Chapter 2043: Power Supremacy

Beneath the deep waters of the North Sea, a stream of light suddenly broke through the surface, emerging into the void.

The light screen of the Apricot Realm immediately pinpointed its location.

Everyone looked and saw a sallow-skinned old man, slightly hunched, with deep wrinkles on his face.

Undoubtedly, it was Shennong Baicao!

Not only did he show no respect to Lord Shou and uttered not a single word of “Ancestor Shou,” but as he emerged from the water, his eyes were also filled with intense killing intent.

This was completely different from his previous helpless demeanor when cornered by Zero.

The moment he surfaced this time, the space between his two fingers was clearly stained crimson, and a Life Spirit Talisman had already been drawn on his chest, which he chanted aloud:

“Inheriting the lifeblood of the past, drawing the essence of Heaven's fortune.”

“Forging the great fruit of creation and destruction, nurturing the embryo of the cycle of reincarnation.”

With a joint finger pointing upwards, the Life Spirit Talisman was torn apart.

From it, surging life spiritual light splattered out, like a swarm of locusts filling the sky, yet all of it converged upon the body of the Medicine Ancestor.

The old man raised his head, his eyes glaring menacingly, staring intently at Xu Xiaoshou on Crane Pavilion Mountain, as if looking at a defenseless dead dog.

“Life-Cycle Body: Martial, Condense!”

With this final command, the area around the Medicine Ancestor exploded.

His body cracked with countless blood marks, but at the wounds, flesh and blood wildly wriggled and grew, rapidly expanding outwards, as if his life force was overflowing, with nowhere to be spent.

In a short time, the Medicine Ancestor’s body swelled into a thousand-zhang-sized tumor, and after the tumor deflated, muscular limbs quickly extended from four directions, followed by a head.

The excess life energy also condensed into an indestructible black life armor.

The transformation happened in an instant.

When they looked again, where was there any trace of the Medicine Ancestor?

He had clearly transformed from the very essence of his life form, becoming another being.

“This, this isn't the Battle Ancestor, is it?”

“How could the Medicine Ancestor suddenly turn into the Battle Ancestor?”

Who else could that thousand-zhang giant be, whose crown resembled a war monument, armor like mountains, eyes shining like the sun and moon, and aura capable of swallowing rivers and mountains, if not the Battle Ancestor?

Not to mention the spectators in the Apricot Realm, even Xu Xiaoshou on Crane Pavilion Mountain was stunned at this moment, as if he had witnessed something unbelievable.

“The battle is declared over,” Saint Xin murmured softly beside the Time Realm.

Even at this point, he still hadn't dared to break the Heavenly Earth Sealing, fearing that Xu Xiaoshou might be an impostor.

But the moment the Life-Cycle Fruit was summoned by the Medicine Ancestor, Saint Xin knew that Shennong Baicao was serious.

The scales of victory and defeat consequently tipped to one side.

No matter how much Xu Xiaoshou played tricks or had more schemes up his sleeve, he simply could not turn the tide against absolute power.

What was the Life-Cycle Fruit?

It was an item of the Celestial Realm, a rare treasure not belonging to the Sacred God Continent, and its value surpassed that of the Meteoric Heaven Crystal—though, of course, if it were Meteoric Heaven Crystals in the quantity Zero possessed, that would be another matter entirely.

The Medicine Ancestor had, in fact, only acquired a dead seed at that time.

Upon learning this information, Saint Xin, combining it with the Dao of Life and Reincarnation, secretly remained vigilant and wary.

He had to be cautious!

The function of the Life-Cycle Fruit was that by obtaining a drop of an Ancestral God's essence blood, one could, after that Ancestral God's demise and without interference from external paths, cultivate an identical true body of that Ancestral God.

This body would have no spirit or will, but could be used by its cultivator as an Ancestral God avatar, obeying every command.

Furthermore, it could inherit nearly eighty percent of the abilities of the Ancestral God whose essence blood was used, and the best way to utilize it was as a complement to one's own Dao.

While it sounded powerful, it naturally had limitations.

That is, if the Ancestral God primarily cultivated spirit and will, the true body nurtured by the Life-Cycle Fruit would in fact not even inherit ten percent of their combat power.

But if they primarily cultivated the physical body…

Then that “eighty percent” might need to be increased even further.

The Medicine Ancestor was naturally not foolish; judging by his choice to transform into Battle Ancestor Wu, he had almost maximized the utility of the Life-Cycle Fruit.

Life and Reincarnation were merely perception-based Grand Daos.

But when combined with the Battle Ancestor's true body from the Life-Cycle Fruit, it was like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, with no shortcomings left.

“Indeed, old ginger is spicier than new…”

Saint Xin’s eyes flickered, feeling fortunate that Xu Xiaoshou’s appearance had forced Shennong Baicao to reveal this card.

This was why, in the end, he still chose to cooperate with the Medicine Ancestor.

The Ancient Ancestral Gods had too profound a foundation!

Although the battle in the Celestial Realm at that time ended with him and Sui Yin winning, and the other Ancestors failing and entering reincarnation.

The Medicine Ancestor, however, seemingly eliminated early, had in fact wisely preserved himself, escaping the vortex of battle.

Consequently, his state was preserved most perfectly, and none of his various treasures had been consumed.

Although it was unknown what this fellow had spent the energy reserves meant for cultivating a new Celestial Realm on—this point also had to be guarded against.

But besides the vast accumulation of life energy, this Life-Cycle Fruit was also one of the Medicine Ancestor's foundations.

Crucially, it was a one-time consumable.

The true body of an Ancestral God could not be preserved for long periods at all.

The Medicine Ancestor was such a frugal person; since he had summoned and used the Life-Cycle Fruit, it meant he was truly pushed to the brink and intended to fight seriously.

“So, Xu Xiaoshou, how many rounds can you last against the 'Battle Ancestor,' who possesses both strategic intellect and formidable physical combat power?”

Saint Xin gazed into the distance, activating his Fortune-Viewing Art.

He clearly saw that Xu Xiaoshou, standing in Crane Pavilion, had a darkened glabella and a blood-red pillar of fortune, clearly indicating imminent death.

“Heavenly Dao!”

The roar that once conquered the Five Domains resonated in the present world once more.

Ancient martial arts had not given birth to new ancestors, yet their glory had never ceased in this era.

First, Shen Yi pursued the Demonic Ancestor and shattered his head with a single staff blow.

Now, the Medicine Ancestor, transformed into the Battle Ancestor, unleashed the Heavenly Dao, closing in on Crane Pavilion, and delivered a punch towards Xu Xiaoshou.

What he had lost, he intended to reclaim!

Including the eighteen pools of life elixir on Xu Xiaoshou!

“No…”

The sky screen magnified, encompassing the two figures on the battlefield.

The hearts of the Apricot Realm's people clenched; that was a power even the Demonic Ancestor's body, nurtured for countless ages within the Primordial Womb Coffin, couldn't withstand.

Could Lord Shou block it?

“What in the world, you have a Battle Ancestor too?”

Xu Xiaoshou, however, was fearless. Merging Cang Ku into himself, he stepped forward, intending to engage in battle.

He suddenly thought of something, glanced, and even had the leisure to look at Zero, who was above the Sea of Memory.

If he remembered correctly…

In the alliance at the Crossroads, Dao Qiongcang had personally stated that the Medicine Ancestor would be dealt with by him.

Xu Xiaoshou only needed to deal with Saint Xin.

But with that glance, he saw Dao Qiongcang, above Zero's head, completely disoriented, as if he was once again struggling with the Dao Ancestor within his mind, fighting for control of his body.

“Heh.”

Xu Xiaoshou withdrew his gaze, making a mental note in his little book.

One note after another, adding up to almost spell 'death' after Dao Qiongcang's name in his mental ledger.

But this was all to be expected.

Originally, he hadn't expected the flamboyant old Daoist to contribute much; simply not causing trouble was already a great contribution.

“Roar—”

The Heavenly Dao Medicine Ancestor delivered a punch directly to his face.

Yet, within this critical moment, a wild beast roar was heard, and Xu Xiaoshou transformed, directly becoming an Extreme Giant, also a thousand zhang tall.

Golden light burst around his body, and the nine fully charged Immeasurable Jizi behind him lit up. As he unleashed a punch, an identical mark suddenly glowed on his brow.

“Heavenly Dao!”

Two Heavenly Daos!

Two straight punches!

Both seemed eager to determine, with this first clash, who was stronger, who was superior.

With a thunderous crash, immense power settled like a mountain.

No abnormalities were yet seen from the two clashing figures, but below, the picturesque Crane Pavilion Mountain had already been mostly flattened by the sweeping storm.

“Lord Shou, lost?!”

The Apricot Realm's sky screen magnified, clearly showing the force waves propagating from the Extreme Giant's right arm throughout his body, causing his muscles to ripple like waves.

In a sudden instant, the Extreme Giant seemed unable to withstand the immense destructive force any longer, and was blasted half a step backward.

“In the Dao of Strength, who can equal me?”

Seeing this, the Medicine Ancestor burst into laughter, his eyes radiating even greater ferocity.

Xu Xiaoshou was a weakling!

This Extreme Giant appeared invincible but was actually strong on the outside and hollow within; one punch had fully revealed his true state.

And the feeling of winning through brute force in a direct confrontation, like this, was completely different from calculating against others from behind the scenes and achieving victory without shedding blood.

The Medicine Ancestor had never been a passionate person.

But after this punch, he truly experienced the charm of close-quarters combat—a feeling that exhilarated, maddened, and made one's blood boil, even Shennong Baicao became infatuated with it!

“Four Discards!”

Elephant World Spider Root Crystal, Soul-Drawing Mist Rain Flower, Golden Strength Quality Fruit, plus a section of Rosha Guarding Consciousness Vine—a total of four divine medicines were thrown into the air.

Seizing the advantage, he showed no mercy!

The Medicine Ancestor's Battle Ancestor Dharmakaya laughed maniacally, opening his mouth to swallow these four divine objects while simultaneously activating “Four Discards.”

“Hiss—”

Just then, the Extreme Giant, who was clearly still retreating unsteadily, suddenly opened his mouth and fiercely sucked in.

With a rumble, ten thousand li were sucked into a vacuum.

Even the blood energy, soul, and consciousness within the Battle Ancestor's body were drawn and pulled, momentarily destabilized, as if about to be ripped from the Battle Ancestor's true form.

And those four divine medicines, which were already at the verge of entering his mouth—like ducks that had reached the beak—directly transformed into vast medicinal power and rushed into the Extreme Giant's mouth and nose.

“Eek!”

The Transmission Sky Screen magnified, and the people of the Apricot Realm saw clearly.

The Extreme Giant, from head to toe, developed distinct, massive goosebumps, as if he was so thrilled he was about to roll his eyes back and faint on the spot.

“Delicious.”

As the Extreme Giant digested the four divine medicines and immediately followed by using “Four Discards” on the Medicine Ancestor, the spectators erupted.

“Lord Shou sucked away all four divine medicines that belonged to the Medicine Ancestor?”

“What kind of bizarre breathing technique is this, my heavens? Lord Shou, are you trying to make me laugh myself to death so you can inherit all thirty-six Spirit Crystals on my body?”

“Haha, if I were the Medicine Ancestor, my mind would be blown. How do you even fight this? Lord Shou's combat style simply doesn't play by the rules!”

Even Saint Xin was baffled.

What kind of spiritual skill was this?

He could directly suck away something that was already in someone else's mouth, from a distance?

Amateurs watched the spectacle, but even he, an expert, found it somewhat incomprehensible, because even the power of devouring didn't possess this kind of “sucking force.”

Devouring merely meant being able to swallow.

Its more important characteristic was “being able to eat is a blessing.”

Xu Xiaoshou's breathing technique, however, was outright robbery.

Saint Xin even seriously suspected that even if the four divine medicines had been eaten by the Medicine Ancestor, as long as they weren't immediately digested, he could still suck them out, forcing a second consumption as if in rumination!

“Whoosh!”

Visibly, the Battle Ancestor's true body, including its physical form, spirit, and will, as well as the 'I' of the Medicine Ancestor controlling this body, were rapidly perishing.

From feet, to body, to head…

And the Medicine Ancestor didn't react at all!

It seemed that throughout his billions of years of long life, he had never encountered such a tactic of robbing and consuming another's pills during battle.

The Medicine Ancestor was truly dumbfounded.

Even a Fourth Realm combat awareness probably couldn't pull off such a scandalous maneuver, could it?

He once again felt the charm of close combat—battle opportunities changed in an instant, possessing countless possibilities!

“Eating your medicine, striking your precious body, Shennong Baicao, take this punch!” The Extreme Giant activated “Four Discards,” reaching full power, and leaped into the air with a fierce punch.

The Medicine Ancestor could only swallow four more medicines at that critical moment—fortunately, he still had some reserves, otherwise, the Battle Ancestor's true body, including himself, would have been completely obliterated by this wave of “Four Discards.”

However, it was too late to mend the fence after the sheep had escaped.

Compared to the Extreme Giant's “Four Discards” at full power, he had only managed to reconstitute his physical form, spirit, will, and self by relying on divine medicine after sacrificing half of himself.

When the Extreme Giant's punch struck, the lower half of the Battle Ancestor's true body hadn't even fully reconstituted yet!

“Three Realms!”

The Medicine Ancestor wasn't flustered at all.

With the activation of the Severance-Separation-Annihilation Three Realms, he once again gained full power by discarding.

This was truly a stroke of unexpected good fortune!

The Medicine Ancestor only roughly understood “Four Discards,” but had no grasp of the principles of the Three Realms.

He also didn't know that before the Battle Ancestor activated the Three Realms, he had to cast his consciousness out of his body, effectively discarding his mind first.

Fortunately, the Three Realms activated by the Battle Ancestor's true body had no relation to the Medicine Ancestor's consciousness at all, as the Life-Cycle Fruit itself was inherently without spirit or will, thus avoiding the side effects of the Three Realms from the outset.

However, one's personality indeed affects on-the-spot combat.

The Medicine Ancestor, having activated the Three Realms, his first reaction wasn't to meet the attack, but rather that he might retreat further, reorganize, and then fight, as he didn't know what other strange tricks Xu Xiaoshou had.

Just as he finished thinking this, and was about to turn around.

He then saw the Extreme Giant, punching down from above, echoing his move as if from a mirror, also letting out a long cry:

“Three Realms!”

Severance, Separation, Annihilation, augmented by the power of the three natures.

The sky screen split into two halves, comparing the states of the Extreme Giant and the Battle Ancestor's true body—one complete, one fragmented.

Even the manipulation of the Three Realms' power seemed more exquisite from Lord Shou than from the Medicine Ancestor, which completely dumbfounded everyone.

“Lord Shou also knows the Three Realms?”

“Did he acquire it by observing Shen Yi at the time?”

The Apricot Realm's populace erupted in shouts, but Saint Xin, beside the Time Realm, revealed a look of shock, exclaiming inwardly that it was impossible.

Shen Yi's Three Realms was activated through the augmentation of resentful Buddhist Dao, in a Two-Polarity manner.

It was unique, with no way for others to learn from it.

Although his Three Realms bore the same name as the Battle Ancestor's, their essence was completely different. How could Xu Xiaoshou possibly gain enlightenment from observing it?

Even comprehending the Buddhist Dao with a single glance and directly converting to Buddhism wouldn't necessarily allow one to activate Shen Yi's Three Realms, let alone Xu Xiaoshou whose personality fundamentally differed from the Buddhist Dao.

“Then how did he activate it?”

This unanswerable question also arose in Zero's mind.

And the Medicine Ancestor, who had similarly found no answers, looked at the opposing Three Realms power eruption, his eyes filled with panic and terror.

He could grow large, and Xu Xiaoshou could also grow large.

He was invincible in frontal combat, but Xu Xiaoshou was even more invincible.

Xu Xiaoshou could swallow his divine medicine, Xu Xiaoshou could replicate his Three Realms, Xu Xiaoshou could do everything he did, and even do it better?

“This is impossible!”

For a brief moment, the Medicine Ancestor felt as if he was in a grand dream of a thousand years.

Only in a dream could Xu Xiaoshou possibly achieve all that should have been impossible.

But there was no time for him to continue pondering.

Running, he couldn't run away!

The power of the Three Realms was unleashed, yet he didn't gain a moment's respite. The Medicine Ancestor's vital energy burned throughout his body, bursting forth on the spot:

“Life Dao Blood Sacrifice!”

With a roar, at the cost of overdrawing his potential, lifeblood, and fortune, the Medicine Ancestor forcibly reconstituted the entirety of the Battle Ancestor's true body in the nick of time, then returned a punch directly to the face.

A counter-attack!

This wave of super-strong blood sacrifice originated from the Dao of Life, which Xu Xiaoshou simply could not replicate.

The two punches collided, shattering countless miles of Dao law.

After only a moment of stalemate, with a 'crack,' the Extreme Giant's right arm fractured, and his flesh and blood pulverized with a rumble.

“There’s a chance!” The Medicine Ancestor was overjoyed, ecstatic.

“No, something’s wrong,” Saint Xin instinctively noted from beside the Time Realm.

“He’s hiding his true ability?” Zero knew even better that Xu Xiaoshou clearly had many more direct combat methods that he hadn't yet used.

But in the center of the battlefield, the Medicine Ancestor, having gained an advantage with one strike, seemed to get carried away.

He didn't even know why he suddenly conceived such a crazy idea, completely suppressing any thought of retreat, and just wanted to cast everything aside and attack with brute force.

Fighting, felt great!

Punch after punch, punch after punch.

After breaking through the Extreme Giant's arms and leaving him wide open.

The Battle Ancestor's true body not only used brute force, but also unleashed life force.

Punch after punch, he hammered the Extreme Giant's chest, pushing him relentlessly from Crane Pavilion Mountain in the Central Region all the way to the Western Sea.

“Hmm?”

One hundred or so punches only managed to shatter the Extreme Giant's chest, but failed to pierce through it.

Finally, at a certain moment, a chill ran down the Medicine Ancestor's spine; he realized there was something invisible and intangible guiding him…

“Guidance?!”

He let out a long cry, not daring to advance further. Even with the advantage, he retreated rapidly.

The Life-Cycle Fruit wasn't summoned just to fight Xu Xiaoshou.

The Medicine Ancestor's original plan was to swiftly defeat this fellow, then turn to deal with Zero, whose entire body was made of Meteoric Heaven Crystals—that was the maximum utilization of the Life-Cycle Fruit's value!

But it was too bizarre.

Xu Xiaoshou's combat style was utterly bewildering.

Even when he was merely defending, it felt as though he had something unreleased, just waiting for an opportunity to turn the tide against all odds.

“What opportunity?”

The Medicine Ancestor only retreated half a step, then his pupils suddenly dilated as he realized that perhaps this was the opportune moment created by his sudden halt in attack?!

Sure enough, under the relentless barrage of attacks, Xu Xiaoshou had no other recourse but to activate the Immovable Wisdom King and Absolute Rejection Balance to accumulate power.

The moment the Battle Ancestor's true body retreated, he, with a backhand, seemed to pick up an invisible, intangible giant blade and threw it into the air:

“Land of Calamity, Blade Wielding.”

In that instant, there was clearly no physical slashing attack.

Yet, the Medicine Ancestor distinctly felt that his connection with the Battle Ancestor's true body had been severed, and his links between past, present, and future were all cut off.

“Now it’s my turn to have fun.”

The Battle Ancestor's true body paused, and the Extreme Giant burst forward.

After accumulating power and energy for so long with Absolute Rejection Balance, and sacrificing a round of Immeasurable Jizi to restore his right arm, he landed a punch directly on the Battle Ancestor's true body's chest.

Just one punch!

The Battle Ancestor's true body, which had barely been pushed from Crane Pavilion to the Western Sea, was directly flung out of the battlefield by the twisting force of that massive blow.

With a boom, the space above the Central Yuan Realm shattered, and the Battle Ancestor's true body was uncontrollably flung away, smashing into the turbulent currents of time and space.

Another boom echoed above the Eastern Sea, as a sky-obscuring dark shadow was flung across, startling the underwater Yu Lingdi.

Yet another boom, and within the deserted East Heavenly King City in the Eastern Domain, a flung crimson figure directly crashed, tearing through countless tall buildings and ripping apart the protective formations of various sects with devastating force.

“Pfft!”

Only upon crashing to the ground did the fall finally halt.

The Medicine Ancestor opened his mouth and spat out blood; only then did he manage to catch his breath. He finally realized that in a direct confrontation, he was absolutely no match for Xu Xiaoshou.

This guy's combat awareness was superior to his own!

Compared to before, and compared to what was in Bei Huai's memory, it had risen yet another level!

How old was he? How could he possibly have cultivated such combat awareness?

Even if he had received direct tutelage from the Battle Ancestor, or was even the Battle Ancestor reincarnated, he couldn't possibly possess such terrifying Fourth Realm combat awareness, akin to the Battle Ancestor, could he?

“Run!”

But if he ran, wouldn't the Life-Cycle Fruit be wasted?

Before the Medicine Ancestor could recover from his hesitation, the Extreme Giant, far away in the westernmost part of the Central Region, activated Divine Agility Moment and arrived in a single step, as if scaling the heavens.

The Battle Ancestor Dharmakaya lay miserably crashed on the ground.

The Extreme Giant sat down from the air, directly straddling his waist and gripping his neck with one hand.

“Huh?”

Eyes widened in the Apricot Realm.

The style of the scene, it seemed, had changed again?

Just because the city was empty didn't mean there were no spectators to this battle, did it?

What are you two doing? The East Heavenly King City isn't a giant bed; it can't withstand your two massive giants' fierce combat!

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The Extreme Giant delivered only four punches!

Compared to the Medicine Ancestor's chaotic attack style, the Extreme Giant seemed to have pre-attended the Battle Ancestor's combat training camp and graduated with excellent marks.

It was extremely decisive.

One punch to the chest and abdomen, one punch to the heart, one punch to the head, and one punch to the groin.

Just four punches broke open the Life-Cycle Fruit, striking four fatal core locations, shattering the Battle Ancestor's true body's life patterns, and causing its vitality to rapidly crumble.

“Useless!”

Beside the Time Realm, Saint Xin stood tall, his face etched with disbelief.

What utter uselessness!

If this Battle Ancestor's true body were given to him to control, even with one hand tied behind his back, he could make that Xu Xiaoshou fellow spit out all his teeth. But Shennong Baicao, this…

Are you kidding me?!