Chapter 522: Black Mist Yin Sha |
Then, he placed the talisman against his own forehead.
The silver nail was aimed directly at Yuan Yi's brow center, and he raised his right hand, gathering his true qi, driving the nail straight into his own skull.
Yuan Yi's temples instantly bulged with blue veins. This Spirit Connection realm cultivator gasped harshly in short, ragged breaths, then, using his last ounce of strength, walked over to the withered tree and slipped his neck into the noose.
The true qi in his meridians had been completely sealed within his Qi Sea. At this very moment, Yuan Yi was nothing more than a mortal.
After struggling for a few breaths, Yuan Yi's body went completely rigid, his life force extinguished.
Then, the talisman on his forehead slowly began to burn, and a wisp of black mist emerged from the nail in his brow, rising gently into the air and vanishing into the world.
...
Heavenly Summit Mountain, Cang Luan Cliff.
This was the highest point of Heavenly Summit Mountain.
The only thing overwhelming was the density of the stars, clustered together so tightly they formed a Milky Way arching overhead.
Su Hongzhen sat alone on the flat stone in the center of the cliff, a small campfire burning at his feet.
He cradled the Xun-Li Sword, a gift from Chen Yan, in his arms. Leaning back against a short tree, he gazed up at the river of stars above.
High above Heavenly Summit Mountain, suspended over two thousand zhang in the sky, the shadow of that pure white, majestic palace was cast down upon Cang Luan Cliff.
The prodigies of this world seemed even weaker than he had imagined.
Su Hongzhen thought this to himself.
Or perhaps, he was far stronger than he had ever believed himself to be.
At this moment, it seemed as though only Su Hongzhen was present on Cang Luan Cliff.
But that was not the case.
Su Hongzhen could sense that, in the corners of Cang Luan Cliff, several cultivators in the azure-black daoist robes of Mirage Palace were hiding.
These cultivators from Mirage Palace were all above the Qi Sea realm, and one was even a Spirit Connection realm cultivator, standing guard on the sidelines.
Their purpose here was to protect Su Hongzhen, to prevent any accidents.
This was a direct order from Lin Mo, the Imperial Envoy Elder of Mirage Palace for this Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry.
Lin Mo, of course, knew that the reason Zhou Jinyun had recommended Su Hongzhen was not merely her own opinion.
It also carried the hidden intent of the Grand Elder Council.
And that Grand Elder was most likely Shang Yulü.
His own position here was as the Delegation Envoy of Mirage Palace. If something happened to Su Hongzhen, Shang Yulü would absolutely make an example of him.
Lin Mo didn't dare to gamble that no one on Heavenly Summit Mountain would attack Su Hongzhen because of his outstanding performance.
So, he had sent several of the delegation's best fighters to protect Su Hongzhen on Cang Luan Cliff.
The safest course of action would have been to have Su Hongzhen brought into the Water Mirror Pavilion. Lin Mo had even sent someone to invite Su Hongzhen there to rest and recover.
But Su Hongzhen had ultimately rejected the offer.
The reason was simple: like Chen Yan, Su Hongzhen did not trust Mirage Palace.
Within Mirage Palace, the only person Su Hongzhen could trust was Immortal Master Zhou. No one else.
Especially after what happened in Jiangdu Prefecture and at Moxu Mountain, Little Su had always harbored a deep wariness towards Mirage Palace.
The wind changed first.
The wind that could sweep over this towering peak of over eight thousand zhang should have been bone-chillingly cold.
But due to the many building clusters of the Six Pavilions on Heavenly Summit Mountain and the numerous spiritual herbs and immortal medicines growing on the summit, the climate on Heavenly Summit Mountain was warmer than one might expect.
Even the night wind on Cang Luan Cliff should have been mild.
But the wind that just swept over Cang Luan Cliff seemed much more sinister and cold than before.
It rolled with a biting gloom, surging up from the western side of Cang Luan Cliff, causing the campfire at Su Hongzhen's feet to crackle and pop. The flames suddenly shrank towards the ground, their tips tinged with a hint of gray.
Su Hongzhen's eyes narrowed slightly.
The current situation was somewhat strange.
The gloomy wind was wrapped in a wisp of black mist... no, calling it mist was inadequate; it was more like a rolling mass of ink.
Then, this blob of thick ink, leaving a wet, black trail on the ground as it approached Su Hongzhen, began to give form. A figure, resembling a Yin Sha, slowly emerged from within the black mist.
But Su Hongzhen was completely unaware of it all.
No matter how exceptional his talent, Su Hongzhen was still only a Martial Spring realm cultivator.
And this Yin Sha, born from the sacrifice of a Spirit Connection realm cultivator's life, was an absolute method of the Upper Three Realms.
Su Hongzhen had no power to resist.
"On guard!"
The low shout of the Mirage Palace Spirit Connection realm cultivator rang out sharply from the corner.
This Spirit Connection realm cultivator's spiritual sense was sufficient to detect this wisp of Yin Sha energy. He quickly gathered all the cultivators on Cang Luan Cliff responsible for protecting Su Hongzhen to counter it.
Immediately, this Spirit Connection realm cultivator, who also held the position of an Inner Court Elder in Mirage Palace, took the lead. His deep green daoist robes flashed across the night sky as he placed himself between Su Hongzhen and the mass of Yin Sha energy.
It was only at this very moment that Su Hongzhen finally became truly aware of the Yin Sha presence within the black mist.
This Inner Court Elder of Mirage Palace unleashed his true qi fully, clearly adopting a posture of going all out.
His true qi condensed into a dark shield before him, as if trying to block the onslaught of the Yin Sha.
But the Yin Sha didn't even pause.
As the black mist roiled, a withered, bony black claw suddenly shot out from the fog, completely ignoring the dark shield formed by the Mirage Palace Inner Court Elder, passing straight through his true qi to attack his chest.
The Mirage Palace Elder's pupils instantly constricted to pinpricks, the gravity on his face replaced by shock.
He wanted to retreat, to dodge this black claw that could ignore his true qi defense, but his movement speed was far too slow compared to the black mist.
A short, stifled grunt was squeezed from the elder's throat. The black claw had already sunk into his chest.
Black mist billowed from his seven orifices. His entire body visibly shriveled, his Qi Sea and Martial Spring withering in an instant.
The Yin Sha within the black mist didn't seem to stop at all, continuing its charge towards Su Hongzhen.
At this point, the presence of those Qi Sea realm cultivators from Mirage Palace on the mountain was completely useless.
Even the Spirit Connection realm Inner Court Elder had been killed by the Yin Sha in an instant.
As for Su Hongzhen?
He just sat by the campfire, clutching the Xun-Li Sword in his arms, his eyes fixed directly on the Yin Sha energy rushing towards him.
Both in reaction speed and raw speed, Su Hongzhen was far inferior to a Spirit Connection realm cultivator.
But there was one area where Su Hongzhen far surpassed that Mirage Palace Inner Court Elder.
His innate instinct, and an extreme sense of distance control.
In a flash, Su Hongzhen swiftly drew the Xun-Li Sword from his arms and swung it towards the mass of black mist—
Crimson Flame!
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