Chapter 74: Fate: Dragon Markings and Phoenix Grace?

"Guard Yao Jianshi; we will first retreat and surround this place!"

When Zhang Jian went forward to pursue the enemy, Qi Yi, being experienced, commanded everyone to first retreat from the governor's residence to avoid an ambush.

And he instructed the troops outside not to rashly advance; for now, just surrounding the governor's residence is enough.

Kill each one that comes out.

No need to advance recklessly and suffer pointless losses.

Qingyu Daoist hid in the dark, originally intending to use his Mist Elephant Banner to conceal Yu Tongguang's movements, but seeing Zhang Jian catch up to Yu Tongguang in just a few steps, his expression changed; he hurriedly activated his magic, and several crimson rays shot from his hand toward Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian's keen spiritual sense pierced the nature of those crimson rays.

That was clearly a series of Fire Thunder Children.

Originally, Zhang Yi had suffered a considerable loss from it.

With a flash of his figure, he instantly turned into a gust of wind, maneuvering tens of zhang.

Booming explosions rang out on the spot; the crimson explosives burst, and a thick black mist spewed out, landing on the stone corridor, instantly corroding half of the stone and the pillars of the hall.

"Is there also a poison similar to sulfuric acid inside?"

Zhang Jian's expression startled at this sight.

The Qingyu Daoist before him appeared fully prepared, which was somewhat different from him; he was not very familiar with fighting in a place like the governor's residence, where Dragon Tiger Qi was strong, and could not fully exert his strongest ability.

Dragon Tiger Qi suppressed, making spellcasting impossible.

One could only rely purely on magical artifacts or a strong physique for melee combat.

Meanwhile, Yu Tongguang's eyes flashed with a ferocious light; seeing Zhang Jian entangled, he did not retreat but turned back and charged.

He shouted:

"Qingyu, I'll entangle him; you try to kill this scoundrel!"

He let out a loud roar, rolling Dragon Tiger Qi seeming to surge around him, his fierce blood like a furnace, and threw a punch at Zhang Jian; Zhang Jian seemed to hear the sound of a demon tiger's roar, indicating this punch had some significance.

"Seek death!"

Zhang Jian, however, gave a cold smile; his Dragon Roar sword left its sheath in an instant, a blazing red light slashing toward the charging Yu Tongguang.

In his hand he also had a blazing golden ray that instantly struck the Dragon Roar sword, causing its sword light to swell, instantly transforming into a several-zhang crimson-gold sword light that fell.

He is unlike other heretical practitioners.

Although his spellcraft is his forte, his swordsmanship has likewise reached the peak of perfection.

His flying sword technique's close-quarters killing ability might be somewhat stronger than thunder methods.

After one sword strike, Yu Tongguang was greatly startled, feeling that terrifying sword light; in his haste he only managed to retract his fist, his body rolling like a lazy donkey to evade the terrifying sword aura.

But just after dodging that strike, Zhang Jian's Dragon Roar sword followed closely, its cunning sword light carrying the unstoppable sword energy of the Metal Lung Sword Talisman, reaching Yu Tongguang's brow in an instant, filled with killing intent.

Although Yu Tongguang was a master, under such sword light his whole body felt stiff, the slightest resonance he had built with the forces of heaven and earth completely severed; everywhere he looked, even the warm sunlight seemed to turn into sharp sword light.

"Stop!"

Qingyu Daoist also reacted at this moment; his body flashed swiftly, and a peculiarly shaped long sword appeared in his hand; his agile form made the sword instantly turn into a sky-blue sword aura that rushed toward Zhang Jian.

Qingyu Daoist also appeared highly skilled in swordsmanship.

But under Zhang Jian's keen spiritual sense, his swordsmanship was mostly mundane, not the kind that could draw on heaven and earth to resonate and easily wound the soul.

But the sword in his hand was quite peculiar.

It was not a magical-artifact-grade sword.

It should be a divine weapon in the eyes of ordinary martial artists; its material is excellent, but due to the lack of forging and nurturing methods, it can only exhibit its inherent material and a hint of added heavenly power, and it likewise contains an extremely evil extraordinary ability.

Qingyu Daoist's sword light came straight for Zhang Jian, employing the strategy of 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao'.

"A mantis trying to stop a chariot! Then I'll deal with you first!"

Zhang Jian glanced at the eager Qingyu Daoist coming to rescue; his sword light turned back, like a divine dragon swaying its tail, his form becoming like a majestic blazing sun, extreme yang power clinging to his Dragon Roar sword, the sword seemingly emitting a fearsome dragon roar, the tip instantly pressing down the sword light Qingyu Daoist sent forth.

A torrent of blazing sun sword light poured down; Qingyu Daoist's expression changed, yet he was fearless of death, completely disregarding the pain of the sword light piercing his body, and his oddly shaped long sword, upon contacting the tip of the Dragon Roar sword, suddenly shattered into hundreds of fragments that swirled toward Zhang Jian's every orifice.

The sword blade inherently possesses unmatched armor-piercing ability.

The sharp whistling of the blades was unusually clear in Zhang Jian's keen spiritual sense.

But such marvels, in Zhang Jian's view, were still insufficient.

This is merely a method for dealing with ordinary masters; against him, a Divining Fate Foundation Establishment cultivator, it is clearly far lacking.

However, some cultivators' means are also deficient, such as protective magical artifacts.

Or the body-tempering methods cultivators practice.

At this point he could only, on one hand, use his magic to activate the Heavenly Gang Infant Skill, forming a vast expanse of extreme yang heavenly gang; with his swordplay swaying, distorting the surrounding heavenly-earth spiritual force field, yet like a swimming fish, he completely rolled up the incoming sharp blade fragments, transforming them into a grand, blazing sword light that fiercely slashed at Qingyu Daoist.

Seeing his strange weapon ineffective, Qingyu Daoist's expression changed, yet he could only grit his teeth and charge forward; at this moment, under his ragged clothes he had added a thick armor that glowed with a faint cold light, appearing to be a precious armor.

He had confidence that, relying on this precious armor, he could contend with Zhang Jian a bit longer, perhaps even having a chance to reverse the battle.

But in an instant his expression froze; he saw Zhang Jian's sword light sweep over, a blood line appearing on his brow, and his body was split straight down by the Dragon Roar sword.

The spiritual guard on his surface, which twisted the heavenly-earth force field, broke apart like tofu slag.

Thus Qingyu Daoist was directly slain; at the same time, Zhang Jian casually waved his hand, extending his palm to unleash a strike that sent the rushing Yu Tongguang flying backward.

He could not get up for a moment.

Having swiftly dealt with the two, Zhang Jian's eyes twinkled; he stepped forward, searched Yu Tongguang's hand, and soon found a gold-forged Longevity Lock; scanning it with his spiritual sense, he discerned its secret, pried it open, and a crimson pearl rolled out from within the lock.

Upon obtaining this crimson pearl, Zhang Jian's eyes lit up instantly.

He knew this was probably the opportunity from the giant turtle's mouth.

At the moment this pearl came into his hand, Zhang Jian heard a strange sound from his ear.

A clear phoenix cry.

As if, amidst the encircling mountains, a phoenix streaked across the sky.

He was quite certain it was a phoenix's cry.

This voice had been heard before on Phoenix Nest Mountain.

But compared to that voice full of resentment.

This voice was then utterly wonderful.

Like the ethereal immortal music of the nine heavens!

Cleansing the heart.

After the phoenix's cry, there also came the sound of a dragon's cry ringing in his ears.

At the same time, invisibly, it seemed as if two strange forces resonated with him respectively.

Among them, there was a force he had encountered before!

That was the aura of the Dragon Pearl!

The two strands of aura intertwined from the void and merged into his body.

If it weren't for Zhang Jian's soul being extraordinary, he might not have been able to notice.

These two strands of aura were extremely noble, distant, and also very subtle.

The two strands of aura intertwined, like the rotation of yin and yang, merging deep into the point between his eyebrows, and combining with that life palace's life seal.

"Life pattern?"

Zhang Jian sensed this change, his expression somewhat astonished.

He knew that, after orthodox cultivators divine fate and establish foundation, the life seal would, along with their cultivation and various opportunities, occasionally give birth to some special life patterns, or if they themselves understood the profundities therein, they would consciously guide the formation of some life patterns related to their own path of longevity.

He apparently had inexplicably formed a special life pattern.

This life pattern is also related to the dragon and phoenix.

"Is it the dragon markings and phoenix appearance?"

This touched upon his blind spot of knowledge, but he had seen the description of this life pattern in the travel notes of the Iron Immortal Observatory.

This is usually the Hidden Dragon life pattern, a prerequisite life pattern for the King and Marquis life pattern.

This life pattern is very helpful for changing one's temperament and for contending for supremacy under heaven; such life patterns usually make it easier to attract talent and recruit capable people.

At this moment, Zhang Jian saw Yu Tongguang still struggling to try to get up; Zhang Jian glanced at the phoenix soul in his hand, a glint of cold light flashed in his eyes, took a few steps forward and struck with a palm, blasting Yu Tongguang's forehead, directly killing him.