Martial Peak

Chapter 2222, Demon Insects

Profound Dragon Seal was a defensive Secret Technique that was the crystallization of Ban Qing’s cultivation, a self-devised skill he had perfected over many long years.

He had only ever used this Secret Technique three times since he reached the Emperor Realm, and every time that he used it, his opponent had also been an Emperor Realm Master.

However, he was forced to use this Secret Technique in front of a Dao Source Realm cultivator like Yang Kai.

He could sense that he would certainly die unless he used this Secret Technique!

He had no basis for his feelings, but he deeply trusted his senses.

A dragon shadow appeared and twirled itself around his body, and in just the blink of an eye, a light barrier that resembled a shield appeared. On the shield were some faint Dragon drawings that seemed like they were alive.

After Ban Qing used this technique, he felt slightly reassured as the panic in his heart receded quite a bit.

However…

The sword sliced past with a simple movement that carried no extravagance. The Profound Dragon Seal, which was capable of defending against an Emperor Realm master’s full force attack, seemed as soft as tofu in front of Yang Kai. Without a sound, the solid defence was sliced in half as the sword continued towards Ban Qing’s chest without being slowed one bit.

If it landed a solid hit, with how abnormal this sword appeared to be, it was likely that even someone as strong as Ban Qing would be sliced in half.

Ban Qing’s expression suddenly changed as he no longer dared to hesitate. Pushing his Spiritual Energy madly, he used the explosive force to retreat with all his strength.

*Chi…*

There was a soft sound as Ban Qing forcibly broke free from the restraint of the Space Principles and barely managed to dodge a deadly blow from the blade strike.

However, a wound that spanned the entire length of his chest, from his shoulder to his stomach, appeared, nearly taking off one of his arms in the process.

There was no blood coming out of the injury, nor was there any sign of his physique being damaged. In fact, there wasn’t even any sign of bones. Yet, pure Spiritual Energy was pouring out of the injury as it continuously vanished into thin air.

“Such a pity!” Yang Kai couldn’t help but exclaim as he looked at Ban Qing. Previously, Yang Kai had rashly charged in front of Ban Qing twice in order to lure Ban Qing into letting down his guard so that he could find a chance to deliver a fatal blow.

Still, Yang Kai’s plan had somewhat succeeded. His two rash actions earlier had obviously caused Ban Qing to underestimate him, resulting in the latter directly closing in to strike Yang Kai. This gave Yang Kai the chance to use a Heaven-destroying counterattack; however, an Emperor was still an Emperor. When Ban Qing’s life was in danger, his reaction speed was incredibly quick and he actually managed to dodge such a sudden attack from such a close distance.

Not far away, Ban Qing had been seriously injured as his eyes shook violently and his expression changed several times. He stared at the sword in Yang Kai’s hands while roaring, “What the hell is that!?”

“The Soul Splitting Sabre!” Yang Kai had a wicked smile as he waved the sword in his hands and used it to point at Ban Qing in the distance, “It doesn’t hurt flesh, it only cuts Souls!”

When entering the Divine Ascension Mirror World, Yang Kai had only brought three things with him along with his Soul Avatar.

The first was the Purple Sun Profound Light Shield that Gao Xue Ting had given him, the second was the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus in his Knowledge Sea, and the third was this Soul Splitting Sabre.

The sabre was an item he obtained from the Insect Emperor.

Back on Shadowed Star, the Insect Emperor had caused great trouble everywhere, but when Yang Kai slew him, he had obtained the Insect Enslavement Bracelet and Soul Splitting Sabre, two Emperor Artifacts.

That Insect Enslavement Bracelet had the special effect of suppressing various types of insects. Yang Kai had escaped death several times thanks to the Insect Enslavement Bracelet. As for the Soul Splitting Sabre, he had hardly ever used it before and had not yet fully refined it.

That was why Yang Kai had been really astonished when he first entered this world and discovered the Soul Splitting Sabre was available to him.

Even though he had never refined this Emperor Artifact before, it was undeniable that it possessed strong attack power against Souls. With this sabre in hand, Yang Kai had managed to seriously injure a master like Ban Qing in just one hit. If he had slightly refined the sabre, then it definitely would have been quite easy for him to kill Ban Qing in a special world like this Divine Ascension Mirror World.

Yang Kai had learned his lesson. He secretly resolved that when he returned to his world, he would definitely find a chance to properly refine the Emperor Artifacts in his possession.

Before, he hadn’t refined them because he wasn’t powerful enough, but now, he was already a Dao Source Realm cultivator, and his Soul was comparable to that of a peak Dao Source Master, so refining these Emperor Artifacts shouldn’t be a problem anymore.

No matter if it was the Soul Splitting Sabre or the Insect Enslavement Bracelet, they would be really useful in certain special circumstances.

“Damn it!” Ban Qing gritted his teeth and shouted in a low voice. Although he didn’t understand what Yang Kai meant by ‘doesn’t hurt flesh’, he clearly recognized that this sabre was a serious threat to him on a fatal level due to the previous attack.

He was now seriously injured, yet Yang Kai was completely uninjured. Additionally, it seemed like Yang Kai knew some rather strange abilities, so Ban Qing was already thinking of retreating.

Although it would be truly embarrassing if word spread that an Emperor Realm cultivator like him ran away from a Dao Source Realm Junior, Ban Qing no longer cared at this time. His life was the most important thing, while face and everything else was only secondary!

Not only that, Ban Qing’s cultivated Secret Techniques were all the type to assist in covert assassination. Normally speaking, someone who cultivated these types of Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities could be called cautious if one wanted to be nice, cowardly if they were to be blunt. Such people would always instantly run for a thousand kilometres if they failed on the first attack. They would never stay for long battles with the enemy, as their fighting abilities would be seriously diminished in a direct confrontation.

If a master like Lian Yan had been before Yang Kai right now, he would never have immediately retreated even if he was caught off guard and injured by Yang Kai.

An injury would never possibly make up for an absolute gap in strength between different realms.

Regardless, after Ban Qing said that, his figure flashed as he wanted to retreat first and formulate a plan.

But at that moment, he suddenly lost track of Yang Kai from his vision. Just one moment ago, the Dao Source Realm brat had been standing not far in front of him, yet now he had actually vanished in the blink of an eye.

“What?” Ban Qing was astonished. He was already a master who was highly skilled at concealment, yet he discovered that there were always people out there who were more skilled than him.

Yang Kai’s sudden disappearance was obviously a far better technique than his own, and Yang Kai could clearly use Space Principles, which allowed him to truly ignore the limitations of space.

Ban Qing hurriedly released his Divine Sense to try and determine Yang Kai’s position; however, he immediately sensed a chilly wind coming from behind his head. This chill seemed as if it blew from the depths of hell and could freeze a person’s Soul.

Ban Qing widened his eyes as he had already sensed his enemy’s position. He didn’t dare to react slowly as he hurriedly turned around while simultaneously sending out a blast of pure Spiritual Energy visible to the naked eye.

*Hong…*

Violent energy clashed and sent Yang Kai flying backwards from the impact. Light flashed furiously and unsteadily on his body in midair, while Ban Qing didn’t even budge.

There was still an absolute difference between their realms, so even though Yang Kai had teleported to launch an ambush, it still didn’t achieve the desired effect.

It now seemed that if it wasn’t for Ban Qing being overconfident and not understanding the existence of Soul-type artifacts, he wouldn’t have been injured by Yang Kai’s sabre. As long as he had a slight understanding of the Soul Splitting Sabre’s threat and was slightly on guard, Yang Kai never would have succeeded in wounding him.

“Hmph!” Yang Kai landed and made a muffled sound of pain as his expression flickered slightly. This clashing between Souls wasn’t something that humans could usually bear. This pain was far more difficult to withstand than any type of physical pain.

He felt as if his Soul was being torn apart, and there was no way to suppress this pain at all. Apart from bearing with it, there was no second option.

However, Yang Kai was still smiling faintly…

Because his trick had succeeded yet again.

*Weng weng…*

A strange buzzing sound could be heard as Ban Qing paused in surprise. However, he soon realized just where this sound was coming from.

He hurriedly lowered his head and saw that the injury on his body was actually covered with a dense layer of small pitch-black dots. Upon closer inspection, Ban Qing immediately felt his head go numb.

That was because those pitch-black dots were actually tiny insects, numerous enough that they were all but uncountable.

Anyone would likely find it difficult to withstand their body being covered in insects, but what truly terrified Ban Qing was that these tiny insects actually pierced into his wound, and nearly half of them had entered his body in just the blink of an eye.

Ban Qing’s face became incredibly pale.

With his Emperor Realm cultivation, he could naturally sense that these insects were actually beginning to take ravenous bites off him as they fed on his essence.

Ban Qing was constantly losing strength!

“What are these!?” Ban Qing couldn’t help but stagger back several steps as he lowered his head and looked at his own body, shouting loudly in fear, “Just what is this!?”

He had asked this question several times already, ever since he met Yang Kai.

For a cultivator like Ban Qing, who had been born and raised in the Divine Ascension Mirror World, many of the techniques and items that Yang Kai showed to him today were beyond his understanding.

Most critically of all, even if Ban Qing didn’t recognize the Soul Devouring Demon Insects, he felt an instinctive fear when he saw them. This type of fear came from the depths of his soul and was completely innate, like when a frog met a snake, or if a rabbit met an eagle…

As Ban Qing angrily roared, he also shook his body and formed an invisible aura that wrapped around himself.

The Soul Devouring Demon Insects which hadn’t managed to enter his body were all sent flying outside by the impact.

However, pure Spiritual Energy was still pouring out from Ban Qing’s injury. Such Spiritual Energy was the most delicious food of all for the Soul Devouring Demon Insects, so they would never let this go.

The insects didn’t even wait for Yang Kai’s command as they gathered together again into a cloud and enveloped Ban Qing.

Ban Qing witnessed a despairing scene.

His Emperor Realm defensive aura actually didn’t even obstruct these insects as they could literally chew through it. In just a short while, they gnawed open a hole through his defences and once again pounced onto his body to invade him through his injury.

“Demon Insects!” Ban Qing seemed to suddenly realize something as his expression greatly changed while he roared in panic, “These are Demon Insects!”

His eyes contained a rather pitiful expression as he shouted.

He hadn’t been so helpless even when he faced the Soul Splitting Sabre, yet this Emperor Realm master was showing despair when he faced the Soul Devouring Demon Insects.