Successive Slashes

Chapter '—Successive Slashes

Yu Ci knew his own abilities and talents very well.

Perhaps there was nothing particularly methodical about his swordsmanship, but years of life-and-death combat had forged in him the boldness to fuse hand, eye, heart, courage, and sword momentum into one. A thousand swords, ten thousand swords—were all one sword. So long as he trusted the weapon in his hand, that was enough!

He had no intention of yielding the path. Relying solely on his absolute confidence in his own judgment at the extreme threshold of the Life and Death Line, he tore through the gale, brushed past the trail of sinister emerald light, and plunged downward like a blaze with no solid form.

Poisonous Snake Monk only saw a blur before Yu Ci, bearing searing flames, barged into the central gate. It was once again that incomparably vicious close-quarters sword art he had already witnessed. The monk's narrow eyes nearly split wide open as a shriek squeezed from his throat. Blade-light flashed in the void, and the golden saber he had snatched two days ago circled his body in flight. Though he had not yet refined it properly, he could no longer care about that.

Yu Ci had personally watched him steal Ye Tu's golden saber. How could he have been unprepared? Though his assault was fierce, he had held some strength in reserve. The instant the golden saber appeared, he erupted with renewed force. The flaming sword blade made a slight swing, no longer thrusting straight ahead but shifting slightly off-angle.

With a thunderous CLANG, the golden saber flew upward. Yu Ci's body nearly scraped the cliff face as he crashed into Poisonous Snake Monk's central gate. The violently trembling flaming blade slashed diagonally across the monk's chest and abdomen, but the collision with the golden saber had shaken it too severely. It only tore a shallow wound before naturally extinguishing, reverting to its crude, blunt wooden blade.

Poisonous Snake Monk howled in pain and struck down with his palm.

In that fleeting instant, Yu Ci turned halfway aside. While shedding part of the palm force, he rammed his shoulder viciously into the monk's chest wound. It was a direct display of his precise and swift physical reflexes—and an insane act that treated the ten-thousand-zhang abyss as though it were nothing.

Poisonous Snake Monk had not expected such utter resolve. Caught off guard, his chest was struck numb. Their protective true breaths violently collided, and amid distorted curses, their bodies nearly fused together as they plummeted downward. Directly below them was Xu Lao Er.

After Poisonous Snake Monk blocked him, Xu Lao Er had no fewer than three ways to bar the pair's path. Yet he stepped aside!

"Bastard..." Poisonous Snake Monk no longer had the strength even to curse.

Driven by Yu Ci's overwhelming momentum, the two fell nearly a hundred zhang in the blink of an eye, their speed reaching its most dangerous limit. As they plunged like meteors, Poisonous Snake Monk felt his chest about to burst from the crushing pressure. In desperation, he tried to control the golden saber and cut the junior in his arms in two. But the saber had only recently been refined and was far from moving as he wished. The moment his attention slipped, Yu Ci seized the opening and hammered several heavy punches into his face, knocking stars before his eyes and nearly making him cry again.

The monk was mad with rage and filled with terror when a shout suddenly pierced his ears: "Go!"

It was Xu Lao Er's voice. At the same time, his chest tightened again, and the crushing weight on his body abruptly vanished.

Poisonous Snake Monk ignored everything else and threw himself desperately toward the cliff wall, using it to slow himself. His luck was not bad. After sliding another half-li or so, he found a stable foothold. The golden saber above his head fell after him, and he caught it in his hand. Only then did he see that within the clouds, a long black cord was shooting down from above like a true venomous serpent choosing its prey. The Nine Yang Talisman Sword in Yu Ci's hand once again extended a flaming blade and accurately chopped at the tip of the black cord flying after him. Sword and cord collided. The cord recoiled, preparing to pounce again, but the Nine Yang fire sword forced out waves of flame and drove it back. Yet Yu Ci's cultivation was still inferior to his opponent's profound strength. His body shook as well, his feet slipped into empty air, and he slid down some distance. Once he steadied himself, he was actually slightly lower than Poisonous Snake Monk.

Xu Lao Er also rushed down from above along the cliff face. He reached out and caught the returning cord, then, seeing Yu Ci about to exert himself again, barked, "Hold him for a moment!"

Who the hell do you think you are... Poisonous Snake Monk opened his mouth to curse, but he quickly saw Xu Lao Er chanting under his breath. A circle of gray-white fire suddenly ignited around his body and flowed onto the long cord in his hand. The curse lodged in his throat went down with a gulp. Poisonous Snake Monk knew that Xu Lao Er had chosen this moment to unleash his strength.

In the end, he still knew what mattered. He also understood that he was injured. If he offended Xu Lao Er, he might truly die in this Sky Rift. He spat, then braced himself and met Yu Ci's sword-light shooting upward. But he no longer dared send the incompletely refined golden saber flying to kill anyone. Instead, he honestly blocked this unavoidable path, wielding the golden saber to bar Yu Ci's way.

In an instant, the positions of all three had completely reversed. Yu Ci had gone from holding the advantageous high ground to having to attack upward. But he was not afraid in the slightest. Poisonous Snake Monk had already been beaten out of confidence by him; such a fellow was not worth worrying about. That Xu Lao Er, however, had chosen his timing quite well and was skilled at borrowing force to wield force. He was somewhat more formidable than Poisonous Snake Monk!

As he thought this, Xu Lao Er attacked again. The same long cord flew out, but this time, atop its dark black color was a faint layer of gray-white firelight. Xu Lao Er formed seals with his hands and stood firmly on the high ground, while the long cord seemed to possess a spirit, whirling and looping through the air. This was the first time Yu Ci had seen such a method of attack.

Poisonous Snake Monk suddenly moved upward, widening the distance. At the same time, he shouted in praise, "What a Spirit Binding Rope, what Corrosive Soul Fire!"

The flying cord was like a giant python winding downward. It was not lashing at Yu Ci, but seemed intent on binding him. Even without Poisonous Snake Monk's praise, merely seeing that layer of gray-white firelight on the cord made Yu Ci unwilling to test it with his body. He drew a long breath, then suddenly leaped sideways into the clouds.

No one knew the surrounding terrain better than Yu Ci. This was already within the area where he gathered Shrimp Whisker Grass. The cliff face was riddled with excavated rock crevices, and there was absolutely no shortage of footholds. After borrowing force twice, his leaping speed had reached its limit. Yet the long cord behind him followed like a shadow, even faster than he was. Its pointed tip had already overtaken his body and curled inward.

Yu Ci cast a swift glance back and saw the form of the gray-white firelight at close range. So this was Corrosive Soul Fire?

The gray-white flames burned fiercely, yet gave off no sense of heat. The black cord showed no sign of being scorched, but wherever it passed, the surface of the cliff it brushed became covered in black blotches. It did not resemble fire, but poison. Within the flames were countless twisted patterns. Looking closer, what patterns were those? They were clearly countless translucent images of living creatures, roughly retaining their appearances from life, struggling and howling amid the firelight. Yu Ci could not hear any sound, but malicious thoughts that shook the soul pierced straight into him.

He hesitated no longer. Before reaching the third foothold, he suddenly stamped hard against the cliff. His force no longer carried him diagonally upward, but flung him far away—away from the foothold, away from the cliff face—casting himself into the boundless clouds. The instant he made that move, the long cord contracted inward as well, making it seem as though the cord had forced him out.

Yu Ci's leap was far too forceful. He was now completely suspended in midair, with nothing within five zhang around him that he could use to borrow force. As his momentum ran out, he inevitably began falling.

"Good!" the monk shouted, gripping his saber, delight written all over his face. Xu Lao Er above also smiled. The reason he had controlled the Spirit Binding Rope to pursue from the inside was precisely because he had entertained such thoughts. Everything was within his grasp.

In complete contrast to the monk's shout of approval, a cry of alarm suddenly rang out from a cliff wall somewhere to the side. It drew the attention of both the monk and Xu Lao Er. They turned to look and vaguely saw, through the clouds, a sloping ledge jutting from the cliff in that direction, with a blurred figure standing upon it.

The one who had cried out was Ye Tu. Without realizing it, the battle had reached the vicinity of the slope. The youth had failed to make a move, but his ears and eyes were sharp, and he had taken in the entire fierce battle. His breath had already caught from watching when he suddenly saw Uncle Yu forced away from the cliff face. Terrified beyond measure, he cried out and exposed himself.

Poisonous Snake Monk was closer than Xu Lao Er. He froze when he saw this, then sneered. "So it's you. The brat's life is quite tough..."

As he spoke, he also took a liking to the spacious area on the steep slope and prepared to seize it. Yet at that moment, a powerful light suddenly flashed within the valley clouds.

Yu Ci, about to be swallowed by the clouds, raised his hand. The talisman in his palm exploded, and thick pale-purple lightning, like dragons and floodwyrms, tore through the clouds. It had barely risen into the air before exploding with a hum, like a gigantic tree branching in countless directions as it swept across half the sky. The first to bear the brunt was the Spirit Binding Rope below. The gray-white firelight clinging to it did not last even half a breath before being annihilated by the lightning.

Only then did the rolling thunder crush through the gorge, stirring the clouds in surging waves like the sea.

Five Thunder Talisman!

The Five Thunder Talisman Yu Ci used was the general outline of all lightning arts in the Shangqing Juxuan Xing Shu Mi Shou Fu Jing. It worked purely through transformations of thunder sigils, filling itself with one's vital breath and resonating with the yin and yang of heaven and earth. It grasped the pivot of thunderbolts, could command ghosts and gods, summon wind and rain, strike evil spirits—and was the bane of all sinister ghosts and wicked things.

He had already seen that the so-called Corrosive Soul Fire was an evil flame born from burning the vicious resentment of wraiths and malignant ghosts. The Five Thunder Talisman he had prepared beforehand was exactly the right thing to use. The moment the gray-white firelight went out, the black cord fell into the valley like a dead snake. More than ten zhang away, Xu Lao Er felt it through their linked auras. With a miserable groan, he clutched his chest and cursed:

"Zheng De, you bald donkey, which eye of yours saw that he was from Bai Ri Mansion?"

Poisonous Snake Monk wanted to answer, but after sweeping away the long cord, the roaring lightning surged upward. Distracted by both Ye Tu and Xu Lao Er, he had looked elsewhere, and by the time he reacted, it was too late. The lightning slammed into him. He screamed and truly suffered Five Thunders Crashing Down. In an instant, his entire body turned charred black, his skin split and flesh burst. Only the pure true breath protecting his heart meridian kept him from dying on the spot.

This really did not seem like a method of Bai Ri Mansion...

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the youth's cheering suddenly rang out from the slope. To him, that cheer was clearly a heavy omen of disaster.

He had just opened eyes that the lightning had nearly blinded when his eyeballs almost burst from their sockets. In the rolling clouds, that "Bai Ri Mansion junior" seemed to have a Heavenly Ladder beneath his feet, ascending cloud by cloud as he stepped through empty air toward him. Blinding firelight forced the monk to squint again. Instinctively, he tried to raise his saber to block, but how could he still lift it? A red line crossed the air before him, followed by complete darkness.

Yu Ci's sword wiped away half of Poisonous Snake Monk's head. Ignoring the sight of his boiling brains, Yu Ci laughed loudly and did not slow in the slightest, stepping on clouds as he soared upward.

White smoke, crane feathers, a wandering flying spirit; clouds beneath the feet, swift as the wind.

The words used by those before him were most fitting now. This was the third talisman Yu Ci had prepared: the Divine Movement Talisman!

With the talisman attached to his body, it was as if he had grown a pair of wings, as if clouds supported him. The brief ability to tread through empty air was something Yu Ci had only recently discovered when using Divine Movement Talismans to travel during the past few days. Used within this Sky Rift, it could not have been more appropriate.

With two companions falling one after another, Xu Lao Er had grown afraid. Though he still held the advantage of terrain, his most capable weapon, the Spirit Binding Rope, had been destroyed. If the battle continued, the odds were truly more ill than well. He immediately sprang upward, intending to flee.

The facts told him that this was the most foolish choice!

Yu Ci raised his sword in pursuit. It was originally a motion meant to gather strength, yet the instant he moved, he found that this sword strike felt too good. Everything followed its natural course, like an eagle seizing a rabbit, like a starving tiger pouncing on prey. Completely following the instinct of living creatures hunting their quarry, it was guided by an invisible hand in the unseen and tore through the void.

At that same instant, the crown of his head grew hot. The "lamp flame," which had not reacted for a long time, hissed brightly. This time, beneath the crown of his head, within the palace of his mind, it gathered a poised force ready to emerge, radiating brilliant light. He only felt the lamp flame's glow encompass both body and mind, within and without, making his flesh seem transparent. In that moment, the talisman sword in his hand seemed to be lightly flicked by an invisible finger, humming as it trembled. At the same time, the primordial qi spreading through his body vibrated, as did the deeper intentions of his soul and heart.

He did not know which side had begun vibrating first, but he could clearly grasp that the frequency of those vibrations was infinitely close to the soul's tremor that had transcended the flesh when he entered the Spirit Communion realm. Later, as every vibration harmonized, he could no longer distinguish which was the talisman sword, which was primordial qi, and which was the intention of soul and heart. Everything had been brought onto the track of the "soul."

It sounded complicated, but it was no more than the instant he swung his sword.

In the sky, a red line as thin as a hair stretched out, like lightning flashing through the void. Before it, a distance of thirty or fifty feet was no obstacle at all. Bloodlight flashed. Xu Lao Er, fleeing for his life, was severed into two halves, painting a dazzling streak of red across the gorge clouds.