The black and blue flames engulfed Cang Wu Zhang’s body, instantly lighting him up.
“Arg—-”
Cang Wu Zhang uttered a short grunt.
Gu Qing Shan didn’t let that chance disappear and struck numerous times with his dragon claws.
Clang clang clang clang!
Sharp marks appeared one after another on Cang Wu Zhang’s armor creating hundreds, thousands of holes in it, like a tattered piece of cloth that was about to be ripped apart any moment.
Cang Wu Zhang immediately regained his senses.
This is a moment that will decide my life and death!
Without wasting any time for thought, he clasped his hands together and formed a hand seal at the greatest speed he had ever achieved in this life.
—–talisman technique, [Wicked Substitution]!
The blue glow, the dragon fire, and all of his wounds vanished without a trace.
He returned to his peak state and maliciously grunted:
“Huang Quan Devil King, I’ll remember this. Next time, I will definitely come at you with an entire army, mark my words!”
Right away, the void of space broke apart as Cang Wu Zhang went from the flames into the void of space and vanished.
「 How is that possible? 」Gu Qing Shan was surprised.
Suddenly, various desperate cries resounded from afar.
The group of over a dozen wraiths who were keeping the [Forgetting River] at bay were abruptly engulfed in dragon flames and burnt to death.
They had become the substitute to receive Gu Qing Shan’s attacks instead of Cang Wu Zhang.
While helplessly burnt by the dragon flames, followed by a dragon swipe from afar, the wraiths couldn’t even utter a single word before they vanished from existence.
「 Did he really run? 」
Gu Qing Shan released his immense inner sight and scanned through this entire lazuli world.
Xie Dao Ling told him: “No need to look anymore, just now he used a death substitution technique of the Wraith realm, so he should already be back in his world right now”
Both of them felt a bit regretful.
The enemy noticed the turn in the situation too quickly, or rather, his means of life protection was too unexpected.
Xie Dao Ling pondered for a bit then explained: “This type of death substitution technique requires a unique type of curse to be infused into the talisman, then placed into the cultivator’s Thought Sea and be refined, so that they can trigger it at any time”
Gu Qing Shan sighed: “To sacrifice the life of other people to save your own, the Wraith realm’s techniques truly has opened my eyes”
An Immortal Craft, their Guise Hexes, a death substitution talisman technique——- the Wraith realm truly does have numerous layers of means to employ.
Xie Dao Ling had now put this out of her mind, she looked up at the black dragon in the sky and spoke in an amused tone: “Qing Shan, that type of rapid speaking you used earlier was truly above my expectation”
Gu Qing Shan also felt a bit awkward when his rapid speech was mentioned.
As the black mist scattered, he once again returned to human form and landed next to Xie Dao Ling.
“Hah, that was one of the Azure Dragon’s Thaumaturgies that I unexpectedly obtained—— Shifu, I know that this verbal hex is a bit embarrassing, I probably will not use such a thing in normal combat again” Gu Qing Shan explained.
Xie Dao Ling recalled what happened just now, unable to help the corner of her lip lifting up a bit before she said: “As you saw earlier, the Wraith realm’s Guise Hexes are extremely powerful, they could also take advantage of the evil spirits of the Asura and phoenixes to perform a curse, even their life-saving techniques can be fueled by using the life of other people, they are very tough enemies”
“What are you trying to say, Shifu?”
“Qing Shan, when it comes to abilities, you cannot judge them emotionally. Against powerful enemies, you must calmly and rationally choose the most appropriate means to fight against them. Considering how good this verbal hex is, there is no need for you to specifically avoid using it, treat it like any other abilities, and use as you see fit”
Gu Qing Shan replied; “This disciple understands, from now on, this disciple will make sure to train himself in using this skill”
Xie Dao Ling forced her expression to become stern and nodded: “Hm, that is indeed the case, that is how we of Bai Hua sect should act”
——-on principle, her teachings were absolutely correct.
A cultivator must ponder every means they had and utilize the most assured solution to resolve any issues.
That Azure Dragon verbal hex was invisible, unexpected, and cannot be defended against normally, it was by all means a top-notch supportive ability in combat.
However…
Recalling how Gu Qing Shan turned into a dragon and spoke in rapid succession earlier, Xie Dao Ling almost found it impossible to control her facial expression.
All of a sudden, she became a bit stunned, then slowly explained: “I remember now… the power of the dragon race mostly lies within their Draconics[1], and the hexes born from Draconics are able to produce different effects. All of them are very hard to resist, so if you ever run into another dragon, you must make sure to be careful”
Gu Qing Shan helplessly shrugged.
Be careful?
Then, do other dragons fight the same way I did just now?
In other words, if I ever fight against another dragon, then it’ll be——-
Two dragons coiling against one another in the sky, doing a rap battle?
That scene is… a bit unbearable…
Gu Qing Shan silently swore to himself, if there was ever a day when he had to face another dragon, he would immediately go in for the kill without giving them the chance to open their mouth.
——–this is the correct way to fight against a dragon.
At this time, both of them sensed something and both looked up at the sky.
The woman holding the mirror slowly faded and disappeared.
Xie Dao Ling waved her hand to take back the mirror.
“Who would’ve thought? An intact artifact from the Heaven realm would fall into the hands of the Wraiths…” she muttered.
In this battle, Cang Wu Zhang only escaped with his life and fled back to the Wraith realm.
The wraiths he brought were now all dead.
The [Forgetting River] technique was still completed.
The lone dingy slowly floated along the great river and approached them.
The feminine figure stood at the head of the dingy, her visage hidden in the mist as she softly sang:
「 The path of Huang Quan, far it flows, regardless if they promised you three lives together, a fallen in the Forgetting River never returns 」
Xie Dao Ling readjusted her expression and clasped her fist at the dingy: “The matters this time has been resolved; I hope you can forgive making the long trip for no reason”
The feminine figure answered: 「 That is fine, it is better that I do not show up rather than do, and it is better that I do not act rather than do 」
She suddenly turned to Gu Qing Shan and asked: 「 Huang Quan Devil King, do you have any plans following this? 」
Gu Qing Shan didn’t really understand, but also understood a bit as well and replied: “I must first pass this Tribulation, then save a few people. If I get the chance later on, I will definitely clash against the Wraith realm again”
「 Oh? Why so? 」the woman asked.
“I’ve seen a certain fragment of Huang Quan” Gu Qing Shan appeared nostalgic and replied: “There were quite a few Deities within it that have a relatively decent relationship with me, but this fragment of Huang Quan was being used as a prison to hold their opposers from the numerous worlds—— not to mention, the Wraith realm had more than once sought to kill me and the people I’m close to. Sooner or later, I’ll have to settle this with them once and for all”
The woman was silent for a bit before asking: 「 If you’ve met those of the Wraith realm, then what of the Tomb of Infinite Beasts? 」
Gu Qing Shan shook his head.
The woman asked again: 「 The Asura Era of Eternal Combat? 」
Gu Qing Shan shook his head again.
The woman continued: 「 The Heavenly Palace? 」
Gu Qing Shan could only shake his head.
The woman looked at Xie Dao Ling, then at Gu Qing Shan.
「 You two pitiful people 」she sighed.
Gu Qing Shan focused his attention.
Pitiful…
No, the tone, the context and the meaning hidden behind it are all very different from when the monster that I saw at the giant corpse said it.
Then, the two of them weren’t talking about the same thing.
Gu Qing Shan was a bit lost and asked: “You and I are both part of Huang Quan, so why are you talking to me in such a pitying tone?”
「 Because I pity you, as well as all the Deities of Huang Quan 」
The woman continued with a very cold tone: 「 After the Samsara broke, the world of Huang Quan was in shambles, the power of numerous Deities were reduced to their lowest possible point. Until the fragments of Huang Quan are fused together once more, the Deities of Huang Quan will turn into slaves for others sooner or later, as you’ve already seen 」
「 But you, Huang Quan Devil King, have yet to truly witness this world, as well as the upcoming era 」
Her voice became slow and low:
「 From the moment you were recognized by this scepter, you were no longer a mere mortal. As you enjoy the worship and praise of the dead, so must you take on the responsibilities and duties of Huang Quan 」
「 Devil King, your future and mine are intertwined, but at this moment, you cannot use this technique to summon me to your side and help you pass the hardship you face 」
「 Because of that, you must try to survive on your own within the Worlds’ Apocalypse until the day of the new era 」
「 When that day comes, we shall naturally meet again 」
Gu Qing Shan sharply caught her words and immediately asked: “The new era? What is the new era you spoke of?”
「 The era of the Samsara Clash For Supremacy 」
As she said so, the woman stood up, then lightly moved her oars again.
The small dingy slowly floated above the surging current of the river, then quickly went out of sight.
The great Forgetting River in the sky slowly faded away until it thoroughly vanished from the sky of the lazuli world.
The only people that remained in this world were Gu Qing Shan and Xie Dao Ling.
Gu Qing Shan stared for a long time at the sky, a bit at a loss.
Indeed, only a female can use [Forgetting River].
I cannot use any power at the same level as [Forgetting River], nor do I have a way to summon this skeletal woman to help me against my enemies.
This was the regret in the woman’s words.
Perhaps there were other reasons as well, but I wouldn’t know about them.
Xie Dao Ling watched Gu Qing Shan a bit and cleared her throat: “There is no need to feel regretful about not being female, not all Divine Skills can only be performed by female cultivators”
Gu Qing Shan nodded.
Xie Dao Ling changed the subject: “For us, the only regret during this Tribulation is that we let that wraith flee”
Gu Qing Shan replied: “Truthfully, I’m thankful for those wraiths. It’s a good thing that they used the Immortal Craft to freeze this technique, otherwise, Shifu would have expended your vitality again”
Xie Dao Ling smiled a bit, then said: “This battle went on a bit too long, we need to speed up and quickly finish facing this Tribulation”
They looked around.
Those Asura and phoenixes were still frozen within the frost Gu Qing Shan created, unable to move.
“Does Shifu still want to ride a phoenix?”
“Let’s not, that phoenix isn’t willing from the bottom of its heart, so there’s no need to force it, let us leave”
The two figures flew up, heading above the sky.
[1] Draconics = dragon language