Volume 5
316 The Real Air Current Manipulation Technique
"I might be able to let her go free if it was somebody else helping her, but since you've decided to interfere, I will definitely not let her leave the Gate of Heaven today." Feng Zhu spoke in a forbidding manner.
Si Luo's eyes were pure white with all that fog. "You weren't someone that emotional in the past. I guess the brand of justice in the Gate of Heaven is no longer what it used to be."
His eyes seemed to be absorbing all the air currents around us. Those snowy, crystalline eyes were clearer than amber, as if they contained the world's most precious pearl in them.
"Bury."
Si Luo's face glowed with a bright, silvery-white light. When he said 'bury', countless snowflakes seemed to land on his lips.
Feng Zhu and Li Qing both made a move at this point. Gusts of wind whipped through the plaza, forming mini tornadoes as they swept past us. The sky turned into a silvery-gray as snowflakes larger than goose feathers descended upon us.
In just a few seconds, the sky and the ground were both covered in a silvery-gray.
"Snow burial… Old man Feng Zhu, your previously beloved disciple is using such a move to attack you right now. Are you not going to reflect on your actions?" Li Qing challenged Feng Zhu with her question.
Feng Zhu looked like a statue of Buddha as his kasaya flapped in the wind. Though his expression was grim, the intensity of that fire in his eyes was not reduced by Li Qing's words.
Si Luo was right beside me, and we were both in the eye of the storm as the snow got caught up in the multiple air currents that surrounded us. All that swirling silvery-gray made me feel slightly light-headed.
Though Gaoqin Jiuye moved over to be beside Si Luo, there was no longer any jealousy or sorrow in Guan Nie. He simply followed in Gaoqin Jiuye's steps, ending up beside Si Luo as well.
Jiao S was quick to react as she also moved over to flank Si Luo, leaving a trail in the ground as she dragged her gigantic sword through the snow.
Si Luo addressed Gaoqin Jiuye and Jiao S, "I remember telling the both of you previously, how this air current technique can be used to its fullest potential."
Gaoqin Jiuye and Jiao S's eyes seemed to cloud at that point. The snow and fog in Si Luo's eyes began to rotate as he looked at them.
At this, Gaoqin Jiuye and Jiao S's eyes shone brightly. "Understood."
These two individuals, who used to hate each other, actually spoke in unison when responding to Si Luo.
Si Luo smiled with those snowy lips of his. "Then let's give them a demonstration."
It felt like something spectacular was about to happen. I focused on the three of them with bated breath.
Piercer was right beside me, and I didn't know where that red figure went in all this snow.
To my left were the three in Si Luo's team. They were in a triangular formation with Si Luo in the middle, while Gaoqin Jiuye and Jiao S were somewhere further behind me to the left.
Li Qing and Feng Zhu were facing each other some fifty meters away from me. Du Yue was back by Feng Zhu's side while Li Wen was beside Li Qing. Nie Zun was a little to my right.
The storm that was brewing in Si Luo's eyes seemed to be starting, and I realized Gaoqin Jiuye and Jiao S's eyes looked similar to Si Luo's where they were filled with a white fog. The three of them were working together to control the air currents.
I'm guessing that the best method to use this air current technique, according to Si Luo, was none other than to work together just like this.
It was not about having one individual manipulate a huge vortex at once, since the power of one single person would definitely be limited in some ways, and a single individual might not have been able to use this natural element to its fullest potential.
Things would be different if there were three individuals. Moreover, this team was powerful.
Wouldn't this team be almost impossible to beat? I marveled to myself.
Out of the three, two of them were once considered one of the most powerful individuals in the Split Zone, and Si Luo had personally trained them in that air current technique. It was the best team where a teacher worked with his two successful disciples. Would there be anything in this world that could be more powerful than such a team?
"Once the snow burial is activated, none of you should leave from your positions, not even for a millisecond. Get that?" Si Luo's clear and crisp voice resounded in the snowstorm.
Gaoqin Jiuye and Jiao S nodded at the same time.
Gaoqin Jiuye did not forget to look back at Guan Nie.
Guan Nie simply nodded at him in assurance.
I then witnessed that smirk on Guan Nie's face again, the very one he had when I first met him. His upturned eyes lifted as he gave an enchanting smile.
He placed his pale hands together before taking them apart again. With that, the entire scene began to warp and change before us.
We weren't standing on water this time, but there were countless water droplets the size of fingernails floating in the air around us.
"Another illusion? As expected of the top illusionist to be able to pull everyone into an illusion even after sustaining such grievous injuries earlier." Piercer commented on Guan Nie's abilities.
I laughed as I asked, "What, are you interested in him now?"
Piercer rolled her eyes at me.
I guess I wouldn't have to worry about anything if that was the case.
Guan Nie was controlling the entire illusion, assisting the three of them in Gaoqin Jiuye's team and protecting them at the same time. The three of them seemed to be working perfectly together as they waited for the right opportunity to unleash a powerful attack. What else should I be worrying about here?
I glanced at the red skull ring on my right index finger, mumbling to myself, "Looking at the situation now, I might not need your power anymore. I don't think Feng Zhu and gang would stand much of a chance against such a team, especially when coupled with Li Qing and Li Wen."
"You're so simple-minded… It's coming… It's coming soon… It's nearing now…"
The red figure appeared whenever she wished to without any forewarning. I saw her appear in front of me right when I finished mumbling to myself. This time, she was looking at me with a sort of a smirk.
I frowned slightly. "What's coming soon?"
She lifted a hand to cover her mouth mischievously. "I'm the only one who can save you, Shen'er… Nobody else can…"
Hearing her say 'Shen'er' sent shivers down my spine.
What happened in the very next moment distracted me, and because of that distraction, her red figure disappeared from my sight yet again.
Some distance away, under all the snow, that black dome created by Ta Lai earlier cracked open all of a sudden.
It was as if a roasted chestnut had suddenly cracked open over fiery heat.
I then saw Ta Lai and Cang Ming facing each other in the distance. None of them were moving in the snow.
I quietly turned to Du Yue and realized that she was looking in Ta Lai's direction with a grim expression.
I raised my left hand slowly, planning to attack in the very next second if Du Yue rushes over to where Ta Lai was.
For some reason, I didn't want Cang Ming to get hurt, and my mind was in a place where I hoped the battle would go a certain way.
If Du Yue were to help Ta Lai, or if Ta Lai were to do anything untoward to Cang Ming after their fight, I knew I wouldn't just sit and watch.
Swoosh.
As expected, Du Yue moved.
I grabbed Piercer with my right hand while I shot an arrow with Scorpion Ray on my left.
With a quick squeeze of my palm, Piercer understood my intentions immediately. She focused energy on her feet and brought me to Cang Ming in a split second.
We were already late by a millisecond, since we started only after Du Yue moved. Because of that, I shot a blade of light with Scorpion Ray to obscure her path.
Anger rose in Du Yue's eyes as she dodged that blade of light. When she realized where the attack came from, Piercer and I had already reached Cang Ming.
Upon closer observation, I realized that Cang Ming was afflicted with countless wounds. Some of them huge, some of them tiny, but all of them had black blood spilling out of them. There were many tiny cuts on his face as well, and none of these injuries seemed to be healing.
Apart from these injuries, his sword of light had been broken in half.
Even so, there was not much change in his expression. His eyes were calm and he still looked as arrogant as ever.
"Are you okay?" I asked with knitted brows.
Cang Ming smiled at Piercer. "I'm surprised you're willing to help me out here."
Piercer bit her lip as she remained silent.
I looked at the two of them.
Sigh.
Ta Lai also looked the worse for wear. His clothes were tattered and his hair tousled.
My lips twitched. What did the two of them do in that black dome?
"Are you okay?" Du Yue asked Ta Lai the exact same thing I asked Cang Ming.
Ta Lai wanted to respond, but he ended up spitting out a mouthful of blood before he could do so. The blood dripped down the collar of his white shirt under that blue jacket of his, looking like bright red flowers in bloom.
Du Yue looked a lot more normal when she supported him with two hands instead of one.
Ta Lai's gaze did not deviate from Cang Ming. "I'm sure you can feel it too. She's coming."