The powerful energy made Fifth Elder's eyes as green as jade.
However, when all the disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion saw this scene, they all knew the price that he was paying.
This was because as the runes on Fifth Elder's forehead shone brightly, other forms of runes could also be seen around it. Even his body appeared to bend over.
The source of the Dao, this was the reason why powerful Sages could understand the Holy Dao. They could unleash the final bit of potential in their body. The price was obvious…
Life, aging.
If they were not forced into this corner, which cultivator in the Sage State would wish to sacrifice these two points?
Even though Fifth Elder's arm had been cut off by Fang Zhengzhi just now, he did not take out the Great Barren Heavenly Vine because his arm could recuperate.
When he took out the Great Barren Heavenly Vine, it meant that it could no longer be reversed.
Fifth Elder moved. As the runes shone on his forehead, he rushed toward Yan Xiu. He did not retreat but attacked instead. A jet of green light shot out from the Great Barren Heavenly Vine in his hands.
Every jet of light that was shot out turned into a crystalline jade-like thorn.
In just an instant, hundreds of thorns congregated only one point. Together, they formed a sharp sword that was comprised exclusively of these thorns. Then, they pierced toward Yan Xiu's heart.
"Boom!" An explosion sounded.
Hundreds of thorns exploded instantly.
The figures of the two of them touched and then flew apart. Then, Yan Xiu, who had been flying toward Fifth Elder, retreated back rapidly. Blood-red light and black energy crisscrossed all over his body.
"Kaboom!" With that, Yan Xiu's body hit the ground. The white jade split open and a deep trench that was about the size of a human appeared.
"Did we win?!"
"Fifth Elder used his Source of Dao. Even though Yan Xiu is a Fallen Asura, he could not have resisted it, right?"
"No, he's standing up!"
The disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion all sighed in relief when they saw Yan Xiu crash-landing on the ground. Quickly, however, they realized he stood up once more.
It was extremely fast as if the blow just now did not even impact him.
However, everyone could see that Yan Xiu's body was filled with horrifying wounds. He seemed to be pierced by hundreds of thorns.
However, the wounds were healing mysteriously. As the wounds healed, the black energy around Yan Xiu's body became thicker.
"Yan Qing, our battle should be postponed!" Nangong Mu said to Yan Qing, who was rushing toward him. His expression was unusual.
"Is it for a friend?" Yan Qing's fist stopped.
"Yes!" Nangong Mu replied firmly.
"However, you should know that once the battle commences, there's no possibility of stopping it. It's only when one side wins and the other loses!" Yan Qing stared intently at Nangong Mu. It was as if he did not even notice Yan Xiu's transformation.
This was a form of concentration.
Like a predator hunting its prey.
Nangong Mu said nothing. However, his grip on his Green and Blue Dual Blade tightened.
"You can beat me and save or friend. Or, you can let me defeat you. Then, I'll help you save your friend!" As Yan Qing said that, he started to advance toward Nangong Mu once more.
"Then, you can go and lie down!" Nangong Mu nodded his head. He abandoned all notion of stopping the fight. His grip tightened, and he pulled the Green and Blue Dual Blade apart once more.
When they were together, it meant defense.
When they were apart, it meant offense.
Nangong Mu wielded his Green and Blue Dual Blade once more and charged forward. He was like an eagle with its wings outstretched as he slashed down at Yan Qing.
"Dual Combo!"
With Nangong Mu's cry, two rays of green and blue light appeared in the sky. Furthermore, between the two rays of light, there were two streams of light which intersected.
They were sword light.
They came down from the heavens. One blue and one green.
"Kill!"
Nangong Mu's sword slashed straight down on Yan Qing's fist. Blood spurted out. Even Yan Qing's fist, struck by Dual Combo Cuts, split open.
Blood flew everywhere. Bones were broken.
One could tell that Nangong Mu's sword was exceptionally sharp.
However, the moment Nangong Mu's Dual Combo Cuts landed on Yan Qing's fist, Yan Qing's other fist started to move too. It seemed to be completely uninjured as it landed squarely on Nangong Mu's stomach.
"Thud!" A deep sound could be heard.
Then, Nangong Mu's body landed heavily on the ground too.
Yan Qing retreated back quickly by five full steps before he could steady himself. However, as he retreated, his fist, which had been cut open by Nangong Mu's sword, was making odd cracking noises.
Blood flowed out. Flesh and blood were all in a horrendous mess
However…
The broken bones inside healed completely.
"Invincible…. So this is invincible!" Nangong Mu stared intently at Yan Qing's freshly-healed fist as if he could not believe it.
"It was a powerful move, but it was useless against me." Yan Qing clenched the fist that had just been cut open. Pieces of flesh and streaks of blood were still on it. Then, he opened his mouth and said, "Do you know? I don't have friends too. Furthermore, I don't believe that I need friends!"
"I thought so too in the past!" Nangong Mu's gaze was deep. "However, after I meet Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, I realize that one can have friends!"
"Can have friends? Hahaha…" Yan Qing suddenly laughed. Sunlight fell on his dark skin, giving it an extra shiny glow. "What uses do friends have? Even relatives are useless, what more can friends do?"
"Without relatives, how can there be you?" Nangong Mu retorted.
"So I should be thrown away the moment I was born?" A beastly light shone in Yan Qing's eyes. "When I was one, my relatives abandoned me after they found out that my body simply could not store Origin Energy. Furthermore, they abandoned me in the darkest part of a jungle!"
"Could not store Origin Energy?" When Nangong Mu heard this, his gaze faltered. Until now, he just realized that Yan Qing had not used any of his Origin Energy at all.
Pure physical power.
There was no disturbance to Origin Energy.
Yan Qing did not explain this problem. Instead, he lowered his head and continued as if he was talking to himself, "For a human to coexist with beasts, there are two conditions. Firstly, you must be strong enough. Secondly, you must know the languages of the beasts. For me, when I was one year old, I saw them. However, at that age, I lacked both conditions!"
"How did you survive?" When Nangong Mu heard this, he started to become skeptical.
"Actually, I didn't 'survive'. To be accurate, I was once swallowed by a 'Night Atonement Panther'!" When Yan Qing heard Nangong Mu's words, a cruel smile crept across his face. He appeared exceptionally cold.
"Swallowed into its stomach?!" Nangong Mu's expression was one of shock. This was because even he could imagine that scene when he heard this piece of news.
"Indeed, into the stomach. Then, I sliced its stomach open from inside and crawled out. This was how I became one of them." Yan Qing nodded his head.
"…" Nangong Mu said nothing.
All this while, he knew that Yan Qing was raised by beasts. However, he did not know that he was raised under these conditions.
In other words, only Yan Qing, who was the top talent of the Extreme Empire who also had the appellation of the 'Invincible Freak', could live under this condition.
"When I returned from the jungle, they all called me 'wild man' until I beat them all one-by-one, with these fists!" At this point, as Yan Qing spoke, the bones in his body cracked.
"You're very lonely!" Nangong Mu said suddenly.
"No, you're wrong, I'm not lonely. I live for a purpose, which is to become stronger. I want to tell everyone that even without Origin Energy, you can still become very strong. You did well, but you're not my opponent!" When Yan Qing said that, his body moved once more as he walked toward Nangong Mu step-by-step.
Nangong Mu too stood up from the ground. He gripped his Green and Blue Dual Blades tightly. His eyes shone with two colors, green and blue.
They matched the scar on his face.
At this moment, Nangong Mu's expression appeared slightly savage.
"We won't ever know if I'm your opponent until I try!" As Nangong Mu spoke, his body moved once more. A brilliant light shone from his Green and Blue Dual Blades. "Your talent is 'invincibility', but my "Green Blue Secret Art" point to one path, and it's called 'destruction'!"
"'Destruction'? Excellent!" When Yan Qing heard Nangong Mu's words, he paused momentarily. Then, he shone excitedly with light.
…
At the same time, Yan Xiu pounced toward Fifth Elder once more.
The red light on his body started to turn darker and darker. It was almost completely black. Even the flashing red light in his eyes turned inky-black.
An unbelievably evil aura could be felt from Yan Xiu's body.
His speed was impossibly fast.
"Fallen Asura, just like the legends!" Fifth Elder stared at Yan Xiu, who was already in front of him, as he stabbed forth with his Great Barren Heavenly Vine once more.
However, this time, at the very moment he lashed out with his Great Barren Heavenly Vine, a black stream of gas shot out from underneath the ground. Instantly, it wrapped itself around the arm in which he held the vine.
This caused Fifth Elder's stab to move to the side by just a little bit.
However, this was enough to let Yan Xiu dodge this blow. Then, he swatted Fifth Elder's chest with his Silver Blood Fan.
"Slick!"
A bloody wound could be seen on Fifth Elder's chest. It was so deep until the bones underneath could be seen. Bright-red blood flowed out from the wound. Furthermore, in the wound, one could even see black streams of qi moving.
A tiny sizzle could be heard from the wound.
Fifth Elder's face turned pale. He tried to retreat, but Yan Xiu's body had already mysteriously disappeared.
Instantly, he burrowed underneath the ground.
It was a curious scene.
It was as if he had returned to Asura Hell.
Then, Fifth Elder could feel a terrifying energy coming from behind him. Someone struck him with his palm from behind. An invasive and torrential energy could be felt.
"Pu!" Fifth Elder's body lunged forward. At the same time, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Blood splattered on the white-jade floor, staining it bright-red.
"So strong!"
"Fallen Asura. As an Asura, such power!"
"If this continues, there's no way Fifth Elder can control him!"
As the disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion watched this scene, a cold sensation crept across their heart. They naturally saw the weird scene just now.
Fall of Darkness.
No one had heard or seen such a mysterious attack before.
"Master!" Every single disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion now looked at the Mu Qingfeng, the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Other than panic, their eyes betrayed a look of imploring.
When Mu Qingfeng heard the pleas of his disciples, he clenched his fists subconsciously and spoke nothing. However, he did not shake his head anymore.
"No, we have to stop Yan Xiu!"
When the Heaven Dao Pavilion Disciples saw that Mu Qingfeng did not reply them, they could all guess what he was thinking.
If the fight between Fang Zhengzhi and Fifth Elder just now was a private matter…
What about now?
When Yan Xiu became a Fallen Asura, this was no longer a private matter anymore. Hence, even if Mu Qingfeng said nothing, they should know what to do.
This was because if Yan Xiu lost all rationality, the entire Heaven Academic Altar would become Asura Hell. Blood would flow like a river.
The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples delayed no more. They charged forth at a neck-breaking speed and attacked Yan Xiu from all four directions. They all pointed their swords right at him.
When Mu Qingfeng saw this scene, he remained silent.
He did not stop them.
"Quick, subdue Yan Xiu. We can't let him become a Fallen Asura!"
"If we can't subdue him, let's kill him!"
"This is the Heaven Dao Pavilion. How can we let a puppet who had lost his mind commit mass murder here?"
The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples surrounded Yan Xiu and shouted. As they shouted, they took up four different positions.
North, south, east, west.
They drew their swords and attacked Yan Xiu from all four directions simultaneously.
Fang Zhengzhi was in a terrible condition. His gaze was blurry and the sounds next to his ear were as loud as thunder, preventing him from concentrating.
However, he could feel the energy from the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.
"Ah!" Fang Zhengzhi cried out in pain. Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Blood rained down on the Traceless Sword.
A demonic purple light shone once more.
"Roar!" A deafening dragon roar sounded. Then, a ray of purple light shot into the sky. It was a Purple Dragon that traversed the sky. Two dark red light shone in his eyes.
Torrential rain came down.
However, it was not actually a rain. Instead, countless rays of purple light descended from the sky. Every single ray of purple light was actually a sword light