Mu Yu and Qiao Xue VS a Archfiend
Boom! The ape used the spiritual qi as blades. It drew in air and explosively released it. With each clang against the blue ribbon, the ribbon would alter its form to absorb the impact. Hearing Mu Yu curse, it turned its attention to Mu Yu.
Mu Yu jumped to evade the punch that ended up crushing the statue behind him. He landed on an eagle statue’s wing and hopped away to maintain a safe distance.
The ape roared and directed a wave of energy at Qiao Xue with another heavy cross. Qiao Xue crossed her arms in front of her torso. She wanted to change her decision at the last moment, but it was too late, leading to it dislodging her left shoulder joint. Mu Yu sped over to end the ape’s combo and dragged her out just in time.
“You nuts? Why would you try to block its punches?”
“We need to extract the core from the phantom.”
Qiao Xue created a sling for her arm using her ribbon. They soon heard the ape’s roaring closing in again. Mu Yu had no time to steer away and absorbed as much of the impact as he could with his sword.
“We’re not match for it, and we can’t go within its striking range. Let’s escape first.” Mu Yu looked to the exit and cursed, “Why in the world is the passageway gone now?!”
Mu Yu gambled, charging advancing and slashing the rocky wall. Hearing the whistling wind behind his head, Mu Yu shifted out of the punch trajectory. Despite the punch putting a hole in the wall, the passageway still wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
“We just need to stall until the energy in the core depletes.”
“Easier said than done! Stay clear while I find a way to dismantle him!”
Mu Yu released his hold on Qiao Xue and charged down the ape. He readied the sword spirit in his right shoulder and manifested five Shadow Splitter Swords. He linked up all five swords in a straight line and drove them down from above using the equivalent force a Body Severing Realm cultivator could. The technique was Dustfallen Swordplay’s third technique, Fallen Sword Recoil. The principle for execution was to not restrict the downward thrust to a fixed form but to adapt.
The large sword form and sword qi shape turned to nothingness upon colliding with the ape. The ape couldn’t make sense of the situation since Mu Yu was also gone, and the surroundings fell silent. Four Mu Yu’s emerged, each brandishing their sword in reverse with their back to the ape, sword qi swirling around Mu Yu. The four Mu Yu plunged their swords into the ape from four sides in synchrony.
Mu Yu interrupted the core’s energy once he injected sword qi into the ape. It valiantly roared, ejecting spiritual energy that slammed Mu Yu into a wall.
“Bloody hell, there goes my arm again.”
Fallen Sword Recoil was the one technique Mu Yu wanted to use last for he could only manifest four clones. If he could manifest a fifth clone, he could cover the technique’s weakness, which was his exposed back if he didn’t finish the opponent.
Xiaoshuai scuttled up to Mu Yu’s shoulder to heal it. The white ape fiend king felt the blow. Perhaps it wasn’t fatal as Mu Yu couldn’t control the power in his arm proficiently. The ape advanced on Mu Yu again. Mu Yu was unable to recover in time to evade the incoming punch that seemed to be as strong as before.
“Hey! The big honey pea is mine! Don’t give me that attitude, you ape!” thundered Xiaoshuai.
Xiaoshuai sprung off Mu Yu. The white ape came to a sudden halt. Feeling odd, he looked down to find he had a crater in his chest.
Xiaoshuai tore through the core’s shield and dragged it out in one deft sequence. Since the core was extracted, the ape disappeared. Xiaoshuai sheathed his claws and returned to his playful self. He held up the core and said to it, “Big honey pea. Big honey pea.”
“Xiaoshuai, if you help out more often, it would save me a lot of misery,” said Mu Yu, still trying to catch his breath.
The reason Xiaoshuai had such an easy time tearing through the protective layer was due to Mu Yu’s disruption to the energy in the core weakening it.
“Can I eat this?” Xiaoshuai innocently asked.
“I really can’t. Can I make it up to you with some drumsticks and small honey peas?”
Xiaoshuai passed the core to Mu Yu whilst pouting. “Ten drumsticks and ten small honey peas.”
Mu Yu scrubbed Mu Yu’s head, glad XIaoshuai was sensible.
The grey mist had dispersed, and the statues had returned to their designated spots. Some of them were still bouncing, while others collapsed, nonetheless. The statues below were pretty much all toast. The underground palace looked rundown at that point.
Qiao Xue sat down on the ground and focused on recovering from her fatigue and broken arm. Mu Yu consumed a spirit pill since his entire body was screaming at him. Despite him noticing Qiao Xue’s condition, he didn’t offer her a pill. The two opened their eyes about two hours later.
Upon making eye contact, Qiao Xue forced a smile. “… Can you give me the core? I need to report back. You understand how integral it is to us.”
“…” Mu Yu shook his head. “I won’t give it to you.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to use it first.”
“You want to refine it? We’re not capable of that. I’m not planning to stash it away for myself. It’s up to the eight sects to come to a consensus. If the fiends manage to get their hands on it, it will spell trouble.”
“As you said, we can’t let the fiends get their hands on it.”
“So… you’re suggesting I’m a fiend?”
Mu Yu just stared intently.
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