Chapter 10: The Big Dipper

“Heaven and earth, mystery’s root; ten thousand qi, origin’s core; cultivate through ten thousand eons, prove my divine power!!”

Never before seen, Zhang Lingyu dared not slack for a moment. He immediately activated the Golden Light Spell, and golden light erupted instantly around him.

Brilliant golden light coalesced before Zhang Lingyu into an inverted semicircular barrier.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Five successive thunderous impacts followed. Five colossal earth dragons slammed into the inverted golden barrier. Dust and debris exploded outward, filling the entire greenbelt.

Though the precise details of the clash were now obscured.

Yet for Feng Baobao of Naidu Tong and Feng Shayan of Tianxia Hui, their perception of qi remained unaffected by the swirling dust. After all, this dust was merely debris from the earth dragons’ violent collisions—not a spell designed to blind the five senses.

“Little Master!” cried the skinny Daoist and the fat Daoist in unison.

The next instant, having taken five direct hits from the earth dragons, Zhang Lingyu’s Golden Light Spell, though astonishingly resilient, was not truly invincible.

By the time the fourth earth dragon struck, the inverted semicircular barrier had already been shattered by brute force.

The fifth earth dragon, Zhang Lingyu blocked entirely with his own life-force cultivation.

Even so, one of his arms could not withstand the massive recoil and suffered severe fractures.

Blood streamed down his arm, dripping steadily from his fingertips.

“Master Lingyu’s life-force cultivation is astonishing! I’d wager even the Quanzhen lineage’s Golden Core practitioners who manifest their Primordial Spirit cannot match Master Lingyu’s level. No wonder he’s the Old Heavenly Master’s direct disciple!!”

As the dust slowly settled, Luo Fu, wearing his absurd headgear, appeared faintly in everyone’s line of sight.

“So… so strong!!” Zhang Chulan gaped. He had personally felt just how powerful Zhang Lingyu’s Golden Light Spell truly was.

Now, this man with the absurd headgear had merely gestured casually in the air, formed a hand seal, and wounded Zhang Lingyu.

And judging by his hanging arm and pained expression, Zhang Lingyu’s arm was surely shattered into more than two pieces.

“Heaven and earth, mystery’s root…”

As he chanted the Golden Light Spell’s incantation.

Golden light surged again over Zhang Lingyu’s body.

Though the Golden Light Spell seemed common at Longhu Mountain, it was in fact a technique with virtually no upper limit, endlessly versatile, and profoundly comprehensive.

The strength of the golden light itself reflected the fruits of one’s life-force cultivation. It could be used for defense, offense, even to elevate one’s life-force by placing oneself in a state of purity—and it could also heal wounds.

Though inferior to Shuangquan Shou, at least in the instant he activated the golden light, Zhang Lingyu’s fractured arm was no longer a liability.

As the incantation echoed within the golden light, the golden radiance around Zhang Lingyu nearly solidified into tangible form.

His eyes locked onto Luo Fu, Zhang Lingyu’s mind raced—how could he defeat this unknown opponent?

Recalling how Luo Fu had continuously used unprecedented earth techniques since appearing, a possibility struck Zhang Lingyu like lightning.

This man might be weak in close combat!!

Realizing this, as soon as the golden light fully coalesced, Zhang Lingyu lunged forward.

In the instant Zhang Lingyu surged, Luo Fu guessed his intent.

Two consecutive earth techniques had already allowed him to transform earth Dun into a method driven by primordial qi.

Now, he would use Zhang Lingyu to test his own close-combat body arts.

Though Luo Fu became an Yiren through shared space, before that, he had trained in many martial arts.

In the Yiren world, traditional Chinese martial arts were no less formidable—such as Zhuge Qing’s Baji Fist or Wang Ye’s Taiji Fist.

When Luo Fu had no access to proper lineages, he could only learn basic, ordinary forms. But now, with Star Breathing, he could transform sword techniques into palm techniques. And conveniently, the style he had once learned was Baguazhang!!

Though not an Yiren lineage, in this world, combined with Star Breathing and the qi transformed from chakra, it could unleash power rivaling even Yiren transmissions.

Abandoning the Five Peaks Seal formation, Luo Fu flipped his hands. His right hand became a blade—and the moment it appeared, it seemed to stir the stars of the heavens.

Zhang Lingyu’s heart sank.

He had miscalculated! This man with the absurd headgear not only wielded astonishing earth techniques—but also this celestial Baguazhang, connected to the starlight!!

Yet now, Zhang Lingyu had no time to think.

As the two closed in, Zhang Lingyu’s eyes flashed.

The golden light shielding his body suddenly surged upward, forming a colossal hand that came crashing down upon Luo Fu like a divine palm from the heavens.

Luo Fu had never expected the seemingly honest Zhang Lingyu to be so cunning in battle—pretending to close in, then striking first with a golden light palm before contact.

He had no desire to become the second Lu Jin. And like Lu Jin back then, they had agreed to a friendly exchange. Now, he was forcing Zhang Lingyu to validate his own techniques.

If caught unprepared by Zhang Lingyu’s golden light palm, injury would be the least of his worries.

Star Breathing: Second Form—Jumen Celestial Spin!

The image of the Big Dipper instantly appeared behind Luo Fu, and the star Jumen flared with brilliant light.

Luo Fu’s body vanished from his original position as if teleported.

BOOM!!

The golden light palm struck the ground with crushing force, leaving a deep palm-shaped crater nearly a foot deep!

Star Breathing was developed by Demon Slayer Luo Fu before he was transformed into a demon by Muzan Kibutsuji.

Before his transformation, Demon Slayer Luo Fu had grand ambitions.

Star Breathing was directly modeled after Kagaya Ubuyashiki’s Sun Breathing and Kagaya Rengoku’s Moon Breathing.

Star Breathing is named after the stars of the Southern Dipper and the Big Dipper. Demon Slayer Luo Fu planned to develop fifteen sword forms!!

The Six Stars of the Southern Dipper and the Nine Stars of the Big Dipper!!

Unfortunately, he had barely developed the Big Dipper’s seven stars—still incomplete—when he encountered Muzan Kibutsuji and became a demon.

The Left Assistant and Right Assistant of the Big Dipper, along with the Six Stars of the Southern Dipper, became mere illusions.

The second form of Star Breathing is a sword form that pursues ultimate speed, somewhat akin to Thunder Breathing’s Lightning Flash.

The golden palm missed. Zhang Lingyu, as if anticipating this, stretched his uninjured hand toward where Luo Fu had appeared. Black lightning instantly flashed forth!!

(End of Chapter)