Chapter 486 - 121: Madness
CLANG!
CLANG!
...
The sound of metal striking metal was incessant. Three Gold Cultivators closed in on the middle-aged man in the python-patterned robe, pursuing him relentlessly in an attempt to take him down in one fell swoop.
At the same time, a sky full of earthen spikes rained down, streaking across the heavens.
ROAR!
Jiangcun paid no mind to the downpour of earthen spikes. After all, it was just a low-level Magic spell. Despite its massive scale, tanking the hit would only result in minor injuries. As a Third Realm Water Cultivator, such damage was almost negligible to him.
After letting out a dragon’s cry, he constructed a Water Spirit Formation over a hundred zhang wide around himself. As the dense Water Spirit Qi spread out, it enveloped the area where the three Gold Cultivators were besieging the man in the python-patterned robe.
SHHNNK!
A sound like scraping metal rang out. The besieged man in the python-patterned robe had his chest pierced through. His body was actually constructed from a strange kind of metal. The Demon Soldier core in his chest was a small black umbrella.
SPLAT!
Just as the python-robed man’s head was crushed, the dense Water Spirit Qi completely covered the area. "We have to fall back!" The lead Gold Cultivator formed a Spell, creating a barrier with a metallic sheen that enveloped him and the other two Gold Cultivators, and they began to retreat quickly.
But just then, the area covered by the Water Spirit Qi rapidly heated up. At the same time, spreading water droplets shot past the three Gold Cultivators at an imperceptible speed.
PFFT!
The metal barrier collapsed in an instant.
It was the ’Water Drops Pierce Stone’ technique, from cultivating the White Water Secret Technique to the Third Realm, combined with Jiangcun’s own Temperature Control Secret Technique.
"Damn it, there’s no escape!"
The lead Gold Cultivator’s entire body erupted with Gold Spirit Qi. He looked up at Jiangcun in the sky and roared, "But if you want to keep me here, you’ll have to pay a price!"
A cold, metallic glint flashed between heaven and earth.
BOOM!
A muffled sound like a war drum echoed across the sky.
This Gold Cultivator burned the last shred of energy in his Spiritual Body, using himself as a projectile to slam into Jiangcun. It was the tactic of a dead man walking, and only a method like this could save his two comrades from the crisis.
A Jiao Dragon’s senses were exceptionally sharp. Driven by an instinctual fear of death, Jiangcun erected a solid wall of ice around himself to block the Gold Cultivator’s final strike. However, his ’Water Drops Pierce Stone’ technique collapsed as a result, and the other two Gold Cultivators immediately broke free to rendezvous with three nearby Artifact Cultivator allies.
"My name is—"
The Gold Cultivator’s Spiritual Body began to run rampant. Irregular Spirit Veins seeped out from the surface of his skin. He tried to leave his name in his final moments, but he failed. The Spirit Veins emerging from his skin didn’t surge wildly; instead, they necrotized immediately upon exposure, turning into useless, withered veins in the blink of an eye.
"Heh heh, now you can die!"
A bizarre voice, accompanied by a strange laugh, echoed across the battlefield. It came from one of the three Artifact Cultivators in the Chu Country’s camp. After these three Artifact Cultivators met up with two Gold Cultivators, they immediately launched a pincer attack on two Court Artifact Cultivators nearby.
The other Court Cultivators tried to come to their aid but were immediately intercepted by the remaining Cultivators led by Yu Zheng.
The battlefield abruptly descended into chaos.
Jiangcun had already recovered his wits. He looked at the cracked ice wall around him and let out a breath, a lingering fear in his heart. The Gold Cultivator’s do-or-die attitude, however, remained etched in his mind.
Looking down at the chaotic battlefield below, it was clear his side was now at a disadvantage. The enemy had suddenly abandoned their initial cautious approach, becoming utterly crazed and extreme.
He could only watch helplessly as two of his Artifact Cultivators below fell, brought down by an enemy Artifact Cultivator’s kamikaze tactics.
BOOM!
The shockwave from the violent explosion sent a chill through Jiangcun. The blast was triggered by the Cultivator whose kamikaze attack had just killed two of his side’s Artifact Cultivators. He had detonated his formation of Lifebound Spiritual Artifacts, heavily injuring two more of Jiangcun’s Cultivators.
Seeing the two heavily injured Cultivators being targeted by two extremely fast Gold Cultivators from the opposing side, Jiangcun instinctively moved to rescue them. But just then, three enemy Earth Vein Cultivators closed in to attack him.
’He hated Earth Vein Cultivators. Earth counters Water!’
Fortunately, two Fire Cultivators arrived as reinforcements from a nearby section of the battle. But with their departure, his side’s numerical advantage on that other front would be completely gone.
A bad feeling welled up in Jiangcun’s heart. Without a numerical advantage, if the enemy continued to fight with that same suicidal frenzy, his side would be powerless to resist.
But he had no time to think. The three opposing Earth Vein Cultivators were fighting him in the simplest way possible for dealing with a Water Cultivator: neutralizing the Water Spirit Qi in the area.
For Earth Vein Cultivators, this was as easy as drinking water!
「A hundred li away, above the Chu Army encampment.」
Zi Luan turned to Wang Ping and said with a smile, "Your friend there has exceptional cultivation, but he has absolutely no combat experience. If this keeps up, I’m afraid he’s going to suffer a major loss."
Wang Ping didn’t respond. He was focused on the state of their own Cultivators and the changes in their Primordial Spirits during this short period.
A moment ago, their Primordial Spirits had been like stagnant pools of water. Now, they were as wild as ocean waves in a hurricane. This was especially true for Yu Zuo. In his current state, you didn’t even need to observe his soul in the Inspiration Realm to see the malice radiating from his entire being.
Hearing Zi Luan’s words, Yu Lian slithered out from his sleeve, wrapped herself around Wang Ping’s arm, and replied, "He’s just too kind. Logically, given the survival environment for a Dragon Monarch’s descendant in their youth, there’s no way he should be this good-natured."
"I happen to know a little about this Ninth Prince. He was born with a Jiao Dragon Primordial Spirit, a fact that was widely celebrated as a wondrous tale. I imagine he never experienced the hardships of youth!"
Min You chimed in.
His personality was the complete opposite of the cool, aloof image he currently projected.
"Are you saying he was born a Third Realm Cultivator?" Yu Lian’s voice was filled with shock.
"You could say that. I later heard that this Ninth Prince cultivated the White Water Secret Technique and advanced to the Third Realm within three hundred years, all without the help of any external resources."
As Min You finished speaking, his shadowy form shifted slightly, and he seemed to give Wang Ping a very deliberate look.
At this, Xiu Yu finished Min You’s unspoken thought: "But Fellow Daoist Changqing reached the Third Realm in only two hundred years. That’s a bit more impressive than Fellow Daoist Jiang being born with a Jiao Dragon Primordial Spirit, isn’t it?"
The moment he said this, Wan Zhi Daoist and He Feng Taoist, who were in front, both glanced back at Wang Ping.
Wang Ping deliberately frowned. Xiu Yu’s comment put him in a difficult position; responding was awkward, but not responding was even more so. Fortunately, the situation on the battlefield ahead took a sudden, drastic turn. The three Wood Cultivators had used their own toxins to instantly incapacitate two enemy Cultivators. If they could finish those two off, the tide of battle would turn completely in their favor.
"Is there still Half an Hour left?"
Xiao Shan Lord suddenly spoke, but his voice was very quiet.
The moment he spoke, Yu Lian immediately darted back into Wang Ping’s sleeve.
Wan Zhi Daoist replied, "That’s right!"
From the tone of their conversation, one could tell they didn’t seem to care about the outcome of the battle ahead.
Yu Lian consoled him through his Spirit Sea. ’Isn’t this the same attitude you had during the fight against those Second Realm Cultivators at True Yang Mountain? You’re just in a different position now.’