Chapter 164 - Festival’s Eve (Part III) (Patreon)

“Fellow Daoist, you’re so ruthless,” Resonant Sea Ancestor said, her body pristine and her robes without a single tear. She had been hit by the attack without suffering a single scratch.

Floating in the distance, Lucian watched her with a cold gaze, feeling a mysterious pain spreading through his soul. He searched for its source, while other parts of his mind formed thousands of battle plans.

The Resonant Sea Ancestor did not leave him guessing for long, however.

“Please, avoid such brutish methods,” she said. “Doing so will only damage your own soul. Neither of us wants that, right?”

Instead of being surprised by the revelation, Lucian clicked his tongue, sending waves of bats across the sea to detonate in random places.

Content to watch him waste his strength in what seemed to be a witch hunt, the Resonant Sea Ancestor continued playing with the invisible strings. She neither attacked nor moved, and watched him with a smile.

Moments later, Lucian said, “You damaged my soul.”

“No,” she corrected him. “You damaged your own soul. I can explain why.”

Watching her carefully, Lucian grunted as crimson light spread throughout the island, tainting the grass and the blood-red sea below.

Then, a rune appeared above him.

Condensed from Blood Essence and resonating with his Spiritual Sea, it depicted a four-fingered hand grasping a neck, surrounded by shifting sigils.

Devilish Arts: Boon of Lust - Out of Touch

Resonant Sea Ancestor's expression immediately turned grave as she mobilized her Qi.

That Qi had been created directly from Lucian's Spiritual Sea, converting part of his soul into Qi through one of her techniques. Normally, doing so would have been wasteful and unnecessary. But the danger she sensed from that rune was genuine.

“I advise you not to struggle,” she said, her tone becoming more serious. “If you continue fighting me, then even if you win, you'll leave your own soul severely weakened.”

Lucian scoffed. “I don’t care.”

Crimson bats formed around him through the effects of the Rune of Sloth and the Rune of Lust.

“I'll deal with that after making you pay.”

Next, Hundreds of bats rushed toward the Resonant Sea Ancestor.

Sighing softly, she chanted, “Echoing Ripples, Traversing Through Silent Veil.”

Her Qi surged, and she took a single step forward. With this, another identical figure appeared behind her and also stepped forward. Afterwards, the process repeated again and again.

Each figure took one step forward, then another to the side, splitting into yet another image as the bats collided with them, causing an explosion.

Every explosion tore violently through Lucian's soul, damaging the surroundings and causing the scenery itself to collapse for a moment.

Looking at the thousands of translucent images of the Resonant Sea Ancestor, Lucian locked onto the one standing at the far right.

Noticing she had been identified, she smiled.

“This technique uses the Authorities of Resonance and Echo. It's a compound technique, combining a movement technique with a defensive one.”

Lucian frowned, feeling more ripples and echoes spreading through the half of his soul that remained under his control.

“You should know about the five primary elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water,” she continued, effortlessly exchanging places with another image as Lucian sent more bats to detonate and consume the echoes. “However, perhaps you don't know the six major categories of techniques. Breathing, offensive, defensive, movement, investigative, and healing.”

The more she spoke, the stronger the sense of danger Lucian felt became. He gradually stopped sending bats, instead activating defensive measures through the Rune of Lust and the Rune of Pride.

Meanwhile, seeing that Lucian did not interrupt her, the Resonant Sea Ancestor continued.

“When two or more techniques are combined, they become a compound technique. Such techniques must either be maintained continuously or supplied with a constant flow of Qi.”

Suddenly, Lucian appeared before a cluster of her illusions. Then, three drops of blood shot into the air, and a second rune formed above his head almost simultaneously.

It depicted a five-thorned crown surrounded by shifting sigils, radiating crimson light.

Devilish Arts: Boon of Pride - Heavy Is the Crown

Sensing the danger, the Resonant Sea Ancestor immediately chanted, “Ocean Heart Harmony.”

At once, every one of her figures became enveloped in a soft azure light, as though embraced by a gentle sea breeze.

Alas, it was for nothing.

Most of the images shattered beneath the Domain of Pride. The few that remained had scattered farther away in different directions.

Snorting loudly, Lucian said, "Come back!"

With a pulling motion of his right hand, without needing to command either converge or disperse, the blood sea erupted, crashing into the fleeing figures and destroying every echo.

The true split soul of the Resonant Sea Ancestor was the sole form remaining. She stood amidst the torrent of blood and the Domain of Pride, yet seemed unaffected.

"That's not right," Lucian muttered, analyzing her through his enhanced senses and runes. "You're getting hurt, but you're also healing incredibly fast."

Nodding seriously, she replied, "This is my Returning Echo Restoration, one of my compound techniques. Why don't you appraise one of my killing techniques instead? They receive that name because, once cast, they no longer require Qi to sustain them. They are also extremely complex. A single mistake while casting them can result in Qi deviation or death."

While she spoke, her hands danced through the air, tracing characters that materialized from Qi itself. Then she softly uttered, "Flowing Echoes of Resonant Care."

The instant Lucian read the character and heard her voice, a violent fluctuation spread through his soul.

Trusting the countermeasures prepared by the Rune of Lust, he braced himself for the technique's true effect.

However, nothing happened. After scowling, Lucian waved his hand.

Another rune materialized above him as he consumed a tremendous amount of Blood Essence. Just as Qi was formed by expending his soul's foundation, the blood that became Blood Essence was also formed by the sacrifice of his soul.

Back to the rune, it resembled two downward-pointing fangs surrounded by crimson sigils.

Devilish Arts: Boon of Gluttony - Waste No More

After it appeared, Resonant Sea Ancestor bled from all seven orifices before her body burst apart, revealing that she had exchanged places through a secret technique some time earlier.

Lucian wasn't surprised.

He immediately flew to another position, mobilizing more Blood Essence to raise towering pillars from the crimson sea below. The pillars split into countless streams and shot in every direction, as if targeting something invisible.

Then, hundreds of impacts echoed.

Lucian had intercepted green spheres of Qi infused with melodies, akin to sound-wave attacks hidden within the battlefield.

"How did you notice them, Fellow Daoist?" countless voices asked before flowing together into a single figure. "I thought I hid my attacks very well."

Unwilling to reveal that his control over his own soul allowed him to sense the slightest hostile intention directed at him, Lucian prepared another rune.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly said with a gentle smile. "Fighting you has been entertaining, but it's time to end this."

As Reonant Sea Ancestor swept her hand through the air, manipulating countless invisible strings, thousands of hidden echoes detonated inside Lucian's soul, their resonance targeting both his soul and his sense of self.

"Beyond killing techniques, there are Domains. Core Formation cultivators fuse elemental Qi with their primary Authority, allowing them to control a tiny fragment of the Heavenly Dao."

She watched Lucian's body explode into countless pieces without any reaction. She continued sharing knowledge to cause a resonance between what she taught and what he learned.

"And by using Domains, one can create Battlefield Killer Techniques. Unfortunately, I cannot use mine here. Well, not its full power." She finally smiled, not feeling Lucian’s presence. "But it doesn't matter.”

Resonant Sea Ancestor was about to cast the final step of her possession technique when she suddenly felt resistance. A heavy thud echoed through the Spiritual Sea, resisting her technique.

Then an ancient, devilish sigh followed.

"If only you had been more patient," Lucian's voice reverberated throughout the world. "I would have learned much more."

From the scattered blood and flesh, another rune slowly formed.

It resembled a half-closed eye made of three crimson lines, surrounded by a ring of shifting sigils.

Devilish Arts: Rune of Sloth - Body Over Mind

Watching Lucian being reformed below the new rune, the Resonant Sea Ancestor shrieked, "How did you resist Flowing Echoes of Resonant Care?!"

She was genuinely stunned, as she barely ever used that technique outside her sect, meaning few people could have countermeasures for it. In fact, she knew only eight people who would deal with it!

Lucian answered with a single name. "Xu Hua."

Then, a fifth rune appeared, depicting a single eye being torn from its socket.

Devilish Arts: Rune of Greed - Blinded by Power

"The probing is over," Lucian said. "Use those Authorities, and teach me more through battle."

As he spoke, he commanded the five runes to partially merge. Even if he had only recovered his power to S-Tier, it didn't mean he couldn't use tricks he had learned after becoming a Beyond the Supreme!

The surprise on the Resonant Sea Ancestor's face gradually vanished as she controlled her emotions and looked at Lucian with icy calm. Her entire figure began radiating emerald light as she unleashed her Domain and said, "Do you want to learn more? Then survive the power of my three Authorities first!"

Their true battle was about to begin.