Chapter 75: Lightning Element [PART 2]
Heaven-testing pagoda 95th floorLi Yao cuts down another huge monster. The monster disintegrates into nothingness as she sheaths her sword. She then lets out an exhale, her shoulders dropping slightly from the constant tension of battle.
"There is no end to them. How long has it been?" she asked.
[It’s been four days] the empress replied.
Li Yao nodded as she heard this, she thought to herself that it was really taking long, and the upper floors were getting harder and harder to clear.
Her combat power was almost at the golden core stage yet it was taking her so long. Considering that the pagoda doesn’t accept people over fifty years of age, just how strong does it expect someone under fifty to be?
Considering the fact that the sect ancestor was able to clear up to the ninety-ninth floor, did that mean that he was at the golden core stage at the age of fifty? That can already be considered a genius that appears once every hundred thousand years. But if that’s the case, then why is the Azure Cloud Sword Sect considered a low-level sect if the ancestor was such a genius?
As she was thinking of this, the huge gate to the next floor slid open with a rumbling sound that reverberated through the chamber. She dismissed her thoughts and moved forward with determined steps. After she stepped in, the gate closed behind her with a heavy thud, sealing her path of retreat. She was already used to this pattern so she didn’t react, she just got into her sword stance, her body shifting into perfect balance.
In the next breath, a monster appeared in the middle of the room, materializing from thin air. It was a cat-like monster, but it looked more like a demon cat than an actual cat. Its fur was pitch black with streaks of blood red, and its eyes glowed every now and then. Long, curved claws extended from its paws.
Li Yao felt that the monsters seemed to be getting more and more demonified the higher she climbed.
[That’s right] the empress spoke, her tone more serious than usual. [You need to be more careful. There is something strange going on in this treasure.]
Li Yao thought that it was really strange if even the empress told her to be careful. After all, the empress was not one to show concern without good reason.
The cat monster then pounced at her, its powerful legs propelling it across the chamber with frightening speed. She side-stepped to dodge, noting that it was quite fast—faster than she had anticipated. But just as she thought she had dodged, the monster’s tail swung backward, targeting her unguarded back.
Fortunately, she managed to sense this at the last second, jumping and managing to evade the attack by mere inches. While in the air, she infused her sword with her qi, causing the blade to glow with a soft blue light. Then she made hundreds of swings in a second, her arms moving so fast they became a blur to the naked eye.
It didn’t seem like anything was happening at first—her blade cutting through empty air as the monster moved below. But in the next seconds, hundreds of slashes landed on the cat monster simultaneously. The creature’s body was diced and dissected, reduced to nothing but particles of light that faded away.
She slowly floated to the ground, observing her sword with a critical eye. She thought to herself that the spell technique was really powerful, it was even more effective than she had expected.
At that moment, the door to the ninety-seventh floor opened.
...
99th Floor
Li Yao was flung through the air, clashing into the wall with a thunderous impact. The cold stone pressed against her back as she slowly pushed herself upright, wincing at the pain coursing through her body. Blood trickled down her lip as she used her sword to support her trembling legs.
She thought to herself that the previous floor’s opponent was just a peak Core Formation, and now they had jumped straight to a middle-stage Golden Core realm monster. She wondered if she could even win against such overwhelming power. The difference in power was simple too great.
Just as this doubt crept into her mind, the humanoid demon charged at her with frightening speed. Its massive form blurred across the chamber, each footfall cracking the floor beneath it. Li Yao’s instincts screamed at her to move. She pushed herself with every ounce of remaining strength and managed to jump out of the way.
The demon, missing its target, barreled straight into the wall. Its fist crashed against the surface with such force that the entire room shook violently. Dust and small fragments rained down from above, yet surprisingly, the walls remained intact.
Li Yao landed gracefully on the opposite side of the chamber, her feet sliding slightly as she regained her balance. The demon, realizing it hadn’t hit its target, whirled around with unnatural speed for its size. Its hollow eyes locked onto her.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao calmed her racing heart and stabilized her stance. She shifted into her proper sword form, positioning her feet and blade at the perfect angle. Though the monster was overwhelmingly strong, she reasoned it wasn’t impossible to defeat. As she watched the monster approach, she thought to herself that she just needed a chance, just once single opening.
As the creature approached, its body underwent a transformation. Thick, writhing tentacles erupted from its back, shooting toward her at blinding speeds. Li Yao lifted her sword in defense, bracing for impact. When the tentacles reached her, they seemed to harden on contact, producing a sharp clanking sound as they struck her blade.
"Just how hard are these things?" she wondered, eyes widening as she dodged one that whistled past, mere inches from her face.
The tentacles moved with unnatural coordination, attacking from multiple angles simultaneously. Despite this, Li Yao was still able to deflect them but she felt that she wouldn’t be able to last for long like this as the attacks were becoming more and more unpredictable.
Seeing as she was getting surrounded, she jumped high into the air. But the tentacles didn’t relent. They followed her trajectory, stretching impossibly as they pursued her through the air like hungry serpents.
Li Yao realized that creating distance offered no advantage at all. From her elevated position, she observed the monster watching her from below, its grotesque face tilted upward.
She concluded that she had no choice but to confront it directly. When separated, she couldn’t inflict any meaningful damage, and the monster was exhausting her with these relentless tentacle attacks. If this pattern continued, she would inevitably lose through sheer attrition.
With this in mind, Li Yao infused energy into her sword. The blade responded immediately, beginning to glow with an intense blue light that illuminated the entire chamber. The luminescence continued intensifying until it started sparking and crackling with electric energy, small arcs of lightning dancing along the edge.
She then dove straight toward the monster. The creature’s tentacles targeted her like homing missiles, but Li Yao plunged directly into their midst. Her electrified blade sang through, severing tentacles with each stroke. The severed appendages fell to the ground, dissolving into dark mist upon impact.
Her momentum unbroken, Li Yao continued her assault, chopping through the forest of tentacles until she found herself face to face with the monster itself. With one perfect swing, she cut the monster’s arm clean off, the electrified blade passing through its dark flesh with surprising ease.
Victory was short-lived, however, as the monster used its remaining hand to strike her with devastating force. The blow connected squarely with her torso, sending her flying backward once more. She crashed into the wall with bone-jarring impact, cracks spreading outward from the point of collision.
But Li Yao was not finished. She rose quickly, her determination undiminished. She realized that before this moment, she couldn’t inflict any significant damage on the creature, but now—when she used her elemental power—she could finally hurt it.
[Do you believe me now that you should use your element more?] the Empress finally spoke.
[Among the mutated elements, the lightning element is the hardest to master but it’s also the strongest, both in raw power and in speed. If you can master how to use your element properly, you won’t lose out to him,] she continued.
[In battles above the Foundation Establishment realm, it’s all about the innate element. That demon, for example, is able to give you such a hard time because he has mastered the dark element. Although you don’t have the light element that directly opposes it, the lightning element isn’t that far off either. It can now be considered that you have the elemental advantage,] she spoke with certainty.
Li Yao remained focused, her eyes never leaving the monster across the chamber. Through her heightened senses, she observed it attempting to regenerate the arm she had severed. Dark energy swirled around the stump, slowly taking shape.
She couldn’t allow the monster to regenerate. Without hesitation, she leaped forward once more...