Chapter 227: A Single Crippling Blow
Jingyunzi felt a chill running down his spine right away.
He was simply too familiar with what kind of a monster Count Dracula was.
“Monster” was indeed an apt term for describing the Count, for he was not even a human, to begin with.
If it had not been for that cultivation force led by the clan back then, the entire world of cultivation of Huaxia would probably be in ruins now.
Jingyunzi knew all too well how the Vampiric Empire, which had been fighting a losing battle against the church and fled to America, dealt a crippling blow to the native cultivation forces of the continent in the first place.
There had been no way the Spanish Conquistadors, which numbered little more than 100, were able to topple an entire Incan Empire.
What happened was not actually as simple as how it had been told in history books.
The Incan cultivators were flayed and taken apart by their vampire captors, who then proceeded to make power items out of their skulls. It was a brazen act like no other.
The feud between the Count and the WuTang Clan was also not something that could be clearly illustrated with just a few sentences either.
It was Jingyunzi’s master who dealt a blow so heavy to the Count that he had to fall into a deep sleep for nearly a century, after all.
“I didn’t expect you to know me, puny Taoist priest. It seems like you’re one of the survivors from that battle then.” The Count smirked coldly as he answered. Extreme coldness filled his eyes when he said that.
Jingyunzi locked his gaze at the Count and continued, “So you think you can throw your weight around on Huaxian soil then? Well, you might as well have signed your death warrant.”
The Count then burst into laughter. “You think you Huaxians, in your current state, can take me on? You people have been in decline for so long to realize that you people are no longer the center of cultivation in the entire world.
“Since you’re one of those survivors from that battle, puny priest, I guess I’d take a look at how much you’ve grown throughout the years,” the Count smirked coldly and said. His expression was one of extremely cruelty.
At the very next moment, the Count flicked one of his fingers, sending a beam of blood-colored energy from above, heading straight for Jingyunzi.
Jingyunzi stepped out in response, unsheathing the rustic sword he wore on his back. His Spiritual Qi was cranked to its fullest, and his full head of silver hair billowed. Massive bursts of power emanated from his being.
He, too, had reached Invincible Vajra Level and had been at the level for a very long time.
One could even say that he was steps away from breaking into Celestial Realm.
It was a pity that back when he trained all those years ago, the world no longer allowed anyone to break into the Celestial Realm anymore.
Things were not like how they had been with the founding master back then. Back when the founding master achieved ultimate mastery, it had not been long since Liu Bowen severed the dragon’s vein. There were still some cultivators who were able to make a breakthrough into Celestial Realm due to having unparalleled talents and dedicated hard work over very long periods of time.
The shackle of the world was hardly considered powerful back then.
By the time Jingyunzi walked the path of cultivation, the limit the world placed on all cultivators was as solid as it could be.
Despite being a step away from making such a breakthrough, he was still unable to make the breakthrough.
But then again, at such a level, some might actually have powers rivaling those at Celestial Realm.
If spirit qi were to be restored to the world further, breaking through into Celestial Realm would have been a certainty in his case.
As such, he had been spending much of his time prior in isolation, just so to prepare himself for the eventual breakthrough.
He only emerged after sensing terrifying aura emanating from the Count and the vampire invaders.
The sword on his back was unsheathed, and he quickly conjured a terrifying sword aura attack.
The sword aura blasted right onto the blood-colored beam.
Booom!
The explosion felt like one resulting from two missiles crashing into each other, bringing about a staggering shockwave.
Jingyunzi was blasted several steps away. He quickly recomposed himself.
Many disciples of the clan were unable to help but gasp at the scene.
Jingyunzi was one of the few senior disciples who survived that battle in North Korea all those years ago.
His powers had gotten to levels so frightening that he was considered a walking terror in the clan.
His reserves and experience were massive. Despite being an Invincible Vajra himself, his actual powers were far above those of the usual Invincible Vajras.
Yet, that full-powered attack of his was actually repelled by the Count, who had only used one finger.
He felt his hands trembling slightly, and the shock almost made him puke blood.
The Count’s powers were indeed every bit as terrifying as he remembered them to be, far more terrifying than that of his own.
However, backing down was not an option for him, as it was the WuTang Clan that was right behind him.
If he were to lose the fight, there was probably no one else among the disciples capable of stopping the Count.
“Hah! Come on!” Jingyunzi roared and took a huge leap.
At that moment, one of the vampires was no longer able to contain themselves, charging out to meet Jingyunzi.
That vampire was also at Invincible Vajra Level, and their powers were extremely frightening.
The power of that vampire was so fearsome that one could even smell the stench of blood after they opened their mouth.
“You’re dead!”
Jingyunzi struck without any hesitation. His sword went right through that incoming vampire.
“Arrrgghh!”
That vampire shrieked in terror, and their body began to crumble under the pull of some inexplicable forces. They eventually were reduced to wisps of flames, then disappeared without a trace.
That was an additional ability imbued in Jingyunzi’s sword.
The WuTang Clan’s cultivators might have been of Taoist heritage, but their knowledge regarding ways of taking out dark creatures was every bit on par with that of Buddhists’.
One could even say that the vampire was really unlucky enough to meet their bane, being completely killed off by a single attack.
Jingyunzi panted hard. While that thrust did not seem to be something extraordinary, it had actually exhausted most of his energy.
He was of advanced age and was not an immortal like the Count was.
Such intense battles were more than enough to drain him severely.
Killing that vampire might have looked easy, but it had actually been very, very hard on him.
Seeing just how many vampires there were still behind the Count, the disciples were on the edge of falling into despair.
However, after seeing how formidable Jingyunzi was by how he ferociously brought down that vampire, killing one that was an Invincible Vajra Level, the morale among the clan’s cultivators spiked.
“Hmph. I didn’t expect a damned remnant like you would not only live this long but had actually managed to get this far in cultivation as well.” The Count’s expression remained ice-cold, and there was hardly any change to his expression. He looked completely unfazed by what happened. “If the world changes even further, you might actually get to Celestial Realm. Speaking of Celestial Realm, I remember that old fart being at that level as well. Hehe, but I guess you’re out of luck now.”
The Count shouted and pointed his finger again, bring about a crimson beam that was far thicker than the previous one at Jingyunzi.
Pfftt!
Jingyunzi roared and swept his sword again.
However, that attack did not manage to break that crimson beam, and the sword was sent flying by the shock of that attack instead.
The beam then punched through his left shoulder.
He was sent flying right away. Blood spilled all over the floor shortly after.
He was severely injured by just a single move. If it had not been for his quick reflexes enabling him to evade that fatal hit in time, he most probably would have been killed.
Despite what just happened, the disciples of the clan present remained dead silent.
…