Chapter 369 - 360: The Life and Death Dual Rings, [Sanzu River]

Chapter 369: Chapter 360: The Life and Death Dual Rings, [Sanzu River]

The red, bladed ring was lifted by an invisible force, rising to float of its own accord behind Xie Mingzhi.

It spun slowly, and with every revolution, a red halo rippled outward....

Once the red, bladed ring had completely detached from Xie Mingzhi’s back, it came to a halt, hovering at his side.

Xie Mingzhi spread his fingers, loosely gripping the ring. The light on the Red Ring’s surface suddenly dimmed, as if his fingers were siphoning away its warmth.

But Fu Juemin sensed the truth of the matter—it was Xie Mingzhi who was being drained.

The Soldier’s Blood Qi and Vital Essence in Xie Mingzhi’s body were rapidly pouring into the Red Ring. On its surface, neither quite gold nor quite jade, patterns of flames and feathers lit up at once, glowing as red as a raging fire.

"The Winged Double Rings. One for life, one for death."

Xie Mingzhi, who seemed to be aging before their very eyes, looked up. He gazed at Fu Juemin, his voice now a bit hoarse, but his tone was as placid as water.

"The one in my hand is the Death Ring."

The instant he finished speaking, he abruptly tightened his grip on the red, bladed ring.

The Red Ring stopped spinning at once, and a dark crimson so intense it was nearly black spread rapidly across its surface!

Xie Mingzhi held the Red Ring horizontally before him with a single hand, his arm slightly bent, poised to twist and unleash his power—

In that instant, time seemed to slow to a crawl.

An immense sense of dread surged through everyone on the scene. They tried to retreat, to distance themselves from the battlefield.

But they found this "slowness" had already enveloped them all. It wasn’t just their bodies; even their Consciousness moved hundreds of times slower than normal.

They watched, helpless, as Xie Mingzhi completed the motion of his throw. As the red, bladed ring flew from his hand, the area enveloped by its red glow seemed to transform into a colossal piece of red amber, and everyone within it became a tiny insect trapped in the semi-solid resin!

And Fu Juemin—whose eyes had been placid and unflappable since the start of his clash with Xie Mingzhi—now saw them suddenly blaze with light.

An unseen wind stirred the hem of Fu Juemin’s white robes. He pressed his palms together, and a smile blossomed across his handsome, almost demonic face, mirrored on the face of the Demon Buddha Celestial Prince Form behind him.

Looking down from on high, as if surveying all mortal life.

"Finally... this is starting to get interesting!"

WHOOSH—

The instant the red, bladed ring left Xie Mingzhi’s hand, the spectators lost all trace of it. All they could see was a vast, hazy expanse of red.

In Fu Juemin’s eyes, however, the Red Ring’s flight path was perfectly clear.

The red, bladed ring traveled in an arc so bizarre it nearly defied the laws of physics. Not even his Martial Dao intuition, sharpened by his advancement to Heart Intent, could predict its trajectory from one second to the next.

It was less that Xie Mingzhi had "thrown" it, and more that the Red Ring had "unleashed" itself, merely using his hand as a conduit!

Like a bird with a broken wing, it veered and banked as it spun.

With every turn it made, the cluster of dark red light brewing in its center would throb, sending out a scarlet ripple.

Wherever the ripples passed, the air instantly grew viscous and the light dimmed, as if all warmth, sound, and vitality were being literally sucked away.

The closer the Red Ring got, the more intensely the alarm bells screamed in Fu Juemin’s mind.

But this instinctual thrum of approaching danger, far from causing him alarm, instead sparked a long-absent thrill, a shiver of excitement that spread rapidly through his entire being.

"[Four Emptiness Heavens]!"

Fu Juemin’s eyes locked onto that dancing crimson gleam as he raised his hand and struck out with his palm!

The golden True Gang—forged from the fusion of three miraculous arts of the Perfection Realm—materialized in his palm. It then rapidly grew intangible and faded, transforming into a field of twisted nothingness that seemed intent on scouring all existence as it shot forward!

The [Four Emptiness Heavens] palm collided with the crimson light, yet eerily, there was no sound.

The rapidly expanding void was silently carved apart by the spinning Red Ring. Then, the throbbing ball of dark red light at the ring’s center swelled violently, exploding from the size of a fist to the size of a human head.

Within the light, Fu Juemin thought he could faintly make out the shadow of a bird, as if it were shrouded in thick blood, emanating a heavy sense of oppression and struggle.

And in the next instant—

SCREEE—!

A shrill, mournful cry erupted from the ring’s center.

The sound was sharp enough to pierce eardrums, filled with the sorrow of a desperate, unwilling death!

An unprecedented tremor of peril washed over Fu Juemin.

Fu Juemin’s pupils contracted, but his expression remained serene.

The nothingness in his palm receded, and the pale golden True Gang reappeared. Then it condensed and darkened, transforming into a black, undulating light that flowed like water...

He struck out at the crimson light that was now right upon him!

"[Sanzu River]!"

.....

BOOM!!!

The invisible, solidified "amber" was abruptly shattered!

Like insects finally breaking free, everyone who had been trapped in the "amber" gasped for air, their faces pale. Their expressions were a mixture of lingering fear and the sheer luck of having survived.

Only an instant had passed, yet to them, it had felt like centuries.

No one had seen what happened. By the time they came to their senses and their thoughts resumed, all they could see was the long street erupting in explosions and the buildings along it collapsing one after another.

RUMBLE—

Two powers had clashed, and the resulting shockwaves were now ravaging the ancient street.

Dust billowed like an avalanche, the ground trembled, and countless fragments of brick and stone flew through the air... It was hard to believe this devastation was the work of mere mortals!

CLANG—!

A clear, metallic ring sliced through the cacophony.

The wheel-sized red, bladed ring flew back into Xie Mingzhi’s hand like a weary bird returning to its nest.

At this sight, the two Fire Cloud Army subordinates were overcome with ecstasy, while Hong Huan and his group froze.

But before either side could fully process their reactions, an indescribably complex and moved expression appeared on the face of Xie Mingzhi, who now clutched the bladed ring and appeared to have aged by four or five years.

Just then, the commotion subsided. A force flattened the dust on the ruined street, and a figure slowly came into view.

Fu Juemin stood silently where he was, his head slightly bowed.

Behind him, the Demonic Buddha Dharma Form remained, though its light had dimmed considerably.

His long robes were still pristine white, unwrinkled, but from the palm of his right hand, which hung loosely at his side, dark red blood slowly dripped from his fingertips.

Fu Juemin was injured.

But his aura hadn’t weakened. On the contrary, he seemed to have entered another, deeper and more unfathomable state.

The daylight around him had vanished—or rather, it had been "devoured." All light in his vicinity was being drawn in and absorbed by an unseen power.

The eight arms of the Demonic Buddha Dharma Form behind him hung low.

The perpetually smiling face of the Desire Realm Celestial Prince Form was, for some reason, now weeping.

Black tears streamed from the Celestial Prince Form’s eyes. The four faces of the Demon Buddha began to slowly turn. Its featureless face—devoid of eyes, nose, and mouth—tilted upward. The Buddha Light faded as wisps of Demon Fire began to rise from the lotus throne below...

"That move..."

The demonic nature emanating from the Demonic Buddha Dharma Form grew ever stronger, ever more intense.

Fu Juemin—his white robes seemingly stained by unseen ink—slowly raised his head. His smile remained, but it now held an unspeakable, demonic wickedness.

He softly uttered two words: "Not bad."

Just as a vast, unseen "darkness" began to rapidly expand from Fu Juemin as its center, just as the Demonic Buddha Dharma Form was being bathed in Demon Fire, its four weeping Celestial Prince faces turning away, about to be completely replaced by the featureless visage behind them...

Xie Mingzhi, holding the Winged Ring, suddenly spoke. "Why aren’t you using your Heirloom Saber?"

"You mean this?"

Fu Juemin glanced at the Exorcism Saber hanging at his waist, his smile growing even more fiendish. He spoke in a mild tone, "You’d rather die by the blade?"

Xie Mingzhi frowned. His lips suddenly moved, as if he were speaking very quickly.

But not a sound was heard, leaving the onlookers completely bewildered.

A moment later, the Demonic Buddha Dharma Form, which had been shifting into its second form, suddenly stopped its rotation. The rising Demon Fire died down, and the weeping of the Celestial Prince Form ceased.

The demonic aura surging from Fu Juemin also came to a sudden halt. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

The fiendishness on his face faded, and he asked blankly, "Is what you said true?"

"I have no reason to lie to you."

Xie Mingzhi looked calmly at the Winged Ring in his hand and said flatly, "Every unsealed Heirloom Magical Artifact possesses unbelievable power."

"The Winged Double Rings: one for life, one for death. This one in my hand is merely the Death Ring. The Life Ring is with the Southwest Fire Cloud Army..."

"Even though they are separated by thousands of miles, I can still draw some power from it."

"Unless you wield one of the twelve Heirloom Magical Artifacts, you cannot kill me today, no matter what you try."

"And..."

Xie Mingzhi paused, then added, "This Death Ring still has several transformations left. You might not be able to take the next one."

Fu Juemin narrowed his eyes at Xie Mingzhi and suddenly laughed. "Is that a plea for mercy, or a threat?"

"Neither."

"A commander does not fight meaningless battles, nor does he fight battles he isn’t certain to win..."

Xie Mingzhi said calmly, "The two rings are one. I am not at my peak today, so there is no need to continue this fight."

"My only purpose here was to acquire the Bi Fangyu. Since I can’t get it now, it’s better to withdraw."

"I killed a few of your men. Consider the secret about the Exorcism Saber as an exchange and compensation..."

Fu Juemin took a step forward, the Eight Arms of the Dharma slightly raised. He gave a sardonic smile. "And what if I insist on fighting?"

"Then you shall have your wish."

Xie Mingzhi met his gaze from across the distance, his expression placid.

The atmosphere on the street grew tense once more.

Just then, the crisp clatter of horse hooves echoed from the street behind Xie Mingzhi, growing closer.

Fu Juemin glanced past him, and his eyes flickered.

The next moment, he raised his injured right hand. The cut on his palm healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

His aura dissipated, and the Dharma Form receded.

Without looking at Xie Mingzhi, he stared at his own palm and said nonchalantly, "Next time, remember to bring that Demon of yours along. The Winged Double Rings... it doesn’t matter which one is missing.

"It makes for a rather incomplete collection."

Xie Mingzhi watched him, his gaze wavering.

After a moment, he barked, "Let’s go," and swiftly departed in the other direction with his two Fire Cloud Army subordinates.