Chapter 297: A Feast

Golden Genesis Qi surged forth, revealing a hundred-zhang torrent that roared out like an enraged python, charging directly at Cao Shi with fierce momentum.

However, seeing this, Cao Shi's face twisted into a cold sneer, and he stomped his foot abruptly.

Silver-frost-like Genesis Qi also whistled forth, carrying an indescribably sharp and icy chill, directly clashing head-on with the golden Genesis Qi.

When the two streams of Genesis Qi collided, violent shockwaves immediately raged outwards, tearing marks into the surrounding ground and leaving it riddled with holes.

In the clash of the two Genesis Qi streams, the silver-frost-like Genesis Qi was clearly more potent. After all, Cao Shi was a fifth-layer Alpha Origin Stage practitioner, and his Genesis Qi reserves far surpassed Zhou Yuan's.

However, Zhou Yuan's Genesis Qi, being of higher quality, was extremely tenacious. As a result, the silver-frost-like Genesis Qi was entangled for a significant period before it finally managed to completely grind down the golden Genesis Qi.

The instant the golden Genesis Qi was completely worn away, a phantom figure appeared like a ghost behind Cao Shi. A brush shadow expanded, its snow-white bristles instantly transforming into thousands of cold lights, stabbing like lightning towards Cao Shi's vital points.

"Hmph, I've already thoroughly investigated all your tricks!"

As the cold light enveloped him from behind, Cao Shi sneered and gripped his hand, causing a silver-cast iron staff to appear in his grasp. Numerous Genesis Runes were inscribed on the staff, which emitted a cold glint as Genesis Qi was infused into it.

The silver staff swept horizontally behind him, Genesis Qi whistling, as if a single strike tore through the air. The thousands of cold lights were also shaken back.

Cao Shi's gaze was sharp and cold. Giving no quarter after gaining the upper hand, he suddenly shot forward. Genesis Qi poured into the staff, instantly transforming it into countless staff shadows that overwhelmingly slammed down on Zhou Yuan.

Each staff shadow carried terrifying momentum, forcing even Alpha Origin Stage fourth-layer experts to retreat.

Zhou Yuan, wielding the Heavenly Yuan Brush, also conjured numerous brush shadows. Golden Genesis Qi entwined around it, and the brush tip pulsed with profound light, clashing head-on with the countless staff shadows.

Clang! Clang!

Sparks continuously flew, and with every crisp sound, violent Genesis Qi exploded outwards.

Around the stone platform, numerous gazes watched the two figures entangled in combat.

"This Junior Brother Zhou Yuan certainly has a lot of fire, to go completely head-on," Zhang Yan said with a laugh, though there was a faint hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Because everyone could see that Cao Shi held the advantage in Genesis Qi density. This kind of head-on clash was clearly beneficial to Cao Shi; hadn't all of Zhou Yuan's counterattacks been shattered by those staff shadows?

Zhou Tai frowned, said nothing, but his lips were tightly pursed.

When the last staff shadow and brush shadow collided, fierce winds raged outwards, causing the ground to crack. Zhou Yuan's figure trembled slightly and shot backward.

Cao Shi sneered, giving Zhou Yuan no chance to catch his breath. He aggressively lunged forward again, the silver staff shadow containing mountain-splitting power, slamming fiercely towards Zhou Yuan.

Seeing this, Zhou Yuan's form suddenly blurred like a wisp of mist, retreating with lightning speed and directly avoiding Cao Shi's pursuit.

Cao Shi pursued several times but couldn't even touch Zhou Yuan's clothes.

Clearly, Zhou Yuan's Void Transformation Art was now even more profound than before.

"Running around like a rat again?" Cao Shi scoffed, then a cold glint flashed in his eyes as he said, "But do you think I can't do anything to you just because you've cultivated the Void Transformation Art? Don't underestimate an inner-mountain Golden Sash disciple!"

"Lesser Heavenly Genesis Art, Spatial Shift!"

The instant his words fell, a silver light suddenly extended from beneath Cao Shi's feet, and he stepped onto it.

The moment Cao Shi's foot landed, his figure seemed to pierce through space, appearing directly behind Zhou Yuan. The iron staff in his hand, carrying a hundred-zhang Genesis Qi, struck down fiercely.

"Lesser Heavenly Genesis Art, Mountain-Splitting Staff!"

As Cao Shi roared, the iron staff whistled mightily, unstoppable. Under that single strike, even many Golden Sash disciples looked grim, not daring to underestimate it.

The astonishing strong wind whistling down from above caused Zhou Yuan's eyes to narrow. Cao Shi's ability was indeed somewhat beyond his expectations.

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, and a chilling glint burst forth. His hand suddenly tightened its grip on the Heavenly Yuan Brush. Black python scales emerged on his body's surface, and the power within him surged dramatically.

"Heavenly Yuan Brush, Myriad Whale Mark!"

Zhou Yuan let out a low roar in his mind and forcefully swung the Heavenly Yuan Brush. Golden Genesis Qi erupted brilliantly, and faintly, a subtle whale cry seemed to echo.

When that brush stroke landed, the air exploded completely, and even the ground, unable to withstand such power, instantly collapsed.

The power of Zhou Yuan's brush stroke caused some disciples to stir slightly.

The staff and brush clashed head-on again, and a tremendous roar echoed.

Violent Genesis Qi shockwaves swept outwards, causing many disciples to lose their balance. It was only when Shen Taiyuan waved his sleeve that he completely calmed the shockwaves spreading from the stone platform.

At this moment, many disciples hastily looked towards the center of the arena.

They saw that in the center of the massive stone platform, a crack had actually split open, as if intending to divide the platform in two. On both sides of the crack, both Zhou Yuan and Cao Shi were sent flying backward.

The tip of the Heavenly Yuan Brush scraped against the ground, leaving marks and sparks. Zhou Yuan stomped his foot, steadying his figure. He looked coldly at the opposite side, where Cao Shi's expression was somewhat grim.

Zhou Yuan's sudden counterattack just now was unexpectedly fierce, actually directly resisting his powerful, sure-fire strike.

"No wonder you're so confident, you do have some ability," Cao Shi sneered.

Zhou Yuan's expression remained calm, merely staring at Cao Shi and slowly saying, "Your true capabilities aren't that profound."

Cao Shi's eyes turned cold, and a hint of mockery curled his lips. "So, you were just probing my strength?"

As these words came out, the eyes of many disciples around the stone platform also grew somewhat strange. They thought that at this point, Zhou Yuan was still being stubborn, as the previous exchange clearly showed Cao Shi having the absolute advantage.

However, Zhou Yuan still paid no heed to these gazes. He slowly loosened his grip on the Heavenly Yuan Brush and said calmly, "Since that's the case, then that's enough."

"Playing tricks," Cao Shi said with disdain. "If you know what's good for you, surrender now. If I have to make another move, I can't guarantee your safety."

His words elicited no response from Zhou Yuan. At this moment, Zhou Yuan slowly brought his hands together, and the Genesis Qi within his body suddenly surged with violent fluctuations.

From the crown of his head, potent Genesis Qi surged skyward. Beast roars actually emanated, and a faint, fierce aura permeated the air.

Four pillars of Genesis Qi coiled above Zhou Yuan's head. Each was about a hundred zhang tall, and within the Genesis Qi, beast shadows faintly formed, exuding a fierce might.

"Nine Dragons Scripture?"

Cao Shi, seeing this, sneered. He had investigated Zhou Yuan's methods and naturally knew that this was how he defeated Lu Feng.

"Do you think I'm Lu Feng? You think you can defeat me with your four-dragon Nine Dragons Scripture?!" Cao Shi laughed coldly.

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, he suddenly took a deep breath, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

Within his Qi Dwelling, the sparkling Genesis Qi stars suddenly vibrated intensely. The Genesis Qi stored within them was, at this moment, completely squeezed out by Zhou Yuan without reservation.

Boom! Boom!

Instantly, massive Genesis Qi flowed like a torrent through the meridians in Zhou Yuan's body.

And at this very instant, from the crown of Zhou Yuan's head, another massive pillar of Genesis Qi surged skyward, then split into four, and an earth-shattering roar reverberated.

"Nine Dragons Scripture... Eight Dragons!"

Four even larger pillars of Genesis Qi coiled and roared, a fierce and ominous aura spreading out and causing the sky to turn a dark red.

At this moment, around the stone platform, the expressions of many disciples abruptly changed.

Their eyes wide with shock, they stared at the eight beast-shaped Genesis Qi streams coiling above Zhou Yuan's head. Surprise flashed across their faces, clearly having sensed the power of the eight streams of Genesis Qi.

The mocking smile on Cao Shi's face slowly froze at this moment. Disbelief emerged in his eyes, and he shrieked, "Eight dragons?! Your Nine Dragons Scripture has actually reached eight dragons?!"

He felt extremely shocked. One must know that half a month ago, when Zhou Yuan fought Lu Feng, his Nine Dragons Scripture had only just reached the four-dragon level. How could it have directly reached eight dragons now?!

The eight-dragon level was already considered a major accomplishment for the Nine Dragons Scripture. Its power was far beyond what four dragons could compare to!

One should know that even among the inner-mountain disciples, those capable of cultivating the Nine Dragons Scripture to the eight-dragon level were extremely rare!

However, he didn't know that Zhou Yuan had originally prepared nine dragons for him, only failing when cultivating to eight dragons because the Genesis Qi within him was insufficient to support the formation of the ninth beast-shaped Genesis Qi.

Zhou Yuan, however, couldn't be bothered with further nonsense. After figuring out Cao Shi's true capabilities, he was too lazy to prolong the entanglement. This trump card, a killing move, was originally prepared for Cao Shi during his recent seclusion.

So, he merely stared coldly at Cao Shi and with a thought.

The eight beast-shaped Genesis Qi streams roared skyward, a fierce and ominous aura erupting outwards. The next instant, they shot forth violently, casting a massive shadow, and directly enveloped Cao Shi, whose expression had drastically changed.

"Try the grand feast I prepared for you."