As Bai Chen slashed his sword, the Azure Dragon gave a low roar as it lunged toward the direction Bai Chen was facing, colliding with a blade.
"You are a fast learner, hehe." Ye Ming appeared in the spot Bai Chen was staring at, "I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart."
With that, he vanished again.
Bai Chen tried the same trick, but this time, instead of feeling the disturbance of Qi in a single place, he felt it in four different places.
"What in the Legend of Hei is going on?" He muttered under his breath. "Doesn't matter, if he is cloning himself, I just need to destroy all of them."
A ruthless look appeared on Bai Chen's face. His stance changed, his Spiritual Qi flared, and its figure around him turned even more vivid, almost becoming indistinguishable from the Azure Dragon.
Azure Dragon Sword Style: Final Stance.
The Azure Dragon roared, its voice reverberating in the area, scaring the nearby beasts away and messing up the flow of energy.
Once Bai Chen was ready to slash his sword, Ye Ming, along with his clones suddenly appeared, their faces paled with fear.
"Who are you? And what relationship do you have with the Azure Dragon Sect?" The four Ye Mings spoke in unison.
He deduced that Bai Chen was someone from the Azure Dragon Sect, and his position was quite high at that.
He had his suspicions before, but it is possible to get the first few of the seven stances of the Azure Dragon Sword style by killing a few disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect.
But the seventh stance was something only core elders and sect masters had access to, and it was a highly guarded secret of the sect, not something an outsider could get their hands on.
"You don't need to know that." Bai Chen didn't answer Ye Ming's question, instead, he slashed.
The moment Bai Chen's sword was brought down, it was as if a primordial beast had been released from its cage. The Yang Qi in the surrounding became dense as well.
A huge pressure descended on the surroundings, locking Ye Ming alongside his clones firmly in place.
Realizing he couldn't continue like this, Ye Ming took the initiative to dispel his clones and started burning his blood essence.
Finally being able to move, he clenched his jaw and executed the hidden technique he had chanced about in a secret realm.
'Oh, Deceiver of Darkness, God of the Wicked…
You who hate the virtuous…
Great Lord Qiongqi…
This servant calls upon your power—
Help me vanquish the light of this world.
The Rise of the Fallen Guardian'
The moment Ye Ming finished the chant, his Spiritual Qi flared, and a similar primordial pressure erupted from his body, quickly enveloping him.
The Qi in his body turned jet black as it gushed out, taking the form of a tiger with wings. Its body was deep crimson, while its winged bore a shade of dark silver.
The beast's presence screamed of corruption. Every plant it passed withered. Every place it touched lost its vitality. Everything its claws grazed was tainted and decayed.
Its yellow eyes slowly scanned its surroundings, its gaze finally locking on Bai Chen and the Azure Dragon.
The Qiongqi growled and lunged toward the Azure Dragon, who responded in kind.
The two primordial beasts clashed, their energies surging wildly.
As the Azure Dragon tried to attack the Qiongqi with its claw, the crimson beast used its shadow prowl ability, quickly merging with its own shadow.
The next moment, it appeared from the Azure Dragon's shadow and bit the tail of the Dragon.
In retaliation, the Azure Dragon attacked the Qiongqi with the Dragon's breath attack, heavily injuring it.
Before the Azure Dragon could follow up its attack, its body began to crumble as the Corruption Touch ability of the Qiongqi took effect, corroding the entire body of its enemy.
With the crumbling of the Dragon's body, Bai Chen's complexion also paled, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, lead by the backlash of his technique getting destroyed.
Ye Ming, on the other hand, dispelled his The Rise of the Fallen Guardian technique, and the Qiongqi also receded into his body.
His complexion was also pale, but his condition was quite better than Bai Chen, who looked like he could fall with a gust of wind.
In their brief clash, the surrounding area was devastated, all the nearby trees fell and huge craters appearing in the ground. Overall, the scene looked like a meteorite had fallen their.
In this devastated area, the two figures of Ye Ming and Bai Chen looked really out of place.
Ye Ming wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his lips and took a step forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet. His eyes narrowed as he gazed at Bai Chen, who was barely holding himself upright with the help of his sword.
"You really are full of surprises," he said coldly. "To think someone at your level could force me to burn my blood essence and use that technique…"
Bai Chen didn't reply; his breathing was ragged, and he was barely standing with the help of his sword.
His body was deprived of any energy, and some of his meridians were damaged.
"But it's over now," Ye Ming continued. "Your body is devoid of energy while I still retain some… You were really strong, but it doesn't matter anymore, for I would be having the last laugh."
"But don't worry, I won't kill you… Yet," Ye Ming's smug look quickly shifted to one of extreme cruelty, "I still need to torture you for making me burn my blood essence."
Hearing Ye Ming's words, a slight smile appeared on Bai Chen's lips. "I'm sorry to crush your dreams, but you won't have the chance," Bai Chen said, the smile turning mocking.
As soon as Bai Chen finished speaking, the Spiritual Qi around him stirred, as if awakened by the scent of a long-sought delicacy.
All the Spiritual Qi in the 500-meter radius of Bai Chen started surging toward him, filling his empty reserves to the brim.
"Th-this can't be…"