Chapter 998

Moreover, this woman was clearly injured.

Yet as Zhou Zhiruo ran ahead, whenever the flames attacked, she would unleash a move from the Emei Sword Art to strike back.

Wherever the sword light reached, no matter how Bi Xuan intensified the fireballs, they were inevitably deflected by the Heaven Reliant Sword.

The fireballs, not extinguished, ignited another section of the Dharma Hall.

As the fight progressed, Zhou Zhiruo stopped using the Emei Sword Art altogether.

She merely thrust, parried, or flicked her sword at will.

All were basic sword techniques.

This sight made Bi Xuan's eyes split with rage; he was so frustrated he nearly went mad.

He became increasingly certain that the precious sword in Zhou Zhiruo's hand was definitely of Immortal or even Divine grade!

"Ya ya ya! You thieving woman, stop hiding!"

Seeing Zhou Zhiruo was as slippery as an eel and that all his attacks were being parried,

Bi Xuan was enraged to the extreme and could no longer hold back.

Suddenly, he took a deep breath and punched into the void.

Immediately, the boundless Heaven and Earth energy in the surroundings was driven by him, pressing down with immense pressure.

Then, with Bi Xuan as the core, rings of flames began to spread outward.

The entire Dharma Hall was filled with endless flames, the temperature climbing step by step.

This move was the ultimate killing technique of Bi Xuan's Blazing Sun Marvelous Art.

He was confident that under this move, he would surely be able to keep this woman here.

Sure enough, after this move was unleashed, Zhou Zhiruo could no longer move about as she had before, relying on Emei footwork.

When she used the Heaven Reliant Sword to thrust or slice, it was like poking at thin air; she could no longer deflect these increasingly scorching rings of flame.

Instead, with every thrust, a wave of heat would conduct from the body of the Heaven Reliant Sword into Zhou Zhiruo's body.

It made her feel scorching hot all over, as if her meridians were being burned.

Had she not practiced the Nine Yang Divine Art, this continuous burning alone would have been enough to make her lose.

"Haha! This move is my ultimate killing technique; how could a mere divine weapon break it!

Little girl, if you are sensible, hand over the divine weapon and the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, and I might spare your life."

Seeing Zhou Zhiruo in immense pain, with a trace of blood already spilling from the corner of her mouth, it was clear she was injured.

Bi Xuan was immensely smug; while continuing to drive this move, he shouted arrogantly.

In his eyes, since this divine weapon had been pushed to its limit, victory was already in his grasp.

Zhou Zhiruo was also deeply worried at this moment, knowing that if things continued like this, she would truly be defeated.

By then, not only would the Heaven Reliant Sword and the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom be lost,

but her own life would likely be lost as well!

Eh!

Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom?

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhiruo suddenly recalled that when she had just obtained the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, its aura alone had been enough to alleviate her injuries.

That magical power had been dispersed quite a bit.

If she were to consume the entire Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, could she completely purge this magical power and recover her full strength?

But if she consumed the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, how would she complete the Green Dragon Society mission?

As she struggled in her heart, Bi Xuan, amidst his wild laughter, drove the next ring of flames to attack.

This ring of flames was even more scorching, almost as if it wanted to swallow Zhou Zhiruo whole.

Zhou Zhiruo understood that she could not withstand this ring of flames no matter what.

Forget it, forget it!

According to the intelligence provided by the Great Ming imperial court, there were three Heavenly Fragrance Cardamoms.

While this one was crucial, it was not the only one.

If she didn't consume it, she would only be letting Bi Xuan reap the benefits.

Having made up her mind, Zhou Zhiruo quickly took out the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom.

"Wait!"

"Eh? Are you willing to offer up the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom and the divine weapon in your hand?"

Seeing this, Bi Xuan could not help but be overjoyed.

The offensive momentum in his hands also slowed down a bit.

Taking this opportunity, Zhou Zhiruo tilted her head back and tossed the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom directly into her mouth.

"Ah? How dare you!"

Seeing Zhou Zhiruo swallow the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom rather than submit, Bi Xuan was so angry his scalp felt like it would explode.

"You lowly maid, how dare you do this!

Even if I have to grind your bones to dust today, I must obtain the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom!"

Saying this, Bi Xuan surged his entire true essence, drawing on the nearby Heaven and Earth energy, and pushed this ring of flames to the limit.

On the other side, as soon as the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom entered her mouth,

the magical power that had been stagnating in Zhou Zhiruo's body indeed melted away like snow under the spring sun, and was subsequently purged from her body.

Following that, the Nine Yin and Nine Yang true essence, which had long been impossible to mobilize, gradually returned to Zhou Zhiruo's control.

"Hmph! You old scoundrel, do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

Once she recovered her strength, Zhou Zhiruo said to Bi Xuan with full disdain.

She then mobilized her Nine Yin true essence, injecting it into the Extinguishing Sword, and her Nine Yang true essence, injecting it into the Absolute Sword.

Then, using the combined sword technique, she attacked directly.

"Boom, boom, boom…"

Both were outstanding figures within the Heaven-Man Realm.

But in Zhou Zhiruo's hand was the Immortal-grade Heaven Reliant Sword!

Coupled with the Nine Yin true essence and Nine Yang true essence—one being the true essence of the Yin-Soft Dao, which was the true nemesis of attacks like the Blazing Sun Marvelous Art,

and the other being the true essence of the Yang-Hard Dao, which could absorb a significant portion of the Blazing Sun Marvelous Art's attacks and convert them into her own offensive power.

With one strike, Zhou Zhiruo, relying on the uniqueness of the Heaven Reliant Sword and the combination of Nine Yang and Nine Yin, directly crushed Bi Xuan's sure-fire move.

Countless flames, no longer under Bi Xuan's control, scattered and fell.

Causing a thunderous roar, the Shaolin Dharma Hall, which had stood for who knows how many years, was entirely engulfed in flames.

The Heaven and Earth energy drawn by Bi Xuan scattered chaotically.

Mixing into the flames, it caused the flames to explode.

The Dharma Hall was a sacred site of Shaolin.

Yet because of this clash between Bi Xuan and Zhou Zhiruo, it triggered these sky-high flames, subsequently causing an explosion.

Amidst the thunderous roar, this Buddhist hall, which had stood for who knows how many years, turned to ash in an instant.

The violent explosion and the roaring sound naturally drew the martial artists and various factions still on the mountain to rush over.

They no longer cared about any Slaughtering Blade Conference.

Miejue Shitai, Gu Hongzi, and the three high monks of the 'Liao' generation who had been fighting in the front courtyard of the Dharma Hall,

when the explosion was about to begin, Miejue Shitai, because she was facing the Dharma Hall directly, discovered the anomaly.

Taking advantage of the three monks being distracted by the commotion inside the hall, she and Gu Hongzi seized the gap and broke out of the encirclement.

The three monks, however, were bound by duty to guard the Dharma Hall.

Therefore, seeing the Dharma Hall on fire, the three monks had no mind to pay attention to Miejue Shitai and her companion.

Seeing the two break out of the encirclement, the three looked at each other and, instead of retreating, advanced, rushing toward the inside of the Dharma Hall.

Just as they rushed into the main hall, before they could identify the situation within,

the sky-high flames exploded. The three monks still wanted to use their Shaolin divine arts to resist.

It was a pity that these flames were already mixed with Heaven and Earth energy, originating from the Blazing Sun Marvelous Art of the Great Yuan's high-level expert Bi Xuan.

Subsequently, they were spurred by Zhou Zhiruo's Nine Yin and Nine Yang true essence, and then exploded by the Heaven Reliant Sword.

These flames were long since no longer ordinary flames.