Chapter 1768: [Fierce Battle] (Part 2)

Hu Xiaotian learned one thing from the Sword Demon Dongfang Wuji: defeating an opponent depends on the result, the simpler the process the better. If there is a huge disparity in strength, perhaps one can still have the mindset of a cat toying with a mouse, but if the two sides' martial arts are roughly equal, not seizing the initiative and not using one's hidden trump card to finish the opponent is tantamount to putting oneself in danger.

Seeing Ren Tianqing appear, Hu Xiaotian dared not hold back the slightest strength; he waved his light sword, and the Heaven-breaking Sword struck toward Ren Tianqing with unstoppable force, this sword executed in one breath, the light sword and Hu Xiaotian became one, his whole body merged into that overbearing, peerless sword qi.

A true master's transcendent perception precedes sight and sound; Ren Tianqing felt a chilling sword qi surge upward from below straight at him, this sword qi actually possessed the mighty power to cleave heaven and earth. Only then did Ren Tianqing realize he lacked an accurate assessment of Hu Xiaotian's strength; he had not expected Hu Xiaotian to have attained the state of sword‑man unity. True sword‑man unity: the person is the sword, the sword is the person; the person gives the sword life and vitality, while the sword intent merges into the heart, making the person a keen blade drawn from its sheath, edge exposed, invincible. Countless people know this principle, but few can truly comprehend and achieve it; given Xuantian Guan's head Ren Tianqing's broad experience, in his lifetime he has seen only three such individuals, and previously his opponents remained human in his memory, yet the Hu Xiaotian before him has already become a great sword with its edge bared.

No one dares underestimate an opponent who has reached such a level, especially since Hu Xiaotian holds a light sword in his hand. However, Hu Xiaotian's attack is not without weakness: he carries a person on his back, and that person cannot merge with his sword intent, becoming his greatest flaw.

Ren Tianqing's Lone Moon Slash arced and spun outward, rotating rapidly in midair; together with the Lone Moon Slash, his own body also flew out—he was trying to dodge Hu Xiaotian's immensely powerful sword strike, and he did not even have enough confidence to block this attack; his body spiraled out, evading Hu Xiaotian's unstoppable Heaven-breaking Sword, then his feet landed on the Lone Moon Slash; as the Lone Moon Slash spun, its brilliance flared, the Lan‑white light turned completely white, like a blazing sun in the sky, the intense light illuminated every corner of the underground cavern.

Hu Xiaotian's attack was fast, but Ren Tianqing's lightning‑like footwork still had a slight edge; the Heaven-breaking Sword ultimately missed, Hu Xiaotian raised his light sword and thrust upward, the sword light pierced the cavern ceiling, penetrating a five‑foot‑deep rock layer; from that point cracks spread rapidly outward, and the shattered stones fell like rain.

Ren Tianqing's body, together with the spinning Lone Moon Slash, became an arc of light; the halo of the Lone Moon Slash expanded into a circular ring of light with a radius of up to one zhang, this ring of light rushed toward Hu Xiaotian at astonishing speed.

Hu Xiaotian adjusted his body in midair, raised his light sword with both hands, and chopped down at the incoming ring of light; his use of the light sword had become second nature, he regarded it as part of his own body, and his internal energy converged to a peak at the moment of the strike.

In the duel of the two masters, onlookers saw only a light sword and a ring of light; both combatants' energies had reached the extreme, the light turned white, blindingly bright, at the instant of contact a low hum sounded, like a demon's moan, the light sword's brilliance dimmed again, while the Lone Moon Slash suddenly blazed bright; Hu Xiaotian was using his light sword against Ren Tianqing for the first time in direct combat, and he did not know that Ren Tianqing's Lone Moon Slash could siphon energy from the light sword. After two close exchanges, he was startled to find that in the clash between the light sword and the Lone Moon Slash, he was actually at a disadvantage.

As the shattered rocks fell like rain, tens of thousands of spiders dropped from the cavern ceiling; the one directing the spider army to launch the attack was none other than the Wuxian Sect's leader, Lady Meizhuang.

Ying Popo gave a cold shout, and the bats from the bat cave behind her surged forward like a blanket; the bats devoured the spiders, Ying Popo's thin, withered body was enveloped by the bats, the bat swarm formed a black vortex, and her body rose into the air.

Like a surging black tide, the bat swarm under Ying Popo's command lunged toward Meizhuang, but before reaching her it collided with a spiderweb; once a bat was caught in the web it could not escape, and spider after spider rushed forward, baring fangs and claws, to kill them.

Rongshi gazed at the battle before him, his expression showing no fear; he drew a jade flute from his waist and began to play, its notes shrill, black beetles climbed onto the bodies of four insect masters, and those four insect masters' physiques appeared to have more than doubled in size.

Ying Popo's attack on Meizhuang was thwarted, so she shifted her target, directing the bat army to assault Rongshi.

The four insect masters wearing black beetle armor acted in unison, nearly simultaneously leaping up and lunging at Ying Popo from four different directions.

Ying Popo surged forward like a black tornado, penetrating the swarm; as the bats spun at high speed, the insect masters' outer beetle shells kept falling off, in an instant none remained, and the bats swarmed onto the insect masters, sucking their blood.

The black beetles beside Rongshi suddenly arched up, forming a worm mound about one zhang high; as the flute melody shifted, the top of the mound seethed like boiling water, the beetles rolled off to the sides, and in the center emerged a black lizard up to three zhang long; a scarlet bolt of lightning shot from the lizard's mouth straight at the black tornado enveloping Ying Popo. This scarlet lightning was the giant lizard's extraordinarily toxic tongue, which lanced into the bat swarm; like a whip lash, wherever it struck the bats dropped down.

Ying Popo's body broke free of the bat swarm and retreated backward; even with her abilities she dared not contend with the Wuxian Sect's guardian divine beast.

The instant Ying Popo escaped the bat swarm, a white spiderweb descended over her head; she flung out a phosphorus fire bomb, which ignited the web on contact, its green phosphoric light burning the web to a crisp. The giant lizard shot forward like a black lightning bolt, its seemingly clumsy body moving with astonishing speed from the side to strike Ying Popo; her situation instantly became perilous, turning into a scene where the giant lizard, Rongshi, and Lady Meizhuang jointly attacked her.

Hu Xiaotian's situation was also not good, for he carried Xi Yan on his back, which inevitably hindered his movements, and the crafty Ren Tianqing seized this fact, directing nearly every lethal strike at Xi Yan.

These past two days I happened to be taking my son out to play, so I couldn't release anything at the start of the month; Zhangyu guarantees uninterrupted updates—on the first day of the month, if you have a guaranteed vote, still cast it for Zhangyu! (To be continued~^~)