The Divine Dragon Sword returned to Leo’s hand, the immense energy flow disappeared, and the gigantic, terrifying Eight-Forked Serpent vanished as well. The construction site regained its calm.
Thud!
Kazuhiko, leaning on the Stormcloud Sword, spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning as pale as paper. His aged appearance seemed to have aged another decade instantly.
Kazuhiko was severely injured, presenting a momentous opportunity that Leo couldn’t miss. With swiftness, Leo lunged towards Kazuhiko like a streak of light, aiming to pierce his chest with his sword. As Leo was about to land his strike, Kazuhiko’s wrinkled face showed a cruel, hideous smile, and then he suddenly disappeared.
“Hiding Spell!?” Leo withdrew his sword in shock. He immediately extended his spiritual sense outward, only to find that he couldn’t detect Kazuhiko’s presence at all, as if Kazuhiko had evaporated from the world.
While Leo was at a loss, a sense of bewilderment enveloped him. The previously dim but clear world started to blur. Before Leo could comprehend the change, a chilling wind poured down from above. Almost simultaneously, a surge of terrifying yin energy erupted from the ground.
During a lunar eclipse, the yin energy between heaven and earth is at its densest. Could Kazuhiko be attempting to harness this yin energy…?
A frightening thought crossed Leo’s mind, and the ground beneath him began to tremble, akin to a mild earthquake. The entire construction site appeared like an isolated island in a stormy sea, on the verge of collapsing at any moment. Leo grew anxious, sensing that the tremors and ancient wailing sounds indicated the yin energy was corroding the dragon vein.
If the dragon vein here were destroyed, it wouldn’t just affect this area but could gravely damage the entire Deepmere City’s fortune!
“Weak Atrarian, what do you think of my grand Orientian geomancy master’s concealment technique?” Kazuhiko’s voice suddenly sounded behind Leo. Before Leo could turn around, the voice shifted to in front of him.
Leo retorted unflinchingly, “Hiding like a rat, no matter how well you hide, of what use is it!?”
“Hahaha, well said!” A fuzzy figure of Kazuhiko appeared. Due to the lingering mist, Leo couldn’t see his expression clearly, nor did he want to, using his spiritual sense to lock onto him.
“You are powerful, but you disrupted my plans, leaving me disgraced to return to Orientia. You Atrarians value reciprocation, so as a return, I will not allow you to leave here. Therefore…”
Kazuhiko paused, then continued, “Enjoy my final strike! Ultimate mastery, world-destroying slash!”
Kazuhiko raised the Stormcloud Sword high, the yin energy between heaven and earth rapidly converging around him. After a deafening crash, the surrounding mist dissipated. To Leo’s astonishment, a black hole seemed to appear above Kazuhiko and the Stormcloud Sword, emitting chilling shrieks.
From the black hole, countless ghosts emerged. They landed with monstrous grins and furious roars, pouncing towards Leo. Instantly, the construction site turned into a living hell.
Leo was undeterred. He took out a talisman and cast it. Immediately, a blazing blue flame ignited on the ground, forming a wall of blue fire three meters in front of Leo. The first set of attacking ghosts hit the fire wall, turning into black dust as they passed through.
The flames spread rapidly, transforming the whole site into a sea of fire. In the inferno, countless ghosts screamed and howled, their bodies turning into black sand as they disintegrated.
Spiritual Fire, the purgatory flame, was meant to refine devils and ghosts. However, before Leo could eliminate all the ghosts with the Spiritual Fire, a colossal silver beam, carrying an earth-splitting force, slashed down on him.
The strike’s magnitude was beyond description, causing an unprecedented shockwave tearing apart everything within the barrier. The ground seemed plowed repeatedly, and the unconscious bodies of Jōji and Aoyama exploded, turning into two clouds of blood mist.
Leo’s figure disappeared again, seeming to have been obliterated by the devastating slash. Even the barrier couldn’t withstand this final strike, shattering soon after.
As everything gradually calmed, only a solitary hunched figure stood stubbornly in the eerie wind-Kazuhiko. The Stormcloud Sword had fallen beside him, its blade dull and cracked, looking like mere scrap metal. Kazuhiko, hands on his knees, coughed weakly, spitting out dark red blood with each cough.
The last strike, tapping into the densest yin energy, had drained Kazuhiko completely. Though he could barely stand, he was at his last gasp.
With the lunar eclipse ending, the shadowed moon reappeared. A yellowish light flickered, revealing Leo’s figure again, standing proudly with the Divine Dragon Sword in hand.
“You, you…” Kazuhiko extended a trembling finger towards Leo, his eyes bulging, his face convulsing until he spat out blood and fell, dead.
Leo formed a seal with one hand and cast a talisman onto Kazuhiko’s corpse, which ignited and turned to ashes soon. Leo showed no mercy to those from Orientia who dared wreak havoc in Atraria.
Retrieving the Divine Dragon Sword and Nine Abyss Suppresses Evil Peak, Leo walked towards the direction where the three demon cultivators and Thomas were lying. Seeing Leo approaching, the four, mostly recovered, struggled to stand.
“Thank you for your assistance. You not only saved us but also Deepmere City. Please accept my sincerest gratitude.” Kakumei performed a deep Daoist bow.
Leo quickly returned the gesture, “No need for such formality, Master. I am Leo. May I ask where you three hail from?”
Kakumei replied, “My Daoist name is Kakumei. These two are Kakusin and Kakusei, and we are from the Shaoshan School.”
So, they were Shaoshan School Daoists? In the secular world, Shaoshan School was less renowned than Maothorn Highlands and Lionheart Highlands. Yet, their geomancy heritage was just as long, possibly surpassing them in mystique.