Chapter 35: Breaking the Ritual Array
“Roar!”
The evil dragon revealed a ferocious expression as it roared. When it charged at the one hundred heavenly sabers, its ferocious aura turned into a black storm.
Outside the valley, the animal spirits grew increasingly frantic and horrified. The evil air of the evil dragon made all the black-clad men restless, prompting them to look towards Ninth Young Master.
“Huh?” Ninth Young Master glared.
“Humph! My ritual array is the one that granted you this draconic might. How dare you use the thing I bestowed on you against me?” Ninth Young Master said indifferently.
Ninth Young Master stretched out his hand, and the one hundred heavenly sabers finished forming and charged at the evil dragon.
“Roar!”
The draconic might appeared boundless. Although it knocked the cultivators in the valley to the ground, they did not feel angry. On the contrary, they tightly clenched their fists and looked at the evil dragon with anticipation, hoping that the evil dragon could block the one hundred heavenly sabers.
After Gu Hai made his move at the tengen position, the Go board’s situation immediately underwent a tremendous change. The moment he set the black Go stone down, many white Go stones instantly flew out.
Boom!
The one hundred heavenly sabers and the evil dragon clashed.
Everyone—both inside and outside the valley—goggled. However, all they saw was the boundless white light released by the clash. It was so piercing that it blinded everyone.
A loud sound rang out, and surging shock waves spread out in all directions. A huge storm blew within the valley, sending everyone tumbling. However, they continued to stare at the center of the explosion.
“Roar!”
A dragon roar resounded at the center of the white light.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A large number of heavenly sabers shattered and the shards scattered everywhere.
However, the evil dragon opened its jaws and consumed thirty intact heavenly sabers, a brutal devastation. After it defeated the heavenly sabers, it consumed them.
“Roar!”
The evil dragon did not stop. It charged at the dark clouds as it roared.
“What? The evil dragon can still charge forward?!” The many cultivators immediately revealed joyful expressions.
Gao Xianzhi and Meng Tai stared at the board. When Gu Hai played his move at tengen, the game’s situation had completely changed. The white player lost its overwhelming advantage. The black player, Gu Hai, not only held the advantage now but also gained a suppressive victory.
“That’s impossible! How can the evil dragon consume the death-attributed heavenly sabers?! Heavenly Saber Fatal Blow Ritual Array, crush that evil dragon!” Ninth Young Master’s furious roar came from the dark clouds.
Gu Hai stood up and stepped forward. Then, he looked at the sky and revealed a cold smile. “It’s too late. You can no longer control the Heavenly Saber Death Match. Break!”
Boom!
The evil dragon charged into the dark clouds, making them churn more intensely. Wherever it went, the dark clouds scattered.
Ninth Young Master did his best to operate the ritual array and quickly kill the evil dragon. However, the evil dragon had already gained strong momentum. It even consumed the heavenly sabers that wanted to kill it.
Boom!
As the evil dragon swung its tail, it knocked away large numbers of heavenly sabers. The roiling dark clouds immediately exploded and dispersed. Now, everyone could peer through the dark clouds and see a trace of the sunlight outside.
Roar!
Everywhere the evil dragon clawed, it immediately shattered large numbers of heavenly sabers. The saber-shaped dragon scales stood upright and shot out, breaking the surrounding heavenly sabers. The evil dragon opened its jaws and consumed the heavenly sabers at a wild pace.
The heavenly sabers were huge, three hundred meters long. However, the evil dragon had already grown to one thousand three hundred meters long. With a slight movement, its vast body could cause a storm.
The brutal winds blew the cultivators off their feet. The horde of animal spirits outside the valley fled in fear of the draconic might. Some of the saber qi even charged out of the valley and reduced the surroundings to a sorry state.
“Kill the player! Focus every attack on the player!” Ninth Young Master controlled the ritual array with a ferocious expression.
Since the heavenly sabers could not destroy the evil dragon, Ninth Young Master would target the source. However, the ritual array no longer responded to his control. Everything immediately turned chaotic.
There were many heavenly sabers. However, as the ritual array broke down, they exploded and shattered.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out endlessly in the dark clouds. Every time the evil dragon moved, it destroyed countless heavenly sabers and dark clouds. It even extended its tail out of the dark clouds, lashing at some animal spirits.
Boom!
A mountain peak exploded.
“Roar!”
Draconic might filled the air. The earlier vast Heavenly Saber Death Match and the surging dark clouds instantly separated and scattered.
As the dark clouds over the valley thinned, beams of sunlight peered through the dark clouds and shone down.
The evil dragon continued moving within the dark clouds, and surging wind storms swept through the valley.
Despite tumbling continuously, the cultivators all rejoiced wildly.
“Long live Division Master Gu!”
“Long live Division Master Gu!”
Countless cultivators cheered. Some cultivators even cried for joy.
Rumble…!
Suddenly, numerous cracks appeared in the platform Gu Hai stood on. Since the evil dragon in the sky had already broken the ritual array, the Heavenly Saber Death Match ritual array would scatter.
Boom!
When all the dark clouds filling the sky had dispersed, they revealed a transparent, crystalline Go board hovering in the sky.
“Suppress!” Ninth Young Master controlled that transparent, crystal Go board to clash with the evil dragon.
The evil dragon showed a ferocious expression as its saber-shaped scales arched up. Then, it charged over, apparently determined to destroy everything.
Gu Hai understood that the crystal Go board was the source of the Heavenly Saber Death Match; it held the ritual array.
“Roar!”
“Suppress!”
Boom!
A loud sound rang out, and explosions shook the surroundings, sending out shock waves in all directions.
Rumble…!
Several mountain peaks crumbled before these shock waves. The rubble buried the many animal spirits that failed to flee in time.
The force produced by the clash between the evil dragon and the crystal Go board lasted for three breaths of time.
Tinkle! Tinkle!
The sound of crystal breaking rang out.
When the black-clad men and Ninth Young Master heard this sound, their faces filled with boundless disbelief. However, this sound sounded like the most pleasing celestial music to the cultivators in the valley.
“It broke? It broke?!”
“Division Master Gu won?”
“This is great! We are saved! We are saved!”
“Long live Division Master Gu!”
“Long live Division Master Gu!”
Countless people cheered.
The sky slowly cleared up, allowing everyone to see that the crystal Go board had burst into countless shards and scattered. However, as the crystal shards fell, they slowly disappeared into the air as if they vaporized.
However, the victorious evil dragon did not seem to be in a good state, either. It had charged into the final clash with the determination to go down together. Most of its body had exploded, leaving an average-sized dragon head. Then, the dragon head suddenly turned into a clump of purple energy descending towards Gu Hai with traces of the heavenly sabers’ aura in it.
Boom!
Since the purple energy was Gu Hai’s Veritable Energy, it instantly charged into his body.
Buzz!
Even more Veritable Energy than what Gu Hai released before poured into his dantian. Then, it joined the whirlpool in there and quickly got compressed into Veritable Essence.
Boom!
Nine peanut-sized Veritable Essence pearls merged, forming a larger Veritable Essence pearl.
“Third Layer Innate Realm?” Gu Hai goggled.
The Spiritual Progenitor back at the spirit spring had failed to bring him to the third layer. However, the gains from unleashing his Veritable Energy to consume the Heavenly Saber Death Match’s energy allowed him to break through.
Furthermore, his Veritable Energy continued to grow.
After a while, Gu Hai sensed that he reached the peak of the third layer. However, he did not have sufficient momentum and could not progress further. His cultivation stopped rising.
However, this was already sufficient for Gu Hai.
The Innate Realm’s third layer? Only how long had passed?
Excitement flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes. Then, he turned his head to look at the shattered Go board, frowning in the process.
“The Heavenly Saber Death Match? Old Mister Guan Qi is incredible. Unfortunately, you are not the one playing with me. Instead, it was just a predefined automation. That was why I could win. Old Mister Guan Qi? If only you are still alive!” Gu Hai showed an expression of regret as he looked at the Go board.
Gu Hai rarely found an opponent for himself. He would not feel jealous of a person more skilled at Go. Instead, he felt regret that he could not face off Old Mister Guan Qi in a match. Unfortunately, Old Mister Guan Qi had died eight centuries ago.
“Benefactor, you won! You won!” Xiaorou slithered over excitedly.
“Congratulations, Division Master!” Gao Xianzhi and Chen Tianshan also felt excited.
“Many thanks, Division Master Gu! Many thanks, Division Master Gu!” the surrounding cultivators exclaimed.
Meng Tai, whom the Elite Hall disciples surrounded and protected, recuperated as he looked at Gu Hai with a complicated expression containing some envy and coldness.
——
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Animal spirits slowly climbed out of the rubble. These animal spirits were all at the Innate Realm. Although the rubble buried them, their strength allowed them to struggle free quickly.
While many mountain peaks had crumbled, there were still many intact mountain peaks.
A large group of black-clad men surrounded Ninth Young Master at the summit of a mountain.
“The Heavenly Saber Death Match? He solved the Heavenly Saber Death Match?”
“Ninth Young Master, what should we do now?”
The group of black-clad men looked at Ninth Young Master.
Ninth Young Master turned an ice-cold gaze towards Gu Hai, his eyes gleaming with an intense murderous intent.
Toot! Toot! Toot! Toot! Toot! Toot! Toot!
The black-clad men quickly started blowing their flutes. Then, the large number of animal spirits that climbed out of the rubble immediately encircled the people in the valley.
Without the evil air of the evil dragon, the animal spirits no longer cowered. Now, they all bared their claws and fangs as they stared in Gu Hai’s direction. They looked like they were just waiting for the command to charge in.
The cultivators in the valley immediately rallied around Gu Hai. After they cheered, they looked worriedly at the animal spirits surrounding them. Simultaneously, they drew their weapons and coldly watched the animal spirits.
After Gu Hai solved the Heavenly Saber Death Match, he seemed to have become everyone’s spiritual pillar. They clustered around Gu Hai, waiting for him to command them.
Standing in the middle of the cultivators, Gu Hai looked up coldly at Ninth Young Master, who stood on the mountain peak.
“Greetings, I’m Elite Hall’s Gu Hai. May I know how to address you?” Gu Hai asked after taking a deep breath.
“You are not worthy of knowing who I am. You destroyed the Heavenly Saber Death Match left by the pavilion master. You destroyed the pavilion master’s possession,” Ninth Young Master said coldly as he stared at Gu Hai.
“I am not worthy of knowing who you are? Ha! That’s fine. I’m not really interested in you. The Heavenly Saber Death Match did not break because of me. Instead, it was because you got careless!” Gu Hai retorted coldly.
“I got careless? Hahahaha! Do you think that you can run? Do you think I will let you off?!” Ninth Young Master countered coldly.
“You are going back on your word!”
“You are not trustworthy!”
The cultivators yelled angrily.
Gu Hai smiled coldly and said, “You want to keep us here? As I said before, you got too careless!”