Chapter 1051: Holy
Chapter 1051: Holy
But with the way Tang San looked now, simply holding the Radiant Dragon Spear, it clearly gave the impression that he had run out of options. This left the Sunborne Nymph Emperor disappointed, but also a bit suspicious. Was he truly out of tricks?
"Are you ready?" the Sunborne Nymph Emperor asked once more.
Li Zhaopeng nodded, and on the other side, Tang San also nodded—and even gave the Sunborne Nymph Emperor a grin.
"Begin!"
Naturally, the Sunborne Nymph Emperor couldn't show any favoritism and thus announced the start of the battle.
The energy that separated the two sides vanished in an instant, and the Sunborne Nymph Emperor transformed into a beam of light and rose into the sky.
Li Zhaopeng wasted no time and immediately activated the Misfortune Pearl before him. He had no intention of currying favor with the Blue Gold Tree clan. In fact, the Tenebrous Dragon clan had no particular need for the kind of life energy Blue Gold Trees provided. They cultivated the path of darkness and were more interested in depriving others of life than in nurturing it.
The Misfortune Pearl instantly emitted a deep blue glow that enveloped Tang San. The power of misfortune was formless and intangible; it was neither a physical nor an energy attack, and thus it was unavoidable. This was the most terrifying aspect of the Misfortune Pearl.
Just then, Tang San raised the Radiant Dragon Spear high, the tip pointed to the sky. At that instant, the eight spikes on his back stood erect, and the blue-golden radiance around him erupted with tremendous power. A powerful sense of holiness emanated from him.
From beneath his feet, blue vines pierced through the ground and rooted themselves into the ground. And then… life energy erupted like a geyser.
A massive blue-gold silhouette emerged behind him; a sense of ancient majesty accompanied its appearance. Unlike the Blue Gold Tree form Tang San had displayed before, this figure soared nearly a thousand meters tall, its towering presence even surpassing that of Council Mountain.
"The Ancestral Tree?" The Emperors halfway up Council Mountain couldn't remain seated. They immediately left their rest chambers and hovered in the air.
That ancient, boundless life aura—wasn't it the Ancestral Tree?
At this moment, no one felt it more deeply than the Adamant Nymph clan. The Great Demon King representing them had personally witnessed the Ancestral Tree annihilate the Adamant Nymph Emperor. So when the Ancestral Tree's aura appeared again, its whole body shivered uncontrollably.
Tang San had once summoned the Ancestral Tree's manifestation in Adamant City, destroying the Adamant Nymph Emperor. When the Soul Capturer Nymph Emperor returned to the Ancestral Court afterward, he reported that the strength Tang San could draw from the Ancestral Tree was likely limited by distance. And indeed, as if to confirm this judgment, Tang San had never summoned the manifestation since then.
Yet now, although the form of the Ancestral Tree was so faint it couldn't be clearly seen, its aura was unmistakably real.
He could summon the Ancestral Tree's essence even in the Ancestral Court? How could the Emperors not be astonished?
But in the next moment, they sensed that this ancient, pure, and vast life energy wasn't pouring into the manifestation to make it more clear, and neither was it radiating outward. Instead, it surged madly toward the Radiant Dragon Spear in Tang San's hand.
In an instant, the Radiant Dragon Spear burst out with unprecedented brilliance; radiant golden light exploded outward, accompanied by a resounding dragon's roar. A white dragon formed instantly within that light, its presence exuding unmatched holiness and dazzling brilliance.
What was the core of the Daemon Continent's power? It was bloodline power, the bloodline of the Ancestral Demons and Ancestral Nymphs. And what was the root of bloodline power? Life itself.
At the same time, the light element was the purest and most sacred of elements in any plane. Light was, after all, the manifestation of all that was holy.
So what would happen if these two pure, fundamental forces happened to merge? They would become… holy energy![1]
The Ancestral Tree controlled the very source of all life in this realm. Even a wisp of its essence, when infused into the Radiant Dragon Spear and combined with its radiance, turned the spear into something else entirely. The divine item was undergoing ascension, and though the white dragon was only a projection, the holy aura it radiated was immense.
Why hadn't Tang San done this during preparation? The reason was simple: what if he unleashed holy energy early and it scared Li Zhaopeng into not using the Misfortune Pearl? No, that could not happen.
This holy dragon summon, though brilliant and overwhelming, had little combat power. It was mostly for display, a dazzling but mostly useless projection. If his opponent had been someone else—say, Ning Chen'en—they might've just charged in and dispersed the holy dragon projection with brute force.
But Li Zhaopeng was a different case.
The Misfortune Pearl contained misfortune, and tremendously potent one at that. But even a pervasive energy like misfortune had its limits. Could mortal misfortune threaten a holy being? What a joke!
So, just as the Misfortune Pearl's power descended on Tang San, he summoned the holy dragon. It let out a thunderous roar, and then… the power of misfortune rebounded. Instantly.
In terms of tier, the Radiant Dragon Spear couldn't match the Misfortune Pearl. But with the infusion of life energy from the Ancestral Tree's projection and the transformation it had undergone, it was an entirely different matter.
In a flash, the Misfortune Pearl's energy flow reversed and struck Li Zhaopeng himself. He felt as though his entire body and consciousness were warping. The misfortune within the pearl surged uncontrollably toward him.
The protective charm the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor had gifted him alongside the pearl shattered instantly. Even worse, that holy energy, on a level far beyond pure light-element energy, swept down in full force.
Light repels darkness. This is a fundamental law. The relationship between light and darkness is even more antagonistic than fire and water. And the holy energy here, in a sense, was a higher-level form of light. With the Ancestral Tree's life energy fueling the light, the resulting holy power instantly cleansed the Dark Domain Li Zhaopeng had activated. Let alone that, even his black scale armor began to turn white under the holy light.
It was a complete elemental suppression.
Against Jin Anguo, Tang San had displayed the fusion of life and annihilation. This time, he used an equally refined method: fusing life and light. It wasn't as destructive, but it was far more stable, and it perfectly countered both misfortune and darkness!
Even the audience forgot to cheer; they now held their breath as they watched.
In the sky, the giant white dragon roared again and again. Across from it, darkness was melting away like snow under the sun.
Li Zhaopeng's face twisted as he staggered backward. The Misfortune Pearl in front of him flickered unsteadily, and its misfortune was now invading his own body.
"Brother Celestial Fox, he withdraws from the tournament! Please, help him!"
The Tenebrous Demon Emperor finally couldn't hold back.
He was utterly stunned. He had never imagined such an outcome. Not only had the Misfortune Pearl failed to bring victory, but it had become a weapon that turned against its own master!
With misfortune raining down, and darkness overwhelmed by holy energy, Li Zhaopeng was in critical condition. Even his demonic weapon was shaking violently. His pupils had turned blood-red, and his sea of consciousness was beginning to collapse.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light; white brilliance filled the sky…