Nine Venoms Sect Founder

Chapter 138: The Mantis Preys on the Cicada, Unaware of its Corrupt Venom (2)

In a stasis of stupor and bewilderment, Birandar didn't react to Harun's move. But not one to gamble his life on pointless probes, Mukri didn't dare waste a second and, using Jiyan as his shield, put as much distance between his rogue boss and himself as he could.

Lips curled in a devious grin, Harun pushed against Jiyan's blade and, in an atypical show of hubris, dragged his elongated claws across its surface. The grating, screeching sounds couldn't break Jiyan's composure, but that loathsome stare and flagrant murderlust Harun faced her with…slammed at her heart. Suppressing a rollercoaster of negativity, Jiyan vanished, reappearing several steps behind. 

Holding her sword in a two-handed fighting stance, Jiyan unleashed her Extreme Yin and Withering Essence which poured out in waves of dark-blue and gray energies. The temperature sank to absolute zero, the obsidian walls became frozen blocks of ice, and putting the full depth of her cultivation base on display, Jiyan faced Harun who—akin to the fallen Landgraves—seemed to treat the confrontation as a game of cat and mouse. Jiyan didn't believe that defense could solve this problem, and became a flash of blue and silver light as she rushed at Harun—slashing at his legs. 

Radiant light shot out of Harun's golden double pupils. The weight of Jiyan's sword increased till it exceeded what her formidable strength could endure, and to Murki's awe, the sword dragged Jiyan toward the ground—then flew out of her hands. Merciless, Harun grabbed the Withering Sword and threw a casual kick at Jiyan's face.

Canting her head to the left, Jiyan avoided the kick by a hair's breadth—or so she thought—Harun's right eye flashed purple rays, and that same kick Jiyan avoided now threatened to bash her skull in. Using her arms as makeshift shields, Jiyan took on the blow and flew into the freezing cold walls. 

Wielding her sword against her, Harun thrusted at Jiyan's chest, aiming straight for her heart. Knowing she couldn't avoid that blow, Jiyan activated her clan's Forbidden Zone, turning the mine into an achromatic field where all things came to a screeching halt. The sword stopped an inch away from Jiyan's chest. Not daring to waste a second, she rushed out of harm's way—a wise move.

Golden light erupted from Harun's lightning bolt mark—shattering the Forbidden Zone. Averting his sword thrust, Harun whirled 180, and chased Jiyan who retreated to escape his pursuit. In a flash, the two exchanged dozens of moves, but in each of those confrontations, she got the short end of the stick. 

Flying upward, Jiyan condensed dozens of boulder-sized, blue fire balls. Ice spires protruded from the ground, surrounding and trapping Harun. "What a pointless display. You and I know that the current me is not someone you can oppose. But hey, let no one say I didn't give you a chance," Harun spoke for the first time since his disturbing return, tossed the Withering Sword aside, and stretched out his hands as if welcoming Jiyan to do her worst.

Poisonous arts had no effect on him, making half of a plaguebringer's arsenal virtually useless. Fortunately, poison wasn't only about harming the opponent, and thanks to the three Yin Cores in her abdomen, Jiyan now had access to a massive array of noxious skills. 

"First, I need to make something clear. Why…are you trying to kill me?" She asked, against her best judgment. By using his right eye's powers, Harun proved that he wasn't in his right mind. But despite that knowledge, Jiyan couldn't stop herself from asking those words—as if regardless of his predicaments, she couldn't digest Harun raising his fists at her. The cruel smirk Harun faced her with didn't make it easier. 

"Isn't that obvious? When mortals trade an older carriage for a new one, they don't keep the older model around for memory's sakes, do they? No, they dispose of it. That being the case, I also have…to dispose of you," Harun declared in a cheerful, yet callous tone. A strange glint flashed in Jiyan's eyes. Birandar's face twisted in between conflicting emotions, while Mukri both praised Harun's vicious tongue and cursed his fickleness. 

"Heinous…the boss is officially a lost cause. Should I bomb him?" Losing all loyalty for his master, Mukri asked Birandar—forgetting about his past oath."Pointless, even if you could trigger the same calamitous tribulation again, he'd use it to condense more bolt marks. You'd just be speeding up our destruction." Birandar shook his head. Meanwhile, Dolma, who met Weeping Soul in a clash of epic proportions, paused to flash Harun a contented smile. This was precisely the type of scenario that delighted her. josei

In her eyes, not only was Harun a one in a trillion stallion, he most likely descended from either the Holy One, her mysterious partner, or both. Naturally, the Blood Matron had no desire to share her prized catalyst with anyone else—much less an eyesore of a little girl. Once Harun severed Jiyan and his subordinates' heads, even if he one day broke free of her control, he'd only have her. 

But despite knowing that the plaguebringer's moves stemmed from her leeches' manipulation, Dolma took pride in his stance. On the contrary, Weeping Soul was full of disappointment, wondering how his arch-nemesis could have fallen prey to this vixen so easily. The two's battle resumed with ten times the intensity, but while the Reverend commanded a horde of ghastly powers, by relying on the Abyssal River's terrifying abilities, the Blood Matron effortlessly met the challenge. 

Harun's words allowed Jiyan to suppress her last bit of reluctance. Fixing him with a chilling look, she released her Devil Essence, letting it pour out and morph to condense a pair of purple feathered wings that proudly flapped at her back. White mist flowed out of the three cores in her energy center, eroding her vitality to push her skills to higher levels. 

The ice spires shattered, forming a myriad of broken shrapnel that rotated around Harun, creating an ice storm in their path. With Harun at the center, a hurricane of abysmal temperatures took shape, threatening to shred him into pieces. Worse, several meters above, the yin-made fireballs had broken into squalls of ruinous flames—all aiming at Harun. Snapping her fingers, Jiyan let the elemental mayhem assault her lover from all sides. Green mist invisible to all but Harun swirled around her blue pupils, and as her battle-intent peaked, the illusory statue of a Dharma Protector appeared at her back. 

"That being the case…I can only be merciless."