Chapter 391 - 228: Order Beast: Blood Ripple Tumi

Chapter 391: Chapter 228: Order Beast: Blood Ripple Tumi

The humanoid portion of its body was entirely encased in a suit of ink-black armor, leaving not a single inch of its form exposed.

Zhong Yi was so tormented by the utterly oppressive sensation that he was on the verge of vomiting.

Suddenly, the Soul-Controlling Flower rooted in Zhong Yi’s soul released a gentle stream of Soul Power, and the discomfort vanished completely.

Zhong Yi gazed at the centaur hanging high in the sky outside, its body wreathed in purplish-red flames, and knew it had to be a Deceit Element Bizarre that specialized in the Fire Element.

In its speech, the Deceit Element Bizarre was quite disdainful of Flower Venerable, whose power had yet to reach the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations.

From Flower Venerable’s words, Zhong Yi learned that this centaur-like Deceit Element Bizarre was an expert at the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations Level.

And its purpose for coming here was, shockingly, to assassinate Tao En.

"Your target isn’t a Five-finger Peak Creator, but a Six-finger Creator."

"A Sixth Level Creator is a resource that all experts at the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations Level are bound to protect."

"Does your White Mist Divine Hall of the Mass Divine Sect not fear inciting public outrage by acting this way?"

"If I’m not mistaken, you must be the Eternal Flame Nightmare, one of the two Divine Hall Deceit Knights of the White Mist Divine Hall."

Flower Venerable was now hovering in mid-air, facing off against the Deceit Knight of the White Mist Divine Hall from across the sky.

Vast swathes of vibrant red flowers surged upward, coalescing beneath Flower Venerable to form a magnificent crimson throne.

The Deceit Knight was visibly surprised by Flower Venerable’s words.

Before undertaking this mission, the Deceit Knight had received no intelligence that Tao En had become a Six-finger Creator.

However, this revelation did nothing to sway the Deceit Knight from his mission.

"Flower Venerable, that Endless Shore of yours is only a single step away from the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations."

"I have no desire to kill you!"

"If Tao En truly has become a Six-finger Creator, then I have all the more reason to kill him!"

"I have no intention of earning the enmity of a Six-finger Creator."

Fueled by vengeance for his son, Tao En had relentlessly pursued Cao Xing’an even when his Creator Level was still lower than his rival’s.

Once someone earned Tao En’s enmity, they could expect to be hunted to the ends of time.

Flower Venerable’s expression was exceptionally grim. Someone had hired a Deceit Knight from the White Mist Divine Hall to assassinate Tao En.

Flower Venerable already had a strong suspicion as to who this person was.

The Mass Divine Sect was a Bizarre faction that spanned multiple continents.

One of its four great halls, the White Mist Divine Hall, was situated on the Dragon’s Roost Continent.

The strength of the White Mist Divine Hall alone far surpassed that of the Purifying Moon Sect, even though the latter also had an expert at the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations Level.

’The Star Emperor was preparing to leave Starlight City to handle some business because of my arrival.’

’For this Deceit Knight to dare make a move now, Star Night must have already left Starlight City.’

Right now, under the immense pressure of a Peak of Ten Thousand Nations expert, any creature within the estate below the Eternal Realm would have collapsed, stunned and unable to move.

’At a time like this, only I can protect the people in this estate.’

Just then, a sigh echoed from behind Flower Venerable.

"Flower Venerable, I am his target. There’s no need for you to fight him to the death on my account."

"Your power has not yet reached the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations. You are no match for him."

Having said his piece to Flower Venerable, Tao En looked up at the Deceit Knight in the sky.

"You said you were commissioned for this task. It was Cao Xing’an who hired you to kill me, wasn’t it?"

"You’re not very discreet, are you? Though you didn’t mention Cao Xing’an by name, you still revealed you were working for a client."

"I suppose you also don’t want Cao Xing’an remaining in the Xin Xia Federation. Am I right?"

Hearing this, the Deceit Knight in the sky, whom Flower Venerable had called the Eternal Flame Nightmare, did not deny Tao En’s words.

He merely spoke with a hint of regret in his voice.

"What a pity. If I had known beforehand that you had become a Six-finger Creator, I would never have accepted a commission from a mere Five-finger Peak Creator."

"Since you’re so clever, you should also know that your death today is inevitable."

"I hear you also have a granddaughter. Rest assured, after I kill you, I will spare her life."

"However, I must take her and hand her over to my client."

"As for whether she lives or dies, that will be up to my client."

Tao En’s expression remained unchanged, but his heart was filled with regret.

’It had been some time since I became a Six-finger Creator with Zhong Yi’s help.’

’Yet, even now, I still haven’t publicly announced my status as a Six-finger Creator.’

’What’s more, I didn’t even move against Cao Xing’an the moment I became a Six-finger Creator.’

’Previously, when I became a Five-finger Peak Creator, I was persuaded by the Celestial Destiny Seekers of Longya City to spare Cao Xing’an for the sake of the city’s development and out of respect for my old friends.’

’I should have learned my lesson from that incident.’

’And now I’ve fallen into the same trap twice. I’m still not decisive enough when it’s time to kill!’

From the moment the Deceit Knight appeared, Tao En knew in his heart that if he were to die, Tao Niannian would have absolutely no chance of survival.

’Cao Xing’an is far more ruthless than I am. He understands the principle of tearing out the weeds by the roots and would never leave a future threat like Niannian alive.’

"If you want to kill me, you’ll have to face my final counterattack."

"I will not simply stand here and await my execution!"

As he spoke, Tao En summoned them all: his Lifebound Guardian Beast, the Shadow Horned Deer, and his two other Contracted beasts, the Swift Emperor Halberd Deer and the Blood-Seeking Sword-Hoof Deer.

"It seems you still don’t understand the gap between Eternal Peak and the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations!"

"As expected of a Six-finger Creator. You’ve raised these three Guardian Beasts quite well."

"The antlers of this Swift Emperor Halberd Deer are nearly the size of its body. I imagine a blow from those horns could rival a strike from an S-rank Combat-type Celestial Destiny Seeker at the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations who wields Rule Authority."

"However, whether you struggle or not makes little difference to me."

"I..."

The Deceit Knight’s words caught in his throat before he could finish.

He had spotted a giant, six-fingered hand woven from pure Soul Energy materializing behind Tao En.

The six fingers of the massive hand clenched, and Heaven and Earth Energy rapidly converged upon it.

’That’s a Six-finger Dharma Aspect! Only a Six-finger Middle Tier Creator can manifest one!’

’Damn that Cao Xing’an! The target he hired me to kill is actually a Six-finger Middle Tier Creator!’

Although a novice Six-finger Creator and a Six-finger Middle Tier Creator shared the same rank, the gap between them was simply incomparable.

If a Six-finger Middle Tier Creator sacrificed their soul to fuel their Six-finger Dharma Aspect...

...the burst of damage they could unleash for a short period would be comparable to a full-powered attack from an expert at the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations.

A look of delighted surprise spread across Flower Venerable’s face as she saw the Six-finger Dharma Aspect manifesting behind Tao En.

Flower Venerable figured that the Deceit Knight would be unwilling to get injured fighting Tao En to the death, even if it meant making a mortal enemy of him. If he failed to kill Tao En now, he would have to face the future retaliation of a Six-finger Creator. An expert at the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations Level wouldn’t take that risk.

Flower Venerable’s tone turned sharp as she addressed the Deceit Knight facing her from across the sky.

"Eternal Flame Nightmare, since you know my Guardian Beast is called Endless Shore, you must also know that it is not my Order Beast."

As Flower Venerable spoke, a cloud of incredibly dense, blood-red mist gathered in her left hand.

The cloud of mist was a brilliant crimson, and it held its form without dispersing.

From within the bloody mist, a single white blossom emerged in Flower Venerable’s hand.

The white flower was supremely elegant, its stem completely bare of leaves.

Against the vibrant crimson mist, it appeared both holy and tinged with a mournful sorrow.

The moment this white flower appeared in Flower Venerable’s hand, a desolate chill—like the withering of deep autumn—filled the sky.

"My Lifebound Guardian Beast is called the Blood Ripple Tumi!"

"So what if my power has yet to reach the Peak of Ten Thousand Nations?"

"I am confident that I am unrivaled by anyone beneath the Peak!"

"And against those at the Peak, even if I can’t take you down with me, I can still leave you gravely wounded and steal away a great portion of your lifespan."

"If you don’t believe me, we can put it to the test!"