The female assassin nodded. However, the battlefield continued to be encompassed by endless smoke and dust. The sand and earth, which had been blasted into the air earlier, were now falling back down, filling the air with sand and blocking off the visibility.
Therefore, the two Sand Country assassins had to search through the battlefield bit by bit. They did not dare to use their abilities to push away all the smoke since they did not know the current situation, nor did they know how many people could manage to survive.
If they were to use their abilities to clear up the battle scene, they might possibly be the first ones to expose themselves and become everyone else’s target.
Therefore, the two of them walked through the battlefield slowly. Wherever they passed by, the sand would ripple out in all directions like probing waves, scanning the surrounding situation.
"Oh, right. " With a wave of his hand, the sand under the old man's feet trembled, and a sand coffin rose up. Then it went through a series of changes and revealed Lilia's head. "I almost forgot about her. Mmm? To think that she's still alive even after such an intense battle? What a strong vitality."
From the start of the battle, they had placed Lilia into the sand coffin and buried her underground. They had thought that she would come to be of use when they were up against Fang Xingjian, but they had not expected everything to happen so quickly. Before they could react, the battle was practically over.
"Do we still have to bring her along?" The female assassin frowned. "Let's just kill her."
The old man shook his head. "Just in case, it's better to bring her along with us. She can be a hostage."
At another side, Yaris pushed the boulder, which weighed several tens of tons, off his body with a loud bang. Then he crawled out from the ground.
"To think that Sasa still had such a move hidden up his sleeve." Yaris let out a breath and looked at the fluttering smoke and dust in the area. He frowned and said, "This sword attack was far too close to Fang Xingjian. Even if he managed to survive it, he’s probably suffering from heavy injuries. I must find him quickly and save him."
Thinking of Sasa's earlier sword attack which seemed as if it was going to destroy the world, a cold shiver ran through Yaris’ body. If he had been in Fang Xingjian's position earlier, there was no way he would have been able to block that sword. So, it was expected for Fang Xingjian to be seriously injured or even on the verge of death.
With this in mind, Yaris raised his palm, and streams of sparks came forth. Then just as he was about to sweep the smoke away, he suddenly came to a stop.
"There are too many enemies here. Sand Country assassins, Sasa... and the monster from Terrene Shrine whose life or death remains unknown.
"If I take action immediately, I'll probably be surrounded and attacked.
"So, all I can do is search carefully in the dark for traces of Xingjian."
Thinking of this, Yaris walked slowly into the smoke, toward where he recalled Fang Xingjian to have been. On the way, he continued to scan the surrounding situations with his Heaven's Perception.
At another side, a small snake slithered out slowly from underground. The snake was of a dark green color and had a very smooth skin. It seemed to be a new-born.
However, if one were to take a closer look at the small snake's eyes, one would be able to see hints of viciousness, brutality, and fury.
'That damned Fang Xingjian. To think that he has actually swallowed Divine blood essence? Who on earth gave it to him?'
Thinking of how he had been defeated in the hands of Fang Xingjian and of how the army of dragons he had painstakingly gathered had been completely wiped out, the small snake's eyes filled with pain, as if his heart was dripping blood.
This snake was the feminine-looking young man, who had a large part of his body totally destroyed by Fang Xingjian. After that, he had also suffered from the impacts of the aftershock from Sword Saint Sasa's ultimate move. This caused his body's structure to be left with only this little bit.
However, he was only able to accomplish this transformation because he was a member of the Terrene Shrine. He was able to freely modify and reconstruct his body, displaying extremely powerful vitality.
'Divine level blood essence... To think that you had something like that. In that case, I have nothing to say about having lost to you.
'However, in the last attack, Fang Xingjian... You withdrew from your explosive state and then received Sasa's ultimate move. So, you might have gotten seriously hurt and may now be unconscious.'
Thinking of this, the small snake's eyes filled with excitement.
Although his army of dragons had been annihilated, as long as he could get his hands on Fang Xingjian's body and then devour it... absorbing his life as well as gaining his powers and the Divine blood essence in his body... then everything would be worth it.
'Haha, Fang Xingjian, it's true that you're very powerful. But so what if that's the case? This is just how foolish the path of Knights is. To pursue great power and instantaneous explosive force one-sidedly... Being overly rigid only makes you fragile and easily broken.
'It's in no way comparable with black magic which is omnipotent and allows one to gain all-rounded abilities.
'In order to survive in this world, one requires all-rounded abilities, not just one unique specialty.
'Fang Xingjian, just wait till I've snatched your body. Then I’ll offer it as a sacrifice for black magic and refine it... I'll be able to become the best amongst everyone below the Divine level.'
Recalling the terrifying abilities which Fang Xingjian had unleashed explosively in that single second, the small snake's eyes were filled with a fervent intensity. Such a powerful body which even contained the blood essence of a Divine level expert... He was extremely tempted by the thought of it.
The little snake dashed toward the center of the explosion. By exerting strength in his abdomen and twisting his tail, he managed to scuttle several meters outward each time, as if he were flying.
When he landed on the ground once again, he leaped up abruptly.
"Hot, hot, hot!"
The melted surface was exuding a high temperature of several hundred degrees, causing green smoke to emerge from the little snake's abdomen area.
Just as he was wondering if he should continue moving forward, a strong gale blew past, clearing up the smoke before him and revealing the scene within a range of 100 meters.
The little snake lifted its head and looked over. When he saw that figure, which was still standing upright and as straight as a javelin, right in the center of the battlefield, great astonishment flashed in his eyes.
Fang Xingjian was standing there with his entire body covered by the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor. However, even though the Heavenly Abyss Annihilation Armor was very tough, large scales were falling off, exposing his skin. There were red patches and areas with burn marks on his skin, but there were no tears.
'How is that possible? He was struck head-on, but this is it?'
In the little snake's imagination, it was within his expectations even if Fang Xingjian had been blown to pieces or if he had lost an arm or a leg. Regardless, right now, the injuries Fang Xingjian seemed to have were far too light.
However, what the little snake did not know was that in Fang Xingjian's body, the Divine blood essence was still unleashing its powers. When Fang Xingjian faced Sasa's sword attack earlier, he had pushed the toughness of his body to be comparable to that of a level 28 Superior Divine Weapon.
All the physical particles throughout his body connected together tightly. Each bone and muscle became like indestructible diamonds.He could sense, through his Heaven's Perception, that they were exuding bright gleams of light.
However, in order to fend off Sasa's final attack, the Divine blood essence had expended a surplus of power, preventing Fang Xingjian's physical body from developing fully. Therefore, it could not reach the toughness of a level 29 Divine Weapon and could only reach that of a level 28 Divine Weapon instead.
The potential points on Fang Xingjian's Stats Window had become over nine million points.
The last burn wound on his skin healed gradually, and the internal bleeding of his organs was also completely healed. Then Fang Xingjian opened his eyes slowly and looked at Sword Saint Sasa, who had dropped to his knees and was panting furiously.