The Hall of Three Pure Ones was vast and profound, with curling incense creating a strong visual impact on every visitor. The awe-inspiring Primordial Celestial Venerable, the Dao-de Celestial Venerable who understood all things, and the mighty Lingbao Celestial Venerable stood silently like legendary figures, observing the transient world below.
Sitting cross-legged beneath the Three Pure Ones was Meng Qi, whose presence sharply contrasted with the towering statues behind him, yet his aura was equally commanding. Dressed in black, his expressionless face and half-closed eyes gave him an unfathomable air, making He Jiu instinctively feel that he was the true master of this hall, with the Three Pure Ones mere manifestations of his dharma body.
From the beginning of all things to the end of everything, the Dao and virtue are passed on!
The atmosphere, the setting, and Meng Qi himself caused He Jiu’s heart to sink. He felt as if enveloped by an overwhelming force, instinctively wanting to bow and worship, unable to raise his hand in attack, as if facing the true Three Pure Ones themselves.
“You’ve come,” Meng Qi said, his eyes still half-closed.
Meng Qi could vaguely guess He Jiu’s intentions. He regarded He Jiu as one of his most formidable opponents. If not for their previous missed encounters, he had long wished to spar after breaking through to the Outer Scenery realm, to fight on equal footing, unlike their previous clash at Xingyun Manor, where a significant gap in cultivation forced them to rely on numbers for a challenge.
Therefore, Meng Qi used the statues of the Three Pure Ones to enhance the might of his “Immortal Primordial Manifestation,” bringing himself to his peak condition to face one of his greatest rivals—an act of utmost respect for He Jiu.
He Jiu inhaled deeply, his heroic spirit rising. He did not look at Meng Qi but fixed his gaze on the statues of the Three Pure Ones:
“I’m here!”
His posture was bold and confident, as if the “challenge” before him could no longer shake him.
Without further words, a silent understanding passed between them. Suddenly, Meng Qi’s eyes flew open, swirling with chaos and primordial mist. The hall instantly darkened!
The clash of energies pulled He Jiu’s gaze downward, locking eyes with Meng Qi, from which sword-light seemed to pierce forth.
Crackling!
A single light flared in the hall, and both vanished in an instant.
At ten-thousand feet high, the north wind howled, biting flesh and soul. Meng Qi and He Jiu appeared together in the sky.
In a battle of equals, the collateral damage could be uncontrollable. To avoid devastating Langya City and harming innocents, they silently soared into the heavens to fight.
Meng Qi gripped his saber’s hilt—not drawing it outward, but pushing it inward. His acupoints emitted illusory forms, condensing into a momentary stillness.
At that moment, He Jiu suddenly laughed aloud. From his eyes shot two beams of pure white sword-light.
But it didn’t stop there. From his nostrils, ears, mouth, and countless pores across his body, sword-light erupted—some white, some cyan, some rigid, some soft, some deadly, some blazing—blanketing the sky and slicing toward Meng Qi.
Most crucially, these sword-beams did not merely strike head-on. Some spiraled, some curved, striking from above and behind, completely enveloping Meng Qi.
In an instant, Meng Qi felt the sword-light “swallow” the void itself. All around was a boundless expanse, with no sky above nor earth below. At any moment, he could be torn to dust by hundreds or even thousands of raging sword-beams.
“Excellent!” he thought, not out of fear, but exhilaration.
This was a worthy opponent indeed!
Clang!
The saber in its sheath roared like a dragon, breaking free from the stillness. The purple brilliance erupted.
Another would likely choose to defend, forming a perfect shield with circular saber techniques to withstand the sword-light. But Meng Qi was different. In a clash of titans, momentum was paramount. His saber techniques leaned toward raw power—how could he allow himself to be on the defensive from the outset?
Amid the “dragon’s roar,” the saber-light, brimming with stored force, slashed upward. Suddenly, the single beam split into two, then four, then eight, instantly multiplying into hundreds. Some surged forward swiftly, some slowly, some heavily, some softly, slicing in all directions.
Clang! Clang! Clang! The saber-light met the sword-beams, canceling each other out. The sky cleared instantly—neither side gaining the upper hand.
Sword techniques channeled into saber art—hiding a hundred swords, returning myriad to one, breaking through with sheer force!
“Excellent!” He Jiu laughed aloud, vanishing as he spoke.
Meng Qi’s senses flared. Without hesitation, he slashed his saber backward.
Clang!
A hazy, indistinct sword-light appeared, barely deflected by the saber.
The sword-light of the “Formless and Shapeless Sword Qi”—without form, without trace!
Once deflected, it vanished instantly, leaving the sky clear and unchanged.
Meng Qi’s eye acupoint opened, capable of perceiving the minutest details. Yet at this moment, he could not detect He Jiu’s sword-light. Even his ear acupoint picked up only the wind, with no trace of sword-light slicing through the air.
“To shift between form and formlessness—truly wondrous…” Meng Qi furrowed his brow, feeling as if he had gone blind, deaf, and numb.
Suddenly, danger flared again. Trusting his instincts, Meng Qi slashed downward with his saber.
Clang!
The hazy sword-light was struck once more, failing to pierce Meng Qi’s weak point.
The sword-light scattered again, becoming formless and untraceable.
The gales howled around them, clouds drifting beneath their feet. Meng Qi extended his awareness, coordinating his eyes and ears, yet still could not detect He Jiu’s sword-light.
“Am I reduced to relying solely on the Eight-Nine Art’s danger sense?” Meng Qi had faced similar situations before and remained calm. Previously, the Wolf King’s speed and stealth had created similar effects.
But back then, he could use his treasure weapon as an extension of his senses. Now, He Jiu’s Formless and Shapeless Sword Qi could evade even an Outer Scenery expert’s perception—the treasure weapon was of little help.
Clang!
Meng Qi raised his saber vertically, deflecting a hazy sword-light aimed at his brow.
Clang!
Before he could catch his breath, he flipped the saber downward, blocking another strike.
“This can’t go on!” With his vast combat experience and a calm mind, Meng Qi’s thoughts raced. Suddenly, he shut his eyes and sealed his ear acupoints!
Darkness enveloped him, silence reigned, and even the wind’s touch vanished. At this moment, Meng Qi seemed severed from heaven and earth, isolated and on the verge of madness.
Suppressing this sensation, he channeled his Inner Scenery, with the Immortal Primordial Manifestation residing in his cranial cavity, commanding all transformations.
Danger flared again. With his eyes shut, Meng Qi slashed horizontally, cutting through the hazy sword-light.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Wave after wave of Formless and Shapeless Sword Qi attacked, and Meng Qi, blind and deaf, swung his saber repeatedly, purple lightning flashing, deflecting each strike precisely.
He had abandoned external senses, relying on his inner vision. He maximized the Eight-Nine Art’s danger sense, the core ability of “avoiding calamities”—the very essence of the technique!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Locked in stalemate, He Jiu attacked while Meng Qi defended, neither gaining an advantage.
For Meng Qi, this battle limited his advantage of having many dharma-body techniques, as he couldn’t lock onto He Jiu’s position. If he unleashed his full strength recklessly, he might miss and expose a major weakness. Using the “Demon-Slaying Strike,” a wide-area attack, had a blind spot—his immediate surroundings were unaffected, a “shadow under the lamp.” If He Jiu hid there, the technique might fail.
Moreover, each of He Jiu’s attacks targeted weak points like the brow’s spiritual pass. Meng Qi couldn’t brute-force his way through with the Eight-Nine Art’s physical prowess alone. He could only wait patiently, for He Jiu would eventually strike a “weak point” that was no longer vulnerable, as He Jiu didn’t know which weak points Meng Qi had already neutralized.
He Jiu’s thoughts mirrored Meng Qi’s. If he abandoned his style of striking once and vanishing instantly, and instead used a decisive move, Meng Qi might lock onto him, turning the tables.
But both knew this standoff couldn’t last. He Jiu’s transformation into “Formless and Shapeless Sword Qi” nearly equaled dharma-body power. If he hadn’t nearly crossed the first Celestial Threshold, repeated use would damage his foundation. Even now, each maneuver drained him greatly, and soon he would be too exhausted to continue.
Meng Qi was in a similar state. Internally channeling the dharma-body, pushing the Eight-Nine Art’s danger sense to its peak, even with the Undying Seal replenishing his primordial energy, it couldn’t last forever.
It seemed this would become a battle of endurance and willpower.
They needed to break the stalemate—a shared instinct born from combat experience.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Blind, deaf, and numb, Meng Qi seemed trapped in an impenetrable void, enduring eternal isolation. Yet, as the Formless and Shapeless Sword Qi threatened him, the Immortal Primordial Manifestation operated at near-limit capacity. Beyond danger sense, Meng Qi sensed something more—faint, intangible, yet present.
Threads of starlight crisscrossed the sky, dense and intricate…
A force pulled the sun, causing it to rise in the east and set in the west…
Beyond the gales, something floated—cold and lifeless, yet brimming with vitality…
Laws and principles lay hidden behind all phenomena, formless and invisible, manifesting in various ways. To seek them with eyes or sound was to be misled by appearances, missing the truth.
In this moment, by chance, Meng Qi had completely abandoned external senses, perceiving the world through his “Immortal Primordial Manifestation” and inner self. He glimpsed a fragment of the world’s “truth” and touched the threshold of the first Celestial Threshold!
He believed He Jiu felt the same.
No wonder so many strong individuals sought to challenge equals or even superior opponents!
For battle demanded focus, casting away distractions and external influences, condensing essence, energy, spirit, and will into one, yielding profound insights!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Saber and sword-light clashed repeatedly. Meng Qi seemed to understand something, yet also nothing at all. But he had no time to ponder, for the pressure from his opponent was increasing!
Clang!
The sound was hollow as the saber struck the hazy sword-light.
Suddenly, the sword-light shattered—not maintaining its shape, allowing the saber to pass through, then splitting into countless beams that shot toward Meng Qi!
The Formless and Shapeless Sword Qi had no fixed form—it could take any shape He Jiu desired!
He Jiu actively changed tactics, revealing the essence of his sword technique!
The situation shifted dramatically. Meng Qi was instantly in extreme danger. Yet he remained calm, slamming the saber’s hilt backward to deflect a beam aimed at his brow. His left hand formed a sword-finger, cutting through beams targeting his weak points. His body moved forward instead of dodging, charging straight into the beams.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The beams struck Meng Qi’s body, golden light flickering, leaving only faint white marks.
In this collision, He Jiu could no longer maintain smooth transitions between forms of the Formless and Shapeless Sword Qi. With his eyes closed, Meng Qi seemed to sense something. His “Immortal Primordial Manifestation” responded naturally to the energy resonance!
The saber sprang upward, and suddenly, bolts of thunder appeared around him, converging on the blade, making it seem forged from purple lightning.
“I’ve got you!” Meng Qi inwardly shouted. The saber slashed downward fiercely, all his illusory forms condensing into the Immortal Primordial Manifestation.
Boom!
The heavy, overbearing saber strike landed in empty space, distorting the surroundings as if reality itself were collapsing. Then, the concentrated force erupted along with the void!
Boom!
Blazing, masculine lightning transformed the area into an ocean of thunder, sweeping everything without distinction, leaving nothing unscathed!
The hazy sword-light emerged within the lightning waves, forcing He Jiu to reveal himself as he resisted the onslaught.
Exhausted, he now struggled greatly.
Within Meng Qi’s spiritual lake, the elusive sword-light appeared spontaneously, without visual, auditory, tactile, or spiritual perception.
The energy resonance made the faint and intangible “things” in the world momentarily “clear”!
Meng Qi suddenly opened his eyes. The Immortal Primordial Manifestation also opened its eyes, “flying” outward in all directions, devouring and weaving through countless formless, intangible, and shapeless “things.”
In an instant, the surroundings turned dark—no sky, no land, no sun, no wind.
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