Chapter 667: Blood-colored Petals
Translator: TYZ Editor: TYZ, KLKL
He Huan was inspecting the various defensive positions on the God-subduing Peak and looked slightly distracted.
Ai Hui had left his seclusion.
He Huan was Madam Ye's agent. The mirage bean pod clip was secretly recorded by him, and he sent it to Madam Ye through a unique method. Logically speaking, he and Ai Hui should be arch-enemies since they belonged to different camps, but why was he feeling excited and even happy when he learned that Ai Hui had left his seclusion?
He Huan kept on reminding himself not to muddle up his identities.
No matter what, he would not betray Madam Ye!
He exhaled deeply, raised his head, and looked at his comrades. When he saw the involuntary excitement and hope on their faces, his eyes dimmed. Suddenly, he felt slightly at a loss.
Was what he was doing right?
He did not know and did not want to know.
Suddenly, a soldier beside him yelled, "Sir, emergency!"
With a jolt to his mind, He Huan returned to his senses. Was there an attack? He quickly headed to the defensive line to take a look. However, he did not see any sign of the enemy.
Like fluttering snowflakes, countless blood-colored petals drifted toward them from the wide and empty wilderness beyond the defensive line, covering their line of sight completely. He could not see anything in the distance at all. The boundless wilderness was covered by this rain of blood-colored petals.
He Huan's mind stretched taut. He roared loudly, "Everyone on high alert now!"
The God-subduing Peak's defensive shield began to glow with oscillating light traces, appearing extremely beautiful. Everyone in the Karakorum Division was vigilant. He Huan was preparing to send someone to warn the other two combat divisions. When he saw that the defensive shields of the other two God-subduing Peaks had lit up, he silently heaved a sigh of relief.
Then, he noticed that a few petals landed on the glowing defensive shield and transformed into faint red smoke that dissipated into the air.
The defensive shield did not move the slightest bit and did not show any signs of being damaged.
He Huan's mind jolted. Could the smoke be poisonous?
However, an elementalist who specialized in poisons quickly reported to him, "Sir, this smoke isn't poisonous."
He Huan furrowed his eyebrows. The more the gas seemed harmless, the more uneasy he felt. Blood elementalists had many unpredictable and odd tricks up their sleeves.
At this moment, he saw Karakorum Polaris walking toward him.
He Huan stepped forward to receive her. "Madam! This smoke seems odd. I'm afraid there's more than meets the eye!"
Karakorum Polaris took a look at what was going on and nodded her head. "You might be right."
After she finished her sentence, she waved her lily-white hand lightly. A sharp silvery sword gleam shot out of her hand and flew toward the wilderness outside of the defensive line. In the blink of an eye, the sword gleam increased sharply in size and transformed into an enormous silvery dragon that was 30 meters long before it charged toward the rain of blood-colored petals.
The sword gleam was extremely sharp. Any petal that made the slightest contact with it was shredded and transformed into red smoke. The sword gleam, which was originally cold and dazzling, was covered in a layer of faint red light and looked indescribably odd.
Karakorum Polaris furrowed her eyebrows. She sensed that something was wrong.
The sword gleam was invincible, shredding an unknown number of petals. However, the red smoke surrounding the sword gleam became more and more concentrated. The sword gleam was like a magnet that continuously attracted the red smoke.
Even as the amount and concentration of the red smoke kept on increasing, the red smoke still could not cover the brilliance of the sword gleam.
However, an astute person could tell that the sword gleam was dwindling in strength.
The sword gleam had a long and concentrated red smoke trail behind it as its speed began to wane.
The sword gleam lost its speed and terrifying sharpness as the red smoke gathered from all directions and wrapped around it incessantly.
Like a shark that was entangled by seaweed, it became suffocated and powerless. Eventually, it stopped in its tracks.
The red smoke was churning violently as its size kept on increasing, resembling an ugly and odd-looking monster.
The glow of the sword gleam gradually dimmed.
Pffft.
Like a candle flame extinguished by the wind or a beast that wailed before its death, the sword gleam's last tinge of radiance disappeared.
After devouring the sword gleam, the enormous mass of red smoke looked as though it had just eaten its fill and dispersed in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the mass of red smoke disappeared as blood-colored petals flew out from it.
A countless amount of petals could be seen flying around the wilderness, appearing extremely horrifying.
When everyone saw what happened to the sword gleam, they immediately understood what the blood elementalists were targeting with these blood-colored petals.
"So they are targeting the Pinwheel Sword! The Sword of Lightning must have made them suffer too much recently. With these blood-colored petals, it won't be that easy for the Pinwheel Sword to harass them anymore," He Huan could not help but laugh bitterly and say this.
The operation to save Shi Beihai was top secret. Only the two division leaders from the Karakorum Division and the Infantry Division took part in the meeting.
He Huan knew that this was He Nanshan's response to the Sword of Lightning's harassment. Actually, the Sword of Lightning's recent assaults were barely effective. Furthermore, the God Spirit Division had begun to get used to the Sword of Lightning's incursions.
Karakorum Polaris's heart sank. Having taken part in the meeting, she immediately knew the intention of the blood elementalists.
The blood elementalists wanted to stop them from saving Shi Beihai!
Feeling extremely anxious, she turned around and prepared to tell Shi Xueman and her counterparts about this unforeseen event.
Suddenly, a sword chime resounded through the air from far behind the defensive line.
Karakorum Polaris's body trembled as she stopped in her tracks in mid-air.
Wearing a veil on her face, one could not see her facial expression. However, at this point in time, her eyes were flickering with a cold glint while her body exuded an intense aura of battle fervor.
Similarly, the sword chime caught He Huan's attention. However, he felt that this sword chime sounded delicate and elongated, resembling the chime of an ancient temple in the depths of a secluded mountain. When he noticed the abnormal behavior of Karakorum Polaris, he was slightly surprised.
"Madam?" he could not help but ask.
Karakorum Polaris turned a deaf ear to him. She was still immersed in the sword chime just now. The scene of 10,000 swords vibrating and chiming in unison formed involuntarily in her mind. Like a boundless starry sky, the feeling of grandeur formed by countless streaks of sword consciousness and the intricate magnificence dazzled her, causing her mind to wander, her blood to boil, and her battle fervor to soar through the sky!
Her beautiful eyes suddenly widened as her jade-white hand tightened its grip on her sword handle. Following which, she blurted out, "It's coming!"
It's coming? He Huan was at a loss. What was coming?
Like a ghost, the Pinwheel Sword arrived silently.
"Are they going to set off again?" He Huan said to himself. When he shifted his gaze to Karakorum Polaris, he was stunned.
Is Madam… holding her breath?
…..
Even after the Pinwheel Sword left the defensive line, Duanmu Huanghun had not returned to his senses. The synchronized sword chime from the 10,000 swords kept on echoing in his head while the image of a spiralling flock of destructive swords that resembled a dark cloud continued to appear before his eyes.
What kind of swordsmanship was this? Was this still considered swordsmanship?
In terms of might alone, Ai Hui's swordsmanship had surpassed any Duanmu Huanghun had ever seen.
Every one of the odd-looking black swords was shaped differently and exuded different auras. Surprisingly, even though they were immense in number, every one of them was unique.
After returning to his senses, Duanmu Huanghun rubbed his chin with a pensive look on his face.
His [Viridescent Flower] simplified complexity. On the contrary, Ai Hui's swordsmanship complicated simplicity.
No matter how stunning Ai Hui's sword embryo was, Duanmu Huanghun did not show the slightest bit of envy. During his recent secluded training, he had managed to sneak a peek at the doorstep of the Grandmaster level and had come up with his own five elemental ring. His will was as firm as iron and completely resistant to external temptations. He hoped to attain some inspiration from observing the magnificence of Ai Hui's swordsmanship and perfect his [Viridescent Flower].
After coming up with his own five elemental ring, his strength had far surpassed the ordinary level of a Master.
His path became solitary and arduous. There were very few who walked the same path as him.
…..
Huo Da's reaction speed was very fast. Even though he was shocked, he still remembered his responsibility as a sword operator. He gently pushed the sword handle on the Pinwheel Sword, causing it to smoothly glide forward.
After crossing the defensive line, his field of view changed as fluttering red snowflakes covered the wilderness.
No, they were not snowflakes. They looked more like petals.
"What are those things?"
"What are the blood elementalists up to again?"
"I have a feeling they are poisonous!"
The sound of everyone talking simultaneously alerted Duanmu Huanghun, who was in deep thought. When he raised his head and saw the vast sea of fluttering petals, his eyes froze.
He stood up and walked up to the railing surrounding the Pinwheel Sword. The air pervaded with a fragrant and sweet smell, causing him to furrow his eyebrows.
Such a weird poison smoke!
The Duanmu Family was a legitimate wood elementalist family. Poisons were an important branch of study for wood elementalists. Even though Duanmu Huanghun did not learn any poison-based inheritance, he still knew a thing or two about poisons.
He raised his palm, reached out his index finger, and touched the air with it.
Following which, a speckle of green light flew out from his fingertip. Like a firefly, it flew into the air.
A soft shoot popped out from the speckle of green light and began to grow frantically. It was the [Viridescent Flower, Twining Branches] technique.
The moment the red petals made contact with the [Viridescent Flower, Twining Branches], they turned into a red smoke. Next, the red smoke weaved itself around the [Viridescent Flower, Twining Branches] and congealed. In the blink of an eye, the red smoke surrounding the [Viridescent Flower, Twining Branches] became more and more concentrated. Duanmu Huanghun realized that the growth rate of his [Viridescent Flower, Twining Branches] began to reduce. Even though he did not go all out, he had already identified some of the characteristics of the blood red petals.
It was targeting the Pinwheel Sword?
Duanmu Huanghun could not help but knit his eyebrows. Even though this method seemed slightly disgusting, he had to admit that it was rather effective.
The [Viridescent Flower, Twining Branches] could clear away these blood-colored petals, but it would take him at least two days to do so.
This was most likely the intention of the blood elementalists as well. At this critical juncture, what they lacked the most was time.
Suddenly, a sword chime resounded through the air.
Ai Hui realized his perceptual awareness was obstructed, causing him to be slightly surprised.
Cultivating a sword embryo allowed his essence, qi, and spirit to become extremely powerful. After absorbing the God's blood, the strength of his essence, qi, and spirit had reached an unprecedented level. His perceptual awareness could even penetrate the metal wind curtain, allowing him to clearly sense anything.
However, at this moment, he realized that his perceptual awareness was obstructed by this boundless sea of blood-colored petals.
There was something wrong with it!
Blood elementalist methods were always weird, unpredictable, and came in a variety of forms.
Beside him, Lou Lan's eyes were flickering with a red glow. "Ai Hui, this isn't a poison smoke. They are actually very small blood bugs that will take the initiative to attack. They will gather from all directions and attach themselves to elemental energies. It will be very difficult for the Pinwheel Sword to pass through them."
Ai Hui looked at these blood-colored petals with rapt attention. He had an odd expression on his face.
Even though he was doubtful, he still reacted to them. Gently waving his hand, the black swords sticking on the seven sword pagodas suddenly flew up into the air with a buzz. Like a swarm of hornets, they charged into the sea of blood-colored petals.
The petals were immediately shredded and turned into bright-red smoke that covered the entire sky. Like a monster that bared its fangs and brandished its claw, the smoke surged toward the black swords.
However, the following scene stunned everyone.