The sword Fang Xin was emitting a forceful aura, and those watching from afar could already feel themselves shudder from just looking at it, nevermind Xie Lian who had been forced to back away step by step by such attacks.
Earlier, Hua Cheng could take on White No-Face by himself and it was more than enough, but after Jun Wu had emerged, both of them were needed in order to make the match even. The advantage of Mount TongLu being the main spiritual domain was gradually becoming obvious, and Xie Lian could subtly sense a heavy force oppressing and restricting their side.
And, Jun Wu also has a white armour protecting his body, a thousand years spiritual device he had forged personally, its defence practically impenetrable. He only needed to protect his head; Hua Cheng's sabre was incredible fast and precise, Xie Lian also struck wherever he could, the two practically struck blows all over Jun Wu's front, from his neck, his heart, his back, his abdomen, his shoulders, but the opponent was not affected in the least!
Mu Qing shouted, "STOP WASTING YOUR STRENGTH! IT'S POINTLESS! THAT WHITE ARMOUR CAN'T BE PENETRATED AT ALL!"
"Aim for just under his right ribs!" Xie Lian exclaimed.
The scimitar was unleashed again and cut where Xie Lian had instructed, but as expected, it was useless. Mu Qing shouted, "I TOLD YOU IT'S POINTLESS! WHY DON'T YOU THINK OF A WAY TO PULL AWAY FIRST, AND WE'LL JOIN IN THE FIGHT! FENG XIN! WHERE'S YOUR BOW AND ARROWS?"
Feng Xin was just climbing the rocks on the side, ready to capture that fetus spirit that was currently crazily spitting and slithering its tongue at him. When he heard the call, he answered, "ALRIGHT! I'M COMING!"
However, Xie Lian instructed, "Continue, don't stop! Attack just below the right ribs!"
"Your Highness!!" Feng Xin shouted, "THAT SET OF ARMOUR IS POWERFUL, IT MIGHT NOT CRACK EVEN AFTER HUNDREDS OF BLOWS FROM THE SABRE!"
Xie Lian was adamant, "Don't worry, just listen to me! There's no need for that many blows!"
Hua Cheng didn't question why either, and continued attacking nonstop with the sabre. Suddenly, where the blade brushed by, a crack appeared.
Blood spurt out. E-Ming's blade had cut into Jun Wu's abdomen just below his right ribs!
Hua Cheng was standing in front of Jun Wu, gripping the sabre singlehandedly, his eyes cold and sharp as he stared him in the eyes. Meanwhile, Xie Lian stood on Jun Wu's side, and RuoYe used this chance to whip out, binding Jun Wu's hands, preventing him from moving to block.
On the side, Mu Qing was shocked, "How is that possible?"
That thousand year white armour, how could it be so easily cut through by Hua Cheng?
Xie Lian yanked RuoYe back tight, eyeing Jun Wu, "...Have you forgotten? Eight hundred years ago, you and I fought once."
Then it dawned on Feng Xin and Mu Qing. "The second ascension?"
At the time, Xie Lian requested for Jun Wu to banish him once more, and, to compete for measure for a round.
Although in that battle, it was promised that neither party would show mercy, but thinking back now, Jun Wu must've still held himself back.
But, Xie Lian himself used everything he got.
He unleashed over three thousand swords. Among them, over four hundred managed to stab Jun Wu, and in those four hundred some swords, more than a hundred had pierced this place.
Xie Lian relentlessly shot over three thousand swords to attack Jun Wu, and finally broke through that thousand year white armour that was impenetrable, and pierced right into his abdomen below the right ribs.
And it was the very place Hua Cheng's sabre had cut at in this moment!
So, eight hundred years ago, Xie Lian had already left an old scar upon this white armour, and it'd only take three slashes from the sabre for Hua Cheng to crack it!
Hua Cheng's sabre was also much sharper than Xie Lian had imagined. The scimitar rammed through the abdomen, a blow that was definitely critical!
He only just sighed a breath in relief mentally when he heard Guoshi yell, "THAT'S NO USE! HE..."
Logically, having suffered grave injuries, Jun Wu's actions should've been restrained, but he had only lowered his head to give the wound a glance, his expression unchanging. Right as Xie Lian sensed something was off, Jun Wu's hands moved slightly.
Immediately, Xie Lian heard the light sound of something tearing, and at the same time, his hold loosened.
RuoYe... was ripped!
That white silk band had been torn into two, and suddenly dropped to the ground lifelessly. The next second, Xie Lian felt his neck being choked, and then his entire person was pulled up!
He heard Hua Cheng exclaim, "Your Highness!" But, that voice suddenly became distant. Jun Wu's voice however, was still only inches away, and he spoke up, "Xian Le, did you actually believe that something like being pierced by the sword is something I have less experience in than you? Did you think I would care?"
Guoshi said from the distance, "Even if you all pierce him with the blade hundreds of times it'd still be of no use! Because... he seems... unable to feel pain at all anymore..."
Xie Lian could take a long sword penetrating his heart without flinching, and Jun Wu, was also the same.
Feng Xin had already pulled open his bow and was aiming at Jun Wu, but when he heard Guoshi he dropped it again, "WHAT?! Then doesn't that mean even if we manage to make a hit it's still pointless?!"
Mu Qing spoke up, "I might as well tell you all another bad news I've observed. I suspect, his recovery speed is faster than the speed he's receiving blows."
"WHAT?!"
On the other side, Xie Lian could already verify that this was indeed fact.
His wound had been so terrifying, and if this was anyone else they would've had their waist completely slashed through, yet the wound had already stopped bleeding. "No need to be so surprised." Jun Wu said, "If you are constantly stabbed in the back, if you don't make yourself recover immediately then wouldn't you have died for a thousand times over already? But, the two of you are certainly quite something."
He smiled, "In these eight hundred years, I've only been wounded by one sword and one sabre, and it was from the two of you. Crimson Rain Sought Flower, stand further away. You wouldn't want to see me wring Xian Le's neck."
"..."
Hua Cheng's face was dark, the sharpness in his eyes tempesting, but when he saw Jun Wu holding Xie Lian hanging over the Heaven Crossing Bridge, with one release of his hand and Xie Lian would plummet into the lava pool hundreds of yards below, a moment later he reluctantly withdrew his sabre, resting a hand behind his back, and slowly backed away for a few steps.
He appeared rather calm, but the scimitar under his arm was giving him away. E-Ming was greatly agitated, its eyeball spinning like crazy, staring madly at Xie Lian. Hua Cheng had backed away to the edge of the Heaven Crossing Bridge before Jun Wu said, "That's good enough."
With Xie Lian in his hold, the two looked each other in the eyes. Then a moment later, Jun Wu suddenly slammed Xie Lian into the wall of rocks nearby.
The smashing was too violent; Xie Lian's entire head was ringing, blood running from his nose and lips in a mess, flowing down the contours of his face. In the distance there seemed to be many people yelling in alarm, but he couldn't identify who they all were, and could only hear Jun Wu speak softly in his ear, "Xian Le, does it hurt when your head is smashed against the wall?"
Xie Lian couldn't quite process the question so he didn't respond. Thus, Jun Wu gripped him and slammed him into the rocks again before questioning,"Does it hurt? Does it hurt? Does it hurt?"
With each question he'd slam Xie Lian into the rocky wall, so hard Xie Lian started screaming, but what he was screaming was, "SAN LANG, DON'T COME OVER! I'M FINE I'M FINE! YOU MUST ABSOLUTELY NOT COME OVER!"
At least not right now. The opportune moment hadn't yet come!
By the first slam Hua Cheng was already ready to charge over. But he hadn't taken two steps before he heard Xie Lian telling him not to go over, so he forced himself to stop.
But his face had turned completely savage, and the veins on the back of his hands also look like they were going to burst, his entire arms shaking.
Jun Wu was expressionless, but his hand was ramming Xie Lian into the rocks like crazy, asking him repeatedly, "Does it hurt? Does it hurt?"
Guoshi exclaimed, "Your Highness!!!" But who knows who he was calling for. Xie Lian's bloody hands pushed against the uneven surface of the rocky wall, gritting his teeth as he roared, "...IT HURTS!!!"
Only then did Jun Wu smile with satisfaction, and spared Xie Lian's poor head, putting him on the ground.
Xie Lian was still hugging that ringing head of his, sitting on the ground, tears and blood flowing uncontrollably down his face. Jun Wu crouched down next to him, stared at his face for a while, then suddenly raised his hands and petted Xie Lian's head before gently helping him wipe away the blood on his face.
"..."
This gesture was warm and affectionately kind, like a father crouching next to the child who had just been beaten black and blue by himself, comforting him. This picture was raising hairs on both Feng Xin and Mu Qing's backs, "Has he... has he... really gone mad?"
The fingers of the hand Hua Cheng rested on the sabre was cracking, and the pupil of E-Ming's eyeball was rapidly shrinking, as if it was going bloodshot.
Xie Lian didn't breathe a word, letting Jun Wu help wipe him clean. Jun Wu then muttered to himself, "You foolish child, if it hurts why don't you turn back? Did you think if you keep slamming, keep smashing, the wall will fall down on its own? Why don't you change your own course of direction?"
"I won't turn back." Xie Lian stated.
Jun Wu was extremely violent, raising his hand and smacked, so hard Xie Lian fell to the ground in a loud thud!
Xie Lian was still going dizzy when Jun Wu picked him up. Using a voice like he was almost losing his patience, he said, "Must you anger me like this? Let me ask you again, will you change?"
Xie Lian coughed twice, coughing out a mouthful of blood, "I won't."
A crack finally appeared on Jun Wu's gentle expression, a flash of savageness flickered.
Guoshi's face was turning green, and seeing the situation going downhill, he hastily shouted, "Your Highness! YOU NEVER WANTED TO KILL THIS CHILD, YOU REALLY LIKE HIM! YOU SAID SO YOURSELF, HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?"
Jun Wu sneered, "If that wasn't the case, then I wouldn't have exhausted all of my patience and tolerance on him alone in the past eight hundred years. He would've long since become part of the Heavenly Capital's foundation, and trampled by millions."
He turned to Xie Lian, suddenly outraged, "But he doesn't know what's good for him. Stubborn, capricious, disobeying of my every word! He just had to go against me! You won't change, will you? Very well. Then why don't we see if this wall will fall if your head is cracked open!"
Guoshi saw him lifting Xie Lian again and quickly yelled, "YOUR HIGHNESS! YOUR HIGHNESS!!! HIS HIGHNESS... LITTLE HIGHNESS IS STILL IMMATURE, JUST LET HIM GO THIS TIME, LET IT GO! HE WILL UNDERSTAND ONE DAY..."
Jun Wu glanced at him, and his chuckle grew colder, "Did you think I've really gone mad? Don't lie to me. The one you truly think is immature isn't him, but me, no?"
Guoshi was taken aback, and Jun Wu added, "You've spent so much of yourself in nurturing him, teaching and guiding him, purely because you had hoped he could win against me, so you can prove that I was wrong and you were right, that you were all in the right. So you can hold the illusion of a perfect Crown Prince of WuYong to face and dismiss the Jun Wu now. Isn't that your objective? Did you think I don't know what you're thinking?"
"THAT'S NOT IT!" Guoshi cried, "Stop getting tied up in right and wrongs, victories and defeat, I'VE NEVER THOUGHT THAT WAY BEFORE!"
But Jun Wu had stopped listening, and he raised his voice, his tone sharp, "FORGET IT! Let me tell you right now, you can all forget it! NO ONE CAN WIN AGAINST ME! ESPECIALLY HIM!" He laughed maniacally then dragged Xie Lian and slammed him towards the rocks, smashing as he yelled, "WILL YOU CHANGE? WILL YOU CHANGE? WILL YOU CHANGE??"
It was as if Xie Lian had gone mad too, and he gripped Jun Wu's arms roaring, "I WON'T! I WON'T! I WON'T CHANGE!!!"
Even though the smashing was making him see stars, incomparably painful, but he held this breath in stubbornly, refusing to give the desired answer at all, and cried as he roared, "I JUST WON'T CHANGE! EVEN IF IT'S PAINFUL I WON'T CHANGE, EVEN IF I DIE I WON'T CHANGE, I WILL NEVER CHANGE!!!"
Now, it wasn't Jun Wu who was driving him mad, it was him driving Jun Wu mad!
Both of Jun Wu's eyes were red, and just as he was about to strike another blow to discipline him, his action suddenly came to a halt. He looked down, and saw a long sabre was struck into his shoulder, and eight long arrows made of sticks were neatly pinned on his back.
None of that mattered, since the long sabre and the arrows didn't penetrate the white armour. However, his right hand was gone.
The hand grabbing Xie Lian was gone. All of it, vanished from his wrist, the cut neat and clean. Xie Lian was also gone.
When he turned his head, something with a sharp, forceful wind was coming right at him. He swung his left hand and caught it, and only noticed when he saw that it was his own right hand.
Across the Heaven Crossing Bridge, Hua Cheng held Xie Lian who was completely covered in blood. A hand was gripping the scimitar in a reverse hold, hugging Xie Lian's shoulders, the other hand was covering the wounds on his head. He said chillingly, "Take back that filthy hand of yours."
Xie Lian was too stubborn and refused defeat, finally enraging Jun Wu, and made him expose weak points!
Jun Wu clutched that right hand, and tacked it onto his own wrist anew, twisting it a couple times to work it out, then pulled out the arrows on his back. Suddenly, like he remembered something, he turned his head back, and looked at the pale faced Mu Qing who was gripping the long sabre. Having their eyes met, Mu Qing was slightly startled, but he still bold-headedly forced himself to remain calm. But it wasn't long before he could no longer keep calm.
Jun Wu glanced at his shoulder and commented lightly, "I knew it. Compared to Xian Le, you're still lacking."
Hearing this, Mu Qing's face changed slightly, but the long sabre in his hand suddenly dropped, and soon after his face changed colours completely. He pulled his sleeve up to look at his wrist, and saw that black cursed shackle suddenly tightened, the veins and nerves around it bulging around, as if endless blood was gathering towards it.
Feng Xin saw Mu Qing was petrified and unmoving, and shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STANDING THERE, RUN!"
Guoshi berated, "Feng Xin you little idiot, how can he run with those injuries on his legs?"
Feng Xin was shocked, "FUCK! I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THAT!"
If this was the past, Mu Qing would more than likely roll his eyes all the way back in anger, but now, even if he ran it'd be pointless. With the cursed shackle on his hand, it wouldn't matter where he ran off to!
Feng Xin swore and was just about to go up when unexpectedly, after Jun Wu had pulled out the arrows on his back, he flipped his hand and threw them towards him. Feng Xin only felt his chest go cold, and when he looked down, those eight arrows were all returned, neatly and orderly piercing his chest!
Jun Wu walked languidly towards Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. Hua Cheng didn't look at him at all, hugging Xie Lian, "Gege? Gege?"
Xie Lian had suffered severe blows earlier, and it took a while before he blearily came to, his head still throbbing, but before his eyes even blinked open, he muttered, "...San Lang? Are you alright?"
Hua Cheng gazed at him for a moment, and suddenly pressed him hard into his arms, replying softly, "I'm completely fine. Why don't you take a look at yourself?"
Xie Lian clung onto his embrace, and while the hug was very tight, none of the wounds were pressured. He opened his eyes strenuously, and all the disorder around fell into his vision.
Mu Qing was frozen on the spot, a hand tightly clutching the other wrist, seeming to be fighting for control with that blood-sucking cursed shackle, but by how pale his face looked, he might not hang on for much longer.
Feng Xin on the other hand, while he wasn't pierced through by those eight arrows, nevertheless the wounds were significant, and he was slumped over the bridge. That fetus spirit was howling demonically in high spirits, jumping up and down around him, then used its back foot to madly step on Feng Xin's face. Feng Xin was outraged but he still couldn't move, otherwise his injuries would worsen.
Meanwhile, the entire Heaven Cross Bridge was caving in, stretch by stretch, block by block, and they might collapse down with it at any moment!
Xie Lian took all of this in and jolted, wanting to get up. Hua Cheng assisted him and the two rose to their feet, their eyes moving forward together.
The figure of Jun Wu who was languidly walking towards them appeared particularly giant from the firelight all around, dropping an immense shadow. Xie Lian wiped hard at the blood around his eyes, nose and mouth, staring deadly at that figure.
Jun Wu was holding Zhu Xin at a slant. The sword body of Zhu Xin was gathered with incessantly flowing spiritual powers. At this moment, he was so calm and at ease that he was practically a different person than the Jun Wu who was manically ramming Xie Lian onto the rocks. "Xian Le, you know very well that there is no doubt of your defeat."
Jun Wu understood Xie Lian too well. He knew exactly how he would fight, and his spiritual powers also overwhelmingly overtook him. Moreover, even if they hadn't exchanged blows, Xie Lian could still sense that Jun Wu's battle aura and spiritual powers were even stronger now. With Mount TongLu as his territory, the restrictions on their side was growing more obvious.
Xie Lian thought inwardly, what he said was probably true. He couldn't win.
But, even if he couldn't win, he had to fight!
However, Hua Cheng suddenly spoke up, "No. Your Highness, you can win."
Xie Lian was taken aback and looked at him. Hua Cheng was also gazing at him, "You can win. You're stronger than him."
His one eye was bright, as if something was burning, and he said with certainty, "Believe me. He's wrong. You're in the right. You're stronger than him. You're much more powerful than him!"
Jun Wu let out a deep and quiet chuckle, probably because he thought Hua Cheng's words were naive and amusing, or perhaps he was pleased by the domineering power in his hands.
The power of millions of believers were all in his hands alone!
But Hua Cheng gripped his shoulders, "So what? They're just millions of fools, they're all useless trash! But for you, one person is enough!"
One person was enough?
Xie Lian hadn't yet wrapped his head around it before Hua Cheng pulled him close.
Xie Lian's eyes widened.
Spiritual powers exploded and rushed in.
This time it was more indomitable than any other times they transferred spiritual powers, even the wraith butterflies and the molten resentful spirits seemed to have felt this horrifying energy, exploding, one after the other all around them, exploding and shrieking.
Xie Lian's fingers were going numb, his legs also shaking so much he was going to fall to his knees, and he kept crying stop in his mind, no more! But Hua Cheng's hand was firmly locked on his head, not letting him leave, refusing his refusal.
Who knows how much time had passed when suddenly, Xie Lian's throat relaxed, and at the same time, Hua Cheng finally released him. Xie Lian's knees buckled, falling to the ground, his hands strenuously supporting himself off the ground so he wouldn't fall over completely.
Jun Wu stopped in his step and looked over, his face solemn. Feng Xin, who was lying in the distance, uttered in disbelief, "Your, Your Highness, your... your?"
Reaching out with trembling hands, Xie Lian felt his own neck.
There was nothing,
Hua Cheng had poured too much spiritual powers into him. There really was too much, so much it was completely outside the amount the cursed shackle could withstand.
Those two bands of fetters that had constrained him for eight hundred years had burst and shattered!