ATPnovel Chapter 542: This Is Where Elder Xiao Will Meet His End
Chapter 542: This Is Where Elder Xiao Will Meet His End
"Elder Xiao, acting on the orders of Tushan's Grand Elder, we have come specifically to send you on your way."Jin An and the others looked at Xiao Mo with cold eyes.
Xiao Mo gave a quiet laugh, a note of resigned understanding in it. "So it seems the Grand Elder still refuses to let me go back alive."
"But if you truly kill me, do you imagine the Grand Elder will spare any of you afterward?"
Xiao Mo's gaze passed lightly over the group, his tone as calm as though he were discussing some small matter that had nothing to do with him.
"Xiao Mo, are you so close to death that your mind has gone soft?" Chen Jue stepped forward, looking down at Xiao Mo with contempt, as though appraising a corpse already lying in its coffin.
"It is the Grand Elder who wants you dead! And the Grand Elder has personally promised me that the moment you die, that day will be my wedding day with Jingci."
The corner of his mouth curved with satisfaction.
"Do not worry, I will have a spirit tablet made for you, so you can watch our wedding ceremony with your own eyes."
Xiao Mo looked at Chen Jue the way one might look at a fool who understood nothing of the world.
He paid no mind to Chen Jue's arrogant outburst, and instead turned his gaze toward Jin An, Song Xiu, and Xin Xiao'er.
Jin An and Song Xiu, after all, were not reckless, inexperienced young hotheads like Chen Jue.
Hearing what Xiao Mo had just said, the two of them seemed to grasp something all at once, and lowered their heads without meaning to, a faint hesitation crossing their expressions.
"There is no need for either of you to think too much on this," Xin Xiao'er said coldly, her tone crisp and certain.
"The two of you are simply carrying out orders. The Grand Elder will still need your service in the future, and will naturally not treat you unfairly. As for how this matter concludes, someone will see to it properly. There is no need for either of you to trouble yourselves over it."
At this hint from Xin Xiao'er, Jin An and Song Xiu gave a small nod, the stone that had been weighing on their hearts finally settling.
Only, in the glances they exchanged when looking at Chen Jue, there was now, without either of them quite meaning it, a note of pity and dark amusement that was hard to put into words.
"We understand. We will carry out the Grand Elder's orders as instructed," the two of them said, giving Xin Xiao'er a respectful bow, their manner humble and compliant.
"Then let us begin," Xin Xiao'er said, her voice dropping. Before the words had even fully left her mouth, her figure had already vanished from where she stood.
By the time Xiao Mo reacted, a deep and shadowy rift had already split open in the space beside him.
Xin Xiao'er flashed out from that void, a dagger of cold, gleaming light slicing straight toward Xiao Mo's throat.
Xiao Mo's body tilted sharply backward, narrowly avoiding the fatal strike, but the sharp dagger still left a cut across his neck, a thin line of crimson blood slowly running down from the clean wound.
"This matter has nothing to do with Miss Gui. I ask that Miss Gui leave at once!" Xiao Mo called out sharply, then leapt into the air, his figure moving like lightning as he flew swiftly out of the palace.
"After him!" Song Xiu gave the order, and the group transformed into streaks of light, chasing after Xiao Mo.
How could Gui Junmeng possibly let Xiao Mo face such danger alone?
She immediately moved to step forward and help him but in the very next instant, Song Xiu suddenly threw out a painted scroll.
The scroll caught the wind and expanded rapidly, and in the blink of an eye it had enveloped both Xiao Mo and Song Xiu together within it.
At almost the same moment, Chen Jue and the others also plunged into the scroll.
Gui Junmeng's mind snapped to focus, and she tried to follow them into the scroll but the scroll suddenly closed itself shut before her, sealed without a single gap.
No matter how she attacked it with her techniques, she could not budge it in the slightest.
Within the scroll, Xiao Mo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze sweeping unhurriedly over this painted landscape of ink and water. He gave a small, appreciative nod. "Elder Song truly has fine taste. This landscape is genuinely excellent."
"Ha ha ha, to earn such praise from Elder Xiao is truly this old man's honor," Song Xiu said, stroking his beard with a smile that carried an undertone of chilling menace. "Today, Elder Xiao, let this be your grave."
"Then all of you are welcome to try," Xiao Mo said, extending his right hand in an unhurried, welcoming gesture, showing not the slightest trace of fear.
"Attack!" The moment Song Xiu's words fell, the group charged at Xiao Mo together, without mercy.
This painted scroll was Song Xiu's life-bound dharma treasure.
Within this scroll, Song Xiu's own strength was boosted by a full level, and he could even turn every blade of grass, every mountain, every stream in the painting to his own use, giving him a complete advantage of both time and place.
As for that veiled Nascent Soul woman Xiao Mo had encountered earlier, Song Xiu did not know her true identity, nor did he understand how Xiao Mo had come to be connected with her but even if she wanted to intervene, being sealed entirely outside this scroll left her with no way to reach them, no matter how she might wish to help.
Seeing everyone closing in from all directions, Xiao Mo took a single step forward, and two great rivers, one of yin and one of yang, manifested suddenly all around him.
The clear, bright river of yang, white as day, surged forward like a raging tide, sweeping toward Song Xiu and Xin Xiao'er.
The river of yin, black as ink, carried a bone-piercing cold as it lunged fiercely at Jin An and Chen Jue.
"Whatever you do, do not let those two rivers touch you!" Jin An's heart lurched, and he shouted sharply at his nephew.
But it was too late in the end.
The moment Chen Jue's arm brushed against the river of yin, he felt a freezing cold shoot up through him, as though even his soul were being frozen solid.
That bone-chilling ice began at his fingertips and spread rapidly, inch by inch.
In the blink of an eye, it had covered his entire arm.
"Uncle!"
Chen Jue let out a shrill, agonized scream, his face drained white as paper.
Jin An's brow furrowed sharply, and with a swift swing of the sword in his hand, he made an immediate decision and severed his nephew's arm cleanly at the shoulder. Xiao Mo took advantage of this rare opening, his figure retreating violently to put swift distance between himself and them.
"Xiao Mo! You will not escape!" Jin An's eyes blazed with fury as he gave chase after Xiao Mo with everything he had.
Jin An raised his hand and formed a hand seal, and in an instant, eight layers of obscure and profound formations manifested above Xiao Mo's head, layered one atop another, radiating a light that unsettled the heart.
Those eight layers of formations spun rapidly in the air, and then an enormous pillar of light descended from the sky, striking straight down toward Xiao Mo.
Xiao Mo made no move to dodge, letting the pillar of light engulf his entire form.
Just as Jin An believed his strike had landed true, Xiao Mo's figure suddenly transformed into hundreds upon hundreds of withered yellow leaves, scattering and drifting apart in every direction.
The instant those leaves reassembled in midair into Xiao Mo's human form, Xin Xiao'er had already torn through the void a second time, her cold dagger slashing viciously toward Xiao Mo's waist.
Xiao Mo recited an incantation at rapid speed.
The twin fish of yin and yang formed at his fingertips in an instant, quick as a spark from flint.
Black and white Dao resonances intertwined and flowed together.
Xiao Mo extended two fingers and firmly caught the tip of the blade in Xin Xiao'er's dagger.
The fierce blade energy shattered outward from the dagger like ripples, but it could not harm Xiao Mo in the slightest, all of it dissolved by the twin fish of yin and yang.
At the same time, Song Xiu drew what appeared to be an ordinary clay bowl from inside his robe.
With a light lift of his wrist, the clay bowl flew into the air, growing larger and larger, expanding wider and wider, until it descended over them, blotting out the sky.
"Seal!" Song Xiu turned his hand and pressed downward, and the clay bowl came crashing straight down over Xiao Mo.
Xiao Mo had no time to dodge and was caught squarely beneath the bowl.
The bowl, carrying him with it, crashed down with tremendous force, shattering a mountain peak, then slammed heavily into the ground, kicking up dust that rose a hundred zhang into the air.
Song Xiu gave a sweep of his hand and gently cleared the swirling dust away.
On the ground within the scroll, a bottomless crater had been gouged out by the impact.
"This old man has two life-bound dharma treasures," Song Xiu said, standing with his hands behind his back, a note of self-satisfaction in his voice.
"Beyond this landscape scroll, this clay bowl, named the Heaven-Transforming Bowl, is a treasure I obtained from an ancient ruin. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator, once covered by this treasure of mine, will without fail be reduced to a pool of blood within half an hour."
But before his words had fully settled, the Heaven-Transforming Bowl suddenly began to tremble violently, letting out a low, humming resonance.
"Not good! Everyone, help me steady the Heaven-Transforming Bowl!" Song Xiu's expression changed abruptly, and he called out urgently to the others.
"Understood!" Jin An and the others answered together, and quickly took positions around the edge of the bowl, channeling their spiritual energy to hold it steady but barely half an incense stick's time later, the Heaven-Transforming Bowl began shaking violently once more, the tremors growing greater and greater, and fine cracks gradually appeared across the bowl's surface.
"Terrible!" A wave of dread struck Song Xiu, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
The Heaven-Transforming Bowl split open with a thunderous crack, and Xiao Mo burst out through the broken bowl as a streak of light.
The Torch Dragon and the Kunpeng, formed from the yin and yang rivers, surged forward with overwhelming force toward Chen Jue and Song Xiu respectively.
Song Xiu hastily recited an incantation, and a formation expanded rapidly outward with him at its center, ring after ring spinning without pause, layer upon layer, forcibly holding back the Kunpeng.
"All things in heaven and earth exist within the heart. Is it the heart that exists, or the thing itself? Does the thing exist, or does the heart?"
Xiao Mo stood between heaven and earth, his robes drifting in the wind, his voice clear as a spring.
He gave a light flick of his fingertip, and threads of spiritual energy wove together in crossing lines, spreading densely across the whole of this small world, forming a great chessboard of heaven and earth.
Song Xiu raised his head and looked at the sky, a wave of feeling rising in him that he could not settle for a long while.
By rights, Xiao Mo, only just entered into the Nascent Soul realm, should have had an unstable foundation and unsettled cultivation. Bringing him down should have been an easy, effortless matter for the group of them yet here they were, locked in a fight that showed no sign of resolving, blow for blow.
If this man were left to continue cultivating unchecked, there was no telling what he might achieve in years to come and the more Song Xiu thought about this, the more firmly his resolve to kill Xiao Mo hardened.
This was no longer simply about carrying out the Tushan Grand Elder's order.
If Xiao Mo were to one day reach the the Immortal realm, or even the Ascension realm, how could he possibly forget this attempt on his life today?
At that point, all of them would surely die at his hands.
"As the masters of chess have said, all living beings in this world can be pieces on a board," Xiao Mo's voice rang out clear and far-reaching across the small world, carrying the calm composure of one looking down on all living things. "All of you may join me in this game."
Before the words had finished, Xiao Mo flicked his finger once more, and a black stone settled firmly onto that invisible chessboard of Dao resonance.
The very instant Xiao Mo placed his stone, the sky within the scroll changed dramatically, thick clouds churning, and a towering ink-black mountain descended from above, bearing down with crushing force on everyone below.
Xin Xiao'er charged straight forward, and with a single fierce flash of her blade, the mountain was split cleanly in two, as though cut like tofu.
From the cross-section of that ink-black mountain, Xin Xiao'er's figure, tiny as a gnat by comparison, shot forward at high speed, her blade slashing at Xiao Mo.
At that moment, a white stone fell on the chessboard of heaven and earth spiritual energy.
Xiao Mo placed another black stone, and the layered clouds within the scroll suddenly condensed, forming an enormous Buddha's palm that blotted out the sky, pressing down toward Xin Xiao'er.
On the board, another white stone fell.
Jin An bit through his fingertip, letting blood drip down, and summoned his life-bound dharma weapon, the Thunder Hammer.
The Thunder Hammer instantly crackled with lightning, streaks of electricity darting in all directions, giving off a deafening roar.
"Xiao Mo, you brat, die!" Jin An gripped the Thunder Hammer with both hands, leapt into the air, poured all his spiritual energy into the weapon, and brought it crashing down toward Xiao Mo's head.
"For such an upright and honorable dharma weapon to have fallen into Elder Jin's hands is truly rather a pity," Xiao Mo said, holding a black stone condensed from spiritual energy, and placed it gently onto the board.
As the crisp sound of the stone falling rang out, the Torch Dragon coiled upward, letting out a deafening roar to the sky, absorbing the full force of the hammer's blow, then charged headfirst into Jin An.
Jin An was sent flying backward from the impact, crashing through peak after peak, finally landing at an angle on the ground below, gouging out a trench ten li long across the earth but Xiao Mo felt a sweetness in his throat as well, and could not help spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Elsewhere, the great Buddha's palm formed from the clouds was shattered to pieces by Xin Xiao'er's razor-sharp blade.
She sliced open her own palm with her longsword, burning her essence blood, and stepped forward again, charging once more toward Xiao Mo.
Every attack from Xin Xiao'er and the others was like another white stone falling on that invisible board and yet, each time Xiao Mo calmly placed a black stone, the waters splashing up from the yin and yang rivers acted as his personal guardians, dissolving every one of their attacks entirely.
The blood at the corner of Xiao Mo's mouth had never quite dried, and his complexion had grown paler and paler, like paper. Yet his expression remained calm as still water from beginning to end, without the slightest trace of panic.
"Do not keep tangling with him. Finish him off as quickly as possible, or delay will only invite disaster!"
Song Xiu called out to the others, his voice full of urgency.
He had already noticed that Xiao Mo was using the fight itself to grow stronger.
This man was using their fierce combat with him to familiarize himself with the Nascent Soul realm bit by bit, tempering and consolidating his own foundation inch by inch.
Elsewhere, Chen Jue watched as the elders continued to fail to bring Xiao Mo down, and understood it was time to use that final measure.
He gripped the talisman tightly, chanting an incantation at rapid speed, and hurled it violently toward Xiao Mo.
The talisman burst into flames instantly, and a towering projection of a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox appeared suddenly in the air, its pressure filling the surroundings but the laws of the hidden realm, transmitted through the scroll, were also imposed on this projection.
"Unexpected. This hidden realm can even suppress a spiritual energy projection."
Jin An let out a private sigh, his expression complicated.
Jin An understood clearly that the talisman Elder Hongxia had given Chen Jue held within it the power of her full-strength strike but under the influence of this hidden realm's laws, the power of this strike could ultimately not exceed the level of the Jade Simplicity realm.
Still, for the current moment, this strike's power was comparable to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, and that should be more than enough.
The projection of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox raised its head high, and a ball of snow-white icy energy began condensing continuously within its mouth. A thunderous boom followed.
In the next instant, that snow-white cold light shot suddenly toward Xiao Mo.
Wherever that cold light reached, everything froze solid, encased entirely in frost.