Ahem! Wang Siyuan’s eyes narrowed. Suddenly, he began coughing violently, his face unnaturally flushed. His surprise was less than his excitement, as if he recognized the origin of this hand bone!
The coughing during the confrontation gave Master Stoneheart an opportunity. He closed in on Wang Siyuan, his muscles swelling and hardening, suddenly growing to a height of two zhang. His skin turned increasingly grayish-white, and his fists resembled two mountains, hammering downward fiercely.
These two punches were simple, plain, and unadorned, yet they pressed down like actual mountains, heavy enough to cause the nearby void to subtly contract. The fierce wind high above rushed toward the fists, as if an invisible vortex had formed there.
In front of the fists, the space darkened, faintly revealing black lightning-like cracks that flickered and disappeared. Anything that touched them was instantly torn to shreds.
Whoosh!
The sea beneath surged with towering waves, as if also charging toward the “vortex” in midair, dyeing the sky in an azure hue, its power piercing through the heavens.
Wang Siyuan stepped on empty air, his feet shifting. A trigram’s phantom appeared, and in the narrowest of margins, he dodged the fists, narrowly avoiding the strike.
Puh! He spat out a mouthful of blood, forcibly withdrawing his gaze from Meng Qi’s hand.
This has indeed become interesting! Your treasure must hit its target to be effective. Who will prevail remains to be seen!
At the moment Meng Qi retrieved the Yellow Springs Hand Bone, Linghu Tao, the “Six Extremes True Demon,” also held his breath instantly. He was an established peak expert, ranked on the Black List, having experienced countless major trials and even several life-and-death crises. Although he couldn’t identify the origin of the pitch-black hand bone in Su Meng’s “Crazy Blade,” he sensed the danger it posed to his very soul. Just seeing it made him feel his vitality beginning to drain!
Too terrifying! Too powerful! Linghu Tao had no doubt this treasure could easily kill him. He immediately considered retreating.
Yet, he thought of his limited lifespan, realizing he had only a few years left. If he didn’t risk everything now, he would never hope to attain the Grandmaster level, nor enjoy life for much longer. Besides, Su Meng, with his current cultivation realm, must struggle to wield such a powerful treasure effortlessly, undoubtedly having various flaws. If he didn’t take the direct hit, couldn’t he at least dodge?
To flee or not to flee? Linghu Tao, the seasoned left path heretic, hesitated slightly.
Hesitation invites trouble. Meng Qi gave him no chance to weigh his options. He stepped forward, revealing his two-headed, four-armed form, with a dignified and lofty “Immortal Manifestation” towering behind him.
Two heads stood side by side—one exuding overbearing dominance, the other calm and emotionless. His four arms held a purple-blue long blade resembling a gaping wound, a pitch-black hand bone with white streaks flowing across it, a beautifully red jade sword, and a raised purple lightning saber. Behind him, the Immortal Manifestation seemed to contain infinite transformations, encompassing all principles of Dao, its face resembling Meng Qi’s, leaving people stunned.
This Dharmic form also extended four arms: one gripping a dazzling sun, one pinching a pitch-black vortex that absorbed all light, one controlling a spinning Yin Thunder, and one holding a blood-yellow river!
Each of them brimmed with profound mystery, as if manifesting Dao principles themselves!
The lightning saber descended, fire rained down, the sword radiated like the sun, dazzlingly bright, the blade’s momentum unified and heavy enough to warp light itself.
Suddenly, in midair, they collided. The Immortal Manifestation’s blazing sun and black vortex smashed together!
Boom!
The left path heretics battling the Ruan clan’s experts felt blinding white light flood their vision, temporarily blinding them. Their ears buzzed, deafening them to all other sounds. Their skin burned as if scorched by flames. Violent shockwaves hurled their bodies backward, blood spewing from their mouths.
Combining insights from his past life with the “Three Swords,” Meng Qi, after acquiring them, one day conceived an idea and gradually modified the “Sunfall” technique!
It seemed to evolve from the clash of swordlight’s brilliance and blade weight into the collision of a sun and a primordial void, with effects surpassing even his expectations!
Gloriously burying the stars and rivers!
Boom!
Linghu Tao also felt his eyes seared blind, his soul seemingly melting, his body torn apart. No longer hesitating, he realized that if he mishandled this, not only would he lose the treasure, but he might perish under Su Meng’s combined sword and blade assault!
His layers of fat bulged, acting like the most perfect cushion, slightly trembling to absorb the impact while secreting oils to dissipate the intense heat and flames.
Seizing this opportunity, his back muscles swelled, sprouting four additional arms, and behind him emerged the Six Extremes True Demon Manifestation.
One hand pushed forward, black primordial magnetism condensing; another hand pushed forward, white primordial magnetism forming. All six arms struck the same point, alternating polarities, generating a suction force capable of tearing through space!
Boom!
The shockwaves and rolling flames were drawn toward the first hand, struck by the lightning saber and fire stream simultaneously.
Ahh! Linghu Tao cried out in pain as one arm fell, half-melted and mangled.
He paid the price for his hesitation!
Originally, with his strength, had he committed fully earlier, would he have been pushed to this point by Meng Qi’s still-incomplete “Sunfall”? He might even have seized the opportunity to exploit its flaws, turning the tables!
In a clash between two strong opponents, besides cultivation realm, strength, techniques, and treasures, one must also consider momentum, mindset, fighting spirit, focus, willpower, restraint, and many other factors. It’s never a simple matter. Otherwise, why would people fight to the death instead of merely announcing their cultivation realms and techniques, letting the weaker side simply commit suicide?
After sacrificing one arm to block “Sunfall,” Linghu Tao hadn’t even formed a second thought when a strong sense of danger surged within him. He forcibly dodged sideways.
Silently, the Heaven’s Bane appeared out of nowhere, slicing off another of his arms.
The Yin Thunder erupted, corroding body and soul, clinging like an unshakeable parasite. Recognizing its power, Linghu Tao dared not delay, enduring the pain to sever this arm as well.
One misstep leads to endless mistakes!
Yet Linghu Tao knew this wasn’t over. The previous attacks were merely to prevent his escape—the final blow was yet to come!
As he predicted, Meng Qi’s fourth arm wielded the hand bone like a sword, emerging from emptiness, fully displaying the essence of swordsmanship.
Flee!
Must flee!
Flee immediately!
No longer hesitating, Linghu Tao spat a large mouthful of essence blood. His Six Extremes True Demon Manifestation suddenly “awakened,” six arms working in unison, left white and right black, primordial magnetism reversing, generating a powerful repulsive force that propelled Linghu Tao skyward at a speed seemingly like teleportation.
Then, the Dharmic form weakened, dimmed, and vanished midair, following Linghu Tao away.
Watching Linghu Tao flee in disarray, Meng Qi didn’t pursue. Saving one use of the Yellow Springs Hand Bone was good enough. The current priority was the “Du Ren Qin” (Saving People’s Zither).
After “dealing with” Linghu Tao, Meng Qi finally had the capacity to sense Wang Siyuan’s situation. Upon sensing it, his brows furrowed instantly, as the battle was eerily terrifying.
Master Stoneheart stared at the slowly descending “Du Ren Qin,” completely ignoring Wang Siyuan beside him, as if he weren’t even there.
Wang Siyuan, darting forward, thrust his sword into Master Stoneheart’s forehead.
A thick gray-white layer covered the spot. This seemingly plain strike barely pierced through. Only at this moment did Master Stoneheart react, swinging his arms in a wide-range attack, shaking the void and stirring up fierce winds. However, Wang Siyuan had already flown away, watching him “go mad.”
Soon, Master Stoneheart flew toward the “Du Ren Qin” again, his eyes devoid of caution, as if he had forgotten Wang Siyuan, forgotten he was in a fight!
Again and again, as Meng Qi sensed the scene, he just happened to witness Wang Siyuan’s sword nearly piercing Master Stoneheart’s vital point.
Master Stoneheart clutched his head in agony, danger no longer ignorable, yet unaware of his enemy’s identity. His body bristled with alarm, greed forgotten, fleeing rapidly as if pursued by ghosts!
That spiritualist must definitely have treasures assisting him! Meng Qi slightly furrowed his brows. Otherwise, with Wang Siyuan’s fourth-heaven “Dunyi” state, he couldn’t possibly toy with Master Stoneheart so effortlessly, just as without treasures like the “Yellow Springs Hand Bone,” Meng Qi himself couldn’t easily defeat Linghu Tao.
This was his confidence in his own strength, the confidence of a true strongman!
“Pity the Six Extremes True Demon escaped quickly.” Meng Qi chuckled slightly, flying toward the “Du Ren Qin.”
Wang Siyuan coughed a couple of times, showing no displeasure, nor attempting to stop him.
As he was about to seize it, Jiu Zhi Lan Xue, Gao Qianyuan, coldly snorted, no longer caring for anything else. He directly activated the strange talisman in his hand!
His entire body’s strength wildly surged into the talisman, making even this Grandmaster somewhat overwhelmed.
The talisman turned transparent, and strange phenomena swept across the heavens and earth. The primordial qi ocean materialized directly, visible even to mortal eyes. Every drop of primordial qi morphed into a blue Gu insect, assailing Ruan Bogao with sword energy from every conceivable angle!
At this instant, within this region, the principles of Dao themselves seemed to shift!
The primordial energy sea returned to the void, and so did the Gu insects. Ruan Bogao felt a surge of dread in his heart. Instinctively casting aside all restraint, he unleashed his full power—playing “The Bell Shakes the Three Realms”!
Dang!
A brief moment of stillness appeared nearby, granting him temporary safety.
At this time, since most left path heretics had been affected by Meng Qi’s “Sunfall,” left in disarray, the remaining Ruan clan experts and cultivators at the “External Scenery” level rushed to assist Ruan Bogao by playing their zithers or restraining Jiu Zhi Lan Xue.
However, the disparity in strength was too vast. Gao Qianyuan remained largely unscathed. With the speed of a Grandmaster, he was poised to seize the “Du Ren Qin” before Meng Qi could.
But on the other side stood another formidable figure ranked fifth on the Black List!
Feng Dian Divine Envoy gritted his teeth and took out a blood-red pearl.
The Blood Spirit Pearl!
A primary material capable of forging divine weapons!
This was the most precious treasure he had obtained in his 200-plus years of life. Previously, due to other longevity pills, he hadn’t dared to exchange it for the Eastern Longevity Pill!
Now, he used it just once, gambling for the “Du Ren Qin” divine weapon!
The Blood Spirit Pearl emitted ten thousand rays of light, manifesting countless blood shadows that merged into a sea, surging forward, engulfing the monk Jie Du and the “Du Ren Qin.”
“Amitabha…” Jie Du’s eyes widened in horror, his Buddhist chant cut short as he instantly darted sideways, the shattered bowl covering his head and radiating a downward stream of Pure Light.
The blood shadows swept past. The bowl lost its glow, but Jie Du, seemingly protected by something, miraculously emerged unscathed from the blood shadow sea!
The blood shadow sea continued forward. Feeling its aura, Jiu Zhi Lan Xue, Gao Qianyuan, halted in place, watching helplessly as it was about to engulf the “Du Ren Qin,” with Feng Dian Divine Envoy following closely behind.
Seeing this, Meng Qi inhaled deeply. His body suddenly expanded, interwoven with Daoic principles, almost towering to the heavens, exuding an overbearing presence. In his hand appeared a small, deep-black flag, riddled with cracks, emitting red mist!
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