“Who are you?” Chaoyang Zi, seeing the opponent’s cultivation suddenly soar and his injuries miraculously heal, felt a sense of dread!
The opponent had indeed hidden his true power, just as he had suspected. From the start, he’d found the figure of the black-clad man familiar, and his aura felt wrong.
Qi Mo was already locked in combat with the charred, unrecognizable snow beast.
Qi Mo, being a Golden Dragon and having inherited a drop of ancient divine dragon’s essence blood, possessed a suppressive bloodline that left Bai Qi with no ability to resist. If he hadn’t been injured, he might have put up a fight, but as it was, he was completely overwhelmed by Qi Mo.
The black-clad man seemed to undergo a transformation. As his cultivation recovered, the black robes melted away as if by some force, revealing pristine white attire, and his true face was unveiled.
“Nine Heavens Divine Lord? Or perhaps, Ninth Prince?” Chaoyang Zi suppressed his astonishment and asked coldly. So, the Ninth Prince of the lower realm was also from the immortal realm. He had met the Ninth Prince once by chance before his memories had returned.
Seeing the Nine Heavens Divine Lord today, everything became clear.
“Immortal Venerable Qing Yang, it has been a long time! Call me whatever you wish. I never imagined we would meet with swords drawn today. You ruined my great plan in the lower realm, and today you have foiled me once more! Today, you shall remain here on Ice Moon Mountain!” The Nine Heavens Divine Lord’s expression was gloomy, his killing intent barely concealed. He had never been in such a predicament before.
“Heh heh! You people really can’t seem to leave my esteemed master alone, can you? This Snow Beast King was merely friendly with my master, and you lot decided to annihilate its entire clan. Truly, you call yourselves immortals, yet show no mercy.” Chaoyang Zi sought to probe the opponent’s intentions. What exactly had happened back then?
“Furthermore, being an immortal and acting so recklessly, be careful your Dao heart doesn’t become unstable!”
“Immortal Venerable Qing Yang, you’re still the same, your words are never pleasant to hear. What a pity, what a pity. After reincarnating through countless lives, you have finally returned, yet your cultivation has not yet recovered. You cannot defeat me. You are about to perish and descend into chaos. Truly, it is a regretful fate!”
“Is that so? As the saying goes, we shall see who falls when the deer is slain. Your cultivation was the same a million years ago, why is it still like this now? Not a bit of progress? Truly weak!”
Chaoyang Zi curved his lips, his casual tone enraging the Nine Heavens Divine Lord, twisting his handsome face. Already suffering from the volatile surge of energy from the fire thunder, his face now turned a deep red. He understood the sarcasm regarding his lack of cultivation progress, his weakness.
“Divine Lord, save me, save… save me!” Bai Qi’s throat was torn open by Qi Mo’s claw. He clutched at the blood gushing from his neck, his voice sputtering as he cried out for help to the Nine Heavens Divine Lord.
The Nine Heavens Divine Lord shot him a cold glance and disdainfully turned his gaze away. He spat out two icy words:
“Trash!”
Bai Qi’s eyes widened in disbelief. He hadn’t expected the Divine Lord to abandon him to his fate! Not only that, but to call him trash. Hadn’t he praised him for his keen intellect and great ambition? And hadn’t he even revealed a forbidden technique of his clan, while his supposed elder brother, with selfish intentions, had kept it from him, wanting to achieve immortality alone…
It turned out he had been deceived. The Divine Lord only coveted the clan’s most precious treasure. He turned his head with great difficulty, looking at the bodies of his tribesmen buried under the snow that covered the mountain, a flicker of regret surfacing. A breath later, he collapsed with a thud, his eyes wide open in death, unfulfilled!
“Tsk, tsk, you still haven’t changed your habit of discarding things once you’re done with them!”
“Enough nonsense!” The Nine Heavens Divine Lord suddenly realized he had wasted too much time talking with Chaoyang Zi and immediately launched a powerful attack with his sword.
Both of them were swordsmen. In the past, their status and cultivation were comparable, and they were frequently compared. Many female immortals had even fought over who was more powerful. As for the more handsome Immortal Venerable Qing Yang, he was even more sought after. The hidden, petty thoughts in the Nine Heavens Divine Lord’s heart made him all the more eager to eliminate Chaoyang Zi!
A fiery red figure flashed past, and the tip of his sword was intercepted by the sharp claws of the Qilin.
Chaoyang Zi appeared instantly and swung down, but the Nine Heavens Divine Lord sensed it and was shielded by golden armor. It was the shell of Xuanwu.
Chaoyang Zi’s eyes narrowed. This was…
“The carapace of Xuanwu, one of the Four Divine Beasts. It seems you killed him!”
“Hahaha! So what? I heard you were good friends with him. Truly worthy of being an ancient divine beast, its defensive capabilities are practically heaven-defying. Incredibly useful!”
“Qi Mo, activate! Blast him with all you’ve got!” Chaoyang Zi roared and flew backward. The Qilin also vanished in a flash, leaving in perfect synchronicity.
By the time the Nine Heavens Divine Lord realized something was amiss, it was already too late. A confinement formation suddenly materialized around him. Qi Mo was the first to unleash ten fire thunderbolts, followed closely by Chaoyang Zi, who threw fifty fire thunderbolts, each more potent than those used by Chaoyang Zi. He was a genius in artifact refining, and his fire thunderbolts were crafted to possess the destructive power of missiles.
While engaging the Nine Heavens Divine Lord in conversation, he had secretly transmitted his voice to the Qilin, instructing it to conceal its form and set up the formation. This was thanks to the innate talent of an ancient divine beast, allowing it to hide in the air without a sound. Coupled with the Nine Heavens Divine Lord’s underestimation and arrogance, they had succeeded in trapping him. After ascending, cultivation advancements were a massive leap, and even if one could fight beyond their level, it was within the same tier of power.
The Nine Heavens Divine Lord hailed from the divine realm, an object of awe for those in the immortal realm!
When he had faced Ju Xun earlier, he had been overconfident and suffered defeat. At that time, he also couldn’t discern Ju Xun’s cultivation. But now, facing a former rival, while apprehensive, he carried a sense of arrogance. He could see Chaoyang Zi’s deliberate stalling tactics but also felt a hidden joy. See, he was so cautious in front of me, like a glimmer of victory.
But all of this vanished as soon as he was trapped within the formation.
“Qing Yang, you insidious, cunning, despicable villain, ah…” The deafening explosions drowned out his roars. He couldn’t believe he had fallen for the same trick twice.
“Master, can we kill him this time! He’s too detestable!” The Qilin had also heard about Xuanwu. To see a fellow divine beast end up in such a state, how could it not harbor hatred and fury!
“This is his clone. While the clone dies, the main body will not perish, but it will be severely weakened. Consider this as collecting some interest first.” Chaoyang Zi reinforced the formation with immortal stones, then threw ten more formidable fire thunderbolts into it. He then unleashed the Thirty-Six Styles of Azure Wind upon the Nine Heavens Divine Lord.
Qi Mo also employed his lightning techniques, as if fearing the Nine Heavens Divine Lord might not die. Elder Brother Qing Yang is truly formidable. Trapping the enemy and beating them within their own confines, he liked this approach.
This formation could block sound, preventing a snow avalanche. While not immediately life-threatening, it was troublesome nonetheless.
The Nine Heavens Divine Lord was not skilled in formations. No matter how he tried to unleash his techniques, he could not break through the confinement array. With this formation, the stronger you were, the stronger it became, and it would compress space until the person within was exhausted and died.
This confinement formation was also a killing array, with intermittent fire thunderbolt explosions, sword qi, and Qi Mo’s lightning strikes, making the Nine Heavens Divine Lord feel life was not worth living!
Although Xuanwu’s carapace had absorbed some of the fire thunderbolts, it could not withstand the full onslaught of attacks. From initially shouting curses with full force, his voice gradually grew weaker.
Half an hour later, silence gradually fell within the formation. Chaoyang Zi scanned with his divine sense. Within, only Xuanwu’s shell remained of the Nine Heavens Divine Lord. His guess was correct; it was indeed a clone.
The Nine Heavens Divine Lord’s aura vanished from within the formation, and even his divine soul was nowhere to be found. If it were his true body, no matter what, there would have been some trace of his divine soul. The Qilin cautiously approached to inspect.
“Master, his aura has disappeared, and his divine soul is also gone. It was indeed a clone.”
“Hmm! Let’s head to Ice Moon City.” Chaoyang Zi dismantled the formation, picked up the turtle shell, and stroked the marks left by the fire thunderbolt explosions. He remained silent for a moment before speaking.
Two breaths later, they boarded their flying boat and headed towards Ice Moon City.