Chapter 1056: Sword Shadow

Even the Undying Demon Emperor in the sky was reinforcing the protective array with all his might. Why? It was to prevent this one strike from completely destroying the arena's defenses!

At that very moment, a flash of golden light suddenly gleamed in front of Jiang Chenchou. From within that golden radiance, two distinct cries rang out.

One was a thunderous, domineering dragon's roar.

The other, a clear and unmatched phoenix's cry, echoing with the grace of a sovereign blessing their subjects.

Accompanied by these voices, a dragon and a phoenix, both golden-red, spiraled in front of Jiang Chenchou, forming an enormous glowing shield that enclosed the blazing sunflower she had transformed into.

"The Undying Golden Body!" Ning Chen'en, who was closely following the battle, blurted out the name almost instantly.

Yes, it was the Undying Golden Body. The final item of the mega-auction, lauded as the strongest one as well, had finally made its appearance. To everybody's surprise, it hadn't ended up with the Scorching King, the leader of the Scorching Sunflower clan. It was now in the hands of Jiang Chenchou, a dark horse among female contestants.

No wonder Jiang Chenchou dared to face the Asura Sword head-on. She had been waiting for this strike.

The Undying Golden Body had likely been designed specifically to counter one-shot-one-kill attacks, like Qiu Zixuan’s World-Sundering Sword and Mei Gongzi's Asura Sword. And now, just like in the case of Tang San's fight against Qiu Zixuan, the match had turned into the strongest shield pitted against the sharpest sword.

The shield had won last time. Which one would win this time?

In that instant, all the top contestants held their breath, staring intently. Whoever gained the upper hand in this clash would have a huge advantage in the tournament's outcome.

The Scorching Sunflower clan had clearly made a wise investment in winning the auction for the Undying Golden Body. While their clan was renowned for its devastating offense, especially in wide-area and ranged attacks, they lacked adequate defense. The stronger the clan member, the more prominent this flaw became. As their opponents grew in power and versatility, the Scorching Sunflower clan's vulnerability to direct hits became increasingly dangerous.

The Undying Golden Body resolved this perfectly. With its incredible defense and perfect compatibility with fire, it not only dealt with the glaring flaws but even enhanced the user's own elemental affinity.

But the question remained: Could the Undying Golden Body withstand the Asura Sword?

From high above, the Undying Demon Emperor watched with keen interest.

Mei Gongzi's performance so far had exceeded his expectations. Her last victory over Lan Moqian had all but secured her a spot in the top three of the round-robin. Now, however, she was facing the Undying Golden Body, an item he himself had put up for auction. He was nervous too. Even he didn't know whether the Asura Sword could break it.

Why hadn't he given the item to Mei Gongzi? For one, although the Undying Golden Body had immense defense, it came with a drawback: the user could not move while using it. Moreover, though the Undying Golden Body was powerful, it consumed enormous amounts of energy and resources. After each use, recharging it required astronomical amounts of energy. Also, for all practical purposes, it was a consumable, as it could only be used once by each person.

Most critically, it was the joint creation of a dragon and a phoenix. While those of other races could wield it without issue, both dragons and phoenixes would experience interference due to the other bloodline power. Long-term use could even impede their cultivation. Naturally, Mei Gongzi would have also been impacted.

Besides, if he had directly given the item to Mei Gongzi, the instant it appeared, it would've exposed her connection to the Immortal Flame Phoenix clan. Before Mei Gongzi ascended to Emperorhood, this could not be revealed, unless there was a life-and-death situation. Otherwise, everyone would unite to prevent the phoenix race from producing a third Emperor.

After weighing all these factors, the Undying Demon Emperor had chosen to auction it instead.

Little Mei, I hope I didn't make the wrong decision...

If the Undying Golden Body ended up causing her to lose the throne, the Undying Demon Emperor would deeply regret it. Of course, if it came to the final stages of the competition, he had other plans.

A brilliant red sword beam collided violently with the blazing golden-red shield in the next instant.

A terrifying explosion of energy erupted at the moment of impact.

Blinding light mixed with overwhelming sword intent painted the entire arena in gold and crimson. The protective barrier visibly intensified, then surged toward collapse at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Fortunately, the match was being overseen by a top-tier Emperor. In the sky, the Undying Demon Emperor summoned a massive fire phoenix projection above his head. Fiery feathers descended, merging into the protective formation and stabilizing it, albeit barely.

The Asura Sword was now hacking down hard against the Undying Golden Body's radiant shield. The two divine items clashed in a violent explosion of energy.

Two sorrowful cries, a dragon and a phoenix, echoed out in the same instant. The Undying Golden Body began showing signs of collapse.

But then, in the very next moment, just as the shield shattered, a golden dragon and a crimson phoenix emerged and merged into the dazzling red sword light.

All three—dragon, phoenix, and sword—vanished simultaneously.

It happened incredibly fast. From the energy explosion to the appearance and disappearance of the dragon and phoenix, barely two blinks of an eye had passed.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

At that precise moment, Jiang Chenchou, who had been holding back all this time, finally launched her counterattack. The massive blazing sunflower erupted, shooting a golden fire pillar over fifty meters thick toward Mei Gongzi. The pillar radiated fierce brilliance in the air, violently twisting the surrounding space with overwhelming force.

The Undying Golden Body had neutralized Mei Gongzi's full-power Asura Sword strike—and now came Jiang Chenchou's strongest assault, aiming directly at Mei Gongzi.

There was no doubt: Jiang Chenchou's strategy was brilliantly executed. The Undying Golden Body had withstood the Asura Sword. And now, Mei Gongzi, with her arms still raised and seemingly unable to follow up with another attack, appeared completely exposed.

Buzz—

A deep hum resonated at that exact moment.

Despite being in dire straits, Mei Gongzi's expression didn't change in the slightest.

The Asura Shadow Sword suddenly flew away from her hand. The red light around it faded, retreating into the center of her brow. In its place, a gray-black shadowy sword appeared from thin air, meeting the massive lava pillar head-on.

But that illusory sword looked utterly fragile, nowhere near the awe-inspiring might of the earlier Asura Shadow Sword. And when it collided with the oncoming torrent of fire, it seemed like nothing more than a moth to a flame.

The Undying Demon Emperor's gaze sharpened, and he prepared to intervene. If anything seemed off, he would act immediately to save Mei Gongzi. Although she was able to use Nirvana Rebirth, using it would expose her phoenix bloodline. He would rather see her lose the match than risk revealing that.

But just then, a flicker of shock crossed his eyes, and he stopped in place.

A fraction of a second later, Mei Gongzi's delicate form was completely engulfed by the colossal fire pillar.