Chapter 1443: Struggling Like a Cornered Beast

Just as before, as the Pan Mountain Saber struck the tip of the short blade, the Skeleton General once again trembled violently.

Lu Ye was about to withdraw his saber for another attack when the Skeleton General’s greatsword was already raised high and swung down fiercely. The strike was as swift as a gale, and Lu Ye, being so close to the Skeleton General, had no room to dodge; he could only raise his saber to parry.

At the same time, a flash of light gleamed on the Pan Mountain Saber as a spirit pattern formed: Moon Reversal!

This spirit pattern possessed a mysterious counter-damage ability, specifically designed for the weak to overcome the strong. Lu Ye occasionally used it while he was in Kyushu, but he hadn't used it since entering the Starry Sky. This was mainly because the enemies he encountered were either overwhelmingly powerful or didn't require the use of this pattern.

Using it now was out of sheer desperation.

With a deafening clang, a massive, brutal force struck. Lu Ye felt his right arm, holding the saber, go numb. Even the web of his hand between thumb and forefinger split open, splattering blood, and his body sank lower.

Using the opponent's force, Lu Ye continuously slid backward, evading the Skeleton General's next attack.

Hastily steadying himself, Lu Ye's eyes shone brightly, because he had discovered something interesting: the Skeleton General's strength had significantly weakened!

During their initial clash, his spiritual power had been easily overwhelmed by the opponent's strength. If Puck and Wraith hadn't intervened in time then, he would surely have faced a dire outcome. But in this renewed confrontation, while the opponent's strength was still considerable, it was much weaker than it had been initially.

At the very least, Lu Ye didn't feel his spiritual power collapsing at the slightest touch; instead, it was capable of offering some resistance.

This was clearly related to the damage it had sustained from his Sword Gale.

Moreover, the Skeleton General's tattered armor was now shattered, and its defense was no longer as sturdy as before. If this was the Skeleton General now... this battle had a chance!

A whooshing sound came; it was Puck launching an attack by whipping his fishing rod from a distance. However, this time, it wasn't just the fishing line that shot out; at the end of the line was a spherical object the size of a baby's fist, and no one knew what it was.

The Skeleton General reacted swiftly, cutting with a sideways swing of its greatsword, striking the mysterious object directly. But as the greatsword collided with the sphere, the sphere burst with a loud bang, followed by a gush of emerald-green liquid, resembling tree sap, that exploded outwards, drenching the Skeleton General completely.

A sizzling sound emanated, as the emerald-green liquid proved to be extremely corrosive. It seeped into the crevices of the Skeleton General's bones. The spectral flame in its right eye socket flickered violently twice. It opened its mouth, and despite having no flesh, it eerily let out a roar.

Puck's move had clearly injured it.

Just then, a ghostly figure appeared beside the Skeleton General. It was Wraith, who had stealthily approached. She clenched her five fingers, activating a secret art. Her fingertips turned a dark golden hue, aiming directly for the enemy's right eye socket, with the clear intention of completely extinguishing its spectral flame.

Although Wraith had performed poorly in the previous battle, that wasn't because she was weak, but because the enemy was too strong. She was, after all, a ghost clan member from the Northern Abyss Ghost Domain, a formidable expert listed on the Accumulation Roster. Her grasp of combat opportunities and observation of the situation were extremely keen.

If she succeeded with this strike, the Skeleton General would be in grave danger.

However, the Skeleton General had never let its guard down regarding the defense of its right eye socket—its perceived weakness. The moment Wraith appeared, the greatsword swept across.

It looked as though Wraith was actively lunging into the greatsword.

In such a situation, Wraith had no space or time to dodge. Being struck by the greatsword would be instantaneous, and given the disparity in their strengths, Wraith would undoubtedly die if hit.

However, just as the greatsword was about to strike, Wraith's body, which had been lunging forward, eerily halted, and then inexplicably retreated rapidly backward.

It was Puck, who had intervened just in time during her moment of crisis. A fishing line had wrapped around one of Wraith's legs, forcibly pulling her back.

Even so, the residual force from the greatsword's sweep struck Wraith's abdomen like a meteorite. While still in mid-air, she spat out a mouthful of blood, and the veil covering her face instantly turned crimson!

Almost at the same moment Wraith was pulled back by Puck, a great sun suddenly burst open, rapidly blooming like a lotus flower, enveloping the Skeleton General. Sizzling sounds filled the air, the sound of boundless saber energy cutting through the Skeleton General's skeletal body.

Lu Ye's figure appeared in the very center of that lotus.

Wraith's surprise attack failed, but she hadn't attacked for a surprise strike at all; she was merely creating an opportunity for Lu Ye to act!

From the outcome, she was undoubtedly successful.

No sooner had he activated Lotus Sun than Lu Ye felt a warning sign. The Skeleton General's left hand extended like a mountain pressing down, its five bony fingers like five short blades, piercing through his figure.

No blood flowed; Lu Ye's figure dissipated. It was merely an afterimage.

His true form had already appeared on the other side of the hall, where a pre-placed imperial artifact at his feet emitted a faint glow.

Puck attacked again, just as before. The fishing line he cast out had some unknown exotic treasure attached to it. It looked exactly like the previous sphere, but when the Skeleton General casually sliced it open, what burst from it was no longer emerald-green liquid, but fierce flames.

In an instant, the Skeleton General transformed into a blazing fireball, burning fiercely. It fiercely channeled its power, and only then extinguished the flames.

Wraith was still recuperating, the residual force from earlier having struck her abdomen, making her feel extremely unwell. Lu Ye had already charged toward the Skeleton General again. As he rushed forward, his long saber spun like a wheel, resembling the moon. Streaks of saber light, like flowing moonlight, poured forth and swept across.

Arc Moon!

Thudding sounds rang out, as the crescent-shaped saber lights all struck the Skeleton General. Its massive, towering figure actually stumbled backward two steps.

Before it could regain its footing, Lu Ye had already closed in. He lowered his body, dodging the greatsword's horizontal sweep, then leaped high, like an eagle soaring into the sky. With his long saber held flat beside his face, he thrust forward!

It was as if a starry sky appeared behind Lu Ye, with countless stars falling.

All the falling stars converged on the Skeleton General's right eye socket, and this time, it had no time to defend itself!

A faint 'pop' sound was heard, and the spectral flame flickering in the Skeleton General's right eye socket suddenly extinguished. Lu Ye was overjoyed at the sight; he had succeeded!

However, this joy quickly turned to dread, because the Skeleton General, whose weakness had been exploited, had not lost its ability to move, nor had its aura changed. The greatsword swept up diagonally from beneath Lu Ye.

If he were struck by this, Lu Ye would likely be split in half.

It was too late to activate a Void Spirit Pattern and teleport away, mainly because Lu Ye had never imagined that the enemy's weakness they had been trying to exploit was merely a wishful misjudgment.

It wasn't a weakness at all; or rather, this weakness wasn't fatal enough!

Yet, in this moment of life-or-death crisis, Lu Ye remained calm, because he felt a surge of energy approaching from behind. Sure enough, a thin fishing line appeared out of thin air at his feet, coiling around the Skeleton General's sword-wielding right hand, and pulled with sudden force.

Although the fishing line snapped instantly, this momentary delay allowed Lu Ye to narrowly escape death.

His figure reappeared at the location of the pre-placed imperial artifact. His chest heaved violently. Even though he could disregard life and death during battle, only by truly experiencing it did he understand its sheer terror.

Looking intently, the cracks in the Skeleton General's bones were noticeably more numerous and dense. Clearly, their previous efforts had not been entirely in vain.

With a soft 'pop' sound, the extinguished spectral flame in the Skeleton General's right eye socket reignited. Then, powerful energy surged around its body, and it seemingly activated some mysterious technique, as constant 'pop' sounds emanated.

A scene that astonished the trio unfolded. Accompanying the sounds, clusters of spectral flames appeared out of thin air throughout the hall. In an instant, the temperature inside the hall plummeted, and a chilling wave surged. The grand hall was covered in a thick layer of frost in the blink of an eye.

Even though all three were Constellation cultivators, they felt the biting cold, their limbs growing stiff. Puck and Wraith both looked grim, realizing they were in deep trouble.

When they had fought their way through the tomb passage earlier, they had encountered this type of spectral flame. However, those were merely scattered flames outside, clearly not on the same level as what the Skeleton General was now unleashing.

Moreover, the number of spectral flames the opponent was now conjuring was so vast, almost filling the entire hall, that none of the three had any safe space left to maneuver.

In contrast, the Skeleton General seemed utterly unaffected.

Fighting such a powerful enemy in this environment, how could they possibly win? Even though the Skeleton General's aura had weakened somewhat after activating this secret art.

It was clear that it was infuriated by Lu Ye and the other two, which was why it used this move to restrict their maneuvering space. This way, it could gain an absolute advantage.

If any of the three touched these spectral flames while maneuvering, they would inevitably be afflicted by the boundless cold, their mobility drastically reduced. At that point, they would pose no threat.

However, to Puck and Wraith's utter astonishment, as these spectral flames appeared, Fa Wuzun actually charged straight towards the Skeleton General.

Along the way, he neither dodged nor avoided, allowing the spectral flames to touch him, yet they failed to affect him in the slightest.

Lu Ye had already tested these spectral flames when they encountered them in the tomb passage. Although they emanated an encroaching chill upon contact, their essence was still a type of exotic fire.

Since they were fire, they could be countered by the power of the Talent Tree!

He was currently activating the power of the Talent Tree, which allowed him to ignore the spectral flames' contact and isolate himself from the encroaching chill.

Charging to the Skeleton General's front, saber light gleamed brilliantly, and he immediately engaged the Skeleton General in battle.

Puck and Wraith immediately showed signs of joy, because they discovered that Fa Wuzun could now directly contend with the Skeleton General. Although he was at a slight disadvantage, this was their hope for victory.

Both immediately understood: it wasn't that Fa Wuzun had grown stronger, but that the Skeleton General had weakened, allowing Fa Wuzun to finally contend with it.