IOAFD - 1151. The Sword Master of the Limitless Sword Hall (III)

With a bloody laugh, Luo Ming broke out of Tiantian’s restraint and attacked wildly. Sword lights shot out in all directions. Tiantian was forced to slip into a spatial crack to escape while Queen Sundew was too slow and bore the brunt with her armored body. King Huo Tu was scared witless and simply hid in the depths of the lava pool he had created.

That left Jasmine and Chen Wentian. Naturally, Luo Ming knew who the weaker one was and targeted Jasmine relentlessly. Within a few breaths, she suffered several cuts. Even her pure white tail was stained with red blood.

“Damn human,” Jasmine gritted her teeth, bearing the pain from her fresh wounds.

This Luo Ming was so strong that his sword strikes could destroy her Half Moon Barrier with one hit. She had to be careful or else he might actually chop off her tails. His speed also far surpassed hers, even with the effects of Chasing the Moon Rabbit. She could wound him with her moonlight but she would suffer even more in return.

“Jasmine, I’ll cover you!” Chen Wentian said.

The White Star Sword in his hand transformed into a hundred flashing swords as he once again used the second descent, Hundred Reflections of Fate’s Return. The ultimate sword defense protected Jasmine while still allowing her to free attack.

Luo Ming could do nothing against them. He tried to vent his frustrations on the mantis queen and the lava toad but he was constantly blocked by Jasmine’s moonlight. Tiantian also harassed him from all sides, utilizing the power of Dark Spirit Fantasy. She could freely attack while his sword strikes hit nothing but air.

The battle continued like this until Luo Ming ran out of energy. His spiritual aura once again collapsed. This time, it was almost about to fall to the third stage of spiritual strengthening.

He had used up two life-saving treasures. One allowed him to launch an attack that surpassed his current realm. The other allowed him to continue fighting at his peak strength even after exhaustion. Now, he was almost out of options.

“Pu!” He spat out a mouthful of blood and looked around hatefully, “I admit, I can’t beat you. But the truth is, you still won’t be able to kill me. You can’t even keep me here!”

He waved his hand and a golden sphere appeared around him. With a reverberating sound like a gong, it glowed brightly, displaying a myriad of inscriptions and complicated symbols. Inside this protective array, he took out a black stone stele and began to tap it with his fingertips.

“Stop him!” Tiantian was the first to shout, “He’s creating a spatial tunnel!”

Chen Wentian and Jasmine responded immediately, without asking for an explanation. Jasmine’s moonbeams raked the golden orb again and again but with little effect. Chen Wentian slashed and stabbed at the orb with Dugu’s Tenth Sword but it was equally ineffective.

“How long?” He asked.

Tiantian scrunched her face as she strained to maintain the spatial arrays around the underground chamber, “I don’t know! That thing is made out of a solid piece of void crystal. I can’t stop it!”

“Then we have to break the shield! Jasmine, stand back!” Chen Wentian shouted.

As Jasmie retreated, he burst into flames and transformed into a partial dragon. He charged towards Luo Ming with his strongest attack.

Flames of the Arcadian Sky, third phase, Cerulean Strike!

Boom!

A pure blue blade made of flames struck the golden shield and cracks appeared. This was his most deadly instantaneous strike, enough to kill a Spirit King outright. But the golden shield was so strong that it was only cracked.

Roar!

At close range, he thrust both palms toward the shield, pressing against the widest cracks.

Flames of the Arcadian Sky, second phase, Azure Sunray!

Destructive flames poured into the weakness in the shield he had just created.

Kacha!

More cracks formed and the golden shield began to waver.

Inside, Luo Ming’s face was ashen.

“Flames of the Arcadian Sky… this is actually Flames of the Arcadian Sky?” He was in disbelief, “Impossible… you are a true dragon?”

Chen Wentian didn’t bother to reply and retreated a short distance, allowing Jasmine’s Light of the Moon to descend.

Boom!

The golden shield finally shattered.

Luo Ming took the black stele back into his spatial bag and fled. But there was nowhere to run. His plan to escape had failed. There was nothing else he could do.

Flames exploded around him. Moonlight chased after his every step. Even the darkness around him seemed to close in until he felt suffocated.

“Damn it… wait…”

An old man fell to knees, exhausted. He no longer carried the noble and heroic aura from before. He was no longer the valiant and peerless sword master of the Limitless Sword Hall. He was just an old man who was about to die.

Tiantian closed in, constantly draining his spiritual energy. She was tired but excited. She couldn’t admit it to Chen Wentian but this was her first kill of a Spirit King, her first step toward the next realm.

Chen Wentian and Jasmine also closed in, locking Luo Ming with their spiritual auras, making sure he wouldn’t have any more chances to fight back.

The Limitless Sword Hall was too powerful. Its sword master had too many life-saving treasures. If they were even a little less prepared, he would have gotten away. They might have even lost their lives.

“Blue dragon… nine tailed fox… heavenly dog…” Luo Ming muttered, “This doesn’t make sense. Is this even real life? Why did you all decide to gang up on me? Why didn’t you bring a white tiger or a black tortoise too? Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. Do you think you can revive the Divine Kingdom?”

He looked upward and let out a tired sigh. His spiritual aura fluctuated heavily as he descended rapidly towards the Spirit Lord Realm.

“This era belongs to us humans. Divine beasts are simply our prey. Even if you want to recreate the ancient beast alliance, there is nothing you can do to change your fate.” He glanced at Jasmine, then at Tiantian, and finally at Chen Wentian, “You had better hope that nobody finds out about this. Otherwise, you will be hunted to the ends of the world. It won’t just be the Limitless Sword Mansion. Just you wait. The Sun Moon Fantasy Sect, the Thousand Desolation Realm, the Eight Directions School of the Grand Dao, the Heavens Fortune Sect…”

Chen Wentian remained silent. The ramblings of a dying old man were mostly useless but there were some interesting tidbits.

“They… will kill… you all…”

Luo Ming collapsed as his spiritual sea was sucked dry. Powerless, he fell a great distance. With a splash, he landed in the deep lake that made up the bottom of the underground chamber.

After the waves calmed, his frail body floated to the surface, face up. He remained still, his breath shallow. With no more spiritual energy to support him, he was about to die.

But then, just as he was about to let out his last breath, a light appeared on his sword arm. The light first wrapped around the dragon sword that was still held tightly in his hand. The light traveled up and down his body, forming a strange cocoon that compelled him to get back up. Only now, standing on the water’s surface, the light in his eyes no longer belonged to Luo Ming but someone else.

“You dare to kill a descendant of the Limitless Sword Mansion? Good, good. As a reward for your efforts, you can accompany him in death!”

The half-dead Luo Ming, who was as bright as a lantern, let out a fearsome sword aura. Defying all understanding, he had somehow returned to the peak of the Spirit King Realm once more.

“Die!”

As he let out an eerie battle cry, the surface of the underground lake erupted. But it wasn’t his doing.

A fish-like figure flashed beneath Luo Ming, its scales glittering green and blue under the strange light.

The lake water continued to erupt with powerful waves of spiritual energy, restraining Luo Ming where he stood, unable to even shout, let alone attack.

This was the strongest suppression formation of the merlion king Yu Guanyuang, the Jade Sea Meditation. It required a large body of water and could only last a short while. Chen Wentian had prepared it as a last resort.

It paid off. It was just enough. The two beast kings were out of the fight. Jasmine and Tiantian were both exhausted. They really couldn't fight a full-strength Luo Ming again.

Chen Wentian swung his sword as he summoned power from every soul within his soul realm.

Roar!

Sword energy exploded in all directions. The image of a roaring dragon appeared behind him and rose into the darkness.

At first, only one sword descended.

Then, there were ten.

A hundred followed.

Within a breath, there was a thousand.

Every sword pierced Luo Ming’s body. They tore apart the light cocoon around him, one strand of light at a time, until the mark on his right hand dulled and ultimately disappeared.

Then, the sword rain tore the flesh from his bones. His head was pulverized. His body was chopped into a bloody mess. All struggle ceased. There was no hope for another comeback.

The sword master of the Limitless Sword Hall was finally, truly dead.

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