Chapter 1288: Is Li Da You?

He’s here! The Martial Maniac has actually appeared? The entire world is astonished, and all evolvers are trembling. Has this domineering, iron-blooded, and supremely powerful figure reappeared after countless ages?

People will never forget the terrifying era of chaos when he slaughtered the world and purged various sects. Wherever he went, blood flowed like rivers, and corpses drifted like rafts.

In ancient times, even a top-ten evolutionary sect like Meng Gu Dao was razed to the ground by him, and its founder was beaten to death.

Similar feats abound. Some even claim he challenged reincarnation, entered and exited the Great Underworld, and ventured into foreign lands to slay powerful evil spirits. Such terrifying anecdotes strike fear into the hearts of all races.

In subsequent eras, he even slew mythical creatures of legend. Though only a select few know of these deeds, they only add to his mystique, cementing his glorious record.

Heaven knows who else he has slain.

A figure of boundless dominance appeared. Upon his arrival, clouds in all directions burst apart, the sky cracked, and the starlit heavens grew dim, all subdued by his presence!

The entire world wailed and quivered, as if held in his oppressive grip.

With a cold snort, he waved a hand, and countless meteorites that had previously flown in from beyond the domain instantly incinerated, exploding like fireworks in a dazzling display in the outer reaches of space.

This sight was utterly terrifying. All the celestial bodies in the heavens turned to dust with a mere flick of his finger. As the violent explosions reverberated from beyond the sky, every living being on Earth trembled in fear.

The Martial Maniac was engulfed and shrouded in chaotic energy. Only a vague, terrifying figure could be dimly perceived, with just a pair of pale golden eyes visible, captivating and chilling to the soul.

His aura was overwhelmingly domineering!

On the battlefield, everyone felt as if they would burst. Regardless of their cultivation level, almost no one could tolerate being in the same space as him. This energy aura, astonishing through all ages, suppressed heaven and earth!

If not for the Yin-Yang Diagram behind Number Nine, which glowed and rippled, stabilizing the entire battlefield, many beings would have been annihilated here, and the very ground would have completely collapsed.

"Is that you?"

Number Nine bared his teeth, stark white. On this ancient battlefield, facing the boundlessly dominant prehistoric maniac, he remained remarkably calm and cold.

The Martial Maniac stared intently at Number Nine, remaining silent.

From ancient times to the present, he has been a legend, always unrivaled. For countless years, it has always been a case of "those who obey prosper, those who defy perish" throughout heaven and earth; he has never had an opponent!

And now, for the sake of the foremost mountain in the world, has he truly reappeared?

Is this... his true body? Everyone was filled with doubt!

The entire world trembled, their souls quivering in fear.

Number Nine's gaze also sharpened. The green light swirling in his pupils began to contract, growing ever deeper, until finally, his eyes rotated like two swirling cosmic starfields.

He locked onto the figure before him.

This person was shrouded in chaos, and a unique energy enveloped his body. No vision technique could penetrate it or reveal his true nature.

Finally, he spoke, "Li, is that you?"

What?!

All the masters, the evolvers across the vast battlefield, and the ancient experts who had awakened from their slumber throughout the land, were utterly terrified and trembled uncontrollably.

What was he saying?

The Martial Maniac was claiming... Number Nine was Li? How could that be possible!

At this moment, let alone everyone else, even Chu Feng was dumbfounded. He had never imagined that the person before him could be the true prehistoric mastermind.

This seemed highly unlikely. He had once taken Old Gu into the world's foremost mountain. If he were Old Gu's sworn brother, how could Old Gu not recognize him?

Furthermore, if he were Li, why wouldn't he acknowledge Old Gu? Instead, he had constantly been eyeing Old Gu's legs.

However, people also noticed the uncertainty and doubt in the Martial Maniac's voice. He locked onto Number Nine, staring fixedly at him.

"It seems Li beat you senseless, and you'll never forget it; it's become a deep-seated obsession," Number Nine stated, bringing up an ancient prehistoric event. What should have been a taunt was delivered with cold ruthlessness. "Are you the Martial Maniac?"

Boom!

Heaven and earth trembled. The eyes of the figure enveloped in chaos glowed like two burning suns, a sight so terrifying that no one on the entire battlefield dared to look directly.

They felt their souls incinerating and their bodies transforming into torches.

This was no illusion. Some who dared to lift their heads and stare at the Martial Maniac, at this monument of martial arts, instantly ignited and turned to ash.

All of it stemmed from the Martial Maniac's pair of golden pupils, which resembled two sun-fire essences, as if they were scorching the thirty-three heavens!

The Yin-Yang Diagram behind Number Nine vibrated once more, blocking the golden eyes' radiance from sweeping across the battlefield, thereby saving countless lives.

Now, people felt as though they had plunged into purgatory, filled with fear and dread, yet they dared not move. Any slight disturbance in this area could result in them being crushed by the fragments of the Great Dao emanating from the two combatants.

The Martial Maniac, enveloped in chaos, spoke in a hoarse voice, "If you've returned by possessing another body, then I shall simply kill you!"

"I am myself; you're overthinking it. But since you've brought me legs, don't leave!"

Number Nine roared, his words leaving everyone speechless. Was he actually coveting the Martial Maniac's legs?

At this moment, he launched an active assault. The Yin-Yang Diagram behind him erupted, resembling two universes, one black and one white, rotating with astonishing and awe-inspiring power.

With a low roar, the figure traversed the sky without retreating. A Wheel of Time manifested within the chaotic mist, rotating behind him and emitting blinding beams of light, which surged forward alongside his attack.

The Martial Maniac plunged downwards, using the Wheel of Time as a protective shield to augment his power, emitting brilliant beams of light that hurtled towards Number Nine.

Between heaven and earth, the most terrifying collision since ancient times erupted. The very fabric of reality seemed to explode, and the entire world appeared to be hurtling towards its demise.

Fortunately, they ascended to a sufficiently high altitude, concentrating their attacks solely on each other. Furthermore, at that critical moment, golden lotuses of the Great Dao mysteriously emerged from the ground, shielding the aftermath and containing the destructive impact.

Had it not been for this, countless lives would have been lost, and the entire land would have become a desolate wasteland.

Number Nine's eyes burned red with fury. The Yin-Yang Diagram behind him vibrated violently, directly spinning outwards to clash head-on with the Wheel of Time. This offensive was utterly terrifying.

The outer domain first blazed with extreme brilliance, then plunged into utter darkness.

Heaven and earth dimmed as a result; galaxies beyond quivered, and cosmic starscapes flickered in and out of existence. A destructive aura permeated everything, as if the entire cosmos was reverting to its primordial state.

Number Nine ascended, entering the desolate outer domain, a place littered with countless stellar remnants and fragments of prehistoric supreme beings, all traces left by the most intense decisive battles of that era.

This area was a terrifying and desolate ancient region known as the "Outer Heaven Abandoned Land"!

Spatial fissures appeared one after another, endless cosmic black canyons stretched out, and fragments of the Great Dao lay strewn about. This was a world of death, utterly filled with destructive power.

Black holes were one thing, but these cosmic rifts and spatial fissures no longer closed automatically; they remained permanently fixed in place.

Only by engaging in fierce combat here could they unleash their full power, without concern for piercing through the earth or triggering unforeseen calamities, nor needing to worry about plunging the star sea into darkness or causing great stars to fall.

"Martial Maniac, bring me those legs!" Number Nine roared, his hair disheveled, like a drawn celestial blade. His sharp edge was now fully bared, and the aura he exuded felt like steel needles, capable of inflicting pain on the bodies and souls of evolvers on Earth, even across vast distances.

Merely thinking of him, merely focusing on him, one could sense this oppressive aura, capable of suppressing and annihilating all things in the world.

A single thought could manifest his presence, reflecting throughout the entire cosmos!

Number Nine was utterly terrifying, practically "living in people's minds." He could manifest his presence through thought, omnipresent, and if he truly unleashed his full power, he could kill anything.

The two surged together, resulting in a massive collision. The sight was horrifying. The strongest battle for supremacy since ancient times was now unfolding in that Outer Heaven Abandoned Land.

The Wheel of Time severed eternity, sweeping past, intending to cleave Number Nine as well. Upon closer inspection, space itself appeared as fragile as paper, utterly insufficient to withstand it.

Meanwhile, the Yin-Yang Diagram, which stabilizes all things and reflects eternity, rotated behind Number Nine, also sweeping forward.

Both were thrown backward. The Great Dao traversed the Outer Heaven Abandoned Land, creating deafening roars, as if endless demon lords were chanting scriptures and billions of Buddhas were singing in meditation. All beings felt a chilling terror and instinctively yearned to kowtow.

On the ground, the soul-light of many evolvers fluctuated erratically. This level of intense battle, even from hundreds of millions of miles away, left them trembling uncontrollably.

The next moment, a pair of Heavenly Phoenix wings emerged from the Martial Maniac's back. These were the supreme, exquisite techniques he acquired after annihilating the Undying Phoenix clan and their immortal dynasty!

In an instant, he became like the lord of heaven and earth, bearing undying wings, virtually omnipotent. He then plunged downwards with the Wheel of Time, intending to slay Number Nine.

Number Nine moved his hands, directly unleashing an ancient, simple fist imprint, imbued with an aura of creation, that blasted through the light screen ahead, aiming to pierce the Martial Maniac.

"Li's exquisite techniques are indeed becoming more and more like yours!" the Martial Maniac stated grimly.

"His exquisite techniques were taught by Number Four; he is our disciple, so naturally they resemble ours. You'd better just hand over those legs!" Number Nine retorted.

Boom!

This punch shattered the light screen. As the two clashed, the area became a desolate void where the Dao was annihilated. It was so terrifying that even the very fabric of the Great Dao was severed and dispersed.

The next moment, the Martial Maniac descended, signaling an intent to approach the Yang world and return to the tripartite battlefield.

On the ground, countless individuals trembled. If beings of such caliber were to return and fight here, absolutely no one on the ground would survive; all would perish.

Panic seized the people.

Buzz!

At this critical moment, Number Nine's Yin-Yang Diagram rotated, sweeping across the heavens, severing heaven and earth. It blocked the Martial Maniac's path, redirecting the battle back to the outer reaches of space.

On the battlefield, some evolvers were so moved that tears began to stream down their faces.

"He's protecting us? It's truly awe-inspiring."

Someone whispered that Number Nine was indeed protecting them, preventing their untimely demise.

Long Dayu happened to be in this area, touching the handprint on his backside where scales had peeled off and blood still seeped. This mark was left the last time he had carried Chu Feng to meet Number Nine while trying to curry favor.

The peculiar dragon was now remarkably calm. He spoke to those nearby, stating, "You think he's protecting you? He's merely afraid that all the 'long legs' will go extinct, leaving him nothing to eat later. He's just protecting his food source."

Good heavens!

The group was speechless. They had initially felt a surge of emotion, but after hearing this, they couldn't help but feel it made a strange kind of sense.

Someone immediately retorted, "Don't talk nonsense. While Ancestor Nine certainly possesses a terrifying aspect, he is 'a sage within and a demon without.' Even his demonic exterior cannot conceal his inherent compassion for the world."

In the Outer Heaven Abandoned Land, the battle between Number Nine and the figure enveloped in chaos reached its fiercest intensity.

Number Nine, valiant and invincible, charged directly forward. He used the Yin-Yang Diagram to fend off the Wheel of Time, closing in for a direct confrontation, intent on tearing off the Martial Maniac's legs!