Chapter 188

Chapter 188: The Cold Armor Emperor

The knife light reached its peak speed, and the surrounding ripples dissipated. The knife’s energy needed just a split second to strike, but this knife was faster than that moment.

In an instant, that stunning, breathtaking blade light flashed by, and Li Hui stared blankly at the bald brush floating in the air. Yu Zimao stood in front of him, collapsing and disintegrating.

The once-celebrated Ink Demon, who had helped the Jade Symbol Sect achieve glory, was now extinguished, destroyed by the blade of the current sect leader.

The brush broke…

The jade shattered…

“No!” Li Hui shouted in anguish. Though he often bickered with the Embroidered Ball, she provided guidance and assistance, acting like an elder from his sect. Her teachings had been a rare gift since he joined the Jade Symbol Sect, and that swift blow was meant for him. Yu Zimao had stepped forward and took the hit for him.

“Don’t come closer!” Yu Zimao said sternly. “Get far away! This blue snake is the true terrifying being; it is not the Remnant Soul of the All-Manifestation Realm but the spirit of the Cold Armor Ancestor. My surname is Yu, and my name is Yu Zimao, not because my body is a jade rod brush, but because the Jade Symbol Sect raised me, so I bear the surname Yu…”

“No, no, no…” Li Hui was filled with despair, ignoring the Embroidered Ball’s warning, as he stepped forward to use the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique. The Heavenly and Earthly Arrays operated without care for talisman power, drawing in the scattered shattered jade and demonic energy. He roared, “Ah, no one can make you a servant! You say I inherited the Jade Symbol Sect’s legacy, so I am the sect leader! I grant you freedom, I grant you freedom…”

“Brat! You…” Dugu Yi erupted in fury but suddenly froze.

With a crack, a deep fissure appeared above Li Hui’s head, seeping out a faint green light. The silver snake bracelet lifted, its narrow eyes showing a hint of surprise.

Rhythm!

In the depths of fate, a unique rhythm expanded.

Like a gentle breeze brushing by…

Like warm sunlight shining down…

Even though the Two-Element Subtlety Swirling Pattern Divine Formation was extraordinary, it couldn’t suppress this strand of rhythm.

“Dao Rhythm Residual Talisman?” Dugu Yi realized and reached for the light above Li Hui’s head, but his right arm exploded with cracking sounds as pale blue frost rapidly spread, instantly slowing him down.

Li Hui quickly retreated, retrieving his talisman brush and pulling out the 81 Nine Patterns Three Exotics monster-conjuring talismans. The rhythm began to contract, gathering a handful of golden threads from the surroundings. He hurriedly waved his hand to place the light orbs and golden threads on the talisman brush, wrapping them tightly with a monster-conjuring talisman.

That wasn’t enough; he also wrapped the prayer beads around it and instructed Guang Jin, “Help the Embroidered Ball. Whatever was on the white mat is now cancelled, so feel free to use the items in the box.”

“Uh, can it be revived?” Guang Jin, fearing to upset the master, quickly replied, “I will do my best, but the roots of the Kasyapa Bodhi tree will certainly be lost, along with the remaining Soul Nourishing Water and Ghost Gel.”

“It doesn’t matter; saving the Embroidered Ball comes first.” At that moment, Li Hui looked in disbelief as a massive blue light pushed outward, rapidly freezing the surrounding ground and ripples, preventing the formation from functioning.

“By the way, the Embroidered Ball said this blue snake is not a Remnant Soul but the spirit of the Cold Armor Ancestor. The Grand Method Realm comes after the All-Manifestation Realm; what kind of realm is that?”

Dugu Yi was completely frozen; finally, he calmed down. Waves of turmoil surged in his heart as he roared, “I don’t care whether you are a Remnant Soul or a spirit of the Grand Method Realm; if you dare to cross another step, I will make you crumble into pieces!”

The blue snake ignored his threats, slowly expanding its body, opening its wide mouth to bite at Dugu Yi’s head.

“Swift!”

Dozens of bright lights shot out, and Li Hui squinted in confusion, unable to see how the massive blue light battled among the frozen ripples. Nevertheless, the opportunity was fleeting, and he dashed toward the entrance.

The roar reverberated behind him, making him pant heavily. Finally reaching the entrance, he suddenly stopped, cautiously stepping back.

In front, six brilliant orbs hovered, connected by blue electric light, while bumps formed on the oily surface at the entrance, clearly indicating additional arrangements. Furious, Li Hui cursed loudly, “Goodness, to prevent me from escaping, you sealed the entrance! The Jade Symbol Sect has been exterminated, and you’re still alive? Not even giving me a chance to run away—truly, those who grow old without dying are thieves!”

Li Hui remained undeterred. He noticed the nearest ripple was only five zhang away, easily within reach of the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique. That was more than enough!

He quickly retreated to the edge of the ripple formation, positioning himself towards the entrance, preparing to use the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique. After triggering the six light orbs, he intended to dive into the ripple formation for safety. However, suddenly a thunderous sound erupted from behind, a boundless cold surging up.

“Creak, creak, creak…”

“No way? How is this possible?” Li Hui was stunned to an extreme. The Two-Element Subtlety Swirling Pattern Divine Formation failed to dissipate the cold and had completely frozen, followed by a dazzling light rising. Dugu Yi screamed in terror, “Who are you?”

He received no answer, but Li Hui heard Guang Jin shout, “The Cold Armor Emperor! My goodness! This coldness is from the Era of Cold Armor. Only the Cold Armor Emperor, who once commanded the seas, can wield it. He is a legend from an era long before Miao De, the Auspicious Elder. I’ve heard the ice blocks he left during his training are extremely precious. How could they end up on Wan Nest Island?”

“I don’t care who the Cold Armor Emperor is; how am I supposed to escape now?” Li Hui grimaced at the blue-tinted ripples. Even if the ripple formation remained functional, it was as good as useless for the time being.

“Not good!”

The blue light expanded further. Although the entrance was far from the center of the Era of Cold Armor, it still succumbed to the cold’s assault. The brilliant light left by Dugu Yi retracted its electrical glow, revealing the talismans underneath.

“Boom…” The six brilliant orbs exploded simultaneously, and the oily surface at the entrance swept away. Li Hui quickly scattered Green Scale Talismans while releasing the Yin-Yang Nine Heads, exerting all his strength to resist the aftershock of the explosion.

The terrifying cold spread; beyond the entrance lay more ambushes, followed by a series of explosions that finally came to a halt.

In just over thirty breaths, the Yin-Yang Nine Heads were already trembling from the cold. Li Hui had no choice but to retract them, and without waiting to leap from the entrance, he felt the world flip. Countless sounds erupted in his ears.

“What is this…” His body became immobile as the cold rapidly shrank. After the ripple formation froze and rebooted, all the ripples merged into thick chains. Surrounding him, above and below, Li Hui found himself tightly secured by dozens of glowing chains, unable even to move his pinky finger.

As the chains brushed against his right wrist, the silver snake bracelet suddenly flared with silver light, wildly feeding energy into the chains, causing every chain within twenty zhang to snap one after another.

“The silver snake bracelet is actually counterattacking?” Li Hui was astonished. He knew that the senior Chen Mengde had exhausted the latter half of his life yet could never use this silver snake. Today, the sun seemed to have risen in the west; was it suddenly feeling generous? Just a little movement showcased its existence?

At this moment, Li Hui noticed that even outside the entrance, the chains were plentiful. Looking back, he suddenly understood—the fierce battle between Dugu Yi and the Cold Armor Emperor had disrupted the formation traces, forcing the entire Wan Nest Island formation to lock the Purple Fortress down.

Unexpectedly, under these circumstances, the Embroidered Ball’s plan was being realized. But how could he get out? The silver snake bracelet had created a twenty-zhang freedom space but immediately sunk down, showing no further response…