Chapter 1063 - Dragon Soul Explosion
“How did he get there?”
On the Vermillion Bird projection, Yun Che’s figure actually showed up. Even more surprising was the fact that he had appeared in a place filled with the power of a Divine Master dragon. Even Yan Wancang and Yan Juehai would’ve been severely injured or killed outright in a short time if they went to that place... but somehow Yun Che was still alive.
Before anyone could react, they saw Yun Che brazenly raising a sword and meeting the furious draconic flames of the ancient horned dragon head on.
It was like the scene of a tiny ant raising its arms to resist the entire sky.
At this point, it was impossible for Mu Xuanyin to meet the ancient horned dragon’s power head on even if she was alone, not to mention that she had to protect Yun Che right now. The only two conclusions of this clash were either they perish together or she withdraw her power and scrape an escape on her lonesome... But when she saw Yun Che risking his life to make his way towards her, she instinctively poured more energy into Yun Che’s body despite her blurring consciousness.
The deadly draconic attack surged closer and closer... but in the next moment, just before it could envelop the duo entirely, the attack’s power, aura, might and even heat vanished in an instant. Not a trace of the attack could be seen anywhere.
It was almost as if it had been transferred entirely to a silent world.
“AOOOOO!!”
A furious and obviously pained dragon roar resounded through the air. Mu Xuanyin immediately turned around to find the shocking sight of an ancient horned dragon flipping backwards in recoil. The innumerable wounds that riddled the dragon’s body instantly burst under pressure and caused dragon blood to spray everywhere.
“Uuuaaahhhhh!?!?”
“Wha... what is that!?!?”
“Ah!!?”
Everyone—from sect masters to disciples—standing before the Vermillion Bird projection shouted at the top of their lungs as if they were struck by heavenly thunder, eyes bulging so wide and so rapidly in absolute shock that their eyeballs nearly burst out of their sockets.
It was because they could clearly see that the ancient horned dragon had thrown a calamitous swipe that could burn even a Divine Sovereign to dust, at Yun Che and Mu Xuanyin. But just as the attack touched Yun Che’s gigantic sword, the dragon was suddenly sent flying away, rolling, roaring in pain and bleeding all over the place... it obviously suffered a grievous wound in that one instant!
Meanwhile, Yun Che and the Mu Xuanyin on the point of demise... were perfectly unharmed!
“What... what... what...”
The crowd had never distrusted their eyes so much until today. A large majority of these people had lived over ten thousand years but despite adding up the most ridiculous rumors they’d heard and the most ridiculous scenes they’d seen in their life together, the culmination was still not even one ten thousandth as ridiculous as what they’d just seen today.
The ancient horned dragon was a Divine Master. It was the most powerful existence in the long history of the Flame God Realm since hundreds of thousands of years ago. Harming the ancient horned dragon with a single sword strike was absolutely impossible even if there were ten of Yan Wancang, the strongest human in the Flame God Realm... but somehow, Yun Che did just that.
It... it worked!!
Yun Che madly roared in his mind.
One of the most direct expressions of the Evil God Arts’ strength was its ridiculous amplification of a cultivator’s profound energy after a gate was opened. It was also the power Yun Che relied on the most to defeat opponents with far greater profound strength than him. However, the true reason behind the Evil God Arts’ greatness lay on its core ability to ignore or even go against the laws of the world.
The impossible amplification of profound energy was something beyond the boundaries of normal laws to begin with. The terrible Ice Flame he created by merging fire and ice was also a power that was outside the boundaries of laws.
Falling Moon Sinking Star of the Evil Soul gate, Sealing Cloud Locking Sun of the Burning Heart gate and Destroying Sky Decimating Earth of the Purgatory gate were definitely incredibly powerful skills but they weren’t so powerful that they literally reversed the laws of nature.
Moon Star Restoration of Rumbling Heaven gate was different, however. For the first time, the Evil God Arts’ outstanding ability of reversing the laws of nature was revealed!
The moment Moon Star Restoration was fully executed, the law and order of all powers within the affected area were reversed completely. This also meant that all powers in contact with Moon Star Restoration would be reversed in an instant!
Therefore... it was an instant counter!
It was also a full counter. Because the skill was based on the power to rewrite the law and order of nature, the strength and shape of the powers involved were completely irrelevant. Everything would be reversed completely as long as Moon Star Restoration was executed in full, no matter the level or the form of the power!
The only thing that could stop it was a power that could also cause havoc on the laws of nature like the Evil God’s power!
However, since the Evil God’s Fourth Style heavily interfered with the laws of nature, it was also treated as a breach of the heavenly laws! The heavens punished all who forcefully use such skills without exception, so Yun Che was bound to suffer terrible consequences for his transgression...
The consequence of using Moon Star Restoration was a severe reduction of lifespan!
It was also why Yun Che had never used Moon Star Restoration even though he had been able to barely activate Rumbling Heaven for a long time already.
The moment the ancient horned dragon’s destructive flames touched the Heaven Smiting Sword, all of its power was instantly reflected back to the ancient horned dragon like light reflecting off a mirror.
So the feat of reflecting a Divine Master beast’s attack by a Divine Origin profound practitioner was achieved... it was a miracle that only the power of the Evil God could achieve in the entire vast and chaotic history of the world!
Because the ancient horned dragon was in a berserk state, it injected all of its fury and power into every one of its attacks. Before the ambush, it was already covered in wounds during the long hours it fought against Mu Xuanyin. Therefore, the reflected attack was without a doubt a nightmare it had planted with its own hands.
Even better, how could an instant counter possibly be nearly as simple as a normal counter?
Regardless of the species, all living beings who were attacking at full force would drop their profound energy defense and mental defense to the lowest point. As a result, not only was it impossible for the attacker to protect themselves from the attack that was reflected instantly, the damage it suffered far exceeded what it would suffer from a normal counter too!
An extremely uncomfortable feeling racked Yun Che... it was a feeling akin to having his life literally cut away from him. He didn’t even draw a breath before shouting at the top of his lungs, “Master! The dragon fault!!”
The ancient horned dragon’s wounded roar shook the very sky. Nearly half the wounds on its body had been split open by the counter, causing blood to spray everywhere like a downpour. What’s more, its wounds weren’t the only thing that had crumbled. Its defensive powers had fallen apart too. As the dragon spiraled backwards, out of control, the dragon fault on its stomach appeared clearly in Yun Che’s pupils...
The dragon fault was supposed to be the place where the dragon’s greatest defensive powers were concentrated but the absolutely unpredictable and undefendable counter had caused its defensive barriers to collapse completely.
Although Mu Xuanyin was on the verge of death, her awareness was still leagues ahead of Yun Che’s. His reminder was completely unnecessary, because Mu Xuanyin had already swung her sword arm and thrown the bloodstained Snow Princess Sword containing the last of her power straight toward the dragon fault like a piercing white beam.
Ding!!
The Snow Princess Sword hit the ancient horned dragon perfectly on its dragon fault... if this was before, the Snow Princess Sword would’ve bounced away upon contact. Now, at its weakest, the Snow Princess Sword, shining brilliantly with power, hit the ancient horned dragon’s one and only fatal weak spot... and sank into its flash!
The sword penetrated all the way in to the hilt!
“The dragon fault... it’s the dragon fault!”
“It’s pierced!!”
Another stunning roar woke the Flame God Realm denizens from the shock that was Yun Che sending the ancient horned dragon flying away in a single sword strike. At the same time, the new scene nearly caused their hearts to jump out of their chests.
To a horned dragon, the dragon fault was like a lifeline to a human being.
A horned dragon that was pierced in its dragon fault was like a human whose lifeline was severed... even if the rest of the ancient horned dragon’s body was perfectly unharmed, it was still going to die in a very short time, much less a severely wounded horned dragon that had used up most of its dragon powers.
From the moment its dragon fault was pierced by the Snow Princess Sword... the ancient horned dragon was destined to die!
“Aoo.... oooooooooo!”
The pain behind the dragon’s roar rose several times higher and this time it was painted with deep sadness and desperation too.
Bang!
The Snow Princess Sword was forced out from the wound and blood gushed out of the dragon fault like a fountain... the blood in the dragon fault was no normal blood. The leakage only quickened its death and loss of power.
“We... we did it!” Yun Che shouted with a trembling voice.
This was the best outcome he could imagine, coming here... it was the one and only miniscule hope—no, the only miracle that he could think of.
He had arrived beside Mu Xuanyin, successfully executed the Moon Star Restoration he had never used before and had no confidence in, and Mu Xuanyin had followed up perfectly by throwing the Snow Princess Sword straight into the dragon’s fault...
It was a miracle Mu Xuanyin and him had created together.
“Aoo——”
But it wasn’t over. As a mournful and earthshaking roar filled the air, a gigantic dragon tail flew towards Yun Che with the power of despair behind it...
The ancient horned dragon that had fallen into the abyss of death could no longer afford to cover its tail with draconic flames. The attack was simply the dragon’s final burst of hate... and it was the attack of a terrifying Divine Master!
Boom!!!!
Mu Xuanyin pounced toward Yun Che and covered his body in absolute frost. Then, the dragon tail slammed heavily into Mu Xuanyin’s back.
“M... MASTER!” In that moment, Yun Che felt as if his soul was pierced by a myriad of arrows.
Pfft!!
A hot mist of blood fully drenched Yun Che’s shoulders and back. The attack seemed to have completely destroyed Mu Xuanyin’s already weak and chaotic aura, so much so that Yun Che actually failed to sense her aura for one terrifying instant.
“Aoo!!!”
The ancient horned dragon’s struggles and roars grew weaker and weaker and the blood pouring out of its dragon fault was turning a shocking dark red. However, the ancient horned dragon’s hateful and despairing pupils were completely transfixed on Mu Xuanyin and Yun Che’s figures. The power of despair erupted in its body once more, prompting it to pounce straight towards the duo.
Even on the verge of death, it was going to drag them both into eternal hell!
Yun Che’s pupils enlarged once, twice... then, the glowing, azure colored shadow of a dragon suddenly appeared in midair.
I stake all of my will... and my soul into this one gambit!!
Dragon—Soul—Domain!!
“Aoo———!!!”
The ancient roar unleashed by the azure dragon image actually overwhelmed the despairing roar of the ancient horned dragon in full... It was the absolute best Dragon Soul Domain Yun Che had ever unleashed by consuming all of his mental energy at once! The Inferno Prison suddenly boiled and the roaring azure dragon exploded loudly...
“Waah!!”
Yan Wancang let out a bloodcurdling scream and fell to his knees all of a sudden. He clutched his head tightly like his life depended on it... before him, the Vermillion Bird projection, that had lasted for several hours, suddenly shattered, causing all of its images, sounds, and auras to dissipate too.
“Ah? Sect Master!”
Everyone in the Vermillion Bird Sect exclaimed and hastily rushed toward him.
“Did you reach your mental limit?” Yan Juehai asked with a frown. However, he was wondering doubtfully: Strange, the Vermillion Bird projection shouldn’t have pushed him to his limit this quickly...
But Yan Wancang continued to clutch his head as if he couldn’t hear any external noises at all. His eyes were blank and his mouth was spouting soft, unconscious words, “What was that... what was that...”
After the azure dragon image had exploded, Yun Che’s final conscious thought was his seemingly soul shattering before he completely blanked out.