novelkee Chapter 191 The Decree
Chapter 191 The Decree
After experiencing the stunning images brought by the crystal ball in the mysterious cave, Jiang Jingzhi, Xu Xiaoxiao, and Mu Zhusheng were still not fully calmed down when they cautiously stepped deeper into the cave once again.
The light mist that surrounded them grew thicker and thicker, like a veil that heavily obstructed their vision, allowing them to barely see a few steps ahead.
The cave was eerily quiet, with only the faint footsteps and steady breathing of the three of them.
With each step, Jiang Jingzhi carefully observed the surrounding movements, keeping his magical artifact ready to attack at any moment; Xu Xiaoxiao gripped her spirit sword tightly, her eyes scanning the surroundings warily, not missing any corner that might hide danger; Mu Zhusheng was focused on sensing the fluctuations of spiritual energy around her, ready to react immediately if anything unusual happened.
Just as they were venturing deeper into the cave and becoming increasingly lost, a sinister and chilling voice suddenly rang out, as if from the deepest hell, carrying endless malice: "Since you've come, then become my nourishment!"
Before the three could react, a black magical force, like a black lightning bolt, struck them with lightning speed. Wherever the black magical force passed, the air seemed to be scorched, making a "sizzling" sound, and leaving a charred mark on the ground.
Jiang Jingzhi's eyes sharpened, and he reacted extremely quickly. He suddenly stretched out a hand, and his spiritual power instantly circulated, forming a spiritual power shield in front of him.
The black magic struck the shield with a dull thud, and the powerful impact made Jiang Jingzhi's arm go numb, and his feet involuntarily took two steps back.
Xu Xiaoxiao and Mu Zhusheng reacted quickly, leaping to the left and right respectively to dodge the direct attack of the black magic.
Xu Xiaoxiao flipped in the air and landed steadily. She then twirled her spirit sword a few times, the blade flashing with a chilling light, ready to launch a counterattack at any moment. Mu Zhusheng, on the other hand, quickly drew her longsword and held a talisman in her right hand.
"Who is it? Hiding like a coward, come out and fight if you dare!" Xu Xiaoxiao shouted loudly, her voice echoing in the cave, but she received no response, only that chilling, sinister laughter resounding in the air.
Jiang Jingzhi frowned, carefully observing the surrounding environment, trying to find traces of the enemy.
Suddenly, he noticed a dark shadow moving rapidly in the mist at the top of the cave. Before he could think, the magic weapon in his hand flashed, and a beam of spiritual energy shot towards the shadow.
Sensing danger, the dark figure quickly dodged, but a beam of spiritual energy grazed its edge and struck the cave wall with a loud bang, instantly creating a huge crater in the wall.
"Hmph, trying to hide? Not so easy!" Jiang Jingzhi snorted coldly. He stomped his feet on the ground and shot towards the top of the cave like an arrow. As he approached the shadow, his magic weapon attacked again, and countless spiritual blades rained down on the shadow.
Under the barrage of attacks, the dark figure appeared somewhat flustered. It dodged left and right, trying to avoid the attacks, but Jiang Jingzhi's attacks were relentless, gradually making it unable to cope.
Just as the shadowy figure was about to be struck, it suddenly let out a sharp cry, and an even denser black magic surged from its body, forming a defensive barrier that blocked Jiang Jingzhi's attack.
Seeing this, Xu Xiaoxiao and Mu Zhusheng immediately rushed to help. Xu Xiaoxiao brandished her spirit sword and unleashed a set of fierce sword techniques to attack the shadowy figure. Mu Zhusheng threw out the talismans in her hand one by one to disrupt the shadowy figure's movements. Under the combined attack of the three, the shadowy figure gradually fell into a predicament.
However, the dark figure seemed unwilling to be defeated so easily. It suddenly let out a roar, and black magic erupted once more, forming a huge black vortex around itself, enveloping Jiang Jingzhi and the other two. The black vortex contained a powerful suction force, attempting to devour them.
Jiang Jingzhi felt a powerful force pulling him. He gritted his teeth and frantically circulated his spiritual energy, trying to resist the suction. He shouted, "Junior Brother Xiaoxiao, steady yourself! Don't get sucked into this vortex!"
Xu Xiaoxiao and Mu Zhusheng also channeled their spiritual power to the fullest extent to resist the suction of the vortex. Xu Xiaoxiao's spiritual sword shone brightly as she unleashed her strongest sword technique, sending streaks of sword energy toward the edge of the vortex in an attempt to break free from its grip. Mu Zhusheng also poured all her spiritual power into her own spiritual sword, which surged toward the center of the vortex to contend with the black magic.
With the combined efforts of the three, the suction force of the black vortex gradually weakened. Jiang Jingzhi seized the opportunity, quickly forming hand seals and chanting incantations. As he moved, a powerful force gathered in his hands.
"Break!" Jiang Jingzhi shouted, pushing the power he had gathered in his hand toward the center of the vortex.
The powerful force struck the center of the black vortex in an instant, producing a deafening roar. Under the impact of this force, the black vortex finally collapsed, turning into countless black fragments that dissipated into the air.
"You...you despicable bunch!" the shadowy figure roared angrily, his voice filled with resentment and bitterness.
Jiang Jingzhi and his two companions kept their eyes fixed on the dark figure, not daring to relax for a moment. They knew that although the dark figure looked badly injured, it might still have a backup plan, so they could not let their guard down.
"No matter who you are, don't even think about hurting us today, and don't even think about continuing your evil deeds!" Jiang Jingzhi said firmly, his magical weapon ready to be unleashed once again.
As the black vortex dissipated, the disheveled black shadow was fully revealed. It was the demon that had been severely injured by the demon ancestors—Xu Xin. Its head was like a twisted and elongated snake, and its blood-red vertical pupils burned with venomous flames. The remaining black demonic energy around its body surged like a putrid stench.
The demon let out a roar that was neither beast nor beast, and slowly raised one hand. Black demonic energy gathered wildly in its palm, like a small black hole, swallowing up the surrounding light and making a strange "sizzling" sound.
Its venomous gaze swept over Jiang Jingzhi and the other two, its voice like the grinding of sand: "You want to kill me? Not so easy! You insolent ants, you will all die here today!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Xin suddenly flung the demonic energy gathered in his hand toward Jiang Jingzhi and the other two. The demonic energy instantly split into countless sharp black blades, which swept over the sky like locusts. Wherever they passed, the air was cut into pieces and emitted a piercing shriek.
Jiang Jingzhi's eyes narrowed, and the magic weapon in his hand shone brightly. He quickly waved the magic weapon, forming a net of spiritual energy in front of him, trying to block the attack of these black blades. The net of spiritual energy collided with the black blades, bursting out a series of violent roars and sparks flying everywhere.
Xu Xiaoxiao let out a delicate shout, her spirit sword twirling into a series of sword flowers, like blooming plum blossoms in the cold winter, carrying a chilling aura as she faced the black blade. She displayed exquisite swordsmanship, her figure agile, moving freely between the blades, cutting down any that approached.
However, there were too many black blades, and despite her efforts to defend herself, several blades still managed to break through her defenses, leaving several bloody marks on her arms and shoulders.
Mu Zhusheng chanted incantations as she threw out the talisman in her hand. The talisman instantly ignited in the air, turning into streaks of golden light that collided with the black blade.
His forehead was covered in sweat, clearly indicating that maintaining the spiritual energy required to create these talismans was taking its toll, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered, his gaze fixed firmly on the demon, trying to find its weakness.
Upon seeing this, the demon let out a maniacal laugh. It waved its hands again, and black demonic energy surged out of its body, forming a huge black demonic shadow in front of it.
The demonic shadow bared its fangs and claws, lunging at Jiang Jingzhi and his companions. Wherever it went, it trampled out huge pits in the ground and caused rocks on the walls to crumble away.
Jiang Jingzhi took a deep breath. He knew that the battle had reached a critical moment. He looked at Xu Xiaoxiao and Mu Zhusheng. The three of them exchanged glances, understood each other, and nodded.
Jiang Jingzhi quickly formed hand seals, unleashing his spiritual power without reservation. He shouted, "Sword Breaks the Sky!" A massive sword aura of spiritual power slashed out from his magic weapon, carrying an unstoppable momentum, and hurtled towards the black demonic shadow.
Xu Xiaoxiao also unleashed her strongest sword technique, pouring all her spiritual power into her sword, causing it to shine brightly: "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One!" Countless sword energies converged into a powerful torrent of sword energy, echoing Jiang Jingzhi's sword energy as they rushed towards the demonic shadow.
Mu Zhusheng then threw out all the remaining talismans, chanting, "Heaven and earth spiritual power, heed my command, break the demon!" The talismans transformed into a golden light, like a golden sword, piercing straight into the heart of the demonic shadow.
Three powerful forces struck the black demonic shadow simultaneously, producing a deafening roar. Under this powerful attack, the demonic shadow began to sway precariously, and finally collapsed with a crash, turning into a cloud of black smoke and dissipating into the air.
The demon let out a roar of unwilling anger. Its body was also severely injured by the powerful attack, and its black demonic energy became even dimmer. However, it still stared fiercely at Jiang Jingzhi and the other two, clearly not intending to give up. An even more intense battle seemed to be about to break out.
Before the black smoke from the collapse of the demonic shadow had completely dissipated, the venomous roar of the demonic beast echoed once again in the cave. Although it was severely injured and its body was swaying precariously, and the demonic energy around it was becoming increasingly dim, the madness and unwillingness burning in its blood-red vertical pupils did not diminish at all. It stared intently at Jiang Jingzhi and the other two, as if it wanted to tear them to pieces with its gaze.
Jiang Jingzhi knew that the beast would not give up easily. At this moment, it was like a wounded beast, becoming increasingly dangerous. He turned slightly to the side and quickly glanced at Xu Xiaoxiao and Mu Zhusheng. He saw that the two of them were pale and had blood trickling from the corners of their mouths, clearly having been seriously injured in the battle just now.
Especially Mu Zhusheng, whose spiritual energy was exhausted and whose body was swaying precariously; Xu Xiaoxiao's arms and shoulders were covered in bloodstains, and black demonic energy was slowly eroding her body along the wounds. She bit her lower lip tightly, trying to stay awake, but she was gradually losing her strength.
"Junior brother, Xiaoxiao, you two step back and find a safe place to heal your injuries!" Jiang Jingzhi shouted loudly, his voice filled with unwavering determination.
"Senior Brother, we..." Xu Xiaoxiao still wanted to insist.
"Listen to me!" Jiang Jingzhi interrupted her, his eyes revealing determination. "Leave this to me. You all must protect yourselves so I can deal with it without any worries!"
Xu Xiaoxiao and Mu Zhusheng exchanged a glance and nodded helplessly. They knew that their injuries had seriously affected their combat effectiveness. Staying here would not only be of no help, but might also become a burden to Jiang Jingzhi.
The two supported each other as they struggled to retreat to one side of the cave, where they slowly sat down against the stone wall and began to circulate their internal energy to heal their injuries and resist the invasion of demonic energy.
As Xu Xiaoxiao and Mu Zhusheng retreated, Xu Xin let out a sinister laugh: "Hmph, trying to escape? None of you will get away! After I deal with this troublesome fellow, I'll slowly take care of you!"
As it spoke, it suddenly opened its arms, and black demonic energy surged out of its body again. This demonic energy was no longer the chaotic surge it had been before, but rather it was as if it were being controlled by an invisible hand, quickly condensing into countless sharp black spears. Each spear exuded a chilling aura, and the tips of the spears gleamed with a cold, eerie light.
"Die!" Xu Xin roared, pushing his hands forward with a sudden burst of energy. Countless black spears rained down on Jiang Jingzhi, their speed so fast that no one had time to react.
Jiang Jingzhi's eyes narrowed. He knew that the power of this attack was far greater than before. He took a deep breath, quickly formed hand seals, and circulated his spiritual power without reservation, forming an indestructible spiritual power shield in front of him. This shield emitted a soft white light, which contrasted sharply with the black demonic energy of the demon.
The black spear struck the spiritual energy shield, producing a series of dense metallic clanging sounds and sparks flying everywhere.
Jiang Jingzhi felt an overwhelming force surging towards him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
He gritted his teeth, his feet firmly planted on the ground, his hands constantly changing hand seals, trying his best to maintain the stability of the shield.
However, the attack from the demon was too fierce. Under the continuous impact of the black spear, the spiritual energy shield began to show fine cracks, as if it would shatter at any moment.
"Is that all you've got?" Jiang Jingzhi roared angrily. He decided to stop being passive and defend. Taking advantage of the gap in Xu Xin's attack, he suddenly withdrew his spiritual energy shield. The magic weapon in his hand flashed, and a powerful beam of spiritual energy shot towards Xu Xin.
At the same time, he flashed forward like lightning, rushing towards Xu Xin, brandishing his magical weapon and unleashing countless spiritual blades that slashed at Xu Xin like a storm.
The demon was clearly not expected by Jiang Jingzhi to suddenly counterattack. It frantically waved its hands, manipulating the black demonic energy to resist Jiang Jingzhi's attack. The black demonic energy and the spiritual energy blades collided with each other, producing a series of violent roars. The air in the cave seemed to be boiling, and the heat waves rolled in.
In the fierce battle, Jiang Jingzhi gradually discovered the weakness of the demon. Although it was powerful, after continuous attacks and the previous heavy blows, its movements had become somewhat sluggish and its reactions were not as agile as before.
Jiang Jingzhi was overjoyed. He decided to seize this opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Yu Xin.
He suddenly raised the magic weapon high above his head, his spiritual power surging wildly within him, chanting, "Spiritual power of heaven and earth, heed my command! Light of demon-slaying, descend!" As he chanted, the magic weapon shone brightly, and a dazzling white light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire cave.
This ray of light contained a powerful purifying force; wherever it went, the black demonic energy dissipated, like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun.