Chapter 701: Mysterious Vine Transforms into Demon, the Marvelous Use of the Chaotic Physique (Combined Chapter)

Wind God City.

In a small courtyard within the Wind God clan's territory, Feng Feng Xiuqi, who was practicing his art on his own, sensed the vibration of his communication sphere — a notification he had specially set.

"Dao Ye is online!"

Feng Feng Xiuqi's heart jolted; he didn't dare pick up the communication sphere right away.

Over the past two years, he had barely stepped outside his home, and the days had been unbearably agonizing. Though he had earned a great deal of yuan coins, he had also come under enormous pressure.

As the only person in contact with 'Eighty Thousand Li', heaven knew how many people had reached out to him openly and in secret. If not for the rising fame of his clan brother Feng Feng Wu Ding, who had joined the Weitiandao Sect, people might well have come knocking on his door.

After a moment's hesitation, he picked up the communication sphere and glanced at it. His spirit suddenly jolted:

"Dao Ye is going to fight Lin Yue?!"

Feng Feng Xiuqi drew a sharp breath.

Though both were true disciples of the Five Great Grotto-heavens, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long and Lin Yue were not in the same league. The former was only a hopeful candidate for the Azure Vein Dao Child, while the latter was already the locked-in future Dao Child of the Demon Qianshan Qilin Academy!

He was a true divine-demon-grade talent, one who had gestated the 'Nine Yang Divine Physique', and had cultivated the foremost of the Demon Qianshan Qilin Academy's nine scriptures — the Heaven-Defying Demon Scripture — a world-shaking prodigy.

If not for seeking the ninth strand of golden nature, he would have broken through to the Fourth Realm twenty years earlier.

For fifty years, no one had been able to shake his hold on first place on the Star Ranking!

"He's going to lose…"

The thought flashed through Feng Feng Xiuqi's mind, and he actually let out a breath of relief.

Back in the day, he had used the name 'Strong Dragon from Beyond the Domain' only to make a wave of yuan coins — he had never truly intended to collude with extraterritorial cultivators.

Over a year ago, the storm after Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's defeat had been far too great; for a time he had not even dared to open his recording sphere.

"Less than ten years of cultivation in total — even a legendary Sacred Physique, or even a Innate Dao Body, could not possibly defeat Lin Yue!"

With this thought, Feng Feng Xiuqi stood up and decisively opened his recording sphere.

"Hum~"

Bai Guang wove into an image. Yu Yu Xuanji — and a flood of cultivators poured in. Their numbers quickly broke a thousand, and kept climbing; before long, they had surpassed ten thousand.

All manner of spiritual-sense comments flew in, making Feng Feng Xiuqi's eyelids twitch wildly. He hurriedly spoke:

"Just now, Eighty Thousand Li sent word that Lin Yue has challenged him to a fight…"

Seeing the silence on the recording sphere's light screen, Feng Feng Xiuqi then opened the Combat Arena:

"He accepted!"

……

At nearly the same moment, a great number of recording sphere hosts opened their recordings. Eighty Thousand Li had reappeared, and the news that he had accepted Lin Yue's challenge spread at extreme speed through the ninety-three Xiancheng of Tian Shi Yuan.

"Lin Yue has challenged Eighty Thousand Li!"

"Lin Yue wants to slay the dragon!"

"Eighty Thousand Li has reappeared…"

Having dominated first place on the Star Ranking for fifty years, Lin Yue's fame far surpassed Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's. The moment the news broke, it instantly caused a tremendous sensation.

Not to mention cultivators like Feng Huang'er who had been following the matter all along — even the elders of the Five Great Grotto-heavens were alarmed, and one after another opened the Combat Hall.

……

Poison Dragon Academy, Punishment Hall, Scorching Wind Prison.

This was a life-star destroyed by a cosmic storm, on the verge of going dark — barren and broken, devoid of any life, with only violent and terrifying gale winds raging across it.

These gales came from the starry cosmic sea, and were ferociously abnormal. Even Third Realm or even Fourth Realm cultivators, without a protective art, would have their bodies shredded and their spirit realms shattered.

Because the environment was so extremely harsh, cultivators who violated Poison Dragon Academy's rules but did not warrant execution were exiled here.

Whoosh whoosh~

The terrifying hurricane seemed never to cease, leaving deep gouges outside the room.

Inside the room, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long — banished here to stand guard — stared woodenly out the window. Beyond the gale, all was ruin; wherever his gaze fell, there was nothing but deathly qi.

"One hundred years!"

Just thinking that he had to stand guard in this godforsaken place for a hundred years unsettled Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's state of mind. And then, thinking of the Eighty Thousand Li who had brought him to this pass —

— and of the several billion yuan coins confiscated from him — he couldn't help but let out a stifled grunt, nearly suffering a qi deviation.

"Roar~"

From the void, a Third Realm demon actually came slashing out, and was slain by Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's sword.

"Eighty Thousand Li!"

Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long ground his teeth, but suddenly felt his communication sphere tremble.

Since he had been banished here and let out that roar, most of his old friends had stopped contacting him. In over a year, this was the first time he had heard his communication sphere chime.

"Ying Ying Shan Xuan Long!"

Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long opened it expressionlessly. Yu Yu Xuanji — and his expression changed:

"Lin Yue has challenged him, and he actually dares to accept?!"

Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long was stunned, then greatly shocked. In just over a year, he actually had the confidence to defeat Lin Yue?!

Yes — the instant he saw this news, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long believed Lin Yue might lose.

Of course, this was not because his heart was dark, wanting Lin Yue to fall from his altar and keep him company.

It was because, during the more than a year he had been locked here, he had gone over all of Eighty Thousand Li's intelligence — and even his seven thousand prior battles — over and over, countless times!

In the first few months after his defeat, he had been unwilling and resentful, believing that if not for his overeagerness to win, he would never have lost to that Eighty Thousand Li.

But after a year of careful study, he had reached a conclusion.

That Eighty Thousand Li was a man with an extremely clear sense of self. His first hundred battles, then a thousand, then seven thousand — and then he accepted Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's challenge.

Every step was methodical, planned.

In other words, when he accepted Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's challenge, he had already been confident of defeating him. Likewise, when he accepted the fight with Lin Yue, he must have had the confidence to defeat the latter as well!

"Could he really be a Innate Dao Body?"

Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long's heart trembled; even though he had reached this conclusion, he still couldn't bring himself to believe it.

That was Lin Yue!

"I have to go see…"

Calculating the primal coins he had left, Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long gritted his teeth and still chose to watch the battle.

Lin Yue was far more famous than him, and his price was far steeper…

……

Hum~

Before his eyes, starlight wove together like a curtain, and along with the reverberation of bell toll after bell toll, all manner of text appeared within.

【Qianshan Qilin Clan cultivator, Lin Yue (Seventh-tier Battle Fighter), true inheritor of the Demon Qianshan Qilin Court, cultivates the 'Reverse Demon Grand Scripture'…】

"Qianshan Qilin Clan."

The information on the starlight was barely better than nothing, but more detailed intelligence welled up in Li Yuan's heart.

The Qianshan Qilin Clan was a great clan of Tian Shi Yuan, said to originate from the Twenty-third Epoch of the Origin Divine Dynasty — a peerless Qianshan Qilin. After dozens of epochs of propagation, though no longer what it once was, it was still far stronger than the Prison Dragon Clan.

The Demon Qianshan Qilin Court was the sacred ground opened up by a great power of this clan. Though it enrolled disciples from many races, every generation's Gate Master and Dao Son came from within the Qianshan Qilin Clan.

This was certainly a matter of bias, but also because the Qianshan Qilin Clan's innate talent was extraordinarily powerful.

Born into the Dao, reaching the third realm upon maturity — though their numbers could not compare to the human race, they were not too few, and they possessed a 'Demon Qianshan Qilin Pool' that could cleanse bloodlines.

Almost every several thousand years, they could give birth to a heaven-chosen with divine-demon-grade endowment.

Lin Yue was very special. He was a rare mixed-blood within the Lin Clan, and because his blood was mixed with the human race, he was not qualified to enter the Demon Qianshan Qilin Pool. Yet while exploring the You Jing, he obtained a great fortune, his endowment transformed, and he gestated a Nine Yang Divine Body.

Only afterward did he receive the inheritance of the 'Reverse Demon Grand Scripture.'

"Also a man with great fortune upon him."

Casually pinching the starlight into a Nine-Smoke Gauze and draping it over himself, Li Yuan strolled slowly, observing the battlefield.

Lin Yue was far wealthier than Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long; the battlefield he had rented was much larger. Besides the complete great star beneath their feet, there were also nine layers of Gang Wind Heaven.

Beyond the Gang Wind Heaven, there were even stars hanging within, like crescent moons.

"There are also more spectators."

Along with the reverberation of the bell tolls, Li Yuan could sense the incense in the Five Extremes Temple surging — by a great margin — showing that the number of cultivators watching in the void at this moment was very large.

And their emotions were quite intense.

"'Eighty Thousand Li' is very popular."

Looking around, Li Yuan had already memorized the terrain of the entire battlefield. Lin Yue had yet to arrive, so he was in no rush; he simply sat cross-legged, keeping his spirit full.

At the same time, he was also sorting through the previous battles of Lin Yue he had watched.

As the number one on the Star Rankings for fifty years, Lin Yue's number of battles was naturally massive. Over the past year or so, Li Yuan had watched several thousand of them on and off.

From before he reached the top, after he reached the top, all the way to a few years ago — his fierce clashes with Wu Er, the second on the Star Rankings.

What he watched most, naturally, were the battles between Lin Yue and Wu Er. As the only two publicly known divine-demon-grade endowments in Tian Shi Yuan, their clashes were extremely intense and highly entertaining.

"Dang~"

In the void, the bell tolls reverberated again and again.

With every bell toll, large numbers of cultivators entered the viewing stands.

Feng Huang'er's position was very good — she could overlook the entire battlefield. Beside her, the Fire Dragon Girl was chattering away, complaining about how Lin Yue still hadn't appeared.

"How dare he accept the challenge?"

Looking at Eighty Thousand Li sitting quietly on the barren mountain, Feng Huang'er was full of doubts and suspicions.

She had personally witnessed his battle with Chao Ying Shan Xuan Long. To say nothing of his being a step-by-step schemer, he was certainly a cultivator who plotted a great deal. Such a person, without confidence, would absolutely not accept a challenge.

But no matter how she thought about it, she could not figure out where this man's confidence in defeating Lin Yue came from.

In the viewing area, those who shared her thoughts were not few. Ying Ying Shan Xuan Long was also watching, his gaze fixed on that Daoist, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Dang!"

When the bell tolls in the void had rung thirty-six times, a streak of starlight finally descended from the heavenly curtain, transforming into a giant man three zhang tall, draped in a Demon Qianshan Qilin Dharma Robe.

Hoo~

In that instant, the void suddenly fell silent. Nearly everyone's gaze landed on Lin Yue, but he seemed utterly unaware, merely looking toward the distant Daoist:

"Which realm do you hail from?"

"Tian Shi Yuan."

On the barren mountain, sensing Lin Yue's aura, Li Yuan slowly rose. The interwoven auras of various dharma arts radiated from his body, evolving into all manner of wondrous sights in the void.

In a certain sense, apart from the gap in realm, the Lin Yue before him was several degrees more terrifying than Huang Yuan — the latter, after all, did not possess a divine body.

"Tian Shi Yuan?"

Lin Yue's heart sank slightly, but he already knew that the man before him must have come from the Weave Heaven Dao Sect.

Because of the existence of the You Jing, experts who had received the gifts of predecessors would occasionally appear out of nowhere in Tian Shi Yuan, but the man before him clearly did not fall into that category.

"Since that is so…"

Lin Yue let out a long sigh.

Boom!

Visible to the naked eye, the breath he exhaled was like a hanging heavenly river rushing forth.

Ferocious and surging, galloping and ravaging, as if it were the fiercest, most terrifying hurricane between heaven and earth, intent on shattering everything in the world:

"We'll talk after the fight!"

In less than an instant, that terrifying aura boomed through ten thousand li of void; wherever it passed, the void itself seemed to be severed in two.

"Body-tempering cultivators are truly domineering!"

The instant Lin Yue let out a long sigh, Li Yuan had already leapt up; behind him, divine light wove together, his divine realm manifested, and within Shan Xuan Teng Island, towering trees reached the sky as the seven great true forms faced a formidable foe.

"Boom!" The thunderous roar of mountains being blasted apart by surging qi, and the sound of the void trembling, exploded almost simultaneously.

In less than a thousandth of an instant, a fist seal wreathed in demonic flame had already streaked across, piercing through the wondrous sights of Li Yuan's manifested divine realm.

With a "boom," it shattered the Shan Xuan You Body Protection Shield!

"A protective art with Ba Shi Yi Zhong layers of law prohibition? No wonder it could block my 'Demonic Flame Fist'…"

The voice of Lin Yue, somewhat astonished that his strike had failed, rang in Li Yuan's ears; he focused his gaze.

He saw, ten thousand li away, Lin Yue standing tall, his robes flapping in the wind.

Then, he stepped forward,

bowed,

and threw a punch.

Thousands upon thousands of fist seals came hurtling through the air:

"Again!"

Boom!

A sudden premonition of danger rose sharply in Li Yuan's heart.

In that instant, within his perception, those fist seals seemed like tens of millions of great mountains erupting from the earth, streaking across at extreme speed, like a meteor shower blanketing the heavens and earth.

Combining extreme speed with tremendous force!

"Reverse Demon Body!"

Li Yuan leapt away; the wondrous sights behind him dissolved into mist, and then, a Jin Chi roc spread its wings and moved, streaking across the void, shifting among the myriad fist seals,

charging toward Lin Yue.

At the same time, waves of spell-light exploded across Li Yuan's body.

Wu Xing Dun Fa, Tian Peng Dun Fa, Shan Xuan You Body Protection Shield, Divine Fire Shield, Kun Ming Wan Zhong Armor…

Shields wrapped his body, and he fled at extreme speed.

Facing a body-refining cultivator head-on, close combat was absolutely out of the question; a mere ten thousand li was, for a Third Realm cultivator, truly within arm's reach.

"Rumble!"

A tremendous roar shook heaven and earth, and the dazzling divine light made the many cultivators watching from the void cry out in succession, many of them even with their hair standing on end.

Even in this state of merely watching, one could feel Lin Yue's overbearing, ferocious qi!

"Lin Yue's Reverse Demon Body is truly fearsome and awe-inspiring; I'm afraid even a Fourth Realm cultivator wouldn't dare face its edge head-on. Worthy of a body-refining spell refined by eight strands of golden nature—it's already close to Gu Gu Shentong!"

"The Qianshan Qilin clan's physique is already no inferior to exotic beasts beyond the stars; add the Reverse Demon Body on top, and it's truly unmatched in ferocity!"

"A powerful dragon from beyond the realm? I'm afraid Lin Yue will beat a heart demon into him…"

Watching the dueling platform nearly filled with demonic light, the watching cultivators exclaimed in succession, their emotions running high.

"This person's use of spells is becoming ever more subtle and exquisite…"

Yu Yu Xuanji was also watching the battle intently.

Looking at that figure weaving among the myriad fist shadows, she was quite astonished; compared to a year ago, there had been tremendous progress.

The seasoned way he wielded his spells was like that of a cultivator who had cultivated for many years.

"This junior brother of the Weidao Sect has plenty of resilience."

In a certain spot of the viewing area, Wu Wu Yunlong was also watching the battle, feeling rather gleeful at another's misfortune.

Over these past twenty or thirty years, he had exhausted every method he could think of, and at best could only fight Lin Yue to a draw; he had been mocked by his fellow disciples more than once. Now, seeing this junior brother of the Weidao Sect also in a sorry state, his mood instantly brightened.

……

"Boom!"

Tens of thousands of sword energies shot forth, but before they could even get close, they were blasted apart by the fist seals.

"Spells below Liu Shi Zhong layers of law prohibition can't get close to him at all!"

Dodging the surging torrent of fist seals, even though he had seen it many times while watching, Li Yuan still found it extremely thorny.

This Lin Yue cultivated very few spells, and most were body-refining spells—especially that Reverse Demon Body, which had at least Liu Shi Zhong Fa layers of law prohibition, and was refined by eight strands of golden nature!

This meant he could maintain, with very little consumption of magic power, a state capable of contending with a Fourth Realm cultivator for an extended period.

The various spells Li Yuan unleashed—whether Tai Yin Sword Qi, Shan Xuan Gang Zhong water, or even the Kun Peng spirit aspect empowered by Jiu Da Fa—could not get close to his body!

"Can you do nothing but run?!"

The void served as medium, emitting a thunderous roar.

Lin Yue's long hair flew wild, and the crimson-eyed demonic Qianshan Qilin on his magic robe seemed about to come alive, letting out low roars.

On his body, magic power surged visibly, vast as an ocean.

Boom!

With just one step, the entire dueling platform trembled violently, as if about to be stomped and flipped over.

The watching cultivators saw clearly: this stomp of his not only shattered the barren mountain beneath his feet, but caused the earth for tens of thousands of li to sink down together.

The continental shelf of this dueling star was groaning, as if about to split apart.

Boom!

Lin Yue thrust out another arm; his two fists met in the void, then parted again.

A shake, an explosion!

Boom!

Boom!

The void exploded, qi surging to fill the sky.

In that instant, the sky-covering, earth-blotting countless fist seals filled the entire heavens and earth, cutting off every space available for Li Yuan to dodge and weave.

These fist seals were tyrannical and ferocious, yet not merely direct and blunt—they resembled countless nimble flying swords, interweaving and coordinating like a celestial net.

"This pressure is already no less than Brother Huang Yuan's!"

Seeing this, Li Yuan no longer dodged; he landed upon the earth, his body wreathed in cascading emerald light, and behind him, the strange scene reappeared—the Mystic Vine Tree seemed to step forth from nothingness.

"Boom!"

In the void, beneath the gaze of countless watching cultivators, as the overwhelming fist shadows descended, a towering tree of black and purple intertwined erupted from the ground.

In an instant, it had grown to nearly nine hundred zhang in height.

Countless branches unfurled, and in that single moment, countless spells were activated—so many that the magical ripples seemed ready to overwhelm the sky-covering fist shadows.

"Boom—!"

The earth shuddered violently, cracking open; the void trembled, and violent air currents surged alongside terrifying collision light, as if tearing heaven and earth apart.

"He actually blocked it!"

Seeing this, the cultivators watching from the void could not help but cry out in astonishment.

"This Qingdi Longsheng Jing…"

Watching up close, Wu Wu Yunlong finally sensed something odd—this Weidao Sect junior's cultivation of the Qingdi Longsheng Jing was simply too implausible.

For a moment, he even thought a senior brother who had reached the fifth or sixth layer of the Qingdi Jing had unleashed his life-spirit plant…

"Not dodging anymore?"

On the distant mountain, Lin Yue's gaze sharpened, and instantly he felt brilliant emerald light spreading outward in concentric circles, centered on the colossal tree.

In less than a breath, the hundred-li land shook violently, then radiated out a thousand li, several thousand li, all the way to ten thousand li away.

"Boom!"

In that instant, Li Yuan unleashed all his magic power at once—three Da Shang Pin Fa and seven Zhong Pin Fa all boiled like they were burning.

Visible to the naked eye, multicolored light coalesced into mist, enveloping the colossal tree.

"Has he gathered all Five Elements?"

In the void, Wu Wu Yunlong's heart jolted.

Instantly, from within the combat arena, "Boom—!" sounds rose one after another, and thousands upon thousands of thick vines erupted from the ground, writhing like chaotic dragons.

"Life-spirit plant?"

Lin Yue reached out and seized—there was a sharp "Snap!" as one vine was gripped in his hand.

"Hmm?"

Lin Yue had not been paying much attention, merely taking a strand out of caution—but the moment the vine touched his palm, he was startled.

The vine's surface bore a faint five-colored glow, and within it, countless divine prohibitions flowed, as if woven from dozens of different spells.

"How could so many disparate spells be so harmoniously fused?!"

Lin Yue's heart jolted, and instantly he threw a punch.

"Boom!"

One punch became ten thousand punches, sky-covering, as if aiming to crush every vine into dust.

Beneath the Mystic Vine Tree, Li Yuan stood with hands hanging, his magic power draining at an astonishing rate, yet he seemed unaware—only raising a hand to gently tap the Mystic Vine Tree.

In the next instant, the vines erupting from the earth, like ten thousand writhing dragons, intertwined and pierced through one another, and in the blink of an eye, they transformed into a thousand-zhang-tall colossal Tree Demon!

"Crash!"

The Tree Demon raised its arm, fist seals falling like rain, meeting head-on the sky-covering fist shadows—thousands of thunderous impacts rang out in succession, and it blocked Lin Yue's tyrannical punch.

"Huh?!"

"What kind of life-spirit plant is this?"

"No—what kind of Dao Body does he have, to fuse so many spells into one? …"

In that instant, divine senses flitted across the viewing stands; many high-level cultivators with sharp eyes immediately glimpsed the net-like divine prohibition patterns woven within the colossal Tree Demon's body.

Spells can be combined, and when combined, their power surges—geniuses have even forged entire Gu Gu Shentong from fused spells!

But the spells within the Tree Demon were chaotic and disordered—how could they possibly merge into one?

"All spells obey the mind—the Chaos Body truly has boundless applications!"

Beneath the Mystic Vine Tree, Li Yuan felt joy.

Long ago, he had explored how to unleash the full potential of the Wu Gong he had cultivated for years; body-refining spells were naturally the optimal solution, but they were extremely difficult to master, and he still needed to focus on the Wu Xing Da Jing, so he temporarily set them aside.

Only after his Chaos Body had matured did he, while refining his combat arts using Huang Yuan as a mirror, discover another path.

Using the Chaos Body as the core, Wu Xing Fa as the foundation, the Mystic Vine Tree as the medium, and myriad spells as components—he forged the Tree Demon Combat Path.

This was precisely why he could match Huang Yuan, and why, knowing Lin Yue's peerless body cultivation, he still dared to accept the challenge!

"Boom!"

Failing to land a blow, Lin Yue leapt upward, and behind him, the shadow of his demonic scale beast roared to the heavens, shaking ten thousand li.

"Roar~"

The thousand-zhang wooden body swayed, then collapsed inward, shrinking in an instant to human size; one arm raised, thousands of vines intertwined into a massive hammer infused with countless spells.

"Close-quarters combat?"

The Tree Demon looked up, its lips curling into a cold sneer, and raised the hammer.

The vines adjusted in size at will, enhanced by multiple Dun Fa, moving at impossible speed—almost the instant Lin Yue leapt into the air, the hammer had swept across ten thousand li, crashing down like a mountain.

Compared to spells cultivated for less than ten years, Li Yuan had spent far longer immersed in martial arts—close-quarters combat had never been his weakness!

Boom!

Boom!

Within the combat arena, detonations drowned out all else.

The viewing area in the void fell utterly silent, watching the two figures, blurred by explosive force, cross and collide thousands upon thousands of times in an instant.

Not to mention ordinary cultivators, even the elders of the Five Great Grotto-Heavens felt their eyes opened wide.

Many cultivators fought using their Natal Spirit Plants, but using one in this manner was utterly unprecedented.

Wu Wu Yunlong stared in astonishment:

"You can even play it like this?!"

(End of chapter)