Chapter 689: Minor Test
Li Yao's crystal processor projected a complicated 3D light beam, which was the map of the entire central area of Heavenly Saints City.
Amid the coruscating skyscrapers, dozens of light spots were glittering.
Most of the light spots were red, some of them were gold, but several were a devastating black.
The red light spots meant that the battle was still going on, the gold ones meant that the Immortal Cultivators had been captured or killed, and the black ones meant that the Cultivators had failed and that the Immortal Cultivators in the area had run away.
As time went on, more and more red light spots turned gold.
The Immortal Cultivators who had snuck into Heavenly Saints City, prepared for assassination or destruction, had been taken down one by one!
But Li Yao was not in the least relieved.
Several of the 'Eight Blades of Black Spider' had been killed. But 'Hellsword' Zhuang Ziyou, the most crucial man on their side, was still on the run!
He truly deserved to be a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. Although he was being hunted and blocked by countless soldiers, he seemed to have split apart into dozens of clones that were showing up in various places of Heavenly Saints City at the same time!
Sweat was pouring off Li Yao's forehead like a rain. His pupils shrank and expanded like crystal cameras while he calculated all the locations where 'Hellsword' had last been seen. After a comprehensive analysis, he suddenly discovered that—
Hellsword was rushing at exactly where he was!
Li Yao scowled.
The No.55 ventilation tube that he was responsible for was the last place that Immortal Cultivators would break through among all the locations.
Therefore, the defenders in this place were the weakest of all.
But as it happened, 'Hellsword' was like a scalpel that had grown eyes. After several large-scale movements, he ripped a tiny gap in the impregnable dragnet and broke out of the blockade of more than ten Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators by stabbing precisely into the fatal weakness in the defense network!
However, if 'Hellsword' had received the arrangement of all the Cultivators in advance, including the zone where every Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator was at in the beginning, it was not completely undoable with his Nascent Soul Stage Cultivation together with his talents in stealth and assassination.
Li Yao's fighting will soared to the peak. The scorching flames spurting out of his pores were almost burning the Sky Scorpion Armor into wasted iron.
He was waiting for the arrival of 'Hellsword', a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, patiently!
He planned to run a test with the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.
"Hellsword is breaking out from the northwest!"
"He is quite fast!"
"He killed Elder Gao!"
Exclamations as well as the angry bellows of several Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators echoed continuously inside the communication channel.
Li Yao heard none of it. He was like a piece of wood floating in a swamp. Calm and steady, to the point that he was almost stiffened.
Suddenly—
Two buildings in an abandoned factory not far away exploded weirdly, with green flames soaring into the sky.
With them as disguises, some airwaves that were almost transparent dashed at the No.55 ventilation tube at a lightning-like speed!
He's here!
Li Yao pupils immediately shrank to the size of bright gold needles.
This was the first time he ever fought a head-on battle with a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator whose fighting will had soared to the peak!
The weird airwaves passed through the abandoned factory within a breath and, taking a weird turn, blinked in front of Li Yao!
Li Yao instantly felt lightheaded. The entire world turned blood-red. Giant swirls in the shape of skulls filled the sky. Countless hideous devils were crawling out of the depths of the swirls and coming at him!
It was a mental attack!
Li Yao gritted his teeth and blinked. Then, the sky of devils was gone, only to be replaced by an overwhelming tsunami of saber aura!
It was difficult to describe the horrendousness of the saber aura.
Normal saber aura could only be extended to a hundred meters away, no matter how unstoppable it was.
But the unpredictable attack in front of his eyes was launched at God knows when, and yet it could not have been more magnificent. It reminded Li Yao of the tides that were ten thousand meters high when he first landed on Boneyard.
One slash was already so terrifying!
Li Yao was overwhelmed by hopelessness and desperation.
That's not right!
But he suddenly came back to himself as if somebody had stabbed his brain with a needle. High as a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator's Cultivation might be, they could not trigger a ten-thousand-meter-tall aura after a single slash!
It was still mental attack!
'Hellsword' Zhuang Ziyou, other than being a notorious space pirate, was also a skilled Meditation Healer. Rumors even had it that several well-cited papers on the mysteries of the human brain on the spiritual Nexus had actually been written by him.
His saber arts always attacked the flesh and the soul at the same time!
A casual slash built a dual illusion easily. The formidability of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator was partly revealed!
With the solidness of Li Yao's soul, he could naturally destroy the illusions as soon as he realized it.
However, beyond the illusions, Zhuang Ziyou's real unstoppable attack had condensed into a streak of blackness and cut precisely into Li Yao's chest!
Li Yao retreated, screamed, flew backward, and rolled on the ground!
Feeling that his attack had hit the target, Hellsword accelerated to the maximum speed without looking at his victim anymore and turned into a blurred shadow, flashing into the depths of the No.55 ventilation tube!
The ventilation tube was connected to various locations of the central area of Heavenly Saints City. It also led to the temporary ports and docks where he could sneak into the other nine space rings of Heavenly Saints City.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
In three seconds, several colorful light flames reached near No.55 ventilation tube.
All the Cultivators were gnashing their teeth in regret.
They were the Core Formation Stage Cultivators and the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators who had participated in the 'Mist Clearing Operation'. They were only several seconds close to capture Hellsword!
"Fellow Cultivator Sand has been killed by Hellsword!"
"Master Sand!"
Ye Hongfei was greatly shocked. He did not realize what was going on until this moment and hurried to Li Yao.
Pu!
Li Yao opened the facial cover of the Sky Scorpion Armor and vomited a mouthful of black blood. His face was extremely pale.
Before anybody could see it, Li Yao put on a vague smile.
Lowering his head, Li Yao discovered that the breastplate of the Sky Scorpion Armor had been torn apart like a pile of toilet paper.
One slash from a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator had declared the True Qi armor to be a total loss.
"I'm fine."
Li Yao vomited yet another mouthful of black blood and managed to sit straight. After breathing for a while, he ripped off the broken breastplate and took out three layers of 'Super Bendable Steel' behind it.
Li Yao secretly clicked his tongue in shock.
As an energy-absorption material, the Super Bendable Steel boasted a defense ability ten times higher than that of normal alloys. But the first layer of the Super Bendable Steel did not absorb any energy at all and was directly smashed to pieces. On the second layer, a shockingly deep crack in the shape of the edge of a saber appeared in the middle. The third layer of the Super Bendable Steel was emitting an orange color, indicating that tremendous spiritual energy was stored inside!
Breaking through two layers of the Super Bendable Steel and yet still dealing so much damage. The capability of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator in a crystal suit is truly appalling!
Li Yao whistled to himself in his heart. He had finished his minor test.
Although Li Yao felt uncomfortable the moment he heard the Grand Illusionary Soldier Project and even came up with a series of possible plots together with Mo Xuan, he was well clear that his presumptions were not backed by any proof. They were likely just nonsense.
Li Yao had not known whether or not he was imagining some nonexistent schemes because he was just being too paranoid under the pressure of the assassins from the Temple of Immortals.
He needed more valid proof for his theory.
Therefore, he ran a minor test.
Everyone's location was prearranged. However, Li Yao slightly moved away from the place where he should have been before 'Hellsword' arrived.
The fact that Hellsword could breach through the siege from where the defense was the weakest could have been a coincidence or based on his super intuition as a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, which helped him to locate the loopholes.
Therefore, that was not conclusive proof.
However, Li Yao had moved away from the place where he was supposed to be before he arrived and was not standing in his way at all!
It meant that, of all the Cultivators who were staying on alert near the No.55 ventilation tube, Li Yao was the least threatening one for 'Hellsword'!
Or rather, if 'Hellsword' intended to attack Li Yao, he would have to deviate from his route of escape and waste almost one second!
One second was more than enough to determine the outcome of a competition between Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. If 'Hellsword' was really of a mind to run away, why would he trouble himself by attacking Li Yao when he was being hunted by several Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators?
The Sky Scorpion Armor, after being modified by the great refiner Xue Yuanxin, was very similar to a crystal suit in appearance. Unless he had known the detailed profiles in advance, there was no way that 'Hellsword' could have recognized Li Yao!
Besides—
The immense strength and the weirdness in the attack did not befit a 'casual attack' at all!
Every single piece of information indicated that the man had been prepared to launch the attack at Li Yao from the very beginning!
This was exactly what Li Yao was trying to prove.
I cleared the way for you, and several Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators were chasing you like rabid dogs. Yet, you wasted half a second and took a slight turn just in order to slash at me!
This armor of mine is not particularly cool or eye-catching, and I was keeping a low-profile like a dork. What did I do to piss you off?
Unless, of course, 'Hellsword' knew that 'Sand Scorpion' would show up in this place from the beginning and decided long ago to slay the guy who sabotaged the endeavors of the Temple of Immortals while he was escaping!
While proving his previous assumptions through the attack, Li Yao also planted a 'seed' in Hellsword's heart.
Normal people would always burst out the greatest strength and highest speed at the moment of life and death.
But Li Yao had gritted his teeth and controlled his body so that he dodged the attack at the 80% of his maximum speed.
It was a risky decision.
But Li Yao believed that Hellsword had made a wrong judgement about his capability now.
At the very least, he would think that this was the highest speed of 'Sand Scorpion'.
Hellsword, your strength has not diminished yet. I cannot kill you even if I equipped the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit right now.
However, if there's a third action after the Mist Plan and the Mist Clearing Operation, will such an important man like yourself be out of the picture?
You are definitely going to stir more trouble in Heavenly Saints City!
The next time we run into each other, we will settle our debt, and I will be recouping additional interest!