Chapter 92: Dueling a True Person!
Chapter 92: Battling a True Person!
As the [Yama Palace] loomed overhead, eight hundred miles of Skeleton Mountain was instantly swept by gusts of eerie winds, filled with mournful cries, as if transformed into a ghostly realm.
The Mending Heaven Peak Master stood within, his expression darkening to the extreme.
"With just these methods, you think you can kill me?"
He nearly laughed in anger. Whether Lü Yang was a reincarnated True Person of the Saint Sect or not, attempting to kill him with such means was simply too contemptuous!
On the other side, Lü Yang remained composed. Within his dantian, Su Nu, who had transformed into his guardian deity, was drenched in sweat, unreservedly channeling her own status onto him, making his appearance increasingly solemn and sacred—as if he had become the focal point of the eight hundred miles of Skeleton Mountain.
"Merely testing the waters. I wish to witness the senior's divine abilities."
Hearing this, the Mending Heaven Peak Master gave Lü Yang a deep look before nodding slightly. "Very well. Let me see which former colleague you truly are!"
Clearly, he had already confirmed Lü Yang's identity.
Undoubtedly, he was a reincarnated True Person of the Saint Sect!
As for why Lü Yang hadn't openly admitted it, that was only natural. Every True Person of the Saint Sect carried troublesome karmic burdens from their past lives—enemies, enemies, and more enemies.
Now that they had finally reincarnated, it was the perfect opportunity to shed their past karma. Who would willingly acknowledge their former identity and shoulder those burdens again?
With those words, the Mending Heaven Peak Master bent down, scooped up a handful of yellow earth, infused it with his magic power, and scattered it. The dust took root upon landing, instantly transforming into a large clump of earth. His soul then took residence within, molding the clump into his own likeness.
"Though merely an earthen body, it will suffice for now."
The Peak Master murmured softly, grains of sand spilling from his lips as he spoke. Regardless, his soul now had a temporary vessel.
Boom!
While the Peak Master worked his magic, Lü Yang didn't stand idle. From within the [Yama Palace], battle cries surged as spectral figures of Witch Ghosts manifested behind him.
These Witch Ghosts now wielded weapons, clad in armor, their faces twisted into ghastly visages with fanged grins. They stood in orderly ranks—some as ghostly soldiers, others as spectral generals—moving with disciplined precision. At Lü Yang's mental command, they charged toward the Mending Heaven Peak Master.
"Paltry demons dare approach my Dharma Body?"
The Peak Master sneered at the sight. A radiant light then rose from his crown, dividing into yin and yang, manifesting as swirling black and white energies.
Upon closer inspection, it resembled a scroll.
His cultivation of the Mending Heaven True Scripture had forged a Dao foundation named the "Yin-Yang Grand Dao Diagram." The diagram had two sides—one of Extreme Yin, the other of Bright Yang—using yin and yang to interpret the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth. Any divine ability cast into it would be decomposed, refined, absorbed, and repurposed.
Now unfurled, the "Extreme Yin" side faced upward.
Since the [Yama Palace] was steeped in baleful yin energy, and the Witch Ghosts were inherently yin-aligned, they were naturally suppressed by the "Extreme Yin." No matter how many charged forth, their efforts were futile.
In the next moment, the diagram flipped.
Extreme Yin shifted to Bright Yang, and a vast celestial radiance illuminated every corner of the Yama Palace. Wherever the light touched, ghostly soldiers and generals ignited, reduced to ashes in an instant.
Yet, several streaks of dark light—like thunderbolts—pierced through the Yin-Yang Diagram, causing the Peak Master to grunt in pain. Cracks spread across his earthen body as if it might shatter at any moment.
The Nine Heavens Secret Demon Yin Thunder!
Ancestor Nether Whisper had once used this divine ability to suppress Lü Yang's soul. Now, Lü Yang employed the same technique against the Mending Heaven Peak Master's soul!
"Quite capable indeed..."
The Peak Master's expression darkened. Though Lü Yang had undoubtedly suffered greater damage in their clash, he himself hadn't escaped unscathed.
Battles between Foundation Establishment cultivators differed vastly from those at Qi Refining.
When True Persons clashed, they manifested phenomena through qi, using their magic power to project their Dao foundations. As these foundations operated, countless divine abilities were unleashed every moment.
Thus, when both sides revealed their Dao foundations and collided, it was akin to deploying entire armies—each soldier representing a divine ability, every clash a battlefield confrontation. Whoever was routed, their forces diminished until they could no longer sustain their Dao foundation, would be defeated.
Such battles heavily relied on calculation—the depth of one's cultivation.
In essence, it resembled military strategy: where to concentrate forces, where to feign weakness, where to advance boldly, where to lay ambushes.
Those with profound cultivation could anticipate their opponent's moves, arranging their forces with ease and adapting fluidly.
Those lacking would be toyed with like puppets.
Unless the gap was immense, battles between Foundation Establishment True Persons rarely concluded quickly, and even victory seldom meant death for the loser.
Lü Yang's cultivation depth was undoubtedly inferior to the Mending Heaven Peak Master's.
But his condition was far better.
The Peak Master had lost his physical body, leaving only his soul, which destabilized his Dao foundation. Meanwhile, Lü Yang's [Yama Palace] had just been completed, operating at peak performance.
It was as if Lü Yang commanded an army of a hundred thousand, while the Peak Master had only ten thousand elite troops. The numerical disparity was so vast that Lü Yang didn't need intricate tactics—he simply traded blows, exchanging injuries until the Peak Master inevitably faltered.
Boom!
Lü Yang gave the Peak Master no chance to recover. Within the Yama Palace, the ghostly soldiers and generals resurrected, swarming toward him once more.
Thunderous roars echoed across Skeleton Mountain.
The Peak Master's expression grew increasingly grim. The cracks on his earthen body widened, as if it might collapse entirely at any moment.
"Do you seek mutual destruction?"
He stared at Lü Yang, suspicion flickering in his eyes. Compared to himself, Lü Yang appeared unscathed, showing no signs of injury.
And in truth, that was indeed the case.
'After all, I'm not the one getting hurt...'
Lü Yang glanced inward at his dantian, where the guardian deity Su Nu was now covered in wounds, her body fissured like cracked porcelain—clearly in worse shape than the Peak Master.
'...No major issue.'
Lü Yang remained unperturbed, continuing to ruthlessly exploit Su Nu's power. As long as she wasn't dead, she could be pushed to the brink.
After all, battling was far too dangerous... better to let others bear the consequences.
Finally, the Peak Master reached his limit.
He had assumed a young True Person like Lü Yang would value his life more, cherishing his Dao foundation. Yet Lü Yang fought with reckless abandon, as if intent on mutual annihilation!
"I can't drag this out any longer!"
With that thought, the Peak Master willed the Yin-Yang Grand Dao Diagram to fold inward. Extreme Yin and Bright Yang converged, giving birth to a single point of mixed-hole radiance.
At first, it was no brighter than a spark. But as the Peak Master poured his magic power into it, the spark erupted into a blazing inferno, unleashing boundless light. Wherever it passed, ghostly soldiers, demonic thunder—all were obliterated. The radiance pierced through the Yama Palace like a celestial spear!
Boom!
For a moment, the heavens were awash with swirling hues of black and white, merging indistinguishably. In a flash, the seething yin energy was purged entirely.
Seizing the opportunity, the Peak Master didn't hesitate—he soared upward.
The technique he'd just unleashed was a supreme divine ability: the "Yin-Yang Mixed Hole Supreme Divine Light." It was this very ability that had propelled him into Foundation Establishment.
With the enhancement of his Foundation Establishment status, the ability had evolved beyond its Qi Refining form. Where once it could only absorb phenomena, now it could annihilate spiritual energy in an instant, cleansing impurities with overwhelming force.
But such power came at a cost—the toll was immense.
Had he been at his peak, it wouldn't have been an issue. Yet in his current state, one use was manageable; three would leave him utterly drained.
Thus, he had deployed it solely to break the stalemate.
Once free of the [Yama Palace], the world would be his oyster—he could advance or retreat as he pleased.
Yet the moment he escaped the Yama Palace, his expression twisted in shock.
Outside stood Lü Yang—but this time, the guardian deity Su Nu wasn't by his side. She remained within the palace.
"Two people...!?"
The Peak Master's pupils constricted as realization struck. "An external incarnation! You're not at Foundation Establishment—you merely crafted a Foundation Establishment-level avatar!"
Lü Yang offered no reply. Silently, he raised a single finger.
Normally, he could only contend with the Peak Master when merged with Su Nu. But for a single strike, he still had a trump card.
One taught to him by Ancestor Nether Whisper.
In the next moment, Lü Yang began breaking through to Foundation Establishment, ascending... then plummeting!
His expression calm, his aura shifting, Lü Yang harnessed the colossal force of his failed breakthrough—the power of falling from Foundation Establishment—and directed it at the Peak Master with a single downward point of his finger.
"Heaven's Collapse!"
A shadow blotted out the sky. The Peak Master, caught completely off guard, found his escape halted mid-flight.
Then, the [Yama Palace] swung its gates wide once more.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, the Peak Master—eyes wide with fury yet powerless to resist—was struck down by Lü Yang's finger and sent tumbling back into the [Yama Palace]!