A silver storm covered the sky in all directions. Gusts of air turned into invisible saber blades that whistled and whined. All of it pressed down at once, flattening the forest, cutting, slicing, turning everything into dust.
Abbotess Liang barely reacted in time but she couldn't run. She raised her left arm along with a layer of purple energy, protecting her head.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Continuous saber strikes impacted against her hasty barrier, ripping away layers that were replenished as quickly as they were destroyed. She was pressed down but she was still standing. She couldn't be defeated by something like this.
"Enough!" She shouted.
The strength of a Spirit King erupted, washing away the saber attack with purple light. Chen Wentian's sneak attack dissipated, leaving a wide, empty clearing that was now devoid of trees.
Abbotess Liang locked onto the culprit who descended and landed near the edge of the trees. His body was tinged with blue flame as well as a mishmash of other spiritual auras, all at the Spirit Lord Realm.
She snorted, "Immortal Blue Dragon Chen Wentian… you're brave and also stupid. Do you think you can hurt me with only this much? Do you think yourself a divine dragon? Too arrogant… too arrogant!"
She was a Spirit King. Chen Wentian was a Spirit Lord with a few Spirit Lord items but those didn't matter. What mattered was a whole realm of cultivation, experience, and spiritual power. She did not think for a moment that she could lose to this insignificant man, even in her present condition.
"Heh, I'll never know if I don't try." He said lightly, "Your left arm doesn't look that good. Is it alright?"
It wasn't, not after his saber attack. It was covered in blood and stripped bare. There were more slashes and cuts that he could count. Some were superficial but a few did enough damage to be concerning.
Abbotess Liang didn't reply and merely stood there. She was the wounded one, the one on the backfoot. She was wary of any possible tricks so she was intent on defending for the moment.
Chen Wentian obliged and leaped up with a gust of wind. He whipped the Insightful Swallow around in an imperceptible pattern.
Flying Dragon Saber Art, Third Flight, Dragon Cry Decimates the Mountains!
An ear-shattering roar erupted. At the same time, a single slashing attack left the Insightful Swallow and cleaved apart the ground.
"Insolent!"
Abbotess Liang leaped up to intercept. Her entire body was now covered by transparent purple cloth like a set of armor, giving her a bulky appearance. She lifted a gigantic fist and slammed down against the incoming attack.
Bang!
Several layers of her phantasmal fist were split apart. The attack sliced through the fist and almost to the wrist before finally stopping.
A second purple fist shot out, extending far past ordinary range, stretching thin, heading towards Chen Wentian's head.
It was about to catch him when a circular bronze shield appeared.
Dong!
The purple fist attack was deflected. The impact sounded like a gong being struck and the force sent Chen Wentian tumbling away. He skidded to a halt some distance away, after having made a deep gouge in the ground.
He hopped back up and wiped a bit of blood from his mouth. He wasn't seriously injured but blocking a full-bodied strike from a Spirit King was still tough. If he did not have the Golden Serpent Robe on top of the Cloudy Bronze Parasol, the damage would have been considerable, to say the least.
Abbotess Liang still remained where she was, waiting for him to either attack again or run. He felt that she needed to taste his saber a few more times. He twirled his saber and charged again.
Flying Dragon Saber Art, First Flight, Dragon Snatching the Sea!
Three simultaneous saber strikes like a dragon claw landed on Abbotess Liang's purple armor, opening large gaps.
Second Flight!
A storm of blades held her in place, unable to recover.
Third Flight!
The powerful singular slash split apart her purple armor even further.
Fourth Flight!
A stabbing attack charged through the opening, reaching Abbotess Liang's chest and drawing blood.
Fifth Flight!
Sixth Flight!
The attack pattern of the Flying Dragon Saber Art subsided. It was a continuous stream of moves that encompassed everything from the first to the sixth flight. In terms of pure destructive power, the six saber flights together was enough to take the head off of any Spirit Lord, even one at the highest stage of spiritual strengthening.
However, against a Spirit King, it was still lacking.
A gust of spiritual energy blew away the dust obscuring the battle. Abbotess Liang remained standing, purple energy covering a few more wounds on her body. The most serious seemed to be the hole in her upper chest caused by the fourth flight. However, she was a Spirit King. She had a Spirit King's tough physique. She had a Spirit King's endurance. She could not be felled by in one go the strongest attack at the Spirit Lord Realm.
Her spiritual energy levels had barely dipped from their starting point while Chen Wentian's condition was much worse after executing a prolonged attack. He was breathing heavily from the exertion and she could see it.
"Too arrogant! Simply too arrogant! I expected more of you." She said, "So what if you have a few toys. You can't beat me, even if your wildest dreams. You're going to die and I'm going to enjoy killing you. Then, I will return with an army to wipe out those white bitches as well as that insolent slut lotus. You can rest in peace knowing that I will take good care of your disciple after I destroy this subcontinent!"
"I'm not dead yet. The victor has still yet to be decided." He retorted.
"Hahaha… Fine!"
Abbotess Liang's expression changed from mirth to a steely glare in an instant. Her spiritual energy shot up and covered the sky.
"Domain of the Purple Gown!"
The sky turned an unnatural shade of light purple. Then, fluttering purple streams descended like bolts of cloth rolling down from the heavens. They came down from all directions, seeking to entomb everything within.
Chen Wentian rapidly retreated but the domain followed. Abbotess Liang also gave chase, trying but failing to hide the pain of her injuries, visible on her face.
Everything was purple. Large streams of falling cloth separated into smaller pieces and fluttered down all around him like snow. When each piece made contact with anything, there was an explosion that left behind nothing except a crater.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Continuous blasts rocked the desolate forest. Chen Wentian blocked most of the falling cloth with the Cloudy Bronze Parasol while parrying others with his saber.
Despite his best efforts, he was still knocked around like a ragdoll. A Spirit King's domain was simply too much to defend against entirely. Avoiding a direct hit was the most he could do.
If that wasn't enough, an oversized purple figured caught up with him faster than he expected.
"Don't run, little boy!"
A hand that was twice as tall as him closed off his path of retreat. He turned, only to see another hand in his way.
The Insightful Swallow struck out, seeking to open a way.
He could only get to the second flight before several giant fingers caught his weapon. The saber was forcibly wrenched from his grasp as the abbotess's other fist slammed his body into the ground.
Her fist enveloped the Spirit Lord weapon and squeezed. At first, nothing happened but she shouted in frustration and applied more force.
Ping!
The blade broke in half under sheer force. Then it broke again, and again… until it was finally crushed into pieces.
Chen Wentian did not have time to mourn the loss of the saber before a purple palm slammed down.
Gong!
The shield from the Cloudy Bronze Parasol saved him from being turned into meat paste but it could not hold for long.
Another palm slapped down, causing a web of cracks across the shield. He held up the umbrella and sent all available spiritual energy into it, strengthening his defense and healing the cracks.
Another attack landed, then another, and yet another.
The purple giant slapped the ground enthusiastically until the bronze barrier finally shattered.
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