118 Escaping the island. (1/2)
Li Yang took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily, the air in front of him trembling from just the energy contained in that single breath. He then raised his head to the sky, the golden clouds of flame filling his vision. He did a small hop, vanishing from his position and appearing far above the city, just beneath the vines that formed the cage around the area and were trying to blot out the clouds.
Li Yang raised his sword high, the burning clouds immediately gathering together and turning into a single bolt of flaming lightning that shot down with a roar. The bolt easily disintegrated the vines and collided with Li Yang's sword, the energy transferring into both his body and his weapon, causing two wings of golden fire that arced with lightning to appear on his back, a result of him being unable to fully contain the vast energy.
Located on the ground in the city were the people who had entered the palace alongside Li Yang and Fang Ying, all of them unable to move since Li Yang had drained every last drop of their strength. They could only lie there and bear witness to the spectacle that filled them with boundless fear, like an ant facing the incoming stomp of a human.
Of the people still in the city, there was only one who was still able to move, Fang Ying, she was also the only one not filled with fear. On the contrary, watching Li Yang soaring high above them, flaming wings on his back while large chunks of frozen Qi fell to the earth, filled her with happiness. This was the glory he once had, the glory he deserved. Fang Ying sat down on the ground, patting the now tired Langshen on the head and quietly observing the scene above her, making sure to engrave it in her memory.
The Devil's Grasp Vine noticed the moment its vines got disintegrated, countless more sprouting from the ground and shooting towards Li Yang. The Devil's Grasp Vine could feel danger from it, he was a threat that had to be erased. As the vines shot towards him, they started to greedily absorb all the energy around them, even some of the chunks of frozen Qi ending up absorbed by the thorns.
Li Yang looked down upon the thorns that came for him, lowering his sword in a swift downward slash, unleashing all the energy gathered up in it. A thin golden line shot out from the tip of the blade, disintegrating the vines that came for him while also splitting the entire city, as well as the island it was located on, in half. The edges of the cut blazed with fire and crackled with lightning that caused the scar to quickly grow larger by eating away at everything they came in contact with.
The slash was very well placed, perfectly avoiding the people lying on the ground while also ruining as many of the Devil's Grasp Vines as possible. The thick shield of vines that defended the primary heart shrunk to almost half its size to defend against the attack, but all the ruined vines almost immediately regrew as the Devil's Grasp Vine drew upon the energy it had stored up for its hibernation.
Li Yang knew that he would not be able to maintain this state for long, it would tear his body apart and kill him if he tried to endure this energy for much longer. As such, he did not give himself or the Devil's Grasp Vine even a moment's respite, launching his next attack the moment he finished swinging his sword.
The atmosphere in the entire city suddenly became so cold that it dropped below freezing temperatures. A large meteor of ice formed above the city, quickly splitting up into tree-sized spikes that hailed down upon the city, each aiming for at least one of the Devil's Grasp Vine's hearts.
At the same time, the chunks of frozen Qi that had already landed on the ground exploded outwards, driving thick spikes deep into the earth and tearing apart any vines that they came in contact with. With just two simple attacks, the entire city had been split in half and then been turned into a pincushion so dense one could just barely see what remained of the city.
But even so, Li Yang could still feel that the beast was alive and well, its vines regrowing almost instantly. This was one of the scariest parts of this beast, its incredible vitality that let it restore itself almost instantly. But Li Yang didn't care too much, casting his gaze down onto the ground and locking eyes with Fang Ying, nodding at her.