Qiong Sea King put up a desperate resistance against the enemy while simultaneously reaching out to Wu Yuan for aid via spiritual transmission.
The sound of impact echoed through the air as the swords struck Qiong Sea King's massive form in quick succession. Each sword seemed to weigh 10,000 jun, their edges razor-sharp, piercing through all obstacles. [1]
Even clad in spirit battle armor, the onslaught of sword lights seemed to penetrate Qiong Sea King’s defenses, inflicting serious damage.
In just one exchange, the flying swords tore through his hide and flesh, and blood trickled from his whiskers.
Meanwhile, the red-armored giant, also displaying an ether art, unleashed a torrent of vines that ensnared Qiong Sea King's body. The vines seemed to grow inexorably, spreading with lightning speed across the battlefield.
“Be gone!” Despite his injuries, Qiong Sea King fought back, slashing at the vines with his sharp claws. Yet for every vine he cut, more seemed to take its place, threatening to overwhelm him completely.
“What a ferocious spirit beast.”
“It even mastered an ether art.”
"Second Brother's Coiling Wind Vine is getting stronger." The silver-robed youth and purple-robed girl observed the battle with astonished expressions inside the flying boat.
The two of them specialized in support. When it came to landing the killing blows on tough opponents, they had to rely on their big brother and the second brother.
"Don’t bother struggling." The red-armored giant taunted Qiong Sea King with a laugh.
In a one-on-one battle, he wouldn’t be confident in his victory. But now his big brother, a Golden Core cultivator, was with him. As long as his big brother assembled his flying sword array to suppress the jiaolong, he could easily capture it.
"A ninth-stage Communion jiaolong is a rare find indeed," the red-armored giant mused, already imagining the profit to be gained from capturing the creature alive.
"Second Brother, watch out." The black-haired man whose gaze was locked onto the purple flying boat suddenly spoke.
Swish! Without hesitation, a black flying sword materialized beside the man, streaking off like a bolt of lightning.
Simultaneously, a streak of earthy-yellow light sliced through the air!
Clang! The clash of weapons echoed, a cacophony of metal meeting metal. The black-haired man's flying sword collided with the earthy-yellow light, causing shockwaves to radiate out from the impact.
The man felt a jolt to his mind, as if his lifebound flying sword had encountered an impenetrable barrier. It was instantly deflected, flying off to the side.
"My sword was deflected so easily?" The black-haired man's expression twisted in disbelief as he swiftly retreated.
"Hm?" Fear flickered across the face of the red-armored giant, who instinctively swung the vines in his grasp.
The earthy-yellow light sliced through vine after sturdy vine like a knife through cucumbers. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of entwining vines were diced up, freeing Qiong Sea King.
"Master!" Qiong Sea King cried out in jubilation.
At that moment, the black-haired man, as well as the silver-clad youth and the purple-robed woman on the flying boat all had a clear view of the earthy-yellow light. It was a flying sword!
Simultaneously, they caught sight of a figure cloaked in black, emerging from the unassuming purple flying boat in the distance.
It was cold and murderous – a harbinger of death!
Swish~ The earthy-yellow light shot across the sky, severing vines with unrelenting speed before striking the red-armored giant.
"Ah! Block it!" The red-armored giant's face flushed red in desperation. He had no time to worry about his spirit plant's injuries in the face of this terrifyingly swift opponent. There was no time for retreat.
Instinctively, he swung the hammer in his grip, attempting to repel the oncoming flying sword.
Bang~ The collision was akin to a pebble striking a truck.
The heavy hammer flew from the red-armored giant's grasp. With another flash of earthy-yellow light, the giant's head exploded.
The earthy-yellow light, encased in swirling qi currents that resembled sword lights, shredded the red-armored giant's body like a ragdoll. A heap of lifeless flesh thudded to the ground.
The red-armored giant was dead!
"Ha! Marvelous!" Qiong Sea King bellowed with excitement.
"Impossible!" Both the silver-clad youth and purple-robed woman on the flying boat stood agape in astonishment.
Their second brother, a ninth-stage Communion cultivator with a seventh-degree immortal root, who was skilled in ether art and clad in battle armor, was felled in a single blow?
Ninth-stage Qi Sea phase? He must be one of those monstrous prodigies, and he’s even grasped the Domain stage? Among them, only the black-haired man grew fearful.
As the most powerful and knowledgeable of the group, he discerned the overwhelming power imbued within that earthy-yellow flying sword. It was indomitable!
In an instant, an urgent cry pierced the mind of the silver-robed youth. "Third Brother, activate the Ethercrystal Heavenly Thunder Array immediately!"
"Yes!" the silver-robed youth replied. He understood the gravity of the situation. Their second brother was already lost, it was fight or perish.
Hum~ Throughout the fight, the black flying boat had been pulling the purple flying boat toward it with a gravity array. Suddenly, purple cryptic patterns glowed on the bow of the battleship, drawing in streams of energy.
In a flash, a brilliant pillar of light as dazzling as heavenly lightning shot forth from the black boat, aimed directly at Wu Yuan.
"Kill him!" the silver-robed youth commanded, his eyes locked on Wu Yuan. The black-haired burly man was equally tense. He knew that if this strike failed to kill their opponent, they were in real trouble.
It all hinges on this. The purple-robed woman was the one most on edge. This strike was a concentration of the entire flying boat's power into one point, releasing it in one explosive burst.
After this strike, gathering such power again would require them to refuel the flying boat with ethercrystal, which would take at least five breaths.
Five breaths? That was enough time for the mysterious man in black robes to slaughter them all several times over.
The pillar of light erupted from the black flying boat, reaching an extreme speed. However, Wu Yuan's reaction speed was even faster.
When the streams of purple light first began to converge, Wu Yuan knew he had to react immediately. Having read up on the general knowledge regarding the macrocosm, he recognized what this was – an ethercrystal weapon!
Ethercrystal contained an astonishing amount of energy, prompting many qi refiners to experiment with harnessing this energy in an explosion, even compressing it further before releasing it in one go!
After many years, ethercrystal weapons were born. Even a mortal who wielded an ethercrystal weapon could easily kill a Qi Sea cultivator.
According to the records in the immortal slips, there existed incredible ethercrystal weapons with the power to easily eliminate Amethyst Cradle cultivators. Naturally, such ethercrystal weapons were also rare and unaffordable for most Amethyst Cradle practitioners.
An ethercrystal weapon was in essence a unique type of artifact, akin to the Heavenly Thunder Talisman Wu Yuan previously utilized. So, the moment he realized that his opponent wielded an ethercrystal weapon, he did not hesitate at all.
Whoosh! In a flurry, more than ten flying swords materialized around him, their sword qi coalescing to form two Dark Earth Nine Swords Arrays. Though he possessed the ability to command more sword arrays, there wasn’t enough time.
Simultaneously, the vast earthy-yellow qi currents enveloped the area a few hundred meters around him, shielding him completely. It was his Domain!
Following this, the horrifying light column of heavenly thunder descended upon him.
The Earth Domain had the greatest defense among the Domains of the five elements. Wu Yuan's Domain was so powerful that if a late-stage Qi Sea cultivator entered it, they would find it difficult to move.
However, it was breached by the strike, albeit with a significant reduction in the power of the light pillar.
1. 1 jun = 30 catties = 15 kilograms ☜