Chapter Forty-Five: The Spiritual Treasure Reveals Its Power

Hundreds of Dragon Whisker Needles pierced into the blood mist, vanishing without a trace as if sinking into the sea. Ma Tao kept his hand tightly gripped around the tip of the Eight Treasures Dragon Lance, his gaze mocking as he looked at Lei Xiang.

Lei Xiang’s face was grim and resolute, frantically channeling spiritual energy into the Eight Treasures Dragon Lance. The lance burst forth in golden radiance. Lei Xiang spat out a single word: “Fire!”

The two dragon horns atop the lance’s dragon head rotated ninety degrees, aligning toward Ma Tao’s large hand, and shot out two slender lightning bolts, as fine as hair—one of the eight treasures: Dragon Horn Lightning.

Though the blue lightning was thin, Ma Tao was caught off guard and struck directly. The blood mist on his hand was swept away by the crackling blue arcs, revealing the true hand underneath. The lightning struck without mercy, and Ma Tao, as if shocked, instinctively released his grip on the lance’s tip and pulled back.

Seizing the opportunity, Lei Xiang retrieved the Eight Treasures Dragon Lance and, without hesitation, turned to flee.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Ma Tao, enraged, gave chase. Fortunately, the library’s corridors were narrow and winding, unsuitable for flight; otherwise, Lei Xiang would have been caught already.

Even so, Lei Xiang was overtaken at the main entrance, where Ma Tao cast a black spell, sealing the door completely. Lei Xiang understood that this false Core Formation cultivator’s sealing technique would take days to break.

He calmly turned around, withdrew his Tiger Fang, and smiled at Ma Tao. “Ma Tao, you’ve finally caught up to me.”

What sort of words were those? Why was he still able to smile?

Ma Tao had no time to ponder; Lei Xiang had already thrown the Eight Treasures Dragon Lance. With a command, the lance shone brilliantly and transformed into a five-clawed golden dragon, soaring toward Ma Tao.

But that was not all. Lei Xiang slapped his storage pouch, and fourteen flying swords flew out, circling above his head before stabbing downward.

Lei Xiang spread his hand, a triangular flag appearing. With a flourish left and right, the fourteen flying swords instantly formed a seven-by-seven Infinite Sword Array, gleaming white as they twisted toward Ma Tao.

Ma Tao’s heart was filled with dread. Was Lei Xiang truly just a newly-established Foundation cultivator? How could he command over a dozen magical tools at once? Even Core Formation cultivators couldn’t do that. Was his divine sense stronger than theirs? Even if his divine sense was strong enough, his spiritual energy shouldn’t be able to sustain it. Could Lei Xiang be a late-stage Core Formation cultivator in disguise?

While Ma Tao’s thoughts spun wildly, the Infinite Sword Array struck first, cleaving downward, followed closely by the five-clawed golden dragon, its talons grasping for his chest.

The Blood Fiend was radiant, demonic desires surging.

With a shout, Ma Tao’s form changed—he grew taller, his eyes blood-red, his gaze toward Lei Xiang as venomous as if Lei Xiang had stolen his wife.

Ma Tao spat a mouthful of true blood. Instantly, a ten-zhang-wide blood cloud rose above his head, enveloping the fourteen flying swords, ignoring the golden dragon at his chest.

The swords of the Infinite Sword Array, upon contact with the blood cloud, immediately faltered and lost all spiritual energy. Meanwhile, the golden dragon’s claws struck Ma Tao’s left chest.

“Boom!” With a muffled thunderous sound, the golden dragon was rebounded a zhang away, flipping in midair before crashing to the ground and reverting to its original form. At the same time, Ma Tao’s chest underwent a startling change.

Two wriggling masses slowly bulged from his chest, swelling to the size of steamed buns in an instant, pulsing with Ma Tao’s breath.

“What the... what is this? A monster?” Lei Xiang barely finished speaking when Ma Tao reached out and touched his chest, and the two large buns dropped off into his hand, leaving no wound behind.

Lei Xiang hurriedly withdrew the Eight Treasures Dragon Lance, secretly gripping something in his palm, then flung out the Chu Sky Comb, which spun above his head before darting to Ma Tao’s crown.

Ma Tao sneered, quickly forming seals with both hands. Three breaths later, two dark green spells struck the buns, which bounced elastically and knocked the Chu Sky Comb aside. Then, spinning fiercely, they revealed their true forms—two flesh-colored skulls.

This was the Pink Skull Art, a secret technique only cultivable by the upper echelons of the Blood Fiend Alliance. Though Ma Tao had only learned the basics, it was invincible at the Foundation stage. Lei Xiang had been right; Ma Tao had just absorbed a vast amount of chaotic spiritual energy from a powerful cultivator and hadn’t assimilated it yet, so he could only suppress it with his own energy, leaving him with half his power to deal with Lei Xiang. Determined to end things quickly, he unleashed the Pink Skull secret technique at once.

Lei Xiang suddenly pointed at the Chu Sky Comb. Naturally, Ma Tao kept the Pink Skulls hovering above his head, but unexpectedly, the Chu Sky Comb emitted seven beams of yellow light—not toward Ma Tao, but toward the ceiling.

The stone roof was easily sliced open by the Chu Sky Comb, letting seven intense rays of sunlight shine through, converging just left of Lei Xiang.

Lei Xiang grinned, baring his Tiger Fang, and his single hand formed seals like a windmill. A blue light struck the spot where the sunlight gathered. The empty floor beneath suddenly buzzed, and a miniature array appeared out of nowhere.

Lei Xiang flipped his palm, and the flag of the Xuan Heaven Departure Fire Array appeared. He leapt back, pointing the flag forward; a pale blue pillar of light shot into the array plate. The six premium spirit stones around the plate flashed white, and a slender blue beam at the array’s core condensed and shot at Ma Tao.

Ma Tao frowned. Lei Xiang was truly cunning, clearly having set traps in advance. He tapped his chest, and the Pink Skulls darted forward, their gaping mouths devouring the Xuan Heaven Departure Fire.

Ma Tao sneered, “A mere spark—showing off, are you?” Suddenly, the two skulls twisted strangely, their surfaces irregularly bulging as if something inside was struggling.

Without hesitation, Ma Tao bit his finger and sucked madly, then spat a cloud of blood mist. As soon as it neared the skulls, the hollow eyes of the Pink Skulls blazed with greed, their mouths opening wide to absorb the mist, draining it completely.

Seeing the satiated skulls stabilize, Ma Tao smiled cruelly, “Kid, no matter how many tricks you pull, you’re still no match for me.” With a breath of spiritual energy, he propelled the Pink Skulls straight at Lei Xiang.

Lei Xiang remained unhurried, waving the flag, sending a fierce gust toward the Xuan Heaven Departure Fire Array. Continuous streams of Xuan Heaven Departure Fire surged at the Pink Skulls.

The Pink Skulls darted through the blue flames, occasionally nudged aside but suffering no real harm.

Now only two zhang separated the Pink Skulls from Lei Xiang. Ma Tao’s smile grew broader. At that moment, Lei Xiang’s hand moved, releasing a triangular prism fragment—the Light Treasure Seven-Faceted Mirror Fragment he’d hidden in his palm, newly acquired from Luoxia Mountain, now put to use.

The seven beams of light were reflected by the prism, splitting into forty-nine rays, which refracted onto the Xuan Heaven Departure Fire Array. Thousands upon thousands of Xuan Heaven Departure Fires shot toward the Pink Skulls.

The Pink Skulls were soon utterly submerged in a sea of Xuan Heaven Departure Fire, like a lonely boat lost in a storm. Lei Xiang seized the moment, directing the flag to channel a thick beam as wide as a child’s arm into the array’s core. Instantly, the number of Xuan Heaven Departure Fires surged to a hundred thousand, doubling in size.

Such a mass of Xuan Heaven Departure Fire swallowed the Pink Skulls entirely. Only blue flames could be seen; not a hint of pink remained.

Ma Tao knew things had turned dire, hurriedly forming seals to retrieve the Pink Skulls. The blue fireball, a zhang in diameter, slowly rolled toward Ma Tao. When it was three zhang away, the blue light intensified, followed by a crackling sound.

At the same time, Ma Tao spat a mouthful of blood. He knew the Pink Skulls were finished. With the destruction of a soul-bound treasure, he was gravely wounded, his complexion ashen.

The Xuan Heaven Departure Fireball obliterated the Pink Skulls and sped up, reaching Ma Tao in the blink of an eye. Caught off guard, Ma Tao managed only to summon a black shield before he and the shield were engulfed by the Xuan Heaven Departure Fire.

Lei Xiang poured spiritual energy in, swinging the flag; the array radiated with intense light, sending tens of thousands of Xuan Heaven Departure Fires at Ma Tao, forming a second encirclement.

Within the fireball, Ma Tao commanded the black shield desperately, spewing black qi time and again, heedless of the consequences. Though it would ruin his vitality for a decade, he had no choice—if he didn’t use this secret technique, he’d die here today.

Ma Tao’s bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at Lei Xiang. “This kid’s too strong, and full of tricks. If I get out, I’ll deal with him; otherwise, there’s no place for me in Dongyue Kingdom.” With that, he abandoned the shield, rapidly forming seals with both hands. The black qi he’d spat gathered and swelled, transforming after three breaths into a monstrous creature with a bull’s head, snake’s tail, and a two-zhang-long horn.

Driven by Ma Tao’s divine sense, the horned beast pawed the ground ferociously, then lowered its head and charged straight ahead. The Xuan Heaven Departure Fireball exploded with a deafening blast, and the surrounding flames trembled.

Lei Xiang observed calmly, his right hand gripping something in his storage pouch. After repeated charges by the horned beast, the inner Xuan Heaven Departure Fire thinned and was on the verge of breaking.

Without hesitation, Lei Xiang tossed out a nine-inch lotus dish from his storage pouch. Three of its nine lotus blossoms were open. Lei Xiang spun seals like a wheel, hurling over a hundred spells onto the blue lotus dish.

The lotus dish, previously devoid of spiritual energy, began to spin slowly, then faster, growing in size: five feet, one zhang, two zhang.

When the lotus dish reached ten zhang in diameter, Lei Xiang softly commanded, “Go!” The dish spun clockwise, whipping up a whirlwind that swept aside most of the surrounding Xuan Heaven Departure Fire, then collided with the horned beast, which shattered like glass, turning to dust along with the fire. The blue lotus dish whooshed to Ma Tao’s crown.

Lei Xiang wiped his brow; commanding this supreme treasure was exhausting. Though he only controlled its enlargement, it was enough to destroy Ma Tao.

Suddenly, Lei Xiang raised his hands, then encircled his chest, finally pointing his index fingers at the lotus dish. It spun rapidly, then abruptly stopped, descending toward Ma Tao’s head as directed by Lei Xiang.

Ma Tao felt a surge of spiritual pressure, his entire body immobilized, unable to gather any spiritual energy. “Could it be... a Supreme Treasure?” These were his last words.

The blue lotus dish descended without resistance, trapping everything beneath. "Boom!" The lotus dish carved out a pit over three zhang deep, shattering the library floor and sending dust flying several zhang high.

Lei Xiang bared his Tiger Fang, sticking out his tongue. He hadn't expected the lotus dish to possess such power—a change brought by his Foundation Establishment. Previously, he couldn’t even move it. “If Foundation Establishment is this powerful, what will it be like when I form a Golden Core?”

Just as Lei Xiang was envisioning a bright future, a thunderous shout came from outside, brief and resolute—only two words.

“Where is he?”