Chapter Fifty-Three: The Great Li Plum Fire Formation

Jue understood perfectly well that the Plum Blossom Sword was a revered artifact from the era of Jue’s reign, once holding a lofty position in the martial world. Though the sword now only retained a lingering trace of its former soul force, its power was profound and its magic formidable—far beyond what Jiang Feng could hope to match at his current level.

The exquisite maneuver, Plum Blossom Trilogy, revealed its power: smooth yet forceful, restrained in its dominance, endlessly variable, and effortlessly controlled.

Yet Jue had no intention of warning Jiang Feng. He had noticed, when Jiang Feng faced Sandfall, that the youth possessed a peculiar strength—not of soul force nor any known power—but a kind of conviction, a yearning for survival and victory. As long as Jiang Feng held onto this faith, he would always find a way through danger.

From the Steel Blade of Nine Heavens, waves of dense soul force radiated—the result of Jiang Feng infusing it with his own soul force. These layers transformed into a blazing white light, like a thick coat, impervious to most attacks, though a sharp spike would pierce it with ease.

The Plum Blossom Sword seemed born with an instinct for battle. Its three rotating sword lights formed a razor-sharp whirlpool; each blade was as keen as a scalpel, its penetrative power greater than the sum of all three sword lights combined.

Despite the formidable defense of the Steel Blade’s white radiance, it was effortlessly pierced—without suspense.

The sword lights moved with lightning speed, rivaling Jiang Feng’s Shadow Dance Soul Shattering Step, the twenty-fifth style. But Jiang Feng was no novice; he had survived dozens of battles, knew his blade could not withstand the sword lights, and so maneuvered it with all his skill. The Steel Blade responded like a living thing, darting toward the three plum blossoms.

Encircled in rings of light, the Steel Blade descended from the heavens, aiming straight for the trio of blossoms.

A smile of satisfaction bloomed on Jue’s face. He nodded slightly. “Good lad, your grasp of combat is excellent. You’ve seen that these plum blossoms are all offense, no defense. Strike at their weakness—hmm, you have promise!”

The Plum Blossom Sword’s concern for its three blossoms caught Jiang Feng off guard.

It swiftly summoned two more blossoms from its army, fluttering like butterflies to guard the three. As the descending Steel Blade neared, a clear chime rang out—the two guard blossoms shattered, and the Steel Blade was bounced away as if it had struck an impregnable wall.

Yet Jiang Feng, undeterred, controlled the Steel Blade with soul force, relentlessly pressing against the trio.

Clink, clink, clink!

A continuous cascade of sounds, as if countless glass goblets were shattering, yet the Steel Blade still failed to touch the three plum blossoms.

Fragments of light scattered through the air, sometimes disrupted by the fluttering guard blossoms, but the three original blossoms remained unharmed.

“Kid, you really are persistent,” Jue muttered with a helpless tone.

Jiang Feng, frustrated, glanced at the Plum Blossom Sword. His agitation affected his control over his energy, and the Steel Blade’s movements grew wild, driven by impatience, disregarding whether his soul force was sufficient, charging straight at the Plum Blossom Sword.

“Hey? What are you doing? Don’t be rash!” Jue cried, startled by Jiang Feng’s sudden shift in battle temperament.

This gave the Plum Blossom Sword the perfect opportunity. The three protected plum blossoms entwined once more, unleashing a mighty whirlwind. In a flash, the formidable Steel Blade was mercilessly drawn into the tornado, its mystical connection to Jiang Feng severed. Jiang Feng was shocked.

In the blink of an eye, with a guttural sound from the whirlwind—like a ravenous ancient beast finding its prey—the Steel Blade was spat out, stripped of all light, its pitch-dark body dull and lifeless.

“Damn, my Steel Blade!”

Jiang Feng felt both heartache and pain, but time allowed no hesitation. As his Steel Blade fell, the three plum blossoms transformed into three streams of light, spiraling like sword beams to form a lock at their apex—a perfect fusion of the three sword lights.

“Kid, dodge!” Jue shouted, envisioning the sword lights striking Jiang Feng.

Fortunately, Jiang Feng’s reflexes were swift. In duels between masters, victory often hinged on reaction speed; in a single instant, a skilled fighter could strike or evade.

His previous opponents all had higher cultivation, forcing him to survive through constant challenges. His reaction speed far surpassed his actual level.

He twisted his feet at an impossible angle, as if his ankles had snapped, yet miraculously achieved perfect balance.

The spiraling sword lights grazed his face; had they been an inch closer, his face would have been shredded to pulp.

The Blood Fiend Fruit trembled, seeming both frustrated and enraged.

“Heh, the Plum Blossom Sword has lost its composure. In my memory, back in the era of Jue, the Plum Blossom Sword rarely tasted defeat, especially with this Trilogy. Its variations were endless, and once unleashed, the opponent was doomed!” Jue’s tone was laced with mockery, for the sword before him was no longer what it once was.

Jiang Feng, with a flicker of hope, asked, “Senior, does this mean my strength is enough to make the Plum Blossom Sword wary?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Jue replied seriously. “It was just momentarily excited. Once it calms down, your death will not be far. The Plum Blossom Trilogy is its proudest move. These three sword lights have weak defenses, but their attack is ferocious. And the longer it stays here, the more its destructive power grows!”

As Jue explained, a fiery net appeared overhead—a vast, dense, pitch-black web.

“Damn, the Great Departure Plum Fire Formation!” Jue exclaimed, shocked. He had thought the Trilogy was the sword’s limit, never expecting it to unleash this as well.

Each plum blossom in the army absorbed soul force from the whirlwind, converting it into continuous firepower. Each blossom spewed dark flames toward the inner blossoms, gathering and merging until the entire formation became a sea of fire.

Once the fire formation took shape, each blossom trembled, and the turbulent flames transformed, radiating a faint, ghostly blue.

This was the Great Departure Plum Fire Formation now confronting Jiang Feng.

That fiery net, together with the spiraling sword lights weaving through it, blocked Jiang Feng’s retreat. The ghostly blue fire lines, silent and deadly, promised instant destruction should he step back.

Moreover, the blue fire lines continued to expand. Though not immense, their terrifying heat made both Jiang Feng and Jue pale. Jiang Feng’s skin blistered; he wondered just how high the temperature of these ghostly flames could be.

Then, Jiang Feng and Jue witnessed a spectacular sight.

The fire net, about half an acre in size, coexisted strangely with churning icy mist that refused to melt, swirling energetically and interweaving with the blue flames until they formed a net together.

Jue stared, dumbfounded, murmuring, “This is the work of ghosts and gods—truly miraculous!”

The blue fire net roared wildly, like a giant furnace.

Compared to this net, Jiang Feng was as insignificant as an ant, utterly at the mercy of fate.

The Blood Fiend Fruit’s luster faded—it had exhausted its power, yet spoke as if victory was assured, its tone tinged with amusement. “You cannot defeat me. Stay, and slumber with us forever.”

The net’s power, even at its most conservative estimate, rivaled the force of ten thousand galloping horses—enough to destroy cities, disrupt rivers, tear down mountains in an instant.

Jiang Feng was leagues apart from the net—any contact meant certain death or capture. Yet he still held one secret technique in reserve: the Mystical Heaven Secret Arts taught by the Elder of Destiny.

Jue’s expression was deeply despondent. If it had only been the Trilogy, he might have believed Jiang Feng’s faith in victory could work miracles, but with the Plum Fire Formation unleashed, victory seemed impossible.

He remembered that the Plum Blossom Sword, relying on this very formation, had once swallowed an entire country’s army.

Just then, a powerful sound wave surged forth, transforming into eight ancient dragon shapes, circling Jiang Feng and charging at the Plum Blossom Sword.

Compared to his previous duel with Li Chen, Jiang Feng’s spellcasting was now more skilled, its power even more formidable.

He forsook soul force, instead tapping the vast reserves of soul energy in his mind. Much to his delight, using soul energy to cast the Mystical Heaven Arts felt even smoother than before.

Indeed, the eight dragons’ aura was more intense and abundant, each roar seeming capable of breaking through the Plum Fire Formation before him.

Eight-Dragon Sonic Slaughter!