Chapter 229 – A Startling Strike (1/2)
The masked man formed a seal with his hand to control the sword. His eyes were filled with icy-cold fury. He was no longer careless now. Although the enemy had struck when he was careless, he could not afford to treat him like a fourth layer Qi Practitioner with how he managed to land a blow on him.
However, he was not worried either. A person would always be slaughtered if they used a close range weapon against a flying sword unless an absolute difference in strength existed.
Li Qingshan understood this too. He shook the Whale’s Ingestion of Water and the crystal blade suddenly turned into an ice shield. With a series of clang, the flying sword darted about and struck the shield several dozen times. Not only did it fail to destroy the ice shield, but it even developed a layer of frost instead, making it more sluggish.
The flying sword shuddered, and its speed returned. It flew around like a bird, constantly searching for a weak point in Li Qingshan’s defence.
However, the Whale’s Ingestion of Water had been filled with Ice Condensate water, so the ice shield was half a foot thick, and it covered most of Li Qingshan. Although the flying sword was extremely nimble, it struggled to make any progress.
“A high grade spiritual artifact!” The masked man’s eyes grew even colder and brighter. He had heard from the woman that even the daemon core had originated from him. This was a blessing in disguise. If he managed to kill this kid, it would be quite the harvest for him.
He took out a painting scroll from his hundred treasures pouch and unfurled it with a shake. The strokes on there were intricate and sharp, criss-crossed with sword qi. It was another fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy!
All of Li Qingshan’s hairs stood on end. A great sense of danger flooded his mind, like he faced a catastrophe.
Several dozen strands of sword qi cut through the raging wind and sliced through the drifting snow towards Li Qingshan.
The vertical stroke was the fastest. It arrived in the blink of an eye, immediately filling Li Qingshan’s field of vision and stabbing deeply into the ice shield.
The horizontal stroke was the slowest, but it was the grandest and heaviest. The power it contained seemed to be able to sever all life. It left behind a deep gash in the ice shield, causing ice to fly everywhere.
The ascending and descending strokes followed a lethal trajectory. They actually looped around Li Qingshan, flying directly towards his unguarded back. They basically arrived at the same time as the horizontal and vertical strokes.
The flying sword did not halt at all, constantly searching for a weak point.
Li Qingshan roared out, and the Whale’s Ingestion of Ice completely spat out all of its Ice Condensate water, forming an ice ball that protected every inch of his body. It was similar to the Spirit Turtle’s Profound Shell.
It was stabbed at, struck heavily, sliced at, and torn apart. The ice ball that was supposed to be as tough as steel became as fragile as a bubble under the barrage of sword qi. It produced a series of splitting sounds, riddling the entire ball with cracks.
Li Qingshan gasped. This was the first time he had witnessed the true strength of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy as someone on the receiving end. The true qi of an eighth layer Qi Practitioner bestowed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy with absolute destructive and lethal power.
If Li Qingshan had not used Ice Condensate water, but regular spring water or spiritual water, he would have never managed to block that attack.
At a closer glance, the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in the masked man’s hands paled in comparison to his own in both size and glow. It should have only been equivalent to a high grade spiritual artifact.
The masked man was slightly surprised as well. Who knows how many Qi Practitioners much stronger than him had he already killed with this Sword Calligraphy, but he actually failed to breach the defences of a weaker Qi Practitioner today.
The flying sword hovered in the air quietly. The masked man said, “Where did you get your high quality spiritual artifact from? How is it able to block my sword qi?”
“No wonder you’re so determined to get your hands on the Sword Qi Calligraphy. Turns out you really do have another fragment in your possession. Though, killing me won’t be that easy.” Li Qingshan shook the Whale’s Ingestion of Water, and the ice ball turned back into an ice blade without any cracks at all. However, his true qi was significantly depleted. He took out a spiritual stone to recover.
The masked man suddenly laughed aloud.
Li Qingshan asked, “What’re you laughing at?”
The masked man said, “The more good things you possess, the happier I am, as all of it will belong to me in the end.”
Li Qingshan said, “Really? Then it seems like I should laugh too.”
The masked man squinted his eyes. “You witnessed all of those moves earlier, so do you really think that you can get out of this alive? Misleading the enemy is a good tactic. You almost even managed to fool me. However, those tricks are completely useless before absolute strength.” He rubbed his chest, and the terrifying wound had already begun to close up gradually under the effects of true qi. He was confident it would heal up perfectly before long.
The reason why he had stopped to talk to Li Qingshan was mostly so that he could use the chance to tend to his wounds and purge the freezing coldness from it. His wound had basically closed up, so he no longer bothered to waste any more time. He pointed at Li Qingshan. “Go!”
The flying sword shot off like a bolt of lightning. Li Qingshan also used this opportunity to recover his true qi. He did not transform into his daemon form. He could not afford to release the aura of a daemon here at all. It was very possible that the barren mountains in the surroundings were hiding many Qi Practitioners preparing for the Herb Gathering ceremony. There might have even been prying eyes spying on them right now from the distant mountain peaks.
They had come to kill daemons. Once they sensed daemon qi, maybe even Foundation Establishment cultivators would be alarmed. He could not take the risk.
Regular fourth layer Qi Practitioners obviously could not defeat eighth layer Qi Practitioners, but he was no regular fourth layer Qi practitioner. And, he had yet to use his true trump card!
With a thump, the flying sword stabbed into the shield.
Li Qingshan had pulled out the low grade spiritual artifact shield that he had not used in a very long time, turning it into the size of a table and lifting it before him.
In his other hand, the Whale’s Ingestion of Water had already absorbed all the ice and water into its belly. He pointed it towards the masked man on the tree tops.
Swish, swish, swish, swish. Countless icicles shot out viciously.
The masked man completely ignored them. He raised his sleeve, and a wondrous stream of air formed several meters in front of him. Although it was not particularly powerful, it only needed a slight stir to redirect the icicles.
Cling! Clang! The icicles shot into the dense forest, causing the trees to shake and sway. Snow fell down.
There was a great boom, as if an invisible elephant had barged into the forest. The huge trees collapsed one after another. The icicles penetrated the bark and erupted with coldness, freezing the trees, and the force directly snapped many of the tree trunks.
This only demonstrated the power of the attack. If it were used against a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, it would be a terrifying lethal move, but it was nowhere near enough against eighth layer Qi Practitioners. With the opening of each meridian, their true qi would grow by several fold. And, the masked man did not just possess powerful true qi, but ingenious tricks too.
The masked man seemed to grow impatient, but he only used the flying sword to deal attacks. He refused to take even a step closer to Li Qingshan. Instead, he constantly remained vigilant of his surroundings. He understood the terrifying abilities of Qi Practitioners the most. He would never give him an opportunity to suddenly rush over and injure him again.
He could only place all of his focus onto the flying sword. The flying sword moved faster and faster, such that it was no longer visible. All that remained were countless flashes of light. It formed a net around Li Qingshan.
It kicked up a string of rain-like barrages. Li Qingshan swung the shield left and right, but whenever a flash swept past him, it would always leave behind a deep gash in the shield. In the blink of an eye, the shield had become covered in marks. Its glow dim, already on the edge of falling apart now.
Li Qingshan remained right where he was without moving at all. He knew very well that if he moved, he would definitely reveal an opening, which would give the flying sword an opportunity. And, even if he could draw closer and become embroiled in close combat, he might not necessarily be able to gain the upper hand against an eighth layer Qi Practitioner.
But if he did not move, how was he supposed to win?
He was like a wild beast laying in the grass, silently waiting for an opportunity to present itself. He would not move, but if he did, it would be for a fatal blow.
However, the net pressed closer and closer, and his opportunity instead became less and less likely to appear the longer he waited. He made up his mind. If there was no opportunity, then he would make one. Suddenly, he tossed the shield into the air, knocking the flying sword away. However, his chest was now wide open with that.
A sneer flashed through the masked man’s eyes. The flying sword moved even faster, striking like lightning.
With a ruffle, Li Qingshan unfurled the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and blocked his chest with it, launching several dozen strands of sharp sword qi.
The flying sword collided with a vertical stroke before being sent flying by a horizontal stroke. It was unable to stop the great wave of sword qi.