parentshiftbook Chapter 90 Taotie
Chapter 90 Taotie
The Heart-Shattering Bell on Ning Qingxue's wrist suddenly rang sharply, its sound transforming into invisible sound waves that pierced straight into her soul.
Lu Ming quickly focused his divine sense into the Xuanhuang Divine Treasury in his chest, urging the Xuan Yuan True Qi. The azure Xuanwu Sword Qi solidified into a tangible barrier in front of him, but the bell's sound penetrated everywhere, still causing a slight numbness in his mind and a momentary stagnation in the flow of his spiritual power.
In that brief moment, Ning Qingxue had already closed in.
His agile figure was clad in dark, tight-fitting clothes. The cold, sharp blade in his hand gleamed with a cold blue light. He attacked the face and flicked his wrist with his sword. His moves were cunning and ruthless, without the slightest hesitation.
The clang of metal against metal was deafening. Yun Jianxue met the blow of Hanpo's short blade head-on, and a chill ran through Lu Ming's arm, causing it to go numb. He had no choice but to retreat repeatedly.
"Is that all you've got?" Ning Qingxue's Heart-Shattering Bell rang again, the sound waves overlapping. Her body spun and circled, her cold spirits like two serpents, sweeping along the ground towards Lu Ming's lower body, then suddenly rising to stab at his waist.
Her movements were already agile, and with the soul interference from the Heart-Shattering Bell, she actually forced Lu Ming to slow down his sword strikes, leaving him surrounded by illusory images of cold blades.
Although Lu Ming was at a disadvantage, the powerful physique of the Xuanwu True Body allowed him to maintain his composure.
Lu Ming channeled the Taiyin Metal Qi in his chest into Yun Jianxue, adding a touch of sharpness to his sword light. With a horizontal slash, he forced Ning Qingxue back half a foot, taking the opportunity to regulate his mind and soul.
But Ning Qingxue would not give her a chance. The Heart-Shattering Bell suddenly turned to a soft tone, with a hidden bewitching power. Illusory figures appeared before her eyes, making it impossible to discern her true form.
"Surrender!"
A cold shout rang in his ears, and Lu Ming instinctively spun around to block, but only managed to strike an afterimage. A bone-chilling cold suddenly rose from his lower back, and the Frost Soul Blade barely touched the Xuan Yuan True Heat shield. If it had gone in another half inch, it would have broken through the shield and injured his body.
He activated the Xuanhuang Divine Treasury, unleashing sonic waves around him. Yun Jianxue countered with a thrust, barely forcing Ning Qingxue to withdraw her attack to protect herself. The two were locked in fierce combat, their sword light and bell sounds intertwining, their cold glints scattering everywhere, making it difficult to determine who was superior for the time being.
However, Lu Ming was constantly suppressed by Ning Qingxue's rhythm, and he was in danger at every turn.
Meanwhile, the battle between the Dao Academy and the Li Tian Palace had already reached a fever pitch.
The black-robed elder from the Li Tian Palace who had mocked Li Jingyun activated his bone staff, the tip of which emitted a black light that forced the two Daoist disciples to retreat repeatedly.
The old man's eerie laughter echoed across the square: "A paragon of righteousness, nothing more than this!"
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp sword light suddenly ripped through the sky, moving so fast that it disappeared without a trace.
Li Jingyun, dressed in white, swung his longsword lightly, his sword energy slashing directly at the tip of the Demon Bone Staff. The black light instantly dissipated, and a fierce sword intent surged into Hei Lao's meridians along the staff.
"Ah!" A shrill scream rang out as the black-clad old man was blasted away by the sword energy, crashing heavily into a broken stone pillar. His demon bone staff flew out of his hand, and a deep crack was cleaved into the staff.
"That's all?"
Li Jingyun's voice was calm, but his sword intent suddenly erupted, like Mount Tai pressing down and enveloping the entire square.
The people in the Heavenly Palace felt their breath catch in their throats, and the circulation of their demonic energy became sluggish.
Li Jingyun took a step forward, his longsword lightly raised, and a sword aura dozens of feet long slashed out horizontally. The three cultivators from the Li Tian Palace hurriedly tried to defend themselves, but were blown away like paper, spitting out blood and losing their fighting ability.
Upon seeing this, the Purple Glass Protector hurriedly waved the Purple Soul Banner, and the purple mist swirled, creating countless illusory figures in an attempt to stop him.
But Li Jingyun's sword could dispel illusions. Wherever the sword light passed, the phantoms vanished. With a flick of his fingertip, the sword energy went straight for Zi Li's brow.
Zi Li dodged in alarm, her temple hairs being sliced off by the sword energy, breaking out in a cold sweat.
In just over ten breaths, Li Jingyun, alone with his sword, completely suppressed the dozens of people from the Li Tian Palace. His white robes fluttered as he surveyed the entire scene with disdain.
The old man in black struggled to his feet, ready to fight again. Li Jingyun's eyes flashed with cold light, and his longsword pierced through the air. The sword light was like lightning, piercing through the old man's shoulder socket. The sword energy raged through his meridians, destroying half of his cultivation.
The old man in black screamed and collapsed to the ground. The people from the Heavenly Palace looked ashen-faced, and Protector Zili's expression turned solemn as she considered retreating.
At that moment, the entire square suddenly trembled violently, the stone slabs underfoot cracked layer by layer, and the ancient array patterns burst out with dazzling red light.
A terrifying and malevolent aura swept in from the depths of the ruins, instantly disrupting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The sunlight was obscured by dark clouds, and daytime turned into twilight.
"roar!"
A deafening roar resounded throughout the heavens and earth, and the void in the center of the square twisted violently as a colossal phantom slowly materialized.
With a blue face and fangs, eyes like copper bells, and hair standing on end like steel needles, it stirred up black winds with each thud of its four hooves, and its body was surrounded by a domineering and ferocious aura.
It is the spirit of Taotie, the guardian beast of the Tian Shu Holy Land!
The moment the Taotie spirit appeared, it possessed an overwhelming power, and it slammed down with a claw!
An invisible wave of energy erupted suddenly. Li Jingyun hurriedly swung his sword to block it, and Zi Li also summoned the Purple Soul Banner to stand in front of everyone in the Li Tian Palace. However, no one could withstand the power of Taotie's claw.
The sword and shield shattered, the Purple Soul Banner trembled, and the shockwave swept in all directions, sending everyone from the Dao Academy and the Li Tian Palace flying.
The position where Lu Ming and Ning Qingxue were locked in combat was precisely in the center of the area swept by the Taotie's claw.
The two were at a critical moment in their battle when a violent shockwave enveloped them.
Even with his strong physique, Lu Ming felt a tremendous force hitting his back, his internal organs churning, and his blood surging.
In contrast, Ning Qingxue was shaken by the shockwave, causing her to lose her grip on the Cold Soul Bell, which also trembled slightly, making her unsteady on her feet.
Just as the two were being thrown backward by the shockwave, the Taotie spirit exerted its power once more, raising its giant hoof and stomping towards them with earth-shattering force!
There was no way to avoid it! Lu Ming's gaze suddenly sharpened as he caught sight of the ancient stone door behind him, engraved with the Tian Shu pattern, which was now wide open.
Without hesitation, he took a step and twisted his body, rushing against the air currents towards the stone gate entrance!
Ning Qingxue was initially swept away by the shockwave, but when she saw Lu Ming rushing towards the entrance of the ruins, her eyes sharpened. At this moment, only by entering the stone gate could she avoid the giant beast's attack.
The Heart-Shattering Bell rang softly, steadying her body. Ning Qingxue lightly touched the ground with her toes and rushed towards the stone gate, closely following behind Lu Ming!
Just as the two rushed into the stone gate, one after the other, the giant hoof of the Taotie spirit slammed down in front of the stone gate, causing the void in front of the stone gate to distort and the array patterns to light up with golden light once again.
Then the door closed quickly and disappeared completely in an instant, leaving only a smooth stone wall, as if there had never been an entrance.
Seeing the stone gate disappear, the Taotie spirit roared and turned its fierce gaze to the scattered crowd in the square, its giant tail sweeping out like a pillar supporting the sky.
Seeing this, Li Jingyun raised his longsword, its sword energy surging dozens of feet, to meet the giant tail of the Taotie, and shouted sharply, "Form the Seven Star Formation and join forces to defend against the enemy!"
Zi Li knew this was not the time for internal strife. She unleashed the full power of the Purple Soul Banner, its purple mist enveloping the Taotie's limbs, and shouted sharply to the people of the Li Tian Palace, "Slay this beast first!"
Despite being injured, the Taoist disciples quickly took their positions and formed a battle formation.
The people of Litian Palace also began to fight against the giant beast.
A multitude of Taoist and demonic arts intertwined, colliding with the ferocious black light of the Taotie spirit, the clang of metal against metal and the roar of a giant beast echoing throughout the ancient square.
The ruins trembled in the aftershocks of energy. Many cultivators from other forces who were watching from afar were intimidated by this aura and retreated in droves, no longer daring to continue observing.