Chapter 698 : Fight to the End
“Oh?” Qin Yun sensed something as he looked outside.
Beside him, Hou Yi was wielding his ancient bow and burning his Essence Soul Dharmic powers as well. His terrifying aura soared and as he flipped his hand to take out a golden Soul Heart Fruit, he swallowed it. His eyes were filled with a frenzied look as he immediately pulled his bow to a full draw and shot the first arrow. This arrow tore through the spatial barrier a hundred feet away from Bohan Island Lord but was finally stopped by the black barrier that extended ten feet away from him.
This arrow similarly had the might of the Heavenly Dao realm!
“In all my years of cultivation, there has only been one instance of me burning my Essence Soul to shoot nine successive arrows. I fell into a slumber for thirty thousand years afterwards,” Hou Yi sent a voice transmission to Qin Yun and company. “This will be my second time!”
Qin Yun and company felt a sense of anticipation.
To shoot nine successive arrows by burning his Essence Soul?
The first arrow had the might of the Heavenly Dao realm. Then, how much stronger was the ninth arrow? It was likely be able to do something to Bohan Island Lord, right!?
Qin Yun also knew very well that the expenditure of burning Essence Soul Dharmic powers had varying speeds. For instance, Fate lasted more than a day burning his Essence Soul, only to control a group of slaves. Without receiving any attacks, Qin Yun could also maintain his Misty Rain Array for a rather long period of time while burning his Essence Soul. However, the higher the damage inflicted, the greater the Dharmic powers expenditure.
For Hou Yi to shoot nine successive arrows, the expenditure involved was extremely terrifying.
“I’ve already told you that you don’t pose a threat to me.” Bohan Island Lord remained indifferent as he directed his three sabers to constantly slice down.
Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!
Hou Yi did not say a word as he shot arrow after arrow.
Bohan Island Lord remained rather staid in the beginning, but slowly, his expression changed. The first arrow’s might was already at the Heavenly Dao realm and by the fourth arrow, it was enough to make Bohan Island Lord feel an immense threat.
“The price of shooting nine consecutive arrows should be huge. Was he burning his Essence Soul to cast it?” Bohan Island Lord felt that things were amiss. At his level of insight, he knew that to reach a might at the Heavenly Dao realm by burning Dharmic powers at the half-step Heavenly Dao realm was legendary. For Hou Yi’s ninth arrow to reach the Heavenly Dao realm’s might without burning his Dharmic powers… was already inconceivable.
Such an inconceivable mystic art was bound to be heavily restricted.
Bohan Island wasn’t aware that Hou Yi was capable of doing so because of the Heart Force lineage. Hou Yi had already cultivated the Heart Force lineage to an unprecedented stage. By burning his Essence Soul Dharmic powers to deliver the nine consecutive arrows, the expenditure of Heart Force also rose exponentially. However, Hou Yi was still capable of doing so.
“Whoosh.” The fifth arrow transformed into a blinding arrow beam that was eye-catching and resplendent. Qin Yun and company felt bedazzled by what they saw, feeling that the arrow art before them was impossible to dodge.
A deep hum accompanied it.
The black barrier ten feet from Bohan Island Lord was torn through as well, as though a world had been shattered. However, a black glow emanated from his body, suffusing black scaled armor and forming a complete black armor set. Bohan Island Lord wore a black battle helm on his head, and his body was completely protected.
After the fifth arrow tore through the black barrier, the remnant blast was completely stopped by the black armor.
“You should be proud to force me to give my all!” Dressed in his black armor, Bohan Island Lord spoke with a deep voice. Boom! His aura turned a lot more terrifying as he similarly ignited his Dharmic powers and controlled his three sabers.
The might of the three sabers rose drastically.
Myriad Flower Palace’s array formations cracked one after another as the yard walls began to crack and collapse.
“I can’t last much longer.” Palatial Lord Myriad Flower’s expression changed drastically.
Qin Yun immediately expanded his Misty Rain Array and enveloped the Myriad Flower Palace fully. At that instant, his Misty Rain Array was independently resisting the blows of the three augmented sabers. Grinding sounds ensued as they sliced at the Misty Rain Array, causing it to tremble vigorously. The expenditure of Qin Yun’s Essence Soul Dharmic powers rose rapidly as well.
However, Qin Yun still revealed a look of surprise. “This increase in strength is lower than what I expected.”
According to his experience in the Three Realms, the ignition of Essence Soul Dharmic powers raised one’s strength by quite a significant amount.
However, Bohan Island Lord’s ignition only raised each saber’s might by about 70%! Although it still posed a huge threat on Qin Yun, it was better than expected.
“Although the might has only increased by 70%, I’m not fending against his attacks alone. I can only last ten seconds.” Although Qin Yun felt the pinch, he had no choice but to take out one golden Soul Heart Fruit. The fruit had a golden luster on the surface and looked tender. Qin Yun swallowed it in one gulp as it melted immediately. A power filled his Essence Soul.
As he expended his Essence Soul by burning it, the Soul Heart Fruit’s powers constantly replenished it.
Upon seeing this scene, Bohan’s eyes turned a lot colder. In fact, his realm had reached the Primordial realm, but his Essence Soul Dharmic powers had not broken through! This caused a gap in his released strength from the Dao Ancestors and Buddhist Ancestor of the Three Realms. However, the benefit of having learned many cultivation systems and various mystic arts in the spatial tide allowed him to fully express his potential.
Without burning his powers, he was able to release extremely powerful strength. The three sabers’ might were already at the Heavenly Dao realm.
As he had fully expressed his potential, the ignition of his powers… did not raise his strength significantly. That also meant that having released all his strength, he only had strength equivalent to the Fiend Ancestor and company. Qin Yun was only able to withstand ten seconds of such a blow while burning his Essence Soul Dharmic powers.
“Whew! Whew!”
Hou Yi was shooting his arrows at his fastest possible speed. There was nothing else he could do about speeding it up as he needed to infuse each arrow with Heart Force and that required time. Now, he had already shot his seventh arrow.
Bam! Bam!
The seventh arrow tore through the void barrier, the black barrier, and cracked Bohan Island Lord’s scaled armor. Even blood spewed out.
“No, I can’t hold on. Unless my strength breaks through to the Primordial realm, there’s no way to defend against him.” At that moment, Bohan Island Lord understood this. However, there was no way to make a breakthrough in the spatial tide. He needed to enter the Chaos to truly break through to the Heavenly Dao realm. He immediately summoned back his three sabers. He had never used his weapons to defend previously.
Hou Yi’s eighth arrow was strung.
Buzz!
The eighth arrow was shot out.
Far away, Bohan Island Lord used the three sabers to defend as he split into more than ten thousand afterimages in the spatial tide. It was not technique to create avatars, but simply a result of his dodging through his movement techniques.
“What an impressive movement technique.” Qin Yun and company were amazed.
However, an arrow beam tore through one of the afterimages as blood splattered, revealing Bohan Island Lord’s actual figure. A huge hole had appeared in his chest.
“His arrow cannot be blocked by weapons and I can’t dodge it? Even the legendary Heart Force of the inner world isn’t that powerful.” Bohan Island Lord was feeling disbelief. However, little did he know that the experts who possessed Heart Force that he met in the spatial tide were still far inferior to Hou Yi.
Hum!
The ninth arrow beam was glaring while strung on Hou Yi’s ancient bow.
At that moment, Bohan Island Lord immediately waved his hands. The three sabers and eighteen shields floated around him. As he used his treasures to defend, he frantically flew far into the distance.
He finally decided to retreat.
But when it came to the nine successive arrows… the ninth arrow experienced a qualitative change.
If he had begun escaping at the fourth of fifth arrow, there would’ve been a chance of escaping given his speed. But now? It was too late.
Hou Yi’s face had turned pale. Although the Soul Heart Fruit could restore his Essence Soul, its restoration effects towards his Heart Force were much weaker. What was like a tumultuous ocean of Heart Force was nearly fully injected into the ninth arrow. He was close to being drained of his Heart Force. The ordinary shooting of his nine successive arrows could be done easily by him, but now, just once was enough to exhaust him.
“It will all depend on this strike.” Hou Yi’s eyes burned as a look of anticipation twinkled in them.
This was the first time he had gone all-out after reaching the half-step Heavenly Dao realm.
This arrow beam was resplendently blinding as it tore through space.
The three sabers and eighteen shields seemed to seal off every direction, but the arrow beam still tore through space. No matter how unpredictable Bohan Island Lord’s movement technique was, the Heart Force’s lock on him ensured that the arrow would land on him.
“Boom.” Bohan Island Lord’s body was penetrated as a terrifying might instantly wiped out all the vitality in Bohan Island Lord’s body. Even his Essence Soul was vanquished.
His body floated in space without any life left to it.
“Dead. He’s dead.”
“Bohan Island Lord is dead.” Qin Yun and company revealed thrilled looks.
Qin Yun looked at Hou Yi feeling amazed. An expert whose realm had reached the Heavenly Dao realm except for a delayed breakthrough of his Essence Soul Dharmic powers ended up being killed by Hou Yi’s full-powered strike?
“At the instant my arrow destroyed his body, I sensed that he still has an avatar in the spatial tide.” Hou Yi’s face was pale as his eyes looked dull. He decisively said, “They know our strength, so if they come again, they will definitely have ways to deal with us. Let’s leave quickly. I won’t be able to produce those nine arrows again in the next hundred years.”
He had never expended so much Heart Force before.
“He still has an avatar?”
“That’s right. He has studied so many cultivation systems. It’s impossible not to have an avatar.”
“He might be coming with help the next time.”
“Let’s leave quickly.”
Qin Yun and company did not hesitate. They stored away Bohan Island Lord’s corpse and remaining items and commandeered the flying boat which Bohan Island Lord used and flew back towards the Three Realms at the fastest speed possible.
They had truly used all their strength this time without hiding anything. Furthermore, Hou Yi was unable to deliver such immense strength for another hundred years. They naturally had to flee.