AGM 297 - Miserable Battle
Currently, the two Yuanfu cultivators of Heaven’s Destruction had already surrounded Qin Wentian.
“Fourth-ranked Divine Weapon.” The eighth-level Yuanfu cultivator stared at the lance in Qin Wentian’s hands—this fellow was too much of a gold mine. Their team had been in the killing business for many years and the majority of their wealth was obtained from their targets. To them, a fourth-ranked Divine Weapon was an extremely extravagant item, and as for fourth-ranked Puppets? There was no need to even talk about it.
If they could accomplish this mission, all these priceless treasures would belong to them.“Gravity.” The eighth-level Yuanfu cultivator unleashed the will of his Mandate. The Mandate he had comprehended was the first level of the Mandate of Great Earth, Gravity. At the Transformation Boundary, the force of gravity was strengthened by a factor of eight within a particular area.
In an instant, Qin Wentian felt his steps sinking into the ground, his body felt heavier, resulting in his movements becoming awkward.
A terrifying demonic qi surged, as the power in his bloodline howled. He wanted to use his tyrannical physique to make up for the loss of his movement’s speed.
“Boom!” The cultivator at the eighth-level of Yuanfu made his move. A long spear appeared in his hands and unleashed a torrent of stabs so quick that they seemed like a volley of explosive arrows being fired. Using his Mandate of Gravity, he then coated his attacks, giving his spear stabs additional force. If this attack were to land on an opponent, there were only two results possible—either being grievously injured, or death.
The long lance in Qin Wentian’s hands also exploded forwards. Although he wasn’t used to the force of gravity restraining his movements, his arms were still steady. As a radiant black-colored light erupted, the manifestation of a black dragon lunged out, directly clashing against the torrents of stabs unleashed by the spear. BOOOM! A deafening sound thundered, Qin Wentian felt his internal organs vibrating violently from the impact. The will of the Mandate of Gravity travelled through from the vibrations and directly attacked his internal organs, the pain causing him to groan involuntarily.
This guy’s power wasn’t restricted to the combat prowess of what an ordinary cultivator at the eighth-level of Yuanfu would possess. If it weren’t for his tyrannical physique, he would have definitely been seriously injured by his opponent’s strike.
“The fourth-rank Inscription embedded inside this lance is truly troublesome,” Qin Wentian cursed silently, his Astral Energy frenziedly surging into the long lance, forming a connection with the Inscription within. He hadn’t created the fourth-ranked Inscription in this weapon, hence he needed a tremendous amount of Astral Energy before he could even activate a portion of it.
But during actual combat, how could his opponent give him time? Right after his first blow, that eighth-level Yuanfu cultivator immediately followed up with a second spear attack, even more ferocious than the one before.
“Great Earth Tremor.” The spear danced about like a dragon, weaving in spirals as it slammed into the ground. The whole earth trembled in response, as the momentum of the attack caused quakes to rock the entire ground. The eighth-level cultivator had already unleashed his earth-type Astral Soul, imbuing himself with ‘heaviness’ and further augmenting the power of his strikes.
Qin Wentian sliced the skin on his finger, channelling his blood into the Yellow Springs Monument as the monument blasted towards his opponent, interrupting the earth-type innate technique. The sixth-level Yuanfu cultivator didn’t hesitate, instantly sending out his palm and manifesting a ghostly-shadow claw resembling that of an apparition. It flew towards Qin Wentian, intending to lock its fingers onto his throat.
The Great Earth Tremor collided with the stone monument, Qin Wentian shifted his gaze towards his other opponent as their eyes locked for an instant. BOOOOM! In the next instant, the power of their wills collided in the air. Qin Wentian’s heart involuntarily pounded—this guy was capable of unleashing his Mandate’s will through his eyes as well.
The ghostly claw neared, black light shining from all five fingers as it targeted Qin Wentian’s throat.
But in the next moment, an extremely demonic aura gushed forth from Qin Wentian as his primordial bloodline sang in his veins. The quantity of demonic qi released was so colossal that it covered the entire space.
“Sleep-Immersion.” Qin Wentian unleashed the will of his Mandate, causing a heavy bout of drowsiness to instantly assail his opponent.
That ghostly claw missed his throat, and ended up clutching onto his arm instead. Yet, the sixth-level Yuanfu cultivator discovered to his dismay that Qin Wentian’s arm was actually protected by a layer of scaly armor. The armor seemed to be created from demonic qi, and looked especially sturdy.
“Swoosh.” The ghostly claw slashed down and the might it contained actually cracked the demonic armor, causing fresh blood to leak out. Instantly, Qin Wentian countered with his shadow lance, directly stabbing forward at his opponent. The cultivator paled at the sudden attack, and hastily retreated. In the blink of an eye, Qin Wentian executed his Garuda Movement Technique to its utmost limits, as two large Garuda wings took form on his back. His body then shot straight forwards like a fired arrow.
“Puchi.” As the sounds of something being pierced rang out, the shadow lance had already penetrated through the throat of Qin Wentian’s opponent and then withdrawn.
“That level of defence…” Shu Ruanyu who watched from afar, was stunned. Qin Wentian’s entire arm had the complete characteristics of a true demon, its defence was almost beyond belief. And because his stone monument seemed to have a will of its own, blocking the path of the eighth-level Yuanfu Cultivator, it gave Qin Wentian enough time, as well as the opportunity, to finish off this sixth-level Yuanfu opponent.
“JUNIOR BROTHER!” An echo of endless rage reverberated through the air. Abruptly, Qin Wentian felt so much pressure, it was as though his internal organs were caving in. His countenance turned white as he spat out a mouthful of blood, which he hurriedly channelled into the stone monument. Instantly, its crimson glow emanated with more intensity, as it vibrated at an increasing rate, creating several mini-explosions to rock the air. His opponent began to feel pain on an unbearable level.
He was constricted by gravity, while the frenzied blood circulation of his opponent caused his heart to pound madly.
The aura emitted by his shadow lance grew increasingly fearsome. Earlier, when he had stabbed the lance through the throat of the sixth-level Yuanfu opponent, he hadn’t activated the Inscription embedded within it. Only a tremendous amount of Astral Energy being channelled into the fourth-ranked weapon would allow one to unleash its full power. To a Heavenly Dipper Sovereign, they could infuse the weapon with the required energy in the blink of an eye, but Qin Wentian’s cultivation base was still too low, he could only try channelling his energy into that weapon as quickly as possible.
“You are going to die.” His opponent’s earth-type Astral Soul shone brighter and brighter as an Earthen Armor began forming around his body. The eyes of this eighth-level Yuanfu cultivator flared with unspoken hatred as he dashed forwards. Qin Wentian pierced forth with his finger, commanding the stone monument to fly forward while retreating rapidly.
At present, his opponent couldn’t care less. He allowed the vibrating shockwaves caused by the Yellow Stone Monument to freely blast his body. That Earthen Armor effortlessly blunted the majority of the vibrational impact, to the point where there was almost no effect.
“Puchi!” The long spear moved with the speed of lightning, stabbing forth while imbued with the power of gravity. Qin Wentian’s speed was greatly reduced under the effect of gravity increasing by a factor of 8, it was impossible for him to escape.
A terrifying cold light gushed out from his eyes as his Garuda Wings enfolded him. The amount of demonic qi emanating from him at this moment, was so towering that it even reached the skies.
RUMBLE…
Terrifying shockwaves blasted through the haze of demonic qi, that long spear directly penetrating the Garuda Wings. An extremely wretched appearance could be seen on the cultivator’s face as he pushed the spear forward with all his strength. Qin Wentian must die.
“BREAK FOR ME!” the cultivator yelled. The demonic qi dissipated—the Garuda wings were broken apart. When Qin Wentian’s silhouette appeared once again, the long spear had already slammed right into the left side of his chest, just a short distance away from rupturing his heart. However, in that exact same moment when the Garuda Wings broke apart, the shadow lance was already flung out of Qin Wentian’s hands. Its terrifying black light devoured the skies and earth, as the lance’s Inscription activated its tyrannical power.
The hatred etched on the opponent’s face was replaced by untold shock. He instantly reacted by flying backwards, only to feel an explosion down his spine as his vertebrae came close to shattering. The Yellow Spring Monuments slammed into his back with explosive speed, forcing him directly onto the path of the shadow lance’s attack. A sharp, crisp piercing sound resounded—the shadow lance had pierced directly between the brows of the eighth-level Yuanfu cultivator. The ominous energy emitted by the shadow lance rumbled inside the cultivator’s head and an instant later, he exploded into countless fragments.
Qin Wentian wrenched out the long spear embedded in his chest, the fresh blood leaking from his wound stained his robes red. His body trembled slightly, but the light in his eyes remained as cold as ever.
“Has he gone mad?” Shu Ruanyu couldn’t help but feel a chill in her heart when she saw how Qin Wentian fought his battles. A fourth-level Yuanfu Cultivator had actually succeeded in killing two cultivators at the sixth and eighth-level? Although he accomplished that with the aid of his fourth-ranked Divine Weapon and that mysterious stone monument, it was sufficient to show how ruthless Qin Wentian could be, gambling everything for a moment’s advantage. Qin Wentian was extremely terrifying! If that spear had pierced him just a few inches more to the centre, he would already be dead by now.
Of course, her judgement could also tell that even without the fourth-ranked lance and that stone monument, Qin Wentian’s combat prowess was fearsome in its own right, far exceeding the level of his cultivation base. She even speculated on whether he could kill opponents at the sixth-level of Yuanfu without depending on the aid from his two earlier weapons. In any case, Qin Wentian should have exhausted all the Astral Energy in his body, leaving him incapable of activating the fourth-ranked Divine Weapon. It was only to be expected, since after all, he was still only at the fourth-level of Yuanfu.
“Go kill him for me.” Over at a distance, Hua Xiaoyun commanded his protector. His protector was standing in front of him, while a group of Puppets surrounded them, albeit at a distance away. One Puppet was fourth-ranked, while the others were third-ranked.
“Young Master, your safety is more important.” The protector tried to dissuade him.
“You useless shit, what do I need you around for then? You can’t even finish off these Puppets?” Hua Xiaoyun unhappily exclaimed.
“Young Master, I can easily deal with the third-ranked Puppets, but they’re only watching you from far away. As for that fourth-ranked Puppet, it’s tremendously difficult to forge and hence its value is several times higher compared to fourth-ranked Divine Weapons. The attacking-type Divine Inscription embedded in it has power equivalent to that of a Heavenly Sovereign’s innate technique. Its only weakness is that it’s not as nimble as humans. If I didn’t have to protect young master, I naturally could defe…”
The protector didn’t continue his sentence, yet Hua Xiaoyun’s expression darkened considerably. Was his protector trying to say that he was useless?
“No worries, let me settle the third-ranked Puppets for you.” A voice drifted over, and they turned to see a person, whose features were cloaked in a silver-mask, dashing towards the third-ranked Puppets. As his sword left his scabbard, a cold light flashed. A Puppet raised its arms in defence but all was useless before the sharpness of his attacks.
Swift, extremely swift. His sword sliced through their metal bodies as easily as if they were made of paper. The third-ranked Puppet was instantly split apart into two.
“What a terrifying sword.” The protector of Hua Xiaoyun marvelled, he wondered where had this peak-level Yuanfu expert come from.
Yet, Qin Wentian’s gaze stiffened. These third-ranked Puppets just weren’t powerful enough compared to the golden guardians in the secret realm, be it in terms of defence or offense.
And wasn’t this silver-masked figure acquainted with the carriage driver? To think that his combat prowess would be so high.
“You will die for certain.” Shu Ruanyu moved towards Qin Wentian. “It’s obvious that the silver-masked guy is here for you and that he wanted those four assassins to kill you. But in the end, you were stronger than expected. He will surely come to kill you the moment the other Puppets are defeated, and without your last trump cards where does that leave you?” Shu Ruanyu smiled coldly.
“Do I even know you?” Qin Wentian stared at the beauty in front of him, it didn’t seem that he had met her before.
“You don’t need to. It’s good enough if I know you. Since you’re going to die here anyway, then you might as well DIE BY MY HANDS!” Shu Ruanyu’s Astral Souls rumbled as a silhouette covered in flames materialized.
During combat, the majority of Stellar Martial Cultivators at the Yuanfu level would automatically release their third Astral Souls, with the third one being the strongest. Shu Ruanyu’s third Astral Soul hailed from the 4th Heavenly Layer, and the flames surrounding it gave rise to a terrifying temperature.
“Are you so confident that you can kill me?” An ice-cold intent shot forth from Qin Wentian’s eyes as the demonic qi he emanated grew increasingly stronger.
“Stop acting, the majority of the Astral Energy within your Yuanfu must have already been depleted. You can’t even activate the fourth-ranked Divine Weapon any more,” Shu Ruanyu faintly spoke, yet her words contained a thick sense of arrogance.
Since it had come to this, she would be the one to avenge her aunt’s husband, Zhu Sha!