12: Fragments

Seeing Mo Xuan successfully heavily injure Daoist Tianyang in just two moves, Zhou Kaiding naturally wouldn't just watch. He slightly calmed the injuries within his body, then controlled his Fu Shang (Sword Name) to attack.

Daoist Tianyang glanced at Zhou Kaiding, who was also attacking, and instead of getting angry, he laughed, "Good, good, good! You forced my hand!"

"Burning Law!"

Daoist Tianyang's anger surged to his heart. He gritted his teeth as his magic power rapidly depleted with the activation of the Burning Law Secret Art, but his Aura sharply climbed, becoming several times stronger than before.

The Burning Law Secret Art was something Daoist Tianyang obtained by chance. It allowed him to gain strength beyond his limits for a short period at the cost of burning his own magic power. This was Daoist Tianyang's ultimate life-risking Spell.

After activating this Spell, his body would rapidly weaken, requiring several years of recuperation to fully recover, and his Realm might even drop as a result. The price was undeniably high.

Daoist Tianyang felt the immense power contained within him and no longer thought about the consequences of activating this Spell.

He only wanted to hack both the person and the beast in front of him to death. Thinking this, his heart grew even more delighted, as if he had already seen the miserable state of Zhou Kaiding and Mo Xuan before their deaths.

Daoist Tianyang raised the golden giant axe in his hand, which was several times larger than before, and fiercely smashed it towards Zhou Kaiding.

Although Daoist Tianyang was consumed by rage, he hadn't completely lost his mind.

He knew that Mo Xuan, as a Yao Beast, had tough skin and flesh, and was incredibly fast. It would be very difficult to kill him quickly, so he could only attack where it forced a defense.

Daoist Tianyang expected that Zhou Kaiding, as a Beast Tamer, would surely command the snake Yao to turn back and protect him when faced with this attack.

This way, he could greatly reduce Mo Xuan's speed advantage, forcing him to passively endure his attacks.

Little did Daoist Tianyang know that Zhou Kaiding was merely a facade and not a Beast Tamer at all.

Facing the giant axe, which was as large as a mountain, Zhou Kaiding was greatly horrified. He had intended to take advantage of his opponent's weakness to finish him off, but he didn't expect that he might put his own life on the line.

By now, it was too late to retreat. Zhou Kaiding could only fight to the death, using all the remaining defensive Talismans in his Storage Pouch on himself.

His magic power surged out wildly, and layers of water mirror shields rapidly condensed. His Meridians were already severely damaged by such a violent impact of magic power.

But Zhou Kaiding didn't care, his face contorted in a ferocious expression.

The giant axe suddenly smashed down, and several mirror shields, as if non-existent, shattered in an instant.

Talisman after Talisman activated and then broke, unable to hinder it in the slightest.

Zhou Kaiding felt despair in his heart and stopped struggling. Many images flashed through his mind, leaving only a hint of longing for Jade Moon Peak.

"Bang!"

A loud bang interrupted Zhou Kaiding's dying memories.

Seeing Daoist Tianyang attack Zhou Kaiding recklessly, Mo Xuan could only reluctantly give up his plan to attack again.

Mo Xuan really couldn't just watch Zhou Kaiding die in front of him like that.

Even if for nothing else, Zhou Kaiding was the first friend Mo Xuan had made in this world, and they got along well.

By a fluke, Daoist Tianyang's plan actually succeeded.

The giant axe smashed onto the snake scales, sending up a shower of sparks. Mo Xuan cried out in pain, his snake mouth roaring as he opened it and bit fiercely into the edge of the giant axe. At the same time, his snake tail flicked, throwing Zhou Kaiding dozens of feet away.

Mo Xuan's heart was filled with ferocity; the injuries stimulated the beastly intent deep within his Bloodline.

His mouth continuously exerted force, shattering the giant axe. His snake eyes turned blood red, his Aura soared, and he sped towards Daoist Tianyang.

Daoist Tianyang was slightly stunned to see Mo Xuan bite his condensed giant axe to pieces in one go.

Seeing Mo Xuan approaching, he flew backward, forming hand seals. Dozens of golden magic power longswords appeared, all shooting towards Mo Xuan.

The beastly intent deep within his Bloodline made Mo Xuan slightly lose his sanity. He actually didn't dodge or evade the golden longswords.

Sword after sword pierced his snake body, leaving streaks of blood. Mo Xuan roared; the more he was injured, the more frenzied he became.

Daoist Tianyang retreated while condensing longswords to attack. Seeing Mo Xuan not dodge or evade, he disdained, "A Yao Beast is a Yao Beast, controlled by its own ferocity. Truly seeking death."

His ferocity spilled out, and his speed increased by several points. Within a few breaths, he caught up to the retreating Daoist Tianyang and opened his mouth to bite him.

Mo Xuan's speed instantly surged. Daoist Tianyang once again activated the Golden Light Armor, transforming into a golden armored giant.

This time, with preparation time, the Golden Light Armor was stable, and Daoist Tianyang was full of confidence. Seeing Mo Xuan open his mouth to bite down, he seemed to foresee the scene of Mo Xuan's teeth breaking off.

Mo Xuan, in a burst of ferocity, experienced a surge in his speed, strength, and magic power. His sharp snake fangs fiercely pierced into the golden armor, shattering it in one bite.

With the light armor broken, Daoist Tianyang was utterly shocked. Before he could react, he felt a massive pain assault him and then lost consciousness.

Mo Xuan bit Daoist Tianyang's corpse, confirming that his Aura had disappeared. Then, he shook his head and casually threw Daoist Tianyang aside.

The ferocity in his Bloodline receded, and Mo Xuan felt utterly exhausted. His wounds ached everywhere, and he felt some lingering fear. This beastly nature induced by the Bloodline was a double-edged sword, killing others and harming himself.

Losing his sanity meant becoming a Vicious Beast that only charged recklessly. This was something Mo Xuan could not accept. This time also served as a reminder to him that in the future, he must pay more attention to the Cultivation of his spirit, not allowing himself to be controlled by beastly intent and ferocity.

"Human Cultivators are indeed insidious and cunning, with many tricks. I still need to be more cautious in the future," Mo Xuan sighed in his heart.

Zhou Kaiding, seeing that Mo Xuan had already killed Daoist Tianyang, rushed over and quickly took out a healing Medicinal Pill, handing it to Mo Xuan.

Mo Xuan opened his mouth and swallowed the Medicinal Pill along with the jade bottle, then transmitted to Zhou Kaiding, "You handle the rest."

With that, his snake body swayed and shrank, flying into Zhou Kaiding's sleeve and falling into a deep sleep.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kaiding opened his mouth, wanting to express his gratitude, but nothing came out. Speaking of which, Mo Xuan had already saved him several times, and he couldn't repay him for anything.

His heart was bitter, regretting his low Cultivation. Many times, he not only couldn't help but also became a burden to Mo Xuan.

"Alas~"

He sighed softly, Zhou Kaiding no longer thought much, but his resolve in his heart grew a few points stronger.

After thoroughly searching Daoist Tianyang's corpse, Zhou Kaiding was a bit dejected, feeling like he wanted to spit blood. Besides some Spirit Stones, Daoist Tianyang had no other Magical Artifacts, Talismans, or Medicinal Pills. This time, he really lost big.

"What a madman!" Zhou Kaiding cursed again. If this person wasn't mentally ill, how could he have ended up like this?

He not only lost his own life but also caused Zhou Kaiding and Mo Xuan to suffer significant injuries. It was simply harming others and himself.

Fortunately, there was still a Cultivation Technique in the Storage Pouch, named the Burning Law Secret Art.

Zhou Kaiding roughly skimmed through it, confirming that this was the reason Daoist Tianyang's Cultivation had instantly surged.

He then examined the secret art repeatedly several times and couldn't help but feel a little happy, dispelling much of his previous gloom.

Although this secret art was extremely damaging to the body, it was still an excellent life-saving Spell that could be used to fill the Family's treasury and increase the Family's foundation.

However, besides this secret art, Daoist Tianyang's own Cultivation Technique and Spells were nowhere to be found.

Daoist Tianyang's power was evident, and the Cultivation Technique he Cultivated made Zhou Kaiding extremely envious. As a result, after searching through the Storage Pouch, he found nothing.

After giving Daoist Tianyang a burning Talisman, Zhou Kaiding went to Liu Ruomei's location.

He collected the Yanluo Miasma, which had scattered into a veil. Although this Magical Artifact was severely damaged, and Zhou Kaiding didn't know how to repair it.

He could still sell it for some Spirit Stones.

Then, he opened Liu Ruomei's Storage Pouch.

He found that besides some women's items, there was also the Peach Blossom Bewitching Heart Art that Liu Ruomei Cultivated.

He flipped through the Peach Blossom Bewitching Heart Art. Although this Cultivation Technique came with several Spells, including an excellent escape Spell, it was quite extraordinary.

However, Zhou Kaiding felt a little helpless, simply because the Cultivation method of this Cultivation Technique was evil, absorbing yang to supplement yin, which was not a proper method. Thus, it could not be used by the Family and could only be sold off when an opportunity arose.

Besides these, only a peculiar fragment caught Zhou Kaiding's attention. The fragment was neither gold nor jade, about the size of a palm, with some strange patterns.

Zhou Kaiding guessed that this might be the item Daoist Tianyang was seeking.

After searching for a long time with no results, Zhou Kaiding could only put it into his Storage Pouch for later use.

These two were not simple individuals, yet they fought to the death for this fragment. Perhaps many more people had died because of it.

Although he was unsure what it was, it made Zhou Kaiding pay attention, thinking that he would investigate more in the future, hoping to find some clues.