Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 552 – Nine Emperor Dragon Poison

“Hmph.” After Helian Ba overcame his brief moment of shock, he began to laugh wildly, “So what if you know where my real body is? This sword of mine, even if you have ten more years, you still won’t be able to meet it…”

Helian Ba had not finished speaking when his face suddenly changed color, because the sword that was shooting towards him did not slow down in the slightest despite the oppressive aura being emitted by his Netherworld Lightning Emperor Slash. The sword sliced through the layers of profound energy around him like a hot knife through butter, bringing a whirlwind that seemed to beckon the end of days as it stabbed directly towards his body.

Boom!!!

Sword met sword in a midair collision and the power of wind and lightning erupted at the same time. In that instant, it was as though two mountains had collided together; the world shook as violent winds howled. It was as if all the air currents in the area had been cleaved apart by a boundlessly tyrannical profound energy stream and the entire Demon Imperial Hall had become a complete vacuum in the span of five breaths.

In the center of the crazy and unrestrained vortex of wind and lightning profound energy, two swords clashed together like two flood dragons attempting to tear each other apart amidst the ocean waves, letting out a series of extremely ear-piercing rings as metal crashed against metal.

Su Zhizhan stood below and both of his hands were raised rigidly above his head. Even though his sword had left his hand, it was still entirely under his control. Meanwhile, Helian Ba’s body stopped in midair and his black sword had been completely stonewalled by Su Zhizhan blade. He actually could not force it to descend another inch. Helian Ba’s eyes widened as he struggled, not believing the scene that was unfolding before his eyes, “This isn’t possible… It isn’t possible… This sword… How were you able to block it?!!”

“Heh… Heh heh…” Su Zhizhan laughed, because at this moment he had already seen the conclusion of this fight, “Helian Ba, did you think you were the only one who had an ace up his sleeve?! The many times I had sparred with you before, I had never used my full strength once… Because you are not worthy!!”

Both of Su Zhizhan’s hands fiercely thrust upwards and in a split second, Helian Ba felt the power which was rushing towards him suddenly spike. His black sword was viciously pushed aside and the profound energy protecting him was easily cleaved apart as an unbelievably huge force smashed into his chest.

“Scram!!”

Boom!!

A piercing cry split the air as the black sword in Helian Ba’s hand broke in two and flew out of his hand in two different directions. Meanwhile, Helian Ba’s body fell like a kite which had its string cut and flew towards the west wing. Despite this, the sword carrying the terrifying whirlwind did not continue chasing after him, instead it shot upwards, making a giant arc in the air before descending and falling in front of Su Zhizhan. The wind around the sword had almost completely dissipated as well.

Helian Kuang flew out and caught Helian Ba in midair. Helian Ba’s breastplate was shattered and a bloody hole that was half a foot long was carved into his chest. Helian Kuang took a glance at Helian Ba’s wounds and coldly eyed Su Xiangnan as he declared in an icy voice, “Su Xiangnan, you have indeed raised an exceptional son, he has managed to learn the Divine Wind Sword at such a tender age.”

“Haha, as everyone has plainly seen, he is indeed quite a bit better than Brother Helian’s son. And it would simply be impolite for this Su to refuse the compliment given by Brother Helian.” Su Xiangnan said in a bemused voice as he chuckled.

“You!” Helian Kuang’s face grew dark and he suppressed the urge to let loose a torrent of abuse with much difficulty. Meanwhile, Helian Ba, who was still in his father’s arms, began to struggle and he said, “How… could I lose to him! This is not possible… I want to… compete with him again…”

“That is enough!” Helian Kuang yelled in a low voice, “Your technique was not up to par, so your loss was not the least bit unjustified. It has been made clear that Su Zhizhan has always been concealing a part of his strength, so even if you fought him another ten times, you would still lose! Hmph, let’s just let them grow complacent with this win… This is the last thing they will be able to be pleased with after all.”

For the first time, the west wing rang out in applause. The west wing which had been completely suppressed had finally been able to catch a break following the victory Su Zhizhan achieved over Helian Ba. But how could Su Zhizhan attain an easy victory when he was matched against the person who was deemed his equal? He was not only covered in wounds, he had also exhausted close to ninety percent of his profound energy. As the cheers rang out from the rest, he half-knelt to the ground and it was only after the cheers began to die down that he slowly got up and lifted his beloved sword once more.

“Who’s next?!”

The sword gripped in Su Zhizhan’s hand faintly trembled; this was the reaction of muscles which had undergone an extremely heavy strain. However, Su Zhizhan’s voice still rang out steadily and his imposing aura did not weaken in the slightest.

Helian Ba covered the wound on his chest and his gaze directly sought out Jiufang Yu, who was seated in the middle of the Jiufang Family. After noticing his gaze, Jiufang Yu immediately shot a look back at him, because once he had met Helian Ba’s eyes, he had come to a complete understanding.

Helian Ba’s extreme rage and bitterness had clearly conveyed a single message to him: Avenge me… by crippling him!

Jiufang Yu stood up and leaped into the arena. He stood in front of Su Zhizhan and said in a merry voice, “Jiufang Family’s Jiufang Yu is here, I hope Brother Su will give me a few tips.”

Duke Huai was in the midst of contemplating who he would send out to clear away the spent force Su Zhizhan, when he suddenly saw Jiufang Yu take the initiative to get on stage. His eyes narrowed as a mirthful chuckle rose silently in his throat.

Upon seeing Jiufang Yu take the stage, Su Xiangnan, who had been completely calm when Su Zhizhan was battling Helian Ba, abruptly stood up as his eyebrows tightened fiercely. He swiftly transmitted a message, “Zhizhan, be careful!”

Jiufang Yu’s profound strength was not too high as he was only at the Tyrant Profound Realm level four. But the truly terrifying thing about the Jiufang Clan was that their Family’s profound art was a horrifying poison art! And their original form was that of a Nine Headed Poison Dragon! This Jiufang Yu also possessed an extremely rare form of dragon poison from birth, the “Nine Emperor Venom Body” that only appeared in the Jiufang Clan once every four thousand years. If one was poisoned by the venom he carried in his body, even a low level Monarch would have some difficulty expunging it from their body; this point was something everyone in Demon Imperial City knew.

Within the entire Demon Imperial City, there were extremely few people who dared to cross fists with a member of the Jiufang Family.

“Brother Su, you were truly magnificent just now.” Jiufang Yu spoke in a whisper that only Su Zhizhan could hear, “However, I would advise you to immediately surrender right now. You should know what outcome awaits you if you end up in my hands.”

“Cut the crap!” Su Zhizhan slashed his sword, “I, Su Zhizhan have never been afraid of anyone in this life. And you are definitely not worthy!”

The corner of Jiufang Yu’s mouth crooked upwards. Su Zhizhan was famous for having a contemptuous and haughty personality, so he would definitely never take the initiative to do such a thing like surrendering. He took out his weapon… a dark green longsword, and he said in a voice that was not fast nor slow, “Then you mustn’t blame me for not giving you a chance!”

“Shut your mouth!!”

Su Zhizhan flung his arm out and his longsword abruptly flew out with a howl. Shockingly, the tip of the sword was directed at Jiufang Yu’s throat and icy aura flew straight at his throat. This caused Jiufang Yu to immediately break out in cold sweat as he panickedly dodged and swung his dark green longsword, batting Su Zhizhan’s blade aside. He cursed silently in his heart: This madman!

If it was Su Zhizhan at the peak of his strength, Jiufang Yu would not have been able to send his sword flying with such ease. But right now, Jiufang Yu had not even used sixty percent of his power and he had almost caused Su Zhizhan’s to lose control of his sword. Su Zhizhan gritted his teeth silently and recalled the sword to his hand. As he leapt forward, wild wind and sword energy gathered around him. All the profound energy in his body rushed out unreservedly and he stabbed straight towards Jiufang Yu.

After he had tasted Su Zhizhan’s most recent sword strike, most of Jiufang Yu’s worries were put to rest. He advanced a step and his sword smashed forward… He firmly believed, that given Su Zhizhan’s present condition, he would definitely not be his match in a direct clash of strength.

Bang!

Both swords clashed together and profound energy ripples began to spread out to the surrounding area. Su Zhizhan’s upper body swayed back and forth and the sword in his hand bent substantially; it was clear for all to see that he had clearly lost out in this clash of swords… He originally had the profound strength of Tyrant Profound Realm level six, but right now, in the first clash of arms with Jiufang Yu who was merely at the Tyrant Profound Realm level four, he was clearly at a disadvantage. This clearly indicated just how much the battle with Helian Ba had exhausted him.

But even his present condition would not cause Su Zhizhan to retreat half a step. The bones in his arms made crisp sounds but instead of advancing, he moved backwards and tens of sword shadows filled the air in an instant as they thrust straight towards Jiufang Yu’s vital points… Jiufang Yu’s eyes were dazzled but he also did not retreat. Instead, he didn’t even look up and simply swept his sword forward… The level of Su Zhizhan’s wind sword had reached the pinnacle of perfection, but without strong profound energy to support them, they had all the menace of a little kitten!

Clang!!

A huge force accompanied his sword stroke and Su Zhizhan’s sword and hands were viciously smashed aside as his body reeled backwards. Jiufang Yu’s eyes flashed and a sinister smile flashed across his face as well. His body suddenly surged forward, carrying a moss-green smoke that swept past Su Zhizhan’s side. Within this moss-green smoke, the figure of a jade green Nine Headed Flood Dragon also flashed by…

Not only was the protective layer of profound energy around Su Zhizhan exceptionally weak, he was also wounded all over, so this green smoke easily penetrated the protective layer of profound energy around him and passed through his wounds to invade his bloodstream.

A groan of intense pain escaped Su Zhizhan’s throat as his entire body froze and he knelt on the ground, his sword falling to the ground with a crash. His entire body shivered violently as all the wounds on his body began to slowly turn a deep shade of green.

“Zhizhan!!”

The scenario that he had feared the most had still happened. Su Xiangnan’s face paled with shock. He flew out to land beside Su Zhizhan, and swiftly picked him up.

“Su Xiangnan! The outcome of the battle has not yet been decided, what is the meaning behind your intrusion?!” Duke Huai thundered.

“In this battle, we admit defeat!!”

Su Xiangnan yelled with gritted teeth. He swiftly examined Su Zhizhan’s present condition and his heart filled with alarm: Su Zhizhan’s profound strength had greatly waned and it was hard for him to resist the poison. What was even harder to restrain was the spread and the outbreak of this poison. This was worsened by the fact that he was covered in wounds and the deadly poison had entered his body in large amounts from various locations on his body. And for the current Su Zhizhan, this poison would kill him in a short period of time!

Su Xiangnan swiftly channeled his profound energy and used all his strength to restrain the virulent poison in Su Zhizhan’s body. He fiercely turned his head and fiercely stared at Jiufang Yu, “Hand me the antidote right now!!”

“Antidote?” Jiufang Yu asked with an innocent expression, “Ah, in regards to that, this junior has the Nine Emperor Venom Body, so it is somewhat different from the other members of my family. And it is very hard to concoct the antidote for this kind of Nine Emperor Dragon Poison, so this junior only has a few pills altogether… Ah, today I left the house in quite a hurry, so I forgot to bring it. However with the deep and resounding profound strength of Patriarch Su and the other seniors of the Su Family, I believe that cleansing this junior’s lowly Nine Emperor Dragon Poison should be a simple matter.”

The various great elders of the Su Family had all flown to Su Zhizhan’s side, but after examining his condition, all of their expressions abruptly changed.

“You bastard!” Su Xiangnan raged in fury, “You clearly knew that my son’s body was covered in wounds and his profound energy had greatly weakened, but you still deliberately used such a heavy poison! He has no strength to resist the poison at the moment, and if we use external energy, it is extremely easy to injure his internal organs… hand me the antidote immediately! If not, do not blame me for being impolite!”

“Su Xiangnan, what do you mean by that?” The Jiufang Family’s Patriarch Jiufang Kui stood up and coldly eyed him while he said, “Poison arts are our Jiufang Family’s clan profound art, it is a matter that is open and aboveboard! My son defeated him with our Family’s profound art, honestly and in a straightforward manner! Given your son’s attitude, he can only blame himself for his own inferiority. Don’t tell me that in the midst of battle when you are battling your mortal enemy, you would actually hope that he would bequeath an antidote to you?!”

“Jiufang Kui, you!!” Su Xiangnan was filled with indignant anger but the antidote was in the hands of the other party, so even he was extremely furious, he did not dare be too fierce with his words. He took in a large breath and he turned to the Little Demon Empress. If the Little Demon Empress intervened, the Jiufang Family will definitely not dare to withhold the antidote, but this would also lead to his own side becoming mired in passivity.

At this time, Yun Che rushed over and he arrived at Su Zhizhan’s side. He quickly took out a dull yellow medicine pill and placed it in Su Zhizhan’s mouth, “Swallow this pill immediately, hurry!”

As he finished speaking, he didn’t wait for Su Zhizhan to respond. He directly used his profound energy to push the yellow pill into Su Zhizhan’s stomach. It was only then that the elders by Su Zhizhan’s side reacted and yelled in alarm, “What did you feed the Young Patriarch?!”

As their voices fell, they sensed that the poison in Su Zhizhan’s body had suddenly weakened. The poison began to lessen at a shocking speed and in the span of a few breaths, the green on Su Zhizhan’s body gradually dimmed, until the green tinge disappeared altogether.

Yun Che’s hand stealthily moved away from Su Zhizhan’s chest… the medical pill he had fed him was only an ordinary Profound Recovering Pellet. It was a sleight of hand performed by Yun Che, because what truly cleansed the dragon poison was naturally the Sky Poison Pearl. The Nine Emperor Dragon Poison was indeed scary, but in front of the Sky Poison Pearl, it was no different from any ordinary poison. It was completely purged from Su Zhizhan’s system in the blink of an eye.