There wasnât much time left. The violet rings Emperor Shura had deployed were his final trump card. If he still couldnât destroy the eight stone sculptures with this technique, then he really would be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Thus, he was seized with joy when Jiang Chen recalled the eight stone sculptures. He had finally broken through the first line of defense! Sneering inwardly, the great emperor charged Jiang Chenâs formation and swung his demonic blade. He could attack the Eight Trigram Boulder Formation now given the absence of the eight stone sculptures running interference.
Jiang Chenâs heart sank. He urged the Earth Bodhisattva Orb to channel energy into the formation with everything he had. Now that the eight stone sculptures were gone, this was his only defense against Emperor Shuraâs attacks.
The situation was critically disadvantageous to Jiang Chen. He inspected the Imperial Advent Defense Talisman without hesitation. Luckily, the talisman hadnât been consumed much because Jiang Chen hadnât been fighting all this time. It would be able to hold out until the end of the fight.
He knew that he should expect the Eight Trigram Boulder Formation to be destroyed at any moment. Once the formation was gone, he would have to engage Emperor Shura in hand-to-hand combat. But he wasnât completely helpless, thanks to the talisman. Though it temporarily increased his defenses to that of a great emperor, he had plenty of other means that could help him hold out for a short while.
But that was his last resort. Jiang Chen didnât want to fight Emperor Shura head-on unless absolutely necessary. Emperor Shura had been a great emperor for three thousand years, and Jiang Chen was just initial emperor realm. Fighting his opponent directly was the worst thing he could do. The light flaring from the blade seemed to be a reverse Milky Way, slamming viciously into the formation.
The edges of the formation shook in response.
The Eight Trigram Boulder Formation was indeed very impressive. If Jiang Chen had been able to establish it with proper foundations and formation flags, delaying Emperor Shura long enough until the round ended wouldnât be impossible. However, he had no choice but to manifest the formation with a disk. A disk allowed a cultivator to manifest a formation very quickly without fuss, but the downside was that the manifested formationâs foundations and power were severely lacking.Emperor Shura had first thought that breaking the formation would be a piece of cake after the eight stone sculptures were gone. However, the error of his thinking was quickly discovered. His powerful strokes cut through the etchings and made the formation shudder and shake, but they recovered before his next stroke could arrive. Such self-healing speed was utterly shocking.âHow is this possible? There are a lot of formations in this world, but there shouldnât be one that can heal itself so quickly after being breached! It should be the other way around!â Emperor Shura was highly perplexed. Pill King Zhen oozed bizarre strangeness.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen was doing everything he could to maintain the formation. The Eight Trigram Boulder Formation was recovering so swiftly because of the Earth Bodhisattva Orb. Spirit stones couldnât have reformed the formation so quickly, and the formation wouldâve immediately collapsed after an opening was made. No wonder the ancient Earth Bodhisattva Sect made the Orb their sect treasure. Jiang Chen finally realized just how powerful the Orb truly was after witnessing the sheer amount of power within. Even better was that this were just scratching the surface. Once he made the Earth Bodhisattva Orb completely his own and excavated all of its potential, Jiang Chen was certain that it could reach unimaginable heights of power.
It looks like I accidentally came across an ultimate treasure! The power of the orb made Jiang Chen more confident. The formation should be able to hold out for some time even without the eight stone sculptures running interference.
As time passed, the round entered the final, most critical stage.
The members of Shura Retreat were on their feet as they watched sand trickling down the hourglass. They looked worriedly at the battle happening on the arena. No one had anticipated that Emperor Shura would still fail to breach young lord Zhenâs defenses despite deploying all kinds of methods and trump cards. No one could define young lord Zhenâs limits. Is his defense truly indestructible? It was a tormenting battle to spectate.
Emperor Shura himself knew that there wasnât much time left. He was discouraged to see the formation reform itself again and again despite his many attacks. It was like scaling a mountain peak, only to find a higher one in front of him.
âZhen, you brat! Iâll break through your cowardly, scummy defenses!â Emperor Shura roared madly when his frustration reached its peak.
The bulky body crashed into the formation again and again. His bloodshot eyes spoke to his maddened bloodlust. Emperor Shura murmured a few incantations that covered his body with a surging purplish-red halo. It looked like a ball of angry hellfire wanted to consume the great emperorâs body. âThis is bad!â Emperor Voidâs heart sank as his face turned ugly. âEmperor Shura... heâs willing to go this far? Has he gone insane?â
Emperor Coiling Dragonâs heart also skipped a beat. Shock and fear marred his face as he exclaimed, âIs... is he burning his own bloodline power?â
âPrecisely.â Emperor Void responded quickly, looking like heâd heard the most terrible of tidings. âCrazy, heâs gone completely crazy! The demonic slaughter daoâs most terrifying technique is the summoning of hellfire and activating of Shura fire in oneâs body. The terrifying hell energy makes a cultivator several times stronger than before, but they have to pay a huge price in return as well!â
Emperor Peerless didnât know Emperor Shura that well, but his expression also turned ugly when he heard that Shuraâs power would increase several magnitudes over.
âThis fellow sure is willing to sacrifice anything to seize power. Does he really think that his methods and ruthlessness will impress even if he does win the round?â Emperor Peerless frowned.
âHmph, to go this far for an internal conflict! Emperor Shura is a failure indeed. No wonder Daoist Peafowl didnât pass the throne to him back then. He doesnât have the heart or composure to carry Veluriyam Capital on his back at all.â Emperor Void agreed. âEven if he does win the round, Sacred Peafowl Mountain and Shura Retreat are still evenly matched. Who will support him after doing something like this?â
Emperor Voidâs words werenât unreasonable. Emperor Shura was an important figure in the capital, second to only Emperor Peafowl. However, he was bringing out questionable methods to defeat a young genius. No matter how he tried to justify it later, it left a dreadful impression. It was the desperation of a cornered animal, not the bearing and performance a great emperor with three thousand years of experience should possess.
Emperor Coiling Dragon cursed hatefully, âHeâs destroying his own reputation. Iâll gather every righteous man and woman there is and object to his ascension if he wins this!â
Emperor Shura truly did lose a lot of supporters because of his current actions. Even Emperor Petalpluckâs forehead were creased with deep dissatisfaction when he saw this.
Back in the arena, Jiang Chen felt as calm as still water. He could clearly see every move Emperor Shura was making. He knew that his opponent would do everything in his power to win at this stage. He too was likewise prepared for the final showdown. The Earth Bodhisattva Orb still fully powering the formation, Jiang Chen called upon the Ancient Crimson Heavens formation disk once more and deployed a new formation, inside the currently operating one.
The Major Artifice Formation!
Jiang Chen wasnât expecting the illusory formation to actually do anything against Emperor Shura. Its only purpose was to buy him a bit of time after his opponent broke through the Eight Trigram Boulder Formation.
At the same time, Jiang Chen activated his tempered body, heralded by an explosion of golden light. The magnetic mountain floated over his head and shone rays of metallic light towards Jiang Chen, forming a magnetic armor. The Bewitching Lotus of Fire and Ice was also hiding nearby, ready to ambush and restrain with Emperor Shura on a momentâs notice. He was activating every trump card that might be useful.
Jiang Chen didnât care anymore if his identity was exposed to the Eternal Celestial Capital emperor watching from the guest area. His only objective in this fight was to hold out until it was over. It wouldnât be long now. A bit longer, and Sacred Peafowl Mountain would become the ultimate victor of this match.
Shura hellfire burned wildly on Emperor Shuraâs body. Many strange and savage-looking patterns were crawling across his skin.
âBreak!â Emperor Shura swung crazily at the Eight Trigram Boulder Formation. A horrific cracking noise later, the etchings of the formation was finally destroyed by the unprecedented attack.