Eternal Life Starts from Tai Chi

Chapter 373: One Step Away, Plotted Against Again

The Black Dragon was somewhat surprised to see Yang Chan unleash his Sword Momentum.

In the era when it had roamed freely, someone of Yang Chan’s age who had grasped Sword Intent would have been considered promising and worthy of nurturing. But to grasp Sword Momentum was far more difficult; that was the mark of a true genius.

Of course, a genius had to grow into their potential to be truly valuable.

"I’ve truly never seen anyone like you before."

"You have power, yet you’re a complete coward. You’re just like a turtle hiding in its shell!"

As the Black Dragon spoke, it let out a wild laugh.

It no longer had as many restrictions and could unleash a small portion of its power. While it couldn’t be sustained, it was enough to control the situation. That was all it needed.

"Hmph!"

Yang Chan snorted coldly and stepped directly toward the Void Passage.

The passage had opened after he touched the Taiyin Order. It was only a single step away; one more stride and he’d be inside.

’The Black Dragon’s power is too unpredictable. I should just leave.’ He decided to depart immediately. Although he might be taking a hidden danger back with him, he couldn’t worry about that now.

If he stayed, he would very likely die here. Entering the Void Passage, on the other hand, offered more possibilities.

"A fine idea."

"The Void Passage of Taiyin Heaven closes as soon as the master of the Taiyin Order leaves."

"But can you actually get out?"

The Black Dragon sneered, controlling the Profound Yin Hanging Bead to fly in front of Yang Chan. Instantly, Yang Chan was frozen in place.

He couldn’t take that final step.

It was clearly just one step, yet it felt as distant as the ends of the earth.

"Brat, I just told you. I could crush countless ants like you with a single stomp."

"That’s true even when I’m just a Soul Body under numerous restrictions."

The Black Dragon’s arrogant voice rang out. Thinking of Yang Chan’s previous actions, it wanted nothing more than to kill him. However, it still needed to use Yang Chan’s aura to leave this special space, so it refrained from a fatal blow.

But at this moment, Yang Chan’s body began to twist under its control.

Yang Chan could clearly feel a Spiritual Power enveloping him, forcibly distorting his body. The power was immense.

Even with his Cultivation at the stage of Inner Refining of the Lungs and Spleens, his body tempered multiple times into Copper Skin, Steel Bones, and Iron Flesh, he was utterly powerless to resist.

He couldn’t fight back using the Power of Sword Intent at all. Only by using the power of his Sword Momentum could he manage to move one hand.

The Black Dragon currently had the upper hand and seemed intent on torturing Yang Chan for a while to vent its hatred.

Yang Chan’s earlier Demon Suppressing Sword Intent had cost its Soul Body over a hundred years of Lifespan. When its Lifespan was long, it wouldn’t have cared, as it had ways to replenish it. But now that its Lifespan was short, every bit was precious.

This was especially true after learning from Yang Chan about the current state of the Taiyu Divine Continent, where longevity-granting substances were much rarer. It didn’t know how much effort it would take to recover, and it blamed all of this on the man before it.

Furthermore, it had been threatened by Yang Chan, which had utterly shattered its pride. Naturally, it had to reclaim that pride from him now.

"Brat, it’s time for you to suffer a little. Once I leave this space, I’ll send you on your way for good."

"Aren’t you so cautious? So cowardly? Then you can just die a coward’s death!"

The Black Dragon grew more and more delighted as it watched the pained expression on Yang Chan’s face. If it weren’t in a hurry to leave, it would have wanted to prolong the torture.

But there was no real rush. It could continue the torment after it escaped.

The Black Dragon controlled the Profound Yin Hanging Bead to move closer to Yang Chan, heading toward the Void Passage.

"Hah!"

"Die for me!"

Seeing the Profound Yin Hanging Bead approach, Yang Chan unleashed the Sword Momentum he had been concealing. He had been building up this power for so long, waiting for the moment the Black Dragon got close to strike.

"Just that little bit of Sword Momentum? What’s the use of—wait, what are you...?"

The Black Dragon looked at Yang Chan with disdain. The burst of Sword Momentum was nothing to it.

It was no longer in the state of being restrained by the tower’s chains. Although its power couldn’t last long, it was more than enough to deal with the current Yang Chan.

But then, it suddenly realized something was wrong.

Yang Chan wasn’t using the Sword Momentum against it.

The real move involved the Taiyin Order clutched in Yang Chan’s hand.

As the Taiyin Order drew near, the power within the Profound Yin Hanging Bead once again connected with it, and the bead’s power began to flow into the Taiyin Order.

After the Taiyin Order had opened the Void Passage, the power it had accumulated was no longer full, so it began to absorb the power from the Profound Yin Hanging Bead.

The Profound Yin Hanging Bead and the Taiyin Order were linked, their powers mutually attractive. The Black Dragon tried to control the bead and pull away, but it couldn’t break free. The force connecting the two artifacts was stronger than the Black Dragon’s current power; they weren’t on the same Level at all.

"No! Profound Celestial, you son of a bitch, you tricked me again...!"

The Black Dragon felt its power being forcibly drained by the Profound Yin Hanging Bead and reacted instantly, letting out a curse.

It was hiding within the Profound Yin Hanging Bead, so when the Taiyin Order first started absorbing power, it hadn’t been affected.

But now things were different. The Profound Yin Hanging Bead’s own power was insufficient, and since the Black Dragon was still inside it, the Taiyin Order began to forcibly draw power directly from it.

It wanted to resist but was powerless. The Secret Technique it used had temporarily trapped it inside the Profound Yin Hanging Bead. At the same time, it sensed that now that the bead had become whole, another force within it was preventing its escape.

Even if it wanted to pay another price to break free, it was impossible.

This led the Black Dragon to guess that the Profound Celestial Divine Monarch must have anticipated this, which was why he had set a trap within the Profound Yin Mala. Before the Profound Yin Hanging Bead was whole, the dragon naturally couldn’t detect the trick. And now that the bead was complete, any attempt to escape would be restricted by the bead itself.

After several failed attempts to escape, it knew this must be a measure left behind by the Profound Celestial Divine Monarch, specifically to prevent it from fleeing.

It was even likely a deliberate measure left for it, in case it ever broke free from the tower’s chains. The goal was to turn it into the Artifact Spirit of the Profound Yin Hanging Bead, completely cutting off all other possibilities.

Realizing all this, the Black Dragon was filled with fury and indignation.

It had been just one step away from freedom, but even that step had been forcibly engineered into a trap. Then, the Black Dragon’s Soul Body was violently sucked into the Profound Yin Hanging Bead and vanished.

Watching this, Yang Chan let out a sigh of relief. Even as just a Soul Body, the Black Dragon’s power was not something he could match.

He glanced at the Profound Yin Hanging Bead, which was now fused with the Taiyin Order. After a moment of thought, he took out his Flying Claw, wanting to pull the two apart.

’I can’t leave with this Profound Yin Hanging Bead. The Black Dragon Soul Body inside could become a ticking time bomb at any moment. It’s better to leave it here to its fate.’

Besides, judging from the Black Dragon’s curses, this whole affair involved the schemes of that Profound Celestial Divine Monarch. In front of an expert of that Level, he was just a Little Kalami; it was best not to get involved.

But to Yang Chan’s surprise, he couldn’t pull them apart at all, as if they were held together by a force of millions of pounds.

"BANG!"

The Flying Claw snapped, but the two artifacts remained stuck together.

He thought about dropping the Taiyin Order, but then he remembered that it had opened the passage. He didn’t know if letting it go would be dangerous. Furthermore, if he was transported to another space again, he wouldn’t have another chance to leave without the Taiyin Order.

Yet, waiting longer could lead to new complications.

After some thought, with his gloved hands, he gripped the Taiyin Order with one and the Profound Yin Hanging Bead with the other, and pulled with all his might.

"Wait, inside this..."

The moment Yang Chan’s hand touched the Profound Yin Hanging Bead, he felt something was wrong. A stream of power was flowing from the bead into his body.

It was a strange power that rampaged through his body, causing him immense discomfort.

Even his body, which had undergone repeated Tempering, couldn’t withstand it.

’Sword Momentum, Flood Dragon Demon Martial Seal, Flood Dragon Demon Force...’

Yang Chan felt a searing pain. His brow furrowed as he immediately called upon the powers within him to fight against the invading force.

But the difference between the two forces was like night and day. The foreign power shot directly toward the top of his head, making Yang Chan panic. He had a very bad feeling about this.

The head was a vital part of the human body, even more important than the Five Viscera and Six Viscera. It was also much weaker, as it hadn’t undergone much Tempering.

Back then, he had used Potential Points for the Tempering of his skull bones. Otherwise, Tempering his skull alone would have taken a very long time.

Now, this unknown power was rushing straight for his brain, naturally filling him with panic.

His body had strong regenerative abilities, but he wasn’t confident he could fully recover from an injury to his head.

Damage to any of the organs inside the head would be extremely serious, possibly even difficult to heal or irreversible.

But all of Yang Chan’s efforts were useless against this mighty force. In the blink of an eye, it rushed to the spot between his eyebrows, gathered an immense power, and erupted.

Yang Chan felt a swelling pressure between his eyebrows as a continuous stream of power poured in, causing him unbearable, excruciating pain.

It was as if someone were hammering his skull, repeatedly stabbing his mind with needles, and pounding on his body all at once.

The pain started at the crown of his head and spread throughout his entire body, like a single pull that moved everything.

’I was too impulsive.’ Yang Chan thought. ’I should have waited a little longer. After the Profound Yin Hanging Bead and the Taiyin Order separated on their own, I could have just left with the Taiyin Order.’

A long delay with potential complications was still better than an unknown danger.

He had been influenced by the Black Dragon’s presence, afraid that it might have left some power behind on the top floor of the tower that would rush down after sensing something was wrong here.

The Black Dragon he had seen was very small, just a part of its Soul Body. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that it had other powers.

These old monsters had countless tricks up their sleeves. Who knew what other hidden schemes they had? Just like now, he had fallen right into a trap.

It was with this thought in mind that he had made his attempt, only to discover it was just another massive pitfall.