As his intent-soul dispersed outward without the slightest restraint, a terrifying, pitch-black silence thoroughly descended upon the grim forest of willows.
Orenli retreated.
Within a fraction of a second, she fell back dozens of meters, putting distance between herself and Xu Yuan.
Though Xu Yuan sometimes found it hard to stomach that posturing show-off who was even better at acting cool than he was, he had to admit his brother possessed a sharp eye for reading a battle.
Perhaps Orenli had indeed deceived Xu Changge with her exquisite acting and hidden schemes, successfully concealing her true strength, but none of that could sway Xu Changge's judgment regarding the outcome between Xu Yuan and Orenli.
Her spells might be exceptionally powerful, and her defensive wards might be hard to pierce, but none of that changed the fatal vulnerability of her fragile physical body.
And his current body held a natural affinity counter against a glass cannon like her.
Standing where he was, Xu Yuan glanced down at his shoulders, which had been pierced by the icicles.
There, the black death creep squirmed slowly like living flesh, stitching his wounds shut.
It hurt fiercely, but the feeling of dislocation from having his collarbones impaled was steadily fading away.
After a brief glance, Xu Yuan shifted his gaze upward to the surrounding Thousand-Thorns Ghost Willows.
As the price for forcibly drawing upon the black death creep to heal his wounds, he was bound to suffer agonizing pain after this fight, but now was hardly the time to dwell on that.
Under the shroud of black mist, the ghost willows that had previously grown without awareness suddenly stirred.
As if fawning, rejoicing, and eager to please, countless drooping willow branches began to sway silently.
Xu Yuan felt as though he had linked directly into this forest of willows through the black mist and his intent-soul.
He felt at once like the king of this ghost willow forest, and as if he had become part of them.
With that thought, Xu Yuan's gaze fell once more upon that slender, graceful figure.
With a turn of his mind, countless willow branches shot toward Orenli from all directions.
They moved as effortlessly as his own limbs.
Just like when he had gone berserk before, these ghost willows seemed to have become extensions of his own body.
Whistling howls akin to ghostly wails rose and fell in the silent darkness.
The moment she was plunged into darkness, Orenli quickly recovered her composure from her initial astonishment. Hearing the rush of sound all around her, specks of starlight swiftly condensed around her into a honeycomb-like membrane of defensive light.
The two forces collided in an instant. The immense force packed into the resilient willow vines immediately spiderwebbed the honeycomb barrier with cracks, but they were only cracks; not a single branch breached Orenli's defense.
Watching this, Xu Yuan's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement.
This assault actually drew upon the power of the willow ghost blade; he needed only to expend a bit of mental focus and intent-soul to direct it.
In other words,
what Orenli faced right now was not Xu Yuan, but a crippled Saint Tier yin ghost.
With this thought, a faint, eerie glow flickered in Xu Yuan's sclera-less, pitch-black eyes. He slowly raised a hand toward Orenli.
As if answering his movement, a scalp-numbing rustle immediately arose in the quiet dark among the Thousand-Thorns Ghost Willows. Countless branches began to sprout, creeping up from the ground along the honeycomb barrier around Orenli.
Ten branches.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Within a few breaths, countless willow branches intertwined like a surging sea of serpents, wrapping the thin honeycomb barrier into an airtight cocoon.
Xu Yuan's raised hand slowly closed into a fist.
A tooth-grating creak of fractures echoed from inside the cocoon, followed by Orenli's cool, detached voice:
"Xu Changtian, with such ominous power... are you truly still human?"
"Who knows?"
Perhaps influenced by the black mist and the ghost willows, Xu Yuan's voice sounded somewhat raspy. "Though I don't think you have the time to delve into that right now."
As his words fell, Xu Yuan surged forward.
As he skimmed across the forest floor, the willow ghost blade stuck in the water nearby hummed violently, broke free of the earth, and spun through the air into his grip.
Though the willow ghost blade contained a vast ocean of yin origin, Xu Yuan could only tap into a fraction of its surface.
Relying solely on the ghost willow forest sprouted by the willow ghost blade might suppress Orenli, but defeating her outright with it alone remained a pipe dream.
Yet for Xu Yuan, this was already enough.
Watching her barrier crack continuously, Orenli unconsciously bit her lower lip. For the first time, an edge of impatience appeared in her eyes, and her voice took on a trace of killing intent:
"Xu Changtian, if you persist in this obstinacy, I can no longer guarantee you'll walk out of this willow forest alive."
In their clash just now, wary of his brother, she had held back at every turn. But the current situation made her realize that if she continued to hold back, she might very well fall by Xu Changtian's hand before Xu Changge even needed to intervene.
In the blink of an eye, Xu Yuan arrived before the massive cocoon bound by willow branches. Black Source Qi poured into the ghost blade, instantly staining its surface pitch-black. His voice carried a faint chuckle:
"Whatever you have to say, it's already too late."
With those words,
the willow ghost blade stabbed straight into the giant cocoon. The instant the blade tip touched the honeycomb barrier, a sizzling sound of dissolving Source Qi erupted, and the blade drove right through!
Seeing this, Xu Yuan smiled. Gripping the hilt, he murmured softly,
"It seems my Source Qi can deconstruct your Sien spells in reverse, too."
Saying so,
Xu Yuan's gaze seemed to pierce the obstruction of the giant cocoon, staring directly at Orenli within:
"Though, Princess, it seems you really do possess a means of detection beyond normal vision."
Orenli tilted her slender neck slightly, glancing at the wooden blade that had grazed past her cheek. She didn't hide it:
"Indeed I do."
"Through sound? Or ripples in the surrounding air?"
"Can't you tell for yourself?"
"Then it seems you must have more than thirteen magic rings on you."
"Perhaps."
"How cold."
As the two exchanged words, the wooden blade repeatedly pulled out of the giant cocoon and stabbed back in. With each thrust, a ribbon-like wisp of black qi lingered in the air. Yet regrettably, these thrusts were all in vain; Orenli dodged each one with pinpoint precision.
Until the willow ghost blade was wedged between two blocks of ice crystal, unable to be pulled free. A bone-chilling frost swiftly crept along the blade toward the outside of the cocoon.
The ice crystals were formed from condensed moisture rather than pure energy; his Source Qi could not deconstruct them in reverse.
Realizing this, Xu Yuan cleanly released his grip on the willow ghost blade and said with a smile:
"Still haven't given up? You ought to know very well that you can't defeat me in this black mist ghost forest, and Xu Changge should be almost done on his end."
"..."
Orenli didn't answer immediately.
After several breaths of silence, her voice drifted out faintly from within the cocoon:
"If possible, I truly didn't want to confront your brother head-on. But in our current situation, it can no longer be avoided."
Xu Yuan chuckled dryly, a touch of mockery in his tone:
"You haven't even beaten me yet, and you're already thinking about Xu Changge?"
Orenli's voice was calm, yet utterly serious:
"I will simply kill you.
"And then, I will see for myself just what kind of power a monster on par with the Crown Prince possesses."
Xu Yuan took slow, steady steps backward, remarking as he retreated,
"Looks like you're about to use a trump card?"
"..."
Inside the giant cocoon, Orenli slowly closed her eyes. The cracking sound of her light shield abruptly ceased, and the teetering honeycomb surface was gradually coated in a layer of ice crystal:
"Against you, a trump card is unnecessary."
With that,
she opened her eyes, and a brilliant radiance flared within them.
Seven magic rings beside her shone simultaneously, humming and darting rapidly as they converged toward the purple-black magic ring at the center.
Arcs of lightning instantly flooded the cramped space inside the cocoon. A black, point-like spark of lightning gradually condensed. The stray electric arcs radiating from it reduced the willow cocoon to black ash and cinders the instant they made contact. The air within a hundred paces dried out in a flash, and crackling static erupted like the cries of a hundred phoenixes.
Watching the sudden shift around him, Xu Yuan parted his lips, a strange look surfacing in his pitch-black eyes.
***
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Clashes of steel and flying dust filled the air as two figures rapidly crossed paths. The level ground was completely gone, pocked with craters and devastated.
Huron's heavy helm was nowhere to be seen. Bright crimson blood trickled down from his blond hair, blurring his vision. The gauntlet gripping his sword trembled slightly from the split flesh at the web of his thumb.
He looked at the azure-robed Yan man not far away.
The man remained just as he had at the very beginning, standing in place with sword in hand, waiting dispassionately for Huron's next strike.
In just ten short minutes, Huron had come to thoroughly understand the chasm between them.
Even burning his life force, even wagering everything, he had probably still failed to force his opponent to use his full strength.
Yet even so, the resolve of a knight demanded that he carry out his lord's command before he drew his last breath.
Pushing himself up once more and letting demonic qi swirl around his body, Huron—his heart already set on death—tightened his grip on his sword.
This time, however, the azure-robed Yan man didn't look at him. Instead, he looked back in the direction they had come from.
For the first time, an expression other than indifference appeared on his face.
It seemed to be solemnity.
Solemnity directed toward Princess Orenli.
Before Huron could think further, a bone-chilling sense of dread washed over him.
Following that unease, his gaze locked onto the blade in the azure-robed Yan man's hand.
Moonlight spilled down. The man's torn azure robes fluttered in the wind. In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, it seemed as if only the sword in his hand remained.
In a split second,
countless indescribable premonitions flashed through Huron's mind,
and all of them ultimately converged into a single certainty:
Impossible to dodge.
Impossible to defend against.
Impossible to counter.
And...
Death.
Though they had not yet clashed, Huron already felt that even if the Princess were to teleport him away again with a spatial magic ring, this sword strike would still sever his head.
His throat bobbed. Enveloped by the aura of death, Huron moved nonetheless.
The ground shattered as he charged once more toward the azure-robed Yan man with reckless abandon.
If he did not take this sword strike, his opponent's target would inevitably be his sovereign, Princess Orenli.
Yet in the very next breath, in Huron's vision, the azure-robed man slowly turned his head to look back at him.
And by now,
the solemnity on his face had already vanished, replaced by gentleness in his eyes and a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips:
"I am in a good mood.
"So I will permit you to die beneath my strongest sword strike, man-at-arms."
Chapter 493