Chapter 1337: Strange Means

After possessing Immortal Yingtian, the mastermind meticulously imitated his every move, including his psychological activities. Sometimes, he even forgot his true identity, believing himself to be the genuine Immortal Yingtian and enjoying his time with others. However, when he recalled Gu Junye's words, he realized his mental state was severely compromised. For someone of his caliber, his mental state should have long been perfectly refined and impervious to such issues. He immediately chastised himself, resolving to change his mindset and break free from his subconscious imitation.

"If merely relying on the Tribulation Dao Fruit and Heavenly Tribulation Dao Fruit isn't enough to settle this," a ruthless glint appeared in the mastermind's eyes. His methods extended far beyond those. Rumbles like thunder echoed within him, his blood and qi surged skyward, and his vitality was incredibly potent. The life force within everyone present faintly resonated with the mastermind's own vitality. His life force spread, permeating the entire star sea. Astonishingly, every planet enveloped by this life force began the evolution of life processes, giving birth to living beings! "Scorched Star Sea."

Simultaneously, the mastermind unleashed endless black flames—a type of flame long lost to history, known as the True Flame of Life. The True Flame of Life used vitality as fuel, incinerating the star sea. The battlefield was instantly engulfed by the True Flame of Life, and the planets that had just birthed life were scorched by the intense blaze, turning to dust. He enhanced the True Flame of Life by burning his own vitality, seizing control of the battlefield and draining everyone's life force!

Immortal Qilin and the others had their life force ignited, experiencing excruciating pain from the scorching. Immortals' lifespans are said to be infinite, but the True Flame of Life specifically countered this infinite longevity. The more life force one had, the more fiercely it burned. Even if it didn't consume them completely, they would be burned to death in agony.

"Yin-Yang Chessboard, Annihilation of All Things!" An illusion of Immortal Nine-Heavens appeared in the cosmos, his eyes like two suns, holding stars in his hands. Before him, a chessboard, black and white, materialized. It could imbue all things with Yin or Yang properties, then annihilate them with the opposite attribute. However, when Immortal Nine-Heavens attempted to imbue the True Flame of Life with Yin or Yang properties, he discovered it was beyond the scope of Yin and Yang and could not be forcibly assigned such attributes. "How is this possible!" Immortal Nine-Heavens couldn't believe what he was seeing. This technique of his had never failed, especially not against something as clearly "Yang" as fire! "What kind of method is this!"

The immortals were in agony from the True Flame of Life, unable to concentrate on fighting. Of everyone present, only Yunzhi, Immortal Indestructible, and Lu Yang were not scorched by the True Flame of Life. The instant the True Flame of Life appeared, Lu Yang instinctively enveloped himself in Samadhi True Fire. Surprisingly, upon encountering the Samadhi True Fire, the True Flame of Life actively retreated. The mastermind frowned slightly at this sight, then immediately understood why. "Is that Huozheng's innate flame, Samadhi True Fire? Troublesome." Huozheng was his closest friend in ancient times, and Samadhi True Fire was the innate flame Huozheng created and cherished most. The True Flame of Life that the mastermind was wielding was also a creation of Huozheng. Thus, the two flames could not harm each other. Lu Yang continuously deployed Samadhi True Fire, encasing everyone in it to block the True Flame of Life's damage.

"Well done, Fellow Daoist Lu! Accelerated Speed!" Immortal Suiyue exclaimed, applying an accelerated speed state to everyone, multiplying their speed by several times. Relying on their accelerated speed, the immortals surrounded and attacked the mastermind. Yet, to the mastermind, they could barely keep up with his own speed. "Ridiculous!" The mastermind brandished an ice whip, sweeping it across, sending everyone flying and spitting blood. Without "Traceback" and "Indestructible," this single move would have cut them in half!

A wound surprisingly appeared on the mastermind's waist, as if inflicted by an ice whip. "The cost of coming here for a meal is truly steep," Meng Junzi grimaced in pain. He had transferred his injuries to the mastermind, though the consequence was that the damage would return to him twofold after a while. At this point in the fight, he no longer cared about the repercussions; he just wanted to inflict some wounds on the mastermind first. Jiang Ping'an also nodded. They had treated this as just attending an ordinary celebration banquet, never expecting an immortal battle to erupt midway through the meal, against an old monster of unknown era who was impossibly strong.

"Immortaless Fist Art." Immortal Indestructible appeared to the mastermind's left. Her Immortaless Fist Art was exceedingly fierce, imbued with surging killing intent. Each strike was capable of annihilating star rivers and collapsing space. Even throughout the long ancient eras, Immortal Indestructible had never fully unleashed this set of fist techniques. Even when fighting against Yao Sheng, Immortal Indestructible had never struck with such ferocity. The Immortaless Fist Art concealed a hidden force, capable of penetrating flesh, bone, and muscle, with the power exploding inside the body. Every punch that landed on the mastermind was no less potent than the self-destruction of a minor world. This force was incredibly difficult to neutralize. The Immortaless Fist Art originated from the Myriad Herbs Fist Art, a technique Immortal Indestructible developed by comprehending countless herbs and integrating their essences. The Myriad Herbs Fist Art itself comprised hundreds of thousands of different herbs, each representing a unique fist technique. This meant the Immortaless Fist Art simultaneously contained thousands of different forces, making it exceptionally challenging to counter. However, this did not stump the mastermind; he had a way to neutralize the force.

Just as the mastermind prepared to neutralize this force, Yunzhi appeared to his left, astonishingly also performing the Immortaless Fist Art! Immortal Indestructible was surprised to see this; she had only taught Yunzhi the Immortaless Fist Art once, yet Yunzhi had mastered it. The two, without needing verbal or visual communication, shared a telepathic understanding, knowing each other's next move. Their coordination was flawless. Two supreme powerhouses executing the same moves, coordinating as if they were one, gave him no breathing room. Even the mastermind found himself somewhat unable to parry. "The two strongest individuals, past and present, attacking at once—you truly think highly of me," the mastermind chuckled. Though at a disadvantage, he remained unhurried. With a soft shout, he activated an unknown profound art, transforming his body into an Adamantine form, making it indestructible. Even his internal organs changed, becoming infinitely harder than an immortal-gold body. No force could harm his physique!

"Immortaless Fist Art!" Immortal Indestructible and Yunzhi teamed up again, but this time it wasn't so simple. The moment the two women's fists touched the mastermind, the power contained within them not only failed to harm him, but was entirely reflected back onto them! This was equivalent to each of them punching themselves. Fortunately, they could both neutralize the force within the fist art, so they weren't severely injured.

The entire star realm transformed into a Yin-Yang Taiji diagram, with Immortal Nine-Heavens and the mastermind standing at its eyes. Endless immortal fire and profound ice surged forth, lunging at the mastermind. However, the moment these attacks touched him, they all bounced back, striking Immortal Nine-Heavens instead. "Damn it, any attack on him just bounces back!" Immortal Suiyue cursed, lowering his Sky-Splitting Axe. He had intended to strike the mastermind from behind with an axe, but it was clear that was impossible.

An endless Sword Dao domain unfolded, far more powerful than during his ascension tribulation. Lu Yang, holding the Azure Blade, had countless sword dao phantoms coalesce, following him like shadows. As the first Sword Immortal in history, every sword phantom was capable of cleaving a star river. His immortal might was immeasurable! The sword phantoms simultaneously struck the mastermind, yet they were still reflected back, shattering into pieces and reflecting Lu Yang's unwavering expression. "Myriad Swords Return to Origin!" Nine immortal swords merged into one, causing the star sea to boil. Its power was even more terrifying than Immortal Nine-Heavens' immortal fire and profound ice; it was hard to imagine a newly ascended immortal could unleash such a technique! However, this sword was still insufficient against the mastermind's Immaculate Adamantine Body. The force was entirely reflected, and Lu Yang took a full blow from his own sword, suffering severe injuries and spitting blood.

The mastermind merely smiled nonchalantly at this. What reaction could an adult have when facing a three-year-old child wielding a wooden sword? Unexpectedly, a sword energy appeared behind Lu Yang, splitting him in two. Its force undiminished, it struck the mastermind. This time, there was no reflected force! "It worked!" With a successful hit, Lu Yang quickly fled. The Lu Yang who had been split in half transformed into two pieces of wood. The mastermind stared at the two pieces of wood, and a spell came to mind: "Dao seeds sow the void, making truth and falsehood indistinguishable. The doppelganger technique created by Jianmu." In this era, it was called the Tree-Planting Art.