The duel was growing faster and more furious. Many others who still weren't able to react could only choose to dodge aside. They all now knew that Xuanyuan Yufeng found Tianming a huge pain in the neck. Based on the cold expression he shot at Tianming, he was definitely planning to kill him.
All of a sudden, a spear appeared in Xuanyuan Yufeng's hands and he made his charge toward Tianming. With a loud clang, the Grand-Orient Sword clashed with the spear, Dragonking. From the outset, it looked like Tianming was having a rough time, being forced back tens of meters while the ground he stood on crumbled.
"A tribulation artifact with two tribulation patterns?" Tianming noted as he gave the white spear a glance. The spear's body was covered in dense white dragon scales, its tip peerlessly sharp. There was a slight curve to it, making it look a little like a dragon's fang and allowing it to be used for thrusting and slashing attacks alike. It seemed really fearsome, given its terrifying piercing potential, as was apparent from the first clash that caused quite a few bloody spots to manifest on Tianming's arm.
"I finally see you, little flea," Xuanyuan Yufeng said, squinting hard at him. As he spoke, black dragon scales surfaced from the spot between his eyes and spread out over his body within three short breaths of time. It also adorned him with some draconic bone spikes, not to mention the dragon tail that sprouted from his back. It was as if everything on his body was turning into a dragon—including his head, which now had many draconic features. He was now a dragon-man hybrid. Xuanyuan Ganggang had also had a similar change when Tianming fought him, but it wasn't as drastic as he had been killed by Tianming with one strike.
Is this the power of the bloodline of the Trioptic True Dragon Branch? When Tianming was investigating Xuanyuan Yufeng, he learned that the Trioptic True Dragon Branch of the Archaic House of Xuanyuan had a terrifying bloodline ability called Dragonforming. As long as they reached the fourth level of the Empyrean Saint stage and awakened their empyrean gold body, they would be able to start dragonforming with their third eye and cultivating special battle arts suited to their physique. That allowed them to rank among the top of the whole Flameyellow Continent in terms of combat power.
Xuanyuan Yufeng's third eye was black, so the special body-refining technique he cultivated was probably the Onyx Draconian Art. In his current powered up form, he was known as an Onyx Draconian.
Now, Xuanyuan Yufeng looked far more terrifying and domineering. More frighteningly, the three gigantic black dragons flying across the battlefield each had a hundred and eighty stars in their eyes, marking them as peak-tier tribulation beasts. Xuanyuan Yufeng was also a triple beastmaster. There was no doubt that he was far more powerful than Fang Bihan and Fang Hongxuan combined with all three purple-eyed truefiend dragons of his.
"Our faction lord is invincible!"
Many Dragonmight disciples were cheering at the sight of Xuanyuan Yufeng. Nobody had ever dared to fight an enraged Xuanyuan Yufeng. Many of them stopped fighting in anticipation of the epic battle that was to come.
Xuanyuan Yufeng was no doubt among the strongest fighters in the faction battles, but the fact that Tianming was able to take the faction lord of Azureriver Faction hostage amidst tens of thousands of troops was a sign of his impressive ability. Nowadays, Tianming's status as a triple beastmaster was far from secret. Lan Huang, a two-headed dragon itself, was far too weird compared to a true dragon like Xuanyuan Yufeng's, but it was just a beast with some eighty stars. The weird part was how it was even larger than the purple-eyed truefiend dragons, despite having so much fewer stars in comparison. As for Meow Meow and Ying Huo, they could barely be spotted.
Tianming's white hair fluttered as he held the split Grand-Orient Sword, one in each hand. One was a heavy, intense greatsword while the other was a fine, vicious longsword.
"Li Tianming, you nameless cur, you've ruined many of my plans. For that, you shall pay with your life," Xuanyuan Yufeng announced.
"Since that's the case, I don’t mind sending you on your way to the afterlife!" Tianming said.
"Come on then!"
"Happy to oblige!"
The fight involved two beastmasters and six lifebound beasts. Since it seemed like Ying Huo and the rest were at a disadvantage, Tianming planned to remain close to their side. His foe was a darkness type, after all.
Lan Huang unleashed the Azure Oceanic Purgatory once more. It was a really versatile ability that could cause the ocean beneath their feet to continue expanding. With its huge body as a firm grounding, it was as if Tianming was fighting with a mountain at his back. However, his foe's lifebound beasts weren't easy to deal with in the least.
Right at the start of the battle, they kept unleashing purple dragon breaths that turned into a toxic miasma that covered the entire battlefield. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't just a fog of poison, but rather drops of purple blood. The blood could turn into many little dragons that could gnaw at their bodies.
It went without question that the most eye-catching part of battles was the abilities. In an instant, flame, lightning, water, earth, and poison flashed across the battlefield. Ying Huo manifested Infernal Armor on Tianming, giving him the ability to temporarily hold his own against the toxic cloud's attacks and burning any of the droplets that reached him. He and his lifebound beasts were going to defend against the dragon's ability, rather than counter it, but that wasn't the end. The dragons were even better at fighting in melee.
"Get down!"
Ying Huo aside, all of the rest dove into the water and engaged in underwater combat. The three dragons immediately blasted the ocean with even more toxic miasma, turning it purple and toxic. Fortunately, Lan Huang was still able to maintain its Azure Oceanic Purgatory. Thanks to its huge body, however, it became an easy target for the three other dragons. When all of them dove into the water, they made Lan Huang their priority. However, Lan Huang had never feared other dragons before. All it did was roll in the water and cause the nine kui mountains on its back to rapidly spin, whipping up lots of chaos. Water was its home turf, after all.
Countless instances of the Sixpath Samsara Lotus and Chaos Disaster had been unleashed. Ying Huo and Meow Meow had taken the opportunity to unleash as much as they could. Meow Meow's forte was its speed. Like a flash of lightning, it zipped about so quickly that it was almost impossible to follow with the n.a.k.e.d eye. Meanwhile, Ying Huo's Infernal Haze was really convenient for evading enemy attacks.
The two of them harassed the enemy nonstop while avoiding any and all retaliation. Tianming also aided their efforts with the Three-Thousand Starfield, completely blocking off Xuanyuan Yufeng's way into the ocean. He also managed to grab one of the three dragons with his long chain from hundreds of meters away. Tianming found that lifebound beasts with empyrean gold bodies had really tough hides. He felt like a normal person trying to wrestle a rabid bull, so all he could do was lacerate the beast as much as he could with the chain's sharp spikes.
"It's far too hard!" He understood all too well how Ying Huo and the rest were feeling right now. Even though they were Primordial Chaos Beasts, they were five levels and a hundred stars or so inferior to their enemies, not to mention the lack of a bloodline advantage. The fact that they hadn't completely been dominated by the three purple-eyed truefiend dragons was already a miracle of sorts.
"Thankfully, they can protect themselves well. Lan Huang can use the ocean, while Ying Huo has Infernal Haze and Meow Meow's so fast that the enemy can't even keep up. They’re more than capable of holding them back."
Tianming wanted to pull the dragon out with his chain, but he knew that Xuanyuan Yufeng wouldn't give him that chance. So instead, he opted for something even more direct.
"Imperealm Sword Formation!" The power from the third door in the Grand-Orient Sword burst forth, sending torrents of sword ki strands out into the battlefield, and even the ocean. He then shot out a stream of Invincible Sword Ki and pulled the dragon into its trajectory, causing it to pierce through. The dragon cried in agony underwater, its struggling even managing to pull Tianming down, causing him to have no choice but to loosen the chain.
This time around, an even more terrifying ability was unleashed from the dragons toward Tianming. It was likely that Xuanyuan Yufeng had asked them all to target him at once with Truefiend's Eye. All of a sudden, six purple eyes widened in Tianming's vision, each of them expanding to a hundred meters in length and completely blocking off his view, sending him endless amounts of chills. It went without question that Xuanyuan Yufeng was trying to bind his soul with that ability for an instant kill. Shame the ability had completely no effect thanks to the Soul Tower, however. It was far from enough to send Tianming into a stupor.
Right then, Xuanyuan Yufeng's eyes grew cold as his purple eye stared at Tianming's saint palace, ready to pierce it with Dragonking. "Now, turn into a useless cripple," he said with a smirk.
Tianming had wanted to motion for a block, only to smirk at the last second and counter with an attack instead. His Invincible Sword Ki just so happened to return to him on time. So, Tianming used the black sword to execute the fourth strike of the Shenxiao Sword Art mixed with strands of Invincible Sword Ki, sending sparks flying all over.
The audience watched as the sparks flew when the spear struck Tianming's saint palace without being able to pierce through the skin at all. The next moment, Tianming's gold sword thrust toward Xuanyuan Yufeng's neck. But he was fast enough to react and knock the sword away with his bare hands, a testament to his impressively strong body. Even so, a bloody mark was left on his hand. Meanwhile, Tianming had taken his attacks with the Soul and Purple Towers.
"How could this be?! It's impossible!" Xuanyuan Yufeng hurriedly drew his spear back, only to see that it had not, in fact, pierced through. It was completely ludicrous.
"Oh, it certainly is," Tianming scoffed as a white tower came descending from the skies. It was none other than the Prime Tower.
As it descended like a mountain, Xuanyuan Yufeng raised his hands to block it, only for them to crack and break. The huge white tower slammed onto his head and caused him to bleed.
His cry reverberated all over the battlefield, much to Tianming's amus.e.m.e.nt. They all thought that he only had one divine artifact. Little did they know that he had Prime Tower too, something even more potent than the Grand-Orient Sword. Thanks to the soul servant, he could use it for offense as well. The slam almost made Xuanyuan Yufeng's dragon-like skull crack. However, he seemed more fearsome than ever with his killing intent surging.
"Aren't you afraid of dying?" Tianming asked.
"You think you, of all people, can kill one of the Archaic House of Xuanyuan? Your two treasures may be amazing, but your lifebound beasts are too weak!" The white of Xuanyuan Yufeng's third eye was covered in bloody veins. He immediately resumed his barrage of attacks after finishing what he had to say. Now, he used a supreme empyrean-ranked battle art, Spear of the Grand Heaven's Path. It was a move so impressive that it fit his status as the leader of a hundred thousand people.
"I don't have a grudge with you to the point I'd be willing to die for it. Why don't you just surrender?" Tianming said plainly.
"Are you joking? I want nothing more than I want your life!"
"Sigh, guess I have no choice."
Tianming willed the soul servant to bring the Prime Tower into the ocean. At the same time, Meow Meow's Soulchasing Hellthunder came blasting out of the water and struck Xuanyuan Yufeng's neck before entering his bloodstream. The blood-colored thunderbolt surged through his body and caused even his spear-wielding hand to shake. Blood continued flowing from his head into his bloodshot third eye.
"I’m a member of the number one clan on the entire continent! We’re the Trioptic True Dragons! There is no such thing as death in my eyes. An insignificant speck like you can just perish!" he said with manic laughter as he thrust his spear nonstop. However, he was already injured, making it a fool's errand.
Tianming dove into the water; the battle there was just as fierce, but thanks to the Prime Tower, Lan Huang was able to hold on much better.
Xuanyuan Yufeng burst out of the sea, sending a blast of ki from his spear past Tianming to strike Lan Huang, causing it to groan in pain.
"Xuanyuan Yufeng!" The majesty of emperors blasted out of Tianming's eyes as the swords in his hands went out of control. "Let me show you that there is no such thing as an eternal clan!"
He charged out of the ocean and sent out a boundless amount of sword ki as he used the Hexapath Samsara Sword. In each of his deathly battles, he had kept pondering over the move, and now he was getting more and more familiar with it.
"If even gods can die, how can you be so proud?!"
The dao of all sentient life is ruled by the ultimate sovereign! The one who inherits the legacy of the sovereign and walks the path of the Primordial God-Emperor understands his subjects through the Grand-Orient Swords, one symbolizing the boundless life of all, and the other symbolizing death that reclaims all. The gold sword surged with life sword ki and lashed out with nine strikes, each embodying the same sword intent, while the black sword struck with fatal sword ki of death from the darkness, striking like a stealthy cobra.
"Who do you think you are, Li Tianming?" Xuanyuan Yufeng spat, his spear lashing out as quick as lightning bolts as he used his Onyx Draconian body and saint ki to block Tianming's indomitable sword intent.
"I may not be much, but I can kill you!" When he struck, the rage of all life gathered in each strike. Though Tianming's understanding of the move was elementary, given his paltry life experience, he could at least observe the tip of the iceberg, which, in itself, was already enough for him to execute the legacy of the Hexapath Sword God.
Both swords struck at the same time, one knocking Dragonking away and the other piercing Xuanyuan Yufeng in the chest. Tianming drew the sword out and quickly backed off. Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Yufeng clutched his chest and his eyes widened, struggling to stand by supporting himself with Dragonking as he stared at Tianming in a stupor.
"If others don't mess with me, I won't mess with them. But when they do, I'll take the initiative to kill them! Xuanyuan Yufeng, you've lost."
"Huff... Huff...." Xuanyuan Yufeng glared at him with the same unrelenting killing intent.
"Li Tianming...."
"Go on."
"From now on, the Archaic House of Xuanyuan will ensure that your body is torn to shreds...."
"If that's all you have to say, you’d better hurry along," Tianming said.
Xuanyuan Yufeng's head slowly slumped toward the ground, but he remained standing with his hands clutching his spear. That was the last bit of dignity the one from the Archaic House of Xuanyuan showed in the history of the Flameyellow Continent.