Chapter 776: Scythe

Countless various implements hidden in the grass, in the pavilions, inside the water wells... and in every other place flew toward the Master of the Huayuan, like flies chasing stench, covering the sky and earth, and forming a momentary storm on the grass. Because they were mostly old goods, the storm looked filthy, mostly the color of Iron Wood, and because the things in the Huayuan were several times larger than ordinary objects, the storm appeared to blot out the sky and sun.

Of course, although this storm looked intimidating, it was not entirely unstoppable.

At the very least, when the Emperor saw objects flying past him, the Son of Heaven Sword thrust out like a White Rainbow Piercing the Sun, easily piercing and annihilating the various strange objects flying out from the fan-shaped area behind him. But the space he carved out with these few sword strikes could only cover his own front; it could by no means stop the various strange things from gathering before the Master of the Huayuan. Those objects were too numerous and too messy, many of them not small in volume, even larger than the Master of the Huayuan itself, easily obscuring its form and leaving its surroundings impenetrable.

It had turned from a monster into a... trash heap?!

The Emperor, who was fighting, was still focusing all his attention on the scene, but the Gaoyuan Marquis in the sky somehow thought of this, to the point that the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. It was just that he currently still had the appearance of an old woman, and this expression, which was close to a snicker, was slightly discordant, losing his usual composure.

But that was only a momentary distraction; the Gaoyuan Marquis immediately began to pay attention to the surroundings.

This Master of the Huayuan was very formidable; its Sword Momentum still hid more power and more complex trump cards, but that was as far as it went. Getting these sundries was perhaps already the end of the line; this large and small Huayuan really showed no more potential to be tapped. At this stage, if the Emperor could handle it, he would handle it, seeing things through to the end; if he could not handle it, she could also complete the final push.

However, he always felt it was not that simple.

The Gaoyuan Marquis saw clearly that even though this Master of the Huayuan had many flashy abilities and could be said to be extraordinary at the level of a Sword Immortal, it was still a standard Heavenly Demon. A Heavenly Demon was always an "outsider" to the Waijie.

And in this setup, there were clear traces of an "insider."

That fellow who managed to string various powers together, line his own pockets in the process, and do many things with unclear meanings, should be a genuine "person," right? Another conspirator—will he appear this time? Or will he send the Heavenly Demon to the Human World, and if the situation is unfavorable, just walk away and seek the next opportunity?

He should still appear, right? Just now he seemed to have revealed a trace, so he shouldn't be far away?

Just when the Gaoyuan Marquis thought that this Master of the Huayuan, which had collected all the items, would carry all the bits and pieces on its body to the point of turning into a Transformer, those items suddenly turned into illusory liquid and aggregated together. For a moment, they seemed to turn into armor to wrap around this monster's entire body, but after finally stabilizing, only a scythe remained.

A huge scythe!

In the Huayuan, a short monster stood, holding a huge blood-red scythe upside down in its hand. The blade of the scythe was curved like the moon, seemingly even larger than the moon in the sky, and the light on the blade of the scythe was colder and brighter than moonlight.

In an instant, the monster that had been fleeing in a panic in the Huayuan just a moment ago now seemed like the Grim Reaper.

The Emperor paused slightly, not giving this brand-new monster time to stand still and put on a show. He erupted suddenly, the Son of Heaven Sword meeting it head-on. The monster swept its blood-red scythe horizontally, and a bloodstain appeared in mid-air!

The Son of Heaven Sword suddenly encountered the blood-colored trace, and the golden Thunder Light that seemed like Sword Qi covering the blade was instantly severed. The scythe swept directly toward the Emperor's body. In great alarm, the Emperor gathered his wits, and with a thought in his heart, an object came up to block it. With a "clang," the blood-red scythe was brought to a standstill in mid-air.

It was actually the Heaven-Walking Seal!

The Heaven-Walking Seal, which condensed the heart's blood of the Great Jin's founding ancestor and could serve as the physical body for a Sword Immortal's power, was truly of excellent quality. It could actually withstand the scythe that seemed to cut even space itself, protecting the Emperor between life and death!

The Emperor glanced at the Heaven-Walking Seal, the sword in his hand trembling slightly. It was another narrow escape from death just now, and it felt even more terrifying than the last time. He heard the Imperial Preceptor say in his ear: "You attack from the front, and I will manipulate the Heaven-Walking Seal to cover you; it should be fine."

The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief and stabilized again. He pointed at the monster; although silent, the blade of the Son of Heaven Sword surged, Thunder Light shining brilliantly, reaching from heaven to earth, as if he himself were an extension of the blade.

The monster revealed a trace of a sinister smile, and the blade slashed again. Both sides finally leveled the offense and defense, engaging in a true face-to-face clash of blade and sword.

At the same time, the swarm of insects that had originally been unable to catch up to the Emperor finally moved, rushing up from all directions toward the Emperor. Some insects rushed in the wrong direction and fell into the trajectory of the scythe, immediately being cut into pieces horizontally and vertically, falling like withered leaves instead. But no insect retreated, rushing toward the enemy completely regardless of life or death.

At this moment, a dragon's roar came from behind the Emperor!

The places the Emperor had passed through before were all covered by golden Thunder Light; that was his Sword Momentum. Originally just a quiet passage, it suddenly came to life at this moment. The long and narrow track grew patches of golden scales, transforming into a divine dragon, five claws on the ground, head raised and roaring.

In an instant, the sky was covered with thunderclouds, and countless golden thunders rained down!

Where the dragon travels, there is rain. This true dragon created by the Son of Heaven was exactly the same as all the true dragons on his robes, his crown, and his seals; it was the image of the true dragon most recognized by the Human World. It could be said that no one understood the true dragon better than the Emperor. It was just that this true dragon's travel was not accompanied by wind and rain, but by glorious golden Thunder Light.

Awakening of Insects!

Although the thin Thunder Light was not as majestic as the Emperor's Son of Heaven Sword, it was enough to restrain the insects in the Huayuan. That divine dragon coiled within the Huayuan, countless thunders chasing those huge yet essentially insectoid creatures. Wherever the thunder passed, shells shattered, wings turned charred black; all were scorched marks and insect corpses.

At this very moment, both sides were once again locked in a stalemate, and it was more comprehensive than the pure contest of strength last time. They were fighting with swords, and at the same time, their Sword Momentums were competing against each other behind them. As long as one of these two battlefields decided the winner, the result could be officially declared.

On the battlefield of Sword Momentum, the golden dragon suddenly appeared and took the initiative. It swept through the insects on the ground and did not forget to draw thunder down from the sky. One must know that although the golden Thunder Light already filled the air, its source was still from the sky, or rather, from the Waijie. Because the Huayuan had, after all, formed its own domain, isolating the nature of the Waijie, it also isolated the National Fortune that was everywhere in the Human World; those National Fortunes were the root of the golden thunder's power. The golden dragon opened up its own Sword Momentum in the Huayuan, thus opening a passage to the Waijie, continuously drawing in the thunder from the sky and the heavenly numbers of the Waijie. Under this dual blessing, even with only one golden dragon, it could still suppress countless insects.

And on the frontal battlefield, the Emperor did not gain the upper hand at the beginning. The reason was none other than the fact that the scythe was simply too long.

One inch longer, one inch stronger—this was a principle that street thugs knew when fighting, and it was actually the same for battles at a higher level. It was just that there was enough long Sword Qi on the sword blades as decoration, so what looked short was not necessarily short.

But the innate length was still an advantage, not to mention that as a scythe, the operation was simple and crude, and the attack range was a huge advantage. Although the scythe's attack was not that agile, the Master of the Huayuan was determined, abandoning any exquisite Sword Art, swinging like mowing grass, wantonly brandishing that extremely sharp blade. The surroundings almost had a barrier; no matter what, one could not attack in.

In fact, the Emperor's Son of Heaven Sword was entirely formed by golden thunder, so length did not matter; he could also lengthen the blade, as long as the longest spear, or even stretch like the Ruyi Golden Cudgel. But the Emperor did not rashly change its shape. For one, it was good enough that he could get used to the Son of Heaven Sword in his hand in a short time; this was thanks to the fact that he had learned fencing for a few years when he was young, so he knew some sword moves and knew how to slash horizontally and vertically. Otherwise, he would have been completely lost when he started, not even as good as Tang Zhao when he was twelve.

Secondly... increasing the length was also meaningless. His sword was his thunder; at first, there was no way to contend with the sharp blade of the scythe. It had been shaved once before, and it would be shaved again next time. If it weren't for the Heaven-Walking Seal blocking it again and again, the Emperor might have been shaved just like his Son of Heaven Sword. Even so, scars inevitably appeared on the Heaven-Walking Seal, which represented the eternal stability of the mountains and rivers, and it no longer looked like a national treasure. It was just that the source of the Son of Heaven Sword was within the Heaven-Walking Seal; being consumed lowered its potential but would not harm the Emperor himself. Otherwise, being shaved back and forth like this, the Emperor would likely be injured if not dead.

But the Emperor was always pushing inward, the Son of Heaven Sword striking one sword after another, testing the attack range of the scythe. Even if every sword strike was a failure, he was attacking one sword strike after another.

This was not because he had lost his mind and could only mechanically do useless work, but because he was continuing the attack route of the last time, becoming more courageous as he fought, raising his own upper limit.

He could do it.

No matter how far the destination was, as long as he kept moving forward now, he would inevitably be able to reach it.

This was truly a rule the Emperor set for himself. He fought incessantly; power, speed, thunder—all were constantly used by him, becoming more courageous as he fought, becoming stronger as he fought. It could only be said that this kind of rule was truly terrifying. There was simply no such thing as limitless growth in this world. The Emperor's rule, of course, also contained very powerful constraints that could make him return to his original form overnight, but he himself followed the rule, and on a specific battlefield, he could increase infinitely. At least in their first meeting, the opponent had no way to crack his rule; his Sword Momentum was becoming stronger and stronger, visibly so.

From being shaved silently by the scythe, to the scythe's blade pausing slightly, to being shorter after mutual grazing, to finally having a state of equal strength!

The Emperor's eyes widened, and the long sword thrust rapidly three more times, finally tearing a crack in the untouchable scythe domain!

He finally grasped the absolute advantage of a head-on collision! This advantage would become greater and greater.

Victory was in sight!

Behind him, the dragon's roar drowned out the sound of the insects' wings, and the golden thunder grew more and more fierce.

The Emperor thought of the most fierce move among the sword moves he had learned, focused all his attention, and thrust forward—

Suddenly, the Emperor's face turned pale, as if he had been punched in the face, and his body bent down!