Chapter 430 - Turning Tables (1/2)
“W-what the… IMPOSSIBLE!”
From all quarters, the forces of the Orthodox Path or the Corpse Refinery Sect alike, breathes were drawn and shocked and surprised gasps could be heard rising like the rustling a storm. The Xiao Chen who was dead is now standing again! What was more, the wounds on him were healing at a visible and yet unbelievable rate! No one could ever believe their eyes at what was happening.
Everyone was astonished; Zuoqiu Yang, Xiaoyue, and the others, especially Xiaoyue. The color of her face seemed to have utterly drained as she felt herself convulsing violently as if she had witnessed her greatest fear coming true…
“Junior Brother!” Luo Shangyan screamed, surprised, and exuberant. Beads of tears still hung from the ends of her eyelashes. Yu Yifeng was wearing a bewildered look, flustered beyond words. Xiao Chen got up and walked past them, gently giving them a push to his back, “Stay back.”
Yu Yifeng recovered from his shock at once; he knew Xiao Chen had this incredible but unexplainable ability to resurrect from death, and he realized only Xiao Chen stood any chance of defeating Red Sleeve. He pulled Luo Shangyan’s arm, leading her back to where the forces of the Orthodox Path were.
Red Sleeve had stopped when she heard Xiao Chen’s voice earlier, right before she had completely disappeared into the darkness of the cave. She slowly turned around, regarding Xiao Chen with the same piercing stare as sharp as ice picks. Even the air between them seemed to tense with fear.
On the other side of the field, Wu Fa and Wu Tian, with the remaining few of the defenders, could only look on wordlessly. Red Sleeve breathed angrily, “I see. You are the same as me. You feed on souls from the Administration of Heaven to survive…”
“I am not the same as filth like you… I need nothing of the sort…”
Xiao Chen channeled his powers to both his arms and sent forth a shockwave of energy that rippled all around him. The Sword of the Vermillion Bird screamed like a phoenix and soared into the sky, displaying its fiery splendors that bespattered the air with specks of flames with such intensity that everyone could have sworn that they felt as if the entire Ridge was burning.
“The Flames of the Southern Vermillion Bird…” Red Sleeve observed icily with hardly a shred of fear in her.
A gigantic fiery cyclone spun in the air, and the defenders of the Corpse Refinery Sect below watched with panic, wondering if death was indeed upon them. The Flames of the Southern Vermilion Bird consumes all that is foul and evil and is most potent against Corpse Puppets, which relied on Rancorous Qi and Malicious Grudge as fuel.
“ARGHH!”
With an earsplitting bellow, Xiao Chen let fly jets of Flames at Red Sleeve that devoured her ravenously. Realizing their chance at victory, Perfected Immortal Qing Chen, with many more mages of the Orthodox Path, quickly rushed to Xiao Chen to help him, channeling more of their True Energies into him.
The inferno grew stronger. A sea of flames sprawled before the yawning mouth of the cave. Knowing that this was no ordinary flames, the remaining Corpse Puppets of the former High Chieftains were immediately relocated to someplace else safer.
The waves of flames continued blazing everything it could find in front of the cave for more than a quarter of an hour. Then a figure appeared, walking casually amid the thrashing firestorm of the most destructive and powerful flames in the world. The flames licked at her vainly, harming her not one bit, and not even a hair or an article of her clothing was damaged. Her entire person was protected by a sphere of Rancorous Qi that was impervious to the destruction outside!
“BEGONE!” Red Sleeve repeated herself, and a huge, angry wave of foul energy spilled from her, rolling towards all directions. Several senior leaders of the Orthodox Path were caught in the path and fell to the ground, vomiting blood and saliva.
Xiao Chen gritted his teeth and raised his arm. The Sword of the Vermilion Bird returned to him. His fingers wrapped firmly on its hilt, and he charged. Like a bolt of lightning, he dashed forward with reckless abandon. But this time, the Sword of the Vermilion Bird struck true; blood spattered around him as the tip of his sword sank deep through her chest, tearing through her heart.
Red Sleeve grunted in pain with blood spewing from her mouth. Xiao Chen let loose a beastly howl, yanking his weapon free before stabbing her again and again in successive. Imbued with the Flames of the Vermilion Bird, his sword could easily penetrate the sphere of Rancorous Qi like a hot knife through butter, and each stab could not be any more devastating than anything that anyone had dealt upon her before.
Finally, Xiao Chen swung his sword, aiming for her throat. But the sword had only sunk for a little more than an inch through her neck when Red Sleeve collapsed. Her eyes were closed as she fell on her back with a loud thud with dust and grime tossed into the air.
The Queen of the Corpse Refinery Sect laid on the ground. A lifeless corpse with not even a pulse or a breath.
The howling winds resonating with the firestorm died down just as the fires slowly came to an end. The eerie silence was punctuated by only the interminable heaving and puffs of panting and heavy breathing of Xiao Chen. The remaining defenders of the Sect looked, hardly able to move, and so were the mages of the Orthodox Path from afar. Xiao Chen staggered in his steps, and then he noticed something he would never quite believe: Red Sleeve’s eyes opening again! A red glare flashed across her eyes, and she got up with every bruise and gash healing at an unprecedented rate just like Xiao Chen!
“What the… How can…”
There was hardly anyone who was not surprised. T-this… This is entirely the same as what happened to Xiao Chen earlier!
“I have the Malicious Grudge of three thousand years. How many times do you think I can go on?” The resurrected Red Sleeve challenged Xiao Chen coldly.
“As many times as it takes to send you to Hell!” Xiao Chen snarled, the Sword of the Vermilion Bird in his grasp charged again. Clang! Only this time, Red Sleeve had caught the blade of his weapon with her bare hands with blood dripping down from where the edges of the Sword had bit deep.
“My very existence transcends beyond the circles of influence and authority of the Three Domains and Samsara! Not even the Nether Emperor can kill me, nevermind one as puny as you!” Red Sleeve screeched venomously in return. Her other hand thrust forward and lanced through Xiao Chen’s heart with blood gushing out like a geyser through his back.
Xiao Chen groaned. He drew back the Sword and drove it forward with all his might, impaling Red Sleeve through her heart as well, and both the Undead and the Undying spat a mouthful of blood.
“Where is she…”
“I told you, she’s dead…”
“ARRGGGHH!” Xiao Chen emitted a maniacal roar. He raised a fist, and Red Sleeve did the same, and they struck at each other in unison in the head. Two successive Bangs! Both fell on their backs, equally dead with blood trickling down from their ears, eyes, noses, and mouths.
No one drew a breath. What unfolded before their eyes were well beyond any of their comprehension. Suddenly, Xiao Chen and Red Sleeve came back to life again! Their eyes blinked open once more with the same red flash, and they rose, their wounds healing rapidly again.