Chapter 103: Dead Pine's Dance

Cao Yun fully activated his three stars within his sea of consciousness. The Horn Star was meant to stab with 'The Pillar Piercing the Sky' and 'Dragon's Twin Horns'. The Neck Star focused on rooted positions allowing fast movements and great defense with 'The Moon Grounds the Sun' and 'Imperial Throne'. Finally, the Root Star dealt in absolute defense with 'Dragon's Chest'. And Cao Yun was ready to decipher the variation of this last move. After his fight against Luduo Bu, he had received a lot of insights into his own technique. And he had also observed his stars while slowly regaining consciousness.

Faced with Lu Meihan, he had no fear. She was a 9th-grade Mortal but so was Luduo Bu when he last fought him. Of course, Luduo Bu's cultivation had been enhanced by his 'Blood Runes' method. But his strength was really comparable to a 9th-grade Mortal. And the use of his blood runes made him an even more dangerous opponent. Also, Lu Meihan focused her training on the arts, which meant that her fighting strength was not very high.

Despite only being a 6th-grade Mortal, Cao Yun was not too worried. As long as she was not a 1st-grade Mortal Warrior, he should be able to win. The problem would be fighting against several members of the Coiling Silk Faction at once. That was where Sun Liao intervened. With his temporary array formations, he had blocked the access to this garden. It would take several minutes for anyone else to get inside as no member had reached the Mortal Warrior realm.

Lu Meihan circulated her own martial art, 'Dead Pine's Dance'. Her movements were more akin to dancing than martial arts. The chain was flying around her. The two weighted balls at the extremities smashed into nearby trees. The wood exploded and splinters flew in the air. No matter how delicate or beautiful it looked, her dance was deadly. A mere mortal would be reduced to a mist of blood in an instant if one of these balls got near them.

Cao Yun evaded several attacks of the weighted balls. Seeing them up close, they almost looked like pine cone. They were two oval shaped metallic weights. Each one should weigh around one or two dan, almost heavier than Cao Yun and his spear combined. Each time they hit the ground, dirt was sent flying everywhere with a metallic sound.

This time, Cao Yun's speed was at its limit. Unlike Luduo Bu, Lu Meihan was extremely agile and fast. Soon enough, the chain coiled itself around the shaft of his spear. Cao Yun tried to fight off to get his weapon back. But as he was strengthening his grip, he realized that the two weights were attacking him on both sides. She had been able to coil the weapon with the middle of the chain and attacked with the extremities.

Cao Yun simply let go of his weapon. It got pulled toward Lu Meihan. And as soon as he was free, Cao Yun rushed forward. Without his spear in hand, he was slightly faster. He grabbed it back before it reached Lu Meihan. 'Imperial Throne'. A powerful gush of wind erupted around him and the spear. It blew away the chain and Lu Meihan lost control of her weapon for an instant. It was enough for Cao Yun to charge forward again and strike her with 'The Pillar Piercing the Sky'. When he hit her, only a sound of metal echoed. Jumping back, he realized that beneath her uniform, she was wearing a supple layer of metal.

Lu Meihan smiled. "Do you like my armor? It's made of Silk Gold. This metal is a supple as textile, but harder than any steel." The Coiling Silk Faction was one of the richest ones after the Dragon's Fire Faction. As such, it wasn't surprising that their leader would have access to such equipments. However, Cao Yun noted that this armor was not covering her face. He didn't necessarily want to kill her, just because it would bring more problem. Indeed, Chief Elder Bian was already accusing him of having murdered Luduo Bu. But if he had to kill her, he would. The time to show mercy was long gone. She had tried to use his friend and was ready to kill them both!

However, he also noticed that despite what she was trying to show, pain was on her face. His weapon could not penetrate her armor, but the impact was not reduced by much.

Cao Yun assumed his stance once more and sent twenty 'Dragon's Twin Horns'. Used to performing this attack, he was able to chain them very quickly. Lu Meihan got scared by all these attacks and quickly evaded them. Her footwork was excellent. Even Cao Yun was impressed by those movements. Her weapon was really useful. The weights at the extremities were heavy but she could simply let them rest on the ground and move around freely.

Once she evaded the attacks, she retorted with her own, 'Thorns in the Wind'. The chain danced in the air and many splinters from the trees she had destroyed earlier began to get dragged by the wind. Very soon, there was a literal tornado of wood around her. All of a sudden, this tornado was launched on Cao Yun.

Unable to dodge in time, he activated 'Imperial Throne' and produced his own tornado. However, when they met, the myriad of splinters pierced through the wind protecting him. Seeing that his technique was useless, he used his spear to protect his face and activated 'Dragon's Chest'. He was able to control it a lot better and focused its power on his vital areas.

The tornado passed over him but his deep stance allowed him not to be blown away. However, he got cut thousands of times everywhere on the body. Luckily, his organs and his face were protected. Not a single cut appeared on his torso or on his back. Most of them were on the exterior of his limbs.

The spear in hand, he went straight for Lu Meihan. The moment she tried to attack him with the chain, he quickly changed direction. He used the 'Locking the Seven and Stopping the Waves'. His presence disappeared and Lu Meihan got distracted long enough for him to appear in her back.

'Unbreakable Dead Stump'. Immediately, she pulled on the chain and the two weights appeared before her. The spear hit them and most of the strength got dissipated in them. They were sent backwards but Lu Meihan was not there anymore.

-

As the fight was raging between Cao Yun and Lu Meihan, the conflict at the entrance gate was frozen. Thanks to all the array formations from Sun Liao, almost no other guards could come. They would also need several minutes to break through his temporary array formations as none of them had any knowledge of this occupation. They could only rely on brute force.

"Sister Mei, I'll go find Brother Chen. Rejoin with Wang Mei and take care of Brother Ren." Sun Liao ran atop the enclosure wall.

Mei Hua had no time to answer, but she agreed wholeheartedly with his idea. She was not a fighter, so there was no point in her helping Cao Yun. On the other hand, she was a gifted alchemist and no matter what kind of drug had been used on Ren Chao, she was confident in her ability to help him.

Running on the wall, Sun Liao saw the members of the Coiling Silk Faction as well as some customers stuck within his array formations. They would probably last less than what he had thought. But they only needed to run away. Now that they had rescued Ren Chao, they had him as a witness. They could involve the elders without much problem. All three of them had the support of at least one major elder. Chief Elder Baishen was supporting Cao Yun, Guest Elder Xiao was the direct master of Mei Hua and Chief Elder Suxian was the direct master of Sun Liao.

With this support, the disciplinary pavilion would be forced to at least listen to them and investigate.

When he arrived in the southeast part of the courtyard, Sun Liao saw Cao Yun covered in blood. Quickly he relaxed as he saw it came from superficial wounds. And the complexion of Lu Meihan was not so good either. It had been a long time since she had fought. Even after retrieving her full power, Cao Yun was a powerful opponent and she was already exhausted.

Sun Liao still decided to help his friend. He recited the third mantra, the last one he mastered. "Three Lights in Its Claws". He was holding his bow a little tilted with three arrows. When he let go of the arrows, his hand rotated and the three arrows went spinning through the air. When Lu Meihan saw them, she realized that she could not dodge them. Their movement was sealing her own. As their range was wider, she had no place to go. Neither the left, the right or even up were viable options.

As such, she reused her 'Unbreakable Dead Stump', putting her weights between her and the arrows. Cao Yun took advantage of the distraction to get to her. But she was ready. This time, she did not move. The arrows collided with the weights but they had not enough force to push them very far behind. As soon as Cao Yun got too close, she took both weights in her hand and hit them together.

A sonic wave went through Cao Yun's ears. Getting dizzy, he lost his balance. Quickly he retreated and the spot he was an instant ago got crushed by a weight. Once more, Lu Meihan grabbed the chain and sent the two weights to hit each other far from her. This was 'Chiming Bells'. The weights sent another sound wave toward Sun Liao this time. He was about to shoot another salve of arrows but the dizziness made him miss.

Lu Meihan was extremely proficient in music. And she could use her weapon as an instrument. Usually her music could soothe the mind, but in battle, she could use it to weaken her opponents and make them lose both their balance and their orientation.

As he was still affected by the dizziness, Cao Yun was unable to dodge another attack and took a weight square in the chest. At the last moment, he activated 'Dragon's Chest', but he still got sent backward a few meters. The weight in itself was not that heavy for him, but the force behind was really intense.

The fight went on but Sun Liao realized that he had no more arrows. He had used too many to make all the array formations. In a close combat, he was way less effective and would probably just hinder Cao Yun. Until he broke through to Mortal Warrior, when he would be able to generate arrows from his Qi, the need of projectiles reduced the usefulness of his weapon. Obviously, the group had taken that into consideration. Sun Liao followed the plan they had established and started to leave as well.

As he left through the same path Cao Yun had taken, he realized the presence of very small array formations. They had escaped Cao Yun's eyes but Sun Liao was a 5-star Earth array formation master. Of course, he saw them. That was not the time to analyze them, but he did recognize something familiar in them.

The fight kept on going. Cao Yun was unbalanced and took two other hits in the torso. The 'Dragon's Chest' was really efficient, and by using it, he had finally an idea about its variation. Cao Yun took an instant to circulate his mind cultivation. By doing so, he received another blow. But he was able to clear his mind of the effect of 'Chiming Bells'.

Now that his mind was clear, he was going to test his understanding. Cao Yun stopped moving altogether. He put his spear in the ground, straight toward the sky and simply stood there. Contrary to its appearance, his position was not simple at all. Both his feet were really rooted in the ground and an intimidating aura was spreading from him.

Lu Meihan had an instant of hesitation. Finally she decided to attack.

"Chen Guo. If you surrender, your last instants will be bliss. But if you're stubborn, I'll break all your bones and have my way with you as you're writhing in pain. Make your choice!"

She had thrown all pretense away. Right now, Lu Meihan was contemplating her own death. If she did not absorb Cao Yun's energy now, she would have no more opportunities. She had searched the sect and even the surrounding villages and cities. No one seemed to be useful for her in the 'Reversing Two Universes Dance'. Apparently, only Cao Yun had the proper potential for her to heal her wounds. In theory, she could still perform the technique with lesser men, but healing her wounds would require much more partners. Each time she would use this dual cultivation, her risk of Qi deviation would increase and her recovery rate would diminish as well.

Unless she had no other choice, she would not resort to this alternative. With her weapon in hand, she prepared her last attack, 'Uprooting the Earth'. Her grip on the chain changed and both her hands got close to one extremities. High in the sky, the other extremity was spinning at an incredible speed.

"Your decision?"

Cao Yun did not answer, he raised his spear a little bit and violently hit the ground with it. His decision was clear. He was awaiting her best shot.

For the first time, Cao Yun was using the 'Dragon's Chest' all over his body. The Root Star was shining ever so brightly within his sea of consciousness. And some words popped up in his mind, 'The Son of Heaven's Spear and Shield'.

Lu Meihan finally unleashed her attack. The weight almost looked like it had tripled in volume. This was only an illusion but the strength behind it was tremendous. Her target was his right shoulder, to stop him for fighting back. The very moment the weight collided with his body, all the Qi from 'Dragon's Chest' condensed on the spot of the attack.

Most of the impact was absorbed and sent back through Cao Yun's body into the spear. Instantly, he unleashed his most powerful technique yet. The spear sliced the air and a kind of cone of wind flew all the way toward Lu Meihan. The change was so sudden that she did not know how to react. The attack was aimed directly at her head. If she was hit by this, she would probably die.

'The Son of Heaven's Spear and Shield' allowed its user to send back the force behind an attack. However, if you did not judge the attack properly, you would suffer a terrible backlash. Thankfully, Cao Yun had gotten used to Lu Meihan's weapon during the fight and knew how much Qi he would need to counter the force and divert it toward his spear.

Alas, as the attack was about to hit Lu Meihan, it completely dissipated and a figure appeared in the sky.