Chapter 405 - The Black and White Supremes

“Are you looking for her?”

A mellow voice resounded through the foggy woods, sending a jolt of shudder through Xiao Chen. The first name that came to mind was Ye Wuxin. With hardly any hesitation, he swung the Unsullied with all his weight behind it. But the blade stopped before it reached within inches of the man; Su Lianyue had been taken hostage!

Looking almost in his late twenties and a face as pale as milk, looking more dead than alive especially with the white robes he wore, the man looked conspicuously extrinsic in the dark shadows of the forest. His left hand clutched at Su Lianyue’s throat as an amused expression could be seen between the locks of snowy-white hair hanging down his face like a set of curtains. In his right hand, he was holding a white folding fan. But it scarcely seemed like the usual instruments used to provide comfort, but rather a dangerous weapon with all thirteen slates of the fan made of dark-meteoric iron, all of them glinting keenly in the dark moonglow.

Xiao Chen steeled himself. This was no Ye Wuxin. But being able to capture Su Lianyue alive, this person must be at least a mage of the later stages of the Nascent Soul Realm and his magic or abilities must be quaint and queer.

A self-satisfied, but no less vile, smile slid across his milky-white face as he drew nearer to Su Lianyue’s ear and drew a deep breath and sneered, “What a gorgeous little one here. What a pity if I have to kill her.”

Su Lianyue curdled with disgust and horror, trying to wrench herself away. But the man’s grip was too strong for her. “Let her go,” Xiao Chen growled, quietly channeling more than half of his True Energy.

“I was bidden to come here to take care of two little mice by the high chieftain. I guess I’ve found you then. But a vermin has no right to speak to me, let alone making demands. But how about a little chat? Why are you here?”

Xiao Chen’s fist clenched tighter with a cold fury blazing in his eyes. Su Lianyue was at the mercy of an enemy with her meridian points sealed, rendering her immobile and defenseless. Snapping her neck and killing her would just be merely a child’s play to this man.

All of a sudden, an unnatural gust of wind howled through the eaves and boughs of the forest shaking the limbs of the trees and the leaves rustled anxiously. A scud of jet-black fumes swept suddenly at Xiao Chen like a black fist. Xiao Chen brandished the Unsullied, hacking in down furiously at the black mist only to be astonished when his weapon was parried off with a deafening clang and some fiery spurts of sparks.

Xiao Chen swiped at the black smog with his hand like a claw. But the black smog flitted swiftly out of his reach and evaded him, only to veer back for another assault. Xiao Chen leaped into the air to avoid it and somersaulted to deliver a successive of blows from his fists downwards at it. The magical bolts hammered into the ground harmlessly, shaking the earth and trees and throwing up dust and soot just as the dark shadow drifted away just in time. The shadow then hovered around the man in white and turned into a man completely dressed in black.

His face and his eyes were dark and a set of dark meteoric iron claw-like maces rested ominously in his hands as if anxious to taste blood. Xiao Chen took a deep breath to calm himself. The odds were slowly stacking against him; not only these two men wielded powers on par, if not stronger, than him. Their magic and sorcery looked strangely unorthodox to him.

With the pair complete, Xiao Chen realized who they were: the powerful direct subordinates of Ye Wuxin known as the Black and White Supremes. The White Supreme was named Bai Yu – White Jade, whilst the Black Supreme was a man named Mo Ran – Black Dye. Similar to Seven Killings, Yi Yeqiu, and Su Lianyue, all of whom the widely-recognized promising talents of the dark side, the Black and White Supremes enjoyed similar notoriety as the future of the Corpse Refinery Sect. Their powers might pale in comparison to members such as Elder Long, but they were nevertheless conferred greater authority in this diabolical order.

Bai Yu smiled thinly. “Consider yourselves fortunate that the High Chieftain is…” But an irate Mo Ran cut him off, “Enough with your prattling!” Just as soon as he finished, the Black Supreme lunged at Xiao Chen again.

Mo Ran’s onslaught of ferocious swipes from his claw-like mace was proof enough to Xiao Chen to understand that he was fighting against a foe immensely experienced in close combat. The Black Supreme’s figure dissolved into five tendrils of black smog that swirled around Xiao Chen and the latter immediately channeled his power and conjured a protective cocoon that glistened with a golden sheen. Then out of nowhere, a black shiny claw flashed dangerously close by.

Xiao Chen tilted himself back to evade the claw, pivoted and retaliated with a strike at Mo Ran’s back. But Mo Ran immediately whirled and sent a blow of his own to meet Xiao Chen’s. The fists met and the resulting force sent a shockwave that tossed leaves and dust into the air while also sending both men reeling backward.

But Mo Ran was quick to regain his balance and he lunged again like a shadow. He’s bloody fast, Xiao Chen thought. Mo Ran was intensely exceptional that no ordinary mage of the same power would have been able to defeat him… In just mere heartbeats, Xiao Chen realized, he had exchanged more than twenty blows with his opponent and he was nowhere nearer to defeating him.

Both of them were fighting in speeds extraordinary to most men, dashing among the trees like a pair of wraiths but never stopped in delivering blows after blows at each other, cleverly missing every leaf, stalk, or branch, although each stroke was lethal and deadly if either of them were not careful. One could have easily described this duel as “artistry,” if not for the air of malice that lingered over them as they fought.

None of his offensive magic with great destructive force such as the Dragon’s Wrath, the Dragon Slay, or the Heaven-slaying Sword would work against an enemy skilled in close-quarters combat. He would not only be missing his target whenever he used these spells or techniques, but he would also be vulnerable to any reprisals from his enemy.

And so the gritting fight continued with both sides showing no signs of tiring. Between the Immortal-override Steps and the ancient combat techniques of Family Xiao, Xiao Chen was feeling the pressure piling swiftly. Mo Ran was simply too agile and fast beyond his expectations.

Everything was but a blur to Su Lianyue who watched from afar. She could no longer tell who from who, seeing only two masses of shadows pouncing on each other. She had never thought Xiao Chen, for all his prowess in magic and sorcery, was such an adept fighter in close combat.

But a smirk came suddenly from the White Supreme still maintaining his grip on her, “Heh heh heh. It seems that the Black Supreme who has never once been bested in speed has finally met his match this night.”

The fight waged on for another several minute until Mo Ran dislodged himself by returning back to Bai Yu’s side. It was a respite equally welcomed by Xiao Chen himself. It allowed him the time to restore his True Energy.

“You have great fighting skills, I’d give you that,” Bai Yu allowed with a sardonic grin, “But if you still refuse to divulge your purpose in coming here, I’m afraid your little gorgeous paramour here is meeting her maker soon…” His grip on Su Lianyue’s throat tightened and she grunted.

The sight of Su Lianyue suffering was enough to rob the breath from Xiao Chen. The odds were immensely stacked against his favor and the Black Supreme was too powerful for him to defeat alone. As if it could not be any worst, he was beginning to fear of being discovered by any patrolling guards who would bring the entire mountain down on him.

Bai Yu sneered to Mo Ran, “Very well. Let me test him this time. Take care of this gorgeous thing…” But Mo Ran snapped, “I’d never hold a woman hostage.”

“You’re a fussy one, aren’t you?” Bai Yu scoffed, “Do you think you’d be able to defeat him if I had not caught this lass first and prevent her from helping him? Not even us together might be able to prevent them from escaping.”

There was truth in what he said. Su Lianyue was skilled in entrapment, deception, and diversionary magical spells in addition to nerve agents and inhalants as well as illusionary sorcery and enchantment that ensnares the senses, while Xiao Chen was proficient in ruthless and ferocious offensive techniques. Not even a mage of the Nirvana Realm could safely be certain of victory against foes like them.

But Xiao Chen was looking graver and grimmer by the second. He raised his arms, weaving his magic suddenly. Winds churned and tossed in resonance to his powers and hundreds of swords materialized in thin air, glinting like silvery serpents under the dismal luminescence of the moon. The tips of the swords trained upon the figures of the Black and White Supremes, their steel ringing anxiously like serpents eager to strike.

“I’ll repeat. Release her.”

The eyes of the White Supreme squinted as he broke into a smug glee. “Blades conjured purely of Qi? Wow… I have to give it to you, my little mouse. I could feel the sheer volume of Qi used to perform this spell. But are you not afraid for the safety of your little gorgeous friend here when you strike?”

Su Lianyue’s eyes beheld the ring of hundreds of swords surrounding her captors and her. Her eyes trembled with apparent fright as she breathed, “Master Xiao…” The Storm of Swords technique was one of the most powerful spells known to all mages and she could potentially be caught in the impact if Xiao Chen unleashes his attack.

A cold gleam flashed across Xiao Chen’s eyes. His hands weaved a hand seal and he willed the swords to attack. The Storm of Swords magic of the Mystic Cyan Sect has the power to dole out instant devastation on any living thing, but he would never have to use only a three-tenths of the spell’s full strength if not for Su Lianyue being his enemy’s hostage.

Nevertheless, the sight of the shiny tips of countless swords bearing down on them made Bai Yu no less anxious. In a terse but hurried tone, he yelped, “Mo Ran!”

If Mo Ran had heard him, he certainly made no attempt to reply. The sleeves of his robes billowed like the black sails of a ship as his powers churned down his arms. Then he swung his arms. The hundreds of silvery swords flew in circles around the three people in the center with Mo Ran diverting their tips away from striking them with his magic! The swords spun in endless circles, unable to penetrate the center before they were redirected back at Xiao Chen instead!

Xiao Chen felt himself shaking. For the first time in his life, an enemy who could redirect his Storm of Swords back at himself!? He thrust his arms outwards and performed the Star-shifting Substitution to deflect the countless weapons away, lancing off into the abyss of the gorge below.

A deafening thunderclap came almost later with boulders and broken rocks breaking free of their crevices and rolling into the darkness of the chasm.

Mo Ran’s robes did not stop fluttering as he panted hard. Whatever he was doing earlier, it must have consumed a great deal of his power. Just then, a cold, shrill shriek of a woman pierced the air, “What in the world is going on here?!”

The sudden cry wiped the color off the faces of everyone in the woods. Mo Ran’s figure flickered and he vanished, speeding off towards the direction of the voice. Xiao Chen frantically directed another Star-shifting Substitution spell into the brushes, drawing a woman, fully clothed in red, into his grasp, defeating Mo Ran in speed.

And who else would it be, if not for the Lady Ambassador in red? Without a moment’s thought, Xiao Chen quickly cast several magical seals on her that bound her movements. He might not be able to cleanly defeat both of the Black and White Supremes, but a mage of the Nascent Soul Realm was nothing to him.

Everything happened in such an instant that the woman in red could barely react. She had not even comprehended what was happening before she was quickly overpowered by Xiao Chen and the only thing she could do was scream. “ARGGGHH! LET GO OF ME! YOU PERVERT!”

Xiao Chen’s fingers drove mercilessly into her flesh; his left hand clutching at her shoulder and his right hand on her throat. “Silence!” He hissed venomously, “One more word and you’ll be regretting it!”

The Black and White Supremes were agape by the turn of events. They knew this would happen the moment they heard this woman screaming in the woods. Still, they were a step behind Xiao Chen and could only watch her writhing in his grip.

Bai Yu maintained his grip on Su Lianyue and Xiao Chen on the woman in red. Both men glowered at each other while the scarlet blush on the Lady Ambassador’s face only grew redder. “LET ME GO, YOU PERVERT!”

“Enough!” Xiao Chen roared, his grip tightening, “Quiet!” But he never once tore his eyes off the Black and White Supremes. Su Lianyue’s cheeks only grew rosier too, clearly surprised and startled.

“YOU! HOW DARE YOU! LET GO!” The woman seethed like a kettle, teetering on the brink of tears. But she could not free herself; not with Xiao Chen restricting her movements and magic with his magical seals. The Black and White Supremes averted their gazes suddenly, looking more oddly embarrassed than angry.

“Shut up!” Xiao Chen burst, “Have your man released her! Otherwise…”

Xiao Chen applied more force into his hands. Then he felt it. Something was amiss. He should be clenching hard on her shoulder. But he was only feeling the tender and velvety flesh instead of the solid feeling of bone.

“YOU SHAMELESS PERVERT! LET GO!”

Tears streamed down the woman’s cheeks and Xiao Chen finally looked down. What he saw nearly made him faint. His hand was not on the woman’s shoulder, but squeezing on her chest…