Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 314 - Diamond Bracelet

The Diamond Bracelet was flawless, as though born of heaven and earth itself. Exquisitely crafted, its silver-white ring gleamed with brilliance. Ancient Dao Runes wound across its surface, uncarved yet profound.

Ye Fan stared at it without blinking. He could not tell if this was the legendary Diamond Bracelet spoken of in myths from the far side of the starry sky, but his heart was unsettled.

“Quite bold, you kill, leave your mark, and still linger here? How arrogant!” the youth with the golden gourd above his head said coldly.

Ye Fan understood at once. These three had to be disciples of Radiant Light’s hidden elders, three of the so-called Ten Young Masters.

Buzz!

The golden gourd above the youth’s head shook, swelling into a massive golden mountain that came crashing down. He wasted no words, striking immediately.

Crack!

The ground split wide open. The weight of the gourd alone shattered the land, invisible pressure pouring everywhere, breaking crimson stone into fragments that shot skyward.

Even before it landed, the force alone collapsed the terrain. Red rocks blasted in every direction.

Ye Fan stood firm on the crimson earth, the Motherly Energy Cauldron above his head, the God-Striking Whip in his hand. Only the ground beneath his feet remained intact, shielded by the Motherly Energy of All Things.

Buzz!

The void itself trembled like a wall about to collapse. The golden gourd blazed like a sun, descending with crushing force, seeking to grind him into paste.

When the dazzling golden light slashed down like a blade, Ye Fan finally raised his left hand.

Clang!

The Void Palm, driven by the War Paragon Art, surged with boundless might. A vast golden palm, like a blazing cloud, struck the gourd with a thunderous crash.

The gourd quaked violently, golden rays bursting outward, a handprint branded deep on its surface.

“Go!”

Ye Fan roared. The golden palm blasted upward again, like a raging tide. The gourd was hurled into the heavens, leaving a blazing arc of light.

Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!

Suddenly, the gourd shuddered. From its mouth erupted tens of thousands of golden sword rays, each as thick as a barrel, blazing as they slashed toward the earth.

Chi! Chi! Chi!

The crimson wasteland was riddled with holes, each boring deep into the crust. Golden beams stabbed through heaven and earth like pillars, dazzling and terrifying.

The Motherly Energy Cauldron above Ye Fan shimmered, cloaking his body in protective radiance.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sword rays hammered against the cauldron and his defenses. They could not pierce through, but their sheer force shook him violently.

Ye Fan did not retreat. He raised another golden handprint skyward, the radiant palm crushing countless sword rays wherever it swept.

Buzz!

The void shook again. The gourd blazed even brighter, like golden fire consuming the sky. From its mouth poured a flood of sword energy, denser and fiercer than before, a tidal wave of blades bearing down to drown him.

Golden beams as thick as tree trunks tore the land apart. For a thousand feet in every direction, nothing remained whole. Even the ground beneath Ye Fan finally shattered.

The wasteland became scorched earth, riddled with bottomless sword holes, as if turned into a giant sieve.

Shielded by the Motherly Energy Cauldron, Ye Fan soared into the sky, God-Striking Whip in hand, charging straight at the gourd’s mouth.

The youth holding the gourd gasped. “The Motherly Energy of All Things truly is extraordinary, to withstand such a storm of sword light.”

Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!

Tens of thousands of sword rays surged again, forming a blazing curtain that filled heaven and earth. The pressure was immense. Each strike hammered against Ye Fan like a divine hammer, halting his advance.

Boom!

Ye Fan shook the cauldron. Misty light surged upward, meeting the flood of blades. Brilliant colors filled the sky as the two forces collided, unleashing waves of destructive energy.

The Motherly Energy of All Things proved even stronger. It shattered the sword light and pressed back toward the golden gourd.

Seizing the opening, Ye Fan charged faster, protected by the cauldron, lashing the God-Striking Whip as he closed in.

Suddenly, the flood of sword light vanished. From the gourd’s mouth burst a single dreadful black radiance, sharp and deadly, wrapping Ye Fan and his cauldron in an instant.

Chime!

The black light flashed. He was dragged into the golden gourd, and with a snap the mouth closed, sealing him inside.

The gourd shrank to palm-size and landed in its master’s hand.

“Ha! What Primeval Desolate Sacred Physique? In the end, he was still captured.” The youth cradled the gourd and laughed.

The one with the five-colored fan said, “Junior brother, that treasure of yours is indeed formidable. It contains the True Light of Dark Moon, nothing it captures can escape. Even a cultivator at the peak of the Four Pillars Realm would struggle.”

The youth holding the gourd sneered. “Half an hour is all it takes. The Dark Moon Light will reduce him to pus and blood.”

The one with the Diamond Bracelet frowned. “Be cautious. He possesses the Motherly Energy of All Things. It may not be so easy to melt him away.”

“Don’t worry. The Dark Moon Light penetrates everything. My master once captured a cultivator of the Draconic Ascension Realm with this very gourd. Even he was reduced to a pool of blood. A mere cauldron will only buy him moments.”

Boom!

The gourd shook violently in his hand, nearly slipping free.

“What? Even the Dark Moon Light cannot hold him?”

“Be careful! Don’t let him destroy it!” the others warned, gripping their own treasures tightly.

“No matter. This gourd was forged by my grandmaster with divine copper. Weapons cannot damage it.”

Indeed, after a single violent tremor, the gourd stilled.

The youth smirked. “Hmph. Let him rot inside.”

Inside, Ye Fan stood in the heart of the gourd, bound by the Dark Moon Light like a swamp that dragged at his limbs. Its corrosive power pressed in, but the Motherly Energy Cauldron shielded him. Even without it, his body could endure such erosion.

Calmly, he searched for the gourd’s weakest point.

“There!”

He shook the cauldron, scattering the Dark Moon Light, then swung the God-Striking Whip with all his strength at the gourd’s inner wall.

Clang!

The gourd blazed, jolting its owner’s hand.

Clang!

Another blow landed. The youth screamed, clutching his head as his spirit reeled in agony.

Crack!

The golden gourd split apart, shattering in his hand. His palm split open, bone gleaming through bloody flesh.

Ye Fan emerged with the cauldron above him and the God-Striking Whip in hand. He said nothing, but swung.

Snap!

The youth who held the gourd was torn apart, body and spirit alike reduced to ashes.

Buzz!

Ye Fan lashed the whip toward the other two. They had already braced themselves.

Clang!

The Diamond Bracelet gleamed silver, colliding with the whip. Sparks burst forth, its power immense. Dao Runes swirled across its surface like dragons, blocking the strike without a scratch.

At the same time, the five-colored fan swept forward. A storm of elemental winds reduced the land to flying ash, blasting boulders miles away.

Boom!

Ye Fan blocked with the cauldron, though even so he was nearly thrown back, the gale was too violent.

Seizing the moment, he spat out a breath of innate primal energy. It fused with the void, forming a scroll of Dao Runes that hurtled forward.

Supreme Voidforce!

It ripped through the storm. The fan absorbed most of it, glowing brilliantly, but a fragment broke through.

Crack!

The fan’s wielder screamed as one arm was blasted into blood and dust.

“From the Ji Clan, Supreme Voidforce!” he cried in shock. The strike had come too suddenly.

Boom!

Ye Fan invoked the Secret of Stillness, one of the Nine Secrets, halting his retreat mid-air. His power multiplied tenfold. He charged, unstoppable.

The five-colored gale could not throw him back. He pierced through like a golden spear, closing in.

The fan swung again, summoning another tide of divine wind, but the Motherly Energy Cauldron shielded him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The fan unleashed eighty-one divine feathers, each sharp as a sword. At the same moment, the Diamond Bracelet smashed down like a mountain.

Ye Fan clenched his teeth. He let the cauldron crash against the fan, freeing his hands. The whip lashed down, shattering dozens of divine feathers.

The fan’s wielder screamed, spirit wounded, and dropped his weapon.

Slash!

Ye Fan punched through, his fist glowing like a small sun, obliterating the man’s body.

He snatched up the fallen fan in passing, while the cauldron flew back to hover above him, radiating protective light once more.