Chapter 1284: Comprehending the Way of the Sword (One)

The panther became slightly confused. It was unable to tell what was real and fake between the flurry of stabs. Sometimes it felt like all of them were fake, but sometimes it also felt like all of them were real.

Since it could not tell between what was real or fake, it produced a wild flurry with both its claws. With sharp guests of wind, violent streams of energy shot out, kicking dust into the air.

Jian Chen controlled the Emperor Armament with all his focus. The Emperor Armament weaved through the panther’s claws as it stabbed toward its eyes.

However, just when the Emperor Armament drew close, the panther suddenly twisted its head to one side as if it had sensed it. It avoided the strike on its eyes, but the Emperor Armament still managed to leave behind a deep gash on its neck. Blood immediately poured out like a fountain.

The panther became even more furious after it was injured a second time. It immediately roared at the sky as energy gathered in its mouth. It quickly condensed a head-sized ball of earthen-yellow energy and shot it at Jian Chen. At the same time, the short horn on its head began to glow with faint yellow light as well.

When Jian Chen wanted to avoid the ball of energy, the horn on the panther’s head suddenly shot out a streak of yellow light that engulfed him. Suddenly, Jian Chen felt his limbs tighten, having been immobilized by a mysterious force.

Jian Chen was shocked. In the past few days he had spent in the Xuanhuang Microcosm, he had come across quite a few Xuanhuang beasts, but none of them possessed such special abilities. This one could actually immobilize him.

Jian Chen circulated his Chaotic Force furiously. His body jolted as hard as he could, and only then did he shake away the mysterious force around him. However, the ball of energy had struck his chest while he had been momentarily stuck.

Bang! With a heavy sound, Jian Chen was blown far away, landing on the hard earth several kilometers away. His chest was reduced to a bloody mess and several of his ribs were broken.

Jian Chen stood up with a flip. Even though his wound looked horrible, it did not affect his battle prowess much. Coupled with his circulation of Chaotic Force, his broken ribs and wounds healed at a visible rate. The power of Chaotic Force was on full display at that moment.

Up ahead, the panther clearly became stunned when it saw Jian Chen easily standing, as if he was completely fine after taking on its attack. However, it recovered very soon before charging at Jian Chen once more. Its horn began to shine with yellow light again.

Jian Chen stood steadily as he used the precious amount of time to heal as quickly as possible. His gaze was fixed on the small horn on the panther’s head as his expression became extremely stern.

Although the energy from the horn could only immobilize him for an extremely short amount of time, that was enough to change the outcome of the battle. He could endure it a few times, but once it happened too many times, he would find it difficult to continue even with his Chaotic Force. After all, he was not taking on attacks from a Saint King but a Saint Emperor.

“Be careful, master. That’s the innate ability of some Xuanhuang beasts. There are not many beasts that possess innate abilities in the Xuanhuang Microcosm, but every single one that does is virtually invincible among its level of cultivation. Master only needs to dodge the innate ability the moment it is fired,” Zi Ying’s voice rang out in his head.

Jian Chen was secretly surprised. He said, “I never thought that Xuanhuang beasts would have innate abilities as well. I just wonder how many times it can use it.” He had already sensed that the panther would become rather exhausted after using its innate ability.

With the assistance of the sword spirits, Jian Chen noticed some minute signs the Xuanhuang beast would exhibit the moment it used its innate ability, so he managed to avoid it the second time. At the same time, he increased the number of injuries on the panther with his sword.

The bodies of Class 9 Xuanhuang beasts were just far too tough. With Jian Chen’s current strength, he could not impale them. He could only deal a three-inch-deep wound at most. At the same time, the Xuanhuang beast possessed residual strands of Xuanhuang Qi. Even if Jian Chen injected his Chaotic Force into its body, the damage caused was extremely limited.

The panther used its innate ability three times in a row. It missed with the last two tries and realized that it might as well stop using its innate ability. It engaged in an intense battle with Jian Chen and relied on the toughness of its body. The powerful ripples of energy turned the surroundings into a mess.

Gradually, the wounds on both the beast and Jian Chen increased. They both became bloodied. Jian Chen had attempted to stab the panther’s eyes several times as they fought, but not only was the panther much stronger than the alligators he had encountered before, but its reaction speed and agility was also incomparable to the alligators. At the same time, it was well-versed in battle. There was an extremely low number of Xuanhuang beasts that were experienced in battle, but this beast managed to narrowly dodge Jian Chen’s attacks every time he stabbed out.

The vitality of Xuanhuang beasts was plentiful. Although Jian Chen could not kill the panther in a short amount of time, it was only a matter of time before it died.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Jian Chen’s head. His gaze immediately became rather hazy as his movements slowed. At that moment, he seemed to have grasped something, but he also felt that everything was blurry and hazy, like he could not see reality at all.

A sudden slip in attention during battle was fatal to all experts. The panther immediately arrived in front of Jian Chen as it opened its large mouth to bite him.

Jian Chen did not seem to realize. His eyes remained distant and confused, but they soon cleared up a little. He then grasped at the emptiness in front of him, and immediately, an extremely bright streak of light appeared in his hand. The light was as thin as a chopstick and as long as an arm. It concealed extremely powerful and sharp sword Qi, enough to make people shiver inside.