Chapter 85: Battle Qi Hao

In the deep valley, when the golden long spear appeared in Qi Hao's hand, the primal energy fluctuations around him became increasingly sharp, and his aura surged, rising steadily and exuding a powerful sense of oppression.

Observing Qi Hao's newfound seriousness, Zhou Yuan did not underestimate him. He drew the Sky Origin Brush from his waist.

"Martial Form." Light surged on the Sky Origin Brush, and in an instant, it transformed into a man-sized black brush. The pure white bristles at its tip converged, forming a bud-like spearhead that gleamed with a cold light.

Zhou Yuan held the Sky Origin Brush, its tip angled towards the ground, and his eyes gradually grew cold.

Transparent primal energy swirled around him and gradually gathered on the Sky Origin Brush. Amplified by the brush, it formed an exceptionally keen energy glow at its tip.

Their gazes collided in mid-air, both brimming with murderous intent.

The next instant, both figures shot out almost simultaneously, and within mere breaths, they clashed in the open space.

Golden spear shadows and black brush shadows, each containing immense power, shattered the air and struck heavily, emitting crisp metallic sounds.

Swish! Swish! Both pushed their primal energy to the limit, each attack appearing exceptionally fierce. The spear and brush left faint afterimages, clashing like lightning.

In just over a minute, the two had exchanged dozens of blows.

However, it was clear to everyone that Qi Hao still held the upper hand in this direct confrontation. After all, he was at the late stage of the Qi Nourishing realm and had mastered a fourth-grade primal energy, the Golden Stone Primal Chaos Qi. Zhou Yuan, on the other hand, was only at the early stage of the Qi Nourishing realm and had not even cultivated any foundational primal energy techniques, which discounted his power. That he could contend with Qi Hao to this extent was already astonishing.

A golden spear shadow swept horizontally, primal energy surging on it and shattering even the air. The spear shadow heavily struck the black brush, causing sparks to fly, but the powerful force still made Zhou Yuan stumble backward, the Sky Origin Brush in his hand carving deep marks on the ground.

Zhou Yuan steadied himself and let out a long breath. His qi and blood churned violently within him after the previous clash, making his gaze grow increasingly solemn.

At this point, he understood that his opponent's overall strength was indeed superior to his. Had he not relied on the advantage of his Qi Mansion, he would likely have been defeated in the earlier exchanges. Having suffered from the Resentful Dragon Poison previously, Qi Hao no longer dared to make physical contact with him, instead launching attacks with the power of his primal armaments, which prevented the Resentful Dragon Poison from infecting him.

"If I had cultivated the 'Sky-Reaching Profound Python Qi' from the first level of the Ancestral Dragon Scripture, even at the early stage of the Qi Nourishing realm, I should be able to defeat him," Zhou Yuan thought with a touch of regret. But unfortunately, the soul of the fourth-grade python-type primal beast required to cultivate the 'Sky-Reaching Profound Python Qi' was currently still inside the war puppet.

"To be able to last this long against me with only early-stage Qi Nourishing realm strength, and without even having cultivated a foundational primal energy technique, is quite impressive for you," Qi Hao said coldly, standing proudly with his spear in hand.

While Zhou Yuan was regretting, Qi Hao was secretly astonished. Conventionally, their power levels were entirely disproportionate, and eliminating Zhou Yuan should have taken only a few exchanges. Yet now, after clashing with him for so many rounds, Zhou Yuan hadn't even sustained serious injury, which was truly unbelievable.

This realization reignited Qi Hao's murderous intent. This Zhou Yuan was already so troublesome at just the early stage of the Qi Nourishing realm; if he were to reach the late stage and cultivate foundational primal energy techniques, wouldn't Qi Hao lose even the qualification to fight him?

"This is the best opportunity to eliminate him directly and make this valley his burial ground!" Murderous intent swirled in Qi Hao's eyes, and the golden spear in his hand once again burst forth with fierce light.

His figure shot out again, the spear shadow whistling like a golden rainbow, aiming directly at Zhou Yuan. Clearly, his offensive had become even fiercer, and anyone could sense his surging murderous intent.

"Qi Hao is going for the kill." "Prince Zhou Yuan is likely in danger." Numerous gazes from outside the valley whispered as they watched this scene. In the previous exchanges, Zhou Yuan had been completely suppressed. Now that Qi Hao's offensive was even more ferocious, it wouldn't be long before Zhou Yuan showed signs of defeat.

Zhou Yuan also looked up at this moment. He gazed at the surging golden spear light, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He then took a deep breath, and faint glowing patterns seemed to emerge beneath his clothes.

"Golden Ape Mountain-Moving Rune!" A low shout echoed in Zhou Yuan's mind. The next instant, a complex glowing pattern appeared on the surface of his skin.

Zhou Yuan's body trembled at that very moment. He felt an astonishing power erupting from within him, spreading throughout his limbs. His body even seemed to subtly expand.

He slowly tightened his grip on the Sky Origin Brush, stomped his foot, cracking the ground, and shot straight forward. The Sky Origin Brush whistled as it flew, clashing head-on once more with the golden spear light.

Metallic clangs resounded again as the brush tip and spear tip fiercely met. Visible shockwaves spread out, whipping up fierce winds, sweeping away surrounding rubble, and even pulverizing it. Zhou Yuan's and Qi Hao's bodies trembled slightly at this moment, each feeling an astonishing force surge through them, their footing unstable, and both were shaken back more than a dozen steps.

This scene, witnessed by the numerous onlookers, instantly erupted in gasps of astonishment. For in this clash, the two were surprisingly evenly matched!

"How is this possible?!" Qi Hao's eyes showed a hint of shock as well. His previous attack had been launched with nearly his full strength, intended to completely overwhelm Zhou Yuan, but who would have thought it would result in a stalemate?

Zhou Yuan steadied his steps; compared to Qi Hao's shock, he was much more composed. The Golden Ape Mountain-Moving Rune was a second-grade primal rune, capable of bestowing formidable strength upon its user. Only by leveraging this power could he directly contend with Qi Hao, who was at the late stage of the Qi Nourishing realm.

"Finally, the gap has been bridged..." Zhou Yuan tightened his grip on the Sky Origin Brush. He looked at Qi Hao, smiled, and said, "This time, let's have a proper fight."

He flicked the brush tip, and a sudden greenish energy glow surged from it, extending more than a dozen inches. Its color also grew richer. This was clearly the Inch Glow Art.

Qi Hao watched the fluctuating greenish glow on Zhou Yuan's brush tip, his eyes growing even darker. He flicked his golden spear tip, and an incomparably sharp greenish glow also surged forth.

"Displaying your Inch Glow Art in front of me is simply courting death!" Qi Hao said coldly.

Their gazes met, cold intent surging. The next instant, they fiercely shot forward.

Bang! Bang! In the deep valley, the two figures intersected like lightning, spear shadows and brush shadows constantly clashing. Violent gales raged outwards, leaving deep marks on the ground wherever they passed.

At this moment, both had pushed their strength to the absolute limit.

The numerous gazes gathered there, watching the two's fierce and ruthless clash, were slightly stirred.

No one had expected that Zhou Yuan, whom they initially thought would be utterly defeated, would be able to contend with Qi Hao to this extent, relying on his early-stage Qi Nourishing realm strength.

"This Prince Zhou Yuan really has some capabilities." "It's truly hard to say who will win or lose now..." "But Qi Hao probably still has a slightly higher chance of winning. After all, his late-stage Qi Nourishing realm cultivation means his primal energy is undoubtedly much deeper than Zhou Yuan's, who is only at the early stage. What a pity, a real pity..."