Chapter 307 VS Naval Master Xuanwu 2
I was swept around in the incredibly turbulent current, completely disoriented. Although I was rising high into the air, it felt like being plunged into a bottomless abyss by a rapidly cascading waterfall. Because in such a massive flow, it's impossible to distinguish up from down, left from right, or right with human senses. If it weren't for my thermal perception, I probably wouldn't even know which direction I was being swept into.
This super wave that suddenly emerged from the ground—I don't know if it was originally groundwater or something else, but it was probably natural water manipulated by the Water Master Xuanwu. For Witchers like us who can summon natural elements, manipulating the objectively existing elements in nature is also a piece of cake.
If it were me, I could further integrate my consciousness into the natural elements, transforming them into elements with mysterious powers, and it seems that the Water Master Xuanwu can do the same. I felt the water I was drawn into rapidly exhibit incredible properties. Although it was ordinary water at first, its density seemed to increase dramatically in the blink of an eye, far exceeding that of steel, and its color turned pitch black.
The water flowed into an extremely terrifying whirlpool.
Right now, it feels like my whole body is being sucked into a super shredder. With a single twist, the vortex pulverizes my simulated physical form into mincemeat. Not only that, but it seems this vortex is also going to completely shred my soul.
At the same time, I tried to use fire teleportation to escape from the vortex. However, the vortex seemed to not only shred my body and mind, but also confuse my connection with the external flames and heat. The opponent's power was not limited to physical forms; it could destroy even the abstract. Seeing this, I did not hesitate to detonate all the fragments of my "flesh."
The physical body I conjured compressed a massive amount of flames. Such an explosion would pulverize even an ordinary Great Completion level cultivator, yet it shattered within the vortex without destroying the vortex itself. Fortunately, it did create a fleeting, small opening, too small for a human to pass through. However, I wasn't concerned with the size of the passage, and before the opening disappeared, I transformed into a small fireball and escaped.
I quickly reverted to my human form, and almost simultaneously, the Water Master Xuanwu appeared nearby as if waiting for his prey. A tiny vortex of dark water condensed in his right palm, which he aimed at me.
A massive, high-pressure jet of black water hurtled straight at me, a sight that might resemble using a fire hose to spray a sparrow in flight. This time, however, I was prepared, knowing he would seize the initiative and strike hard when I was down. So, at the same time, I raised my right palm and unleashed a full-force flame cannon.
The jet of black water collided with the flame cannon, and after a brief stalemate, the former utterly shattered the latter.
My all-out attack was actually defeated!
The water cannons continued their onslaught, destroying the fire cannons and even shattering my newly formed fire elemental body, severely damaging my soul as well.
The naval commander Xuanwu remained vigilant, pressing his advantage and unleashing another black water cannon attack. Meanwhile, I swiftly gathered the fragments of my body together and summoned a large amount of flame within my body, repairing both my physical body and my soul.
This time, I flew at high speed, dodging his attack.
"Not only your physical body, but even your soul can regenerate at supersonic speed... You've gone very far on the path of elementalization. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, even if someone else had told me, I probably wouldn't have believed you could do such a thing." The Water Master Xuanwu said in a deep voice, "Just what unfathomable talent did you originally possess... to be able to transform such terrifying flame power from the power seed of the Mountain Yin Yang?"
"You are the one who... It's amazing that you can unleash such powerful strength with such a broken soul."
As I replied, I unleashed another full-force fireball. He, in turn, manipulated black water to surround his entire body, and the fireball, striking it, crumbled like a snowball hitting an iron shield.
The density of this black water is incredibly high. Despite being a flowing liquid, it possesses extremely high defensive capabilities. Even a human body falling into its surface would likely not sink immediately, but rather be drawn in like falling into viscous mud, only being absorbed by the flow of matter. Similar to a non-Newtonian fluid, it would exhibit solid properties upon encountering a sudden and violent impact.
During attacks, his water cannons, like high-pressure industrial water jets, possess extremely powerful cutting and destructive force; a direct confrontation would only result in being shattered to pieces. Speaking of water, in the ancient Chinese philosophy it is clearly a symbol of "benefiting all things without contention," but in his hands, it is not only outstanding in offensive power, but also has unimaginably strong defensive capabilities.
However, unlike during the day, because he unleashed so much power this time, I was able to see more of his true strength and understand why he said that the injury to his soul would not affect his ability to fight.
It seems there is a "dan" inside his body.
The source of power wasn't his soul, but this elixir. My initial thought was of a "seed of power from the two polarities of the mountain," but a seed of power shouldn't directly provide strength. This elixir was likely something he cultivated and condensed himself. This reminds me of the "Taoist alchemy" in Taoist cultivation culture.
In the past, I often explored mystical cultivation methods. Of course, these were not the actual cultivation methods in the world of Witcher, but rather secret manuals of unknown authenticity that could be accessed and searched through ordinary means. The meditation method of "lighting a candle with one's gaze" that I once tried also belonged to this category, and "Taoist alchemy" was one of them.
It is said that the Taoist practice of alchemy is divided into two paths: external alchemy and internal alchemy. External alchemy involves using natural resources and other external materials to refine elixirs in a furnace, and then pursuing mystical states through the consumption of these elixirs. Internal alchemy, on the other hand, involves viewing one's own body as the alchemical furnace, and one's vital energy and spirit as natural resources, pursuing mystical states through methods such as training and meditation.
The ideal goal of the internal alchemy path is the "Golden Elixir," but this Golden Elixir is not actually a physical pill refined within the body. The Golden Elixir is a metaphor for an abstract state of being. "Gold" represents "indestructibility," and "elixir" represents "perfection." The so-called Golden Elixir is a state that cannot be destroyed by external forces and maintains its inner perfection at all times.
The pill I sense within his soul is merely an impression based on my subjective understanding. Perhaps such a pill doesn't exist in his perception, but rather in some other unknown entity. My understanding is that he likely stored a large amount of his magical power within this pill beforehand, releasing it all at once when needed.
It seems he wasn't exaggerating during the day. Even though he was suffering from severe soul trauma, he was undoubtedly displaying his full combat power in his perfect state.
I'm relieved.
What are you laughing at?
As he spoke, the naval master Xuanwu manipulated the whirlpool that had just trapped me. Perhaps seeing that I was able to nimbly dodge his black water cannon attacks with high-speed movements, he actually split off a dozen clones from the whirlpool, each identical to himself.
All the clones unleashed black water cannons, firing them all at me.
It's astonishing that he unleashed so many of my full-power attack skills in one go.
It seems I must retract my earlier statement. Even in his perfect state, he probably couldn't accomplish such a thing solely with his own soul power; it requires the manipulation of that soul pill. Considering it's likely an inner core, it's impossible to say he's using an external object. Even if it were an external object, it would still be something he created using his own alchemy skills.
His magical fluctuations swept across the entire area, hindering me. Although I wasn't unable to use fire teleportation like I was inside the vortex, there was a negligible slight delay in casting my skills. In this fast-paced battle, the inability to respond to skills in time is extremely dangerous. I was hit by the black water cannon again and shattered into pieces.
This is the first time I've been suppressed to this extent in a contest of pure strength.
I have to admit, the Water Master Xuanwu—this person's power is truly greater than mine.
However, if you merely inflict severe damage on me, I can recover with just a breath. Unless it's a devastating attack that can annihilate my entire soul in one strike, it cannot truly kill me.
"You're really tough... You can revive unscathed once or twice. But how many more times can you revive?" Xuanwu the naval commander said coldly. "Ten times, twenty times? Or a hundred times, two hundred times? Or if it were you, you could revive a thousand times more than enough."
"It's alright, I have plenty of time. I'll stay with you until the very end. If you can resurrect a thousand times, I'll kill you a thousand times; if you can resurrect two thousand times, I'll kill you two thousand times..."
"Until you have used up all your magic power and can no longer be resurrected."
I used to think of this when facing other enemies who were immortal; I never imagined that I would be the one being told this by others.
It's a completely new experience, and I'm definitely in a disadvantageous position right now.
However, I do have a temper. I wouldn't be able to defuse all my emotions with a cheerful attitude like, "This is the first time someone's ever said that to me, how novel!" when provoked to this extent by an enemy. Perhaps driven by this emotion, coupled with my current disadvantageous and perilous situation, I feel my power being unleashed at an accelerated pace.
Then, the naval commander Xuanwu suddenly said something strange.
"Even at this point... you still refuse to give it your 'full strength'?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com