Chapter 694: Hide

Yang Bujue left this world peacefully.

...

At first, Chu Liang didn’t recognize the man, having never seen Yang Bujue in person. However, the moment the man spoke, Chu Liang immediately realized his identity and thought,

The couple from the Celestial Charm Sect!

Back then, Xiao Wuyan attempted to frame Chu Liang for the poisoning case in the capital of Yu, but Chu Liang and Jiang Yuebai worked together to expose the Celestial Charm Sect’s plot. Following that incident, Xiao Wuyan was captured by the Imperial Supervisory Commissioner and imprisoned in the Celestial Northern Prison.

The only difference between the Celestial Northern Prison, the place guarded by two powerful cultivators at the Heavenly Origin Realm, and death was that death offered freedom from suffering.

When Yang Bujue saw Chu Liang, a surge of hatred erupted from deep within him.

The knifehand strike directed at Du Wuhen was swift and ruthless, driven by the fury of his seething resentment.

As for why it was Du Wuhen... he simply happened to be the one walking in front! Yang Bujue couldn’t risk letting him escape and alert the others!

Fortunately, Du Wuhen withstood the first strike, buying Chu Liang and Jiang Yuebai a fleeting moment to react.

Immediately, Chu Liang shouted, "Split up and run!"

Although this happened suddenly, his mind remained clear.

These members of the Celestial Charm Sect were clearly after him, which meant that they were more likely to pursue him first. By splitting up, if they chose to chase him, it would give Jiang Yuebai the opportunity to escape first.

Even if he got caught, he could still escape using the hidden realm of the Blue Dragon.

In a split second, he made this decision. Only after ensuring Jiang Yuebai had turned to leave did he hesitate momentarily before making his escape. At that moment, he unleashed the fastest divine skill he had, invoking the Blue Dragon’s ability to become wind.

However, the Wind Transformation was hindered by the resistance underwater, whereas Yang Bujue instantly used an underwater escape technique. Transforming into a streak of white light, he closed the distance and reached Chu Liang’s back within a single breath.

Chu Liang immediately sensed the deadly threat behind him. He didn't dare to leave his back exposed so he spread his wings and spun around with lightning speed. As the Dragon God Mark flared brightly, a divine thunderbolt ripped through the sky, crashing down with overwhelming force.

Boom!

But Yang Bujue's figure appeared translucent, and the divine thunder passed right through him without causing a shred of harm.

Meanwhile, Yang Bujue's hand shot toward Chu Liang. Chu Liang swiftly raised his left wing to block, but Yang Bujue's translucent knifehand strike phased through the scaled wing, making a sharp swishing sound as it passed through.

Just as it passed between the wing, his hand solidified, instantly piercing through the wing in a heartbeat.

Dragon blood spattered. Chu Liang promptly dispelled his transcendent form. Since the power of the form significantly diminished after his wing was injured, he decided to fight without the wings entirely.

In this critical moment, he chose not to enter the Blue Dragon's Hidden Realm because Jiang Yuebai hadn't escaped far enough. He was worried that if Yang Bujue couldn’t catch him, he might turn back and still manage to catch Jiang Yuebai.

The second reason was that Yang Bujue didn’t appear as powerful as Ji Lingjue, who was an extremely powerful seventh-realm cultivator. It gave Chu Liang confidence that he might be able to hold him off, even if just for a moment.

Chu Liang soon realized that he was very wrong. The weakest attacker at the seventh realm was still a seventh-realm cultivator. Similarly, the strongest defender at the sixth realm was still just a sixth-realm cultivator.

The moment Chu Liang deactivated the Mystical Winged Divine Dragon Transcendent Form, he swiftly activated his Three-Headed and Six-Armed Form once more, unleashing a barrage of divine skills at Yang Bujue.

However, Yang Bujue once again turned translucent, lunged forward, and grabbed hold of Chu Liang. He merged into Chu Liang’s before solidifying in an instant.

Swish!

In an instant, Chu Liang was brutally torn apart, his limbs severed and scattered in all directions. Blood sprayed through the depths of the sea, painting the water red.

But Yang Bujue didn’t stop there. He immediately scanned his surroundings.

Sure enough, the shattered remains of Chu Liang’s body flickered briefly before revealing themselves as fragmented puppet limbs.

It turned out that in that critical moment, Chu Liang had used a puppet clone as well as Sacrificial Substitute. The speed he had activated these skills was as fast as someone with a Transcendent Spirit constitution. With this maneuver, he narrowly evaded Yang Bujue’s fatal strike.

Afterward, he concealed himself behind a coral thicket and cautiously crept away using Spirit Cat’s Tiny Steps, desperately hoping to evade Yang Bujue’s pursuit.

Yang Bujue extended his divine sense to every corner, meticulously scouring the area, but he couldn’t detect even the faintest trace of Chu Liang’s presence.

His expression darkened, and he muttered coldly, "Hiding? Let's see if I can force you to hide in the heavens!"

With that, his figure blurred, merging seamlessly into the void. Oscillating between reality and illusion, he extended his search across the Sea of Demons. He scanned every trace of life energy, yet he still couldn’t locate Chu Liang.

This was a classic case of overreliance on established patterns of thinking, believing that divine sense and divine skills were superior to the naked eye. In truth, if Yang Bujue had simply taken a few steps forward, he would have spotted Chu Liang sneaking away behind the coral thicket, moving as cautiously as an old granny crossing the street.

Although Yang Bujue hadn’t located Chu Liang, he did notice something.

He noticed a meteor streaking down, crashing onto the surface of the sea.

...

Boom!

The duel between the Sword Emperor and Daoist Yan had reached this most intense moment. Daoist Yan had fused with her sword and launched a near-suicidal attack against the Sword Emperor.

The Sword Emperor, on the other hand, remained relatively calm.

The Shadow Bearer, which had been enhanced, was still weaker than the Heavenly Cloud Ancient Sword, but the gap was not significant. With the advantage of being a realm higher than Daoist Yan, he still held the upper hand.

The massive Heavenly Cloud Ancient Sword transformed into endless beams of white light that rained down. Even so, these beams of white light could not do anything to the sea of sword qi that the Sword Emperor controlled.

When the citizens of the Sword-Hanging Kingdom below saw how Daoist Yan had been constantly attacking the Sword Emperor, they were worried. However, all of them had some understanding of the Dao of the Sword, so they quickly figured out what was really happening.

Daoist Yan had to attack aggressively because her momentum was short-lived. If she failed to achieve a decisive victory within a short time, she would be forced out of her current state. At that point, with her sword energy depleted, defeat was inevitable.

The Sword Emperor, on the other hand, held a significant advantage. All he had to do was maintain his defense, and victory would be his.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After three consecutive failed strikes, the Heavenly Cloud Ancient Sword suddenly flared with light before being knocked back by a single strike from the Sword Emperor. It vibrated violently, emitting a continuous buzzing sound.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Did Daoist Yan run out of strength?" the citizens of the Sword-Hanging Kingdom wondered, their faces lighting up with joy as they eagerly watched the fight unfold.

However, in an inconspicuous corner, the Whale-Riding Immortal, who appeared battered, shook his head and muttered, "Yan Zi, stop holding back."

He seemed almost prophetic, and as his words left his mouth, the situation in the sky suddenly changed dramatically.

Aside from the white glow in the sword qi of the Heavenly Cloud Ancient Sword, there was this red glow that resembled.

Within the sword qi of the Heavenly Cloud Ancient Sword, a vivid crimson glow resembling surging flames suddenly emerged alongside its white radiance, instantly amplifying its momentum!

Daoist Yan did not become weaker. Instead, she became several times stronger.

Most people were filled with confusion.

What is happening?

Nevertheless, soon after that, someone shouted loudly, "Demonic qi! She’s using demonic qi! She’s a demon!"

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

More and more people started sensing that intense demonic qi.

A thought crossed many people's minds.

Is Daoist Yan of the Mount Shu Sect a greater demon of this era?

This revelation was shocking, but they soon realized the more precise term to describe her would be "half-demon."

Few knew that throughout the years, Daoist Yan had been suppressing the demonic qi within her.

The world knew that on the rare occasions she took action, her fighting achievements were nothing short of extraordinary. What they didn’t know was that each time she accomplished such feats, she had done so without drawing upon the inner demonic qi within her. In fact, she had to use a significant portion of her spiritual energy to keep that demonic qi suppressed.

Only by doing so could she prevent even the slightest leak of demonic qi.

For the past several decades, it could be said that Daoist Yan had been fighting with only sixty to seventy percent of her full strength. Yet, even with this limitation, she had claimed the top spot in the Mount Shu Summit, secured the championship at the Assembly of Immortal Sects, and established herself as a formidable contender for the title of the strongest peak master in the Mount Shu Sect.

If she had managed to surpass figures like Di Nufeng and the Whale-Riding Immortal to claim the top spot, how could she possibly be an ordinary person?

At this moment, in the competition for control of the Great Dao, she finally stopped suppressing her demonic qi. Drawing upon her full foundational qi, her sword qi surged to several times its previous strength, and her demonic qi flowed instinctively.

Swish!!

The Sword Emperor’s ocean of sword qi was split apart by a single strike. The Heavenly Cloud Ancient Sword, carrying the force to rend heaven and earth, crashed forward. The Great Dao of the Cloud of Determination was now teetering on the edge of collapse, with fragments of Heavenly Law bursting like bubbles in the sky.

Daoist Yan was incredibly powerful!

Daoist Yan unleashing such immense power was completely beyond the Sword Emperor’s expectations. After all, no one had known that the peak master of the Mount Shu Sect was a half-demon.

So, this was her hidden trump card! No wonder she had the confidence to fight for the control of the Great Dao.

But in all honesty, Daoist Yan had never regarded it as a trump card. If possible, she would never want to use demonic qi in a fight. The Heavenly Cloud Ancient Sword had been trembling earlier because she was unable to suppress the demonic qi within her any longer.

As the Sword Emperor moved to counter the strike, he gathered all his focus. With the razor-sharp intuition of a seasoned sword cultivator, he understood that the decisive moment of the battle had arrived.

Whoosh!

He raised the ancient sword Shadow Bearer channeling the entirety of his Great Dao into its blade. With a thunderous roar, he unleashed its full power in a single, earth-shattering strike!

The potential Dao Master or the current Dao Master of the Cloud of Determination Great Dao—who would be the Dao Master of this Great Dao?

But at that very moment, Shadow Bearer trembled violently. Suddenly, it spun around and pointed at the Sword Emperor’s chest.

"Hmm?"