Chapter 224: Breakthrough
Tian Sisi had considered escaping, but she knew the hidden E Xuanfu wouldn't let her. With a flash of resolve, she deliberately created an opening.
Huo Pu's combat instincts were so powerful that he instantly seized the opportunity. A devastating fist slammed into Tian Sisi's aura of light.
Tian Sisi was instantly sent flying into the ruins. As dust billowed up, Huo Pu pressed his attack.
Amidst the dust, Tian Sisi had already sheathed her Miao Blade. She gripped the hilt in a reverse hold, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. Her surrounding aura vanished, all of its power channeled into the scabbard. The next instant, the Miao Blade was drawn. It was a strike that seemed to blot out the very sky, and Huo Pu was sent flying back.
His brown aura was sliced open, and a torrent of blood erupted.
Tian Sisi gasped for breath, a faint smile gracing her lips. Huo Pu, who fought on instinct alone, had taken the full force of that do-or-die Iaijutsu Slash. 'Even if it didn't kill him,' she thought, 'it must have left him severely wounded.'
Tian Sisi was drained. More importantly, the raging energy within her prevented her from properly circulating her True Qi. But her relief didn't last an instant. Her exquisite pupils shrank to pinpricks as a short sword erupted from the shadows at her feet, piercing through her ribs.
She had only managed to avoid her Dantian by dodging on pure instinct. Otherwise, the blade would have pierced it, and her years of cultivation would have been wiped out in an instant.
With Huo Pu down and Tian Sisi grievously wounded, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows. He threw back his hood, revealing a face that was both treacherous and imposing. Half of it was covered in black runes. It was E Xuanfu, the Calamity God Department, who had been lying in wait all along.
He was the one who had just launched the sneak attack on Tian Sisi.
"The Tian God Department's blade work is truly an eye-opener. To still possess such combat strength even with your True Qi in such disarray!" Though his words were praise, his tone dripped with contempt.
Blood trickled from the corner of Tian Sisi's mouth, her pale face frosted with cold fury. "I was trying to break through the Celestial Dao's suppression! Why are you so determined to stop me?"
The Calamity God Department sneered. "What a naive question! We stand at the pinnacle of power. How could we ever tolerate the emergence of someone stronger than us? We've known about your preparations for this breakthrough from the very beginning! Your talent, frankly, terrifies us. Even with the Celestial Dao's restrictions in place, we had to take precautions!"
Tian Sisi cursed, "You hypocritical, selfish bastard!"
The faint sneer remained on the Calamity God Department's face. "Say what you will, you cannot escape your fate. You either die, or you become Huo Pu's plaything."
As the Calamity God Department spoke, Huo Pu stirred in the ruins and began to climb to his feet.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
With an enraged roar, the blood-soaked figure of Huo Pu began to glow with a brown aura once more. Spiritual Qi from the earth coiled around him, forming a suit of armor. After his cry, Huo Pu no longer looked human. He had become a rock monster, and the eyes peering from the cracks in the stone were completely devoid of reason.
E Xuanfu spoke in a jeering tone, "Huo Pu was born with a body of earth. Anyone who can cultivate to the Inner Realm Peak in this End of the Dharma Era is no simple character. Had your blade struck any other Inner Realm Peak master, they would likely be dead by now. On Huo Pu, however, it's merely a deep gash."
"And you know," he continued, "power corrupts the mind. When one holds it for too long, they lose themselves. They ignore all morality and law, doing anything and everything to please themselves. Huo Pu is exactly that kind of person. If you fall into his hands, he won't just play with you until you're broken—he'll subject you to all manner of inhuman torture!"
"Just imagine it: the high and mighty Tian God Department, with your stunning beauty and proud figure... what a tragic sight you'll become. The very thought is a pity!" E Xuanfu said, feigning a look of regret.
In his heart, E Xuanfu was certain of victory. The situation was unfolding exactly as he had envisioned. He continued to taunt Tian Sisi only as a precaution, wary that she might have one last trick up her sleeve.
Tian Sisi was now in a hopeless predicament. On one side stood Huo Pu, like a rampaging Sealing Demon; on the other was the venomous E Xuanfu. The chaotic, raging True Qi in her body made it impossible for her to face either of them.
'Break to build anew. True life is found on the precipice of death.' Tian Sisi desperately circulated every last bit of True Qi in her body, forcing it to assault the Mystic Passage once more. She had to break through. It was her only hope of survival. She was betting everything on this breakthrough, even though she was far from her peak and grievously wounded. She had no other choice.
E Xuanfu watched in shock as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi began to pour into Tian Sisi once again. 'This woman is insane! She's actually trying to force a breakthrough now!'
His figure flickered and emerged from a shadow right next to Tian Sisi, determined to stop her breakthrough.
But just as his short sword was about to strike, a brown aura carrying an enormous stone fist hurtled toward him.
Having lost all reason, Huo Pu had also been drawn to the commotion of Tian Sisi's breakthrough. However, when E Xuanfu suddenly appeared from the shadows, Huo Pu's instincts judged him to be the more immediate threat, causing him to switch targets.
E Xuanfu hastily parried with his short sword, cursing, "Idiot! You're a bigger hindrance than a help, you useless waste!"
He was absolutely furious. If Huo Pu's bloodline wasn't so valuable, he would have let Tian Sisi deliver the killing blow earlier. Now, seeing the disturbance from Tian Sisi's breakthrough intensifying, he grew frantic. If she actually succeeded, all his plans would be for naught, and he might even end up paying with his own life.
His form flickered, darting from one shadow to the next, but the rock-like Huo Pu clung to him like a disease, relentlessly tangling with him and making him increasingly desperate.
Just then, his black-clad subordinates began to arrive on the battlefield.