Chapter 191: Advance and Retreat at Will

The illusory shadows of the East Azure Dragon and West White Tiger just appeared, and suddenly the world rang with morning bells and evening drums; a bronze ancient bell floated above his head, resonating with a Dao tone like the opening of heaven and earth, and it literally fixed the incoming infernal fire red lotus in the void.

Mi Le, seeing this, hurriedly raised a human seed bag, but saw Zhou Yi's left eye rise a Taiyin Star and his right eye drop a Solar Essence Fire. At the instant the Chaos Azure Lotus blossomed from the spirit platform, the entire battlefield suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

The Ming He Ancestor, startled, felt his twin swords tremble uncontrollably; the murderous treasure that had accompanied him in cutting down three thousand worldly guests now trembled in fear of the Human Emperor's pressure.

Where Zhou Yi's fist strikes, the torrent of law in the void erupts with a roar, nine‑colored light pillars pierce the heavens, and the phantom of the Chaos cauldron flickers intermittently amid the energy turbulence.

The twin swords of A Bi and Yuan Tu, sheathed with the Netherworld Blood Sea, rolled back toward him, but violently trembled three zhang away, rebounding like striking an invisible wall back into the palm of the Ming He Ancestor.

The two venerables of the Western Sect almost simultaneously launched attacks; Great Doctor King Buddha's eight‑treasure glazed staff erupted with seven‑colored Brahma light, and Mi Le's pure bamboo staff traced a realm of three thousand empty clarity as Zhou Yi's brow twitched slightly.

The Taiyi Bell atop his head rang suddenly, and countless Daoist flying immortal glows coalesced into a silver‑river celestial trench, abruptly cutting off the thrust trajectories of the two holy artifacts.

Clang!

The clash of gold and iron reverberated across the eight wildernesses, the bronze ancient bell flew back to Zhou Yi's side, its surface sigils flickering uncertainly.

Yet the expressions of the two great powers of the Western Sect changed; a bodhi seed at the fingertip of Great Doctor King Buddha silently shattered: "In this age, can a member of the Human Race truly stand against a Saint's holy artifact?"

"A hundred years ago he and Taiyi split the autumn colors evenly; we merely borrowed the might of the Tai Chi diagram," Mi Le's robe moved without wind, cold sweat dampening his smiling forehead, "Now it seems…"

The Ming He Ancestor's blood robe surged, and the twelfth‑grade infernal fire red lotus blossomed beneath his feet: "This feral flesh is nearly immortal; I once cleaved its heart vein with the Yuan Tu sword, yet its blood and flesh regenerated as if anew."

Great Doctor King Buddha's fingertip seal shifted abruptly, and a phantom of the Jieyin Saint appeared on the surface of the glazed staff: "Then, let the Saint's Dao Rhythm subdue it!" Before the words finished, the two artifacts suddenly inhaled and exhaled Chaos energy, their vast pressure causing clouds spanning ten thousand miles to vanish entirely.

Zhou Yi's pupils narrowed, and golden flames of human Dao energy rose around him: "To seal the Saint's power within an artifact? You have indeed underestimated us."

He formed a primordial battle seal with one hand, and behind him floated nine bronze cauldron shadows of varying forms, each bearing the millennia‑old civilization imprint of the Human Race.

Although the two saints of the Western Sect's treasured artifacts—the divine staff and the six pure bamboo rods—belong to the Preheavenly Spiritual Treasure, they are not top‑tier among their kind.

Mi Le and the Medicine Master originally could only activate their powers through their own cultivation; to suppress Zhou Yi was a fanciful tale. Seeing the dire situation, the two bit their tongues, using their essence blood as a conduit to fully awaken the core of the artifacts.

It must be known that the most precious aspect of a Saint‑forged artifact lies in its encapsulated true meaning of the Saint's Dao. In this Hong Huang Tian Di, the realm of the Mixed‑Origin Saint is as distant as a heavenly abyss; ordinary cultivators can scarcely grasp even a fragment of the Saint's Dao method.

These two artifacts, nurtured day and night by the Zhunti Saint, have long formed esoteric holy‑resonance patterns on their surfaces; now, under secret technique activation, they emit a pressure that even makes the Ming He Ancestor's pupils contract.

Zhou Yi, seeing the two artifacts begin to inhale and exhale Chaos energy, roared and struck immediately.

Five layers of golden law wheels manifested around him; within the nine great secret arts, the four techniques of combat, amplification, swiftness, and defense rotated simultaneously, and the void twisted wherever his fist struck.

This blow, as if an ancient war god broke through the realm, bore the might to shatter stars and headed straight for the two disciples of the Western Sect.

The Medicine Master's bamboo staff erupted with seven‑colored sunrise glow, Mi Le's golden staff transformed into a hundred‑zhang phantom, and the two holy artifacts finally revived at the brink of disaster.

The instant the artifact collided with his fist power, the Netherworld Blood Sea instantly surged a ten‑thousand‑zhang torrent, and even the Bone Mountain of the Asura battlefield was stripped half away by the aftershock.

Zhou Yi staggered back three steps, his tiger‑mouth palm cracked, spilling golden blood; the dark‑golden holy artifact's augmentation proved indeed extraordinary.

The Ming He Ancestor had long retreated into the void; the Yuan Tu and A Bi twin swords inhaled and exhaled icy rays within the shadows. This old demon lord repeated his old trick, clearly using the Western Sect disciples as bait, waiting to deliver a fatal strike.

Zhou Yi outwardly pretended not to notice, but in fact his meridians were already cloaked with protective qi; that faint yet ever‑present killing intent coiled around his back like a poisonous snake.

Each step Zhou Yi took, the void beneath unfurled spider‑web‑like energy ripples, and dark‑golden blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Fortunately, under the operation of the "Zhe" secret technique, internal injuries healed instantly; however, the fact that his defense was pierced by the empowered divine staff and the six pure bamboo rods truly demonstrated the terrifying might of the Western Sect's supreme treasures.

The two opposing Buddhas also turned a sallow hue, forcibly activating the sect‑stabilizing artifacts, causing their qi and blood to surge.

Where Mi Le's robe had shattered, residual fist imprint energy lingered; the Medicine Master's glazed body was riddled with fine cracks, and Zhou Yi's heavy blow, which contained the source of the Saint's body, evidently cost them a greater price.

The blood‑colored blade suddenly tore through space, and the A Bi and Yuan Tu twin swords flashed like a venomous snake exposing its fangs.

The Ming He Ancestor's long‑biding killing move finally struck, its sword tip precisely targeting the flaw where Zhou Yi's old power had waned and new power had yet to arise.

The scarlet sword aura interwove into a death net, forcing even a quasi‑saint‑level strongman into a desperate plight.

"I've been waiting for you!" Zhou Yi's mouth curved with a cold, sharp smile.

Four phantom shadows suddenly split from his body, his past self, future self, and the two great avatars forming a Four‑Symbols formation; the resonating fist power stirred, producing a thunderous bell toll.

The four symbolic formations of Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise roared as they met the blood‑colored blade, stirring the Netherworld Blood Sea into turbulent, filthy waves.

In the shockwave, all the duplicates vanished, yet the Ming He Ancestor also staggered back; the protective light shield of the infernal fire red lotus was torn open by the residual force.

Seeing his opponent injured merely by the recoil force, the ruler of the Sea of Blood's pupils jolted dramatically.

When did this Human Race, once regarded by him as mere ants, acquire the strength to contend with the giants of the three realms?

In the void battlefield, Zhou Yi's offensive appeared to target the two disciples of the Western Sect, yet he continuously kept his mind divided, guarding against the Ming He Ancestor amid the blood‑colored cloud sea.

Regarding the true threat, Mi Le and the Medicine Master, bearing Saint's artifacts, ultimately lag a few points, for in a quasi‑saint‑level duel, even the strongest artifacts require cultivation to back them.

If fighting alone, even with Mi Le's empowered divine staff radiating brilliance and the Medicine Master's six pure bamboo rods emitting Brahma chants, Zhou Yi still retains a seventy‑percent chance to move freely.

But the Ming He Ancestor is different; this ancient being, nurtured by the Sea of Blood, even if Zhou Yi summons four duplicates via numeric secret technique, remains as unfathomable as a deep pool swallowing stones.

"Four Symbols return to the origin!" With Zhou Yi's fierce shout, the four phantom shadows each took position at the four corners of the heavens.

In an instant the interwoven four‑colored light pillars—blue, red, white, black—blazed, and the Ming He Ancestor's pupils contracted sharply; he clearly saw the formation pattern swirling at Zhou Yi's fingertips, which was driven by sacrificing his own duplicate to activate an ancient killing formation.

With a thunderous roar, the blood‑colored lotus platform showed a crack for the first time. Ming He wiped the golden blood from his mouth corner, his eyes both angry and wary: "What a Nine Secrets heir."

This all‑consuming jade‑and‑stone array ambush indeed gave the veteran quasi‑saint a silent loss.

At that moment, the two disciples of the Western Sect's saints were enveloped by surging Buddha light. Behind the Medicine Master, a thousand‑handed Bodhi phantom materialized; atop Mi Le appeared an eight‑treasure merit wheel, and the two Saint's artifacts emitted pressure surpassing even their wielders' cultivation.