Volume 4 Chapter 96

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Volume 4 Chapter 96: Fierce Battle (End)

Previously, when Xu Qingfan first exhausted his Spirit Qi, he had already, to a large extent, dispelled the malice from the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" and worked hard to rebalance the energies of life and death within them.

After Ninglingzi discovered that the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" seemed to be controllable again, he ignored the surrounding chaos and fighting, closed his eyes, and concentrated on regaining control of the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods." If it weren’t for Chou Xuan’s protection earlier, he would have been killed.

After such a long effort, the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" were finally controllable again.

Xu Qingfan had thought of this, so he delayed for time.

Seeing the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" start moving, their motions becoming fluid and quick, Number Two’s face changed. Without further hesitation, he controlled the "Death God Descending" towards Ninglingzi in Chou Xuan’s arms, knowing he had to decisively eliminate the controller to save his own life.

The entire body of the "Death God Descending" was made of phantom energy, so it moved extremely fast. In a blink, it flashed in front of Chou Xuan, the "Death God Sword" aiming heavily at Ninglingzi.

But Xu Qingfan was prepared. Though not as fast as the "Death God Descending," he acted first, instantly moving in front of Chou Xuan, unleashing the defensive power of the "Five Spirit Bell" to its maximum, blocking the attack just before the "Death God Sword" could strike Ninglingzi.

"Block…"

Or maybe because the "Death God Sword" is entirely made of energy, the sound was deep when the sword struck the bell, lacking its previous melodious tone. Even so, when the sound dispersed, everyone still felt their organs churning in shock.

Xu Qingfan didn’t feel well either. To block the attack of the "Death God Sword," it seemed as if all the Spirit Qi within him was drained in an instant. The turmoil inside him matched the disturbance others felt from the bell’s sound.

At this moment, Chou Xuan finally reacted and quickly led Ninglingzi and Master Guanghui to escape far away.

At the same time, Ninglingzi finally awoke, and upon opening his eyes, he saw the terrifying figure of the Death God and the giant sword thrusting toward him. Even after centuries of cultivating immortality, witnessing this scene made his heart feel as if it had momentarily stopped.

Seeing that Xu Qingfan blocked this attack for him, he sighed with relief, then freed himself from Chou Xuan’s support and floated in mid-air on his own.

So far, Ninglingzi’s Spirit Qi remained the most intact.

Although Ninglingzi had lost contact with the outside world earlier, and didn’t know why Number One suddenly disappeared or how this "Death God Descending" appeared, it didn’t affect his judgment. Seeing Number Two’s expressions and actions, it was clear this "Death God Descending" was under his control. Ninglingzi pointed at the two slowly moving "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" and whispered, "Gods descend to cleanse the world, swiftly!"

As Ninglingzi’s soft words fell, the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" suddenly sprang to life, raising their enormous weapons and striking toward Number Two with immense force.

Seeing the "Golden Armored Soldier God" charging towards him, Number Two had no choice but to stop "Death God Descending" from chasing Ninglingzi and instead called it back to protect himself.

"Block…"

In the nick of time, "Death God Descending" suddenly appeared in front of Number Two, blocking the attacks from the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" with the "Death God Sword" and the "Book of Life and Death."

Although both their bodies and weapons were made of energy, the moment they clashed, a resonant metallic sound echoed far and wide.

After seeing their attack blocked, the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" didn’t hesitate and continued to swing their weapons at Number Two. Meanwhile, "Death God Descending" also did not hesitate and continued to block with the "Death God Sword" and the "Book of Life and Death," occasionally launching counterattacks.

Thus, the three towering figures exchanged rapid blows, with the clang of metal echoing continuously. Eventually, the sounds became a seamless stream, showing the incredible speed of both sides.

Among them, the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" shone with golden light, exuding a mighty aura. With long spears and blades in hand, the ground shook with their every move, as if war gods had descended. On the other side, "Death God Descending" was enveloped in black mist, emanating an oppressive terror. Two red lights under its hood seemed to draw in souls. Its attack and defense were silent yet incredibly swift, embodying its namesake, "Death God Descending."

In comparison, the "Divine Descent Technique" was more wondrous than the "Art of Refining Corpse." However, the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" commanded by Ninglingzi were merely incomplete, simplified versions, with power between the peak of the Real Golden Core Stage and the early Golden Core Stage. "Death God Descending," a rare high-level technique of the "Art of Refining Corpse," even with only half its usual strength due to Xu Qingfan’s interference, still possessed the early Golden Core Stage’s cultivation. In the two-versus-one scenario, the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" had strength and durability, while the "Death God Descending" had superior speed and attack, making their battle intensely thrilling yet evenly matched, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

Gradually, however, the tide began to turn in favor of "Death God Descending."

The cause lay in the fact that the "Death God Descending" was entirely composed of deathly energy. Each time it clashed with the "Golden Armored Soldier God," some of the deathly energy inevitably transferred to the "Golden Armored Soldier God," gradually disrupting the balance of life and death energies within it.

As the golden glow on the "Golden Armored Soldier God" slowly began to dim, everyone was greatly alarmed, except for Xu Qingfan, who sighed slightly in his heart.

"The incomplete cultivation method that conjured the ‘Golden Armored Soldier God’ was intentionally simplified to be sealed in a talisman. Though it appeared powerful, it was actually quite fragile. If the ancestor who created the ‘Divine Descent Technique’ had summoned the ‘Golden Armored Soldier God,’ its internal balance of life and death energies wouldn’t be so easily disrupted."

Despite his thoughts, Xu Qingfan couldn’t just stand by idly, because the "Golden Armored Soldier God" was the group’s greatest reliance at that moment.

So Xu Qingfan turned to Chou Xuan and Deng Tianao, who were staring dazedly at the battle between the "Golden Armored Soldier God" and the "Death God Descending," and said, "Dear Taoist friends, please use your magical arts to attack Number Two and distract the ‘Death God Descending.’"

After a pause, Xu Qingfan gently touched Little Black, who was eagerly perched on his shoulder. Although he knew Little Black didn’t understand human language, he whispered, "Be careful."

As soon as Xu Qingfan finished speaking, Little Black transformed into a streak of black lightning and dashed toward the "Death God Descending."

As for Xu Qingfan himself, he had already expended a great deal of Spirit Qi by repeatedly using the "Five Spirit Bell." The little Spirit Qi he had left he planned to use again at a critical moment.

Meanwhile, after hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Chou Xuan and Deng Tianao hesitated for a moment, seemingly afraid that attacking might provoke the "Death God Descending" to counterattack, but ultimately, each of them used their powers to strike at Number Two.

Given Xu Qingfan’s previous heroic rescues, the two eventually chose to trust him.

Seeing Deng Tianao’s "Heavenly Punishment Technique" and Chou Xuan’s wind-based magic coming at him, Number Two was startled. Despite trying hard to dodge, he was hit by Chou Xuan’s "Wind Explosion Technique" and thrown ten feet away, spitting blood continuously. His right arm turned to ash under the power of the "Heavenly Punishment Technique" and disappeared instantly.

Meanwhile, although "Death God Descending" wanted to protect Number Two, Little Black suddenly appeared and pecked at him, disregarding the aura of death surrounding "Death God Descending." Compared to the towering figure of "Death God Descending," Little Black seemed insignificant like a crow. Yet, after being pecked by Little Black, "Death God Descending" involuntarily took a step back, losing some of its death aura.

More importantly, this pause allowed the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" to strike their weapons hard onto it, slightly thinning the black mist surrounding it.

Witnessing this scene, fear finally crept into Number Two’s heart, as the battle spiraled out of his control. He couldn’t help but shout, "Number Three, hold them off!"

At this moment, Number Three was even more severely injured than Number Two. Transforming into a blood mist, he could reduce the damage from magical attacks. However, blocking four or five Condensed Core Stage cultivators on his own previously and being repeatedly injured by Xu Qingfan’s "Withered Qi" and "Five Spirit Bell" had accumulated terrifying damage.

Despite being heavily injured, Number Three, wary of Number Two, reluctantly transformed back into a blood mist and charged towards Deng Tianao and Chou Xuan. Both Deng Tianao’s "Heavenly Punishment Technique" and Chou Xuan’s wind-based magic were obscured by the swirling blood mist.

Although Number Three temporarily blocked the attacks from Deng Tianao and Chou Xuan, Number Two did not relax.

Number Three’s injuries were grave. Even though he could hold off Chou Xuan and Deng Tianao’s attacks, he might collapse at any moment. Meanwhile, since Little Black’s appearance, the situation for "Death God Descending" was dire. Little Black’s interference and its absorption of death aura allowed the two ‘Golden Armored Soldier Gods’ to repeatedly find openings to attack "Death God Descending." With continuous hits and a massive loss of death aura, the black mist surrounding "Death God Descending" became increasingly thin and faint.

Most importantly, the person Number Two was most worried about, Xu Qingfan, had been observing the scene coldly without any intention of intervening, making it impossible to understand his thoughts.

Precisely because he was inscrutable, Number Two was even more wary.

Even though Xu Qingfan wasn’t the strongest among them, after a series of overt and covert clashes, Number Two regarded Xu Qingfan as his greatest opponent in the battle. The less Xu Qingfan acted, the more nervous Number Two became.

Seeing the blood mist from Number Three becoming thinner and the gray mist around "Death God Descending" becoming fainter, Number Two finally decided he couldn’t wait in uncertainty any longer.

Number Two turned his gaze to Number Three with a grim expression.

"Things have come to this point; I can only sacrifice Number Three to escape. It’s a pity; compared to Number One, Number Three is greedy but at least obedient."

Number Two had a secret technique that could instantly unleash a person’s potential and significantly enhance their strength for a brief moment, but after a quarter-hour, they would be exhausted and die.

Number Two intended to use this technique on Number Three to cover his escape.

Having made up his mind, Number Two first commanded "Death God Descending" to block all attacks from Little Black, "Golden Armored Soldier God," Deng Tianao, Chou Xuan, and others, regardless of the damage, then shouted to Number Three, "Number Three, come back!"

…

"So hungry… so hungry!"

As Number Three battled with Deng Tianao Chou Xuan, he secretly thought to himself. As his injuries worsened, his mind became more dazed, and at that moment, he only wanted to consume flesh and blood.

Number Three’s cultivation method was quite peculiar. Although it was immensely powerful and strange, the practitioner constantly endured a sense of hunger. Only by consuming the flesh and blood of other cultivators could he slightly alleviate this hunger, and after being injured, Number Three needed to consume large amounts of cultivator flesh to recover.

At this moment, Number Three craved flesh and blood so dearly.

Although Chou Xuan and Deng Tianao were right in front of him, Chou Xuan practiced wind-based techniques and was incredibly fast, while Deng Tianao’s "Heavenly Punishment Technique" inflicted significant damage as soon as it was used. Therefore, despite Number Three’s desire to feast on their flesh, he could never succeed, causing him even greater anxiety.

"Flesh and blood! I need flesh and blood! I’m so hungry!"

As he instinctively attacked, he told himself this within his heart.

Just then, a voice suddenly came.

"Number Three, come back!"

Number Three turned around and saw that it was Number Two calling him. The serious look on Number Two’s face was gone, replaced by his usual harmless smile.

"I’m so hungry."

Thinking this, Number Three flew towards Number Two.

Seeing Number Three flying towards him, Number Two’s smile widened. He was just about to use his special skill on Number Three when he saw that Number Three, without pausing, opened his mouth wide, and dozens of teeth turned into blood-red vines, piercing into Number Two’s body before he could react.

Number Two could clearly feel, at the moment the blood vines pierced him, that his flesh and blood were being drained. His body withered right before his eyes, turning into a skeleton in an instant. Even in death, his disbelief was evident on his face.

He couldn’t believe he would die like this.

With skin and bones connected, Number Two’s eyes appeared especially large, staring open as if he couldn’t rest in peace.

At the moment Number Two was consumed by Number Three, the "Death God Descending" and the "Golden Armored Soldier God," whose life and death forces inside were destroyed, also collapsed, dissolving into golden and black lights that faded away into the sky, marking the end of the battle.