224: Chapter 224 Seeking a Tiger's Skin?

The Cultivators of the Imperial Ancestral Temple fell in droves like wheat harvested by a sickle!

Screams rose and fell, blood stained the vast land red, corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed like a river!

Those green snake Talismans that had previously lunged forward were instantly reduced to ashes under the scorching Aura of the Phoenix phantom—leaving not even a trace, as if they had never appeared!

"Pfft!"

Senior Young Master Yu Qingxuan was swept by the aftermath of the Phoenix phantom; his chest felt as if it had been struck by a massive boulder weighing ten thousand jun, causing him to violently spray a mouthful of blood as his body flew backward like a kite with a broken string!

He slammed heavily into the stone wall in the distance!

"Boom!"

The stone wall shattered with a roar, dust filled the air, and rubble flew everywhere!

Senior Young Master Yu Qingxuan collapsed into the pile of rubble, unable to crawl up for a long time. His Aura was withered to the extreme, and his originally sinister eyes now held only fear and despair, like a stray dog!

The encirclement formation instantly collapsed.

The surviving Cultivators of the Imperial Ancestral Temple looked at that figure in white, stained with blood yet like a Phoenix experiencing Nirvana, their eyes filled with bone-deep fear—their legs trembling like chaff, not daring to take another step forward!

They even retreated one after another, wanting to flee this terrifying place, their courage to resist completely gone!

Jian Tanghuang slowly withdrew her sword.

The rosy light on the long sword gradually dissipated, and the Phoenix phantom also turned into specks of flowing light, vanishing into the air.

Her face was as pale as paper, devoid of any color, and her lips were cracked. Clearly, the use of the Nirvana Sword Intent had exhausted her to the limit—even standing appeared extremely difficult.

She panted slightly, her body swaying, relying entirely on a resilient willpower to keep from falling.

Those bright eyes were now filled with exhaustion, yet they still carried an unyielding light, like stars in the dark night.

She turned her head with difficulty and looked at Chu Zhanxiao and Tuoba Ye. Her voice was weak yet unusually firm, ringing out like metal striking stone, piercing through the aftermath of the battlefield:

"With me here—"

"No one can harm him in the slightest!"

Chu Zhanxiao forcibly suppressed the surging Qi in his body and staggered forward, each step taken with extreme difficulty.

Tuoba Ye also immediately followed.

The two stood to the left and right of Jian Tanghuang, like two guardian stone statues, like two insurmountable mountains.

Although all three were covered in wounds and their Aura was withered, their eyes were resolute, and the Aura of fearlessness they radiated was like three insurmountable mountains—for a moment, they actually cowed all the Cultivators of the Imperial Ancestral Temple present!

No one dared to cross the line again!

Meanwhile, at another corner of the battlefield—the battle between Liushui Qingshang and Li Chengsi had already reached a white-hot stage!

Liushui Qingshang held a jade flute; the flute body was translucent and white, flowing with a warm, gentle spiritual light, as if carved from ten-thousand-year warm jade.

His movements were elegant, like a leisurely cloud or wild crane; every movement carried a natural rhythm, as if he had merged with the surrounding heaven and earth, unrestrained by anything.

The sound of the flute was as nimble as water.

At times gentle and melodious, like a clear spring flowing in a mountain stream, nourishing the mind; at times rapid and fierce, like a torrential rain pouring down, carrying a bone-chilling cold.

Each note seemed gentle and powerless, yet it could always dodge Li Chengsi's fierce attacks by a hair's breadth while finding flaws to counterattack—this composure was particularly striking on the tragic battlefield, like a green lotus in a muddy world.

Li Chengsi held a black long sword; the blade was engraved with ferocious runes, emitting a thick, baleful Aura, as if it had been stained with endless blood.

His sword technique was fierce and domineering, the sword wind as biting as a winter blizzard, every slash carrying the Aura of destroying heaven and earth!

The ground was carved with deep gullies by his sword wind, rubble flew, dust filled the air, and everything around trembled under his sword momentum!

He pressed forward step by step, his offensive like a tide, every move fatal, forcing Liushui Qingshang to dodge and weave, and for a time, it was hard to determine the winner—the sound of spiritual energy colliding in the air was endless, like continuous claps of thunder!

"Liushui Qingshang!"

Li Chengsi slashed through the air with his sword, the long sword smashing into the ground, causing the earth to crack and rubble to scatter.

He looked at Fen Tian, who was being restrained by Eighteenth Prince Wu Zhenkan in the distance, and at Jian Tanghuang and the others here whose Aura was withered, a look of disdain curling the corners of his mouth, his tone filled with temptation and threat:

"You and I are both Cultivators of the same rank, both gifted individuals; why waste your energy for these dying people?"

"Why not surrender to my Imperial Ancestral Temple? With your talent, you will surely be highly valued by the Ancestral Witches in the future; how can your current achievements compare to that?"

"Why suffer and sacrifice yourself here for nothing?"

Liushui Qingshang tapped his toes on the ground, his body spinning like a spinning top, dodging the fierce sword wind coming his way. As his sleeves fluttered, he looked like an immortal descending to the mortal world.

His robes snapped in the sword wind, yet his face remained calm and waveless, as if nothing in the world could disturb his mind.

His voice was as cold as an ice spring, carrying an unquestionable determination:

"Dealing with the devil only invites disaster."

"Your Imperial Ancestral Temple's Ancestral Witches act against the heavens, commit many injustices, slaughter the innocent, and have hands stained with blood; sooner or later, you will bring about your own destruction."

"Although I, Liushui Qingshang, am untalented, I will never associate with the likes of you—"

"And tarnish my own Dao Heart!"

"Stubborn and foolish!"

Li Chengsi was completely enraged by Liushui Qingshang's words, a flash of madness appearing in his eyes as he roared:

"Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit—"

"Today, I will let you see what true power is!"

Before his voice faded, the spiritual energy around him began to gather frantically, the runes on the black long sword instantly lit up, emitting a thick black Aura, as dense as ink!

Within the black Aura, a ferocious ghost face vaguely emerged; the ghost face bared its fangs, its eyes full of resentment, emitting a heart-palpitating Aura—

This was the sign of using a forbidden technique!

Clearly, in order to end the battle quickly, he had not hesitated to damage his own Foundation!

Liushui Qingshang's eyes were grave; he felt the terrifying pressure radiating from Li Chengsi, like Mount Tai pressing down—

He knew in his heart that he could not continue to delay.

If he dragged it out any longer, waiting for Li Chengsi's forbidden technique to fully erupt, he would likely find it hard to resist, and at that point, not only would he be unable to protect himself, but he would also implicate others.

He took a deep breath.

The flute sound, originally as nimble as water, suddenly changed—

It became fierce and resolute, like a sharp sword unsheathed, carrying an unstoppable momentum!

He no longer dodged, his figure turning into a streak of light, holding the jade flute, attacking with an attack, and thrusting straight toward Li Chengsi's heart!

On the jade flute, spiritual energy gathered, emitting a brilliant light, carrying the resolute determination of burning one's bridges—

It collided with Li Chengsi's black long sword with a boom!

The flute sound suddenly turned sharp!

It was no longer a melodious, gentle hum, but rather like an icicle of black ice solidified at the bottom of a ten-thousand-year cold pool, carrying the eternal, unmeltable snow of the polar regions!

Carrying a sharp force that pierced the bone and soul, it forcibly tore through the stagnant air in the valley, turning into an invisible, intangible, lethal blade—

Aiming straight at Li Chengsi's face!

The airflow was cut by this flute sound, emitting a "hissing" sharp noise, and the vegetation along the way was instantly covered with a layer of pale frost!

Even the light pouring across the sky seemed to be distorted and deformed by this biting cold, dragging out trails of icy light in mid-air!

Liushui Qingshang's fingertips danced like butterflies weaving through flowers; the jade flute seemed to come alive in his palm, every turn carrying the rhythm of heaven and earth.

His fingertips tapped and moved rapidly over the flute holes, the rise and fall precise without the slightest deviation; pure spiritual energy gushed into the flute body along his fingertips, turning into notes of sound that were condensed into substance, intertwining in the air.

In the blink of an eye—

An invisible sound web covering heaven and earth had already taken shape!

The mesh was as fine as dust, locking onto all of Li Chengsi's vital points, such as the Baihui, Tanzhong, and Yongquan acupoints!

As the web threads vibrated, they exuded a heart-palpitating, suffocating pressure, as if even breathing would be crushed by this sound might!

"Mere parlor tricks!"

Li Chengsi let out a ferocious shout, his voice like an exploding clap of thunder, shaking the surrounding rubble so that it tumbled down with a rustle!

The chengtian sword in his hand suddenly burst forth with a brilliant golden Aura, the blade shining brightly in the sunlight, thousands of ancient runes flowing and rising on the sword body, emitting a Divine Might that looked down on the world!

He twisted his wrist, the long sword bringing up an arc of flowing light, the terrifying Sword Qi tearing through the air and emitting a "woo-woo" whistling sound—

Like a golden giant beast breaking free from its shackles, carrying the momentum of destroying heaven and earth, it slashed fiercely toward the sound web!

The Sword Qi and the sound web collided with a boom—

But it did not produce the earth-shattering roar that was expected!

Instead, it was like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, only stirring up circles of invisible ripples; as they quietly spread, they wrapped layer upon layer around that fierce, unrivaled Sword Qi!

The sound web was unimaginably resilient!

Countless sound threads instantly coiled upward, like thousands of nimble long snakes, tightly strangling the golden Sword Qi—

Allowing it to struggle and twist in the web, its light gradually dimming, until it finally turned into specks of golden light—

And dissipated into the invisible Void Realm!