Martial Cultivator
Chapter 257: Sharpening Blade by the Lake

In this battle against Chen Chao, although it was not a matter of life and death, Yun Jianyue had no intention of holding back.

As Chen Chao rushed towards him, Yun Jianyue's thoughts stirred. The lightning that had dispersed to both sides suddenly surged upward, creating a deafening thunderclap. It appeared as if countless lightning snakes were coiling towards Chen Chao, trapping him within countless arcs of electricity. In the blink of an eye, it looked like a purple lightning cage had been constructed here, imprisoning Chen Chao.

Yun Jianyue's cultivation in lightning spells far surpassed that of ordinary daoist cultivators. Even if it was Song Changxi, he was much worse compared to Yun Jianyue in terms of lightning spells.

His control over these purple lightning was skillful and effortless.

Looking at this scene, Chen Chao remained silent and just took his saber out.

With the broken saber in hand, the sharp edge instantly sliced through a nearby purple lightning bolt. Originally, the lightning was like a straight purple line. But now, it curved extremely exaggeratedly. The lightning landed on the broken saber, producing several arcs of electricity that failed to even scratch the broken saber.

This broken saber had mysterious origins, but its exceptional durability had long been proven. Its degree of toughness was no worse than the average flying sword.

Chen Chao suddenly exerted force, and the exaggerated arc of lightning eventually reached its breaking point before it could no longer continue to extend. Yun Jianyue's body trembled violently as a tremendous force emerged from his fingertips. He furrowed his brows slightly. Although the purple lightning had now formed a cage, in the end, it still originated from Yun Jianyue's fingertips.

Chen Chao's broken saber had not managed to sever the purple lightning at first because it originated from Yun Jianyue. However, by exerting an immense force, Chen Chao forced the lightning into two outcomes: either it would pull Yun Jianyue over toward him, or it would shatter entirely.

In terms of cultivation and daoist techniques, Yun Jianyue naturally far surpassed Chen Chao. But at present, Chen Chao had turned their contest into a physical showdown. All of a sudden, it became the form of showdown in which Chen Chao excelled the most.

Yun Jianyue did not fixate on this and chose to voluntarily dispel the lightning spell from his fingertips in an instant.

The purple lightning dissipated from heaven and earth.

His body no longer swayed. Chen Chao who was far away had already charged towards him as soon as the purple lightning shattered.

When two individuals clashed, especially when one found themselves in a passive position and was at a lower cultivation realm than their opponent, all chances and battle opportunities were fleeting. If not seized, worse outcomes could occur in an instant.

Therefore, Chen Chao instantly brandished his saber and closed in on the distance between them that was not considered short.

After Yun Jianyue dispelled his lightning spell, if it was an ordinary cultivator, there would definitely be a brief period where qi was being replenished. Yun Jianyue naturally had one too, but it was significantly shorter than most.

Few could discern the subtle transition.

Wind roared between heaven and earth.

Suddenly, a waterspout appeared beneath Chen Chao's feet and surged towards the sky.

Chen Chao's expression changed slightly, but he did not hesitate, taking a heavy step out!

The waterspout that had yet to form was instantly trampled. A deep crater even appeared on the ground.

Then, he continued to take several more steps. Each time a waterspout appeared, Chen Chao would trample the waterspout into smithereens before it could fully form.

In an instant, the distance between the two was significantly reduced.

Both of Yun Jianyue's magic spells appeared to be instantly crushed right when they were executed, appearing to be ineffective. However, Chen Chao knew very well that Yun Jianyue had not unleashed his full strength in any of his attacks. If he wanted to engage Chen Chao head-on with a single daoist technique, the outcome would not be as it was now.

At this moment, Yun Jianyue seemed to be using Chen Chao as a whetstone to reach the final stage of his path.

Crossing the bitter sea meant that one would be able to see the great beyond.

When cultivators in the Bitter Sea Realm cultivated, it meant that they kept moving forward amidst the bitter sea with bottomless depths, not knowing where the great beyond lay. The small boat under their feet drifted along, but it might capsize at any time.

A sea of suffering, the seven emotions and six desires that left cultivators befuddled. It was difficult to transcend before reaching the other shore.

Countless cultivators progressed rapidly before reaching the Bitter Sea Realm. But, there was a possibility that once they stepped into this realm, their cultivation would become exceedingly slow.

The seven emotions and six desires, countless falsehoods, it was the most troubling, capable of tangling the human heart.

Rather than saying the Bitter Sea Realm was a cultivation realm, it was more of a soul-searching journey.

Yun Jianyue had not encountered any so-called difficulties in the Bitter Sea Realm. Other cultivators would probably have worldly desires and greedy thoughts surface in their minds every time they cultivated in meditation, but this young genius from the Infatuation Daoist Temple was different from other cultivators. In Yun Jianyue's mind, it remained empty and clear.

He was a cultivator who was naturally suited for cultivation.

He had already seen the Great Beyond, it was just ahead.

However, Yun Jianyue still needed to put in some work to traverse this final stretch.

In the short time that followed, Yun Jianyue had employed over a dozen different daoist spells, seemingly lost in his own world, paying no attention to Chen Chao's reaction.

After a while, he finally came to his senses. Looking at Chen Chao, who appeared somewhat disheveled but still continuing to shorten the distance between them, he shook his head and said, "When a martial artist fights with a cultivator, they are actually at a disadvantage. Even if you can fly later on, a martial artist without any magic spells will still replace it troublesome when facing these magic spells."

Whether was it a sword cultivator or an ordinary cultivator, their magic spells could be executed from dozens of feet away, with tremendous power. Even if martial artists could rely on their physique to fly in the air after reaching a higher cultivation realm, during the process of drawing closer to their opponent, regardless of whether was it the flying sword of sword cultivators, or the magic spells of cultivators, it was very likely to inflict severe injuries on the martial artist.

Chen Chao wiped away the remnant aura of the magic spells on his saber and said with a grin, "Honestly, I don't see any problem. Once I get close to you, how many punches of mine can your frail body withstand?"

Yun Jianyue asked, "Do you think you stand a chance?"

Chen Chao smiled faintly and replied, "So, according to your logic, in all those past years, every time I encountered a cultivator, I should have died once?"

Yun Jianyue fell silent for a moment and then chuckled, "Fair point."

Chen Chao did not say anything, he just tore off a piece of clothing and wrapped it tightly around the handle of his saber and his palm. In order to break through those magic spells earlier, it had actually taken quite a toll on Chen Chao.

At this moment, the qi within his body was nearly depleted, replaceing it somewhat challenging to continue.

However, Yun Jianyue still looked very indifferent.

The disparity between the two had long been established.

Suddenly, Yun Jianyue said, "Even so, I feel that you have a 30% chance of severely injuring me in a life-and-death situation, a 20% chance of dying together with me, and a 10% chance you can kill me, but you'd also be severely injured."

Chen Chao shook his head, disagreeing.

"You've never experienced true life-and-death, you have no idea what true life-and-death is really like."

Chen Chao looked at Yun Jianyue and said, "In a true life-and-death situation, I have at least a 40% chance of killing you."

Chen Chao did not elaborate further, but Yun Jianyue naturally understood what this meant. If there was a forty percent chance of killing, the probability of inflicting serious injuries was even higher, let alone mutual destruction.

Since there was a 40% chance of killing him, then the chances of severely injuring him were naturally higher, let alone mutual destruction.

Yun Jianyue did not refute, he just spread his hands out and said with a faint smile, "Come and try?"

As these words were spoken, right next to them, the lake suddenly exploded. Countless waterspouts appeared on the lake's surface, resembling towering water columns one after another.

The scene was astonishing.

Chen Chao looked at this scene and was somewhat silent.

As his qi continued to deplete, he also felt the white mist in the area gradually dissipating. The suppression of cultivation naturally also became weaker and weaker.

Chen Chao took a deep breath, feeling the qi born within his body, and he felt somewhat relieved.

The gap in cultivation between the two could not be bridged at this moment, but for Chen Chao, it did not matter.