Chapter 237: Immortal Child Withdraws

The Earthen Spirit Gray Mist was indeed extremely dangerous. Once inhaled, it would rapidly stiffen the body, making movement impossible. In severe cases, it could even lead to flesh and blood decay.

However, poisoning him was incredibly difficult. Even Li Weiyi, when his cultivation was only at the Spring Realm, could quickly detect and observe the gray mist particles in the air. Given Ge Xiantong's cultivation, to ambush Li Weiyi, he would need to catch him by surprise, making him inhale some of the mist the moment his guard was down. Furthermore, to achieve this element of surprise, the Earthen Spirit Gray Mist would have to be hidden in a place Li Weiyi would never anticipate.

In a flash, the noodle bowl was still in the process of exploding. Ge Xiantong's finger had already reached Li Weiyi's glabella, shattering his skull with lightning speed.

It was an afterimage!

Li Weiyi was well-prepared, knowing that at close range against Ge Xiantong, his own speed would not be enough to evade the first fatal blow. Therefore, he had already activated the Swiftness Talisman attached to his chest. Electric light flashed around him, turning him into a series of afterimages. With each step, a phantom image of battle intent would rise behind him. It wasn't until all five phantom images of battle intent were released that Li Weiyi broke through Ge Xiantong's suppression, regained his vision, and could see his surroundings.

He sprang up on his toes. "Whoosh!" Like a shot arrow, he, accompanied by a golden dragon light-phantom, burst through the roof and appeared ten zhang high in the air.

He took a second step, followed immediately by a third. Li Weiyi knew very well that today was not about dueling the foremost person of the younger generation; merely escaping from him would be a great victory. In an instant, he reached thirty zhang above the ground. At this moment, the fragments of the noodle bowl in the shop had only just fallen to the ground.

Just as Li Weiyi thought he had shaken off Ge Xiantong, an extremely dangerous and terrifying aura appeared behind him. If Li Weiyi had eyes in the back of his head, he would have seen that from the moment he burst out of the noodle shop, Ge Xiantong had been following him closely, with speed no less than the Swiftness Talisman. He was like Li Weiyi's shadow.

Li Weiyi's heart sank. He abruptly turned around, and from the opening of the Boundary Bag sewn into his sleeve, the dark and menacing Grievance Soul Halberd flew out. Grabbing the halberd with both hands, he unleashed all his strength, thrusting directly at Ge Xiantong's neck.

Ge Xiantong pinched his right hand into a gesture, swiftly pointing a finger to meet Li Weiyi's unexpected strike. The fingertip collided with the halberd's tip, sending out ripples of Dharma energy. He had met a hundred-character scripture Dharma artifact bare-handed.

"Boom!" They met and separated in an instant. Li Weiyi fell from mid-air, blood mist emerging from his body, and crashed heavily onto the formation's light barrier of a building. The light barrier and the building collapsed with a roar, turning into ruins.

Fortunately, he had activated the Corpse-Garment Soft Armor in time. Relying on the cushioning of the soft armor's blood mist, Li Weiyi was not severely injured, though his arms and legs ached intensely as he stood in the crater of the ruins.

Whooshing wind and a blurred figure descended from the sky. As Dharma energy circulated, Li Weiyi instantly healed his aching hands and feet, regaining his combat strength. Using the Swiftness Talisman, he rushed towards the nearby great river.

"Swiftness Talisman!" Ge Xiantong uttered these three words. With a flick of his sleeve, his Sun and Moon Battle Intent flew out, transforming the surrounding area into a vortex of Sun and Moon Intent, pulling back Li Weiyi, who was about to reach the riverbank. Li Weiyi felt as if countless chains were wrapped around him, from which he could not break free.

So, gathering all his strength and mobilizing the five phantom images of battle intent, he used the Grievance Soul Halberd as a long sword, unleashing 140% of his combat power as he swung it at Ge Xiantong, who was pursuing him from behind. Ge Xiantong caught Li Weiyi's halberd strike bare-handed, channeling all the impact force into the ground. Then, with one hand, he grabbed the halberd shaft, and with the other, he turned his palm into a blade and chopped at the halberd shaft.

"Bang!" The Grievance Soul Halberd, a hundred-character scripture Dharma artifact, was shattered into pieces by his single palm strike. Li Weiyi finally understood the true level of the foremost person of the younger generation. Without fear in his heart, his battle intent surged; he neither retreated nor dodged, but fearlessly moved forward, striking with a finger at Ge Xiantong's glabella. This was because a defensive gap had appeared when Ge Xiantong was grabbing and chopping the halberd.

"What nerve!" Any other inheritor, having gone through the previous two exchanges, would surely have been terrified out of their wits. But Li Weiyi dared to seize the opportunity, counterattacking against the odds and, with a single finger, piercing Ge Xiantong's protective Dharma energy.

"But even with the Swiftness Talisman," Ge Xiantong retorted, "you're only fast with your legs; your hand speed is too slow!" Ge Xiantong, striking after but arriving first, punched Li Weiyi in the chest, intending to directly shatter his heart.

"Boom!" The punch landed. Ge Xiantong showed no joy; instead, his expression suddenly changed. Li Weiyi's robes burst open, revealing the purple soft armor worn beneath. Upon receiving Ge Xiantong's punch, the purple soft armor erupted with a monstrous blood mist and nearly a thousand blood-colored scriptures from within. According to Master Coffin's instructions, he had previously infused some of his own blood into the blood handprint on the chest area of the Corpse-Garment Soft Armor. His previous finger strike at Ge Xiantong, deliberately exposing a weakness at his chest, was precisely to lure him into attacking the area covered by the Corpse-Garment Soft Armor.

Whatever force Ge Xiantong's punch unleashed, the purple soft armor returned that exact amount of force to him when the blood mist and blood-colored scriptures erupted.

"Boom!" Ge Xiantong was forced back, his fist aching intensely. Li Weiyi was also not well; the purple soft armor had not completely neutralized Ge Xiantong's punch force. His body was thrown upward, appearing above the great river as a mouthful of fresh blood gushed from his mouth.

"Blood Handprint Demonic Armor," Ge Xiantong said, "Are you from the Demonic Kingdom?" The Blood Handprint Demonic Armor was a ninth-grade hundred-character scripture Dharma artifact. Over nine hundred blood-colored scriptures, after being scattered by Ge Xiantong's punch, quickly flew back like birds returning to their nests, imprinting themselves onto Li Weiyi's entire skin.

Qi Xiao, hidden in the alley, was already trembling with fear, wanting nothing more than to flee. That was Ge Xiantong! In a one-on-one confrontation, anyone of the same realm who could survive one of his moves could become famous throughout the world.

Shi Shishi shouted, "Ge Xiantong! The Zuoqiu Clan, the Jiuli Tribe, and the Vermilion Gate have already made their move, breaking through from the Imperial Court's direction. Time is of the essence, yet you are wasting it here. Do you know that every moment, talented imperial officials are being killed?" Qi Xiao's scalp tingled, and he followed with a shout: "A seventh realm fighting a fifth realm, how disgraceful!"

Li Weiyi's figure flickered, and he plunged into the swiftly flowing great river, intending to escape along the riverbed. Ge Xiantong was naturally concerned about the situation with the Imperial Court martial artists; his inner thoughts were far from as calm as his exterior suggested. Yet, he didn't want to let Li Weiyi go so easily, fearing he might be a greater hidden danger.

With his twin pupils, he located Li Weiyi moving beneath the riverbed. He dared not rashly pursue him into the riverbed, fearing he would fall into Li Weiyi's calculations again. The opponent had clearly prepared to fight him long ago, using an endless array of tactics, and was absolutely not intimidated by his reputation as the world's foremost. Today, it wasn't that he had found Li Weiyi, but that Li Weiyi had deliberately allowed himself to be found. Since Li Weiyi had chosen this place as the battlefield, how could he not have made preparations beforehand? Li Weiyi's psychological warfare tactics clearly worked, making Ge Xiantong's unshakeable state of mind become hesitant and confused.

"Rumble!" Ge Xiantong's figure appeared in the center of the downstream river channel. Both palms struck out simultaneously, employing Sun and Moon techniques as vast Dharma energy unleashed overwhelmingly, lifting the entire river channel. The great river flowed backward, its waves overturning. So immense was its power, it was like an unparalleled god or demon. The palm force and Dharma energy had clearly surpassed the Five Seas Realm, startling some elder Dao Seed Realm martial artists observing nearby.

Li Weiyi, struck by Ge Xiantong's palm energy, was blasted out from the riverbed. Along with the waves, he flew backward, falling back towards the stone bridge.

"Whoosh!" Ge Xiantong's movement was ghost-like, as he appeared above Li Weiyi's body. Beneath the stone bridge, a terrifying aura comparable to an Eternal Realm martial artist erupted, heading straight for Ge Xiantong, as if to kill him in a single strike. Ge Xiantong was greatly alarmed. A palm strike originally intended for Li Weiyi was instead redirected towards that Eternal Realm martial artist. Only after unleashing his palm force did he realize it was a palm-sized moth. The Great Phoenix, disguised with the aura of an Eternal Realm martial artist, was sent flying backward by Ge Xiantong's attack, violently smashing through the stone bridge and falling into the river with the debris.

Li Weiyi, who had been in the riverbed, had secretly been activating the Black Iron Seal. Da Feng had just barely managed to create an opportunity for him; how could he not seize it?

"Rumble!" The Black Iron Seal shot out, transforming to several zhang in size and erupting with more than a dozen thick purple lightning bolts. It struck Ge Xiantong, sending him flying. "Bang! Bang..." Ge Xiantong fell back to the riverbank, smashing through several buildings before coming to a stop.

He dared not fight any longer; he had to refine the Earthen Spirit Gray Mist he had accidentally inhaled. If he didn't refine it soon and Luan Sheng and Lin You arrived, the consequences would be unimaginable. He had originally thought he could kill Li Weiyi in one or two moves. Li Weiyi had been pretending not to be poisoned, forcibly suppressing its effects. At the same time, he wasn't sure how many more trump cards Li Weiyi had, or how many more moves it would take to kill him.

"You possess such combat strength at the fifth level of the Five Seas Realm," Ge Xiantong said, "I think Luan Sheng and Lin You's end is near if they become your enemies! Thanks for the noodles; remember to pay the shop owner for repairing the noodle shop roof. As for the other damaged buildings on this street, they're on me." By the time Ge Xiantong's last word fell, he was already several li away.

Li Weiyi retracted the Black Iron Seal, and the Blood Handprint Demonic Armor on him returned to its original state. He landed on the street by the riverbank, his legs gave way, and he dropped to one knee, spitting out another mouthful of blood. His internal organs were severely damaged, and his entire body felt as if his bones were about to fall apart.

"He is severely injured," a voice declared, "This is the perfect time to kill him." Experts from the Hidden West Ashlands region, lurking in the shadows, swept out from various directions, attacking Li Weiyi. Some launched hidden weapons, while others fired Dharma artifact arrows. Evidently, Ge Xiantong's words before leaving had taken effect.

Qi Xiao and Shi Shishi rushed out, deflecting all the attacks from the ambushers, and fought fiercely with six or seven martial artists. After a while, six Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors brought back the severely injured Great Phoenix. Li Weiyi opened his insect bag, collected them inside, then slowly stood up. Looking at the increasing number of enemies, he forcefully suppressed his injuries and took out another Swiftness Talisman to attach to himself.

"Go!" After activating the Swiftness Talisman, Li Weiyi, holding one person in each hand, quickly fled.

Qi Jin, who looked like Zhuang Yue, flew down and stood on the broken bridge. After hearing her subordinate's detailed report, a look of shock appeared on her face: "This is impossible!" "But the facts are clear," said the Seventh Sea Demonic Tribe martial artist, equally unsettled. "Many people witnessed Li Weiyi's exchange with Ge Xiantong! Ge Xiantong was repelled, lacking the power to kill him." He felt that letting Li Weiyi escape this time would surely lead to great disaster in the future. "This young man is too terrifying!"

In a nearby alley, an Immortal Envoy from the Duer Temple, dressed in a Daoist robe, leaned against a wall and began to write notes.

At the same time, on Mount Taoli, the elder powerhouses from various major forces were also discussing animatedly.