Chapter 2316: Victory and Defeat
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The changes to Ye Futian similarly caused the hearts of the cultivators of the Devil World to tremble. Before this, when they saw Ye Futian being pushed back, they had believed the battle to be over.
However, it seemed that they were too optimistic. This battle was just beginning.
Xiao Mu grew stronger and stronger. Ye Futian also rose to the occasion. He kept unleas.h.i.+ng new abilities. He had not been going all out at all since the start of the battle. This made the top figures of the Devil World feel somewhat surreal. A seventh-tier cultivator actually dared not go all out when facing an eighth-tier direct disciple of the Devil Emperor. How confident was Ye Futian in his own abilities?
An instant change appeared in Xiao Mu’s demonic eyes. Yet, the more powerful Ye Futian grew, the more it seemed to stir up Xiao Mu’s fighting spirit. His battle spirit was ablaze right now. A storm swept out, and the silhouettes of the demons in the sky moved, resonating with him.
Lifting the blade with both his hands, all the power of the Great Path in Xiao Mu’s body surged into the demonic blade. It caused demonic light from the blade to pierce the heavens. Terrifying clouds covered the skies.
The scene before the crowd was astonis.h.i.+ng.
On the other side, with Ye Futian’s figure as the center, divine starlight shone extremely brightly. His body radiated with imperial glory. Bathed in the divine light, Ye Futian was like a true G.o.d. Stars circled around him. His shadow was on each of the stars, as though he controlled all of them.
Buzz. Xiao Mu slashed down for the fourth time. With this slash, the various demons in the sky also slashed down with their demonic blades at the same time. Frightening cracks appeared in the sky, ripping apart all of existence. Against these demonic blades, no one could survive.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The demonic blades met with resistance this time. They cleaved down on the stars that filled the sky. The stars that circled around Ye Futian’s figure formed a light shroud of stars. The Blade Will of the demons were all blocked off by these stars.
Only the domineering blade in the middle, which was the one of the Nine Slashes of the Heavenly Demon unleashed by Xiao Mu, cleaved the light shroud apart. At the same time, it shattered a star before it. It was as though no defensive power could withstand this blade. However, the people down below could all sense that the might of this blade had already been weakened. It would most likely be difficult for Xiao Mu to end Ye Futian with this slash.
As expected, when the astonis.h.i.+ng blade slashed down, countless runes appeared around Ye Futian’s body and formed an absolute domain of stars. The Blade Will flashed, but it could not break through the defense of the stars. Cracks appeared on the stars. Then, the momentum of the blade was halted, and it could not advance any further.
As the cultivators beneath the sky watched, endless Blade Will landed on the stars. It caused cracks to form on the stars. However, the stars were not shattered, and they had successfully blocked this ferocious attack.
Was this the defensive technique pa.s.sed down through the teachings of Great Emperor Ziwei? many people down below thought. Great Emperor Ziwei was one of the most famous Great Emperor figures in the ancient era. He was a marvel of his time. How powerful was he?
Rumor has it that Great Emperor Ziwei could control the various stars in the sky. He was the ruler of a segmentum. Such an extraordinary figure must have certainly cultivated powerful techniques. However, the various cultivators had never seen them before. They had only caught a glimpse of such techniques from observing Renhuang Chen during his battles.
Now, Ye Futian seemed to be unleas.h.i.+ng the power of the teachings he inherited from Great Emperor Ziwei. How powerful would this technique be?
The defensive power of this technique was evident.
The fourth blade was blocked.
Xiao Mu initially thought that the previous two slashes were enough to end the battle. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
By now, he had exhausted much of his strength. Each and every slash of the Nine Slashes of the Heavenly Demon took a huge toll on the user. It was already awe-inspiring for Xiao Mu to be able to unleash four slashes.
Xiao Mu slashed down for the fifth time. His fifth slash was even more powerful than the fourth. The momentum was even more astonis.h.i.+ng.
The fifth slash caused cracks to form on many stars around Ye Futian. The defensive light shroud before Ye Futian shattered into pieces after being cleaved into half. Although Ye Futian still managed to block this fifth slash, the stars were on the verge of crumbling. It was as though they would be destroyed at any second.
Xiao Mu didn’t underestimate Ye Futian. From his perspective, if Ye Futian hadn’t unleashed the power he inherited from Great Emperor Ziwei, the fifth slash would have certainly ended the battle.
This fifth blade was absolutely domineering, yet it was still not enough to defeat Ye Futian.
Right now, Xiao Mu felt too exhausted to press on. He took a step forward. He was akin to a demon as his gaze locked on Ye Futian. Xiao Mu proclaimed, “This next slash should end the battle.”
He couldn’t afford to drag the battle any longer; it cost a huge amount of damage to himself as he unleashed each slash of the Nine Slashes of the Heavenly Demon. While the slashes were very formidable, they also consumed much of the strength of the user. Xiao Mu needed to maintain both his flesh and mind at their peak state to truly unleash the might of the Nine Slashes of the Heavenly Demon.
Otherwise, his attack would have the form but not the essence of the Nine Slashes of the Heavenly Demon. It would not retain its might too.
Boom! A terrifying demonic aura enveloped Xiao Mu. The cultivators from the Devil World narrowed their eyes in shock. What was Xiao Mu planning to do?
Was he going to send out a frenzy slash?
Ye Futian stood still on his spot. He looked plainly at Xiao Mu; he was akin to an all-mighty G.o.d. There was absolute confidence s.h.i.+ning in his eyes. He was more or less certain about Xiao Mu’s level of ability.
From the looks of it, the sixth slash would be Xiao Mu’s limit.
If Xiao Mu could slash down the seventh time, it was possible for him to defeat Ye Futian. If Xiao Mu could slash down the eighth time, Ye Futian would surely lose.
Unfortunately, there was no what-if. The sixth slash would be Xiao Mu’s last slash.
And Ye Futian was confident that he could block this sixth slash.
It should be said that Ye Futian didn’t intend to block it; instead, he would retaliate.
Boom! Xiao Mu’s body changed as he grew larger and larger. He merged with the demons in the sky and transformed into a demon himself. He wielded the blade with both his hands. When his Blade Will burst forth, terrifying fissures formed in the s.p.a.ce.
At this moment, Ye Futian felt threatened.
He finally moved. An illusory figure appeared above Ye Futian’s body. The illusory figure seemed to be Ye Futian himself. It was surrounded by divine light and abnormal phenomena. Ye Futian transformed into a deity and became one with the stars. Endless divine light of the stars shone on him. With his body as the center of the stars, an intimidating power gushed forth.
Dazzling divine halos shone brightly. A sword appeared in front of Ye Futian. The celestial force all around Ye Futian rushed into the sword, causing it to keep expanding. It grew larger and transformed into a true starry divine sword.
Xiao Mu slashed down. The sixth slash of the Nine Slashes of the Heavenly Demon caused the sky to dim as it charged towards Ye Futian. It could even slaughter G.o.ds. At the same time, the stars around Ye Futian became one as endless starlight surged into the sword. Ye Futian raised his arm and thrust the sword forward. The divine sword and the demonic blade collided head-on.
Rumble! It was as though the world was falling apart. Apart from the divine sword, many stars cracked and shattered into pieces. The stars took the place of the starry divine sword to bear the power of the demonic blade.
On the other hand, the blade was also trembling violently. It was similarly enduring an unparalleled power.
One by one, the stars cracked and disintegrated. However, the divine light on the starry divine sword shone more and more brilliantly. It suppressed everything that was in its way, causing cracks to start forming on the demonic blade too.
Bang! As cracks began to appear on the demonic blade, Xiao Mu let out a dull groan. His face was pale. He had unleashed six slashes out of the Nine Slashes of the Heavenly Demon. Yet, it was still insufficient to defeat Ye Futian.
The blade and the sword were both destroyed. One after the other, they broke into pieces.
Ye Futian looked at Xiao Mu and said, “If you could unleash the seventh slash today, the loser would be me.” He stood still, and his tone was calm. It was as though the victor of the battle had been determined.
This exchange between the two had indeed determined the victor. At least, that was what Ye Futian surmised. As for whether or not this fight would continue, it depended on Xiao Mu. If they continued fighting, the result would not change as long as Xiao Mu didn’t unleash the seventh slash.
Xiao Mu stood in midair quietly. His Demonic Will was not as rampant as before. He looked at Ye Futian and didn’t refute his words. It was as though he silently agreed to what Ye Futian had said. Not defeating Ye Futian with the sixth slash meant that Xiao Mu had lost the fight.
Xiao Mu was not able to slash down for the seventh time. If he could unleash the seventh slash, the loser would surely be Ye Futian. Even Ye Futian admitted this!