Rise of the Alchemy God

Chapter 98: Using the Cursed Object

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While Ethan was busy keeping the stronger enemy occupied, the weaker one was being pushed back by the coordinated attacks of Da Shu and Hou Li.

Hou Li had great talent in cultivation, and if that wasn't enough, her affinity with the elements was also exceptionally high.

In fact, she had a dual affinity, which was rare, even more so in her case, as both elements were powerful.

One was fire, with which she had an above-average affinity.

This element alone, combined with her good cultivation talent, would have made her a valuable asset in any sect.

But if that were all, she wouldn't have attracted the attention of a sect elder like Elder Léi.

It was her affinity with the second element that made her truly stand out in the sect, garnering the attention of even the elders.

And that element was lightning.

When Elder Léi discovered this, he decided to test her lightning affinity, and the results were shocking, even to him.

Hou Li's affinity for the lightning element was almost on par with Elder Léi's.

It should be known that Elder Léi was not only highly regarded within the Phoenix Sect but also outside of it, not because he was one of the strongest elders in the sect, but because his talent with the lightning element was second only to the patriarch of the Qilin Sect, one of the three ruling sects.

This had caused him many problems over the years.

Everyone wanted him, including the Three Ruling Sects, but he chose the Phoenix Sect for reasons still unknown to the public.

Even the master of the Qilin Sect had offered to take him under his wing and nurture his talent many times, but he refused.

This shows just how impressive his talent with the lightning element was.

But now, another person with such talent had appeared, and the most shocking part was that she was still a budding flower yet to fully bloom.

Her lightning talent was only in its infancy.

If she cultivated it well in the years to come, she would surely surpass him, and maybe even rival the lightning affinity of the Master of the Qilin Sect.

So he took her under his wing and personally trained her, even feeding her rare herbs and pills that even someone like him found difficult to part with.

But he knew that no matter how far his own talent could take him, it wouldn't compare to what this girl could achieve, so he didn't hold back in investing in her.

He hadn't taken on many disciples in his long life.

The ones he did have could be counted on one hand, and among them all, she was by far the most talented.

So when he heard about the incident, he personally took action to go save her.

At this moment, the enemy was in trouble.

On one side, he was fighting a steroid-boosted Da Shu, who currently had the strength of a third-level Qi Refining cultivator.

And on the other, he was being bombarded by the hidden but powerful attacks of Hou Li, who was at the ninth level of Body Refining.

If it had been Da Shu alone, he might have managed, as he was in the middle stage of Qi Refining, but against the coordinated attacks of the two of them together, he was losing ground with every passing second.

At this point, if he didn't do something, he would almost certainly be defeated.

'No wonder they're disciples of the Phoenix Sect.

Looks like I have no choice but to use it.

Tch, to think I've been pushed this far by mere children.'

Frustration building by the second, the enemy cultivator pulled out a red pill from nowhere.

After a brief hesitation, he swallowed it in one go.

"You'll pay dearly for this," he said, his voice laced with hatred.

Da Shu and Hou Li, who had seen him take the pill, knew nothing good could come of it, and they had to act fast to avoid losing the advantage they had.

But just as they were about to launch another attack, they felt an invisible sense of terror wash over them.

"W-what's happening?" Da Shu asked, sensing the oppressive aura coming from the enemy cultivator.

"I don't know, but it's not good for us," Hou Li said, feeling the sinister aura as well.

The cultivator, who had just taken the pill, started convulsing, and a thin crimson aura began seeping from his body.

Da Shu and Hou Li, who were keeping their distance, ready to defend against any attack from the enemy, couldn't see his expression, as it was hidden by the hood of his cloak.

They looked at each other and, seeing the determination in each other's eyes, nodded and attacked together.

Da Shu swung his greatsword, sending a vertical slash that could have split the enemy in half.

Hou Li, on the other hand, gathered spiritual energy into both hands.

One was coated in a blue aura with tiny lightning arcs dancing around it, and the other was infused with a yellow-orange aura, radiating intense heat.

Charging an attack in both hands, she brought them together and, using her Qi, began to fuse the two auras, creating a small vortex of lightning and fire.

Without wasting time, she took aim and, thrusting her hands forward, hurled the vortex at the enemy.

Both attacks shot towards the enemy at high speed.

Anyone below the third stage would have been seriously injured if they took such an attack head-on.

***

While Da Shu and Hou Li were throwing everything they had at the enemy, Ethan's battle was also intensifying.

Under the relentless barrage of Ethan's attacks, his opponent was being pushed back more and more.

Just as he dodged one attack successfully, another one was already on its way.

This continued for several minutes, and by now, the enemy's energy reserves were beginning to run dry.

"This monster. Who the hell is he?

How can he be this strong when he's barely at the mid-stage of Qi Refining?"

Ethan's opponent was getting a headache.

He had thought he could overwhelm this boy who appeared out of nowhere, but reality had slapped him in the face multiple times in recent moments.

'And then there's that strange pressure,'

He had felt that chilling pressure several times now.

At one point, he thought Ethan was the cause, but that didn't make sense.

Even someone like him couldn't emit such an oppressive force, let alone the boy in front of him.

He was becoming more and more convinced that there was another elder from the sect nearby, occasionally intervening, and this thought frustrated him even further.

At this point, he knew that if he didn't do something soon, he would lose.

He had already used a pill to restore his missing arm, which had shocked Ethan.

At one point, Ethan began to wonder if such pills weren't as rare as they were said to be, but he dismissed the thought.

He could tell that these pills were clearly not of a high grade.

At most, they were level 2 or 3, and more importantly, these pills were infused with a strange energy he hadn't encountered before coming to this place.

Bai Yu, who had been watching the entire battle since the beginning, was growing more and more certain that this energy resembled demonic Qi, but he didn't want to believe it.

If his suspicions were correct, only the heavens knew what grave implications this would have for all realms, both mortal and celestial.

He needed Ethan to examine the enemy's body after defeating him.

The enemy, now having run out of options, made his decision.

Channeling a bit of energy into his spatial ring, he retrieved the cursed object he had taken from the sorcerer's corpse.

There was a moment of hesitation on his face, but he knew it was now or never.

He had already reached a point where, if he didn't use all the cards at his disposal, he was sure to perish in this battle.

"Damn brat, you'll regret this."

He took out the object and used his spiritual energy to burn away the veil that still covered it.

He had set it aside earlier to deal with the surprise attack, but now he had no choice but to bring it out again.

'I really wanted to avoid relying on this.'

Without hesitation, he infused the cursed object—revealed to be a wooden sword no longer than a meter—with all the Qi he had left.

Seeing this, Ethan immediately had a bad feeling, and this was confirmed by Bai Yu's sudden voice.

'Stop him! Don't let him use that object!'

Ethan had already been warned by Bai Yu earlier about the danger of the cursed object, so he didn't ask questions and acted immediately.

But it was already too late.

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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:

Here's today's chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

As usual, if you have any comments, suggestions, or errors to report, don't hesitate to do so below.

See you tomorrow with another chapter.