Chapter 633: Pang Pang Wenlong, Who Always Charges at the Forefront of Every Battle

The Chi Yang Palm struck horizontally for over a dozen li, like a crimson-gold rainbow piercing the sun; wherever it passed, even the surging, roaring black fog was split in two—overbearing and violent to the extreme.

Upon the nine-storied tower ship, even with the Qian Yan Fa Master and Yun Yun Yeshan ahead, Wang Jin, Wu Wu Yingxing, and the others still felt immense dread.

The force contained within this palm, the strength of its will, was enough to shock any grand master under heaven.

"Wu Gong has reached such a level that it is already no less than any Daoist art."

The Qian Yan Fa Master's eyelids trembled. His true spirit was broken, leaving only a wisp, making it truly difficult to recast the Divine Palace, but his eye for things remained. Even in his view, this palm was truly extraordinary.

"A pity—shallow waters cannot nurture a true dragon. Without superior divine patterns, in the end it cannot compare to Daoist arts."

Yun Yun Yeshan merely gave a cold snort and had already activated the 'Nine-Storied Tower' beneath him.

The Nine-Storied Tower was his mount in life. Though mostly ruined, its internal dimensions collapsed, it still belonged to the rank of divine treasures, and in grade it still ranked above Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing.

Boom!

The nine-storied tower ship trembled lightly. There was nothing fancy—just a simple tremor—and the entire eerie land, even the earth and city walls within a hundred li nearby, all shook.

In the next instant, the palm print slammed onto the tower ship.

Boom!

It was as if a great sun suddenly exploded, a lifetime of light and heat bursting forth in a single instant.

In an instant, inside and outside Ducheng was a sheet of white. Let alone ordinary martial artists—even Li Yuan, who was focusing his senses intently, felt his vision go black and his mind go blank.

The collision beyond He Yi Jing—even with the eerie land's ghostly fog between them—caused Ducheng's thick city walls to tremble violently, cracking open with countless huge fissures.

After the momentary loss of the five senses, Li Yuan focused intently and saw the thick city walls pitted and pockmarked, everywhere filled with rolling dust and smoke. Some bold martial artists who had come to watch the battle either fell from the wall or were blown into the city.

Outside the city walls, a crimson sun hung high in the sky, its light and heat radiating, resisting the ceaselessly swelling and expanding black fog of the eerie land.

Within the eerie land, the tower ship let out a long, drawn-out trembling cry. Pang Pang Wenlong's fearsome Great Sun Chi Yang Palm only left a shallow palm-print mark on the tower ship.

"Good ship, good ship!"

The gale howled, fluttering his clothes. Pang Pang Wenlong, whose strike had failed, showed no sign of annoyance; his eyes shone brightly as he looked at the nine-storied tower ship:

"If we let Dun Tian Zhou swallow it, this trip for boy Li will be even smoother!"

Whoosh!

Pang Pang Wenlong charged into the eerie land, heading straight for the tower ship. Crimson-gold true gang flowed and intertwined around him, bursting forth with every punch and kick.

Li Yuan was well-versed in the Wu Gong of a hundred schools and could tell at a glance that, apart from that one Chi Yang Palm, Pang Pang Wenlong's punches and kicks showed not the slightest trace of martial arts. Yet the tremendous force unleashed with every gesture was enough to make one shudder.

With just a single punch or kick, the eerie armored warriors that came pouncing down from the nine-storied tower ship exploded one after another into rolling black fog.

High on the tower ship, Yun Yun Yeshan's expression was cold and indifferent. His ten fingers flew, forming unknown hand seals, and with every hand seal struck down, the black fog within the eerie land swelled by another third, crashing toward Pang Pang Wenlong like towering waves.

Tens of thousands of armored warriors rose and fell with the black fog, fearing neither life nor death.

The Qian Yan Fa Master manifested his thousand-eyed Dharma aspect; his gaze swept like thousands of divine swords shooting in clusters, leaving savage marks within the eerie land.

"It feels really good to have someone taking the brunt up ahead."

Li Yuan's heart settled slightly. Watching Pang Pang Wenlong fighting alone within the eerie land, he suddenly understood why he had been able to convince several great sects.

Just as recorded in the 'Grand Fortune Founding Emperor's True Record,' Pang Pang Wenlong always charged to the front in every battle, often going alone into dangerous places. He was also extremely generous, and after founding the nation, he even shared governance of the realm with the sects.

If it were anyone else—even if they had likewise cultivated the Divine Palace—it would be absolutely impossible to subdue several great sects with mere words.

"Kill!"

Long Long Yingchan and the others were half a beat slower. Once they reacted, they too charged into the eerie land, engaging Wang Jin, Wu Wu Yingxing, and the others. The Silkworm Daoist and the Scabby-Headed Monk stayed at Li Yuan's side.

Grand Ding Chan Master pressed his palms together, standing among the dozens of burning Yun Xiang Ding.

Xin Xin Wenhua, Dou Yue, and other true disciples of the sects did not approach; some watched the battle from afar, others evacuated the people within the city.

"Old Pang's use of the Ling Xiang far surpasses Dao Lord Long and the others. As for Wu Gong, the absence of any trace doesn't mean he isn't employing Wu Gong—it's that all manner of Wu Gong has already returned to simplicity, fused into his punches and kicks."

"When Qi and spirit merge, one enters the Dao. True Qi can interact with heaven and earth to become True Gang, and can also nourish the soul to give birth to the Divine Realm. He Yi Jing—essence, Qi, and spirit, the three elements, return to one. With every gesture, the Divine Realm follows…"

"The Divine Palace Realm is more like fusing the Ling Xiang into oneself. When separated, they are separate; when merged, they are as one. Thus soaring through the sky and burrowing through the earth are all perfectly free and at ease, and every gesture is Zhen Gong!"

Li Yuan's eyes shone bright; he watched, utterly enthralled.

After altering his ten thousand forms, his own innate talent had already approached Zhao Zhao Tianxing level, and with the augmentation of numerous Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, he was no different from a true divine-demon-level prodigy.

Battles that ordinary martial artists—even grand masters—could not perceive clearly seemed to hold no secrets before his eyes, and instead caused inspiration to surge within his heart.

"Senior Pang truly lives up to his name as the Founding Emperor of Grand Fortune."

The Silkworm Daoist clapped his hands in admiration. Before coming here, he had already prepared himself for a bitter battle, even death, yet he never expected that by this point in the fight, he didn't even need to make a move.

Even under the suppression of the eerie land and the nine-storied tower ship, Pang Pang Wenlong still used his strength alone to pin down the Qian Yan Fa Master and Yun Yun Yeshan, single-handedly halting the expansion of this eerie land.

As for the other experts of the imperial court—even with the eerie land's augmentation—they were still beaten into a wretched state by Long Long Yingchan and Daoist Yuan Qing.

Victory and defeat seemed already decided.

"These ding…"

The Silkworm Daoist glanced at the dozens of Yun Xiang Ding beside Grand Ding Chan Master. Who this ritual was meant for, he didn't need to think to know.

"Mm?"

Suddenly, Li Yuan's heart jolted and he raised his head sharply.

Above Ducheng, the gale howled. Amidst the churning clouds and mist, a massive black dragon flashed forth; a huge dragon claw reached out and pressed down toward the city wall.

"Ink Dragon!"

"It's Wan Wan Zhuliu!"

Li Yuan reacted swiftly. The Scabby-Headed Monk and the Silkworm Daoist reacted just as quickly. The two exchanged a glance, and the Scabby-Headed Monk shielded Li Yuan behind him.

The Silkworm Daoist shook his sleeve, sword in hand, and shot up into the air. In an instant, the surging sword gang had already slashed the ferocious dragon claw.

"Hiss!"

As the sword fell, the dragon claw was split in two at once. But the Ink Dragon merely let out a low growl; a surge of black Qi poured out, and the severed dragon claw immediately regrew, once again clawing at the Silkworm Daoist.

The severed dragon claw tumbled in mid-air and actually transformed into another arm-thick black dragon that pounced down once more, its speed extreme, fierce as a flying sword.

"This beast?"

Tiancan Fuxiu Daoren's eyelid twitched.

Several decades ago he had crossed blades with Wan Wan Zhuliu; back then this black dragon had no such ability, but it was only a momentary shock, and he once again raised his sword and pressed forward.

Boom!

Rumble!

Thunder rolled across the long sky as man and dragon fought savagely; for a time, everywhere was sword-light, black mist, and the sound of dragon roars.

"After the Divine Palace is forged, will the spirit-phase undergo such a tremendous metamorphosis?"

Grand Master Master Dading frowned deeply.

Tiancan Fuxiu Daoren was a seasoned Grand Master; although grievously wounded by Wan Wan Zhuliu and delayed for several decades, his Yi Shen Gong cultivation was no less than that of Long Long Yingchan or Feng Yuanqing Fuxiu Daoren — yet now he was faintly being pressed beneath the wind by that ink dragon?

"Well done, well done!"

Sweeping his gaze over the battlefield outside the city, now little better than ruins, the Scaly-Headed Monk pressed his palms together; rich Jin Guang burst forth from his body, dyeing him a blazing gold, like a Buddha's Golden Body enshrined within a temple.

This monk, the most senior in the Xinyi Sect, had long cultivated the Vajra Indestructible Body to an extremely Gao De Jing Fa Jie; to the naked eye, one could hardly see any color that flesh and blood ought to have.

But he did not rise into the air to slay the dragon; instead, like a wall, he stood before Li Yuan, his Expression solemn as he gazed beyond the city.

From across the surging moat, Wan Wan Zhuliu walked forward with his hand on his blade; with each of his steps, every martial artist inside and outside the city walls felt a tremor in their hearts,

and heard a blade-hum like the endless rolling of a great river.

"Wan Wan Zhuliu!"

Inside and outside the city walls, an abrupt silence fell; even though within the strange land and high above the sky thunder still roared, every person who saw Wan Wan Zhuliu could not help but hold their breath.

A man's fame, a tree's shadow.

The vast majority of martial artists in this world might not recognize Pang Pang Wenlong, the Qian Yan Fa Lord, or Yun Yun Yeshan within the strange land, but the name Wan Wan Zhuliu — even a greenhorn of the jianghu had heard it like thunder in their ears.

Whooosh~

Outside the capital, the wind howled fiercely, yet gradually died away.

Wan Wan Zhuliu stood in the air, sweeping an indifferent glance over the crowd atop the city wall; his gaze lingered only a moment on the Scaly-Headed Monk and Grand Master Master Dading before falling upon Li Yuan:

"Actually, you needn't have deliberately lured me here. Even if Long Long Yingchan and the others were all present, this King still intended to come and kill him."

He cared nothing for the Scaly-Headed Monk who had stirred up his Vajra Indestructible Body, nor for Grand Master Master Dading standing among the Yun Xiang Ding, nor even for Li Yuan — the foremost prodigy of this realm past and present.

His gaze, rather than falling upon Li Yuan, fell upon the Great Sun spirit-phase hidden within his body.

"Finally hooked him in."

Li Yuan instinctively stepped forward; before he could speak, wisp after wisp of crimson-gold energy had already begun to overflow from within him, weaving and outlining themselves, and in the blink of an eye had transformed into a crimson-gold figure.

This crimson-gold figure's appearance differed little from Pang Pang Wenlong's, only his complexion was colder and harder, and as his form flickered, he seemed like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"With this old man here, it's not yet your turn to act."

The crimson-gold figure lightly patted Li Yuan's shoulder, then with a sweep of his long sleeves, swept up several dozen Yun Xiang Ding atop the city wall and rose into the sky.

Boom!

It was as if a blazing sun had vaulted into the heavens.

Those several dozen Yun Xiang Ding shattered all at once; streams of incense-ash, like little serpents, were swallowed into the crimson-gold figure's body, transforming into even more blazing flames.

"Using incense-ash as a spirit-phase?"

Li Yuan's heart gave a start.

Pang Pang Wenlong's three great spirit-phases all took flame as their core, but he had not expected that one of his spirit-phases would directly swallow and disgorge incense-ash.

Incense-ash, drawn from the wish-power of human hearts, had many wondrous uses and was a true currency accepted across all realms; but incense-ash itself contained the thoughts of countless people and could not be used for cultivation.

"Incense-ash?"

Wan Wan Zhuliu was also somewhat startled, then sensed something amiss:

"He's not directly swallowing incense-ash, but using incense-ash as fuel… is this the method Pang Pang Wenlong intends to use to kill me?"

(End of this chapter)