Chapter 261: The Power of Thunder, A Duel in the Dark Space

This duel seemed destined from the start. Beneath the sea of flowers, at the moment the tears of sorrow fell, it had already become their fated encounter. Liu Yi slowly moved his body, instinctively gripping the black long sword in his left hand as his gaze fixed on Lan Ying. With red light flickering in his eyes, Lan Ying hesitated for a moment—had his own cultivation also improved?

Yet all these thoughts happened in an instant. Lan Ying’s face quickly regained its calm expression, and he suddenly laughed. Amidst the laughter, his body flashed as he retreated several dozen feet away, increasing the distance from Liu Yi. After stopping laughing, Lan Ying said, “You’ve really given me too many surprises. If you accept my challenge, why not simply choose death? Do you still hope to defeat me?” His tone was filled with arrogance.

Liu Yi shook his head and replied, “I won’t harbor such hopes. Your arrogance will cost you dearly.” Without saying anything else, he tightened his grip on the sword. As his will surged, his vital energy instantly covered his entire body. Along with the condensation of dark power, strands of black energy swirled around Liu Yi’s body.

Seeing Liu Yi’s actions, Lan Ying was extremely surprised, but he didn’t show it on his face. He merely smiled and replied, “Then let me see what kind of abilities this so-called True Demon has to compete against me, Lan Ying.”

As soon as Lan Ying finished speaking, the atmosphere in the Hall of theYanluo Hall King became tense. In the silence, only their eyes met, but neither moved. An invisible energy swirled around their bodies before spreading wildly. Gradually, a gray glow emerged around Lan Ying’s body. As the glow spread, twelve white orbs appeared around him, each about the size of a fist, positioned in the twelve directions.

A triumphant smile appeared on Lan Ying’s face, while Liu Yi stared at him coldly. He knew this battle was inevitable sooner or later. But judging from the situation, all the rulers of theYanluo Hall world were here, and the most troublesome one was Su Shao. During their last encounter on the Sixth Peak, he could sense that Su Shao hadn’t used his full strength. If everyone attacked now, even with his high cultivation, he wouldn’t be able to protect those around him from harm. By then, if Yu Chenxing and Lei Jun also suffered, everything would be meaningless. Thus, Liu Yi already had an idea of the battle’s outcome.

Yet Lan Ying’s arrogance made Liu Yi feel slightly angered. Even if he couldn’t defeat him today, he had to teach him a lesson. With this thought, Liu Yi unconsciously unleashed the power of the Dark Heart. As the power surged, roars of dragons arose. In an instant, light flashed around Liu Yi’s body, with six dragon shadows swirling beside him—appearing and disappearing intermittently. Meanwhile, red light covered Liu Yi’s cold eyes.

A cold voice came from Liu Yi’s mouth: “Attack.”

As Lan Ying listened to that sound, a chill swept through his heart. A fear he had never experienced before arose in him—he didn’t know what it was, nor did he want to know. With such feelings arising at this moment, Lan Ying couldn’t help but re-examine Liu Yi before him, but he couldn’t detect any clues.

Lan Ying knew it was useless to think further. Since he had already decided to kill the man before him, he couldn’t hesitate any longer. No matter how much the other party’s skills had improved, after all, he possessed the “Chapter of Heaven,” specifically designed to counter true demons. Moreover, he had the support of numerous monarchs and his ace card—the Demon God of the Asura Realm. There was no way he could lose.

After finishing his thoughts, Lan Ying said coldly, “Then take my attack.” With that, he raised his right hand sharply. As a buzzing sound filled the space, a thick long sword appeared in his hand. The blade emitted a white light as Lan Ying moved.

Using the momentum from raising his hand, he swung down violently. In that instant, the blade became infinitely long, its blade edge spreading outward, lifting nearby objects. Combined with the blade’s sharpness, it slashed downward toward Liu Yi’s head. The light flashed like lightning. Liu Yi quickly raised his right hand, and a black glow appeared in it. Then, with a clang, Lan Ying’s long sword struck Liu Yi’s right hand. The impact made Lan Ying’s hand tremble, but Liu Yi remained completely still.

Although it was just an initial attack, no one expected Liu Yi to try to block the sword infused with true energy. Even more astonishingly, his hand easily caught the sword. Lan Ying was shocked but didn’t stop. Then, he raised his left hand in a finger-like position. After twisting his wrist, the twelve white light spheres swirling around him vanished instantly.

A red glow flashed in Liu Yi’s eyes. Then, he pushed his right hand out forcefully. As the force from the sword entered Lan Ying’s body, Lan Ying stumbled back two steps. During those two steps, white light flashed beneath Liu Yi’s feet. In an instant, twelve white light spheres emerged from beneath him and extended upward, surrounding him.

Yu Chenxing, who was standing nearby, shouted, “Be careful!” Though he didn’t know what those things were, the sudden appearance of those twelve light spheres extending in that way must be some kind of restriction skill—just like the King of the Underworld, trapped inside and unable to resist. Naturally, Lan Ying’s move had already been recorded by Liu Yi’s eyes from the start.

Just as Yu Chenxing finished speaking, a blue-white light swept across the space in an arc, bringing with it a cold aura and distorting the space. With a clang, Liu Yi’s long sword returned to its sheath. Meanwhile, the blue-white arc of light gradually disappeared. The column formed by the twelve white light spheres was frozen by the cold aura of the blue-white sword light, instantly creating an ice wall around Liu Yi.

This was beyond everyone’s expectations—Liu Yi’s reaction was so fast. What was even more astonishing was that his sword strike could create such a special effect, instantly freezing that intangible substance. The invisible light column turned into solid ice, making everything seem much simpler.

Liu Yi let out a loud shout. His right fist, after gathering dark energy, turned black, and a vortex-like shape formed in front of it, resembling a cone. Black energy kept mixing in around it. As he threw the punch, the black energy struck the ice wall with a loud crash, turning the twelve extending white light columns into shattered ice pieces in an instant.

In an instant, the hall fell silent. Lan Ying’s two attacks were easily repelled by Liu Yi’s powerful strength. Everyone was shocked, yet Lan Ying showed no emotion, only a cold smile, seemingly preparing for his next attack. Liu Yi’s move truly stunned everyone, including Su Shao, who was amazed at how fast his sword strike was—drawing true energy and invoking special effects all in an instant, without any prior preparation.

At that moment, all the shattered ice on the ground instantly rose into the air. Thousands of ice fragments spread in twelve directions, quickly encircling the center. As they spiraled, the ground was torn apart. The twelve swirling ice pieces quickly formed a circular pillar, leaving everyone in awe—it was too fast.

The destructive power of that ice pillar could be seen from the ground. Those ice fragments were sharper and harder than any sharp dagger. As they spiraled, the ground was torn apart. In that instant, Liu Yi’s body also disappeared into the ice pieces. As twelve different forces converged at the center, there was a loud boom, shaking the hall. Then, white mist spread everywhere, and faintly, the twelve white spheres quickly returned to Lan Ying’s side.

As the white mist gradually dissipated, Lan Ying’s laughter came through: “This is just one of the powers of ‘Heavenly Chapter’. Can’t you take it? Is it because you were too careless? Or is ‘Heavenly Chapter’ simply too powerful?” The white ice mist slowly dispersed, leaving nothing visible of Liu Yi’s location—only a deep pit on the ground.

Seeing this and hearing Lan Ying’s words, Yu Chenxing could no longer bear it. He stood up and demanded angrily in a trembling voice, “What have you done to him?”

Lan Ying looked at the angry Yu Chenxing and smiled. “Nothing much. In war, there are winners and losers. You should know what his fate is. It’s not my fault; it’s his own incompetence… My princess, such a hypocrite isn’t worth your sorrow. He’ll die sooner or later. You should let it go.”

Hearing Lan Ying’s words, Yu Chenxing’s frail body trembled. Could it be… he was dead? Impossible. Yu Chenxing stared at Lan Ying with disbelief, while Lan Ying looked triumphantly at the spot where Liu Yi had disappeared. But at that moment, a purple lightning bolt descended instantly in the hall, striking the center of the ground. With a long howl from a white light dragon shadow, the hall was instantly swept by a hurricane. As a black shadow flashed, Liu Yi’s body floated ten zhang away from Lan Ying.

Six dragon shadows kept circling around Liu Yi’s black robe, his white hair flying wildly in the hurricane. His left hand tightly gripped the black sword, while a black orb in his right hand gathered the darkness in space. Liu Yi’s face showed no emotion as he spoke in a cold voice, “Confidence is good, but being too confident turns you into arrogance. I said you would pay for this. Since you believe so much in the power of the ‘Heavenly Chapter,’ then I’ll show you what true demonic power is—what it means when evil rises.”

As soon as Liu Yi finished speaking, he quickly raised his right hand. The black orb expanded instantly, and countless black auras began to gather, swirl, and connect. Liu Yi’s voice spread to everyone’s ears: “I bestow darkness upon this world, with endless divine power wandering within it. With the power of the true demon, I summon an eternal space—spirits that move through darkness to punish those who rebel.” As Liu Yi’s unknown, incomprehensible voice echoed, the entire Palace of theYanluo Hall King was instantly surrounded by black auras. There was no sky, no earth—nothing. In that entirely black space, only the figures of the people remained, while Liu Yi’s body emitted a light like black flames in the darkness.

In an instant, everyone was stunned. What was this? No one knew. Even Liu Yi understood only after getting familiar with the Heart of Darkness. It turned out that the power of the Heart of Darkness was fixed—it could only continuously absorb darkness—but Liu Yi’s power to destroy the world could create space. If true essence energy were used to create a dark space, although it would consume a lot of energy at first, the true essence energy would multiply over time. After tens of thousands of years, Liu Yi finally found a spell seal in his memories.

But this time, Liu Yi wasn’t using this power to deal with Lan Ying. His targets were the King of theYanluo Hall and Yu Chenxing. As long as he remained in this dark space, everything would be under his control. If anyone tried to disappear, Lan Ying would never be able to find them—unless the space disappeared.

Liu Yi’s body still floated in the darkness, with six-colored divine dragons circling around him, barely visible. His white hair danced in the darkness, and his red eyes fixed on Lan Ying’s body. Everything happened too suddenly, too quickly. At this moment, in the eyes of everyone, Liu Yi was no longer a human but a demon—a true demon with immense power.

Lan Ying saw Liu Yi floating in the air, as well as the black vortexes that suddenly appeared around the ground. Everything turned dark, and all that could be seen were people. The Hall of the King of the Underworld where they were suddenly disappeared. Lan Ying’s heart trembled, but he still smiled coldly and said, “Good. Let’s see what kind of power this place can give you.”

After saying that, he clasped his hands together, interlaced them, stretched out his fingers, and shouted, “Let me show you the ‘Chapter of Heaven’—the power of thunder!” As Lan Ying spoke, twelve white light balls instantly stopped swirling beside his body, spread out in a line in front of him. At the same time, light rays shot out from between the twelve balls and quickly connected. With the emission of white light, sparks appeared instantly. Under Lan Ying’s control, the twelve light balls turned slightly red, then purple, and began to disperse rapidly.

This time, the light balls did not approach Liu Yi directly. Instead, six of them formed a circle around him, with two more above and below, encircling his body. The twelve light balls always maintained a certain distance from Liu Yi. It was clear that Lan Ying had learned his lesson—since he could attack from afar, there was no need to get closer.

As the balls rotated rapidly from a distance, two purple halos quickly appeared around Liu Yi’s body, emitting an aura of lightning, accompanied by a buzzing sound. Liu Yi looked around, realizing that these twelve light balls were the essence of the ‘Chapter of Heaven’. Since they were intangible, they surely couldn’t be destroyed. Having used the power of the Ice Dragon earlier, Liu Yi understood that since his opponent was using the ‘Chapter of Heaven’ again, he could only wait.

Liu Yi’s body slowly drifted downward and finally landed on the dark ground. Yet those two halos seemed to keep track of him—whenever he moved downward, they moved downward as well. Watching Liu Yi’s movements, Lan Ying laughed and said, “What? Thinking about how to get out? Be careful this time. This power of thunder is active. You won’t be as lucky as last time and able to dodge it. No matter how fast you run, its lightning will follow you.”

The Thunder Lords and Yu Chenxing around couldn’t help but worry for Liu Yi. This power seemed much more formidable than what Lan Ying had used before. At that moment, purple lightning flashed around the two halos, intertwining and extending toward Liu Yi in the center. It didn’t seem fast, like a rope slowly stretching out.

Liu Yi moved slightly, and in an instant, he appeared in another location. But no matter how fast he moved or how far he went, those two halos always remained around him, and the purple electric net tightened faster and faster toward the center. Seeing this, Liu Yi frowned. Indeed, as Lan Ying had said, those twelve light balls seemed to have eyes—wherever he went, they appeared there too.

Liu Yi’s body moved slightly; his vertical right hand gradually relaxed, while his left hand tightened its grip on the ‘Sorrowful Dream’ sword, sensing the energy emanating from it. Then, his eyes slowly closed as he began to gather his vital energy in his right hand in the darkness. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, a red glow flashing as he shouted, “‘Sorrowful Four Styles’—Shattering Stars Sword Move!”

This was the second of the four styles. The sword technique was chaotic, aiming to deliver as many strikes as possible in the shortest time at the fastest speed, resembling countless stars in the darkness—too many to count. As Liu Yi drew his long sword, its black blade danced through the dark space, leaving several trails before returning to its sheath with a clanging sound.

At the same time Liu Yi sheathed his sword, countless black sword lights appeared in the surrounding rings. When they intersected, no sound was made. Then, as the sword lights disappeared, the two purple rings remained unharmed, causing Liu Yi to frown.

At that moment, Lan Ying burst into laughter and said, “I know your sword techniques are powerful—you can break through what seems intangible. But don’t you understand? ‘Heavenly Chapter’ is merely a form of force, a pattern. You can’t break that. Unless you overcome these two forces of thunder and kill me, you’ll soon know the consequences.”

Indeed, as soon as Lan Ying finished speaking, the two purple rings emitted countless purple lightning bolts, which slowly converged toward Liu Yi. Though slow, this force gave off an overwhelming sense of inevitability. Even Liu Yi began to doubt whether he could escape these so-called forces of thunder. As the purple lightning stretched out, terrifying trails were left in the darkness.