Chapter 899: The Untouchable Taboo

Oh, I get it!

Ao Yulie clapped his hands suddenly, finally understanding why, when he saw the "God Buddha" appear that day, he felt a bit familiar.

Not only him, Zhao Hongmiao and Kongming also felt a bit familiar when they saw it.

That day's blurry phantom image was none other than Tang Luo; this guy was imitating Tang Luo, no wonder!

Really clever.

Exactly, only Tang Xuanzang can defeat Tang Xuanzang.

In Ao Yulie's view, Master keeps getting stronger; even if the Tathagata came, they could fight to a draw; only Tang Xuanzang could possibly defeat Tang Xuanzang.

Tang Luo looked at the "himself" before him, hearing that, he almost laughed: "Are you Bai Te Man?"

This line comes from the character Batman in the book "Our Moms Are All Named Ma Sha".

The phantom god appearing with Tang Luo's face did not smile, palms together before his chest: "Amitabha, benefactor, your sins are boundless; you ought to be saved."

"Heh, interesting." Tang Luo laughed, "Give it a try, see if your imitation is any good!"

Saying that, he stepped forward, appeared before the phantom god, and raised his hand to strike a palm.

The phantom god likewise raised his hand to strike a palm, clashing with Tang Luo.

Their palms collided, and the phantom god instantly turned into a puff of blood mist.

Tang Luo frowned, wondering if it was too weak.

You're this weak; don't appear in this form—it feels strangely embarrassing.

"Is that all?" Ao Yulie on the rooftop was also disappointed; you made such a big fuss, your entrance was flashy, I thought there was something special, but you died as soon as you appeared.

Tang Luo shook his head, about to finish off all the remaining god-demons.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and the phantom god appeared in Tang Luo's form, attacking again as soon as he appeared.

A palm shadow the height of a person condensed and shot out, smacking toward Tang Luo.

"Great Palm Seal?" Tang Luo likewise countered with a Great Palm Seal; the result was the same as before: the opponent's Great Palm Seal shattered, and Tang Luo's palm turned it into a puff of blood mist.

This time, not long after, the phantom god appeared again.

He was punched to death by Tang Luo.

Reappeared, died, reappeared, died!

Pa!

A crisp sound rang out as the phantom god's hand caught Tang Luo's fist, his face showing an enraptured expression: "What tremendous power, as vast as the sea..."

"..." Tang Luo twisted his fist, the rotating force shattering the phantom god's right arm, while simultaneously lashing out with a whip kick.

The phantom god barely resisted two strikes before being killed by Tang Luo.

"Don't use my face to say such disgusting words." Tang Luo said.

Even taking on his appearance, Tang Luo wasn't angry, but saying that with such a lewd expression was your fault.

"Hahaha..." The phantom god's laughter came from above Tang Luo's head.

He appeared higher in the sky, head down, feet up, his hands forming the Lotus Flower Dharma Seal before him, then thrust out a single palm.

A huge palm shadow emerged, descending from the heavens!

It was the Glazed Nirvana Great Palm Seal!

It already carried a fraction of the might Tang Luo had when he once held an island in his hand.

"Master, he seems to get closer to you each time he dies?" Ao Yulie sent mentally.

Tang Luo stood still in midair, not dodging, and likewise thrust out a palm.

A massive palm shadow rose to meet the descending giant palm; at first glance, the two palms looked exactly alike.

But the result of the collision was that the descending giant palm shattered; this time, however, the phantom god was not seriously injured, but soared upward.

His other hand drew symbols in the void, actually producing several Blood Talismans.

The Blood Talismans entered his body; a flash of light, and the phantom god actively charged toward Tang Luo.

Drawing nearer, the phantom god clenched both fists; in an instant, heavenly fist power condensed—this was another of Tang Luo's usual divine abilities, the Thousand Hands Cannot Defend!

Tang Luo frowned slightly; his right hand unmoving, his left hand alone executed the Thousand Hands Cannot Defend against it, palm shadows enveloping it.

Like two stormy waves colliding, palm shadows and fist forces struck, ripples spreading.

It kicked up a gale, but all blew upward, dispersing the thick clouds in the sky, affecting nothing else.

This time the result was still the phantom god's defeat, struck on the crown of the head by Tang Luo's palm.

The skull sank into the chest cavity, the shrunken corpse falling from the sky; midway, an invisible force flowed into it, letting the phantom god "revive" once more.

"After reviving," his strength increased again, and the feeling between his brows grew more and more like Tang Luo's.

If before it was only nine-tenths form and one-tenth spirit, now it is fully formed and half-spirit.

Not to mention strangers; even Kongming and others familiar with Tang Luo could not tell which of the two Tang Luos in the sky was the real Tang Xuanzang.

We'd need to switch to disciples like Ao Yulie to be able to tell.

Eh, Yang Jian would work too; if you can't tell, throw a punch—whoever dies is the impostor.

"Not quite like that; I think I know what the 'principle' is." Tang Luo replied to Ao Yulie, not looking at the phantom god that kept becoming more like him and stronger, but gazing at those god-demons who wanted to retreat but couldn't.

These god-demons, whenever they tried to sneak away or do something...

Even though Tang Luo was still battling the phantom god, he would instantly lock onto them, making many god-demons feel they couldn't move—or moving would mean death.

Including Jiang Junren, who was furious over his friend's death.

It seemed as if an invisible mountain weighed on him, rendering him immobile; no matter how he struggled, it was like being pressed under Five Finger Mountain like Sun Wukong, or as if a Five Finger Mountain were stuck to him.

Not bothering with the phantom god, Tang Luo lowered his head and threw a punch at the god-demons beneath his feet.

Violent power surged from his fist, rushing toward that group of god-demons.

Before they could resist, the phantom god suddenly appeared, deploying the Xuanjin Indestructible Body to block Tang Luo's punch: "Your opponent is me."

He raised his hand, pointing his right index finger at Tang Luo.

Past Life Salvation Finger!

Power condensed at his fingertip, as if forming a black hole that annihilated everything, even light was completely devoured.

Faced with the Past Life Salvation Finger coming from "himself," Tang Luo this time didn't even bother to use his divine powers, casually waving his hand as if swatting a fly.

He yanked Huan Shen straight out and flung him downward with a punch.

Hundreds of gods and demons had not even a shred of resistance, they were buried under Tang Luo's fist.

Only then did Tang Luo look up at the phantom god tumbling in the sky, who had finally steadied himself and wore a shocked expression: "It seems that's really the case."

"Master, isn't dying once at your hands bringing me closer to you?" Ao Yu Lie asked.

"No, it's not just that; his increase in strength actually has to do with these gods and demons." Tang Luo pointed at the gods and demons under his feet.

It was the gods and demons' dread and fear of Tang Luo, even their knowledge of his existence, that the phantom god gathered into another entity close to Tang Luo, "Tang Xuanzang."

This is also why the phantom god pretended to be divine, issuing a "mission" to incite the gods and demons to besiege Tang Luo.

Was it to besiege Tang Xuanzang? No, it was to "approach" Tang Xuanzang.

Poor Lv Jing Tian was used as a pawn by the phantom god, yet he thought it was a rare good opportunity.

After Tang Luo instantly killed hundreds of gods and demons, the phantom god's aura on the other side obviously became unstable.

Thousand Hands Unblockable!

Palm shadows, fist force, eagle claws—the phantom god's various attacks came from all directions, completely enveloping Tang Luo.

Tang Luo flickered, barely dodging once, and avoided the wide-range Thousand Hands Unblockable.

He appeared beside the phantom god and struck with a casual blow.

The phantom god raised his hand to block, but his right arm was broken by Tang Luo.

"Let me see how well you can imitate me." Tang Luo said to the phantom god, whose face was somewhat gloomy.

Death! Rebirth! Death! Rebirth!

In less than five minutes, the phantom god was killed ten times by Tang Luo, reborn ten times, each time becoming stronger and more like Tang Luo.

But no matter how strong he became, facing Tang Luo he was still unable to withstand a single blow.

"Pfft!"

The phantom god reappeared; before he could grow stronger, he suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood, cracks spreading across his body like porcelain about to shatter.

"Have you reached your limit?" Tang Luo looked at the phantom god and said.

The expression of Tang Luo on the phantom god's face faded, replaced by his own emotions, and he revealed an excited smile: "I originally thought you were a vast sea, but I was wrong. You are far more than that!"

Vast starry sky, endless abyss!

This is the power possessed by Tang Xuanzang.

The phantom god stepped back, his right hand spread open, palm facing up.

Above appeared a red gourd, white smoke curling from its mouth, rising upward.

A mass of mist gathered; within the mist, a faintly visible head appeared, also bearing a pair of wings.

The head appeared in an instant, and from its eyes two white beams shot out, landing on Tang Luo.

"Ha!"

The phantom god gave a short laugh, stepped back, bowed, and murmured: "Baby, please turn around."

Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife!

Ao Yu Lie's eyes widened: "Isn't this the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife?"

Where did the phantom god get it? Or perhaps it's just a cheap knockoff, not the famed Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife from the Mountain Sea Realm.

From the gourd's mouth another stream of light sprayed, faintly showing the shape of a small flying knife, spinning rapidly as it shot toward Tang Luo.

Although the flying knife's speed is not fast relative to that, the two white beams emitted from the human head have the power to pin enemies, so there's no need to worry about them dodging.

The flying knife spun forward; Tang Luo extended his right index finger, pointed ahead, and collided with the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife.

A tiny sound flashed and vanished, and another group of gods and demons shuddered, their seven apertures bleeding out as they died.

Ao Yu Lie's face also turned pale as he shook his head.

The Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife spun backward, flew into that mass of white mist, taking the mist-formed head with it back into the gourd.

"Master, this flying knife..."

"Probably it's real." Tang Luo looked at the wound on his index finger, a trace of blood seeping out.

"It's not real; it can't hurt him."

"It looks like you'll bleed." The phantom god laughed hysterically, his madness fully exposed, as he seized the red gourd and slammed it down hard.

A drop of blood flowed from the gourd's mouth, suspended in midair, faintly showing a golden gleam.

The phantom god swallowed that drop of blood in one gulp: "Now I am you."

"In the future, I will surpass..."

The final "you" was never spoken; the cracks on the phantom god's face did not fade as quickly as imagined, his power surged and he became another Tang Luo.

On the contrary, the cracks instantly covered his entire body.

In the next breath, the phantom god shattered into a pile of gray-white powder, drifting down from the heights.

He didn't even have time to utter his last words.

"... Bursting at the seams." Ao Yu Lie shook his head.

The phantom god thought that false power combined with real blood (lineage) could weave another mighty Tang Xuanzang, even replace him.

But he never imagined that was a taboo he could never touch.