CHAPTER 451: FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE BLACK UMBRELLA

Swish!

This time, Yu Qian ultimately misread Yun Xiao’s intention. The latter rapidly summoned the Ancestor Vein Power not to endure the incoming Meridian Qi Palm Seal, but with a slight shift in form, narrowly dodged the powerful strike at the critical moment.

Indeed, as Yu Qian had thought, even if Yun Xiao had broken through to the Mid Stage of Meridian Union Realm, the gap in Meridian Qi between the two was still vast. How could Yun Xiao use his weakness to challenge the opponent’s strength?

"This kid is slippery!"

However, just as Yu Qian thought Yun Xiao would seize the opportunity to escape once again, he suddenly saw another figure appear in front of him. A somewhat quaint and odd sword was furiously cleaving toward him.

It turned out that after Yun Xiao dodged the Meridian Qi Palm Seal, knowing there were formidable enemies like Ran Xing ahead and pursuers like Yu Qian behind, escaping would be extremely difficult. Thus, he risked it all and initiated an attack on Yu Qian.

In the eyes of others, the Dragon Taming Sword appeared as nothing more than a worn wooden sword, which seemed entirely lacking in offensive power to Yu Qian.

This was Yun Xiao’s greatest opportunity. The magic and sharpness of the Dragon Taming Sword were beyond ordinary people’s imagination. In fact, this was his ultimate trump card, a card that could only be played once, and naturally, it had to be used at the critical moment.

Subconsciously thinking, if Yu Qian were unaware of the details and underestimated the Dragon Taming Sword, perhaps today he would create a miracle by killing a Peak of Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse with a cultivator in the Mid Stage of Meridian Union Realm.

The early development of events did indeed proceed as Yun Xiao expected. How could Yu Qian, a powerhouse at the Peak of the Spirit Vein Realm, pay any attention to such an inconspicuous wooden sword?

Seeing the wooden sword cleaving furiously at him, Yu Qian inwardly sneered at the ’end of one’s wits’, then extended his right palm and slapped toward the blade of the sword.

It seemed that Yu Qian was not completely careless and did not target the sharpest part of the sword. What he failed to notice was the fleeting look of mockery deep within Yun Xiao’s eyes after making this move.

No matter how strong a cultivator’s Meridian Qi is, there is a limit to physical defense. Even a blow from an ordinary sword could cause blood to spill and injury. And what to say of the irresistibly sharp Dragon Taming Sword?

Even the blade of the Dragon Taming Sword was incomparable to ordinary divine weapons. Hadn’t the Crown Prince of Xuanyue Empire, Xuan Jiuding, broken several advanced Spiritual Rank weapons just trying to unlock the Dragon Pattern Lock?

It was a split second decision. In that flash of lightning, the Dragon Taming Sword controlled by Yun Xiao finally touched Yu Qian’s right palm. There followed a soft sound as the blade of the sword, like slicing through tofu, penetrated the palm’s edge of his hand.

"Uh, not good!"

It was only upon contacting the worn wooden sword that Yu Qian finally realized something was amiss, but his internal cry of ’damn’ was already too late.

Snap!

A light snapping sound was heard. Even though Yu Qian reacted quickly to withdraw his hand, the underside of his right palm, along with his pinky and ring finger, was silently sliced off.

"Ah, you little beast, I’ll kill you!"

The intense pain made Yu Qian involuntarily cry out in agony, while at the same time he roared thunderously, his voice piercing through the quiet mountain forest, sounding particularly chilling.

Ran Xing and Nie Qianqiu, standing not far away, upon seeing Yu Qian’s terrible state, couldn’t help but shudder. Their eyes then turned fearfully to the unimpressive and worn wooden sword in Yun Xiao’s hand.

"This wooden sword..."

Especially Ran Xing, suddenly had an inexplicable sense of recognition, feeling as if he had seen this wooden sword somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember where.

In fact, Xuan Jiuding, the Crown Prince of Xuanyue Empire, had gone through a great deal of trouble to obtain the Sect Treasure from Jade Pot Sect, only to fail to unlock it, and Yun Xiao had cunningly taken it back.

Even if Ran Xing didn’t know exactly what was inside that wooden box, he still had some impression of the aura of the box, hence the strange feeling at this moment.

That such a worn wooden sword could possess such sharpness, even a strong person like Ran Xing couldn’t help but feel fortunate that it was Yu Qian who had gone first. If he had been caught off guard, perhaps his fate would not be much different from Yu Qian’s.

Looking at Crown Prince Nie Qianqiu, after a brief moment of fear, there emerged a deep fervor and greed. Such a divine weapon, if it could be owned, would certainly increase his strength by a significant margin at the upcoming Countries Hidden Dragon Conference.

The importance of weapons has always been understated in the Nine Dragons Continent. However, the enhancement of combat power provided by a powerful divine weapon is undeniably significant.

Especially a weapon like the worn wooden sword in Yun Xiao’s hand, its deceptive appearance providing an element of surprise in battle, could turn the tide towards one of two extremes.

"Alas, what a pity!"

While Nie Qianqiu and Ran Xing each had their own thoughts, looking at the Dragon Taming Sword stained with not a drop of blood, Yun Xiao himself felt somewhat disappointed, because this result was not what he wanted.

Although Yu Qian had half of his palm sliced off, strictly speaking, it was merely a flesh wound, and his true combat strength had not decreased by much.

From this moment on, the sharpness of the Dragon Taming Sword was no longer a secret, and it would probably be impossible to catch the opponent off guard and inflict injury again.

The feeling of being so close yet failing was extremely frustrating. Initially, Yun Xiao intended to use the Dragon Taming Sword to instantly kill Yu Qian, thereby carving out an escape route, or he hoped the Golden Snake Worm could hold back Ran Xing—a mere Nie Qianqiu could not possibly stop him.

But now, the Golden Snake Worm could at most only hold back one opponent, and with half of his palm sliced off, Yu Qian had become extremely ferocious, likely to strike with the force of thunder. Yun Xiao knew he could not withstand it no matter what.

"Is there any chance left?"

Yun Xiao’s thoughts raced, considering a dozen strategies to escape, but each one had a fatal weakness. Under the overwhelming power of his enemy, all his plans were in vain.

"Little bastard, die!"

An infuriated Yu Qian, who would waste no more words, burst out in rage, his body lunging forward. Intentionally or not, he had cunningly avoided the unmatched edge of the Dragon Taming Sword.

It seemed that although Yu Qian was somewhat frantic, he had not completely lost his reason. Having suffered before, he dared not directly confront the blade of the Dragon Taming Sword again, and under this full-force attack, Yun Xiao was simply unable to contend.

Swoosh!

At the critical juncture, Yun Xiao finally seized an opportunity to dart away, but just as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, a powerful presence suddenly rose behind him, causing his heart to sink abruptly.

"Hehe, lie down!"

A familiar voice sounded from behind, and immediately Yun Xiao felt a great force strike him, hitting him squarely in the back. His entire body lurched forward.

"Puh-ch"

A bright red spurt of blood burst forth. If not for the extreme strength of Yun Xiao’s physical body, the sneak attack from Ran Xing might have shattered his internal organs and killed him.

Ran Xing had anticipated Yun Xiao’s direction of evasion when Yu Qian attacked, waiting here leisurely to deliver a deadly blow to Yun Xiao. Indeed, his prediction was extremely accurate.

"Eh?"

However, Yun Xiao’s physical defense was somewhat beyond Ran Xing’s expectations. Having taken such a powerful blow, the young man merely coughed up a mouthful of blood, his breath weak, yet he didn’t fall, which made Ran Xing’s expression turn somewhat awkward.

On the other side, seeing Yun Xiao take the heavy hit, Yu Qian paid no attention to who had struck the blow. As he pounced again, it was clear he was seizing the opportunity to finish off his weakened opponent.

At that moment, the Golden Snake Worm, because it was guarding against Ran Xing’s follow-up attack, was a little too late and could only watch as Yu Qian’s forceful punch was about to land on Yun Xiao’s chest.

Swoosh...

Unexpected by anyone, at this moment, Yun Xiao’s front suddenly blurred, and immediately a strange object appeared in front of him, causing both Ran Xing and Nie Qianqiu in the distance to narrow their eyes.

"What is that?"

Nie Qianqiu muttered in confusion. At this moment, he seemed unable to see clearly what it was, only feeling that the object spun continuously, carrying with it an obscure beauty.

"It seems... to be a black umbrella?!"

Ran Xing, with much more powerful Soul strength, also dared not be certain. His gaze fixed on the rotating oddity, he sensed that something was eluding his control.

Yet Yu Qian, blinded by rage, didn’t seem to notice the spinning object at all. His only thought was to eliminate the young man who had sliced off half of his palm.

Any notion of claiming credit or rising to glory had been thrown out of Yu Qian’s mind. To him, the sudden spinning object was probably just another of Yun Xiao’s strange tactics, something he should avoid contact with.

"Hmph!"

Seeing that Yu Qian was relentless in his attack on Yun Xiao, a low snort seemed to come from the void. Then, the incessantly spinning object abruptly stilled, revealing its shape—it was indeed a small black umbrella.

And as the spinning black umbrella ceased, as if controlled by some force, it closed with the speed of lightning and thrust out in a swift movement, so fast that it was astonishing.

Crack!

Another crisp sound echoed, and Ran Xing and Nie Qianqiu nearby felt a blur before their eyes. The folded umbrella had already penetrated Yu Qian’s chest from the front and emerged from the back, scattering beads of blood in a particularly gory display.

"I... I... how..."

In the blink of an eye, Yu Qian seemed not to have fully grasped what had happened. His eyes hazily dropped to the gaping hole in his chest.