Chapter 42: Till Death or Victory
On the shattered Platform of Life and Death!
“Cough, cough—what a formidable Chaos Vine Gourd! Truly a killing weapon of the Ancient Era!” Amid the sound of blood-choked coughing, a chilling voice issued from the blood-soaked figure standing upon the battle stage. Yet anyone could sense the scorn hidden within.
“You... you monster!” Trembling, the two men gazed at Luo Hao, whose savage visage resembled a demon risen from the depths of hell. Terror surged through their minds like an unstoppable tide.
Luo Hao paid no heed to Li Long and Zhang Hu’s fear. A sinister, bloodthirsty smile crept across his lips. “But what can a mere defective imitation do to me? Even if it were the genuine Chaos Vine Gourd, I wouldn’t fear it.”
His icy words sounded more like a declaration, and strangely, not a soul believed the blood-drenched figure was jesting.
“Impossible! Even the Chaos Vine Gourd can’t... can’t kill you!” Zhang Hu’s eyes brimmed with horror, his composure utterly shattered. In his view, the imitation gourd above—even flawed—still contained a fraction of the true artifact’s power.
The Chaos Vine Gourd was a peerless killing weapon that awed the entire Ancient Era; the number of legendary warriors who fell beneath its green-skinned gourd was beyond count. Even a defective replica should be more than enough to overwhelm Luo Hao, a mere seventh-tier Qi Spirit cultivator.
“Impossible? Too bad—I don’t even know the meaning of impossible. Die!” With a furious roar, blood sprayed as Luo Hao’s fighting spirit boiled over. His battle intent surged like an eagle soaring through the nine heavens, his blood-stained body seemingly unimpeded.
“What terrifying battle intent!” Countless disciples exclaimed as the immense fighting will enveloped the entire plaza of the Sky Sea Sect. It was a resolve of life-or-death, a hundred battles without regret.
The ancient and noble golden dragon force was stained with blood, turning into a hue of blood-gold. An even greater dragon’s roar resounded, as if countless blood-gold dragons were howling together, fighting their way to the heavens.
“Puh-puh-puh!”
The void shattered, boundless and terrifying dragon force rampaged. That rampaging power surged towards Luo Hao’s hand like a river of stars pouring down.
He raised his sole remaining hand high. As the blood-gold dragon force gathered, power between his fingers grew ever more fearsome. Amid the fractured void, hurricanes raged, and under countless awed gazes, the blood-gold palm struck down upon half the sky.
“Roar!”
Ten thousand dragons howled, ancient dragon chants echoed, and dragon might surged as if a true dragon had appeared. The blood-gold palm suppressed all, like a golden bell crashing down, collapsing the void before it could even heal.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”
A crisis of life and death!
The intense aura of death drove Li Long and Zhang Hu to the brink of terror. The Chaos Vine Gourd above their heads trembled of its own accord. Gasping, resolute light flashed in their eyes, and they poured every ounce of spiritual power into the gourd.
Amid chaotic mist, the vine swayed, strong as an ancient dragon, casting a faint azure glow. Wherever the light passed, all was tranquil, the world seeming to halt in that moment.
“All things are empty!”
“The power of Law!”
Luo Hao’s voice grew solemn, his pupils contracting as he dared not underestimate the Chaos Vine Gourd. Though it was but a defective imitation, it still carried the resonance of Dao.
“Boom!” Chaos.
The blood-gold palm, like a golden bell entwined with dragon patterns, crashed toward the Chaos Vine Gourd. Ancient and noble gold pierced the chaotic mist, and countless dragon patterns radiated dazzling light, as if divine dragons were soaring.
The vine, tough as an old dragon, shook its leaves. That single segment seemed capable of shaking down the endless stars, shattering the azure sky.
The dragon-patterned golden bell thundered, dragon chants resounding within, and beneath it the endless chaotic mist churned, as if the world reverted to its primordial state. From the chaos, an azure vine emerged, sweeping toward the golden bell.
The world seemed to pause, then fell into deeper chaos. Mist swirled around the battle stage, golden dragon force flowed.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
In the void, the golden bell and the azure vine clashed fiercely, waves of terrifying power rippled out. Vast white hurricanes twisted through the void like giant serpents, hissing, only to vanish before their storms could take shape.
“Kill!”
Amid the clangor of battle, the golden bell shattered, countless golden rays flying. Luo Hao’s blood-stained face was wild with battle madness. On the other side, the azure vine was also forced back; Li Long and Zhang Hu vomited blood, the gourd atop their heads shuddering as if it might fall at any moment. Both sides were flung backwards, their feet scraping hundreds of meters before coming to a halt.
“White Tiger Steps Upon the Sun!”
As he retreated, Luo Hao roared, and the instant his toes touched the ground he sprang up like a bullet. As he lifted his hand, the evil dragon howled, ten thousand dragons soared. Under countless stunned gazes, his golden fist swept toward the Chaos Vine Gourd like a golden millstone.
“Roar!”
From the dark void, a tiger’s roar echoed across the nine heavens, and the crowd saw a vague white tiger apparition descend with head raised to the sky, feet upon sun and moon. Its gaze flashed like lightning, starlight swirling in its eyes, and within its extended claw seemed to lie the cycle of life and death.
“A martial art reaches the divine!”
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Unmatched in dominance, boundless, lawless, it carried the breath of annihilation and slaughter.
“This is bad!”
Sensing soul-piercing killing intent and the aura of destruction, Li Long and Zhang Hu watched as an azure light curtain fell before them, like a river of stars descending.
The moment the curtain descended, ancient and noble dragon force followed the tiger’s claw, striking ruthlessly with the power to shatter stars. The curtain quaked violently, its azure brilliance dimming as if it might collapse at any moment.
“Roar, what killing weapon of the ancient era? Break!” Luo Hao fought drenched in blood, his voice thunderous, dragon force boiling within him. The sound of dragon chants rang from his body, and a domineering aura swept forth, suppressing everything.
Li Long and Zhang Hu’s souls seemed to flee their bodies. Connected in spirit to the Chaos Vine Gourd, they could even sense the artifact’s terror. The azure curtain’s light grew ever dimmer.
“Crack!”
A clear sound of breaking rang out. A fissure appeared on the curtain formed by the Chaos Vine Gourd, and finally, under the howling of ten thousand dragons, it shattered like glass.
The azure curtain collapsed, and the gourd hovering in the void dimmed and fell onto the Platform of Life and Death. Li Long and Zhang Hu, spirits linked to the gourd, spat blood, but before they could react, an overwhelming golden force struck them, caving in their chests. Blood and broken flesh sprayed as their bodies were hurled hundreds of meters, landing like dead dogs.
Such an opportunity would not be missed by Luo Hao. In the deathly silence, he strode forward upon golden light, bearing down on Li Long and Zhang Hu, his golden fist like ten thousand dragons ascending to crush all.
Pale-faced, coughing blood, Li Long and Zhang Hu felt the certainty of death. At last, panic overwhelmed them and they cried out, “No, Luo Hao, you can’t kill us! We are disciples of the Purple Micro Pavilion, you can’t—”
“On the Platform of Life and Death, fate is severed—no king, no god can intervene!” The cold, merciless voice plunged Li Long and Zhang Hu into despair, and sent a tremor through the hearts of all. Truly, this battle would end only in death.