Chapter 680: Is a Fierce Character

A beautiful red and green dragon, imbued with immense sword energy and sword intent, was now 'Roam Dragon Delivers Death' as much as 'Roam Dragon Presents Flowers'. Its sword intent transformed from intangible to tangible, and one could even faintly perceive a resounding dragon's roar on a spiritual level, though no actual sound could be heard in reality.

Behind the middle-aged man, transparent wheel mirrors continuously appeared, displaying countless profound runes. These mirrors countered the incoming sword energy from behind. With every breath, he would step on a wheel mirror, directing it backward to both defend against the sword dragon and increase his own speed.

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack…

Layer after layer of transparent wheel mirrors continuously materialized around the man, extending outward for a total of ten layers, with each successive outer layer increasing in size.

‘ROAR————’

The dragon's roar on the spiritual level grew louder and louder, as if a colossal true dragon had opened its enormous maw and was devouring him.

“Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang…”

Innumerable petals and green leaves struck the transparent mirror surfaces, producing the sound of sharp blades slashing, and carrying boundless sword energy that assailed the entire defense.

“Crack, crack… Bang… Bang… Bang…”

The outer transparent wheel mirrors continuously shattered, and the middle-aged man felt extreme discomfort. While the treasures could resist the attacks, ultimately, he still had to bear a significant portion of the force. He could only clench his teeth and endure.

If he could just withstand the most aggressive part of the immortal sword technique, he would safely get through this strike.

The man's nerves were taut as he maintained the magic power for his treasures, his hands constantly forming incantations. He spat out a mouthful of vital blood, which transformed into a red light, creating a cloud of mist around him. At the same moment, the dragon of green leaves and red flowers, formed by the Roam Dragon sword intent, opened its enormous maw and bit down on the defending man.

“ROAR————”

The outer wheel mirrors continuously shattered and reformed. The man frantically channeled his magic power into his magical artifacts as if it were limitless, while the surrounding red mist obscured his figure so densely that even his shadow was invisible. He secretly calculated the time until this sword technique would be exhausted, knowing that as soon as he endured this strike, the next instant would be his chance to escape using the blood escape technique.

Unlike his two junior brothers, his cultivation as the senior disciple stood among the top ranks of immortal cultivators. This terrifying sword technique was extremely difficult to block, but he had the Moon Azure Mirror for protection, and using it to resist the technique was precisely to buy time for his blood escape.

The wheel mirrors shattered continuously, and the pressure on the man steadily increased. The sword technique seemed to have no end to its escalating power; after the dragon's head bit into his escape light, its might continued to rise, and the mirrors shattered at an accelerating rate.

“Crack, crack, crack… Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang…”

At the most critical moment, eight layers of the wheel mirrors, from outer to inner, shattered in quick succession. But this also seemed to be the peak of the sword technique's power, allowing the man to breathe a sigh of relief.

He just needed to wait until the full force of this sword technique's sharp edge was exhausted to break free. Perhaps he could even turn around and launch a mirror light attack, not aiming to harm Ji Yuan, but to at least return some measure of defiance. A slight premonition in his mind indicated that in two breaths, the sword technique's power would decline. At that point, though the technique's might would still be present, its sharpness would be gone, allowing him to unexpectedly break through the sword without waiting for its power to be completely spent.

With this thought, the man couldn't help but turn his head towards the direction from which the sword technique had come, transmitting his voice across the vast expanse of heaven and earth with a mix of respect and a smile.

“Master Ji’s sword technique truly lives up to its reputation. It’s a pity I couldn’t have a proper fight with you today and enjoy it to the fullest. We’ll meet again someday!”

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble…

His voice was calm, yet it resonated like thunder, its rumbling echoes spreading across the heavens and the earth below.

Ji Yuan’s left hand was behind his back, while his right maintained the posture of thrusting the sword forward. The body of the Green Vine Sword was connected to the roaming dragon ahead, with the dragon's head, body, and even its tail seemingly extending gradually from the sword. At this moment, the dragon's tail was just forming and about to detach from the Green Vine Sword.

Normally, a ‘Roam Dragon Presents Flowers’ technique would be considered complete as the dragon's body departed. It was at this very moment that the thunderous sound from ahead reached him, causing Ji Yuan to smile.

In his previous life, playing competitive games, Ji Yuan never mocked opponents, no matter how great his advantage or how obvious his victory. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to provoke his opponents, but rather that he didn't want to be made a fool of.

The man ahead certainly wasn’t mocking Ji Yuan, but he was undeniably reveling in his premature triumph. Ji Yuan responded with a soft, quiet voice.

“When this sword sends out a roaming dragon, it gains some of the dragon's nature. How could you not know that a true dragon’s deadliest move is when it births its pearl?”

Before his words fully faded, Ji Yuan’s left hand, which had been behind his back, now showed a thread-like purple glow. He drew his hand forward, making a sweeping arc, and struck the hilt of the Green Vine Sword with his palm.

With a flash of sword light, the Green Vine Sword left his hand, shooting forward for a hundred *li* and piercing through the dragon.

Just as Ji Yuan’s voice reached the man ahead, and a strong sense of alarm rose within the man, a brilliant silver light flared within the body of the green-leaf-and-red-flower roaming dragon. The moment the light appeared, it had already pierced through to the dragon's mouth and struck the transparent wheel mirrors.

At this moment, the wheel mirrors had just been shattered by 'Roam Dragon Presents Flowers' for another eight layers. As this sword light struck the mirrors, the remaining two layers instantly shattered upon contact.

“Bang… Bang…”

The white flash of the shattering mirrors passed, followed by a streak of greenish-white light, like a meteor, cutting through and carrying away a patch of red mist.

“Thwack…”

“Ungh!”

However, the surrounding Roam Dragon intent had not yet dissipated, and boundless sword energy still surged forth, overwhelming him. Then came the sounds of blood light shattering and tearing, like skin being peeled away, as he desperately ripped himself free from the range of the sword energy, instantly fleeing eastward.

Ji Yuan stamped heavily with his foot, causing the wind beneath him to ripple in several circular waves. In the next instant, his speed rapidly increased as he shot forward. His left hand, holding the scabbard, caught the flying Green Vine Sword with a 'clang' as it slid into the sheath, and he continued his pursuit.

Far behind him, the Samadhi Fire Sea had burned away the waves and consumed the clouds, and now, at Ji Yuan’s timely thought, it slowly extinguished, leaving behind an exceptionally clear sky.

Ji Yuan held the sheathed Green Vine Sword. Then, he formed a sword-finger gesture with his right hand, channeling a continuous flow of magic power into the immortal sword. In the next moment, his sword-finger grazed the blade and pointed eastward with a forward stroke.

“Zing…”

The Green Vine Sword transformed into a sword shadow and vanished from sight in an instant. The next moment, Ji Yuan's body also gradually blurred, leaving behind trails of phantoms before abruptly disappearing.

This was the moment to compare escape techniques. While sword-riding flight was fast, it couldn't compare to the exaggerated speed of a sword escape facilitated by an immortal sword.

A large portion of his magic power was consumed. Almost in the breath after the sword shadow shot forth, the Green Vine Sword had already traversed hundreds of *li* and appeared far to the east. The next moment, a series of afterimages caught up with the Green Vine Sword, coalescing into Ji Yuan, who then gripped its hilt.

In the distance, Ji Yuan's fully activated spiritual eyes once again spotted the crimson immortal light. The man's cultivation was high, but perhaps he fled in haste after being injured, almost in a straight line. Even though Ji Yuan couldn't lock onto his aura during the blood escape, he pursued with a sword escape, relying on momentum and instinct, and surprisingly caught him directly.

‘Let's see where you can run!’

“Didn’t you just say you were disappointed you couldn’t fight me to your heart’s content today? No need to wait for another day!”

As he spoke, Ji Yuan swung the Green Vine Sword directly. A dazzling sword light, like a silver whip stretching across the sky, lashed out at the escaping light ahead.

The man ahead was startled, enraged, and terrified. In haste, he gathered his magic power, using the Moon Azure Mirror to resist the sword light.

“Clang————”

The sword light clashed with the mirror surface, emitting an extremely piercing sound. Clouds and mists for dozens of *li* around were scattered by the shock, and the man felt a sweetness in his throat, letting out an enraged roar.

“Ji Yuan, do you only know how to use a sword?!”

Oh, getting desperate, are we?

Ji Yuan’s expression was calm and showed no superfluous emotion, and his voice was leisurely yet without much fluctuation.

“Then I won't use a sword.”

No sooner had his words fallen than a golden light emerged in his hand, and rings of light detached from Ji Yuan's arm, manifesting before him.

The man ahead was greatly dismayed, knowing that what Ji Yuan held must be the legendary Immortal-Binding Rope. Although few knew of this treasure, among those who were privy to the knowledge, it was spoken of as miraculous. The man dared not attempt to evade the Immortal-Binding Rope in his current state.

Furthermore, while being struck by a killing artifact still offered hope of using a life-substituting treasure, being bound by the Immortal-Binding Rope was a different matter entirely.

“Ji Yuan! Do you only know how to rely on magical artifacts?!”

At this astonished and enraged roar, Ji Yuan merely smiled again.

“And what of it?”

Before his voice faded, the Immortal-Binding Rope shot from his hand like a slender golden snake, then transformed into a flash of golden light before disappearing from sight.

What could be seen was not truly terrifying, but the fact that the Immortal-Binding Rope had now completely vanished was even more daunting, as he didn't know where it would emerge from.

In just a few breaths, countless thoughts flashed through the man's mind as he underwent untold struggles. Then, with a fierce resolve, he gritted his teeth, focused his magic, and struck out hard with his right hand—not at Ji Yuan, but at his own crown.

“Pfft…”

The middle-aged man transformed into a burst of blood mist, and his escape light immediately dissipated.

Almost at the same instant, a golden tornado, connecting heaven and earth, appeared around where the escape light had been. But then the golden silhouette dispersed, transforming into a golden rope that hovered around the blood mist.

When Ji Yuan arrived a moment later, the Immortal-Binding Rope coiled back and slipped into his sleeve.

Ji Yuan stopped in the air where the middle-aged man had turned into blood mist and dissipated, narrowing his eyes as he looked in all directions.

It's important to note that while there were many life-substituting treasures and unfathomable methods, 'suicide' was highly taboo, whether in the cultivation world or among mortals. It greatly damaged one's spirit and shattered one's mental state.

However, it had to be admitted that this method left no trace of an escape technique, and Ji Yuan had no idea where the opponent had fled.

“To be ruthless enough to commit suicide and escape… he's quite a formidable character indeed…”

Ji Yuan murmured, stood suspended in the air for a moment, and then turned to leave.