Chapter 305: What Kind of Monster Are You?
The duel between mighty cultivators was vastly different from the chaotic battle at the foot of the mountain, especially for those in the Wujiang Realm, where a single thought could span a thousand miles.
Thus, the entire Dan Sect now transformed into a battlefield under the dark night.
Amidst the raging winds, the pitch-black Dan Mountain was illuminated by endless thunder and fire, as several figures clashed in mid-air, their roars shaking the mountains.
Chu River and Chen Ke landed on the East Mountain, one in the south and one in the north, both heading towards the Yaoguang Hall, aiming for the alchemists on the mountain.
However, those Old Ancestors from the Sect who had taken Medicinal Pills did not give up. They pursued relentlessly through the night, swooping down with a roar through the Void Realm.
Boom!
On the southern half of the mountain, Chu River raised his right arm under the night sky. His palm was like a red-hot branding iron just taken from a furnace, and then he slammed it down.
In an instant, three Old Ancestors from the Sect who were in pursuit were sent flying backward, their robes already in tatters, and blood began to seep from their mouths and noses.
But the surging Qi remained unextinguished, bringing a fierce glint to Chu River's eyes.
He was here to capture alchemists; these Old Ancestors from the Sect were not his original targets.
Yet, he couldn't shake them off and had to turn back to deal with them, a situation that annoyed the mighty cultivator.
So, he decided to kill these people, ensuring they wouldn't spread rumors after tonight.
With a bang, Chu River leaped into the air, descending the mountain in reverse. His scorching red iron hand distorted the light in the forest, and then he slammed his palms down again.
The two Old Ancestors from the Sect, who had joined forces, were sent flying after a series of coughs and blood. However, just as he was gathering strength to kill one of them first, a rustling sound of footsteps echoed on the dark mountain path, sounding exceptionally clear in the thick darkness.
Chu River turned his head sharply, vaguely seeing a flash of light.
Before his Divine Soul could even discern it, his body reacted first, his entire aura surging, and a purplish-red Qi instantly enveloped him.
“Boom!!!”
The moment the bright Sword Light struck the roaring Huantian Technique surrounding him, a blinding white light exploded.
Chu River felt a tremendous force, like mountains collapsing and seas overturning, strike him, as if his internal organs were displaced.
He was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing through three ancient pine trees before slamming hard into the East Mountain cliff face, sending rocks flying and dust rising.
In the rubble, Chu River suppressed his churning Qi and blood, his brow tightly furrowed, staring intently ahead.
In the dense forest, a white figure slowly approached, treading on fallen leaves, his face gradually moving from shadow into the moonlight.
Before Chu River could fully see his complete appearance, a voice came from the opposite side.
“Another Huantian Technique?”
Chu River stood up from the rubble, and after a long moment, narrowed his eyes slightly: “Tianshu Academy's immortal robe—so you are Ji You?”
Before he could answer, a scorching aura suddenly swept across the mountaintop, and amidst this heaven-shaking Qi, a heavy iron sword already whistled forth.
Amidst the clang of metal, Chu River used his scorching red iron hand to leverage himself, flipping over to land on the southern cliff edge, where the rocks beneath his feet cracked into two fissures with a 'ka' sound.
Although he did not receive a response from the other party, he was now certain that the newcomer was Ji You.
Because all Prodigies under Heaven generally had matching Realm and combat power, only he was consistently rumored to have unusual combat power.
Moreover, among the myriad Disciples of Tianshu Academy, he was the only one who used Spiritual Sword Mountain Sword Dao.
But Chu River didn't understand why the phrase 'unusual combat power' could reach such a degree.
However, before he could ponder further, a fierce sword cry suddenly roared into the sky.
At this moment, the Dao Sword Xiao Chong Shan whistled forth.
The heavy Sword Intent tore through the air, emitting a piercing shriek, and a fierce wind erupted wherever the sword's edge passed.
Having dodged earlier, Chu River was already poised, with the Huantian Technique forming a purplish-red tempest around him, while his scorching red iron hand slammed down horizontally, his finger joints cracking like thunder.
As the number one family in the world, their Chu Clan's inherited techniques were no less than those of the Immortal Sects.
Among them, the Huantian Technique, based on the principle of 'all techniques accompanying the body,' had the strongest defense and could not be pierced by a Dao Sword.
So, in his opinion, if the swordsman in front of him couldn't shatter his technique, then the sword was as good as useless, while he could tear apart this junior with strange combat power with his bare hands.
But in the next instant, he found that as Ji You swung his sword down, the iron sword did not break as expected.
Boom!
The violent Qi surged like a drumbeat, sending Chu River flying backward.
Amidst the intense pain, he found that his abdomen began to seep blood, and a chilling bone shard pierced through his skin from within his body.
No, it's not Sword Qi.
It's a technique.
It's his own technique.
Chu River's eyes instantly narrowed, finally realizing that his sudden injury was not because the previous sword strike had pierced through his 'all techniques accompanying the body'.
On the contrary, what broke his ribs was a surge of Qi from within his own technique; he had injured himself.
To be precise, that Sword Qi was not difficult for a mighty cultivator of his Rank to block, but when the powerful repulsive force within his own technique was struck back, he was pierced through in reverse, completely unprepared.
The previous sword strike in the mountain forest that sent him flying, without his technique dissipating its force, seemed to be the same situation.
But what Chu River couldn't understand was why every one of his swords could strike with such uncanny precision.
“I told you, it’s the Huantian Technique again, yet you still use it.”
Ji You lunged forward, his iron sword whistling and clanging.
He could see the flow of techniques, and after his Autumn Tournament with Chu River at Tianshu Academy, this method was already useless against him.
Chu River also suddenly thought of something, instantly dispelling the surging technique around him, and his scorching red iron hand pressed down, directly shattering the hillside beneath his feet with a sweep of his palm.
Protecting himself with techniques was merely his habitual method; his true killing technique was this pair of iron hands.
Among the human Origin of Xiao Hong, the distance between the two worlds, above and below, was like the hot discussion of human-carbon defense in the world of peace, which could capture the spiritual insights of children.
But at this moment, Ji You suddenly waved his sleeve.
He didn't move his sword, but waved his sleeve.
In that instant, Chu River, who was about to strike with his palm, suddenly felt his scalp tingle, and his vigilance heightened.
The next moment, a magnificent arc of Mystic Light suddenly soared from beneath his feet, like a Milky Way cascading down, reaching straight to the sky. Its powerful aura made the entire East Mountain tremble, directly sealing him within it.
And as the Mystic Light rose, a golden ripple slowly began to spread towards him.
Chu River was about to fly up and kill, but his entire body's Qi was instantly annihilated by the Qi. The moment he saw this golden ripple, his pupils contracted sharply, and with a surge of Qi throughout his body, he frantically dodged.
Unexpectedly, the arc of light suddenly trembled, directly blocking his path. In his panic, the golden ripple lightly touched his left shoulder. Boom!
A cloud of blood mist directly exploded.
Ji You saw Chu River clutching his broken arm, his eyes wide, then turned and soared away, whistling towards Chen Ke on the adjacent cliff. In fact, after learning what had happened at Dan Sect, he had made many preparations.
In the early morning, he donned the Tianshu Academy immortal robe, pretending to represent Tianshu Academy, entered the Kaiyang Hall, and observed the cultivation of everyone. He found that each Sect had Wujiang Realm masters.
Under these circumstances, even if he joined the battle, the outcome might not be good, so the worst-case scenario had to be prepared for in advance.
So he asked Yuan Caiwei for the Dan Sect's mountain protection Formation diagram, studied the routes, and also obtained the Formation core to activate the grand Formation.
The location of Yaoguang Hall was closer to the Formation core of the mountain protection grand Formation. Heading south, one could exit the mountain.
However, alchemists could not use Void Realm flight, making them highly susceptible to pursuit, which was perhaps why the people of Dan Sect had never considered fleeing.
So he had been arranging along the mountain, intending to use the Dan Sect's protective Formation to trap the pursuers, leaving enough time for escape.
After all, if the enemy was outside, the grand Formation was a guardian; if the enemy was inside, the grand Formation could become a cage.
And by the time he finished, the battle had already begun at the foot of the mountain, and what surprised him even more was that the Dan Sect's foundation had been underestimated.
He really didn't expect that they could, relying on so many years of accumulation, stubbornly hold back the Five Great Immortal Sects until he had finished everything.
Those people hadn't even broken through the nine-tier stairs.
Especially the several Old Ancestors who had taken Medicinal Pills, being able to swarm and hold back those in the Wujiang Realm, astonished him even more.
Coincidentally, he had also returned to kill.
Using the protective Formation to escape was the worst-case scenario, but it didn't mean there couldn't be a very good plan. He felt he could try to kill. Even if he failed, with his ability, he could still hold back a few people, allowing the Disciples of Dan Sect to escape through the Formation gate on the back mountain, which was not a problem.
Plans are always like this, they can't keep up with changes, but fortunately, such changes are beneficial to him.
Ji You now walked from the shattered cliff, then crossed the mountain, landed on the adjacent isolated peak, and stepped across a winding stream.
This stream had been dyed pink, and three bodies, severed at the waist, were scattered around—all were Old Ancestors from the Sect who had pursued him earlier.
And standing on the cliff behind the stream, the Elder of the Chen Clan, with a shiny forehead and white hair like a surrounding curtain, turned his head.
Before him, a heavy Sword Qi came directly.
Almost in the blink of an eye, Chen Ke's iron saber reversed, and his Qi surged first, directly clashing fiercely with it.
The moment the saber and sword met, Chen Ke saw the young face of the one wielding the sword, and a fierce glint flashed across his aged face.
“Tong Xuan Realm, fighting Wujiang, what evil art have you cultivated?”
“Want to learn?”
“Heretical path—”
Chen Ke suddenly swung his arm, his left hand gripping a ball of wind and thunder that pressed down with a roar, directly crushing Ji You's sword momentum.
Taking advantage of the distance created, he raised his broad saber again. The violent Qi caused the saber body to vibrate continuously, and a powerful Saber Qi directly crushed the ancient pines.
This was the Chen Clan's secret technique, Ten-Stage Slash. With the addition of each force field, each saber strike would be more terrifying than the last.
Ji You had previously confronted a Chen family Disciple at the Tiandao Conference and already knew this technique could borrow power from the opponent. He also knew that to break this method, one could neither attack with brute force nor let the battle drag on for too long.
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a sense of destiny.
His previous struggles and experiences seemed to have been to teach him how to break techniques, fighting smaller ones first, then larger ones.
Amidst the constant thunder exploding in the forest, Ji You whistled backward, his figure disappearing into the woods.
However, the reason the Wujiang Realm is called Wujiang is that it can ignore distance within a certain range, so in the next instant, Chen Ke, who came with a saber, soared into the air with his saber, and below the saber's edge was Ji You, who was flying along the mountain.
Elder Fang was at the peak of the Wujiang Realm, but because his lifespan was nearing its end, his body was severely withered, and his combat power had significantly declined.
Although this Chen Clan Elder in front of him was only in the initial stage, his body was still relatively strong, and his oppressive aura could approach sixty percent of Elder Fang's.
"Boom!!!"
The iron saber fell, and half of the cliff collapsed with a roar.
Ji You blocked with his sword, and his entire body fell down the shattered cliff.
Amidst the surging waves that rolled skyward, Chen Ke pressed his saber forward, directly rushing into the smoke and dust.
However, before he could find Ji You's figure, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a faint light coming from the cliff on his left.
Almost in the blink of an eye, Chen Ke was startled and instantly dodged, only catching a fleeting glimpse of a bright silver thin line appearing at his feet, followed by a sharp pain.
When he looked down, his left thigh was already empty.
The Chen Clan Elder's eyes widened in anger, and he saw the swordsman on the cliff looking at him with a cold expression, his white robe, like moonlight, gradually began to seep with blood, then spread out on his shoulder.
This battle was different from the one with Chu Hong.
Chu Hong's combat power was actually very terrifying, but Ji You knew the flaws of the Huantian Technique, and coupled with the fact that the opponent was bare-handed, his advantage was enormous.
But that saber strike just now, he truly withstood it head-on.
It must be said, the Wujiang Realm is truly terrifying.
If he hadn't seen through that the Ten-Stage Slash wasn't about accumulating power but borrowing it, he probably would have been killed.
Ji You suddenly crushed the mountain peak, and in an instant, the Dao Sword Willow Color New arrived in his hand.
"The ultimate fast sword is indeed extraordinary, but the starting move is still an ordinary speed—"
Chen Ke muttered to himself, and with a thought, he whistled ten li, then as he returned, his third saber fiercely struck downwards.
Just now, the cliff broke, and the surging waves had already filled the entire East Mountain with dense smoke, but at the moment this saber fell, it directly cut out a clear space.
But this saber did not fall, because Ji You gripped a short saber in his backhand, and with bulging arms, he parried this third saber.
The saber in Ji You's hand was extremely short, probably only as long as his palm.
Then he grabbed Chen Ke's wrist with his backhand, and at the same time, a scorching Qi surged out from his body like a tidal wave.
"Bang!!!!"
Ji You swung his fist fiercely, unleashing the powerful force gathered within his body, directly smashing the Chen Clan Elder's chest inward, causing blood to gush from his mouth.
Such a heavy punch should have sent him flying, but his right hand, holding the saber, was gripped by Ji You with a crunching sound of twisting bones.
Then the second punch came down, accompanied by the sound of air being compressed and exploding, directly breaking the right arm that held the saber.
Combat is about attacking the opponent's weaknesses with one's strengths, whether it's against Chu Hong or this Chen Clan Elder in front of him, it's all the same.
Under the night wind, Chen Ke, whose arm was broken, cried out in pain towards the sky, blood seeping from between his teeth, as if his Divine Soul was about to be shattered.
Because he was engaged in close-quarters combat, he was extremely close to Ji You, and after taking two punches, he kept spitting blood foam, his eyes fixed on Ji You's shoulder.
There was a long, narrow wound on Ji You's shoulder, struck by his second saber.
At this moment, the blood on the shoulder of his white robe had not yet dried, but the wound had already begun to scab over.
"What—what kind of monster are you?"
"Don't talk, take a deep breath—"
Ji You pulled his arm back like a drawn bow, then, carrying this Elder of the Chen Clan, he fiercely smashed through the cliff in front of him.
However, what he didn't expect was that the Chen Clan Elder suddenly let out a roar, and a Saber Qi condensed from Mystic Light instantly flew out from his glabella, directly severing his own right arm, and in a single thought, he fled.
The Wujiang Realm's speed was incredibly fast, but what Chen Ke didn't expect was that as soon as he stepped down the mountain, a Mystic Light directly enveloped him.
At this moment, Ji You put the black-gold broad saber into his storage gourd, ascended to a higher position, and looked at the blood mist constantly erupting around Chen Ke, who was trapped by golden ripples, unable to help but purse his dry lips.
Bang!
Chen Ke, covered in blood, was sent flying, landing directly on the ground.
It was only when he remained motionless that the golden Formation patterns stopped spreading towards him.
The Wujiang Realm was indeed harder to kill than he had imagined; Ji You wasn't quite sure if he was dead or alive.
And in the distance, Chu Hong, who was trapped in the Formation, also seemed to have gone silent.
At this moment, a figure appeared in the mountain forest, coming down the slope.
The figure was very tall and thin, accompanied by a faint aura around him, sharp like a peerless green blade.
"Why are your Xiao Chong Shan and Willow Color New so strong?"
"It's all thanks to Qi Elder's good teaching."
Qi Zhengyang stopped at the bottom of the slope, looking at him with a solemn expression: "If I suppress my combat power to your level, I wouldn't be as strong as you when using them."
Ji You sat down on the ground after taking a Medicinal Pill: "It's probably also due to Body Refining. After all, whether it's fast swords or heavy swords, strength is the foundation.
Is Qi Elder here for the Dan Sect as well?"
"Master Jian has an order. I can only act when the sect is destroyed or when your life is in danger, but I can only save people, not kill them."
The Dan Sect's troubles were originally communicated to him by Yan Shuyi, so it wasn't surprising that she had arrangements on Dan Mountain.
However, even as the next sect master of Lingjian Mountain, under the formidable power of the Five Great Immortal Sects working together, she could only secretly arrange for people to act, and could only ensure that the Dan Sect's legacy continued.
Beyond that, she could do nothing else.
Because in her heart, Xuanjian Peak was the most important, and she would not draw hatred upon her own sect.
Ji You chuckled softly after hearing this: "That's why I specifically wore the Tianshu Academy's immortal robe."
"What does that mean?"
"This way, it looks like Tianshu Academy sent me, and all the new and old grudges can be blamed on Tianshu Academy."
Qi Zhengyang twitched the corner of his mouth after hearing this: "Tianshu Academy is fortunate to have you."
Ji You put the short saber in his hand into his storage gourd: "They owe me."
At this moment, Qi Zhengyang also looked at his shoulder, frowning slightly at the scabbed area: "What that Chen Clan Elder said is true.
You really are a monster."
"It appeared after Body Refining."
"Body Refining can be like this?"
Ji You nodded: "Body Refining is not purely an increase in strength and toughness; it's an enhancement of all body-related abilities, including self-healing. When I broke through the second major hurdle, I found that I could even make my blood flow backward."
Qi Zhengyang stared at him for a long time: "There's actually such a method—"
"Qi Elder, do you know what those immortal sects are trying to refine?"
"I won't tell you now. After you're done tonight, come find me at the Yuelai Inn in Kangkang Town at the foot of the mountain. This is also Master Jian's imperial order."
Ji You raised his head and said softly: "I actually wanted to ask Qi Elder to protect Ji Village in my Feng Province. After all, even if what I do tonight can be blamed on Tianshu Academy, I'm afraid there will still be lingering troubles."
Qi Elder placed his hands on his knees: "Since Master Jian sent you a message to come, she has naturally made all these arrangements, including your scholar friend; they will all be fine."
"That smart?"
"Do you think my Master Jian has truly only relied on the spirit mirror to support Xuanjian Peak all these years?"
After speaking, Qi Zhengyang suddenly looked towards the direction north of Wen: "Aren't you going to the front? The Dan Sect Master's sleeping quarters are about to fall."
Ji You slowly exhaled: "It will take a while longer."
Qi Zhengyang was startled upon hearing this, and the golden light in his eyes began to surge: "What have you done to exhaust yourself to such a Void Realm?"
"Moved things all morning."
"??"
At the same time, above the sect master's sleeping quarters, in the Yaoguang Hall, everyone looked at the two streaks of Mystic Light that pierced through the heavens and earth.
They had all seen Chu Hong and Chen Ke rushing towards the Yaoguang Hall on East Mountain just now, and their hearts had already turned cold.
Because they had determined from the first exchange that even if they took Medicinal Pills, those Old Ancestors of the Sect would definitely not be able to stop them.
Once the other three killed the remaining Old Ancestors of the Sect and captured the Dan Sect Master, the Disciples of Yaoguang Hall would only have two choices: consume Medicinal Pills to commit suicide or wait to be captured.
But what they didn't expect was that the battle continued on the mountainside, even moving lower and lower, without the expected trend of advancing up the mountain.
Most importantly, Chu Hong and Chen Ke never reappeared, but three of the six Elders who had chased after the two had now come down the mountain, limping.
However, none of this was important. What was important was that Mystic Light. Yuan Li looked at Danyang Zi with a solemn expression: "What is that?"
Danyang Zi was stunned for a long time before regaining his senses, and spoke with some uncertainty: "It seems to be my Dan Sect's sect-protecting Formation—"
As the Dan Sect Master, Yuan Li naturally knew his own sect-protecting Formation, but the problem was that their Formation wasn't like this.
Their Formation was round, although a bit elliptical, it should indeed be round.
But now, that light had directly twisted from the back of the mountain, as if the top of the circle had suddenly caved inward, and the concave position was directly locked onto the back of Yaoguang Hall.
Seeing this scene, everyone's faces were filled with surprise.
Someone moved the Formation base.
The Formations of the Seven Great Immortal Sects all originated from the Formation Master Clan of that year, relying on the power of Sacred Artifacts, tightly gripping the entire mountain range.
To move the Formation base was almost equivalent to moving the entire mountain.
Moreover, because the Formation base was connected to the Origin of the Sacred Artifact, borrowing the power of the Heavenly Dao, any technique of moving mountains and filling seas would simply be ineffective against it.
Amidst their astonishment, Yuan Li and the Elders suddenly felt a strong oppressive force.
In the night, Shang Que of the Asked the Dao Sect soared into the sky.
At the same time, the bronze disc suspended above his head pressed down towards the sect master's sleeping quarters, and the roaring sound of its passage caused the Void Realm to rumble.
Before the disc arrived, the oppressive force had already poured down like a heavenly river, and the vast nine-layered steps directly shattered, cracks spreading upward like a spider web (I've been thinking about the specific process since last night, and today I wrote and then deleted several paragraphs, it's really not easy, please give me monthly votes! Begging for monthly votes!)
