Lord Xue Ying
chapter-328

In Xue Ying’s cold and collected tone, You Lan could feel a killing intent that penetrated deep into his bones.

How? How is it that I wasn’t able to detect them and that they were able to suddenly appear in front of me? Lord You Lan anxiously tried to think of a way to keep himself alive.

Countless plans were drafted in his mind, until he finally decided on an idea and grinned. "Why is it that both of you insist to fight me? We’re in Crimson Rock Mountain now, and the most important thing now is to get through the Sky-Reaching Vine. You know just how dangerous of a task that is. While the first and second vine leaves were incredibly dangerous, they were filled with fortuitous encounters meant to uncover our untapped potential. It’s only from the third vine leaf that the real danger reveals itself. Based on our strength, we don’t have much hope of passing through them. Don’t forget—of all those who entered Crimson Rock Mountain this time around, I am the only one left who can use Deity scrolls."

"Mn?"Chen Jiu and Xue Ying were startled upon realizing this fact.

Both of them, as well as the Meishan Clan Master and Jian Huang, were Transcendent Knights. Only Lord You Lan, who came from Dark Abyss, was able to use Deity scrolls.

"The trial of the third vine leaf world is much more dangerous. I can help you and provide you with support in the form of Deity scrolls. By then, wouldn’t you have a much bigger chance to pass through the third vine leaf?" Lord You Lan sent the two a big toothy grin.

"Isn't passing the Sky-Reaching Vine more important to you than killing me?" Lord You Lan continued staring at them.

Still clinging to a thread of hope, he continued, "My scheme has already failed. Moreover, once all four of you join together, I’ll get to using Deity scrolls to obediently support you all. You may rest assured; I will do my best to help you by casting various boosts on your body through the Deity scrolls."

He went on, "There’s no benefit to killing me. Let me live, however, and you’ll be that much more likely to pass the next trial."

"Dong Bo, we should let him live for now. We can watch over him…" Chen Jiu sent to Xue Ying as he turned to look at him.

"Watch over him? Our plan is to cultivate in the Great Canyon for a year. How do you plan to watch over him during that time? Furthermore, once we enterthe third vine leaf, we will begin undergoing various trials. By that point, we’ll no longer be able to watch over him," Xue Ying sent back.

"But he can use Deity scrolls…" Chen Jiu retorted.

Lord You Lan only watched from the side. Although he couldn’t hear them, he knew Xue Ying and Chen Jiu were discussing his proposal.

"You have a point there." Xue Ying glanced over Lord You Lan.

Lord You Lan smiled, trying his hardest to appear friendly.

"But…you still have to die!" Xue Ying finished in an icy tone. As soon as the last word left his lips, the fiery-red spear in his hand launched into the air, a trail of fire blazing behind it, as it struck Lord You Lan.

"You…" Lord You Lan did not believe Xue Ying would still choose to kill him, in spite of his being the only remaining Transcendent who could use Deity scrolls.

"Die!" Lord You Lan’s eyes were smoldered with insanity. He released a black flame which enveloped Xue Ying and then, without daring to stick around any longer, he turned into a stream of particles; he did not even bother looking back at the result of his attack. His only goal was to escape the scene with his life intact.

Hua hua hua...

His view was filled with numerous visages of Xue Ying surrounding him from every direction. Some even leaned closely on his body.

"You think you can escape?" each of the Xue Yings vocalized simultaneously. While the previous attack had aimed to destroy Xue Ying’s real body, by the time it arrived, Xue Ying had already escaped into the Mirage.

"This…" At the sight of thirty six Mirage Avatars surrounding him, Lord You Lan’s heart froze. A frightening scenario flashed through his mind.

He panicked and desperately tried to find a way to escape.

Hong~

A terrifying gravitational force seeped into the surrounding space. Once it reached Lord You Lan, he could tell that the invisible force was able to drag him down, slowing his speed.

"Die." Xue Ying appeared before Lord You Lan and stabbed his spear at him.

In response, Lord You Lan waved his hand and caused the flow of time to slow down around him.

Hu~

While still approaching Lord You Lan, the spear suddenly disintegrated.

This Xue Ying, who had attacked him, was only a Mirage Avatar—a fake. Xue Ying’s true body could change positions with any Mirage Avatar, but only if it was within a hundred meters of him. This ability, coupled with the help of the gravitational force, made it so he moved much faster than his prey, Lord You Lan. Xue Ying was easily able to catch up to him.

也让本尊完全追上了.

Hu. Another Mirage Avatar appeared, and, once more, the spear attacked with great momentum.

Just another fake trying to slow me down? Lord You Lan waved his hand slightly; he paid no attention to the newly appeared avatar.

Hong! The spear had an aura of destruction, which, together with its revolving force and the gravitational vortex, rendered Lord You Lan completely unable to block it with a casual palm strike. His face paled. It’s real!

This attack had been faster, more forceful, and even more bizarre than Xue Ying’s previous attacks back at the Black White Deity Mountain. Forget his casual palm strike, even if he had wholeheartedly tried to block it, he would still have been unable to.

Pu! The spear passed through Lord You Lan’s chest from the left-hand side, causing his body to instantly split in two.

The attack actually had forcefully separated You Lan’s torso from the rest of his body. Having been imbued with destructive Profound Mysteries, the attack then immediately destroyed the smaller torso area, while the rest had already recovered fully.

Xue Ying’s voice echoed, "Your demonic body is quite quick to separate. Though, I’d like to see just how many times you can do that."

Surrounded from all sides by visages of Xue Ying, each of them with a spear in hand, Lord You Lan was unable to tell apart the real body from the fakes. On top of that, the Mirage Avatars all had the power of a peak-stage Demigod—not something he could easily destroy using his Laws of Profound Mysteries alone.

"Dong Bo Xue Ying, I can help you. Spare me, and I’ll help you!" Lord You Lan’s hands enlarged, becoming akin to huge shields as they tried to block the attacks coming from all sides.

Hu. The real Stellar Fire Cloud Spear pierced Lord You Lan’s body once more. Once skewered, another part of the body immediately split up. Each time, the parts attacked by the spear would be destroyed, while the rest recovered.

Xue Ying thought to himself, He can split his body as much as he likes, but he’ll still die in the end.

"Without me, there’ll be nobody left who’s able to use Deity scrolls," Lord You Lan said in desperation. He even shouted, "Chen Jiu, Chen Jiu! Can’t you hold Xue Ying back?"

This time, he could really feel death approaching.

He was terrified yet regretful—he regretted having planned that trap in the first vine leaf world.

Indeed, back during the first vine leaf world, he had been greatly pleased and extremely enjoyed watching Chen Jiu and Xue Ying being toyed with and nearly killed by the Mirage creatures. However, Xue Ying and Chen Jiu had not died in the end! Not only that, it was exactly that danger that led Xue Ying to become stronger, which in turn brought about his current predicament.

Why? Why did I have to provoke him?

Ah, what to do? I don’t want to die. I can’t die like this!

Should I shatter the talisman?

No. No, I can’t do that. Shattering the talisman is equivalent to me giving up. The oath I previously made in the Dark Abyss decreed that, should I fail, my soul shall be scattered.

If I don’t shatter the talisman, though, I’ll just be killed by Xue Ying. Lord You Lan felt miserable.

In truth, as team leaders, Lord You Lan, Chen Jiu, and the Meishan Clan Master had all pledged similar oaths. The World Deities who had sent them over did not leave them any room for retreat; failure of the mission meant death! Their underlings still had some leeway, but if the leader failed their mission, it also spelled the death of their underlings. Uncle Fu, for example, was free to give up and wait outside while Chen Jiu continued the mission, but once Chen Jiu failed, Uncle Fu would die just the same.

"Don’t kill me. I will do whatever you want me to do," Lord You Lan shouted.

Pu! The last spear attack landed.

Already weak from the previous attacks, Lord You Lan had no way to quickly preserve his body. He could only despair as the spear penetrated his skull.

Hua… The moment Lord You Lan’s body was destroyed, fully annihilated, a pair of transparent gloves and a storage wristband fell to the stone surface of the ground with clang clang sound.

Xue Ying revealed a big smile as soon as he heard the crisp clang sound. He had finally killed Lord You Lan!

Chen Jiu came over and lamented, "All in all, it’s still delightful to see You Lan dead."

"As long as you don’t hold a grudge on me," Xue Ying replied.

Chen Jiu sighed. "You were right. I shouldn’t hold on to wishful thinking."

Xue Ying nodded. Moments earlier, he had convinced Chen Jiu with a single sentence—based on the records, has there ever been someone who relied on Deity scrolls to become a honorary disciple?

The answer was no!

The later trials of the Sky-Reaching Vine needed one to rely on themselves. The further one went, the more they needed to show their own might and potential. Moreover, had they left Lord You Lan live, that might have spelled disaster in the future.