Chapter 454 - 424: A Great Victory and an Opportunity for Enlightenment
SHIINK!
The void rippled.
A dark blade appeared at an impossibly cunning angle, thrusting toward Su Ye!
The timing of this strike was perfect, chosen for the exact moment after Su Ye’s all-out attack—a moment when his old power was spent, but before new power could be gathered!
Even though the Spiritual Mechanism Immortal Dao didn’t rely on an Inner Strength Qi Mechanism like mortal martial arts, Su Ye’s last attack had carried the force of a blizzard, channeling all his killing intent to its absolute peak. With that unstoppable power, he had obliterated Lie Lin in a single blow!
After such an exhilarating strike, even with his level of cultivation, he would inevitably need a few moments to recover and regulate his breathing.
At the same time, after slaying a great enemy, no matter how disciplined one’s mind, a momentary lapse in vigilance was unavoidable.
And that created the perfect opportunity for an assassination.
SHHNK!
The blade that emerged from the void stabbed straight for Su Ye’s heart!
But Su Ye’s reaction was swift, his expression cold.
"You damned fiend!"
He dropped his halberd, balled his hand into a fist, and threw a heavy, powerful punch at the blade!
POW!
Struck by the blow, the blade was instantly knocked askew.
It missed his heart and struck his left shoulder, where it was blocked by an icy silver protective barrier!
CLANG!
The sound of metal on metal rang out!
The protective barrier shuddered, and cracks spiderwebbed across its surface!
At the same time, Su Ye focused his gaze and got a clear look at his attacker.
It was the size of a normal infant, but its flesh and skin were shriveled and purple, clinging tightly to its bones. Its hair was short, coarse, and matted. Its amber eyes were round, bulging, and eerily bright.
At that moment, those amber eyes were filled with a terrifyingly fierce glint as they stared at Su Ye!
’This thing isn’t human at all!’
"An evil creature!"
From its appearance, Su Ye was certain that this was some bizarre, unholy creature refined through the methods of the Demon Dao!
And the "blade" that had just stabbed at him was actually this creature’s fingernail—a full three inches long and glinting with a deep, purplish-black light!
Seeing this bizarre creature, a brutal look flashed across Su Ye’s face. "What the hell is this thing? Just die!"
BOOM!
A shockwave howled through the air!
He threw a punch that landed squarely on the Ghost Infant!
’The impact feels strange. Not like flesh and blood, but more like rubber—tough and pliable, capable of dispersing force. But... it’s not enough!’
’How could it possibly disperse the power of my late-stage Tier-4 Body Refining and over sixty points of lethality?!’
CRUNCH!
The Ghost Infant’s entire face caved in. One of its amber eyes was obliterated, and the other rolled right out of its socket!
"HIIISSS!"
The Ghost Infant shrieked in agony and was sent flying backward like a rag doll!
It flew several hundred yards before slamming into the ground. After tumbling several times, it landed on all fours like a beast, its body trembling as it lay prone.
After taking such a devastating blow, the Ghost Infant’s vitality was shattered, and it had lost all will to fight.
It let out a venomous hiss as its form began to fade, dissolving like a shadow as it prepared to flee!
"Trying to run?"
Su Ye’s eyes were filled with an incredibly ferocious killing intent.
He raised his Moonfall Halberd, took a great stride, and brandished it like a spear!
Whale-Hunting Spear!
WHOOSH!
A silver blur shot forth, faster than the shriek of a sonic boom!
It crossed several hundred yards and struck the creature with unerring accuracy!
The Ghost Infant hadn’t seemed concerned at first, but the moment the Moonfall Halberd was upon it, its expression twisted, and it let out a bloodcurdling shriek!
And then!
SPLAT!
Its body exploded like an overinflated balloon, turning into a puddle of purplish-black pus!
"Heh..."
"An amateur’s trick."
"Trying to use a Shadow Escape in front of me... You were courting death!"
Su Ye’s face was mocking. The Ghost Infant’s Voidification Skill was an advanced application of Shadow Rule Power, or perhaps... it was even akin to a True Technique!
With such a skill at its disposal, the Ghost Infant’s assassinations were no doubt consistently successful.
Even if an assassination failed, it could easily escape to strike another day.
But.
It had run into Su Ye.
Su Ye, the master of the ’Law’ of the Netherworld.
Even though he had held back and not fully activated the ’Law,’ his Whale-Hunting Spear—infused with just a sliver of the Netherworld’s power—was more than enough to ensure the Ghost Infant was deader than dead!
’Ghost Infant... shadows...’
’These techniques... among the Golden Core cultivators in the Candle Python Cave, they point to...’
’...Yingshi, perhaps.’
Thoughts flashed through Su Ye’s mind. According to the intelligence he had, this Yingshi appeared as a young, gorgeous, and enchanting woman who was with child.
Being pregnant wasn’t unusual.
But... Yingshi had apparently maintained this pregnant state for over a century.
...
This whole shocking series of events felt long in the telling.
But in reality, it had all transpired in little more than ten seconds.
High in the sky, Xuetu, who was fighting Lin Yinxiu, had been on an emotional rollercoaster during that short span of time!
’Useless trash!’
’That useless Yingshi. She turned herself into something neither human nor ghost, so damn creepy that even I get the shivers, and for what? The Ghost Infant she raised is this fucking pathetic?’
’It gets skewered by a single spear throw, as easily as killing a dog!’
Xuetu cursed inwardly, gritting his teeth so hard they could have shattered.
Just a moment ago, when he saw the Ghost Infant make its move, his hopes had soared. He thought Yingshi had seized the perfect opportunity; that even if Su Ye didn’t die, he would be left half-dead...
And this was the result?!
I celebrated too soon!
"Fuck!"
’We can’t win this!’
The thought of retreat sprouted in Xuetu’s mind!
He had prepared two major allies for the battle on Yu Lan Island.
Lie Lin... was now a puddle of minced flesh smeared across the ground.
Worse... because the flesh of a Tier-4 dragon-man was so nutritious...
...the bio-engineered insectoids he had raised were even defying Su Ye’s oppressive aura to swarm the corpse, helping themselves to a fresh, all-you-can-eat dragon-man buffet...
’My brother, you smell delicious.’
His good brother Lie Lin was toast.
As for Yingshi, she was even more hopeless.
Xuetu knew her all too well. Yingshi operated like a classic assassin: if the first strike failed, she would retreat a thousand miles to wait for another chance.