Chapter 1060: Helplessness, Moon-Breaking Devastation
"Waaaaaaaahhh!"
On the northern shore of the Fire Prison, terrified roars erupted. The very space trembled, and the parched earth beneath their feet was split with countless fissures. Ahead, the Fire Prison churned violently; were it not for the elders of the various Flame God sects blocking the waves, everything would have been swallowed.
The power of that flame shadow... was unimaginable.
Clearly, it had been gathering strength beneath the Fire Prison for a long time.
"Master!!!" Yun Che roared, his eyes nearly split open. The moment he feared most had arrived so quickly... and was far more tragic than the worst scenario he had envisioned.
It wasn't just another ancient Qiu dragon's full-powered strike that had been prepared for a long time—it had come in the very instant when Mu Xuanyin had gathered all her strength to deliver a killing blow to the first ancient Qiu dragon, leaving her with almost no defensive profound energy!
It was as if they had suddenly fallen from heaven into hell. Everyone’s hearts nearly burst from shock. Yan Wancang staggered back several steps in horror, while Yan Juehai and Huo Rulie’s hair stood on end, their eyes about to crack.
"Ah... ah..."
"How... how could this be!!"
In that fleeting instant like a passing light, all three sect masters saw clearly what had struck Mu Xuanyin from behind... it was unmistakably a dragon’s tail!!
A Qiu dragon’s tail!!
The curtain of fire fell. Within the Vermilion Bird projection, above the turbulent Fire Prison, beside the first ancient Qiu dragon that had just been freed from its ice seal and was covered in blood...
There suddenly appeared another ancient Qiu dragon, identical in form but without a single wound!
And Mu Xuanyin’s figure had vanished, buried within the boundless Fire Prison.
Before the crowd could recover from their shock, the second Qiu dragon roared and lunged forward.
Boom!
Flame waves soared thousands of feet, and the sea of fire for a thousand li was once again violently upheaved... Amidst the scattered flames raining down, a striking white figure appeared.
That white figure made Yun Che cry out in joy: "Master!"
But the sound barely left his throat before joy turned back into terror.
After fighting bitterly with the ancient Qiu dragon for over four hours, she had consumed a great deal of power but had not suffered a single injury. Now, however, her snow-white robes were drenched in blood, her ice-blue hair was disheveled, streaks of vivid red at the corners of her lips and eyes were glaringly bright, and her icy jade-like face was covered in a horrifying pallor.
Her back was completely stained red.
Xueji Sword was still in her hand, but at its tip, drops of blood slowly fell.
The icy aura that had once nearly covered the entire Fire Prison was now exceedingly weak and chaotic.
And the moment she was blasted out of the flame sea, the twin Qiu dragons’ dragon flames descended to blot out the sky, giving her not even a single instant to catch her breath.
Mu Xuanyin retreated at great speed, but her flight path was wavering, like a falling leaf tossed in raging waves. She swung Xueji Sword horizontally, raising a sky full of ice—only for it to be devoured by the flame waves in an instant, dissolving into nothing...
Pfft!!
A great cloud of blood mist scattered through the air. Mu Xuanyin, like a white sparrow shot down, fell once more into the endless fire sea.
Yun Che’s mouth gaped wide, but he couldn’t even utter a sound. His whole body turned cold, filled only with intense hatred and helplessness.
His strength was at the Divine Lord realm, where he could play a role in the battle between his master and the Qiu dragons. But now, with this sudden and drastic reversal, with his master gravely wounded and poisoned, he was no different from a struggling ant. He couldn’t even withstand a single breath of the splashing fire waves.
He had never felt so powerless, so useless!
"Master!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice torn. The tendons on his neck bulged; his fists clenched so tight they dripped blood. If not for Huo Poyun and the others desperately holding him back, he would have thrown himself into the Fire Prison.
"What... what is going on! Why is there another ancient Qiu dragon! Could it be that there were two of them from the very beginning?" Feng Ximing shouted in disbelief. His face had gone pale.
"Impossible!" Huo Rulie shook his head. "If there were two, they would have ambushed together from the start. One would have baited, the other struck from behind... Palace Master Mu would never have survived up to now. This second Qiu dragon must have been lurking deep beneath the Fire Prison long ago, sealing its aura and senses, waiting for the most critical moment to launch a fatal strike!"
"But... it waited so long, and at the exact moment Palace Master Mu was about to kill the first Qiu dragon, it struck! It seems... it has already far surpassed the level of a beast!"
An old man with a red beard stepped forward and said in a low voice: "That second ancient Qiu dragon is extremely cunning. When it attacked, it didn’t aim to kill, but to heavily injure! With its strength and ambush, if it wanted to kill, it could have struck at the Qiu dragon’s fatal weak points... but it deliberately avoided them! Now, Palace Master Mu is heavily wounded and poisoned. Even if she somehow escapes, she will be all but crippled. For a powerhouse at this level, the most cruel thing is to be completely ruined. This beast clearly understands that, so it chose to inflict such a cruel blow at the most critical moment..."
When he said this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
"You... what did you say!"
A young, pale-faced man from the Bingyun Fairy Palace suddenly shouted angrily. But before he could continue, Yan Wancang turned his head and glared at him, shouting: "Insolence! Who do you think you are to humiliate our Vermilion Bird Sect in this manner!"
"Huh?" The members of the Bingyun Fairy Palace were all startled and furious. But before they could react, Huo Rulie waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "Patriarch Yan, you misunderstand. What the Grand Elder said was logical."
"Even so, to describe Palace Master Mu’s predicament in such a way sounds like mockery!"
"It is the truth!" Huo Rulie sighed heavily. "And that beast is more terrifying than we imagine... Under the circumstances, our Vermilion Bird Sect cannot possibly help. We can only... watch."
Yan Wancang’s face twitched, and then he fell silent.
A heavy atmosphere settled over the entire northern shore.
Deep within the Fire Prison, Mu Xuanyin had just managed to steady herself, but the two Qiu dragons had already pinned her down again. Her ice wheels all shattered, ice barriers shattered repeatedly as soon as they were raised. Her momentum was gone, and her aura was fading. She was like a small boat that could capsize at any moment in the furious sea of flames.
Yun Che’s pupils were contracting violently as if they would burst. His entire body was trembling uncontrollably, and at this moment, the Vermilion Bird projection rippled slightly. Yan Wancang and the others suddenly looked up at Mu Xuanyin’s aura.
"What... what is she about to do?"
Inside the Bingyun Fairy Palace’s camp, countless voices cried out in panic: "Palace Master!"
Yun Che also sensed something was wrong. He jerked his head up and saw that amidst the furious pursuit of the twin Qiu dragons, Mu Xuanyin had suddenly stopped. Xueji Sword was held before her chest, and beneath her scattered hair and bloodstained face, her eyes were closed.
She was gathering all her remaining power, a strange blue light flickering at her heart.
But in this state, with her profound energy already weak, the blue light from her body was dim, as if it would go out at any moment.
The Qiu dragons’ attacks bore down. Without dodging, Mu Xuanyin would be instantly torn apart.
But the two Qiu dragons, as if sensing something, suddenly slowed. They didn’t attack from a distance; instead, they rushed toward her at lightning speed.
The three elders of the three sects all frowned. Yan Wancang was about to say something when suddenly, from behind, Yun Che’s voice burst out like thunder:
"DEPLOY THE FORMATION!! QUICK!!"
Everyone was startled. But before they could react, Yun Che had already turned around and, ignoring everything, rushed straight toward the center of the three sects’ gathered camps.
"Stop him! Don’t let him interfere!" someone shouted.
"Get out of my way!!" Yun Che’s eyes turned red. He didn’t even have time to think. He only knew that if the formation was deployed, the Vermilion Bird projection would be greatly distorted, and the support from the outside would be cut off. Only this way could he force the three sects to act!
But his strength was not enough to break through the Vermilion Bird Sect’s formation. With a loud "boom," he was knocked back by a profound barrier, blood spilling from his mouth.
"A mere Divine Lord dares to be reckless here!" an elder shouted angrily.
"Yun Che!" Huo Poyun rushed over, supporting him. "Don’t lose your head! If the formation is deployed, we will lose sight of the battle inside. That won’t help Palace Master Mu at all!"
"I know!" Yun Che gasped, but his tone was stubborn. "But if the formation is not deployed, my master will be finished! We still have a chance!"
"A formation of this level consumes an enormous amount of profound energy. Deploying it for no reason will cause a great loss. How can you be sure..." Huo Rulie said in a deep voice.
"I can’t be sure about anything! But my master will definitely... definitely find a way! Please, Lord Feng, Lord Yan—deploy the formation now! I beg you!" Yun Che’s voice was almost breaking, and his entire body was shaking.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay. Yan Wancang was about to speak when suddenly, a terrible boom came from the fire prison. The two Qiu dragons had closed in on Mu Xuanyin, and their combined dragon flames swept down, engulfing the entire sky.
Mu Xuanyin raised her sword, but the blue light on her body flickered faintly, like a candle in the wind. She was sent flying, a trail of blood streaking through the air.
"MASTER!!!" Yun Che’s roar was filled with despair. He knelt on the ground, his limbs weak.
"I... I am useless..."
At this moment, he hated his own weakness more than ever before. He possessed the Evil God’s Indestructible Blood, the Dragon God’s bloodline, and countless divine arts, yet he could do nothing but watch as his master faced death.
He didn’t even have the qualifications to stand in front of her.
"Don’t be impulsive." Huo Rulie grabbed his shoulder. "With your strength, even if you rush in, you’ll only die in vain. The most important thing now is to wait and see if Palace Master Mu can find an opportunity to escape."
"Escape..." Yun Che’s pupils constricted. He stared blankly at the Vermilion Bird projection, his mind dazed.
Behind him, the elders of the Vermilion Bird Sect all had angry expressions, but this time, not one of them spoke out to reprimand him.
"Alas!" Huo Rulie sighed heavily. "Now, the only one who can save your master is herself. Perhaps, she can find a chance to escape... only that."
But looking at Mu Xuanyin’s current state and the two Qiu dragons pressing her like mad, he knew all too well how slim the hope was.
Earlier, the ancient Qiu dragons’ flames were easily sealed and extinguished by Mu Xuanyin. Now, the situation had completely reversed... several times over! Her ice, the moment it formed, was instantly shattered. Every breath, Mu Xuanyin retreated, and the blood seeping from her lips had already stained her entire neck red... and then, Yun Che saw an abnormal flush appear on her face.
That was...
Poison!!
Qiu dragon poison!!
"Sss!!" Blood dripped from between Yun Che’s fingers... The poison of the Qiu dragon’s breath wasn’t too frightening for Mu Xuanyin under normal circumstances. But now, it was fatal to her.
Just like a thousand years ago with Mu Bingyun: with her strength, after being poisoned by the Qiu dragon, she could have quickly dispelled it with her profound energy. But after being poisoned, she had no chance to resolve it; she had to fight desperately against Huo Rulie. The more violently her profound energy circulated, the more violently the poison flared. Then she was severely wounded by Huo Rulie and barely escaped... After falling into the Tian Xuan Continent, she lost all her profound energy for a time, causing the poison to invade her soul and became incurable.
Now, Mu Xuanyin’s state was exactly the same as Mu Bingyun’s back then! She had been poisoned by the Qiu dragon, and instead of being able to neutralize it, her full-force battle only caused the poison to spread and worsen rapidly. The worsening Qiu dragon poison would continue to weaken her body and profound energy, greatly accelerating her approach to death.
Boom!!
Mu Xuanyin was once again blasted into the Fire Prison... but this time, in an instant, she rose back up, and suddenly sprayed a large cloud of blood mist onto the Xueji Sword in her hand.
Yun Che’s Ice Phoenix bloodline suddenly trembled violently. He quickly looked up... Within the Ice Phoenix projection, an extremely dense Ice Phoenix aura fell.
Yun Che’s expression changed dramatically, and a deep terror appeared in his eyes...
Ice Phoenix Source Blood!?
But immediately, his terror multiplied several times...
No! This is... this is pure blood!
Not only Ice Phoenix Source Blood, but also pure blood!!
Master, is it possible... could it be that...
Ding!
Suddenly, the world became incomparably quiet.
The boiling of the flame sea ceased. The entire Fire Prison seemed to freeze, completely silent.
On Mu Xuanyin’s body, the blue light that had been so weak it was nearly extinguished suddenly erupted with a violent intensity... dozens of times stronger than at any previous moment!
Even the two ancient Qiu dragons, who had been desperately trying to bury Mu Xuanyin, suddenly slowed down. Their red dragon scales reflected an increasingly cold blue light. Then, with a strange roar, they both began to retreat at the same time, and the flames burning on their bodies began to extinguish at an alarming rate.
The blue light spread. Around them, the Fire Prison and the image of the Vermilion Bird projection had completely turned blue.
Mu Xuanyin’s beautiful eyes were hazy, and the blood all over her body painted a picture of cold, enchanting sorrow. In her hand, Xueji Sword slowly rose. At its tip, a tiny profound formation slowly spun and shone.
And the moment that formation took shape, the two ancient Qiu dragons became as still as the frozen prison around them, as if space had been sealed and time had stopped.
"Th-this is..."
Even through the Vermilion Bird projection, everyone felt a bone-deep chill and terror.
"Could it be... the legendary Ice Phoenix Forbidden Array?" Huo Rulie murmured.
"Ice Phoenix Forbidden Array? What is that?" Yun Che gritted his teeth and asked urgently.
Huo Rulie stared at the Vermilion Bird projection, his expression dazed. "Many ruling sects have forbidden techniques that are only used in desperate situations. Our Vermilion Bird Sect has them, and the Ice Phoenix God Sect has them too... named 'Moon-Breaking Devastation.'"
Yun Che: "..."
"I have never seen it, but I have read records. The Ice Phoenix God Sect’s forbidden profound array requires Ice Phoenix Source Blood and a large amount of pure blood to activate, and its power is enough to destroy heaven and earth... But not only does it consume a tremendous amount, it also causes a massive regression in profound cultivation, greatly shortens lifespan and... talent. If one’s cultivation is insufficient and forces its activation, they could even be directly devoured by the backlash and die."
"What!?" Yun Che’s pupils dilated. Two of his teeth were ground to pieces by sheer force. Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, but he felt no pain at all.
"It seems your master knew there was no hope of escape. In a dead-end situation, she chose..." Huo Rulie’s body tensed, and he did not continue.
Mu Xuanyin’s expression was serene and beautiful—a serenity Yun Che had never seen before. In that miraculously azure world, her arm pushed forward gently...
Ding!
Time seemed to truly freeze, and no sound remained. In the Vermilion Bird projection, and in the pupils of everyone watching, there was only that streak of light formed by Xueji Sword.
That streak of light flew very, very slowly, as if it were motionless. No one knew how long passed before the sword tip finally touched something. In that instant, the profound formation at the sword tip suddenly erupted, releasing a blindingly bright blue radiance.
Where the sword tip pointed was none other than the dragon’s hollow of that Qiu dragon!
That was the second one to appear, the ancient Qiu dragon whose entire body was intact!
In the spinning ice-blue profound array, Xueji Sword did not stop but continued forward, silent, piercing through.
It cut a dreamlike blue arc of light through heaven and earth.
It happened so fast that no one even realized it had pierced through an ancient Qiu dragon’s body.
Zheng!
Zheng!
The two ancient Qiu dragons remained motionless, but two blue rays of light shot out from the sides of the Qiu dragon that had been pierced at its dragon hollow by Xueji Sword. Then came a third, fourth, fifth...
Zheng! Zheng! Zheng! Zheng! Zheng! Zheng...
The tenth!
The twelfth!
Under the blue radiance, the ancient Qiu dragon remained utterly still, rapidly turning ice-blue.
And the moment the radiance fully dissipated, a long crack suddenly split open on the ancient Qiu dragon’s body, then spread quickly to its claws and tail. Then, its great dragon body collapsed amidst rapid shattering...
Crumbling into countless ice crystals, scattering onto the frozen Fire Prison below.
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[Xue Feiyan: Eh? Where did my accompanying sword go?]