Chapter 962: Beheading

The eight-colored clouds of the Yamata-no-Orochi could block the Grade-A Series Two Dragon Eye Bomb, but it could not withstand the might of an immortal object. This had little to do with Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu’s cultivation levels. Rather, their main role was to wield the Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords to break the serpent’s defenses.

After shattering the eight-colored clouds, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu did not linger in battle but immediately retreated. Not far behind them, Daoist disciples had already prepared the Changchun Restorative Formation. Although this version could not compare to the one unleashed by Zhang Qihan using the Eight-Scenes Lantern, it was more than sufficient for the couple who were at the Wuliang stage.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The greatest flaw of the Changchun Restorative Formation was that it did not distinguish between friend and foe. Its greatest strength, however, was its all-encompassing restoration. It was far beyond what ordinary elixirs or a Martial Arts Practitioner’s regenerative abilities could offer.

As Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu began to bathe in the clear light of the formation, the second Yinglong Warship once again aimed its cannons at the beast. Without the eight-colored clouds, the Grade-A Series Two Dragon Eye Bomb shot straight into the gaping maw of one of the serpent heads.

All beings had fragile insides, including Immortals, beasts, and the like. That was why the second heavenly tribulation—the Fire Tribulation, which ignited directly within the body—was much harder to withstand than the first Lightning Tribulation, which struck from outside. The third Wind Tribulation attacked both inside and out.

The Yamata-no-Orochi was no exception. Its mouth lacked scales, and the Dragon Eye Bomb instantly blasted it into pulp, nearly obliterating half its head. The projectile did not stop there, sliding down its throat, seeking to tear through its entrails.

Writhing in agony, the Yamata-no-Orochi’s eight colossal tails thrashed wildly upon the ground. The earth shook violently, dust and smoke billowed skyward, and countless trees were snapped in half.

This was when the beast’s terrifying regenerative power quickly revealed itself. The half-head that had been blown apart regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye, far surpassing even the body regenerative abilities of Martial Arts Practitioners.

However, no matter how powerful the regeneration or how swift the recovery, given the Yamata-no-Orochi’s colossal body, it still required a certain amount of time.

The Daoists were striving to seize this window. Spirit Guard Ding Wei drew out her great bow that was as tall as her, pulling it to a full arc as she aimed at the serpent’s still-healing, shattered head.

Since the advent and widespread adoption of firearms, the importance of the bow and arrow has greatly declined. Whether a weapon was replaced depended on whether it had a substitute, and firearms were almost always the superior replacement. Training an archer might take three years, and it required one to have exceptional arm strength, so not everyone could become one. On the battlefield, archers often suffered arm fatigue and could no longer draw their bows.

However, firearms were different. A gunman could be trained in as little as three months, and the strength needed to pull a trigger was nowhere near that required to draw a bow. So long as ammunition was sufficient, gunmen could fight continuously for extended periods.

Nonetheless, the bow and arrow still had advantages. Arrows were far better suited for poison-tipping, since the explosive flames and scorching heat produced by the Dragon Eye Series Ammunition often destroyed the structure of toxins.

Spirit Guard Ding Wei coated the arrow with Shebishi Venom.

This was not an Imitation Shebishi Venom but a fully restored version recreated through the Daoist creation projects. It was a venom so deadly that even the Ancient Great Witches found it troublesome to deal with.

For the Yamata-no-Orochi, which excelled in the use of venom, the small dose on an arrow was far too little to kill such a colossal body.

The Daoists had never expected to kill the beast outright with Shebishi Venom.

The arrow shot into the still-unhealed side of the serpent’s head, so the effect of the venom was immediate. It erupted inside the beast, spreading rapidly throughout its vast body. Even with its mighty physique, the Yamato-no-Orochi’s movements stiffened, and its reactions slowed.

Sensing immense danger, the seven relatively intact heads began spewing green mists of venom, forming a poisonous cloud that enveloped its body.

Naturally, everyone seized this moment to strike in unison at the beast.

The fastest to act was Spirit Guard Jia Chen. At that moment, he had already unfurled the disc upon his back, using divine power to boost him as he charged into the poisonous cloud.

He stabbed the Dragonfly Cutter directly into the beast’s neck. Against such a massive body, the spear was like a feather. Even fully buried, it might not cause fatal harm. Yet, once Spirit Guard Jia Chen drove the spear in, he twisted its tip relentlessly, causing blood and qi to gush out like a torrential rain. Each drop of blood that splattered onto the ground sizzled like a corrosive substance, creating countless pits in the earth.

Following close behind was Jing Tianming. Wielding the Dojigiri Yasutsuna, he split himself into nine forms, striking at the Yamata-no-Orochi’s vital points from nine different angles while his true body avoided the poisonous clouds entirely.

Both Spirit Guard Jia Chen and Jing Tianming were feints meant to distract the beast. The true offensive came from Spirit Guard Ding Wei and Yagyu Sosei, who circled beneath to its underbelly. Its body was so vast that it pressed close to the ground, while its eight heads reached into the sky. The poisonous mist was still sinking, not yet enveloping the belly.

At its underbelly was a colossal patch of blood and filth left long ago by Susanoo, who had retrieved the Ame-no-Murakumo from this very spot. Yet despite the Yamata-no-Orochi’s terrifying regenerative powers, it had never healed, as if this wound were a permanent feature.

The Daoists had already learned this intelligence. In the planning stage, Yao Pei had analyzed that this wound was its greatest weakness and the key by which the Tenmon Sect controlled the Yamata-no-Orochi.

Thus, after gaining preliminary control by using the Shebishi Venom, the Daoists did not rush to behead the serpent. It was simply too risky and uncertain. Instead, they chose first to strike at the old wound in its belly, seeking to deepen the injury.

A massive frame made it resistant to ordinary cuts and blows, its vitals hard to reach. However, this size also made it clumsy—a truly double-edged trait.

The two showed no fear of the thick, suffocating blood qi seeping from the belly wound and plunged straight into it.

Yagyu Sosei fully activated the Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, unleashing blade qi in dense bursts to every side, forcibly weaving a killing net within the Yamata-no-Orochi’s belly.

Spirit Guard Ding Wei’s blade technique was plain yet unadorned. Her entire body spun at high speed. Countless flashes of blade light converged into what seemed like a wheel of blades, shredding the serpent’s flesh around her.

In an instant, torrents of blood qi surged from the wound, rising upward before gently raining down upon the ground. For a Pseudo-Immortal Martial Arts Practitioner, it was already considered remarkable to manifest even a half-real aura of blood qi around their body. However, the Yamata-no-Orochi’s blood qi was like a tangible crimson mist—a testament to its unimaginably vigorous lifeforce.

The next moment, Spirit Guard Ding Wei and Yagyu Sosei charged upward from within the thick blood qi. The radiance around their bodies had dimmed greatly, as they were clearly affected by the blood qi. Even as Pseudo-Immortals, they had exhausted a lot of energy.

When the blood qi finally dissipated, the wound on the Yamata-no-Orochi’s belly was visibly larger than before. Though such an injury was not fatal to its massive form, it was nonetheless a grievous blow.

At that moment, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu had fully recovered. At their peak state, they unleashed the second Twin Sword Union.

The dazzling sword light nearly pierced through the wound on the serpent’s belly, tearing it wider and deeper still.

Being repeatedly wounded, the Yamata-no-Orochi was no longer just enraged. It was driven into a bloodthirsty frenzy. It unleashed a shriek so piercing it seemed it might rupture human hearts.

Then, it abandoned its struggle against Spirit Guard Jia Chen and Jing Tianming. Its six remaining heads split into two groups. Three heads lunged toward Spirit Guard Ding Wei and Yagyu Sosei, while the other three heads attacked Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.

At this moment, Li Changge and Yao Pei finally joined the fray.

Although the two were proud prodigies of the Daoist Order, destined one day to reach immortality, they could not contend with this beast for now, nor inflict real harm upon it. Thus, like Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, they relied on their semi-immortal objects to provide support. This was the greatest role such young cultivators of the Wuliang stage could play in this serpent-slaying mission.

Yao Pei wielded the Staff of Merit, while Li Changge wore the Bright Crown. Together, they bound the serpent heads lunging toward Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.

Even the Yamata-no-Orochi could not resist the combined might of two semi-immortal objects. It was held motionless in place.

Though the restraint lasted mere seconds, it was enough for Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu to unleash the third Twin Sword Union.

Thanks to the Changchun Restorative Formation offsetting their energy consumption, the couple did not feel the strain this time and would not collapse after three successive Twin Sword Unions.

The sword light bypassed the stillness of time, cleaving down at two serpent heads in one stroke.

Meanwhile, Li Tiangang and Yun Fengxing, though lacking so many semi-immortal objects, relied on their cultivation to help Spirit Guard Ding Wei and Yagyu Sosei block the other three heads.

From the severed stumps, fountains of blood gushed as though new heads were about to sprout from them.

Just as recorded in the chronicles of the Ise-jingu, unless all eight heads were cut off at once, the Yamata-no-Orochi could regenerate without limit.

The others wasted no time and struck immediately.

For the pseudo-immortals, decapitating a single head was nothing difficult. Spirit Guard Jia Chen had already shattered one earlier. The Zaohua-stage cultivators were weaker than the Pseudo-Immortals. But since the latter had borne the brunt of distraction and suppression, the former had been conserving their strength. Now at full power, the Zaohua-stage cultivators faced a motionless beast that had been repeatedly wounded and poisoned by Shebishi Venom. Thus, the gap between them was not so vast.

At last, Yao Pei and Li Changge combined Mortal Vitality and Yield Sovereignty to sever the head already shattered by the Dragon Eye Bomb earlier.

Finally, all eight heads were cut off.