The Path Toward Heaven

As Cao Yuan and the Dark Phoenix were conversing, the demons kept on jumping out of the ocean and plunged into the Huge Whirlpool, then turning into a bloody mist and pulps after being sliced by the iron broadsword.

Many hovering rocks had broken into pieces and floated in midair over the Huge Whirlpool; it was an appalling scene.

“Are you stupid or what? Why can’t you understand what I said?” exclaimed the Dark Phoenix irritably. “This is something the Immortal has set up; the more demons you kill, the stronger the Heavenly Slaying Formation becomes. Are you going to keep on killing the demons and eventually become a part of the blood sacrifice yourself?”

“I understood you perfectly; but it seems that I can only do this sort of thing because I do have such good endurance,” said Cao Yuan.

The Dark Phoenix snapped icily, “Really? I’ll kill you at this very moment then.”

The energy above the surface of the ocean had changed abruptly, and those lines formed by the blood beads began to give off bright glows.

An exceedingly formidable energy bore down on Cao Yuan.

It was the force of the Heavenly Slaying Formation intended to change the passage of heaven and earth, but the Dark Phoenix used it to attack Cao Yuan. Regardless of how powerful Cao Yuan was, it was impossible for him to resist such a force.

“Even though you’re the strongest swordsman in Chaotian and as strong as Lian Sanyue, there is nothing you can do about it now.”

Those blood lines lashed out at Cao Yuan along with the voice of the Dark Phoenix. Though they were not traveling at a high speed, they looked rather irresistible.

Cao Yuan had no intention of dodging the assault. He pressed his palms together and recited a simple script.

Several thousand words with golden glows drifted out from his palms, forming a light sphere around his body to thwart those blood lines.

Sizzle!!! Sizzle!!!

It seemed as if an ancient tree were struck by a lightning, giving off a burning smell.

The blood lines vanished instantly when they touched the light sphere. And the light sphere was also growing thinner at the same time.

Cao Yuan remarked while scratching his head, “I’ve just come up with this idea that I should be able to dismantle this formation if I kill you since you’re the main operator of the formation.”

The Dark Phoenix was taken aback before he returned, “You’re really thick. It has taken you so long to figure it out. But, how can you kill me inside the formation if you can’t dismantle it first?”

Cao Yuan said, “I can go to the bottom of the Huge Whirlpool and block this passage…”

The Dark Phoenix cut him off sharply, “It’s impossible. This is the passage of heaven and earth, which is beyond the capability of humans.”

“But I have to give it a try,” said Cao Yuan. “If I did it, the seawater would be unable to drop into the Underworld. I believe the Immortal Taiping will be very upset.”

“Are you trying to provoke me to kill you?” asked the Dark Phoenix in a mocking tone.

Cao Yuan lifted his head and looked at the high sky, the blood and seawater trickling down his cheeks. “This is your only chance to kill me, the strongest swordsman in the world. Don’t you want to give it a try?” asked Cao Yuan.

The voice of the Dark Phoenix rang out again after a long pause, “Alright. You wait for me to come over and kill you.”

…

…

The blood lines above the Huge Whirlpool had suddenly disappeared. The dark clouds dispersed, and the sunshine shone down again.

The sea water was still plunging down into the abyss; it was thee most magnificent waterfall in the world.

Cao Yuan stood up and looked at the sun in the sky while heaving his iron broadsword.

A bird flew out from inside the sun.

It was neither a Rosefinch nor a Sun Bird.

It was a strange and devilish bird covered in blood.

The Dark Phoenix absorbed a great deal of energy from the demons that had died from the blood sacrifice in the Heavenly Slaying Formation. His feathers were dyed red, his wings several thousand feet long; the Dark Phoenix exuded a formidable energy at that moment.

He flew toward the Huge Whirlpool while whipping up a great deal of Chaotic Wind.

The demons in the ocean fled in terror, feeling extremely petrified.

In their eyes, this bird was an alien being.

Cao Yuan looked at the Dark Phoenix in the sky, revealing a grave expression in his eyes. He was certain that the bird was much more powerful than when he was on Green Mountain.

In a few moments, the Dark Phoenix arrived above the Huge Whirlpool along with a bloody energy and murderous intent.

The seawater looked as transparent as a piece of glass, as if the rushing and falling sea water was suppressed by the formidable energy of the Dark Phoenix.

As the only swordsman in the world who had fought with the Queen of the Snowy Kingdom, Cao Yuan figured that the Dark Phoenix was almost as powerful as the Queen at the moment though the bird was just a bit inferior.

Cao Yuan grabbed the hilt of the broadsword with both of his hands, his countenance turning grave, though a hint of a pleased expression showed in his eyes.

“Ah, I have finally met another one whom I can’t beat.”

Seeing Cao Yuan hold the hilt of his broadsword with both of his hands, the Dark Phoenix had a sensation of pleasure and agitation in the deep part of his spiritual soul.

“He showed such uneasiness in front of me even though he was the strongest swordsman in the world!” the Dark Phoenix thought contentedly.

Yet, in the next moment, a sensation of dreadful agitation occurred in the deep part of his spiritual soul.

The sensation then turned into a pang of excruciating pain, gnawing at his spiritual soul.

With a painful cry, the Dark Phoenix tumbled up and down in the sky. The bloody feathers fell off from his body, drifting everywhere in midair.

The sensation of agitation stemmed from the distant Chaotian and Green Mountain. It was a sensation with which he was most familiar with and scared of.

That green bamboo board had broken.

Jing Yang agreed to give him freedom many years ago and took out the blood from his life board. But, how could Jing Jiu still control him by means of the life board?

Though he was so powerful that day that Cao Yuan was not even a match for him, he somehow couldn’t overcome the sensation of agitation in the deep part of his spiritual soul.

The Dark Phoenix tried his best to steady his mental state and flew to a higher spot in the sky by withstanding the excruciating pain, in an attempt to hide in the deep end of the Heavenly Slaying Formation, this done in the hopes of cutting the connection with the life board.

A great deal of blood seeped out from his feathers, falling down like the raindrops; it was a dreadful scene.

He had no idea what was going on, his eyes full of terror and bewilderment.

Soon after, he remembered that he had injured Jing Yang in Zhaoge City the year before and had also been wounded by Jing Yang, and had left a feather behind…

Did Jing Yang take the feather, extract the blood from it and put the blood back in the life board?

As he was thinking of all this, a bright broadsword light rose from the Huge Whirlpool.

The bloody feathers fell off again.

“Jing Yang, you’re such a liar!”

The Dark Phoenix flew to a higher spot in the sky after letting out a furious and agonizing shriek.

All of a sudden, a stick appeared in the sky.

The sky was very extensive, so it should be easy to evade the stick under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, the stick was also very large.

The stick was as thick as a large tree on Penglai Island, a diameter of several hundred feet. The thunderous boom didn’t break out over the surface of the ocean until it came before the Dark Phoenix.

Boom!!!

The Dark Phoenix was knocked away by the stick, turning into a dark speck in a split second.

A dozen bloody feathers could be seen drifting in midair, dissipating into the distance.

Looking at the scene in the sky, Cao Yuan remarked sentimentally, “Jing Yang didn’t lie. When he said there was no need to worry about the Dark Phoenix, he meant it.”

A huge dark shadow was cast on the surface of the ocean.

Thud!!!

Something resembling a large stone pole dropped into the sea and stomped several demons to deaths.

The sea water bounced back after bumping into the stone wall, forming several small whirlpools. Much less sea water was dropping into the abyss now.

Looking down at the small Buddha inside the Huge Whirlpool, the Giant inquired uncertainly, “Aja?”