Chapter 183: with translation of chapter title

Hmph, who gave you the guts to dare to resist this old ancestor's palm?

The Sunflower Old Ancestor withdrew his fist, stood upright, then turned into a red flash, appearing before Niu Dingtian and coldly said.

He only wanted to cripple Niu Dingtian, to ruin him, so he could take him back and properly train him, but he never thought of killing him outright.

Otherwise, how could he maintain this peerless appearance of his?

At this moment, Niu Dingtian lay amidst the ruins, his face smeared with blood, truly a miserable sight.

He was pitch black from head to toe, his already tattered clothes reduced to a few ragged strips, and the spot on his chest struck by the palm had split skin and flesh, revealing stark white bone.

Moreover, after his Yin power was exhausted and he could no longer circulate his energy to absorb it, the influx of Sunflower true qi into his body felt like countless fine needles, incessantly eroding his meridians, the pain surpassing death by a thousand cuts.

But Niu Dingtian seemed utterly oblivious to the pain on his body; he tightened his grip with his right hand, and his heart relaxed considerably.

The Heaven-Reliant Sword is still here.

"Old... ancestor... are you... relieved now?" Niu Dingtian gave a weak, grinning smile toward the Sunflower Old Ancestor, a strange light flickering in his eyes.

After catching his breath, Niu Dingtian weakly said: "Earlier, I didn't know the ancestor's power was so terrifying; I still dared to overestimate myself, thinking I could shake a tree like a mayfly."

"Now I am convinced; no one can stop me, Niu Dingtian, from serving the ancestor. I deliberately took that palm just now to put the ancestor at ease."

Saying this, Niu Dingtian tremblingly raised his left hand: "In this world, probably only my hand is worthy of matching the ancestor's so fair hand."

"Only my skin can match the ancestor's so tender and smooth skin; kid, I can't get up, please ancestor, take pity and lend me a hand."

After saying that, Niu Dingtian gazed at that peerless cheek, his eyes showing expectation and desire.

Seeing this, the Sunflower Old Ancestor's face flickered with surprise; he raised his own slender jade hand, gazed at it with a deep look, and his expression suddenly turned sorrowful yet charming.

Then his aged, thin voice sounded: "Your little thing's mouth is quite obedient, and you know how to please the ancestor."

"Kid, I'm already powerless; please ancestor, have pity." Niu Dingtian said in a low, weak voice.

"Good, good, good," the Sunflower Old Ancestor smiled bewitchingly, obviously in high spirits.

He danced in his flowing red robes, rustling in the night wind; such a graceful figure, peerless appearance—if he didn't speak, it could overturn the world.

Under Niu Dingtian's eager gaze, he smiled and slowly extended his crystal‑clear jade‑like right hand, drawing ever closer to Niu Dingtian's left hand, which was slightly dust‑stained and fair.

"Ancestor, your hand is truly white!"

When within reach, Niu Dingtian exclaimed in surprise, then his left hand trembled slightly as he grasped it.

"So smooth!"

Softness met his hand; Niu Dingtian slowly closed his eyes, uttering a low praise, as if savoring the feeling.

But the next instant, without any warning, his tightly shut eyes flew open, shooting out a cold light.

Not good!

The Sunflower Old Ancestor's keen perception sensed it; the moment his gaze met those icy eyes, his face instantly changed color.

Without time to think, the Sunflower Old Ancestor hurriedly circulated his energy, hoping to shake loose Niu Dingtian's tightly gripped left hand.

"Die!!!"

But before he could unleash his power, a violent shout rang out, and the immense Sunflower true qi within him surged outward like a river reversing into the sea, unstoppable.

At this moment, the Sunflower Old Ancestor finally realized he had been trapped by Niu Dingtian.

In his fury, he exerted all his energy to resist, while his thin, hoarse roar pierced the night layers, instantly echoing throughout Xiangyang City.

"Let go!!!"

"Hahaha~ you dead freak! Today I'll definitely squeeze you enough!"

Niu Dingtian snarled back with a furious grin, his visage equally hideous; having just set the trap to lure the old monster, he felt nauseated.

Seeing the Sunflower Old Ancestor struggling desperately, Niu Dingtian, while exerting the North Darkness Divine Skill to the max, also drove his breathing technique at full speed, his grip not weakening in the slightest.

The old monster before him could be called the pinnacle of human combat power; in his movements, there was no room for the slightest carelessness.

Although he didn't know exactly how the breathing technique draws power, it certainly could double the might of the North Darkness Divine Skill.

"Boom!"

A violent burst of qi surged outward, pounding the surrounding houses and ruins again; seeing his energy rebound fail, the Sunflower Old Ancestor grew ever more shocked and terrified.

"It's not the North Darkness Divine Skill! It's actually not the North Darkness Divine Skill! How could it not be the North Darkness Divine Skill!!!" the Sunflower Old Ancestor shouted in fear and rage.

As a monster who has lived over a hundred years, how could he not know the North Darkness Divine Skill, the Xiao Yao Sect's martial art that once dominated the jianghu over a century ago?

Back then, in order to gather divine skill secrets, he stormed the Tian Shan ruins in the Western Regions, also intruded into the Shaolin monks' abodes, and ventured into many other mysterious places.

But in the end, he only brought back a few suspicious calligraphy scrolls.

After years of research yielded no progress, just as his own divine skill matured, he simply cast it aside and never paid it any more attention.

Although he never practiced it, he had also studied how to break free from the North Darkness Divine Skill's absorbing pull.

As long as the one being sucked has sufficient inner strength, if he opens the gate and lets his energy leak out, then while the absorber is astonished, a full counter‑shock can usually break free. Although 'sufficient' is hard to define, those with enough strength are rare even among millions, but the Sunflower Old Ancestor is absolutely confident he is one of them.

Thus, when facing the North Darkness Divine Skill's rebound failure, even in fear he couldn't help but express astonishment.

Little did he know, after the breathing technique actively boosted it, the power now released by the North Darkness Divine Skill is beyond what Qiu Qianren could withstand, and even more beyond what Li Gonggong could initially endure.

"Boom boom boom!"

Again came three consecutive overwhelmingly violent counter‑shocks, yet the two palms remained firmly pressed together, unable to break apart.

At this moment, the Sunflower Old Ancestor finally felt a deep despair he hadn't experienced in decades.

Thus, the experienced old veteran immediately gave up struggling, held the gate shut, and tried to slow the loss of his inner energy as much as possible.

"Little… Niu Sect Leader! Withdraw your power and let go; old ancestor I swear I'll leave Xiangyang right now, never to set foot here again—how about that?"

The Sunflower Old Ancestor, clad in red robes, slumped helplessly upon the ruins like a frail woman.

He suppressed his fear, endured the agonizing pain from the powerful suction, and begged in a gentle tone to the utterly black‑ened, wound‑riddled Niu Dingtian.

"Leave? Heh heh heh~" Niu Dingtian's eyes were fierce, his mouth constantly snickering coldly.

Perhaps because the suction was too fierce, he himself felt ill; as he opened his mouth, streams of blood poured from his teeth, already stained with blood.

Let alone negotiating; even if tonight this old monster knelt and begged for mercy, Niu Dingtian had resolved never to let go! If he had simply fled earlier, the Sunflower Old Ancestor might not have been able to kill him.

But that would not only destroy his foundation; he himself would fall into endless pursuit, and even those around him would never know a day of peace.

He dared to face Kuihua Old Ancestor and Juexing alone precisely because he relied on the mysterious enhancement of the Breath Technique on North Darkness Divine Skill.

At first, their exchange had one move in the intangible realm and another in the external release of inner force, making bodily contact difficult, so North Darkness Divine Skill naturally had no effect.

And now, after great difficulty, he finally grasped that pale, tender hand that decided their life and death—how could he possibly let go! "Tell me what it takes for you to release, just say it to the Old Ancestor! Anything the Old Ancestor can do, I promise you! I promise you!"

Kuihua Old Ancestor's face was filled with terror, he kept promising conditions, his voice already completely hoarse.

Seeing Niu Dingtian unmoved, while his own Kuihua true qi was already accelerating outward in a frantic leak, he struggled and exclaimed in panic:

"Chief Niu! Old Ancestor I am the pillar of the Zhao imperial family! Zhao Kuo listens and follows the Old Ancestor's words! As long as you let go, the Old Ancestor will have him appoint you as a marquis! No! Appoint you as king!!!"

"If you fancy any princess from the imperial family, Old Ancestor will personally abduct her for you tonight! Let go now! Even the empresses and consorts in the harem, Old Ancestor can figure out a way to get them for you!!"

However, upon hearing this, Niu Dingtian merely gave a cold smile and said nothing.

He would rather conserve his breath for cultivating than waste it on speech; only someone truly desperate would speak so recklessly.

But gradually, a flicker of madness began to appear in Niu Dingtian's eyes.

It was not because of being made a king or any other tempting condition, but because his severely wounded body could hardly bear such overwhelming and domineering Kuihua true qi.

Under the rampage of the true qi's impact, not only did scarlet blood keep flowing from his wound, but every part of his body endured excruciating agony, and he gritted his teeth tightly, persisting.

"If you seek death, Old Ancestor, I'll grant it to you!" Kuihua Old Ancestor roared, his face contorted with fury.

Seeing Niu Dingtian unmoved, and his smooth, tender skin gradually loosening, Kuihua Old Ancestor, overcome with fear, made up his mind and directly opened the gate, allowing the overwhelming true qi to surge into Niu Dingtian's body.

At that moment, Niu Dingtian felt his meridians about to burst with excruciating pain, but after gripping his Yitian sword tighter in his right hand, he still did not swing it, merely continuing to desperately devour.

Thus, both glared at each other, gritting their teeth, persisting—either one would die from having his cultivation undone, or one would die from his body exploding.

After a quarter of an hour, it was finally the older one who feared death a bit more.

Seeing Niu Dingtian's eyes blood-red, his face ferocious, a madman ready to perish together, Kuihua Old Ancestor's visage turned horrified, his gallbladder and liver nearly bursting; at this moment, he was truly terrified.

"Die!"

At the moment he was distracted, Niu Dingtian's right hand suddenly lashed out, a blinding flash of cold light slicing through the dark night, swinging toward that snow-white, tender neck.

"Sizzle!"

Only a clear sound of flesh and bone parting was heard; the next instant, a surge of fresh blood spattered straight onto Niu Dingtian's face.

Allowing no room for joy, he gritted his teeth, channeled his inner force, and delivered another horizontal sword cut.

But as the sword light was just swung, he saw through the hazy blood a crimson figure clutching its right shoulder, hastily vanishing into the misty night.

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian, leaning on his Yitian sword, staggered to his feet, did not bother to seek the distant garrison, firmly suppressed the chaotic true qi within, picked up the severed arm from the ground, mustered his last strength, and leapt out of Xiangyang City.

Not long after the two disappeared, large numbers of Xiangyang garrison troops began to shrink the encirclement, tightly surrounding the battlefield, and swiftly started clearing the debris from the streets.

The destruction from this fierce battle was truly considerable; within a radius of about one hundred ten zhang centered on the inn, buildings suffered varying degrees of damage.

Moreover, several pavilion-style buildings in the central area were directly razed to flat ground.

Witnessing such a horrifying scene, everyone present, including the martial artists watching from afar, could not help but feel deeply shocked.

Regarding the main figures of the great battle, everyone had roughly understood from the brief exchanges just now.

One of them, without doubt, was the leader of the Divine Sect, Niu Dingtian; as for the other, appearing neither clearly male nor female, difficult to discern, but known to be a profound-level expert of the Zhao Song imperial household.

In any case, whoever promised a marquisate and princess, or empresses and consorts, for the sake of survival, is certainly no ordinary person. (End of chapter)