"Heaven's heart is fathomless; those who heed its will shall prosper!" the yellow-robed cultivator from Heaven's Will Sect shouted sternly. A water-blue Treasure Mirror had already appeared before him. "You vile spawn of the demonic sects dare skulk about here! You must be plotting something!"
As his words fell, before the Pure Water Abbey cultivator beside him could react, three beams of mirror light brimming with murderous intent shot straight toward Chu Mo and the others.
"Fuck, are you insane?"
Chu Mo cursed inwardly at the sight. Never mind how the man had identified them-hurling insults and then suddenly going for the kill was downright deranged.
Profound Cavern Roselight instantly surged up before him, forming a curtain of light that barely blocked the mirror beam aimed at him.
Chu Mo rapidly formed hand seals, about to unleash the Golden Baleful Bone-Piercing Art in retaliation, but the true qi within him abruptly stalled, its circulation slowing for a split second.
"Hmph. Petty tricks."
The yellow-robed cultivator snorted coldly and easily dodged the Golden Cone that had lost its aim. Changing his hand seals, he declared, "Remember this: the one who slays demons and vanquishes evil is Lu Xiuyuan of Heaven's Will Sect!"
The Treasure Mirror shone again, targeting both Chu Mo and Yue Mian, who was quietly retreating nearby.
At that moment, the Pure Water Abbey cultivator finally reacted. With a sharp cry, a gleaming longsword flew out, striking straight at Lin Feng's vitals.
Chu Mo swept his dark Soul Banner, sending black vapor billowing forth. The trapped souls within shrieked, trying to block the mirror light bearing down on him again.
Yet this beam was far stronger than the last. It dissolved the black vapor in its path along with two banner spirits, then slammed into the roselight, stirring violent ripples before finally dissipating.
Yue Mian fared even worse.
She deployed her Red Rope Dharmic Instrument to weave a magical net, only for a sudden undercurrent to disrupt it and leave a brief gap. The mirror light nearly broke through, leaving her scrambling desperately.
"Careful!" Lin Feng urgently transmitted, his tone grave.
"The cultivation arts of Heaven's Will Sect are extremely bizarre. When they fight demonic beasts or 'evil heretics,' the power of their divine abilities and spells increases by several tenths out of nowhere.
"At the same time, they seem to receive Heaven's aid. Their enemies constantly make mistakes because of all sorts of accidents, making them impossible to guard against."
"Hmph! Your struggles are futile. Better to meekly accept death." Lu Xiuyuan gave the three no time to react, and his Treasure Mirror blazed with radiant light.
The pressure on the three soared, and the battle took a sharp turn for the worse.
Lu Xiuyuan was already formidable. Coupled with that bizarre luck, he made Chu Mo feel increasingly sick the longer they fought.
Disordered true qi, silent undercurrents, slipping feet... one accident followed another, leaving him utterly stifled.
Had the Pure Water Abbey cultivator not been so weak that Lu Xiuyuan had to divide his attention to protect them, dragging him down, the three would probably have lost already.
And their opponent seemed determined to keep them there, unleashing beam after beam of mirror light to seal off every retreat.
"Fucking lunatic." Chu Mo could not help cursing again. No wonder Senior Brother Luo Shan had called Heaven's Will Sect "deranged." Today, he finally understood.
Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, and his eyes lit up.
Before long, the burly man's soul he had sent out earlier fled frantically back into the banner. Immediately afterward-
Boom!
The silt on the seabed exploded, and an enormous creature burst forth.
It resembled a flood dragon, its body as large as a small mountain, and exuded dense yin energy and deathly energy. A blood-red skull icon preceded the name above its head.
[Level 10 · Mutated Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon (Leader)] [Health: 60%]
"You vile beast! So you were hiding here!"
At the sight of the flood dragon, Lu Xiuyuan was delighted rather than alarmed. He swiftly deployed a golden Talisman, which transformed into a golden barrier around him.
The Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon fixed its scarlet slit pupils on Lu Xiuyuan as though he owed it a blood debt. With a deafening roar, it immediately attacked him in a frenzy.
"An opening! Go!" Chu Mo said in a low shout.
The three seized that fleeting chance and tried to withdraw.
But the Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon's savage fury erupted, and it treated them as enemies too. Its massive tail swept toward them, forcing them to turn back and defend themselves.
Lin Feng nearly coughed up blood as he blocked it. "How is this Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon so powerful?!" It hardly seemed like a mere first-tier demonic beast.
Its scales were hard, spells struggled to wound it, and its deathly energy constantly eroded his protective spiritual light. Every collision rapidly drained his true qi.
Only Lu Xiuyuan, protected by his golden barrier, could hold his own against it.
For a time, spell light flashed wildly amid incessant booms, and the battlefield descended into utter chaos.
Half an incense stick later, the ink flood dragon was covered in wounds and growing ever more frenzied. It abruptly swung its massive head around, opened its bloody maw, and lunged to bite Yue Mian and Lin Feng, who were closest.
By then, Yue Mian's face was deathly pale and her true qi nearly exhausted. She had almost no strength left to resist the ink flood dragon.
Just as she was about to perish in its bloody jaws, a cold gleam flashed in her eyes. Her red thread suddenly wound toward Lin Feng, attempting to drag him in front of her. "Sorry, Senior-"
"Sorry, Junior Sister Yue Mian! I'll visit you in the soul banner often!" Lin Feng's voice rang out first.
Yue Mian felt a tremendous force strike her from behind, sending her body hurtling uncontrollably toward the ink flood dragon's enormous maw. Astonishment flashed in her eyes. She had never expected Lin Feng to have the exact same idea-and act a fraction faster.
"You-!" Shocked and furious, Yue Mian was swallowed whole by the Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon. Her protective spiritual light shattered with a crash, and her voice cut off abruptly.
Using the force of that shove, Lin Feng rapidly retreated, without the slightest trace of guilt on his face.
At the boundary between life and death, selling out a teammate to survive was standard practice in the Duo'e Sect. Besides, she would not truly die; she would merely live in a different way.
Yet before he could flee far, Lu Xiuyuan raised his hand and pointed. A concentrated beam of mirror light, launched later but arriving first, pierced Lin Feng precisely through his utterly exposed back, striking his heart!
"Heh..." As Lu Xiuyuan unleashed mirror light to fend off the ink flood dragon's snapping jaws, he glanced at Chu Mo, who had already crept to the edge of the battlefield, his tone mocking.
"Just what I'd expect from the Duo'e demonic sect. Your ways truly never change." With that, he turned the Treasure Mirror again, firing its light straight at Chu Mo to block his escape.
His movements exposed, Chu Mo stopped short, his face instantly darkening. "You lunatic!"
With the ink flood dragon posing such a formidable threat right before him, Lu Xiuyuan still refused to let him go. Should he praise the man's unwavering convictions or curse the hole in his head?
Seeing no hope of escape, Chu Mo's gaze turned cold, and he made his decision.
Since you're so determined to keep me here... then I won't leave.
He swiftly placed all his Dharmic Instruments into his [Inventory]. The next moment, his aura surged, and he became a resolute meteor, charging straight at Lu Xiuyuan without dodging or evading.
The vital blood and soul within him burned simultaneously, gathering into a terrifying force.
[Life-Ending Curse] [Description: Sacrifice all vital blood and the soul in exchange for a single burst of power beyond your own limits.]
At the sight, Lu Xiuyuan's expression finally changed drastically. He tried to dodge, but empowered by the sacrifice, Chu Mo was too fast and reached him in an instant.
Boom-!
Terrifying energy erupted. The Pure Water Abbey cultivator, caught directly in the blast, turned to ash without so much as a grunt.
The Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon's enormous body inexplicably twisted, placing it right in front of Lu Xiuyuan and absorbing part of the impact for him.
Even so, the golden barrier around Lu Xiuyuan shattered, and his body was hurled backward.
On the battlefield, Chu Mo's figure had vanished completely.
The "life-ending" in [Life-Ending Curse] referred to the caster. Whether the opponent died or not, the caster would be dead beyond all doubt.
[You have died] [Yin-Yang Jade -1, remaining: Two] [You will revive in 30 seconds]