Chapter 552

Chapter 552: Reversal Counterattack

Ao Jianzi naturally dared not disobey the Sword God’s command. He sneered coldly, "Fang Lie, time to send you off! Let’s see if you can resurrect infinitely!"

With that, Ao Jianzi activated his sword soul, preparing to kill Fang Lie once more.

At that moment, Fang Lie suddenly laughed mockingly, "Bullshit! You merely broke some old tricks I used years ago. You actually think victory’s yours?"

"What?" Ao Jianzi exclaimed in shock. "You still have new Ultimate Skills?"

"Obviously!" Fang Lie retorted with a cold grin. "I spent over two years in closed-door training at Mo Sect’s most precious Purple Palace Secret Realm. Did you think I gained nothing? I originally believed defeating a fool like you would require nothing but basic divine skills. But I was wrong—I shouldn’t have underestimated East Kunlun’s shamelessness! To win, you’d even sacrifice elders to forge this sword soul!"

Ao Jianzi and the East Kunlun delegation burned with humiliation. While borrowing ancestral power wasn’t cheating, rushing to sacrifice an elder for the Celestial Platform duel was utterly disgraceful—practically cheating.

Fang Lie’s words held truth. Without the sword soul, Ao Jianzi’s own cultivation would’ve been crushed instantly by Fang Lie.

Whether it was the Great Unity Spell, empty-space divine claws, or Past King Fist, none were techniques Ao Jianzi could withstand alone.

"Enough bluster!" Ao Jianzi roared furiously. "I refuse to believe you can reverse this!"

"Then watch closely!" Fang Lie declared, pulling out an unusual treasure—a foot-long crimson mountain resembling glowing undersea coral.

Though the treasure had an impressive appearance, those with discerning eyes immediately saw through it—it was nothing more than a Seventh-rank Treasure.

Ao Jianzi burst into scornful laughter. "You think this Seventh-rank trash can save you? Are you joking?"

"For a fool like you, a Seventh-rank Treasure suffices!" Fang Lie sneered, slapping the peak lightly. "Come forth, my darlings!"

A thunderous boom erupted as a fiery crimson cloud exploded outward, rapidly expanding in all directions.

The crowd peered closer and realized the "Fire Cloud" consisted of swarms of tiny poison Gu insects—each no larger than a cicada but vicious beyond measure. Their numbers were uncountable.

In moments, the Gu swarm blanketed a hundred-mile radius and kept spreading endlessly. Gasps rippled through the spectators, with experts shouting, "Fire Spirit Gu! Those are Fire Spirit Gu!"

"Right! Few cultivate them—their combat strength is pitiful, relying solely on suicidal Self-Detonation. Losses are too heavy in Great Wars. No one wants such worthless pests!"

"Clearly Fang Lie’s an exception. His wealth lets him burn resources without care!"

As chatter spread, Ao Jianzi found himself drowned in endless Fire Spirit Gu.

Fang Lie’s Gu differed vastly from ordinary ones. Over years, he’d spent fortunes feeding them fire element Spirit Stones, spirit pearls, and treasures from heaven and earth—fattening them into formidable fighters.

Crucially, during his Purple Palace retreat, Fang Lie had fused the Nirvana Fire Pool into the Seventh-rank Fire Spirit Peak, granting it a new ability: reincarnation!

Since all Fire Spirit Gu were linked to the Fire Spirit Peak, merging the Nirvana Fire Pool registered every Gu. Now, fallen Gu could revive through the pool’s firepower—consuming fire element small spirit pearls as fuel.

Money meant nothing to Fang Lie now. His pill and Spirit Liquid trade raked in mountains of wealth daily, rivaling even Thunder Tribulation Immortals.

Thus, he’d stockpiled millions of fire element small spirit pearls inside the Fire Spirit Peak—enough to revive all Gu over a dozen times.

And how many Gu swarmed now? Over twenty billion! A far cry from the initial million.

Defiant, Ao Jianzi shielded himself with a golden mountain shaped like an ingot—an eighth-rank middle-grade protective treasure forged by East Kunlun’s eccentric ascended ancestors.

This eccentric ancestor who ascended to the Immortal Realm had an obsession with wealth. The treasure he crafted was truly unique – a massive gold ingot spanning a thousand zhang. When activated by Ao Jianzi, countless golden beams erupted continuously. Upon closer inspection, these beams revealed themselves as ancient coins, round with square holes!

The Eighth-rank Treasure proved its worth as endless Fire Spirit Gu bombarded the golden ingot. Each collision birthed zhang-sized fireballs through Self-Detonation, every explosion matching the force of a third-rank treasure’s full strike. Occasionally, cyan or golden fireballs appeared, their devastating power rivaling Fifth-rank or even Seventh-rank treasures!

These special explosions came from Blue Stripe Fire Spirit Gu and Jin Min’s Fire Spirit Gu – elite guards of the Gu King and Gu Emperor. Though fewer in numbers, their constant detonations created overwhelming destruction. Any ordinary Eighth-rank Treasure would’ve shattered instantly, yet this gold ingot merely trembled under the onslaught.

Meanwhile, the ingot’s coin barrage wreaked havoc through the Fire Cloud. Each golden coin pierced thousands of Fire Spirit Gu before fading, with tens of thousands of coins striking simultaneously. Millions perished with every assault.

Yet these losses meant little against the swarm’s sheer scale – over twenty billion Fire Spirit Gu. Even eliminating ten million per attack would require two thousand strikes. Ao Jianzi, as a Qi Sea cultivator, could barely activate the Eighth-rank Treasure a dozen times normally, or under a hundred with secret methods and divine skills.

Witnesses gasped in astonishment. "Fang Lie actually kept such a trump card?" someone exclaimed. "He might reverse the situation!"

"With numbers exceeding ten billion, this swarm could threaten even a Fire Tribulation Immortal! Ao Jianzi’s in real trouble now."

"Sword cultivators like him detest facing swarms. They excel in single combat, not battling endless hordes!"

Even the Sword God felt alarmed. "I never anticipated this," he thought. "Preparing area-effect treasures for Ao Jianzi slipped my mind." Truthfully, none could have predicted Fang Lie’s strategy.

Regaining composure, the Sword God transmitted urgent orders: "Focus on defense! Reduce their numbers while locating Fang Lie for a decisive strike!"

Ao Jianzi immediately shifted Magic to reinforce the gold ingot while deploying various Dao magics to search. But within the hundred-mile Fire Spirit Gu swarm, Fang Lie remained undetectable – hidden from sight, divine sense, and all detection spells.

"Your struggle changes nothing!" Ao Jianzi taunted. "Your Gu aren’t endless, and they can’t breach my defenses!"

"Really?" Fang Lie’s voice echoed. "Try this!" Tens of thousands of Fire Birds surged forth, concealed within the Gu swarm. Striking like cannon shells, their combined power equaled an Eighth-rank Treasure’s full might.

The gold ingot dimmed and shuddered violently, nearing collapse. Panicked, Ao Jianzi produced a new treasure – an exquisite blue-and-white tea cup adorned with nine Azure Dragons playing in the sea.

The vessel tipped spontaneously, unleashing an ocean spanning a thousand miles. Billions of Fire Spirit Gu drowned instantly. Nine thousand-zhang Azure Dragons emerged, spewing Divine Lightning that vaporized entire swathes of Gu. The battle’s momentum shifted dramatically once more.