novelraw Chapter 253-1: Corrupting Incense Power, A Heaven-Shaking Sword (1)
Chapter 253-1: Corrupting Incense Power, A Heaven-Shaking Sword (1)
[The colossal body of the deep-sea monster was even larger than the island beneath your feet. Confronted by such an enormous being, you felt only profound despair and helplessness.]
[Suddenly, dazzling sword light flashed. A long wound split open along one of the creature’s tentacles, and dark blue blood sprayed out.]
[But regrettably, a sword wound several meters long was nothing in the face of such a gigantic body.]
[Around the monster’s immense form drifted countless motes of glimmering light, like fireflies encircling it. In the faint radiance, you could glimpse the illusion of millions of people burning incense, praying, and worshipping with pious devotion.]
[The flickering motes pulsed once, and the sword wound on the enormous tentacle vanished without a trace.]
[You understood that Nurarihyon had been stealing the gods’ Incense Power for years, and by now had likely attained powers vast enough to twist heaven and earth, transforming the main hall of the shrine into such a hallucination with ease.]
[Within this illusory realm, the true form of the yokai was unimaginably powerful, far beyond what any mortal could resist.]
[Nurarihyon let out a roar that sent towering waves crashing across the sea. The entire island rocked and pitched under the storm. The deafening blast made your eardrums ache and your vision swim.]
[The Ninja Master’s small figure landed beside you, sinking into a crouch, left hand holding the scabbard, right hand gripping the hilt.]
[The jewel called Dragon Jade shone with an incredibly brilliant green radiance. You could feel an overwhelming force gathering within it.][The Ninja Master said quickly that even with his full strength restored, he likely could not prevail against such a yokai…]
[But no matter who you truly were, foreign mage, if you had come this far and risked your life to rescue Tsukishiro Murasakiyo, he could not stand by and watch you die here.]
[Only by unleashing his full power was there even the faintest chance of buying you and Tsukishiro a chance to live.]
[However, during the release of the Dragon Jade’s power, he would be unable to move or conceal himself. He needed you to ‘Transform’ into the giant form you had displayed during the Iya Palace battle and cover him for a moment!]
[When he spoke the word ‘Transform,’ his tone grew especially deliberate. The Ninja Master seemed to have long since seen through the fact that your identity was anything but simple…]
[The Dragon Jade’s light flared ever brighter. Centered on the Ninja Master, the pouring rain began to tilt and flow sideways, gravel and mud swirling upward in reverse. An immense power gathered ceaselessly into the Dragon Sword Masamune…]
Lin Xun narrowed his eyes, carefully studying the words ‘Incense Power.’
In his inventory, he possessed a special item called the Hundred Yin Kuei Water Vessel.
The description of this item said it could corrupt a certain quantity of Incense Power, rendering it temporarily unable to function.
Perhaps this was the key to breaking the stalemate!
[You possessed the Shell of the Corrupted Earth Giant!]
[You took out a green porcelain vessel, yanked out the cork stopper, and hurled the bottle into the sea…]
[The Hundred Yin Kuei Water Vessel sliced through the stormy darkness and plummeted into the waves before the sea monster.]
[A dark red, foul-smelling liquid spread out like ink dissolving in water, slowly staining the ocean around it…]
[A tentacle of unimaginable size rose from the sea, bringing the tempest with it as it smashed down toward you!]
[Between sea and sky, darkness deepened further. That tentacle, like a pillar holding up the heavens, blotted out all sight…]
[You bellowed a thunderous roar. Your body swelled, expanding in an instant until you towered as a giant touching the sky!]
[Your feet braced against the island’s earth, drawing the power of the land up into you without end…]
[You opened a single pale eye…]
[Special Skill Weak Point Insight activated!]
[Your pallid gaze pierced the driving rain and locked onto the immense tentacle poised to strike with earth-shattering force…]
[You have successfully discerned the target’s weak point. Your next attack will have a greatly increased chance to strike the creature’s vulnerable spot!]
[You opened a single crimson eye…]
[Special Skill Scorching Gaze of Flowing Fire activated!]
[The massive tachi Uzuki-Kir erupted in towering flames. Amid the howling wind and surging waves, the blaze only grew fiercer. No hurricane or flood could quench the endless wrath of the Crimson Dragon!]
[Summoning every last ounce of your strength, you gripped the great sword in both hands and swung it toward the tentacle about to crush you!]
[Sword light billowed in a torrent of blinding flame, illuminating the storm-dark sea as if a red curtain of heaven were splitting the worlds of the living and the dead!]
[The Lucky Gold Coin you carried glimmered faintly.]
[Your attack triggered the special effect of the Giant Beastmen Chieftain’s Spirit Essence.]
[Your attack will deal double damage!]
[A colossal bestial shadow reared up behind you. A savage, brutal Beastmen Giant clutched the tachi alongside you, lending you limitless ferocity!]
[Amid a sky-splitting roar, the crimson blade met the monster’s tentacle…]
[A deafening explosion shook the entire island to its foundations!]
[Your vision went black. An immense force struck you, driving you deep into the ground. Your lower body was entirely buried beneath earth and stone, leaving only your upper half exposed above the surface.]
[You have sustained extremely severe injuries!]
[Looking again at the sea monster’s tentacle, you saw that although your full-power strike had carved a massive, gruesome wound…]
[The motes of light around the monster flickered once, and the wound closed seamlessly, leaving no trace behind.]
[Nurarihyon opened its hooked, bird-like beak, and its shrill, earsplitting laughter echoed across the waves.]
[…]
Even that casual blow from the monster had left him gravely wounded. If Nurarihyon attacked again, the Earth Giant would undoubtedly die!
“Why hasn’t the item taken effect?!”
The Hundred Yin Kuei Water Vessel was supposed to corrupt a certain amount of Incense Power, preventing it from functioning.
Was it that the item had already activated, but the ‘certain amount’ it corrupted was such a tiny fraction that Nurarihyon felt nothing at all?
Or perhaps… the bullet simply needed a little more time to fly?
At this moment, although the Earth Giant had already triggered its racial talent Bloodsoaked Wrath, transforming into a berserker with extremely high attack power, it only had a sliver of health left, so fragile it could be blown over by a breeze.
No matter what happened next, Lin Xun wouldn’t survive the sea monster’s next strike.
Even the toughest, sturdiest Earth Giant had been smashed into a severely wounded state with a single blow, if it had been a mage holding up a magical shield, there wouldn’t even be any bones left.
In the current battle, the Valkyrie’s weapon skill Radiant Light had been interrupted upon entering the illusion and was recharging.
The Ninja Master’s ultimate skill was also still channeling, it would take quite a while longer.
As for the Senior Sister…because of the debilitating drugs, she could hardly stand, let alone unleash her strength. It would be better if she didn’t rush in just to die.
“At this point, whether I expose myself or not doesn’t matter anymore. I just don’t know if the little dragonkin can take even one hit.”
Lin Xun was about to switch Shells, revealing the little dragonkin’s draconic form to tank the next attack…
[A pleasant jingling of bells rang out. Layer upon layer of karmic fire rippled forth, forming dark waves that spread outward…]
[You received a healing skill from the Fire-Worshipping True Shrine Maiden of the No-Illusions Shrine – Tsukishiro Murasakiyo. Your Shell’s vitality gradually recovered!]
[You whipped your head around in shock, only to see that frail figure, face deathly pale, barely holding herself up as she shook the golden kagura bell in her hand, murmuring incantations under her breath.]
[You received a healing skill. Your Shell’s vitality gradually recovered!]
[…]
[You received a healing skill. Your Shell’s vitality has fully recovered!]
[Tsukishiro Murasakiyo collapsed to the ground at last, unable to hold on, and lost consciousness.]
[Fully restored to your peak state, you planted both hands on the earth and heaved your lower body free of the muddy soil and rock.]
[Power surged through your whole being. You once more gripped Uzuki-Kir in both hands, roaring in fury at the colossal monster in the sea.]
[Two massive tentacles rose from the waves, twisting around each other, tightening together into a single pillar that reached the sky.]
[Then, the pillar toppled, descending upon you with unmatched force!]
If the earlier blow had been Nurarihyon’s casual strike, this attack was the real thing!