It took all of Li Qingshan’s strength to turn his head over. After he did that, he was met with Rāhu Xiaoming’s smiling face. Apart from being sheet-white, he was actually unscathed, currently observing Li Qingshan’s horrible state with brimming interest.
He gripped the hilt of the Immortal Relinquished sword with both hands and placed a foot on Li Qingshan’s chest, pulling it out with difficulty. He lost his footing in the process and also fell over, so he simply spread his arms and legs and gazed at the sky.
Asura were known to be undying. Not only could they be constantly revived, but their bodies possessed great life force and recovery too. Even with their heads chopped off, they could continue fighting.
As an asura god, he could even be reborn from a droplet of blood. His body was as tenacious as possible. However, his cultivation was still too low after all. Having received a direct strike from the Son of Heaven’s Sword of the True Dragon, his situation was no better than Li Qingshan’s one. All that could be said was his life was not under threat, but he could forget about continuing to battle.
Blood gushed out from Li Qingshan’s wounds as he almost perished in the process. The blood began to burn in the air, turning into flames and returning to his body. Only then was the chance of death averted. He could only still hold on because of the phoenix’s powers. He said in exasperation, “Thanks!”
He found that Scripture of Trisepulture or whatever it was to be strangely familiar, but now clearly was not the time to worry about that. They had already reached the moment of reckoning with this battle.
The mighty cry of a dragon suddenly rose up, growing with each wave, completely booming through the Dragon province until it reached the limits of the sky.
Rumble! Thunder boomed in the clear sky like a reply to the dragon’s cry, drowning out the ringing of the bell.
Crack! A fracture appeared on the Soul Stirring Bell. The ringing immediately dulled.
Si Long bulged with blood vessels all over, particularly on his forehead. He gripped the Skull Prayer Beads firmly with both hands and forcefully crushed seven or eight of them before tugging it violently!
The prayer beads collapsed and scattered as the strange cackling halted too.
Only the sounds of Xiao An’s chanting continued onwards, going in circles without ever stopping, unaffected by everything going on around her.
Si Long wanted to tear off the Trisepultural Robes, except it turned into the Samādhi Flames of White Bone wherever his dragon claws touched. His face became more and more twisted as a result, no longer possessing any of his absolute calmness from earlier. This was a sign of cultivation deviation. He roared furiously, “Shut up!”
With a flash of the golden figure, Si Long traversed through space with a single step and reached viciously towards Xiao An.
Gu Yanying took off with Xiao An. Si Long pursued them relentlessly.
A dragon and a peng whistled through the surroundings of Dragonshead mountain, leaving behind numerous blurs. The sharp whistling rose and fell.
Gu Yanying seemed to be at great ease. Even in Yang Soul form, Si Long was unable to catch up to her. She maintained a safe distance from Si Long the entire time like she was flying a kite, guarding against any techniques that Si Long could use. However, there was something that left her feeling worried, such that she did not travel too far away from Dragonshead mountain.
Very soon, her worries became true. Si Long suddenly stopped chasing her, lunging towards Li Qingshan and Rāhu Xiaoming.
Si Long was in an absolute frenzy, but his threats were still life-threatening.
Gu Yanying’s eyes were sharp like lightning. With a turn, she sped over.
The two figures basically arrived at the top of the mountain at the same time. Gu Yanying was faster, but she was further away from the mountain too. In a long-distance race, this was nothing, but in a short-distance competition like this, it made all the difference in the world.
“Don’t come over!” Li Qingshan called out.
According to his calculations, once they entered Si Long’s range of attack, they would be in life-threatening danger. Gu Yanying almost collided against Si Long. Even if she could beat him to it, they would not be able to escape. Only certain death would await. After all, they could not have the Nirvā?a Rebirth and an undying body.
At this very moment, time seemed to slow down. A bolt of lightning gradually extended down from the sky, illuminating everyone’s eyes.
Si Long raised his right hand, extending his claws with their sharpness on full display.
Life and death hung on this moment.
White clothes drifted before Li Qingshan. The clear eyes reflected the golden dragon claws, filling her vision.
Li Qingshan felt his shoulder ache. Gu Yanying grabbed him and Xiaoming sternly.
He immediately understood her intentions, or perhaps it was Xiao An’s intention. Only by blocking this attack from Si Long could they escape with Gu Yanying.
“Xiao An!”
The Blood Sea Banner expanded in the wind, drifting in front of her.
With a hiss, the Blood Sea Banner was torn to tatters. Under the furious dragon cry, the claws ripped through space and shot towards her face.
The fierce winds lifted up her seaweed-like hair that gently caressed Li Qingshan’s cheeks. He widened his eyes, gazing at her back. Her figure suddenly blurred as if it could disperse at any moment.
She brought her palms together and shut her eyes, displaying the same awareness of enlightenment in the moment.
Boom! The thunder erupted.
Dust filled the top of Dragonshead mountain. That was the tough rock that had been pulverised to dust. Gu Yanying grabbed Li Qingshan and Rāhu Xiaoming and rose up into the air.
Li Qingshan was completely devastated, overwhelmed by fury and disbelief, yet he was unable to say a single word.
Within the dust, her figure shimmered about, standing with her palms together and her head lowered silently. When she opened her eyes gradually, she saw a colossal pit behind her.
Si Long’s claws had brushed past her face. He trembled all over as his eyes were filled with fury. He growled, “Qian Rongzhi!”
Si Long fought two battles at the same time. He confronted Li Qingshan and the others while he devoured Qian Rongzhi’s soul nascence. Originally, the latter was a battle of annihilation where he possessed an absolute advantage. It posed no threat to him at all. However, the former battle forced him to use the Son of Heaven’s Sword of the True Dragon, which left him in no state to deal with Qian Rongzhi.
But despite that, it was as clear as day what the outcome between a Yang Soul against a soul nascence would be, at least until the Trisepultural Robes had been draped over him!
The Trisepultural Robes were an extremely special white bone artifact. They could convert the living to the dead. Coupled with the Scripture of Trisepulture, it could convert enemies to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.
However, Xiao An did not possess any confidence that the Trisepultural Robes could threaten Si Long. After all, the difference in their cultivations was far too great. Even a demonic sword like the Immortal Relinquished sword had turned into a son of heaven’s sword in Si Long’s hands.
And in reality, even until now, she had failed to convert Si Long, but she did manage to convert Qian Rongzhi, which made Si Long’s inner demons sow chaos. It also allowed her to successfully regain control over a part of her body, twisting her wrist in the critical moment.
Si Long roared furiously, attacking Xiao An with all of his strength, but his body was stiff and twisted. All of the attacks shot past Xiao An, unable to harm her at all. He wanted to use techniques, but his power would always collapse at the critical juncture.
The scattered Skull Prayer Beads turned into skulls and bit down on him. Originally, he did not take these tricks seriously at all, but now, he could not even dodge. They bit down on his joints and acupoints, making him stagger and drop to his knees.
Xiao An asked, “Are you alright?”
“Kill… me… Use that… bone sword… I just… can’t win… against him…”
Qian Rongzhi’s voice faltered, together with Si Long’s furious roars of despair.
A stalemate like this could not last for too long. Yang Souls were undefeatable. From the moment Si Long decided to possess her, she had already lost.
If a snake tried to swallow an elephant, it would definitely end up bursting. Even by dragging out a feeble existence, she could not change the final outcome.
“Kill me…”
She looked at her as her lips curled into a smile. Perhaps this was not such a bad end either.
Those who made the world burn also burned themselves. Those who did not forgive fate would not be forgiven by fate either. When she devoured everything without any regard, was it because the thing she wanted to devour the most was herself? She had grown sick of a cycle like this a long time ago. Everything could finally come to an end.
She shut her eyes with a smile. Yes, there would be no cycle anymore. She would have rather not existed in the first place.
As a result, Xiao An raised the Buddha Slaying sword.
