Chapter Eighty-Five: The Black-and-White Twin Fish Three Years Later

I prepared for battle. Holding the Spear of Heavenly Hymn, I thrust straight at him. He dodged aside and slapped toward me, but I forcibly twisted my body and swept the spear across him. He retreated in haste, and I seized the opening to press forward again, driving the spear upward in a rising thrust. But that strike was only a feint; the true attack came from my foot. Sure enough, he fell for it. His attention had been fixed entirely on the spear in my hand, and I sent a kick into him, driving him back again and again.

He steadied himself, one hand braced on the chair behind him, and said, "What kind of weapon is that?"

I carried the Spear of Heavenly Hymn behind my back and replied coldly, "A weapon that will take your life."

As my words fell, I moved my mind, and the black-and-white twin fish flew out. The black fish was fiercer than the white, and after sensing the malicious aura on Gu Chengguang, it became wildly agitated. Before I could even give an order, it shot forward on its own, opening its dark mouth to swallow him whole. Gu Chengguang frowned and struck out with a surge of evil energy, but the black fish showed no fear and gulped the force down in a single bite. Gu Chengguang’s brows tightened as he looked at me in disbelief. But before he could think further, the black fish charged straight at him. His expression changed again, and he drew a small white skull from his pocket. Before he could make his next move, the black fish slammed into him and sent him flying backward, crashing to the floor behind him.

Gu Chengguang quickly got back to his feet. That blow had done him considerable damage. Clutching his chest, he said to me, "Boy, this place is too small. If you’ve got the guts, come outside and fight me one on one."

Without waiting for my reply, he flashed away and leapt out through the window. I rushed to it at once and looked down. Gu Chengguang landed neatly on the ground and ran toward the more open area of the complex. I was startled. That was the fourth floor. But I did not hesitate for long. Just as I was about to climb out and jump, my master suddenly grabbed me and said, "Boy, don’t be reckless. He’s deliberately luring you out."

I stopped and said to my master, "Master, don’t worry. I’m sure of myself."

Before he could answer, I sprang into the air. The black-and-white twin fish flew beneath my feet and carried me safely to the ground. I glanced toward the direction Gu Chengguang had fled and gave chase. He stopped and turned to look back at me. I leapt forward, and the twin fish gave a push beneath my feet, sending me straight toward him. I thrust the spear at him.

Gu Chengguang clapped both palms together, crushing the small white skull into powder and scattering it to the ground. In a swish of motion, one gray skeleton warrior after another appeared before me, brandishing evil blades and slashing toward me. I raised the Spear of Heavenly Hymn to block, landed on the ground, then swung with all my strength, shattering four or five of them on the spot into evil energy. Yet the skeleton warriors kept rushing at me in endless waves. Frowning, I looked past them toward the rear, where Gu Chengguang seemed to be controlling something. I knew this could not drag on. After smashing the warriors before me, I invoked the Heavenly Pattern and vanished from where I stood. Deprived of their target, the skeleton warriors stopped moving and stood motionless like wooden figures.

Gu Chengguang gave a soft exclamation and looked around. Realizing something, he turned the evil artifact in his hand, and all the skeleton warriors around him moved again, heading toward him. I concealed myself within the golden power of the Heavenly Pattern, watching Gu Chengguang and understanding his intentions as well. Waiting for the right moment, I appeared directly behind him. The twin fish flew out and caught him off guard. He whirled around at once, formed hand seals, and shouted, "Phantom Evil Formation, arise!"

As his voice fell, the sky suddenly roiled with wind and cloud. Standing opposite him, I watched the surrounding space slowly condense into a semicircular magical array. I had seen this array three years ago, and had nearly fallen to it then. But now, facing the Phantom Formation once more, I was no longer as uneasy. Instead, I looked at Gu Chengguang with disdain and said, "Gu Chengguang, are you still using a stale trick from three years ago?"

Gu Chengguang stared at me and said, "Whether it is stale is not for you to decide. I’d like to see how far your abilities have really come."

As soon as he spoke, I slowly frowned. Not because of his words, but because I could sense a strange and sinister force quietly flowing all around us. My first instinct told me that this Phantom Formation was no longer the same one from three years ago.

Sure enough, before I could think further about my next move, Gu Chengguang let out a thunderous roar. From within the formation came a terrifying shriek. I tightened my expression and prepared to fight, only to see endless ranks of armored skeleton soldiers, each wielding evil blades, surging toward me from every side of the Phantom Formation. I was shocked. There were simply too many of them.

"Heh-heh, boy, let’s see how you fare against me now."

Gu Chengguang stood in the rear. Soon, four or five skeleton warriors raised their evil blades and flew toward me. I swept my spear and scattered them, but behind me came several more piercing cries. The black fish reacted swiftly, opening its huge mouth to swallow the skeleton warriors attacking from behind. The white fish refused to be outdone; it burst with white radiance and held the warriors near the edge of the formation in place.

My master stood by the window, his brows knotted and fists clenched tightly, murmuring under his breath, "Is this boy still holding back?"

Yuwen Zhou stood beside him. Even though he had witnessed my abilities before, seeing me face such countless skeletons made him anxious and worried. He asked my master, "Uncle Tan, why don’t you go help Lin Xuan? Can he handle this alone?"

Captain Liu was already speechless. What lay before his eyes had surpassed all imagination. My master kept watching me at the center of the battlefield and said to Yuwen Zhou, "I believe in him."

Hearing that, Yuwen Zhou had nothing more to say. He could only stand at the window and watch me in helpless anxiety.

I gripped the Spear of Heavenly Hymn and fought the skeleton warriors all around me. Though the white fish had restrained a portion of them, they were like a flood. Under Gu Chengguang’s control, they broke free of the white fish’s restraint and rushed at me with shrill cries. More and more of them came. I gradually began to feel weary. After summoning the twin fish back, I raised my right arm. The black fish radiated black light, the white fish radiated white light, and the two streams of brilliance, together with the twin fish, slowly spun and merged, forming a black-and-white taiji diagram. Yet the center of the diagram was hollow.

After once again smashing the skeleton warriors around me, I yanked the Sun-Moon Jade from around my neck and, releasing my grip, sent it flying. It seemed to sense the taiji diagram formed by the twin fish and shot straight into the center of it. The two merged once more and erupted in an immensely powerful blaze. I hurriedly closed my eyes. My master and the others did the same, yet we could still hear cries of anguish coming from all around, and I could feel the threat surrounding me growing weaker and weaker.

After a moment, the light dimmed somewhat. I opened my eyes and looked ahead. What I saw stunned me beyond measure. Every skeleton warrior had frozen in place, locked into a single motion, and then shattered directly into a mass of evil energy. Gu Chengguang had also been caught in the radiance and coughed up blood, again clutching his chest as he stared at me in disbelief. The twin fish and the Sun-Moon Jade, after combining into the taiji diagram this time, had shown tremendous power, but they also appeared somewhat weakened. The Sun-Moon Jade dropped to the ground with a soft clatter. I hurried over and picked it up. The twin fish returned to my right arm as well, flickering faintly as if exhausted.

But the one who was exhausted was not only the twin fish; their master was too, namely me. After all, because they recognized me as their master, the strain was being borne by my own body as well. Panting heavily, I put the Sun-Moon Jade back around my neck, planted the Spear of Heavenly Hymn into the ground, and steadied myself with one hand on it as I looked at Gu Chengguang.

Blood seeped from the corner of Gu Chengguang’s mouth, yet he kept staring at me. The two of us simply looked at each other without speaking, because both of us had already expended too much strength and were now utterly weakened. After a moment to recover my breath, I slowly straightened and said to Gu Chengguang, "Gu Chengguang, you won’t escape today. I advise you to surrender. If I废掉 your cultivation, I can spare your life."

Gu Chengguang gave a miserable laugh and coughed. The power of the taiji diagram formed by the twin fish had clearly done him considerable harm. He stared at me coldly and answered, "Brat, where does your confidence come from? From Tan Boqing? Or do you truly think you are so formidable?"

I shook my head and said, "I said it before: this is between you and me. It has nothing to do with anyone else. You don’t need to drag others into it. Since you refuse to surrender, then don’t blame me for showing no mercy!"

When Gu Chengguang heard my final words, his expression changed slightly, though there was still not much surprise on his face. Instead, he gave a mocking smile. I no longer wished to waste words with him. The Heavenly Pattern in my palm flew out at once, and streams of golden runes circled around us in a ring, enclosing both of us within it. Gu Chengguang’s face changed drastically as he muttered to himself, "How is this possible? What kind of spell is this? Why does it carry the scent of ancient power? Could it be that this boy really wasn’t fighting with full strength just now? Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"

His face was ashen now, his breathing growing heavier and heavier, clearly as though the force of the Heavenly Pattern all around him was pressing him to the point of breathlessness. I watched him expressionlessly, the Heavenly Pattern swirling by my side. At that moment, I struck out. With a thunderous shout, every rune of the Heavenly Pattern fused together, forming a colossal golden talisman that hung high in the air. Its patterns were exceedingly intricate, so much so that even with my current strength I could not fully decipher them. I murmured an incantation under my breath, and one by one the golden runes flew down from the sky, smashing toward the spot where Gu Chengguang stood.