Chapter 223: Successful Ambush

Chapter 223 -163: Successful Ambush

“Heh, you could try a few more times and you still wouldn’t succeed. Once an assassin’s methods are known to their target, they lose all their menace,” Zhao Zuo retorted with a laugh, his tone light and casual.

“We’ll see about that.” The Blood-clothed Man found it strange that his enemy bothered to reply this time, but he still retorted almost instinctively.

“I’m afraid you won’t get the chance,” Zhao Zuo said flatly.

Then, he shot forward, charging toward the Blood-clothed Man alongside Shen Yunjiao.

Chen Xiaorong, who had vanished when the fight began, had used her Breath-Concealing Ring’s ability to reduce her presence. She had now crept up behind the Blood-clothed Man, about five meters away.

It was true that the area was open, but the darkness of night and the bushes covering the ground provided countless hiding spots. Besides, her frame was much smaller than Zhao Zuo’s.

The next second, a bronze bell flew into the air, rising to a height of several dozen meters. It began to slowly emit a series of piercing chimes, now fully activated.

Chen Xiaorong had slit her palm, offering her blood to the Magical Artifact. This was the Spirit Blood of a Foundation Establishment Powerhouse. Because it had undergone a transformation, the Energy contained within her blood was comparable to an Upper Grade Spirit Stone, yet it was gentler and easier to absorb.

At the same time, she used the last of her Divine Thought as the main power to drive the Soul-Shaking Bell. With this combination of Mana and blood, the attack was destined to be earth-shattering.

However, Chen Xiaorong’s injuries worsened. Her already-healed Meridians ruptured once more. Her insides felt as if they were cracking and crumbling like a porcelain doll. Waves of heart-wrenching agony radiated from her limbs and bones, but her gaze remained incomparably firm, as if burning with fire.

In truth, Chen Xiaorong didn’t have to offer her blood or overdraw her body’s strength to pour such a vast amount of Divine Thought into the attack. She only needed to activate the Soul-Shaking Bell with her remaining power to complete her task.

But…

Chen Xiaorong was a genius, and even more so, a powerhouse. Her strength came from within. Even when weak, she never lacked the conviction to take an enemy down with her. Even when at a disadvantage, she never lacked the courage to draw her sword against a foe.

She didn’t want Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao to continue shouldering danger for her sake. Even more, she didn’t want others to bear the Cause and Effect that was hers alone. Among the thousands of disciples in the Moyun Sect, countless had received her help, and some had naturally intended to protect her, but she had stopped them all through various means.

Above all, born proud, she could never accept becoming a burden.

It was only death. She had never been afraid of it.

In the night sky, Thunder descended, radiating in all directions. An invisible ripple surged out like a tide, crashing into the Blood-clothed Man’s Soul—a silent but very real wave.

Chen Xiaorong’s body, however, gave out from weakness, and she collapsed, falling unconscious to the ground. But her fainting did not interrupt the Soul-Shaking Bell’s activation; her Divine Thought, Mana, and Spirit Blood had already been delivered.

DING DONG DING DONG~

BOOM.

The Blood-clothed Man’s Soul felt as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer. The light in his eyes vanished in an instant, leaving them vacant. His very soul seemed to tear apart under the blow. The world in his eyes turned upside down and disorderly. Colors lost their balance; his vision became a kaleidoscope of hues, a bottomless vortex where no logic remained, only chaos.

The Sky-Breaking Saber was clearly faster than Zhao Zuo. A streak of cyan light crossed several dozen meters to strike at point-blank range. The Blood-clothed Man was now incapacitated, his eyes vacant and his body swaying like a drunkard.

DING.

A dense, bloody light spread out from his body, forming a barrier. Though it was only a thin layer, it possessed an indestructible toughness. It appeared without a sound, yet it made Zhao Zuo feel as if a pair of eyes were staring intently at him, as if the barrier had a mind of its own.

‘A protective trump card?’

Zhao Zuo had always known the Blood-clothed Man would be extremely difficult to kill. He was different from all the other Demon Cultivators they had faced. He came from the Blood River Sect and was one of their True Disciples, a candidate for Foundation Establishment. Even in a Golden Core-level power, every True Disciple was a potential future pillar of the sect. It was inevitable that he would have protective measures.

The first time, Zhao Zuo’s sneak attack had already forced him to waste one trump card. This blood-colored barrier was likely the second. Zhao Zuo guessed that while he had protective trump cards, he certainly didn’t have many.

That must be why losing the first one had pained him so much that he’d made Zhao Zuo his primary target!

The blood-colored barrier blocked the Sky-Breaking Saber’s attack, even sending it flying back. It carved a graceful arc through the air before returning to Zhao Zuo’s side.

‘An opportunity like this will only come once.’ Zhao Zuo glanced at the unconscious Chen Xiaorong, then back at the blood-colored barrier, which had rippled but remained undamaged. His gaze grew resolute; he had finally made his decision.

Zhao Zuo waved his right hand, establishing a link with the Sky-Breaking Saber. He injected his Mana into it and threw it once more.

The cyan light collided with the blood-colored barrier. This time, before the Sky-Breaking Saber could be repelled, Zhao Zuo uttered a single word in a low voice.

“Explode!”

The Spirit Patterns inside the Suwen could be detonated to release even more terrifying power, and the Sky-Breaking Saber’s could as well. In fact, because it possessed two sets of Spirit Patterns—the normal Controlling Objects patterns and the gold Spirit Patterns—the power unleashed by its explosion would be even more horrifying.

Cracks appeared on the surface of the Sky-Breaking Saber. The next second, it shattered completely. Every fragment was enveloped in a dense cyan light. In less than a second, the pieces flew out like a blooming poppy, a flower from Hell that reaped life.

Streaks of light, like meteors, shot through the distorted air. The dense barrage of attacks hammered the surface of the blood-colored barrier. The supposedly indestructible shield rippled intensely and frequently, like the surface of a lake being ravaged by a torrential downpour.

The next moment, the blood-colored barrier shattered.

Dozens of cyan meteors shot forward, threatening to turn the Blood-clothed Man’s body into a sieve. ℯ𝐥.𝒄ℴ𝓶

At the critical moment, another blood-colored barrier appeared. Although it rippled countless times, it still managed to block the residual power from the Sky-Breaking Saber’s explosion.

“Erupt.”

Zhao Zuo spoke again. The Black Flame on the surface of the Black Flame Saber grew deeper and its temperature became more terrifying, like the karmic fires burning in the depths of Hell.

‘If once isn’t enough to break through, I’ll do it a second time. He will die tonight!’

Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao brought their blades down together on the teetering blood-colored barrier. Zhao Zuo’s Slash was especially powerful, the Black Flame constantly eroding the shield.

CRACK.

A crack appeared in the blood-colored barrier. The remaining cyan meteors from Zhao Zuo’s attack shot through the opening and pierced the Blood-clothed Man’s body. More cracks quickly appeared on the barrier, and the other cyan fragments seized the opportunity, continuously slipping through the gaps.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Blood splattered as the metal fragments repeatedly pierced the Blood-clothed Man’s body. At the same time, the blood-colored barrier shattered under the combined assault of Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao. The Blood-clothed Man never regained consciousness before his death.

“Even if we hadn’t attacked, that soul attack alone would have been more than enough to deal with him.” Shen Yunjiao looked toward the unconscious Chen Xiaorong. She knew now… that on top of activating the artifact, Chen Xiaorong must have paid some other price to unleash such a terrifying attack.

“In any case, we’ve dealt with this major threat,” Zhao Zuo said.

“Heh, you’re really willing to part with things. To repay a debt, you even gave up two Magical Artifacts.” Shen Yunjiao raised an eyebrow, her tone a little sour. She then bent down, took the enemy’s Storage Bag, and stuffed the corpse inside it.

“Help me pick up the fragments later. Maybe it can still be repaired…” As Zhao Zuo spoke, his voice lost some of its confidence. Damage of this level was normally impossible to fix. He could only hope his Golden Finger might give him a pleasant surprise.

“Of course, no problem. But we should check on Chen Xiaorong’s injuries first,” Shen Yunjiao said.

“Right…”

Zhao Zuo turned to look where Chen Xiaorong lay unconscious.

At that moment, a figure in blood-red clothes was crouching beside Chen Xiaorong, a hand gripping her wrist…

“A Demon Path Foundation Establishment powerhouse!”