils and began to drill furiously toward the depths of the earth.
Now, the withered bamboo elder could no longer hide; he was forced to break through the earth and emerge—more precisely, he was carried out on the back of a seven-foot-tall man.
The man had a blue face and fangs, with skin the color of dark iron, clearly a high-ranking Corpse Refining Groundwalking Rakshasa of the Nether Ghost Path, possessing the strength of the Nascent Soul Realm when fighting alone.
Ling Yunpo burst into laughter and thought to himself, using this Groundwalking Rakshasa as a means of transportation, what kind of novel strategy is this?
Oh, he's afraid of the rapid Sword Control speed of Shushan Sword Immortals, so he uses the Earth Escape Technique to secure an impregnable position, huh?
Wen Yang said this guy is an old sly fox, but it seems Su Jian had frightened him out of his wits, reserving an escape route before even starting the fight. How could such a cowardly insect possibly engage in a decent magical competition?
He simply went straight into Man-Sword Unity and slashed toward the withered bamboo elder who had just emerged.
The withered bamboo elder's expression remained unchanged as he took out two bronze cymbals from his sleeve and struck them hard with his hands.
The sound waves rippled out in all directions. Ling Yunpo only felt as if a demonic noise was drilling into his brain, like the infuriating Tightening Spell ringing in his head, knocking him directly out of the Man-Sword Unity state and into the ground, creating a huge crater.
The withered bamboo elder smiled at the sight and continued to forcefully strike the demonic cymbals again and again. With a slight turn of thought, he ordered the Groundwalking Rakshasa to kill Ling Yunpo who was lying on the ground, unable to get up.
This demonic sound was particularly piercing and sharp. It was like the sound of nails scraping a blackboard amplified ten thousand times, disturbing the heartstrings and stirring up the Sea of Consciousness, forcing to retreat the cultivators from both the Demon Cult and Shushan simultaneously as they concentrated their wills to guard their minds.
Only An Zhisu looked on in shock and horror, ready to rush out with her Flying Smoke Sword at hand, when she suddenly saw Ling Yunpo staggering to his feet.
Given the potency of the demonic sound even at this distance, one can only imagine the torment Ling Yunpo was enduring at a closer range... And yet he was able to stand up against it. What formidable willpower must this be?
Ling Yunpo leaned on the Green Duckweed Sword, struggling to stand up straight, as he stared at the withered bamboo elder above, still masterfully manipulating the magical treasure. He revealed a resolute and unyielding persona and asked Ah Jing in his mind,
"How's my unyielding persona acting? Judging by the growth of the Synchronization Value, it should be decent, right?"
"It's pretty good," responded the Kunlun Mirror half-heartedly. "It would be even better if you didn't make me help block out this sound illusion technique."
"What a joke," Ling Yunpo scoffed. "To endure the illusion when I have the means to block it? I'm not a masochist..."
He quickly put on an expression that said, "Despite the torment," "Still relying on staunch willpower," "Struggling to maintain mental clarity," and in fierce determination, merged with the sword again. Roaring with fury, he launched a fierce attack on the true body of the withered bamboo elder!
The true bamboo elder finally panicked. After acquiring these demonic cymbals, he had tested them several times. No Golden Core Realm cultivator had withstood their power, as the demonic sound penetrated their brains and left them at his mercy. Yet, how was it that Su Jian's disciple was still able to move?
It was already too late for him to flee; he could only stand his ground and pour his True Yuan into amplifying the output of the demonic sound.
Ling Yunpo feigned a splitting headache while steadfastly locking onto his opponent's figure, suddenly hearing the Kunlun Mirror say,
"Be alert! His True Body is starting to move!"
Ling Yunpo looked closely and realized the withered bamboo elder pretended to make a last stand, but in truth was replicating his previous trick. He left a corpse as a false body in place to continue drawing attention, while his True Body rapidly escaped toward the Demon Cult's main formation.
What a sly old fox! Ling Yunpo was filled with rage and slightly tilted his Man-Sword Unity form, rushing past the false body below, and heading straight for the true body of the withered bamboo elder!
A cry of alarm came from the Shushan main formation. In the eyes of the Sword Immortals, Po Yun Sword Immortal appeared to be so disturbed by the demonic sound that he even lost his lock on the target with the Immortal Sword, accidentally striking at nothing.
The next second, a large mass of flesh and blood burst open in the air, blooming like fireworks.