Chapter 352: A Distraught Venerable Lord Ice
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yun Yang’s movements grew increasingly fluid; Saber Truth, the Destiny Blade was wielded like never before, in a smooth, flowing motion. His heart and mind were one, joined together under this opportune encounter.
Merciless Blade!
Merciless Dao!
The two consecutive styles, simmering with biting saber energy forced Venerable Lord Ice’s three clones to retreat. Faced with such a smooth, flowing, form, Venerable Lord Ice could not find a single flaw; he was unable to find a chink to exploit. To his worry, if he insisted on staying still, he would definitely be sliced into two and be decapitated outright.
His only option was to retreat, an action which utterly baffled him.
Am I being forced to retreat by this puny one?
Venerable Lord Ice growled inwardly in despair, "F*cking hell, your father is nine realms higher than him!"
"A full nine realms! This vermin is at most of the first tier of heaven realm! Even then, I am unable to defeat his swordplay!"
"This is terribly absurd!"
Ever since he had encountered this rascal, everything had been turned on its head. His movements were unreasonably swift, the density of his mystical Qi cultivation base was unaccountably strong, and now when they were head to head, the forms and styles were unreasonably deadly as well! He was simply too formidable to be true!
Yun Yang looked grim, all of his attention on the saber in his hand. He knew that the person before him was an expert he could not hope to defeat, but somehow, he felt more powerful than he ever had before. He had never summoned the Saber Truth of the Destiny Blade so easily! It was like it was molded to his mind and was free to strike as he wished with a single thought.
Grip the hilt in concentration, watch the injustice without emotion; those rampaging and those who sinned, Destiny Blade will show no mercy! – Yun Yang had finally understood the meaning of "Grip the hilt in concentration" at this critical point in time.
Concentration on the hilt; without emotion, injustice – hence the clear conscience of his heart and unhindered movement of his saber. Watching those who rampaged and those who sinned, there would only be life and death under my saber.
Yun Yang used this single form with two separate styles over seventeen times in a single clash yet he did not grow weary of it.
Venerable Lord Ice was indignant. Is this f*cking vermin using your father to train his skills? Do you think I’m having a friendly match with you? Are you done repeating your forms?
Venerable Lord Ice raised his saber threateningly, but he retreated fifty feet away instead. With a wild cry, he hacked at his opponent, attacking with saber energy.
Your father isn’t as good in manoeuvring your saber, I’ll admit this. Still, I am going to break your momentum with my own saber; let's see what you’re going to do next and what other tricks you still have up your sleeves!
Yun Yang felt suffocated for a moment, taking a step back instinctively. His chest still felt like a mountain was pressing on it, rendering him unable to breathe. He howled as he struggled and hacked wildly in response; the saber light was radiant, breaking apart the incoming saber energy.
It was Saber Truth, the Destiny Blade’s second form – first style, Saber Laic!
It was only of laity outside the saber; where the saber was, there the slaughter would be!
Yun Yang was still fully immersed in that wonderful realm. Upon executing Saber Laic, his hand rotated instinctually as the saber light brightened into a meteor’s glow.
Second form, second style – Life and Death in a Thought!
The saber blade shone before the worldly realm, life and death were decided within a thought; his intentions would be known with a single glimpse at his blade, this saber shall send you to the Yellow Spring.
The moping Venerable Lord Ice was overcome by grief that felt worse than death, he truly had not expected to encounter such a startling occurrence. The child in front of him had actually entered the rare state of epiphany for cultivators the moment he retrieved his saber!
Yes, this state is precious and rare... however, do recall that we're in the middle of a duel. What the f*ck are you doing, having an epiphany now?
However, Venerable Lord Ice had no way of stopping him. Yun Yang had entered a detached state of concentration within himself; in other words, he did not even know who he was fighting with – whoever it was, it was the same for him. It was as if Venerable Lord Ice was facing a spiritual entity the moment Yun Yang entered such a state... The latter could pick the flaws in his form and break through them easily.
Even if Venerable Lord Ice had exerted even more force, it would be useless against a spiritual entity!
"Why?" Venerable Lord Ice wanted to scream, "This is a duel! This is a fight to the death, and you’re having an epiphany? Do you wish to insult me?"
At this juncture, an unnerving thought crossed his mind; the other party’s form and saber styles, together with his unique skills, were something he had never seen before. Each strike and step seemed to contain traces of a multitude of techniques.
Venerable Lord Ice could not help wanting to continue watching, to observe a few more techniques and ponder the mystery within. He took another three steps back and drifted into the air; from every direction, the saber energy billowed in deadly waves. For this, he had expended all his energy.
If you can block this, I get to observe another technique or two; if you can’t, then die!
Unexpectedly, Yun Yang’s Saber Truth transformed again – an amazing change, without a doubt.
"Evil in the world as my enemy, the river of blood flows when they are all killed; reincarnation lies within my saber, it shall collect all grudges!"
Yun Yang murmured as if he understood the meaning of each word.
When the next strike came, an unusually strong murderous intent suddenly filled the entire space, alongside an indescribable copper scent of blood. It was a technique that reeked of bloodlust!
Venerable Lord Ice was stunned; it was almost as if he had witnessed a real river of blood that was gushing from heaven to earth! It was all red as far as he could see.
Saber Truth, the Divine Edge’s third form – first style; Upended River of Blood!
Venerable Lord Ice felt his heart thumping, fear involuntarily rising within him and he took a few steps back reluctantly.
This time though, Yun Yang bolted over without skipping a beat. The saber light flashed as it cleaved a division between heaven and earth – one side was the human world while another was hell!
Saber Truth, the Divine Edge’s third form – second style, Reincarnation under Saber!
Venerable Lord Ice felt as if he had fallen into the Reincarnation Pool and was waiting for his rebirth. Dazed, he shouted and retreated immediately. It was a little too late as blood spurted from his chest.
The damage from a strike of the saber could seep as deep as the bone.
Venerable Lord Ice could distinctly tell that one of his ribs had been hacked into half by the other party. What a sharp saber it was! Venerable Lord Ice was breaking down inwardly, a shocking fear pulsating through his muddled mind.
What cultivation base did Yun Yang have? He was only the first tier in heaven realm! Venerable Lord Ice, on the other hand, was a solid ninth heaven – ninth heaven pinnacle! The difference of their cultivation bases was basically a world apart.
According to a normal cultivators’ knowledge, it was only reasonable if Yun Yang could not rattle his defensive mystical Qi, even though he was equipped with a legendary weapon and a deployed arcane skill in addition to giving his all and putting his life at stake. Yet, he only had to wave his sword before it hacked right through Venerable Lord Ice’s defense and cut his physical self, even slashing off his bone!
If it were not his instincts kicking in early that allowed him to avoid it in time, would he not be chopped into half?
The more Venerable Lord Ice thought of it, the more frightened he was. The current situation was simply too petrifying.
How old was this young Marquis of Heavenly Clouds, Yun Yang, who stood before him? How long had he actually been cultivating?
Even if the maximum age was taken to be twenty years old and one to only possess the beginner level cultivation base of heaven realm, he could already injure a pinnacle force who was much higher in rank! This was like a mere mortal holding a saber to chop down a deity.
It was ridiculous!
Sadly, this was the blatant truth.
Facing Yun Yang’s consecutive saber styles, Venerable Lord Ice was trapped and had no way to counter them. His opponent had gone into the extreme realm of the way of the saber; there was nothing else in sight other than his saber and there was nothing else with him other than the saber.
As long as Yun Yang could maintain this state, no attack could hurt him because his current form was as if he had blocked the heaven and earth from himself. That saber of his was everything.
No matter how massive an attack was, he could avoid it using the traces of the myriad. Everything under the sun belonged to the myriad, nothing could rattle it!
The more Venerable Lord Ice fought, the more he moped. Anyone would feel the same if he or she had to fight in a battle in which an attack was impossible, victory was hopeless, damage could only be taken passively, and escape was shut away. What could he do though? He had to be struck and lose his life if he did not want to continue moping, so he could only go on moping – there was nothing he could do for the moment.
Compared to the moping Venerable Lord Ice, Yun Yang was jolly and full of vigor. He was in an unusually joyous state right now.
The extremely precarious situation and palpable life and death and everything in between had all formed massive pressure. Yun Yang did not even know what happened under the immense pressure; he only knew that at the moment he decided to turn back and fight with all he got, he was suddenly very spirited and had accidentally stepped foot into this wonderful realm.
He felt like his spirit was floating in the sky and overlooking the world; everything in the world was within his eyes, his heart, his palms, and his feet! Each piece of the snowflake that roamed the world, each gust of breeze, each sliver of ice, they were all his manifestations! He could even sense the magical change of the world’s spiritual Qi.
The plentiful treasured ingredients that Yun Zuiyue had fed him previously were slowly flowing in his veins and being utilized bit by bit. It kept his body at this pinnacle state and was still pushing him forward step by step!
With the power of the stored treasured ingredients he had in him, he would probably still be able to fight endlessly even if he were to maintain his current strength and exhaust Venerable Lord Ice.
Yun Yang hoped that he was actually fighting with all four Venerable Lords right now or even Mr. Nian himself, using his current state to end all grudges!
Unfortunately, it was never going to be so.
Under such conditions, the mental state was extremely tense all the time. It would never last long – no one could be the exception.
How could a mere human connect to the myriad for a long time? A periodical connection was already a dream. To sustain the duration would only mean overexertion; it was akin to seeking one’s own death – even Yun Yang, who had cultivated Endless Divine Art and had an admiral, mythical prowess, would not be exempted!
In spite of this, Yun Yang’s likelihood of sustaining the fight was already impossibly long in Venerable Lord Ice’s eyes.
The more Yun Yang fought, the more spirited and jovial he grew. With a long howl, he sprung up with his saber and attacked Venerable Lord Ice with all his might. The force of his attack was like a surging tide that crashed onto land with the power and fury of nature!