Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1330 - 1330 0759 Play for Keeps_2

Chapter 1330: Chapter 0759: Play for Keeps_2 Chapter 1330: Chapter 0759: Play for Keeps_2 Zhao Deyi did not know these things, and he still thought his strategy had worked. Holding the Banana Fan, he kept waving it frantically toward Qi Tian’s direction, fan after fan, with no intention of stopping.

Qi Tian let Zhao Deyi wave the Banana Fan, standing firm like a boulder amidst violent wind and waves, refusing to yield even an inch.

Zhao Deyi had waved dozens of times, and upon realizing that he could not do anything to Qi Tian, his face turned very ugly. Waving the Banana Fan was not something that could be done casually; in fact, every wave required a significant cost, consuming his internal magic power with each motion. After dozens of continuous waves, he had depleted at least half of his magic power, yet besides dispersing the dense fog around Qi Tian, it seemed to have no other effect.

Zhao Deyi could only put away the Banana Fan and refocused on the flying swords. Now, with the dense fog no longer obstructing, he no longer needed to rely on intuition for judgment—he could see everything clearly with his eyes. Under his command, the flying swords became agile again, thrusting towards Qi Tian.

With the obstruction of the fog gone, the flying swords moved faster, their angles more tricky and their attacks more lethal. Qi Tian dodged two successive strikes, each more dangerous than the last.

As a Nascent Soul Master, Zhao Deyi’s vision and insight had improved considerably with his cultivation level, and the commands he issued were subtly adjusted with Qi Tian’s movements. Each minor adjustment was just right, pushing Qi Tian closer to the path of death. A few more such adjustments, and Qi Tian would surely be injured.

Qi Tian faced unprecedented danger. During the attacks from the flying swords, he had already moved the Transporting Whirlwind in front, or charged forward to meet the swords, but each time it was unsuccessful. Even when he used mature tactics that had been validated in the Saint’s Tomb, arranging the Transporting Whirlwind into a net, the outcome was still disappointing.

Although the dense fog no longer blocked Zhao Deyi’s vision, allowing him to see both the flying swords and Qi Tian clearly, Zhao Deyi did not solely rely on his vision for commanding. His intuition still played an irreplaceable, even dominant, role. Although he couldn’t see the Transporting Whirlwind, when Zhao Deyi directed the flying swords’ attack paths, he could almost perfectly avoid the locations of the Transporting Whirlwinds, not even grazing them, let alone having a direct collision.

Such a battle was something Qi Tian had not anticipated. He had never encountered someone like Zhao Deyi, who seemed born for the battlefield, always able to sense where danger lay, always aware of where an attack might face tough resistance, then adjusting his troops and choosing the optimal attack path accordingly. Fighting with such a person was exhausting.

Qi Tian couldn’t admit defeat. Although the battle was extremely dangerous, it also significantly honed his skills. If he could emerge victorious from such a fight, his resolve to win would be greatly tempered, and his mindset could grow substantially—the benefits were self-evident. Of course, all of this was predicated on him being able to defeat Zhao Deyi. The main reason Qi Tian maintained his confidence and refused to admit defeat was that he still held numerous aces up his sleeve. He refused to believe that, once he revealed all these aces, Zhao Deyi could still defeat him.

Qi Tian calculated rapidly. The battle between him and Zhao Deyi was not fair. Zhao Deyi had received recognition and support from the heavens and earth, and Qi Tian did not know how many treasures had been bestowed upon him. Under such circumstances, formulating countermeasures against Zhao Deyi’s conditions was extremely difficult. Qi Tian had considered using the Heavenly Dao Engine’s sensing ability for Spirit Qi to probe Zhao Deyi, but Zhao Deyi was very cunning. His intuition was terrifying, and he stood just outside the maximum range that Qi Tian could use the Heavenly Dao Engine to detect. Since the Heavenly Dao Engine could not sense him, it naturally could not provide Qi Tian with any useful intelligence.

Qi Tian could only rely on his own judgment at this moment. There were still quite a few means at his disposal, such as deploying all of the ghostly faces, several of which possessed the strength of the Nascent Soul Stage. They could perfectly sneak around to Xidu while Qi Tian was entangled with the flying sword and launch a surprise attack on Zhao Deyi, possibly capturing him.

Additionally, Qi Tian could utilize the black heart, taking advantage of its proficiency in exerting spiritual coercion and creating illusions. Perhaps he could trap Zhao Deyi in an illusion for a short time. Only a few seconds were needed to potentially turn defeat into victory for Qi Tian.

Then there was the option of employing the mystical stones he had seized in the Saint’s Tomb. Only a flying sword of the Nascent Soul Stage could pierce those stones, so he could use them as shields. When Zhao Deyi’s flying sword came hurtling towards him, Qi Tian could toss out the stones to block in front of him. The sword might get stuck in the stones and become immobilized, allowing him to seize the flying sword, depriving Zhao Deyi of a most threatening weapon.

Such plans were abundant in Qi Tian’s mind, but as they emerged one by one, he dismissed them all. They seemed flawless, yet all had their problems. If they were put into action, should Zhao Deyi, with his near-perfect intuition, sharply identify and target those issues, those same issues could become traps leading Qi Tian to an irreversible downfall.

Qi Tian didn’t want to take that risk. Battling a Child Of Heavenly Selection like Zhao Deyi wasn’t about showing off the quantity of tricks at one’s disposal; rather, the quality of a single decisive attack mattered far more than plentiful but ineffective moves. Using one killer tactic effectively could inflict a major setback on Zhao Deyi.

In the end, Qi Tian pinned his hopes of flipping defeat into victory on the Transporting Whirlwind. The Transporting Whirlwind and the Heavenly Dao Engine were one and the same, they had always been Qi Tian’s greatest trump card. Since acquiring them, they had never let Qi Tian down, and he believed that this time too, the Heavenly Dao Engine and its associated Transporting Whirlwind would achieve significant accomplishments.

Qi Tian swiftly devised a plan—remarkably risky, essentially a gamble with his own life. One misstep could cost him dearly. However, Qi Tian knew that at this point, he had no choice but to take risks. Even if he weren’t to use this particular plan and opt for another, it would still be a life-and-death gamble. The moment he decided to confront Zhao Deyi head on, their clash was destined to be perilous.

Qi Tian quickly issued commands to all the Transporting Whirlwinds, dividing them into two groups. One group continued to form a protective network around his body as before, safeguarding him, while the other group retreated, pulling back to a position very close to his body.

Zhao Deyi had been aggressively directing his flying sword to attack Qi Tian’s vital points, putting Qi Tian in constant peril, walking on the razor’s edge. However, Qi Tian had discerned a trait of Zhao Deyi—his willingness to take risks. The angles from which he commanded the flying sword were exceptionally tricky, aimed directly at Qi Tian’s critical points. Yet these targets were not spread across Qi Tian’s entire body, but concentrated mainly on the lower regions.

Zhao Deyi had launched more than thirty lethal strikes, and aside from a few that were not aimed at the lower regions, the rest targeted those areas. Qi Tian was prepared to take a risk; he concentrated the second group of Transporting Whirlwinds primarily in his lower region, letting them form a second line of defense there, and then he waited for Zhao Deyi’s flying sword to make its move.