Chapter 96: Gap

Hearing this, Li Yuanling froze.

Suddenly, she realized Li Musheng's words sounded familiar—it was exactly what she had sworn to him before arriving at Fuzhou City.

It felt like a boomerang thrown out had just struck her on the head.

But Li Yuanling had no time to feel embarrassed.

All the copper rings above the wooden boat suddenly shattered at once, silently dissolving into fine copper dust that drifted down in a soft rustle.

Li Yuanling looked up in shock, and in the next instant, a hand seized the collar at the back of her neck.

Then she felt the entire underground palace vanish in an instant; when she saw clearly again, she stood atop the black giant ship that had once floated above her.

Li Yuanling glanced around in confusion and saw two figures standing ahead, radiating terrifying martial qi, now studying them both.

The oppressive aura emanating from them made it clear: they were both Heaven-and-Mortal Realm martial experts.

"I never expected it to be you!"

The gray-robed elder Sheng Shi'an's eyes swirled with bloodlight, staring at Li Musheng in disbelief.

He had assumed the two behind him had powerful allies—but he never imagined the true expert was Li Musheng himself!

Such a young Heaven-and-Mortal Realm martial expert shattered Sheng Shi'an's lifelong assumptions.

He had wandered the martial world for most of his life, encountering countless martial geniuses—but someone like Li Musheng? He had never heard of such a person, never seen one!

At this moment, Li Musheng's gaze swept over Sheng Shi'an and Tu Yao, and he had no intention of wasting words—he spoke directly:

"You must be the ones in charge of Fuzhou City. Good. Hand over the Fire Qilin's blood for me to study."

Hearing this, Tu Yao's pupils narrowed slightly, and he exchanged a glance with Sheng Shi'an.

"Elder Sheng, how strong do you think this man is?"

Sheng Shi'an's bloodlight grew visibly denser; the surrounding heavenly qi continued flowing into his body without pause.

The black iron chains writhed, clinking loudly, while his aura kept rising—as if, so long as heavenly qi endured, his power had no limit.

"I have not seen him use any Wu Gong techniques, so I do not know what cultivation technique he practices. But his body movement must be extraordinary—perhaps even comparable to the Lady Lingbo's Lingbo Step."

"Moreover, from how he manipulated heavenly qi to shatter my copper rings, he must possess an extremely powerful 'Qi Control' Divine Art. Do not underestimate him."

Hearing this, Tu Yao's expression shifted.

The difference between Post-Heaven and Pre-Heaven Realm martial artists lies in whether the cultivator can inhale and store heavenly qi within their meridians and dantian to make it their own.

The difference between Pre-Heaven and Heaven-and-Mortal Realm lies in whether one comprehends the boundary between human and heaven-earth, using one's own martial qi to control heavenly qi beyond the body.

At the Heaven-and-Mortal Realm, one's martial qi flows endlessly, and one can use a point to guide the whole, a small force to command the great, controlling all heavenly qi in the world to amplify the power of one's cultivation technique.

At this level, even the sheer quantity of qi controlled far surpasses that of a Wudaoda Sect Grandmaster.

In his view, if Li Musheng truly possessed a technique to command qi, he had elevated the mastery of heavenly qi to an even higher level.

Even if he and Sheng Shi'an's martial cultivation surpassed Li Musheng's, they would still have to tread with extreme caution.

Thinking this, Tu Yao did not overestimate himself and immediately advised Sheng Shi'an:

"We can chase the escaped ones later. For safety, please join me in subduing this man now, to avoid complications."

Hearing this, the gray-robed elder Sheng Shi'an slowly nodded.

The bloodlight in his eyes grew restless, blooming from his eye sockets like rising, burning blood flames—as if his inner madness and malice could no longer be contained.

"Such a staggering martial genius—I have never seen one. Let us capture him and see what secrets he hides!"

No sooner had he spoken than Sheng Shi'an released the restraints he had long suppressed; the surrounding martial qi trembled violently, and the black iron chains wrapped around his body shattered instantly.

In their place, crimson chains erupted from his skin, writhing rapidly across his entire body, radiating a terrifying, towering bloodlight.

Instantly, boundless torrents of blood qi burst from Sheng Shi'an's body, triggering a horrifying crimson storm that shattered the black iron ship beneath their feet, sending it crashing downward into the palace.

"Elder Sheng, stop!"

Seeing this, Tu Yao's face turned pale—he tried to shout a warning, but it was already too late.

The crimson storm was too powerful, sweeping in all directions; any rock or iron chain it passed over turned to powder in an instant.

Even the massive, heavy iron ship beneath them cracked and collapsed, crumbling from midair in a shower of debris.

Meanwhile, Sheng Shi'an was engulfed in rolling blood flames, standing motionless in midair, his aura dark, powerful, and chilling.

The stalactites hanging from the cavern ceiling could not withstand the leaking martial power; they shattered into stone dust that drifted down like snow.

"Heavenly Demon Blood Hand Seal!"

Boom—

The entire underground void trembled. A massive hand, dozens of feet tall, formed from countless beams of bloodlight and vast qi, silently appeared above Li Musheng and Li Yuanling. The next instant, it descended with terrifying, lethal intent.

Li Yuanling, standing beside Li Musheng, was filled with terror.

As she looked up at the descending blood hand, she clearly felt as if an invisible giant hand had seized the space around her.

Her body was sealed like wax, unable to breathe, unable to move—she could only watch helplessly as the giant hand fell.

But Li Musheng remained unmoved.

He gazed calmly at Sheng Shi'an, who now looked like a blood demon incarnate, and slowly shook his head.

"You guessed right—my martial cultivation is indeed Heaven-and-Mortal Realm. But…"

"You may not realize that the gap between one Heaven-and-Mortal Realm cultivator and another can sometimes be beyond measure."

As he spoke, Li Yuanling felt her collar seized again, and the scenery before her vanished in an instant.

In a flash, she found herself hovering in midair.

Before her, just a foot away, floated Sheng Shi'an, still wreathed in blood flames—but now, those flames vanished like a receding tide.

The crimson light in his eyes extinguished instantly; the surrounding crimson storm vanished without a sound…

The entire underground space fell utterly silent.

Even, as Li Yuanling turned her head slightly, she saw that the massive blood hand below—now gone, vanished without a trace.

(End of Chapter)