Chapter 692: A Tree Spans the Sky, A Stunning Harvest (Combined Chapter)

"Boom!"

In a sixth-tier combat platform, waves of air rolled and the wondrous sight shattered.

A dragon's roar from afar had slain his opponent, yet not a trace of joy showed on Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's face.

Half a month!

Hundreds of battles every day, and he still hadn't run into Ba Ba Wanli.

The random matches of the Grand Void Pavilion were truly too random. The fury in his heart kept climbing, and his strikes grew ever more vicious—every random match he threw everything he had into, blasting his opponents into pieces.

"Hm?"

Just as he was about to start the next random match, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long seemed to sense something. Starlight was already weaving through his eyes:

【The sixth-tier combatant Ba Ba Wanli you have challenged has accepted your challenge…】

【Challenge match, about to begin】

He actually agreed?!

Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long was caught off guard, but seeing the light and shadows surging around him, he had no time to think it through and hurriedly sent a divine-sense transmission to those few recording hosts he was acquainted with.

The next instant, the world around him had already changed drastically!

"Clang!"

Like the tolling of a great bell, dazzling concentric rings of starlight seemed to ripple outward in layers, reshaping the combat platform.

Li Yuan looked around and discovered that a challenge match was very different from a random one.

First of all, it was big!

He was now standing atop a barren mountain. As far as his eyes could see, mountains and rivers stretched on endlessly, a great river surged, and beyond lay an endless ocean—so vast it resembled an entire living star.

Secondly…

Li Yuan looked up and, beyond the clouds and outside the void, faintly saw densely packed spectator stands.

Similar to the martial stages he had seen before in the Mysterious Whale Mi Jing, but countless times larger. A single sweeping glance told him those stands could probably hold hundreds of millions of viewers at once.

"Clang!"

The bell tolled again, starlight surging like tides, its momentum staggering.

【Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long challenges Ba Ba Wanli】

Looking at the giant characters woven from starlight across the sky, and at the rapidly swelling number of spectators outside the void, Li Yuan suddenly understood—this was probably Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's doing.

If every random cultivator's challenge match had such a grand production, the Grand Void Divine Mirror would probably collapse under the strain.

"Very professional."

Sensing the incense faith ceaselessly sprouting within the Ni Wan Shen Jing and the Five Extremes Temple, Master Li expressed his approval—Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long was clearly not doing this for the first time.

'Earn a wave from challenge tickets, then earn another wave from spectators…'

Li Yuan felt he had learned quite a bit.

The rules of the challenge platform were more or less the same—a ball of starlight still appeared up front, displaying the opponent's basic information before letting both combatants mold it into a spiritual treasure as they wished.

Li Yuan casually pinched it, and the starlight transformed into the Nine-Smoke Gauze and sank into his body. Raising his eyes, he saw a figure descending from the sky in the extreme distance.

The man wore a robe of blue, his build was balanced and tall, his features were handsome, and an ancient sword was slanted across his shoulder—his appearance was excellent.

At that moment, the bell tolled for the third time.

"Clang!"

The sound waves reverberated, and the number of viewers in the void surged once more.

"Every time it tolls, the viewer count spikes—this bell must cost money…"

Amid swirling nine-colored mist and clouds, Li Yuan was in no rush to fight. With tacit understanding, he locked eyes with Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long, harvesting the emotional turbulence from the watching cultivators.

Tian Shi Yuan was hardly lacking in Mi Fa for harvesting incense faith; ordinary cultivators might not be able to afford them, but Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long was naturally not among them.

At this moment, sensing the great mass of incense faith sprouting within his Shen Jing, he was inwardly shocked as well—this harvest was far greater than any of his previous challenge matches.

"Is it because Ba Ba Wanli comes from beyond the domain?"

Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long was quite astonished—were the cultivators of Tian Shi Yuan really so xenophobic?

"Still not fighting?"

Outside the void, watching through the invisible light and shadow, Feng Huang'er found it rather speechless. She swept her gaze across the spectator area and saw the numbers climbing at a ferocious pace—at a glance, a dark, dense mass of spectator stands filled her vision.

"It's starting!"

Beside Feng Huang'er, the little fire dragon transformed into a young girl was quite excited. The former frowned and looked over.

"Boom!"

A thunder-like air-blast exploded the moment the bell tolled for the ninth time.

Almost simultaneously, divine light burst forth from behind the two figures standing ten thousand li apart, and in the blink of an eye, two wondrous sights manifested high in the vault of heaven.

Feng Huang'er focused her gaze.

Behind Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long, azure light surged like an upriver waterfall, within which could faintly be seen a solitary peak thrusting from the earth, straight as a sword, with dragon-shaped spirit manifestations—seeming both illusory and real—coiling around it.

This was precisely the "Dragon Mountain True Form Diagram" of the Venom Dragon Academy, and the dragon-shaped spirit manifestations coiled upon it were Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's seven great dragon-shaped spirit manifestations.

"Possessing the forms of five dragons—is he trying to emulate Ying Ying Shan Xuan Long and refine the Five Dragons' magic power?"

Feng Huang'er only took one glance before her gaze landed on the opposite side.

Above the barren mountain, behind Li Yuan, five-colored brilliant light wove and flowed, projecting the Ni Wan Shen Jing in the long sky. Within it, the boundless ocean flashed for an instant, and what was reflected was Shan Xuan Teng Island.

Upon it, a giant tree reached to the heavens—one tree forming a forest. Within its canopy, a blue dragon could faintly be seen coiled, a mind monkey at play, while a fire phoenix and a golden roc preened their feathers.

Beneath the tree, a small green-wood temple was faintly visible. Before the temple, a Qianshan Qianshan Qilin ran about and nine great serpents lay stretched out; behind the temple, a Bai Hu lazily swished its tail.

"Blue Dragon!"

"White Tiger, Fire Phoenix, Qianshan Qilin, Nine Infants…"

"Add the Kun Peng, and this—this is the Qi Da Shang Pin True Form!"

"All the true forms he cultivates are upper-grade!"

Not to mention the ordinary cultivators watching the battle, even Fenghuang'er, the holy son of a great clan, could not help but be startled.

Any true form chart that could be called 'upper-grade' came without exception from a legendary great scripture, and those, even within great clans and holy lands, were secret transmissions!

For instance, the fundamental scripture she cultivated, the 'Fire Phoenix Blazing Heaven Scripture,' contained nine great true form charts, all of upper-grade.

But those nine great true form charts were all of the fire attribute, passed down in a single lineage, whereas the seven true forms of 'Eighty Thousand Li' did not seem to come from a single great scripture at all.

"It would take at least three or four great scriptures…"

It was not only Fenghuang'er who had such insight; many of the cultivators watching the battle who came from grotto-heaven great clans had also realized this point, and could not help but draw a sharp breath.

A true disciple of the Weitian Dao Sect?

"Boom!"

The instant he released the Ni Wan Shen Jing, Li Yuan only felt the incense and offerings in the Five Extreme Temple surge violently—clearly, there were those with discerning eyes who had recognized his seven great spirit forms.

Although at present, aside from the Kun Peng true form, none were of much real use, they were certainly terrifying enough to intimidate.

"This wave of harvested low-grade incense and offerings is enough for my daily listening for over a dozen years!"

Li Yuan's spirit shook, and he raised his eyes to look beyond ten thousand li. On Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's face a smile also appeared—he had clearly also gained quite a few benefits.

"Boom!"

Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long merely moved a single thought.

Behind him, on that solitary peak like a sword, a dragon raised its head—a crimson fire dragon. Its gaze flashed, and in the next instant it had crossed ten thousand li.

It opened its mouth and breathed, and raging flames rolled like Brother Qiao Tianhe, covering half the sky.

"A fire-attribute spell with fewer than forty law-prohibitions."

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. In the wondrous sight, the Jin Chi roc bird had already taken flight, and accompanied by a cry, ripples spread through the air, layer upon layer like a flowery canopy, blocking the rolling flames.

It was precisely the Ten Thousand Layers Armor!

After Li Yuan had also cultivated the Mysterious Dark Body Protection Shield, this water-attribute body-protection art had greatly increased in power. With the blessing of the Five Extreme Temple added on, though its tier was not high, its might surpassed even those flames.

"A body-protection art with forty layers of law-prohibitions?!"

Seeing this scene, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's heart sank—this was a whole tier stronger than what he had seen in the observation battles before.

He had been hiding his strength before!

At a thought, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's gaze blazed.

Then, a dragon's roar exploded. From the ancient peak, four dragons emerged at once. Three dragons danced wildly, driving clouds and blowing wind, blowing the mists into rolling waves, dust churning over the earth, sand and stones flying.

Invisible wind blades blotted out the sky. Where the wind reached, the fire blazed even greater, as if about to overpower the Ten Thousand Layers Armor. And one more dragon rode the Lei Ting, moving the fastest—in a single flash, it actually circled around the Ten Thousand Layers Armor.

The next instant, thousands of bolts of Lei Ting fell like rain.

"Plenty of spell-combat experience!"

As wind and clouds gathered, Li Yuan only felt his body and spirit stiffen, a momentary daze—clearly those four charging dragons had simultaneously activated multiple spells.

When cultivators fought with spells, especially cultivators who cultivated multiple spells, it was never a simple back-and-forth exchange, but rather the circulation of various spells, echoing and coordinating with one another.

When he had fought Huang Yuan in the Yanwudiantang before, the latter's divine realm had manifested, nine great spirit forms appearing at once, seventy-two spells shining together—in a single instant, he could activate spells thousands upon thousands of times, terrifyingly extreme.

Of course, that required not only an extremely powerful divine sense and mind, but the Xiao Hao De Fa was also astronomical.

Apart from Huang Yuan, across Li Yuan's seven thousand battles, he had never encountered such an opponent.

Although Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long was also well-versed in spell combat, with the circulation and coordination of various spells being thorough, he had not actually given Li Yuan too much pressure.

"Hum~"

Lei Yu and wind blades arrived together, yet Li Yuan stood his ground motionless. But before they reached his body, layer upon layer of water ripples had already circulated around him, instantly swallowing all those spells within.

"Whoosh!"

Almost at the same instant, Li Yuan leaped up, water ripples appearing on his body once more, and thousands of bolts of Lei Ting along with wind blades rolled forth, shattering and slaying a dragon shadow.

"Roar!"

The instant that dragon shadow shattered, firelight instantly erupted—in less than an instant it had covered several thousand li, completely engulfing Li Yuan within.

"Eh?"

Li Yuan instantly activated the Ten Thousand Layers Armor, but only felt that those fire sparks would not extinguish upon meeting water, instead swelling violently, as if a fire dragon opening its maw to swallow him whole in one bite.

Yu Yu Xuanji, the Ten Thousand Layers Armor shattered, and the Mysterious Dark Body Protection Shield rose, swallowing that fire dragon down in return.

This was a change within a breath's time, yet all the observing cultivators, relying on the observation abilities of the Grand Void Divine Realm, had clearly captured this scene.

In an instant, Li Yuan once again felt the incense and offerings surge.

"Boom!"

The instant the dragon shadow shattered, the duel between the two instantly escalated several degrees of intensity.

The light of Yi Dao Dao Fa wove crisscross patterns, spreading across tens of thousands of li of sky, colliding with each other, vanishing and reappearing. Occasionally a wisp would fall to the ground, shattering mountains and rivers, evaporating rivers and lakes.

The fierce spell combat drew cries of exclamation after exclamation from the observing cultivators.

"Is Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long hiding his strength?"

"It doesn't seem like it… Breaking through the Po San Jing in seven years is one thing—taking great medicines might allow that—but this level of combat familiarity doesn't seem like something seven thousand battles could produce!"

"He may not be a disciple of the Weitian Dao Sect, but he must certainly be a true transmission disciple of some holy land or grotto-heaven!"

"With only five spells, he can actually maneuver for so long…"

In the observation area, divine thoughts surged, and many cultivators discussed animatedly.

Paying no heed to the dragon girl crying out in succession, Fenghuang'er's brow furrowed slightly—when watching battles, she liked to put herself in the place of one of the combatants.

At this moment, putting herself in Eighty Thousand Li's place, she felt that if she herself only had five spells available, she might not necessarily be able to hold out so long.

"This person possesses extreme spell-combat talent, but his years of cultivation are after all too short. Even though the law-prohibitions of these few spells are very high, defending too long will inevitably lead to a slip…"

As Fenghuang'er was thinking, a change had already occurred in the battlefield.

"How can he be this hard to deal with?"

After several hundred exchanges they were still locked in a fierce stalemate. Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's expression did not change, but his heart could not help stirring. "I must win quickly!"

A hard-fought, narrow victory was not what he wanted.

"Boom!"

The instant the thought arose in Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's mind, a sudden upheaval occurred in the vault of heaven, as if a blazing sun had exploded overhead, the blinding radiance flooding heaven and earth in an instant.

"Hm?"

Li Yuan shifted among the five dragons, urging the Jin Chi Peng bird to weave and surge, countering the myriad changes with five spells, just as he was pondering the subtleties of spell combinations, when a sudden chill stabbed his heart.

"Hiss!"

The instant Qing Di Yan warned him, Li Yuan had already activated the Sky Peng Dun Fa, yet still felt a sting across his face as a bone-piercing sword Qi grazed his shoulder, piercing through the Ten Thousand Layers Armor and the Nine-Smoke Gauze.

Half an inch more and it would have split him clean in two.

"Sword cultivator!"

The thought flashed through Li Yuan's mind, and he instantly shifted and dodged, using the Sky Peng Dun Fa, his form changing a thousand times in an instant, weaving back and forth across ten thousand li.

Yet he felt that bone-piercing sword light clinging to him like a shadow; no matter how he shifted or dodged, he could not shake it off, forcing him to nearly activate the Soldier Governing Register.

"Dragon Peak Sword!"

Li Yuan's thoughts raced, and he had already caught sight of the source of that sword light.

It was the lone peak wreathed by seven dragons within the strange phenomenon behind Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long—a sword Dao spell of extreme ferocity, cultivated to an extremely high forbidden-tier level.

"He dodged even that?!"

With one sword strike failing, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's expression changed as well.

That sword strike of his had been prepared for challenging the Combat Ranking's first place; bringing it out now was meant to swiftly kill that eighty-thousand-li 【opponent】, yet unexpectedly it had failed to Yang Jian Gong.

"Roar!"

The dragon's cry rang fierce.

Li Yuan once again evaded the fierce flying sword by a hair's breadth, when he heard dragon roars rising one after another—Fixation, Spirit-Fixation, Lei Ting, Wind Blade, Blazing Fire.

Spells of every kind swept down like an overwhelming tide, nearly sealing off every direction of escape!

"He wants a quick victory!"

Li Yuan keenly caught Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's intent, and this suited him just fine—if it truly came down to a war of attrition, his magic power was far from as deep as the latter's.

"Boom!"

Spells of every kind crashed down, the dazzling bursts of light surging and ravaging, as if to set the heavens ablaze and shatter them to pieces!

And that Dragon Peak Sword light, too, surged with the force of Lei Ting, in an instant weaving countless times across the ten-thousand-li void, as if slicing heaven and earth into countless fragments!

"It's over!"

Seeing this, even cultivators of the Deng Si Jing like Feng Huang'er felt the great battle had come to its end.

"Dragon Peak Sword!"

"That Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long was actually hiding that move? Seems the rumors are true—next session of the Combat Ranking he'll advance to the Deng Si Jing; this time he's surely aiming his sword at first place!"

"Aiming at first? The Dragon Peak Sword is fine, but compared to 'Lin Yue,' 'Wu Er,' and the others, I'm afraid it still falls short…"

"It's over. So-called fierce dragons from the outer domains are nothing more than this—I thought he might have had what it takes to challenge Wu Er that day…"

In the viewing area, various divine senses flew up one after another; many cultivators had even prepared to leave, when suddenly a tremendous sound rang out from the battlefield.

"Hm?"

"That's…"

Feng Huang'er and the other Deng Si Jing cultivators turned toward the sound.

They saw that where the myriad spells had struck, azure light surged like tide and waterfall, a colossal tree bursting from the earth, reaching five hundred zhang in an instant, its branches and leaves spreading like a thousand dragons and serpents writhing wildly.

And like ten thousand chains weaving across the sky.

In the flash of lightning, it bound the Dragon Peak Sword together with those seven dragon shadows completely!

"Boom!"

Within the divine realm, incense offerings surged like a tide, rising and rising again.

Beneath the towering great tree, Li Yuan lightly shook his Daoist robe, the corners of his mouth curved in a smile.

His confidence in meeting the fight calmly did not come from those few spells including the Shan Xuan Gang Zhong Water, but from this very natal spirit plant he cultivated!

The Qing Emperor Longevity Scripture's being ranked first among the Five Extremes Great Scriptures was not only because it could extend lifespan and grant a second life—its combat application had its own subtleties as well.

As a natal spirit plant, it could, like other spirit forms, be driven to unleash all manner of spells!

At this moment, on the myriad branches shot forth by the Mysterious Vine Tree, ripples of water flowed—Shan Xuan Gang Zhong Water, the Mysterious Dark Body Shield, the Divine Fire Shield, and also the Kun Ming Ten Thousand Layers Armor!

Using the natal spirit plant to drive all manner of spells—this was the killing move he had honed through hundreds of battles with the Yellow Ape, and also the reason he could fight the latter until all nine great spirit forms were unleashed and still hold on for several hundred exchanges!

"Boom!"

In that instant, it was not only Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long whose expression changed greatly—every Deng Si Jing cultivator in the viewing stands, every top-ranked fighter on the Combat Ranking, all turned pale.

They saw the towering great tree, its myriad branches and leaves extending boundlessly, like thousands of dragons and serpents writhing wildly, as if an ancient serpent demon had descended to devour the Qun Xing earth.

Whooosh~

Under everyone's gaze, the myriad branches transformed wood into serpents, like an earth-net and heaven-snare, sealing off every direction of escape for Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long.

He leapt back, driving all manner of spells to respond, but his seven great spirit forms were all bound; despite his still-vast magic power, he could only fall in defeat unwillingly.

Pierced through by thousands of branches, pinned dead in the void!

"Wah!"

The viewing area first fell silent, then erupted as if turned upside down, countless divine senses rising and weaving together, so dense that one felt one would faint and collapse in an instant.

Fortunately, in the next instant, the light and shadow had already dissipated—the duel was over.

……

"Ah!"

In Poison Dragon City, a furious roar tore through the night, startling half the city's lights.

The towering buildings that pierced the clouds all trembled; had it not been for the divine-pattern arrays within, they would have crumbled to dust in an instant.

"Eighty Thousand Li!"

Gripping the communication orb in his hand so hard it ground to powder, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's chest heaved. He felt his blood surging backward, nearly unable to stop himself from vomiting blood.

He never imagined that the man he could have killed with a snap of his fingers a year ago could now turn the tables and slay him in return!

So much so that his two-plus years of pushing things along had become a wedding dress for another, and he'd even thrown himself in along with it!

The weight of a turnaround kill—how could he, who had roamed the Grand Void Divine Realm, not understand it clearly?

This meant that for a very long time to come, whenever anyone mentioned Eighty Thousand Li, they would think of him…

"I was careless!"

After his chest heaved several times, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long finally suppressed the shock and fury in his heart. Reviewing this battle, he felt he had been too eager for victory, and his intelligence gathering had not been thorough enough.

If he could do it again, he would absolutely not lose so miserably!

"Yes, one more time!"

Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long took out a new communication orb and decisively sent a duel request, resolved that even if it cost him, he would make the other man accept.

Almost instantly, he received a response.

【The sixth-rank combatant Eighty Thousand Li you challenged has rejected your invitation】

"Eighty Thousand Li!!"

……

【Winner: Eighty Thousand Li】

【Obtained 500,000 Origin Coins】

【Promotion to seventh-rank combatant requires ten thousand victories】

【Current record: seven thousand battles, seven thousand victories】

"Hah!"

Beneath the starry curtain, Li Yuan sat quietly on a cattail hassock, feeling the incense offerings in the Five Extremes Temple surge like a rising tide. Deeply satisfied, he began to sort through and review.

This was a habit he had kept up for many years.

This battle had to be won, and won beautifully—this was something Master Li Dao had planned long ago.

When he fought on the combat platform and pushed for the Combat Rankings, his goal had always been cultivation resources; naturally, many aspects had to revolve around that.

Therefore, relying on the second life granted by the Mysterious Vine Tree, he had only defended and not attacked at first, using protective spells and escape arts to keep Zhou Shan Xuan with Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long, and seizing on Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's desire for a quick victory, he shattered his killing blow in one stroke.

Then he poured everything into driving the Mysterious Vine Tree and ended the battle.

"In this battle, the Mysterious Vine Tree Ju Gong greatly!"

Reviewing the fight, Li Yuan could not help but sigh in admiration.

The Mysterious Vine Tree being praised by generations of disciples who cultivated the Green Emperor Longevity Scripture naturally had its unique merits.

Its tree-half could grant a cultivator nearly a second life; its vine-half could split into ten thousands, catalyzed by magic power, spreading boundlessly,

When it became a serpent, it could leave the Divine Realm and fight at long range!

The three combined were why he, with only five protective and offensive arts, could keep Zhou Shan Xuan with the Yellow Ape and defeat Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long.

"In this battle, there were virtually no mistakes or oversights."

After a long while, Li Yuan finished his review and was quite satisfied with this battle. The only shortcoming was that driving the Mysterious Vine Tree to cast various spells drained too much magic power.

Of those thousands of vines, only a very small portion actually had spell enhancements, but even so, in just a short moment he had burned through more than half his magic power.

But this was not the Mysterious Vine Tree's flaw—it was his own problem.

"Next, comes the harvest!"

Li Yuan began tallying his gains.

First, naturally, the incense offerings in the Five Extremes Temple.

This battle, with its twists and turns and turnaround kill, clearly satisfied the watching cultivators; incense offerings from fourth-rank and below enveloped the five ancient temples.

Even the Mysterious Vine Isle was tinged with a few shades of incense color.

And it was still growing.

"Fifty years of Sound-Listening Fishing should be about enough—this is the wonder of showing off before the masses."

Li Yuan did a quick tally, left a portion for the Nine Infants to drive the Divine Furnace, and moved most of the rest into the Soldier-Rearing Space, where all colors shone together, quite a sight.

"The spectators are the real prize!"

Li Yuan looked toward the spectator area.

The battle had just ended; clearly the news had not spread this fast yet, and the growth in viewership was not obvious—but the trend was foreseeable.

The biggest gain right now was, of course, this duel with Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long.

【…A total of 1.36 million cultivators watched this battle…You obtained 263,000,000 Origin Coins…】

Two hundred and sixty-three Xiao Gong in a single day!

Watching the Origin Coin balance jump continuously, Li Yuan was in excellent spirits.

He opened the friends interface; the spiritual-sense messages were jumping wildly—hundreds, thousands of them, all from Feng Feng Xiuqi.

The excitement and longing in his words struck Li Yuan as quite sincere; clearly he had watched this entire battle too.

"This wave will probably take quite a few days to digest. I wonder how much Shan Gong it can bring? Hard to say tens of thousands, but a few thousand should be no problem, right?"

Li Yuan felt it should be more than his estimate.

At this moment, he received Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's duel invitation; he couldn't even be bothered to respond and rejected it casually.

"Still want a rematch?"

Li Yuan naturally knew what he was thinking, but after giving Feng Feng Xiuqi a few instructions, he exited the communication orb.

Dawn broke. He had to circulate his art and refine his methods.

(End of chapter)