TDFM Chapter 107

Blood Wave Triple Surge

Almost simultaneously with Shi Qingshang, the other members of the Shenle clan also drew their swords one after another.

Seeing this, Yun Qing and the others also drew their swords, and everyone rushed forward together.

Ding Lisheng seemed somewhat impatient and muttered to himself, “Overestimating their abilities.”

While jumping backward, he shook his sleeve, and a small umbrella fell from within it, which he caught in his hand.

This small umbrella was about the size of a palm, from its ribs to its canopy, looking as blood-red as if it had been fished out of a vat of blood. He threw the small umbrella into the air, his lips moved slightly, and the umbrella expanded rapidly in the wind, stopping when it reached the size of a normal umbrella.

A completely blood-red umbrella hung suspended in mid-air, and against the sunlight, it looked utterly sinister no matter how one looked at it.

Then, it quickly opened its canopy.

A wave of overwhelming pressure struck them head-on. Yun Qing silently thought “this is bad” and instinctively held her sword horizontally in front of her chest, while simultaneously shifting her body to shield Fu Xue.

In the blink of an eye, the umbrella canopy was fully opened, and the umbrella ribs immediately released countless wind blades outward!

These wind blades were unimaginably fast, so fast that their trajectories were invisible, appearing to teleport. Yun Qing only heard a “ding” sound as Hundred Years of Sorrow, which she held defensively in front of her chest, vibrated violently and instantly broke into two pieces.

A divine weapon of great renown had been so easily severed by the wind blades!

What was even more terrifying was that after breaking Hundred Years of Sorrow, the wind blade still had momentum left and directly pierced into her shoulder. With a “poof” sound, Yun Qing only felt a wet warmth on the clothing at her shoulder.

She was bleeding.

The fact that it could injure her body meant this magical treasure was an immortal artifact.

There was no time to be shocked, as more wind blades attacked. Yun Qing stepped back and pressed closer to Fu Xue, placing her palm behind her to hold her junior sister’s arm and prevent her from moving recklessly.

Not far from them, Jiang Baiyu had already summoned his Chixia Soul-Stirring Drum, but seeing Yun Qing injured, his expression immediately changed. Without thinking, he pivoted and changed direction.

Yun Qing felt darkness before her eyes as she fell into an embrace.

Jiang Baiyu was holding her face-to-face, using his back to receive the wind blades attacking her.

The wind blades pierced into his body, causing his body to tremble repeatedly. He gritted his teeth and swallowed his pained groans, but his breathing became uncontrollably heavy.

He simply wouldn’t die, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

Yun Qing was stunned for a moment.

Due to her invulnerable constitution, she had always charged to the front in battles and always protected others without hesitation. This was the first time someone had protected her without hesitation.

A strange emotion surged in her heart—warm, swelling, and somewhat tender. She raised her head from his embrace and saw his pale face and tightly clenched jaw. He must have been in severe pain. Everything had happened so fast that sweat hadn’t even had time to form on his forehead.

Yet his gaze was so gentle, so gentle it made one’s nose tingle with emotion.

But she couldn’t indulge in this tenderness, as battles changed in an instant. She shifted her gaze and saw that behind him, the blood-red umbrella in mid-air had closed again, still standing upright in the air.

Everything had happened too quickly; hardly anyone could dodge it. Many people were injured by wind blades, the scene was in chaos, with blood everywhere.

Cheng Suiyan had just been kicked by Ci Li in time, avoiding the first wave of wind blades, but couldn’t escape the second wave. His body was stained with blood as he lay on the ground, his condition unknown.

Ci Li had transformed into a small cat and, due to his small stature, had escaped disaster. Now seeing the wind blades pause, he transformed back into human form, drew the soft sword from his waist, and attacked Ding Lisheng.

Shi Qingshang had charged to the front and was injured most severely. Covered in blood and trembling, he supported himself with his sword to stand up, glaring with blood-stained eyes, his sword tip pointing at Ding Lisheng.

Shi Feijia’s sword had also broken. She was among those with lighter injuries at the scene. At this moment, her face was grave as water as she discarded her sword and raised her iron flute.

The flute’s sound was cold and murderous, forming a visible airflow wave in the air that rapidly attacked Ding Lisheng.

The iron flute’s airflow and Ci Li’s sword light arrived simultaneously. While dodging, Ding Lisheng frowned and said, “Though ants pose no threat, they are indeed quite annoying.”

The blood umbrella in the air opened for the second time. Seeing this, Yun Qing quickly pushed away Jiang Baiyu and took out Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book.

With a thought, Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book instantly expanded and flew toward the space beneath the umbrella.

Everyone felt as if dark clouds were blocking the sun above their heads, and it became much darker in the blink of an eye. Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book spread out like a giant curtain beneath the umbrella. The wind blades fell onto this curtain, causing it to shake violently, with the complex patterns on its back seeming to come alive and trembling.

Jiang Baiyu put away his Chixia Soul-Stirring Drum. The opponent’s cultivation wasn’t low, and the drum’s sound needed time to accumulate before taking effect. Obviously, that umbrella wouldn’t give him time.

He seized this precious opportunity created by Yun Qing, rapidly drawing several talismans with his fingers and sending them toward Ding Lisheng.

Ci Li and Shi Feijia had the same idea. The three attacked from different sides, while other Shenle clan members also seized the opportunity to get up—some wielding swords charged at Ding Lisheng, others played musical instruments.

For a moment, Ding Lisheng dodged quite awkwardly.

More awkward than him was Yun Qing. She gritted her teeth and struggled to hold on, but only managed for a brief moment. After that moment, her qi sea churned, her chest ached severely, and she felt so stifled she could barely breathe.

Finally, she could endure no longer and “poof”—spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood before falling backward.

Fu Xue was shaking her bell when she saw this and cried out as she rushed toward her. “Senior Sister!!!”

Jiang Baiyu caught Yun Qing in time.

Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book shrank and flew back to Yun Qing’s hand. Yun Qing sighed helplessly. This magical treasure was excellent—it hadn’t been damaged at all under the attack of immortal power.

It was she who wasn’t good enough.

Speaking of which, Ding Lisheng’s umbrella was truly domineering. She had seen immortal artifact treasures before—Qingcheng Zi’s soul form could also be considered an immortal artifact treasure, but compared to this umbrella, its power was far inferior.

Moreover, this umbrella didn’t require very high cultivation to cause massive destructive power, presumably because the treasure itself contained vast immortal power.

Even against Qingcheng Zi, she had needed to rely on formations to have any fighting chance. Now, with no preparation, facing such a powerful immortal artifact, she…

There was no time to think too much, as the reality didn’t allow it.

Emperor Xi’s Wordless Book had only blocked part of the wind blades; the remaining wind blades scattered and flew in all directions. Seeing Jiang Baiyu about to shield Yun Qing from wind blades again, Ding Lisheng sneered and said:

“This immortal despises seeing love stronger than gold most of all. Don’t think I can’t kill you just because you have the Golden Frost Jade Dew Lotus!” As he spoke, with a thought, many wind blades concentrated and attacked in their direction.

Without looking, Yun Qing could guess what Ding Lisheng intended to do. She pushed away Jiang Baiyu and Fu Xue with one motion and rolled several times in another direction herself.

Though her reaction was fast enough, she still took two wind blade hits. Her calf was slashed open, blood gushing forth.

At this life-and-death moment, her solar plexus throbbed intensely, and she could almost hear the whooshing sound of blood flowing past her ears. In such a moment, she could no longer feel pain.

The second wave of wind blades finally finished falling, and the bright red umbrella canopy closed again.

Ding Lisheng looked with satisfaction at the struggling people and said, “My umbrella is called Blood Wave Triple Surge. If you can withstand the third surge, this immortal might consider sparing your lives.”

As he spoke, the umbrella opened again.

This time it opened very, very slowly.

And as it slowly opened, the overwhelming pressure surged, far exceeding what came before—surging like a river breaking its banks, vast as the collapse of heaven. Yun Qing was actually pressed to the point where she couldn’t breathe—this was the first time in her life.

She glanced toward Fu Xue’s direction. Before the wind blades even arrived, her junior sister was already forced to spit fresh blood by the overwhelming pressure. Cheng Suiyan, lying on the ground, was also spitting blood, though whether he was still conscious was unclear. At least he wasn’t dead, which was good news.

The blood umbrella was about to fully open. Yun Qing felt her entire soul trembling. That instinctive fear and submission that the weak feel when facing the strong completely dominated her. Her whole body shook, her knees went weak, and she wanted nothing more than to prostrate herself on the ground and beg for the other’s favor.

Favor for what? To grant her life?

Perhaps.

Or perhaps, even if he granted her death, she would have to be grateful.

Was this the difference between immortal and mortal?

She couldn’t help but weep, her heart filled with despair. She looked at that blood-red umbrella canopy, which curved in a beautiful arc, the red silk reflecting the golden morning sunlight, presenting a dreamlike, fantastical color.

She thought to herself: how beautiful.

Am I going to die here?

And junior sister, Baiyu, Suiyan, Ci Li, little sister Muyu… everyone, are they all going to die?

No, I’m not resigned to this.

Even an ant, when being stepped on, would feel unwilling, wouldn’t it?

Strong unwillingness surged in her heart—that was the desire for life, an instinct that transcended everything.

This desire overcame fear, overcame despair, suppressed all other instincts. This was something written into the human soul from the moment Nuwa created humans—never changing, never fading, never extinguished.

Unwillingly, she groped on the cold ground, touching stone crevices, touching wild grass, and then, touching a sword.

A sword embedded in stone.

Trembling, she climbed up and grasped the sword hilt, mobilizing almost all the strength of her lifetime, pulling hard.

The earth seemed to shake—was it an illusion?

It didn’t matter.

Draw the sword.

This sword hilt truly suited her—neither thick nor thin, neither long nor short, as if custom-made for her, as if it had been waiting here for her for many years.

Gripping the cold sword hilt, she gathered her strength and pulled it out in one breath.

An ancient, distant sound, like a dragon’s roar, emerged from the blade.

The earth shook violently, and the sky changed color. Almost in an instant, thick clouds gathered, obscuring the sun.

Thunder rumbled faintly in the clouds.

From the moment she drew this sword, Yun Qing felt a peculiar power spread throughout her body—a primitive, eternal power that could embrace everything and also destroy everything, a power both strange and familiar.

There was no time to think. She leaped into the air and raised her sword to strike at that demonic umbrella.

The red umbrella had fully opened, its ribs vibrating, brewing a storm that would annihilate everything.

On the ground lay people scattered about; many had closed their eyes, blood and tears flowing, trembling with fear and confusion as they awaited the moment of life’s end.

Just as the first wind blade was about to break free from the umbrella ribs and fly out, the blade glowed with a deep, somber light, accompanied by the sound of a dragon’s roar, and struck fiercely upon the red umbrella!

One sword stroke, splitting through the center of the umbrella canopy.

Like cutting through tofu.

The storm stopped abruptly, the overwhelming pressure vanished instantly. The red umbrella hung in the air for a moment before splitting in half and swaying as it fell.

Yun Qing breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, all the strength in her body seemed to be drained away. Her mind was dizzy, her limbs weak, and she couldn’t even stand.

She could endure no longer and fell from the air.

Her red robes fluttered like a withering maple leaf.

Before closing her eyes, she saw Ding Lisheng’s expression.

He first looked at her in shock, his eyes widening as if they might pop out, then gradually, a smile appeared on his face.

He said something to her, but at this moment her head was dizzy and she had severe tinnitus, so she couldn’t hear what he said clearly.

She could only make out from his lip movements that he probably said:

“Found you.”