Chapter 1277: Sparring

Ordinarily, Wu Chang could have kept silent about this, as it would be tantamount to exposing his weakness. A body cultivator possesses immense strength, and if engaged in close combat by a peer, the consequences would be disastrous.

Wu Chang proactively declared himself a body cultivator, demonstrating both a desire for fairness and exceptional self-confidence.

"Alright, Fellow Daoist Wu, please feel free to make your move," Wang Changsheng said. "I too wish to witness your divine abilities."

Wang Changsheng agreed, a solemn expression on his face.

He took out a pair of gleaming golden gauntlets and put them on. The gauntlets were adorned with several golden lotus patterns.

The Golden Lotus Gauntlets were magic treasures specially crafted for body cultivators, designed to unleash their maximum power only when wielded by such practitioners.

To capitalize on his strengths and mitigate his weaknesses, he, a dual cultivator of magic and body, knew he couldn't match a dedicated body cultivator in brute strength. However, as an artifact refiner, he could forge suitable magic treasures to enhance his own power.

Countless mysterious crimson runes lit up on Wu Chang's body, and veins bulged on his arms. A muffled crackling sound of bones resonated from within him as his physique grew significantly taller. A large expanse of crimson flames erupted from his body, making him resemble a fire god, and the ambient temperature abruptly soared.

A red light glowed beneath Wu Chang's feet, transforming into a hot gust of wind that surged directly towards Wang Changsheng.

Before he even got close, an unbearable heatwave washed over Wang Changsheng, making his mouth go dry.

Wang Changsheng moved his arms, and countless water vapors condensed, forming a blue shark over ten zhang long which lunged towards Wu Chang.

Boom!

The blue shark was shattered to pieces by Wu Chang in an instant, dissipating into a vast expanse of white mist.

Wu Chang took a swift stride, abruptly appearing before Wang Changsheng. He moved his arms, stirring up a crimson wave of fire, and slammed it towards Wang Changsheng.

With a muffled thud, Wang Changsheng's body disintegrated, vanishing into tiny specks of blue light.

"An illusion!"

Wu Chang frowned, surprised he hadn't detected it was an illusion.

A blue light flashed, and suddenly, nine Wang Changshengs appeared around Wu Chang. Their aura was identical, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake.

Wu Chang snorted lightly. He shook his arms, and a deafening roar erupted from his body as waves of fierce flames surged out, forming a crimson giant tiger, two zhang long and half a zhang tall. The crimson giant tiger leaped forward, pouncing on one of the Wang Changshengs.

The crimson giant tiger's claws tore one of the Wang Changshengs to shreds. Its tail swept suddenly, and another Wang Changsheng vanished into specks of spiritual light.

It successively tore four Wang Changshengs to pieces, all of them fakes.

One of the Wang Changshengs moved his arms. The Golden Lotus Gauntlets on his hands instantly erupted with dazzling golden light. With a flash, several golden fist shadows, each several zhang in size, flew out and slammed into the target.

Boom!

With a loud bang, the crimson giant tiger was struck by the dense golden fist shadows and immediately burst apart, transforming into rolling flames. Rings of crimson energy waves became crimson hurricanes, sweeping wildly in all directions.

As the crimson hurricanes approached within five zhang of Wu Chang, a burst of crimson flames erupted from his body, shattering them.

A world-shaking roar emanated from Wu Chang. He slammed his fists towards the void, which hummed with a muffled sound. Specks of firelight appeared out of thin air, quickly transforming into a giant tiger over thirty zhang in size. The tiger glowed entirely red, enveloped in a layer of golden flames, with even its facial features clearly visible.

This was the spiritual art, Golden Blazing Roaring Tiger. When Wu Chang, at the early Nascent Soul stage, executed this art, it possessed thirty percent of the power of a Fourth-tier Golden Blazing Roaring Tiger. However, its defensive power could not compare to a true Golden Blazing Roaring Tiger.

The Golden Blazing Roaring Tiger let out a furious roar, descended from the sky, and pounced on Wang Changsheng.

Before it even landed, it spewed forth a shimmering golden sound wave that shot directly towards Wang Changsheng.

Wherever the golden sound wave passed, ripples spread through the void, and the spiritual light on the blue stone slabs covering the ground flickered continuously.

Wang Changsheng snorted coldly. The Golden Lotus Gauntlet on his right hand flared with brilliant golden light, and he slammed it towards the void.

The void seemed to tear apart, emitting a piercing whoosh, as a golden fist shadow, over ten zhang in size, flew out.

With an earth-shattering bang, the golden fist shadow shattered the golden sound wave, and a powerful wave of energy spread out.

A terrifying heatwave descended from the sky. Wang Changsheng's figure flickered, avoiding it, as a golden flame landed on the ground, rapidly spreading, causing the spiritual light covering the floor to flicker continuously.

Boom!

Wang Changsheng moved, leaving behind a series of afterimages, to dodge the golden flames' attacks. The entire light barrier was engulfed by the golden flames. Even through three layers of light barriers, Wang Ruyan and the other two could still feel an unbearable heatwave, indicating the extreme temperature inside.

Roar! Roar!

An extremely furious roar resounded, the roaring intensifying. A long crimson tail descended from the sky, lashing out at Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng moved his arms, instantly grabbed the Golden Blazing Roaring Tiger's tail, and swung it with force.

Boom!

Large sections of the floor were shattered, sending dust flying everywhere. A blue hand, over ten zhang in size, appeared out of thin air and slammed down fiercely.

With a mournful cry, the Golden Blazing Roaring Tiger's body disintegrated, turning into a vast expanse of golden flames that splattered everywhere, with waves of heat rolling off them.

A ball of firelight suddenly ignited before Wang Changsheng. After a blur, it abruptly transformed into Wu Chang's figure, a manifestation of the Fire Escape Art.

He naturally didn't believe a single spiritual art could harm Wang Changsheng; the Golden Blazing Roaring Tiger was merely a distraction.

Wu Chang moved his fists and punched towards Wang Changsheng.

A sharp glint flashed in Wang Changsheng's eyes. Tiny specks of golden light lit up on his body, making him appear as if he were plated in gold.

This was the spiritual art, Glazed Golden Body.

Wang Changsheng moved his fists and met the attack.

With muffled thuds, the four fists collided, sending out visible waves of energy. Numerous floorboards were swept high into the air by the powerful energy waves.

Wang Changsheng's body was enveloped in a large expanse of blue light, while Wu Chang was encased in a mass of crimson flames. The two clashed like fire against water, with energy waves rolling fiercely. Red and blue lights intertwined, merging with each other, making it impossible to tell who had the upper hand.

"Is Fellow Daoist Wang also a body cultivator?"

Murong Bo said with some surprise. The Green Lotus Immortal Couple's reputation was widespread in the South Sea, and Murong Bo had heard of them, but he wasn't aware of their true divine abilities.

The Green Lotus Immortal Couple rarely sparred with others, giving them an air of mystery, so few people knew of their true divine abilities.

Wang Ruyan smiled but remained silent. A hint of worry flickered in her beautiful eyes, as Wang Changsheng, though a dual cultivator of magic and body, was injured, making this sparring match unfair.

Boom!

Following an earth-shattering bang, Wu Chang was sent flying backward as an afterimage.

Before he could regain his balance, a blue water dragon over ten zhang long lunged towards him.

Wu Chang shook his arms, and countless fierce flames surged out, forming a crimson giant tiger which met the attack.

The crimson giant tiger seemed made of paper; it was torn to shreds by the blue water dragon in an instant. The blue water dragon then crashed into Wu Chang's body.

He felt an irresistible force strike him, sending his body instantly flying backward. Before he could land, ripples appeared in the void above him, and a blue hand over ten zhang in size appeared out of thin air, slamming down fiercely.

A flicker of panic crossed Wu Chang's eyes. He opened his mouth, and a palm-sized crimson seal flew out, rapidly expanding as it flew, and smashed towards the blue hand.

Boom!

With a loud bang, the blue hand was shattered to pieces by the crimson seal, dissipating into countless water vapors.

Wang Changsheng's figure flickered, vanishing into tiny specks of blue light. A droplet of water that had splashed onto the ground glowed with dazzling blue light, and Wang Changsheng reappeared from it.

He held the Grand Hao Spirit-Severing Blade in his hand. Its blade had turned snow-white, and he brought it down towards Wu Chang.

Wu Chang crossed his arms and blocked forward.

With a muffled clang, the Grand Hao Spirit-Severing Blade struck Wu Chang's arm. Faint crimson scales were vaguely visible on his arm.