Chapter 659: Flying Thunder Rocket

Chapter 659 -655: Flying Thunder Rocket

‘My precious, I’ll have to sacrifice you!’

Ma Qi carefully took out a jade bottle.

Inside the jade bottle was a half-full vial of liquid, so vividly red it seemed ready to drip. The liquid appeared incredibly heavy; even a War Emperor powerhouse like Ma Qi needed to hold it with both hands.

His palms trembled slightly, as if he could barely bear its weight.

The crimson liquid in the jade bottle was indeed half a bottle of blood.

However…

This was no ordinary blood. It was the Life Essence Blood condensed before death by the Celestial Horse Race’s ancestor, the one who had once shot down a Venerable Powerhouse.

The entire Celestial Horse Race only had about ten thousand drops of this Ancestral Life Essence Blood in storage. Ma Qi’s half-full jade bottle contained three drops. This Treasure had been bestowed upon him by the Grand Elder—a figure in the Celestial Horse Race second only to the Clan Leader—when he broke through to the War Emperor Realm.

There used to be five drops!

Ma Qi had already used it twice.

The first time, as an Initial Stage War Emperor, he had slain a master ranked in the top three of the Divine City’s Divine General List.

The second time.

He used the second drop of Life Essence Blood to grievously wound a Desolate Beast comparable to a Lord of a Divine City. That Desolate Beast, severely injured by the arrow, was eventually killed by the Celestial Horse Race, yielding a supreme treasure.

Now, this was the third time Ma Qi would use the Ancestral Life Essence Blood.

‘Heh heh, the Ancestor’s Life Essence Blood possesses the Power of God Slaying. Back in the day, the old man himself used a Blood Arrow to slay a Venerable. Hong Yu, oh, Hong Yu, you should be proud to die by my Ancestor’s Life Essence Blood!’ With this thought, Ma Qi retreated several hundred meters.

A Giant Bow materialized in his hands.

This Giant Bow was a Supreme Treasure, an Early Seventh Grade Primordial Weapon.

It was a Supreme Treasure that Ma Qi’s grandfather, Ma Yuanfei, had obtained from the War Spirit Ancestral Land and gifted to Ma Qi as his personal Divine Weapon. The existence of this Great Bow, combined with the Celestial Horse Ancestor’s Life Essence Blood, was what ranked Ma Qi’s power among the top three of all the experts who had come to hunt down Hong Yu.

In fact…

The threat he posed was even more terrifying than that of powerhouses like the Fire-Devouring King.

After all, while the Fire-Devouring King and the others were strong, they needed to engage in close combat to unleash their full power.

If outmatched, one could even rely on speed to escape.

But Ma Qi was different.

The Celestial Horse Race possessed a powerful Combat Skill called “Arrow Piercing the Sky.” This Combat Skill was utterly terrifying.

It had a total of nine layers.

The First Layer was “Hundred-step Piercing Willow”—within a hundred meters, an arrow would hit its mark before the bowstring even twanged.

The second layer was “Thousand-meter Steel Wire Walking,” signifying the ability to sever a steel wire as thin as a hair from a thousand meters away.

As for the Ninth Layer, “God-seeking Arrow”…

It was known as a Forbidden Combat Skill, and in the history of the Celestial Horse Race, only their Celestial Horse Ancestor had ever successfully mastered it.

Relying on “God-seeking Arrow,” he could hit a target even ten thousand li away. Its power was so terrifying that he had once slain a Venerable!

However, “Arrow Piercing the Sky” was extremely difficult to cultivate. Even the current Clan Leader and Grand Elder of the Celestial Horse Race had only reached the Eighth Layer.

Although Ma Qi was exceptionally talented, he had not been cultivating for long and had only managed to master the Fifth Layer—Flying Thunder Rocket!

But this was already an extremely powerful attack, capable of piercing an opponent from a hundred li away.

What’s more…

He had the Celestial Horse Ancestor’s Life Essence Blood. Once used, its power was unparalleled. Even a God King Level powerhouse hiding a hundred li away would be slain.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have achieved such a high ranking!

Feared by all the other powerhouses.

“Heh heh, Hong Yu, die!”

A pair of golden Celestial Horse’s Wings unfurled behind Ma Qi. Each wing was dazzlingly brilliant, like two golden suns suspended behind him.

Then, specks of golden light shot out.

They condensed in front of him, forming a golden Arrow.

This Arrow was a full five meters long, its body covered in strange Runes. It seemed that the slightest vibration could shatter the void.

“Divine Arrow Wudi, Ancestral Essence Blood, grant me your power!”

Ma Qi roared.

A drop of Essence Blood flew out of the jade bottle and, with a WHOOSH, coated the arrowhead.

The blood then began to writhe.

It looked like countless tiny, blood-red insects were spreading out from the tip, gradually crawling over the entire golden Arrow. They formed strange, twisting patterns, and the power of the golden Arrow increased tenfold.

“Flying Thunder Rocket, go!”

Ma Qi suddenly bellowed. The hand that had drawn the longbow instantly released. The golden bowstring let out a dull THWANG, and the crimson Arrow, stained with the Celestial Horse Ancestor’s Life Essence Blood, shot forward.

RUMBLE!

The moment the Arrow left the bow, it radiated a heart-stopping power.

A blood-red radiance surged like an erupting volcano.

A circle of red light spun around its body. Behind the Arrow’s fletching, a trail of blood-red Thunder and Celestial Fire spewed out wildly, like a pillar of flame.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

The Flying Thunder Rocket didn’t shoot into the sky; it flew forward, skimming just above the ground.

Wherever it passed…

The ground within a hundred-meter radius was torn apart. Even more terrifying, its power swept out to the sides, ripping a massive gash in the earth.

The gash was several hundred meters long, about fifty to sixty meters wide, and over thirty meters deep.

Its walls were incredibly flat and smooth.

As if it were a trench meticulously carved by someone.

It nearly tore half of the Centaur Race’s main camp in two. Buildings collapsed everywhere, and flames blazed, their smoke signals reaching the heavens.

‘What a terrifying arrow!’

Hong Yu was naturally drawn to this terrifying fluctuation. His gaze darkened, and he felt a sense of shock.

The power of this Arrow was even greater than the Holy Judgment.

It was coming faster.

And more ferociously.

‘Damn it! Looks like I’ll have to activate Rashomon’s defense again!’

Hong Yu’s face was grim.

He was reluctant to use Rashomon. For one, Rashomon was too powerful for him to fully control, and deploying it placed a huge burden on him.

Second, Rashomon was a trump card. If he revealed it too many times, it would be disadvantageous for him in the future.

But the current situation clearly didn’t allow him to hold anything back.

“Rashomon, appear!”

Hong Yu roared.

A majestic Momentum erupted from him, making him seem like an invincible Martial Emperor. The Qi and blood in his body roiled.

The last time he had used Rashomon had already greatly damaged his strength, leaving him far from his Peak state. Now, by forcibly activating it again, the burden on him increased several dozen times over.

BOOM!

This time, Rashomon couldn’t even maintain its height of one hundred zhang.

It could only manage a height of around seventy-odd zhang, which was the absolute limit Hong Yu could currently sustain.

RUMBLE!

Beneath a shroud of golden radiance…

Hong Yu hid behind Rashomon.

At the same time, DONG!

The Blood Arrow slammed into Rashomon. The entire gate began to vibrate violently, the golden light upon it flickering as if it were about to give way.

One had to remember that even the Holy Judgment, which had gathered the power of every expert in the Centaur Race, had failed to shake Rashomon. Yet now, this Flying Thunder Rocket possessed such terrifying might. It truly made Hong Yu marvel; there was always a higher mountain.

‘The powerhouses from the core region truly do have their own trump cards.’

‘Thankfully, Rashomon can still hold!’

Hong Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other side, Ma Qi frowned slightly, an even more greedy light glinting in his eyes. ‘What a fine gate-shaped Primordial Weapon. It can actually block my Flying Thunder Rocket! I must get my hands on it! But… Hong Yu, oh, Hong Yu, if you think this is the full extent of my Flying Thunder Rocket’s power, you’re underestimating me, Ma Qi!’

“Ancestral True Blood, by my life—detonate!”

Ma Qi’s expression turned solemn. He formed a Seal Technique with his hands and let out a low growl.

BOOM!

Terrifying rays of energy suddenly burst from the Flying Thunder Rocket. The blood-red Runes pulsed wildly, as if they had come to life.

An incredibly terrifying blood-colored energy surged forth.

The Celestial Horse Ancestor’s Life Essence Blood actually condensed into a terrifying phantom. Its face and form were indistinct, but its power was palpable. It formed a pair of blood-red fists that seemed capable of shattering the void and splitting the heavens.

It smashed one of those fists viciously against Rashomon.

DONG!

The seventy-zhang-tall Rashomon began to shake even more frantically.

Behind Rashomon, Hong Yu shuddered, spat out a mouthful of blood, and was sent flying backward from the impact.

At the same time, Rashomon let out a BUZZ as its golden light flared. It seemed to have been enraged by the blood-red phantom’s assault.

The Divine General relief carving reappeared.

“Hmph!”

The Divine General relief snorted coldly.

A wisp of golden light condensed into the shadow of a sword and, with a SWISH, slashed down.

The blood-red figure before it was instantly bisected by the golden light and completely disintegrated. The golden Arrow also shattered as a result.

“This…”

Ma Qi’s eyes widened.

The expression on his face was utterly bizarre, his mouth agape as if he could fit an egg in it. “Wh-what is this Treasure? I-it couldn’t be broken even by a Flying Thunder Rocket imbued with the Ancestor’s Life Essence Blood?” Ma Qi felt his scalp tingle.

The last time he had used the Ancestor’s Life Essence Blood to fire an identical arrow…

…the City Lord Level Desolate Beast back then had been incredibly powerful. It had blocked the initial arrow’s assault, but when the blood-red phantom appeared and struck with its fist, the City Lord Level beast’s body had been blasted apart, leaving it on the verge of death!

‘A Treasure. I must obtain this Treasure.’ The fervor in Ma Qi’s eyes grew even more frenzied.

He roared, nearly driven mad.

He immediately began to condense another golden Arrow, preparing to attack again.

At this moment, Hong Yu could no longer bear Rashomon’s terrifying energy consumption and recalled it. He looked up just in time to see Ma Qi preparing another attack. ‘I absolutely cannot let him fire!’ Hong Yu’s heart tightened.

The power of that last arrow was still fresh in his mind!

‘Without Rashomon’s protection, if I face an attack like that again, I will definitely die!’

SWISH!

Hong Yu shot to his feet, about to charge at Ma Qi.

Seeing this, Ma Qi’s expression changed. He didn’t dare fight Hong Yu up close and roared, “Block him for me!”

“Kill!”

“Don’t you dare disturb the Commander!”

The powerhouses of the Celestial Horse Race rushed forward.

A hint of cold mockery flickered in Hong Yu’s eyes. Just as the Celestial Horse Race experts charged at him, his figure suddenly vanished with a WHOOSH. He reappeared directly in front of Ma Qi.

“Huh?”

Ma Qi was just about to smear the Ancestor’s Life Essence Blood on the golden Arrow when he suddenly saw Hong Yu appear before him, stunned.

“Fuck you!”

Hong Yu roared and viciously kicked Ma Qi in the face.

“WAH!”

Ma Qi spat out a large mouthful of blood. Most of his teeth were kicked out, flying from his mouth in a bloody spray. As he staggered, his vision blurred, and Hong Yu was once again standing before him.

“Get lost!”

Hong Yu threw a punch, slamming it heavily into Ma Qi’s face and knocking him to the ground.

He took an Arrow Step forward, viciously stomped on Ma Qi’s face, pinned it to the ground, and glared down with fury…

“You were having a lot of fun shooting just now, weren’t you, you motherfucker?”