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Chapter 535: Sudden Assault
🕑 Added 2024-11-20 14:00:11 +0000 UTCThe Waterdrop Dragon Lord’s claws struck azure scales, causing sparks to fly and leaving a pale mark, but otherwise, leaving no damage. His heart fell into his stomach, but at this moment, the dragon lord knew it was too late to fall back.
His other claw clashed against the Tyrant Sword Monarch’s weapon. At the moment of contact, he felt a destructive energy invade through his claw and into his body. The energy appeared to be the antithesis of his dragon might. Wherever the energy encroached, he felt his strength flowing out of his body.
A sickening crack echoed in the void, and the Tyrant Sword Monarch sliced through his claws and into his hand.
The Waterdrop Dragon Lord roared in pain and reared back. However, how could his opponent allow him to do as he wished? The sword monarch gave chase, his weapon gleamed a vicious red tainted by dragon blood.
The blue scales on the Waterdrop Dragon Lord’s scales quivered momentarily before shooting off his body. The moment they left, they transformed into water drops and formed a barrier between the Tyrant Sword Monarch and himself.
With each swing, the Tyrant Sword Monarch’s weapon ruptured the water drops, leaving behind shattered scales. “So this is the secret behind your domain. As long as I destroy all your scales, you will be nothing but a sitting duck.”
The Waterdrop Dragon Lord roared in anger at the gall the Tyrant Sword Monarch had at comparing him to a fowl, but he knew he was at a disadvantage. It was just as the sword immortal said. A large portion of his abilities were centered on his scales. Most people couldn’t destroy them, but his foe could. The moment he lost all his scales, his combat potential would drop by half.
He would not admit defeat, both because his pride did not allow it and this duel was one of life and death. So, he could only become crazy. Abandon all defense and attack crazily. As a true dragon, he held an innate advantage over humans with weak flesh.
But he had forgotten that the Tyrant Sword Monarch practiced the Dragon Emperor Fist. In terms of flesh, he was only weaker than dragon kings.
Outgunned with no retreat, the Tyrant Sword Monarch decapitated the Waterdrop Dragon Lord’s head not long after, announcing the end of the match.
***
After Ye Chen returned from the duel, a momentary silence hung in the air. Although the two sides almost came to blows when he collected the dragon lord’s corpse. A true dragon, after all, was a valuable material in short supply in the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System.
The Demon Clan needed to discuss who they sent out next, as did the alliance of two hegemonic forces. Since someone from the Numinous Sword Sect had just returned, someone from the Immortal Court must take the field next.
Jiang Daoyi, the Nine Heavens Emperor’s wife and dao companion, volunteered. A few wanted to dissuade her, but she was adamant. And upon seeing Tianyi not rejecting the matter, they allowed it.
Although Daoyi was famous, it was not because of her cultivation speed or prowess. Rather, she became famous because she was Tianyi’s wife and Mengfei’s sole disciple. Many even thought she reached her current height thanks to external aid because of her connection with the two grand elders.
Daoyi did not mind the rumors. Few would dare to say such words to her face. Even the whispered mockings on forums in the Xiyinet was easily dealt with. She simply needed not to enter such forums and ignore them.
No, the reason Daoyi volunteered was because it was a perfect chance to obtain a demon king’s corpse and soul. Despite battling many demons, the chaotic situation often left her unable to claim any of her kills. Now was the perfect time when the final battle had not erupted.
When she entered the field, the Demon Clan also dispatched a demon king. It was a demon king belonging to the Phoenix Clan’s branch. The demon king resembled a Malayan crested argus with feathers of blue, green, and black. He was a qingluan, a bird famed for their songs and dances in legends.
Once the battle began, the qingluan immediately attacked with a song. Those too weak of realm and will would find themselves mesmerized by the sound.
‘Law of Sound?’ Daoyi questioned. As someone who used sound-based attacks, she had dabbled in the Law of Sound as well.
She mastered the Concept of Vibration and the Concept of Music, both of which fell under that particular law. The Law of Sound could be broadly split into two parts. The first part was the emitter, or the one making the sound. The second half was the receiver. It did not include just hearing the sound, but receiving the vibration with their body, whether they were willing or not. Merging the two parts formed a resonance, a link between the emitter and the receiver.
Although she could withstand it, Daoyi still chose to block the technique, even if it strained her concentration and used more qi. Sound-based attacks weren’t known for their might, but their subterfuge and auxiliary capabilities. Daoyi had allowed her foes to think they withstood their effects, only to subtly influence them to their deaths more than once.
Daoyi summoned her Nine Nether Guqin and plucked the strings with her long nails. Each string plucked formed a melodious note. The continuous notes streamed together to form an ethereal yet haunting song. It devoured the qingluan’s song.
The qingluan frowned and increased the power of its song. In turn, Daoyi also did the same. The two entered a stalemate as their songs danced around each other. If it continued, it would turn into a match of stamina. Whoever ran out of qi first would lose.
The Demon Clan had great confidence in this. Thanks to their powerful bodies, they could house more qi. Unknown to them, Daoyi’s immortal body was formed on the basis of the Law of Life-and-Death, making her qi reservoir equal or even greater than most demons. Not to mention she also practiced the Three States of Qi.
Still, Daoyi had no interest in fighting a protracted battle.
Daoyi’s song waned, allowing the qingluan’s cry to overtake her notes. Her fingers, on the other hand, moved even faster. Despite her increasing the rate at which she plucked her strings, her song remained at the same tempo. She soon revealed the reason for her increased speed.
Phantoms of demons formed from sound appeared in the void. They resembled the foes Daoyi had slain, and she took special care to materialize avian demons.
The materialized phantoms numbered seven. The weakest of them emitted an aura of a peak demon lord, while the strongest blazed aura of an intermediate demon king. They cried out and charged at the qingluan in a flock.
The qingluan frowned. Although Daoyi’s song had weakened, it did not make it any less dangerous. Like his own song, Daoyi’s song attacked his mind and soul, but it also had a physical effect. Meaning that her one song equaled a three-pronged approach.
A second song erupted from the demon king’s mouth. Despite singing two songs simultaneously, the first song did not weaken. Unlike the first song, the second song was a pure physical attack aimed at the seven demon phantoms.
Four of the seven phantoms turned faint from the damage, but the three that radiated aura at the demon king level continued their charge, their body only turning slightly translucent.
The qingluan increased the intensity of his second song by weakening his first, successfully destroying the four demon lord phantoms. When the three demon king phantoms reached him, the qingluan unfurled its feather, forming a glorious dress.
He danced.
His movements were as bewitching as his plumage. The three demon king phantoms never stood a chance. Although the qingluan was surprised by their spirituality, it could not change the fact that they were mere puppets with no mind of their own.
Before the qingluan could catch his breath, Daoyi had created another set of demon phantoms. With each set destroyed, Daoyi would immediately create another set. That wasn’t the most terrifying part. It was the fact that the phantoms became more and more difficult to destroy with each iteration.
It was not that the phantoms were stronger or created differently. The change lay in Daoyi. She was growing adept at manipulating them. Not only that, but the phantoms’ body became sturdier.
Phantoms were puppets formed out of souls at the core and a body made out of qi. To destroy a phantom, their core must be damaged. Even a slight graze was enough, though that was easier said than done. Phantoms were best at unleashing mind and soul attacks. More often than not, they would trap their foes before they could even counterattack.
The qingluan had also created phantoms before, but found that it was meaningless. His mind and soul attacks were more powerful, and he possessed a powerful body that did not become his weakness in close combat.
The demon king narrowed his eyes. If he continued to defend, he would eventually fall at a disadvantage. Since that’s the case, he’ll take the battle to his foe. He didn’t believe her flesh was as strong as his.
Still, he felt a great shame, as if he suffered a great embarrassment. In the demon clan, it was always he who forced others to engage in close combat, not the other way around. He had always prided himself on his songs, but now, a human a fraction of his age equaled him. No, she faintly surpassed him.
Killing intent rippled in his eyes as he soared toward Daoyi. Even his flight exuded a bewitchment effect. Just like how those too weak in realm or will hear his songs, those who gazed upon him would fall into a stupor if they did not have the right realm or will.
Daoyi sensed his intentions. Her body blurred and merged into the void.
“The Law of Space?” the qingluan muttered. Frustratingly, he could not sense Daoyi even if her song was still present and phantoms appeared. There was a reason why those who mastered the Law of Space were notoriously hard to kill. His eyes flashed. “I want to see how long you can sustain the consumption from attacking and hiding yourself.”
The qingluan thought Daoyi mastered the Law of Space, but in truth, she was still far away. The reason why he couldn’t sense her was because she erased her aura and soul fluctuations using the Law of Life and Death. By merging the effect of the law with her attainments in the concepts under the Law of Space, she produced a similar effect.
It had a fatal weakness. As long as she was attacked, she would be forced to expose herself, but the qingluan did not know this.
The demon king continued to persevere under Daoyi’s phantoms. While defending, his body suddenly jolted, his movements became less coordinated than a newborn infant’s.
“What did you do?” the qingluan shouted in horror. He could feel a second conscious in his body interfering with his movements. His first thoughts was to deal with the invader’s soul, but he could not find it. It was as if half his body suddenly decided to rebel, but that was impossible.
Daoyi said nothing and strengthened her assault. She had conceived this move after seeing Xi Ri’s struggle with his inner devil. Using the Law of Life-and-Death, she weakened her foe’s body and soul while using the damage to birth a second consciousness from their body. The second consciousness was not in her control, but it would invariably fight with the original body for control.
The qingluan wanted to deal with the trouble in his body, but Daoyi would not let him. And with the interference of the second consciousness, he could not deal with Daoyi’s attack. His fate was sealed.
When the opportunity to deal the finishing blow arrived, Daoyi did not show mercy. Just as she unleashed her attack, alarm bells rang in her head. She knew that if she took whatever was coming for her, her body would be destroyed and her soul damaged.
Even if she knew that Tianyi was always watching over her and ready to take action, she would never place her hopes in another person’s hand. So, she stopped and evaded.
An explosion created by the clash between immortal qi and demonic qi enveloped the battlefield. Daoyi was fine, but the qingluan turned into a rather miserable corpse. However, she did not have time to care for the sad state of her trophy as she retreated back behind the front lines, all the while staring at the Phoenix Patriarch, who had taken action.
The Phoenix Patriarch did not heed Daoyi’s gaze. Instead, he locked gazes with Tianyi’s absolute zero eyes.
“Interfering in a life and death duel is against the rules. Do you want to start the final battle now?” Tianyi coldly asked.
Comments
KaiserBlak
true dragons are demon lords/true immortals. Dragon lords are demon kings/immortal monarchs. I don't think I wrote it any differently.
Ismael rodrigues
At the start of this arc Dragon Lord was mentioned to be the tittle for true demons of the dragon lineage and True Dragons for demons kings. In this chapter the Dragon Lord is used for Demon King while talking about a dragon in this realm
KaiserBlak
Right, thank you for pointing that out. Fixed it.
Shadw 2 2 7
A few chapters ago Bai shifafang said something like this being his first war dose the Anti-Earth/ eighth piller sect and anti-heven conflicts not count cuz he fought in both
