Chapter 182: Phoenix Break
The flames of the Burning Star Demon Lotus gradually extinguished. More than two hundred Rock Dragon Warriors, along with their weapons, were charred black, then crumbled and fell amidst the destruction. Silence returned to the surroundings once more, broken only by Yun Che's heavy, ragged breaths and the faint "drip, drip" of sweat and blood striking the ground.
With a heavy "boom," his massive sword toppled to the ground. Yun Che straightened up with difficulty, letting Xiao Xiannü lean back against his shoulder. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
Xiao Xiannü was completely unharmed—not even touched, let alone injured. Looking at Yun Che's pale face, she knew clearly that if he hadn't been protecting her, he wouldn't have been wounded. And the two hundred-plus Rock Dragon Warriors from earlier wouldn't have pressed him to the brink of death.
"Your… hand…" Xiao Xiannü's lips moved, her voice strained.
A sharp, piercing pain shot through his left arm. Though he could barely hold Xiao Xiannü, it was now utterly impossible to wield the heavy sword. He shook his head, forcing an easy smile. "It's nothing. Those blades were made of rock—very dull. They only scratched the skin and flesh."
"Let me go… or else… you will die!" Xiao Xiannü's voice was weak and icy. Though her body was crippled and her breath feeble, her sight and hearing were still intact. The sound of those three blades cutting into bone had echoed right beside her ear—how could she have misheard?
Yun Che swallowed a Middle Returning Heaven Pill, then grabbed a handful of medicinal paste and smeared it over the wound on his left arm. If it weren't for the rebirth brought by the Great Dao Pagoda Art, his arm would have already been chopped into several pieces by those three slashes. At Xiao Xiannü's words, he shook his head. "Unless I die, I will never give up on you. Don't think of yourself as a burden, because in this place, you are my greatest motivation and my only pillar of will. Besides, we've already made it through, haven't we? This first trial should be…"
Before Yun Che could finish his sentence, a vast swarm of Rock Dragon Warriors—twice as many as the previous wave—materialized around him amid flickering yellow light.
The Dragon God's Trial, First Level, Ninth Wave… Five hundred and twelve Rock Dragon Warriors!
Yun Che's voice died in his throat. He couldn't utter another word. His hand reached down, grasping the hilt of his heavy sword, and lifted the blade embedded in the ground.
Before his eyes were twice as many Rock Dragon Warriors as before—more than all the previous eight waves combined. If this wasn't an illusion, then it was a nightmare, a true and utter nightmare.
The front ranks of these Rock Dragon Warriors wielded blades, swords, and spears. The rear ranks no longer carried flails; in their hands were longbows of extraordinary thickness.
Rock Dragon Archers!
Bows and arrows—far greater range and threat than flails!
"…Xiao Xiannü, can you tell me… your name now?" Yun Che asked softly, holding Xiao Xiannü and steadying himself with his heavy sword as he watched the vast host of Rock Dragon Warriors rapidly approaching.
The sounds around her told Xiao Xiannü their current predicament. For countless years, she had never revealed her name to outsiders, let alone to a junior. But now, hearing Yun Che's voice, she could not muster the strength to refuse. Amid the earth-shaking footsteps, her weak voice slowly emerged:
"Chu… Yue… Chan…"
"Chu Yuechan…" Yun Che murmured, then smiled. "Chu—elegant and lovely. Yue—the most beautiful moon in the sky. Chan—a beautiful woman. An elegant, moon-like beauty. There is absolutely no name in this world more fitting for you. I've been calling you Xiao Xiannü all along, and I was never wrong… So from now on, I'll keep calling you Xiao Xiannü."
Chu Yuechan: "…"
"At this point, I can no longer tell if this is a trial or a trap that's impossible to overcome." Yun Che raised his heavy sword, pointing it at the Rock Dragon Warriors now within five zhang. "But whether it's me or you, we cannot die here for nothing. I won't die, and I won't allow you to die either. So you have to give me… all the strength you can!"
"Haaa!!!"
With a furious roar, the aura around Yun Che turned savage. His gaze grew fierce, his blood boiled wildly, and his spirit, will, faith, and soul seemed to ignite completely. In both his lives, he had faced countless dangers and many desperate situations. This despair-inducing formation sent a chill through his heart—but that chill was entirely because of Xiao Xiannü. Setting aside the need to protect her, what rose within him was a thread of excitement.
An excitement that had gradually twisted into his soul after experiencing countless perils and dead ends.
"Come at me! No matter how many, I'll kill them all!"
Yun Che let out a low growl. From a body that should have been depleted after unleashing the Burning Star Demon Lotus, wild power erupted from some unknown source. Instead of retreating, he clutched Xiao Xiannü tighter and plunged headlong into the surging wave of Rock Dragon Warriors.
Bam!!
One swing sent four Rock Dragon Warriors flying.
Boom!!
Another swing smashed five Rock Dragon Warriors into ten pieces, knocking over several more behind them.
Though he should have been exhausted, his sword swung faster and his strikes grew fiercer. His heavy blade spun like a scythe of death, madly reaping lives from the ranks of Rock Dragon Warriors.
Inside the Heavenly Poison Pearl, Mo Li was startled. She knew Yun Che's physical state better than anyone. Earlier, he could barely lift the heavy sword—how could he suddenly burst forth with power far surpassing before? She frowned, carefully sensing his condition, and her small face filled with astonishment as her shock deepened.
This power was being forcibly squeezed from his life force through sheer willpower!!
Mo Li couldn't fathom how he managed it. To extract power from life force required an immense, overwhelming will and obsession. But she knew clearly that the consequences would be severe. Because Yun Che's current actions were nothing less than a mad drain on his own lifespan. The most direct result would be a drastic reduction in his longevity. After today, he would fall gravely ill—at best, bedridden and powerless for months; at worst, his entire body's functions would fail permanently, beyond recovery.
At this moment, Yun Che was like an enraged lion charging into a flock of sheep. Wherever he went, he left behind a trail of shattered corpses.
A chorus of whistling sounds filled the air. A volley of arrows rained down in a wide arc.
Puff…
Three arrows struck his right shoulder.
Puff, puff, puff…
Three more arrows hit him in the back. One barely missed his heart.
In such a desperate situation, facing over five hundred Rock Dragon Warriors, Yun Che made the most correct and most insane choice: he focused nearly all his mind on attacking, sparing only enough defense for Xiao Xiannü. The faster he killed, the less pressure he would face. Weaving through the enemy horde, he slashed and hacked with near-madness, clearing the Rock Dragon Warriors like a gale sweeping fallen leaves. Roars, crashes, and explosions thundered without end.
In less than two minutes, Yun Che had been hit by twelve arrows, stabbed by twelve spears, and slashed by nine swords and thirteen blades. His back, shoulders, and chest were riddled with bleeding holes. With his violent movements, these wounds no longer simply bled—they spurted blood, shocking to behold. His clothes were completely soaked in crimson.
The greatest threat to Yun Che was undoubtedly the Rock Dragon Archers in the rear. Most of his injuries came from dodging arrows that would have been fatal. Those archers were his primary targets. But the layers of Rock Dragon Warriors blocked him from reaching them. Among his skills, only the Heavenly Wolf Strike could inflict long-range damage—but its consumption was too great. If he actually used it, he would be utterly spent.
He had to eliminate those Rock Dragon Archers. Otherwise, with wounds worsening, he would die before finishing off all the warriors.
His gaze locked onto the archers on the periphery. Yun Che's eyes grew darker, and a ring of flame began to rise from his body. Suddenly, his eyes flashed. All the flames surged onto his heavy sword, then were hurled far away with a swing.
Chirp!
With a clear phoenix cry, a massive flaming phoenix shot from his heavy sword, piercing through the bodies of several Rock Dragon Warriors and landing among the archers twenty zhang away. It exploded with a roar. In a blaze of towering fire, a dozen Rock Dragon Archers were blasted into the air, their bodies shattering mid-flight.
"He… he actually integrated a remnant technique from the Phoenix Ode Scripture into the general formula of the Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture… creating a profound skill that combines the heavy sword with phoenix flame!" Mo Li exclaimed in Heavenly Poison Pearl, then murmured, "To merge two divine scriptures that ordinary people might spend a lifetime failing to comprehend—and to do it in such a desperate state, succeeding on the first try… What monstrous comprehension this is!"
This was Yun Che's first self-created profound skill. Watching the dozen archers blown apart, he whispered its name…
"Phoenix Break!"
Compared to the wide-area, indiscriminate destruction of Burning Star Demon Lotus, Phoenix Break had a much smaller range, but it could target distant enemies, and its consumption was far, far lower. A grin spread across Yun Che's face. Another surge of power from an unknown source flooded his body. His flaming heavy sword swung, sending low-crying fire phoenixes flying one after another. These fire phoenixes cut through the bodies of nearby Rock Dragon Warriors, then streaked toward the distant archers, blasting the already sparse rows of archers to pieces.
His wounds grew heavier and heavier. The blood flowing from him had already neared a third of his total blood volume. His clothes were drenched, and half of Xiao Xiannü's garments were stained red. But his expression was terrifyingly calm, and his movements remained fierce—as if he felt no pain, as if he was unaware of how severe his injuries were.
He was squeezing out his life, and also his limits. Where his limits lay… perhaps not even he himself knew.