Chapter 553: The Kunpeng True Form

Desolate and ruined, like an ancient, tragic battlefield, He Yi looked around. This stretch of scorched earth was vast, stretching beyond the limits of his sight!

The first floor!

A stone tablet rose beneath his feet, and along with it came a current of energy quite similar to the one he'd felt while climbing the Eight Directions Mountain. The energy spread across the scorched earth!

It suppressed the divine weapons!

He Yi frowned slightly. Under the pressure of that energy, the little mother dragon immediately fell silent. The Dragon Dwelling Belt and the Blood-Striped Dragon Armor were both suppressed, their spirituality sealed!

Though they still hung on his body, they could no longer envelop his entire form!

Hum—

Longhu Longhu Dandan hummed. Under He Yi's gaze, a patch of dark, heavy fog rose in the distance, and three spirit puppets clad in black armor stepped out slowly!

Kill one, and you may enter the second floor!

Glancing at the stone tablet, He Yi flicked his hand and produced a Dark Whale Hammer. Just like the Dragon Dwelling Belt, the hammer had its spirituality suppressed—clearly, only ordinary weapons could be used here!

Mm, the Soldier Controlling Seal is unaffected!

Sensing this briefly, He Yi set his mind at ease. Hammer in hand, he

examined the three approaching spirit puppets with keen interest!

Black armor, black hammers. The auras of these three puppets were similar to his own—clearly suppressed by the energy to his level. In appearance, they were not far off from what he'd seen in the light screen earlier!

"Not as good as the Door-Guard Puppets!"

Though he couldn't see the gleam of their weapons, a brief comparison was enough for He Yi to conclude that the Door-Guard Puppet, Dengshan, was of a much higher grade than these Dao Soldier Puppets!

Whirr—

While He Yi was examining them, the three puppets did not stop, hammers raised as they advanced!

But before He Yi could even make a move to weigh the mettle of these three puppets, a low, hoarse voice exploded:

"Stop."

Words become law!

The instant that voice rang out, the three puppets ceased their movements and dropped to one knee!

"This is?"

He Yi's heart stirred. This was clearly not any language he had learned, yet he could understand the meaning of the words perfectly!

Hum—

A wisp of black mist rose from the scorched earth, transforming into a large-headed strange bird. It beat its wings and took to the air, fixing He Yi with an intense stare!

What an ugly thing?

He Yi was startled. This bird was far too ugly. Its massive head was covered in black feathers, yet through them one could faintly discern an old face scored with wrinkles—bizarre beyond measure!

As He Yi instinctively raised his hammer, the bird spoke, its voice hoarse: "Challenger of the Eastern Realm, have you come to select a Dao Soldier?"

"Select a Dao Soldier?"

He Yi's heart stirred, and he asked: "And you are?"

I am the Door-Guard Puppet of the Dao Soldier Pagoda, Dong Dong Ershisan!

The human-faced strange bird folded its wings and perched atop one of the black-armored puppets: "Selecting a Dao Soldier requires a Dao Soldier Token!"

It regarded He Yi indifferently, with a scrutinizing look: "You don't seem to have one?"

Dong Dong Ershisan?

It was rare to encounter a spirit puppet one could actually converse with, and He Yi naturally wouldn't pass up the chance to fish for information: "What, without a Dao Soldier Token one cannot enter the Dao Soldier Pagoda?"

"Challengers bearing the Eight Directions Token may enter any trial ground save the Main Hall. It's just that aside from those selecting Dao Soldiers, few challengers come to the Dao Soldier Pagoda!"

The human-faced strange bird answered, its old eyes raking up and down over He Yi, its expression strange—greedy yet tinged with a trace of fear: "On you... there seems to be a Puppet Heart?"

This bird's anthropomorphism is extremely high!

He Yi muttered to himself. He instinctively switched his control combination, and with the bone ornament's enhancement, he could faintly sense this strange bird's emotions!

"Indeed!"

He Yi produced that Puppet Heart. This was the reward for an Excellent rating, and in terms of preciousness, it was no less than the Sect Token he'd obtained from climbing the Ten Thousand Steps!

A Puppet Heart.

The bird couldn't help but tremble: "Challenger of the Eastern Realm, your fortune is extraordinary. A reward of this caliber—even from climbing the Ten Thousand Steps—has only a minuscule chance of being obtained!"

"Is this thing very precious?"

He Yi tossed the Puppet Heart up and down in his hand, watching the strange

bird bob its head up and down, and his regard for this Puppet Heart grew ever greater!

"Precious. Immeasurably precious."

Greed and impatience filled the strange bird's eyes: "Give it to me, and I can grant you a fifth-grade Dao Soldier, plus a complete scroll of a superior True Form Diagram."

"The Azure Dragon True Form Diagram, the Great Sun True Form Diagram, the Fire Phoenix True Form Diagram, the Kunpeng True Form Diagram, the Golden Horn True Form Diagram! Whichever you want, I shall give you."

The strange bird was extremely agitated!

In He Yi's perception, the strange bird was on the verge of pouncing to snatch it, yet forcibly restrained itself—or perhaps, was unable to forcibly take it?

"A fifth-grade Dao Soldier?"

He Yi naturally wouldn't pass up this rare chance to fish for information: "Dao Soldiers also have grades? How precious is a fifth-grade Dao Soldier? Is it comparable to this Puppet Heart?"

"Those who enter the pagoda are first-grade. Those who kill their way to the ninth floor are second-grade! Only those who kill their way past the thirty-sixth floor of the Dao Soldier Pagoda qualify as fifth-grade Dao Soldiers."

The human-headed strange bird's voice carried immense temptation: "Fifth-grade Dao Soldiers are exceedingly rare in this world. Among the Bronze-grade, one can stand against a hundred, comparable to a Heaven's Chosen—the finest of protective Dao weapons. In the current Dao Soldier Pagoda, there is only this one fifth-grade Dao Soldier. Give me the Puppet Heart, and I can give you this Dao Soldier."

Thirty-sixth floor?

He Yi's eyelid twitched slightly. He feigned a look of being tempted yet hesitant: "Such a powerful Dao Soldier—how would I control it?"

"A Dao Soldier would never devour its master."

The human-headed strange bird tugged at the corner of its mouth. Seeing the lad was tempted, it continued its temptation: "A fifth-grade Dao Soldier! In the countless ten-thousands of years before, I don't know how many hundreds or thousands of challengers have come here, yet I gave it to none of them."

This Ling Kui Heart is this useful?

Li Yuan suspected the strange bird's words held a great deal of exaggeration, but he could also see that this Ling Kui Heart was far more precious than he had previously anticipated!

But upon seeing the smile on the human-headed strange bird, he could not help but think of the others currently charging through the tower!

This doesn't seem like a good path!

Li Yuan muttered to himself, continuing to fish for information: "What about the True Form Diagram?"

"You don't even know what a True Form Diagram is, do you?"

The human-headed strange bird glanced at Li Yuan with some suspicion, but was immediately blinded by the Ling Kui Heart: "Only by cultivating the True Form Diagram can one change the grade of a Ling Xiang, only then can one unleash the true might of a Ling Xiang!"

The human-headed strange bird exerted its full power of beguilement, its gaze never leaving the Ling Kui Heart!

Li Yuan kept its words in mind, asking continuously—from Dao Soldiers, True Form Diagrams, the Dao Soldier Tower, all the way to the Ling Kui Heart, the Temple Entry Trial, and even the Eight Directions Temple itself!

This human-headed strange bird's spiritual intelligence was clearly not high, or perhaps it had been blinded by the Ling Kui Heart; although extremely impatient, it still picked and answered quite a few questions!

Why do you have so many questions?

Finally, the human-headed strange bird could no longer bear it, screeching as it took to the air, flapping its wings: "Give me the Ling Kui Heart."

Seeing the strange bird come to its senses, Li Yuan felt some regret—it was rare to encounter a Ling Kui one could converse with, and he had only managed to extract a few sentences!

This bird's spiritual intelligence was still a bit too high!

"You dare to deceive me?"

The strange bird flew into a rage, and the three Ling Kui on the scorched earth also rose to their feet!

"It's not deceiving you, it's that someone else wants this Ling Kui Heart!"

Li Yuan had gained a great deal; although the strange bird hid quite a bit, he had still figured out some rules. The Dao Soldier Tower had its own rules—on this level, at most it could only urge those three Ling Kui!

Three Ling Kui of the Blood Exchange level...

Looking at the strange bird's threatening manner with surging arrogance, Dao Ye felt a bit like laughing!

"Who?"

The strange bird raged, murderous aura billowing: "Who dares to compete with Master Bird?"

Dong Dong Ershisan!

Li Yuan answered!

"D-Dong Dong Ershisan!"

The strange bird's arrogance instantly dropped a level, it landed back atop the armored Dao Soldier's head, and the reversed feathers on its wings tucked

back in: "I-it's Master Dong Ershisan!"

The strange bird's gaze even became clear!

"Hmm?"

With the bone ornament's enhancement, Li Yuan's perception was extremely sharp; seeing this scene, his mind could not help but stir!

Was Dong Dong Ershisan even stronger than he had anticipated?

"You know him?"

Dao Ye Li still wanted to fish for information!

Heh heh!

The strange bird, having regained its senses, merely let out a cold laugh, refusing to answer entirely, and flapped its wings, turning into a wisp of black fog, about to sink into the ground!

"Wait!"

Dao Ye Li was somewhat reluctant!

"Scram."

The strange bird paid no heed at all, plunging headfirst into the ground: "Want to question Master Bird? Fight your way to the thirty-sixth floor first."

"These Ling Kui's spiritual intelligence is still a bit too high!"

Li Yuan felt some regret, but his mind inevitably drifted back to Dong Dong Ershisan in the corridor; the threshold to control this Gate Kui was very high—beyond the Ling Kui Heart, it also required the sixth level of the Treasure Refining Art!

Cultivating the Treasure Refining Art requires a Ling Xiang!

"The thirty-sixth floor?"

Li Yuan put away the Ling Kui Heart, raised his heavy hammer, and charged toward the three black-armored Dao Soldiers!

From this brief exchange with the strange bird, his gains were quite significant, especially regarding this Dao Soldier Tower!

This place was easy to enter but hard to leave; without an Eight Directions Temple token, the only way out was to fight to the thirty-sixth floor—the immense difficulty of which went without saying!

This place, getting in is easy but getting out is hard. Without a token of the Eight Directions Temple, the only way out is to fight your way up to the thirty-sixth floor—the sheer difficulty of which goes without saying!

As he strode forward, Li Yuan swept his hammer horizontally, meeting the three Dao Soldiers that had likewise erupted into motion!

Upon the first clash, Li Yuan immediately felt that his choice to enter the Dao Soldier Tower before advancing his Dao was an extremely wise decision—these Dao Soldiers were of an extremely high grade!

With his current cultivation and Wu Gong, without employing the Soldier Controlling Seal, he actually could not achieve a swift victory?

"Worth three Yan Chunyangs."

Li Yuan muttered to himself, but his movements were not slow; with the heavy hammer in hand, he neither dodged nor evaded, the heavy hammer wrapped in thundering might as it crashed down, sending the three Dao Soldiers flying into the air; with a backhand swing of the hammer, the battle was concluded!

Having mastered over two thousand forms, with the Dragon Demon Heart Scripture bearing fruit, today's him—even without the Soldier Controlling Seal—Yan Yan Chunyang was far from qualified to be his opponent!

One with one hammer, three is merely three hammers!

Daoist Feng Yuanqing breaks through Dao Soldier Tower, Floor One!

Reward: Kun Peng True Form Diagram (Nine)

As the heavy hammer fell, Li Yuan frowned; a wisp of black fog rose from the stone stele, and within it, an old face bearing a mocking cold smile could faintly be seen flashing past!

The heavy hammer fell, and Li Yuan frowned as a wisp of black mist rose from the stone stele; faintly visible within it, an old face wearing a mocking, cold smile flashed and vanished!

In the next instant, an unknown beast-skin diagram had appeared on the stone stele!

In the next instant, an unknown beast-hide diagram had appeared on the stone stele!

The True Form Diagram of the Kunpeng!

Li Yuan reached out and took it; on the beast-skin map, part of a giant beast's body was drawn. Upon focusing his perception, he sensed only that it contained various divine patterns within, yet they were not systematic, broken and disjointed from front to back!

"This strange bird!"

Li Yuan grew wary in his heart; this strange bird likely bore ill intent. He carefully advanced with his hammer, passed through the surging black fog gate, and stepped into the second floor!

The second floor of the Dao Soldier Tower was still a scorched earth, but now six Dao Soldiers stood there, brimming with killing intent. Li Yuan hadn't even had time to catch his breath before the killing intent rushed at his face!

"Compared to the first floor, the Dao Soldiers on the second floor are much stronger; six of them are equivalent to seven or eight Yan Chunyangs!"

Li Yuan knew this was the strange bird's retaliation, yet he didn't care much. After a moment of thought, he raised his hammer and charged forward!

The Dao Soldier Tower has its own rules; that strange bird can only influence a little

bit, such as urging the Dao Soldiers forward, or affecting the ranking of the True Form Diagrams as rewards, but it cannot add Dao Soldiers or withhold rewards!

"Wait until this Dao Master reaches the thirty-sixth floor!"

With a cold sneer in his heart, Li Yuan strode forward. True Qi behind him wove into the shape of a thunder dragon, smashing through the encirclement of the six great Dao Soldiers as if destroying withered wood!

"Pfft."

In the scorched earth, Fang Fang Sanyun spat a mouthful of reverse blood, his face turning deathly pale. Looking at the Dao Soldiers dissipating before him, he felt some unwillingness, yet also helplessness: "These eighteen black-armored Dao Soldiers, in terms of Wu Gong, are all inferior to me, but with their mutual encirclement, breaking them is difficult!"

He forced himself not to fall, reached out to touch the beast skin in his chest, and only then did his face look a

bit better.

"I can only retreat for now and come back after cultivating this Sun True Form Diagram!"

Taking a long breath, Fang Fang Sanyun turned and exited the tower!

Buzz!

Light and shadow flickered for an instant; Fang Fang Sanyun's brows immediately furrowed!

Before his eyes was a forest of lush green vegetation, with a stream flowing past the front of the woods. One glance and where was the shadow of Eight Directions Mountain?

"Here!"

Fang Sanyuan looked outside the tower; in the shaded area, the Qian Emperor sat cross-legged, with the two Grand Masters of the imperial court on his left and right!

"This is outside the Dao Soldier Tower!"

Not far away, Huang Huang Longzi still held an umbrella, examining a stone stele!

Fang Fang Sanyun followed his gaze; there, his own name stood out starkly: Fang Fang Sanyun, Fifth Floor.

"This Dao Soldier Tower, entering is easy, but exiting seems very difficult!"

Huang Huang Longzi seemed to have just emerged as well; examining that stone stele, his brows were tightly furrowed, searching for a way out!

"Can't get out?"

Fang Fang Sanyun's expression tightened slightly; a voice came from behind him, it was Master Master Dading: "What do you mean, can't get out?"

The tower gate stood wide open; Master Master Dading frowned as he exited the tower, also looking at that massive stone stele, his face showing some surprise: "Brother Long Dao, you are deep and hidden; you actually climbed to the eighth floor?"

He walked out of the tower, scanned the area, then looked at Huang Huang Longzi, "You said you can't get out, what do you mean?"

"Literally!"

Huang Huang Longzi turned; his face was not good. He had tried climbing a few floors of the tower and rushed out, but he simply could not find the road to exit!

"Everyone need not be anxious; wait for that old turtle to come out and ask, then we will know. Since we've already entered, how could we not be able to get out?"

The Qian Emperor was very calm, until his gaze fell upon that stone stele, when it turned gloomy: "Qin Yun."

His voice contained anger, yet no one responded!

Master Master Dading and Fang Fang Sanyun exchanged a glance, then walked side by side toward that

stone stele. The names on this stone stele were dense, unknown whether tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands; a huge black mass!

Among them, the two Grand Masters of the imperial court ranked lowest, only on the second or third floors; after that were the Qian Emperor and Huang Huang Longzi, both on the fourth floor; after that were the two of them, Yan Yan Tianxiong, and that Northern Sea Azure Dragon, all on the fifth floor!

"That old turtle is so fierce? It actually climbed to the fourteenth floor?"

Fang Fang Sanyun could not hide his shock; he had stopped at the fifth floor, even if he was a bit short of the sixth, but compared to the fourteenth floor, this gap was too huge!

"Divine weapons are useless inside the Dao Soldier Tower; this old turtle's advantage is too great. Without a divine weapon, wanting to break its turtle shell, even Wan Wan Zhuliu might not be able to do it!"

Master Master Dading was very calm; he was not surprised that this old turtle and Wan Wan Zhuliu were on par; what surprised him was Qin Yun!

"When did this person enter?"

He and Fang Fang Sanyun immediately exchanged a glance; naturally they recognized Qin Yun

, nor were they shocked that he could climb to the fourteenth floor; they were only surprised when these two owners of the Star-Picking Tower entered!

"You gentlemen came out quite early!"

Behind them, the voice of Dragon Dao Master came; he had obviously experienced a fierce battle, and now his steps were somewhat unsteady. He glanced at the stone stele: "Eh? Brother Yuan Qing is truly impressive!"

"Brother Yuan Qing?"

Fang Fang Sanyun was stunned, then began searching for Daoist Yuan Qing. Upon finding him, his eyelids jumped: "How is this possible?"

"Hm?"

His reaction was extreme; the gaze of everyone outside the tower was drawn over; following his look, they were all startled!

"Thirty-second floor?"

The Qian Emperor stood up with a "Whoosh"; Huang Huang Longzi's scalp exploded; he had only found Wan Wan Zhuliu's name and stopped, because he did not believe anyone could climb higher!

He was not qualified to choose Dao Soldiers as guardians, but his understanding of Dao Soldiers was very deep!

The Dao Soldier Tower is thirty-six floors high; Dao Soldiers capable of fighting to above the eighteenth floor are already rare in the Poison Dragon Academy, let alone the thirtieth floor?

Among peers, fighting one against a hundred; this is the potential of an ultimate Dao Soldier.

Is that old Taoist so ferocious?

Huang

Huang Longzi was shocked in his heart; Long Yingchan and others seemed to have received a huge fright!

"True Person Yuan Qing hid this deeply?"

"Bursting through thirty-two floors of the tower, this—fighting a hundred alone? This, this!!!"

"Is it a namesake?"

The three Dao Masters exchanged glances, all finding it incredible!

In past Martial Debates, they naturally each had their own hidden depths, but even Long Long Yingchan, who had hidden for most of his life, never imagined someone could hide this deeply!

"What a cow-nose, so capable of hiding..."

The three hearts were startled and suspicious, yet felt something was amiss!

True Person Yuan Qing does not seem like one who likes to hide his weakness; even if he hid a few moves, he shouldn't have hidden this deeply!

If he possessed the strength to fight his way to the thirty-second floor of this Dao Soldier Tower, would they still need to fear Wan Wan Zhuliu?

"Something is amiss, could True Person Yuan Qing be able to activate the Three Origins One Qi Pillar within the tower?"

"I fear there is a namesake!"

The three furrowed their brows tightly and began searching through the densely packed names on the stele; the Yellow Dragon Master nearby, unwilling to believe it either, also concentrated and began searching!

Not just the four of them; the Qian Emperor was also startled, leading people to gather before the stele to search!

Wan Wan Zhuliu broke through fifteen floors of the Dao Soldier Tower.

Reward: True Form Diagram of the Tian Cang Blade (Eighteen)

Amidst a patch of ruins, gunpowder smoke filled the air, with lingering blade qi clanging.

Clang, Wan Wan Zhuliu's clothes were torn, revealing a body like diamond; he coldly raised his blade: "Incomplete yet so powerful, to gather this scroll of the True Form Diagram, I fear I must fight my way to the thirty-sixth floor?"

He took out a stack of beast skins from his robes; after a slight assembly, the outline of a divine blade could barely be seen: "One to nine are complete; it should be cultivable!"

"Hoo."

He exhaled a breath; his aura, which had plummeted to the valley bottom, rose again. Fighting his way here in one breath, even he could not help but feel somewhat weary!

"Perhaps I could climb another two or three floors, but I might get injured!"

Wan Wan Zhuliu was very calm, ignoring the Cloud Demon's urging in his heart, turned, and exited the tower; he had not been so eager to cultivate a Wu Gong in many years!

With his vision, he could see that the blade intent of this scroll of the True Form Diagram of the Tian Cang Blade was still above his Fu Mo Dragon God Blade; if cultivated to completion, perhaps it could break the Divine Palace Gate!

Voom~

Amidst interwoven light and shadow, Wan Wan Zhuliu exited the tower; he saw that most people had already left the tower, all gathered before a stone stele, where the old turtle poked its head out to examine the stele, making 'tsk tsk' sounds!

"Hmm?"

Wan Wan Zhuliu furrowed his brows slightly, heard a cry of shock, and saw the crowd turn in unison to look at him, their eyes filled with shock, even dread!

His expression remained normal, not particularly surprised; he furrowed his brows slightly and walked toward the Qian Emperor, but noticed everyone's eyes were still staring at the tower gate...

"True Person Yuan Qing has exited the tower."

"Never thought True Person Yuan Qing hid this deeply."

"True Person Yuan Qing."

True Person Yuan Qing?

Wan Wan Zhuliu turned around, only to see at the tower gate True Person Yuan Qing exiting with a sword in hand, his face also bearing astonishment!

"What, what?"

The gaze of the crowd of Grand Masters, carrying extremely intense emotions, startled True Person Yuan Qing; he couldn't help but mutter to himself!

Could it be this group didn't even climb to the seventh floor?

"Seven floors."

"Nine floors."

"Sixteen floors."

"Thirty-two floors."

A ball of black mist rose into the air; the headless strange bird urged and shrieked incessantly, gazing at the gruesome battlefield in the distance, its eyes filled with shock and anxiety: "Kill him, quick, quick, kill him."

It was somewhat panicked; this challenger was far stronger than it expected. How could his combat power be so fierce when he hadn't even entered the temple yet?

This is simply the potential of a fifth-tier Dao Soldier.

Boom.

Boom.

Amidst the ruins, the roaring was intense; terrifying qi energy spread out layer by layer like tides!

Dust rolled up to the sky, like a series of curtains, about to block out the sun and moon; within it

dozens to over a hundred figures shuttled back and forth, hammer shadows and blade lights crossed and wove into a sheet, occasionally accompanied by various beast roars and cries!

A bitter battle!

Li Yuan was trapped in a bitter battle!

In this Dao Soldier Tower, for every floor climbed higher, the individual strength of the Dao Soldiers did not increase much, but the quantity surged; above the twentieth floor, there were already over sixty Dao Soldiers!

Sixty Dao Soldiers, each stronger than Yan Yan Chunyang and skilled in combined attack methods, brought him pressure that already exceeded Wan Wan Huanliu of the same realm, forcing him to use the Army Command Seal!

But even so, above the thirtieth floor, he was trapped in a bitter battle!

Over a hundred Dao Soldiers could already form a complete Dao Soldier Great Array; under the surge of their strength, it vaguely transformed into a giant beast rising from the abyss!

The terror of its strength had already exceeded the Tian Gang level.

"Bang."

Li Yuan struck with all his might; the heavy hammer cleaved through the empty air, lightning flashing upon it, thunder following; the Long Kun roared and collided with the giant beast shaped like a Kun Peng!

A dull explosion rang out; dust rolled around Li Yuan's body, and the earth and stone within a radius of several li all sank more than one meter; this was the Zhen Hai Shan Xuan Turtle Shell unloading the force!

He could fight his way to above the thirtieth floor entirely thanks to the buff of the Zhen Hai Shan Xuan Turtle Shell, but at this thirty-fifth floor, even the Zhen Hai Shan Xuan Turtle Shell could not withstand it at all!

The strength of a hundred Dao Soldiers stacked upon each other was not only fierce and violent but also continuous; one layer exceeding the next; after several collisions, every bone and tendon in his body emitted a groan of unbearable pain!

The spiritual pills swallowed in his belly were consumed rapidly, forcing him to ingest another Longhu Longhu Dadan, yet he still struggled to breathe under the swift and furious assault!

He couldn't even block them, let alone kill one!

"That feathered bastard."

Another collision—Li Yuan was blasted off the ground, his sinews and bones exploding like a string of firecrackers; gazing at the flying head-bird shrieking commands, he swore inwardly: "I'll pluck your head off someday, Daoist."

He was certain: without this head-bird directing them, these Dao soldiers would never attack with such ferocity.

Boom.

Li Yuan landed, spat blood, and reeled backward!

Through the swirling dust and qi, he saw over a hundred pairs of blood-red eyes—these Dao soldiers were fearless, each one desperate to die alongside him!

Their strength stacked and flowed—each man's force equaled a hundred!

When one was struck, the impact spread synchronously—there was no possibility of breaking them one by one!

None!

What blood-refining martialist could withstand such an assault?

"Spirit Boots."

Li Yuan roared inwardly, retreating while activating Palm Control, using the Spirit Boots' combinations to dodge continuously!

Had the Palm Control not advanced to the tenth tier, allowing seamless switching between combinations, he could never have held out this long!

"Just one layer away."

Gazing at the frantic head-bird above, Li Yuan swore inwardly—he held the Eight Directions Temple Token and could return to Eight Directions Mountain anytime, yet he forcibly held back!

The more panicked and desperate the feathered bastard became, the greater the reward awaiting him at the thirty-sixth level!

At this point, he could not abandon it.

"Strength stacking and flowing—no possibility of breaking them one by one. 【261】 Must strike head-on, shatter the Peng form—only this way." 【262】

"Force layers upon itself and circulates—there is no chance to break it down one by one,

it must be hard against hard, shattering that form of the Kunpeng—only this

Terrifying force rolled toward him!

Li Yuan shifted and dodged, his mind coldly analyzing: "Star-Moving Power, Celestial Dragon-Tiger, plus the other eight Heavy Hammers including the Black Whale Battle Hammer—perhaps together they can break the combined force of these 105 Dao soldiers."

"But such an extreme collision—the backlash would overwhelm me—I might be shattered instantly!"

"I must switch at the instant the force is unleashed—to the Ten Armor Combination, including the Iron Sea Black Tortoise Armor, to absorb the counterforce."

"I must, at the very instant the force is unleashed, switch to the ten-armor combination that includes the Sinking Iron Sea Mystic Tortoise Shell as the inner layer, to withstand that counter-striking force."

His thoughts flashed in an instant—amid the hundred weapons converging into the Peng form—Li Yuan suddenly halted, without hesitation, switching his Palm Control to his most violently extreme combination!

Split-Sea Black Whale, Dragon-Tiger Nourishing, Black Whale Battle Hammer, Dragon-Peng Celestial Weight.

Boom—!

The instant the hammer weapons empowered his body, Li Yuan seemed to hear his own body exploding—and the head-bird's shrill, frantic cries!

The next instant, he leapt upward, his overwhelming force, coupled with the Zhang Zhong Zhong, like a sun-piercing rainbow, slammed into the hundred-soldier-combined Peng!

"Daring to challenge the Peng with brute force?"

The head-bird watching from afar felt unease—this challenger, not yet entered the temple yet possessing fifth-tier Dao soldier potential, could not be so foolish as to strike head-on—he must have another card!

"Kill him. Must kill him."

The shriek vanished into the wasteland; far off, the earth trembled, radiant divine light tore through the sky-shrouding dust!

Terrifying light and heat rolled outward, as if the mud, sand, and smoke had been vaporized!

"Is he dead?"

Emerging from the ruins, the head-bird barely poked its head up—when suddenly its neck tightened, yanked out like a radish!

Terrifying light and heat rolled outward in waves; the mud, sand, and dust seemed to vaporize and evaporate into nothing!

Smoke spewed from his nose and mouth; Li Yuan's entire body steamed, his eyes blazing: "You're dead."

Its head poked out from the refuse, and just as the Human-Headed Crow had poked its head out, it felt its neck tighten, as if being yanked out like a radish!

"Hmph."

Smoke and gunpowder fumes blasted from his nose and mouth. Li Yuan's whole body was steaming, his eyes shooting fire: "You should die now."