Consuming Earths, Devouring Skies Chapter 96 A Single Arrow!

As the arrow was released, the world itself slowed down. It wasn't as if time slowed, but more so, the arrow was traveling far too fast. This was the first time Yan Zaizen had ever released an arrow backed by Pinaka, his conceptual laws, and his qi and soul cultivation base! The sheer pressure it placed on his body caused his bones to fracture and his skin to rip apart almost instantly upon release.
Fortunately, the Immortal Herculean Method isn't called 'Immortal' for flare. It held an extraordinary accelerated factor for healing wounds, and this layer of damage healed almost as quickly as it appeared. How could such a heaven-defying physique ever be normal? It could survive who knows how long in chaotic space by itself? It was because of this healing factor!
And that was at the initial success!
At the perfection stage, how could it not be hundreds of times greater? Despite his vital energies being consumed quickly, it was still extraordinary.
As the arrow traveled through the air, the sky didn't ripple, the earth didn't quake nor split, but it was like a silent night.
"What?!" Internally, a profound sensation of danger caused the Water Veil Sectmaster's eyes to shrink to a needlepoint. She tried to instinctively take a step away for retreat, but her movement art was simply far too slow.
The arrow collided with the oceanic wave of water and penetrated it as easily as flimsy paper. As it did, an aura of destruction suffused within the oceanic wave like a ripple which caused the water to vanish into thin air. By the time it exited the oceanic wave, half of it was disintegrated, and even still, the Water Veil Sectmaster still couldn't move.
Seeing this, her first reaction was the simplest and most decisive. She directly ignited her true essence within her pathways. The ignition of one's true-essence would cause an extraordinary surge of power to erupt outwards, often times allowing one to exceed a stage temporarily at the cost of cultivation base drop afterward. However, only qi-essence or above could withstand such ignition.
It was almost instant as the true-essence in her body caused her aura and power to rival the peak initial-True Essence Realm. It may just have a 'peak' added, but each stage difference or single step was a world of difference for a True Essence Cultivator.
Her strength directly increased by several times.
She didn't stop there as she forcefully drew upon the power of the sect's grand formation for further support.
However, the arrow didn't show mercy, approaching with a silver-blue soul-piercing light. Despite this taking a long time to describe, the events happened in less than a blink of an eye!
The arrow arrived before her instantly and collided with her defensive true-essence.
BOOM!!!
A single explosion was heard as the world was filled with rustling winds for hundreds of li. Everyone within the border of the Water Veil Sect could feel the turbulent winds produced by the explosion, while the nearby area was nearly vanquished entirely.
Several seconds later, the explosion produced a mushroom dust cloud filled with the essence of destruction and penetration, the characteristics of the Archery of Pure Destruction. The sky directly above no longer had clouds or even an atmosphere. Everyone could see the myriad of stars as if it was nighttime. Several li of distance was rendered out from existence by this single arrow.
Yan Zaizen was panting a little, the exertion on his soul, qi, and vital energies was pretty heavy to release this single arrow. The benefits of having Pinaka, a spirit-rank armament, was that the consumption wasn't considerably massive for each usage and she could adjust for her user. This strength may be great, but that was less than 1% of her true strength.
"If I was at full strength, simply my arrow alone could do hundreds of times more damage." Pinaka was obviously discontent as she scoffed. Luckily, only Yan Zaizen could hear her as the rest would probably die from these words. If that was the case, could they even be considered ants in front of her?
However, Yan Zaizen was truly shocked at the events. He had hopes, but it wasn't clear. Now, he understood what Pinaka meant when she mentioned that with her and his current cultivation, he could still dominate the entire continent.
Several seconds passed and a faint feeble figure appeared within the dust cloud. Yan Zaizen's eyes narrowed as he scanned with his spiritual sense. He was inwardly surprised.
She was alive.
Indeed. The Water Veil sectmaster not only ignited her true-essence but she overdrew on her meridians and pathways, which pulled out every last ounce of power from her pseudo sky-rank armament. She even drew power from the Mazu Veil Formation. If one looked up, they would no longer see any water curtain surrounding the territory of the sect. All of these things in conjunction allowed her to survive with little damage physically, but the soul damage was still a bit severe.
When she appeared, her expression was solemn beyond compare. She looked towards Yan Zaizen, her eyes filled with anger and grievance but also defeat. From this day forward, it's unlikely she would be arrogant due to her cultivation any longer.
Yan Zaizen faintly smiled triumphantly, "If you simply arrived peacefully and obediently, this could've been avoided." He spoke the truth, but how was a person going to react when a small ship appeared in their hometown acting arrogant to all hell? How would he respond? How would anyone?
At this moment, she truly felt enraged and wanted nothing more than to kill Yan Zaizen, but she was intelligent and regained her clear head after this near-death experience. That single arrow could cause the main palace of her sect to collapse in a second. She couldn't afford to be muddle-headed in anger when her sect faced true danger.
She slowly approached the skyship and Yan Zaizen stepped forward, flying to meet her in mid-air. Tao and Bai Lufeng were incredibly shocked by the sequence of events. It occurred so fast that a single blink could've caused them to miss it. It was so massive that the skies rippled and the earth was decimated, and even a li wide hole appeared in the sky.
It was still open! But slowly repairing.
As for Lin Qinlin and Lin Feilin, they didn't even see most of what happened. Several sky-devouring dragons appeared, disappeared, and then a huge explosion that shook them to their core was released. To them, this was like two to three seconds.
Fights between true experts are done and decided in seconds, and sometimes, milliseconds. Unless one had a weak cultivation base, this was typically the case.
The Water Veil Sectmaster, Yao Wuhen, looked at this powerful yet handsome youth with disbelief and shock. From his vibrant aura of lifeforce, he couldn't be more than a century in years! Did she just...barely survive against a junior? She truly felt inwardly pathetic, but continued anyhow with a dark expression, "What do you want?"
For the first time, Yan Zaizen could clearly see this sectmaster. She was most certainly a beauty despite her damaged attire from their fight. Long black water-like flowing hair, soft eyes that resembled clear water, a lithe physique and phoenix eyes. Her skin was as white as snow and not a single natural blemish could be seen anywhere.
If it wasn't for earlier, Yan Zaizen's first impression of this woman would be exceedingly high by her looks alone.
"I'm here for the Yan Clan." Yan Zaizen voice was direct, immediately declaring his objective. There was no longer a reason to deal with this diplomatically. If something happened to his aunt or uncle, to rectify this crime, he'll bury every last one of the Water Veil Sect members with them.
Innocent or not!
Hearing this, Yao Wuhen was shocked. Her eyes narrowed, and she spoke with a strong voice, "What for?"
Yan Zaizen immediately revealed fierce killing intent as his silver-blue aurora light manifested in the skies above, white motes of light swam through by an infinite amount, and his aura surged to the heavens and back. "Where! Are! They?!" He thundered every word, his eyes filled with malicious intent. If his family was killed and he didn't get revenge, how was he supposed to face his mother? How could he face his father?
"This…" Yao Wuhen felt a profound sensation of danger as she instinctively took a step back. Seeing this, she felt slightly humiliated, but she understood the circumstance. Her current state may lack physical damage but her cultivation suffered a huge drop. If they exchanged blows once more, with all her trump cards gone or used up, she would face certain death.
Even if she gathered up her elites, her fate would remain the same.
She furrowed her brows and considered the situation, not caring about what would happen to the Yan Clan, she spoke decisively. "They are currently situated in a location in our territory."
What?
Wait...What?!
They were alive?
Yan Zaizen felt odd, and his fierce momentum deflated almost instantly. This entire situation was because he assumed the Water Veil Sect eliminated the Yan Clan due to their transgression against the Ya Clan. In truth, he was going to bury both the Water Veil Sect and the Ya Clan with them, especially since the Ya Clan could be considered traitors.
He truly hated traitors.
"Where?" His voice turned soft subconsciously.
Yao Wuhen was now even more shocked than before, her expression filled with hints of confusion. She couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"
Yan Zaizen softly smiled, a smile filled with unyielding confidence and warmth, "Me? My name's Yan Zaizen. Grandson of the Yan Clan Lord."
Yao Wuhen was stunned into silence.
...what?
...What?!
...WHAT?!