Chapter 140 : Sword Art Shatters the Fox's Illusion

Today, he truly witnessed the life-saving methods of a Purple Mansion Demonic Beast [a powerful monster equivalent to a Purple Mansion realm cultivator]. Relying on his strength alone, he likely could not have stopped its escape.

However, Xu Darius indeed lived up to his reputation as one of the youngest prodigies to reach the Purple Mansion [a major cultivation stage above Foundation Establishment] in the Chu Kingdom over the past century. With a mere lift of his hand and a pointed finger, he unleashed another divine ability, transforming it into over a thousand streaks of sword light that shot forth.

"Sumeru's Light-Splitting Sword Art."

This divine ability was named 'Sumeru's Light-Splitting Sword Art' [a supreme sword art that condenses blades from the void itself]. Legend held that a mighty Dao Lord who cultivated this art to its ultimate pinnacle could manifest hundreds of millions of sword radiances.

As an exceptionally profound divine ability, it was notoriously difficult to master, yet its power was immense and its applications were limitless.

When wielded by a Dao Lord's cultivation, it was as if a celestial river of silver from the Nine Heavens transformed into an endless torrent of immortal swords, crashing down with overwhelming force. A single strike could shatter a formidable foe and reduce mountains spanning a hundred thousand Li-lengths to dust.

Xu Darius lacked that level of cultivation and mastery. Yet, upon activating this technique, it still manifested over a thousand ethereal sword lights that filled the sky, shattering the three fox phantoms and even forcing the hidden Azure Flame Fox [a cunning fox demon with azure fire abilities] into the open.

"*Clang!*—"

At that same moment, Eldrin Chen and the Old Patriarch arrived. Eldrin Chen raised his hand and summoned forth the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss [his lifebound flying sword], sending it slashing towards the foe.

Freshly wounded by the 'Sumeru's Light-Splitting Sword Art', the Azure Flame Fox had no means left to counter. It could only be forced to spit out its Demonic Core [the condensed essence and power source of a demonic beast] in a desperate attempt to block Eldrin Chen's strike. Support the author by reading on www . audio-novel.com.

Old Patriarch seized the moment to unleash the Crimson-Gold Banner of the Three Treasures, enveloping the Azure Flame Fox head-on within its confines.

With its Demonic Core [the condensed energy core of a powerful demonic beast] isolated from its body by the formation, the Azure Flame Fox immediately faced a grave crisis. Without the aid of its core, the potency of its spells and divine abilities plummeted by half.

Furthermore, with its physical form trapped, its Inner Core could not unleash its full power. Coupled with the fact that its mana was already depleted by more than half from the successive battles, it truly found itself on the brink of utter ruin.

Eldrin Chen seized this opening, striking down with the Metallic Essence Divine Thunder to injure the Demonic Core's spiritual sense. Then, with a single flash from the Violet Radiance Mirror, he astonishingly managed to dislodge the core, causing it to fall.

This was primarily because Eldrin Chen's True Essence [the refined spiritual energy cultivated by a practitioner] was now exceptionally profound. After consuming the Essence Burst Pill, his True Essence was no weaker than that of an Purple Palace, Early Stage cultivator, almost equivalent to a Purple Mansion Cultivator channeling the Violet Radiance Mirror. Naturally, its power was multiplied.

With the Demonic Beast Inner Core captured, the Azure Flame Fox was immediately thrust into a life-or-death crisis. Trapped within the Triple Treasure Crimson-Gold Formation and stripped of its Inner Core, it had even lost the ability to flee.

The trio attacked in succession. Within mere moments, they grievously wounded the beast. In the end, it was Old Patriarch, channeling the Crimson-Gold Palm Divine Sword Aura, who delivered the fatal blow, severing its head.

"Boom—"

Having slain two Purple Mansion Demonic Tribe members in a row, the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly and the Thunder Roc finally revealed expressions of shock.

Even with their combined strength as two Purple Mansion beings, they had been unable to overcome Yang the Ancient Ancestor. If they were to be surrounded and attacked by these three as well, they would likely face a devastatingly grim outcome.

Seeing that continuing the fight would lead to being surrounded and attacked, the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly [a powerful demonic beast with six shimmering wings] flapped its wings and fled into the distance.

This was a prime opportunity to slay the Purple Mansion Demonic Beast [a powerful beast whose strength is comparable to a cultivator in the Purple Mansion Realm]. How could Yang the Ancient Ancestor let it escape? With a flick of his finger, the Yang Ancestor summoned his Lifebound Immortal Sword [a sword bound to its wielder's soul and life force], the Thunderbolt Blazing Fire Sword.

Though it bore the same name, the Thunderbolt Blazing Fire Sword wielded by Yang the Ancient Ancestor was at the very peak of the Third Rank Middle Grade [a high tier of power for magical treasures], its might exceeding that of the one held by Eldrin Chen by more than fifty percent.

Driven by the formidable cultivation of Yang the Ancient Ancestor at the Purple Mansion Sixth Layer [the sixth stage of the Purple Mansion Realm], the sword transformed into a black-gold sword radiance over fifty Zhang-lengths [one Zhang-length equals three point three three meters] tall, cleaving through the heavens to strike directly at the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly.

"Screech—!"

At that moment, the Thunder Roc [a giant roc-like beast that commands thunder] let out a piercing cry and spat forth a stream of violet treasure-light, intercepting the Thunderbolt Blazing Fire Sword.

Eldrin Chen looked up and saw it was a radiant, purple-glowing pearl, erupting with dazzling violet thunderflames. Astonishingly, it did not fall far short in power against the Thunderbolt Blazing Fire Sword.

"It's the Violet Calamity Tribulation Treasure Thunder Pearl [a treasure pearl that harnesses the power of calamitous thunder]!"

The Old Patriarch [the venerable leader of the Chen Clan] narrowed his eyes, recognizing the origin of this treasure.

This Violet Calamity Tribulation Treasure Thunder Pearl was a Third Rank Middle Grade magical tool. It was once the signature artifact of a Purple Mansion Ancestor [a powerful elder who has reached the Purple Mansion Realm] from the Green Sun Sect.

Two hundred years ago, during the Beast Tide Calamity [a periodic invasion of demonic beasts], the Purple Mansion [a high stage of cultivation] expert from the Green Sun Sect fell in battle at Bianzhou, and all his treasures fell into the hands of the demonic monsters. They were later bestowed by the Celestial Python Demon King upon the Thunder Roc tribe.

Seeing his Lifebound Magical Treasure [a cultivator's personally bonded and nurtured magical weapon] being blocked, Yang the Ancient Ancestor furrowed his brow. He raised his hand and unleashed the Yang Fire Divine Thunder [a divine thunder technique of pure yang fire], aiming it directly at the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly.

However, that Thunder Roc cast a cold glance and, daring once more, activated another Innate Divine Ability [a natural supernatural power possessed by certain beings]. It transformed into a bolt of lightning that shot skyward to intercept the Yang Fire Divine Thunder, successfully parrying the blow.

"This is... an Innate Divine Ability of the Demonic Tribe [the collective term for intelligent demonic beast races], the Thunderbolt Tribulation Seal?"

Seeing that this Thunder Roc was determined to cover the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly's retreat, Yang the Ancient Ancestor's expression turned icy. He raised his hand and summoned a Third Rank Magical Tool [a magical treasure of the third rank, corresponding to the Purple Mansion realm] to strike at the Thunder Roc.

It was a treasure shuttle artifact named the 'Refined Gold Yin Fire Demon-Piercing Shuttle'. Although this treasure was merely of Third Rank Low Grade [the lowest grade within the third rank], it was a weapon of slaughter that fused the powers of metal and fire. When propelled by Yang the Ancient Ancestor's mana, its power was still formidable. Find thousands of chapters at www . audio-novel.com.

The Thunder Roc merely sneered and spat out a defensive treasure seal, also of Third Rank Low Grade. The seal expanded a protective light barrier, keeping Yang the Ancient Ancestor's 'Refined Gold Yin Fire Demon-Piercing Shuttle' at bay.

In the few breaths it took for this clash of techniques, the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly had already fled tens of thousands of Zhang-lengths [one Zhang-length equals three point three three meters] away, securing its safety for the moment.

Seeing its cover mission was accomplished, the Thunder Roc had no desire to stay and fight to the death. It turned and prepared to flee into the distance.

"Fiend, where do you think you're escaping to?"

At this moment, Eldrin Chen and the other two had already closed in. Xu Darius let out a great shout and, raising his hand, unleashed his Third RankFlying Sword [an enchanted sword that can be controlled to fly and attack from a distance] in a sweeping slash, directly cutting off the Thunder Roc's path forward.

The Thunder Roc's eyes turned icy cold. Unwilling to be entangled, it instantly beat its wings with a mighty flap, relying on its prodigious speed to shift its position by a hundred Zhang-lengths [one Zhang-length equals three point three three meters], attempting to flee in another direction.

Yet, from the other side, Eldrin Chen's eyes snapped open. He raised his hand and sent forth the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss, its strike landing with uncanny prescience precisely in the path of the Thunder Roc's desperate escape.

This combat intuition was razor-sharp, his strike both ruthless and precise. It truly found its mark, striking the Thunder Roc squarely.

Although this sword strike failed to pierce the demonic roc's defensive treasure seal, it still forced the Thunder Roc back for a crucial moment.

Seizing this opening, the Old Patriarch raised his hand and summoned the banner of the Triple Treasure Crimson-Gold Formation. He unleashed a Crimson-Gold God-Slaying Sword Aura [a devastating sword energy technique] that shot forth, aimed directly at the Purple Palace Demon Roc.

The power of this divine ability was truly formidable. Even the Thunder Roc dared not meet it head-on, forced instead to channel its own divine ability, the Thunderbolt Tribulation Seal [a defensive technique manifesting a seal of thunder and lightning], to block the assault.

"BOOM—"

Sword aura and Demonic Tribe divine ability collided. In an instant, a shockwave erupted across hundreds of Zhang-lengths, its force so immense it scattered the clouds in the sky for thousands of Zhang-lengths around.

"SCREEE—"

A piercing eagle cry tore through the air. From within the dazzling conflagration of light and flame, the Thunder Roc beat its mighty wings, surging skyward to break free from the attack's binding grasp and flee into the distance.

Finally given a moment to recover its breath, the creature unleashed its Innate Divine Ability, 'Thunderclap Lightning Flash Escape'. Its speed instantly tripled, and it shot toward the depths of the void. This chapter is part of a larger work available at http://www . audio-novel.com.