Chapter 998

Hu Xiaotian, relying on the Art of Soaring and the Spirit Snake Nine Swords, simultaneously drew the attention of five people, while Yan Nujiao and Yan Boguang brother and sister seized the opportunity, exchanged a glance, and helped Xue Lingjun rush back into the room, choosing not to flee the compound.

FengXingyun's long blade thrust upward to meet it, the blade tip piercing the soft sword's edge; the collision of the sharp tips sent sparks flying. The soft sword, due to its own flexibility and the downward pressure from Hu Xiaotian, was squeezed into an exaggerated arc, then quickly straightened. Within Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea an invisible vortex formed, and a strong suction appeared at the point where blade and sword met.

FengXingyun suddenly felt his internal energy leaking, his heart startled, his body twisted, he sealed his dantian, and the internal energy he released formed an energy explosion at the point where blade tip and sword edge met, shaking the blade and sword from their original positions; Hu Xiaotian's plan to use the Void Supreme Art to absorb FengXingyun's internal energy came to nothing.

FengXingyun's feet slipped sideways as he retreated three steps in succession; Hu Xiaotian also took the opportunity to land on the ground, secretly thinking it a pity, blaming FengXingyun for being too cunning—the Void Supreme Art had not yet been fully executed before he slipped away.

FengXingyun's eyes coldly fixed on Hu Xiaotian: "Whale Swallowing Supreme Art!"

Speaking of martial arts that are strongest at absorbing others' internal energy, the Void Supreme Art takes the lead, but few people know this technique, and even fewer in the present age actually use it, so its fame is not as great as that of the Whale Swallowing Supreme Art; Sumeru Heaven knows the Whale Swallowing Supreme Art, which likewise can absorb others' internal energy for one's own use, yet the Whale Swallowing Supreme Art can only absorb those whose internal energy is weaker than one's own, and is powerless against someone whose internal energy exceeds yours—nothing compares to the might of the Void Supreme Art, which can swallow an elephant like an ant, though the greater the power, the greater the harm, and Hu Xiaotian is now suffering greatly from it.

At that moment shouts of killing came from outside—it was Hu Jinniu leading dozens of warriors from the manor charging in. Although they were many, their martial skill was only good enough to come and die. Hu Xiaotian shouted loudly: "Leave this place at once, don't throw away your lives!"

Hu Jinniu halted his steps upon hearing this; only then did he notice that the figure not far away, split in half, was actually Qu Guangbai, and he was startled badly—for Qu Guangbai was an extremely formidable existence in his mind, a master in his eyes. Seeing that several masters of Qingyun Mountain Manor lay scattered about, Hu Jinniu's shock was no small matter; hearing Hu Xiaotian's call, he immediately turned and fled.

FengXingyun made a gesture, and his four blade-wielding subordinates leapt out, rushing toward the warriors of Qingyun Mountain Manor, intending to leave no one alive. Those who fled a little slower were already slain on the spot. For a time, wails continued without cease.

Although Hu Xiaotian knew that the bandits inside Qingyun Mountain Manor were mostly not good people, seeing FengXingyun strike so cold-bloodedly made him feel somewhat reluctant, after all FengXingyun had come for him, and if he himself had not come to Qingyun Mountain Manor, they would not have brought this undeserved disaster upon themselves.

Raindrops fell one by one. FengXingyun's long blade pointed sideways, his black official robe fluttering in the wind; beneath his long brows, his narrow eyes burst forth with a gloomy killing intent. He decided to settle the fight quickly, to end today's battle. The water droplets that splashed up from the blade made its light hazy, yet the blade's light kept expanding, continuously extending in the rain—not the blade itself, but the blade aura spreading from the blade.

Facing an opponent who wielded blade aura with ease, Hu Xiaotian had no confidence of victory; he did not rush to flee, but sought every way to delay, for as long as he held FengXingyun back, the chance for Yan Fengjiao and the others to escape would be greater.

When FengXingyun's blade aura extended to two zhang in length, he let out a deep, muffled roar, swung his long blade, and the invisible blade aura detached from the blade, slicing toward Hu Xiaotian's waist. The blade aura cut through the dense rain, forming a bright white arc of light in the falling rain; this arc of light rapidly expanded as it traveled, its length quickly doubling, the dense rain shattered by the overbearing blade aura and encircling the arc, forming a dim halo around it—so dazzling, so beautiful, yet behind its beauty lurked an unmatched, overbearing killing intent.

Hu Xiaotian today never managed to project his sword aura, not even once succeeding in triggering it. Faced with FengXingyun's extraordinarily powerful external blade aura, he dared not clash head-on, choosing only to evade; his body rose again into the air, and the blade aura swept past beneath his feet, missing Hu Xiaotian but horizontally cutting into the rear house—three brick-built houses were cleanly sliced through at the middle, their roofs collapsing inward, and amidst a haze of smoke and dust the houses came crashing down.

Hu Xiaotian, airborne, saw the Blade Demon FengXingyun display such might—splitting three houses with a single blow—this power truly shocked the world; what startled Hu Xiaotian was that he had just seen Yan Nujiao and her brother helping the Princess Xue Lingjun enter the room, and if they were still inside they would surely be buried alive.

After FengXingyun's blade cut through empty air, he immediately withdrew and struck a second blow, his long blade leaving countless afterimages in the void; in Hu Xiaotian's vision it seemed to form a blooming chrysanthemum, the flower rapidly approaching from far to near, like a great net unfurled to cover the sky and descend upon Hu Xiaotian. Even if Hu Xiaotian could unleash sword aura, he could not match the instant successive strikes, and forming an invisible blade net from blade aura was utterly impossible.

Fortunately, this sudden downpour turned the invisible blade aura into something tangible, giving Hu Xiaotian a trace to follow; he shook his soft sword and met the incoming blade net, his body daring not to pause even a moment, he drew a deep breath, his internal breath expanded within the Dantian Qi Sea, and he rose into the air above the blade net.

With a clang, the soft sword struck the blade net squarely; the tangible soft sword encountered the invisible blade aura and was actually cut by it, Hu Xiaotian, in a sorry state, dodged the blade net and landed on the surrounding wall; looking at his soft sword, the blade had snapped off at the hilt, leaving only a bare sword grip in his hand.

FengXingyun squeezed a cold voice from between his teeth: "Prepare to die!" He stepped forward with a lunge, his right foot slamming heavily onto the ground, making the entire courtyard tremble; then, borrowing that force, his body leapt up like a spreading eagle, he switched to gripping the blade with both hands and attacked Hu Xiaotian with the force of splitting Mount Hua— the simpler the method, the greater its might; any martial art practiced to its utmost reduces complexity to simplicity, returning to the pure and genuine, and though a simple chopping motion looks plain, it contains countless mysteries and variations.

Hu Xiaotian gazed at the blade attacking from afar; although distant, he felt an invisible pressure welling from all directions, surrounding him, as if no way he fled could evade that strike.

The aura was intimidating! FengXingyun's blade had already reached the level of great skill appearing clumsy, an unstoppable force.

Flee! It seemed impossible to escape the blade aura's envelop; give up! Only a dead end remained, the only option left was to meet the opponent's blade head‑on, yet Hu Xiaotian's soft sword was already broken, leaving only a bare hilt—how could that possibly contend with FengXingyun's overbearing blade aura?

In today's fight Hu Xiaotian never managed to project his sword aura even once; with a sword in hand it was already like this, without a sword it would be even harder to achieve—his internal breath could not be projected outward, and his own Void Supreme Art could not absorb FengXingyun's internal energy; could Heaven really intend for him to die here? Then a thought struck him: although his internal breath could not be projected, he still had the Void Supreme Art. He slowly turned the sword hilt in his hand, and within his Dantian Qi Sea a massive vortex formed at astonishing speed, all its suction acting on the hilt; the falling rain suddenly accelerated, dropping in unison toward Hu Xiaotian.

Just as FengXingyun was about to release his blade aura, he noticed that the wind and rain around him had become far more violent than before, and every raindrop was falling toward Hu Xiaotian—more precisely, they were not merely falling but flying wildly, as if drawn by an unmatched powerful force, all the rain converging on Hu Xiaotian; what astonished FengXingyun was that on Hu Xiaotian's already broken sword hilt a transparent great sword was rapidly forming, not a sword aura but condensed rainwater, its blade transparent and edgeless.

Hu Xiaotian's headband was also lifted by the gale, revealing the newly grown short hair standing up like porcupine quills, his eyes wide open as he let out a roar.

After a brief moment of shock, FengXingyun waved his long blade, and a white silk‑like streak three zhang long shot out from the blade; at that moment, in the dark sky a dazzling bolt of lightning like a great serpent tore the blackened heavens in two.

Hu Xiaotian swung the sword hilt, and the sword body formed from gathered rainwater quickly reached a length of two zhang; he swung his right hand, thrusting forward a sword whose transparent body resembled a twisting long serpent, flying free of the hilt, in the void like a living creature; as it rotated and flew, surrounding rainwater and fallen leaves gathered toward the sword body to meet FengXingyun's blade aura.

The two forces collided at the midpoint between FengXingyun and Hu Xiaotian, emitting an extremely dull thud, like two long serpents entwined, tearing and devouring each other, then exploding simultaneously into a shower of rain droplets that scattered in all directions.

FengXingyun could hardly believe his eyes—just moments ago Hu Xiaotian had been fleeing with his head in his hands after being struck by him, yet in an instant his combat power doubled, enabling him to block FengXingyun's all‑out strike.

In a short time Hu Xiaotian's sword hilt absorbed countless raindrops, which gathered this time into a transparent sphere the size of a head; switching from defense to offense, he shook the hilt and a head‑sized transparent water ball spun wildly, breaking through the wind and rain to strike at FengXingyun.

FengXingyun's body remained mid‑air; he raised his blade and dove downward, the blade pointing straight at the water ball, intending in one move to shatter Hu Xiaotian's attack and run the blade through that fellow's chest.

Seeing the Monthly Ticket about to fall off the rankings, brothers and sisters, help me! (To be continued~^~)