Chapter 433: A Fight to the Death

Just as Shen Daoxing leaped up, the sky above him suddenly darkened.

He looked up to see a giant paper umbrella had appeared overhead, blotting out the sun as it descended upon him.

"SKREEE!"

At the same time, a clear phoenix cry rang out.

The next moment, a colossal Ice Phoenix descended from the sky. It landed on the giant paper umbrella, pressing down with immense force.

Instantly, Shen Daoxing was enveloped by the paper umbrella and—BOOM!—smashed downward. Under the immense pressure of the Ice Phoenix, he was driven deep into the ground.

"SKREEE!"

The Ice Phoenix threw back its head with a piercing cry, spread its wings, and soared into the sky in a graceful arc. Aiming its open beak at Shen Daoxing on the ground, it began to gather specks of blue light. The light coalesced into a massive energy orb in its mouth, growing larger by the second.

"SKREEE!"

With yet another sharp cry, the Ice Phoenix opened its beak and abruptly fired the orb of light.

Immediately, a blue beam of light spanning the heavens descended, carrying an icy power that seemed capable of freezing everything in its path as it smashed down toward Shen Daoxing.

Shen Daoxing couldn't help but feel annoyed. Gu Muyun had relentlessly pestered him, refusing to listen to his explanations and attacking without any reason. Shen Daoxing wasn't exactly a man without a temper.

"ZZZZT!"

Suddenly, a black light shone from beneath the ground, followed by arcs of black, lightning-like energy.

"BANG!"

A loud explosion rang out.

The white paper umbrella suddenly cracked, and light burst forth in all directions.

Immediately after, Shen Daoxing violently burst through the umbrella and shot into the sky.

He raised his arm high, and a brilliant black-and-gold light erupted from it.

"Break!"

Shen Daoxing roared and threw a vicious punch upward. The very space around his fist seemed to stretch as he swung.

"BANG!"

An explosive sound erupted.

Shen Daoxing's fist slammed into the energy beam fired from the Ice Phoenix's mouth.

Black light flared in all directions.

"WHOOSH!"

The freezing beam descending from the sky was violently knocked back.

"SKREEE!"

With a pained cry, the Ice Phoenix's head, its great beak still open, froze solid. It was instantly encased in its own beam, turning into a sheet of ice crystals.

And the next moment...

Shen Daoxing leaped high, appearing behind the Ice Phoenix in an instant.

He raised his arm high. A flash of light erupted, and his entire arm blazed with a black-and-gold luster, transforming into an iron-like limb that gleamed under the sun.

"BANG!"

A tremendous crash echoed.

Shen Daoxing's fist came crashing down.

"ZZZZT!"

Black arcs of electricity flickered into existence, spreading from Shen Daoxing's fist. Like lightning, they instantly enveloped the Ice Phoenix's entire body.

"SKREEE!"

A sharp cry rang out.

The Nine Heavens Ice Phoenix, however, shattered the ice encasing its head and shrieked.

But in the next moment, its body suddenly dimmed. Cracks appeared all over it, growing larger and spreading like a spiderweb.

"BANG!"

An explosive sound rang out.

Finally, the entire Nine Heavens Ice Phoenix shattered into pieces.

At that moment.

"Shen Daoxing, you…"

A cold, emotionless rebuke echoed through the sky.

Then, an immense, aloof, and indifferent face appeared before Shen Daoxing.

Her face was captivating, her skin like fine jade, her eyes elegantly curved. But at this moment, they exuded a terrifying, profound chill, as if a single glance would freeze a person solid.

It was Gu Muyun's Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect.

The moment Gu Muyun appeared before Shen Daoxing, she raised a deeply chilling Treasure Sword high, as if to split the very heavens, and slashed it vertically through the sky.

Suddenly, a massive sword light, dozens or even a hundred zhang long, appeared in the sky. It seemed to freeze everything it touched, leaving a trail of ice in its wake.

At the same time.

"SKREEE!"

An even louder phoenix cry resounded.

Then, from within the giant Treasure Sword Gu Muyun held, an even more colossal, illusory figure flew out.

It was a figure as large as a small mountain, a phoenix far larger than the previous Ice Phoenix. It spread its massive, ice-blue wings, blotting out the sun and darkening the entire sky.

Shen Daoxing hurriedly raised his arms to protect his chest.

"CLANG!"

A sound like striking metal rang out.

Shen Daoxing faltered in mid-air, then was violently thrown backward by the massive sword light, forced steadily downward.

At the same time.

High in the sky, the colossal Ice Phoenix extended its two sharp talons and smashed down as well.

"BANG!"

Shen Daoxing was slammed to the ground, but it wasn't over. Under the combined assault of the massive sword light and the Nine Heavens Profound Phoenix, he crashed through more than ten towering ancient trees—BANG! BANG! BANG!—and was driven straight back, carving a deep, massive trench in the earth.

"BANG!"

A heavy thud resounded.

Shen Daoxing's body didn't stop until he crashed into a cliff face.

However, the massive sword light and the colossal Nine Heavens Ice Phoenix did not slow down.

With a CRACK...

...the cliff face behind Shen Daoxing suddenly split open.

At the same time, Gu Muyun's enormous Golden Body Dharma Aspect suddenly appeared before Shen Daoxing, its light flaring as its aura abruptly surged.

The giant Dharma Aspect shimmered brightly, like an Immortal Sword Immortal descending from the heavens, and the entire mountain forest trembled before it.

Suddenly, she once again raised the Treasure Sword in her hand. With unstoppable momentum, as if splitting heaven and earth, she brought the sword down on Shen Daoxing once more.

'Holy hell!'

'So Gu Muyun was hiding her true strength all along. Her cultivation isn't at the Fifth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm, but the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm!'

However, the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm?

'So what?'

'Whether it's the Fifth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm or the Ninth Layer, it's all the same to me.'

ZZZZT!

Suddenly, black arcs of electricity flashed across Shen Daoxing's arm.

Shen Daoxing abruptly extended his hand into a claw. He gently gripped the massive sword light in front of him, his five fingers applying just a bit of pressure.

KRRRZZZT!

Black arcs of electricity flashed.

The next moment.

With a loud BANG, the massive sword light shattered into pieces.

Then, Shen Daoxing raised his arm high and threw a punch, causing the surrounding space to tremble and distort.

"SKREEE!"

The Nine Heavens Ice Phoenix cried out in alarm and suddenly soared higher.

"Great Ming Demon Sparrow!" Shen Daoxing called out.

"SKRAW!"

A resounding cry came from Shen Daoxing's Sumeru Ring.

The next moment.

An arc of black light flashed across the sky.

The Great Ming Demon Sparrow had flown out of the Sumeru Ring.

Immediately, a colossal figure soared into the air, emerging amidst roiling, heaven-scorching Demon Fire.

It was a Demon Sparrow, its body pitch-black and wreathed in roiling flames.

"SKRAW!"

After emerging, the Demon Sparrow let out an excited cry, spread its wings, opened its massive beak, and bit down hard.

"SKREEE!"

The Demon Sparrow had clamped its jaws onto the neck of the Nine Heavens Profound Phoenix, and now it dragged the phoenix upward, spreading its wings to fly higher.