Chapter 1941 - Storm Vortex

Even a concealment robe could not completely erase something from the world. Such methods masked a presence and deflected probing divine sense, but true undetectability remained out of reach.

Ghost Pupil laid the Mou Clan's divine steed bare before Liu Wuxie's eyes. He drove the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot into a steeper, faster descent, sending it hurtling downward like a meteor.

"Cloud-Piercing Pike!" Liu Wuxie called.

He unleashed the same attack that had pierced the Skybreaker Wasp, except this time he kept the spear fixed to the chariot. Its furious rotation sent ripples coursing through the reinforced space around it.

The Cloud-Piercing Pike tore through the top of the Mou Clan's vessel without resistance. Immediately behind it, the sword wings swept down, seeking to cleave the construct apart.

"We're in trouble!" Mou Shaochun screamed, ordering everyone to attack the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot at once.

All ten experts deserted their controls and rushed to intercept Liu Wuxie. Their advance failed to shake him; instead, he only accelerated his dive.

As the breach expanded, a violent torrent of air blasted into the vessel. The force caught all ten experts and hurled them back into its depths.

Liu Wuxie's attack unfolded with terrifying speed. In a fraction of an instant, he plunged through the wings of the Mou Clan's divine steed and erupted from its underside. A hole the size of a water vat remained in his wake, and the stricken vessel plummeted toward the earth.

"Get it under control! Steady the divine steed!" Mou Shaochun screamed in panic. Unless they slowed its descent, the impact would shatter the vessel.

The divine steed did not even belong to the Mou Clan. They had rented it at a considerable daily cost, and its destruction would leave them liable for an enormous compensation.

Having pierced the vessel, Liu Wuxie continued onward without delay. He had entered the fight solely to save the Yu Clan, and the Asura Blade fragment remained his true objective.

Those two successive battles had consumed precious time, allowing most of the other divine steeds to pass him. Unless he hurried, his chance to claim the fragment might slip out of reach.

Only a little more than a hundred meters separated the Mou Clan's vessel from the ground when its occupants finally stabilized it and halted its descent. Patching the breach consumed a considerable amount of materials, yet it would still need extensive repairs before they could return it.

The Twin-Winged Battle Chariot soared like an eagle, covering more than a thousand meters in a few bursts of speed and swiftly drawing alongside the third group of competitors.

Farther ahead, the Cloudbreaker Warship's advance suddenly faltered, as though a swamp had caught it in its grip. The Hundred Blossom War Chariot and the Guardian Wings also began struggling behind it.

"The Demon Spirit Quagmire! Keep clear before it pulls you in!" other clans' leaders shouted to their allies.

Divine steeds farther back slowed down, preparing to skirt the quagmire.

"We can't go around it. The Demon Spirit Quagmire stretches too far. We'll have to land and cross on the ground," occupants of the various divine steeds called to one another.

The ground offered dangers of its own. Mud and sand had already swallowed and trapped several divine steeds.

"There's the first obstacle. Now we'll see who clears it first," the spectators observed.

"Who else but the Qilin War Chariot? Look at its size. Besides, Divine Steed Manor built every one of these obstacles. Naturally, they know how to pass them," people commented.

Resentment over the manor's unfair advantage ran through the gathering, but no one could do much about it. The contestants had to concentrate on freeing themselves from the Demon Spirit Quagmire.

Powerful suction hauled the divine steeds farther into the quagmire's grasp. Even the Cloudbreaker Warship labored against that force, although it was already close to escaping.

Women made up the entirety of Hundred Blossom Manor, and their war chariot took the form of a flower. Aside from Liu Wuxie's chariot, it was the only divine steed capable of moving vertically upward and downward.

Breaking free of the quagmire, the Hundred Blossom War Chariot swept past the Cloudbreaker Warship and claimed the lead.

The Guardian Wings beat strenuously and continued gaining height, but their ascent was far slower than the Hundred Blossom War Chariot's.

"Thirteen Cloudbreaker Slashes!" a voice thundered.

At last, the Cloudbreaker Warship brought out one of its trump cards. Sword light ripped through the quagmire in successive streaks, opening a path for the warship to escape.

No such fortune favored the smaller divine steeds. Mired deep within the quagmire, they fought desperately to free themselves.

Liu Wuxie eased his speed and activated Ghost Pupil, locating the Demon Spirit Quagmire only thirty meters ahead. The larger divine steeds suffered less from its influence and simply forced their way through.

Without warning, a powerful force clamped around the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot and wrenched it beyond his control.

"You expect this paltry trick to hold me?" Liu Wuxie murmured.

He traced his hand through the air before inserting ten more immortal stones into the groove. The chariot began changing shape. Its wings folded inward, and its frame assumed the form of a divine beast striding across the sky.

Even the experts inside the Qilin War Chariot stared in astonishment. "Look at that brat's divine steed! It's changing shape!"

Despite its small size, Liu Wuxie's construct could adopt multiple forms. In comparison, their divine steeds appeared rigid, locked into a single configuration with little capacity to adapt.

The sword blades rearranged themselves into a pair of legs. With one leap, Liu Wuxie cleared the Demon Spirit Quagmire, leaving the spectators staring in disbelief.

"What an astonishing movement technique!" the spectators exclaimed.

Liu Wuxie had integrated the Divine Ninefold Step into his chariot, incorporating many of its runes during construction.

The crowd applauded. "That's sheer brilliance!"

They no longer cared whether Liu Wuxie placed high in the tournament. The Twin-Winged Battle Chariot itself had commanded their attention.

That solitary leap carried him straight into the leading group. Countless rivals fell behind him, including the Qilin War Chariot.

"Well, isn't that interesting?" the Feng Clan's elder murmured, stroking his beard. He wanted to understand how Liu Wuxie had managed it. How could a divine steed so small conceal so many transformations?

"He won't make it to the finish line. Even if nothing else happens, he will simply run out of immortal energy," an elder of the Heartless Sect scoffed. "Remember, that was only the first obstacle." Their Sky Soaring Steed had also passed through the Demon Spirit Quagmire with little difficulty.

The early obstacles presented relatively modest challenges, and most divine steeds possessed the means to overcome them. What mattered was the order in which they emerged. Every lost moment chipped away at a contestant's prospect of victory.

The crowd remained divided. Some argued that Liu Wuxie would soon drain his immortal energy and plunge from the sky.

After restoring the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot to its original form, Liu Wuxie resumed a measured pace. He felt certain he could pass the Cloudbreaker Warship, but deliberately restrained himself. Excessive attention would drive the others to join forces against him. He planned to secure victory at the last possible moment.

Once repairs to the Skybreaker Wasp were complete, the Nanmen Clan drove it to its limit. They swiftly crossed the Demon Spirit Quagmire and approached Liu Wuxie from behind. Their only aim was now to settle debts with Liu Wuxie.

Catching up with the Cloudbreaker Warship, the Sky Soaring Steed, or the Hundred Blossom War Chariot was no longer possible, and they knew it. They could only vent their frustration by killing Liu Wuxie.

The same resolve gripped the Mou Clan. Thanks to its enormous size, their divine steed had traversed the Demon Spirit Quagmire without difficulty.

Liu Wuxie continued shifting from side to side, never following a predictable course. Several times, the Nanmen Clan readied an attack, only to discover that his ceaseless movement prevented them from locking onto his chariot.

By the time an incense stick's worth of time had passed, more than fifty divine steeds had left the tournament. The remaining contestants had traveled over three thousand meters, yet more than half the course still awaited them.

A deep hum rolled through the air. Fierce gales struck from both sides and tossed the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot upward, nearly sweeping Liu Wuxie off the Divine Rainbow Road. Crossing its boundary would mean immediate disqualification.

He quickly brought the chariot back under control, his expression growing solemn.

"The storm vortex must be the next obstacle," Liu Wuxie murmured.

At the storm's boundary, the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot hovered in place and advanced no farther.

Every trap Divine Steed Manor had prepared bore especially hard upon smaller, weaker divine steeds. Larger vessels could endure the storm's fury with comparatively little trouble.

The Qilin War Chariot, larger than every other construct, moved forward without obstruction. By contrast, the more modestly sized Cloudbreaker Warship got trapped deep in the vortex, spinning helplessly as it fought to escape.

The Hundred Blossom War Chariot also struggled to recover its balance. Only the Heartless Sect's Sky Soaring Steed fared somewhat better, though even it had yet to discover an escape route.

Before long, the vortex trapped the other clans' divine steeds as well.

Only the Qilin War Chariot maintained an even pace. Many smaller vessels gathered in its wake, using its passage as shelter. Following it offered relative safety, but doing so also meant relinquishing any hope of winning.

Liu Wuxie remained in place and activated Ghost Pupil, peering deep into the storm. His brows furrowed as he studied what lay within.

"This will take a little effort to cross," Liu Wuxie muttered. He expected some difficulty, but the storm vortex remained well within his capacity to handle.

The Twin-Winged Battle Chariot suddenly shot forward and plunged toward the eye of the vortex, shocking the spectators. Just as they had begun appreciating what his chariot could accomplish, Liu Wuxie confounded them with this reckless maneuver.

"Is he out of his mind? Everyone else is trying to stay clear of the vortex, and he goes straight into it! He's throwing away his life," people exclaimed.

They couldn't trust their eyes. After all, those violent forces could tear his chariot apart with ease.

"Perhaps not. Haven't you heard that the eye of a storm is the safest place?" an elder asked with a smile, plainly impressed by Liu Wuxie's courage.

Reaching that refuge, however, presented an entirely different challenge. One slight mistake could tear Liu Wuxie to pieces.

The sword wings closed around the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot. Liu Wuxie crouched deep within it, sheltering himself from the storm.

Violent rattling shook the chariot as it penetrated the vortex. At any moment, the entire construct threatened to break apart.

The contestants aboard the nearby divine steeds stared in bewilderment as Liu Wuxie persisted with his seemingly suicidal advance.

Only two seconds had passed before he forced his way through the raging winds and reached the stillness at the storm's center.