The battle of Grindstone Mountain seemed very dangerous, but all the developments finished within the Knowledge Star, the Resourceful Star, Wu Yong's expectations; from the very beginning when Su Xing used Divine Intent to break the hundred disciples' Sword Array, to Lin Yingmei's "Long Blizzard Nights" that cut down two Star Masters and dropped the power of two Crimson Stars onto Su Xing to block the imminent peril of the Blooming Water Divine Thunder, to even when she announced her own identity to lure Ancestor Baili to chase and kill her, using the Golden Thread Fish Scale Armor to escape a calamity, then using the Heavenly Calamity Talisman after for a quick kill.
This series of plans could even be said to be clever to the highest peak. The hundred cultivators' ambush here in this trap was cleanly swept through, pulled out by the roots.
Especially the "Heavenly Calamity Talisman," this Supreme Grade Talisman was sufficient to rapidly dispatch a Supercluster Early Stage Cultivator. This was also why when they found out Shi Qian had been captured, Su Xing went to save her. Wu Xinjie did not have a reason to oppose.
But Wu Xinjie still underestimated Ancestor Baili's strength. Ancestor Baili was battered and exhausted, his entire body's flesh lacerated from the ordeal, bruised all over, relying on his own mastery over the Blooming Water Divine Thunder and a few magic weapons to protect himself, barely surviving from under the Heavenly Calamity Talisman.
Wu Xinjie's face this time genuinely turned white, not expecting him to not perish under the Heavenly Calamity.
However, the Knowledge Star's attack definitely was not ineffective. Although he had escaped a disaster, Ancestor Baili's cultivation was violently subdued, his vitality greatly debilitated. No more did he have the extremely angry and imposing super strength from before. A pale and colorless face twisted with a look brimming with fury, after all, it was a Supreme Grade charm; not being scattered ashes and smoke was considered very lucky.
Ancestor Baili roared, eighteen water-colored flying swords flew out of his mouth. The flying swords' light was dim, his acute spirit greatly diminished, but it was still sharp. This happened to be the Blooming Water Sword Sect's famous sword art ability.
The eighteen Flying Swords twisted for the kill towards the Knowledge Star. Wu Xinjie swiftly retreated, a copper chain flying out, but it immediately was cut down by the flying sword. A cold light was directly launched, criss-crossing with the sword as it twisted towards the Knowledge Star's neck. At the critical moment, Lin Yingmei dropped from the sky, waving her spear and blocking the flying sword.
"Die!"
Ancestor Baili was thoroughly mad, chaining together seals, piecing together his last magic energy as the eighteen Flying Swords violently attacked towards Lin Yingmei.
At this moment, the two girls were somewhat too spent.
Su Xing no longer hesitated. Stabilizing the boiling qi and blood in his body, he shouted, a rainbow shadow flying out of his Astral Bag. That rainbow shadow was the Magical Fire Cloud Fragrant Handkerchief, and it drastically grew by several zhang, suspended above Ancestor Baili's head.
Ancestor Baili was a veteran of a hundred battles, his reactions swift, knowing that the circumstances had a change. At once, he emitted a ball of protective green light, wrapping himself within. The green light was extremely thick, the entire body of the figure three zhang within could not be clearly seen. Three flowers the size of wicker baskets revolved over his head, a sweet scent dispersing forth. When Ancestor Baili controlled the flying sword, he could only use all his power to mobilize a protection magic from a sage art.
At the moment Ancestor Baili activated the protection magic, the Magical Fire Cloud Handkerchief's rotation sped up and formed into a scarlet red cloud. Together with the surrounding air, it all became a thick, blood red color. Flipping and rolling, waves of bloody strips, heaven and earth was enshrouded within that dazzling blood red. The red cloud surreptitiously rolled a bloody flame; that blood cloud and blood waves rapidly spun with an oppressive rumbling sound. A giant, dark red flame dropped towards Ancestor Baili.
This fire rain's range was enormous, enveloping the area of a hundred meters surrounding Ancestor Baili within it, making escape impossible.
The fire cloud dropped with a rumble, and Ancestor Baili's magic just happened to complete, the timing unexpectedly not lacking even by a hundredth.1
"Such an insignificant artifact and you dare show it." Ancestor Baili very fiercely bellowed.
Although those three flowers the size of baskets revolved at a great speed, they swept away much of the blaze, but these flames dropped in succession, unstoppable. These dark red flames were like maggots attached to bones, crawling all over Ancestor Baili's green barrier.
"This is magical fire?" Ancestor Baili immediately discerned the difference of these flames.
Originally, the green light was dazzling, and the flowers that had not been touched by a drop of impurity would flash a scorched color when dripped by the magical fire. Their revolution speed greatly slowed, and in a split second, dark red flames by the hundreds and thousands changed, transforming the flowers into black colored charcoal.
Bang! The flowers ceased rotating, exploding open, mixing together with the flames. Without the resistance of the flowers, the magical cloud fire sea rushed into the thick green light simply as if it was a room with no one in it.
Although the green light was thick like it had substance, actually Ancestor Baili had used a few magics from the Five Spirits Heavenly Book, urging the spirit qi of the world around him and combining it with his own Blooming Water Divine Thunder to form a protective screen. This was specifically for use to guard against flying swords and magic weapon attacks. He was not one of the three Ancestral Masters of the Blooming Water Sword Sect for nothing; even if he had received the Heavenly Calamity Talisman's strike, his vitality greatly harmed, his remaining magic power was still formidable.
This was the power of a Supercluster Cultivator, the gap between them was actually too great.
However, this Grindstone Mountain was destined to become the place that Ancestor Baili buried his bones. The Magical Fire Cloud Fragrant Handkerchief was not a simple artifact, and she unceasingly sucked Su Xing's Star Energy, acting as replenishment for the Magical Cloud Fire Sea. Using the words Gong Caiwei said before, the Magical Fire Cloud Fragrant Handkerchief was even more like a strange and unusual magic tool! Perhaps because it was this kind of rarely seen magic weapon that the Deviance Star the Red-Haired Devil would original sign a contract with Xun Huo.
Because, to the Blaze Refining Saber, this magical fire really was a delicious treat.
Su Xing swung both his hands, spitting up a mouthful of essence blood.
That essence blood became a vortex in mid air that swirled and condensed. In a flash, it turned into a broadsword with nine interlocking red rings and the face of a demon from purgatory itself.
This was the Blaze Refining Nine Hells Saber.
Warmly nurtured inside Su Xing's Star Crest for a long time, this was still the first time Su Xing had brought it out. That Blaze Refining Saber seemingly was a monster in high spirits, issuing a hoarse and crisp cry.
Nine crimson lights struck upon the Magical Fire Cloud Fragrant Handkerchief.
The dark red magical fire imposingly and violently swelled, turning into something akin a torrential downpour that reached the heavens. In a split second, the skies were murky over a dark earth.
"Ah!" The thick green light obstructed this frightening sea of fire no more, and Ancestor Baili let out an angry howl. It seemed he had received a strike that was not light: "It's the Nine Hells Magic Flame,2 you mage…" And another miserable shriek. Ancestor Baili did not care one bit for his status as a sect's great scholar as he loudly screamed.
However, the "Nine Hells Magic Flame" that the Blaze Refining Saber and the Magical Fire Cloud Fragrant Handkerchief mutually created was truly terrifying, burning demons under heaven, a vital energy Dark Technique.3 Ordinary magics were hard to contend against. If Su Xing did not originally unexpectedly rush forward and kill Xun Huo in one step, should he have waited until he used the Magical Fire Cloud Fragrant Handkerchief to form the Nine Hells Magic Flame, then he and Lin Yingmei would have perished without doubt.
Ancestor Baili relied on the past two hundred years of simple and refined magic energy in addition to the Blooming Water Divine Thunder that had been refined more than ten times. It had some use in stopping magic type techniques, else he would have already become ashes.
Su Xing looked at the Ancestor Baili below him wrapped up by magic flames, and his face was also pale. His seven apertures4 all faintly flowed with traces of blood. As expected, a Supercluster Cultivator could not be covered. In addition to the Heavenly Calamity Talisman, the long and warmly nourished Nine Hells Magic Flame both were unable to kill him. These days, the people who could reach him were few.
Su Xing raised high above his head the Blaze Refining Saber. Loudly roaring, he cut down towards the Ancestor Baili wrapped in the sea of flames.
Hacking the demon saber down, the area then was already not the area it began as. Su Xing's heart was like steel, with all of his killing intent, all of his essence, qi and spirit slashed down together with this blade. The nine rings on the blade let out a burning sound like drinking blood, and an area of a hundred li around Grindstone Mountain was enveloped with a blood red, a miserable evil wind, and loud, mournful cries.
The two girls, Wu Xinjie and Lin Yingmei, retreated at once to Shi Qian's front, the two's Star Energy wildly shot out and formed a protective barrier.
Su Xing cut forth with the sword, and Ancestor Baili's eighteen Blooming Water Flying Swords promptly intertwined to block. In this sea of flame world, an entirely different light appeared. The originally snowy scene Lin Yingmei made was melted in the blink of an eye, and the Blaze Refining Saber launched a chain of nine darkly colored flames.
The flames interlocked in a flash and melted the eighteen attacking flying swords. When the saber was swung down, the demon fire chain soared and attacked Ancestor Baili.
This was that "Nine Consecutive Hellfire Demonic Slash!"
Ancestor Baili's full body robe unbearably broke open from head to toe, his body just like a sieve, filled with holes, bleeding without end. Another grievous appearance, and his arms had already exploded apart.
"This ancestor and you all cannot exist together!"
Ancestor Baili was truly too tenacious.
The Heavenly Calamity Talisman, Blaze Refining Saber, Nine Hells Magic Flame, Nine Consecutive Hellfire Demonic Slash…Su Xing nearly exhausted all of his Star Energy, and Ancestor Baili was not yet ash. However, he seemed unable to endure any further.
Ancestor Baili's stance fled, wanting to escape. According to a Super Cluster Stage Cultivator's fully employed escape technique, he probably could flee outside of a thousand li in the blink of an eye. If they let him escape, it inevitably would cause trouble of no end; only with great difficulty did they finally manage to put Ancestor Baili on his last legs, how could Su Xing let him have his wish. Loudly shouting, the Magic Sealing Sword was assigned its use.
The sword transformed without a shadow, and Ancestor Baili's escape technique had not yet executed when it was broken by ten thousand sword shadows.
The ancestor was overwhelmed with shock, and he abandoned all hope.
And in this split second of an obstruction, Lin Yingmei changed into a graceful whirlwind that shot forth.
The Arctic Star Spear did not have any obstructions at all, running straight through Ancestor Baili.
The speartip circulated a cold wind, smashing apart his internal organs.
Ancestor Baili screamed, "Aaaahh," seemingly not resigned to unexpectedly die at the hands of a puny Nebula Cultivator. Thereupon, the spear edge slashed apart the ancestor's body, a shadow flying out of Ancestor Baili's forehead. Shockingly, it was a Great Star Cultivator's refined essence soul.5 However, this kind of soul mostly became malicious spirits because of resentment. Su Xing definitely did not want a malicious ghost plaguing him, and pointing his hand, the already prepared Ghost Pearl flew out and sucked that spirit into itself. The pearl dimly flashed like colored glass, fully trembling a moment, seemingly endlessly satisfied by the replenishment of a Great Star Cultivator's spirit.
The pearl dimmed, seemingly even more black by a tad. Wu Xinjie already said before, until this Ghost Pearl became pitch-black like ink, then it unlocked its Ghost Path ability, which seemingly was not far away.
Su Xing coldly smiled. All of a sudden, he felt as if all the air inside of his body was drawn out. The Magical Fire Cloud Fragrant Handkerchief had devoured all of his Star Energy and flew back into his Astral Bag. The Blaze Refining Saber also was seemingly covered in dust and bleakly turned into a ball of essence blood that scattered.
Su Xing went limp and fell over.
Lin Yingmei was just about to step forward to catch Su Xing, but at this moment, an even quicker figure swept past, embracing Su Xing upon her bosom.
"Su Xing!!"
She was the Thief Star Flea on a Drum Shi Yuan.
This moment, Shi Yuan looked into Su Xing's eyes very complicatedly. She tightly bit her lip.
"I've never seen a Star Master with your kind of stupidity…" Shi Qian forcefully smiled.
"Speaking of your savior like this, it's not so good, is it? Shouldn't soap operas have an emotional, hot kiss?" Su Xing grabbed Shi Qian's shoulder, teasing her.
What a soap opera was, Shi Qian did not now, but at this very moment, she indeed wanted to do as much.
Thus, Shi Yuan, in front of Su Xing's two women, disregarded everything and kissed him
Glistening teardrops fell and withered in the wind.
From this moment forward, she was this man's Star General!
Author’s Note:
P.S. For the life of me, clicking on an announcement does not open the link, pleading for a vote.
- Of a second, most probably. ↩
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