Chapter 184: True Opponent

"Roar!"

With a roar, the Yellow Dragon Sword blazed with light, blossoming like a fiery yellow sun in the chamber.

Behind Li Weiyi, a two-zhang-tall combat intent manifestation spontaneously appeared as he swung his sword. This combat intent manifestation was completely different from the one cultivated through the Heaven-Overturning Palm Seal; it was another ancient immortal.

It was the combat intent manifestation cultivated from practicing "Taiyi Cleaving the Sea."

"CRACK!"

The descending spiritual qi palm print was shattered by Li Weiyi's Sea-Cleaving Sword strike. The sword energy transformed into a yellow dragon that flew out; after shattering the chamber window, the yellow dragon dispersed back into sword energy, drawing gasps from countless cultivators on the fourth floor of the pavilion.

They had never imagined that while the inheritors were dueling below, cultivators would also be fighting above.

A flicker of surprise crossed Gan Yanzhen's eyes, and he softly exclaimed, "Good!" His true body moved as if gliding, swiftly dashing towards Li Weiyi.

Everyone in the chamber clearly understood that if Li Weiyi was captured, they too would be silenced. However, if they helped Li Weiyi escape, it would be meaningless for Gan Yanzhen to kill them afterward. He would surely flee immediately to avoid being hunted down by imperial experts.

In duels between masters, analysis and judgment happen in an instant. The outcome of life-and-death battles often depends on whether judgments made at critical moments are correct.

"You want to borrow my brother Weiyi's human skin? Have you asked me, Ten-Meals Dharma King?"

On Shi Shishi's simple, chubby face, his eyes suddenly turned sharp. Spiritual qi erupted from his body like an explosion, filling every inch of the chamber.

Gan Yanzhen clearly hadn't expected that a gluttonous, chubby boy of sixteen or seventeen could instantly unleash such formidable spiritual qi energy. He had cultivated the Sixth Sea and was a Nine Springs Zenith Being. These were secondary. What truly troubled Gan Yanzhen was the layered power fluctuations when his opponent's punch struck like a meteor.

For a mortal at the same cultivation level, to contend with a Pure Immortal Body, one would need to either rely on higher-grade magical artifacts, possess a more advanced level of combat intent, or have purer spiritual qi... Each of these was difficult, as a Pure Immortal Body would not allow a mortal cultivator of the same level to catch up in these aspects, and would strive to compensate for their own weaknesses.

What Shi Shishi was currently employing was a fist-based martial art that allowed for a multiplicative burst of power, specifically designed for Pure Immortal Body cultivators of the same realm. If he could severely injure them with a single move, he would have a chance at victory. Without this move, he possessed only the combat power of a Nine Springs mortal. Once this move was unleashed, he would fight against the odds to overcome a superior opponent.

Of course, such a burst-type martial art was extremely difficult to cultivate, and it had special requirements regarding the distribution of internal trace meridians; only those with extraordinary talent could master it.

Gan Yanzhen couldn't ignore this fiercely incoming punch to continue pursuing Li Weiyi; if he forcefully resisted it, even with his cultivation, he would surely be severely injured.

"Two misjudgments have led to this outcome," Gan Yanzhen sighed. He turned and extended five fingers, using a mysterious technique that seemed to encompass heaven and earth in his palm, accurately seizing Shi Shishi's fist.

"Boom!"

A powerful opposing force not only sent Qi Wangshu and Zuoqiubai Yuan crashing into the walls and falling to the ground, shattering all the tables and chairs in the chamber, but it also caused the entire Moon Seven-Star Pavilion to tremble slightly, and its seven-layered formation array simultaneously emerged.

Shi Shishi cried out in dismay; he had never encountered such a terrifying enemy who could break his Sky-Reaching Punch in this manner. How was he supposed to fight now?

"Zing!"

Behind him, a piercing sword hum rang out. What Gan Yanzhen least expected happened again—a third misjudgment. By the time he heard the sword hum, Li Weiyi, who had not fled but had returned with lightning speed, had already plunged his sword into Gan Yanzhen's back.

The sword tip penetrated an inch, but then couldn't advance any further. An overwhelming torrent of spiritual qi, accompanied by a shower of sparks, surged from Gan Yanzhen's body, sending Li Weiyi flying backward. Shi Shishi, having taken a palm strike, was sent hurtling away, bleeding from all seven orifices.

Having made three consecutive misjudgments and still being alive, Gan Yanzhen knew well that it was solely due to his cultivation being vastly superior to theirs. If these two had been one realm higher in cultivation, he would likely have been severely injured by now.

Just as Gan Yanzhen was about to strike down Shi Shishi and suppress Li Weiyi, a pain he had never experienced in his life, a pain that pierced directly into his soul, erupted from his back.

"This... this sword has a problem..."

For an Ash Spirit, merely being pierced an inch by a sword should not cause any injury at all. But at that moment, from where the sword had struck, sparks continuously surged out like gushing blood, unstoppable. The human skin on his back instantly burned to ash, revealing his Ash Spirit true form.

Seizing this rare opportunity, Li Weiyi and Shi Shishi, one hoisting Qi Wangshu and the other carrying Zuoqiubai Yuan, rushed directly towards the wide window behind the desk and leapt down towards the Soldier Ancestor Swamp below. This was the fastest way to escape! The staircase was already congested, and trying to escape with others might lead to being caught by Gan Yanzhen. Moreover, there might be other Ash Spirits and demons from the Far Western Ash Region hidden within the pavilion.

Gan Yanzhen focused all his energy on healing and refining the strange sword energy that had invaded his body, watching helplessly as the two escaped. He committed Li Weiyi's name to memory, along with his sword that could unleash yellow dragon sword energy. That sword seemed capable of restraining Ash Spirits; it was too dangerous.

From the fourth floor of the pavilion to the sea surface, it was dozens of meters high. Amidst the rushing wind of their descent, Li Weiyi heard a dragon's roar in the distance and looked over. He saw a giant azure dragon, formed from combat intent, coiling and weaving through the water on the distant coastal sea surface. Clouds of spiritual qi enveloped it, as if it could overturn rivers and seas, stirring up massive waves. It was battling a powerful expert.

Before Li Weiyi could make out who his opponent was, his body plunged into the water with a splash, sinking into the cold depths of the sea.

Lu Cangsheng heard the screams of the Thunderous Cloud Sect disciples coming from the sea surface and decisively abandoned suppressing Ming Niansheng. He rode the wind and controlled lightning, rushing towards the Soldier Ancestor Swamp. Long Dian, ranked first among the Eastern Region's top cultivators, with his cultivation, would never have allowed Long Ting a chance to counter-kill the Thunderous Cloud Sect disciples. Without a doubt, something unexpected had happened there.

Long Ting had been fleeing east along the coast of the Soldier Ancestor Swamp. But at this moment, there was no sign of Long Ting whatsoever; only Long Dian was unleashing his spiritual qi and combat intent with full power. He stood atop an azure dragon, his immortal aura shining brightly, battling an unseen, peerless enemy at sea.

The water was originally Long Dian's home ground, his most advantageous combat environment. However, Lu Cangsheng, who had arrived, secretly gasped, realizing that Long Dian was completely at a disadvantage and constantly retreating: "How is this possible... how could there be such a powerful expert among the younger generation?" When he searched for the seven or eight Thunderous Cloud Sect disciples he had dispatched, not a single corpse could be seen.

"As expected of the Eastern Region's foremost Dragon Exiled Immortal, your strength is quite good, but without dragon bones in your body and an insufficient dragon soul, you appear to be merely a façade."

Luan Shenglinyou, with his dashing and elegant posture, emerged from the sea. His robes were peculiar, resembling a cloak made of starlight. Reflecting in the water, they shimmered brightly, casting the image of a starry sky across a large area of the sea.

After fighting for a while, the enemy finally revealed himself.

"My bones are dragon bones. My soul is a dragon soul. Who is merely a façade? We'll know after we fight."

Long Dian met his gaze with pride, blood surging within him. Scaly patterns appeared on the skin of his arms, and a six-ton bronze battle-lance flew out from his ancestral field in his abdomen. He knew clearly that the battle ahead would be the most difficult and crucial he had faced since he began cultivating. The spiritual qi within him surged at an unprecedented speed.

Luan Shenglinyou's long hair shifted between silver and white, and the waves beneath his feet piled higher and higher. Finally, standing with his hands behind his back as if on a mountain peak, he glanced at Lu Cangsheng, who had arrived a step later: "Thirty-Six Thunderbolts Formation, with the materialized intent of the Thunder God. What a pity for you!"

"What's a pity?" Lu Cangsheng's tone was calm.

The two were several miles apart, yet their normal conversation carried clearly to each other's ears. The waves and wind on the sea seemed to quiet down.

"If your Thunderbolts Formation reached seventy-two layers, I would certainly consider you a respectable opponent today. But now, it's quite lacking," Luan Shenglinyou said.

Lu Cangsheng gave a bitter smile: "In the history of the Thunderous Cloud Sect, all who mastered the seventy-two layers of the Thunderbolts Formation were ancient sages of the Longevity Realm. I'm only at the Fifth Sea!"

"So, both of you come at me!" Luan Shenglinyou declared.

Hearing this, both Long Dian and Lu Cangsheng's eyelids twitched; they felt a sense of humiliation, and the flames of battle within them burned even fiercer. The cultivators on the distant Moon Seven-Star Pavilion were all stunned by Luan Shenglinyou's imposing aura. Among the younger generation, no one could face two inheritors simultaneously. Let alone the two strongest in the Eastern Region.

"RUMBLE!"

Lu Cangsheng hovered several meters above the sea, electric patterns appearing in the flesh at his brow tips. His eyes transformed into swirling lightning, incredibly sharp, his battle intent soaring to the heavens. He pointed both hands toward the sky. Immediately, the wind and clouds shifted dramatically, and thirty-six pillars of lightning along with the materialized intent of the Thunder God simultaneously appeared over the sea. Thunder boomed incessantly, and lightning flashes, like winding serpent shuttles, streaked across the sea surface directly towards Luan Shenglinyou. The entire sea area became illuminated.

"ROAR!"

Long Dian let out a long roar, a prolonged dragon's cry, his hair bristling towards the sky. He advanced, treading upon the dragon and riding the waves, swinging his bronze battle-lance, which cleaved the water surface, extending towards the mountainous waves beneath Luan Shenglinyou's feet. His power was all-encompassing, dominating vast distances. That aura seemed capable of splitting the Soldier Ancestor Swamp.

Luan Shenglinyou took a step forward. The towering mountainous waves beneath his feet, guided by his spiritual qi, arched over them, like clouds obscuring the moon, burying the two beneath. Long Dian and Lu Cangsheng looked up; the curtain of water above them, illuminated by Luan Shenglinyou's robes, appeared like a true starry sky, rushing down upon them. The materialized intent of the Thunder God raised its arms, attempting to support the falling starry sky.

Lu Cangsheng, controlling the Thirty-Six Thunderbolts Formation, and Long Dian, who had cleaved with his lance, positioned themselves to the left and right, unleashing their full spiritual qi. They unleashed their lifelong martial arts, jointly confronting the figure that exerted immense pressure on them.

"BOOM!"

Their intertwined energies exploded, and giant waves erupted from the collision of the three powerhouses. Both the azure dragon and the Thunder God's manifestation shattered. Long Dian and Lu Cangsheng were sent flying backward, both bleeding from their mouths and noses.

Meanwhile, Luan Shenglinyou had already flown over their heads, streaking across the sea surface like a silver trail. Upon approaching the Moon Seven-Star Pavilion, he suddenly shot upward like a pillar of light, hovering in the air level with the seventh floor: "Ge Xiantong, you are my true opponent!"