“Pffft—!”
Dustin was struck as if by an ancient mountain, his entire body and the shattered light barrier thrown violently into the air by the fiery blast. Blood sprayed from his mouth, tracing a crimson arc across the sky.
He crashed heavily onto the white jade floor dozens of feet away, tumbling several times before barely managing to kneel, his sword buried into the ground for support.
The long sword wailed, its spiritual light nearly extinguished. The strength he had just regained once again scattered in disarray. His chest and abdomen felt frozen by eternal ice, then scorched by hellfire, while his very soul seemed to be torn apart by countless invisible fangs. The agony nearly drowned his consciousness.
Aokun’s dual-element mastery of gold and fire worked in perfect harmony — the power was not merely doubled, but transformed into something even more terrifying.
“To withstand seventy percent of my Sky-Rending Slash and God-Burning Fist — you may boast of that on your way to the underworld.”
Aokun’s tone was calm, as if announcing a verdict. He stepped forward, each footfall silently erasing the ground beneath him.
Raising both hands, his left palm gathered countless fine golden needles — “Geng-Metal Essence-Piercing Needles” — shimmering with destructive light, humming sharply as they locked onto every vital meridian and acupoint on Dustin’s body.
In his right hand, a dark-golden fireball the size of a human head slowly rotated, countless miniature black holes within it appearing and collapsing — the very core of the “Great Annihilation Art,” exuding a terrifying suction that sought to reduce all things to nothingness.
Metal needles to pierce the source, divine fire to burn all into void — a true killing strike that sealed every avenue of defense and escape.
Margaret’s face turned pale with despair, her body trembling uncontrollably.
At the very instant the golden needles were about to shoot forth and the dark-golden fireball descend — ready to erase Dustin and the surrounding space from existence — a calm, aged voice rang out through the hall. Though gentle, it carried the power to still the turmoil of heaven and earth.
“Boundless Heaven’s Veneration.”
Immediately, a soft azure radiance appeared before Dustin, expanding in an instant into a solid, slowly rotating Taiji diagram. Yin and yang fish swam around each other in endless flow, radiating an aura of “unassailable by all forces, driving back all evils.”
The rain of Geng-Metal needles struck the Taiji diagram like a storm — yet each was diverted, dissolved, and finally vanished without a trace within the spinning flow of yin and yang energy.
The dark-golden fireball containing the Great Annihilation core touched the Taiji diagram — and was halted midair, held in place by an invisible yet irresistible power. The devouring force within it collided with an unseen wall and could advance no further.
For the first time, Aokun’s eternally cold face showed a violent tremor. He snapped his head around, his gaze like twin bolts of lightning shooting toward the grand hall’s entrance.
There stood Elder Xuan Chengzi, robed in Daoist blue, holding a horsetail whisk. His robe fluttered gently, his face serene yet thin with age, and his eyes were filled with a complex mix of pity and determination as he looked upon Aokun and the dying Dustin.
Beside him stood a small child in a red bellyband with a topknot, hands on his hips, his big black eyes glaring furiously at Aokun.
“Aokun! You shameless old toad! Think living a few extra centuries gives you the right to bully juniors? Gold and fire dual mastery, huh? Beating on a half-dead man like it’s something to brag about — ptooey! Shame on your ancestors!”
The sudden arrival of Xuan Chengzi and the child’s sharp mockery hit the tension of the immortal palace like a ladle of cold water poured into boiling oil — the atmosphere twisted into something both eerie and explosive.
Aokun’s frozen face twitched slightly, his killing intent surging like a glacial tide as it locked onto the two figures at the doorway.
His brows knitted tight, a flash of deadly surprise in his eyes. “Xuan Chengzi! And you, little abomination! You didn’t stay rotting away in that broken bamboo grove — and you dare come here to meddle?!”
Xuan Chengzi lightly flicked his whisk. His expression remained calm, but in his gaze lay deep resignation and unshakable resolve.
“Aokun, stop this. To sacrifice body, spirit, and soul together to the Ruin Dragon for power — that path leads only to destruction, and will bring catastrophe upon all. You’ve strayed from our original purpose: to guard the seal.”
The child stomped his foot and shouted, “You slimy old eel! You’re the real abomination! You’ve turned this whole island into a cesspool and still want to harm people? Just wait — I’ll knock your teeth all over the floor!”
“Our purpose?” Aokun burst into wild, icy laughter. “Guard it? Guard this wretched cage for eternity, just to watch it decay on its own? Xuan Chengzi, you’re a fool beyond redemption! Power is the only truth! Since you’ve come to die, I’ll oblige you — and use your very essence to help me fully master the Dragon’s Core!” - Marinien
Comments