Chapter 539: Confrontation

“A warrior’s path is one of unyielding resolve!”

Faced with the threat of a divine and demonic realm expert, even the masters of the four great sacred lands were at a loss for words, beads of cold sweat rolling down their faces.

At this moment, Shuiling’er, the Holy Maiden of Azure Lotus Sect, stepped forward. Her gaze was firm, like a wise sword, decisively cutting through her own fear, hesitation, anxiety, and other negative emotions. She firmly refused.

“Good!”

Solitary Ao, resembling a demon god, let out a wild laugh: “No wonder you’re the woman I’ve taken a fancy to! In your current state, even attempting to challenge the divine and demonic realm, you still have a thirty percent chance of surviving rebirth… Unfortunately, you won’t get that chance anymore!”

“Protect Ling’er, retreat quickly!”

The Azure Lotus Sect leader blocked in front of Shuiling’er, an azure lotus illusion appearing around him, forming a thick wall of clear light.

The Celestial Phoenix, Earth Dragon, and Black Tortoise are all ancient divine beasts, their physical forms unimaginably powerful. To forge a divine and demonic body using the power of these three bloodlines… This child’s cultivation may have already surpassed that of Solitary Madman. Only the rebirth of the Martial Emperor could completely suppress him!

Another master of a sacred land, knowing that they had completely broken ties with Solitary Ao and no longer harbored any illusions, added: “Mistress of Azure Lotus Sect, we will assist you!”

Zhi la!

Celestial lightning, separation fire, dark water, and other heavenly phenomena surged forth, spreading out in all directions. The energy waves injured many spectators, causing collateral damage.

Ji Jiao and several others kept retreating, already reaching the edge of the square, yet their eyes remained fixed on the figures at the center of the plaza.

Especially the god-like Solitary Ao, who remained unharmed even after taking a full-force strike from a Heaven Manifestation cultivator. Such terrifying power left everyone feeling uneasy.

Solitary Ao has surpassed his ancestor Solitary Kuang, but we no longer have the Crazy Sage…

Ji Jiao wore a bitter expression: “Could it be… that the Martial World is truly about to witness the rise of a new overlord?”

He saw it clearly: previously, the Heaven Origin Holy Land and the Heaven Alliance had already suppressed other sects to the point they could barely breathe. With the emergence of Solitary傲, this situation only intensified.

Now, Solitary Ao has ascended to the divine and demonic realm, displaying terrifying power that even combined heavenly phenomena could barely shake. He truly holds the advantage. As long as he proceeds methodically, unifying the world would be a simple matter.

The only hope for the remaining holy lands lies in using this brief window to cultivate divine and demonic realm experts!

At the very least, they must pass on the seeds and hopes of their sects.

Therefore, the masters of these great holy lands joined forces to contain Solitary Ao.

Unfortunately, Solitary Ao’s strength far exceeded that of ordinary divine and demonic realm cultivators, even rivaling the Martial Emperor!

“Can these tiny sparks of light dare to rival the sun and moon?!”

Faced with the joint attack from the masters of several holy lands, Solitary sneered coldly, his hands radiating surging energy: “Heaven Shaking Earth Moving!”

Roar! Caw!

Above him, illusions of the Celestial Phoenix and Earth Dragon, two ancient divine beasts, emerged, launching a continuous assault that dispelled the flames, mists, and azure lotus.

Spit!

The masters of these holy lands spat blood and flew backward, their faces pale as death.

Yet Solitary Pride, exuding an aura of inviolable majesty, suddenly appeared before Shuiling’er: “I told you, you cannot escape!”

He extended his divine and demonic right hand, as if covering the sky and earth, unstoppable, unpostponable, and inescapable, crashing down!

Seeing this, a glimmer of despair finally surfaced in the Holy Maiden of Azure Lotus’s beautiful eyes.

“Sigh…”

Hidden among the crowd, Ji Jiao’s pupils constricted as he softly sighed: “Young Master Ao’s martial arts are unrivaled under heaven… We should probably prepare our sect treasures as tribute and submit to the Heaven Origin Holy Land…”

Beside him, Blue Fatso and Black-Faced God nodded in agreement, equally disheartened.

For some reason, Ji Jiao suddenly thought of the exiled immortal Wu Ming, then chuckled bitterly: “Although Senior Exiled Immortal is also on the Heaven Manifestation list, even if he appeared now, what good would it do?”

Moreover, it seems he had previously offended the Heaven Origin Holy Land… Sigh… I hope the Senior can withdraw early and avoid getting entangled in this great conflict… Otherwise, facing someone like Solitary Ao, who rivals a demon god, his fate would be truly bleak…

Hua la!

Lost in his thoughts, Solitary Ao’s hand had already shattered the illusion of the Yan Yu, his fingers reaching the edge of the Holy Maiden of Azure Lotus’s elegant hairdo.

At this moment, a stream of water appeared mid-air, surging forward to meet Solitary Ao’s hand.

Bang!

The water, usually as soft as a finger’s touch, now felt like steel, carrying immense force as it collided with Solitary Ao’s demonic claw, producing a metallic clang.

The surge of energy felt like a massive storm, sweeping across the battlefield!

“Exiled Immortal… Wu Ming!”

The Holy Maiden of Azure Lotus looked toward the young figure slowly approaching the mountain gate, her eyes lighting up with joy.

“He has finally arrived!”

Yan Cangxuan’s chest was stained with blood, yet his eyes burned like flames: “Senior Wu Ming, my master has already fallen to this evil villain’s hands. Please, avenge us!”

In his heart, now the only person in the world capable of challenging Young Master Ao was the enigmatic, possibly divine and demonic level Exiled Immortal.

“Exiled Immortal?”

Solitary Ao halted, his eyes shooting out beams of light, staring intently at Wu Ming.

“Senior!?”

Ji Jiao exclaimed in shock, his astonishment beyond words.

“Sorry, I encountered a small problem on the way and arrived a bit late…”

Wu Ming wore a white robe, simply tying his hair, his aura ethereal and profound, a graceful young master as gentle as jade, truly resembling a celestial exiled immortal. He politely nodded to Shuiling’er and a few other acquaintances.

“You are the Exiled Immortal! Wu Ming!”

Solitary looked at Wu Ming with keen interest: “When I first heard your name, I thought you might be the only obstacle to my grand plan. But seeing you today, you’ve failed to break through the barriers. Truly disappointing, very disappointing!”

“Failed to break through the barriers?”

Yan Cangxuan’s face stiffened: “How is that possible… He defeated Heaven Maimed and Earth Deficient in one go!”

“Those two useless trash, I could crush with one hand!”

Solitary Ao stared coldly at Wu Ming: “But your true energy is quite mysterious. In terms of refinement and purity, it can be considered the best among Heaven Manifestation cultivators—even capable of withstanding a divine and demonic strike! It even surpasses my Heaven Manifestation… Impressive! What martial art is this?”

He did not act like a tyrant at this moment but rather like a martial arts fanatic, discussing martial arts with Wu Ming.

“This is a martial technique I created myself, based on the true teachings of the Martial Emperor, integrating various schools. It is the innate great Dao, Tai Chi transformation, encompassing everything!”

Wu Ming answered candidly.

“Xuan Shui True Kung Fu? Self-created? Very good!”

Solitary Ao showed a satisfied expression: “Although the things left by our ancestors are good, we of today are not necessarily inferior. That you can think of this already makes you infinitely superior to these stubborn old fools… But I wonder, have you left behind any legacy?”

“Why do you ask this?”

“Because you must die today! If this martial technique were to be lost, it would be too regrettable…”

After Solitary Ao finished speaking slowly, Wu Ming suddenly retreated rapidly, with eight water dragons emerging around him, roaring as they struck downward.

Hua la!

Amidst the crisscrossing palm shadows, the eight colossal dragons instantly disintegrated, transforming into countless droplets that poured down like a torrential rain.

Solitary Ao used both hands to break through the waves, unstoppable.

Pu!

Only now did the illusion left behind by him slowly dissipate, his speed already reaching a horrifying degree.

“Xuan Shui True Kung Fu – Hundred Turns and Thousand Returns Wave!”

Wu Ming pushed both palms forward, heavenly phenomena appeared, a mighty river surging forth with a roar, his true energy howling out like the Yangtze River.

“Too slow! Too slow!”

But in the next moment, the mighty palm wind could only sweep through empty illusions, uselessly striking the grand hall behind.

Under the horrified gazes of many martial artists, the grand hall trembled, slowly turning into a fine powder! Any living beings inside were instantly blown into blood mist.

The power of a single strike reached such an extent!

In an instant, Solitary Ao arrived behind Wu Ming, delivering a straight punch.

He did not use any martial techniques, just a straightforward attack, yet it was something ordinary Heaven Manifestation cultivators could hardly resist!

“A divine and demonic body indeed!”

Wu Ming’s divine consciousness swept out, reacting even faster than a Heaven Manifestation cultivator. He spread both hands outward, a layer of dark black water essence seemingly forming an icy shield that enveloped him: “Xuan Shui Divine Shield!”

Peng!

Solitary Ao’s fist struck the transparent divine water shield, the ripples causing nearby Earth Yuan cultivators to bleed from their ears and faint.

Zhi la!

On the Xuan Shui Divine Shield, a clear fist imprint appeared, spreading spider-web-like cracks before shattering.

The immense power of a divine and demonic expert was indeed terrifying!

Solitary Pride let out a wild laugh and delivered another punch, effortlessly piercing through the chest of the person inside.

Pu!

Seeing his demonic fist enter Wu Ming’s back and protrude from his chest, Shuiling’er couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

“Hmm?”

But Solitary Ao furrowed his brows: “A fake?”

Hua la!

In front of him, the “Wu Ming” seemingly gravely wounded and on the brink of death suddenly turned into a mass of water, exploding outward.

The one he had struck was merely a puppet!

“With the talent of a Heaven Manifestation cultivator, to spar with me to this extent, your gift is truly extraordinary, worthy of the title Exiled Immortal!”

Solitary hovered proudly in mid-air, watching Wu Ming emerge from the shadows, and said slowly, “The Xuan Shui True Kung Fu truly lives up to its reputation as a supreme Daoist technique. If you were to ascend to the divine and demonic realm, you would undoubtedly defeat me. Unfortunately… you won’t get that chance anymore!”

Yet Wu Ming’s expression was quite strange.

His eyes flashed with sharp light, his celestial-level divine consciousness rapidly scanning, collecting and organizing precious intelligence gained from their previous clash.

“A sixth-level divine and demonic body, using martial techniques to guide one’s own bloodline, blending world power to forge it. Indeed, it’s an unparalleled method for cultivating the physical body…”

“Rebirth through transformation… The path of bloodline cultivators is indeed brilliant… Unfortunately… I am not a bloodline cultivator!”

“Thank you, you’ve finally allowed me to witness the highest form of power in the Martial World!”

Wu Ming let out a low cry, the dark waters behind him seeming to glow with eternal brilliance, his entire aura suddenly surging!