Chapter 313: Dragon Battle in the Wild

In ancient times, the Northern Region was exceptionally vibrant and lush. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was so dense that it crystallized into "sources," and countless spiritual herbs and divine medicines could be found.

Now, however, the vibrant flora is gone, plants have withered, and the land is desolate. With its red soil and reddish-brown rocks, it presents a bleak and desolate scene.

Although there are many oases, they appear insignificant compared to the vast red landscape, like scattered islands in an endless ocean.

This also indicates the boundless expanse of the Northern Region, as countless oases span thousands, or even tens of thousands, of li in circumference.

Between Kun Province and An Province lies an boundless, scarlet Gobi desert that stretches as far as the eye can see.

Ye Fan, carrying the God-Beating Whip, journeyed alone across this reddish-brown landscape. He had learned that one of the Ten Great Masters of the younger generation from Yaoguang Holy Land might be passing through this area.

Tu Fei had gone to An Province, while the Big Black Dog remained in Kun Province to help him locate Yaoguang's Ten Great Masters.

The boundless, blood-red land was exceptionally bleak and desolate. A glance revealed almost nothing, just emptiness and dead silence.

The only features were likely some upright red rock formations, which did not particularly stand out against the boundless scarlet earth. It was a monotonous expanse, devoid of other colors or excessive scenery, offering only ancient, parched ground.

Ye Fan did not walk quickly, but his steps were firm and deliberate. Carrying the God-Beating Whip, he ventured deeper into the scarlet land.

Suddenly, he stopped and stood quietly, gazing toward the distant horizon where a small black dot was rapidly approaching.

"Here they come," Ye Fan murmured with a cold smile. His first battle was about to begin, and he was determined to fight. The small black dot on the horizon moved incredibly fast, gradually revealing itself as a robust figure. He glided three inches above the ground, his feet not touching the earth, his shoulders unmoving, as he advanced through the air.

In an instant, the person was already close, their figure and appearance clearly visible. His steps were not swift, yet he moved with extreme speed; each step seemed to make him vanish from his original spot and instantly reappear further ahead. He possessed the profound mystery of "shrinking the ground into an inch"—this individual was clearly extraordinary.

This was a man in his early twenties, not particularly tall but very sturdy, with bronze skin that exuded a powerful sense of strength. His long black hair and sharp, piercing eyes gave him an oppressive, even aggressive, aura. He was clearly a dominant individual who seemed to want everything under his control.

This heroic man, with his wheat-colored skin and physique like cast bronze, exuded an impression of courage and unparalleled dominance with every movement.

The approaching man suddenly halted, hovering three feet above the ground directly in front of Ye Fan. He scrutinized Ye Fan, his eyes emitting two terrifying beams of light, like twin sharp swords.

"It's you... Ye Fan?"

He uttered these four words, resonant and powerful, like the buzzing of a golden bell that made eardrums vibrate and the scarlet earth tremble.

"Yes, it's me," Ye Fan affirmed, standing on the ground and gazing at the heroic man before him. This individual was indeed extraordinary, causing even Ye Fan a touch of pressure.

The man fixed his gaze on Ye Fan and said, "I was looking for you. I didn't expect you to show up yourself. Were you waiting for me?"

"That's right," Ye Fan replied succinctly. "I've been waiting for you here for quite some time. Today, you'll be the first one I send on their way."

"Hahahaha..." The powerful man burst into loud laughter, his black hair fluttering wildly, and a chill appearing on his bronze skin. He then said, "Everyone in the Northern Region is looking for you now, and yet you dare to be so bold. It's truly a case of finding what one seeks without effort, saving me the trouble of searching far and wide."

"State your name," Ye Fan calmly began. "After all, you are the first opponent I've encountered today." "Gu Litian," the heroic man declared his name.

"So you're one of the Ten Great Masters taught by the reclusive elders," Ye Fan said. "Let me see what's so exceptional about you. Just try not to get pulverized by a single punch from me." Ye Fan began to walk forward.

"You know quite a lot, and your words are not humble," Gu Litian retorted. "It's a pity this isn't the Primordial Era anymore; a physique like yours was born in the wrong time." Gu Litian landed on the ground and began to advance, step by step. "The Ten Great Masters were dispatched entirely for you, and now I've found you first. This is destiny." "Destiny?" Ye Fan chuckled. "Do you think I'm meat on a chopping block?"

"So you mean to suppress my physique, do you? Let me see how that works," Ye Fan said, striding forward.

Gu Litian mirrored his action, showing no fear that Ye Fan's physique far surpassed ordinary people's. He clearly intended to engage in close-quarters combat.

However, as he advanced, a divine glow emanated from his glabella, and a piece of purple star-iron appeared, protecting his forehead and brow.

Seeing this, Ye Fan was momentarily speechless; his powerful divine consciousness seemed to have no place for use now.

Indeed, his divine sense, vast as a sea, could overpower strong enemies and was already widely known throughout the Northern Region. Every member of the younger generation understood that to confront him, one must first protect their Sea of Consciousness.

Gu Litian transformed into a streak of reddish-bronze lightning and charged forward in five steps. He was indeed overconfident, daring to engage the Primordial Sacred Body in close combat and contend in physical strength. "Lend me your esteemed head; I'll take it back to the Holy Land and offer it to my master," he intoned softly. His bronze skin gleamed, and streams of dragon qi unexpectedly coiled around him.

Gu Litian threw a punch, and it was as if an earthquake had struck; the ground beneath their feet violently trembled. His arm was like a flood dragon, incredibly fierce and powerful.

Bang!

Ye Fan swung his golden fist to meet it, and their fists collided with a loud bang, like a clap of thunder.

Gu Litian, having reached Great Perfection in the Dao Palace realm's fifth Heaven, possessed astonishing combat power, enough to defeat someone at the first level of the Four Extremities Secret Realm, just as Weiwei had described.

With a "Boom!", Gu Litian was sent flying backward, a look of shock on his face. "You've advanced again, to the Fourth Heaven!" he exclaimed. "How did you acquire a hundred thousand catties of source?"

He was filled with disbelief, and it was no wonder; thirty sections of source were an astonishing amount—how could a rogue cultivator possibly acquire so much? Ye Fan, meanwhile, stood completely still. His physical body could undoubtedly dominate the Dao Palace realm and defy the Four Extremities; in terms of pure strength, few at his cultivation level could compare.

However, Ye Fan was not careless. Gu Litian was very unusual, exuding an aura of danger that was no less potent than that of a Four Extremities Secret Realm expert.

Suddenly, a long cry like that of a flood dragon echoed, causing the scarlet earth to tremble. Gu Litian's body erupted with radiant light.

Streams of purple mist began to emanate from him, and his physical body underwent an astonishing transformation: purple scales erupted across his skin, and his entire form, even his face, shimmered with purple light.

"A demon?" Ye Fan exclaimed in surprise.

Gu Litian did not reply. Instead, he transformed into a streak of purple light and charged forward, exuding a dangerous aura. His physical body was exceedingly powerful, surging with explosive force.

Bang!

The instant he charged, he clashed repeatedly with Ye Fan, creating a series of metallic clanging sounds. Their two pairs of fists struck each other like four divine hammers, ringing out sharply.

Ye Fan was indeed surprised; Gu Litian's physical strength had suddenly increased by a large margin, proving capable of withstanding his golden fists.

However, Ye Fan was not concerned. With a soft shout, he fully unleashed his combat power, his entire body glowing brilliantly with golden light, like an ancient god of war.

Boom!

At this moment, he unleashed a punch, and Gu Litian, in his dragon-scaled form, was once again at a disadvantage, completely suppressed. He then transformed into a streak of purple lightning and was sent flying backward.

"The Primordial Sacred Body is truly extraordinary," Gu Litian said in a deep voice. "I've tempered my physical body with flood dragon blood since childhood, for twenty years without fail, yet I still cannot compare to your physique."

His master was very powerful, having subdued eight flood dragons to guard the mountain. From a young age, Gu Litian spent three hours every day tempering his body with flood dragon blood.

Additionally, for another two hours, he would sit cross-legged in a medicine cauldron, refined by his master with various medicinal liquids to strengthen his physical body. Thus, his physical body had reached an astonishing level.

Yet, even with such rigorous training, he still couldn't compare to the Primordial Sacred Body; in true close combat, he appeared clearly inferior.

"No wonder he can fight a Four Extremities realm cultivator from the Dao Palace realm," Ye Fan thought, a hint of envy even rising in him. "So that's how it is!" Such a method of body tempering would consume an immense amount of medicinal herbs and flood dragon blood; only a Holy Land could possibly bear such costs, otherwise, who could afford it?

"Let me witness Yaoguang's divine techniques," Ye Fan said. "Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't get a chance to use them."

"Disciples taught by reclusive elders seldom cultivate Yaoguang's orthodox secret techniques," Gu Litian stated as his physical body began to transform once more. "You've already reached the Dao Palace's Fourth Heaven, which is beyond my expectation, but it changes nothing. I only need to take your head."

"Anyone can boast," Ye Fan scoffed coldly, "but you are still far inferior to me in terms of physical strength."

Gu Litian shook his head and roared, "I cultivate only my physical body; how could I possibly stop here? Give me your head!"

He opened his mouth and swallowed a purple inner core. Instantly, his entire being became almost grotesque, his joints crackling like popping beans, and an extremely terrifying aura permeated the air.

Ye Fan was startled. He raised his hand, forming the Void Great Hand Seal, and activated it with the Dou Zhan Sacred Method, causing the immense hand to transform from black to golden.

The colossal hand materialized across the sky like a golden cloud, so heavy it was suffocating, and the scarlet earth beneath them cracked directly.

But at that very moment, the aura emanating from Gu Litian intensified even further. Purple light shot skyward from his body, his dragon scales shimmered, and he almost completely transformed into a purple dragon.

Like a bolt of purple lightning, he instantly moved away. His physical body seemed to be engulfed in fiercely burning purple fire, and his physical strength and combat power instantly multiplied several times over.

What Gu Litian had consumed was a flood dragon's inner core—not a whole one, of course, but a portion, yet even that was enough to be utterly terrifying.

At this moment, apart from not having grown a tail or horns, he truly appeared no different from a flood dragon. The scales covering his body became thicker and heavier, and the purple glow was dazzling.