Chapter 324: Master Shengyun. Dead!
Things weren’t over yet, though. Xu Qing’s eyes were crimson and full of mad killing intent as he pressed the attack.
Meanwhile, booms rang out in the sky as Master Seventh, his expression grim and his killing intent raging, also fought fiercely to release the guilt in his heart. He had been wracked with self-blame recently, frustrated that he hadn’t calculated all of the possible outcomes that had ultimately led to Master Sixth’s death.
The only reason the tragedy had occurred was because he wasn’t capable enough. The only reason things had turned out the way they had was that his battle prowess wasn’t sufficient. He couldn’t accept that. He couldn’t allow it. And he most definitely could never allow something like that to happen again to someone he cared about.
Therefore, his attacks burst with killing intent. And he didn’t resort to any daoist magics, as he didn’t have the clarity of mind to focus on them.
He used his fists to smash everything in his path. His every attack caused rumbling sounds to fill heaven and earth. The wind screamed and the air shattered. Every fist strike contained deceptive power, strength that could crush everything. His relentless attacks shocked the stone giant, who could do nothing but stagger backward and howl. The giant’s eyes filled with pure terror at the terrifying nature of Master Seventh’s battle prowess.
As Master Seventh battered the giant, cracks spread out across its body. Its left arm shattered, and then both of its legs. Its torso crumbled... causing countless boulders to rain down onto the land below.
The two conclave agents from Torchlight were visibly shocked, and their eyes radiated terror as blood oozed from their mouths. The masks covering their faces shattered, and they were already covered with serious wounds. Previously, most of the attack power had been absorbed by the giant, but with the giant gone, there was no question that these two were about to die.
“This is the great circle of Spirit Trove!!”
They howled in panic as the giant collapsed, and then they simply turned and fled.
Higher in the air was Sir Bloodsmelter, who looked down coldly at everything that was happening. With him in control, the battle was fairly one-sided. Right now, he was waiting to see if other Torchlight agents would come to the rescue, or if the agents present would somehow tap into even greater power than they had already.
There was fighting going on, both in the air and on the ground.
***
Moments before….
Killing intent raged in Xu Qing’s eyes as he chased Master Shengyun, who was coughing up blood like mad. Master Shengyun’s 121st dharma aperture had exploded, and the eighth heavenly palace he had created was now gone, provoking a bitter laugh from him. His eyes were full of madness and malice as he glared at Xu Qing.
He hated Xu Qing down to his bones! What was more, he was jealous! Completely and utterly jealous!
In the past, he had been the number one chosen in the coalition, and had enjoyed ultimate glory. His future prospects had been boundless. Outside of the sect, he shone like the sun, and inside the sect, he dominated an entire generation. But fate had not been fair to him. Despite his chosen status, despite his incredible good looks, instead of being born basking in the light, he had been cursed with a vile conjoined twin.
He hadn’t given up because of that, though. Despite the constant looks of contempt thrown at him during that time, he worked hard at his cultivation, struggling and fighting to progress. And in the end, he devoured his younger brother to become a whole person.
After that, he fought hard to surpass all of his peers and reached the ultimate peak. It had been a long, bitter, and torturous struggle that only he could fully appreciate. During that time, he had come to realize that his grandfather’s gaze contained, not just anticipation, but also greed. However, there was no way for Master Shengyun to refuse the life lamp which had been given him, half of it being a blessing, but half of it being a curse.
What happened after that made him convinced that fate was heartless.
He had reached dazzling heights of success in the coalition. As a result, he had believed that his fate would turn out good. Except, he only saw increased greed in the eyes of his grandfather.
Master Shengyun was no fool, but he had been forced to silently endure the situation. Except then his life lamp was stolen by Xu Qing, and he had been seriously injured. To some extent, that had been a relief. Except never in his wildest dreams could he have guessed that, in order to keep on living, he would have to be parasitized by the president’s golden crow.
In the end, it drove him closer and closer to the point of true madness.
He had no way to defy his grandfather. So he could only hate Xu Qing. He had no way to defy the president. So he could only resent Xu Qing.
What gives you the right to have light in your heart, Xu Qing? What gives you the right... to live a life free of despair? We should die together!
The thought filled him with rancorous malice. When all was said and done, he hated Xu Qing with the ultimate venom, and it was all due to envy! He envied the fact that Xu Qing ultimately did have light in his heart. He envied Xu Qing’s two life lamps that belonged solely to him. He envied that Xu Qing didn’t have to live in torment, yet had achieved the same results as he had. More than all of that, he envied that Xu Qing had a Master who would go to great lengths to keep him safe, plus a patriarch who wasn’t greedily plotting to use him. And most of all, he envied that scene which played out in the rain, and how Xu Qing had stood tall despite everything. That envy, in turn, became venomous malice.
Master Shengyun didn’t care about his 121st dharma aperture. He didn’t care that he had reached the Gold Core level and formed that eighth heavenly palace. He didn’t care that he was able to use the golden crow. Had any of that changed anything?
The only way to come out on top is to become a god! Master Shengyun’s eyes blazed with madness as that thought filled his mind. All of his hopes had rested with Torchlight. And though Seven Blood Eyes had launched this surprise attack, forcing Master Shengyun to cut many of his plans short, he still refused to lose his faith. Even though his 121st dharma aperture had collapsed and he had lost that heavenly palace, he was still convinced that he was on the path to ultimate glory.
But then Xu Qing closed in like a bolt of lightning, his fist clenched. Master Shengyun smiled, and the madness in his eyes turned fiercer as he howled and met the incoming punch with his own fist.
There was such a vast difference in battle prowess between the two that Master Shengyun wasn’t even close to being a match for Xu Qing. A tremor passed through him as his right arm exploded. Screaming, he tumbled backward. Yet he still fought back. Performing an incantation gesture with his left hand, he sent streams of sword light out.
The first sword fell from above. The Darkheaven Bloodfiend Sword.
The second sword swept horizontally. The Soul-Sweeping Devil-Crushing Sword.
The third sword became ghosts with swords strapped to their backs. The Northghost Heavenwondering Sword.
This time, Xu Qing ignored them. Waving his hand, he crushed the sword falling from above. He destroyed the sword sweeping from the side. And before the eight ghosts could draw the swords from their backs, they screamed as Xu Qing’s energy smashed into them.
Xu Qing’s eyes raged with killing intent as he continued onward at the same speed and caught up with Master Shengyun. Not giving his opponent any time to even think, he ignored all of his defenses and reached out with the Gruegloom Daoseizing Art.
His hand became illusory and stabbed into Master Shengyun’s body!
Master Shengyun had already seen this happen once. He trembled as he tried to fight back, but it didn’t do any good. Eyes wide with madness, he tried to head-butt Xu Qing. At the same time, Xu Qing’s hand found the other heavenly palace in Master Shengyun’s sea of consciousness.
When Gold Core cultivators formed their first heavenly palace, it started out illusory. What was more, the heavenly palaces they illuminated on their breakthrough determined the ultimate limit of their strength. As for their true battle prowess, it was actually formed by making the heavenly palaces corporeal.
As for Master Shengyun, his limit had been eight, but he had only managed to turn one of them corporeal.
When Xu Qing’s hand reached into him, it grabbed the only gold core he had in his single heavenly palace! He ripped it out!
That gold core contained immeasurable rancorous energy, and it emanated extraordinary fluctuations. As soon as Xu Qing ripped it out, Master Shengyun screamed in agony. The gold core came out into the open, trailing streams of blood. Master Shengyun shook violently, howling in grief.
Eyes filled with killing intent, Xu Qing crushed it. A thump rang out as the gold core turned into countless particles that swept into Xu Qing. At the same time, he ruthlessly head-butted Master Shengyun.
Master Shengyun trembled as his face was smashed into a bloody pulp. And yet, he still raged with madness and aggression.
All the blood splattered on Xu Qing’s face came from Master Shengyun. As for his eyes, they also contained a madness unique to him. The golden crow behind Xu Qing let loose a piercing cry as it viciously absorbed Master Shengyun.
Master Shengyun laughed as a golden crow materialized behind him as well, only to be set upon by Xu Qing’s golden crow.
As the two crows snapped back and forth at each other, Xu Qing’s eyes turned cold, and the killing intent in his heart reached the point where it had to be released. Grabbing Master Shengyun by the hair, Xu Qing pulled his right hand back into a fist and punched him repeatedly in the chest.
Each blow caused Master Shengyun’s body to collapse more and more. His soul crumpled, whereupon Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior greedily started absorbing it. On the third punch, half of Master Shengyun’s body collapsed. When the fourth punch hit, Master Shengyun screamed endlessly. Everything beneath his neck exploded into a cloud of blood, bones, and flesh that showered out in all directions. His soul was similarly destroyed.
Only his head remained. Defiance, rage, and madness gleamed in his eyes. However, there was nothing to sustain him anymore, so his eyes faded. Master Shengyun was dead!
The ground was covered with gore.
Master Shengyun’s golden crow had nothing to sustain it, and was incredibly weak. Xu Qing’s golden crow devoured it in a single gulp. When that happened, Xu Qing’s golden crow suddenly erupted with endless fire that swept over everything in the area. Its tenth tail finished forming, and then an eleventh, twelfth, and finally a thirteenth tail appeared!
Xu Qing’s imperial-class technique, Golden Crow Assimilates Myriad Spirits, had finally broken through to the second stage!