Chapter 634: The Fall of a Saint, Heaven and Earth Mourn
Chapter 634: The Fall of a Saint, Heaven and Earth Mourn
A novice challenging an emperor with such confidence? At first, Xing Taidou felt insulted, but then his disdain turned into seriousness. Could arrogance alone reach the Sky Realm? If Tian Xiao were truly arrogant, how could he be deemed a genius?
"What's wrong? Is the mighty emperor afraid of losing to me?" Tian Xiao smiled.
From a distance, Zhong Shan observed with furrowed brows. A young master from the Tian family challenging an emperor? Just how powerful was the Tian family? If a young master dared to provoke an emperor, what about the family head? How deep did the Tian family's waters run?
"Very well, but don't blame me for what's to come!" Xing Taidou said.
Tian Xiao smiled faintly, gripping his emerald-green staff. "I will rely on this immortal artifact."
Tian Xiao waved his hand, and the Tian family members quickly retreated. Likewise, Xing Taidou's men moved back. A Sky Realm battle was best observed from afar, given the immense power involved.
"The Staff of Life? Left by an immortal from the Great Thousand World?"
"Indeed, it's a spoil of war from the Tian family."
"Fine, today you'll learn that without adequate skill, even an immortal artifact is of little use."
"Then I won't hold back!"
With that, Tian Xiao waved his staff, releasing a flood of blue light. The blue light dispersed like water, turning into countless shimmering particles that floated through the air, forming small glowing seeds.
"Seeds?" Zhong Shan exclaimed from afar.
Indeed, the countless blue light dots were glowing seeds, scattering in all directions. As the seeds landed, Xing Taidou drew a grand, golden saber.
Xing Taidou gazed at Tian Xiao with a stern expression.
"It begins!" Tian Xiao said with a smile.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Suddenly, the ground before Xing Taidou exploded, and a massive green vine shot skyward, heading straight for him.
"Seeds? Did the vine come from those seeds?" Zhong Shan murmured in astonishment.
What kind of immortal artifact could turn seeds into enormous vines?
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Xing Taidou slashed the vine with his saber.
"Boom~~~~~~~boom~~~~~~boom~~~~~~boom~~~~~~~"
Suddenly, countless vines sprouted from all directions, surging toward Xing Taidou.
Xing Taidou frowned and swung his saber.
A massive spatial ripple radiated outward in all directions.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
The ground roared as the powerful spatial ripple crushed the vegetation. But the vines, strangely resilient, withstood the spatial tremors. These vines were strong enough to endure the spatial disturbance.
"Such a treasure!" Xing Taidou tightened his grip on his saber, compelled to continually slash at the terrifying vines.
Xing Taidou's speed was unmatched, but the vines were numerous and relentless. Controlled by Tian Xiao, they grew wherever Xing Taidou moved. In no time, a massive area of vines surrounded Xing Taidou, pushing him in all directions.
Of course, these vines couldn't truly stop Xing Taidou. Each slash of his saber shattered countless vines. Meanwhile, Tian Xiao didn't remain idle; he vanished from sight and reappeared, his staff aimed directly at Xing Taidou.
"Clang~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Xing Taidou slashed fiercely, sending a massive spatial ripple outward, creating small spatial cracks at the point of impact.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
The powerful strike collided with Tian Xiao's staff, sending Tian Xiao flying. Xing Taidou remained unscathed.
However, a vine suddenly wrapped around Xing Taidou, doubling in size instantly. Xing Taidou's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the vine around his arm. With a shake, he shattered the vine.
"This vine absorbs my energy?" Xing Taidou exclaimed, slicing through the surrounding vines in astonishment.
The vines were absorbing energy and growing stronger? Were they becoming sentient?
Xing Taidou finally took Tian Xiao seriously.
Tian Xiao pointed his staff, and countless vines surged towards Xing Taidou, harnessing the power of the earth and sky.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Xing Taidou's saber clashed with Tian Xiao's staff again, sending Tian Xiao flying once more.
"Spurt~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Tian Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood but continued his assault. Xing Taidou, while dealing with Tian Xiao, was entangled by several vines. He shattered the vines and retreated from the encirclement, but Tian Xiao's relentless advance pushed him back into the vine-filled area.
Xing Taidou considered flying upwards but knew the vines' strength. If he took to the sky, he would be entangled and pulled down, which would be even more disadvantageous. The vines here grew to an astonishing height of 100,000 feet, covering the entire area.
The fierce battle had only just begun. Despite being outmatched, Tian Xiao held his ground for nearly two hours with the help of the vines, maintaining his position against Xing Taidou.
From a distance, Yin Luori commented, "This won't hurt Xing Taidou. Despite Tian Xiao's immortal artifact, he'll be the first to wear out."
"Not necessarily," Zhong Shan observed closely. He noticed that Tian Xiao's constant fighting had a purpose. Though repeatedly beaten back, Tian Xiao was driving Xing Taidou towards a specific direction—towards a trap Tian Xiao had set.
Sure enough, Xing Taidou retreated to a rocky hill, the very spot where Tian Xiao had stood earlier.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Tens of thousands of gigantic vines erupted from the rocky hill. The density of vines here was hundreds of times greater than elsewhere.
Seeing this, Xing Taidou's eyes filled with panic. No, he couldn't let these vines entangle him, for he realized they were forming a grand array to trap him. Tian Xiao had been waiting here all along with this deep calculation?
A seasoned warrior, Xing Taidou immediately devised the best strategy. Brute force wouldn't work; this vine array would definitely cost him dearly. He swung his massive saber down into the ground.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
A nearby mountain, nearly ten thousand feet tall, along with the endless vines, was uprooted by the strike, launching skyward and disappearing into the distant heavens. The ground beneath became a giant crater, ten thousand feet in diameter and a thousand feet deep.
"Zzz~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Tian Xiao seized this moment to thrust his staff into Xing Taidou's chest.
"Ugh!" Xing Taidou spat out blood, staggering backward.
Wiping his mouth, Xing Taidou snarled, "Good, very good, Tian Xiao! Let's go again!" He was truly enraged now. How could someone weaker than him drive him to such a desperate situation?
Suddenly, the sky turned a dull yellow as Xing Taidou's might descended, forcing the onlookers to retreat further.
Tian Xiao appeared to retreat as well, but Xing Taidou, now furious, wouldn't let him escape. He pursued with a powerful slash of his saber.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
The surrounding space roiled, a massive spatial rift heading for Tian Xiao. He raised his staff to meet the strike, but the impact drove him halfway into the ground.
"Spurt~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Blood spurted from Tian Xiao's mouth. Xing Taidou, seeing this, grinned and prepared another strike to severely wound him.
But Tian Xiao smiled eerily.
At that moment, the mountain Xing Taidou had launched into the sky began to fall back down, aimed precisely at Xing Taidou's position, as if Tian Xiao had calculated it.
Xing Taidou, shocked, saw countless vines rushing toward him again. The meticulous planning of Tian Xiao sent chills through him. He had no choice but to change the direction of his blade and slash upwards.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
The strike obliterated the falling mountain and the vines. Though Xing Taidou avoided the vine assault, he sensed a powerful presence closing in on him—Tian Xiao, seizing the opportunity once more.
Xing Taidou, not daring to hesitate, quickly retreated. But where to retreat in a land filled with vines? In his haste, he thought of one place free from vines—the giant crater left by the mountain's ascent. He moved towards the pit.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
To everyone's astonishment, the crater, supposedly devoid of seeds and vines, suddenly erupted with countless vines, engulfing Xing Taidou in an instant.
Countless vines swarmed over Xing Taidou, engulfing him completely. In an instant, he was obscured from view as Tian Xiao took advantage of the situation and rushed into the fray.
The entire crater was filled with vines, completely enveloping the area. After about half an incense stick's time, the vines slowly began to withdraw and then disappeared.
In the crater, Tian Xiao and Xing Taidou were exposed once again. Both of them had tattered clothes and faced each other. Tian Xiao was severely injured, fresh blood still wet on his lips, while Xing Taidou stared at him with a mixture of astonishment and uncertainty.
"Thank you for the match," Tian Xiao said.
"Wow~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Tian Xiao won? The surrounding crowd was incredulous. Xing Taidou was a well-established name, and Tian Xiao had only recently reached the Sky Realm. How was this possible?
"When did you plant these vine seeds? Why didn't I see them earlier?" Xing Taidou pointed to the crater in disbelief.
"Three days ago! I sowed the seeds before you arrived!" Tian Xiao revealed without hesitation.
Three days ago? Before the battle even began, Tian Xiao had meticulously planned every step: the seeds, the vines, the mountain, the falling mountain, and this crater? He had calculated it all?
How could this be? The level of planning was terrifying. Tian Xiao, the genius young master of the Tian family, had outwitted even Xing Taidou? Although Xing Taidou wasn't injured, he was undeniably defeated.
Tian Xiao was indeed formidable.
Yin Luori looked at Tian Xiao in shock. "Is this man a monster? How could he plan this battle three days in advance? And against the Emperor of Dayan, no less, making every move according to his calculations?"
"Fortunately, he just made preparations in advance. If this were a fight in an unfamiliar setting, the outcome might be different," Zhong Shan said, shaking his head.
Yin Luori turned, looking at Zhong Shan like he was a monster himself. "Is that what you call fortunate? Aren't you amazed?"
Of course, Zhong Shan was surprised, but not as intensely as Yin Luori. If it were Zhong Shan, he too could set up such an intricate trap. He was only amazed that Tian Xiao also had this capability.
Just as everyone marveled at Tian Xiao's meticulous planning:
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Suddenly, countless red clouds covered the sky, and a thunderous explosion echoed, leaving everyone's ears ringing. This sound was reminiscent of the ancient gods splitting the heavens and the earth, resonating through all directions.
Zhong Shan looked up in shock. Both his shadow body and his main body in the mortal world stopped what they were doing, looking up at the sky. What was this sudden thunder?
Everyone around Zhong Shan also looked up.
Was someone undergoing a tribulation?
Only Zhong Shan knew this wasn't a tribulation. The mortal world was also covered in endless red clouds.
The endless red clouds enveloped the sky, and suddenly, it began to rain blood. Infinite blood rain fell from the heavens.
Throughout the world, in all directions, countless powerful beings stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky. What was happening?
In the mortal world, Divine Crow Daojun, Lu Guitian, Prince Lietian, Ying, Li Si, Nie Fancheng, Di Xuanhua, Gui Shou, and countless others looked up, staring at the strange blood rain with a sense of boundless sorrow.
"What is happening? What exactly is going on?"
"What's wrong with the sky?"
"Why is it raining blood?"
The sudden change left everyone feeling caught off guard.
Near Zhong Shan's location, among the crowd from the Dayan Dynasty, three black-robed figures holding staffs looked up at the sky. The one in front remained silent while the two behind showed signs of panic.
One of the black-robed figures called out to the leader, "Elder, what is happening?"
The leader of the black-robed figures was silent for a moment before saying, "A sage has fallen, and heaven and earth mourn."
"A sage has fallen in the Great Thousand World?" the previously panicked black-robed figure asked in shock.