Chapter 123 - Life or Death, Victory or Defeat
As Zong Shou said that, this dense forest immediately became really cold and solemn, a chilly killing intent spreading out in all directions.
Li Yunniang’s eyes couldn’t help but contract, while Lian Fan was distracted.
When Li Yaling heard that, he burst out laughing, “What a good life and death! I believed that even if I can beat you, I might not be able to take your life. On the other hand, you seem confident you will take my head! That’s a good idea, let the both of us decide our life and death here!”
Zong Shou’s eyes gleamed coldly, but he didn’t reply, using his mind to control the Black Wave Sword to circle around his body. He waved his sleeve, and the sword’s body was covered in silver.
In a breath’s time, Little Gold’s body had totally covered this spiritual weapon, making the sword body extremely strong and sharp, and also adding in a bit of intelligence.
The fighting intent in his body was slowly suppressed, all that remained was pure killing intent. He was all along a person who loved to destroy precious things and didn’t bother about cherishing another, much less having emotions of feeling lonely at the top.
He always felt that the best enemies should lie in the dirt and be unable to speak. If the enemy could still move, he would think of a way to chop them up in one blow and personally send them to the grave… especially someone crazy like Li Yaling, who he couldn’t allow to walk away from his eyes alive.
The space seemed to have two conflicting and same level consciousnesses going head to head.
Zong Shou stepped on the tree branch, his body shaking along with it. When he activated the Energy Swallow Technique, the tree beneath him swiftly withered, losing all signs of life. Numerous leaves dropped to the ground and slowly spread about. Within a hundred feet of him, all the trees started to turn greyish-yellow.
Sword energy seeped out of the Lighting Tooth Sword in his hand, his strength slowly climbing, step by step. He looked downs like how one would look at an ant.
Li Yaling’s expression grew more and more serious, he was similarly boiling with killing intent. The aura he gave off grew sharper and sharper, his cheeks flushed red. From start to finish, he stood still and didn’t move, not striking out.
Li Yunniang felt her heart getting tighter and tighter, knowing that although the two of them didn’t truly cross swords, this was even more dangerous. Using one’s aura to clash with one another, both of them were going all-out to increase their chances of winning.
What shocked her was that the famous teen known as the Hundred Thousand Blood Killer, Li Yaling, who changed people’s faces when they heard about him, wasn’t at an advantage. However, she didn’t want to see Zong Shou with the ability to kill Li Yaling. If he did, she would probably find it hard to survive.
Just as she was in a pickle, Li Yaling’s body stepped backwards, retreating instead of moving forwards. Like an invisible red shadow, he flew to the side of the carriage. He waved the blood sword in his hand, a tens of feet long sword glow directly cut through all the defenseless Windrider Foals beside him.
Blood spurted, and Li Yaling’s killing path sword strength was raised to the limit. Yet, he was astonished. Zong Shou was still on the tree! He didn’t chase him, but instead held a sword in his hand, staring coldly at him.
Slightly startled, Li Yaling didn’t hesitate and flew up once more. That blood sword glow swelled and contracted, he crossed a hundred feet of space at lightning-quick speed as he charged up the tree.
Halfway there, his two wrists exploded once more as blood wrapped onto his sword. The forty-foot long blood sword energy increased to seventy feet.
The aura was really bloody and intense, like the sword could kill all types of living beings.
Influenced by this aura, Zong Shou’s face uncontrollably jumped. In the next moment he stabilized his breathing and let his heart regain its calm. Apart from the excitement of fighting a strong opponent, his soul was like a mirror, impervious to desires and passions, reflecting everything.
All things in front of his eyes seemed to have suddenly stopped as he mapped out all the possible changes of Li Yaling’s sword path into his heart.
Just as that blood sword energy was forty feet away from hid, Zong Shou spat out a deafening shout.
“Out of Body, kill!”
A ball of yin energy charged out from his brain, bringing with it that Black Wave Sword as it waved forwards and stabbed down without that cloud and mist-like change, but with extreme sharpness and speed!
If one came close, one would be able to feel that just the ripple would rip apart their souls, and even the exceptionally strong vital energy of Xiantian masters.
Zong Shou subconsciously smiled coldly; the wood essence energy he had absorbed from the tree surged out and protected his body.
This sword! He had gone all out, the sword had used up all he had, cutting off his way out, there was no way back!
Keng!
Purple lightning shone as it wrapped around the silver sword body and struck down into the blood shadow, entangling with the blood sword glow, spiralling and mixing with it. It also drew out many magical and mysterious trajectories, like it was entering from every possible position, stabbing into the deepest parts of that blood sword glow.
The two swords struck one another, unable to break away. In one breath, all the trees and plants within three hundred feet were chopped up and broken into pieces. The ground was crossed with numerous deep sword cuts.
Cold sweat dripped from Li Yaling’s forehead. With each sword blow he could feel a portion of his energy being sucked away!
Zong Shou’s soul was also becoming dimmer and dimmer under the light of the rising sun.
In just a few breaths, the purple and red sword images in the sky were showing signs of weakening, like it was difficult to continue.
Li Yunniang heaved a sigh of relief as she saw that, and also felt depressed. She knew that the battle between the both of them would most probably end up in a draw, but at least her life would be kept.
Although Zong Shou was unable to kill Li Yaling, he was able to use his soul to drive a weapon to force back Hundred Thousand Blood Killer. Just that alone meant that he was an absolute top spirit master talent in the Cloud Continent!
In just a short while, Li Yaling’s blood sword shadow reached its maximum point and there were no more changes. Regretfully letting out a “Hei!, the sword glow expanded once more while he floated backwards.
The purple lightning around Zong Shou’s soul was also disappearing. Under the shine of the daylight, the entire Yin Soul looked like it was going to melt. He felt a burning sensation within his soul, like it was on fire.
His mind was still as cold as ice, his killing intent not decreasing, and he was still determined. Just as Li Yaling’s image retreated by tens of feet, Zong Shou’s soul expanded once more.
He was waiting for the moment that both of them thought neither side could continue before using it.
Within his soul ocean, those few True Spiritual Charms that had just been formed started burning, turning into pure soul power that was injected into the soul ocean whirlpool that was drying up.
The silver sword suddenly vibrated. Following a really profound and difficult to describe trajectory, it arrived under Li Yaling’s disbelieving eyes. A spin and a stop, that really young head flew up into the air and fell to the ground.
A blood glow spurted out and rained down, dying a large patch of the ground blood red.
———–
Li Yunniang was dumbfounded. Was this Zong Shou planning to die? He was obviously in danger, but he still wanted to kill someone? Wasn’t he afraid his soul would be destroyed and he would be unable to return to his body?
A deep sense of inreality surged into her head.
That Hundred Thousand Blood Killer Li Yaling died, just like that? His head was chopped off in one move by this thirteen year old, who everyone thought was unable to cultivate because of his Dual Meridian Body, using sword driving?
Lian Fan was also totally startled, his expression dumbstruck as he turned around and watched.
Zong Shou’s soul was originally so dim it was on the verge of collapsing. After killing Li Yaling, that purple lightning appeared once more, unharmed by the light of the sun.
A flash and it had returned to the tree it had jumped out from, into the body being protected by that giant bear.
His mind instantly felt an intense pain, which he barely managed to suppress. His right hand formed a sign and sucked that Demon Eye Silver Bear back into his sleeves.
However when his consciousness spread out once more, he was shocked.
“Weird, I actually lost track of that person, he left really quickly!”
That strong aura which was rushing over and was less than three miles away had totally disappeared. He had no track of him.
He came suddenly, while also leaving suddenly.
Zong Shou was filled with doubts, his brow furrowed tightly. He shook his head and walked over to Li Yaling’s body.
The eyes of his head were still open wide, staring forwards in rage like he had died with a grievance.
However, that angry aura had already totally disappeared.
“Hundred Thousand Blood Killer, killing your wife and killing your mother. This guy’s killing path is really amazing! His strength was really strong and pretty much no one under Martial Ancestor could beat him!”
Zong Shou was filled with emotions, but he felt weird. With this person’s sword skill and the killing sword path he grasped, he only needed five-six years to reach the Ascended level. When the spiritual wave era arrived, he might have been able to step into the Celestial Realm.
Why wasn’t he famous in the future? Why hadn’t he heard of him?
Just now it was really, really dangerous, his won by a thin line. This Li Yaling had nearly killed him.
That day in the Blood Valley he had once gone all out in a battle. But that Xiantian master was one whose name he didn’t even bother to ask. He was far less threatening than this Li Yaling.
The instant that he killed this person, Zong Shou could feel that his grasp of his sword path had become much clearer.
The level of this battle was actually far from his original Realm. But he was at the same level as the enemy and in such fights, life and death was often decided by one sword.
In that moment, the tempering of his mind was worth close to a year of cultivation of his heart!