Boom!
The vast, ocean-like palm wind was accompanied by mighty spiritual energy. It was as if a huge mountain had dropped from the sky and enveloped Mu Chen. Such an intense offense was enough to scare the hell out of any Grade Five Sovereign.
Lu Wu was desperate to kill Mu Chen.
As the spiritual palm appeared before Mu Chen, his eyes surged with fearsome radiance. No doubt Mu Chen was stunned by the killing move from Lu Wu, but he did not show any fear on his face as now he could make use of the fighting spirit from the Nine Nether Troop to increase his strength to a daunting level.
With such a power, he could manage a regular Grade Six Sovereign.
Eek!
The Nine Nether Spirit of Fighting Intent below him immediately let out a loud and long scream towards the sky. The complex engravings that wrapped on its body started to squirm and spread towards Mu Chen at an astounding speed.
Within a short period of time, Mu Chen's skin was covered by the same engravings as the Nine Netherbird.
Boom!
Suddenly, a blazing glare shot out from Mu Chen's eyes as he gave a long shriek. Bursting with majestic spiritual energy, he shot towards the sky. The fighting spirit roared, emanating a visible air current.
Mu Chen's eyes were on fire as his body seemed to have many fearsome beasts running and roaring around it, bringing about a destructive force that was way beyond his own in the form of the Nine Nether Fighting Spirit.
In general, most of the commanders controlled the fighting spirit like an artifact. They would not dare to absorb it into their body, as the fighting spirit was extremely violent and contained immeasurable willpower from the soldiers. If anything went wrong and the body went out of control, it would immediately explode.
Only when the fighting spirit was able to condense into the Spirit of Fighting Intent would a commander be able to achieve exquisite control of it. Thus, it could temporarily be absorbed into the body for its own use.
But of course, Mu Chen was currently unable to perfect his control. Consequently, his internal body trembled while the fighting spirit poured into him. If it weren't for the Dragon-Phoenix body, which was strong enough to withstand the vast fighting spirit, he would have landed himself in serious trouble.
"Wish to kill me? Fat chance!"
Mu Chen let out a low roar and blasted out his palm. There was no trick with his attack. He circulated his own power and the vast fighting spirit in full force, and the combined strength could easily smash and bust the space.
Lu Wu's expression changed as he saw Mu Chen's attack. His face suddenly stiffened as the palm attack was not to defend his offense but was aimed right at his chest.
The sudden change caused Lu Wu's eyelid to twitch. He did not think that Mu Chen would give up on his defense and decide to fight using his life!
"You are courting your own death!"
But Lu Wu was not a pushover. He understood that he would not be able to evade the joint attack from Mu Chen on the front and Nine Nether at the back. His eyes flickered with daunting radiance. Without any hesitation, the mighty palm came crashing down, and hit right on Mu Chen's chest with lightning speed.
Before Lu Wu's palm could come into contact with his chest, Mu Chen released a golden ray from his body. The Dragon-Phoenix Golden Armor cast out, and the Spirit of the Real Dragons surfaced on his skin around the chest area. With a low roar, the golden ray transformed into layers of dragon scales that wrapped around Mu Chen's body.
All his defenses broke out instantaneously. At the same time, Mu Chen's palm, which held a powerful fighting spirit, hit Lu Wu's chest hard.
Bang!
Mu Chen's body was shaken by the rippling majestic fighting spirit which started spreading from Lu Wu's palm wind. He bounced off of it backward and landed on the ground. A huge circle of land around him collapsed, causing deep cracks to quickly extend out.
On the other hand, Lu Wu was not any better off. That strike from Mu Chen was just as powerful as his palm. His body darted backward like a cannon. His chest sank deep into his body while he spat out fresh blood along with some broken pieces from his internal organs.
Pzzt!
Suddenly a black feather sword penetrated his chest from the back. A purple flame was burning on top of the sword.
Argh!
Lu Wu let out a terrifying scream. He turned his head, and his face was twisted in pain. With a cold look in her eyes, Nine Nether circulated the Unperishable Flame, burning his body as she stood behind him
Anger surged within Nine Nether's eyes as she said coldly, "If you wish to take a life, leave yours first!"
Lu Wu trembled with intense fear in his eyes, as he knew if Nine Nether continued her Unperishable Flame, he would undoubtedly perish.
"I will fight it out with you!"
Lu Wu let out a roar and formed a seal with both hands. His body inflated quickly, and a daunting spiritual fluctuation exuded from it.
The expression on Nine Nether's face quickly changed as she drew her sword away and quickly retreated.
Boom!
Lu Wu's body exploded in a flash. The dark gray spiritual energy burst like a loud and beautiful firework in the sky. The firework looked appealing, but it was filled with the chilling intention of self-destruction.
Although Nine Nether retreated quickly, the explosion hit her slightly, and a tinge of blood could be seen on her lips.
The various forces were all terrified by the scene, as no one would have thought that Lu Wu would resort to self-destructing. He was a genuine Grade Six Sovereign!
Minutes before, he was still holding an advantageous position. But now he had self-destructed. The situation had changed so quickly that everyone was dumbfounded.
Nine Nether suspended herself in the sky not far away. As she observed the violent storm of spiritual energy, her eyes narrowed when she saw a gray light flash across the space. The light dashed into the swamp hole where Lu Kui previously had been, and it swept up a body towards the sky. It was unknown if the body was dead or alive. Within a few seconds, both of them vanished.
That gray light belonged to Lu Wu's soul, and he saved Lu Kui with the remaining strength from his self-destruction. He could not rescue the rest of the Snake Troop, so he escaped with only Lu Kui.
The remaining Snake Troop lost their morale as Lu Wu abandoned them. The previous circulation of fighting spirit was dispersed as they started to flee in all different directions.
These soldiers were able to release an enormous amount of power when they formed into an army, but once they lost their fighting spirit, they were once again ordinary beings. Their fates had already been sealed when they were on this dangerous battlefield. Therefore, Nine Nether took a quick look and did not bother to chase after them.
She flitted to the location where Mu Chen was shot down with a worried expression on her face. After all, the deadly blow from Lu Wu had the power to kill a Grade Five Sovereign in seconds.
Shoo!
Just when Nine Nether was ready to check on Mu Chen's situation, a light ray beamed out from the enormous pothole and landed in the sky with a stumble.
As soon as the figure appeared, numerous gazes were cast towards it. His top was torn into pieces and blood was all over his lips and body. A hideous, shocking wound extended across his chest.
Sst.
The various forces let out a cold breath as soon as they saw his injuries. What was even more shocking to them was that Mu Chen did not seem to be bothered by his injuries at all.
"Are you alright?" Nine Nether quickly showed up beside Mu Chen as she could not help but frown when she saw the terrifying wounds on his body.
"He is still a noob if he wants to risk his life fighting with me."
Mu Chen wiped the blood from his lips and grinned. He pulled off all the torn pieces of clothing revealing a golden ray flickering underneath his open wound. The wound was healing itself at an astounding speed.
Nine Nether heaved a sigh of relief when she saw this. She had forgotten that Mu Chen was now a Humanoid Divine Beast with superb self-recovery in his physical body. It was no wonder that he dared to exchange his life for Lu Wu's.
Lu Wu would never, ever have thought that the immense impact he dealt with his offense was not at all terrifying to Mu Chen.
Mu Chen lowered his head and saw that the Spirit of the Real Dragons underneath the skin around his chest was dimmed. Apparently, it was not easy to take on a full-blown attack from Lu Wu. If it were not for the Dragon-Phoenix Golden Armor and the Spirit of the Real Dragons, he would have been killed by that palm.
A Grade Six Sovereign was not easy to deal with. If it were not for the strength from the Nine Nether fighting spirit, he would have had to stay away from top powers of such caliber.
The wound on Mu Chen was healing quickly on its own. Both Mu Chen and Nine Nether exchanged gazes and fixed their eyes on the rest of the various forces who were still around.
Those people shivered when the gazes were cast over them. Their original plan was to sit around, hoping to gain some benefits from the fights. But now it seemed like Mu Chen and Nine Nether were still standing strong, especially with the Nine Nether Troop, who was exuding a daunting sense of morale and fighting spirit from below.
Nine Nether Palace had completely taken over the entire situation.
The various forces looked at each other and sighed. Without any hesitation, all of them retreated from the swamp.
Both Mu Chen and Nine Nether finally loosened up when they saw the retreat. Although the rest of them could not be compared with the Dragon Snake Sect, it would be a hassle if they were entangled in more fights. Now that they had retreated, it would be the best situation for both of them.
Mu Chen and Nine Nether waited for all of them to retreat before they set their passionate gazes on the relic deep within the swamp once again. This Grade Three Relic was finally theirs.