Chapter Fifty: Seven Shatterings

The four of them passed through the immense web.

Yuan Chengtian demanded, “Boy, what treasure do you have?!”

Misty Rain shouted, “Swordbreaker, Spellbreaker, Waterbreaker, Evilbreaker, Illusionbreaker, Qi-breaker, Ghostbreaker! This is the Sevenfold Banner of Ruin!”

Yuan Chengtian cried, “What a treasure!”

Misty Rain declared, “An artifact of ancient times; one banner can shatter ten thousand spells!”

Yuan Chengtian burst into laughter. “Ha ha ha! Then today I’ll kill you all and take it for myself!”

Shi Qi whispered quietly, “Whoa, is it really that powerful? Is he bluffing?”

Misty Rain, sweating, murmured back, “Of course it’s a bluff! I just want to scare him. This is only a replica—but still a high-grade magical artifact.”

Shi Qi was speechless.

As they spoke, Yuan Chengtian had already gathered his magic into weapons, preparing to unleash the high-tier metal spell—“Legion of Golden Radiance!”

Misty Rain called out, “Leave the spells to me; you three attack his true body!”

Shi Qi asked, “Can you handle it?”

Misty Rain tossed his elegant hair and murmured, “A man cannot admit defeat!”

Shi Qi thought to himself: Keep showing off, but when it’s time to fight, you’d better fight for real!

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

A thousand golden weapons surged toward them, all aimed to kill.

Misty Rain unfurled the Sevenfold Banner of Ruin, shouting, “Stick to the plan!”

With that, he charged head-on into the storm of golden weapons.

Su Xiaomu cried, “Wait, what plan?”

Shi Qi slapped his forehead and shouted, “Go around him and attack!”

The three veered to the side, bypassing the spell and heading straight for Yuan Chengtian.

Shi Qi pulled the golden spear he’d taken from Yuan Chenglu out of his magical pouch and tossed it to Su Xiaomu.

Though Su Xiaomu was no spear master, her speed was unmatched; with the golden spear, all she needed was to thrust. She charged and stabbed at Yuan Chengtian’s chest.

“Clang!”

Just as the spear tip was about to pierce Yuan Chengtian, a flash of golden light erupted around him—a golden shield materialized, blocking the attack. The spear bounced off harmlessly, and Su Xiaomu was sent flying by the rebound.

Shi Qi and Yuan Feixue followed close behind. Shi Qi condensed ice into a sword and stabbed at the shield—no effect.

Yuan Feixue split into three shadows, circling Yuan Chengtian, her short blades flying, but each was bounced away by the shield.

“This guy’s tough!” Shi Qi thought grimly.

On the other side, facing the hundreds of weapons, Misty Rain shed his playful demeanor. He gazed ahead with rare solemnity, tossing out the Sevenfold Banner of Ruin and crossing his hands in an intricate spell gesture before his chest.

“One banner shatters ten thousand spells! Break!”

With a thunderous shout, the Sevenfold Banner split into two, then four, then eight—soon, hundreds of banners billowed forth, meeting the Legion of Golden Radiance.

Each banner glowed with a brilliant white light, entangling the golden weapons. Misty Rain’s energy surged as his body trembled under the strain, but he withstood the onslaught.

Meanwhile, the other three, unable to break through Yuan Chengtian’s defense with their probing attack, withdrew to a safe distance.

“We need to crack his shell first,” Shi Qi said.

“I’ll handle it!” Su Xiaomu replied.

Shi Qi nodded. “Feixue, let’s assist her! Go!”

Leaping forward in the air, Shi Qi drew out his Azure Cloud Umbrella and charged at Yuan Chengtian, while Yuan Feixue split into three and moved behind their foe.

Yuan Chengtian remained calm, steadied his golden shield, and summoned a golden spear to meet Shi Qi.

Shi Qi had once fought Yuan Chengtian’s younger brother Yuan Chenglu in close combat and knew well his formidable spear techniques. Seeing Yuan Chengtian wield the spear, he thought: This man’s skills must be no less, if not greater.

“Clang!”

The Azure Cloud Umbrella met the golden spear. The spear’s force sent Shi Qi flying several meters back before he regained his balance. Without pause, Yuan Chengtian pressed the attack with another thrust.

Shi Qi tossed out the Thousandfold Shield, blocking the strike, then formed his hand into a claw. Five streams of water shot from his fingers, twisting into water tornadoes that coiled around Yuan Chengtian.

With his shield, Yuan Chengtian was fearless and pressed forward with his spear.

But the Thousandfold Shield’s defense was not mere boast. Despite Yuan Chengtian’s full strength, it stood immovable as a mountain.

The sturdier the shield, the more delighted Yuan Chengtian became, as if the treasure was already his.

Shi Qi saw his chance and shouted, “Xiaomu!”

He then withdrew the Thousandfold Shield.

“I’m coming!”

Su Xiaomu, with a loud cry, charged in from the side.

Sensing the surge of energy around her, Yuan Chengtian realized she was about to unleash a powerful technique and tried to retreat, but for a split second, he couldn’t move.

Shi Qi’s five water tornadoes had frozen into ice tornadoes, binding the shield tightly.

Yuan Chengtian’s energy burst forth, shattering the icy coils instantly, but that instant was all Su Xiaomu needed.

She soared through the air, her hands glowing with white energy claws, striking at Yuan Chengtian.

“Ninefold Instant Kill!”

She turned into a blur of green light, her first claw slashing at the golden shield.

A deep hum reverberated—the shield trembled, cracks beginning to appear.

“Second strike!”

“Third strike!”

“Fourth strike!”

After the fourth blow, the shield was riddled with fissures.

“Fifth strike!”

With a sharp crack, the golden shield finally shattered to dust.

“Sixth strike!”

Transformed again into green light, Su Xiaomu slashed at Yuan Chengtian’s back.

He knew he could not withstand her attack and tried to turn, spear raised, but was a step too slow.

Su Xiaomu twisted midair at an uncanny angle, dodging the spear and striking at his side.

A deep gash opened at his waist—the attack of a Nascent Soul cultivator had drawn blood!

And she was not done.

“Seventh strike!”

“Eighth strike!”

Her onslaught continued.

Unable to keep up, Yuan Chengtian could only harden his energy and grit his teeth. In an instant, two more wounds appeared on his body.

“Ninth strike! Chain assault!”

Spinning through the air like a hurricane, Su Xiaomu struck at his chest.

Sensing mortal danger, Yuan Chengtian didn’t hesitate. He pulled out a talisman from his storage ring and crushed it.

A massive golden sigil appeared between them, blocking Su Xiaomu’s ninth attack.

After several breaths, she finally halted, the sigil fading and disappearing into the air—but it had successfully shielded him from the final blow.

“How can there be such a young Nascent Soul cultivator?!” Yuan Chengtian was shocked, certain that the girl harbored some hidden secret.

After unleashing her Ninefold Instant Kill, Su Xiaomu was depleted. She withdrew from the air, landing steadily on the ground to recover her energy.

Yuan Chengtian gasped for breath, channeling energy to mend his wounds. The effort of sustaining the shield had drained him, forcing him to use his life-saving trump card.

But Shi Qi wasn’t about to give him time to recover. As Yuan Chengtian fended off Su Xiaomu’s attacks, Shi Qi had already prepared two Water Spirit Orbs, ready to fire.

Seizing his chance as Yuan Chengtian’s energy was spent, Shi Qi unleashed them.

Bang! Bang!

Both orbs struck his chest. Unable to dodge, Yuan Chengtian was blasted backward.

Meanwhile, Yuan Feixue had been busy. While Su Xiaomu attacked, she’d set up her formation behind Yuan Chengtian.

As he staggered back, he fell straight into the trap.

“Phantom Prison Shadow-Slaying Array!”

This was Yuan Feixue’s most powerful technique, though it required time to set up.

As Yuan Chengtian entered, darkness closed in. Even with his Celestial Eye, he could see nothing. The only sound was the whistle of a blade through the air; he dodged instinctively, narrowly avoiding the attack.

But the blade didn’t stop. It sped toward one of Yuan Feixue’s phantoms, which flicked it back at double the speed.

Again, Yuan Chengtian dodged, but the blade grazed his face.

The assault was relentless. Another phantom sent the blade whirling back at him.

This time, he managed to summon his golden shield in time.

Clang! The blade struck and bounced away.

Yet the blade seemed almost alive, veering toward the nearest phantom, who again redirected it toward Yuan Chengtian.

In the darkness, the sound of the blade slicing through the air grew faster and faster, forcing Yuan Chengtian onto the defensive. Though the blade’s damage was slight, the relentless assault was taking its toll.

As the array’s duration neared its end, Yuan Feixue seized the blade. Her phantoms merged into one, and she appeared behind Yuan Chengtian.

“Backstab!”

Her short blade gleamed with black light as she thrust for his neck.

Sensing a chill behind him, Yuan Chengtian spun, golden light flaring from his arm to block the blow.

The blade struck his arm, leaving a deep wound.

With the array finished, Yuan Feixue, drained, rushed from the battlefield.

Yuan Chengtian was now covered in wounds; blood streamed from his right arm, the gash exposing bone.

Knowing the enemy was weakened, Shi Qi condensed ice into a spear and charged once more, thrusting at Yuan Chengtian’s chest.