Volume 2 Chapter 22

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Volume 2 Chapter 22: Bloody Battle

Freed from the electric net’s constraint, Naxiu roared, the giant black snake he had become charged toward Bao Wei on the altar, reaching it in a flash. The serpent’s body, made of black mist, began to fade and disperse, then transformed back into black mist and was absorbed by Naxiu. Without a pause, Naxiu dashed fiercely towards Bao Wei and the magic pearl.

Seeing Naxiu charging at Bao Wei, Lv Ziqing instinctively prepared to intervene, but Xu Qingfan grabbed him. Not only was Xu Qingfan planning to use Naxiu to help Bao Wei break free from the pearl’s control, but even if Lv Ziqing tried to stop Naxiu, he was no match for Naxiu’s strength.

When Lv Ziqing turned to Xu Qingfan with eyes full of anger and confusion, Xu Qingfan remained calm and quickly explained his plan to Lv Ziqing. After hearing the plan, Lv Ziqing understood Xu Qingfan’s intentions but worriedly asked, "Is Uncle Bo safe if we do this? What if Naxiu hurts him after taking the magic pearl back?"

"No need to worry, young friend. I will step in to save Taoist Friend Bo at the time," a hoarse, elderly voice suddenly spoke from behind them before Xu Qingfan could respond to Lv Ziqing’s concern.

The sudden voice startled both Xu Qingfan and Lv Ziqing. They turned around to find Xuan Xiu, who had somehow appeared behind them, watching the black mist enveloping Bao Wei with great concern.

"I’ll be counting on Venerable Xuan Xiu. The great kindness of Venerable Xuan Xiu will always be remembered by everyone at Qingxu Gate." Seeing Xuan Xiu’s assurance, Lv Ziqing sighed with relief and quickly bowed to Xuan Xiu.

"You are too kind, young one," Xuan Xiu replied, bowing slightly in return, without the arrogance one might expect from a revered elder.

The reason Xuan Xiu allowed Naxiu to return for the magic orb differed slightly from Xu Qingfan’s reasoning. He wasn’t overly concerned about Bao Wei’s safety; he simply knew he couldn’t let Bao Wei become the master of the magic orb. Given the orb’s ability to devour corrupt Spirit Qi, it was likely the orb meant for a demonized cultivator. This orb had the most power among the nine. Naxiu, originally an ordinary Barbarian, had gained terrifying strength after obtaining the orb. If it called Bao Wei its master, it was hard to imagine what fearsome level of power Bao Wei, already at the Golden Core Stage, would reach. More frightening was the orb’s ability to alter its master’s nature. At that point, in the Immortal Realm, only a few Mahayana Stage elders could possibly restrain a changed Bao Wei, and the Immortal Realm would face a new calamity.

Thus, Xuan Xiu preferred the orb to be taken back by Naxiu rather than let Bao Wei become its master. Bao Wei’s safety seemed less important now.

Of course, although Xuan Xiu valued the safety of the cultivation world more than Bao Wei’s life, he would still do everything he could to save Bao Wei if he were in danger.

Meanwhile, when Naxiu approached Bao Wei, who was shrouded in dark mist, he surprisingly didn’t rush to seize the magic orb. Instead, he cautiously sent out a wisp of black energy to probe Bao Wei, but it was quickly assimilated by the dark mist surrounding Bao Wei.

Seeing this, Naxiu became anxious. After hesitating, he gritted his teeth and stabbed his right hand forcefully into his left chest, tearing open a deep four or five-inch wound, allowing Xu Qingfan and the others to faintly see his heart beating inside.

What shocked Xu Qingfan and the others the most was that Bao Wei’s blood, flesh, and even his beating heart were all a purple-blue hue!

"It seems Naxiu is close to fully mastering the magic orb," Xuan Xiu remarked, frowning at Naxiu’s transformed body, yet his tone carried an odd sense of relief.

Upon hearing Xuan Xiu’s words, Xu Qingfan nodded slightly. He understood what Xuan Xiu meant; if Naxiu had almost completely mastered the magic pearl, the chances of reclaiming it had naturally increased for him, which made the possibility of Bao Wei becoming the pearl’s master decrease.

Meanwhile, Lv Ziqing kept watching the scene before him with a tense expression, showing no reaction to Xuan Xiu’s words.

After Naxiu tore open his chest, a large amount of heart blood splattered onto the black mist surrounding Bao Wei. The mist reacted to Naxiu’s heart blood with a sizzling sound, like snow meeting the blazing sun, gradually melting away. When the last wisp of mist was dissolved by Naxiu’s heart blood, the scene within the mist finally became visible to everyone.

Bao Wei remained in the same position as when he first seized the magic pearl, unchanged. The pearl continuously channeled a purple-blue Spirit Qi into Bao Wei’s body. With this flow of Spirit Qi, Bao Wei’s expression fluctuated between calm and peaceful, to fierce and malevolent, and sometimes deeply anguished. It was clear that his Spiritual Sense was engaging in a fierce struggle with the magic pearl. The purple-blue flame pattern on Bao Wei’s face, similar to Naxiu’s, alternated between vivid and faint.

Seeing Bao Wei’s condition, Xuan Xiu’s face lit up with joy, and he said, "Taoist Friend Bao Wei has not been completely controlled by the magic pearl."

Xu Qingfan and Lv Ziqing also nodded joyfully, realizing that the likelihood of Bao Wei breaking free from the pearl’s control had increased.

At that moment, loud roaring sounds erupted behind them. They turned to see that the stone wall and Rock Golem created by Shang Nianyao had finally shattered under the relentless attack from the demon soldiers and mutant beasts. Shang Nianyao appeared pale, with a faint trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth, indicating he had suffered considerable internal injuries when his Taoist spell was broken.

With Shang Nianyao’s spell shattered, the demon soldiers and mutant beasts were no longer hindered and began charging toward the altar with deafening roars. In the distant sky, numerous black dots were rapidly approaching; these were demon soldiers mounted on mutant birds, returning quickly once they realized something was amiss. The situation was critically dangerous.

"Senior Brother Lv, go help Brother Shang hold off the demon soldiers and mutant beasts. Venerable Xuan Xiu and I will manage here," Xu Qingfan said to Lv Ziqing without a second thought.

Yet Lv Ziqing had no objections to Xu Qingfan’s instructions. He knew this wasn’t the time to argue, and he realized that staying at the altar wouldn’t help. So, with worry in his eyes, he glanced at Bao Wei and then quickly headed towards Shang Nianyao without looking back.

At this moment, to fend off attacks from the demon soldiers and mutated beasts, Shang Nianyao, who usually used magical techniques, finally took out his magical tool—a stone the size of a fist. Though it appeared unremarkable, a faint gray glow hinted at a strong Earth Spirit energy, showing it was at least of high Human Level.

After Shang Nianyao brought out the magical tool, he tossed it into the sky. It transformed into countless meteors, raining down on the demon soldiers and mutated beasts. Under the barrage of giant meteors, many enemies fell. However, as time passed, the meteors became sparse, and the relentless onslaught continued. Shang Nianyao began to struggle.

Luckily, Lv Ziqing quickly arrived at Shang Nianyao’s side. Waving the Wind Fan, he created several massive tornadoes that charged at the approaching demon soldiers and mutated beasts. The combined force of the tornadoes with the meteors from Shang Nianyao’s tool managed to barely fend off the attack.

When Shang Nianyao saw Lv Ziqing beside him, he showed no expression, nor did Lv Ziqing say much. They simply exchanged a knowing look. After so many years together, words were unnecessary.

They both understood that having a comrade beside them made things feel less difficult, and they felt a sense of relief.

Seeing Shang Nianyao hold back the demon soldiers with Lv Ziqing’s help, Xu Qingfan breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention back to the altar.

Meanwhile, the wound on Naxiu’s left chest continued to bleed ominously with purple-blue blood. However, Naxiu seemed unconcerned. Despite his pale face, there was a hint of joy as he slowly reached for the magic orb.

But just as Naxiu’s hand touched the orb, it suddenly emitted a fierce purple-blue light, forcefully pushing his hand away.

Seeing this scene, Naxiu couldn’t help but let out a series of roars, then gritted his teeth and widened the wound on his left chest even further, spilling a large amount of dark-purple blood onto the magical orb.

After absorbing Naxiu’s dark-purple blood, the magical orb emitted a reluctant hum, and finally, it gradually dimmed its radiance, allowing Naxiu to reclaim it in his grasp.

Holding the magical orb in his hand, Naxiu could not help but sigh in relief and then burst into triumphant laughter. After a long while, he slowly subdued his laughter and began to gaze at the still-confused Bao Wei with eyes filled with hatred, as his left hand emitted a sinister and dangerous black glow.

"Now’s the time!" Xuan Xiu suddenly shouted in his aged, raspy voice, swiftly flying towards Naxiu and Bao Wei.