Chapter 278: Meng Chuan Battles the Original Mountain Lord

"Go ahead, junior brother." The Yuanxhu Mountain Lord stood in mid-air. He had been a King Demon-Slayer for nearly three hundred years, cultivating the 'Yuanxhu Divine Body', and his accumulated power was immense. It was naturally easier for him to deal with a 'Marquis Demon-Slayer' when he was so much more powerful. He could discern that his junior brother's physical body was extraordinary, but its destructive power was limited.

"Be careful, senior brother," Meng Chuan said, standing firm. The space within a hundred-foot radius around him warped and collapsed. The will of countless particle spaces within his Undying Realm body made the void itself struggle to endure.

He drew his saber!

Meng Chuan moved then! In the distorted void, he seemed to teleport, stepping instantly beside the hundred-foot-tall phantom giant. His saber light instantly struck the very center of the phantom giant's chest, as the Yuanxhu Mountain Lord himself was located at the giant's chest.

"Dragon Roar Style!" This was Meng Chuan's first attack since cultivating his body to the Undying Realm.

This technique naturally possessed the 'speed' of his Thunder Annihilation Fiend Body, the 'power' contained within his Undying Realm physical body, and it was the 'Dragon Roar Style', renowned for its penetration.

*Thud*.

The black flowing light on the phantom giant's chest caved in. Layers of black energy struggled to resist the saber strike.

"This saber strike has the combat power of a King Demon-Slayer," the Yuanxhu Mountain Lord exclaimed in surprise. "If I were careless and a junior brother at the Marquis level forced me to use my protective battle body, it would be a laughingstock."

He immediately grew a little more cautious.

Demon-Slayers of the Yuanxhu Divine Body lineage, when they cultivate to advanced stages, also develop two types of battle bodies: one primarily for offense and another purely for defense.

"Your saber technique is quite good, junior brother," the Yuanxhu Mountain Lord said, demonstrating a finger technique. The phantom giant's two hands also attacked Meng Chuan. The five enormous fingers on each hand moved, causing space-time to twist and shift, making the fingers difficult to discern with the naked eye. The constantly changing space-time made it very uncomfortable for Meng Chuan to maneuver. He would aim for a specific spot, but as time and space fluctuated, his movement trajectory would change.

"The Black Iron Heavenly Book's 'Yuanxhu Seal Art'," Meng Chuan recognized the technique his opponent was using. It was a skill every Yuanxhu Divine Body practitioner would also cultivate.

He understood it, yes.

But Meng Chuan felt frustrated and uncomfortable.

"If I wanted to escape, I could just run as fast as I could in any direction," Meng Chuan thought to himself. "But to get past him and attack, I need to break through those two hands. They've now swelled to a hundred feet, like two massive mountains before me."

Although Meng Chuan found it vexing.

He nonetheless employed the 'Swallow Flight Style', his figure becoming incredibly ethereal and elusive, *whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

His figure instantly flickered around all sides of the phantom giant, appearing and disappearing rapidly and eerily. Meng Chuan circled, searching for an opportunity to get close.

"Your movement technique is truly fast, junior brother," the Yuanxhu Mountain Lord said with a smile. His arm suddenly expanded and lengthened, bringing his palm instantly before Meng Chuan. The fingers danced and shifted, distorting space-time. Meng Chuan tried to dodge but misjudged, and in a flash before his eyes, a gigantic finger, like a pillar supporting the heavens, appeared right in front of him.

"This is bad."

This single finger, fifty feet high, was surrounded by chaotic Five Elements and warped space-time, yet it very precisely 'poked' Meng Chuan.

*Pfft*.

A faint light rippled across Meng Chuan's body. All his pores sprayed out blood mist from the 'poke', but countless wisps of blood mist instantly flew back into his physical body.

Meng Chuan was sent flying dozens of feet backward by the 'poke', but then his figure flickered, and he reappeared behind the phantom giant.

"Your physical body, junior brother, is no weaker than that of a Fifth Heaven Great Demon King," the Yuanxhu Mountain Lord said with a smile. Although the phantom giant was clearly facing away from Meng Chuan, its head twisted backward, and its two hands naturally moved to confront Meng Chuan once more.

Meng Chuan, however, remained silent.

"The disparity in our realms is too great," Meng Chuan mused. "My senior brother, the sect master, reached the 'Dharma Domain Realm' long ago. His every move is far more refined than mine. While my Undying Realm body and saber techniques are skilled at influencing the void, he can control the Five Elements of heaven and earth, affecting space-time." Meng Chuan felt it: the closer he got to the Yuanxhu Mountain Lord, the more severe the space-time distortion became. It was difficult for him to fully unleash his power.

"Unless I go all out, I can't even threaten my senior brother in the slightest," Meng Chuan thought to himself.

*Clang, clang, clang*.

Suddenly, a bell rang.

It was the Soul-Shaking Bell, a Primordial Spirit weapon, flying out invisibly. Its intangible chimes assaulted the opponent.

"Fiend Energy Domain!"

Meng Chuan no longer cautiously unleashed just a single strand of fiend energy; instead, he burst forth with it entirely. A vast, deep-azure fiend energy erupted from Meng Chuan as its center, spreading in all directions and completely enveloping a hundred-foot radius around him.

"Hmm?" The pair of gigantic hands that were about to strike Meng Chuan had not even touched him. Yet, merely within the hundred-foot radius, they were assailed by a massive amount of fiend energy. A terrifying chill permeated everywhere. The sheer 'quantity' was far greater than before. This dreadful cold caused the Yuanxhu Mountain Lord's expression to subtly change. He felt his battle body's true essence circulation slow down under the 'freezing' effect.

"Under this widespread fiend energy domain, even my true essence is freezing and slowing down?" The Yuanxhu Mountain Lord could hardly believe it.

"And this Primordial Spirit secret art... I've cultivated for four hundred years, and I'm only on par with him." The Yuanxhu Mountain Lord's sea of consciousness also contained a 'Soul-Shaking Bell'. He too had reached the Fourth Layer of Primordial Spirit and was resisting the impact. However, this clearly meant he held no advantage in terms of Primordial Spirit.

"They're slowing down!"

Meng Chuan felt the phantom giant's hand movements slow down, and joy surged in his heart. Meng Chuan's speed was already unmatched in the world, so with his opponent's attacks slowing even further, his advantage naturally became much greater.

This was also why Meng Chuan had cultivated his Nine Refined Fiend Energy towards the 'freezing' aspect, primarily to supplement his own speed.

*Whoosh*.

As the palm technique slowed, its intricate effectiveness was greatly diminished. Meng Chuan, radiating light from his entire body, cut through the twisted space-time and arrived at the phantom giant's chest. Without hesitation, he unleashed saber strike after saber strike in rapid succession, every single one a 'Heart Saber Style'!

Each strike shifted between Yin and Yang.

A strange force penetrated the phantom giant's surface resistance. Even after decaying to only two or three tenths of its original power, it continued to surge towards the Yuanxhu Mountain Lord's true body.

Meng Chuan had previously used the 'Dragon Roar Style', and even that technique, most skilled at penetration, couldn't break through this battle body. He knew that the only thing that might threaten his opponent was the 'Heart Saber Style'.

"Hmm?" The Yuanxhu Mountain Lord's Boundless Domain clearly sensed the force, which had only two or three tenths of its original power remaining. He smiled faintly, using his Boundless Domain alone to resist and weaken it layer by layer. The force completely dissipated before it could even touch the Yuanxhu Mountain Lord.

"Still not enough?" A sharp glint flashed in Meng Chuan's eyes.

With hands gripping his saber in fury, he chopped down straight on.

"Break for me!!!"

As this saber strike was unleashed.

*Boom! Crack!*

The entire grotto-heaven suddenly thundered. A terrifying bolt of lightning surged from Meng Chuan's hands, traveling along his Demon-Slaying Saber and striking the phantom giant's chest. This enormous bolt of lightning was dazzling for a moment, astonishing the observing Venerable Qin Wu and Venerable Luo Tang. The black light on the phantom giant's chest struggled to resist, but its circulation was already slowed by the fiend energy domain. At this moment, it could no longer withstand such a terrifyingly destructive attack.

With a *bang*, the black light on the giant's chest was directly shattered. The enormous lightning bolt then cleaved towards the astonished Yuanxhu Mountain Lord.

'Heaven's Wrath'—one of his three great divine abilities!

This was the strongest killing move among the three divine abilities of Meng Chuan's Undying Realm physical body. It could unleash thirty percent of the lightning accumulated within his body, concentrating it into a single point of explosion. Each particle space in his physical body stored lightning, so the sheer 'quantity' of lightning contained within his entire body was immense. Although a Primordial Spirit thought resided within each particle space, giving him strong control over them, unleashing thirty percent was still the absolute limit his physical body could control.

This ultimate technique.

Meng Chuan could only use the divine ability 'Heaven's Wrath' three times consecutively.