Chapter 795:

Swoosh. Zoom. Slash!

Another blade wave struck Zyn’s chest and sent scales flying.

The wyvern roared furiously and retaliated by smashing its claw downward. The entire chamber shook as the attack landed. Huge cracks spread across the stone floor.

Yet Arkaal had already disappeared from the spot.

He reappeared near Zyn’s neck and swung his blade again.

Clang!

This time, the attack bounced off Zyn’s thick draconic scales. Arkaal’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Your body is troublesome," he admitted.

Zyn immediately turned its head and unleashed concentrated poison breath at point-blank range.

Boom!

Green flames exploded throughout the chamber.

However, before the poison flames could engulf him completely, Arkaal crushed a dark green vial in his hand. A strange liquid spread around his body and neutralized most of the poison instantly.

Aksai noticed this and frowned slightly.

’As expected,’ he thought. ’Poison attacks are not very effective against him.’

Arkaal had spent centuries dealing with poisonous beasts and poison cultivation. His preparations were absurdly thorough.

The old man waved his sleeve and several black alchemy bombs shot outward.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The bombs exploded against Zyn’s body and released clouds of corrosive smoke. The wyvern growled in irritation as parts of its scales started smoking faintly.

Even so, the damage remained limited.

Zyn’s greatest strength was still its body.

Its thick draconic hide and powerful physique allowed it to endure attacks that ordinary demon beasts could never survive.

Arkaal clearly understood this too.

’I can’t drag this out forever,’ the old man thought while dodging another tail strike. ’This beast is green and inexperienced, but its raw power is real. If I waste too much Spirit essence here, that brat may find an opportunity.’

His gaze briefly shifted toward Aksai’s barrier in the distance. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Aksai immediately pretended to focus entirely on maintaining the formation around himself. Inside, however, his thoughts were moving rapidly.

’Arkaal is testing Zyn while looking for an opening to target me directly,’ he concluded.

’He thinks killing me ends everything, which would have been true if it was any ordinary beat taming method. He doesn’t know that the beast is loyal to me till my death and beyond. Then again, I gain nothing from letting him know that. Might as well let him think what he is thinking to keep him a bit distracted in the battle.’

The barrier gave him temporary safety, but he knew it would not last forever against a late-stage Lord.

Crack.

One corner of the barrier suddenly trembled after getting hit by a stray wave of sword energy.

Aksai calmly attached another talisman to stabilize it.

’Not good enough,’ he thought. ’I just need a bit more time.’

The battle intensified again.

Zyn opened its jaws wide and unleashed a massive torrent of poison flames that flooded almost half the chamber. The attack forced even Arkaal to retreat temporarily.

The old man’s expression darkened slightly as he landed on a stone pillar.

"You filthy beast. It seems you are as full of yourself as your master," he muttered coldly.

The next moment, bloody mist started spreading from his body.

Behind him, the phantom image of the three-headed bloodmist serpent appeared once again.

The illusory serpent hissed viciously as poisonous pressure filled the chamber.

Even Zyn became cautious after sensing it. Aksai’s eyes narrowed from behind the barrier. He could tell that Arkaal was finally starting to get serious.

’Alright. This is as far as I can stretch.’

Inside the protective barrier, Aksai slowly exhaled.

The chaotic energy inside his body had finally calmed down somewhat. The backlash from using the Druid’s Curse on the Poison Gu King was still there, lingering deep within his body like hidden cracks. However, thanks to the time Zyn had bought for him, his condition was no longer unstable.

One had to note that using the Druid’s Curse on Qishan had affected Aksai’s all three centres of power. The gap between them was just too big to be dealt by his Spirit Core and Spirit meridians alone. It could be also said that Aksai was the only druid who could use such a move on his enemies without losing consciousness for months on end as a repercussion.

Thanks to the timeout, his Aurous Qi had settled down.

The Spirit Essence flowing through his meridians had returned to normal circulation.

Even the Aether Essence inside his Mind Palace had recovered enough for him to use his abilities properly again.

He was still far from his peak condition, but at least he no longer felt like his body would collapse from using a few Spirit spells.

Another violent explosion echoed through the chamber.

Boom!

The entire cave shook as Zyn smashed its tail against the stone floor while trying to crush Arkaal.

Aksai raised his eyes calmly and observed the battle.

’Good enough,’ he thought to himself.

Without wasting any more time, he closed his eyes briefly and connected his consciousness to his Mind Palace.

In the next moment, a faint ripple spread around him.

A beautiful jade-green flute appeared in his hand.

Bansi.

His Soul Artifact.

The moment the flute appeared, the atmosphere around Aksai changed subtly. Gentle green light flowed around the instrument like mist. The carvings on its surface glowed faintly as if the flute itself was alive.

Aksai lightly held the flute near his lips.

Then he started playing.

A soft melody spread through the chamber.

At first, the sound was calm and slow. It almost sounded harmless amidst the violent battle between Zyn and Arkaal.

However, Arkaal’s expression changed almost immediately.

His movements slowed for a brief moment.

The old man frowned.

"What is this?"

Melody of Daze.

The sound of the flute quietly slipped into Arkaal’s senses like invisible threads. His focus started becoming sluggish. His thoughts became slightly slower than before.

Even though the effect was weak against someone of Arkaal’s realm, it was enough to disturb his rhythm during battle.

Zyn immediately noticed the opening.

Roar!

The wyvern lunged forward and slammed its claw toward Arkaal.

Boom!

Arkaal barely dodged in time, but the attack still clipped his shoulder and sent him crashing into a stone wall.

The old man quickly regained his balance and looked toward Aksai with cold eyes.

"You fuck*ing coward. Instead of using cheap tricks, face me yourself if you dare."

But before he could fully recover, the tune changed.

The sound of the flute became sharper.

A strange uneasiness suddenly appeared in Arkaal’s chest.

Melody of Panic.

For a brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through Arkaal’s mind.

Danger.

Death.

Failure.

The feeling was faint, but it still affected him enough to make his heartbeat lose rhythm.

His eyes instinctively darted around the chamber.

At the same time, the ground beneath him started shaking.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Thick green vines suddenly burst out from the broken stone floor.

Melody of Green Growth.

The vines moved like living snakes as they rushed toward Arkaal from every direction. Some wrapped around his legs while others attacked his arms and weapon.

"Hmph!"

Arkaal snorted coldly and released sharp waves of sword energy.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

The vines were shredded apart instantly.

However, more vines kept emerging from the ground endlessly, forcing him to stay occupied.

Aksai continued playing the flute without stopping.

The melodies flowed one after another seamlessly.

His fingers moved calmly across the flute while his Soul Artifact released wave after wave of strange soul energy.

Arkaal’s expression gradually became uglier.

He had expected Aksai to be troublesome.

But he had not expected him to possess such bizarre abilities.

These melodies were not directly powerful, yet they constantly interfered with his concentration and battle rhythm.

And against a powerful beast like Zyn, even a small mistake could become fatal.

Roar!

Zyn opened its jaws and unleashed another torrent of poison flames.

This time, Arkaal was slightly slower in dodging.

The edge of the attack brushed past his arm and melted part of his sleeve instantly.

His face darkened further.

Then the melody changed once more.

This tune was softer.

Gentler.

Almost peaceful.

Melody of Sweet Slumber.

The moment the sound entered his ears, Arkaal suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion washing over him.

His eyelids became heavy for a split second.

His concentration loosened again.

"What kind of cursed flute is this?" he growled angrily while biting his tongue to stay alert.

At the same time, another melody quietly spread toward Zyn.

Unlike the previous tunes, this one carried warm and soothing energy.

Melody of Healing.

Soft green light wrapped around the wyvern’s massive body.

The cuts left behind by Arkaal’s sword energy slowly started closing. Even Zyn’s exhausted breathing became steadier.

The wyvern roared loudly after sensing its strength returning.

Meanwhile, Aksai remained seated calmly behind the barrier while continuing to play Bansi.

His expression stayed neutral.

But inside, his mind remained fully focused.

’Good,’ he thought while watching Arkaal get slowly overwhelmed. ’Now let’s see how long you can keep this up, old monster. It’s a battle of endurance now.’