"Swoos.h.!.+"An arrow beam struck Mochen, but even the skin on his stocky body did not rupture.
"It"s time to leave." Mochen understood that since he could not crack the Misty Rain Array, it was pointless for him to stay. It was even possible that he would end up being trapped if he was careless.
Boom!
He immediately transformed into a stream of light that fled into the distance.
"Trying to flee?" Goumang grunted coldly as vines streaked across s.p.a.ce from every direction. While Qin Yun was casting the Misty Rain Array, he condensed billions of sword beams with a thought, turning them into a streaming dragon! This Streaming Dragon sword beam headed straight for Mochen.
"Open!"
Mochen was extremely capable at close combat. Even under the Five-colored Divine Light domain"s suppression, he was still able to easily deal with the enemy despite the negative influence on his strength. He waved his hands casually and swatted away the vines and blocked the Streaming Dragon sword beam.
Although he managed to fend off the numerous attacks, his flight was a lot slower.
Qin Yun and company easily followed behind him.
"Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!"
Hou Yi shot one arrow after another, unwilling to burn his Essence Soul Dharmic powers! Just the normal nine successive arrows were sufficient.
"Oh?" Mochen was quite confident in the beginning, but he soon realized that the arrows were increasing in strength exponentially. Furthermore, the arrows were so fast that there was no way for him to dodge.
After being struck by the seventh arrow, Mochen"s ma.s.sive body was sent flying backward. A wound appeared in his resilient body, but the wound quickly healed. The injury was nothing of consequence.
The eighth arrow caused Mochen"s expression to change. Although he was a hundred thousand feet tall, a b.l.o.o.d.y hole was torn open at his chest. A terrifying annihilative force seeped through his body in a bid to destroy his soul even though the b.l.o.o.d.y hole wasn"t large.
"How is it this strong?" Mochen was somewhat alarmed. "This arrow has really injured me."
"The ninth arrow!"
Qin Yun, Kong Xuan, and Goumang watched carefully.
"This is Brother Hou Yi"s ninth arrow," exclaimed Kong Xuan in a voice transmission. "If we were to take it with our bodies, we would have long been reduced to nothing."
"The ninth arrow is a lot more powerful than the eighth arrow." Qin Yun had experienced the arrows before personally.
Boom!
A dazzling arrow beam appeared.
The first eight arrows were constantly acc.u.mulating in strength, and only when the ninth arrow was formed did all its might was released. It caused a qualitative change to the might of the arrow, allowing it to reach the Heavenly Dao realm instantly.
"No good." Faced with the might of the ninth arrow, Mochen revealed a look of alarm and anger. He tried his best to block the beam with his palms, completely ignoring Qin Yun"s Streaming Dragon sword beam and the vines.
The arrow beam flashed.
Mochen"s palms. .h.i.t nothing, for the arrow was just too fast.
A hole bored right through Mochen"s glabella and flew out from the back of his head.
The annihilative powers contained within the arrow permeated Mochen"s entire body as it ate at his soul.
This was an arrow that contained Hou Yi"s Heart Force! It was also his strongest arrow under normal circ.u.mstances.
"Ah!" Mochen let out a painful cry as his expression warped. The hole at his glabella healed but the glow in his eyes dimmed.
"If his next arrow is stronger, that arrow would kill me in one shot." Mochen felt fear. He had traveled the spatial tide for years and was basically invincible thanks to his powerful body, other than being subdued by the Bohan Island Lord. But today, he felt the threat of death.
But the Five-colored Divine Light domain, and the flailing vines and Streaming Dragon sword beams were pestering him, causing his speed to slow drastically.
"Forget it."
Mochen waved his hand as a silver flying boat appeared.
Despite knowing that the enemy was good at s.n.a.t.c.hing treasures, he still wanted to give it a try! After all, without the silver boat, there was no way he could escape.
"Whoosh." It happened just as he powered the silver boat.
"Collect." Kong Xuan naturally caused the Five-colored Divine Light to flash with a mere thought. The silver boat vanished.
"It was really taken away?" Mochen originally was taking his chances, thinking that perhaps being the one steering the boat—one that the Island Lord refined himself—he would be able to… withstand the treasure s.n.a.t.c.hing move? If he could prevent the silver boat from being s.n.a.t.c.hed, there was a chance of escaping.
"There"s no way to escape."
Mochen"s heart chilled.
"Swoos.h.!.+"
Another arrow beam shot over. It had returned to the strength of the first arrow that couldn"t even rupture Mochen"s skin. It took Mochen by surprise as he came to a realization. "So that arrow was his strongest strike. He must have paid quite a considerable price to deliver that blow. I still have a chance."
Mochen continued flying away with all his might, withstanding Qin Yun, Kong Xuan, and Goumang"s pestering while blocking Hou Yi"s arrows.
…
Shooting the arrows nine consecutive times did not burden Hou Yi in any way. If he wished to ignite his Essence Soul Dharmic powers immediately, he could release a terrifying barrage of attacks, killing Mochen in a few strikes.
In the Three Realms, no one dared to allow Hou Yi to shoot his arrows.
The nine arrows were a cycle.
Mochen withstood it pathetically as he fled.
His injuries worsened and every ninth arrow inflicted severe damage to his soul.
"Doesn"t he pay a price at all for using this archery skill?" Mochen felt despair.
After he got struck by the fifth "ninth arrow," Mochen stopped fleeing.
"I rose up from a tiny city and left a wake of bones in my journey. All who opposed me died… I was invincible in my homeworld. In my invincible loneliness, I thought of finding opponents and wished to break through to the stronger Primordial realm." Mochen looked at the ninth arrow that came at him as scenes of his life surfaced in his mind. "While fighting with experts from other universes in the spatial tide, I"ve hunted many. I was then subdued by Bohan Island Lord and lost my freedom. Now, I"ll be losing my life. Perhaps, I was already dead when I was caught and controlled.
"In the past, I was the one who brought despair and death to other lives.
"Now, it"s the enemy"s arrow that is bringing death to me.
"The killer will eventually be killed."
Mochen closed his eyes as he faced the arrow.
When the arrow beam bored through his glabella, the terrifying Heart Force it contained destroyed Mochen"s soul. His already weak soul was still annihilated despite having a powerful body to protect it.
Mochen, the Third Supremacy of Bohan Island, was dead!
"E-even the Third Supremacy has been killed by them." Palatial Lord Myriad Flower, who had his strength sealed, watched the scene with an agape expression. "The Third Supremacy is the Supremacy with the strongest body under Bohan Island Lord. His body had reached the half-step Primordial realm, yet he has been killed. Doesn"t that imply that the might of that arrow can reach the Primordial realm?"
There had long been talks about this in the spatial tide.
Half-step Primordial realm existences of the physical lineage were known as immortal bodies. No move under the Primordial realm could kill them. One had to attain the strength of the Primordial realm before they could be slain.
With Mochen dead, it implied that the arrow had reached the strength of the Primordial realm!
"The four of them are truly powerful." Palatial Lord Myriad Flower looked at Qin Yun and company. "The archer actually has a move at the Primordial realm"s might. Third Supremacy was unable to destroy the array cast by that guy. And there"s the one who"s good at s.n.a.t.c.hing treasures."
Back when he was captured, Qin Yun and Hou Yi had not even revealed their strengths! Just Kong Xuan and Goumang were sufficient to take him down.
"I do deserve my downfall." Palatial Lord Myriad Flower sighed.
"To need Hou Yi to shoot so many arrows before he"s killed. This body sure is impressive," said Kong Xuan with a laugh as he put away the treasures that appeared after Mochen"s death. As for Qin Yun, he put away Mochen"s ma.s.sive body while grinning from ear to ear. The body of a half-step Heavenly Dao realm expert wasn"t something he would sacrifice.
If he needed to sacrifice…
He had obtained a corpse from the owner of the Nine Netherworld s.h.i.+p as well as the five corpses of the envoys who set up the array formation. Just two or three of them were enough to ama.s.s enough merit.
The merit which came from Mochen"s corpse provided little help to Qin Yun. It would be of greater use if it could be used elsewhere.
"In the future, Master and company will be forced to leave the Three Realms. When that happens, Mochen"s corpse will be invaluable," thought Qin Yun in delight.
"Brother Qin Yun, this body cultivator"s most precious thing is his body. You sure made a killing," said Kong Xuan.
"With his strength, he should be at the Connate Cardinal treasure level," said Qin Yun with a smile.
"If we were to offer Connate Cardinal treasures in exchange for it, would you be willing?" asked Hou Yi.
Qin Yun smiled. "Since we made a previous agreement, it shouldn"t be changed."
Connate Cardinal treasure were very valuable, with only dozens of them in the Three Realms. There were even a few perfected Great Dao experts who lacked one. But for figures at Qin Yun"s or Hou Yi"s level, having an additional Connate Cardinal treasure or two did not increase their strength much. On the contrary, this corpse was the only one in the Three Realms, making its value a lot higher.
Ignoring everything else, just the cultivation of such a body required a price far greater than a single Connate Cardinal treasure.
The Three Realms also only had one Ancestral Dragon. And it was also because of him that dragons appeared as a major race.
"Let"s go to the palace," Kong Xuan said with a smile. "Let"s take all the treasures."
"After we split the treasures, we can return," said Goumang happily.
"It"s about time to return." Qin Yun and Hou Yi agreed as well.