Chapter 163: Chapter 54: Flowers Bloom and Wither

At this very moment, the light flaring at the top of the Divine Wood outshone even the stars in the sky. Even the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Army and the Demon Army, fighting far below, could clearly see an azure Spiritual Light erupting above the clouds.

"That’s Grandmaster Su fighting the Demon Emperor!"

Chanting a Magic Spell, the Daoist Saint threw out his seven ’Flying Swords’—seven silver blades as thin as a cicada’s wings. Imbued with an incredibly dense and sharp Golden Qi, they shot toward a dozen Yang Flame Cicadas that were bombarding the army below with fireballs and flashes of light. A few glints of golden light later, the mangled remains of these Spirit Plant Demon Beasts rained down on a foul-smelling wind.

Recalling his weapons, the old Daoist looked up, his gaze grave. "That level of Spiritual Energy... The Demon Emperor has reached the Innate realm!"

"I Buddha." At that moment, the Buddhist Saint also dealt with his opponent. His entire body shone with a solid, golden-bell-like Buddhist radiance. He emerged like a war chariot from a mountain of Wood Armor Gray Wolf corpses, his left hand holding his Zen Staff, which dripped with green Wood Liquid. He, too, looked grimly toward the treetop. "Master Su said he has a plan, but we must do something as well. Are our reserves of Black Fuel Oil sufficient?"

"There’s more than enough," the old Daoist said, stroking his beard with a sigh. "But it rains year-round beneath this Divine Wood, and its canopy stretches for thousands of miles. I fear our fuel couldn’t even burn a single corner of it. Twenty years of reserves, and still not enough. This Divine Wood grows far too quickly..."

"Who said anything about burning the Divine Wood?" The Buddhist Saint shot the Daoist Saint a strange look, then turned away and said softly, "I meant we should burn New Southern Celestial Capital."

"Call over the remaining True Qi Flying Ships. We’ll burn a path. Heaven knows how many traps are in that city. Once it’s burned to the ground, we can send reinforcements to support Grandmaster Su."

This time, it was the Daoist Saint’s turn to look horrified. He even tore out one of his own whiskers in shock.

「Above the Divine Wood’s lush foliage and the clouds.」

Dozens of intersecting beams of azure Wood Qi rained down from high above, bombarding the top level of the Celestial Palace.

’So this is just a contest of brute strength.’

The azure Spiritual Light poured down like a heavenly tide, impossible to dodge, impossible to avoid. It filled every last gap. Su Zhou cursed under his breath and tightened his grip on the hilt of his Divine Blade.

All of his violet-blue Spiritual Power swirled into a vortex, pouring into the weapon. Gathering all his strength, he swung the blade skyward!

The Blade of Annihilation was an Innate Divine Soldier, concentrating the four disparate powers of Volcano, Celestial Thunder, Celestial Star, and Silent Extinction. In terms of raw power, the blade was no weaker than an ordinary Innate Martial Saint. This was precisely why the Hundred Schools believed that a Grandmaster wielding the Blade of Annihilation could fight the Demon Imperial Master even if he took a dragon form.

And they were right.

Su Zhou’s Spiritual Power was merely a catalyst. Upon receiving the influx of his Spiritual Qi, the Blade of Annihilation unleashed its own power. Molten patterns spread across the black steel, weaving a searing circuit along the edge. Azure arcs of electricity mingled with roaring flames. Finally, empowered by Su Zhou’s "Qi Manipulation and Sky Breaking" technique, his swing unleashed a dazzling, crescent-shaped arc of light that tore through the air and shattered the oppressive Wood Qi!

Its momentum undiminished, the arc of light flew on. It struck the sphere of azure light spat by the Coiling Dragon, tearing a huge gash in it. The sphere then exploded, bursting into a brilliant firework in the sky.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Aside from the small patch of ground where Su Zhou stood, the entire top level of the Celestial Palace was bombarded by Wood Qi, causing grotesque, gnarled branches to sprout everywhere.

In an instant, the area surrounding the Celestial Altar had transformed into a grotesque Otherworld. A toxic miasma began to spread among the warped branches and leaves.

If Su Zhou hadn’t been immune to all poisons, that single attack would have instantly afflicted an ordinary Grandmaster with seven or eight different virulent toxins.

Clearly, the Demon Emperor’s attack was merely an opening gambit. If Su Zhou couldn’t even handle that, he would simply die. But if he survived, the King of Divine Wood would be sure to show him the meaning of Hell.

But Su Zhou was no stationary target. A Spiritual Light capable of seeing the flow of energy flashed in his eyes. The instant the azure sphere exploded, he resumed his silent, mad dash, blade in hand, charging toward the Coiling Dragon’s true body at the center of the Celestial Altar.

But massive wooden roots shot out from the sides of the deformed forest. Like a pair of hands interlacing their fingers, they closed in on Su Zhou’s position. This time, the Demon Emperor had anticipated his movements, completely covering every possible escape route. There were no openings!

Su Zhou responded with a flurry of searing, fiery slashes! Spurred on by his Spiritual Power, the Divine Blade of Extinction glowed as if it were forged from lava, golden flecks appearing on its black surface. Against the roots crashing down upon him, Su Zhou didn’t even need to exert much effort. A single upward flick was enough to ignite the massive wooden tendrils, burning them to ash that filled the air.

On the roof of the Celestial Palace, azure Wood Qi condensed and surged, forming toxic miasma one moment and massive roots the next. But no matter the attack, it was always torn asunder by the light of his blade, leaving a roaring, fiery gale in its wake.

"Halt."

Just as Su Zhou was pressing his advantage, about to set foot on the three-tiered Celestial Altar, the massive Coiling Dragon moved.

White shockwaves tore through the air as a giant, gnarled Wooden Dragon Claw shot toward Su Zhou, creating sonic booms as it moved. Su Zhou’s gaze hardened. With a great shout, he planted his feet, gripping the blade with both hands. His entire body’s strength flowed through his muscles, condensing on the cutting edge. Then, he aimed for the claw and executed a perfect horizontal slash!

A searing slash of light flashed past. The Demon Emperor grunted as two of the claw’s three fingers were instantly severed. The severed digits turned to ash as they spun through the air, and dark crimson flames licked at the wound.

’Damn it!’ But Su Zhou felt no joy, his expression changing in alarm.

The giant, one-fingered claw hadn’t been incinerated by the Blade of Annihilation like the tentacles before it. In fact, after losing two fingers, its speed actually increased. Before Su Zhou could dodge, it swatted him out of the air!

CRASH!!

The strike was like swatting a fly. With a deafening roar, it smashed a huge crater into the top of the Celestial Palace, slamming Su Zhou deep into it.

The entire Celestial Palace dipped slightly. The Divine Wood Branches supporting it groaned and swayed, and spiderweb-like cracks spread out from the point of impact.

*WHOOSH...*

"Is that all you have—"

Just after slamming Su Zhou into the crater, azure Wood Qi swarmed to the Wooden Dragon Claw. The gnarled wood pulsed, extinguishing the flames, and the two severed fingers instantly regenerated. The Demon Emperor’s contemptuous voice echoed from the Coiling Dragon. "You can harm my Coiling Dragon Body, but so what? I am the King of Divine Wood. How many fingers can you possibly sever...?"

"Even if you had five claws, I’d chop every last one of them off today!"

"I’ve seen right through your Spiritual Qi Flow!"

But before it could finish, a loud laugh rang out as flames ignited within the collapsed crater. A pillar of fire erupted, and a figure shot out from the blaze, charging once more toward the three-tiered Celestial Altar!

Su Zhou brandished the Blade of Annihilation. His chest was stained with blood, and there was a large hole torn in his clothes where a shattered bone had jutted out from the force of the blow. Yet, he looked as vigorous as ever, showing no sign of injury.

Long before setting out to battle the Demon Emperor, Su Zhou had explained his Super Regeneration Constitution to the other Grandmasters in the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Army camp. The Hundred Schools’ leadership had unhesitatingly provided him with all manner of strange Spirit Plants and pills to consume, allowing him to build up his reserves of energy and Spiritual Qi as much as possible.

He had only set out after confirming that he was fully prepared.

And that wasn’t all. CRACK! With the Long Spear on his back and the blade in his right hand, Su Zhou held four jade vials between the fingers of his left. With a surge of Spiritual Power, the tops of the vials shattered, and he unhesitatingly tossed all the pills inside into his mouth.

—The Four Spirits Jade Liquid Pill!

—The Earth God’s Rebirth Pill!

—The Jade and Stone Immolation Powder!

—The Heaven-Turning Spirit-Restoring Powder!

CRUNCH, CRUNCH. He chewed, swallowed, and the medicinal power surged through him!

He had just swallowed four different pills, all designed for life-or-death situations and experimentally proven to be compatible. The explosive surge of Spiritual Power was absorbed instantly, spreading through his blood and meridians to every corner of his body.

BOOM! A jet of white vapor shot from the top of Su Zhou’s head. His skin turned crimson, and every muscle writhed as if alive, channeling terrifying power through his frame!

"You’re full of openings!"

His nearly depleted Spiritual Power was instantly replenished. Beams of Spiritual Light, several feet long, shot from his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the Coiling Dragon’s body as it raised its claw to strike him again. The next instant, he took the initiative. Stomping the ground and creating a web of spreading cracks, he leaped into the air like an erupting volcano.

He swung his blade, a stream of fire trailing in its wake as it flew toward the dragon’s claw, carving a brilliant arc of flame through the air!

"RAAAAAAAGH!"

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK! A continuous shattering sound rang out. The Demon Emperor let out a furious roar. Su Zhou’s blade hadn’t severed the claw. Instead, it had traveled up the limb, splitting the entire claw in half and exposing the tangled mass of sinews and xylem within. Searing flames scorched them black, even severing the Spiritual Energy they contained!

BOOM! A dozen tentacles shot out, swatting Su Zhou away. He had exhausted his strength in that last blow and couldn’t withdraw the Blade of Annihilation in time. The impact, however, conveniently yanked the blade free. Su Zhou flipped several times in mid-air before landing gracefully on one hand.

"Arrogant whelp, die!"

The Demon Emperor’s arm was mangled but not severed. Because the surface area of the wound was so much larger, the pain was far greater than before. The Demon Emperor flew into a rage, its previous cat-and-mouse mentality completely gone.

A furious draconic roar shook the very air as the Coiling Dragon, coiled around the Jade Pillar, unleashed its power. In an instant, the entire roof of the Celestial Palace was flooded with Wood Qi. Flowers bloomed and withered to dust on its horns in the span of a breath. As its long cry continued, the ground began to tremble violently. Countless twisted branches and tentacles writhed like living things, forming a giant, gaping maw that surged toward Su Zhou, threatening to devour everything.