Book 7: Chapter 52: The Third Ace

Book 7: Chapter 52: The Third Ace

As Zhang Hong Yu gloated over Ruan Zhan falling for the trap, Zhang Xiao Hua shot the hellfire towards Ruan Zhan as expected. When he attacked Wan Li earlier, he had merely waved his hand before borrowing the tattered banners reflective power. For Ruan Zhan, he not only used both hands, red light also shone from his unblinking eyes!

The light wasnt like the beautiful evil-warding glow of the bloodwood sword. Although his eyes had been refined from red lotuses, they were instead dark red and filled with blood aura. The moment the light appeared, a gale swept up over the ground. Using wind to strengthen fire, the hellfire had grown twice as large. Like a giant blue maw, it snapped towards Ruan Zhan who was drawing glyphs in the air!

Ruan Zhan wasnt flustered. He continued drawing glyphs with one hand, manipulating the wind blade to attack Zhang Hong Yu and alleviating Xiao Xias predicament. His other hand swiftly formed a barrier in front of himself, blocking the hellfires attack. However, Zhang Xiao Hua was mighty and he had used his full power in that strike. How could Ruan Zhan hold it off with one hand? With a strike, the sound of shattering glass rang out, announcing the destruction of the barrier. Yet this time it was critical!

Zhang Hong Yu was elated at hearing the sound. She spat another huge burst of corpse breath at the seated Xiao Xia. She wanted to thoroughly erase her to alleviate the resentment in her heart. She didnt expect that with Ruan Zhans life still under threat, he would still continue to pay attention to Xiao Xias side. A second wind blade shot over.

Hearing the sharp whistling next to her, Zhang Hong Yu cried out. She wanted to flatten her body once again and avoid the hidden omni-directional strike of the wind blade. However, her transformation was slightly delayed since she misjudged the situation and along with her injuries. She felt a firm chill pass over her left leg.

A foot long section of shadow fell from her body to the ground. Without the main bodys support, it swiftly dissolved and scattered. The rubble around it was ground into powder as if crushed by something extremely heavy! There was no sound of collision, only Zhang Hong Yus scream. Her tender, childish voice contained hatred and unwillingness, along with a bit of satisfaction that their scheme had worked. It was exceptionally chilling in the dark night.

Pain! How many years has it been? She hadnt felt pain ever since she was filled with mercury. She had almost forgotten how it felt. She had thought ghosts didnt feel pain. But when Ruan Zhans wind blade cut off the black miasma that formed her leg and completely dissolved it, dust to dust and ashes to ashes, she had once again felt pain. She didnt know if it was suffering or pleasure. The feeling of pain meant she was alive, but was she really?

However, if one of her legs could be used in exchange for a heavy injury or fatal blow on Ruan Zhan, resolving the threat against her big bro, she felt it was worth it. It was fine even if her shade was permanently crippled.

Behind her, the was a large crash. People nearby might have assumed thunder was rumbling in the murky sky. However, she knew that was the sound of her big bros hellfire striking something and exploding. Fire used high temperatures to combust an object. It wasnt a tangible object in and of itself. However, her big bros hellfire was different. Not only did it have a freezing burn, it was also exceptionally hard. It could even penetrate steel plates! With such a loud noise, Ruan Zhan was probably ashes in the wind.

Thinking this, Zhang Hong Yu ignored the lingering pain and looked over.

She saw three men and a tiny shadow still standing behind her. None of them were lying on the ground. The men still stood in the uneven pattern along with Yue Xiao Xia. Although their positions had shifted slightly, the overall layout didnt change. However, a deep pit had appeared in the middle. The four of them now stood around it.

Ruan Zhans hands were still empty. Two fingers on his left hand pointed at Zhang Xiao Hua while his right arm hung by his side. However, his fingers there formed a strange seal. His face was pale but he didnt seem injured.

What, did her big bros attack fail? What had gone wrong?

Zhang Hong Yus heart suffered another blow at the setback. Glancing at Bao Da Tong and Wan Li, she saw that Bao Da Tong didnt look serious at all. He was grinning, as if everyone was playing a game with him. Both hands were raised, with the Bloodwood Sword held in his left hand, pointing in her direction. Due to his spirit power and mana, a strand of red light surged from the tip of the sword, swirling like a transparent snake, constantly hovering and spitting towards her. Although she remained still, the radiance on the sword made her feel a sense of unease, as if being firmly locked onto and unable to escape!

He had another sword in his right hand. It was similar to the one Wan Li was using, a peachwood sword covered in glyphs. The glyphs had been drawn with special ink, similar to the ones on Yue Xiao Xias body. It was due to these glyphs that gave the ordinary peachwood sword some spirit power. However, that peachwood sword had snapped. Only half its length remained, pointing towards Wan Li.

Although they would be further away from Xiao Xia, those who wanted to attack her would have their backs towards the other three. That would make it easier for them to launch an ambush. Hong Yu had suffered like that earlier. The three men stood closer together, with no distance separating them. They could combine their powers and increase their strength. They had also worked together in the past and had excellent rapport. This would maximize their advantages.

Xiao Xias Yin aura was heavy and she wasnt suited to guard the Yang position. Yet they had actually used special ink and drawn glyphs all over her to raise her Yang aura. The eight jade plaques on the floor also had similar effects. Jades are Yang aligned and the eight trigrams were of extreme Yang. This eight trigrams formation felt extremely unusual, and could naturally supplement the guardians innate deficiency.

However, he still didnt understand how an extreme Yang constitution like Wan Lis could guard the Yin position!

Zhang Xiao Hua ignored Bao Da Tongs provocation and took another glance at Wan Li. He saw that Wan Li had recovered slightly during Bao Da Tongs rambling, and was no longer supporting himself with the tattered banner. It seemed he had merely suffered a glancing blow. The hellfire hadnt struck Wan Lis body directly after all. He was merely damaged by the shockwave of forcibly taking the attack. This made him feel a moment of regret.

Why hadnt he focused his power on attacking Wan Li? Although he had a special constitution and learned a bit of magic, he still couldnt be compared to Ruan Zhan and Bao Da Tong. Of course, breaking the formations Life Gate would allow them to escape. However, based on his and Hong Yus power, there was no need to flee in a sorry state. As long as a single person failed to hold their position, the formation wouldnt be able to last long. Wouldnt that save a lot of effort? It was clear that losing a round had affected his mind. He had wanted to escape this encirclement and ended up losing his cool.

From that perspective, he had still lost the second round.

He looked over at Xiao Xia, who was still sitting there unmoving. This made him feel a moment of confusion. Why wasnt she moving? Was it because she was enclosed in the barrier, or did his opponents have other tricks prepared? Or perhaps, she wasnt actually at the Yang position, and it was just an illusion?

Thinking of this, he hurriedly focused his attention on Xiao Xia. With a glance, he realized she was physically present, and it wasnt an illusion. This made him relax, because he believed his judgment was correct. After all, he had three centuries of cultivation. It was because of this that he didnt fear Ruan Zhan. He only needed to be cautious of the formation and those two treasures. Although Ruan Zhan was innately gifted, he was only a little over thirty years old. How can he be compared to that damned old ghost whose powers he had inherited, along with all his bitter cultivation?!

He came up with another plan.

Toss that broken sword away. Wan Lis voice rang out. It wont scare anyone like that.

Bao Da Tong laughed a little in embarrassment. I couldnt bear to use the bloodwood sword to block the hellfire earlier! He tossed the broken sword aside, pulling out another one from behind the cement tablet. Zhang Xiao Hua and Zhang Hong Yu only realized now that they had all hidden a few things where they now stood. They had clearly been prepared, waiting to shut the door to beat the dogs.

However, our kid here is really powerful. That sword actually snapped right away, the shockwave almost travelling up to my hand. Bao Da Tong praised Zhang Xiao Hua sincerely. Ive never fought such a strong fiend in my life. Looks like those centuries didnt go to waste.

Obviously, dont you see that even I got injured? Wan Li bantered along with Bao Da Tong, as if the enemies werent even there. However, he wont be able to break this formation!

His voice had just fallen when Zhang Xiao Hua laughed coldly. Cant I? Have a taste of this. As he spoke, hellfire formed once again in his palm.

This time it was even bigger, covering almost half his body. Then, before Bao Da Tong could speak again, he used both hands to send it flying towards him. At the same time, the red glow from his eyes erected a barrier in front of himself.