Chapter 377: Mystic Whale Shatters Dragon God (Part Two)

Alone out here, every hidden card is one more kept in reserve.

That was how Daoist Li thought, and how he acted. In his view, a hand with no cards and a naked body—what's the difference?

"That old monk must have been peeping on me plenty.

He muttered inwardly, but Li Yuan was already used to it—after all, this was the thigh he leaned on.

Hoo~

Before the bronze pagoda, Li Yuan emptied his mind, feeling the changes after the thunder dragon transformed into a mystic whale.

The true meaning of combining forms is to harmonize them—to use one form to unleash the force of all forms. The forms one carries are the same, but different combinations of form-shifting often produce vastly different results.

The thunder dragon already combined many forms and was itself a top-tier form-shifting combination, but compared to the mystic whale, the gap was still very clear.

"Perhaps this time, even a head-on clash could be won!"

A moment later, Li Yuan opened his eyes, took stock of the weapons he controlled on his body, confirmed all was correct, then strode toward the bronze pagoda. At the same time, he reached out a hand; true qi rolled in from all around and condensed into a long-handled heavy hammer.

You swiftly focused your spirit, but only heard a single great, small hum.

The blade-light swept across horizontally. In the spirit-phase's hand it weighed heavy—the heavy hammer had already been split in two. The instant the blade-light reached his body, my form whirled sharply, shifting four times.

I don't always wield the Dragon-Splitting Meditation Hammer, because before that blade, Wan Wan Zhuliu, who had only achieved minor completion of organ refinement, could still unleash eleven blades at once.

That blade was one where true qi and form-shifting combination were perfectly fused. Wherever the edge pointed—the hammer-shadow and blade-light ahead, the bronze pagoda, together with heaven and earth—all were to be split into seven.

Accompanied by the long, ringing hum of a blade—"Zheng"—the blade-light filling the pagoda instantly boiled over, like pouring a basin of hot water into scalding oil.

I looked up. A hundred zhang away, Wan Wan Zhuliu wiped his blade afresh and slashed with measured calm.

It was not one blade, but eleven blades crisscrossing.

In the flicker of an instant, shoulders brushed past each other. The spirit-phase's heart stirred. That shift was very slow, and far too risky. If he had used that move in the present world, one mistake would be bad—nope, that would be death.

In the corner, Da Hu's son only dimly felt a heavy, heavy ache in his head, as if bearing two great mountains.

Seeing that scene, even Fu Mo Long could not help but stroke his palm in approval. The changes in that fleeting instant, the two of them naturally saw.

In over seventy years, I don't know how many times I crossed blades with Long Xi Xiang. I know full well the terror of that mystic whale—even after entering the Dao, it remains a top-tier form-shifting combination, acknowledged throughout the jianghu.

"Fu Mo's First Blade!

"?!"

You saw a heavy hammer, like a meteor, like a long black dragon, in a terrifying stance as if it would blast the heavens apart.

And the spirit-phase's Li Yuan. ……

Even now, I still find it hard to break through that blade, but by relying on the burning of thunder-dragon true qi, I can try to dodge that blade's edge.

In fact, the true qi hidden within the viscera being driven out is, for an organ-refining martial artist, no longer the foremost method of killing the enemy.

"Li Yuan!"

In half a year, the spirit-phase had been through far more than a hundred battles.

The two focused their gazes, only to see within the bronze pagoda a white tide surging; inside and out, it seemed two great beasts were clashing and colliding, sending up rolling waves of air.

As the eleven long blades crisscrossed, the spirit-phase's eyes blazed. The meteor hammer, gathering all his true qi, was already empowered by the Dragon-Splitting Meditation Hammer.

A wisp of cloud-mist drifted out from within the room.

Boom—

Li Yuan gave a heavy, cold snort, somewhat annoyed.

My heart shook. Deng Deng Yulan had to remind me in a low voice:

Fu Mo Long's gaze sharpened—he had already sensed something amiss.

"That's good."

Chi—

Then, he threw himself forward.

Li Yuan's power descended. The spirit-phase's body was burning; the speed, already extremely fast to begin with.

"Come!"

"Ao!"

The momentum was tremendous, and the power equally tremendous.

Absolute disadvantage!

This time, Deng Yu did not use true qi to form a Deng Yu to block, but closed his eyes, spun his body like a tornado, and forcibly took that blade head-on!

In my sea of mind.

The Soldier-Ruler inches lit up one by one, each great star as if set alight by flame.

Boom!

As the spirit-phase strode forward, the chains clattered and stretched out. That meteor hammer he swung like a windmill, Xian Qi Zhong Zhong hurricane.

A single hammer could not last seven hundred blades. Deng Yu sighed inwardly and surged forward with the momentum.

Woo~

Amid the swirling light and shadow, Wan Wan Zhuliu, his face unseen, stood with his blade at his hip. Even across a hundred zhang, one could feel that fierce, overbearing blade-intent—intense and pure.

This was the blade that must kill.

"Not right!"

Fu Mo Long's brow furrowed deeply.

Lose, and die.

The spirit-phase focused intently, looking toward the blade-master who drifted down, the light around him scattering.

It was also at that moment that the spirit-phase's eyes suddenly blazed. Then, under the gaze of Li Yuan and the other two in the painting, his body too began to glow.

Boom!

"Let's give it a try."

The spirit image spun its body, and the ten-zhang-seven heavy hammer rose from the ground like a tornado, sweeping aside the rolling blade Qi, and charged down ferociously.

"Roar~"

Within the white tide, the spirit image moved with hammer in hand. At this moment, my naked eyes could indeed see the blade master within this white darkness, and likewise, the former had no way to capture my existence.

Boom!

That seemingly white darkness was actually seven colors standing side by side. On one side was a deep white darkness, and on the other side, though it appeared white, it actually contained

"He knows the way so well—don't tell this old man this is your first time guiding a spirit image into his divine realm!

Boom!

"Come, let this old man see how that boy draws his blade."

Li Li Yuanzhong's face went pale. That was indeed a miscalculation, but he had to admit it. With a dark expression he snapped: "Sense it quickly, this old man still needs to guide me back. If anything goes wrong, he'll be responsible!"

Very slowly, that wisp of mist transformed into a stream of light, weaving and flowing behind the two of them, becoming a scroll half a person's height.

Blade light and hammer shadows collided and intertwined. The tremendous roar, pushed by the violent airwaves, nearly transmitted out from within the scroll.

At that moment, the spirit image's hazy vision saw the process of me executing that blade strike.

One hammer, one hammer...

"That..."

"Awe-inspiring aura leaking out.

Li Li Yuanzhong leapt, and roared in anger.

In the courtyard, Li Li Yuanzhong's expression remained unmoved, but Deng Deng Yulan was startled. That was not what he had expected—that boy was not seeking mutual destruction, but rather seeking a great victory?

"Hmph!"

Crash crash~

Slow!

The spirit image felt carefree in his heart. The current me, even without activating the Soldier Controlling Art, already possessed the capital of an absolute prodigy, qualified to challenge that number one under heaven at the same level.

Following his thought, this heavy hammer grew larger, grew longer. By the time he stepped through the tower gate, it had already reached a length of one zhang two, the hammer head as large as a vat.

Jiang Mo Chu pinched his eyebrows, his tone somewhat unkind: "Sense the Yangsheng Furnace quickly!"

Above the heavy hammer, the blade master's long sword was whole. His entire body lifted off the ground, his robust frame trembling, as if about to collapse under that hammer.

Those who could withstand that move were all within the scope of Organ Tempering.

Boom!

"??!" The heavy hammer pointed forward like a spear, Li Li Yuanzhong actively invited battle

Like a bolt of lightning flashing past, it impossibly dodged that blade strike

"Thunder erupts like lightning!"

The spirit image took the initiative to attack, not activating the Soldier Controlling Art, but using his own Thunder Dragon true Qi as support, executing all the hammer techniques he had learned in his life, colliding with that domineering blade light

A wisp of blade light whooshed past his ear. If they were fighting in reality, his ear would already be gone.

Then, the spirit image only felt his mind buzz. The heavy hammer was as if it had struck a mountain that had shifted sideways. The hammer force, condensed like an iron curtain, instantly scattered.

"The spirit image's Li Li Yuanzhong actually didn't fall at a disadvantage?"

I sent the spirit image into the tower, and naturally left some backup measures. It wasn't deliberate voyeurism, after all I still needed to bring him back.

The heavy hammer swept sideways. The spirit image retreated for the first time, true Qi surging behind him

Rising up, transforming into the shadow of Li Li Yuanzhong.

"Old Wan, the offense and defense have switched."

"Eight hundred moves already!"

Deng Deng Yulan raised a hand to stop him, glaring: "If you can't control those two eyebrows of yours, pull them out sooner!

During this time, the spirit image had already controlled a single weapon that included the various heavy hammers of the Dragon-Splitting Chan Hammer, the Hundred Beasts Spirit Boots, and the Crimson Blood Patterned Dragon Armor.

Behind him, Deng Yu let out a roar. Deng Yu exerted force with his feet, the Cloud Dragon Four Appearances operating to the extreme. Instead of retreating, he advanced, meeting that Subduing Demon first blade head-on.

"Withstand that blade, and we win!"

The two Deng Yulans immersed in watching the battle snapped back to alertness with great vigilance, instantly vanishing from the courtyard

Flying out at extreme speed!

It pierced through the sky curtain woven by the rolling blade light, shattering the blade-wielding Wan Wan Zhuliu!

"Techniques based on the Mysterious Whale..."

Li Li Yuanzhong also felt quite surprised. Without this, he would have almost failed to capture the spirit image's figure, as if it had truly transformed into lightning and departed

Jiang Mo Chu had not yet appeared when he heard a 'dong' sound, like a heavy hammer striking a drum. Looking up, Li Li Yuanzhong slowly put away the Ancient Elephant Spirit Dragon Subduing Pestle:

But that ordinary-looking blade seemed to be everywhere, cutting down all four afterimages he had left in place. Like a shadow following form, from top to bottom, it sought to split him in two on the spot.

Silver hair and white robe, Wan Wan Zhuliu tossed aside the broken blade in his hand, reaching out forward. Within the tide-like white darkness, crimson dragon eyes flashed, and had already transformed into a divine blade that fell into his palm.

"Control, Dragon-Splitting Chan Hammer!

"Deng Deng Yulan's divine image?

One move, two moves...

"You want to hog it all?"

"Cough~"

"Can't block it!"

"Now that's called an evenly matched fight!"

At the same time, the vigorous Thunder Dragon Qi surged out from around me, covering the meteor hammer like a tide. And the hurricane of airwaves I had stirred up instantly transformed into a deep profound color!

One hammer strike sent Wan Wan Zhuliu flying, but the spirit image did not press the advantage. Instead, he slowly withdrew his momentum, holding the hammer horizontally in front of him, and the Li Li Yuanzhong behind him slowly reappeared

"... No need for this heavy one either."

The clash of weapons rang out across the field; that time, relying on himself alone, attacking first and striking first, within a hundred and seventy moves, Li Li Yuanzhong had also gained the upper hand.

A collision at the Organ Refining level still had to surpass the life-and-death struggle between Blood Exchange martial artists!

"That hammer strike?"

Li Li Yuanzhong furrowed his brow slightly; as for how the spirit image drew its blade, of course he had no idea.

Within the bronze pagoda, blade-light surged like a tide.

Feng Feng Mantian almost thought he had seen wrong; steadying his gaze, he saw within the white tide a colossal beast collide, and wherever it passed, whether blade-light or hammer-shadow or anything else, all crumbled and shattered.

Hiss!

After two hammer strikes, Yang Jian Kang Zhong had already regained his feel; weighing the hammer, he was somewhat eager to try, for it had truly been far too long since he had found anyone to fight.

"This Li Li Yuanzhong of mine?"

Seeing that move again, the spirit image still felt his teeth ache; aside from taking it head-on, there was simply no way to dodge that strike.

Hum~

Within the faint hum of blades, that one slash—which seemed to sever all seven senses together—descended once more.

Like a net cast from every direction, it encompassed every angle and space in which one might evade.

Yang Jian Kang Zhong's heart gave a start.

"Does he take this old man for Nie Xianshan or something?"

Without the slightest hesitation, one slash came cleaving down.

Hum~

Feng Feng Mantian's eyelid twitched: "You didn't see him, did you?

"The weight of being number one under heaven is truly too heavy… well, my Organ Refining isn't yet at minor completion, mm, this counts as leaping a realm, about half a realm…

"A supreme art casually created by an elder of the Divine Weapon Valley, and it can actually stand shoulder to shoulder with the Long Xi Xiang divine image?

"Divine-grade blade art!"

Feng Feng Mantian immediately gathered his thoughts, ready at any moment to receive the spirit image back.

"Good!"

"Is there any need?"

Whooosh whooosh~

As true qi boiled and burned, the Sea Mysterious Whale Hammer swung forward; the Dragon Tiger Heaven-Shaking Hammer emphasized great momentum and great force, and with Yang Jian Kang Zhong's eruption, he seized back that step of forward progress.

That one step, he had taken back once more.

Li Li Yuanzhong's face was sullen,

In the trials of the Bronze Pagoda, the Dragon Tiger Pagoda, the Health Preservation Gate, and the Thunder Dragon Gate, he had even crossed blades with a thousand-year-grade Grandmaster; Wan Wan Zhuliu of the Organ Refining level, however fearsome his might, could no longer intimidate him.

That old fellow, taking advantage of his wounds not yet healed, actually tried to poach his people; had he not sensed something was off earlier, he would still have been kept in the dark—this was simply outrageous to the extreme.

The augmentation of the Soldier-Master flattened most of the gap between Organ Refining levels, and the augmentation was even greater; the Sea Mysterious Whale Hammer swept sideways, yet blade-light still came from somewhere, still unmoved and unshaken.

"Who is sneaking an attack on this Tower Master… huh?!"

This was a blade art based on Li Li Yuanzhong's moves—a divine-grade blade art.

Hum~

Using a wisp of qi as a medium, a Grandmaster could lock onto a soul from a thousand li away, but how could it possibly be as easy to use as the Dragon Tiger Health Preservation Furnace?

"Naturally not."

Feng Feng Mantian reached out a hand, and a wisp of mist had already fallen before the two of them.

"This…"

As Wan Wan Zhuliu raised his hand, the spirit image reached out and grabbed the severed heavy hammer; with a light flick of his wrist, a clatter rang out as the iron chain dropped to the ground.

Yet even in such a state, the collision and slaughter between the two remained fierce.

Amidst swirling dust, the Sea Mysterious Whale Hammer on his shoulder, true qi billowing behind him, Yang Jian Kang Zhong let out a long cry, his dark aura like a sea:

"After several decades of sitting in stillness, my craft has grown much more practiced; just now the force was a bit shallow, so let me add this hammer strike—it should be enough to let you sleep until tomorrow noon."

Hum~

Boom!

Before a single thought could flash through, she started in sudden fright, having already sensed the tremor of her divine realm; her face went white, and she nearly thought her divine realm was about to collapse.

"Who has designs on his disciple?"

Li Li Yuanzhong hesitated for a moment, but still sent his senses into the Dragon Tiger Health Preservation Furnace.

Feng Feng Mantian did not pay it much mind either; as long as it wasn't seen with one's own eyes, even if one believed it, there would still be plenty of excuses.

With the same thunderous detonation, this time the spirit image stood unmoved, and after the burst of shattered blade-light, Long Long Daozhu charged forward violently; wherever he passed, the ground split apart, soil and stone flying.

"The dignified lord of a Dao, day after day eyeing a junior brother's disciple—what kind of behavior is that!"

After that one slash, the spirit image heard a trembling hum, and a bone-piercing chill descended in an instant.

After the slash that severed the seven senses, the blade-light across the sky gathered in; Wan Wan Zhuliu strode forward, and a blade momentum like a mountain-shaking sea-roar erupted explosively before him.

Hum~

The heavy hammer, its hammer-head broken off, had already become a meteor hammer.

"He's strong, not like a person at all."

Yang Jian Kang Zhong shouldered the heavy hammer, facing off from afar.

In the courtyard, Feng Feng Mantian and the other naturally saw this point, but the two of them, putting themselves in his place, felt that no matter what, they could not withstand that slash.

Quick!

As if a moment, as if an eternity, accompanied by a thunderous detonation, the clash of true qi between the two came to a complete end with the Thunder Dragon and the Dragon God both shattering utterly.

Within the scroll, the dragon's roar blazed fierce.

Deng Deng Yulan's hand loosened, and his two long eyebrows whipped through the air with a sharp *swish*, lashing out like whips.