177. A Young Man Pale As Death
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The real Black Dragon had shown itself!
But more importantly, the sight of this hateful black dragon was an instant reminder that Zhurong Fen had needed it's pearl and core to resurrect Yu Wang.
~"The demon king hasn't fully awakened!"~ Luoyin's brows furrowed in realization.
~"We were fighting a partial resurrection all along?!"~ Kai Zhen asked with a tinge of dismay. ~"How powerful will he be if he succeeds?!"~
Their combined powers were decently higher than Old man Bao's current level, and yet, Yu Wang had survived their brutal attacks...
It would be a catastrophe if Yu Wang fully awakened!
~"We can't allow it!"~ Old man Bao warned. ~"We mustn't let that creature into this formation!!"~
But almost as if the black dragon sensed their intent, it roared, and suddenly dived through the skies, twisting right at Kai Zhen.
'Hmph, how clever! Trying to break in from the weakest link!' Kai Zhen thought as he swiftly held up a hand. ~"Xiaobai!"~
~"Hao!"~ Luoyin nodded, and in the split of a split second, he and Kai Zhen switched places, and Old man Bao also moved to make up for any slight missteps, the three keeping the perfect triangle around Yu Wang.
The black dragon flashed forward towards Luoyin, gradually getting larger in his irises, but Luoyin remained calm as the dragon crashed into an unseen barrier.
"Abomination borne of ill-intent." Luoyin boldly stared down the disgusting creature forged by the forceful aging of an innocent infant. "Borrowed strength holds no water! Even my clone dragon is enough to deal with you!"
A grand seal bloomed before Luoyin, and a mighty roar was heard as the seal's sea blue lines flourished outward.
An ice dragon climbed forth from within the seal, its size easily matching the black dragon's.
The ice dragon instantly bit at the black dragon which shrieked in pain as both dragons flew off in a fierce tussle, leaving the Three-Way seal undisturbed.
However, Yu Wang himself didn't keep still, and roared in anger, directing his most powerful attacks at the edges, and the sheer force threatened to shatter the formation.
Recognizing the danger, Luoyin, Old man Bao, and Kai Zhen reinforced their attacks on Yu Wang, throwing their deadliest techniques at the collosal demon.
He was now more fortified, so their attacks were not as damaging as before, but Live or die, they were determined to fight to the bitter end, each taking turns to attack him.
Meanwhile, something had bothered Luoyin from Zhurong Fen's 'death' till now, and he secretly activated his Yuan Jing technique.
~"There's something off about the demon king..."~ Luoyin began through telepathy. ~"My crystal shield somehow appeared to protect Zhurong Fen's corpse earlier, and..."~ He drew in a breath, then added in a rush,
~"Yu Wang's aura clearly clashes with mine, yet there seems to be an odd similarity!"~
~"Ei?!"~ Kai Zhen exclaimed, an uneasy feeling in his stomach. ~"Could it be complications from using Zhurong Fen's ice aura to ascend?!"~
But Luoyin shook his head. ~"No... I noticed it even while fighting Zhurong Fen... As I absorbed her aura, I remember thinking it was working far better than expected... Almost as if our auras resonated perfectly."
This was what had made Luoyin use his Yuan Jing technique. With it, he could clearly see that this wasn't Yu Wang's true body, but Yu Wang's true form was shrouded from him, and he could see no anwers to what really bothered him.
~"Hmph. Whatever the case, this is much too dangerous!"~ Old man Bao said. ~"We must end things before Yu Wang capitalizes on this strange link!"~
They all nodded.
Given the stakes, each would willingly spend their lives never understanding the answer, if it meant they could defeat Yu Wang here today!
Old man Bao performed a quick series of hand seals, releasing a hefty ton of aura, and Luoyin and Kai Zhen swiftly readied themselves, their own fingers weaving into seals.
Soon, the three-way formation hummed with a heightened combination of their auras, and there was a mighty resounding roar which shook the entire formation.
A magnificent white and blue dragon of air manifested behind Old man Bao, streaking forward towards Yu Wang.
The dragon was easily larger than Yu Wang, and it pulsed with dense energy, opening its large maw to shoot a deadly ray of brilliant white energy at him.
The attack hit Yu Wang squarely, and sent him flying into the edge of the seal.
But the dragon did not pause and it flashed forward, instantly curling tightly around the now dazed Yu Wang, holding him firmly in place.
The space vibrated as a hundred large gold Kirins appeared, surrounding Yu Wang and shooting mighty jets of gold aura at him.
Then at the same time, a sea blue seal materialized from above, and hundreds of thousands of Luoyin's illusory swords rained down on Yu Wang.
The power of all three attacks was unfathomable in the Mortal Realm, and even in Sky Realm, it could level several immortal cities!
It was power which could kill any known deity, and Yu Wang was now shrouded within a myriad of auras which exploded into dense smoky lights...
But suddenly, they heard a soft,
"Break!"
At his words, the air dragon shattered like glass, and an unseen force hit Old man Bao, sending him sprawling backwards and off the three-way formation.
"Old man!" Luoyin instantly cut off his own attack and appeared to catch Old man Bao, and Kai Zhen appeared to help steady him in the air.
The three-way formation flickered away, leaving Yu Wang free, but they barely noticed as Old man Bao grasped his chest, spewing out a worrying flood of blood.
But then the black dragon roared, and they looked up to see it vanish, reappearing to circle above Yu Wang.
"Not good!" Luoyin exclaimed.
"The Formation!" Kai Zhen observed with dismay.
The Ice dragon darted towards Yu Wang and the black dragon, but a familiar crystal shield appeared to protect them and the black dragon crashed into it, shattering an impact.
Old man Bao and Kai Zhen's eyes widened.
It was indeed Luoyin's crystal shield!
Yu Wang smirked down at them.
"Hmph! Those last attacks were really dangerous!" He said. "Too bad... I used your own air dragon against you at the last instant!"
Yu Wang had been trying to destroy the Three-Way Formation, but he couldn't catch any of the three while they attacked him, and nor could he reach them at the edge of the Formation...
"I couldn't let the fight draw on for much longer, because this temporary body was failing, so I deliberately let that old relic's dragon surround me!"
He had infused the dragon with his dark aura, using it to fend off Luoyin and Kai Zhen's attacks.
Then he had reversed Old man Bao's hold, using his own aura to latch on and attack, which had then broken their formation!
Yu Wang threw his head back and roared in laughter, an evil glint in his eyes. "Finally... I can fully awaken!"
His hands formed swift seals, and bright purple lightning suddenly streaked across the dark sky.
A bolt of the lightning struck the black dragon, sending purple ripples across its gleaming black scales.
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In Sky Realm, somewhere in Floral Realm, the flower fields rumbled with a massive quake, and a large red seal manifested.
It flared brightly for a few seconds, drawing in aura from all the flowers around it.
And then it suddenly vanished, almost as if it was never there...
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Back in Yu Shui City, the red seal from the Floral realm appeared above Yu Wang, between him and the black dragon.
Then the black dragon began to writhe in agony as its core, essence, and even its flesh broke down, all flowing right into the red seal.
From the bottom of the seal, rays of golden light streaked out as Yu Wang absorbed the dragon in mere seconds.
The red seal faded away suddenly, and Yu Wang's gigantic form disintegrated into black wraiths which swirled around, phasing into a much smaller mass which took on a human shape.
And then the black-robed human descended to stand with his back to them, his stark black hair swaying in the wind.
"Hmmm, it feels great to be in my original body..." Yu Wang said with an obvious sneer in his voice, stretching and cricking his neck as his ornate black and dark purple robes settled around him. "Well then..."
He slowly turned to face Luoyin, Kai Zhen, and Old man Bao, and they froze in shock.
It was as if all the air had been sucked away, making them forget to breath.
Luoyin slightly staggered, but Old man Bao's hand automatically shot out to steady him, as they all stared at the impossible sight.
Standing before them was a young man pale as death, a cold smirk on his face, and a wicked gleam in his eyes...
But apart from his deathly pale complexion, black hair, and blood red irises, he and Luoyin looked exactly the same...!
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