A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 443 Chess City
When Ren Qianxing saw Yan Cangfeng take the initiative to make a move, he became excited. A flash of red light appeared in his eyes, he twirled his long sword, tapped his toes, and leaped into the air like a dragon. Facing the incoming sword light, he shouted, and suddenly a streak of red lightning streaked across the sky. The crowd saw two sword lights, one red and one blue, collide. In an instant, it was as if two different colored suns had appeared in the sky, causing the onlookers to turn their heads and cover their faces with their hands.

Then another explosion rang out. Gu Xu looked at the dissipating aura and residual energy, his expression unchanged. If these two were to be judged solely on strength, Ren Qianxing would naturally be slightly better, but Yan Cangfeng's tenacity would allow him to go all the way to the end.

Yan Zangfeng's sword strike failed, so he immediately followed up with a palm strike, fiercely attacking Ren Qianxing. The latter neither dodged nor avoided it, but also clenched his fist to meet it. With a bang, their fists and palms collided, and both of them immediately felt a deep internal force rush into their arms, and then they were separated. Ren Qianxing tumbled and shifted, dissipating the force, and stood steadily on the chessboard, his sword pointing diagonally downwards, his eyes flashing coldly as he stared at Yan Zangfeng opposite him.

"It's been a while, and your skills have improved quite a bit. But I believe that I will be the one to win in the end."

Yan Zangfeng's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this. He brought two fingers together and traced them across the sword. A deep blue light followed his fingers to the tip of the sword. With a clang, Yan Zangfeng looked at Ren Qianxing and said, "Until the very last moment, no one knows what will happen. Ren Qianxing, you have fallen too deep into demonic ways. If you do not turn back, you will become a puppet of the demonic sword."

"Ah."

Ren Qianxing showed disdain, then his figure moved swiftly, his sword light flickering, and he thrust towards Yan Cangfeng. Upon seeing this, the latter sighed, his expression solemn, and met the attack head-on. The two swords clashed for a moment, the red and blue sword lights constantly colliding. Ren Qianxing looked at Yan Cangfeng, who was so close, and his anger deepened. He roared, and his sword became even sharper, the red light intensifying, forcing Yan Cangfeng to retreat continuously. In just a few breaths, Yan Cangfeng was forced to the edge of the chessboard, only three inches away from the lake.

"drink!"

Yan Zangfeng gripped his sword with both hands, his true energy surging, and raised it high with all his might, instantly deflecting Ren Qianxing's demonic sword. As the latter's sword was deflected, his left hand suddenly attacked, and a powerful Dragon Palm struck Yan Zangfeng squarely in the chest. However, to Ren Qianxing's surprise, this palm not only failed to injure Yan Zangfeng, but also sent a gentle force crashing down, causing him to stagger back seven steps.

"So that's what I had to rely on."

Ren Qianxing looked at the five-colored light on Yan Cangfeng's chest with slight apprehension. His eyes sharpened, and he held his sword upright in front of his chest, pointing upwards. A red star appeared on the sword. With a slash, the red star shot through the air and arrived in front of Yan Cangfeng in the blink of an eye. Yan Cangfeng did not know what this was and dared not let it get close. Even with the treasure given to him by the Taoist priest, its use was still limited.

He immediately reversed his Heart Sword and slashed it horizontally, a sword light slashing out and instantly shattering the Crimson Star. However, at this moment, an unexpected change occurred.

The scattered crimson light spots were floating on the chessboard and spreading outwards at a visible speed. In a short while, two-thirds of the chessboard was covered with a layer of crimson. Only Yan Cangfeng's side occupied a corner, but it was also in danger of being destroyed at any time under the invasion of the crimson light spots.

Yan Zangfeng hurriedly activated his protective aura, but in just a few breaths, the aura became extremely thin and covered with countless tiny holes, which looked quite eerie.

"What the hell is this."

Although he knew that Ren Qianxing was using this to deplete his true energy, Yan Zangfeng, to be on the safe side, could only continue to maintain the energy shield until he figured out the origin of this thing.

To the onlookers, the crimson dots on the chessboard resembled a raging storm, unleashing towering waves and launching fierce attacks on Yan Zangfeng. Yan Zangfeng, on the other hand, was like a ship in the vast ocean, his faint blue light, representing a glimmer of hope, flickering and threatening to be extinguished at any moment.

"The Alliance Leader is truly a man of great talent, to have come up with such a method. I admire him."

Ren Qianxing's move might not seem impressive to others, but it was crystal clear to Gu Xu. The crimson light was simply a kind of blood energy, but this blood energy was cultivated through the Demon Sword and had the ability to devour true power and dissipate vital energy. If it were elsewhere, this move would be difficult to counter, but not so troublesome. The reason for this was the bottom of the lake.

The lakebed is deep beneath the bones of three thousand artisans and tens of thousands of laborers, and the Soul Refining Array refines their souls day and night. The wronged souls who died tragically are even more violent and ferocious. Now, drawn by this blood energy, they are like ferocious beasts that have seen blood. They instantly pass through the loophole that Guan Yutian had previously opened, adding several times the power to Ren Qianxing's move.

Upon hearing this, Guan Yutian smiled and, seeing the Sword Master's unpleasant expression, said calmly, "Daoist Master is incredibly powerful and knows the future in advance. I can only do some homework in these areas as a precaution, but I didn't expect it would actually come in handy in the end."

Sword Master looked at Guan Yutian's face and sneered, saying, "Alliance Leader Guan, if Ying Shuntian were here, he could control this Soul Refining Array, but I don't know if you have that ability."

After Gu Xu's explanation, the Sword Master understood the reason. He was not too worried about Yan Zangfeng. After all, the Taoist priest had already given him a life-protecting item. At most, he would lose this battle. On the other hand, the Supreme Alliance had heard the Taoist priest talk about how terrifying the Soul Refining Array was. Once the array was destroyed, thousands of fierce and vengeful souls would pour out, which would be a great disaster for the world.

After the Sword Master finished speaking, Guan Yutian's expression froze slightly, but he quickly returned to normal and said in a calm voice, "There's no need for you all to worry about that. I, the Alliance Leader, have my own methods. But if your side loses this battle, are you willing to fulfill your promise?"

Upon hearing Guan Yutian's words, Sword Master remained silent, while Gu Xu said, "Naturally, if your side wins this battle, the life-and-death chess game will belong to the Supreme Alliance, and we will no longer interfere; the opposite is also true."

Helian Ba ​​listened to Guan Yutian and Gu Xu's conversation, but he was very anxious. If the Supreme Alliance won, wouldn't it mean that only their side would be facing the Supreme Alliance? This would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

"No, we can't let Ren Qianxing win this battle no matter what. We have to find a way to get involved."

While Helian Ba ​​was deep in thought, Liao Rushen was also calculating in his mind. He thought the same as Helian Ba: only if Sword Casting City won this battle would they have a chance. Otherwise, they would only have worked hard for nothing and gained nothing.

"Since Guan Yutian opened this Soul Refining Array for a moment, perhaps we can make some use of it."

A glint flashed in Liao Rushen's eyes as he cautiously glanced at Guan Yutian and Jian Yin. Liao Rushen put his hands behind his back and secretly made a hand seal. A moment later, he lightly waved his feather fan, and a gust of wind condensed into a long spear, silently shooting straight to the bottom of the lake.

After the spear of qi penetrated deep into the lake bottom, it easily broke through the water flow. Following Liao Rushen's will, the spear quickly reached a pile of rocks at the bottom of the lake. As it moved forward, the spear hit an obstacle and was immediately bounced back. Liao Rushen, who was controlling the spear, was thrown back, his true qi stagnated, he groaned, and moved his feet slightly.

The archer, who was watching Ren Qianxing and Yan Cangfeng's battle, twitched his ears, turned around to look at Liao Rushen who was lightly waving his feather fan, and then turned his head away again.

Liao Rushen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After his true energy calmed down, he immediately activated the Wind God's Wrath technique. The true energy in his dantian instantly turned azure blue and, following the guidance, continuously poured into the true energy spear. With this help, the spear became incomparably sharp and stabbed fiercely at the flaw in the formation. With a hiss, the energy shield was immediately pierced through a hole, and at that moment, a crimson aura floated out from it, instantly enveloping the spear.

"not good!"

Liao Rushen immediately severed his connection with the True Qi Spear. He was lucky to be alive; if it had been any later, the fierce aura could have followed the energy flow and silently descended upon him, eventually being completely devoured by the fierce aura.

Not satisfied with having devoured the true energy spear, the ferocious aura sensed two powerful streams of blood energy in the center of the lake. It immediately turned around, condensed into a blood sword, and pierced through the waves. With a whoosh, it arrived beneath the chessboard. As the sword shattered, wisps of ferocious aura wrapped around the chessboard from all directions, then began to devour the blood haze. At first, Ren Qianxing did not notice, but when a blank space appeared in a corner, Ren Qianxing's heart skipped a beat.

"What's going on!" Ren Qianxing was shocked and furious. Just as he was distracted, a fire god's avatar broke through the blockade from the trapped blue light. The blood haze was swept away by the firelight and turned into wisps of black smoke, which drifted into the air and emitted a nauseating smell.

"Vulcan's Wrath!"

As soon as Yan Zangfeng broke free, he roared and wielded his sword and palm simultaneously. A sharp sword light and two scorching palm strikes pressed down. Before the palm energy even arrived, the lake surface was like boiling water, constantly bubbling up. Looking at the few remaining red dots on the chessboard, Ren Qianxing's heart sank.

"What exactly happened?!"

Ren Qianxing had no time to think. Seeing the approaching Fire God's Wrath, he sidestepped and drew his sword, supporting it with one palm. His sword-like eyebrows twitched slightly as he raised it high and slashed. A streak of crimson sword light descended head-on, instantly clashing with Yan Cangfeng's sword and palm. A loud bang was heard, and crimson lightning and thunder roared across the sky. Several meters of raging waves rose on the lake's surface, encircling the chessboard.

Just as the lake water was about to recede and engulf the two of them, Ren Qianxing reacted with lightning speed. He pressed his hands on the chessboard and spun it with all his might. The chessboard seemed to be injected with power and began to circle westward. Ren Qianxing looked at Yan Cangfeng, who was walking on the water, snorted coldly, stepped onto the chessboard, and activated his true energy. He managed to break through a corner of the lake water that surrounded him on all sides and escaped.

"it is good!"

Guan Yutian cheered, and the Supreme Alliance cheered even louder. Meanwhile, the Sword Master's face grew serious as Yan Cangfeng's figure was nowhere to be seen. Huangfu Changhen and the others looked worried, their hands clenched, their eyes fixed on the lake.

"Could it be that Ren Qianxing will ultimately win this battle?"

Helian Ba's face immediately darkened, and Liao Rushen's face was equally grim. Despite his best efforts, Yan Cangfeng had still lost, proving that Yan was truly hopeless.

Just then, Jianyin suddenly exclaimed in surprise. Guan Yutian glanced at him upon hearing the sound and saw that Jianyin's gaze was fixed on the center of the lake. Guan Yutian followed his gaze, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his right hand suddenly clenched.

With a deafening roar, everyone felt as if the earth were collapsing. Suddenly, a swirling wave several meters high surged out of Mirror Lake, with streaks of crimson energy rising into the sky. However, after the wave reached a certain height, it seemed to encounter some obstacle and was suppressed. The wave shrank continuously until it was only about ten feet high, but its color turned as red as blood. People on the shore could even smell the blood.

Ren Qianxing, who was moving the chessboard rapidly outwards in the lake, suddenly noticed this strange phenomenon and his heart sank. Suddenly, the chessboard paused slightly, and then a suction force pulled the chessboard down continuously. Ren Qianxing thought to himself, "This is bad!" He leaped up and drew his sword, slashing in a circle. Crimson sword lights shot out around the chessboard, and instantly the water surged into the air, creating a raging torrent.

Ren Qianxing stared intently and saw that there was a bloody aura in the waves, and at that moment he felt that the Ling Shuang Sword in his hand was eager to devour these things.

"Could it be that the ferocious beast in the Soul Refining Array has escaped? But Yan Zangfeng is nowhere to be found, and the life-and-death game is still undecided. How can the Soul Refining Array be opened? Could something have gone wrong?"

Ren Qianxing strode across the waves, his Frosty Sky and Snowy Ground technique freezing the lake water into ice. With a light touch of his toes, he landed steadily on the ice, holding his demonic sword horizontally, his gaze fixed on the blood-red waves that were about ten feet high in front of him.

"This is!"

Sword Master's expression changed drastically. He turned to look at Guan Yutian and said in a deep voice, "Alliance Leader Guan, is this what you call foolproof?"

"Why is the city lord making such a fuss? This is just within my control. If your Yan Cangfeng doesn't show up soon, we'll lose this life-or-death game."

Guan Yutian pretended to be calm as he looked at the Sword Master. The latter snorted coldly upon hearing this. He had searched carefully but still could not find Yan Cangfeng. Could it be that he had encountered some misfortune? Thinking of this, the Sword Master shook his head again. Just as he was about to ask Gu Xu, he heard Gu Xu say in a deep voice.

"coming!"

As the words fell, just as the Sword Master was wondering, the ten-foot-high wave suddenly split into three identical waves, forming a four-way pattern. Then it rose again, and when it reached the obstacle half a foot high, the four waves merged into one. With a loud bang, everyone heard the sound of glass shattering. The towering wave shot straight into the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Just as everyone was astonished, blood rain suddenly fell from the sky.

"Be careful not to get the blood on your clothes."

Gu Xu shouted, and everyone heard it clearly. Upon hearing this, Guan Yutian immediately unleashed his innate qi, forcefully expanding the barrier to include all the members of the Supreme Alliance. Blood rain fell, sliding down the qi shield as if it had not caused any damage. However, only Guan Yutian knew that with each drop of blood rain falling on the qi shield, a trace of his true qi was taken away.

Meanwhile, the Sword Forging City was protected by Gu Xu's Primordial Qi of Yin and Yang, and further aided by the music of Master Si Xin, so the blood rain was unable to stop it for a time.

Helian Ba's side, which already had the largest number of people, was now hit by the blood rain. Although Gu Xu had given them a warning, there were simply too many of them. Helian Ba, Changmo Shangren, Zheng Jing, and Lu Wen worked together to create a protective barrier, but their methods were not from the same source, leaving many openings. Some blood raindrops fell in, and several unlucky disciples were stained with the blood. After a miserable scream, they turned into a pool of blood within a few breaths, which seeped into the ground.

"What the hell is this."

Zheng Jing's face was extremely ugly. He released his true energy while cursing angrily. The three people who had just died were all his disciples.

"We need to find a place to hide quickly, otherwise we won't be able to hold out for long with just our internal energy."

Gu Xu unleashed his Yin-Yang Qi and turned to look at the Mirror Lake, which had already been opened. Although the game of life and death was still undecided, there was no time to worry about that now. It was time for the chess city hidden at the bottom of the lake to reveal itself.

Just as Gu Xu was about to forcibly bring out the Chess City, a loud bang was heard, and the waves at the bottom of the lake surged. A magnificent and huge Chess City suddenly appeared. The city was divided into three layers, like an umbrella, and became narrower as it went up. Its black and white colors were evenly distributed, shaped like a Tai Chi symbol. It covered a vast area, almost covering most of Mirror Lake.

In front of the chess city, a familiar figure stood in mid-air, holding a divine sword upside down, his robes fluttering, surrounded by swirling clouds, with seven colors reflected behind him, like a celestial being.

"Conceal your strength!"

(End of this chapter)