Ch. 360 - Mountains & Rivers Like A Painting, Beauty Like A Flower
Shrouded SkyThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
The silver expanse of the ice field stretched endlessly, boundless and vast, as far as the eye could see. For ten thousand miles, not a trace of human presence could be found.
The Purple Mansion Saintess stood there like a purple snow lotus, serene, pure, untouched by worldly dust. Though surrounded and trapped, there was not a hint of panic in her eyes. She remained perfectly calm, as tranquil as still water.
Bang!
Tu Fei struck first. Forming the Dragon Claw Seal, he thrust forward. A black dragon burst forth, roaring as it charged. The entire ice field quaked violently as the dragon hurtled toward Saintess Zi Xia.
“Snap!”
The Saintess flicked her long hair, three thousand strands of silky black cascading like a waterfall, disrupting the flow of time itself. Purple mist swirled, and the great black dragon disintegrated instantly.
“Whoosh!”
Her pale hand lifted gently, and a scroll unfurled in midair. A vivid, lifelike world appeared within it, drawing the hearts and spirits of all who beheld it, as though it could melt the very heavens and earth into itself.
Tu Fei’s body lifted involuntarily, drawn upward by an overwhelming force, he was being pulled into the painting!
“Buzz!”
The ice field trembled as Tu Fei brandished the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar. The dull gray vessel released a streak of black light that shot directly into the painting.
“As expected of you, fairy sister!” he shouted with a startled laugh, retreating rapidly. He barely managed to break free and avoid being absorbed.
Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and the black dog all drew in sharp breaths. With just a single exchange, Tu Fei had nearly suffered a crushing defeat, the Purple Mansion Saintess had almost captured him.
She stood there with serene detachment, neither joyful nor angry, as if she stood beyond mortal cares, like one merely observing flowers bloom and fade, clouds rise and fall.
It was not arrogance, but true transcendence. She had reached a realm where the heart remained unmoved by all things, detached yet utterly genuine.
Pang Bo stepped forward, black mist billowing around him. He did not move quickly, but his presence was immense and unshakable. Each step he took caused the ice to quake. He looked like a demon god towering over the world.
“Clap!”
Pang Bo struck out, forming a seal with his right hand, like dragon and roc in one. With a single blow, the void itself collapsed.
A massive hand of black mist transformed into a real dragon, its scales gleaming like steel, its body filled with raw power as it lunged toward the Saintess.
“Boom!”
The Saintess responded with calm composure. Her jade-white hand, slender and crystalline like spring onions washed in snow, swept forward gracefully.
Her motion seemed as soft as drifting clouds, devoid of killing intent or surging divine energy. Yet all who witnessed it felt their blood run cold, her ten fingers carried the aura of the Dao itself, warping the void wherever they passed.
“Snap!”
The true dragon collided with her fingers and shattered instantly, letting out a low, dying roar before fading into nothing.
“Buzz!”
The air trembled violently. Pang Bo shifted his seal, the dragon transformed into a golden roc, blazing with light as it dove from the heavens like a molten sun.
The Saintess remained as calm as ever. Her delicate fingers traced invisible lines, like writing the laws of heaven itself. With a gentle motion, she suppressed the golden roc, preventing it from coming near.
“Boom!”
Pang Bo took another mighty step forward. The ground split beneath him; the ice plain cracked and erupted, stones flying skyward.
He looked every bit the ancient demon sovereign reborn, his black hair whipping wildly, his bronze skin glowing with divine radiance, his eyes sharp as blades.
“Even if you’ve entered the Dao Realm, I’ll shatter it!”
He unleashed the supreme art of the demon race, engaging the Saintess in a battle that made the heavens and earth tremble.
“Roar!”
A massive dragon a hundred meters long coiled into the sky, sweeping toward the Saintess with a roar that shook the clouds.
The Saintess existed in a wondrous state, united with heaven and earth. Every motion of her hand flowed with the rhythm of the Dao. Her gestures seemed unhurried, yet they carried a force that could destroy worlds.
Where her hands passed, the void twisted. Any being struck by her would surely be reduced to dust, body and soul annihilated.
It was a clash of extremes. One fierce and explosive, a storm of strength and vitality; the other calm and ethereal, untouched by mortal smoke. Though utterly different in style, they were evenly matched.
Pang Bo refrained from using the Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes, knowing he had no certainty of victory. The Saintess’s Diagram of Mountains and Rivers hung above her, a constant threat.
“The Eight Forms of Heavenly Demons, a true prodigy of the demon race,” the Saintess finally spoke, her tone tranquil.
Indeed, Pang Bo was displaying a supreme demonic art, not a secret technique, but one all great demon cultivators could learn.
The Eight Forms of Heavenly Demons was an ancient and unparalleled art, equal in might to the divine techniques within the Demon Emperor Scripture. It embodied the ultimate expression of strength, to rend heaven and earth with sheer power.
Pang Bo fought like a god reborn, his punches tearing through the air, his blood and energy blazing like the sun. Each step he took shook the four directions.
“Clap!”
He roared forward, his right fist piercing the purple mist, striking at the Saintess while his left hand formed seals to block the rays of violet light.
“Clang!”
The Saintess moved like flowing water and drifting clouds, dodging his blow that could have shattered mountains. Her counter was elegant yet unstoppable, tracing the path of the Dao itself, sealing his advance.
“Snap!”
Pang Bo’s entire frame shuddered as she conjured a Dao Diagram in the air. It swept toward him, soft yet fierce, filled with destructive power.
“Boom!”
Their attacks collided violently, the air exploding with energy. Both were thrown back, yet they immediately reengaged, clashing once more.
Pang Bo burned like a furnace, his vitality boundless, his strength wild and overwhelming, pure masculine power seeking to crush all before it.
The Saintess, in contrast, became one with nature, with ice and sky, snow and mist. She was untouchable, her form ethereal, elusive like the Dao itself.
The contrast between them grew starker with every exchange. Neither could gain the upper hand.
“I’ve heard that the Purple Mansion Saintess was born attuned to the Dao,” Tu Fei murmured in awe. “She’s fought only once before, and even the Saint of her Sacred Ground lost to her.”
The black dog grumbled, “This woman’s talent is terrifying. She’ll only grow stronger with time. When she fully merges with the Dao, no matter how vast your power, she’ll suppress you effortlessly.”
Pang Bo roared. His seals changed, shaking heaven and earth. Dragons, phoenixes, and rocs emerged around him, flying in circles under his control.
At that moment, the world itself trembled. Pang Bo stood like an ancient emperor of demons reborn, a colossus before whom the heavens quaked.
“Boom!”
Explosions tore through the land. Their battle reached a fever pitch. Avalanches thundered down, snow surging like tidal waves, the ground splitting into countless fissures.
“Brothers, grab your weapons! Whoever catches the Saintess gets to marry her!” Tu Fei suddenly yelled, charging forward.
“Whoever catches her first, she’s his!” the black dog howled, joining in.
It was psychological warfare. They wanted to disrupt the Saintess’s Dao Heart, to break her union with heaven and earth.
“Boom!”
A terrifying aura swept across the snowfield. Tu Fei’s Heaven-Devouring Jar hovered in the air, its dark mouth like a black hole, radiating a devouring force that connected straight to the Saintess.
“Clatter!”
The Saintess’s Diagram of Mountains and Rivers trembled. From within, a colossal black mountain emerged, exuding an ancient, primordial aura.
“That’s a mountain from the Desolate Era! It could crush a hundred peaks!” the black dog yelped, leaping backward, shoving Tu Fei forward in panic.
“Damn dog!”
“Buzz!”
The Heaven-Devouring Jar shook violently, its devouring power intensifying. The black light pulled at the massive mountain, making the world itself quiver.
“Damn it, another one!”
From the scroll, a second mountain emerged, this one silver, radiant and awe-inspiring. Its pressure alone shattered the ground before it even fell.
The two mountains collided, silver brilliance and black radiance interweaving, and the vortex of the Heaven-Devouring Jar distorted wildly, unable to immediately consume them.
“Clatter!”
The painting rippled again, releasing an entire world from within. The illusion became real, resisting the jar’s pull and even beginning to suppress Tu Fei instead.
Throughout it all, the Saintess continued to battle Pang Bo with tranquil grace. Her robes fluttered like clouds, her heart utterly undisturbed, her Dao Heart unbroken.
“Now!”
Ye Fan moved at last. The silver Diamond Bracelet appeared in his hand, ancient, majestic, covered in runes that resonated with the Dao.
It did not grow in size, merely one meter across, yet its weight felt like that of a mountain, shaking heaven and earth.
“Boom!”
A thunderous crash echoed as the bangle struck the illusory world. Silver light erupted, shattering peaks and cracking the earth.
Simultaneously, Tu Fei fought back with all his might. The Heaven-Devouring Jar became a black vortex, devouring everything before it.
The black dog crept closer, sneaking up behind the Saintess. He wore a massive golden bell on his back, intending to strike from the rear.
“Brothers, counterattack! Same rule, whoever captures her, she’s his wife!” Tu Fei roared, charging forward with his demon jar.
“Flash!”
A beam of light flared as Ye Fan recalled the Diamond Bracelet. He also closed in, his golden fist blazing as he struck forward.
“Boom!”
It was a blow that shook the world, blood and qi surging skyward, his body radiating the might of a divine dragon.
“Bang!”
Still locked in battle with Pang Bo, the Saintess turned slightly, her hand sweeping out with the force of the Dao itself. Her power met Ye Fan’s golden fist head-on.
“Boom!”
Light flooded heaven and earth, like the Milky Way crashing down from the ninth heaven. The impact was cataclysmic.
Ye Fan staggered back but remained uninjured. It was his first direct clash with a Saint-level figure, a true confrontation of strength and the Dao.
At that moment, Pang Bo finally unleashed his ultimate technique.
The Demon Emperor’s Nine Slashes: Destruction of Form!
His eyes shot silver beams that tore through creation, annihilating all before them as he charged the Saintess.
“Chi!”
The Saintess, shrouded in violet mist, her ethereal beauty half-veiled, let her brow bloom with divine light, the mark of the Dao.
Two brilliant purple rays burst forth, colliding head-on with Pang Bo’s attack.
“Boom!”
The clash unleashed annihilating power. Tu Fei immediately used the Heaven-Devouring Jar to shield himself, while the black dog ducked beneath the golden bell.
Ye Fan’s golden body shone like the sun, his vitality like that of ancient emperors. Taking advantage of the chaos, he became a streak of golden light, rushing straight at the Saintess, intent on capturing her.