Chapter 838: Foundational Arrow
The hook-shaped weapon was not actually smeared with poison, but rather the girl’s blood. The bloodline that she had merged with made her blood highly toxic while also turning her personality dark and treacherous. In particular, she had a proclivity towards marring all the beautiful and pretty girls she saw.
Zi Xue had not been the girl’s match to begin with, and the girl had not even used her imprint so far. Just the natural suppression that the Fifth Mainland cultivators felt when fighting against those from the Sixth Mainland was enough to crush Zi Xue. As the hook-shaped weapon streaked through the air, a b.l.o.o.d.y wound appeared on Zi Xue’s neck, and her blood dripped down her snow-white neck.
The attacking girl gave a sinister smile. She was in no rush to kill Zi Xue, and she seemed to be toying with Zi Xue as if she were an animal.
Zi Xue’s expression turned frosty, not because she was afraid, but rather because she had been searching for this girl’s weakness all along. However, the natural suppression that Zi Xue was under was too troublesome, and it had left her unable to retaliate in this battle.
At that moment, the attacking girl’s expression changed, and she forcefully flung herself to the side a moment before a gale swept through where she had just been standing. This attack had torn through the void and slashed the ground apart.
The vicious girl’s eyes narrowed as she looked into the distance. However, there was nothing to be seen. Suddenly, she moved and tried to dodge once again, but she was too late this time. A palm struck her from above and smacked her into the ground, killing her instantly.
Zi Xue panted heavily, and her pale face turned to look at the man who had suddenly appeared; it was Lu Yin.
Lu Yin looked at Zi Xue, and he glanced to the side as his domain shot through the sky to form a towering tree. It continued on sweeping through the void, shattering quite a few of the miniature androids.
“You’re too careless,” Lu Yin commented softly.
Zi Xue withdrew her eyes, and she quickly took out some powerful medicine to treat herself.
Lu Yin looked up into the sky. He focused on the area where the tangled rune lines were diminishing bit by bit. The battle was drawing to a close.
Sure enough, before long, Elder Daggs returned to the Lavazone in a miserable condition, as he was missing an arm. As a powerhouse with a power level of around 300,000, only an expert within the same realm could possibly injure him to this degree.
Mr. Tradeo was a bit better off.
A portion of the Honor Lavazone had collapsed due to this attack.
Everyone moved to tidy up the battlefield with practiced movements.
Zi Rong arrived alongside Zi Xue and asked with concern, “Are you alright?”
Zi Xue shook her head and glanced over at Lu Yin. “He saved me.”
Zi Rong looked at Lu Yin and offered his grat.i.tude, “Thank you.”
Lu Yin tossed the ten cosmic rings that he had been transporting over to Zi Rong. “Take these to the Tri-Platform Lavazone to replenish their dark lava reserves. Find someone to deliver them.”
Lu Yin was able to rank among the top three people in the Ironblood Lavazone. Naturally, Zi Rong’s status would not be too far below that in the Honor Lavazone, and he would definitely be able to meet with the region’s commander.
Zi Rong took the cosmic rings. “I’ll send them on.”
Lu Yin arched a brow, but he was not too surprised. With Zi Rong’s strength, he was indeed capable of crossing across lavazones.
“Be careful. I was ambushed by the Technocracy when I first arrived, and there was one with the strength of an Enlighter,” Lu Yin warned.
Zi Rong nodded and then looked from Zi Xue to Lu Yin. “When are you heading back?”
“Seventh Bro, this fellow is burning his bridges after crossing them!” the Ghost Monkey screamed.
Lu Yin replied, “Very soon, but first, I want to talk to her.” He looked at Zi Xue.
Zi Rong frowned. “You already spoke with Zi Xue back in the Great Yu Empire, and you two’s misunderstanding has already been cleared up. What more is there that you want to discuss?”
Zi Xue looked at Zi Rong. “He saved me.”
Zi Rong wanted to say something more, but he nodded after seeing Zi Xue’s resolve. “I have to go. This mission is of the utmost priority.” He stared at Lu Yin for a moment before saying, “I’ll tell you this again: she’s Zi Xue, not some Bai Xue,”
And with that, he leaped away. Zi Rong was gone.
Zi Xue looked at Lu Yin. “What is it that you want to say?”
Lu Yin frowned. “Is there really nothing that you want to tell me? I’m absolutely certain that you’re Bai Xue. Your looks are identical, and your innate gift is even the same. I can’t believe that this is all just a coincidence.”
“There’s nothing that I can do if you don’t believe it. I am Zi Xue,” she stated indifferently.
Lu Yin’s expression turned deep. “I met Zhang Dingtian in the Innerverse’s Starfall Sea.”
Zi Xue did not respond.
“I killed Liu Shaoge,” Lu Yin continued.
Zi Xue still had no response.
Lu Yin sighed and turned to leave.
Back on Earth, Bai Xue had had some sort of history with Liu Shaoge, but Zi Xue had not shown any response even when that name was mentioned. She was either truly not Bai Xue, or she had hidden her past too deeply. At this time, the Outerverse was in danger, yet she still wanted to remain hidden. For her to remain this resolute under such circ.u.mstances indicated that she had her own reasons, and Lu Yin had no intention of forcing her.
However, he did leave one sentence before leaving. “If you need help, just call me.”
As she stared at Lu Yin’s departing figure, Zi Xue clenched both fists, and in the depths of her eyes, helplessness, agony, and grief could all be seen at the same time.
Lu Yin intended to head back to the Ironblood Lavazone, and so, he retraced his steps along the path that he had used to arrive in the Honor Lavazone. However, he soon discovered that the wormhole he had used had already been destroyed.
The Human Domain kept the locations of all wormholes hidden, but as soon as a wormhole was discovered by the Technocracy, they would destroy it, and it would take some time to reestablish a new wormhole.
Left with no other choice, Lu Yin could only fly the entire way back to the Ironblood Lavazone.
Along the way, he encountered at least five attacks, all of which came from the miniature androids that could explode with the power of an Enlighter. They also appeared in many different forms. Once, Lu Yin even came across one with the appearance of a knife that tried to chop off his head, which left him shocked.
However, as long as the androids’ power level did not surpa.s.s 300,000, they were of no threat to him.
After attacking Endless Weave’s border for so many years, the Technocracy seldom sent out experts with power levels above 300,000.
Although the Technocracy and Human Domain were enemies, their conflict had never reached the same degree as the intense enmity that existed between the Astral Beast Domain and the Human Domain. The Technocracy’s attempts to invade the Human Domain were mainly due to the fact that part of the Master Brain’s authority was being controlled by the Sixth Mainland. If not for the Sixth Mainland, the Technocracy might not have necessarily become enemies with the Human Domain.
This was also something that Lu Yin considered during his days of traveling along the border.
After flying for several days, Lu Yin finally returned to the Ironblood Lavazone.
It had taken ten days, and now it had been exactly thirty five months since the day the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated. The reluctant stalemate on the Outerverse border warfront frustrated the Sixth Mainland, and an unknown Imprinter suddenly moved against the Greatwood Lavazone on this day. His star energy descended like meteors, and each one had the shape of a wolf’s head. This was a bizarre battle technique.
The troops stationed in the Greatwood Lavazone were overwhelmed by the a.s.sault, as they could not withstand even a single meteor. Each meteor was equivalent to an attack that had a power level surpa.s.sing 400,000. This was the power of an Imprinter.
From below the Greatwood Lavazone, an unknown amount of star energy formed into arrows that shot up and collided with the falling meteors. The multiple intense impacts tore the sky apart and left a hole in s.p.a.ce.
The Arrow Mountain Elder had made a move, as he was the only one capable of stopping an Imprinter.
The Greatwood Lavazone had an Envoy-level powerhouse like the Arrow Mountain Elder, and despite the Sixth Mainland already being aware of this, they had still insisted on attacking the Greatwood Lavazone. Their goal was to completely destroy the border’s defensive perimeter. It wasn’t just one Imprinter that had moved, as Yan Cheng had also revealed himself at this time. His Triple Palm descended to accompany the other Imprinter’s meteor shower attack. Even the Arrow Mountain Elder was not able to completely defend against this combined attack, and half of the Greatwood Lavazone was destroyed in a short amount of time.
Lord Egret died.
Qiong Xi"er’s face paled as she looked up into the skies. Once the Arrow Mountain Elder was unable to continue resisting the two Imprinters, they were all going to die.
Zhu San felt depressed. If he had known how things would turn out, he would not have come to the border; this place was too dangerous.
Even in a one-on-one, the Arrow Mountain Elder might not have been a match for either of the two Imprinters. The boosted strength that gained from their imprints combined with the innate suppression that the Fifth Mainland cultivators felt against them was already enough to tip the scales. With it being a two against one battle, the Arrow Mountain Elder was shedding blood just to continue defending the border.
Yuan Shi finally could no longer bear just watching and he moved, only to be obstructed by Ancestor Mojiang, who had been constantly keeping an eye on Yuan Shi. When the two top powerhouses clashed, they vanished in an instant, as if their battle was occurring in a separate s.p.a.ce.
“This Lavazone can disappear now.” Yan Cheng smiled as the Bluedome Elder’s imprint appeared behind him. Anyone who became an Imprinter had the right to have the Bluedome Elder as their own imprint, as that powerhouse was an Empyrean Imprinter. It was precisely the Bluedome Elder’s imprint that allowed Yan Cheng and the other Imprinter to suppress the Arrow Mountain Elder.
The Arrow Mountain Elder spat out a mouthful of blood, and a resolute expression appeared on his weathered face. He slowly took out a simple looking longbow and formed a seal with one hand. He was using his battle technique.
The Endless Lavazone lay to the east of the Greatwood Lavazone, and an intense battle had also erupted there at the same time. However, since the defenders there had the support of Aurora Enterprises’ President Qi, they were able to defend their region as long as no Imprinter appeared.
Master Bei was struggling against an Enlighter realm android when his body suddenly froze. An arrow was drawn out from within his body and flew to the west.
Master Bei’s expression changed abruptly, and he wanted to seize the arrow back. But just when he stretched out his hand, he thought of something. Instead, he gritted his teeth and gave up on the arrow.
That arrow was one of the three arrows that Neo-Vestige Sect had pa.s.sed down throughout ages, and Master Bei had always carried that arrow on his body. Only one person was able to summon that arrow from him, and that was the Arrow Mountain Elder.
Master Bei truly did not want to let the Arrow Mountain Elder use that arrow, but there was no way the Enlighter could stop him from doing so.
In the Greatwood Lavazone, Yan Cheng and the other Imprinter were reinforced with the supreme power of the Bluedome Elder’s imprint, and they looked down upon the Greatwood Lavazone. The androids and Sixth Mainland cultivators had all pulled back. They had every intention of uniting to completely destroy this place.
Within the Greatwood Lavazone, Qiong Xi"er and the others gritted their teeth as they stared up at the sky. No matter how smart Qiong Xi’er was, she was powerless to affect the situation of this battle.
“Destroy it completely!” the unknown Imprinter barked, causing s.p.a.ce itself to shudder. A power level of 500,000 completely burst forth, which caused many cultivators to think that everything before their eyes was about to shatter, as this region of s.p.a.ce could not withstand such a violent force.
On the other side of the battlefield, Yan Cheng also unleashed his full strength, and the two Imprinters joined forces, plunging all of the defenders deep into despair.
The Arrow Mountain Elder held his longbow and glanced at the tens of thousands of Neo-Vestige Sect disciples who were all beneath him as well as the hundreds of thousands of cultivators protecting the border. His eyes were filled with determination; even if he died, he would not allow the border’s defenses to collapse.
With a whoosh, an arrow flew out that was caught by the Arrow Mountain Elder, and he nocked it upon the longbow. There was no majestic might being released nor was there any sort of overwhelming feeling of suppression. There was only a very ordinary arrowhead, but it was precisely this exceptionally sharp arrowhead that made Yan Cheng and the other Imprinter feel an indescribably fearsome aura. They both felt as though some terrifying beast had laid its sights upon them.
At the same time, in the void, Ancestor Mojiang’s expression changed, as he had sensed a familiar aura. He tore through the void and stepped out to see the arrow in the Arrow Mountain Elder’s hands. Could that be…?
With a whoosh, the arrow disappeared. Phantom images of nine plumes appeared around the fletching of the arrow. Next, a vague phantom image appeared. It was very indistinct, but it could vaguely be recognized as having a humanoid shape. At this moment, the void solidified, and it felt as though time itself had halted for this instant. It was also possible that everyone’s perception was being overwhelmed by that invisible strength, including even the Imprinters and Ancestor Mojiang.
The arrow pierced straight through Yan Cheng’s heart before continuing on and shooting through the void.
The Arrow Mountain Elder made the seal with his hand once again, causing the arrow to return to his side.
Only at this time was anyone able to react, and they all turned to look at outer s.p.a.ce. Yan Cheng was clutching at his chest as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He was almost unable to remain standing.
A single arrow had managed to severely injure an Imprinter.
Yuan Shi was surprised, as that arrow was completely extraordinary, and even his heart had palpated at that instant. Was that Neo-Vestige Sect’s foundation? It was rumored that the Neo-Vestige Sect had been established upon the foundation of three great arrows.
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