Chapter 284: Desperate Scenario
While this flying ship with the beautiful purple exterior was extremely careful, it still underestimated the might of the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon.
Usually, the normal attack range on a flying ship was only a mile or so. While the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon of the Gold Dragon ship was a little more perverse, they assumed that the range of the cannon wouldn’t exceed thirty miles. Thus, these people thought that they would be perfectly safe if they were at least three hundred miles away from the Gold Dragon ship. However, these people never imagined that the actual shooting range of the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon was over three hundred miles. Ordinarily, SongZhong would only fire off a shot at around thirty miles to conceal the might of the cannon.
But in a life and death moment, SongZhong would naturally not bother concealing the strength of the cannon anymore. Thus, he immediately activated the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon the moment a ship entered its range. When that destructive ball of lightning flew over, the people on the purple flying ship were scared silly. However, one of the YuanYing cultivators on it reacted in time and shouted, “Run!” Following which, he was the first to get on his flying sword and fly miles away in an instant. Seeing their YuanYing senior escape, the remaining disciples would naturally not fight to the death either. Following which, the purple ship could be seen surrounded by silhouettes escaping on their flying swords. When the attack finally arrived, the flying ship was already completely empty.
However, despite being able to escape quickly, they were not able to escape death. After all, the explosion radius of the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon was just too frightening. The surrounding miles were engulfed in a fireball, killing all the pitiful cultivators who were unable to escape in time.
Seeing how their sect-guarding treasure was destroyed in an instant, the YuanYing cultivators that escaped could not help but feel their hearts ache, almost puking blood on the spot. As the others saw that scene, they also could not help but raise their guard. The few flying ships at the front also reduced their speed and did not dare to approach the Gold Dragon ship anymore.
While Huo QingYun promised to compensate twice the amount of their losses, their flying ships were their sect-guarding treasures after all, and materials alone wouldn’t be enough to refine them. They would still need to invite a large amount of experts before another one could be successfully refined. Thus, none of them would wanted to lose a flying ship for no reason.
Seeing the fearful crowd and watching them slow down from afar, SongZhong also heaved a sigh of relief. He then said to the demonic witches with a smile, “Good, good, good! You guys do indeed live up to the reputation of the Nine Beauties Painting. I never imagined that all of you would be able to give me such a good idea. Now, I can be considered to have nine more wise and experienced strategists by my side!”
“Hehe, master is complimenting us too much!” the demonic witches said humbly. At the same time, they looked towards SongZhong with their lovable eyes, making this darn fatty’s lust rise in his heart again.
But just when SongZhong was flirting with the nine beauties, Daoist HuoLong’s irritating voice sounded again, “Fellow daoists do not need to be fearful of mere divine lightning. May everyone disperse and surround the Gold Dragon ship from the outside? I will personally approach the Gold Dragon Ship to attract its firepower. At that time, can all of you help me to take care of the rest?”
As everyone heard that, they were immediately energized. They knew that while the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon was powerful, it wouldn’t be able to fire continuously. Every time it was fired, it would have to cool down for a while. If Daoist HuoLong was willing to attract the attack of the cannon, then the others would be able to surround him from all sides, killing SongZhong with a unified attack.All the cultivators present were extremely sharp and quickly understood that fact. Thus, they all responded, “If Daoist HuoLong is willing to lead the attack, we are willing to follow behind you!”
“Good, if that’s the case, can I trouble everyone to surround this brat?” Daoist HuoLong replied immediately.
“Yes!” all the cultivators responded. Then, the thirty-plus flying ships could be seen spreading out, surrounding the Gold Dragon ship from the flanks. Because they were trying their best to stay away from the Gold Dragon ship, none of them approached the firing range of the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon. Thus, SongZhong was completely helpless against them! It could be imagined; if they were to attack in unison, SongZhong would definitely fall into peril even if he could destroy Daoist HuoLong’s Fire Dragon ship.
SongZhong then asked with a frown, “What do you guys think we should do?”
“Master, since they are going to attack regardless the cost, we don’t have a good plan to stop them. But...” a demonic witch said with a frown, “Master has many treasures on him and we may not be afraid of their attack!”“Really?” As SongZhong heard that, his eyes lit up and asked, “Then what do you think we should do?”
“Master, we have to catch the king of the thieves first. This time, the ones who aroused the crowd to attack you are the Jade Pearl Pavilion, Mystical Sky Yard, and Thousands Desire Sect. The moment the battle begins, focus on them and try to cripple them. At that time, those left behind would lose all of their morale. As for defense, the Gold Dragon ship will definitely be insufficient against all the attacks. But if you are willing to use that large copper bell, we may stand a fighting chance!” a demonic witch said calmly.
“The big copper bell?” SongZhong frowned, before replying with a bitter laugh, “Forget it, it is time to take this treasure out officially. If I don’t take it out now, I may not have a chance to take it out again in future!”Since he had already decided on his plan, SongZhong no longer felt any more fear, waiting for the battle patiently. Time went by slowly. Finally, the other flying ships surrounded the Gold Dragon ship from all directions by relying on their slightly faster speed.
Following which, Daoist HuoLong snorted and charged into the range of the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon. The Fire Dragon ship looked like a real dragon, charging towards the Gold Dragon ship with flames on its body, transforming into a red streak of light. As SongZhong saw that, he sneered and waved his hands, unleashing the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon without any hesitation. The gigantic lightning ball then charged at the Fire Dragon ship like a shooting star.
Just when everyone thought that Daoist HuoLong would escape from his ship, he took a black pearl out instead, throwing it at the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon.
At the same time, Daoist HuoLong said with a cold laughter, “How dare you flaunt such little tricks in front of me. SongZhong, I will show you the might of the Mystical Sky Yard!”When Daoist HuoLong said that, the black pearl had already met with the lightning ball. Following which, the lightning ball exploded in the air with a loud bang. While the force of the explosion was still extremely frightening, the Fire Dragon ship was still dozens of miles away. Thus, regardless of how magnificent this explosion looked, it was completely useless.
Seeing how Daoist HuoLong was able to deal with the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon so easily, all the spectators shouted out, “Good!” at the same time. They then sped up their flying ships and approached the Gold Dragon ship. As SongZhong saw that, he could not help but be startled as he thought to himself, “This Daoist HuoLong is scheming indeed. He obviously had the means to deal with the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon, but did not take it out from the start. He obviously wants to pressure me!”
While SongZhong disdained the actions of Daoist HuoLong, he had to admit that Daoist HuoLong’s action was extremely useful. By making use of the previous few flying ships, he made the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon seem invincible. Then, Daoist HuoLong destroyed the invincible appearance of the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon to boost the morale of the rest. Thus, all of the others would charge at him as though they had eaten aphrodisiacs.
Now that things had already developed to such an extent, SongZhong had no other ideas left. Even if he had to fight them head on, he would not be afraid either.
Killing intent then shot out from his eyes as he roared, “Let’s fight! Don’t think that I will be afraid of all of you! You guys are the one who forced me!”
As he roared, SongZhong made use of his advantage in range and initiated the attack, unleashing a torrent of divine lightning on the ships which skirted around the fireball previously. Since he had the millions of high grade spiritual stones that Celestial MeiHua gave him, SongZhong was not lacking currently. As such, every attack of his was a full powered one, without any concern for how many spiritual stones he was using. Being the closest to the Gold Dragon ship, the Fire Dragon ship suffered from the torrent of thousands of divine lightning explosions. Very quickly, it was unable to handle the barrage and the fire shield protecting the Fire Dragon ship was shaved off layer by layer. If things were to carry on as such, the Fire Dragon ship would definitely be exposed to the attacks of the divine lightning soon. Helpless, Daoist HuoLong could only bring his best disciples to battle with him, easing the pressure on the ship with his magical artifacts. At the same time, he commanded the Fire Dragon ship to retreat quickly. Because the Gold Dragon ship had always been flying at top speed, the distance between both the ships quickly widened when the Fire Dragon ship stopped, allowing the Fire Dragon ship to escape from the attack range of the Gold Dragon ship.
In just a short few breaths, the Fire Dragon ship managed to escape from destruction. While they suffered from a few waves of divine lightning, the Fire Dragon ship was protected from destruction by Daoist HuoLong.
To SongZhong, it was akin to a freshly roasted duck flying away from the edge of his mouth. The frustration he felt could be easily imagined. However, suffering from the attacks of all the ships around him, it was impossible for him to turn around and give chase to Daoist HuoLong. Thus, he could only swallow his anger and watch the Fire Dragon ship pull away from his sights. Right at this moment, the other thirty-plus flying ships had entered into his shooting range. Now that they had the chance to vent the anger that they were holding back, they would naturally not stand on ceremony. Thus, they all took out their trump cards and charged at the Gold Dragon ship with their lives. The next moment, the sky was painted beautifully by colorful divine lightnings. Be it the divine lightnings from the righteous or devil sects, their might was displayed in full glory. Furthermore, there were some who had special attacking means, like a machine-gun cannon or gigantic crossbow. Adding on to that, even the high grade cultivators also joined in the fray, sending out their flying swords and magical artifacts.
Facing the innumerable attacks, SongZhong already felt his head turn dizzy from looking at them, not to mention blocking them. A crazed glow shot out from the eyes of the surrounding cultivators; the way they saw it, it was impossible for anyone to block such an array of attacks. Thus, SongZhong was dead for sure!
However, in this state of imminent peril, the loud ring of a bell sounded. A gigantic item appeared suddenly — this was a gigantic bell over ten thousand feet tall. The majestic gold bell was covered in many lifelike engravings. There was the moon and stars at the top of the bell, and a celestial palace in the middle of the bell with many celestials and divine beasts in the palace. At the bottom of the bell, there were flowers, insects, animals, mountains, rivers, and forests. At the very base of the bell, an engraving of a ten-thousand-mile-long river of blood could be seen. The surrounding cultivators felt a majestic aura overwhelm them the moment the gigantic bell appeared and were stunned on the spot. However, the bell was not what shocked them the most. The thing which shocked them the most was the fact that the bell covered SongZhong and the Gold Dragon ship completely the moment it appeared. The attacks of the score and more of flying ships and hundreds of JinDan cultivators all smashed onto this gigantic bell. The sheer quantity of attacks would be more than sufficient to crush a YuanYing cultivator to death in a single second, and possibly kill a FenShen cultivator. But when the attacks landed on the bell, not even a ripple could be seen and all the attacks were completely absorbed by the bell. All the cultivators felt as though the bell was not a physical item at all, but an endless black hole instead. No matter what was thrown at it, it would definitely be able to absorb them all.
Seeing this scene, everyone could not help but exclaim in shock. They never expected SongZhong to have such a powerful treasure.
Even though they were in a daze, SongZhong was not. Making use of this rare opportunity, he steered the Gold Dragon ship out from the bottom of the bell and sent thousands of divine lightnings towards the pavilion-shaped flying ship Huo QingYun was on.
As Huo QingYun saw that, she was startled and quickly blocked the attack with everything she had. As for the two other flying ships of the Jade Pearl Pavilion, they did not dare watch by the side and also came over the help. The three flying ships were obviously specially customized by the Jade Pearl Pavilion. They were able to combine into a single ship, greatly increasing the thickness of their defensive divine light. Together with the efforts of Huo QingYun and the rest, they finally managed to block SongZhong’s terrifying attack.
As SongZhong saw that, he sighed with pity. Originally, he thought that even if he couldn’t kill Huo QingYun with this attack of his, he should be able to destroy her flying ship. However, he never expected such a trump card at all.
But despite feeling regretful, SongZhong did not dare drag the battle on. After forcing the Jade Pearl Pavilion to retreat, he kept his large copper bell and sprinted towards the Eastern Ocean with all his power. At the same time, he did not forget to prepare his Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon.
Indeed, the deterrence of this cannon was extremely useful. Without that strange pearl which Daoist HuoLong threw out, it was impossible for the rest of them to block such a frightening attack. Together with the fact that they were all so near each other, a single attack from the Purple Lightning Gold Dragon Cannon would definitely cause catastrophic collateral damage. Thus, they did not dare to press their attacks and began to retreat, giving the Gold Dragon ship a chance to escape. Seeing that SongZhong had escaped, Huo QingYun shouted anxiously, “Everyone, there is no need to worry. While that bell is extraordinary, it is far too powerful. That darn fatty definitely can’t control it fully. Furthermore, that bell is probably his Natal Artifact and a Natal Artifact is controlled by one’s spiritual sense. I estimate that the previous attack must have definitely injured SongZhong’s spiritual sense. After a few more waves of such attacks, we will probably be able to kill SongZhong without even destroying the Gold Dragon ship. At that time, there would be an invincible defensive treasure added to your spoils of war!”
As everyone heard that, their eyes gleamed with excitement and was filled with energy again. Their plan was the same as before; everyone would surround SongZhong from afar and Daoist HuoLong would initiate the attack to draw out SongZhong’s Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon. Then, everyone else would surround SongZhong in a barrage of attacks.
After suffering from a disadvantage once, SongZhong did not attack Daoist HuoLong with his Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon again. Instead, he only used the divine lightnings to force him back to keep his Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon for the rest.
However, he never expected Daoist HuoLong to be so cunning and far-sighted. Daoist HuoLong had already expected such a move from SongZhong. Thus, he purposefully got Huo QingYun to appear, attracting SongZhong to unleash the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon. Then, he threw out the black pearl the moment SongZhong unleashed the attack. As such, the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon exploded near the Gold Dragon ship. The sudden explosion caught SongZhong completely off guard, unable to summon his copper bell in time before being swallowed by the blast of the explosion.
When the dust from the explosion settled, the cultivators by the side were all pleasantly surprised to realize that the Gold Dragon ship was already heavily damaged. Not only was the body of the ship riddled with damage, the top layer of the pavilion was also destroyed. The thing which excited them the most was the fact that the Gold Dragon ship lost its most powerful weapon. The barrel of the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon was destroyed. Losing the Purple Lightning Yellow Dragon Cannon and a third of its divine lightning towers, the strength of the Gold Dragon ship was reduced by at least half. It no longer had the ability to destroy the other flying ships in a single blow any more. Seeing this, everyone all grew excited as their eyes turned red. To obtain the Gold Dragon ship, to obtain the powerful copper bell, they all went crazy, charging at the Gold Dragon ship without a care for the consequences. They could not even be bothered to unleash long ranged attacks and intended to board the Gold Dragon ship personally to rob the ship.