The cave was exceedingly gloomy, thick with earthly fiend qi.
Only because everyone present possessed extraordinary abilities could they see through the gloom unaffected.
Zhiyuan did not speak. He knew Zhou Wuji wanted to distinguish himself before Realized Person Zhihua and earn her recognition. Yet Zhihua had an eccentric temperament and was a formidable expert of the Yuheng lineage; Zhou Wuji's gesture held little real meaning. Fortunately, with both of them watching over him, even if the boy failed to defeat Chen Dalu, he would not face any grave danger.
Still, Zhiyuan hoped Zhou Wuji would win. Pointing a finger, he invoked the Golden Light Incantation.
A curtain of dense golden light unfurled, completely blanketing the heavy earthly fiend qi within the cavern. The light then contracted into a radiant orb, sealing tight the earth aperture through which the earthly fiend qi had been spewing.
The brilliant glow radiating from the golden orb not only illuminated the entire cave, but also dispersed the various foul, negative humors.
Dazzled by the golden light, Chen Dalu felt the mother Gu hidden deep in his skull shudder under its suppression, letting out an uneasy shriek in the realm of his divine sense. Having merged with a portion of the yin dragon's soul, the mother Gu's might had grown immensely, yet it had also become violently frantic.
Over the past two days, Chen Dalu had suffered constant, blinding headaches. The only reason he had not fled far away was that he wanted to retrieve the remnant yin dragon souls from the zombies as soon as possible. Fusing those fractured souls would greatly benefit the mother Gu. Yet Zhou Wuji had slaughtered every last zombie imbued with those soul remnants, stoking his hatred for the youth even further.
In the final analysis, Zhou Wuji was the root cause of his current plight.
With Zhihua and Zhiyuan present, he had no chance of escaping alive. If he had an opportunity to kill Zhou Wuji, nothing could be finer.
Chen Dalu communed with the mother Gu through his divine sense, having it circulate true qi into the sea of qi in his dantian. Infused with the yin dragon soul, the mother Gu doubled the speed at which he channeled true qi and supplied him with immense vital blood. If he could only stabilize his condition, he would advance to the fifth rank within a year or even half a year. Should he completely subdue the yin dragon soul with the mother Gu, reaching the third rank was not out of the question.
The power unleashed through the mother Gu flooded his limbs, bones, and even the tips of his hair. His skin flushed an unnatural crimson, his tangled hair whipped wildly in all directions, and his coarse black tunic billowed under the surging blast of martial vigor. Before he had even made a move, Chen Dalu radiated an overwhelming presence.
The Golden Light Divine Incantation protecting Zhou Wuji had yet to dissipate. Potent as Chen Dalu's aura was, it had no effect on him.
Zhou Wuji first cast the Rejuvenation Technique on himself, bringing his body and true qi back to peak condition. Taking advantage of this respite, he converted all twelve slain zombies into primordial profound qi.
Azure light flickered within his sea of consciousness. Streams of pure primordial profound qi surged throughout his body, cycling repeatedly through his nine apertures before converging into the divine aperture between his brows. On the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, his true qi tally reached twenty-four hundred—a full twenty percent increase in volume.
Zhou Wuji was quite pleased. His true qi was already of an exceptionally high caliber; a twenty percent increase provided a tremendous boost to both his spells and sword techniques. Nourished and refined by the primordial profound qi, his tempered nine apertures grew clearer and more stable, directly sharpening his six senses and enhancing the power of his Heart Mirror.
The process of absorbing primordial profound qi took only an instant, and the subtle transformations within his body were undetectable to outsiders. Having cultivated the Northern Dipper Celestial Pivot Scripture to the stage of perfection, Zhou Wuji understood every nuance of true qi. Guided by the Heart Mirror that clearly illuminated within and without, he remained fully aware of his state as the qi took hold. With the Golden Light Divine Incantation walling him off from the outside, neither Zhihua nor Zhiyuan could discern anything amiss.
Feeling the pure true qi flowing through his sea of consciousness, Zhou Wuji leisurely chanted an incantation and formed hand seals. After several dozen breaths, he bestowed upon himself the Big Dipper Heavenly Astral Divine Incantation.
Draped in an azure star robe, Zhou Wuji silently recited the incantation for a moment longer before nodding to Zhiyuan to indicate he was ready.
With a flick of Zhiyuan's wide sleeve, the golden light enveloping Zhou Wuji silently vanished.
Chen Dalu, who had been coiling his strength in wait, brought his iron staff cleaving straight down. His physical power and true qi had both surged by at least thirty percent; a simple mountain-splitting, earth-shattering strike was executed with staggering ferocity.
Chen Dalu knew perfectly well that Zhiyuan and Zhihua would not sit by and watch Zhou Wuji get injured. Going all out from the start was meant to ruthlessly suppress the youth and keep the combat intensely furious. If Zhou Wuji did not dare to meet the blow, so be it; if he did, such chaotic intensity would give Chen Dalu a chance to shatter his skull with a single strike.
Zhou Wuji did not know what Chen Dalu was plotting, though the vicious iron staff certainly made him feel an immense threat. Yet if he wished to kill Chen Dalu, he could not resort to cheap tricks. His opponent was a sixth-rank martial artist, a seasoned veteran of the jianghu, and in possession of a specialized Gu insect. Playing petty games before such a man would only backfire. And if he wanted to earn Zhihua's favor, he could not hold back; he had to display true ability.
With full awareness of this, Zhou Wuji flicked his sleeve to meet the ferocious downward cleave.
The star robe conjured by the Big Dipper divine incantation flashed with luminous azure radiance, entangling the staff before the blow could land. Though the iron staff carried crushing weight, it could not shatter the azure robe in a single hit. Chen Dalu felt as though he had cleaved into a river: the blow appeared to part the water, yet its violent force was entirely absorbed and neutralized.
Rich in battle experience and masterful in martial arts, Chen Dalu instantly altered his technique upon sensing the star robe's uncanny nature. The downward chop became a fierce forward thrust. In truth, his staff work was rooted in the Mountain-Breaking Spear Technique—a discipline born in the military and carried far and wide by veteran soldiers.
Its movements were simple yet fierce and piercing. Powered by Chen Dalu's Five Elements true qi, the thrusting iron staff harbored subtle variations of twisting and penetration.
Reflecting these shifts through his Heart Mirror, Zhou Wuji countered a step ahead. Just as Chen Dalu thrust the staff forward, the hand hidden inside Zhou Wuji's sleeve shot out and gripped the tip.
Chen Dalu was both shocked and enraged. This brat dared to seize his iron staff? He held a sixth-rank martial artist in utter contempt!
He immediately exerted force and shook the staff—a textbook counter against an opponent attempting to grab one's weapon. The vibrating staff carried a formidable surge of true qi. Even an opponent of higher cultivation would be unable to maintain their grip without understanding the shifting energy within, to say nothing of a mere seventh-rank novice. This violent tremor ought to have turned Zhou Wuji's bones and sinews to jelly, allowing Chen Dalu to finish the lad with a swift follow-up thrust.
Yet before the staff could shudder, Zhou Wuji transitioned from a grasp to an open palm. Channeling true qi through all nine apertures simultaneously, he unleashed nearly eighty percent of his total reserves through his left palm using the perfected Tianshu Hand.
Not only was the strike ferocious and explosive, but it landed squarely on the tip of the staff—the point least capable of absorbing force.
Chen Dalu instantly realized something was wrong. This brat's true qi was overwhelmingly robust, far beyond what any seventh-rank cultivator could muster! Yet Chen Dalu had already committed fully to his movement and had no leeway to adapt; he could only tighten his grip to keep from being disarmed.
Beneath the explosive palm strike, the iron staff clanged and was thrown violently upward. Though Chen Dalu exerted every ounce of strength, the impact numbed his arms and tore the web between his thumb and forefinger, nearly tearing the weapon from his grasp.
Watching this, Realized Person Zhihua let out a quiet chuckle. This Chen Dalu was truly clumsy. Clearly his martial arts were formidable, he possessed the enhancement of a Gu insect, and his true qi and strength surpassed Zhou Wuji's in every respect—yet the moment they clashed, he ended up in such an awkward state.
It could only be said that Zhou Wuji's martial arts and spells were equally remarkable. In particular, his ability to seize openings and seamlessly weave technique and sorcery together was nothing short of exquisite. Even in the upper abbey, few could match such natural talent for battle.
Having suffered a setback, Chen Dalu knew better than to hold his ground stubbornly. He rode the upward momentum of the staff to take a step back. At the same time, he mobilized the mother Gu in his sea of consciousness, stoking his vital blood to circulate true qi and dispel his bodily numbness.
Zhou Wuji stepped forward and thrust his blade, the Descending Goose Sword darting toward Chen Dalu's throat with blinding speed.
Recovering his breath, Chen Dalu shrank his frame back, raising the iron staff high and bringing it crashing down toward Zhou Wuji once more. Zhou Wuji's sword might not reach his throat in time, but his staff would certainly smash the youth's skull. Even if the boy had protective spells, the blow would send him flying.
Zhou Wuji did not retreat at all. Raising his left sleeve, he met the staff again.
Having been burned once, Chen Dalu was prepared. He exhaled sharply, shouting with sudden force.
Unlike ordinary martial artists, the true qi he exhaled condensed into a ball of glaring white light. The thunder roar produced by this breath was merely incidental; the true danger lay in the metal fiend qi compressed within, honed sharp as a blade.
The moment Zhou Wuji saw Chen Dalu's lips twitch and his breath surge, he had already anticipated the move. Drifting aside like a floating cloud, he evaded the white sphere.
The white light shot straight forward for dozens of feet before crashing into the ground, gouging a deep crevice into the solid bedrock.
Unfazed by the miss, Chen Dalu whipped the iron staff into a tempestuous flurry of strikes against Zhou Wuji. Relying on the Flowing Cloud Movement Technique, Zhou Wuji shifted and dodged, but Chen Dalu's staff was long, fast, and wielded with seasoned skill, leaving little room to maneuver. When evasion was impossible, Zhou Wuji used the Night Rain Sword to parry the staff head-on.
The Night Rain Sword was dense, fluid, and profound. No matter how violently Chen Dalu's staff came crashing down, striking the Seven Stars Sword felt like casting a stone into the vast sea; he could not break through Zhou Wuji's guard.
Watching the duel, Old Daoist Zhiyuan's brow knitted. Chen Dalu's true qi and physical strength far exceeded what they had been before; absorbing the yin dragon soul had made him vastly more dangerous. The soul of a yin dragon was treacherous and unpredictable, and it had rooted itself deep in Chen Dalu's sea of consciousness. If they brought him away from Old Dragon Island, there was no telling what unforeseen disasters might occur.
For that very reason, he and Zhihua had resolved to execute Chen Dalu on the spot to cut off future trouble—not out of fear that Chen Dalu might speak out of turn. Chen Chaofeng, though a fifth-rank martial artist, posed far less danger and could be escorted back to the upper abbey for interrogation.
Seeing Zhou Wuji in an increasingly precarious position—where failing to deflect a single blow would leave him gravely wounded—Zhiyuan grew genuinely worried. In his eyes, taking such a risk served little purpose, yet he held back the urge to intervene with his Golden Light Divine Incantation. With Zhihua present, Zhou Wuji would not truly be allowed to die.
Zhihua's bright eyes gleamed with interest as she watched. Though the Night Rain Sword was brilliant, Zhou Wuji remained fundamentally outmatched by Chen Dalu in raw foundation.
Sword and staff collided once more. Despite Zhou Wuji's efforts to deflect and neutralize the impact, the blade of the Seven Stars Sword was jarred aside by the staff's overwhelming force.
Having gained the upper hand, Chen Dalu shifted from a sweep to a thrust. With no room to dodge, Zhou Wuji could only sweep his sleeve to block the staff once again.
Chen Dalu sneered inwardly. Having fallen for this trick once, he would not grant Zhou Wuji another chance. He invested seven parts of his strength into the thrust while reserving three, allowing him to adapt no matter how the boy reacted.
The azure sleeve swirled with light, coiling around the iron staff. Prepared for this, Chen Dalu yanked and flicked the weapon upward, intending to drag Zhou Wuji off balance and shatter the protective star robe. Yet to his utter astonishment, the upward flick actually lifted the azure star robe clean off the youth's body! What was clearly an incorporeal shroud of defensive light generated by a spell now clung to the iron staff like a tangible garment.
Chen Dalu reacted decisively, instantly letting go of the staff, yet he could not stop the azure star robe from draping over him. He hastily stoked his vital blood and true qi, tearing with both palms to shred the robe.
Opposite him, Zhou Wuji's left hand twitched, and two glints of cold light shot toward his eyes.
Chen Dalu hastily mobilized all the true qi in his body. With a resounding boom, Five Elements true qi erupted outward from all one hundred and eight thousand pores of his flesh. His coarse tunic shattered into countless tatters, and the azure star robe clinging to him rippled like water under the surging light; six of the seven starlights on his chest were instantly extinguished. The two flying needles shooting toward him were similarly knocked aside by the rampaging true qi.
Even with this all-out explosion, Chen Dalu failed to destroy the star robe born of the divine incantation. Instead, Zhou Wuji seized the opening, willing the robe to coil like a serpent around Chen Dalu's head.
The Big Dipper Heavenly Astral Divine Incantation naturally countered foul and evil auras. With the sacred talisman wrapping around the Gu insect in Chen Dalu's sea of consciousness, it not only impaired his six senses but also severed the spiritual connection between him and the creature.
A surge of intense dread gripped Chen Dalu. He knew Zhou Wuji would strike now, yet he had discarded his staff and his senses were blinded; his situation was dire. In mounting desperation, he drove the Gu insect into a violent frenzy, transmuting his Five Elements true qi into Geng metal qi that coursed through his body before bursting outward with his breath.
With another thunderous roar, the azure star robe wrapped around Chen Dalu was torn apart by the erupting white light, and the razor-sharp white beam flew dozens of feet before slowly fading.
Yet Zhou Wuji had already circled behind Chen Dalu, thrusting his sword the instant the man exhaled.
Before Chen Dalu could even turn around, his right palm reached backward and clamped onto the blade of the Seven Stars Sword. Having transmuted his Five Elements true qi into Geng metal true qi, bolstered further by the mother Gu, his entire body was now as hard as forged steel. Grasping the blade barehanded did not cut him; instead, relying on his superior strength and true qi, he pinned the sword tight.
Zhou Wuji invoked the Evening Bell Sword, causing the blade to hum and vibrate in an attempt to shake free of Chen Dalu's grip. But using the force on the blade, Chen Dalu had already spun around. His left hand clamped onto the Seven Stars Sword as well, and with a vicious twist of both palms, he not only suppressed the vibrating sword qi but warped the blade out of shape. Knowing how lethal Zhou Wuji's swordsmanship was, he put all his might into destroying the weapon.
Zhou Wuji ignored his warped sword and struck forward with his left palm.
Having unleashed three consecutive bursts of true qi, Chen Dalu was nearing his limit. Yet confident he still had enough power to overpower Zhou Wuji, he raised his right palm to meet the blow without hesitation.
Just as their palms were about to collide, a four-foot-long sword of azure light suddenly materialized in Zhou Wuji's hand.
The shift was exceedingly subtle. Though Chen Dalu felt the flux of magical power, his successive bursts had left him with no leeway to change his move; he could only grit his teeth and strike down forcefully.
The condensed Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword pierced silently into Chen Dalu's right palm. Shock flooded Chen Dalu—his Geng metal true qi could not withstand a single strike from the opponent's spellcraft!
Sensing disaster, Chen Dalu frantically tried to pull back his hand, but with a twist of the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword, Zhou Wuji severed Chen Dalu's right palm. In the next instant, the flashing azure blade plunged straight into Chen Dalu's throat.
The three-part sequence was simple and direct, yet breathtakingly swift.
With a sword through his throat, Chen Dalu's eyes bulged in shock. Before he could react, Zhou Wuji pressed his right palm forward. A blast of invisible Tianshu true qi erupted like a massive sledgehammer, smashing Chen Dalu's head to pieces.
Sensing danger, the Gu insect inside Chen Dalu's skull shrieked amidst the spray of blood, attempting to take flight and flee. But several streaks of azure sword light spun like a wheel, shredding the serpent-like five-colored insect to bits.
A look of delight appeared on Zhiyuan's aged face. The lad had done splendidly. Leaving aside the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword, his application of the Big Dipper Heavenly Astral Divine Incantation had been remarkably clever, seizing the initiative in one stroke to slay Chen Dalu.
Realized Person Zhihua clapped her hands with a smile, praising, "Splendid spellcraft, splendid swordplay. The outstanding talents of the lower abbey truly are far from ordinary..."
Chapter 113