Chapter 245
Chapter 245
Li Shiyin's opponent today was Dugu Wenxue, a disciple of Sword Peak, who inherited ancient teachings and possessed Demon Slaying Sword Intent. He had competed with Yan Tianxing for the fifth place on the Geniuses Ranking.
As the only two people in Sword Peak who possessed sword intent, Dugu Wenxue could not say that he had comprehended Demon Slaying Sword Intent like Tian Wenjin did, but could only say that he possessed sword intent. This was because his sword intent came from inheritance, not comprehension by himself.
Of course, even if it was not sword intent that he had comprehended himself, he was still strong enough, strong enough to compete with Yan Tianxing, and was in no way inferior to the top ten geniuses.
Li Shiyin walked onto the dueling platform, looking at Dugu Wenxue across from her.
She had of course not asked Long Qiqi to play any tricks on Dugu Wenxue. Firstly, they had no past grudges in recent days, and secondly, they were both sword cultivators of similar strength, perfectly suited for a fair and direct confrontation that belonged solely to battles between sword cultivators.
"Sword Peak, Li Shiyin," she greeted with her sword.
Dugu Wenxue's condition was obviously problematic, visible at a glance. He was dressed entirely in black, hands hanging down, head bowed low, the stance itself very strange. His hair and beard were also unkempt from long neglect, overgrown and disheveled like autumn weeds.
What was most striking was that his whole body emanated spiralling black smoke, making him seem mad and demonic!
Li Shiyin recognized that billowing black smoke — it was none other than sword intent, Demon Slaying Sword Intent! It was Dugu Wenxue's sword intent that he could not control.
Hearing Li Shiyin's greeting, Dugu Wenxue raised his head, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes. In a hoarse voice he returned the greeting, "Sword Peak, Dugu, Wenxue!"
At the end, he added, "Little sister Li, watch your sword."
Wild black hair, unrestrained black robes, black sword intent, crimson eyes — looking at Dugu Wenxue, Li Shiyin solemnly drew her sword... What kind of sword demon was she? This was a true sword demon.
Whoosh...
In the next moment, in a trance, the cold desert night wind blew past.
Li Shiyin stood on the dueling platform, but in the wind she saw billowing yellow sand, saw the black and red of blood, saw corpses covering the ground, saw broken blades and spearheads, saw...
A black sword demon, a pair of blood-red eyes, a hideous face, a sword shrouded in black energy, madly rushing to kill her.
"Clang!" Li Shiyin blocked Dugu Wenxue's strike, and was sent flying by the sword.
Dugu Wenxue's cultivation was far too high above hers, their difference in strength was too great...
"When did he draw his sword?" Li Shiyin's thoughts raced. "No... that's his personal sword!"
A flash of purple light in the sky, and Li Shiyin vanished.
Immortal Seeking the Way!
In the next moment, wielding Falling Star Sword, her sword contained stellar sword qi. She reappeared at an angle, stabbing towards Dugu Wenxue with her sword.
"Clang!" Dugu Wenxue defended with his sword, knocking Li Shiyin back again.
Falling through the air, Li Shiyin noticed that a wisp of the black sword intent on Dugu Wenxue's sword had been severed by her...
A white figure flashed around the dueling platform, and purple sword qi like a meteor shower rained down; the black figure seemed like a plume of black fog, forced to drift around by the white figure.
"Haha! What genius of Sword Peak, we're beating up a genius of Sword Peak! Talking big but isn't he being suppressed by our Shiyin!" Seeing the situation on the platform, the disciples watching the duel below cheered.
"Shiyin... Shiyin... the white-clothed Sword Immortal!"
"A bunch of idiots..." Immediately someone objected, "Do you even know what sword intent is?"
"Do you know?"
"I don't know!" That person shamelessly replied, "But everyone knows that while many sword cultivators in the world have comprehended sword qi, few have comprehended sword intent! What does this mean? It means sword intent is stronger than sword qi! Dugu Wenxue clearly hasn't gone all out yet..."
"Just a passerby, gotta say, little Li Shiyin, my senior brother Dugu Wenxue can crush her with one hand."
"Someone come quick... beat up this fake black!"
"Stupid Tiger, is Shiyin at an advantage or disadvantage now?" Little Black Heart sat on Chasing the Wind's shoulder and asked him.
"She has both advantages and disadvantages," Chasing the Wind said.
Little Black Heart glanced up at him.
"Shiyin has sword qi and the War Spirit Art, giving her an advantage in direct combat," Chasing the Wind explained. "But Dugu Wenxue has sword intent. Every time Shiyin exchanges moves with Dugu Wenxue, she'll be invaded by sword intent. The sword intent will be like a lingering toxin..."
Long Qiqi understood: "So you mean if Shiyin doesn't hurry up and end the fight, dragging it out will only lead to defeat, right!"
"Right!" Chasing the Wind nodded his big cat head.
Long Qiqi watched the deadlock on the platform worriedly, knowing that there was not much time left for Li Shiyin.
"Sigh! I knew I should've poisoned Dugu Wenxue too!"
On the platform, Li Shiyin's sharp stellar sword qi, boosted by the War Spirit Art, continued to attack Dugu Wenxue, steadily reducing the scope of his defense.
Li Shiyin's cold eyes stared at the sword in Dugu Wenxue's hand. The black substance on that sword fell away bit by bit under her frenzied assault, now little remained.
Dugu Wenxue's personal sword was also gradually revealing its original form... a rusted sword.
The "clang clang clang..." sounds continued without pause.
Li Shiyin had pushed the War Spirit Art to its limit, sending out dense clusters of purple sword qi to assail Dugu Wenxue.
Dugu Wenxue stubbornly resisted, blocking all of the sword qi like a storm.
Some of the sword qi pierced into the dueling platform, lingering for a long time without dispersing; some stabbed into the platform's protective array, evaporating like steam.
But there was too much sword qi. The platform was filled with the purple sword qi, the referees had flown up, unable to find a foothold; and under the raindrop-like assault of purple sword qi, the protective array also trembled on the verge of collapse!
The head referee repeatedly wiped sweat, wondering to himself: "This is just Foundation Establishment?!"
"Just one more strike, just one more!" Li Shiyin felt it, she was just one more strike away from defeating Dugu Wenxue, she just needed one more strike and Dugu Wenxue would fall beneath her sword.
But...
She'd had this feeling a hundred moves ago!
A hundred moves ago, Dugu Wenxue was like a flickering candle in the wind, seemingly about to be snuffed out at any moment; a hundred moves later, Dugu Wenxue was like a lone boat in the raging waves, about to capsize at any time!
"Clang!"
Li Shiyin slashed out with her sword again!
At this moment, their swords clashed in midair, ringing like a bronze bell.
In the next moment, the purple stellar sword qi chasing the black Demon Slaying Sword Intent spread out from them in a ring, expanding upon the dueling platform's array. Then with a cry, the protective array shattered.
The purple-black ring spread out further, awe-inspiring to all disciples that saw it.
After the "clang", this place fell silent.
"Junior sister..." Dugu Wenxue's hoarse voice sounded in the silence, "You're about to lose."
Li Shiyin panted for breath and looked down. The black substance on Dugu Wenxue's personal sword had been completely severed by her, revealing the rusted sword underneath.
...A rusted sword. Dugu Wenxue held a rusted sword, yet said she was about to lose.
Really?
Li Shiyin looked at herself. The purple stellar sword qi on her Falling Star Sword had already been eroded by the black sword intent, transformed into black sword qi.
And she herself...
Was shrouded in black all over. She had also been silently tainted by the sword intent.
The Demon Slaying Sword Intent had long advanced to assail her heart and soul, wanting to suppress her like a "demon", to slay and destroy!
She had already been suppressed by the Demon Slaying Sword Intent, she could barely even swing her sword already.
She seemed to really be... about to lose.