Chapter 539: Divine Arts Unleashed

A blade of qi pierced down from the high heavens; though the form had not yet arrived, the piercing sword intent and surging deathly aura rolled forth, causing the mountain beneath Yin Wujie to lose all life at once, turning gray and lifeless.

Not to mention the few scattered plants and trees withering instantly, as if paper-thin and ready to scatter at the slightest breeze.

Even solid rock and towering peaks softened into mud, capable of swallowing a man whole…

“Come then!”

Facing Chen Hang’s opening strike with sword art, Yin Wujie’s expression remained unchanged; he stood firm, arms outstretched flat.

As his incantation took effect, dark clouds instantly gathered overhead, covering dozens of li in dense, layered layers within a blink.

Then, from within the clouds came roaring dragon roars, and a golden arrow began to take shape.

The Supreme Great Divine Art of the Pestilence Sect—

Dragon Woe Piercing Form Arrow!

The dragon, a beast hard to harm, is of heaven’s kind, a symbol of rulership; if heaven’s qi is harmed, the ruler’s way is wounded, then the dragon too is harmed.

Thus, in omens and divination, Dragon Woe signifies great misfortune, and also foretells war.

The name of this Supreme Great Divine Art, Dragon Woe Piercing Form Arrow, is renowned throughout the vast cosmos.

This is not only because of its lethal power—it ranks second only to the Pestilence Sect’s world-stilling “Ten Directions Illuminating Plague Light”—but also because anyone wounded by it suffers not only physical and spiritual ruin, but also a lasting taint upon their fate and fortune that cannot be cleansed.

Moreover, Pestilence Sect disciples cultivating this art must use vast quantities of true dragon or dragon-blooded essence to harmonize and refine the yin of the heart, for passage and consumption.

Thus, Pestilence cultivators who master Dragon Woe Piercing Form Arrow are often despised by all dragon-blooded kinds.

Especially in Tai Chang Heaven, such cultivators face even greater troubles.

In an instant, under the gaze of all, the sword qi and golden arrow collided head-on!

A thunderous explosion rang out; where they met, a vast wave of qi surged violently upward, stirring furious winds that lingered long, cracking the earth into deep fissures.

Surrounding mountains shattered in response, utterly unable to withstand even a fraction of this terrifying force!

Before the dust and shattered rock could settle, several violet-and-cerulean thunderbolts tore through the haze in unison, striking with lightning speed toward Yin Wujie’s face!

Having dodged the first violet-cerulean divine thunder with his evasion technique, Yin Wujie saw the remaining strikes closing in from all sides.

He did not insist on holding his ground; instead, he raised his hand and hurled forth a shimmering great net that rose into the clouds.

The net was woven entirely of gold and silver threads, each strand crystal-clear and radiant.

With a single spin, gold and silver light cascaded down, fully shielding Yin Wujie’s body, impenetrable and sealed.

This treasure was called the “Bound Net,” Yin Wujie’s favored upper-grade magic treasure, capable of repelling all weapons and resisting fire and water.

Almost at the moment Yin Wujie activated the Bound Net, as gold and silver light poured down.

The first divine thunder split the sky and struck his face directly, but was blocked by the Bound Net.

Yet this was only the beginning.

The next instant, Yin Wujie felt the heavens and earth suddenly blaze with brilliance.

Then a surging tide of thunder rolled across the sky like a furious ocean wave, roaring down upon him!

…

…

Around him, the continuous thunder roared like countless giant hammers pounding relentlessly, causing the gold and silver light around Yin Wujie to flicker wildly, like a candle in the wind, dimming and flaring.

Even without turning his head, Yin Wujie knew all around had been utterly flattened; the mountain beneath his feet had been completely shattered.

Yet under this relentless assault, like rain beating on banana leaves, Yin Wujie paid no mind to how long the Bound Net could hold; he focused entirely on channeling his magic power.

Soon, a deep, murky miasma slowly rose behind his head.

Within the cloud, a jade-like elixir glowed softly, illuminating a ten-zhang radius with clarity.

BOOM—

At this moment, the Bound Net finally cracked under the relentless divine thunder strikes, revealing a gap.

Countless thunderbolts surged through, but before they could unleash their power, the elixir gently spun left—and the thunder vanished instantly, leaving no trace.

Then, as the elixir spun right, a flash of light burst forth; the previously absorbed thunderbolts erupted outward with ferocity, turning back toward Chen Hang’s face!

“Luo Yu Zhen Dan…”

Seeing Yin Wujie’s use of his own power against him,

many cultivators from the Eight Sects and Six Clans recognized the elixir’s divine art name in their minds.

Facing the returning divine thunder, Chen Hang showed no surprise; he swiftly launched his sword into light and vanished, letting his former position be swallowed by the thunder’s glare.

But as soon as he moved, Yin Wujie followed without hesitation.

With both the Luo Yu Zhen Dan and the Bound Net protecting him, Yin Wujie’s movements grew even more expansive and brutal, his attacks fiercely relentless.

Each time he channeled his magic power, starlight scattered, brilliant and radiant, with continuous thunderous roars.

The overwhelming magic power of a First-Rank Golden Core was laid bare, shocking all around!

The Five Qi Qian Kun Ring, hurled at him, was repeatedly seized from afar; no matter how fiercely it struggled, it could not reach Yin Wujie’s body.

The cold light of the Moon Mirror was likewise blocked by the Bound Net; under Yin Wujie’s magic, the treasure’s true consciousness emitted joyful vibrations, its gold and silver radiance blazing, painting half the sky in dazzling splendor.

It seemed as if golden and silver tidal waves cascaded down, wrapping Yin Wujie’s body, repeatedly repelling the mirror’s light.

Knowing that the Luo Yu Zhen Dan could return any divine art exactly as cast—but only divine arts—

Chen Hang now ceased using divine arts to fight, instead summoning his flying sword and tangible magic treasures, using methods the Luo Yu Zhen Dan could not counter, to clash fiercely with Yin Wujie.

In the blink of an eye, various magical lights flashed and vanished in the air, like a thousand rainbows rising, stirring the spiritual energy into a raging tide.

Yin Wujie activated the Luo Yu Zhen Dan not to defeat Chen Hang with it.

Though the true elixir could rebound divine arts, it had its limits.

If Chen Hang unleashed a Supreme Great Divine Art, or simply poured all his magic power into a single strike, the elixir could not possibly block it, let alone return it.

Yin Wujie merely intended to use the Luo Yu Zhen Dan to restrict Chen Hang’s techniques, binding his hands.

Thus, one side could freely wield divine arts, while the other was constrained.

Logically speaking,

who was stronger, who held the upper hand—this should be clear…

Unconsciously,

Chen Hang and Yin Wujie had already exchanged nearly a thousand strikes.

Crimson sword qi crisscrossed the sky, gathering and dispersing unpredictably, colliding and wearing down against various dark winds and dazzling lights, holding its ground without yielding.

PUFF—

As the Bound Net split open once more,

the incoming sword light split apart, two blades leaping upward and downward, their killing intent piercing the bone.

After narrowly evading the black wind from Yin Wujie’s palm, the two sword blades crossed like shears, poised to close around Yin Wujie’s neck!

At the last instant, a black-gold divine spear smashed one sword blade, then thrust upward to block the other.

“Go!”

Yin Wujie roared, activating the spear’s power to lock heaven and earth, then unleashed the “Primordial Void Qi.”

He executed this sequence with fluid ease, the two attacks seamlessly linked—he aimed first to immobilize Chen Hang’s body, then seal him utterly with Primordial Void Qi.

But the spear had locked only a false body.

At the moment the sword light was blocked, Chen Hang had already activated the Dimension-Shifting Shuttle, vanishing entirely; the following Primordial Void Qi naturally failed to land.

Seeing his strike miss, Yin Wujie showed no surprise; he merely waved his hand and activated another divine art.

Back and forth they clashed: sometimes thirty-six sword qi streaks erupted together, cutting through everything like slicing melons, reducing all to dust.

At other times, Pestilence Sect divine arts blazed with power, effortlessly scattering incoming flying swords and magic treasures!

This spectacle left many cultivators trembling, unable to control their own thoughts.

They were both of the same realm, yet their techniques were utterly beyond comprehension.

Even if one managed to react, they could never block it…

“Under such constraints on divine arts, Chen True Person has held his ground without a single sign of defeat—truly worthy of our sword cultivators!”

At this moment, even Lu Tingyun, still wounded, could not help but praise aloud, his face glowing with pride.

One must understand that a Daoist’s combat ability arises from the combined factors of cultivation depth, divine arts, magic treasures, and battle experience—all interdependent, not standing alone.

Lose any one of these, and one’s combat prowess plummets.

Any other Golden Core True Person would have been driven out long ago under such constraints.

As with Gu Yi and Pei Zhi earlier, they were gradually overwhelmed after Yin Wujie activated the Luo Yu Zhen Dan, and were forced to withdraw helplessly.

But Chen Hang was different—he was a sword cultivator.

Especially after defeating Zhou Fu Jia with sword art, his title as the strongest Golden Core sword cultivator in the universe was unquestionably earned!

“Even among sword cultivators, there are distinctions in skill; even if the Luo Yu Zhen Dan is useless against us, Yin Wujie’s divine arts are so potent that even if you and I joined forces against him, we’d have been eliminated by now…”

Shen Xingcui shook his head and sighed.

Though other Golden Core True Persons still remained within the Imperial Ancestral Map, Chen Hang and Yin Wujie fought with such ferocity, as if desperate to settle their victory now.

In this regard, Shen Xingcui truly could not understand.

It meant either Chen and Yin still held back power, or they had enough confidence to handle the remaining opponents.

Either way, Shen Xingcui felt humbled.

After a while longer, as Yin Wujie’s true elixir flickered strangely, Shen Xingcui’s gaze stirred.

“It’s time.”

He thought to himself.

The anomaly of the Luo Yu Zhen Dan was also noticed by Chen Hang.

He glanced briefly, then looked away; he understood perfectly.

The fact that this Lu Yuzhen Elixir from the Plague and Pestilence Sect can sustain so long already proves its formidable power.

Chen Hang and many True Person elixir cultivators also knew that once activated, this true elixir technique could not be halted—it would continuously drain Yin Wujie’s magic power until, after a set time limit, it vanished on its own.

During the earlier battle, Chen Hang could have destroyed this technique, but as a swordsman himself, and one who had not expended most of his abilities, he still had means to respond.

In struggles among such figures, even the tiniest opening might ultimately become the decisive advantage.

Thus, allowing Yin Wujie to maintain this technique and continue draining his magic power was the proper course.

At the very moment the true elixir dissolved, a divine thunderbolt suddenly shot across, and before Yin Wujie could act to break it, a vast flood of crimson water tore through the sky.

After shattering several techniques in succession, without giving Yin Wujie time to recover, the sky suddenly darkened.

Looking up, they saw clouds spanning several li sink uniformly, as if five-colored light was slowly rising, swirling the Gang wind into the shape of a colossal hand.

Yin Wujie’s expression did not change; he swept his sleeves.

With a thunderous boom, a hundred-zhang divine figure tore through the cloud curtain and stood towering between heaven and earth, feet planted upon rolling smoke and waves, eyes opening and closing as sharp bolts of cold lightning shot forth.

Seeing Yin Wujie summon the Tai Su True Form, Chen Hang smiled faintly and simultaneously formed a hand seal, growing to a hundred zhang in height.

In an instant, two divine figures stood atop the heavens, gazing at each other from afar.

Both now wore crimson silk and radiant clouds, entwined in jade light, with floating cloud leaves and celestial blossoms swirling endlessly around them, manifesting boundless mysterious phenomena.

Behind their heads, a circular halo slowly rose, perfect as the sun, clear as the moon; within it, a primordial darkness hinted at the principles of heaven and earth, utterly unfathomable.

Tai Su Jade Body against Tai Su Jade Body!

Boom—

In the blink of an eye, both vanished from their spots, crossed countless layers of void, and struck each other with a single punch.

The heavens and earth seemed swept by a hurricane!

At the point of impact, an airwave erupted, uprooting shattered mountains and hurling them high into the clouds, then tearing them apart like ragged cloth.

The heavenly winds raged fiercely, overwhelming the nine realms—

Both possessed the Tai Su Jade Body, both at the sixth layer of the Yuan realm.

At this moment, their physical confrontation had drawn the gaze of nearly every cultivator.

Every clash of their fists and palms shook the earth and mountains; wherever their forms moved, countless peaks cracked open and clouds collapsed.

It was like a brutal battle between two ferocious dragons, a sight horrifying beyond measure.

Not to mention others—even the martial elders of the floating Daoist platform stared without blinking, their eyes gleaming.

Soon, the two had exchanged a hundred blows purely through physical force, their metallic clangs rising and falling in succession.

Vast torrents of blood qi surged forth, reaching an extreme peak, glowing like molten crimson gold, subtly raising the surrounding temperature, with steaming vapor columns rising high enough to melt metal and consume iron.

After another collision, a tremendous explosion sent both figures reeling backward; their robes dimmed in radiance, temporarily losing their protective power.

Seizing this opening, Chen Hang and Yin Wujie nearly simultaneously formed their hand seals.

As their magic power surged, two streams of qi-light spiraled violently upward.

In the blink of an eye, a five-colored giant hand struck Yin Wujie’s body squarely.

The Ten-Thousand-Poison Great Hand Seal also slammed onto Chen Hang’s shoulder with overwhelming force.