Chapter 322: Both Sides Suffer

Zhang Nuo rarely heard Chunyangzi speak in such a manner during battle; it seemed he, too, sensed the extraordinary nature of Wei Juren! Upon hearing this, Zhang Nuo's expression tightened. With matters having developed to this point, it was simply impossible to end this battle easily!

Wei Juren's two mirror-image incarnations alone were enough to give him a massive headache! Coupled with the powerful Magic Treasure of the main body, the opponent could practically contend with a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Early Stage!

Hovering in mid-air, Zhang Nuo gritted his teeth! A look of ruthlessness then appeared in his eyes. With a flick of his single sleeve, nine Flying Swords lined up before him! The sword bodies flashed violently and vanished into the void in the blink of an eye!

The next moment, the Measuring Heaven Ruler in Zhang Nuo's hand was unleashed, transforming into a sky full of ruler shadows that smashed wildly toward Wei Juren and his two incarnations below!

The overwhelming ruler shadows were like raindrops, yet in Wei Juren's eyes, they amounted to nothing. He pointed at the Small Tripod in mid-air, and the tripod instantly expanded to a size of about a zhang, directly shielding him and his two incarnations beneath it. The three of them then soared into the sky simultaneously, charging straight into the dense rain of ruler shadows.

Clang! Clang! The silver ruler shadows struck the Small Tripod and shattered into fragments of Linger Power; with the might of the Measuring Heaven Ruler, it could not shake the Small Tripod in the slightest! Just as the ruler shadows were about to finish their assault, Wei Juren moved his Divine Sense, sensed the presence of the true Measuring Heaven Ruler, and tapped lightly on the bottom of the Small Tripod with one hand.

With a whoosh, a cluster of blue electric arcs sprayed out from the Small Tripod. Like numerous vines, the Blue Electric Arc directly ensnared the true Measuring Heaven Ruler and pulled it violently into the Small Tripod!

In the blink of an eye, the Measuring Heaven Ruler was swallowed by the tripod. Zhang Nuo drew a breath inwardly; this Four-Legged Small Tripod was far too overbearing! It could actually seize an opponent's Magic Treasure!

After a moment's hesitation, Wei Juren charged into the sky. By now, the Small Tripod had returned to its normal size. He reached into the tripod, retrieved the Measuring Heaven Ruler, sneered, and tossed the small ruler directly into his Storage Bag!

"Use whatever other means you have! You won't have the chance in a moment!"

Mimicking the way Zhang Nuo had spoken earlier, Wei Juren said arrogantly. At this moment, Zhang Nuo's expression remained calm. Although the Measuring Heaven Ruler had been seized, he was not the least bit worried, as if the small ruler would return on its own!

The hand seals formed by his two hands hidden within his sleeves changed. Suddenly, in the space dozens of zhang around Wei Juren and himself, ripples appeared in the void, and nine Flying Swords, each about a zhang long, appeared simultaneously! These were the nine Flying Swords Zhang Nuo had previously deployed using the Instant Sword technique.

Zhang Nuo's calmness made Wei Juren feel somewhat uneasy. It was clear the opponent had reached the end of his rope, so why was there still no sign of dejection on his face? As he pondered, the nine giant swords surrounding him transformed into nine ferocious Silver Dragons!

Simultaneously, these nine dragons let out a long roar into the space where the two of them were! In an instant, ear-piercing sound waves erupted, and the void trembled! Even with Wei Juren's cultivation, he could not help but frown!

Zhang Nuo felt even more solemn. He had trapped both himself and his enemy within the 'Nine Dragon Chant Sword Array'; this was a measure taken out of necessity! Facing Wei Juren's Taixu Palace secret techniques and his sharp Magic Treasure, it was nearly impossible to set up the array while remaining outside of it!

The moment the dragon roars began, Wei Juren sensed that something was wrong. Moving his Divine Sense, he drove his two incarnations to attack Zhang Nuo while his own figure flickered, attempting to escape the area. But as Zhang Nuo softly uttered the word "Activate," the nine giant dragons forming the sword array began to circle the perimeter instantly. In the blink of an eye, a light sphere dozens of zhang in size appeared, trapping both of them entirely within!

"You..."

Upon seeing this, Wei Juren was horrified. Zhang Nuo had actually adopted a method of mutual destruction, placing himself within the great array as well!

Awoo! Before Wei Juren could finish his sentence, the nine dragons opened their mouths in unison, and nine earth-shattering dragon roars erupted, echoing endlessly within the great array!

Even the two mirror-image incarnations of Wei Juren, which were charging at Zhang Nuo, faltered, their speed slowing significantly. Zhang Nuo's ears buzzed, and his mind felt slightly chaotic, but because his Divine Sense far exceeded those of the same rank, he recovered to normal in the blink of an eye!

The Butterfly Wings on his back fluttered, and he quickly dodged to the other side of the array, avoiding the attacks of the two incarnations!

Awoo! The second wave of dragon roars sounded. This time, Wei Juren's eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. The sound entering his ears was like countless steel blades, continuously ravaging his body and spirit! His mind was in total chaos, like a pot of porridge!

Zhang Nuo's situation was slightly better than his, as this was his own array, but as his body trembled, he too was finding it hard to endure!

Scanning with his gaze, he saw that Wei Juren was in disarray, and his two incarnations had also stopped moving! It seemed this secret technique of Taixu Palace had its flaws! It was completely different from a true External Incarnation!

An External Incarnation was the existence of another self with independent consciousness, whereas the mirror-image incarnations created through secret techniques were entirely controlled by the main body and could not act with autonomous consciousness!

Thinking of this, Zhang Nuo felt a surge of joy. If he could only trap Wei Juren temporarily, he would have a way to exterminate him!

Awoo! When the third wave of dragon roars sounded, Zhang Nuo covered his ears with both hands, his teeth clattering together. It took a full few breaths of time for his mind to recover!

Wei Juren, by contrast, was in an even more miserable state; his hands were almost digging into his ears, and two streams of blood were continuously seeping out!

"Now is the time!"

Enduring the discomfort of being attacked by the array, Zhang Nuo felt a flash of white energy about an inch long pass between his brows, and with a swish, it charged directly toward Wei Juren's head!

Wei Juren, clutching his head with both hands, felt nothing but agony in his mind, with only one thought in his heart! Pain! Pain from the depths of his soul!

The 'Divine Sense Spike' unleashed by Zhang Nuo flickered and submerged into Wei Juren's head!

"Ah~~!"

As if ten thousand steel needles had been driven into his mind simultaneously, Wei Juren let out a shrill howl in his extreme agony! His hands pounded his head incessantly!

Seeing that the strike had landed, Zhang Nuo changed the hand seals in his hands once more. The nine Silver Dragons circling the perimeter suddenly paused, then all turned their dragon heads to charge straight at Wei Juren! Accompanied by waves of dragon roars, the surrounding space began to twist and deform. Wei Juren, at the very center of the nine dragon heads, curled into a ball in mid-air, lacking even the strength to use his Divine Sense!

As if tangible sound waves were sweeping over him, his exposed skin began to crack. Physical pain could sometimes be vented by shouting, but at this moment, he could not make a sound, and his body had become somewhat numb!

Boom! The nine Silver Dragons struck Wei Juren's body almost simultaneously. Under such an attack, Zhang Nuo had assumed Wei Juren's physical body would be reduced to a Blood Mist! But things did not go as he had imagined; when the silver light released by the nine dragons dissipated, Wei Juren's body, aside from suffering some superficial wounds, had not been shattered at all!

However, he seemed still immersed in endless pain, completely unaware that the 'Nine Dragon Chant Sword Array' had ended! How could Zhang Nuo give him a chance to counterattack? With his right palm facing forward and a movement of his Divine Sense, a bloodstain split open from the center of his palm, and a crunching sound echoed out continuously.

The Divine Tree grew out rapidly, its thick trunk and lush branches wrapping Wei Juren within them in the blink of an eye, and then the Divine Tree flashed and retracted back into Zhang Nuo's palm.

As Wei Juren was trapped inside the Divine Tree, his Small Tripod lost its master's control and fell from the sky, and the two incarnations vanished instantly!

Zhang Nuo flickered, caught the Small Tripod in his hand, recalled the numerous Flying Swords, and landed lightly on the ground!

Ye Linger still had not come to her senses; she stared blankly at the somewhat disheveled Zhang Nuo, her mind a complete blank!

Walking up to Ye Linger, Zhang Nuo smiled faintly:

"It's safe now!"

"You... are you really Zhang Nuo?"

The youth before her seemed to have become a stranger all at once; the various divine abilities he had just displayed bore no resemblance to anything she had known of him before!

"Senior Sister, what's wrong?"

Looking at the stiff expression and disbelieving look on Ye Linger's face, Zhang Nuo asked with concern.

"It's nothing, you have become so powerful! If Master were here, he would surely be happy for you!"

As she spoke, Ye Linger began to weep softly! Upon hearing the word 'Master,' a sharp light flashed in Zhang Nuo's eyes. He had been searching for Lin Fan's whereabouts for many years, yet there had been no news at all!

"Do you know where Master is?"

His emotions becoming somewhat agitated, Zhang Nuo grabbed Ye Linger's shoulders and shook her forcefully without realizing it! After looking at Zhang Nuo for a long while with tear-filled eyes, she shook her head gently and said:

"I haven't had any word of Master all these years either!"

Recalling the past, Ye Linger became even more heartbroken!

"This is not a place to talk; let us leave first!"

Seeing that his Senior Sister also had no news of Master, Zhang Nuo sighed deeply. Scanning his surroundings, he discovered that the two Five-Colored Flying Swords used by Wei Juren's two incarnations had fallen not far from him. With a thought, he collected them into his Storage Bag.

Afterward, a surge of escape light enveloped him and Ye Linger, and the two flew toward the distance! To avoid leaving clues for the people of Taixu Palace, Zhang Nuo flew continuously for three full days. Feeling somewhat tired, he found a mountain peak to land on! Releasing his Divine Sense, he discovered a dilapidated cave during his search.

Zhang Nuo took Ye Linger into the cave! Feeling that there was nothing unusual inside, he finally let out a long breath, reached out to cast several Restrictions, and simply sealed the cave. Only then did Zhang Nuo plop down onto the ground! The battle with Wei Juren had not only consumed a great deal of Linger Power but, because he had also been trapped in the sword array, his body had sustained some injuries and he had to recover as quickly as possible!