Chapter 726: Divine Art Versus Dao Art

But just as Chijin Mountain's Lord Huohuo faced off against the two immortal maidens, Xiangxiangzi and Xuan Yuezi, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Two against one? Do you think Chijin Mountain has no one left? Lord, I'll aid you."

A divine light shot up from within Chishan City—green in hue, its might lesser than Chijin Mountain's lord, yet still that of a mountain lord–level divine-blood warrior.

His name was Bei Gong.

But the moment Bei Gong appeared,

a pinpoint beam of brilliant light instantly slashed toward him from afar.

Bei Gong roared in fury, swung his fist, and under the glow of his green divine light, smashed the beam to dust.

Yet he grew wary, for he sensed the aura of a formidable foe in that strike.

He glared sharply—

and saw a man standing atop a cloud of auspicious mist, holding a great bow, silver lightning coiling around his body, coldly watching him.

"Divine-blood scion?" Bei Gong's gaze darkened instantly.

Chijin Mountain's Lord Huohuo burst into laughter: "Hah! Bei Gong, looks like you've found your match today. Don't bother with me—I'll handle these two women. Once I capture them, I'll bring them back to the mountain as concubines."

"Lord, don't underestimate them," Bei Gong warned.

"Rest easy—they're doomed today," said Chijin Mountain's Lord, then hefted his massive axe-and-spear, transforming into a streak of fire as he charged straight at Xuan Yuezi and Xiangxiangzi.

The divine-blood warrior Bei Gong did not hesitate—he immediately lunged toward Li Yi.

"So the enemy's here?" Xiangxiangzi smiled.

Xuan Yuezi held the Heavenly Dao Seal aloft.

For caution's sake, before crossing over, she had already revived the primordial spirits of three other immortal maidens in the world of incense-deity worship, nurturing them with incense power to shield them from being utterly scattered in the coming battle.

"Don't be careless—this Chijin Mountain Lord's strength is extraordinary. Even one-on-one, I'm not certain I can defeat him," Xuan Yuezi said, her gaze grave.

"I know. This brute's raw power has already surpassed mine, even though I wield the Art of Subduing Dragon and Tiger. Even if we two joined forces, a fully cultivated Daoist might still not subdue him," said Xiangxiangzi.

"Direct confrontation is hopeless. We must drain his stamina, wait until he's exhausted, then strike him down. Tai Yi said these people don't understand Daoist methods—they rely solely on physical strength, and human power has limits, while the power of heaven and earth is infinite."

Xuan Yuezi nodded: "Agreed. That's the plan."

As fellow Daoists who had cultivated together for centuries, Xuan Yuezi trusted Xiangxiangzi's combat instincts.

"Give him a taste of our strength—use incense power to unleash the Dragon-Tiger Strike, and test his limits," Xiangxiangzi added.

"Agreed."

Xuan Yuezi spoke, then immediately channeled her magic power and activated the Art of Subduing the Dragon.

Three blossoms bloomed with radiance.

Heavenly and earthly energy surged wildly, overwhelming magic power gushed forth, and instantly the sky churned with wind and clouds—ten true dragons roared through the heavens, then merged into one celestial dragon, coiled across the expanse of heaven and earth.

Merely by exhaling, the celestial dragon summoned gales that uprooted mountains—terrifying beyond measure.

"Subdue the Tiger."

Xiangxiangzi cried out, and her three blossoms bloomed likewise, magic power erupting as she summoned heavenly and earthly energy—this time, twenty mountain-sized tigers charged from all directions.

Their combined force coalesced into a single celestial tiger, whose roar shattered the earth and swept clean the clouds from the sky.

"Dragon-Tiger Strike."

Xiangxiangzi subdued the celestial dragon, commanded the celestial tiger, fused their powers together, then opened her mouth and expelled a torrent of incense power to reinforce them.

Xuan Yuezi likewise released all her incense power.

Otherwise, if the incense power dissipated over time, it would be wasted—better to unleash the most terrifying blow at its peak.

Even if they couldn't kill him, they could at least inflict a heavy blow.

With the power of incense enhancement, the celestial dragon and tiger instantly transformed into divine dragon and tiger spirits, endowed with true sentience. Now, no longer needing the two immortal maidens to control them, they autonomously absorbed heavenly and earthly qi, then roared and clawed toward Lord Huohuo of Chijin Mountain.

Lord Huohuo of Chijin Mountain, charging forth, suddenly narrowed his eyes—under the Dragon-Tiger Strike, merely the wind from its aura flattened the entire mountain range. Even as a mountain lord, his body hairs stood on end, sensing a threat to his life.

"Dragon and tiger of mountain lord rank? Good."

Huohuo abruptly halted, stomped the void with both feet—fire erupted beneath him like exploding stars, and the immense residual force flattened an entire mountain below.

Then, the fiery runes on his muscles blazed brilliantly; flames engulfed his body, and he raised his crimson-gold axe-and-spear, gathering power.

An ancient, sacred force surged from his bloodline.

Fire burned the sky, forming a towering, colossal divine shadow—its head crowned with sun, moon, and stars, its feet treading rivers and mountains, fire serpents coiling around it, wielding an axe-and-spear identical to his own.

"This is the hidden divine power within the divine-blood scions—Divine Art."

Nan Shan Bo, watching from Chishan City, slowly opened his half-closed eyes.

He was using Divine Art.

Clearly, Chijin Mountain's Lord had grown serious.

Since the enemy had unleashed their strongest attack, Huohuo dared not underestimate—he would meet it with his own ultimate strike.

"Open Heaven!"

Lord Huohuo of Chijin Mountain roared, activating his unique Divine Art.

The ancient divine shadow swung its colossal axe—this seemingly simple strike became a blade of axe-light embodying the ultimate truth of heaven and earth. Its emergence plunged the world into darkness, extinguishing all light.

Yet as the axe-light cut through, it left behind brilliance—like the sun and moon reborn, heaven and earth renewed.

Destruction and rebirth, one and the same.

The Dragon-Tiger Strike, fueled by the faith and incense of billions, sought to shake this godlike being capable of opening heaven and earth.

The axe-light clashed with the Dragon-Tiger power.

One sought to renew heaven and earth; the other sought to obliterate all life.

Pure force collided—space itself tore open, as if the cross-realm gate had been shattered. The surrounding heavens and earth collapsed; darkness swallowed all light. Yet this clash lasted only an instant, not enduring long.

The axe-light severed the celestial dragon's body, cleaved the tiger's claws—yet the dragon's body slammed into Huohuo's unbreakable frame, and the tiger's fangs bit deep into the divine shadow.

Scales flew, claws shattered, incense scattered—and faintly, the cries of countless mortals could be heard.

Their mutual slaughter shook the heavens and earth.

Nearby mountain ranges were ripped apart into countless fissures; the original peaks had become valleys. Even Chishan City trembled under the lingering shockwaves.

The warriors and slaves within the mountain were countless casualties.

Even Jiang Mingtian and Zhao Fangji, who had fled the battle's center from the start, were blasted away by the residual force.

"The battle between Chijin Mountain's Lord and Li Yi has begun—get out of the way!" Jiang Mingtian dashed into a mountainside.

Zhao Fangji spat out dirt: "Divine beings fighting, mortals suffer. Who are these two female Daoists? She said they're the Seven Immortal Maidens under Tai Yi True Person—could Tai Yi True Person be Li Yi himself?"

"Who knows which world Li Yi dragged this expert from? As long as he's on our side, that's enough," Jiang Ming said. "We can't interfere in their affairs. Our job is to deal with that mountain lord–level beast, Qiongqi."

"When the battle turns against Chijin Mountain's Lord, he'll summon Qiongqi to fight. If we can block his reinforcements, once Li Yi kills that divine-blood warrior Bei Gong, the outcome is sealed."

"How reliable is your beast-taming talisman?" Zhao Fangji asked. "Don't end up getting killed trying to tame it."

"Back at the Golden Academy, you never complained this much. No wonder you're no match for Li Yi—he's got strength, allies, and dares to fight Chijin Mountain's Lord. You? You just whine here. Enough. The battle's residual force has weakened—let's move."

Jiang Mingtian glanced outside.

Though dust and stones still swirled, the deadliest shockwaves had passed—they could move.

He immediately flew out of the cave.

"Just asking for clarification," Zhao Fangji muttered, then without delay, plunged into the storm outside, his figure vanishing swiftly.

At this moment,

above Chijin Mountain,

the Dragon-Tiger Strike's power was spent. Even the celestial dragon and tiger, infused with the incense of billions, had been utterly cleaved apart by the axe-and-spear, dissolving into heavenly and earthly spiritual energy.

"Even this level of Dragon-Tiger Strike could be absorbed? This muscle monster—if Tai Yi turns into this, I won't dare practice dual-cultivation with him," Xiangxiangzi muttered, her lips twitching.

"To reach this level with only flesh and bloodline power—to tear open space itself—this barbaric world truly is extraordinary," Xuan Yuezi stood atop the heavens, her robe fluttering in the gales, her expression cold, the Heavenly Dao Seal held aloft, staring at the towering figure emerging from the flames.

Lord Huohuo of Chijin Mountain had just shattered the Dragon-Tiger Strike with his Divine Art—but his face was grim. Divine Art drained immense stamina. If the enemy could unleash such an attack again, he was truly in danger.

"I can't let them fight together—if I do, I might lose."

Lord Huohuo glanced at his chest.

A claw mark remained, crimson blood oozing—but quickly, muscle healed, the wound vanished, his body once again became unbreakable.

With this thought, he gripped his crimson-gold axe-and-spear tighter, then stomped the ground with explosive force.

The sky trembled, sparks flew.

Huohuo surged forward like a streak of crimson light.

"Incredible speed—faster than cloud-riding. He wants to exploit his advantage, close in for melee," Xiangxiangzi's eyes narrowed sharply.

But before she could finish speaking, a massive crimson-gold axe-and-spear came crashing down.

Xiangxiangzi hastily raised her Shattered Star Spear, channeling the Art of Subduing Dragon and Tiger into Dragon-Tiger power, instantly granting herself the strength of ten dragons and ten tigers.

At this moment, she was grateful her Heavenly Dao Sect possessed this supreme Dao art—otherwise, she'd never dare clash directly with this muscle monster.

CRASH!

The crimson-gold axe-and-spear struck the Shattered Star Spear.

The metallic clang exploded like thunder; the force unleashed bent the spear in her grip.

"This is a mid-grade Dao artifact… no good!" Xiangxiangzi's eyes widened in disbelief. Then the residual force struck—her ten-dragon, ten-tiger strength was no match. Instantly, the cloud beneath her shattered.

Her body plummeted from the heavens, crashing into the mountains.

"Your head is mine!" Lord Huohuo of Chijin Mountain roared, charging again, axe-and-spear raised to cleave Xiangxiangzi's skull.

Yet in the next instant,

above his head, darkness fell—a square, massive seal transformed into a towering mountain, crashing down, while countless talismanic lights descended like dense ropes, binding the powerful body of Chijin Mountain's Lord.

Huohuo ignored it entirely, roaring as he unleashed divine power, flames engulfing him, swinging the axe-and-spear downward.

The axe-light slashed toward Xiangxiangzi, who had crashed into the mountain range.

Wounding one is not as good as killing one.

As long as he eliminates one of the opponents, he wins this battle.

But this axe light was ultimately a step too slow.

In the instant the axe light fell, clouds and mist surged violently from the shattered mountains; within the mist, Xiangxiangzi's form coalesced once more—her hair disheveled, looking disheveled, yet the malice and killing intent in her eyes had grown even fiercer.

This was the first time since reaching the Three Flowers Realm that she had suffered such a setback while at her peak.

(End of Chapter)