Ni Ren definitely had not revealed its full strength yet. In the face of Lu Yin’s ability to teleport, it had been waiting for an opportunity to unleash a single killing move, just as Lu Yin himself had been waiting for a brief opening to save someone.
Neither side could afford to fail.
Lu Yin observed for a while and then suddenly teleported to Ni Ren’s flank. He faced the long blades’ slashes, dodging while striking out with the Dao Sword.
Karma again. Ni Ren had been extremely wary. One of its long blades fell, chopping down upon the Dao Sword, but it contained very little karma. Lu Yin was just testing things. Next, he slowly raised a hand. Beneath his Karmic Dao, many Dao Swords appeared, forming a river of Dao Swords that suddenly slashed down at Ni Ren.
From the other side, Tri-Azure Sword Intent also formed a river of sword intent and shot at the creature.
Ni Ren hurriedly used its two long white blades to cut at both sides. Compared to the Dao Sword, the river of Tri-Azure Sword Intent was far less of a threat, but it simply did not know where the true Dao Sword might be hiding.
Lu Yin could only make one or two Dao Swords powerful enough to truly threaten Ni Ren. It did not believe that Lu Yin had enough karma for more than that.
But even if there were only one or two Dao Swords, it had to find them first. If it was cut again and one of the white blades was further weakened, its standing in the Mudwater Dominion would truly become unstable.
Everywhere, strength reigned supreme.
The two rivers of sword intent abruptly scattered and then slashed at Ni Ren from every possible direction. At the same time, Lu Yin held his scythe, and white Activeness surged out, enough to be visible to the naked eye as it shot at Ni Ren.
Facing an attack from three distinct powers, Ni Ren’s two white blades slashed frantically. Whether it was the rivers of sword intent or the Activeness, everything was sliced to bits. No power could come close to Ni Ren.
Now! Lu Yin suddenly opened Heaven’s Sight. Purple sight power surrounded the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor: Manifestation Beyond the Pupil.
Clang!
There was a thunderous crash as a white blade struck the Manifestation Beyond the Pupil but failed to cut through it.
Ni Ren was horrified. “Impossible...”
What blocked the white blade were the thirteen scales from the Blacklight Civilization’s One-Hundredth Seal. They were things that even Ancestor Shan had not been able to easily destroy. They were the Blacklight Civilization’s most powerful legacy. Even if Ni Bieluo struck, it would struggle to instantly shatter these scales, let alone Ni Ren.
No matter how sharp its blades might be, it could not surpass Ancestor Shan’s power.
Manifestation Beyond the Pupil blocked the attacks for an instant. Lu Yin reached for the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor, ready to teleport away, and yet the old man dodged away. Eyes smeared with blood looked over at Lu Yin as the old man used every last shred of strength to avoid the grasping hand, hoarsely rasping, “Go!”
Right in front of Lu Yin, cement suddenly erupted from the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor’s seven orifices, and it all surged for Lu Yin.
It was all too familiar of a scene. In the past, that mud doll had used this same method when attempting to draw Lu Yin’s image on a piece of paper. This was the Mudwater Dominion’s method for recording creatures and civilizations. This was their true legacy technique.
Lu Yin teleported away. If he had made contact with the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor, that cement might have touched him. There was a good chance that his image would have been drawn.
He had exhausted every means possible to fight for that opening, but in truth, Ni Ren also wanted to give Lu Yin an opening, as that opening would give Ni Ren an opportunity itself.
However, it had not anticipated that Lu Yin would actually create the opening with his own power. The more successful the human’s efforts, the more he would lower his guard. Ni Ren had believed that it could draw Lu Yin’s image, only for the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor to ruin things.
Ni Ren was absolutely furious. Cement ripped the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor’s skin apart, turning his body into a bleeding mess. “You’re courting death!”
The old man let out a bitter laugh. “Enough! This is enough! Lu Yin, you aren’t even an Immortal, and yet your strength has already reached this level. Humanity has hope for future prosperity, hahahaha!
“Go! Go now! Don’t mind me, go!”
Lu Yin glared at Ni Ren. “Release him. I’ll fight you, and I will absolutely not run away.”
Ni Ren sneered. “Absolutely won’t run?”
“A fight to the death,” Lu Yin stated resolutely.
Ni Ren mocked, “Are you from human civilization? It is even more fragile than I thought. Emotions are the most useless things, obstacles that block one from climbing to the peak. You’ve reached this level, and yet you’re still hindered by emotion? Truly stupid.
“Unfortunately, I don’t believe you.”
Hoo.
There was a soft sound as the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor was recorded into a drawing, the paper becoming Ni Ren’s third long white blade. It pointed at Lu Yin. “I suddenly realized that, since you care about him so much, I’ll use him to fight against you. If you are so capable, take him away. This can’t count as threatening you with him.”
Lu Yin’s eyes were as deep as the sea as he stared at Ni Ren. Even the arm that held Aberrant was trembling.
“What? Scared? You can leave if you want.” Ni Ren sneered. A blade fell, the slash tearing open the cosmos as far as Lu Yin could see.
Lu Yin watched the slash as it drew near and then teleported away. He reappeared directly before Ni Ren. There was a wild surge of Activeness as his left hand formed a fist that smashed forward.
In front of him, the white blade that was the recorded Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor suddenly appeared to block the punch. Lu Yin hurriedly diverted his fist, only for two more white blades to strike down behind him. There was a ringing sound as Lu Yin plummeted, struck down by the edge of a blade.
He spat out a mouthful of blood. If he had not blocked that attack at the last moment with the Darksky Seal’s plates of armor, those two slashes would have torn his body apart.
Ni Ren now controlled three white blades, and all of them slashed at Lu Yin. The creature believed that Lu Yin would no longer insist on trying to save someone who was destined to die. If he persisted, it would overpower him and kill him. If he decided to run, that was also fine. The war was not over yet.
Lu Yin kept dodging the white blades. Any counterattack he attempted met the folded paper that recorded the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor. If his attacks landed on the white blade, they would cause it to crack and shatter, killing the old man.
Lu Yin could not attack, could not save the man, and could not escape. He was trapped.
He could teleport, had kept his Crow Immobilization hidden, and possessed all kinds of powers and abilities. But at this moment, they all felt utterly inadequate. Beneath the edges of the white blades, the cosmos was torn apart like paper. Lu Yin’s body would not fare much better.
Slash after slash, Lu Yin kept evading. His eyes remained locked onto the blade that was the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor.
Hss.
He avoided the slashes, but he could not avoid Ni Ren’s world. Lu Yin started to be cut, and lines of blood appeared all over his body. His only choice was to teleport far away and then teleport back again, constantly searching for an opportunity.
Time passed. His wounds accumulated, but neither Heaven’s Sight’s Manifestation Beyond the Pupil nor his Dao Sword could find any openings.
Ni Ren grew increasingly adept at manipulating the three white blades, its attacks reaching distant parts of the void.
Lu Yin struggled like a drowning man. His river of sword intent returned, only for Ni Ren to immediately use the white blade that was the Mountain Sword Sect's ancestor to counter. The river of sword intent scattered. It had been formed from karma, but most of the swords had only possessed tiny bits of karma. Even so, Lu Yin did not want to strike the folded blade that was the old man.
Ni Ren’s slashes grew more and more aggressive. Its unseen world returned. Lu Yin hurriedly dodged, only for fresh cuts to appear on his body. Extremes Must Be Reversed kept restoring him, only for his body to wither yet again.
To be honest, Ni Ren could not understand why Lu Yin had not fled yet. Of course, it did not want the human to flee, but if it were in his place, Ni Ren would see no point in dragging things out. Karma might allow it to erase one of the white blades, but it was impossible to steal one.