Chapter 63: Martial Artist Battles Immortal
Chapter 63: Martial Artist Versus Immortal
Another month passed swiftly.
Within the cave dwelling, Lü Yang sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, watching a mass of white qi churn violently in his palm. Only after a long while did he gently toss it outward.
Boom!
Following the thunderous sound, the white qi rapidly expanded and reshaped into a human form, revealing features identical to Lü Yang's own—yet its aura was entirely different.
Lü Yang's true form carried an ethereal, immortal-like aura, the mark of a genuine cultivator wielding superior true qi. In contrast, the Lü Yang formed from white qi radiated overwhelming blood energy, every movement carrying the weight of a thousand pounds. His sternly handsome face bore an air of natural authority.
"Excellent, excellent!"
Lü Yang nodded approvingly at the 'Primordial Qi Avatar' he had painstakingly refined over the past month. "I never imagined martial arts could have such uses..."
Normally, a Primordial Qi Avatar couldn't advance in cultivation.
Its essence was a formless mass of white qi, gathering and dispersing unpredictably, incapable of cultivation—much like how Lü Yang had previously cultivated the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light before ultimately becoming a blood shadow.
Yet martial arts had changed this.
Unlike immortal cultivation, martial arts focused purely on nurturing and refining blood energy—a perfect match for the Primordial Qi Avatar, allowing it to break through the inherent limitation of being unable to cultivate!
"Unfortunately, I'm still unclear about how to proceed with the fourth step..."
Currently, the Primordial Qi Avatar only possessed strength equivalent to the third step of martial arts. Though Lü Yang had attempted to deduce the fourth step, he had yet to find the correct path.
Thus, for this excursion, Lü Yang planned to first visit Tianjing City.
He intended to meet the 'Saintly Scholar' Wang Boyuan, who had pioneered the fourth step of martial arts, hoping to glean some inspiration from their conversation.
"Go forth and make waves for me."
With a thought, Lü Yang's Primordial Qi Avatar instantly disintegrated on the spot, transforming into a streak of white qi that vanished toward the horizon, flying straight for Tianjing City.
...........
"He's finally made his move!"
Almost simultaneously, within the Wei family residence in Tianjing City, the ten-year-old 'Wei Yun' suddenly looked up at the sky, his dark eyes flashing with a sudden gleam.
Yet the next moment, his brow furrowed. "No... it's an avatar..."
Upon seeing the divination results, the Yun Family Patriarch gnashed his teeth in frustration.
After waiting bitterly for ten years and expending tremendous effort to manipulate karma, all he had managed to lure out was an avatar. Did that little demon not feel the slightest urgency?
Demonic sects were known for their aggressive advancement, yet here was this unexpectedly cautious old tortoise... For the first time, the Yun Family Patriarch felt genuinely challenged. However, he quickly adjusted his plans. If Lü Yang sent out an avatar, he would find a way to destroy it—then see if the true body could remain seated so calmly!
Of course, he wouldn't act personally—that would only alert the enemy.
The best approach was to have the martial artists within the secret realm eliminate Lü Yang's avatar. This would also allow them to learn the truth about the secret realm, spurring them to rise in rebellion.
Naturally, their rebellion would never succeed.
The Yun Family Patriarch cared little whether they succeeded—what mattered was the act of rebellion itself, driving these martial artists to break out of the secret realm. That was the true key.
Once they left the secret realm, even if they died, their souls would enter the cycle of reincarnation. Not even a Dao Lord could retrieve them then.
Though they would lose their lives, they would gain freedom.
Upon reincarnation, these hundreds of millions of souls would weave into the vast web of karma spanning heaven and earth—an immeasurable merit for him.
"Perfect... I can have that person act..."
Having reached this conclusion, the Yun Family Patriarch immediately formed hand seals, manipulating the threads of karma.
.............
"What secrets lie hidden within this Heavenly Book?"
Within the imperial palace of Tianjing City, Ji Xiongying, the 'Martial King of Suppression'—one of the seven Heaven and Man Realm martial artists of the era—frowned deeply as he examined a golden book before him.
The Heavenly Book comprised four volumes, with Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian sects each possessing one.
Rumors claimed the final volume had been lost among the common folk, vanishing without a trace. Yet none knew the truth—the Great Zhou imperial family had secretly claimed it for themselves.
It was precisely by relying on this Heavenly Book that Ji Xiongying had completed the first three steps of martial arts by age thirty. After Wang Boyuan, the 'Saintly Scholar,' revealed the method for the fourth step, Ji Xiongying created the 《Dominion of the World》 technique, harnessing the momentum of an entire nation to empower himself. This allowed him to break through and become a Heaven and Man Realm Great Ancestral Teacher.
Yet the more he studied the Heavenly Book, the more unease grew in his heart.
"Where did the Heavenly Book come from?"
"All things must have an origin. If the Heavenly Book's profound mysteries were crafted intentionally, then only legendary immortals could be responsible."
At this thought, boundless ambition surged within Ji Xiongying.
For despite reaching the Heaven and Man Realm, he had discovered his lifespan remained no different from an ordinary mortal's. How could he accept this?
"I want longevity! I want to live ten thousand years!"
"I wish to become immortal...!"
A crimson glint gradually surfaced in Ji Xiongying's eyes as his already formidable desires were deliberately stoked. And at this critical juncture—
"Who goes there!"
Abruptly, Ji Xiongying looked up. His 《Dominion of the World》 allowed him to sense fluctuations in the Great Zhou's national fortune—and the capital, Tianjing City, was practically his domain. Now, he detected a distinct 'foreign presence' intruding upon it.
With a thought, Ji Xiongying drew upon the nation's momentum, instantly empowering himself.
In that moment, it was as if hundreds of millions of Great Zhou citizens were lifting him up, allowing him to shatter the martial artist's limitation of being unable to fly—soaring straight into the clouds.
There, he saw a figure.
The newcomer's sleeves fluttered as he stood upon empty air, riding upon swirling mists like an immortal descending from the heavens—only his gaze held faint surprise as he looked at Ji Xiongying.
"You can actually fly?"
Lü Yang studied the martial artist before him, quickly deducing Ji Xiongying's identity through divination: "I see... So the Heaven and Man Realm truly breaks martial limitations..."
Ji Xiongying similarly scrutinized Lü Yang, frowning. "Your qi isn't condensed, your blood isn't refined—only your spiritual intent is passable. You must be an unorthodox rogue cultivator. Yet you can fly... Have you obtained some secret method? No matter. Once I capture you, all will be revealed!"
Without further ado, Ji Xiongying struck!
In the past, though domineering, he wouldn't have acted without cause. But now, frustration from unfulfilled desires filled him with agitation.
Moreover, in his eyes, Lü Yang wasn't a Heaven and Man Realm martial artist.
Without that status, Lü Yang had no right to speak to him as an equal. Thus, capturing him would also serve to vent his pent-up emotions.
"Come here!"
In the next instant, Ji Xiongying moved—appearing directly before Lü Yang in a flash, his fingers clawing toward the latter's throat with a shrill, explosive sound tearing through the air.
At this proximity, Lü Yang could faintly hear the roaring river-like surge of blood within Ji Xiongying's body—his pounding heart resembling the drumbeat of the heavens. What kind of physique could sustain such terrifying blood energy?
"Absolutely comparable to peak Qi Refining..."
Lü Yang marveled inwardly. In terms of sheer bodily sturdiness, Ji Xiongying surpassed even Lü Yang at the minor achievement stage of the Saint's Theft—truly inhuman.
"But it seems that's all he has..."
Splat!
The next moment, blood sprayed.
Ji Xiongying recoiled as if struck by a tremendous force, staring at Lü Yang in shock—and at the fading 'white line' suspended between them.
That 'white line' had just sliced cleanly through his palm.
"What kind of martial art is this?"
"A Sword Qi Talisman."
Under Ji Xiongying's stunned gaze, Lü Yang smiled faintly before producing a yellow paper covered in esoteric symbols—then set it alight with a flick of flame...
Boom!
In that instant, Ji Xiongying felt excruciating pain between his brows as the same sword qi that had torn through his palm erupted from the burning talisman!
Beneath the radiant sword light, his face was a picture of utter bewilderment.
What... what kind of trick is this!?