Chapter 102: A Bone Flute

The Flute Immortal, seeing that Qin Xuanxi had finally shown herself, let out a great shout: "Formless Nun!"

The Formless Nun immediately hurled her horsetail whisk toward Qin Xuanxi. But Qin Xuanxi merely raised her right hand slightly and formed a seal—

Water System, Nineteenth Formula: Ice Coffin!

The enormous whisk was instantly sealed inside a vast ice coffin. Yet cracks appeared upon the coffin almost at once, and the whisk burst free of the ice, still flying straight for Qin Xuanxi. It had broken through the Ice Coffin, yes, but it could not get past that towering Taixuan Heavenly Demon Dharma Manifestation. The manifestation clapped its hands together like a man swatting a fly, and the whisk was crushed to powder between its palms.

The Formless Nun, however, soon condensed a fresh whisk in her hand.

At the same time, wind-attribute spiritual power began to swirl around the Flute Immortal's hands.

Wind System, Sixty-Seventh Formula: Thousand Wind Arrows!

All the invisible breezes around him suddenly congealed into translucent wind arrows. In the space of an instant, several thousand of them came streaking in from every angle, dense as a plague of locusts, straight for Qin Xuanxi. Her brows knit tightly, and water-attribute spiritual power was already gathering secretly between her palms.

Water System, Thirty-Seventh Formula: Frozen Ten Thousand Miles!

The translucent wind arrows were frozen solid on the spot, unable so much as to brush the hem of Qin Xuanxi's robes.

Thereafter, the two Emperor-level opponents began hurling spell technique after spell technique at each other. For a time, they were locked in a deadlock so fierce that heaven and earth changed color. Beneath the bombardment of the two Emperors' dharma arts, Yan City became utterly fragile: countless houses collapsed, the ground split open, and river water poured backward into the streets. The weather itself turned monstrous—now howling gales, now crashing thunder and lightning, now hail falling from the sky. The number of dead and wounded among the common folk was beyond counting, and those who yet survived began fleeing in every direction.

Zhou Junhao raced back and forth through the city. At this moment, he alone could still save these people—or at least save one for every one he could reach. The method Zhou Junhao cultivated was the Ninefold Dao Enlightenment Art, whose spell techniques were unique, distinct from ordinary elemental dharma arts.

As he ran through the city, Zhou Junhao formed seals.

Myriad Phenomena Evolution System, Seventh Formula: Paper Puppet Spell.

Giant paper cranes materialized ceaselessly out of thin air around him. Of their own accord, they flew to the sides of the fleeing commoners, letting them climb onto their backs and carrying them up and out of Yan City.

As for the rest of the immortal sect members, most were trapped inside the defensive barrier of the prince's mansion. They could not get out even if they wished to; and even if they could, they would not dare.

At this moment, the sixteen-year-old recording clerk Wu Yuan's robes billowed as golden light enveloped her entire body. She was pouring every last iota of her spiritual power into recording the Emperor-level battle before her eyes. Like most ordinary recording clerks, her spiritual power could sustain a live recording for only a quarter of an hour. But the dharma arts clashing between the two Emperors were so dazzling, so overwhelming, that in less than a third of that time, her power was already nearly spent.

Her eyes began to fill with blood, and blood seeped from her nose—sure signs of spiritual power overdraft. Yet she gritted her teeth and kept on recording.

That shrewd senior apprentice of hers had abandoned her without a second thought the moment he heard a Venerable-level battle might break out in the Iron City of the Cloud Kingdom, scampering off gleefully. And now, what was unfolding here was an Emperor-level duel.

There was no way she could give up.

She knew that if she could carry the mind-image disc with this battle recorded upon it back to the Recording Sect, then for decades to come, even if she did nothing at all, the sect master would have to keep her enshrined on a pedestal.

It was no exaggeration: she would rather stake her very life here today than fail to capture this battle in full on the mind-image disc.

But as her spiritual power drained away with brutal severity, her consciousness began to blur. She quickly pulled a dagger from the chest box behind her and stabbed it hard into her right thigh. Blood immediately gushed from the wound.

Pain could keep her alert.

It was the only thing she could think of.

Zhang Zixuan, watching from the side, marveled inwardly—this female recording clerk was unbelievably fierce!

Meanwhile, the battle between the two Emperors continued unabated. Their spiritual power seemed as if it would never run dry. In an extremely short span, both sides had exchanged dozens of high-tier dharma arts, yet neither showed the slightest sign of flagging.

Every technique the Flute Immortal unleashed was a killing art. He thought only of gravely wounding Qin Xuanxi so that he could flee this place at once. Qin Xuanxi, however, used mostly control-type techniques—after all, until she had drawn the truth of the Wine Immortal's death from the Flute Immortal's lips, she would not allow him to die.

For this reason, Qin Xuanxi held something back.

Seizing a moment when the Flute Immortal was off guard, she quietly formed yet another seal.

Earth System, Seventy-Eighth Formula: Sand Tiger Python!

A colossal python suddenly shot up from beneath the Flute Immortal's feet. Its head was shaped like a tiger's, and in an instant, it opened its enormous tiger jaws and swallowed the Flute Immortal whole.

The Sand Tiger Python could also be counted as a control-type technique, for within the python's body there was a barrier that could seal its captive inside.

At the same time, Qin Xuanxi ordered her Heavenly Demon Manifestation to smash a fist through the Flute Immortal's Formless Nun manifestation, leaving him unable to summon the nun to save himself.

Inside the prince's mansion, when the immortal sect members saw the Flute Immortal swallowed alive by the tiger python and his manifestation shattered, their hearts flew straight to their throats. They all believed that if this demoness Qin Xuanxi won the battle, every last one of them would die here.

But at that very moment, from within the tiger python's belly came the melody of a beautiful flute tune. Along with the sound, seven-colored radiance pierced through the python's body.

In an instant, the entire tiger python burst apart, shattering into a sky full of sand and mud that the great wind scattered to the four directions. Amid the falling earth and dust, the Flute Immortal reappeared unharmed before everyone's eyes. In his hand he held a jade flute, and fierce true qi surged around him in time with the melody.

This was the Flute Immortal's signature flute-kill spell—the technique he was proudest of.

The people inside the prince's mansion saw that the Flute Immortal was safe, and the hearts that had been suspended in their throats finally settled. Their morale surged.

The Flute Immortal rarely used the flute-kill spell. If he used it, it meant he was facing an extremely troublesome opponent.

"Abyssal Demon Sovereign, it is time for us to determine the outcome."

The Flute Immortal's expression was icy. Behind him, the Formless Nun's manifestation materialized once more. He would, with the support of his manifestation, unleash the flute-kill spell directly upon Qin Xuanxi.

But just as he raised the jade flute again, the flute shattered with a bang.

"Alas, an ordinary flute truly cannot bear my flute-kill spell," the Flute Immortal sighed. "What a pity—such a fine jade flute wasted. It seems there is no choice but to use this one now."

And so saying, he drew a bone flute out of the void.

Qin Xuanxi stared fixedly at that bone flute. She actually sensed upon it the lingering spiritual aura of her master, the Wine Immortal.

Suddenly, her eyes flew wide, and her heart trembled.

She remembered—when her master the Wine Immortal's corpse had been discovered on Wuyi Ice Mountain, it had been missing its right arm. Could it be that the bone flute in the Flute Immortal's hand...?!