# Chapter 56: The Terrifying Dust Shield
At such close range, Su Xiao was practically in front of Onoki in an instant.
Onoki, floating mid-air, had a calm expression as his hands suddenly clasped together.
With a rumbling boom, earth spikes sprouted from both the ceiling and the ground, attacking Su Xiao from above and below in a pincer movement.
Su Xiao immediately leaped, arching his body mid-air as he swung his blade toward the stone spikes above his head. These stone spikes gave him a very dangerous feeling, but strangely, they were neither sharp nor particularly sturdy.
The long blade swept through, and several stone spikes above Su Xiao's head snapped cleanly. As for the stone spikes below, he had already formed an energy shield on the soles of his feet, allowing him to stand on them without being pierced.
"Good reflexes, kid."
Just as Onoki finished speaking, a large number of stone spikes sprouted around Su Xiao—front and back, left and right, above and below. Everywhere he looked was filled with stone spikes.
This puzzled Su Xiao. He hadn't seen Onoki form any hand seals; the man had simply clasped his hands together.
Clang, clang, clang...
Blade light flashed within the underground prison. Su Xiao leaped into the air, surrounded by broken stone spikes. He used Dragon-Slaying Flash to pierce through one of the broken spikes and quickly noticed something unusual.
Su Xiao landed and pressed his hand against the ground, his expression turning grim.
The entire underground prison was made of stone, and within these rocks, Su Xiao sensed fluctuations of chakra. These stone spikes were ninjutsu that Onoki had pre-arranged—or rather, this was a secret technique.
Onoki must have consumed a great deal of chakra. Going through all this trouble just to set up these stone spikes? Even if he managed to hit Su Xiao with the sheer number of spikes, it would at most injure him—a severe wound was impossible.
At least several hundred stone spikes separated Su Xiao and Onoki. Su Xiao's instinct warned him not to let these stone spikes directly touch him, which was why he hadn't charged toward Onoki.
While Su Xiao was dodging stone spikes from all directions, Onoki began forming hand seals. He slapped one hand against the ground, his eyes fixed on Su Xiao, his bulbous nose wrinkled as he didn't immediately activate the technique.
Just as Su Xiao cut through several stone spikes sprouting from the ceiling, Onoki's eyes lit up.
"Earth Release: Ground Core."
A square stone pillar rose beneath Su Xiao's feet. Su Xiao used the momentum to leap backward, the hem of his coat fluttering loudly.
But at that moment, a black stone spike abruptly emerged from the ground, heading straight for Su Xiao's back.
There were also large stone spikes in front of Su Xiao. With no other choice, he raised his arm and swung it backward, aiming to smash the black stone spike behind him.
Just as Su Xiao made the motion to swing his arm, Onoki quickly formed hand seals. A black stone spike also emerged from the ground beneath his feet. Onoki pressed his hand against this spike, waiting for Su Xiao's elbow to strike the other black stone spike.
Su Xiao's gaze remained fixed on Onoki. He relied on his instinct to dodge attacks, just as Sha had once said—when using instinct to evade, keep your eyes on the enemy's movements and use your mind to deduce their intentions.
Just as Su Xiao's elbow was about to touch the black stone spike, he suddenly stopped. Counter shields appeared around him.
Boom!
Su Xiao, wrapped in counter shields, collided with the black stone spike. Not far away, Onoki frowned.
"Quite clever, kid. But an old ginger is spicier."
Veins bulged on Onoki's forehead as his chakra was heavily consumed.
By now, Su Xiao had been sent flying by several stone spikes. It seemed like stone spikes could sprout from anywhere in this underground prison.
Su Xiao landed steadily. The moment he touched the ground, he sensed something wrong. Several pebble-sized stones were floating right in front of him.
Whoosh~
Several tiny black stone spikes emerged from those pebbles. Su Xiao hadn't paid attention to these small stones before, and now the underground prison was filled with nothing but rubble and stone spikes.
Several black stone spikes, as thin as steel needles, shot toward Su Xiao's face. They were far too close—no more than 20 centimeters away.
Su Xiao immediately turned his head. One stone spike grazed his cheek, drawing a few drops of blood.
The moment the black stone spike touched Su Xiao, Onoki roared from a distance.
"Earth Release: Super Heavy Rock Technique!"
With a thunderous crash, the stone slab beneath Su Xiao's feet shattered. An invisible "armor" seemed to appear around his body, its weight terrifyingly immense.
At that moment, no more stone spikes sprouted in the underground prison. Onoki floated half a meter above the ground, his hands forming hand seals so fast they became blurs.
Hum~
A hazy white light appeared between Onoki's hands—a transparent, square energy framework.
At the same time, a square "barrier" formed around Su Xiao, perfectly encasing him.
"Dust Shield: Original World Stripping Technique."
White light spread around Su Xiao. At this moment, his body felt as heavy as ten thousand pounds. Jumping out of the Dust Shield barrier was impossible.
Su Xiao took a deep breath and swung his blade with all his might.
Clang!
A blade aura five meters wide appeared. This blade aura was different from what Su Xiao had previously unleashed—it was noticeably more condensed and faster.
Onoki now had two choices: abandon the Dust Shield and float upward to dodge the blade aura, or perish together with Su Xiao.
"Heh."
The corner of Onoki's mouth curled up. His eyes didn't even look at the blade aura as he continued to activate the Dust Shield.
With a tearing sound, the blade aura sliced through. The white light emitted by the Dust Shield filled the entire underground prison.
Rubble fell. Several bent stone spikes fixed Onoki to the ceiling. The moment Su Xiao unleashed the blade aura, Onoki had used the stone spikes to curl himself up, dodging the attack.
"That was close."
Onoki touched the remaining half of his goatee. He had been wrapped around the abdomen by the stone spikes, causing his head to tilt forward, and the blade aura had cut off part of his goatee.
Crack, crack.
The sound of stone slabs breaking came. Su Xiao walked out of a square stone pit, surrounded by several shattered counter shields.
With a clatter, the broken counter shields shattered, dissolving into energy that dissipated into the air.
Had the counter shields withstood the Dust Shield? Of course not. The counter shields had excellent defensive power, but they weren't enough to block the terrifyingly destructive Dust Shield.
What had helped Su Xiao block the Dust Shield was the special ability of the [Divine Radiance] scabbard: Holy Spirit Blessing.
Special Effect: Holy Spirit Blessing (Active) – Upon activation, generates a layer of secondary invincibility shield. Shield lasts 1 second. Cooldown: 72 hours.
...
In truth, even the secondary invincibility shield hadn't completely blocked the Dust Shield. The secondary invincibility shield wasn't truly invincible—it only held for 0.7 seconds before being decomposed by the Dust Shield. Fortunately, this barrier-type Dust Shield only attacked for an instant.
The secondary invincibility shield + counter shields + two layers of 400-point strength energy shields had managed to block the Dust Shield.
Su Xiao's ability to withstand the Dust Shield left Onoki somewhat stunned. In his decades of mastering the Dust Shield, many had dodged it, but this was the first time he'd encountered someone who could tank it head-on.
Onoki quickly accepted this fact. A hazy white light appeared between his hands again—not a barrier-type Dust Shield this time, but a diamond-shaped spike. This attack's range was no longer a single point but cylindrical, like a thick laser that decomposed anything it touched.
Earlier, Onoki had used the "Original" World Stripping Technique. Now he was using the "Limited" World Stripping Technique—an upgraded version with expanded range, increased power, and sustained effect.
"Kid, try blocking this one."
Despite saying this, Onoki didn't immediately attack with the Dust Shield. Instead, he adjusted his angle. Above the underground prison was Standing Rock Village, and the Dust Shield: Limited World Stripping Technique had too large an attack range.
Su Xiao didn't even look at Onoki. The weight on his body was noticeably decreasing. As time passed, the Super Heavy Rock Technique's effect would weaken.
Su Xiao turned and charged toward the entrance of the underground prison. Onoki, who had been looking for an angle to instantly kill Su Xiao, was stunned. Then he thought of something and looked toward the cell holding Deidara.
The cell was empty. On the ground was a line of text, hastily carved with some kind of "sharp tool."
The words on the ground read: "This dog was here!"