She could only pray that Zhou Yuan was a little smarter.
Half a day stealthily passed while the Forest Pavilion bitterly endured.
The boundary that enveloped the mountain had already become extremely faint like a thin membrane. Anyone could see that it was almost over for the Forest Pavilion.
In the sky, Zhu Lian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Spirit barrier should be finished after a few more waves of attacks and without its protection, the Forest Pavilion would have to face the crazed onslaught of the Fire Pavilion and the Mountain Pavilion.
“Pavilion master, the Forest Pavilion is finished.”
Zhu Lian looked towards Lu Xiao with a somewhat pleased smile.
Lu Xiao nodded in acknowledgement as his expression finally relaxed a little. Once the Forest Pavilion was defeated, the Wind Pavilion would become easy pickings like fish on the chopping board.
“Zhou Yuan, a rabbit is still a rabbit no matter how much it jumps. Once the sleeping lion awakens, the rabbit will be finished.”
A faint smile rose from the corners of Lu Xiao’s mouth.
However, Zhu Lian’s and Zhao Yin’s expressions suddenly changed. They turned their heads at the same time, their expressions turning ugly as they looked towards a certain direction.
When Han Yuan saw them turn their heads, he asked, “What—”
However, his words came to an abrupt halt before he could finish. His pupils shrank slightly as he gazed into the distance where several thousand Spirits were rapidly approaching.
Lu Xiao watched with a chilling expression as the corners of his lips twitched. The iciness in his eyes could almost freeze the air.
“The Wind Pavilion is here.”
Zhou Yuan was always ruining things for him!
Chapter 861 Showdown between the Wind and Fire Pavilions
Trapped inside the mountain, Mu Liu and Mu Qingyang revealed looks of joy on their faces when they sensed the approach of several thousand Spirits.
“See, didn’t I say that Zhou Yuan won’t be deceived by Lu Xiao?” Mu Liu grinned.
Mu Qingyang breathed a sigh of relief, but her face remained strained as she said, “Don’t be so happy. Although he has led the Wind Pavilion to aid us, the situation has only become a little better. Overall, the Fire Pavilion and the Mountain Pavilion still have an overwhelming advantage.”
Mu Liu lightly nodded in agreement. If the Fire Pavilion got into battle formation, their superior power would leave the Wind Pavilion with nothing to exploit. In fact, it was very likely that the Fire Pavilion would wipe them out.
Mu Qingyan sighed. “The Wind Pavilion is far weaker than the Fire Pavilion. Although I do not know what kind of tactics and trump cards Zhou Yuan has prepared, given my understanding of Lu Xiao, he will definitely be prepared.”
She rolled her eyes at Mu Liu. “I told you not to get involved in this affair. You’ve now put our Forest Pavilion in danger for no reason.”
Mu Liu displayed a bitter expression. “What’s the point of saying such things now? Since Zhou Yuan dared to come, I believe he will have something up his sleeves. It will not be so easy for the Lu Xiao and the Fire Pavilion to deal with him.”
“I also hope so.” Mu Qingyan frowned. She was not really blaming Mu Liu but venting a little for being unexpectedly besieged by the Fire and Mountain Pavilions for half a day.
More importantly, she did not feel optimistic at all about the current situation.
Although the Forest Pavilion had managed to endure the Fire Pavilion’s and the Mountain Pavilion’s combined onslaught through the Thousand Spirit Cloud Eddy boundary, they had lost over two thousand members in the process. In contrast, the Fire and Mountain Pavilions had barely sustained any losses.
With such a disparity in power, what could Zhou Yuan and the Wind Pavilion possibly achieve?
Mu Qingyan pursed her lips and said, “If the Fire Pavilion and the Mountain Pavilion try to gang up on the Wind Pavilion, I will do my best to obstruct as many of them as possible. But this is our limit. The outcome will still hinge upon Zhou Yuan.”
“It’s enough.” Mu Liu nodded with a smile.
In the sky outside the mountain, Lu Xiao stared at the arriving Spirit army with a dark expression. Moments later, his expression slowly turned calm as he said, “It seems that Wang Chen has been eliminated.”
The Wind Pavilion had already rushed over and yet there was no news from Wang Chen’s group. The latter had clearly been kicked out from the Heaven Flame Cauldron, and Zhou Yuan had undoubtedly seen through their ploy.
“He truly is an unremovable ghost.” Han Yuan frowned.
Lu Xiao’s expression was composed as he said, “Han Yuan, your Mountain Pavilion will continue to siege the Forest Pavilion. Leave the Wind Pavilion to my Fire Pavilion.”
Grinning, Han Yuan nodded. “Looks like things have returned to the starting point. But it doesn’t matter, the outcome will always be the same.”
Han Yuan clearly understood how powerful the Fire Pavilion was. Even the Mountain Pavilion was not their match, let alone the last place Wind Pavilion.
Lu Xiao looked towards Zhu Lian. “We’ll be relying on you for the battle with the Wind Pavilion.”
Zhu Lian was the only Transformative stage Spirit of the Fire Pavilion and the only one capable of commanding their Spirits. This was something even Lu Xiao was incapable of doing. As such, Zhu Lian was much more useful than him in the Heaven Flame Ritual.
An excited look emerged on Lu Xiao’s face as he confidently nodded. “Don’t worry pavilion master. Our Fire Pavilion is amply prepared, and I refuse to believe that we cannot subdue the Wind Pavilion!”
Soon after, his gaze swept across the area. Spirit power rippled as a voice was transmitted to every Fire Pavilion member, “Fire Pavilion members, hear my command. We will engage the Wind Pavilion and destroy them!”
In the next instant, Lu Xiao’s and Zhu Lian’s Spirits shot forward, leading the charge as over ten thousand Spirits closely followed behind them.
Two giant armies met amidst the many mountains, each side occupying a mountain as they faced each other. Boundless Spirit power unfurled across the land, accompanied by howling wind and rumbling thunder.
Zhou Yuan showed no hesitation, his Spirit power immediately reaching out to link up to several thousand Spirits at once, directing their Spirit power to set up numerous layers of defences.
On the Wind Pavilion side, wave after wave of Spirit power whizzed forth, forming shell after shell. Zhou Yuan set up the defensive boundary in a short span of time.
Zhu Lian’s eyes narrowed slightly. From how Zhou Yuan had so swiftly established a defensive boundary, his Spirit cultivation was definitely quite high. After all, in a Spirit clash like this, Transformative stage Spirits like them functioned as the links between the rest of the Spirits to effectively deploy Spirit power.
“Pretty smart, but all they can do is defend.” However, Zhu Lian merely released an icy chuckle in response. The fact that Zhou Yuan had chosen to defend like a turtle meant that he likewise understood that the Fire Pavilion was too powerful, and he did not dare to face them head-on.
This was also the first time he had seen the always aggressive Zhou Yuan take on a defensive posture, and it felt quite great indeed.
“But do you really think it will be easy to form a defensive array under my eyes?”
Zhu Lian icily snorted. If it was a contest of Genesis Qi, he would definitely not be Zhou Yuan’s match, but the Heaven Flame Ritual was a clash between Spirits. Moreover, it was not a one-on-one fight but pavilion versus pavilion. With the Fire Pavilion’s overwhelming advantage, he naturally did not fear Zhou Yuan.
Amidst the Fire Pavilion army, Zhu Lian’s Spirit suddenly rippled.
Rumble!
Under Zhu Lian’s direction, boundless sea-like Spirit power soared into the sky, transforming into ten thousand giant waves that ruthlessly crashed downwards towards the Wind Pavilion with terrifying momen
tum.
The giant Spirit waves descended one after another, creating an astonishingly oppressive aura.
In the face of such power, even a Transformative Spirit would be instantly shattered upon contact.
Rumble!
The giant Spirit waves slammed into the Wind Pavilion’s turtle shell boundary with unmatched ferocity. The earth trembled as mountains shivered. Shell after shell constructed from Spirit power crumbled one after another. Although the Spirit shells were rapidly being smashed to pieces, new Spirit shells were swiftly constructed to replace them.
Zhu Lian frowned slightly, and he soon began to strengthen the attacks. Wave after wave of boundless Spirit power surrounded the Wind Pavilion’s mountain and viciously smashed downwards.
Under Zhu Lian’s barbaric offensive, the turtle shell boundary trembled violently. In the end, it shattered with a loud boom, multiple shells instantly disappearing into nothingness.
Zhu Lian was overjoyed and quickly proceeded to direct Spirit power into a charge towards the now exposed Wind Pavilion.
But before he could move, another layer of Spirit light appeared from under the shattered boundary as another boundary formed.
This time, Zhu Lian took a closer look. There was clearly another boundary under the newly formed boundary, and both of them were defensive boundaries!
“What the hell!”
Zhu Lian’s expression changed as he cursed. Was Zhou Yuan trying to become a tortoise? Did he plan to rely on his tortoise shells to engage in a battle of attrition with the Fire Pavilion?
Lu Xiao frowned and asked, “Is he trying to exhaust our Fire Pavilion’s Spirit power?
“Have you noticed? The amount of Spirit power we consumed to destroy a layer of their defense is far more than how much Zhou Yuan used to build one.”
Zhu Lian’s face burned. Of course he knew why. It meant that Zhou Yuan was extremely proficient. He could perfectly mobilize the Wind Pavilion’s Spirit power to create these solid defensive layers. In contrast, Zhu Lian required a bigger investment in order to break Zhou Yuan’s defences, similar to how the attacking force would suffer more losses when attacking a city.
Zhou Yuan clearly intended to shave away the Fire Pavilion’s advantage through this method.
However, Lu Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. If this was all Zhou Yuan had, Zhou Yuan was underestimating their Fire Pavilion far too much.
“Zhu Lian, no need to hold back any longer. It’s about time we use our trump cards.”
Zhu Lian nodded. A ruthless look flashed across his eyes as he gazed at the seemingly indestructible fortress.
“Fine then, allow me to tear their shell to pieces!
“Without your shell, a mere few thousand Spirits are nothing to be feared!
“I’m interested to see just how Zhou Yuan will save them from this crisis!”
Chapter 862 Spirit Breaker Shuttle
The clash between the Wind Pavilion and the Fire Pavilion likewise fell into the eyes of Mu Qingyan, who was still busily defending the Forest Pavilion against the Mountain Pavilion.
“Tchtch, Zhou Yuan’s turtling tactic is quite something. Their defensive power is no weaker than your boundary.” Mu Liu could not help but grin as he observed the multiple defensive layers on the Wind Pavilion’s side.
Mu Qingyan rolled her eyes at him. Her pretty face soon turned a little graver as she said, “If Zhou Yuan plans on exhausting the Fire Pavilion with his turtling tactic, I’m afraid that he won’t succeed.”
Although Zhou Yuan’s tactic had indeed caused some trouble for the Fire Pavilion, it was very unlikely for him to achieve victory through it.
Mu Liu nodded in agreement as he earnestly said, “But I do not believe this is all Zhou Yuan has up his sleeve.”
Mu Qingyan looked at him in astonishment. “You really regard him very highly.”
Mu Liu grinned. “I’m rarely wrong.”
Mu Qingyan shrugged, not dwelling on the topic any further. In any case, the outcome would soon be clear. From Zhu Lian’s posture, the Fire Pavilion was likely about to play their hidden cards. They would soon find out whether Zhou Yuan would be able to hold on.
If he could not, the Forest Pavilion and the Wind Pavilion would have to return empty handed from the Heaven Flame Ritual.
At the center of the great Fire Pavilion army, Zhu Lian closed his eyes as his finger reached out and cut across the air. Spirit undulations spread, weaving together in front of him to form a sharp illusory object.
“Spirit power, come!” shouted Zhu Lian as his hands clapped together.
A torrent after torrent of Spirit power whizzed out and poured into the sharp object in front of him.
The illusory object slowly became corporeal, revealing itself to be a giant thousand-foot-long shuttle. However, it was a shuttle of compacted Spirit power.
This sight naturally landed in the eyes of the Wind Pavilion members, causing a commotion to spread. Even Ye Bingling’s and Yi Qiushui’s faces changed slightly, evidently sensing how terrifying the subsequent attack would be.
Zhou Yuan’s eyes also narrowed slightly. Zhu Lian’s Genesis Qi cultivation was nothing remarkable, but his Spirit prowess was quite something.
“Spirit Breaker Shuttle!”
Zhu Lian’s roar thundered across the area. In the next instant, the thousand-foot-long shuttle seemed to pierce through space itself as it mercilessly shot with great destructive force towards the protective boundaries around the Wind Pavilion members.
Crack!
The first Spirit boundary was immediately split open upon contact with the Spirit Breaker Shuttle, as if it were made from tofu.
Bang! Bang!
The Spirit Breaker Shuttle continued on its path, effortlessly smashing through layer after layer which Zhou Yuan had poured all of his power into constructing. Horrified looks arose on many Wind Pavilion members. When the Fire Pavilion got serious, such power instantly made the Wind Pavilion members realize the disparity between them.
Numerous panicking Wind Pavilion members looked towards Zhou Yuan. Their pavilion master’s expression was composed as he lifted his head to gaze at the rapidly approaching Spirit Breaker Shuttle.
“Circulate your Spirit power and prepare yourselves,” Zhou Yuan’s indifferent voice sounded in the ears of the Wind Pavilion members.
His calm voice made the panic in their hearts recede slightly. They hurriedly concentrated and began circulating their Spirit power.
Boom!
When the final boundary was shattered, the originally thousand-foot-long Spirit Breaker Shuttle had shrunk to a size of a hundred feet. Despite this, it still gave off an oppressive pressure as its shadow loomed towards the now exposed Spirits.
Zhou Yuan made a seal with one hand.
Bzzbzz!
Several thousand Spirit needles took shape and swiftly gathered together, transforming into a giant torrent of needles. Like a giant python, it reared its head and charged towards the Spirit Breaker Shuttle.
Bang!
The loud noise was accompanied by a wave of Spirit energy, and a shriek sounded, causing ripples to emerge on the numerous Spirit bodies on both sides.
When a hundred Spirits on the Wind Pavilion side vanished in a flash of fiery light, the Spirit Breaker shuttle finally cracked and shattered, turning into countless specks of light.
The Wind Pavilion members were still somewhat frightened as they breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that they had ultimately withstood the attack.
The Fire Pavilion was truly terrifying!
This time, unease flitted across the eyes of even Ye Bingling and Yi Qiushui. A single serious attack from the Fire Pavilion had resulted in them losing over a hundred members. Furthermore, it was after their numerous defensive shells cancelled out 90% of the attack’s power.
If Zhou Yuan had not set up so many defensive layers, they would have likely lost over a thousand members.
“Hehe, pavilion master Zhou Yuan is truly capable.
To think that you managed to defend against that attack.”
Smiling, Zhu Lian watched on as he continued, “The Spirit Breaker Shuttle is a unique secret technique of my Heavenly Spirit Hall, and I’ve practiced it for a very long time in order to properly welcome you.”
Lu Xiao also looked at Zhou Yuan with indifferent eyes. “If your Wind Pavilion gives us an offering of ten thousand flame lotuses, my Fire Pavilion can forgive you this once.”
As long as the Wind Pavilion yielded, they would no longer have any courage to challenge the Fire Pavilion. Lu Xiao’s so-called mercy would instead destroy their hearts.
Zhou Yuan cast a glance at Lu Xiao as he grinned, displaying a set of eerily white teeth. “Stop dreaming.”
Lu Xiao shook his head in a seemingly disappointed manner. “Unappreciative.”
He waved his hand, causing Zhu Lian to reveal a sinister smile. In the next instant, both his arms slowly extended as boundless Spirit power erupted from his body. Behind him, over ten thousand Spirits began to circulate their Spirit power.
Next, Ye Bingling, Yi Qiushui and the rest paled when they saw seven giant Spirit Breaker Shuttles slowly take shape.
The entire place seemed to ripple.
Terror emerged in the eyes of the many Wind Pavilion members. Earlier, a single Spirit Breaker Shuttle had pierced through all their defences. If seven struck together, wouldn’t they instantly wipe them out?
In the distance, Mu Liu and Mu Qingyan sighed. The Fire Pavilion appeared to have come well prepared for this Heaven Flame Ritual.
“Looks like they’re finished,” said Mu Qingyan in a somewhat unresigned tone.
Mu Liu scratched his head as he said, “It’s okay. The chief pavilion selection is coming up next month. I’ll give that bastard Han Yuan a vicious beating on your behalf.”
Mu Qingyan rolled her eyes at him.
Zhou Yuan slighty narrowed his eyes as he stared at the seven giant Spirit Breaker Shuttles in the sky. It was wonder the Fire Pavilion was so arrogant; such overwhelming power was indeed enough to easily sweep away the Wind Pavilion of the past.
But that was only with regards to the past Wind Pavilion.
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 453
