Chapter 304: Lingji Mountain Summit

Nobody expected that Wang Shu, after three days of silence, would break through to the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm at this moment.

His cultivation had advanced significantly.

It is difficult for a Legacy-level Heavenly Pride at the Third Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm to defeat a martial cultivator at the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm. The difference is vast, depending on whether they have condensed a Dao Lotus.

However, once a Legacy holder also condenses a Dao Lotus, their combat power immediately places them among the top experts in the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm. With continuous cultivation advancement, they may even be able to defeat martial cultivators at the Fifth Heaven in the future.

Just when the spectators all thought Yang Qingxi would have her Dao Heart manifestation shattered and be directly suppressed by Wang Shu,

"Whoosh!"

Thick black mist billowed from Yang Qingxi's body, releasing bone-chilling ice energy.

A powerful Ghost Commander appeared within the black mist, armored and wielding a halberd. It had a ram's head, fiery eyes, stood forty zhang tall, and resembled a majestic human-shaped mountain.

The halberd in its hand was held like a pillar, blocking and colliding with Wang Shu's palm strike.

"Boom!"

A violent impact force erupted.

At this moment, the peak of Lingji Mountain was enveloped in black mist, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of black ice.

Yang Qingxi retreated, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth beneath her veil, injured by Wang Shu's palm strike. Yet, her eyes brightened with confidence; the Ghost Flag's power was even greater than anticipated.

After the Ghost Flag appeared at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, many older generation figures recognized its origin and realized that the sealed departed spirit within was certainly more than just a Ghost General.

The combat power it could unleash depended entirely on the martial cultivator's Dharma energy intensity.

With Yang Qingxi's peak Dharma energy intensity at the Second Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, the departed spirit within the Ghost Flag transformed into a Ghost Commander, forty zhang tall, with strength reaching the level of the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm.

Of course, the Ghost Commander's wisdom, combat skills, and reaction speed were all inferior to those of a true martial cultivator at the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, meaning there would be a gap in actual combat power.

After the clash, Wang Shu retreated, quickly steadying himself. "Indeed, it's an extraordinary defensive battle treasure! If I had it, I would immediately possess the combat power to enter the 'Jiazi Register'."

"Yang Qingxi, offer this item to me, and we can team up to deal with Li Weiyi. I'll let bygones be bygones. The Blood Handprint Demonic Armor will be yours then!"

Yang Qingxi, holding a silver longsword, her figure flickering in and out of the black mist, replied, "Against you, who has entered the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, I have no chance of winning. This is indeed a good idea!"

Wang Shu clearly understood that there were never unbreakable alliances in this world, only common interests and the ability to adapt to circumstances.

So, he smiled and said, "I knew you were smart. Li Weiyi's Ancestral Field is crippled, and his future potential is limited, while I am like the rising sun, improving every day. Being my ally is the wise choice."

Yang Qingxi, holding the Ghost Flag, walked towards him.

Suddenly.

"Howl!"

"Whoosh!"

The Ghost Commander spewed out Duling Cold Flame. The flames poured out like a waterfall, devoid of heat, yet they melted rocks, and the silver-leaf pines by the cliff instantly turned to ash.

Wang Shu, having been alert beforehand, did not fully trust Yang Qingxi. He narrowly avoided the attack by employing his movement technique.

The corner of his clothes and a strand of his hair caught fire, which he quickly extinguished.

"Yang Qingxi, I misjudged your relationship. It seems you and Li Weiyi are truly in love, choosing a dead end for his sake. Do you think this Ghost Commander alone can stop me?"

Wang Shu possessed extremely high comprehension. Not only had he successfully cultivated the grand technique "Golden Armor Mountain Moving Art," but his minor movement technique "Suspended Silk Shadow Roaming Art" had also reached the first level of mastery. His movements were intricate and incredibly fast.

His figure tilted left and right, shifting unpredictably, dodging the Ghost Commander's swung halberd, and catching up to the rapidly retreating Yang Qingxi.

His arm turned golden, his skin like golden armor.

He swung his palm like a blade downwards, causing the air to vibrate and explode with sound.

"Whoosh!"

Yang Qingxi had no choice but to use the Ten Absolute Sword Art to defend, creating numerous sword shadows in front of her.

A slender, graceful figure flickered into existence behind her.

That figure also held a silver longsword of Fifth-Rank Hundred-Word Artifact level and was identical to Yang Qingxi in build and appearance, but her face was utterly bloodless, her skin terrifyingly pale.

It was Yang Qingchan!

The two of them teamed up, one on the left and one on the right, thousands of scriptures flying from their two silver swords, forcing Wang Shu back once more.

Yang Qingchan, imbued with intense yin energy and with her long hair loose, said, "I actually think Wang Shu's suggestion isn't bad. The things on Li Weiyi are more appealing, and he's easier to deal with."

Yang Qingxi, facing Wang Shu at the Second Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, was fighting for her life in every exchange, and her injuries had worsened. "If we give the Ghost Flag to Wang Shu, the next moment, he'll plant the Six Desires Talisman on us, turning us into his playthings. But with you, me, and the Ghost Commander, we can certainly put up a fight against him. We just need to wait for Li Weiyi to arrive after rescuing them. With more numbers, our chances of winning are still high."

"You seem to trust that Li Weiyi a lot?" Yang Qingchan asked.

Yang Qingxi found it difficult to describe that feeling.

During the fierce battle with Hua Yuzi, Li Weiyi had said, "As long as you still have a breath, I will definitely take you with me." Given the perilous situation at the time, it was truly not easy for Li Weiyi to live up to his words.

When she woke up at Changqing Temple and first saw Li Weiyi, a profound and different emotion stirred within her heart.

With such an experience, how could she not trust Li Weiyi?

The battle erupted once more.

The departed spirit within Yang Qingchan had extremely high cultivation, but it was limited by her fragile physical body, resulting in very limited combat power. Even teamed with Yang Qingxi, they could only barely hold Wang Shu at bay.

The young disciples scattered and fled down the mountain.

Only Sikong Jingyuan and Sikong Yanlun stood on a distant cliff, their eyes glowing with fervent excitement.

Sikong Jingyuan stared intently at the Ghost Flag in Yang Qingxi's hand. "The legendary Duling Cold Flame! This Ghost Flag must be from that ghost city deep within the Realm of the Departed. Could the sealed departed spirit within be a Ghost Marquis or a Ghost Lord?"

In the Realm of the Departed, Yin-soul type departed spirits are categorized by strength: Ferocious Souls, Ghost Generals, Ghost Commanders, Ghost Marquises and Ghost Lords, and Ghost Kings.

A Ghost Commander is equivalent to a human martial cultivator or spiritualist in the Dao Seed Realm.

A Ghost Marquis is equivalent to a martial cultivator in the Longevity Realm.

A Ghost Lord is equivalent to a Great Longevity cultivator who has lived for hundreds of years.

Even within the Longevity Realm, there is a huge disparity in strength.

When Sikong Jingyuan and Sikong Yanlun trained in the Realm of the Departed, they heard that deep within the realm was a boundless ghost city called "Dongxu Ghost City," where beings superior to Ghost Kings ruled everything.

Its influence reached a million-li radius of the Realm of the Departed, including the six living realms scattered within it, such as the Lingxiao Living Realm.

Sikong Yanlun, however, focused his gaze on Yang Qingxi and Yang Qingchan, chuckling, "These two little ones are like spirited mares, with a captivating fierceness that makes one want to conquer them. And their figures and beauty are top-notch. I like them."

Sikong Jingyuan said, "Then it's settled. The people are yours, the flag is mine."

"It's hard to say what level the departed spirit sealed within that flag is! Don't regret it if you choose wrong," Sikong Yanlun laughed heartily.

"Rumble!"

To the east of the Fourth Divine Son's Manor, thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and the mountain trembled.

Li Weiyi used a box of Thunder Law Profound Ice to break the Divine Son's Manor's protective formation. Holding the Yellow Dragon Sword, he walked directly through a gap in the wall.

He moved swiftly and soon found Qi Xiao and Tuoba Butuo chained to the stone wall in Wang Shu's cultivation chamber.

The two were once high-spirited, both possessing Pure Immortal Bodies.

One was the foremost among the Qi family's younger generation, and the other was a Legacy-level Heavenly Pride of the Northern Territory's Tuoba clan.

Having cultivated Dao with dragon seeds, they originally had bright futures.

But now, they were tortured beyond recognition, their blood consumed daily by Wang Shu. Their bodies were shriveled and emaciated, resembling two hunched, disheveled old men.

One had lost an arm, and their bodies were pierced by chains.

On the stone wall behind each of them was a formation. If they tried to break free and escape, or if someone came to rescue them, the formation would activate.

Li Weiyi was a three-star spiritualist, with stronger spiritual power than the formation setters. He quickly located the eyes of both formations.

"Whoosh!"

The Yellow Dragon Sword thrust out, breaking the formation on the stone wall behind Qi Xiao.

Then, he swung two more times, severing the iron chains binding Qi Xiao, and embraced the skeletal man, who weighed only sixty to seventy catties.

Li Weiyi felt immense guilt and distress, so self-reproachful that he wanted to punch himself.

If it weren't for him, how could Qi Xiao have fallen into the Twin Rice Sect and ended up like this?

"Be... careful..."

Qi Xiao weakly warned.

He didn't need the warning; Li Weiyi had already released his Heaven and Earth Spiritual Nerves, his senses extremely keen, detecting the rapidly approaching chilling aura from above, but merely feigning ignorance.

Wang Zhi descended from the roof, forming a claw print with his hand, revealing a set of pearly white teeth, imagining a claw piercing through Li Weiyi's skull.

"Swish!"

Li Weiyi calculated the timing and angle with extreme precision, suddenly stood up, and thrust the Yellow Dragon Sword upwards.

The sword light was sharp, and the radiance it emitted formed a bright sword pillar.

"Not good! My concealed aura failed to deceive him."

Wang Zhi's eyes showed surprise; he felt as if he had actively crashed into the sword tip.

With no escape, he could only gather all his strength into his palm and grasp at the Yellow Dragon Sword with five fingers.

His cultivation was countless times higher than Li Weiyi's, every wisp of his Dharma energy was like divine iron gauze. The Yellow Dragon Sword's body had no scriptures manifesting, indicating its limited grade, and in his view, it could be seized bare-handed.

The moment he touched it, Wang Zhi regretted it!

His proud and powerful Dharma energy was instantly shattered by the Yellow Dragon Sword as if cutting paper, his five fingers were severed by the blade, and blood splattered everywhere.

The departed spirit within Wang Zhi felt pain, let out a miserable cry, tapped his toes on the ground, and rapidly retreated into the distance.

He glanced at his hand with severed fingers, then looked at the Yellow Dragon Sword with extreme dread. He said, "There's something strange about your sword! With my Dharma energy intensity, I can resist even a Third-Rank Hundred-Word Artifact bare-handed."

Li Weiyi's previous sword strike had intended to pierce through Wang Zhi's skull. But Wang Zhi's cultivation was too high, and his reaction was as fast as lightning; even in such a perilous situation, he only lost five fingers.

Such cultivation and speed made Li Weiyi's heart sink, feeling immense pressure.

This was the power level of the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm!

How should he fight?

There was no chance of winning.

Last time, against Wang Zhi, he only managed to escape by relying on the residual power of Tang Wanzhou in the Divine Snow Sword.

Li Weiyi put Qi Xiao into a pre-prepared insect bag, allowing himself to quickly calm down.

The stronger the enemy, the calmer one needed to be.

He moved step by step towards Tuoba Butuo and said, "I'm curious, when Wang Zhi was alive, his cultivation was only at the First Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, and his physical strength was limited. Now that you are fused with his physical body, why can you rival an expert at the Fourth Heaven?"

"Because before I was refined into a Soul Seed by that Hall Master of the Heavenly Principle Hall, my cultivation was far beyond the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm. The physical body limits my strength. Otherwise, I could press you to death with a single finger."

Wang Zhi exuded an extremely powerful aura. He was secretly refining the Yellow Dragon Sword's energy that had invaded his body, also buying time.

Li Weiyi asked again, "Then, are you alive or dead now?"

"Neither alive nor dead! If Wang Shu lives, I count as living. If Wang Shu dies, I die immediately. The Twin Rice Sect knows well that there's no way to truly subdue powerful departed spirits like us, which is why they use this method: giving Soul Seeds to Divine Sons, Divine Daughters, Elders, and Great True Disciples to cultivate. They use the souls of the twins to control our life and death," Wang Zhi explained.

Li Weiyi clearly knew that Yang Qingxi was no match for Wang Shu, so he dared not delay further.

He arrived beside Tuoba Butuo, seized the opportunity, and thrust his sword at the formation node on the stone wall.

The formation was broken!

Wang Zhi had long seen through Li Weiyi's intention; he was just waiting for the moment he would rescue someone.

"Swish!"

He launched a white bone claw print through the air.

Then, Wang Zhi, moving like a phantom, charged towards Li Weiyi.

Li Weiyi was already on guard; spiritual light surged within him, bright and scorching.

The phantom of the Fusang Divine Tree rose behind him, blocking the white bone claw print. The branches and leaves of the divine tree's phantom burst through the roof, and golden-red light illuminated the peak of Lingji Mountain.

"Whoosh!"

Then, thick blood mist surged from the Blood Handprint Demonic Armor.

Over nine hundred scriptures were branded all over Li Weiyi's body.

His spiritual state reached its peak. Staring intently at Wang Zhi, he raised his sword and charged forward.

He used his spiritual power to resist Wang Zhi's soul attacks and the Yellow Dragon Sword to confront the opponent's formidable Dharma energy.

Li Weiyi was repelled several times, but he continuously shielded Tuoba Butuo behind him, giving Wang Zhi no opportunity to approach.

In a flash, the two exchanged dozens of blows before abruptly separating.

Wang Zhi fought frustratingly. He could clearly unleash the combat power of the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, but he was suppressed by the Yellow Dragon Sword and restrained by the Golden Crow flames from the Fusang Divine Tree's phantom. His left hand was also severely wounded in the very first exchange.

When he used soul attacks, Li Weiyi coincidentally had strong spiritual power and could resist them.

Now, he could only exert five or six tenths of his full combat power.

"Why isn't your combat power that strong?" Li Weiyi questioned, feeling perplexed.