Chapter 127: Battle

"Damn it!" Jiang Feng forced his head to turn, a jolt of secret alarm striking his heart. Just in time, he caught sight of Duan Xingyun and discovered that the latter's expression was even more agonizing. His face was flushed crimson, and the muscles on his face had been compressed and distorted into a bizarre, rigid, and comical grimace. He knew instantly that this was the work of Liu Xiayuan, the wielder of the Nine-Turn Rock Earth Sword, who had finally made his move.

Suddenly, the air was entirely saturated with brownish-yellow dust and mist. Moreover, this earthen mist began to revolve slowly, and Jiang Feng instantly felt his pressure multiply manifold!

Crack, crack, crack!

A succession of faint sounds erupted from his bones, and Jiang Feng's body began to tremble involuntarily. An astonishing, formless pressure surged in from all directions, leaving him not the slightest possibility of evasion.

Just imagine, when one couldn't even tell from which direction the opponent's technique was attacking, how was one supposed to dodge?

At this moment, Jiang Feng felt as though he had been thrown straight into a meat grinder.

"You must be careful. The opponent's Earth-attribute nether force is extremely pure; it seems he has already comprehended nether force at the True Nether Realm level." Jue's expression was also grave, without a shred of slackness.

Damn it!

Jiang Feng almost vomited blood. Since when could nether force of the True Nether Realm level be found everywhere? And why did he have to run into it of all times?

The slowly swirling earthen mist carried an irresistible force, squeezing Jiang Feng's internal organs to the point where they were about to clump together into a mess. Jiang Feng watched with his own eyes as his body, at an agonizingly slow pace, flipped and turned along with the churning earthen mist.

He was completely immobilized, his face distorted, as if he might burst and rupture at any second.

The members of the worshipping Moon Sword Sect remained entirely unaffected within the earthen mist. As soon as the dust neared them, it encountered an invisible wall, unable to advance even an inch.

"Senior Brother's Nine-Turn Rock Earth Sword is truly formidable! If you ask me, aside from the Patriarch's Worshipping Moon Sword, our sect's next best treasure is definitely Senior Brother's Nine-Turn Rock Earth Sword!"

"That goes without saying! Once Senior Brother cultivates the *Earth Brightness Art* to the fifth tier, even Huang Zhuoqing might not be a match for him."

The two of them beamed with joy as they watched Jiang Feng's miserable and wretched state.

Especially Yin Sha; seeing Jiang Feng in such a tragic plight, he couldn't help feeling a sense of vindication. In private, he had frequently compared himself to the Senior Brother, but comparing them today, he realized how far behind he truly still was!

Suddenly, Yin Sha noticed Duan Xingyun and was greatly startled. "That fellow is strange!"

"Hmm?" Liu Xiayuan, too, was somewhat taken aback.

As it turned out, Duan Xingyun was enveloped in a faint layer of starlight. He was as though nailed into mid-air; no matter how the surrounding earthen mist flowed, he remained completely motionless.

At this very final moment, he had actually comprehended the ultimate nether art of the Star Sand Azure Dragon Ring—the Star Sand Funeral!

Both Liu Xiayuan and Yin Sha were struck dumb on the spot, staring slack-jawed. Do not underestimate these fine particles of earthen mist; they were refined from nine thousand catties of rock and soil. Any living creature trapped within this mist should have been utterly incapable of resisting it. The Nine-Turn Rock Earth Sword was a White Nether Holy Artifact—a magical treasure that could only be wielded by practitioners at the True Nether Realm stage. It should never have appeared in the hands of a nether force practitioner at the ninth stage of the Void Nether Realm.

This fellow was actually capable of resisting the Nine-Turn Rock Earth Sword!

Countless waves of astonishment flashed through Liu Xiayuan's mind as he looked at Duan Xingyun. He rarely used the Nine-Turn Rock Earth Sword in ordinary times. Firstly, he feared being spotted by others who might harbor greed—after all, within this Samsara Sea, there were plenty of people obsessed with wealth and profit. Secondly, this artifact possessed immense might, far exceeding his own realm of cultivation. Although he had already grasped the nether force of the True Nether Realm, driving it with his ninth-stage Void Nether Realm cultivation was still far too arduous.

Yet, on the few occasions he had used it previously, every single victory had been effortless, and he had never once encountered anyone who could endure it head-on.

Liu Xiayuan truly had not expected that the fellow before him would rely on those faint rays of light to completely repel his rock and soil. Although Duan Xingyun looked somewhat disheveled, he was holding his ground tenaciously, and not a single particle of earth was able to get near his body.

"Eh? This kid's nether art seems to have improved in quality quite a bit. What kind of nether art is this? I've never seen him use it before." Jue wore an expression of astonishment as he watched Duan Xingyun, who was completely shrouded in starlight. He had witnessed many people utilizing astral power, but he had never seen a nether art quite like Duan Xingyun's. The sensation was as if the boy himself were a stellar source capable of emanating astral power!

Unlike Jue, Jiang Feng had not the slightest interest in Duan Xingyun's nether art. On the contrary, his heart was entirely filled with anxiety for Duan Xingyun, for he could already sense that the main pressure of the opponent's brownish-yellow earthen mist had concentrated itself entirely upon Duan Xingyun.

He certainly did not want Duan Xingyun to die; after all, upon this boundless sea, this was his only friend.

A trace of indescribable unease flashed through Liu Xiayuan's heart, but he refused to believe that a single individual could withstand the power of the rock and earth. In just a short moment, one-fifth of the nether force within his body had been consumed. He knew he had to unleash his own nether art; relying solely on the power of the Nine-Turn Rock Earth Sword was definitely insufficient to defeat his opponent!

He closed his eyes, and the dense golden runes engraved upon the Nine-Turn Rock Earth Sword flashed abruptly.

The earthen mist instantly grew denser. Where it had previously been a hazy blur, it now became thick, heavy, exceptionally concentrated, and darker in color.

Yin Sha was struck with utter panic. He had never imagined that the unremarkable fellow before him would actually force his Senior Brother to unleash the majestic might of his Rock Earth Dominion.

The earthen mist was overwhelmingly heavy, blindingly opaque. Aside from relying on that flickering starlight to judge Duan Xingyun's position, Jiang Feng could no longer sense even Duan Xingyun's aura. The Earth-attribute force was as solid as reality, and Jiang Feng felt the pressure surrounding his body multiply instantly!

Before he could even thicken his protective nether force around his body, he let out an involuntary roar and spewed several mouthfuls of fresh blood. The moment the blood entered the earthen mist, it was shredded into crimson froth, mixing into the bloody fog.

Amidst the vast expanse of brownish earthen mist, a chilling trace of red was added.

The terrifying and astonishing force flowed slowly. In an instant, his body felt as though it were being squeezed between two mountain ranges. The horrific pressure made evasion impossible, filling him with a sense of utter despair.

Under this astonishing load, every blood vessel, every bone, and every muscle in his entire body felt as though it were on the verge of shattering!

Death felt as close as if it were pressed right against his face. He had never imagined that there could be an Earth-attribute force in the world even more terrifying than sand waterfalls. This oppressive sensation made him truly feel the chilling approach of death.

Jiang Feng's mind went entirely blank. Intense pain and despair intertwined into countless negative emotions, bombarding his mental defenses. All composure, all thoughts vanished into nothingness. At this moment, all Jiang Feng possessed was the most instinctive, primal desire to survive!

"Ahhhhh!"

Jiang Feng screamed frantically on sheer instinct. Every nether art, every technique vanished cleanly in this single instant!

His nether force surged crazily, constantly regrouping and reassembling around his body. The strength of every single muscle was subconsciously elevated to its absolute peak!

The earthen mist sensed Jiang Feng's intent to resist and seemed to grow slightly enraged. The surrounding dust began to surge toward Jiang Feng like a roaring torrent—devoid of emotion, showing no mercy. The pressure spiked violently once more.

Right now, every single muscle across Jiang Feng's entire body felt as though it were burdened by an immensely heavy weight. It was so heavy that he could barely lift an arm. He had even lost sensation entirely, wishing to make one final instinctive resistance, only to discover futilely that his body refused to move. The light flickering on his body shifted constantly: for a moment it was the Wood Emperor nether force, the next moment ordinary nether force, and at times visions of all creation would flicker into view...

Even the nether soul force within Jiang Feng's sea of consciousness seemed to perceive that he had fallen into peril. It began to circulate spontaneously on its own, sending strands of nether soul force diffusing throughout his entire body.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Completely berserk, Jiang Feng wore a ferocious and terrifying expression, resembling a trapped beast roaring madly within a cage, wild and explosive!

Jiang Feng's body had completely devolved into a battlefield. Not a single finger of his body could move; no nether art could be released. All manner of forces rampaged and wreaked havoc inside his body, combined with the terrifying external force, creating absolute, chaotic disorder.

"Damn it!" Jue's expression changed drastically. Even Gui Yue emerged from the depths of the sea of consciousness, her face completely drained of color upon witnessing this scene.

The entire sea of consciousness trembled incessantly, showing faint signs of collapse.

At this moment, Jiang Feng was suffering catastrophic mental devastation. If this continued, before his physical body was ground into powder, his mind would shatter completely. By then, even if Liu Xiayuan had the heart to spare Jiang Feng, the boy would have been reduced to a complete idiot and cripple!

The decorative ornaments mounted atop the White Emperor Glazed Tripod were unable to withstand the pressure and simultaneously disintegrated into fine powder.

Duan Xingyun, who had finally comprehended the Star Sand Funeral, noticed Jiang Feng's anomaly. The starlight enveloping his body surged upward sharply, and his entire person seemed to drill straight into a genuine nebula. That eerie starlight blazed and flickered wildly, completely unaffected by the earthen mist!

His crimson, beast-like eyes shifted over at an agonizingly slow pace, bit by bit.

They looked like two rubies glowing along the road to the Yellow Springs!

However, his protective starlight was not airtight after all. The starlight around his face was somewhat thin; with a *crack*, it shattered into a cluster of flying ash. The earthen mist struck directly against his face. Although a layer of protective nether force still remained over his facial skin, it was already at the end of its tether and utterly worthless against the earthen mist, instantly collapsing and disintegrating. Duan Xingyun's extraordinarily handsome face was instantly mangled into a chaotic mess, the skin on his face unable to withstand the pressure and exploding in rapid succession.

Clusters of bloody blossoms burst forth from his face.

In an instant, not a single part of his visage remained intact. His entire face was slick with blood, yet he paid it no heed, letting the blood stream down freely from his chin, only to be shredded into a mist of blood in mid-air. As the starlight rose, his eyes—originally blazing with crimson—instead took on a faint blue hue under the reflection of the starlight.

Expressionless, every single movement required him to exhaust his utmost strength, allowing him only to inch forward bit by bit.

Between the two of them lay a mere ten paces, but those ten paces felt as arduous as climbing to the heavens!

Amidst the solemn, murderous brownish earthen mist, a figure completely shrouded in starlight inched closer to another figure at a snail's pace.