Chapter 97: Fighting an Array Formation Realm Expert (Part 1)

The man had a slender build, his black hair draped loosely, his gaze bright and spirited, and his skin as white as jade; he was handsome and dashing, looking just like a young man.

In reality, he had already entered his twilight years, and this youthful state was precisely what demonstrated his power, for powerful cultivation could keep one's appearance from aging.

The man stood suspended in the air, his cold gaze sweeping over as he said indifferently, "Kid! If I'm not mistaken, you must be a disciple of the Western Sect! It seems there are no other bald people besides those from the Western Sect."

"Why talk so much? If you want to fight, then fight!" Mengchen's voice was very cold.

Although he was currently not yet fourteen years old, after three years of tempering and growth on the sea, he already possessed an aura of invincibility, and his stature had grown quite a bit, no longer shorter than an adult.

Although he was bald without a single strand of hair, his slightly furrowed brows highlighted a sense of great heroism; at this moment, he did not look like a youth at all, and his calm demeanor when facing a man of a higher realm was somewhat astonishing.

On the other side, the man's gaze grew colder, and his every gesture seemed to harmonize with the heavens and earth, revealing a kind of Dao rhyme, as if he were a master from beyond the world.

"Fight!"

The two men shouted simultaneously, and they moved almost at the same time, each killing toward the other.

The man flicked his large sleeve, and flames surged; the vegetation and ancient trees here were burned to ashes.

A whirlwind of fire whipped up with a harsh, sizzling sound; as that large sleeve unfurled, it was like an endless Fire Domain descending, covering the heavens and earth.

"Divine Fire Extinguishes the World!"

Tianhu Shaonü and Heizi were both greatly shocked; this was a Great Divine Ability!

As that large sleeve unfurled, the fiery radiance obscured the sun and sky, directly intending to wrap Mengchen within it; if he were to enter, it would be very difficult to escape.

This sky-filling fiery radiance formed a domain of its own, and the terrifying high temperature could burn all living things to death; whether to kill or not depended entirely on the man's single thought.

Seeing this, Mengchen naturally would not obediently let himself be surrounded by this Fire Domain, so he also made his move, a Gilded Zen Staff appearing in his hand.

This Zen staff had been given to him by Gangzi, and it had once displayed terrifying power in the Kunpeng Divine Nest.

In the Kunpeng Divine Nest, he had been able to remain invincible while surrounded by a crowd of Venerables and hundreds or thousands of experts precisely because he used the Gilded Zen Staff; it was undeniable that the Gilded Zen Staff had played a decisive role in the Divine Nest.

Although Mengchen's strength was formidable at the time and he could sweep away all enemies in the Spirit Transformation Realm, he could not withstand hundreds or thousands of opponents.

Thinking back to that time, even if a true Venerable whose realm had not been suppressed had gone, they would likely have found it difficult to protect themselves when facing so many opponents! Thus, Mengchen combined with the Gilded Zen Staff, the two joining forces, was the only reason he was able to sweep through the Divine Nest.

At the same time, Mengchen had always felt that the power of this Gilded Zen Staff was far more than this, but his current strength was limited, and the power he could unleash was likely only two or three tenths of its potential.

The Gilded Zen Staff in his hand swelled against the wind, rapidly rising into the void; the massive staff was then swung in a full circle, and wherever it passed, the fiery radiance collapsed, and that Fire Domain turned into a bubble at any moment.

Xiyao's heart and mind were shaken; the man's Great Divine Ability had actually been neutralized by Mengchen in one strike, which was truly astonishing.

But soon, she revealed a worried face and shouted to Mengchen, "Senior Brother Mengchen, you must be careful! This person is an elder of the Divine Fire Sect and has reached the Array Formation Realm for many years."

Upon hearing this, Mengchen was solemn; the Divine Fire Sect? That was an existence in the Xuanyu as famous as the Western Sect and the Undying Mountain.

It was said that every person in the Divine Fire Sect nurtured a wisp of Divine Fire within their body, which could add extraordinary combat power to themselves; after that previous exchange, Mengchen had already felt this.

If not for using the Gilded Zen Staff to break open that Fire Domain, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Little bald monk, hand over your precious technique! I will keep my promise and will definitely let you leave safely," the man said.

"Dream on!" Mengchen responded simply, a flash of rune light in his eyes, his fighting spirit quietly rising.

After hearing this, a wisp of red glow flashed in the depths of the man's eyes, his aura surged, and his snow-white, crystalline skin looked even more like jade. Clearly, he had developed killing intent; the scene of Mengchen breaking his attack earlier had moved him greatly.

To be this terrifying at only ten-something years old—he must possess transcendent techniques; if these techniques were mastered by him, why would he ever need to live under others again?

He transformed into a streak of firelight and charged forward to kill, a sea of fire rising behind him, and a fire bird soared up, fierce and massive, emitting an unusually astonishing pressure, intending to suppress Mengchen.

Mengchen gave a light shout, his orange sleeves fluttering; he raised the Gilded Zen Staff, and a trembling sound was emitted, clanging and ear-piercing, followed by a staff formed from runes flying out, all of them radiant, flying forward.

The staves transformed from individual runes flew out, very orderly and neatly arranged; there were exactly eighty-one of them, shooting out densely.

With a roar, the heavens and earth turned upside down, as if an ancient giant beast were turning over; the sea of fire behind the man surged, and the fire bird rushed out from within, its massive body blocking in front of him, emitting runes to refine the many rune staves.

The fire bird's body was very huge, and every movement rumbled; it collided with the many rune staves, clanging loudly.

Subsequently, the fire bird folded its wings in front, turning into a shield; the shield seemed to be composed of individual fire feathers, the entire shield looking as if flames were surging, and amidst the clanging sounds, it burned and refined all the rune staves in one fell swoop, its defensive power astonishing.

"Good! Take this move of mine!" Having refined Mengchen's round of attacks, the man shouted.

"Red Luan Precious Technique!"

He charged over at high speed with the fire bird on his back, launching a fierce battle.

His palms were like the sharp claws of a fire bird, tearing down with one claw, endless firelight emitting from his fingertips, like blades of extreme fire.

Following this, the fire bird behind him soared up, spreading its wings to pounce.

This was the manifestation of having cultivated a precious technique to perfection; his movements were varied and no longer restricted to a single pattern, and every gesture and step fully displayed the profound meaning of his divine ability.

Mengchen was fearless, driving the patterns of the Undying Scripture within his body, his entire body surging with red-gold divine radiance; he clenched his right hand into a fist and struck forward, brilliant golden light exploding, endless runes bursting forth, as if piercing through the long sky, the momentum terrifying.

A Kunpeng rushed out from his fist, its wings flapping with intense golden and black light, lifelike, colliding with that Red Luan.

What was originally a clash of claw and fist directly evolved into a contest of precious techniques; experts were all like this, every move containing the profound meaning of runes, their divine might unfathomable.

"Bang!"

In the end, the man's sharp claws collided with Mengchen's fist; a Red Luan wailed and dissipated in mid-air, and a fierce, wing-spreading Kunpeng also roared in anger, exploding there as well.

Mengchen was greatly shocked; he was truly worthy of being an Array Formation Realm expert; only by driving the Undying Scripture runes in his body to the limit was he barely able to fight him to a draw.

His sharp claws were very keen, emitting brilliant runes and continuously strangling out Divine Power as vast as the sea, wanting to crush his fist.

The man was also very shocked; for someone in the middle stage of the Inscription Realm to be able to fight him to this point was simply too unbelievable.

In an instant, under the full-force counterattack of the two, a piece of intense rune light erupted, shaking them both until they flew backward.

Mengchen was unharmed; he had the blessing of the Undying Scripture runes in his body, and his physical body was terrifyingly strong; if speaking solely of his physical body, he was no longer inferior to an Array Formation Realm cultivator, simply strong enough to make people tremble.

On the other side, the man's gaze was icy; his previous strike was something even a fellow Array Formation Realm cultivator would find difficult to block, and as for cultivators below the Array Formation Realm, they should have been torn apart instantly; he had not expected this bald monk's physical body to be terrifying to such a degree, which made him feel alarmed.

Just like that, the two began to battle again, continuously rushing and colliding, erupting with one wave of light after another, figures flying about, their movements as fast as lightning.

(End of chapter)