chsdbacks 49. Battle against Lu Zhi
49. Battle against Lu Zhi
"To be honest, I have high hopes for you. If you kowtow and admit your mistakes now, and swear to be loyal to me for life, I can make you my most capable subordinate," Lu Zhi said provocatively.
Looking at the arrogant Lu Zhi in front of him, Xiao Yan didn't say much. With a wave of his hand, a black, ancient giant ruler appeared in his hand, surrounded by blood-red flames, and pointed diagonally at Lu Zhi.
Even Lu Zhi's usually calm face showed a hint of murderous intent. Although he had always been the leader of the younger generation in the Northwest Region, Xiao Yan had always given him an uncomfortable sense of threat.
Under the cover of his clothes, the blue patterns on Lu Zhi's legs shone brightly. The empty cave stretched as far as the eye could see, and at this moment, the whistling wind filled the air, and the cave was filled with surging wind.
Hurricane pattern!
Lu Zhi, like a startled swan, arrived in front of Xiao Yan at near teleportation speed, bringing with him a terrifying hurricane that had already formed into tangible energy.
A faint rumble of thunder sounded, and Xiao Yan's head was instantly shattered by the hurricane, after which his figure slowly disappeared.
A hurricane, comparable to a level-one Dou Technique, continuously pounded around inside the cave, but it could only hit Xiao Yan's afterimage each time. In comparison, Lu Zhi, who had activated the Hurricane Pattern, was still slower than Xiao Yan, who was using the Three Thousand Thunderbolts.
Despite his repeated attacks missing their mark, Lu Zhi's expression remained unchanged. Only crimson lines appeared on his skin below the neck, their movement resembling exposed blood. A crimson aura emanated from him, and Xiao Yan immediately felt his own blood surging as if it were being heated.
Bloodlust Mark!
The next instant, a powerful punch accompanied by a deep sonic boom locked onto Lu Zhi.
Advanced Xuan Rank – Eight Extremes Collapse!
Lu Zhi simply threw a punch, the blood-red lines concentrated at the tip of his fist.
The two fists collided, and a cracking sound of bones breaking rang out. Xiao Yan was knocked back three steps by Lu Zhi's punch, while Lu Zhi only took half a step back.
The blood in Xiao Yan's body surged abnormally due to the Bloodlust Pattern, but the Red Lotus Karmic Flame, which moved with Xiao Yan's will, also made Lu Zhi feel like his whole body was steaming and burning.
"Not bad, not bad! Your strange fire is ranked quite high, a good thing!" Lu Zhi began to applaud Xiao Yan, but the murderous intent in his eyes was fierce.
Xiao Yan didn't say much, but simply rushed in front of Lu Zhi, raising the heavy black ruler in his hand high, reaching its maximum force when it reached Lu Zhi. He swung it down fiercely at Lu Zhi, and the yellow-gray patterns began to wrap around Lu Zhi's hands again, the patterns giving off an indestructible feeling.
Hard skin wrinkles!
Lu Zhi caught Xiao Yan's attack with one hand. Just as Lu Zhi was about to make a sarcastic remark, the giant ruler suddenly turned blood-red, and the fighting spirit on the ruler began to gather and expand.
Lu Zhi released his grip on the Xuanzhong Ruler, and a burst of violent energy shot out from the top of the ruler. A fiery beam about ten feet long slanted down, and the terrifying high temperature contained within it made the space itself feel scorched and distorted.
Low-level Earth Rank - Flame Dividing Wave Ruler!
As he watched the crimson flames fall, a hint of madness appeared in Lu Zhi's eyes. He showed no intention of retreating to avoid its sharpness. Instead, he swung his arms and slammed them towards the flames.
Xiao Yan noticed that the patterns on Lu Zhi's arms were still yellowish-gray, but the patterns on his hands had changed, becoming pitch black, as if patterns of an endless abyss had appeared behind them. This was the same pattern that Xiao Yan had used when he first encountered the elder of the Xuanwen Sect.
Devouring Spirit Pattern!
A muffled, thunderous sound emanated from where Lu Zhi and the firelight converged, and violent energy fluctuations swept through the cave. Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun, who were watching the battle from the sidelines, both changed their expressions; Xiao Yan's strength had exceeded their expectations. However, Shi Meng, standing to the side, showed no change in expression, seemingly completely unconcerned about the fight.
Xiao Yan tossed a pill that restored his Dou Qi into his mouth. Lu Zhi slowly walked out from the waves of fire and energy fluctuations, taking each step unhurriedly. Combined with the crimson waves of fire around him, he exuded an indescribable domineering aura.
Xiao Yan frowned. He knew the power of his Flame Devouring Wave Ruler, but Lu Zhi dealt with it too easily. Even the chaotic energy around him was slowly absorbed by Lu Zhi through the Spirit Devouring Pattern on his palm.
Xu Yingwu once told Xiao Yan that not many people were willing to engage in a protracted battle with the experts of the Xuanwen Sect because of the somewhat unfair ability of the Devouring Spirit Rune. Experts of the Xuanwen Sect could often maintain high combat power for a long time during battle by using the Devouring Spirit Rune.
Seeing Lu Zhi, who resembled a god of war, Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun's expressions also darkened. They had underestimated the level of this number one young talent in the Northwest Region. Even Xiao Yan's attack of that caliber couldn't harm him in the slightest; the situation was becoming increasingly difficult.
Yang Lingyan looked at Xiao Yan and then at the extremely weak Qing Lin. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind that even if he died later, he would buy time for Xiao Yan and Qing Lin to leave.
He was certain that once Xiao Yan left safely, the benefits the Heavenly Serpent Mansion would gain would be unimaginable, and even sacrificing himself would be worthwhile.
In the midst of the battle, Lu Zhi made the first move, and Xiao Yan suddenly noticed that curved lines appeared in Lu Zhi's pupils, which looked rather eerie.
The next instant, Xiao Yan felt a stinging sensation in his soul, but the feeling didn't last long before Lu Zhi's scream rang out.
"Aaaaaah!" Lu Zhi cried out in pain, covering his eyes.
Lu Zhi's soul power was originally quite good after cultivation, and although Xiao Yan was an alchemist, the difference wasn't that significant. However, before arriving to rescue Qing Lin, Xiao Yan used the Soul Transfer Technique to convert his Dou Qi into soul power, and it hadn't dissipated much yet.
Lu Zhi's use of the Chaotic God Pattern, which is responsible for soul attacks, to attack Xiao Yan was like trying to pierce a mountain with a steel needle; he was immediately and severely backfired.
Although Xiao Yan didn't know why Lu Zhi was in this state, he didn't miss this good opportunity.
A thunderous sound resounded as Xiao Yan's handprint appeared in front of Lu Zhi and pushed towards Lu Zhi's chest.
The Mountain-Opening Seal!
Xiao Yan's face suddenly turned cold and fierce, and a surge of powerful and violent battle qi energy poured out from his palm, all of it pouring onto Lu Zhi's body.
Lu Zhi, who had been as steady as a mountain, was directly blasted away by Xiao Yan's palm print attack and landed on the mountain wall.
Seeing Lu Zhi in a sorry state, Xiao Yan quickened his movements, leaving a trail of afterimages. Suddenly, after reaching a peak, a sharp light seemed to burst forth from Xiao Yan's eyes.
A pale white handprint appeared in his palm, and Xiao Yan's powerful Dou Qi poured into it.
The surrounding fighting spirit began to become frenzied. Xiao Yan knew the principle of kicking a dog when it's down, so he didn't hold back at all.
Seeing that things were not going well, Shi Meng, who wanted to rush to Lu Zhi's aid, was also stopped by Chu Qun and could not help for the time being.
"Turning the sea seal over!"
The pale white handprint formed from the bone spirit's cold fire transformed into a white afterimage and swept towards Lu Zhi. Then, a deafening roar followed, and the pale white flames filled the spacious cave, bringing with them both cold and intense sensations.
Even the cave began to tremble violently. Looking at Lu Zhi, who was buried by ice and falling rocks, Xiao Yan's eyes flashed with a hint of relief.
Without Lu Zhi's mistake, there would have been no subsequent combo attack. Lu Zhi's strength left Xiao Yan with almost no chance to catch his breath.
Just as Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun thought Lu Zhi was dead and their faces lit up with joy, an incomparably domineering aura spread out from the pile of rocks, and streaks of purple lightning exploded out from the pile of rocks.
Lu Zhi emerged from the mountainside, his robes tattered and bloodstains around his mouth. He had been caught off guard, taking a direct hit from Xiao Yan, and was now seriously injured.
But at this moment, for the first time, patterns appeared on his face. They were purple lightning-shaped patterns, with purple light overflowing from them. The sharpness and ferocity of the purple lightning could be felt with the naked eye.
"Xiao Yan, you are the first among your generation to force out my lightning strike mark!"