Chapter Ten: The Dragon-Slaying Stake
The man in brocade laughed coldly, “Two Grandmasters and three Masters! Indeed, you came well prepared! I never underestimated you!” Though he laughed, a murderous gleam shone in his eyes. Behind him, several cultivators swiftly activated their magical artifacts, hurling them toward the five.
Long Yao conjured a pair of Dragon Fang Swords in her hands and called out to Yang Nan and the others, “He is Kui Han, son of the Lion Saint Kui Xing. Behind him stand master-level demon subordinates. Fellow cultivators, be cautious!”
The name Lion Saint sent a shock through everyone’s hearts! Among the top ten demon saints in the world, none were to be trifled with. No wonder Kui Han was so arrogant and domineering!
The man in brocade sneered coldly, “Long Yao, you’ll stay here today. If you yield to me, I will spare your life!” Though only a Master in cultivation, he spoke arrogantly, as if he could easily defeat Long Yao, who was a Grandmaster.
Long Yao, princess of the Dragon Palace, could not bear such insult. She immediately shouted angrily, “Kui Han, you’re so bold!” With that, she swung her Dragon Fang Sword to strike. Kui Han responded calmly, meeting her attack with a punch. Though Long Yao’s sword was extraordinary, Kui Han had many magical treasures, and the two quickly engaged in a fierce duel.
Seeing everyone moving to attack, Yang Nan drew the Dark Nether Yin Sha Banner and waved it. Six-headed Yin Spirits roared and surged toward a Master. That Master was formidable, raising a Wind-Summoning Flag to trap the six-headed spirits inside, and they fought fiercely within.
Most of the Masters Kui Han brought were demons, powerful in magic and well-equipped. Seven Masters faced off against Yang Nan’s five; apart from the Golden-Top Roc, the others were evenly matched.
One demon, seeing the six-headed spirits trapped, laughed slyly and thrust a magical trident toward Yang Nan. The trident exuded a thick demonic aura, like a dark cloud ready to engulf him.
Yang Nan’s mind moved swiftly. The magic pearl within his spirit flickered. The Yin-Erosion magical weapon surged with fierce energy, the Undying Yin Wheel driving a dragon-snake coil, instantly transforming into a strange weapon. Though not as exquisite as the Undying Yin-Yang Sword once wielded by Bu Xu, the combined power of two Masters made this weapon in Yang Nan’s hands extraordinarily potent!
The sharpness of the blade far exceeded ordinary artifacts.
The trident clashed with the dragon-snake weapon and was shredded into countless fragments!
Yang Nan’s killing intent surged. With a single strike, he cleaved the trident in two. The demon, shocked by the divine weapon’s power, was about to retreat, but Yang Nan smiled faintly. The weapon suddenly transformed into countless black threads, tightly binding the demon’s body.
The demon was terrified, surging with magical power, trying to break free!
Yang Nan would not let him escape. The black threads shimmered with cold light, twisting and tightening, and the Master-level demon exploded into dust!
Even the formidable body of a Master-level demon could not withstand the divine weapon’s might!
Today, upon reaching Master level, Yang Nan realized his life-bound magical weapon’s power had grown to such an extent and felt secretly pleased. The Wind-Summoning Flag was still locked in battle with the six-headed spirits. Yang Nan summoned Yin Erosion and slashed fiercely. The flag’s spirit light dimmed greatly, unable to withstand the six-headed spirits’ deadly aura, and was swallowed whole.
Waving the Dark Nether Yin Sha Banner lightly, the demonic corpse on the ground was sucked into the banner; its demon core and soul were trapped. In the blink of an eye, a Master was slain. The man in brocade, activating multiple magical artifacts, forced Long Yao into retreat. Seeing this, he grew furious and summoned a strange artifact!
This artifact resembled a bundle of tightly bound chopsticks, each faintly shimmering with a divine dragon. Seventy-two chopsticks meant seventy-two divine dragons!
Kui Han sneered fiercely, “Bold little Daoist, you dare kill my men? Prepare to die!” He casually tossed the bundle, which suddenly shot forward like a missile!
Long Yao panicked and shouted, “That’s the Dragon-Extinguishing Stakes! They’re unstoppable! Daoist Yang, dodge quickly!”
‘Dragon-Extinguishing Stakes? What kind of artifact is that?’ Yang Nan’s heart tightened. He was about to evade when the sky darkened. The seventy-two chopsticks transformed into seventy-two giant pillars, encasing the area. Each pillar bore a fierce divine dragon that spewed fire at Yang Nan.
The flames roared fiercely. The water shield Yang Nan summoned was instantly consumed. He waved the Dark Nether Yin Sha Banner, and the six-headed spirits transformed into a black mist, shielding his body.
The seventy-two fire dragons turned the enclosed space into a fiery hell. Yang Nan’s protective black mist dissipated quickly. The flames were ferocious, and he knew he was in grave danger, desperately trying to break free.
The seventy-two pillars formed an endless fiery maze. Protected by the mist, Yang Nan charged left and right but could not escape. The fires—sky-connecting, earth-linking, wind-fanning—were sharp and vicious. The six-headed spirits screamed as they burned and soon retreated into the banner.
Yang Nan saw the endless blaze and felt a chill. Losing the protective spirits, the flames burned him fiercely. He unleashed all his magical treasures—relic stones, Blue Blood Sword, Black Ink Rope—in succession.
Even these treasures couldn’t withstand the rare true fire’s scouring in the unending flames. Yang Nan’s heart turned cold as he realized just how terrifying this artifact was!
No matter how massive your magic power, trapped in this formation with no way out, you would only be burned to ashes.
“Yong’er! Come out and help me!”
All else failing, Yang Nan summoned Yong’er.
Once she appeared, a seven-colored divine light shield enveloped his body. The unbearable heat turned cool. Over the years, Yong’er had absorbed countless spirit stones; now the seven-colored light could sustain for a while.
Yang Nan gripped Yin Erosion, forming a gigantic crescent moon blade, slashing fiercely at the pillars. The seventy-two stakes were made of extraordinary material, each pillar’s dragon exuded ancient beast aura. Though the magical blade weakened their light momentarily, the dragons resumed breathing fire.
Each strike seemed to be distributed evenly among the seventy-two pillars. The razor-sharp divine weapon could not sever these pillars!
Yang Nan was troubled. The pillars could not be broken or cut, and the fire was endless. Was he really going to be trapped here? Once Yong’er’s divine light faded, he would be instantly reduced to ashes by seven types of fierce flames!
Yong’er’s hand hovered over the divine light, shielding Yang Nan. She looked up at the seventy-two pillars and suddenly said, “Master, each pillar seems to have corresponding talismans. Why not cut those talismans?”
Yang Nan knew Yong’er’s origins were mysterious; if she said so, there must be a reason. He soared into the air. Amid the fire dragons’ flames, he saw each pillar bore a unique talisman controlling the seventy-two fire dragons!
Delighted, he flew up to a pillar, slashing at its talisman. The fire dragon on that pillar howled thunderously and lunged upward but was blocked by Yong’er’s divine light, unable to advance.
After Yang Nan shattered the talisman, the pillar’s fire dragon vanished.
Yong’er urged, “Master, keep cutting! My divine light cannot last long. If the seventy-two pillars’ talismans aren’t destroyed, we’ll never escape.”
Yang Nan’s heart tightened. Although the divine light was powerful, it was fragile. It took countless spirit power just to forge a sliver of light. Trapped in the Dragon-Extinguishing Stakes, Yong’er’s light would soon wane. If they did not escape quickly, Yong’er would fall into slumber again, and Yang Nan would be doomed!
In desperation, he struck harder. One by one, he shattered the talismans on the seventy-two pillars. When the last talisman was destroyed, the pillars instantly shrank, transforming back into a bundle of chopsticks and flew into Kui Han’s hand.
Kui Han was stunned. The Dragon-Extinguishing Stakes could trap even Grandmasters; under the seven kinds of fire, only total soul destruction awaited. Who would have thought this Kunlun little Daoist could escape?
Yang Nan freed himself and retracted Yong’er, eyes burning with killing intent upon Kui Han. The Dragon-Extinguishing Stakes were extremely vicious. Without Yong’er, no treasure could save him; he would only be burned to ashes!
When would he repay this grudge if not now?
He summoned his magical weapon and formed a binding spell. The weapon transformed into countless soft threads, wrapping around Kui Han.
Kui Han was formidable indeed, spitting forth a cloth-like demonic mist to confront the threads. The black threads appeared soft but were razor-sharp, shredding the mist instantly and enclosing Kui Han tightly.
Artifact after artifact on Kui Han was shattered by Yang Nan’s dragon-snake weapon. His inferior treasures could not withstand the onslaught, and he cried out fiercely, beginning to retreat.
Long Yao, seeing Yang Nan free himself, rejoiced. Her Dragon Fang Sword suddenly transformed into a blue lightning water bomb that exploded atop Kui Han’s head. Struck by this powerful water bomb and seeing Yang Nan’s razor-sharp black threads, Kui Han felt alarmed. He swayed his body, summoning a black cloud and shot outward at great speed.
Long Yao cried out anxiously, “Stop him! If he escapes, when the Lion Saint comes seeking revenge, we will have no place to bury ourselves!”
Yang Nan’s heart tightened. Offending Kui Han meant that if a saint-level expert came for him, he would surely be destroyed! Desperate, he called to the battling Great Roc King, “Great Roc, use your feathers to block him!”
Each time the Golden-Top Roc shed feathers, it cost him cultivation, but obeying the master’s command, he dared not refuse.
Countless azure feathers turned into a curtain, blocking the palace gates solidly. Kui Han’s demonic clouds were blocked by a volley of feather arrows and forced back. Yang Nan seized the opportunity to summon countless black threads, tightly binding Kui Han.
The battle reached a critical moment.