76 The might of that one sword. (1/2)
The green-eyed and black-haired Gao Gang couldn't help but take a step back in shock when he saw Li Yang's ferocious transformation. Within a short few seconds, he had turned from a normal youth into something akin to a horrifying monster. Gao Gang could also tell that Li Yang's strength had drastically increased, so he couldn't help but call out in shock.
”You!? What are you?!”
Was it possible for humans to transform like this, did such techniques really exist? Or could this youth be someone from the Demon Race? It wasn't strange for Gao Gang to be shocked like this. After all, how many humans had managed to form a blood bond with a Divine beast?
Li Yang didn't give Gao Gang a response, stomping the ground and shooting forward, his body turning into a golden blur. Gao Gang's expression sank, but he quickly reacted, a thick gray saber appearing in his grasp. He swung the saber, a gray slash shooting out from the tip, a low howling sound coming from it as it shot towards Li Yang.
The slash moved far faster than Li Yang had expected it to, somewhat surprising him, it seemed like this Gao Gang had the strength befitting of a vice sect-leader. Li Yang quickly raised his sword and slashed down on the gray line, a screeching sound ringing out as the two attacks collided.
The gray line was very tenacious and sturdy, so Li Yang guessed that it would take him about two seconds to fully shatter it. So as to not waste those two seconds, Li Yang once again stomped the ground, sending a torrent of frozen energy into the ground and towards Gao Gang, the floor cracking as it froze. At the same time, the fire that was burning in the surroundings also seemed to receive an order, gathering together and turning into a flaming tornado that roared towards Gao Gang.
Gao Gang's expression sank even further. Just how had his luck been so shit that he ended up encountering this freak of nature? But Gao Gang had many years of experience and had traveled to many places, so he was still quick to react. He swiped his interspatial ring and pulled out two small jade orbs that were engraved with countless tiny runes. He tossed one orb towards Li Yang, who had just finished shattering the gray slash, and the other orb he threw at the ground, shattering it.
The moment the orb hit the ground and shattered, the runes that had covered it spread out through the area, immediately forming an array that gathered together the surrounding Qi to form a defensive shield. The orb he threw at Li Yang was very similar, shattering mid-air and spreading its runes into the air around Li Yang. But rather than forming a defensive array, it formed a trapping array that turned the surrounding Qi into thick chains that sought to tie up Li Yang.
Li Yang's two-fold fire and ice attacks were blocked by the defensive array, while the chains coiled all around his body and tied him in place. But rather than look annoyed or anxious, his eyes lit up with glee and excitement.
”Oh, what's this? You can even shrink arrays like this? Things have really changed since I was around, everything is so new and exciting.”
There was nothing more boring than knowing everything, so the more Li Yang saw that the world had changed while he was gone, the more excited he got. There were so many new things to discover, so many new things to learn. Gao Gang was about to gloat in front of the tied up Li Yang, but then he saw a black light flash through the trapping array, the chains tying up Li Yang starting to twist and implode as if there was a tiny black hole located inside them, so he quickly changed his tune.
”You want to know about this?! If you let me leave, I promise to tell you everything I know!”
He was uncertain whether or not Li Yang had any more strength, nor did he know if any of Li Yang's other allies were making their way here. The longer he was forced to stay here, the higher his chance of dying was, so it was better to bargain with Li Yang in hopes of surviving. But Li Yang quickly dashed his hopes, shrugging his shoulders.
”Sorry, but I can't do that. Besides, I can just ask someone else about that information, or I can just check the clan library.”
If this Gao Gang had access to knowledge about these miniature arrays, then how could the massive Yuan clan not have any information about it? Li Yang reached out with his arm and tapped onto the runes that shimmered in the air in front of him, a black light flashing at his fingertip. The energy of true destruction sank into the runes, twisting and crushing them as if they had entered a black hole.
The array was quite powerful, so if he used any of his other elements to break it, he would need a few seconds to do so. But while it was strong, it was not so strong that it could resist his element of destruction.
Watching one of the arrays fall so easily to Li Yang, Gao Gang's heart couldn't help but sink. But he had yet to give up all hope, so he quickly braced himself for more combat. He didn't want to let Li Yang keep up his momentum, so he stepped forward before Li Yang got the chance to.
The defensive array around him followed him as he moved, providing an extra layer of defense as he sent out three slashes with his saber. Three gray lines flashed through the air, connecting together and mutually strengthening each other. Li Yang could see that each of the three lines was filled with transparent faces that shrieked and howled in pain, these were the souls that Gao Gang had refined into his weapon.
Li Yang grasped his sword, pushing it forward and sending out a sharp stab. The stab looked simple, but the moment Li Yang finished his stabbing motion, a loud booming sound rang out, a thin bolt of golden lightning shooting out from the tip of the sword.
The bolt of lightning moved strangely straight for a bolt of lightning, spiraling rapidly as it moved. There was a small black dot, barely the size of a grain of dust, placed at the very tip of the bolt of lightning, space and light distorting around it as they were sucked into it and crushed.
This was one of the most penetrative attacks that Li Yang was currently able to launch, a highly compressed bolt of lightning tipped with a controlled miniature black hole. The bolt of lightning collided with the three lines, the miniature black hole swallowing up two of the attacks before it became unstable and ended up swallowing itself.
The bolt of lightning took care of the last gray line, piercing straight through it and flashing past Gao Gang. The gray lines, as well as the defensive array, had diverted the course of the attack slightly, resulting in the bolt of lightning piercing through Gao Gang's right shoulder rather than his head.
The attack left a smoldering hole in Gao Gang's shoulder, but the flesh around the wound started to wriggle strangely, slowly regrowing itself and causing Li Yang's eyes to light up with glee and interest once more.
He had managed to wound Gao Gang, but it still cost him quite a bit. Controlling the element of destruction required a great amount of energy, so even though he had only unleashed three tiny dots of it, it had drained a little over half of his Qi. But his attack had served its purpose, Gao Gang's face had turned completely pale from shock and fear, quickly calling for peace.
”The sect treasury, didn't you want to know where it was?! If you let me live, I can tell you where it is!”
Was this a joke? Just a single one of the youth's attacks had pierced through three of his attacks, as well as piercing his defensive array and then his body? In fact, Gao Gang could still feel that there was some lightning left in his shoulder, roasting his flesh even as it healed itself. He thought that Li Yang would take a step back after Gao Gang's offer, but he simply sent him a faint smile.
”No need. It doesn't matter whether you want to tell me or not, in the end, you will tell me.”
Li Yang's smile was faint and handsome, but when mixed with his current appearance, as well as how their surroundings looked, it filled Gao Gang with a sense of dread. Gao Gang steeled his heart and decided that he had to use one of his secret techniques, even if it would cost him quite a bit.
He narrowed his eyes, his face turning white as a sheet of paper as he sent a glare at Li Yang. A thin stream of invisible energy shot out from his eyes, heading directly for Li Yang, who hadn't noticed anything. The stream sank into Li Yang's chest, his face instantly turning pale as he took several steps backward, blood dripping out from the corners of his lips. But just when Gao Gang hoped that his technique had worked, Li Yang called out in a voice that was a mixture of shock and curiosity.
”A soul attack!? But you don't cultivate the law of the soul. Nor do you cultivate the law of the body, but your body is still so strangely tough, even slowly regenerating. Could it be cultivation techniques?”
When Li Yang had been alive, a soul attack had been something that only people who cultivated the law of the soul, acquiring the special energy that was Soul Force, could use, killing people by shattering their soul and not leaving any traces. But it was easy to tell who cultivated the law of the soul, as their eyes and the energy around them would be quite different from other people.