Taking the Rakshasa Demon Scythe Head-On
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Bibi Dong's Twin Spider Emperor fully unfolded in the night sky.
The phantoms of the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor rose from behind her, each tens of feet tall. Dark purple spider silk hung from the phantoms, staining the ground three hundred paces outside Jialing Pass a dark Abyss color. The Spiderweb Domain covered an area of a thousand paces in radius, and every thread on the web contained the corrosive energy of the Rakshasa Divine Power. The bluestone on the ground silently turned into dust upon being touched by the spider silk.
Bibi Dong stood in the center of the spider web, her deep purple pupils surging with the dark purple light of Rakshasa Divine Power. She raised her right hand, and the phantom of the Death Spider Emperor opened its mouth and spat out a jet-black beam of light, which condensed in her palm into a scythe over ten feet long— the Rakshasa Demon Scythe. The scythe was as black as ink, and dark purple divine patterns flowed along its blade, each pattern containing the power to cleave through the protective Soul Power of Titled Douluo.
"Tang San has become a god." Bibi Dong's voice came from the center of the spider web, cold and sharp, "But becoming a god won't save you. The God Level battlefield will tear apart Jialing Pass; he will lose everything. And you—"
Her purple eyes locked onto Nan Feng, Rakshasa Demon Scythe slowly rose in her hand.
Your soul belongs to me.
Nan Feng stood atop the West Gate, the tower suspended before his chest. The nine-story bronze tower slowly rotated in the night, the seventh layer of Samsara patterns bursting forth with silver-blue light, while the sixth layer of Return to the Void patterns simultaneously lit up with black light. He sensed that Bibi Dong's Rakshasa Divine Power was stronger than it had been three days ago; the divine power within that dark pillar of light was awakening at an accelerated pace, and she had already broken through half of the limit of Level 99 Titled Douluo.
Old Huai spoke within the Tower Spirit Space, "Her attack was the full power of the Rakshasa God. The ultimate strike of a Level 99 Titled Douluo, enhanced by the Rakshasa God's divinity, has already touched the threshold of God Level. Your Tower Realm cannot withstand it."
Nan Feng remained silent. He poured all his Soul Power into the tower, causing the seventh layer of Samsara patterns and the sixth layer of Return to the Void patterns to reach their brightest points simultaneously. The tower expanded to a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), and the Suppress Mountains and Rivers at its base cascaded down, covering a hundred paces in front of the city gate. At the same time, he laid down a suppressing layer of the Mountain Suppression Art on the surface of the city wall beneath his feet, connecting the entire section of the city wall to the earth's spiritual veins.
"Xiao Wu," Nan Feng's voice was steady, "Retreat to the inner city. Zhu Zhuqing, Shadow Formation to cover the city walls."
Xiao Wu swept in from the direction of the city wall, her Asura Jade Rabbit Martial Soul glowing golden in the night. She landed beside Nan Feng, golden Soul Power forming a protective layer on her body. "I will not retreat."
Nan Feng glanced at her. Xiao Wu's eyes held a determination he had never seen before, and the Soul Power of the Asura Jade Rabbit pulsed quietly within her, ready to erupt at any moment. He nodded.
Zhu Zhuqing's nine shadow clones emerged from the shadows on the city wall, each possessing independent Soul Power fluctuations. The nine shadow clones were distributed in various positions on the city wall, and the Shadow Formation of the Nether Shadow covered the entire western city wall. Her ability to Shuttling Between Illusion and Reality allowed her main body to change positions at will in the shadows.
Tang San stood in the center of the city wall, the light of the Sea God Godhood slowly illuminating his body. Although the dual divine power was consuming his Soul Power, the Sea God's pressure still covered half of Jialing Pass. The Sea God Trident in his hand shone with a sea-blue light, and God Level power condensed at the tip of the trident.
Bibi Dong's Rakshasa Demon Scythe moved.
She raised the scythe high above her head, and the phantoms of the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor simultaneously opened their mouths and spewed out jet-black beams of light, the two divine powers merging into the Demon Scythe. The dark purple divine patterns on the scythe lit up under the infusion of divine power, and the entire Demon Scythe transformed into a jet-black pillar of light, containing power sufficient to cleave through God Level defense line.
Bibi Dong swung her Demon Scythe.
A jet-black blade of light, spanning a hundred feet, slashed out from the Demon Scythe. The blade skimmed across the ground, turning all the bluestone, frozen soil, and withered grass along its path into nothingness. The blade was incredibly fast; by the time Nan Feng's Peng Eye caught the trajectory of the blade in their pupils, it had already reached thirty paces in front of the city wall.
Nan Feng pushed the tower forward with all his might. The nine-story bronze tower expanded to a height of five zhang (approximately 10 meters). At the Suppress Mountains and Rivers of the tower, the Mountain Suppression Art was superimposed, and the Samsara Power condensed at the base of the tower into a silver-blue light shield. The light shield was three chi (approximately 1.5 meters) thick, and its surface was covered with interwoven patterns of silver, blue and black.
"Tower Realm: Heaven and Qiankun!"
Nan Feng unleashed the second Soul Skill of his Seventh Soul Ring. The Tower Realm Light Membrane covered the entire section of the city wall, and the power of heaven and Qiankun formed a layer of space-distorting force on the surface of the light membrane, which could disperse the power of the attack across the entire surface of the light membrane.
The Rakshasa Demon Scythe Scythe's blade struck the tower.
The moment they made contact, the entire Jialing Pass trembled. The Rakshasa Divine Power contained within the light blade shattered three layers of the Suppress Mountains and Rivers Light Shield. The Qiankun Light Membrane twisted violently under the impact of the divine power, and silver-blue light and black-purple divine power exploded in the sky above the city wall. The surface of the tower bore most of the power of the light blade. A fine crack appeared in the Samsara pattern on the seventh layer under the impact, and a third of the Return to the Void pattern on the sixth layer shattered.
But the tower did not collapse.
Blood gushed from Nan Feng's seven orifices as the light blade struck the tower. His meridians were reversed by the aftershocks of the Rakshasa Divine Power, and his internal organs shifted under the shock of the divine power. His feet slid back three steps on the city wall, leaving two deep footprints in the bluestone beneath his feet, with spiderweb-like cracks covering the stone surface around the footprints.
He stopped.
The cracks on the tower's surface slowly healed under the nourishment of Primordial World Power. Although the light of the Samsara patterns weakened by a third, it did not extinguish. The Mountain Suppression Art was fully activated within the city wall beneath his feet, dispersing the impact of the light blades into the earth's spiritual veins. The earth veins beneath Jialing Pass trembled for a moment under the impact of divine power, but the foundation of the city wall remained unshaken.
"You passed the Eighth Trial." Old Huai's voice came from the Tower Spirit Space, tinged with exhaustion and relief. "You withstood a God Level attack without the tower collapsing. You held your ground. Soul Power— "
Nan Feng sensed that the liquid Immortal Power in his dantian had undergone a qualitative change under the impact of the Rakshasa Divine Power. His level Level 87 Soul Power broke through the final bottleneck under the pressure of the divine power, and the Soul Power surging in his meridians increased by 30%. The first to seventh floors of the tower lit up at the same time, and the door of the eighth floor was pushed open a crack by the impact of the Soul Power.
Level 87 broke through to Level 90.
The moment his Soul Power broke through Level 90, Nan Feng sensed the Immortal Power in his dantian transforming from liquid to solid, with each drop containing Immortal Power ten times greater than before. Although the door to the eighth floor of the tower was only slightly ajar, the aura of the eighth floor's Purification Power was already seeping out from the crack, and a silvery-white light appeared on the tower.
Bibi Dong stood outside the pass, watching Nan Feng remain standing after taking the full Rakshasa Demon Scythe. A hint of shock flashed in her purple eyes, followed by an even more intense fervor. The Rakshasa Demon Scythe's full-force attack had been withstood by an Level 87 Soul Master —something that had never happened before in the history of the Douluo Continent. The Primordial World Power within Nan Feng's body not only did not dissipate after enduring the divine impact, but instead accelerated his breakthrough in Soul Power during the impact.
"Level 90." Bibi Dong's voice was filled with an almost manic excitement. "You've broken through to Level 90. Your tower withstood a God Level attack, and your Soul Power broke through under divine pressure. Your soul, your tower, your Primordial World Power —they're all mine."
Her Rakshasa Divine Power surged once more, and the phantoms of the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor hissed simultaneously behind her. A jet-black pillar of light shot into the sky from her body, dyeing the entire night sky dark purple. Tuoba Lie's Holy Dragon Legion re-formed in the distance, and the Soul Power of 50,000 elite Soul Master merged into Bibi Dong's jet-black pillar of light, pushing her Rakshasa God to an even higher level.
Nan Feng retracted the tower into his palm. The tower shrank to its normal size, and the cracks on the seventh floor had been completely healed by the Return to Origin Power. The shattering on the sixth floor was also slowly recovering. He sensed his Level 90 Soul Power surging through his meridians. Although he still needed some time to settle before absorbing the Level 90 Soul Ring, his Soul Power itself had already reached the threshold of the eighth ring.
"Bibi Dong," Nan Feng's voice carried on the night wind, "Your Rakshasa Demon Scythe shattered three layers of light shields on the tower, yet the tower's foundation remains standing. Your divine power impacted my meridians, but the Primordial World Power transformed and absorbed it. Your Spiderweb Domain covered a thousand paces, but Suppress Mountains and Rivers suppressed your domain to only thirty percent."
He took a step forward. The Nether Step - Shrinking Earth technique was silently activated beneath his feet, leaving a trail of afterimages on the city wall. With his Level 90 Soul Power flowing into his legs, the speed of the Nether Step was nearly twice as fast as before. He stood at the very front of the city wall, the tower suspended in front of his chest, the silver-white Purification light seeping from the eighth-level door intertwining with the silver-blue Samsara light of the seventh level.
"Your Rakshasa Divine Power cannot crush me. Your Demon Scythe cannot shatter my tower. Your spiderweb cannot trap my people."
Bibi Dong's purple eyes blazed with light. She raised the Rakshasa Demon Scythe once more, and the phantoms of the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor opened their mouths simultaneously, two beams of jet-black light merging into the Demon Scythe. The dark purple divine runes on the scythe lit up again, this time with even greater power than before.
But the Nan Feng didn't wait for her to strike.
"Xiao Wu." Nan Feng's voice was very soft.
Xiao Wu burst out from his side. Her Asura Jade Rabbit Martial Soul was fully unleashed, golden Soul Power forming a golden lightning bolt on her body. Her figure transformed into a golden streak of light in the night, rushing towards the edge of Bibi Dong's Spiderweb Domain at incredible speed.
Zhu Zhuqing's nine shadow clones leaped out from the shadows on the city wall at the same time. The ability of the Nether Shadow to move between Shuttling Between Illusion and Reality allowed them to ignore physical obstacles in the shadows. The nine black afterimages and Xiao Wu's golden lightning formed an encirclement.
Tang San's Sea God Trident slashed out from the center of the city wall, and the sea-blue God Level power transformed into a beam of light that stretched for hundreds of feet, striking the center of Bibi Dong's Spiderweb Domain.
Nan Feng threw the tower out. The nine-story bronze tower expanded to ten zhang in the air, and the silver-white Purification light of the eighth floor poured down from the tower, while the Samsara Power of the seventh floor condensed into a silver-blue pillar of light at the bottom of the tower. He held the tower with both hands, poured all his Level 90 Soul Power into the tower, and activated the Mountain Suppression Art at full power.
"Suppress Mountains and Rivers, Samsara!"
The beam of Samsara shot towards Bibi Dong's Spiderweb Domain. The silver-blue light and the dark purple divine power collided in the night sky, illuminating the entire sky Jialing Pass with the intertwined silver-blue and dark purple light. The Samsara Power tore a gap in Bibi Dong's Spiderweb Domain, and the suppressive power of Suppress Mountains and Rivers surged in from the gap, suppressing the Rakshasa Divine Power within the Spiderweb Domain by thirty percent.
Bibi Dong swung down the Rakshasa Demon Scythe. The pitch-black blade collided with the pillar of Samsara, and the entire sky trembled violently under the impact of the two forces. The blade shattered the pillar of Samsara, but its remaining power was weakened by seventy percent in the face of the silver-white Purification light emanating from the tower. The blade struck the tower, and the eighth-floor door of the tower opened a crack under the impact, and silver-white Purification Power surged out from the crack, Purification half of the Rakshasa God power contained in the blade.
A hint of shock flashed in Bibi Dong's purple eyes. The part of her divinity that had Purification by the Primordial World Immortal Power in her Rakshasa Demon Scythe was like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun in the Purification light of the eighth floor of the tower. Nan Feng had not yet absorbed his Eighth Soul Ring, but the Purification Power of the eighth floor of the tower was already able to restrain the Rakshasa Divine Power.
Nan Feng retracted the tower into his palm. After taking two hits from the Rakshasa Demon Scythe, more blood spilled from his seven orifices, and there were several tiny cracks in his meridians. However, his Level 90 Soul Power surged within him, and his Primordial World Power circulated wildly in his meridians, devouring, transforming, and annihilating the Rakshasa Divine Power that had invaded his body.
"Bibi Dong," Nan Feng's voice carried far on the night wind, "Your Rakshasa Divine Power cannot suppress my Primordial World Immortal Power. Next time, I will absorb the Eighth Soul Ring. At that time, your Demon Scythe will not be able to shatter my tower. Your divinity will not be able to suppress my Immortal Power. Your spider web will not be able to trap my Dao."
Bibi Dong's deep purple pupils churned with complex emotions. Her Rakshasa Demon Scythe struck Nan Feng's tower twice with all her might, but failed to shatter it. The Primordial World Power was more effective at restraining divine power than she had anticipated. She withdrew the Demon Scythe, and the dark pillar of light slowly receded from her body, while the phantom of the Twin Spider Emperor gradually faded behind her.
"Level 90." Bibi Dong's voice was cold. "Your Eighth Soul Ring requires a 260,000-year-old Soul Beast. There are no such Soul Beast on the Douluo Continent. By the time you find your Eighth Soul Ring, Jialing Pass will already be in my hands."
She turned and walked back to the Spirit Hall camp. Her long black dress billowed in the night wind, and her figure gradually disappeared in the dark purple pillar of light.
Nan Feng stood atop the city wall, slowly retracting the tower into his palm. His Level 90 Soul Power surged through his meridians. Although the door to the eighth floor of the tower had only been pushed open a crack, the traces left by the silvery-white Purification Power on the tower had already stabilized. He sensed that the Immortal Power in his dantian had become more solid after breaking through to Level 90, and the Primordial World Power in his meridians was nearly twice as strong as it had been at Level 87.
Xiao Wu swept back to the city wall from the edge of the Spiderweb Domain, her Asura Jade Rabbit Martial Soul slowly receding from her body. She stood beside Nan Feng, golden Soul Power flashing in her palm. "Your tower's eighth floor has opened."
Nan Feng nodded. "A sliver has appeared. The eighth layer of Purification Power can suppress the Rakshasa God divinity. However, the Eighth Soul Ring requires Soul Beast that is 260,000 years old, and there are no Soul Beast of that level on the Douluo Continent."
The Old Huai poked its head out from the immortal tree. "It doesn't exist on the Douluo Continent, but it does in the Abyss. Below the seventh level of the Abyss, there are even deeper places. You sensed it when you hunted the Nine Netherworlds Dark Python. There was the aura of a 260,000-year-old Soul Beast there."
Nan Feng absorbed the tower into his palm. The red ribbon on his left wrist fluttered gently in the night wind, and his Level 90 Soul Power stabilized in his meridians. He sensed Zhu Zhuqing's nine shadow clones slowly receding from the shadows on the city wall, and Tang San's Sea God Golden Light slowly fading from the center of the city wall.
Eighth Trial passed. Level 90. The door on the eighth floor of the tower opens slightly. Next step, the eighth ring, the 260,000-year-old Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
Nan Feng stood atop the city wall, watching the dark purple pillar of light slowly dissipate from the direction of the Spirit Hall's camp. Bibi Dong had retreated, but she would return. The next time she came, he would use the Purification Power of his Eighth Soul Ring to shatter her Rakshasa Demon Scythe -on.