Chapter 92 - Second Step vs Last Step (1/2)
Fen Wudao's eyes opened wide to look at the tiny green globe that Elder Zhu had spat out. He didn't think the Elder would use that kind of attack, unfortunately Fen Wudao reacted a fraction of second too late.
The green bead cracked open and immediately a large green cloud spread out to cover the entire garden.
”Seventh Sister, don't breathe in!” Fen Wudao cried, conjuring a magical technique in his hands in the hope of dispersing the poisonous cloud. But he was too late again.
Shin Sumi had naturally inhaled some of the green gas, its spreading too fast to avoid.
Elder Zhu laughed like a maniac ”Ehehehe you didn't think I would let you toy with me, did you? I have more than one trick up my sleeves!”
Fen Wudao's hands spread open, a whirlwind forming and slowly s.u.c.k.i.n.g in the nauseating gas trying to limit its nefarious effect, all the while thinking ”That is not good. Sister Shin can't deal with something of that caliber. I need to finish off Zhu Yunhai and take her to Master Furnace.”
Luckily he was not affected himself. The poison that Elder Zhu had unleashed was not too potent. Because of their small difference in cultivation base, Fen Wudao had been able to block it out of his system. But for Shin Sumi, she didn't have such luck and was probably already unconscious on the ground.
”Back up Senior Brother Fen!” a female voice alerted the young man. The next instant an invisible blade fended the air next to him, only to be blocked at the very last moment by Elder Zhu who had heard Shin Sumi's alert.
Shin Sumi's face turned pale. She had almost sent her Void Sword into Fen Wudao's head by mistake! How could she know her Senior Brother would get in the way of her attack?! Was it because of the green gas?
When Elder Zhu's technique had surprised them and the globe had crashed on the ground, delivering its deadly toxins, Shin Sumi hadn't cared that much. As soon as the green substance got close to her, she had heard the crystalline ringing of a small bell in her mind.
Ever since the Copper Bell entered her possessions, Shin Sumi had become accustomed to it. Naturally, after knowing that the artefact had activated, she had paid no mind to the gas any longer.
She was launching a new attack on Elder Zhu when Fen Wudao had stepped in, faster than a bolt of lightning.
”This green gas is nothing, I can take care of it myself. But if you want to intervene, Senior Brother Fen, I won't use the Void Sword then” Shin Sumi told him in a concerned voice.
Fen Wudao was speechless. He had thought for sure that Shin Sumi was already affected by the gas but she seemed completely fine. Elder Zhu himself couldn't believe his divine sense.
Without another word, Fen Wudao walked back out of the fighting zone as Shin Sumi jumped at Elder Zhu, brandishing Sky Deception.
The Void Sword was impossible to detect by anyone other than its master, linked with it by strong divine sense bonds. The handle carved out of a Stone Leaf Tortoise's bone was visible but still couldn't be felt. As such, the Void Sword was almost as dangerous for allies as for enemies.
An undetectable weapon, unless the handle was in your field of vision. For cultivators who were used to rely heavily on their divine sense, being almost completely omniscient in their reach radius, the Void Sword was a terrifying entity.
Elder Zhu grinded his teeth in frustration and anger. His Winter Swallow's Peril poison had been neutralized?! How was it possible?
The Winter Swallow's Peril he had himself concocted years ago in great quantity was a poison he had researched intensively in order to augment its potency. It was a rare kind of poisons that did not attack the body but rather the mind.
As soon as the green gas entered an individual's lungs, skin pores or even open wounds, the magic within the gas would spread out, filling the soul of the target with illusions. For weaker cultivators, it could outright kill them, their soul unable to deal with the visions brought forth by the poison.
For stronger individuals, the studies that Elder Zhu had himself done showed that time seemed to slow down and quicken at random rates and that all the target's senses were overloaded by illusory artefacts.
Or at least that is what was supposed to happen, but not to Shin Sumi.
Shin Sumi held many secrets. Maybe she was simply immune to this type of poison. Maybe that damned Void Sword had to do with it? Now was not the time to think about it for the Elder.
After using one of his trump cards, not only had it been completely useless, instead it had shown that Fen Wudao had reacted faster than the Elder had thought possible.
And there was this strange sword... The Void Sword has profoundly damaged his arm to the point where it had now become useless. The bleeding was easy to stop for any cultivator with a bit of experience but reattaching nerves could only be done over time for Liquid Realm practitioners.
The more the fight progressed, the easier it was to see that Elder Zhu was not a warrior. In a few short years, Shin Sumi had already amassed more experience with fighting and the use of offensive techniques and weapons than the old man.
One technique after the other, Shin Sumi made full use of skills she had acquired from both the Star-Sword Pavilion and the Cloud-Formation Pavilion. Switching between swords at her convenience, she would build on the Void Sword's power to incite Elder Zhu to care more about it.
When the Elder's focus was concentrated on following the invisible blade, she would then use Sky Deception or the Cloud Arts.
”She's proficient in using all sorts of techniques and at great speeds. I have never studied the Cloud Arts but I don't think I could successfully use the Cleaving Meteor with a technique such as the King's Tomb in this fashion.”
Fen Wudao was impressed by his junior. However, as much as experience could make up for cultivation, the gap between Shin Sumi and Zhu Yunhai was simply too large.
Every technique used by Elder Zhu, even the simplest like his white light blade and shield, had the advantage of packing a lot more Shinsoo into them. An expert wielding a bamboo sword with his Shinsoo would still beat a low level disciple with a Heaven-sent weapon.
”Hesh,” Shin Sumi held her side. Under her fingers, a red and sticky substance was dripping very slowly, ”the wound from earlier re-opened on top of the rest.”
The girl was panting. Her injuries were only shallow but the amount of energy she had to use to keep on attacking was the opposite. Because Elder Zhu was not a fighter, she could push him around but only by a constant assault. Should she momentarily stop her attacks, one of Elder Zhu's techniques was bound to hit her.
”I need to stop him once and for all to make sure he can never hurt anybody again” Shin Sumi thought while she attacked. A Cleaving Meteor launched with Sky Deception momentarily shattered the light shield created by Elder Zhu.
Using this opportunity the Void Sword left Shin Sumi's hand for Elder Zhu's feet. For her next technique, Shin Sumi needed to immobilize her opponent as much as possible, ”either you lose your feet or you are stuck mid-air for what is to come.”
Feeling the peculiar flow of Shinsoo around Shin Sumi, Fen Wudao had a pretty certain guess as to what she planned on doing next. As Elder Zhu was dealing with multiple attacks, Fen Wudao's muscles contracted slightly, his breathing calm and his heart at peace.
”I need to act fast as soon as it is over. I don't think her technique is going to work against somebody as strong as Elder Zhu. I hope she knows she can only use it because I'm here to have her back.”
But Fen Wudao trusted Shin Sumi, and Shin Sumi trusted him too. She knew her next attack was going to be the last, the energy consumption being simply too great. She was already exhausted and wouldn't be surprised if she were to pass out immediately after she was done.
Elder Zhu whose attention had been focused on the Void Sword didn't let the traceless weapon hit him. Instead, just as Shin Sumi predicted, he kicked the ground with his feet before the sword got close, momentarily suspended in mid-air.
”White Claw Dusk Cleaver!”
Right after the Void Sword passed under Zhu Yunhai's feet, the ground turned black where it previously was the grey and colored soil littered with destroyed precious plants. A large white claw the size of her rose from the darkness without a sound as Shin Sumi was instantly transported behind her target.
Her arm lowered intuitively suddenly moved up, prompting the ghostly claw to do the same.
It was the same technique that had stopped Mua Jin in the middle of a powerful attack and left him bedridden for the past month. It was by far Shin Sumi's stronger offensive technique, one she had inherited from the Ghost Pavilion's white scroll.
”Damn it, this is bad” Elder Zhu instantly understood the danger he was in! He had never experienced the secret technique but the simple pressure emanating from the white claw was a terror to his very soul.
But Elder Zhu knew that cursing wouldn't help him in any way. Fortunately for him, he was a peak level Liquid Realm cultivator and while his attacks were slow because he was never a fighter, his mind and thoughts were faster than his hands.