Chapter 356: Pa.s.sing Off as the Real Thing
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Star of Northern Dipper felt a pressure pressing against him, so great that it was as if the sky had fallen upon him. Everything around him seemed to have contracted and bent into a cage-like structure, trapping him. He felt like he couldn’t escape. It was as if he was an insignificant cricket or ant ensnared in someone’s palm. He had no doubt that if he forcibly tried to hold his own, his sword or even hand would be instantly crushed into pieces. Then the pressure would hit him in the forehead and crush his skull, causing his Vital Spirit to dissipate.
“Primogenitor Guangcheng?”
He could only think of him at this moment.
The position of Heavenly Primogenitor in the Immortals was still empty. At least, the Myths had yet to encounter a member with such a t.i.tle. They could only be sure that Primogenitor Guangcheng was partic.i.p.ating in the current mission. After all, with such an imposing manner and such earth-shattering changes, the Skythrowing Palm was definitely on the Exterior level.
Therefore, when put in a state of ’emergency’, he naturally a.s.sociated the terrifying and heavy Skythrowing Palm with Primogenitor Guangcheng.
Could it be that he felt like he didn’t stand a chance to s.n.a.t.c.h the item before Xi, thus retreated halfway to go to the Heart-forgotten Cottage to meet Bluecloud Progenitor? Did he want to directly enter the Demonic World?
Did he discover the two of them and disguise himself as a junior who had just enlightened his Acupores, biding time to attack and rid of him first to gain the upper hand?
Though Primogenitor Guangcheng was a Peerless Master Pro, he was still inferior to Xi. If he directly took action, Star of Northern Dipper was confident he could escape even if he was no match for him. With the former’s sudden attack, he found himself sandwiched between two opponents and was in great danger!
Though faced with such a situation, he was nevertheless a Samsara traveler who had experienced many life-and-death battles. He made a prompt decision and turned to strike Meng Qi with his sword at full strength!
He didn’t use any Body Movements. Instead, he concentrated all his energy and spirit into that one sword strike. If he wanted to block the ancient G.o.dly technique of Skythrowing Palm, how could he care about anything else?
His plan was to block the palm that seemed capable of destroying three worlds, look for a chance, and escape with his injuries!
There was only a strand of sword light, dim and dark as if it had risen from the depths of the Nine Serenities. It was unpredictable and difficult to grasp, but its thick killing intent left the surroundings with nothing but ominosity.
Pop! Pop! Pop! The void seemed to have been pierced right through as the sword light cleaved Meng Qi whose aura was of simplicity and vastness.
At the same time, Bluecloud Progenitor who had been behind Meng Qi hit both her palms together. Her right hand bounced up and she flexed her index finger, aiming for Star of the Northern Dipper’s heart from the back as the bright white and pitch black intersected at her finger joint.
The intent of life and death gathered from all around and formed a round, black-and-white Taiji image near her joint. Death was hidden within life and life contained within death. Their continuous flow made it difficult to grasp.
Simultaneously, the plants on the mountain peak stained by Devil Qi began to wither before once again sprouting with vitality. This process repeated so quickly that the plants completed two such cycles of life and death in just half a breath’s time.
Out of the blue, the violent shaking of the Skysc.r.a.ping Mountain came to an end and everything plunged into a bizarre silence.
Star of Northern Dipper’s killer Sword Qi had cleaved the spot where the Skythrowing Palm was supposed to fall. Then he realized with a start that his opponent’s palm had not actually landed! The sword light had directly penetrated the void and hit Meng Qi instead.
A brilliant glow rose again, solemness concealed within the dark green. Meng Qi seemed like a towering mountain that diminished the killer Sword Qi into insignificance.
Pop! The green glow turned black and lost its vitality as the sword light struck Meng Qi. The solemness vanished and its delicate beauty faded.
Meng Qi stumbled and spat out blood. Even with the Still Mountain Charm keeping the murderous sword Qi out, the light still had the collision force of the Exterior level. It had gradually spread inside and hurt his lungs. Fortunately, he had a strong body. His Eight Nine Mysteries and Golden Bell s.h.i.+eld also had hardening properties and left him with only minor injuries.
A fake?
Was it actually a fake?
An indescribable anger swelled up in Star of Northern Dipper but it was too late. He had already given his all in dealing with the fake Primogenitor Guangcheng.
Meng Qi had imagined himself as Heavenly Primogenitor because he wanted to increase his momentum and draw all of his opponent’s attention to attack him. That would create an excellent opportunity for Bluecloud Progenitor to strike!
Puff! As the black-and-white Taiji image was printed onto Star of Northern Dipper’s back, a blinding ray of starlight sparked and the two sides counteracted each other.
Then, Bluecloud Progenitor struck the exact same spot with the joint where the black and white light intersected.
Star of Northern Dipper quaked uncontrollably. His Seven Acupores spurted blood and his skin turned a frightening, deathly black before immediately turning white and as frail as paper.
He did his best to resist the damage to his Vital Spirit and body, leaving him unable to chase after Meng Qi. His thin sword fiercely stabbed backward. The seven Acupore points on his body emitted a pure light resembling a starry mist, almost as if they connected to form the seven stars of the Northern Dipper constellation. It was entirely in line with his sword power.
Death of the Northern Dipper!
Only the area near his sword had that thick, ominous feeling. It appeared extremely condensed, not affecting anywhere else.
Bluecloud Progenitor flipped her left palm and slammed it down with the force of descending mountains at the tip of the sword.
Nearby, the mountain peaks shook violently as if they were about to be uprooted. The heavy air with hints of delicacy in it condensed into small peaks that weighed thousands and thousands of kilograms. As Bluecloud Progenitor dropped her palms, they fell on the sword.
The floor caved in, unable to bear the tremendous weight, with a sickening splitting sound. Meng Qi was far away, but he could feel his blood flow slow and his body hunch from the ma.s.sive pressure.
On the other side, as Bluecloud Progenitor severely injured Star of Northern Dipper, the eyes behind the Matriarch of the West’s mask lit with a light golden glow. The shock and shackling effect of Heavenly Phoenix Cries to her Vital Soul had been subsequently broken, stirring the surrounding air of Heptaureate. The ice resulting from Thousands Miles Freezing shattered into countless shards.
Just then, Jiang Zhiwei’s Anatta Sword and the ripping winds from Zhao Heng’s Embodiment palmsmas.h.i.+ng art had already reached her.
There was a gloomy sigh as Matriarch of the West made a tapping motion with her left index finger based on an unimaginable path and rhythm. Her actions closely fit the might of metal and contained indescribable Dharma and Logos.
Pop! There was a sudden white out as if the Mortal World had crumbled at the touch of that one finger. Sword Qi surged amidst continuous whoos.h.i.+ng sounds. The walls struck by the Qi collapsed and the floor that was caving in was punched full of holes.
Jiang Zhiwei was thrown backward, blood gathering at the corner of her mouth. Zhao Heng stumbled, his hands b.l.o.o.d.y. On the other hand, multiple cracks appeared on Matriarch of the West’s dark robes. A faint sword mark appeared on the mid-brows on her mask.
She spat a mouthful of bright red blood. Taking advantage of the fact that Ruan Yushu and Qi Zhengyan had yet to catch their breath, she performed controlling moves. She stood on her tiptoes as if she had become sword light and jumped out of the window, bolting away from the Skysc.r.a.ping Mountain.
No wise woman would stay with the odds stacked up against her!
Normally, she wouldn’t feel afraid even against five enemies alone. The level of her moves was definitely at least on par with theirs, and her realm and strength greatly surpa.s.sed theirs. If she went all out, it was more than enough to protect herself. If they had to fight for a long time, she could outlast them in terms of stamina. However, things didn’t seem to be going well for Star of Northern Dipper on the other side. If Bluecloud Progenitor attacked her, she would be in trouble. Hence, she quickly decided to leave the battlefield.
She would be pus.h.i.+ng herself too far if she voluntarily got involved in an Exterior-level battle of such a level. She could even be considered dead weight. She believed that with Star of Northern Dipper’s strength, it wouldn’t be a challenge to fight his way out of it.
The mountain peaks fell toward the tip of the sword and the seven stars lit up all of a sudden, exploding with killing intent.
Sword Qi flooded the area as the peaks were cut into numerous small pieces. Bluecloud Progenitor was forced to take a step back.
Blood spurted from Star of Northern Dipper’s Seven Acupores again. He took the chance to convert the blood into a ray of starlight and hurled it out of the palace.
He dared not stop anymore. If Bluecloud Progenitor managed to trap him, he would probably die here and now.
Bluecloud Progenitor had yet to catch up to him. Though he had taken serious damage from her, killing him was still extremely difficult. If she was careless, he could very well take her down with him. Therefore, she decided to make use of her time to first deal with the Demonic World. If she waited until Star of Northern Dipper had taken an elixir and suppressed his injury by harmonizing his Qi-circulation, they would all be in big trouble. After all, they still required another three Demonic Crystals to blow up the Demonic World channel. They would need time to accomplish that.
She turned to the others and said, “Let’s enter the Demonic World.”
Only then did Meng Qi let out a long sigh. Jumping into an Exterior-level battle was an extremely dangerous thing to do. If he had a choice, he definitely wouldn’t do it again.
“The Matriarch of the West really is amazing,” he exclaimed as they walked over to the Demonic World channel. The Emperor of Metal indeed lived up to her reputation. The five of them had barely put a scratch on her. Things had been even dicier for him and Jiang Zhiwei because most of their strength resided in sword art and bladesmans.h.i.+p, making their battle with her even more dangerous.
Of course, every living creature had their weaknesses. All was well as long as they weren’t completely unarmed. There could be people whose Divine Skill could only be harmed by weapons. In any case, Meng Qi had his Eight Nine Mysteries. His palms and fingers as blades were considered formidable too.
“If she claims Dharmakaya, she could possibly directly suppress all metals, including those in our bodies,” Jiang Wei thoughtfully answered.
During their brief conversation, Zhao Heng dealt with the injuries on his palms. Together, they entered the Demonic World channel.
Everything was dim and dark. A path that extended into the depths of the road appeared before Meng Qi. It resembled an intestine, surrounded by darkness with only wriggling redness.
Perhaps the Demonic World really was a living creature… Such a thought suddenly crossed Meng Qi’s mind.
Stepping on the smooth, soft path, Bluecloud Progenitor unraveled a green light that enveloped them all. They swiftly advanced where a large, pitch-black hole loomed into view a few breaths later.
The green glow plunged into the dark hole. Meng Qi felt his Vital Spirit shake as everything turned dark in a moment. He could see Devil Qi rising nearby, instantly triggering his Eight Nine Mysteries and Golden Bell s.h.i.+eld’s self-defense properties.
His body glowed in faint gold as it isolated itself from the black gas. Casting his gaze into the distance, he saw that the Demonic World had mountains and rivers, but all of them were bizarre and distorted, or dark and b.l.o.o.d.y. They were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with depravity and filth.
In a place where it was difficult to judge distance, the gleaming Buddha light shone through the sky and turned into a ma.s.sive Swastikas Seal, firmly wrapping the bottom.
The sound of Zen filled the place as chants of ‘Evam me sutam’ reverberated. The golden light was clear and pure.
In the gleaming Buddha light was countless wisps of black gas madly darting about, colliding with the Swastikas Seal and causing it to continuously shrink and expand. The confusing roars were intertwined with Buddha’s voice, giving off the feeling of being half-Buddha, half-demon, or half-good, half-evil.
“We’ll look for the demons first and collect their Demonic Crystals.” Bluecloud Progenitor resisted her shaken spirit and pulled her sight away from the Swastikas Seal. “Star of Northern Dipper will be able to suppress his injury in another 15 minutes. He’ll never allow us to break the pa.s.sage. Time is tight and we have to quickly act. It’s best if we split up.”
She took out a strange mirror and merged it with the entrance, creating a faint golden glow that was immediately concealed. If anyone pa.s.sed through there again, she would be able to instantly perceive it and lock onto them. It was a precautionary measure lest Star of Northern Dipper was bold enough to secretly follow them in, choosing to treat his wounds in the Demonic World instead of waiting for them to be suppressed.
Meng Qi nodded. “Alright. Since you can fly, you can go deeper into the Demonic World. The five of us will team up and search the vicinity.”
With so many evil spirits with the strength of Skysc.r.a.ping True Devil around, the five of them definitely couldn’t separate.
“Sure. I’ll try to collect two of the crystals as soon as possible.” Bluecloud Progenitor wasn’t willing to carry dead weight with her either.
With a roll of her blue clouds, she blitzed across the sky and into the depths where Primogenitor Devil lay.
Meng Qi looked at the dim, dark void behind him and signaled for everyone to head in the direction away from Primogenitor Devil. Even if Star of Northern Dipper entered the channel, or Military Star and Xi returned, their target would certainly be the Primogenitor Devil. Moreover, the Demonworld Fragment was quite s.p.a.cious. If they hid and continued to collect the Demonic Crystals, they could still complete the task all the same.
Qi Zhengyan produced the Devil-rinsing Charm and activated it. A burst of blue light enveloped the five of them and blocked out all the Devil Qi.
They were in the Demonic World after all, with filth and Devil Qi everywhere. Even if Zhao Heng had his Protective Upstanding Qi, Meng Qi his Eight Nine Mysteries and Golden Bell s.h.i.+eld, Qi Zhengyan his Rosy Afterglow Swing, and Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu their ability to adjust their own Yang He and coordination to resist the gas, they would have to spend a lot of energy if the Devil Qi became thick. They might as well use a Devil-rinsing Charm instead since each charm could last 15 minutes.