Chapter 1047: Filling in the Gaps

"You talk too much!" Lu Yang roared in anger. What's wrong with a few extra steps? Extra steps or not, it was still the Grand Transformation!

After transforming into a giant several hundred feet tall, Lu Yang's voice also changed, resonating like muffled thunder through the mountain gorge.

Lu Yang drew the Qingfeng Sword. It was a celestial sword that could change size along with Lu Yang's transformation.

Meng Jingzhou was equally resolute. The clash of his Dharma Idol's shield and halberd created ripples in space, while the Qingfeng Sword emitted a sharp, resonant hum.

Two distinct sounds collided, causing a massive explosion in the center of the battlefield. The entire space vibrated!

From the Dharma Idol's eyes shot out reddish-crimson beams of light, several feet thick, like molten lava. Even before they reached Lu Yang, he could feel the violent power they contained.

"Open!"

The Qingfeng Sword slashed down, splitting the crimson beams in two. The two beams swept past Lu Yang's sides, instantly incinerating the sandalwood forest next to Meng Jingzhou's cave mansion. The ground was carved with two deep furrows, vitrified into glass by the intense heat!

The Dharma Idol strode forward, leaving a trail of flames with each step. With a stomp of its foot, the earth cracked, and its massive body leaped high into the air.

The Dharma Idol stood with its head touching the sky and its feet on the earth. Pure Yang flames swept across the horizon, dyeing even the sky crimson, as if the heavens were bleeding.

The halberd tore through the sky, colliding with the Qingfeng Sword amidst a raging sea of fire. The clang of metal resonated like sudden thunder, as a shield from the other side whistled in, striking towards Lu Yang's ribs.

Lu Yang's left hand flashed, and the dark Chengying Sword appeared, blocking the fierce attack.

A flick of his wrist unleashed an overwhelming torrent of sword shadows, each capable of leveling a mountain peak, leaving Meng Jingzhou no room for carelessness.

"War-Ending Arts!"

Meng Jingzhou's use of the shield and halberd was no longer chaotic, but became very rhythmic.

The War-Ending Arts was a combat technique created by Meng Junzi specifically for Meng Jingzhou.

Meng Junzi made his name during the late Great Yu Dynasty, having fought countless battles, big and small, accumulating vast combat experience. Based on the characteristics of Meng Jingzhou's Dharma Idol, he created the War-Ending Arts, which involved ending war through battle and ending war through bloodshed!

A violent spiritual energy storm swept forth. The two giants in the center of the battlefield, with every movement, were capable of reshaping the landscape. The area in front of Meng Jingzhou's cave mansion had become unrecognizable; no one would be able to tell it was his dwelling!

"One Sword, Ten Thousand Swords!"

Countless sword blades suddenly sprouted from beneath Lu Yang's feet, sticking out in all directions, resembling small hills that restricted Meng Jingzhou's movements.

"Great Sun Magma Arrows!"

Molten lava flowed from the massive Dharma Idol's body, bubbling, steaming the earth, scorching the space. The spiritual energy itself became extremely hot, so much so that cultivators of the same level would not dare to refine spiritual energy of this temperature, as it would burn their meridians.

This magma hovered in the air, continuously rotating, transforming into countless arrows that shot forth!

"Excellent!" Lu Yang's eyes lit up. He knew Old Meng still had interesting techniques hidden away.

The sword blades gathered in front of Lu Yang, forming a shield. When the magma arrows touched the sword blade shield, they were shattered to pieces by the unleashed sword qi.

Meng Jingzhou seized the opportunity, charging forward with his shields. The two shields collided, both shattering into fragments.

Both were sent flying by the opposing force. Meng Jingzhou was the first to regain his balance and, before Lu Yang could stabilize himself, charged towards him again!

The Dharma Idol bent down, pushing past Lu Yang's guard. The two were too close, forcing Lu Yang to abandon his sword and engage in a close-quarters fistfight.

Lu Yang landed a punch on Meng Jingzhou's Dharma Idol, only to find Meng Jingzhou's Dharma Idol much harder than his own physical body, unable to break its defense. Conversely, when the Dharma Idol struck Lu Yang, it caused him to grimace in pain.

Lu Yang's Grand Transformation simply magnified his body, whereas Meng Jingzhou's Dharma Idol was an enhanced extension based on his physical body. Meng Jingzhou's physical body was already slightly stronger than Lu Yang's, and now with the Dharma Idol's enhancement, Lu Yang was at a disadvantage in a pure contest of strength and defense.

"How's it, Old Lu? I might be weaker than you with weapons, but in close combat, you're no match for me," Meng Jingzhou laughed heartily, knowing that Old Lu hadn't used underhanded tactics like the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array, which meant he was testing the flaws of the Grand Transformation.

Now that the flaws had been revealed, it was time to end this!

"Sky-Shaking Eight Forms!"

The Sky-Shaking Eight Forms, unleashed by the Dharma Idol, were truly world-shattering, forcing Lu Yang to retreat again and again. Even if Lu Yang could block, his physical strength was insufficient, making it futile.

"I lack defensive moves…"

Lu Yang recalled the techniques he had learned. Most of his techniques were offensive, with very few defensive ones.

"Wait, I think I do have one!"

"Old Meng, don't think your Dharma Idol's toughness is so amazing. I also have defensive moves – the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body!"

A sixteen-foot-tall golden body appeared out of thin air. The two, who had been fighting fiercely, suddenly fell silent.

"Hahahaha—" Meng Jingzhou couldn't hold back his laughter at this sight. He clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he could barely breathe, his Dharma Idol almost destabilizing.

Lu Yang's eye twitched. His Grand Transformation was hundreds of feet tall, while the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body wasn't even as big as his palm. Even with high defense, what use was it?

"I've got it!" A flash of inspiration struck Lu Yang.

"Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, Sixteen-Foot Golden Body…"

Lu Yang conjured a large number of Sixteen-Foot Golden Bodies in one go, attaching them to his body like armor, covering himself from head to toe, completely protected.

Lu Yang had grown by absorbing earth and spiritual energy, and his giant form's spiritual energy reservoir was several times larger than before, allowing him to repeatedly cast the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body.

"How's this?" Lu Yang showed off his full suit of armor. This time, the defense would definitely be sufficient.

Meng Jingzhou's eye twitched. Old Lu, covered head to toe in small figures, looked incredibly bizarre, so much so that even he found it excessively strange, making it seem perfectly normal to call Old Lu a demon sect magnate.

"Sky-Shaking Eight Forms!"

Despite the strange appearance, the defensive power was genuine. Meng Jingzhou unleashed the Sky-Shaking Eight Forms on Lu Yang, but the Sixteen-Foot Golden Bodies absorbed most of the force, leaving Lu Yang completely unharmed.

"Hiss, it actually works." Meng Jingzhou hadn't expected the defense from using the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body as armor to be so high, bordering on absurd.

"With this, the Grand Transformation can be considered complete." Lu Yang chuckled. Testing it with Old Meng indeed helped identify and rectify flaws.

"My sandalwood forest! What are you two little rascals doing? Is this a place for you to duel?!"

The Third Elder noticed the commotion and was furious. The power of these two rascals' fight was no less than that of cultivators at the Integration Stage. The land and trees were utterly destroyed!

The ground had turned to glass under the intense heat, and the trees, needless to say, had long since become charcoal.

Our sect has so many open spaces, and you two just had to fight here, didn't you?

Especially this particular forest, his favorite sandalwood forest, which he had meticulously cared for for so many years, was now gone in a flash of fire!

While it was true that this was Meng Jingzhou's cave mansion, it was also the Third Elder's peak.

In his fury, the Third Elder did not hold back. He punched each of them, directly burying the giant Lu Yang and the Dharma Idol Meng Jingzhou into the ground, leaving only their heads visible.

The Third Elder glared fiercely at Meng Jingzhou: "If I don't teach you a lesson, are you going to defy the heavens? You, young man, go to the Mountain-Moving and Ocean-Filling Sect for two months of compulsory labor before you come back!"

The Mountain-Moving and Ocean-Filling Sect was a sect in the Great Xia Dynasty specifically responsible for handling the aftermath of cultivators' duels and restoring the landscape.

Meng Jingzhou nodded repeatedly.

Lu Yang was the disciple of Daoist Bu Yu, so the Third Elder couldn't punish him.

After the Third Elder left, the two, still shaken, crawled out of the ground, covered in dirt.

"It's all your fault, running over here to test your moves for no good reason."

"It's no big deal, just two months of learning at the Mountain-Moving and Ocean-Filling Sect. I'll go with you."