Chapter 884: Lv Xiao's Trump Card

On the mountaintop, the earth cracked and dust billowed.

Countless eyes stared blankly at the scene. The previously boisterous chatter instantly fell silent, demonstrating the profound shock they felt from the battle's sudden, dramatic shift.

Zhou Yuan was clearly pushed to the brink by Lü Xiao…But how did Lü Xiao end up being the one injured?!

The silence lasted for more than ten breaths before being ripped apart by a sudden uproar.

“What happened?!” countless onlookers were utterly bewildered.

However, there were still some exceptionally strong experts present whose vision was sharper. Although the previous change happened in a flash, they had subtly perceived it. Someone immediately said, “Previously, Zhou Yuan seemed to be pushed to the brink by Lü Xiao, but that was merely a facade. Lü Xiao wanted to force Zhou Yuan to reveal a weakness and seize an opportunity to strike, but Zhou Yuan was also intentionally feigning a weakness to lure Lü Xiao into attacking, and then launched an extremely powerful offensive, defeating Lü Xiao…”

“Tsk tsk, both of them possess incredibly seasoned combat instincts. They’re truly cunning little foxes,” an expert at the Heavenly Sun Stage marveled.

“Indeed, and the final attack Zhou Yuan unleashed was especially formidable. It seems even Lü Xiao’s ‘Immovable Wisdom King Purple Light Shield’ couldn’t defend against it,” another Heavenly Sun Stage expert echoed.

Upon hearing the comments from these Heavenly Sun Stage experts, countless onlookers finally understood and gasped in astonishment. Who could have imagined that in that fleeting moment, Zhou Yuan and Lü Xiao had engaged in countless hidden gambits?

However, judging by the current situation, Zhou Yuan clearly had the upper hand in this contest.

Even from such a distance, they could feel the terrifying aftermath of Zhou Yuan’s previous attack. Lü Xiao bore the full brunt of it, and even with his strongest defensive maneuver at the last moment, he was likely in a bad state.

Perhaps the outcome was about to be decided.

“How could this be?!”At the Fire Pavilion, Zuo Ya’s face, which had been wreathed in smiles, instantly stiffened. She was clearly exasperated, as from the previous situation, she had even believed Lü Xiao was about to seize control and win!

But the sudden shift in the situation the next moment was a harsh slap in the face, making her cheeks burn.

Zhu Lian also opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word, as that level of confrontation was beyond his comprehension. Zhou Yuan’s counterattack was too brilliant and fierce; even Lü Xiao fell victim to it, so what could he possibly discern?

What made his heart pound even more was that Zhou Yuan’s previous attack was so powerful that he couldn’t even be sure how severely Lü Xiao was injured at that moment.

If the injury was too severe…Zhu Lian dared not think further.

At that point, Zuo Ya, standing beside him, would probably explode… Of course, Zhu Lian knew it wouldn't just be her who exploded.

Over at the Wind Pavilion, there were no cheers as expected, because everyone was still somewhat in disbelief.

That was Lü Xiao!

He was the preeminent figure among the Divine Dwelling stage practitioners in the Tianyuan Region. In the eyes of many in the Wind Pavilion, although Lü Xiao had suppressed them severely, it had to be admitted that they also held a profound sense of fear towards him.

Yet now, this Lü Xiao, whom they once considered invincible, had suffered a major setback at the hands of their Pavilion Master. At this moment, Zhou Yuan’s standing in their hearts soared wildly once again.

Ye Bingling and Yi Qiushui also took a deep, cool breath and exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.

“With an attack like that, Lü Xiao must have been severely wounded, right?”

“I don’t know… Logically, that should be the case, but Lü Xiao isn’t simple; he might still have contingency plans.”

“However, to be able to push Lü Xiao to such a state, even if Zhou Yuan loses this time, he’ll still make a name for himself in the Tianyuan Region.”

“Knowing that guy’s personality, he probably won’t be satisfied with just this…”

As the outside world reeled in shock from the battle on the mountaintop, Zhou Yuan slowly descended, landing on an intact boulder. The blood vessels in his eyes were gradually fading.

The veins on his forehead also began to recede.

However, a sharp pain still lingered in his mind, causing him to frown slightly. This Soul Burial attack, unleashed using two sixth-grade beast souls, had also caused a considerable impact on himself.

From Zhou Yuan’s glabella, a continuous light of his Spirit flowed out, calming the turbulent surges within his Spirit.

His gaze was fixed intently on the swirling dust in the distance. The previous strike had landed squarely on Lü Xiao. Although the latter had deployed a defense at the last moment, Zhou Yuan was certain that this attack had undoubtedly left Lü Xiao in a bad state.

As for whether he could win outright with it, he was somewhat uncertain.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhou Yuan waved his sleeve, and Origin Qi stirred up a fierce wind, sweeping away the pervasive dust.

The mountaintop became clear.

Countless gazes converged, revealing a deep crater where Lü Xiao lay. His body was covered in blood and mud, looking thoroughly disheveled.

However, Lü Xiao still had his eyes open. He seemed to be staring blankly at the sky, his chest rising and falling slightly.

The Origin Qi fluctuations around him had also become much weaker at this moment. Anyone could see that after taking that brutal blow from Zhou Yuan, Lü Xiao’s injuries were not light.

As if sensing Zhou Yuan's gaze, Lü Xiao spat out a mouthful of bloody foam and said indifferently, “A truly vicious strike. It seems you prepared for this for a long time.”

Zhou Yuan replied, “The feeling is mutual.”

Lü Xiao had prepared a grand Origin Art formation for Zhou Yuan, and Zhou Yuan, in turn, had prepared an exceptionally fierce attack for him.

“Can you repeat that kind of attack?” Lü Xiao sneered.

“Try me and find out,” Zhou Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. Lü Xiao was right; for this battle, he had asked Senior Sister Xi Jing to help him acquire four sixth-grade beast soul crystals. Three were already used, and the last one couldn't actually be used anymore, as Zhou Yuan’s Spirit couldn’t withstand a third Spirit backlash in such a short time.

Of course, Zhou Yuan wouldn't explicitly state that. It was good to leave Lü Xiao with some apprehension and reserve strength, after all, all is fair in war.

Lü Xiao said nothing more. His lips seemed to twitch slightly, and then, without getting up, he slowly closed his eyes. His expression held a chilling indifference.

Seeing his actions, Zhou Yuan frowned slightly.

His excellent combat intuition made him faintly sense something was amiss.

So, he wasted no more words. With a sharp glint in his eyes, he raised his hand, and the Sword Pellet appeared, enveloped in overwhelming sword qi. He unleashed a fierce sword strike directly at Lü Xiao, who lay in the deep crater.

“If you don’t wish to fight anymore, I’ll send you down the mountain right now!”

The immense sword light, amidst countless exclamations, shot forth and struck down directly at Lü Xiao.

Many members of the Fire Pavilion even closed their eyes, unable to watch.

With a single sword slash, a sword mark appeared in the deep crater, extending for a hundred zhang.

However, Zhou Yuan’s gaze suddenly narrowed, his eyes coldly fixed on the deep crater. There, dense and immense black smoke billowed out from within Lü Xiao’s body, and faintly, extremely wild long howls seemed to emanate from it.

The sword light, enveloped by the Sword Pellet, struck the black mist but could no longer advance an inch, nor could it harm Lü Xiao within the black smoke.

Lü Xiao’s figure slowly floated up at this moment. Monstrous black smoke gathered behind him, like rolling black clouds, within which an enormous dark silhouette seemed to appear. The shadow coiled, as if possessing nine heads, eerie and mysterious.

Zhou Yuan looked at the nine-headed dark silhouette, which exuded a powerful pressure from within the black smoke, his face devoid of expression.

Sure enough… he still had a trump card up his sleeve…