Chapter 674: Fighting Huangyang Again

Chapter 674: Battle Against Desolation Again

Desolation hung in the air, looking down at the scene before him, his expression exceedingly grim.

The city wall had collapsed on one side from his strike, and naturally, the Wang family troops were supposed to follow up to seize the city. Yet instead of witnessing Wan Dongliu being slaughtered by him, the scene was one of jubilant troops sallying forth to intercept—the encounter was too beautiful to imagine.

It made him look like a traitor, sabotaging Wang Daozhong.

But for the moment, he couldn't extricate himself to massacre that army. Zhao Changhe held the Dragon Sparrow in his right hand and the Star River in his left, glaring like a tiger—any distraction could lead to catastrophic consequences. He had to deal with Zhao Changhe first.

Zhao Changhe patted Wu Zhui, signaling it to move away. Both wore grave expressions, knowing this battle was different from the last... because this time, there was no retreat.

Last time, if they couldn't win, they could flee. If Zhao Changhe ran, at worst the Cui family would submit to the enemy, and maybe he could win them back later, or kill Desolation another day to change the situation. Desolation could also retreat and return, killing Zhao Changhe later, with the Cui family still within his grasp.

But this time, if Zhao Changhe lost, the Cui family behind him would face brutal retaliation. As Cui Yuanyong said, you’d better keep getting stronger, because if you lose, we’re all doomed. Likewise, if Desolation lost, the Wang family would be razed to the ground and their nine clans exterminated—there was no other option.

Neither could retreat. Desolation had it easier—what did he care if the Wang family lived or died? He could just change his approach to achieve his goal. But Zhao Changhe truly couldn’t retreat.

When gods and demons descended, the outcome of factions was increasingly decided by the gods and demons backing them. Conventional logic was fading, starkly evident in this battle.

Desolation looked at the blade and sword in Zhao Changhe’s hands and said slowly, “When you shot that arrow, you might not have been ignorant of the tacit rules among the families. You knew I would choose this method of revenge, and you waited for me... or even deliberately provoked it.”

Zhao Changhe laughed, “Ha! Seems you’re not stupid.”

Desolation said coldly, “But by breaking such rules, aren’t you afraid others will follow suit, plunging us into endless chaos?”

Zhao Changhe sighed, “Have you been buried in the dirt so long you’ve gone stupid? You fought me before, you know I have the power of a god or demon, and you think I should abide by the tacit rules. But in others’ eyes, I’m just the second on the Earth Ranking... and in fact, I am only the second on the Earth Ranking. An Earth Ranker in this kind of battle, shooting arrows at the Human Ranking—what rules have I broken?”

Desolation: “...”

“Now, isn’t this back to the scenario you imagined earlier?” Zhao Changhe grinned. “Let’s not meddle in their fight, shall we?”

Desolation was almost amused. You’ve taken all the advantages—by now, they’re probably closing in on Langya—and now you say let’s duel, not interfere in others’ battles.

“But have you considered one problem in all your scheming?” Desolation finally said. “You should know that you are not actually my match. If you suffer a crushing defeat here, all your plans will be a joke.”

“I truly have no certainty of defeating you. I don’t know why you all have this mindset—you only dare to fight when you’re sure of victory. Has your courage been worn away over two long epochs, or lost in the cataclysm of the world’s end?” Zhao Changhe smiled. “Then let this era’s humans teach gods and demons a truth everyone knows...”

Desolation stared at him coldly.

“When two warriors meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins—that’s all.” With these words, the Dragon Sparrow trembled slightly, its blade seeming to vanish into the night. Desolation couldn’t even see the path of the blade before a chill struck his neck.

There was a strange sense of time freezing, as if nothing remained between heaven and earth but this blade.

Heaven and Earth Without Me!

Desolation struck out abruptly, slapping at the side of the Dragon Sparrow. Zhao Changhe clearly felt the earth’s veins being stirred by Desolation, strengthening his mummy-like power while a strange suction force rose from the ground, seemingly draining his life force, causing it to wither.

No more probing like last time; both struck with their ultimate techniques from the start.

The Desolation God, who draws fertility to nourish himself, could also drain his opponent’s life force—something even divine artifacts couldn’t protect against. In theory, this was the perfect tactic against someone with insufficient cultivation wielding divine artifacts.

“Clang!” Palm met Dragon Sparrow, both recoiling from the impact. Zhao Changhe was pushed back a bit more, yet there was no sign of his life force being affected.

Desolation was stunned: “You can resist? Impossible...”

Zhao Changhe smiled inwardly. The Azure Dragon’s life essence, the foundation of the Return of Spring technique—let alone that technique, just the dual cultivation with Chi Chi wasn’t for nothing. Other things might be hard, but stabilizing the root of life? What’s so difficult? Aren’t you the one the Azure Dragon bullied? Isn’t this a natural counter?

He didn’t answer. In the midst of his retreat, the Star River in his left hand thrust straight out: “I told you, you’ve slept too long and no longer know the heroes of the world!”

As the sword thrust out, the moonlight in the sky blazed bright. A beam of light seemed to descend from heaven, precisely striking a silent, invisible force from Desolation. It turned out Desolation, while appearing stunned, had been secretly attacking, and Zhao Changhe caught it perfectly.

The heavenly light clashed with Desolation’s force, while the Star River’s own sword energy, unimpeded, shot straight at Desolation’s chest!

Desolation dodged swiftly, reappearing at Zhao Changhe’s side.

He was faster than Zhao Changhe—much faster!

Zhao Changhe showed no alarm. He spun his blade and sword, and in an instant, they clashed countless times with ringing sounds.

Desolation couldn’t help but feel a grudging respect. Zhao Changhe had supposedly trained for only two years, which should have left many flaws from rushed growth. Yet in these two battles, he found Zhao Changhe had no real weaknesses—his blade and sword techniques were smooth and natural, yin and yang in harmony, already bearing a hint of returning to simplicity, fully matching his cultivation level.

Though Desolation’s cultivation was a full major grade higher, the headache was that Zhao Changhe’s two divine artifacts just about canceled that out. Most absurdly, his own imperial-domain characteristics seemed useless against Zhao Changhe, as if he were the Azure Dragon himself.

But the imperial domain wasn’t that simple. For instance, his control over the earth’s power wasn’t just about drawing fertility to nourish himself—that was only one part. There was also...

As the fight dragged on, Zhao Changhe gradually felt the earth’s power being disrupted. His connection to heaven and earth, the unity of self and world, was broken.

This connection to heaven and earth was something he had desperately sought when breaking through the Secret Treasury. It allowed him to sense the power of heaven and earth, resonate with the blood aura around him; it opened the bridge between heaven and earth, creating an endless cycle of energy; and it enhanced his five senses, upgrading his rear-eye to an overlooking eye, granting superb night vision, distance vision, and microscopic detail even without the rear-eye.

But as he fought more with Desolation, these abilities were stripped away one by one, until he could barely sense the blood aura around him.

Desolation’s intent was clear: no matter how strong the blade and sword, they needed their master to command them, to decide when and what to do, to maximize their potential. If the sword’s spirit acted on its own while the master was just a pendant, the effect would be far weaker, and the master would become a huge vulnerability.

Zhao Changhe’s own cultivation was insufficient to withstand Desolation’s control over the earth’s veins. Once the connection to heaven and earth was severed, he might not even see how Desolation struck, becoming a burden to the divine artifacts.

These past days, Desolation had racked his brains for ways to deal with Zhao Changhe, and he had indeed thought of many angles.

“Clang!” Palm met Dragon Sparrow, while Desolation’s other hand silently struck at Zhao Changhe’s lower abdomen.

Fast! So fast there was almost no trajectory!

Faster and more concealed than Zhao Changhe’s proud Heaven and Earth Without Me!

With his connection to heaven and earth lost, his five senses dulled, Zhao Changhe couldn’t possibly see through this strike. Only the divine artifact’s automatic protection could...

The thought had barely formed when the Star River sword had already slashed toward that wrist.

Zhao Changhe’s expression showed some shock—clearly, the Star River had moved on its own; he hadn’t reacted in time!

This approach was correct.

If it continued, Zhao Changhe would surely fall into chaos!

Insufficient strength was insufficient strength; relying on external tools was useless... Relying on “courage” was even more useless!

A hint of a smile appeared on Desolation’s face. He suddenly waved his hand, and countless powers materialized out of thin air, all converging on Zhao Changhe.

Zhao Changhe spun his blade and sword, deflecting the countless forces in an instant.

But among them were several silent, invisible ones that Zhao Changhe truly didn’t see. He grunted as they struck him, but a faint light screen appeared on his body, blocking the hidden attacks.

The protective aura technique passed down by the Divine Phoenix Sect—since it couldn’t be sustained long, Zhao Changhe rarely used it, keeping it as a last resort. Now he was forced to use it.

But just as the aura screen vanished, another invisible demonic hand emerged from the ground, viciously grabbing Zhao Changhe’s ankle.

It was Desolation, taking advantage of Zhao Changhe’s distraction, merging with the earth for the hardest-to-defend ambush!

If this strike landed, Zhao Changhe’s foot would be crippled!

A sinister grin spread across Desolation’s face underground.

But even as his hand seized hold, the grin froze.

The Star River sword had somehow silently burrowed into the earth, merging even more cleanly than Desolation. While his attention was on ambushing Zhao Changhe, the Star River suddenly erupted, viciously stabbing at Desolation’s lower abdomen.

Desolation yanked his hand back, but Zhao Changhe grabbed at the air above the ground, a powerful suction seeming to seize Desolation’s hand, holding him for a split second.

In that instant of loss, Desolation couldn’t fully evade the Star River’s thrust. It slashed his left shoulder. He quickly broke free from Zhao Changhe’s grip, fleeing from underground, and hovered in the air, clutching his wounded arm in shock: “You were faking it all along?”

Zhao Changhe was also breathing heavily from this exchange, secretly recovering his energy. He was happy to answer and buy time: “That’s right. From start to finish, your performance was nothing but a clown show in my eyes.”

Desolation couldn’t believe it: “You can resist my life-drain, fine. But how can you also withstand the disruption of the earth’s veins? If you could truly do that, you’d already be in the Imperial Domain!”

Zhao Changhe sighed inwardly. Damn it, I was forced to use the rear-eye—I shouldn’t have... I wonder if Blind Girl is laughing so hard she’s dropping her brush.

Not just the rear-eye, but even the Heavenly Book, which Old Xia’s last words said to rely on sparingly, he had relied on it fully this time.

If he hadn’t simulated the battle against Desolation over and over in the Heavenly Book’s illusionary scenes, how could this fight have gone so smoothly?

What will come later cannot be spared for now. The enemy of the realm is the enemy of the realm—now that he knows how to break the divine artifact, I simply cannot defeat him on my own.

You are formidable, but I have cheats—more than one.