Zuo Hanfeng stood bare-chested, his skin swollen and covered with eerie patterns glowing faintly in the dark. He no longer resembled a flying dragon, but rather a sinister demon.
Deep within his emerald eyes flickered a faint trace of blood-red, exuding coldness and a chilling indifference toward life and death.
As his aura surged, the area within several miles became shrouded in darkness. Unlike the previous gathering of dark clouds, this time, thick black mist seeped from the shadows. If one had to compare, Meng Qi felt it was similar to the fragments of the demonic realm they had once visited. Instinctively, his body radiated a pale golden light to resist the corrupting mist.
The remaining trees withered, the blue bricks crumbled to dust, the earth cracked open, and snakes, insects, rats, and ants all dropped dead. One after another, the unfortunate civilians who couldn’t escape collapsed lifelessly, their skin shriveled as though drained of every drop of moisture.
As Du Huaishang rushed forward, his hands glowing red-hot like a blazing sun, radiating an intense heat capable of melting metal and shattering stone, and carrying the supreme yang force capable of purging all darkness and evil, Zuo Hanfeng floated midair. He extended his right hand, merging it with his treasure weapon that resembled a dragon’s claw, and then calmly threw a punch.
The punch was dark blue, deep and sinister, like icy coldness mixed with an aura of malevolence.
At the same time, dark blue scales emerged across Zuo Hanfeng’s body, covering him entirely. He resembled a human-shaped dragon, as though his bloodline power had broken through some kind of limit!
Bang!
The punch struck the hands head-on, and the blazing red glow began to freeze inch by inch, like the most dazzling ice sculpture.
Du Huaishang flew backward, trailing a long fiery tail, half of his body encased in dark blue ice, the other half writhing with black mist seeping in and out.
Even he, who was always calm and composed, showed shock on his face. How could this happen? How could Zuo Hanfeng’s strength rise to such a level?
This was no longer just a ninth-tier Earth-stage warrior; it was almost approaching the sixth tier, capable of partially transforming his body into the form of a bloodline deity or demon!
What kind of help had he received?
Two faint bumps appeared on Zuo Hanfeng’s forehead, not yet fully grown. He ran his left hand over his stubbled chin, looked at the fist he had thrown, and for once, a rare smile appeared on his face: “Not bad. Although it causes extreme torment to both body and soul, Master Yin’s technique is indeed effective.”
He narrowed his eyes:
“In three moves, I will take you down!”
This was not the tone of an equal; he had already regarded Du Huaishang as an insignificant insect.
He strode through the air toward Du Huaishang below. His fists, without flourish, were one dark blue and the other pitch black, bringing with them a hailstorm like rain and ropes of black mist that sealed off the void, their power terrifying.
Du Huaishang inhaled deeply, golden light radiating from his body, making him seem like a small sun, dispelling the black mist and melting the dark blue ice. He formed a hand seal, as if expounding some cosmic law.
A ray of sunlight pierced the darkness, landing on Du Huaishang, and behind him formed a golden sun, within which seemed to hide a three-legged bird!
The Power of Dharma Manifestation!
After breaking through the threshold, the inner world manifested outwardly, connecting with heaven and earth, forming a corresponding illusory dharma body—immensely powerful and terrifying. It was like Xuan Bei’s “Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Manifestation,” Ziwei Star Lord’s “Celestial Constellation Manifestation,” Su Wuming’s “Taishang Sword Body,” He Jiu’s “Existence-and-Nonexistence Sword Qi,” and Wang Siyuan’s “Dunyi Manifestation.” If one practiced the “Tathagata Palm,” each move could summon an illusory Buddha, and finally, after ninety-nine moves, unite into the golden body of Tathagata.
Different cultivation paths led to variations in the same type of dharma body, and as one advanced, these differences would grow increasingly pronounced.
Such dharma bodies were the foundation for forming a dharma body. As one’s cultivation deepened, or through refining rare treasures, the dharma body would become more solid. At the beginning, however, it was in a state of emptiness, highly unstable. Using it recklessly could damage one’s foundation and affect future progress. Thus, before crossing the first heavenly threshold, few external-scenery cultivators dared to employ their dharma bodies.
Similarly, descendants of deities and demons who cultivated their bloodlines could, upon reaching a certain limit, connect with heaven and earth and summon a corresponding divine or demonic manifestation. Now at this critical moment, Du Huaishang had no choice but to disregard all else, activating his seal techniques, channeling his bloodline, and manifesting his illusory “Golden Crow Solar Manifestation.”
“Break!” he roared, thrusting his palms forward. The golden crow spread its wings, the sun enveloped him, and in an instant, brilliant light pierced the darkness, melting the ice and dispelling the black mist.
“Good!” Zuo Hanfeng did not change his attack but met it head-on.
Boom!
An explosion erupted in the sky just above the ground, a mushroom cloud rising slowly. A figure plummeted down, crashing into the earth with a loud thud—Du Huaishang.
As soon as he hit the ground, Du Huaishang sprang back up, spewing a stream of pitch-black blood from his mouth, which then turned dark blue and froze into ice.
Despite giving it his all, he was still shattered by Zuo Hanfeng’s twin fists!
If not for their battle being in midair, the shockwave from that clash alone would have destroyed everything within several miles.
The residual shockwaves spread outward, dispersing the mist and stirring up fierce winds. A layer of golden flame burned slowly over Zuo Hanfeng’s body, but it could only char the dark blue scales.
Just as the golden flame was about to extinguish, Jiang Zhiwei suddenly moved. She pushed off a wall, leaping into the air, then kicked off the withered treetop, her sword thrusting upward from below!
Crash! The withered tree shattered instantly under her foot.
Her sword light flared, darkening heaven and earth, surpassing even the surrounding darkness. The light condensed into breathtaking beauty, embodying a state of no self, no other, no retreat.
The world itself seemed to change subtly, as if it had forgotten everything except for this single sword light etched into existence.
The sword qi surged forth, slicing through clouds and mist. From afar, it appeared as a single slash cleaving through all the darkness.
Cracks formed across the ground, responding to the sword’s energy.
Zuo Hanfeng had just driven back Du Huaishang and hadn’t yet dispelled the lingering yang fire when he suddenly felt his soul drawn in by the incoming sword light, seemingly unavoidable—and perhaps, he no longer wished to avoid it.
But this was no longer the past. His current strength even frightened himself. Although golden flames still burned over his body, he was no longer helpless against a mere opponent’s strike.
He snorted coldly, shifting his body slightly in midair, and the sword tip struck precisely into his palm.
Pfft! A hole pierced through the scale on his palm, a drop of blue blood oozing out. Jiang Zhiwei was sent flying backward, her right hand trembling, blood trickling from her nose and mouth. A layer of frost quickly formed over her body. If she had fallen to the ground, she might have shattered into pieces. She had sustained serious injuries from that exchange.
Meng Qi swung his long blade with his right hand, redirecting Jiang Zhiwei’s fall and helping dispel the coldness from her body. At the same time, he extended his spiritual awareness, working urgently to break the seal on the “Yin-Yang Mirror Replica” in his hand!
This was not something one could use immediately upon obtaining it!
Zuo Hanfeng clenched his left hand, slightly wounded, and was about to dispel the yang fire when he saw Du Huaishang charging again.
Truly fearless… he muttered inwardly, unfazed. He opened his right hand, fingers responding, determined to finish Du Huaishang off in a few moves.
If not for Yin Lenghui and Zhou Yong repeatedly emphasizing that Du Huaishang must not be killed, and if not for the terrifying power of the “Ancestor” deity or demon he had sensed, this would have been so much simpler.
He could have seized the opportunity earlier, taken the injury, and killed him outright!
Yin Lenghui, watching Zuo Hanfeng’s imposing figure, felt secretly delighted. The old ancestor’s technique was truly effective! Even before full success, it had greatly enhanced Zuo Hanfeng’s power, enabling him to easily defeat Du Huaishang, who had previously required great effort to overcome.
Although part of this was also due to Du Huaishang having only recovered about sixty to seventy percent of his strength, the main reason was definitely the technique!
As for Zhou Yong’s death, he felt not the slightest sorrow or empathy. Now that Zhou was gone, wouldn’t it be his turn to ascend as sect leader and master the method to communicate with the old ancestor?
Truly, he should thank these people. He would let them die quickly once the time came!
His mood uplifted, his momentum surged, and he immediately suppressed Qi Zhengyan and Zhao Heng.
Suddenly, a cold, serene zither sound reached his ears, like a bright moon on a quiet night or a tranquil lake, sending a chill through his very being, as if even his soul might freeze!
The Moon-Cold Mantra!
Yin Lenghui’s thoughts slowed slightly, shocked and alarmed. The zither-playing woman had not engaged Zuo Hanfeng but had instead come after him!
This, this wasn’t the right order!
Ruan Yushu, already at the eighth aperture, still had enough strength after playing the “Liangban Divine Melody” twelve times to perform the Moon-Cold Mantra, and now her target was Yin Lenghui!
Because Zuo Hanfeng’s strength had exceeded expectations, it was necessary to concentrate everyone’s efforts as soon as possible, so Yin Lenghui had to be eliminated first!
As Meng Qi was trying to seize control of the secret treasure, Yin Lenghui—with his bizarre and unpredictable witchcraft techniques—could not be allowed to intervene. That was their only chance of victory!
After all, Zuo Hanfeng still had Du Huaishang holding him back, and Jiang Zhiwei was already engaging him. Once she finished playing the cold, serene melody, she would immediately offer her essence to aid the two!
The coldness seeped into his soul, leaving his mind icy and clear. For a moment, Yin Lenghui’s actions and thoughts slowed slightly.
Under normal circumstances, such a slight delay wouldn’t matter, but right now, he was caught between two powerful experts.
Seizing the moment, Zhao Heng, feeling the pain from his severed left arm, unleashed his sword, transforming into a fire dragon soaring into the heavens, wrapping around Yin Lenghui and burning away all the black mist and insects around him.
Qi Zhengyan’s face remained impassive. His eyes flickered as he swung the Dragon-Patterned Crimson Gold Sword once more. This time, instead of a sky filled with a purple starry river, snowflakes drifted down—each one like a razor-sharp blade piercing Yin Lenghui’s body. Blood gushed from his wounds, freezing into crimson ice blossoms in midair.
Under the “Ten Thousand Miles of Snowfall,” Yin Lenghui seemed to be nearing the end of his life. But at that moment, his body collapsed, turning into a pool of pus and blood. Far away, dark light rose, and his soul emerged, reforming his body with demonic energy.
Indeed, witchcraft techniques were truly bizarre!
Suddenly, Yin Lenghui’s entire body stiffened, his eyes wide with disbelief. The dark light uncontrollably dissipated, and his soul froze into ice.
Impossible! That sword strike couldn’t have had such a strange effect! It couldn’t have made the demonic energy retreat on its own!
A dark blue glow flickered, and his soul shattered upon hitting the ground into countless icy fragments.
Yin Lenghui died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
Zhao Heng, Qi Zhengyan, and Ruan Yushu, seeing their success, immediately shifted their focus toward Zuo Hanfeng.
The previous battle had been swift and decisive. From afar, Jiang Shenghong and Lan Die, who had been holding the perimeter, had just begun to understand the situation when they realized Zhou Yong was already dead. They rushed to assist, only to find Yin Lenghui already slain.
Lan Die trembled all over, unable to believe Zhou Yong had died so easily. Her expression shifted, and suddenly she turned and fled, vanishing into the crowd.
She knew Zhou Yong possessed the Yin-Yang Mirror, and Zuo Hanfeng might not necessarily win, so she gave up on aiding and fled for her life!
Jiang Shenghong watched Lan Die flee and saw Zuo Hanfeng now looking like a demon. For a moment, he stood frozen, unsure whether to trust in the strength of the留守大人 or to rush in and help.
Bang! Meng Qi heard the sound of the seal breaking—a sound so beautiful!
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