Chapter 101: Diminishing Power

Chapter 101: Diminishing Power

Soon, the sound of fighting resounded in the tunnel leading to the underground palace.

The Black Robes and the Green Phoenix Guards suffered some casualties. However, Zhang Yuelu was like a god of war with infinite energy. Even after consecutive fights with the Shaman, He Nian, Lin Zhenyuan, and Xie Qiuniang, Zhang Yuelu still had the energy to charge into the underground palace to confront Xia Chang, the owner of this place.

Xia Chang was a Guizhen-stage Martial Arts Practitioner in the Heavenly Connection Realm, on par with Wang Zicheng.

Daoist techniques were divided into two categories: martial arts and spells. The Manly Immortal lineage could not perform spells and could only practice martial arts, hence they were called Martial Arts Practitioners. Their fists were their most trusted weapon.

As a Banished Immortal, Zhang Yuelu could perform spells and was proficient in martial arts. She practiced the Cihang Sword Sequence and was skilled in using various weapons. In addition, her master, Sage Cihang, also passed down some secret skills that most people had never even heard of. This was the advantage she had over ordinary disciples who came from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.

The underground palace occupied a vast area. The dome was supported by huge pillars, somewhat similar to what Qi Xuansu saw in the Qingping Society’s dream meeting. The six-armed Wu Luo statue was sitting at the deepest end of the underground palace, with countless human heads piled up in front of it.

At this time, the underground palace was in chaos, with the Lingshan Witch Cult believers fighting the Black Robes and the Green Phoenix Guards. Since the cultists were at a disadvantage in numbers, Xia Chang and Zhu Cheng could not join forces to fight against Zhang Yuelu. Xia Chang had to fight Zhang Yuelu alone.

Xia Chang’s punch brought up a gust of cold wind. Faced with this punch, Zhang Yuelu spun around to avoid it. At the same time, she pointed the paper sword in her hand at Xia Chang’s temple.

He forcibly twisted his body and reached out to block Zhang Yuelu’s paper sword. Then he slammed his foot on the ground, unleashing his power and leaving a big pit in the ground.

Xia Chang smirked and threw another punch.

This time, Zhang Yuelu floated backward, a lotus flower growing mid-air in each spot she stepped on. She casually pointed her paper sword again, generating more sword qi before shooting it at Xia Chang’s face.

Xia Chang dispersed the sword qi with one punch. He was a little surprised that Zhang Yuelu was weaker than he imagined. However, on second thought, Zhang Yuelu would have been worn out from escaping Yulan Temple. Since she was not at her peak, this was the perfect opportunity to kill her.

Realizing this, Xia Chang stepped forward, constantly punching Zhang Yuelu's paper sword. Although his fists were made of flesh and blood, the collision between his fists and the paper sword sounded more like metal and stone clanging.

Zhang Yuelu constantly used various sword techniques, making it dizzyingly unpredictable. Each attack was aimed at Xia Chang’s vital points. Her swordsmanship was satisfactory, but compared to the previous sword fight between her and Xie Qiuniang, her sword qi and speed visibly weakened.

However, Xia Chang was far inferior to Xie Qiuniang and was repeatedly injured by the paper sword.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuelu struck downward with the paper sword. It was a simple but lethal move.

Xia Chang roared in anger and stomped hard on the ground, looking like he was prepared to take the blow.

Upon impact, there was an explosion.

Zhu Cheng did not show any mercy and followed her closely.

Green veins bulged on Zhu Cheng’s arms, looking like tiny dragons slithering under his skin. At the same time, his blood was surging like a torrential river, his aura domineering, like a typical Martial Arts Practitioner.

Zhu Cheng took a step forward, forming a dip in the ground. Then he gathered the energy at his feet and tensed his body before springing forward and appearing in front of Zhang Yuelu. Even if Zhang Yuelu was a Banished Immortal, she was not in a state to counterattack. Thus, her only choice was to retreat and avoid the blow.

The two maintained a distance between them, with Zhu Cheng charging forward while Zhang Yuelu slid backward. Every time Zhu Cheng took a step, the ground shook, leaving a deep footprint. Suddenly, he lunged forward. The joints all over his body cracked before a series of explosive sounds resonated from his chest, abdomen, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fists.

His powerful punch thundered as it struck Zhang Yuelu, who had no way to avoid it.

Zhang Yuelu flew backward from that punch and landed on her back. However, she slapped one palm on the ground to prop herself up and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Mage Zhang...” Wang Zicheng dragged his seriously injured body and took a step forward with difficulty.

Zhang Yuelu raised her hand to stop his unspoken question, signaling to him that she was fine.

Seeing this, Wang Zicheng stopped talking, but he could not conceal the worry on his face.

Zhu Cheng sneered and struck again. There was nothing fancy about this strike as it was another straight and powerful punch. His speed was not at all inferior to that of Zhang Yuelu.

Facing this attack, Zhang Yuelu had no choice but to resist head-on. She turned the paper sword into a paper umbrella, positioning it in front of her. However, the power of this punch was so intense that even the paper umbrella could not dampen the impact. Cracks appeared in the ground under Zhang Yuelu’s feet, and her body slipped backward, creating two plow marks in the ground.

Zhu Cheng took a shallow breath before striking, his fist descending with the force of wind and thunder. The hidden force exploded, accompanied by a loud bang. Zhang Yuelu maintained her posture, holding the umbrella in front of her while sliding back further away from Wang Zicheng.

Not wanting to give Zhang Yuelu a chance to catch her breath, Zhu Cheng was unyielding when he gained the upper hand. He charged forward like a cavalryman, his fists like an arrow on a taut bow. Then he followed up with another punch, making it impossible for Zhang Yuelu, who was still in mid-air, to dodge.

Zhang Yuelu took the blow head-on, her qi resonating like firecrackers. The ground cracked when she landed on her feet, and her paper umbrella shattered into paper scraps that flew in all directions.

The advantage of the Amorphous Paper was in its morphing abilities. It was like the Rogue Cultivators of weapons, having a little bit of everything but were not superior in one aspect. The Amorphous Paper could be used to attack and defend, but it could not compare to other semi-immortal objects in either aspect.

The Amorphous Paper withstood three of Zhu Cheng’s punches in succession, which caused a considerable loss of energy. Zhang Yuelu had also exhausted too much of her energy in the previous battles, especially when she had just confronted Xie Qiuniang, a Hermit who was on par with her, in Yulan Temple. The Spiritual Statue Technique she used earlier had also greatly depleted her energy.

At this moment, she only had less than half of her innate qi left, so she could no longer turn the Amorphous Paper into a weapon.

If she continued to fight like this, she would be putting her life at risk.