Chapter 259 - The Eight-Part Blood Dragon Cultivation Method
Since Liu Ming had said these words, none present could stop this fight with Gao Chong.
Most of the people present in the building considered Gao Chong someone with very strong ability. After all, he had made a precedent slaughtering Sea Race practitioners of similar level.
In contrast, some of those present had seen Liu Ming perform, but that was when he was a Spirit Apostle. No one had yet seen his ability after he had advanced to Spirit Master.
Hearing Liu Ming’s answer, Gao Chong’s expression turned fierce. Without another word, he got up and walked outside the stone building.
Liu Ming also departed with an air of indifference.
The others glanced at one another and then followed suit, each of their expressions different.
A moment later, in the air above the large courtyard in front of the stone building, Liu Ming and Gao Chong eyed each other quietly.
Gao Chong inhaled deeply, then said to Liu Ming, “Junior Liu, did you know that I actually don’t hate you that much?”
“Oh, really?” Liu Ming felt surprised but replied calmly.
“If not for you, Ming Zhu would have become my human cauldron. Though I knew this, under the command of my teacher, I could not prevent it, and even became embroiled in it myself. I could not have gotten free on my own. Because of this, for a very long time, I didn’t dare let my training advance too quickly, for fear that Ming Zhu would really have become the sacrifice. So, when Ming Zhu was forced to leave that day, it actually let me put down the burden in my heart. I picked a different human cauldron, and advanced to Spirit Master. But what should never have happened was-- you were engaged to Ming Zhu, and then later reneged on the marriage, and let Ming Zhu suffer this disgrace! I owe Ming Zhu so much. Today, I can only account to her like this. In addition, I must make this clear to you. Don’t think that we’re on the same level just because we have both advanced to Spirit Masters. In terms of real ability, you’re no match for me.” Gao Chong said this slowly.
Hearing this, Liu Ming expressed surprise for a moment, but he said calmly,
“So, Junior Gao, this is what you think about the matter of Mu Mingzhu. It’s impressive that even under such circumstances, you could succeed in advancing using a different human cauldron. But the matter of the Bai family’s marriage annulment is your word against mine. In the end, you and I still have to fight it out. But I do want to know why you are this confident.”
“You’re right. You and I, as practitioners, rely mostly on our own abilities! As to why I’m this confident, the Cultivation Method you practice simply isn’t comparable to mine,” Gao Ming said as his lips were lifted in a fierce sneer. He clenched one hand, and blood-red smoke rose from the surface of his body. With another few words, eight blood-red snakes emerged from the fog. Each was a hundred-odd feet long, and their bodies were covered with scales and there was a single horn on their head. Their eyes were ferocious and large like bells.
Liu Ming was stunned on seeing this. But on closer look, although these snakes seemed real and alive, their blood-red glowing bodies were conjured by a technique.
Liu Ming’s expression darkened. Wordlessly he shook his sleeve, and the cyan shortsword appeared in his hand.
“Eh, these eight snakes are so strange. Would this be the Barbarian Ghost Sect’s famous Eight Part Blood Dragon Cultivation Method?”
Below, a large part of the audience was also shocked at seeing the eight blood snakes. Xue Ci, who had also trained in a Blood Cultivation Method, exclaimed on looking closer:
“The Eight Part Blood Dragon Method! What is this method? Something Gao Chong trained in after he advanced to Spirit Master?” The thought flashed through Liu Ming’s mind when he heard Xue Ci’s words.
At this time, Gao Chong gave a sneer from the blood-red fog.
These eight red snakes twisted their heads. Blood-fire sprayed from their mouths and came rushing like a cyclone toward Liu Ming.
Before the blood-flames reached Liu Ming, a nausea-inducing stench of blood overcame him. Liu Ming breathed in just a little and immediately felt unwell. His heart sank.
Because he had taken the various spirit ingredients, ordinary poison was ineffective against him. It seemed as if these blood-flames were extraordinarily potent.
As Liu Ming thought this, the cyan shortsword trembled in his hands. He dared not hesitate. In that moment, over ten restrictions activated. A clear sound rang from within, and an image of a cyan sword short forth then returned.
Instantly, a bone-chilling sensation of cold rushed forth. An image of a giant sword, a hundred feet or so long, flashed by.
All of the blood-flames stopped rolling and vanished in the light from the cyan sword.
Two of the eight blood snakes were caught up in the cyan light. Like the flames, they fractured into pieces with a muffled sound, and turned into blood fog and exploded apart.
At this time, the cyan sword-light had also exhausted its energy and blurred before vanishing without a trace.
This unexpected scene caused Xue Ci, and the other people present who were watching the fight, to let their mouths drop open and stare in surprise.
“This isn’t possible! How can you be this strong?” After the blood-fog had settled a moment, Gao Chong’s supremely furious voice suddenly came. It was as if he absolutely could not accept the outcome of the blow just now.
Liu Ming, standing on the other side with an expressionless face, only waved the Cyan Moon Sword in his hand one more time. A dense set of sword-images materialized in front of his body, making him look like a porcupine. Any who witnessed it must have shivered. But he himself was also secretly surprised. But thinking about it a little more, he thought he understood a little of how this happened.
First, he had just used a method of sword-summoning recorded in Ye Tianmei’s sword technique manual. Which meant that the blow just now was the genuine sword casting technique, a real technique for sword cultivators. Thus it was so effective.
Secondly, the Moon Sword was a mid-tier totem. Once he could release all the restrictions on the sword, its power would increase several-fold. And his Fa Li was many times purer than that of Spirit Masters of similar level. Thus, he was in the perfect position to use this sword’s powers to their limit.
Lastly, after he had made that sword strike just now, he had somewhat felt that the heart of the Great Symbol Sword in his body had shivered in response. Clearly, this object’s enhancing effect on sword-type weapons was far beyond what he had expected.
Of course, there were other reasons. For example, his terrifying strength that matches a body cultivator at his own level, or his incredibly strong mental energy. All of these could have had an effect on the sword strike just now.
With a doubtful expression, Yun turned to Yang Qian beside him and asked, “Junior Yang! You are sure Brother Liu is from the Nine Infant faction, and not a Sword Cultivator?”
“Of course Junior Liu is not a swordsman. That day, he cooperated with us in the secret realm. You know this.” Though Yang Qian was wearing the mask, he replied thus with a worried expression.
“This is definitely not the real Eight-Part Blood Dragon Method. Otherwise, it would not have been broken so easily!” On the other side, Xue Ci’s expression was similarly shocked, but he let out a breath and said this to himself.
At one side, Xue Ning stared into the sky expressionlessly but his ten fingers became locked together tightly.
But the expressions of Zhang Xiuniang and the girl dressed in yellow beside her showed different expressions.
Zhang Xiuniang looked at Liu Ming in the air and narrowed her eyes. A faint air of hostility emerged from her body as if Liu Ming’s sword thrust had called forth her fighting spirit that demanded a test of ability.
The girl in yellow, who was also of the Heavenly Moon Sect, was stunned as she looked into the air.
At this time, from within the blood-fog, Gao Ming once again gave a thunderous shout!
With two ‘pu’ sounds, two more blood-snakes rushed forth. They vibrated violently with the other six snakes, then merged together, and turned into a serpent dragon with two horns on its head and four claws on its feet.
The blood-dragon, after it had materialized, howled into the sky!
At the same time, all of the blood fog rushed toward the blood dragon, causing its body to expand alarmingly. In a split second, it was many times the size of the earlier serpents. Already it was more than two hundred feet long, and a terrifying air emanated from its body.
When the blood-fog had been completely swallowed by the blood dragon, Gao Chong’s silhouette once again appeared clearly.
But when the people below saw what Gao Chong looked like, their expressions all changed.
Gao Chong’s face had turned blood red. A mass of blood-colored markings had appeared on the surface of his body had also appeared. His veins visibly jumped beneath his skin, and his appearance was terrifying.
Liu Ming, seeing this, frowned.
“Go.”
Gao Chong shouted as he ignored the eyes of the people below and fervently made hand signs with his two hands.
The blood-colored dragon opened its mouth, and a ruler of blood-colored light gushed out. At the same time, beneath its feet, a wild wind rose. In a blur, its large body became a gust of blood-tinged wind and rushed forward.
Liu Ming saw this. With a cold glint in his eye, he waved the shortsword in his hand forward. The collection of sword-images retracted toward their center and then released. A cyan disk appeared out of nowhere; as it rotated it expanded, becoming the size of the door.
The blood-colored ruler rushed toward the disk, and the cyan light was smashed to bits.
After another rocking movement, the cyan disk became a cyan sword-image about half as big as before and rushed toward the blood-dragon.
A loud ‘hong’ shook the sky.
The gigantic sword-image and the blood-dragon collided. The cyan light and the red light wove together, and the situation turned into a stalemate.
Gao Chong’s expression changed. The signs his hands made suddenly changed. He opened his mouth and spat out a wad of essence blood.
On encountering the wind, the spirit-blood turned into a sea of blood-fog. It made one revolution, then became several blood-colored symbols that sank into his body and disappeared.
In the next moment, the blood--dragon in the distance produced blood fire from its body, and blood-colored symbols faintly appeared on the scales on its body.
Blood-flames wrapped the cyan blade-light and obscured its light.
Liu Ming saw this. His eyebrow twitched. He also clenched one hand and pointed to an empty space in the distance.
In that moment, the Fa Li concentrated in his body poured out like a flood.
In the distance, the large sword-image flashed several times. With a loud sound, it became a cyan ball of light and split open, and countless cyan thorns shot from it.