Chapter 276 - 273: Slay
It had to be said,
The figure in black was very clever.
As expected of someone who had reached the Soul Emergence Second Layer.
He had discovered Shen Changchuan’s greatest weakness almost as soon as they began to fight—
Shen Changchuan possessed the combat power of the Soul Emergence Level, yet he wasn’t a true Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm.
Therefore, even Tier One Techniques could cause him significant harm.
Furthermore, even if Shen Changchuan managed to block those Tier One Techniques, doing so would consume a massive amount of his Magical Power!
All he had to do was bombard Shen Changchuan with a massive number of Tier One Techniques,
and he could drain Shen Changchuan’s Magical Power in a short time. Then, Shen Changchuan would be at his mercy!
The man in black’s plan was sound.
It struck right at Shen Changchuan’s Achilles’ heel.
It nearly pushed him into a point of no return!
However, his opponent had ultimately underestimated him!
Relying on the power of his Treasure Artifact, Shen Changchuan could use relatively little Magical Power to maintain his defense against the torrent of magical attacks.
At the same time,
because he had been transformed by two Heaven and Earth Treasures—the Cyan Essence Water Grass and the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk—
not only had Shen Changchuan’s Cultivation Talent been drastically improved,
but his Dantian Meridians had also been significantly widened.
The amount of Magical Power in his body and the speed of its Circulation were vastly superior to those of other Cultivators at the same realm.
One could say,
that even without his "progress bar" cheat,
his Cultivation Talent alone
was already among the best of the younger generation!
Furthermore,
over the past year since joining the Dragon Cloud Sect, he had received guidance from Master Wandering Dragon of the Divine Travel Realm and numerous senior brothers and sisters from the Soul Emergence Realm. This, combined with the wealth of Cultivation manuals in the sect’s Scripture Pavilion,
had allowed him to build an incredibly solid foundation over more than a year.
These advantages, accumulating one by one,
meant that although Shen Changchuan was still at the Ninth Layer Peak, his reserves of Magical Power and the endurance of its circulation were not far off from a true Soul Emergence Realm Cultivator!
The comprehensive strength of his Magical Power, Divine Sense, and physical body
had forged Shen Changchuan’s current, monstrous level of power!
And when facing the man in black’s torrent of magic,
Shen Changchuan had been able to activate the Treasure Bronze Bell to shield himself. By dividing his focus, he maintained his defense while simultaneously using Middle Grade Spirit Stones to restore his Magical Power.
This allowed him to hold on for much longer!
As a result,
the man in black had assumed that after such a prolonged bombardment of Magical Power, Shen Changchuan had long been reduced to ash.
He never expected, however,
that Shen Changchuan had used the chaotic fluctuations from the countless magical bombardments as cover to conceal his aura and lie in wait.
In the end, he had unleashed that fatal counterattack!
’Is it over...’
Shen Changchuan’s breathing gradually steadied.
Though the Magical Power in his body hadn’t fully recovered, thanks to the pure Spiritual Qi from the Middle Grade Spirit Stones, he had restored about twenty to thirty percent of it.
He now had enough strength to fight back if necessary.
His eyes remained fixed on the scene before him.
The counterattack he was bracing for never came.
Instead, from the center of the dust cloud, he sensed a faint aura, like a lamp about to run out of oil, flickering on the verge of being extinguished.
He recalled his long-planned Divine Technique. It seemed to have torn through the man’s protective shield and struck him directly.
Shen Changchuan had a good idea of the situation.
Still, he remained cautious,
not daring to lower his guard in the slightest.
His eyes remained fixed forward, his Divine Sense fully extended, locking onto the weak aura deep within the dust cloud.
Before long,
a cool breeze swept through the mountains,
scattering the dust and smoke that had enveloped the valley.
Now,
the entire valley was a scene of utter devastation from the fierce battle.
The ground was pocked with craters, and fissures spiderwebbed across its surface.
The once-vibrant surrounding vegetation had vanished completely.
It was as if the top layer of the ground had been sheared off.
The small mountains on either side were cracked down the middle...
Yet, despite this brutal scene,
Shen Changchuan barely paid it any mind.
His gaze was instantly drawn to the figure lying in the center of a massive crater nearby—a figure covered in blood, its aura faint and fading!
’I won!’
Shen Changchuan let out a long sigh of relief.
His mind, which had been stretched taut,
finally relaxed a little.
It might have looked like he came out of the battle unscathed.
But in reality,
he had used every trick up his sleeve.
In order to immobilize his opponent,
Shen Changchuan had even been forced to sacrifice two of his Magical Artifacts with incredibly unique effects—the Soul-Attracting Bell and the Blood Evil Gourd—just to unleash a single blow that could stun a Soul Emergence Realm Cultivator for a mere instant!
And the Divine Skill Sanqing Forest Sword Array that followed
had nearly drained every last drop of his Magical Power and Divine Sense!
Although he had managed to restore twenty to thirty percent of the Magical Power in his Dantian with the help of Middle Grade Spirit Stones,
Shen Changchuan was practically out of strength to continue fighting.
Fortunately,
the worst-case scenario had been avoided.
The man in black, who had taken a direct hit from the Divine Technique, had also lost his ability to fight.
In the end, he was the one who had won!
’What a shame...’
Shen Changchuan opened his palm.
Fragments of the Blood Evil Gourd slipped through his fingers.
A flicker of regret passed through his eyes.
Both the Soul-Attracting Bell and the Blood Evil Gourd had been a great help to him back when he was weaker.
Because of their unique functions,
Shen Changchuan had even planned to find a way to upgrade them after he reached the Soul Emergence Realm, hoping they would remain useful in future battles.
But alas,
a single battle had forced him to use two extremely rare Magical Artifacts as if they were single-use items.
Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly,
casting the thoughts from his mind.
What was done was done; there was no point in regret.
Besides, the enemy before him hadn’t breathed his last.
After a few moments,
once he had recovered some of his spiritual energy and Divine Sense,
Shen Changchuan clutched the Treasure Bronze Bell.
With a leap,
he carefully approached the figure lying in the center of the nearby crater.
"How... how could this be...? How are you not dead?"
"And... a Divine Technique... How could you possibly have mastered a Divine Technique..."
Sensing Shen Changchuan’s approach,
the man in black, half his torso and one of his shoulders and arms completely obliterated, struggled to lift his head. His blood-soaked face was filled with utter disbelief as he stared at Shen Changchuan.
As someone who had long since reached the Soul Emergence Realm, he naturally knew what Divine Techniques were.
But those were things that only the peerless prodigies of the legendary Yuqing Immortal Sect were said to master.
The kind of skill only one in a million could ever hope to learn!
It was simply inconceivable!
And what was even harder for him to accept was that,
he had actually lost!
He had lost to a junior who was only in the Qi Introduction Realm!
"In this world, nothing is impossible."
Shen Changchuan replied coolly.
He didn’t wait for a reply.
He formed a sword with his index and middle fingers,
then suddenly slashed. A tangible Sword Momentum shot from his fingertips.
WHOOSH!
The blade of light shot across several yards, and its sharp Magical Power Qi Strength instantly decapitated the man lying on the ground.
It utterly extinguished his Vitality.