: Ning Zhuo vs. Xiang Yue

2025-04-17 Author: Gu Zhenren

Blood ignited, engulfing Long Ye in a blazing inferno of flames.

His aura skyrocketed, causing even Du Tiechuan's steady eyes to flicker with traces of shock and unease.

Long Ye charged toward Du Tiechuan with a fierce, desperate momentum, filled with the resolve to die.

Du Tiechuan retreated again and again, refusing to give Long Ye any chance to close in.

Shuang Ling joined the fight, nearly exhausting her reserves as she deployed all her mechanical constructs.

Whether they were mechanisms, magical treasures, flying swords, weapons, or even spells—everything that touched the blood flames dissolved into nothingness.

This move, created by Long Ye himself, was incredibly powerful, combining offense and defense.

Du Tiechuan saw through the trick and felt another jolt of shock: "He's burning both his physical body and his Nascent Soul, turning all his accumulated strength into blood flames, sacrificing everything for a moment of glory!"

"This guy... truly is the backbone of Thousand Peaks Forest."

Even as an enemy, Du Tiechuan couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for Long Ye.

Long Ye sighed inwardly. He voluntarily stopped, his aura rapidly fading as his mighty frame shriveled back into that of a withered old man.

He had unleashed the final strong note of his life, yet it yielded little result.

His enemy was both wise and brave, refusing to engage him head-on.

From this perspective, forcing a God Transformation–level expert to retreat was a glorious achievement in itself!

Long Ye could have held on a bit longer, but by choosing to stop, he immediately faced the final moments of his life.

With his last breath, Long Ye pointed a finger. The blood flames enveloping his shoulder armor transformed into a blazing meteor shooting straight toward... Xiang Yue.

While guarding against Long Ye, Du Tiechuan also kept an eye out for a possible sneak attack from the Whisker Dragon King. Seeing the blood-flame meteor, he immediately moved to intercept it but missed by a hair's breadth.

Boom!

The blood-flame meteor struck Xiang Yue squarely, rapidly dissolving the military-strategy mystical force that had been troubling him.

Roar!

A long, resonant elephant cry echoed as Xiang Yue raised his arms, free once again!

The artifact spirit, a child, sobbed while sitting on Xiang Yue's right shoulder, wiping tears as he spoke: "Big guy, my master told me before he died to follow you and help you fight with all my might. You're my new master now. You have to fight well, avenge my master! Waaah..."

Xiang Yue extended his broad hand and gently patted the artifact spirit's little head.

The artifact spirit retreated into the spirit treasure shoulder armor, and Xiang Yue's hand naturally rested on the armor.

"I never thought Long Ye would entrust such a treasure to me," Xiang Yue mused inwardly, his rough hand stroking the surface of the spirit armor.

It felt hard yet flexible, covered with countless fine cracks.

After such an intense battle, even a spirit treasure–grade shoulder armor had suffered significant damage and would need repairs after the war.

Not only was there the spirit treasure shoulder armor, but a mass of blood flames also seeped into Xiang Yue's body, rapidly condensing and eventually forming large, tattoo-like patterns of blood flames across the Elephant King's body.

"Martial Art: Long En's Manifestation Body?" Xiang Yue was moved.

Long Ye had passed this martial art inheritance to Xiang Yue. The tattoos contained all its essence. Imprinted on anyone's body, they would instantly master this self-created martial art!

Xiang Yue looked up at Du Tiechuan in the sky: "Marshal Du, how long will you keep retreating?"

Du Tiechuan looked down from above, his gaze settling on the blood patterns covering Xiang Yue's body, feeling a headache coming on.

He naturally recognized it: Long Ye, with his dying breath, had decisively entrusted his power to Xiang Yue.

Among the allied forces of Thousand Peaks Forest, only Xiang Yue's physique could bear this legacy!

With the blood patterns and the spirit treasure, Xiang Yue essentially gained Long Ye's combat power叠加. Originally already incredibly powerful, at the peak of the Nascent Soul level, he was now like a tiger with wings—his combat power touched the God Transformation level, posing a threat to Du Tiechuan.

"The key is, the Whisker Dragon King still hasn't made a move. What exactly are its intentions?"

Du Tiechuan frowned slightly, his mind still preoccupied with the Whisker Dragon King, not daring to go all out.

He looked at Xiang Yue and spoke slowly: "Long Ye has fallen, and the Whisker Dragon King has yet to appear. It must be severely injured from our first encounter, unable to fight."

"Otherwise, why would it stand by and watch your alliance crumble and Long Ye die?"

"Current Elephant King, a wise man knows when to yield. If you surrender, I promise you high rank and generous rewards."

"Haven't you always worried about your clan's development? In the treasury of our Liang Zhu Kingdom, there are plenty of treasures to help your clan繁衍更多后代!"

Many cultivators from Thousand Peaks Forest immediately looked at Xiang Yue with concern.

Xiang Yue shook his head, snorted coldly, and refused without hesitation: "High rank and generous rewards? Just to make us work like cattle and horses for you! Humans, huh."

Xiang Yue was a demon cultivator. Long Ye, as a barbarian, would have an easier time integrating into Liang Zhu Kingdom than him.

In today's cultivation world, humans were the orthodox rulers, the hegemons. Other races could only be subordinates.

In contrast, Xiang Yue and his clan preferred to live and繁衍 freely in a land beyond.

The attempt to persuade him to surrender failed. Du Tiechuan sighed inwardly and took the initiative to attack, engaging Xiang Yue in battle.

With Xiang Yue's significantly increased strength, Du Tiechuan couldn't afford to ignore him.

The two exchanged blows, back and forth, the air ringing with explosions and flying rocks.

With Long Ye's legacy enhancing him, Xiang Yue's strength was clearly a cut above before. His martial arts were straightforward, simple, and powerful, making Du Tiechuan unwilling to meet them head-on, opting instead to evade.

Du Tiechuan's green blade was extremely sharp. Even with the spirit treasure shoulder armor protecting him, Xiang Yue was still wounded by the sword's edge.

Xiang Yue's injuries quickly multiplied. At first, the fight was even, but after a few rounds, he was at a disadvantage.

Zhu Xuanji, who had been observing the battle, had just received crucial intelligence.

"The Whisker Dragon King appeared at Qiuteng Peak and captured the 'Old Monster in the Stone.'"

"It seems Gao Cuo from Thousand Peaks Forest was actually a spy planted here by Liang Zhu Kingdom."

"Why would posing as the 'Old Monster in the Stone' bait the Whisker Dragon King, making it abandon the main battlefield?"

"There must be an important reason behind this!"

Zhu Xuanji pondered while watching the battle, his eyes reflecting Xiang Yue bleeding on the battlefield, struggling repeatedly but failing to regain the upper hand.

Nearby, Hongxiu Immortal and Lin Bufan had also read the key intelligence.

"Long Ye was quite shrewd," Lin Bufan sighed. "Even in death, he calculated against Xiang Yue. A single legacy made the Elephant King take his place, fighting Du Tiechuan to the death."

Hongxiu Immortal added, "Xiang Yue's combat power is considerable. In terms of pure physical cultivation, he might even surpass Long Ye. But part of Long Ye's strength came from divine arts, which is why his combat power exceeded Xiang Yue's."

"With Long Ye dead, Xiang Yue is now the top physical cultivator in Thousand Peaks Forest."

"No, looking across Liang Zhu Kingdom, he's probably among the best physical cultivators at the Nascent Soul level."

Zhu Xuanji stared at Xiang Yue and nodded slightly. "Hmm... Xiang Yue is different from Long Ye. The latter firmly believed in the Whisker Dragon King and had no possibility of cooperating with our Nandou Kingdom."

"Xiang Yue has to care for his entire elephant herd—a major weakness that might be leveraged."

"Moreover, if he participates in this battle and retreats successfully, his prestige and reputation in the Thousand Peaks Forest region will greatly increase. He'll likely become a leading figure there in the future."

"Yes, it would be a pity if Xiang Yue fell in this battle."

The current situation was not what Zhu Xuanji wanted to see.

The Nandou Kingdom needed Thousand Peaks Forest to be de facto independent. They wanted to see both sides suffer losses, with Liang Zhu Kingdom wasting its national strength on a failed campaign.

The Nandou Kingdom had long secretly intervened in Thousand Peaks Forest, with Hongxiu Immortal being one of their agents.

"But how can we save Xiang Yue?" Zhu Xuanji frowned slightly, asking the two beside him.

Hongxiu Immortal rolled up her sleeves. "Easy. The Dragon King's Giant Wood Mountain is just lying there. I'll sneak over and move the mountain to crush the Liang Zhu Kingdom camp. That will force Du Tiechuan to defend, and we can seize the chance to help Xiang Yue escape."

Lin Bufan shook his head. "Xiang Yue's fighting spirit isn't diminishing. Instead, it's rising because he's at a disadvantage. He won't obey our orders to turn and flee."

"And the Divine Arrest Officer definitely can't join the battle personally..."

Such an action would be too outrageous, inevitably causing disputes between the two kingdoms, even border instability.

Lin Bufan frowned, unable to devise a strategy quickly.

Zhu Xuanji suddenly said, "I have a way."

"We can ask Ning Zhuo to fight the Elephant King. His group includes Liu Guan Zhang and the female general Mu Lan."

Lin Bufan was stunned. "Divine Arrest Officer, Xiang Yue is nothing like the Heart Demon Cave Master. Even against the Cave Master, Ning Zhuo only delivered the final blow. It was Mu Lan's Red Heart Goose Arrow technique that truly heavily injured the Cave Master!"

"Now, Mu Lan has already used it once. Using the divine ability a second time will be very difficult."

Zhu Xuanji shook his head confidently. "I have my methods."

He immediately took out a token, channeling magic power and divine sense into it.

Ning Zhuo immediately felt a vibration. Probing with his divine sense into his storage belt, he received Zhu Xuanji's message: "What? Have me deal with Xiang Yue?!"

Ning Zhuo shook his head, about to refuse, but then he saw the follow-up information and his expression changed.

Soon, he changed his mind: "General Liu, General Mu Lan, want to pull off another big one?"

Liu Guan Zhang and Mu Lan were currently leading their respective troops, cutting down enemies left and right, steadily gaining military merits, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Hearing Ning Zhuo's proposal, they grew curious and immediately asked for details.

"What, we're going to deal with Xiang Yue together?" Everyone was shocked.

Ning Zhuo almost patted his chest in assurance: "Don't worry, I have a brilliant plan!"

After all they'd been through, the generals trusted Ning Zhuo immensely. Even without detailed explanations, and despite the life-threatening danger of fighting Xiang Yue, they all agreed readily.

So, Ning Zhuo led the two armies and four generals through the battlefield, reaching the core combat zone for the first time.

"Marshal Du, step back! We'll hold off the Elephant King!" Ning Zhuo shouted.

Friend and foe alike nearby were astonished by Ning Zhuo's cry.

Du Tiechuan cast a scrutinizing look at Ning Zhuo.

Although he had been in closed-door healing, he knew about Ning Zhuo repelling the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.

During this great battle, he had also used spells to observe Ning Zhuo's various impressive performances.

"Good, you take over." Du Tiechuan's worry about the Whisker Dragon King remained. Moreover, Ning Zhuo was from another country, Liu Guan Zhang's troops were merely new recruits, and even better, if Mu Lan's Red Flower Camp suffered losses, many in the royal capital would be pleased.

Du Tiechuan decisively withdrew.

Ning Zhuo and the others took on Xiang Yue's assault.

Xiang Yue snorted coldly, feeling insulted: "You dare look down on me like this?! Then pay with your lives!"

But the next moment, Ning Zhuo sent a divine sense message: "Elephant King, do you remember the autumn red maple by the Glazed Pond?"

Xiang Yue's heart jolted violently, his steps faltering: "What?! You know Hongfeng's whereabouts?"

Ning Zhuo continued via divine sense: "Not only do I know her whereabouts, I also know that after parting with you, she was pregnant with your child."

"Ah?!" Xiang Yue lost color in his face.

Ning Zhuo seized the chance to attack, forcing Xiang Yue back a step. He continued messaging: "Elephant King, I am from the Nandou Kingdom, not on Liang Zhu Kingdom's side. Superficially your enemy, I'm actually your friend."

Xiang Yue's expression shifted uncertainly: "Nandou Kingdom..."

As the current Elephant King, he understood the broader situation clearly.

Thousand Peaks Forest maintaining independence was very beneficial for Nandou Kingdom.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Plus...

"Hongfeng, and my child..." Ning Zhuo had firmly grasped Xiang Yue's weakness.

Ning Zhuo hurriedly continued attacking, secretly messaging: "Elephant King, don't show any flaws! Keep fighting me fiercely!"

"After a few rounds, I'll pretend to flee. You chase me, and I'll lead you away from the battlefield."

Xiang Yue: "How do I know you're not deceiving me? You might be from Liang Zhu Kingdom."

Ning Zhuo: "This concerns Qiu Hongfeng. Are you willing to gamble, Elephant King?"

Xiang Yue, full of heroic spirit, now felt hesitant. He replied sullenly: "This King... gambles! If you deceive me, I won't spare you."

Thus, everyone saw Ning Zhuo's group and Xiang Yue fighting with tremendous force.

Ning Zhuo's side soon fell into劣势, but Ning Zhuo抓住 a flaw and, seemingly by accident, slapped Xiang Yue.

Humiliated, Xiang Yue flew into a rage, focusing solely on chasing Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo fled wildly, leading the pursuing Xiang Yue through most of the battlefield, almost reaching the edge.

Du Tiechuan, resting while observing via spells, noted the Whisker Dragon King's continued absence.

The overall situation was settled!

With Long Ye dead, Lu Hongtu and others fighting while retreating, the morale of the Thousand Peaks Forest alliance hit rock bottom again. They were chased while fleeing helter-skelter, losing countless lives.

Only Xiang Yue remained the biggest variable.

"Hmm?" Seeing Ning Zhuo and Xiang Yue approaching the battlefield edge, Du Tiechuan immediately messaged Ning Zhuo, his tone stern: "Ning Zhuo, I order you to flee toward me! Otherwise, I'll treat you as a deserter."

"Marshal, eat this pot of boiled meat slices. It can quickly restore your magic power." The young attendant Jia Wan, watching over a large pot, offered Du Tiechuan spirit food.

After appearing and engaging in two intense fights, Du Tiechuan had consumed much energy.

Upon landing at the government office, he immediately summoned several Nascent Soul cultivators to guard him. If the Whisker Dragon King attacked, these cultivators could buy him some time, even if they couldn't win.

Among them were the master-disciple pair, Ding Pi and Jia Wan.

Du Tiechuan nodded slightly, keeping a close eye on Ning Zhuo's movements while using his divine sense to bring meat slices to his mouth.

He had only chewed a few times when a cultivator suddenly flew over, shouting: "Marshal, be careful!!!"

Everyone looked and saw Lei Qingyang.

Ding Pi and Jia Wan's expressions changed dramatically. The former suddenly turned and drew his knife, while the latter lifted the pot, aiming to cover Du Tiechuan.

Du Tiechuan truly hadn't expected this master-disciple pair to be traitors!

He tried to mobilize his magic power, but it suddenly went haywire inside him, making him spit out a small mouthful of blood.

A large pot covered Du Tiechuan's head, and Ding Pi's kitchen knife stabbed into his abdomen.

This scene stunned everyone present!

The next moment, Du Tiechuan let out a sharp whistle, exerting his full strength to erupt with a violent gust of air, pushing away all people and objects around him.

Space rippled, and a pale, paper-thin cultivator appeared out of nowhere, slowly thrusting his thin sword forward.

The sword tip aimed at Du Tiechuan's back, piercing straight through his chest.

Shengxu Gongzi!

Successful in his strike, Shengxu Gongzi moved like lightning, directly遁入 the void and disappearing.

It happened too fast.

This shocking变故 occurred in mere moments, settled within a few breaths.

Du Tiechuan clutched his chest, unable to suppress the injury. He urgently tried several methods, but none had any effect.

"This injury is too severe! If I don't return to the royal capital quickly to use the nation's power and dragon vein for treatment, both my physical body and Nascent Soul will be in danger!"

Thinking this, Du Tiechuan decisively ordered: "Sound the gong to withdraw! Retreat, back to the city!"

(End of )