Chapter 280: All Things Return to One, Upper Body Heavenly Heart

Inside the Nine Nether Earth-Sha Formation, clones were rapidly taking shape, filling the previous vacancies.

Li Fei was continuing to generate clones in a way that exceeded everyone's cognition!

No one knew why his Qi and blood could be so thick, and the power of intent could be inexhaustible?

Gan Jingcheng had a solemn expression; he swept his sword horizontally, and another move of 【Nine Heavens Cloud Dragon】 was unleashed.

The sea of clouds had just risen, and eighteen clones rushed out from the formation, slashing at the sea of clouds with sabers, rushing into the sea of clouds, and self-destructing with Sha bodies!

The earth-shattering explosions hadn't stopped yet, and Gan Jingcheng struck with another sword, 【Nine Heavens Cloud Dragon】 reappearing.

He was actually unleashing Dao Strength twice in a row without stopping!

Li Fei was controlling the grand formation while distracted, and also controlling the clones to self-destruct.

Under such circumstances, the speed of condensing clones naturally couldn't be fast.

So Gan Jingcheng chose to unleash Dao Strength continuously!

Li Fei had to consume eighteen clones for self-destruction at once to offset the impact of 【Nine Heavens Cloud Dragon】; as long as the speed of consumption was far faster than the speed of replenishment, the clones would eventually be exhausted.

According to Gan Jingcheng's judgment, when the number of people maintaining the grand formation was lower than half, the formation would break by itself.

Without the sealing of the grand formation, he would adopt the tactic of guerrilla fighting, and the threat of the clones to him would be much smaller; he could break them one by one.

As the second round of explosions ended, Gan Jingcheng unleashed the third 【Nine Heavens Cloud Dragon】.

This was three Dao Strengths in a row!

Even for a powerhouse at the peak of the Dao Foundation stage whose "essence, Qi, and spirit" tended to be complete, it was very difficult to unleash Dao Strength continuously; that was an ability belonging to a Martial Arts Master.

But at this moment, Gan Jingcheng was unleashing Dao Strength three times in a row without any stagnation.

This wasn't over yet; he soon unleashed the fourth 【Nine Heavens Cloud Dragon】!

This made a group of Martial Arts Masters present show looks of surprise.

First it was Li Fei subverting cognition by condensing over a hundred clones, and now it was Gan Jingcheng continuously unleashing Dao Strength.

Were the young people nowadays all so unreasonable?

"Is this the trump card?"

Qi Zhou turned his head to look at True Person Xuan Chen beside him and asked curiously.

As a Grandmaster, if he wanted to, he only needed to unfold his martial arts domain to immediately gain insight into the subtleties and roughly understand what was going on.

However, the two were currently in a match, so it was not appropriate for him to rashly intervene, and he could only ask True Person Xuan Chen directly.

A smile appeared on True Person Xuan Chen's face:

"Only by upper bodying the Heavenly Heart can one obtain the Dao; Jingcheng has already obtained the Heavenly Heart, so he can achieve such a step."

"Already obtained the Heavenly Heart?"

Qi Zhou was startled, and then thought of a certain Daoist secret technique, "All Things Return to One?"

The so-called "All Things Return to One" was a saying in Daoism:

All things in the world are essentially a kind of Great Dao, which can be refined, decomposed, and finally returned to that "One."

Then "One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things."

Based on this principle, Daoism had a secret technique that could decompose any extraordinary ability into its most essential state, and then refine it into the state one wanted.

This was "All Things Return to One"!

Simply put, it was the ability to refine any extraordinary ability into the extraordinary ability one wanted.

This ability could no longer be described as powerful; it could completely be said to be defying heaven and changing fate!

Imagine how powerful the combat power would be if a Dao Foundation stage powerhouse could arbitrarily pick and match their own several extraordinary abilities?

However, "All Things Return to One" had limitations.

First of all, the requirements for talent for this secret technique were extremely high; if one couldn't master one's own implants well, one couldn't successfully unleash this secret technique, and there were certain risks.

Just this one item alone, it couldn't be done by anyone who wasn't a peerless prodigy!

Besides that, it was best not to use "All Things Return to One" more than twice by the same person.

Because after using "All Things Return to One," the characteristics of the implants themselves would undergo certain changes; if the characteristics of multiple implants in the body changed, the Dao Foundation finally constructed might have problems, and it might even be impossible to successfully construct a Dao Foundation again.

Finally, the price of "All Things Return to One" was very high, not only having to pay the extraordinary ability itself, but also consuming extremely precious materials.

Combining these conditions, there were very, very few people in this world who could perform "All Things Return to One."

Only a peerless prodigy like Gan Jingcheng, who came from the Shangqing Sect, had the opportunity.

He had only used "All Things Return to One" on himself once.

His own talent was good enough, and the extraordinary abilities he triggered were also strong enough.

Because his fate was already good enough, there was no need to take the risk to change more.

Gan Jingcheng had refined one of his core-level extraordinary abilities into "Heavenly Heart" using "All Things Return to One."

This was an extremely powerful extraordinary ability that a certain sage of the Shangqing Sect had once created by himself using "All Things Return to One"!

After unleashing "Heavenly Heart," one could "upper body the Heavenly Heart," thereby "approaching the Dao."

Relying on "Heavenly Heart," Gan Jingcheng could unleash Dao Strength so freely.

This was Gan Jingcheng's trump card, and also the confidence of the Shangqing Sect that he could win the championship this time.

Although his realm hadn't reached the peak of the Dao Foundation stage, relying on "Heavenly Heart," Gan Jingcheng could utilize Dao Strength even more freely than a powerhouse at the peak of the Dao Foundation stage in a short period of time!

On the competition stage, Gan Jingcheng unleashed 【Nine Heavens Cloud Dragon】 continuously, forcing Li Fei to constantly control the clones to self-destruct; the number of newly added clones was far from being able to keep up with the number consumed.

When the number of clones was only left with seventy-something, suddenly all clones rushed forward, and the formation tightened.

"Not good!"

Gan Jingcheng saw that Li Fei intended to detonate all clones at once, directly coming for a big one!

He hurriedly changed his move, unleashing 【Leaning on Clouds in the Sky】.

Although this move couldn't let him jump out of the sealing of the grand formation, it could let him better unload and resolve force.

This was the Dao Strength with the strongest defense he had mastered.

However, when Gan Jingcheng unleashed 【Leaning on Clouds in the Sky】, surrounded by cloud Qi, and his whole person became ethereal, the clones rushing forward around him suddenly stopped.

Not only that, strands of new clones were appearing.

Gan Jingcheng: "..."

If he wanted to safely unleash 【Leaning on Clouds in the Sky】 to resist the explosion, then Li Fei could calmly continue to increase the number of clones.

This was an open conspiracy, and Gan Jingcheng had to accept it.

He canceled 【Leaning on Clouds in the Sky】 and unleashed 【Nine Heavens Cloud Dragon】 again.

The sea of clouds reappeared, and the dragon roar shook the sky.

All clones gathered again, and then began to self-destruct!

This time Li Fei didn't play tricks, all clones self-destructed, and under the control of the grand formation, concentrated the power of the explosion together.

The Sha Qi and earth Qi left behind by those self-destructing clones previously were still in the grand formation; at this moment, these Sha Qi and earth Qi also became "accelerants," making this martyrdom explosion even more violent!

Boom boom boom boom boom boom—

The explosions were deafening, as if ten thousand cannons were firing simultaneously, ten thousand cannons roaring!

The earth shook, and within the area sealed by the Nine Nether Earth-Sha Formation, mushroom clouds of pitch-black color were rising.

Subsequently, the grand formation completely shattered, and the aftermath of the explosion transformed into a storm, rolling up dust filling the sky, raging toward the surroundings like a sandstorm!

The spectators on the spectator stand changed color simultaneously; fortunately, these sandstorms were blocked by an invisible force when they approached the six stone pillars at the edge of the competition stage, unable to advance even an inch, and not a single bit of power leaked out.

With so many Martial Arts Masters present, it was naturally impossible to let the watching spectators have any accidents.

Soon, the entire competition stage was filled with the sandstorm, and it was impossible to see the situation inside at all.

When the explosions ended and the earth stopped shaking, the first sound of weapons colliding came from inside.

The two were still fighting!

On the main spectator stand, Qi Zhou casually pointed a finger.

The next second, the sand and dust filling the competition stage below all flew toward the high sky, clearing the vision of the crowd and allowing them to see the situation inside the competition stage again.

Only to see a deep pit with a diameter of about thirty meters appearing in the center of the competition stage, and Li Fei and Gan Jingcheng were fighting at the bottom of the pit.

The explosion just now didn't defeat Gan Jingcheng; in the "Heavenly Heart" state, he finally managed to unleash 【Leaning on Clouds in the Sky】 in time.

But 【Leaning on Clouds in the Sky】 couldn't withstand such a terrifying attack just now either.

Gan Jingcheng, who had originally worn a Daoist robe with fluttering sleeves, was now worse than a beggar.

His Daoist robe was completely destroyed, leaving only a pair of black shorts.

To prevent overly embarrassing scenes, this tournament allowed contestants to use protective clothing to protect key parts.

In other words, these shorts were made of protective clothing material, which was why they weren't destroyed.

Besides that, Gan Jingcheng was covered in black ash and blood, with multiple wounds on his body, which were shocking to the eye!

Gan Jingcheng was truly ashamed to death at this time, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

He had always paid attention to his own image, but after an explosion, he became like this.

Not only were his clothes gone, but his meticulously trimmed sideburns were also gone, and his eyebrows and hair were also destroyed.

Image destroyed, persona collapsed!

"Die—"

Gan Jingcheng roared and slashed at Li Fei with his sword; he was also truly enraged, wanting to end this battle quickly.

Li Fei held up the giant blade in his hand, blocking this sword strike.

Long Sky Leaning Cloud Strength tore through Jin Gang Strength, bombarding his body through the giant blade.

Li Fei was shaken back; at the same time, a clone appeared.

This clone didn't attack Gan Jingcheng, but quickly ran to one side, jumping out of the deep pit in a few leaps.

Then the second clone appeared, also running toward the outside of the pit.

"Does he want to do it again?"

Seeing this scene, Gan Jingcheng's Dao heart became unstable, and he immediately exerted force to leap to one side, also wanting to leap out of this deep pit.

But Li Fei's speed suddenly surged.

He unleashed Jin Gang Seal·Great Peng to catch up to Gan Jingcheng, waving the giant blade in his hands to slash horizontally.

Gan Jingcheng turned around and struck with his sword; the azure strength transformed into unparalleled sword Qi, colliding with the giant blade emitting dark golden light.

Long Sky Leaning Cloud Strength tore through Jin Gang Strength again, striking Li Fei through the giant blade, causing him damage.

But this time, the power coming from the giant blade was so surging that Gan Jingcheng was also shaken, swept back by the giant blade.

Li Fei also used Jin Gang Seal·Dragon Elephant in this saber strike.

The strength enhanced by the Subduing Tiger Pill became even stronger under the amplification of Jin Gang Seal·Dragon Elephant, making him not inferior in a head-on collision even if his strength was not as good as Gan Jingcheng's!

Forcing Gan Jingcheng back with one saber strike and preventing the opponent from jumping out of the deep pit, Li Fei condensed a clone again and controlled the clone to run out of the deep pit.

Now his tactical intention was already very obvious:

His real body wanted to stay in the deep pit to drag Gan Jingcheng down, and then constantly condense clones to wait outside the pit.

Perhaps he would set up a formation again!

This possibility made Gan Jingcheng terrified; he changed direction and continued to "break out," but under heavy injury, his speed slowed down, and he was still caught up by Li Fei, and the two fought again.

This time, there were flames burning in Gan Jingcheng's eyes.

He unleashed another core-level extraordinary ability—"Burning Heart."

This was a direct application of the power of intent, targeting others' minds.

As long as Li Fei was slightly influenced by "Burning Heart," he could take the opportunity to leap out of the deep pit.

But Li Fei had long been prepared, pre-visualizing the "Red-Sound Fire Jin Gang Image" in his body.

With the power of intent comparable to a true peak Dao Foundation stage expert after taking medicine, unleashing the "Red-Sound Fire Jin Gang Image," "Burning Heart" was naturally useless.

The weapons of the two collided together again.

The advantage of Li Fei using a heavy weapon was reflected in such a hard fight.

Even if he would be injured by Gan Jingcheng's strength, Gan Jingcheng would also be shaken by him and knocked back.

"Could it be that he calculated all this from the beginning?"

Gan Jingcheng, who was knocked back again, glanced at the deep pit he was in.

The space here was only so big, with no room for maneuvering.

He couldn't jump out by borrowing force without being interfered with.

Precisely because this deep pit was here, it made him unable to move freely, giving Li Fei the opportunity to increase the number of clones bit by bit.

If he could use 【Leaning on Clouds in the Sky】, Gan Jingcheng could easily "break out."

But Dao Strength required the perfect unity of "essence, Qi, and spirit"; Gan Jingcheng was heavily injured at this time, his state was at a low point, and he couldn't use Dao Strength for the time being.

He held his sword and actively rushed toward Li Fei.

Since he couldn't get out, he would directly resolve Li Fei, this real body!

The injuries on Gan Jingcheng's body were rapidly healing; he also possessed a core-level extraordinary ability for healing.

This was also his fourth core-level extraordinary ability, and the last core-level extraordinary ability.

Although he had integrated five types of implants and had all cultivated innate primordial Qi.

But the fifth implant hadn't triggered a core-level extraordinary ability yet.

So his combat power was still at the 7th tier, only relying on the Dao Strength he mastered and abilities like "Heavenly Heart," he could be comparable to the peak of the Dao Foundation stage in a short period of time.

It was just a pity that this peak state hadn't been exerted much, and Gan Jingcheng was beaten down from the peak by Li Fei with a simple and crude big explosion!

Now he could only rely on his healing ability to recover his injuries; only after his state recovered to a certain degree could he continue to unleash Dao Strength and exert the advantage of "Heavenly Heart."

But Gan Jingcheng actively attacked, and Li Fei chose to dodge instead.

The enemy advances, I retreat!

While dodging, he continued to unleash "Ghost Shadow" to condense clones, and then let the clones jump out of the deep pit.

Gan Jingcheng's long sword shook rapidly, and a piece of cloud Qi shrouded toward Li Fei.

The space inside the deep pit was small; it was like this for him, and it was like this for Li Fei.

Even if Li Fei's movement speed was above his at this time, he had plenty of ways to attack the opponent.

Li Fei no longer dodged, fully catalyzing Jin Gang Strength to resist this attack head-on.

The cloud Qi shrouded him, and then transformed into hundreds of sword Qi, striking his protective Jin Gang Strength time and time again.

Jin Gang Strength was torn through again, and Li Fei added many wounds to his body.

Jin Gang Strength, which only fused two types of innate primordial Qi, still couldn't block Long Sky Leaning Cloud Strength, which fused five types of innate primordial Qi.

But Li Fei didn't care about this at all.

Even without using the Ten Thousand Blood Bead, in terms of "blood bar" thickness, he was several times that of Gan Jingcheng!

Just like that, the two fought in this small space at the bottom of the pit.

Gan Jingcheng relied on stronger strength to break through Li Fei's defense time and time again, while Li Fei found opportunities to condense clones time and time again.

The wounds on his body became more and more, and the number of clones outside the pit became more and more!

PS: Sorry for the delay due to matters, today's second chapter will be tomorrow, three chapters tomorrow.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 281 =====