飘零影音

Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 259: Yun Lie is Injured

A long stroke of sword light streaked like lightning from the sword’s edge, striking a female bat demon in an instant. With a muffled “swish,” she was cleaved in half, her internal organs spilling out as she collapsed to the ground.

Meanwhile, the other female monsters turned towards Yun Lie and opened their mouths in what seemed like a howl, yet no sound emerged. Instead, rippling sound waves spread out, affecting their adversaries’ consciousness directly, and inducing headaches and turmoil in their minds.

Enraged by the sight of his concubine falling, the Bat King reacted swiftly. Snatching up a copper bell, it struck it forcefully. Instantly, the bell’s sound surged, amplifying the waves, and intensifying their impact.

Below, Xu Ziqing manipulated the demon vines, but he couldn’t evade the reverberating sound waves. Despite the vine’s efforts to counteract them, some still slipped through, affecting him. He grimaced inwardly, realizing the danger.

Bat demons were notorious for their ability to attack with silent, invisible sound waves that could induce inner turmoil, confusion, and even fatal frenzy once triggered, boiling blood and rupturing bodies, leaving souls nowhere to rest.

Although the demon vines offered some defense, the Bat King wielded a potent magical artifact enhancing its sound waves. This synergy posed a significant threat to the brothers, especially with Xu Ziqing’s weaker cultivation, making him more vulnerable to their effects.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziqing reached up and retrieved a slender bamboo tube tied to his hair.

As he grasped it, the bamboo transformed into a flute in his hands. Bringing it to his lips, he blew softly, producing a pure and calming melody that wafted through the air.

Miraculously, the flute’s serene tones alleviated the pressure of the surrounding sound waves.

While the flute alone might not directly counter the intense waves, it could mitigate those that slipped past Rong Jin.

With closed eyes and a serene demeanor amidst the swirling demon vines, Xu Ziqing focused.

Meanwhile, Yun Lie’s sword swept through the air, shattering incoming sound waves. Though concerned for his junior brother, Yun Lie soon realized Xu Ziqing was managing well, allowing him to refocus on defeating the bat demons.

These female demons posed a challenge akin to early-stage Golden Core stage cultivators, yet Yun Lie excelled in group combat. Swiftly navigating among them, each sword stroke claimed a life. His movements were agile, and within moments, dozens of bat demons fell to his blade.

The Bat King, formidable as it was, fought Yun Lie even more relentlessly. With a single movement, Yun Lie deftly dispatched several concubines, their deaths a testament to his prowess.

Undeterred, the Bat King lunged forward, wielding a massive axe with chilling power. It’s cold gleam and colossal stature threatened to rend sky and earth alike.

As sword energy clashed with its aura, the balance of power shifted subtly, favoring Yun Lie.

Yun Lie realized in that moment the true nature of the formidable axe—it was indeed a treasure!

By conventional wisdom, treasures were typically unusable by cultivators under the Nascent Soul stage, let alone monsters who were not adept at refining treasures and relied mostly on physical prowess.

Thus, Yun Lie quickly discerned the situation.

The sharp axe was undoubtedly a treasure. However, despite able to make the weapon recognize its owner, the Bat King, only at the peak of the late Golden Core stage, couldn’t fully harness its power. It could only rely on its monstrous physique to wield it with limited effectiveness.

Due to this limitation, the Bat King couldn’t sustain its use of the axe indefinitely; it could only unleash it a few times.

Having battled beasts and demons extensively in his earlier years, Yun Lie drew from his wealth of experience. Presently, he had no intention of engaging in direct confrontation. With a swift movement, he evaded the axe’s descent.

The axe cleaved down with devastating force, but missed Yun Lie.

The shockwave from the impact rolled heavily, yet Yun Lie’s sword intent shredded through it effortlessly, shielding him from harm.

Meanwhile, below, Xu Ziqing was also affected by the axe’s aftermath. Swiftly, Rong Jin raised all the demon vines, unfurling them into a blood-red canopy that blanketed overhead, intercepting and nullifying the remaining shockwaves.

Seeing its attack fail, the Bat King’s complexion paled slightly.

As Yun Lie anticipated, the axe could only be wielded three times in total.

Each strike depleted 30% of its power. Once it exceeded this limit, the axe would be reduced to a mere weapon, incapable of further use.

With many concubines of the Bat King now deceased, the remaining bats quivered in fear at Yun Lie’s prowess.

Yun Lie swiftly dispatched the lesser minions, presenting an even more formidable presence when facing the Bat King again.

Instinctively, the Bat King roared.

In an instant, thousands of bats surged forth from the cave, converging into a torrent several times larger than the earlier “black cloud.”

Under the Bat King’s command, these thousand-faced bats organized into what resembled a formation, assuming various configurations aimed squarely by surrounding Yun Lie. Perhaps because Xu Ziqing was protected below by the Bloodthirsty Demon Vines and thus inaccessible, the thousand-faced bats disregarded him, focusing their assault solely on Yun Lie.

Their strategy was clear—by hindering Yun Lie’s movements and allowing the Bat King to wield the sharp axe, they could significantly aid their cause.

The Bat King’s intentions were apparent, leaving little room for doubt.

Xu Ziqing didn’t anticipate the sound waves from below as the blood vines struggled against the axe’s power moments ago, feeling unjustly burdened. He immediately grasped the predicament his brother was in. Thinking swiftly, he realized: The only threat the Bat King poses to his shixiong is that precious axe. If he can help shixiong evade its strikes a few times, the Bat King will be powerless against us! So Xu Ziqing reassured Rong Jin and then gazed skyward.

The Bat King had marshaled numerous thousand-faced bats to encircle Yun Lie, attempting to restrict his movements completely. The axe in its possession gleamed ominously, poised to strike at any moment.

Xu Ziqing’s expression tightened. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

With a gesture, three or five vines coiled around him, forming a protective barrier. He flicked his fingers again, and more than twenty other vines shot up into the sky, arriving instantly at Yun Lie’s side!

The Bloodthirsty Demon Vine thrived on bloodlust, finding its desires sated by any flesh-and-blood target.

Despite the multitude of bats in midair, to the Bloodthirsty Demon Vine’s eyes, they were merely a tantalizing feast awaiting consumption.

Issuing a command, Xu Ziqing watched eagerly as the Bloodthirsty Demon Vine eagerly swept around Yun Lie, devouring a substantial number of the oncoming thousand-faced bats that had challenged Yun Lie’s sword intent. Bloodlust emanated from the vine’s tips, further igniting its ferocity.

Meanwhile, Yun Lie eased back his sword intent, creating more maneuvering space.

The Bat King, seeing this, gleamed with ferocity in its eyes.

In the next moment, the sharp axe was raised once more, hurtling fiercely toward Xu Ziqing!

It perceived the green-robed cultivator below as inexperienced yet possessing strange, formidable powers. Engaged in battle against its progeny, Xu Ziqing was vulnerable to a direct hit from the axe, potentially fatal.

In this light, the Bat King wasn’t foolish; it had cultivated its intelligence early and understood the principle of targeting weaker foes.

Focused on aiding his shixiong, Xu Ziqing suddenly found himself the target of the Bat King’s axe. Unable to recall Rongjin in time, the few vines left behind couldn’t withstand the axe’s onslaught. Facing imminent peril, he braced for the fatal blow!

In a flash, a white silhouette appeared before him—his shixiong, shielding him from the axe’s lethal strike!

It became clear that Yun Lie never underestimate any challenge. He anticipated the Bat King’s every move.

This foresight allowed him to preempt the Bat King’s strike, intercepting the axe just in time!

In a display of unwavering resolve, Yun Lie unleashed his sword intent to its fullest, meeting the axe’s assault head-on!

“Shixiong…” Xu Ziqing’s voice trembled with anxiety, his face draining of color.

With his shixiong at the early stage of Golden Core cultivation, how could he withstand the force of such a powerful treasure? Xu Ziqing had hoped to assist him, but now he feared he might only hinder him. Yet, in the next moment, he banished these thoughts.

Yun Lie stood firm but continuously retreated, strategically evading the full force of the sharp axe.

A swift decision flashed through Xu Ziqing’s mind. He summoned back the scattered demon vines, positioning them one by one in front of Yun Lie to intercept the axe’s power, fragmenting its impact bit by bit. Simultaneously, he employed the wood escape technique, gently tugging at his shixiong’s robes, guiding him to retreat further.

Their strategic withdrawal, combined with the Bloodthirsty Demon Vine’s relentless assaults and Yun Lie’s deft sword intent on dismantling the axe’s force, enabled their escape.

Despite Yun Lie’s valiant effort against the axe’s onslaught, blood still trickled from the corners of his mouth, evidence of internal injuries.

Seeing this, Xu Ziqing felt a pang of despair. He had known his shixiong for years, yet witnessing him injured now filled him with profound unease.

He cursed his limited experience and inadequate cultivation. If only Rong Jin had been stronger, capable of harnessing more ancient power, perhaps they wouldn’t be in this dire situation.

The Bloodthirsty Demon Vine, if cultivated further into a core-forming stage, could have branched anew, rendering such treasures ineffective within its reach. Xu Ziqing blamed his own inadequacies for pushing his brother to such a strenuous limit.

But amidst self-recrimination, Xu Ziqing resolved not to dwell on his shortcomings but to heed the unspoken call urging him to strive harder.

Yun Lie wiped away the blood with a steady hand, his expression unwavering as he called out, “Ziqing.”

Surprised, Xu Ziqing responded, “Shixiong?”

Yun Lie continued calmly, “The Bat King has only one strike left. The power of its treasure is waning. Use the Bloodthirsty Demon Vine to drive away the thousand-faced bats. I’ll focus on finishing it off.”

Determined, Xu Ziqing nodded firmly. “Yes, I will give it my all.”

Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

Support me on ko-fi if you like what I do^^