Chapter 147 : Golden Wings of Desperation
With a single, powerful beat of its wings, it unleashed two beams of golden radiance that instantly sent the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss flying away.
"Trouble," he muttered.
From the very first clash, Eldrin Chen sensed the difficulty of the battle.
The Six-Winged Golden Butterfly was truly formidable. It was but a single step away from the Purple Palace, Mid Stage [the fourth major realm of cultivation, where one forms a spiritual mansion within the dantian], and even facing two opponents simultaneously, it showed not the slightest sign of being at a disadvantage.
After all, the two of them were merely approaching the Purple Mansion realm and could not be considered true Purple Mansion combatants. Against an opponent of similar combat power in the Purple Palace, Early Stage, they could still rely on superior battle experience to prevail.
But now, the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly suppressed them with its superior cultivation base. A single casual divine ability from it required their full effort to counter, making the struggle naturally arduous.
The Six-Winged Golden Butterfly remained composed and unruffled. In the blink of an eye, over sixty exchanges had passed. Finally, the cultivators aboard the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Boat found an opening to break through the encirclement of Demonic Beasts and rushed to provide support.
A dozen or more Foundation Establishment Cultivators [cultivators who have solidified their spiritual foundation, the second major realm] on the treasure boat joined forces, continuously unleashing a barrage of Flying Swords, magical tools, and divine abilities. While these attacks could hardly inflict serious damage on the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly, they harassed it incessantly, greatly alleviating the pressure on the two main combatants.
"Boom—!"
Enraged, the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly beat its wings, sending over a dozen magical tools scattering. Then, with a thunderous roar, it unleashed its divine ability, 'Golden Wing Divine Radiance' [a devastating beam of condensed golden energy from its wings], directing the attack straight at the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Boat. Join our community of readers at audio . novel . com.
The cultivators aboard the treasure vessel reacted swiftly. Today, they activated the vessel's Six Realms Divine Protection Formation [a powerful defensive array]. The divine ability unleashed by the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly [a formidable demonic insect with six golden wings] caused the formation to shudder violently, yet it ultimately held firm against the assault.
"A perfect opportunity."
As if sharing a single mind, seizing the moment when the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly was unleashing its power, the Old Patriarch and Eldrin Chen struck almost simultaneously.
A sharp cry of a sword rang out. The Old Patriarch immediately channeled the Separated Flame Soul-Burning Formation [a formation that harnesses the power of Separated Flame to burn souls], unleashing the 'Crimson-Gold Barrier-Breaking God-Slaying Sword Aura' [a devastating sword aura technique] in a sweeping slash. Concurrently, he commanded the Crimson Flame Spirit Blade [a spirit blade imbued with crimson flames] to descend upon the foe.
At virtually the same instant, the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss erupted with a sword aura spanning several dozen Zhang-lengths [one Zhang-length equals three point three three meters], aiming directly for the space between the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly's brows.
The Six-Winged Golden Butterfly had just expended its divine ability. Seeing these two full-force attacks converging upon it, it summoned forth a golden treasure banner. The banner radiated a golden protective dome, which astonishingly managed to block the assault of the Crimson-Gold God-Slaying Sword Aura.
"Beware! That is the Xuluo Diamond Banner [a renowned defensive treasure banner]!"
The Old Patriarch called out the warning, even as he continued to drive the Crimson Flame Spirit Blade forward in an unrelenting assault.
Upon hearing this, Eldrin Chen's pupils contracted slightly. Over the years, as his cultivation had deepened, so too had his knowledge and experience broadened.
This Xuluo Diamond Banner was the most potent Life-Bound Magical Treasure [a magical artifact bound to its user's life force] of the great Violet Abyss Sect within the Chu Kingdom. This treasure was said to contain two distinct divine abilities within its form.
One of its divine abilities was identical to that on the Crimson-Gold Banner of the Three Treasures—the defensive art 'Glazed Diamond Barrier'. At this moment, the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly was precisely activating this ability from the treasure to block the attacks of the two cultivators.
The other divine ability was named 'Xuluo Heaven-Smiting Seal'. This was a famously formidable offensive art, its power ranking among the top five of all such abilities within the Chu Kingdom.
"BOOM—"
A deafening explosion tore through the air. Eldrin Chen looked up and saw the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly once again channeling power into the Xuluo Diamond Banner, unleashing its attached, kingdom-shaking divine ability: 'Xuluo Heaven-Smiting Seal'.
In that instant, a force that made the heavens and earth tremble swept across a thousand Zhang-length of void. A blindingly bright golden light, taking the form of a colossal seal, materialized and smashed through the air, actually sending the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss flying backward.
A flicker of helplessness passed through Eldrin Chen's heart. It was not that the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss was weak—it was ultimately a matter of insufficient cultivation. If he possessed Purple Mansion [the third major realm of cultivation, where one's spiritual foundation solidifies into a 'Purple Mansion' within the dantian] level mana, how could the might of his Lifebound Immortal Sword [a cultivator's personally forged and soul-bound sword, growing in power with its wielder] be inferior to a mere divine ability?
The thought vanished as quickly as it came. He summoned forth the Luofu Diamond Seal, this Third Rank Magical Treasure [a treasure of significant power, suitable for cultivators at the Purple Mansion realm] unfolding a protective barrier of light around him.
In the next breath, the 'Xuluo Heaven-Smiting Seal' collided with the defensive treasure's barrier. Eldrin Chen was sent flying back a thousand Zhang-length, crashing heavily into the earth. A vast shockwave erupted from the point of impact, scouring the ground.
A continuous, thunderous roar filled the air. The terrifying force actually caused the earth for several Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] around to sink, leaving behind a horrifying depression several Zhang-length [one Zhang-length equals three point three three meters] deep.
After that single blow, Eldrin Chen, still shielded within the defensive light of the Third Rank Magical Treasure, couldn't help but gasp slightly for breath. He felt a sharp, stinging pain lancing through his meridians [the channels through which spiritual energy flows in a cultivator's body].
Eldrin Chen felt a subtle injury in his meridians. Although it was essentially inconsequential to him, it was still remarkably startling.
One must understand that his True Essence was sharp and fierce, its effect on tempering the meridians was extraordinary. Furthermore, he had tempered his body with Primordial Essence, making the strength of his meridians far surpass that of others at his same cultivation stage.
Even he felt the backlash's stinging pain. If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator, they would likely have suffered significant meridian damage, requiring considerable time to recuperate before regaining their combat strength.
Even so, this stinging pain momentarily prevented him from gathering his True Essence, leaving him briefly immobilized.
*Clang—*
At that very moment, the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly pressed its advantage. It once again activated its Golden Wing Divine Radiance and unleashed it towards Eldrin Chen, clearly aiming to slay him while he was unable to muster his True Essence. Your portal to cultivation novels: AUDIO-NOVEL.COM.
However, Eldrin Chen was not alone. Old Patriarch reacted swiftly. He raised his hand and summoned forth the Crimson-Gold Banner of the Three Treasures, activating its Defensive Formation to manifest the Glazed Diamond Barrier.
Although the Golden Wing Divine Radiance was also a divine ability, its power paled in comparison to the Xuluo Heaven-Smiting Seal. In the end, it failed to breach the defensive divine ability of the Crimson-Gold Banner of the Three Treasures.
In that same fleeting moment, the others on the spirit boat reacted. Seizing the opportunity while the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly was single-mindedly attacking Eldrin Chen, Kael Chen and the rest activated the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Formation.
*Clang—*
A vast and resonant sword cry echoed forth. From the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Boat bloomed a dazzling sword aura [a concentrated manifestation of sword energy], which traversed the void with overwhelming momentum, cleaving directly towards the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly.
This strike was comparable to the full-powered assault of a Purple Palace, Mid Stage cultivator unleashing a divine ability. Launched as a sudden ambush, it caught the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly completely off guard.
Engaged in a fierce struggle with Eldrin Chen and his companion, the beast failed to react in time before the sword aura was upon it.
In an instant, the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword Aura tore through its defensive divine ability, sent the Xuluo Diamond Banner flying, and continued its relentless trajectory towards the creature's head with undiminished force.
At this life-or-death juncture, it could only desperately channel its Demonic Core [the condensed energy core of a high-level demonic beast] to block. Yet, the Seven Stars Demon-Slaying Sword Aura possessed overwhelming power, a testament to the formidable array-based divine ability personally crafted by Lyra Jiang.
The remaining force of the sword aura grievously wounded the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly's Demonic Core, causing the beast to cough up blood mid-air and nearly plummet from the heavens.
"*Clang—*"
Another sword cry pierced the air. The Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss sliced through the firmament, tearing a grievous rent in one of the creature's wings.
Seizing the moment of weakness, Eldrin Chen, having now suppressed the backlash, disregarded the severe drain on his True Essence [the refined spiritual energy cultivated by a practitioner] and unleashed a furious assault. He drove both the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss and the Thunderbolt Blazing Fire Sword forward in a relentless barrage.
Two successive sword strikes achieved miraculous results, carving wounds several *zhang-lengths* [one *Zhang-length* equals three point three three meters] long across its body. Finally, the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly was critically wounded.
Just as he was about to slay the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly, the other Purple Mansion Demonic Beast [powerful demonic beasts at the Purple Mansion cultivation realm] nearby could not stand idly by. The Purple-Spotted Wolf King was firmly held in check, but the other two Demonic Beasts still possessed some remaining strength to act.
The Golden-Horned Savage Ox withstood a blow from Yang Yuanhe directly and, with a furious bellow, summoned an Azure-Gold War Spear to thrust forward. Eldrin Chen's eyes narrowed. In response, he raised his hand and unleashed a Magnetic Treasure Bracer [a magical bracelet imbued with powerful magnetic forces]. Continue reading this story at audio-novel[dot]com.