Chapter 453: Black Mist
Wang Ju Long’s energy clone was not able to withstand the onslaught of attacks that rained down upon her, and soon her clone blurred as it turned into a shadow, before vanishing completely from the battlefield.
While their attacks rained down upon Wang Ju Long’s clone, the other clones relentlessly attacked; however, whereas Hui Yue’s group was united against one person, the many attacks from the clones were aimed at everyone. All these attacks were blocked by Hui Yue and Cai Jie.
Blocking all the clones combined attacks proved to be much harder than just attacking. Both Cai Jie and Hui Yue found that although their offensive strength was outstanding, their defense was lacking.
Fortunately, they had gotten stronger at both attacking others and protecting themselves since they started fighting and they managed to hang on by a hair’s breadth.
"Next target!" Hui Yue roared as the first clone vanished. He changed his focus to Lao’s clone as he poured more and more energy into his attacks and defense. While he would usually dodge many of the attacks that came at him, dodging was no longer an option now as there were people behind him. The only attacks that he could avoid were direct slashes from his own clone which could be somewhat dodged without bringing danger to his friends and family.
Hui Yue, for the first time since he used the Phoenix Descent, used his Ancestral Worldpower to create a protective barrier around his body. This helped protect him and his friends while he used his Wu Wei to attack the clones they were targeting.
'Now would be a good time for you to use your self-made powers.' Lan Feng commented from within, excited about this first real team fight they were in as he wished for them to succeed.
Thinking about what Lan Feng said Hui Yue gritted his teeth and nodded his head. He did indeed have one type of energy which was stronger than Wu Wei, and that was the mixed energy he had created back in the Grave of the Unknown. This merged black energy seemed to have grown even stronger since Hui Yue became a Saint, and this was the perfect opportunity to use it.
Hui Yue needed a lot of time to create this black energy, but he had not been in a serious fight since the Grave of the Unknown. Since he had not needed to use it recently, he had slowly created and accumulated more of this destructive energy. Although it hurt his heart spending his hard earned energy, he also understood that this was one of his trump cards and if their trial continued the way it was going then they were likely to lose this fight.
'I will use it if we need it.' Hui Yue said decisively to Lan Feng; he preferred to avoid using up his energy if he could. Most likely his clone could use the black energy as well. If he did have it, then it was likely he would use it at the same time giving neither the advantage. Although he could use this black energy, he was not certain that he could defend against it.
After thinking for a bit, Lan Feng felt that his suggestion was not so great after all as he realized that Yue’s clone could probably use the energy as well. Instead of thinking over the problem too hard, both of them pulled themselves together and focused just as Lao's energy clone slowly vanished from the battlefield.
"Jo next!" Hui Yue ordered, and this time he stopped thinking about those thoughts, and instead fully focused on the fight. His Wu Wei was steadily being used as more and more attacks landed on Jo’s clone. Although, she was quite skillful and managed to throw a few attacks of her own before she was overwhelmed. So far the hardest to defeat was Wang Ju Long, but she was quite skilled in defense and had a higher cultivation than the others.
"Attack Deng Wu!" Hui Yue called out. During the entire battle, Deng Wu and his clone’s soul shadows had been fighting it out head to head while occasionally attacking other groups with their Wu Wei. The clone's direct attacks had all been blocked by Hui Yue and Cai Jie while the real Deng Wu's attacks assisted in defeating one clone after another.
Seeing that Deng Wu was taking most of the attacks from his opponent, Hui Yue and Cai Jie thought they could take a slight breather as they were defending against many attacks and their defenses were only so strong. However, they soon understood just how wrong they had been.
The more of their allies that fell, the more desperate the remaining clones became as the attacks that they had to defend against became increasingly powerful.
"I am going to try something." Hui Yue said through gritted teeth as he watched his clone. Suddenly a black mist billowed out from his body, forming a protective layer around both his and Cai Jie's body. This made it much easier for both of them to withstand the attacks that rained down upon them.
While Hui Yue released the black energy, he constantly observed his other self, waiting for it to release a black cloud of its own to attack him and Cai Jie but nothing happened.
While Hui Yue was surprised, the bull was filled with shock. By now this bull was numb to all the surprises that they had created, but even so, his mind felt muddled, it felt like it had just stopped working as he looked at the black energy.
What is this? He thought to himself. I know about the energies of magical beasts, and I know the energies the humans use, but this energy is neither, yet is very similar at the same time. How is this even possible?
While the bull was shocked, Hui Yue was elated. It seemed that this black energy was not something his clone was able to use, and thus he could use it to protect them. This would allow for the two at the front to breathe a little.
Seeing that Hui Yue had released a black mist everyone was at first surprised. This was because they had never seen Hui Yue use this energy before, but they quickly adjusted. Everyone kept attacking Deng Wu's clone which slowly lost ground and became overwhelmed as it too turned into a shadow which vanished just like all the others.
By now only Sha Yun, Cai Jie, and Hui Yue's clones remained, but they were full of ferocity. They were displaying their most outstanding abilities.
The entire ground under Hui Yue and his friends had long since turned to magma; the heat was intense, but it was also showed their desperation. Although Sha Yun's energy clone was capable of using magma, it was useless against their group that had traversed the wastelands and gained Ancestral Worldpower which protected their bodies against the heat. They had even learned how to give their Ancestral Worldpower Fire nature due to the fact that they learned the incomplete Phoenix Descent. For these reasons fire was now completely useless against them. As long as this fire was not too much stronger than their current levels.
Standing on the magma, Hui Yue, who was still covered in the black energy, let one Wu Wei attack after another rain down upon the Sha Yun’s clone, and everyone followed his lead. Cai Jie, who had even more Wu Wei attacks than Hui Yue, was also attacking as if his life depended on it.
Now that the black energy was surrounding them none of the Wu Wei attacks could touch them, but suddenly Hui Yue called out in surprise. It was not Sha Yun who had caused him to call out, but his own clone as he saw a fiery red energy envelop this clone. His entire body turned red and was indistinct. It was clear that he was getting ready to use the Phoenix Descent.
"Everyone back up!" Hui Yue called out, and although the others were worried about Hui Yue, they could do nothing but all back away. This ensured that he did not only have to protect himself but also his friends behind him.
The black cover over Cai Jie vanished, and instead it intensified in thickness around Hui Yue. Without any reservations, he used all his energy to shield the front of him. As he did, he noticed that the clones of Sha Yun and Cai Jie had vanished. This would be the final clash and also the last battle to decide the victor.
It was true that if they lost now, then they could try again, but within the minds of all these experts were no thoughts of losing. Looking at Hui Yue, who was covered completely by the black energy which was sucking in all the surrounding energy, the bull was greatly alarmed. Hui Yue had turned into a whirlwind that was constantly sucking in energy. Even the Ancestral Worldpower from his clone's attack was attracted towards him and gulped up. This energy entered his body and made his strength soar to the sky.
The Phoenix Descent that his energy clone planned to use soon lost all its power. Instead, it was absorbed by Hui Yue who felt his body becoming stronger and stronger very quickly. As the final drop of Ancestral Worldpower had vanished from his clone, it turned into a shadow that slowly vanished.
Hui Yue had won the battle for their team. However, while he was still standing the black energy still swiftly turning around him. As it finally vanished, they found that blood was slowly streaming from the corner of his mouth while the aura around his body was incredibly chaotic and impossible to understand.
Rushing towards Hui Yue, all his friends were worried for him. The moment they reached his side, Hui Yue looked at them with a tired smile. "I’ll rest now." He said before he collapsed into Sha Yun’s arms who gently laid him down on the ground.
"You will all stay here until he is fit and then we will head to the next trial." The bull said with a stern voice. He had never before seen this black energy, and he felt rather worried having seen this level of skill executed from such a lowly Saint ranked expert.
He wished to ask this person about this before they continued to the next trial. Not because he felt that he had cheated, but because Hui Yue had used something not even the divine masters could copy. It was clear that it was outside of their understanding. How could Hui Yue comprehend something that not even the divine masters understood? Thinking about this, the bull was quite unsettled.
Hui Yue was sleeping soundly, and while he was asleep, the chaotic aura around his body slowly relaxed and became more stable once more. As he opened his eyes, Hui Yue felt that he had absorbed all the clone’s energy, doubling the amount of Ancestral Worldpower which was flowing within his body. He could feel minor changes within his body as well. His body was much lighter than before, yet his strength had increased. His physical defense had improved and his ability to control this Ancestral Worldpower had also increased.
Feeling this sudden leap in his strength, Hui Yue was quite shocked. He had never known that this black energy he had created had such a potent ability to devour energy in the world around him. Looking inward, he found that the black energy he had stored for so long had more than halved and with a heavy heart he slowly started to cultivate and create more.
The bull was not in a rush to talk with Hui Yue. It understood that he had gained quite some benefits from this encounter and needed to adjust his body before he was ready to converse. Observing Hui Yue, the bull was filled with both amazement and trepidation.