Chapter 42: Azure Lotus Sword Song Second Form — Two Elements: Sword of Frost! Tonight, Wine Boiling Sword Cry reappears!
Zhao Wuji kicked aside broken bricks and rubble.
Li Dixian was revealed beneath, covered in mud, seemingly unconscious.
Zhao Wuji did not reach out to help him; instead, a cold sneer played on his lips, and his sand-bowl-sized fist smashed down towards Li Dixian's head without any fancy moves.
Li Dixian's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open.
He forcefully pushed off the ground, sliding several meters across the surface like a swimming fish.
Boom—!
Zhao Wuji's fist landed where he had been.
Shrapnel flew, leaving a two-foot-deep pit.
If that punch had connected, Li Dixian's head would have shattered like a watermelon.
"Old man…"
Li Dixian propped himself up with his Azure Lotus Sword, staggering to his feet.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his cold eyes showing a hint of solemnity.
He had thought it would be simple… or rather, he had underestimated the heroes of the world.
His undefeated record in the past had fostered an arrogant belief that "when it comes to truly remarkable individuals, the present era is where you'll find them."
But tonight's battle.
Ruthlessly crushed that arrogance.
He had believed that hundreds of life-and-death battles in the Soul Arena had matured his combat experience.
Yet, facing Zhao Wuji, he was utterly suppressed.
The foundation of the older generation of powerhouses was truly as solid as a rock.
"Li Dixian…"
Zhao Wuji wiped the rain from his face, a hint of admiration even showing in his tiger-like eyes.
Setting aside their adversarial positions.
Li Dixian was the most outstanding young Spirit Master he had ever seen.
Though he didn't want to admit it, the Shrek Seven Devils truly couldn't compare to him.
However, that flicker of admiration was fleeting, replaced by an even more intense, cruel killing intent.
"I absolutely cannot let you live!"
The fourth Soul Ring beneath Zhao Wuji's feet glowed purple.
An invisible aura locked onto Li Dixian from afar.
"Fourth Spirit Ability — Targeted Tracking!"
Zhao Wuji, known for his defense, now erupted with terrifying speed.
The ground tiles beneath his feet exploded, his burly figure tore through the air, and in the blink of an eye, he was before Li Dixian.
"Die!"
Zhao Wuji's fist, carrying immense power, smashed directly into Li Dixian's chest!
Li Dixian's expression changed drastically; he had no time to dodge!
He could only hold his sword horizontally across his chest!
Boom—!
The Azure Lotus Sword's body was bent into an astonishing arc, heavily impacting Li Dixian's chest.
"Pfft—!"
Another large mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, a few crimson drops even splashing onto Zhao Wuji's face.
The rain washed the blood into winding red streaks, making his rugged face appear even more ferocious.
As for Li Dixian.
He was sent flying dozens of meters, breaking several large trees in succession before crashing heavily into the mud.
"Cough… cough, cough…"
Li Dixian struggled to prop himself up.
Every breath pulled at a needle-like sharp pain in his chest.
His face was pale, and he slowly lowered his head, only to see his breastbone sunken by an inch, with a strange, fiery red and azure blue light interweaving faintly from the fractured bone.
If he hadn't cultivated the Meltfrost Spirit Vein Body.
Zhao Wuji's punch would have killed him.
Staring intently at the grim reaper-like figure dozens of meters away in the rainy night, Li Dixian pulled out his clear spring wine pot and tilted his head back, gulping down the wine.
The wine entered his throat.
Transforming into a surging torrent of energy that exploded within his body.
His severely injured body was repaired, and his depleted Soul Power was replenished.
Li Dixian held his sword in his right hand and the pot in his left.
He tilted the wine pot, pouring the shimmering wine onto the Azure Lotus Sword.
As the wine soaked the sword body, the longsword, which originally flowed with a green glow, turned fiery red like molten iron.
Twelve crimson lotus flowers bloomed, even floating on the surface of the sword body.
Boiling—
Humming—
The wine boiled, and the sword hummed!
Tonight, in this desperate situation, Wine Boiling Sword Cry reappeared!
Li Dixian's hunched back slowly straightened.
His lips were stained crimson, and his white robes were covered in mud, making him look utterly disheveled.
But his eyes were terrifyingly sharp.
"Today…"
"Even if I, Li Dixian, die, I will still take a piece of you!"
"Second Spirit Ability — Three Swords' Splendor!"
"Azure Lotus Sword Song First Form — Yaoguang!"
Setting aside attributes.
Yaoguang Sword was Li Dixian's sharpest sword to date.
Now, under the enhancement of Three Swords' Splendor and Wine Boiling Sword Cry.
This sword!
Transformed into ten thousand cold stars scattering from a celestial platform!
The dark blue sky seemed to be torn open by an invisible hand, creating a rift.
A ray of starlight suddenly descended, and in the inky rainy night, this beam of starlight shone like a galaxy, reflecting the falling rain, as if woven from billions of light rays.
Zhao Wuji, who was striding closer, suddenly paused.
Such an anomaly made him frown deeply.
The dull ache in his arm.
Reminded him of the extraordinary nature of this move.
"Useless struggle!"
The fierce light in Zhao Wuji's eyes intensified.
Beneath his feet, the seventh Soul Ring ascended, rapidly growing from small to large, its deep black light enveloping the entire forest.
"Seventh Spirit Ability — Spirit Avatar!"
To deal with Li Dixian.
He actually used his Spirit Avatar.
Showing how intense his killing intent was.
The dark light carried the heavy weight of a mountain.
As Zhao Wuji took step after step, his body rapidly expanded, transforming into a giant bear over five meters tall in the blink of an eye.
Dense, golden fur covered his entire body, and a pair of lantern-like giant eyes glowed with violent red light, like a moving small mountain.
A fierce wind rose from the ground.
Causing the rain curtain to tilt and sway.
Li Dixian's soaked white robes flapped loudly in the wind.
He held his Azure Lotus Sword high, its tip pointing directly at the ray of starlight descending from the sky, as if to draw down the power of the stars.
Zhao Wuji stopped, assuming a defensive stance.
However, he quickly noticed something amiss.
Cold!
Bone-chilling coldness!
The rain falling on his massive body actually exuded a coldness that pierced to the bone marrow.
"Li Dixian, what tricks are you playing?!"
Zhao Wuji charged towards Li Dixian, shaking the ground.
The rain curtain was like a waterfall.
The world was a chaotic blend of dark blue and black.
Li Dixian stood in the mud, his white robes already soaked with blood.
The chill clinging to his skin, however, couldn't overcome the look of grim determination in his eyes.
Zhao Wuji's roar shattered the curtain of rain.
A foul wind, carrying icy raindrops, rushed towards him.
Just as Zhao Wuji's giant palm was about to strike, Li Dixian's wrist suddenly flicked.
His sword move had changed.
Hum—!
The Azure Lotus Sword suddenly hummed.
The sword's edge, from fiery red, gradually turned azure blue, like an ice river suddenly breaking, tearing through the rainy night.
Where the sword's edge passed, the air itself seemed to freeze.
The standing water on the ground and the pouring rain from the sky actually began to flow upwards.
Transforming into hundreds of crystalline ice threads that wrapped around the sword body, a several-meter-long Sword of Frost condensed into being.
And those raindrops that had not yet combined with the Azure Lotus Sword hovered in mid-air.
Each water droplet reflected a ghostly blue sword shadow, like a solidified river of stars.
Li Dixian stepped on the water droplets in the air and leaped up.
His robes fluttered, bringing with them a sky full of ice crystals.
He swept his sword horizontally towards the giant bear.
Zhao Wuji's massive palm collided with the Sword of Frost.
The moment the cold light burst forth.
A freezing crackle climbed from his claw tips, section by section.
Ice patterns spread like living things along the golden fur.
In an instant, Zhao Wuji was transformed into an ice sculpture.
"Pfft—!"
However.
The recoil force from the Sword of Frost.
Still struck Li Dixian like a heavy hammer, sending him flying backward.
Even the wrist holding the sword twisted unnaturally, the pain piercing to the bone.
Yet, despite this.
Li Dixian still gripped the sword hilt, not loosening his hold by an inch.
"Did I call out Yaoguang… just to use Yaoguang?"
This sword move was precisely the Azure Lotus Sword Song Second Form — Two Elements: Sword of Frost.
In terms of pure destructive power.
It was inferior to Yaoguang, and also to the Sword of Radiance.
But it was Li Dixian's only control-type sword skill.
In this torrential rain, its power was doubled.
Crack—
Crack—
Just as Li Dixian managed to steady himself.
The thick layer of ice covering Zhao Wuji suddenly fractured into countless spiderweb-like cracks.
Ice shards clattered down.
Li Dixian immediately turned and fled.
He again took out his clear spring wine pot, took a large gulp of wine, and swallowed it mixed with a mouthful of bloody foam.
While fleeing.
He slapped the green satchel tied to his waist.
A small plant resembling a turtle shell was clutched in his hand.
Li Dixian stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it roughly, and swallowed it.
Turtle Breath Grass: For three days, the user enters a state of suspended animation, masking life aura.
He didn't know how far he had run.
He only felt a fire burning in his chest.
Every breath was excruciating.
His injuries were so severe that even his Wine Spirit could not heal them in a short time.
He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue.
Stimulating the last remnants of his clarity.
In Li Dixian's blurry vision.
A bird's nest was vaguely visible among the thick branches of an ancient tree.
Draining his last bit of strength.
Li Dixian leaped onto the branch, curled up in the cold nest, and fell silent…