Second Step vs Last Step

Fen Wudao's eyes opened wide to look at the tiny green globe that Elder Zhu had spat out. He didn't think the Elder would use that kind of attack, unfortunately Fen Wudao reacted a fraction of second too late.

The green bead cracked open and immediately a large green cloud spread out to cover the entire garden.

"Seventh Sister, don't breathe in!" Fen Wudao cried, conjuring a magical technique in his hands in the hope of dispersing the poisonous cloud. But he was too late again.

Shin Sumi had naturally inhaled some of the green gas, its spreading too fast to avoid.

Elder Zhu laughed like a maniac "Ehehehe you didn't think I would let you toy with me, did you? I have more than one trick up my sleeves!"

Fen Wudao's hands spread open, a whirlwind forming and slowly sucking in the nauseating gas trying to limit its nefarious effect, all the while thinking "That is not good. Sister Shin can't deal with something of that caliber. I need to finish off Zhu Yunhai and take her to Master Furnace."

Luckily he was not affected himself. The poison that Elder Zhu had unleashed was not too potent. Because of their small difference in cultivation base, Fen Wudao had been able to block it out of his system. But for Shin Sumi, she didn't have such luck and was probably already unconscious on the ground.

"Back up Senior Brother Fen!" a female voice alerted the young man. The next instant an invisible blade fended the air next to him, only to be blocked at the very last moment by Elder Zhu who had heard Shin Sumi's alert.

Shin Sumi's face turned pale. She had almost sent her Void Sword into Fen Wudao's head by mistake! How could she know her Senior Brother would get in the way of her attack?! Was it because of the green gas?

When Elder Zhu's technique had surprised them and the globe had crashed on the ground, delivering its deadly toxins, Shin Sumi hadn't cared that much. As soon as the green substance got close to her, she had heard the crystalline ringing of a small bell in her mind.

Ever since the Copper Bell entered her possessions, Shin Sumi had become accustomed to it. Naturally, after knowing that the artefact had activated, she had paid no mind to the gas any longer.

She was launching a new attack on Elder Zhu when Fen Wudao had stepped in, faster than a bolt of lightning.

"This green gas is nothing, I can take care of it myself. But if you want to intervene, Senior Brother Fen, I won't use the Void Sword then" Shin Sumi told him in a concerned voice.

Fen Wudao was speechless. He had thought for sure that Shin Sumi was already affected by the gas but she seemed completely fine. Elder Zhu himself couldn't believe his divine sense.

Without another word, Fen Wudao walked back out of the fighting zone as Shin Sumi jumped at Elder Zhu, brandishing Sky Deception.

The Void Sword was impossible to detect by anyone other than its master, linked with it by strong divine sense bonds. The handle carved out of a Stone Leaf Tortoise's bone was visible but still couldn't be felt. As such, the Void Sword was almost as dangerous for allies as for enemies.

An undetectable weapon, unless the handle was in your field of vision. For cultivators who were used to rely heavily on their divine sense, being almost completely omniscient in their reach radius, the Void Sword was a terrifying entity.

Elder Zhu grinded his teeth in frustration and anger. His Winter Swallow's Peril poison had been neutralized?! How was it possible?

The Winter Swallow's Peril he had himself concocted years ago in great quantity was a poison he had researched intensively in order to augment its potency. It was a rare kind of poisons that did not attack the body but rather the mind.

As soon as the green gas entered an individual's lungs, skin pores or even open wounds, the magic within the gas would spread out, filling the soul of the target with illusions. For weaker cultivators, it could outright kill them, their soul unable to deal with the visions brought forth by the poison.

For stronger individuals, the studies that Elder Zhu had himself done showed that time seemed to slow down and quicken at random rates and that all the target's senses were overloaded by illusory artefacts.

Or at least that is what was supposed to happen, but not to Shin Sumi.

Shin Sumi held many secrets. Maybe she was simply immune to this type of poison. Maybe that damned Void Sword had to do with it? Now was not the time to think about it for the Elder.

After using one of his trump cards, not only had it been completely useless, instead it had shown that Fen Wudao had reacted faster than the Elder had thought possible.

And there was this strange sword... The Void Sword has profoundly damaged his arm to the point where it had now become useless. The bleeding was easy to stop for any cultivator with a bit of experience but reattaching nerves could only be done over time for Liquid Realm practitioners.

The more the fight progressed, the easier it was to see that Elder Zhu was not a warrior. In a few short years, Shin Sumi had already amassed more experience with fighting and the use of offensive techniques and weapons than the old man.

One technique after the other, Shin Sumi made full use of skills she had acquired from both the Star-Sword Pavilion and the Cloud-Formation Pavilion. Switching between swords at her convenience, she would build on the Void Sword's power to incite Elder Zhu to care more about it.

When the Elder's focus was concentrated on following the invisible blade, she would then use Sky Deception or the Cloud Arts.

"She's proficient in using all sorts of techniques and at great speeds. I have never studied the Cloud Arts but I don't think I could successfully use the Cleaving Meteor with a technique such as the King's Tomb in this fashion."

Fen Wudao was impressed by his junior. However, as much as experience could make up for cultivation, the gap between Shin Sumi and Zhu Yunhai was simply too large.

Every technique used by Elder Zhu, even the simplest like his white light blade and shield, had the advantage of packing a lot more Shinsoo into them. An expert wielding a bamboo sword with his Shinsoo would still beat a low level disciple with a Heaven-sent weapon.

"Hesh," Shin Sumi held her side. Under her fingers, a red and sticky substance was dripping very slowly, "the wound from earlier re-opened on top of the rest."

The girl was panting. Her injuries were only shallow but the amount of energy she had to use to keep on attacking was the opposite. Because Elder Zhu was not a fighter, she could push him around but only by a constant assault. Should she momentarily stop her attacks, one of Elder Zhu's techniques was bound to hit her.

"I need to stop him once and for all to make sure he can never hurt anybody again" Shin Sumi thought while she attacked. A Cleaving Meteor launched with Sky Deception momentarily shattered the light shield created by Elder Zhu.

Using this opportunity the Void Sword left Shin Sumi's hand for Elder Zhu's feet. For her next technique, Shin Sumi needed to immobilize her opponent as much as possible, "either you lose your feet or you are stuck mid-air for what is to come."

Feeling the peculiar flow of Shinsoo around Shin Sumi, Fen Wudao had a pretty certain guess as to what she planned on doing next. As Elder Zhu was dealing with multiple attacks, Fen Wudao's muscles contracted slightly, his breathing calm and his heart at peace.

"I need to act fast as soon as it is over. I don't think her technique is going to work against somebody as strong as Elder Zhu. I hope she knows she can only use it because I'm here to have her back."

But Fen Wudao trusted Shin Sumi, and Shin Sumi trusted him too. She knew her next attack was going to be the last, the energy consumption being simply too great. She was already exhausted and wouldn't be surprised if she were to pass out immediately after she was done.

Elder Zhu whose attention had been focused on the Void Sword didn't let the traceless weapon hit him. Instead, just as Shin Sumi predicted, he kicked the ground with his feet before the sword got close, momentarily suspended in mid-air.

"White Claw Dusk Cleaver!"

Right after the Void Sword passed under Zhu Yunhai's feet, the ground turned black where it previously was the grey and colored soil littered with destroyed precious plants. A large white claw the size of her rose from the darkness without a sound as Shin Sumi was instantly transported behind her target.

Her arm lowered intuitively suddenly moved up, prompting the ghostly claw to do the same.

It was the same technique that had stopped Mua Jin in the middle of a powerful attack and left him bedridden for the past month. It was by far Shin Sumi's stronger offensive technique, one she had inherited from the Ghost Pavilion's white scroll.

"Damn it, this is bad" Elder Zhu instantly understood the danger he was in! He had never experienced the secret technique but the simple pressure emanating from the white claw was a terror to his very soul.

But Elder Zhu knew that cursing wouldn't help him in any way. Fortunately for him, he was a peak level Liquid Realm cultivator and while his attacks were slow because he was never a fighter, his mind and thoughts were faster than his hands.

As the white crescent moon rose, he poured all of his Shinsoo into his hand. It was too late to do anything else and moving out of the way of the massive claw was impossible in mid-air so instead he decided to strike his fist downwards in a simple manner.

The same instant a long needle imbued with deep blue light escaped his lips, much like the Winter Swallow's Peril globe from earlier in the fight. Only the needle seemed to be directed at where Shin Sumi was standing before and not where she was now.

The white claw met the Elder's fist at the same time as he spat out the needle into the air. The delicate finger bones didn't last the blink of an eye, were they imbued with Shinsoo or not. The White Claw Dusk Cleaver rose unimpeded, splitting the Elder's fist in two to then continue on with his arm.

A cry of pain coming from his very soul escaped the Elder's lips. He already had only one arm remaining ever since the Void Sword's first hit but now his precious arm was quickly being shattered, cut and destroyed by the white crescent that had come out of the darkness.

The White Claw didn't stop there, following Shin Sumi's arm it rose at a frightening speed. One of the Elder's thighs came after the mangled flesh that was his arm's remains. Much like the fist, the thigh offered very little resistance.

It was almost cut clean off when suddenly Shin Sumi's arm trembled and stopped.

The red dressed girl had lost consciousness.

The White Claw Dusk Cleaver disintegrated into smoke, disappearing with the patch of darkness below. Shin Sumi had reached her limit.

The entire attack had lasted just the time Elder Zhu was in the air after his initial jump and now both of them were descending with gravity.

Elder Zhu's pain was unfathomable. In less than a second his arm had been turned into a bloody mush and his leg had been cut almost clean off, now dangling off the few bits of muscles and tendons that had not yet been touched.

With bloodshot eyes he roared in pain, panic overtaking him for the first time. Ever since the appearance of Fen Wudao he knew he was going to die after this fight but now he wished to die immediately.

Anything that would stop the pain would be welcome gladly. However there was another wish in the crazed Elder's heart.

He would do anything to take at least Shin Sumi's life with him. Everything that had happened was her fault and she was going to pay!

Both Zhu Yunhai and Shin Sumi crashed at the same time on the ground. Despite his best effort, Elder Zhu was unable to break his fall with his only leg, instead refraining from howling as his irreparable limbs crashed under him.

Shin Sumi's limp body bounced once behind him, her lack of consciousness only now registering in Elder Zhu's divine sense.

"Had she not been exhausted and at her limit, the White Claw would have continued its trajectory." In different words, the same thought crossed both Elder Zhu's mind and Fen Wudao's.

The latter had sprung into action right as he understood Shin Sumi's situation. His figure had turned into a blur, approaching the other two. His plan was to retrieve Shin Sumi first and let her lay somewhere safe rather than right next to the frenzied Elder.

Only Elder Zhu who had just now found out about her unconsciousness was not about to let him have his way.

Conjuring his Shinsoo, he ignored his severed limbs, instead concentrating his energy on his vocal chords. What use was there in trying to heal when he was already at the end of his line?

"STAY BACK!"

Fen Wudao's figure stopped abruptly, his eardrums vibrating dangerously and his muscles almost tetanized.

Elder Zhu's technique was more than simply enhancing his voice with Shinsoo. His message itself was laced with spiritual energy, an attack that Fen Wudao was definitely not expecting.

Acting only on instinct, Elder Zhu has done his best to stop Fen Wudao. Maybe it was fate or maybe it was the adrenalin rush but the timing was perfect for Elder Zhu.

Unable to move for at least a second while he reversed Elder Zhu's technique, Fen Wudao watched powerlessly as the long blue needle was activated by Elder Zhu's divine sense.

Only two breaths of time earlier, when he still had most of his limbs intact and was still in disbelief of what Shin Sumi was capable of, Elder Zhu had spat out a medicinal needle into the air. Fen Wudao who was observing attentively his Junior use the Ghost Pavilion's first secret technique had then miscalculated.

To him it had looked like Zhu Yunhai's needle attack was just too late to call back in front of the incoming White Claw. Even the trajectory of the needle was wrong, directed at the spot where Shin Sumi was earlier. After that the young man had completely disregarded the needle.

But now that Fen Wudao was unable to help Shin Sumi, he felt the old man call to his blue-glowing needle, activating it with his divine sense.

The slick weapon turned sharply in the air. Had the Elder been inspired by the Void Sword in the middle of the fight? It seemed like he was using the same methods as Shin Sumi's in terms of distraction and attack.

How could Fen Wudao have been so stupid to let it leave his mind?! The young man bit his tongue so hard that it started bleeding, watching the needle accelerate towards Shin Sumi's unconscious body. His own body was only just starting to respond but he would be too late in the face of the quick attack.

"Sixty Four Crane Flight" Elder Zhu whispered.

The needle was halfway there when it split into two, then four, then eight. A blink of an eye later, sixty four needles were upon Shin Sumi.

Fen Wudao's body took a hard step forward at exactly the same time as a green glow flashed on Shin Sumi's wrist.

In a twirl of grey and green, a small Lion Bat appeared on top of Shin Sumi. Nuan immediately spread her skeletal wings above her master.

The black beads that were her eyes looked straight at Elder Zhu's, instillating mostly surprise and a slight fear.

Where had that Lion Bat come from?! He had completely overlooked the fact that Shin Sumi was enrolled in the Divine-Beasts Pavilion as well as the other two. In only a year, most divine beasts were still very young and small, basically useless in a fight. This was the reason a lot of disciples who chose to use spirit creatures were bullied at first, because the fruit of their labor would only show after a long time.

Only Nuan didn't seem afraid of the sixty four poisonous needles at all. As if they struck a brick wall, the needles bounced off Nuan's wings, falling on the ground and disappearing immediately.

"No, that is not possible" Elder Zhu cried in despair.

"My Junior Sister is full of secrets" a voice full with pride brought Elder Zhu back to Fen Wudao.

The young man who had just gotten rid of Elder Zhu's blocking voice technique stood straight and stretched. His divine sense wasn't lying, the old man was running empty on Shinsoo. Despite his many tricks, the fight was basically over.

"She fought well. Now is my time to act, any last words, esteemed Elder?" Fen Wudao's eyes gained a shade of darkness.

"Wait... I don't care for your last words. It is time for you to leave this world and beg the King of Death for a better life in the cycle of reincarnation," his eyes gained another shade of darkness.

Elder Zhu's mangled and broken body was completely empty and yet he still managed to tremble violently. Fen Wudao's aura was spiking dangerously.

"I... I am an Elder of the Dark Sky Starry Sect! A disciple wouldn't dare kill me!!" Elder Zhu was panicking. Something about Fen Wudao was terrifying to him, even more than his imminent death.

Fen Wudao slowly approached, his energy levels rising exponentially.

"Grey Ghost Scroll: Berserker Shadow!"

These were the last words Elder Zhu's ears ever heard.