Chapter 476 - 458: Great Harvest and Great Crisis

BZZZZ!

The skinny man’s sea of consciousness suddenly roared.

At the edge of the darkness, a golden Buddhist light surged like a vast ocean.

A White Ape, draped in a kasaya robe and straddling a four-tusked white elephant, stepped into the mighty golden river, and the boundless Buddhist light came crashing down!

His gaze instantly lost focus.

How could Su Yu let such a perfect opportunity slip by? The moment he saw his opponent use what seemed to be a sound wave-based technique, he decided to turn the tables and deliberately reveal an opening.

As expected, his opponent thought he was stunned and fell for the trap.

After all, he was a master of the Sound Wave Skill. Coupled with the Shattering Illusion and Revealing Truth Trait he’d gained from Breaking Limit through reading, he had no fear of this kind of Spiritual Attack.

Now, seeing the opening his opponent exposed, he slashed out with his blade.

The blood-red Demon Ape Evil Qi surged to its peak, leaving a brilliant crimson streak in the night as the blade sliced into his opponent’s forearm.

PCHT!

Without the Great Tendons to power them, both forearms were instantly severed by Mo Yuan, tumbling to the ground.

The intense pain made the man scream and snap out of his stupor.

His face was a mask of utter terror. He never imagined that his sure-kill strike would instead lead him right into a trap, leaving him grievously wounded in an instant.

A storm of thoughts raged in his mind, filled with complete disbelief.

’My opponent knows a Sound Wave Skill too? And his is so much stronger than mine!’

’That brilliant golden Buddhist light, that terrifying vision... it all points to an incredibly profound understanding of Buddhist Law, something no ordinary person could achieve.’

’Impossible. This is absolutely impossible!’

’He’s so young! How can he have such a terrifying grasp of Buddhist Law?’

’And why is he so resistant to my Sound Wave Skill? Why didn’t he even show a moment of dazed confusion?’

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. The agonizing pain had already shattered his courage, and he turned to flee.

But how could Su Yu let him escape? He activated his Celestial Thunder Step and instantly closed the distance.

Within a few exchanges, Su Yu beheaded the Black Lotus Sect Demon. The head rolled across the ground, and he was completely dead.

A thick stream of blood-red Evil Qi, as wide as a thigh, eagerly drilled into Su Yu’s body through his mouth and nose, heading straight for his Dantian.

As the Evil Qi entered his body, the orb of Evil Qi above his Dantian began to spin rapidly, absorbing the blood-red stream.

The rotation of the Evil Qi orb caused even more Evil Qi to uncontrollably emerge from Su Yu’s body.

BOOM!

Thunder cracked, and the falling rain was instantly vaporized by Su Yu’s terrifying Evil Qi, turning into wisps of white mist.

Not far away, a Black Lotus Sect member at the Skin Tempering Realm saw Su Yu, and terror flashed in his eyes.

’A God of Slaughter! A God of Slaughter! Just how many people has he killed?!’

The long saber in his hand fell with a CLANG. His legs went weak, and he dropped to his knees on the spot.

In the distance, the other Black Lotus Sect members saw this. With their Incense Master dead, they completely lost the will to fight.

"Ah, run!"

"I surrender! I surrender... I surrender..."

"Kill anyone who tries to run."

Su Yu commanded, reining in the Evil Qi in his body. At the same time, he threw a handful of Flying Locust Stones, instantly killing several ordinary sect members who were trying to escape.

Wisps of Evil Qi drifted toward him again. Su Yu reached out, feeling the faint strands between his fingers, and shook his head with a bit of helplessness.

’The Evil Qi from these grunts is just too little!’

’Perhaps it’s not just a matter of strength. The stronger someone is, the more they fight and kill, and the more Evil Qi they can accumulate in their body.’

’It seems I’ll have to fight more experts in the future. Killing an expert of that man’s caliber is worth more than killing hundreds of regular fighters.’

Su Yu walked over to the Demon’s corpse and skillfully straightened his clothes and appearance. As thanks, the Demon had given him several thousand taels in silver notes and a Treasure Medicine.

After stashing the silver notes in his Sumeru Mustard Seed, Su Yu quickly examined the Treasure Medicine in his hand.

It was only a palm’s height, but its rhizome was exceedingly strange.

The main stem was a dark gold color, gnarled and coiled like a Flood Dragon shrunk countless times over. Nine long, narrow leaves grew from the rhizome, their surfaces covered in fine patterns resembling dense dragon scales.

Even more peculiar, its roots were not soft like those of an ordinary plant. Instead, they were thin, tough, white threads.

Su Yu flicked them with a finger. TWANG!

Several silvery-white threads vibrated like zither strings, emitting a low, metallic hum.

"This is..."

Images of various ancient texts he had read flashed through Su Yu’s mind. With his ability of Breaking Limit through reading, he had long since achieved a photographic memory.

The ’Ancient Strange Herbs Record’ seemed to contain a description:

"When a dragon falls in a marsh, its blood enriches the soil, and in a hundred years, scales grow... Its roots are like strings, its stem like a tendon. Consuming it can remodel one’s tendons and meridians..."

A sharp glint flashed in Su Yu’s eyes as understanding dawned.

’This Treasure Medicine is no simple thing!’

’It might be related to cultivating the Dragon Tendon. It’s highly likely this is the Treasure Medicine used to refine the so-called Dragon Tendon Pill!’

With a wave of his hand, he stored it in his Sumeru Mustard Seed. This was not the time for a detailed examination.

Su Yu scanned the battlefield. The Flying Feather Guard had already captured most of the Black Lotus Sect members, and the downstream section of the river was under control.

In the western part of the city, there was no distress signal from his senior sister, so it seemed that area was also under control.

’In that case, I’ll go check upstream. I wonder how Liu Wu and Shi Yueshan are doing.’

’If something has gone wrong on their end, controlling the downstream section alone is pointless.’

...

「At the Hanging Mirror Gate.」

Flashes of a saber crisscrossed the air, shredding the curtain of rain.

Liu Wu’s purple dress fluttered as her figure darted through the air like a startled swan. Each time her long legs landed, they kicked up a ring of white mist in the rain.

The long saber in her hand was a blur, striking her opponent repeatedly and forcing him to retreat again and again.

Although the burly Black Lotus Sect man’s defense was astonishing, under the relentless assault of powerful saber flashes, more and more bloody cuts appeared on his body.

The burly man could only counter-attack when opportunities arose. His fists carried shocking power; if a single punch landed, Liu Wu would likely be injured!

But Liu Wu’s movements were like a butterfly flitting through flowers. She made no mistakes, keeping her opponent firmly suppressed. It wouldn’t be long before she could defeat him completely!

"Demon, surrender now! Or in a moment, I’ll personally chop off your dog head!"

As Liu Wu’s cold words fell, the light from her saber intensified.

The burly man was struggling to fend her off. A trace of anxiety flashed in his eyes as he glanced furtively toward the Outer City and Inner City.

’I thought that since we’re both at the Middle Dragon Tendon Realm, I could easily suppress Liu Wu. I never expected this woman to be so formidable! She doesn’t make a single mistake in combat and has actually suppressed me with her sheer speed!’

’Damn it, why haven’t they made a move in the Inner City yet? There’s no way Shi Yueshan could have stopped them!’

’And downstream... that bastard Su Yu isn’t even at Muscle Forging Perfection. He should be long dead by now.’

’But my companion still hasn’t come to back me up. Did something go wrong?’

Liu Wu was equally anxious. She was terrified that something had happened to Su Yu downstream. If a Black Lotus Sect expert arrived as reinforcements, her only option would be to flee!

"Demon, surrender!"

She put all her strength into her saber, knowing her opponent was about to break. She wanted to take him down in the shortest time possible!

But at that very moment, a sudden explosion echoed from the direction of the Inner City.

KABOOM!

The massive sound drowned out the rumbling thunder in the sky, followed by a noise like a charging army of thousands.

Liu Wu’s expression changed instantly.

’Oh no!’

’The Celestial Mirror River’s channel has been bombed! The water from the two tributaries is rushing over!’

Her gaze fell upon the Hanging Mirror Gate, and her pretty face turned deathly pale.

’They’re going to use the force of the flood to smash through the Hanging Mirror Gate!’

’No, no, the Hanging Mirror Gate was forged from Hundred-forged Meteorite Iron mixed with Divine Gold. Even a flood this violent should be something it can withstand!’

"Haha, the operation in the Inner City was a success! You’re finished!"

The burly man was overjoyed. Although he didn’t know why his downstream companion hadn’t arrived, the success of the upstream operation in the Inner City was enough!

In the instant Liu Wu was distracted, a sharp twang of a bowstring ripped through the rainy night.

A jet-black Black Iron Arrow, glinting with a terrifying cold light, shot through the air. It blasted away the raindrops in its path as it flew straight for her back.

At the critical moment, Liu Wu’s intuition screamed danger. Without thinking, her body instinctively twisted at the waist, her purple skirt tracing a perilous arc through the air.

BOOM!

The heavy arrow grazed past her, tearing a piece of her skirt at the thigh and revealing skin as white as mutton-fat jade. It then slammed into the ground.

Instantly, the stone tiles shattered, sending mud, water, and debris flying.

"Hahahaha, Incense Master Xu, great work! I’ll hold her off, you go detonate the explosives!"

From the direction the arrow had come, a Black Lotus Sect expert emerged from the darkness, drawing his bow and laughing wildly.

Liu Wu’s pupils contracted. The power of that arrow was astounding. This person had to be another expert at the Middle Dragon Tendon Realm!

"Haha, Incense Master Qian, you came at the perfect time! Cripple this bitch with your arrows, and after I blow up the Hanging Mirror Gate, I’ll come back and deal with her!"

A flicker of hatred crossed the burly man’s eyes as he charged toward the Hanging Mirror Gate.

He had waited so long for this very moment!

If he detonated the explosives planted in advance by Lord Wufeng now and used the force of the flood, he would surely be able to break through the Hanging Mirror Gate in one fell swoop!

When the floodwaters raged, both the Inner and Outer Cities would suffer devastating damage! To repair the Hanging Mirror Gate would take at least a year and a half!

Forget about the fusion of the Inner and Outer Cities; Black Stone City itself would suffer a great loss of Primordial Qi!

"Damn you, Demons! You’re courting death!"

Liu Wu instantly understood her opponents’ intentions, and her pretty face changed color drastically.

Once the explosives detonated, and with the impact of the two flood crests, even if the Hanging Mirror Gate wasn’t completely destroyed, it would certainly be damaged. At that point, she would become a sinner of Black Stone City!

’I can’t let him get near the gate!’

Liu Wu bit her lip. Her Qi and Blood surged, and her purple-clad figure suddenly accelerated, chasing straight after the burly man, recklessly exposing her back to the archer.

"You’re asking to die!"

In the distance, killing intent flashed in the archer’s eyes.

The Great Tendons on his arms bulged as he drew his bow into a full moon.

TWANG!

The bowstring snapped through the air.

The black iron arrow tore through the rain curtain again. Where its tip passed, the dense rain exploded, leaving a trail of white vapor as it aimed for the vital point on Liu Wu’s back.

Hearing the sharp whistle of the arrow behind her, Liu Wu didn’t look back. The White Jade Tendons in her thighs twitched, and her speeding figure abruptly shifted several feet to the side, forcefully dodging the arrow with sheer speed!

’I dodged it!’

Joy surged in Liu Wu’s heart as she was about to catch up to the burly man.

WHOOSH!

From out of nowhere, another Black Iron Arrow had already been shot, suddenly appearing behind her.

Its tip was chillingly cold, aimed straight at the vital point on her neck!

’The first arrow was just a feint to force me to reveal my technique! This one holds the real killing intent!’

Just then, Liu Wu had just finished accelerating. Her Great Tendons couldn’t withstand another burst of power, and she was suddenly plunged into crisis!

Her face went deathly pale. A Martial Artist’s intuition screamed a frantic warning: this arrow could very well take her life!