Chapter 422: Zhou Yuan Fights Yang Xuan

As the final words left Yang Xuan's lips, his previously smiling face completely contorted into a sinister expression. The very temperature of the air seemed to plummet instantly.

Everyone could feel the chilling killing intent emanating from Yang Xuan's eyes.

Clearly, he was feeling a mix of shame and rage over his earlier misjudgment. From the beginning, he had never taken Zhou Yuan seriously, considering him nothing more than an ant he could crush with ease.

However, the previous Saint Palace disciple was defeated by Zhou Yuan in a single round, which clearly demonstrated that Zhou Yuan was not as weak as he had imagined.

This sense of losing control fueled a surge of killing intent within Yang Xuan.

Around them, others also sensed the killing intent in Yang Xuan's eyes and immediately cast gloating glances at Zhou Yuan. This guy, they thought, had truly provoked Yang Xuan now.

Zhou Yuan, however, remained quite calm. His gaze met Yang Xuan's, and the air around them seemed to solidify.

Extremely powerful Genesis Qi began to surge from Yang Xuan's body. His Genesis Qi was a greyish-white color, containing a strange, chilling aura.

The Genesis Qi fluctuations escalated, bringing immense pressure.

In just a few breaths, the Genesis Qi fluctuations around Yang Xuan reached the peak of the Seventh Heaven. The ground beneath his feet slowly began to crack.

The next instant, Yang Xuan, with a sinister look in his eyes, made the first move. Greyish-white Genesis Qi surged out like a torrent, resembling a roaring white python. With a whoosh, it coiled in the air around Zhou Yuan.

A chilling aura permeated the area.

Then, within the greyish-white Genesis Qi, countless long, needle-like constructs, each about half a foot in length, slowly materialized. They appeared ghastly pale, enveloped in a chilling aura.

“Profound Bone Rain Needles!”

Yang Xuan's face was stern. He clasped his hands together, and the countless Genesis Qi bone needles suddenly shot down like a torrential rain, covering the area below, with Zhou Yuan at its center.

Clearly, Yang Xuan had no intention of testing Zhou Yuan; he attacked immediately, giving Zhou Yuan no chance to evade.

These bone needles were formed from his own Genesis Qi, fused with remnant bone and blood from various origin beasts. As a result, they possessed a deadly aura and were extremely corrosive. If struck, the death energy would spread throughout the body, destroying it—a truly insidious and domineering technique.

Thus, when others saw Yang Xuan unleash such a lethal move from the start, they secretly clicked their tongues, feeling a slight increase in sympathy for Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan looked up, gazing at the greyish-white shadows that filled his vision. Feeling the surrounding chilling aura, he narrowed his eyes and abruptly brought his hands together.

Brilliant golden Genesis Qi erupted from within his body.

Faintly, a golden python seemed to surge upwards, then dive down, enveloping Zhou Yuan's figure. As the golden python coiled, it subtly formed a massive golden bell.

“Profound Python Golden Bell!”

As Zhou Yuan's low roar echoed, a golden bell enveloped his entire body.

Countless greyish-white needle shadows whistled down, overwhelmingly bombarding the golden bell. Instantly, myriad crisp clanging sounds rang out.

Within a hundred-zhang radius, the ground was riddled with countless dark, bottomless holes, emitting a foul stench. Black smoke rose in wisps from the once vibrant earth.

The rising black smoke somewhat obscured their vision.

The greyish-white needle shadows whistled for a while before finally ceasing their descent.

Countless gazes immediately darted towards the scene.

“That Zhou Yuan, he’s probably been pierced through by ten thousand needles…”

“Yang Xuan's attack of this caliber is rarely withstood by anyone in the Seventh Heaven. Zhou Yuan is only in the Fourth Heaven, so his fate must be miserable.”

Numerous whispers broke out, clearly intimidated by the power of Yang Xuan’s assault.

Zuoqiu Qingyu clenched her delicate hands, her beautiful peach blossom eyes filled with worry.

Su Duan, on the other hand, had excited eyes, gnashing his teeth as he muttered, “Let’s see if you survive this time!”

Under the gaze of countless eyes, the black smoke gradually dispersed, revealing a flickering golden light. Then, everyone saw a golden bell standing silently. The bell was covered in greyish-white bone needles, half-embedded but clearly not having pierced through it; instead, they had all been repelled.

Many pupils contracted slightly at this sight, exclaiming in disbelief, “Such strong defense?!”

Evidently, the golden bell’s defense was beyond their expectations.

Baili, who had been intently watching the scene, also let out a sigh of relief. Zhou Yuan’s 'turtle shell' was as tough as ever.

Yang Xuan was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting his attack to be fruitless. He shook his head and said, “No wonder you dared to come here. Is it because you possess a defensive Genesis Art?”

Zhou Yuan's defensive Genesis Art was indeed somewhat extraordinary, capable of blocking his attack. But, he wondered, could it block a second time?

However, the instant his voice faded, the golden bell suddenly dispersed. A faint dragon's roar echoed, and nine streams of fierce Origin Beast Genesis Qi shot skyward, surging with malevolent energy.

“Nine Dragon Scripture, Nine Dragons!”

The nine streams of Origin Beast Genesis Qi rapidly merged into one, resembling a gigantic beast roaring as it charged ferociously towards Yang Xuan.

Clearly, Zhou Yuan had begun his counterattack.

As the enormous Origin Beast Genesis Qi roared closer, Yang Xuan watched with an unchanging gaze, a slight sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth.

He extended his palm, where greyish-white Genesis Qi surged. With a single palm strike, he firmly met the roaring Origin Beast Genesis Qi.

Violent shockwaves erupted, and cracks spread from beneath his feet like a spiderweb.

Yang Xuan’s figure remained completely still.

However, the Origin Beast Genesis Qi, struck by his palm, let out a mournful cry before being utterly shattered by his single strike, exploding into countless Genesis Qi light particles that filled the sky.

The many observers gasped, shocked that Yang Xuan was so formidable.

Zhou Yuan's previous counterattack had been undeniably fierce, yet even so, it failed to budge Yang Xuan and was instead directly dispersed by a single palm.

This demonstrated that the two parties' Genesis Qi reserves were completely on different levels.

Yang Xuan slightly raised his eyelids, staring chillingly at Zhou Yuan, the sneer at his lips growing more pronounced.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. This was the first time his Nine Dragons technique had been so easily countered. Yang Xuan’s strength was indeed exceptionally formidable.

No wonder even Baili and Qin Hai, fighting together, had been defeated by him.

“If that’s all you have,” Yang Xuan said coolly, staring at Zhou Yuan, “then your fate today… might not be so good.”

The moment his voice fell, Zhou Yuan's figure abruptly blurred, shooting out like a wisp of smoke.

Seeing Zhou Yuan stubbornly launch another attack, a hint of mockery flickered in Yang Xuan’s eyes.

“Very well,” he mused, “if you insist on courting death, then I shall oblige you…”

Between his palms, greyish-white Genesis Qi surged, emitting astonishing fluctuations.

Zhou Yuan shot forward, appearing before Yang Xuan in just a few breaths. His expression was calm. With a grip of his hand, the Heavenly Yuan Brush suddenly expanded in size.

The snow-white brush tip traced a sharp trajectory, aiming directly and viciously at Yang Xuan’s throat.

A strong wind whistled. Just as the snow-white brush tip flashed through the air, a faint voice echoed in Zhou Yuan’s mind.

“Heavenly Yuan Brush, Source Break!”

On the mottled brush body, an ancient Genesis Rune slowly lit up. Immediately afterward, black light seemed to spread over the snow-white tip, and in an instant, the tip became as black as ink.

The black light swept by, carrying an abstruse glow.

At this moment, the Heavenly Yuan Brush had shed its sharpness, appearing ordinary. However, in that instant, Yang Xuan’s eyes suddenly narrowed; his intuition made him feel a flicker of unease.

The ink-black brush tip rapidly expanded in his pupils.

The next moment, he sharply spun his palms, and greyish-white Genesis Qi erupted, quickly forming a ring of light.

“Saint Wheel Art!”

Rip!

As the ring of light formed, the black gleam swept past, directly piercing the light ring.

At the point of contact, black light seemed to surge forth.

Then, Yang Xuan’s pupils sharply contracted. He watched as, where the ink-black brush tip landed, the light ring was torn open as if it were thin paper.

“How could this be?!”

An involuntary cry of disbelief erupted in his mind. Even Baili and Qin Hai earlier couldn't break through this Saint Wheel Art, so how could a Fourth Heaven Zhou Yuan pierce through it so easily now?

The black gleam plunged straight for his throat. In that critical moment, Yang Xuan’s palms trembled, and the Saint Wheel Art suddenly reversed. That formidable power ultimately caused the black gleam to flicker momentarily.

Genesis Qi raged.

The two figures passed each other.

Countless gazes were fixed on them, unblinking.

Then, gasps of cold air could be heard, as they saw blood dripping from the tip of the black brush in Zhou Yuan's hand.

And on Yang Xuan’s shoulder, a grotesque bloody gash had appeared, staining his clothes instantly.

A roar of commotion erupted.

No one had expected Yang Xuan… to be injured by Zhou Yuan!

Behind them, Baili and Qin Hai stared at the scene, dumbfounded. They had fought fiercely together for a long time without even scratching Yang Xuan, yet Zhou Yuan, in just a brief moment, had drawn Yang Xuan’s blood?!

“How is this possible?!” They looked at Zhou Yuan's figure in shock.

Zhou Yuan glanced down at the bloodstain on the brush tip, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes. He had originally intended to pierce Yang Xuan’s throat, but unfortunately, Yang Xuan proved too formidable, managing to forcibly twist his attack trajectory at the last moment.

The Heavenly Yuan Brush vibrated lightly in Zhou Yuan’s hand, shaking off the blood.

Without looking back at Yang Xuan, he simply said, “It seems if you want me to die here, you’ll have to try a lot harder…”

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Yang Xuan slowly turned his head. He looked at the bloody gash on his shoulder, his face twitching slightly. Gradually, an incredibly vicious and grotesque expression emerged.

“Today…”

“I’m going to cripple you!”

That murderous intent soared into the sky, feeling almost tangible, causing countless hearts to tighten and fear to rise in their eyes.

Yang Xuan seemed on the verge of losing control.