"So, in other words, you're refusing our proposal?"
Fu Xuan placed her hands on her hips, her delicate little face furrowed with a frown, her tone carrying a hint of displeasure.
She tilted her small face upwards, looking at Jingliu, who was exuding an overwhelming aura, feeling slightly out of her depth.
Jingliu didn't directly answer Fu Xuan, but instead slowly raised the long sword in her hand.
In an instant, a cold light erupted around her, and the pier seemed to instantly plunge into the depths of winter. The air itself seemed to solidify, and the biting chill pricked at the skin.
Her aura surged like a bottomless abyss. The once calm ground rapidly frosted over, and silver-white ice spread outwards like a spiderweb. "If you two really intend to stop me…"
Jingliu's voice was cold and clear, with an undeniable air of scrutiny, "Then let me see your resolve. Let me see if you have the strength to convince me to change my mind."
"Sigh, is it going to come down to fighting after all? How troublesome…"
Fu Xuan rubbed her forehead, complaining softly, but her tone held not a trace of retreat.
Daziel, on the other hand, appeared quite calm. He casually pulled out a baseball bat from behind him, swinging it twice in his hand. The bat sliced through the air, emitting a low, whooshing sound.
"Wasn't this kind of situation expected from the start?"
Daziel's lips curved into a wry smile, "If problems could all be solved just by talking, this world would have been at peace long ago."
He rested the baseball bat on his shoulder, adopting a somewhat casual batting stance, but his eyes gradually sharpened, and his fighting spirit began to rise.
"By the way…"
Daziel tilted his head to look at Fu Xuan beside him, a hint of confident assurance in his eyes, "Even if the opponent is Jingliu, isn't Grand Diviner you here?"
"Hmph!"
Fu Xuan, hearing this, glared at him with annoyance, her petite cheeks puffing up slightly, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards slightly.
"Honestly, at critical moments, I still have to be the one to be relied upon…"
She reached out her small hand and gently patted Daziel's shoulder, signaling him to lean closer, "You, bend down, I have something to tell you."
Daziel looked at the Grand Diviner's serious expression, then at her petite frame, and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
He obediently bent down, bringing his ear closer to Fu Xuan.
Fu Xuan stood on tiptoes, her small hands resting on Daziel's shoulders, leaned close to his ear, and spoke quickly and seriously in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Let's make it clear first, my forte is deduction and defense, direct offensive methods are few, and can only be used at the most crucial moment."
She paused, her tone becoming even more solemn, "This battle, I will activate the 'Taiwei Chess, Spirit Platform Shadow' technique, projecting a miniature Poor-Watching Array to calculate her attacks for you."
Fu Xuan's voice was childish, but her tone was unusually serious.
"Just now, I observed her sword moves in slaying the Mara-Struck soldiers, and barely managed to break down her 'Flawless Radiance' into hexagrams. Remember, you only have seven chances to 'Avoid Calamity'."
"After seven times, you'll have to rely on yourself."
After listening, Daziel immediately felt the pressure multiply, and couldn't help but mutter in a low voice, "So, in the end, I'm still the one who has to go up and get beaten, huh?"
Fu Xuan glared at him, "Do you know how much computing power my Third Eye consumes to evade her sword move once? The Dharma Eye hurts when used!"
Daziel nodded, indicating his understanding.
Being able to evade "Flawless Radiance" seven times was already extraordinary, and a huge assistance.
If Daziel were to rely on himself alone, there was simply no possibility of winning against Jingliu.
Jingliu watched the two whispering to each other as if no one else was around, her brow furrowing slightly, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes.
"You two, are you done with your hushed battle strategy?"
Her voice carried a hint of mockery, "A dignified Divination Commission Grand Diviner, sharpening her spear at the last minute? It seems the Xianzhou Luofu's discipline has become this lax. With the likes of you, are you sure you can win against me?"
Before her voice faded, Jingliu lightly flicked her wrist, and the long sword in her hand swept out horizontally.
A sharp sword aura, like lightning, tore through the air, rushing straight towards the two of them. Before the sword aura even reached them, the biting cold wind had already hit them head-on, as if to freeze their blood.
Fu Xuan puffed up her cheeks and waved her small fist, shouting in a delicate voice, "Old woman, don't look down on people!"
Her hands rapidly formed a series of hand seals, chanting incantations, and dazzling pink starlight instantly lit up around her.
The starlight rapidly converged, forming a complex array in front of her. The array glowed and flowed, like a purple light罩, enveloping the two of them, slowly rotating.
"Daziel, you've been enhanced, go!" Fu Xuan shouted sweetly, her crisp voice echoing in Daziel's ears.
"Alright!"
Daziel tightly gripped the baseball bat in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force. His eyes, at this moment, became sharper than ever before, like a leopard lurking in the depths of darkness, locking onto its prey, ready to strike.
This was another ability of Fu Xuan's Poor-Watching Array besides "Avoid Calamity" – "Discernment."
Jingliu's sword aura, wrapped in a bone-chilling cold, arrived as promised. The fierce wind scraped Daziel's cheeks like blades, bringing a stinging pain.
The cold seemed to penetrate his bones, but he stood as still as a rock rooted in the earth, without the slightest hint of fear in his eyes, instead burning with a raging fire of battle.
"Well done!"
Daziel roared, the sound waves rolling and shaking the air. He exerted force with his feet, his figure like an arrow released from a bowstring, charging head-on towards the icy sword aura. He gathered all his strength into the baseball bat in his hand, his arm veins bulging, like ferocious pythons writhing.
"Bang!"
A deafening crash, the baseball bat collided head-on with the sword aura. In an instant, it was as if two mountains had crashed into each other, erupting with earth-shattering energy shockwaves.
The air seemed to be torn apart, emitting ear-piercing shrieks. The frost on the pier ground was shattered into countless cracks by this terrifying force.
Daziel only felt an immense, irresistible force rush along the baseball bat and frantically surge into his arm. A violent numbness instantly spread from his tiger's mouth, as if his bones were about to shatter.
His body staggered uncontrollably backwards, retreating several steps, each step leaving deep footprints on the hard ice surface.
But Daziel gritted his teeth, a low roar escaping his throat, and stubbornly stabilized his figure, his feet as if rooted, firmly planted on the ground.
... Even though I'm the "King of Getting Hit", I still can't take any of Jingliu's sword strikes head-on...
"Interesting."
Jingliu's voice was still cold and indifferent, but her tone carried a rare hint of surprise.
She obviously hadn't expected that this seemingly unremarkable young man could actually take one of her sword auras containing sword intent head-on, and still be able to regain his footing so quickly.
"Again!"
Daziel's chest heaved violently. Each breath seemed to be inhaling and exhaling flames. He once again swung the baseball bat, his feet moving like the wind, and charged towards Jingliu again. He knew in his heart that there was a world of difference in strength between him and Jingliu. Head-on confrontation was no different from hitting a stone with an egg, but he would never take half a step back. For Fu Xuan behind him, for the justice in his heart, even facing Jingliu of the Cloud Quintet, he would fight to the death and never retreat!
Jingliu, seeing this, slightly raised her eyebrows, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes, as if mocking Daziel's overestimation of himself.
She just casually waved the long sword in her hand. In an instant, one after another, extremely sharp sword auras, like a storm, poured down on Daziel from all directions. Each sword aura contained a terrifying force enough to tear steel apart. The air, under the cutting of the sword auras, emitted bursts of sharp explosions.
"Don't take it head-on again, Gen position, three inches to the left, dodge!"
Fu Xuan's voice rang out in Daziel's ears in a timely manner.
Daziel's body reacted instantly as if guided by an invisible force, suddenly leaning to the lower right, narrowly dodging a tricky thrust from Jingliu like a venomous snake. The sharp sword aura almost brushed past the tip of his nose, and the icy blade even cut the fine hairs on his cheeks, bringing a cool sting.
"Kun position, right, seven inches!"
"Qian position, left, one inch!"
Fu Xuan's voice was urgent and clear, like a precise guidance system, each time accurately predicting the trajectory and landing point of Jingliu's sword aura.
Daziel, like a precise robot, completely followed Fu Xuan's instructions, constantly making all kinds of bizarre dodging and blocking movements.
His figure in the dense sword aura, like a swaying leaf in the wind, seemed battered and exhausted, but he could always narrowly avoid fatal attacks at the critical moment.
Although his clothes were tattered, and there were several small cuts on his body from the sword aura, he had never suffered any substantial damage.
In the blink of an eye, "Avoid Calamity" had been used six times.
A hint of nervousness inevitably rose in Daziel's heart.
However, just as Daziel was preparing to deal with the next "Flawless Radiance"…
"Hahaha, I see, you've seen through my attacks?"
Jingliu suddenly burst into a frantic laugh, her laughter filled with mockery and disdain, and her tone became even colder, like frost in the depths of winter.
"Little girl, do you think you can stop me with these petty tricks? How naive!"
Before her voice faded, Jingliu's aura suddenly changed, like a sleeping volcano erupting with magma. A terrifying aura instantly enveloped the entire pier.
She suddenly changed her grip on the sword. Her originally light and agile swordsmanship instantly became steady and heavy, as immovable as a mountain.
Her body leaned forward slightly, the long sword in her hand pointing diagonally at the ground, the tip of the sword pointing directly at Daziel's direction. Her entire aura underwent an earth-shattering change at this moment.
Daziel's heart suddenly jolted. Calamity Perception was triggered again, and a strong sense of crisis instantly surged into his heart.
He immediately recognized the stance Jingliu was currently in.
"This is… Moon Embracing Earth!"
Daziel exclaimed in shock, his voice carrying a hint of undisguised horror.
Jingliu had actually entered the Transcendent Flash state!
Fu Xuan's originally calm face instantly turned pale as paper. Her petite body trembled slightly, exclaiming, "This state… is too terrifying, seeing it once is better than hearing about it a hundred times! In the Transcendent Flash state, Jingliu's sword moves are unpredictable. Relying on this miniature Poor-Watching Array, I may not be able to accurately calculate her attacks!"
"Grand Diviner, we can't just defend passively anymore!"
Daziel gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with determination. He knew that continuing to passively take hits would only lead to defeat in the end.
"I'll feint an attack first to attract her attention, find an opportunity for you to use that move on her!"
Fu Xuan nodded with a solemn expression. Her petite face was filled with worry and gravity. She knew that the current situation was already extremely critical, and they could only take a gamble. Perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope.
Daziel took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fear and unease in his heart. He rested the baseball bat on his shoulder, adopting a standard batting stance.
He was no longer just thinking about deflecting Jingliu's sword aura, but to take the initiative to attack and seize control of the battle.
Daziel wanted to buy time for Fu Xuan, to create an opportunity, even if there was only a sliver of hope, he would fight with all his might!
"Come on!"
Daziel roared, his voice like thunder, echoing across the pier. He exerted force with his feet, rushing towards Jingliu at lightning speed like a cannonball, swinging the baseball bat with indomitable momentum, and smashing it fiercely towards Jingliu.
Jingliu's lips curled into a cold arc, as if mocking Daziel's futile resistance.
She just casually waved the long sword in her hand. A sword aura even stronger and more terrifying than the previous "Flawless Radiance", like a white dragon emerging from the abyss, roared towards Daziel.
"Moonlight on Cold River!"
The sword aura was like a bright crescent moon, radiating a ghostly cold light, carrying a biting chill enough to freeze the soul, ruthlessly slashing down on Daziel.
"Dodge it! Idiot!!"
Fu Xuan screamed with all her might.
But Daziel seemed to be possessed, without the slightest intention of dodging. Instead, he faced the terrifying sword aura head-on, charging forward without hesitation.
"Home run! Goodbye hit!"
Daziel roared again, his voice shaking the wilderness. He concentrated all his strength on the baseball bat, swinging the bat with the determination of breaking the pot and sinking the boat, using all his strength to smash fiercely at the crescent moon-like sword aura.
"Boom!"
Another earth-shattering roar, the sword aura and the baseball bat collided violently again. This time the power was far greater than before, erupting with even more violent and terrifying energy shockwaves.
The entire pier seemed to tremble for it, and the frost on the ground instantly shattered, turning into powder, flying all over the sky.
Daziel only felt a force like a flood and tsunami instantly engulf him. His body, like a kite with a broken string, flew backwards uncontrollably, drawing a sharp parabola in the air, and then heavily crashed onto the hard ice surface.
"Pfft!"
Daziel opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of blood. He only felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and pain all over his body surged like a tide, his bones seemed to be shattering.
"Overestimating yourself."
Jingliu still had that frosty expression, her tone filled with condescending contempt. She just lightly waved her sword, easily deflecting Daziel's all-out attack, as if doing something insignificant.
However, this seemingly simple sword move variation had created an excellent opportunity for Fu Xuan.
Fu Xuan understood that this was the moment Daziel had created for her!
Her petite body erupted with astonishing energy. Her hands rapidly formed hand seals like butterflies flitting through flowers, chanting incantations. Ancient and mysterious spells echoed like celestial music on the pier.
Dazzling purple starlight instantly lit up around her, like the most brilliant stars in the night sky, sacred and inviolable.
"Heavenly Law Grand Evolution, Tribulation Returns to One!"
Fu Xuan shouted sweetly, her voice crisp yet full of majesty. She pushed her hands forward abruptly, and a pillar of energy light like a purple dragon, with world-destroying momentum, roared towards Jingliu.
In Jingliu's ancient well-like eyes, a hint of genuine surprise finally flashed. She obviously hadn't expected that this seemingly young and inexperienced Grand Diviner was actually hiding such powerful and overbearing offensive methods.
But after all, she was a legendary sword master who had experienced hundreds of battles. Even in the face of sudden changes, she still maintained astonishing calmness.
She quickly waved the long sword in her hand, wanting to use her superb swordsmanship to shatter this purple energy light pillar.
However, to her surprise, this purple energy light pillar, like a leech, tightly缠绕 her long sword. The purple light, as if possessing life, constantly eroded the power of her sword.
Jingliu's body stiffened slightly, and her originally fluid sword moves also showed a barely perceptible pause. Her movements, under the erosion of the purple energy, began to become sluggish.
"Now!"
Daziel endured the severe pain coming from his internal organs, struggling to climb up from the cold ground. Traces of bright red blood still remained at the corners of his mouth, but his eyes were incomparably firm.
He unhesitatingly pulled out the fire poker from his arms, tightly gripping it in his hand, as if holding onto the last straw, staggering towards Jingliu.
"Crazy woman, do you even understand what 'Courage of the Stick' means?!"
Daziel let out a roar like a wounded beast, his voice hoarse and powerful. He placed all his hope on the fire poker in his hand, swinging the fire poker with a determination to strike a fatal blow, and fiercely struck Jingliu's body.
The fire poker, like the Purple Mood, could adjust its settings.
When facing Qingque before, it was only at the lowest setting, only having a modulation effect, and would not cause harm to the human body.
But now, Daziel was like turning the Purple Mood to the maximum setting, without the slightest bit of mercy!
"Bang!"
A muffled sound, the fire poker solidly hit Jingliu's body. In an instant, like a volcanic eruption, an incomparably blazing flame erupted, instantly engulfing Jingliu.
"Ahhhhh! What… what is this? H-hot! So painful!"
Jingliu let out a piercing scream, her voice sharp and ear-splitting, filled with pain and unwillingness. Her body struggled frantically in the flames, like a trapped beast fighting to the death, but unable to escape the flames' engulfment.
The eye patch she had been wearing all along fell off, revealing beautiful pink eyes.
"AJ!"
[Character Jingliu's Corruption Value increased by 1%!]
"Success!"
Daziel looked at Jingliu engulfed in flames. Although he didn't know why the Corruption Value only increased by so little, a joy beyond words welled up in his heart.
He didn't relax because of this, but instead watched the figure in the flames even more vigilantly.
Daziel knew that Jingliu would never be defeated so easily. The strength of this former Sword Champion was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
Sure enough, just as a glimmer of hope had just risen in Daziel's heart, an even more frenzied aura suddenly erupted from within the flames.
"Uh… ah!"
Jingliu let out a chilling scream, her voice completely devoid of human rationality.
Her originally beautiful face also became hideous and terrifying, like a hellish mad ghost descending upon the world.
"Not good! Her Mara-Struck is about to erupt!"
Fu Xuan exclaimed in shock, her voice filled with despair.
Daziel's face suddenly changed drastically. He immediately realized that Jingliu's Mara-Struck was finally about to completely erupt. Once the Mara-Struck fully broke out, Jingliu would completely lose her mind, turning into a monster that only knew how to kill.
Was it because the fire poker had stung her spirit?
Although he had doubts, Daziel had no time to think about the answer to this question. He had to subdue Jingliu as soon as possible, otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"Stop for me!"
Daziel roared again, his voice hoarse and desperate. He swung the fire poker, wanting to attack Jingliu again, intending to make her lose her fighting ability before her Mara-Struck erupted.
However, this time, his attack missed. Before the fire poker could fall, it was firmly grasped by Jingliu's hand.
That palm was slender and white, but it was as if it had a thousand pounds of force.
_____
THE >>>DIRECTOR<<<< IS GOING CRAZYYYY! 🤪
CRAZY DEAL ALERT! 🚨 This week only: For every 5! >FIVE!< new reviews... ONE EXTRA CHAPTER will be released! Yes! EXTRAAA! 🎉
(See? I'm honestly such a great director, aren't I? 😉)
Don't miss out! Don't miss out!
💖✨ patreon.com/Walnutchan ✨💖 <- 40 advanced chapters!