Immortal Path to Heaven

Chapter 1003: Neck-to-Neck

In the sky, Ou Yangming lowered his center of gravity. An invisible airwave swept over.

His golden mental power surged. He pointed the Blood Spear Dragon Slayer in the air and shouted coldly, “Stone Awl Art!”

Before he finished his words, the red tassel at the tip of the spear shook like a tide. With him as the core, all the yellow sand within 333 meters shook up and down as if it was pulled by an invisible force. His mental power condensed the sand together, and they did not disperse.

Under the 50% increase in attributes due to the Blood Spear Dragon Slayer’s Magic Amplification, it became terrifying.

“Condense!” Ou Yangming pointed his long spear forward. With a bang, countless stone awls that were condensed from gravel flew up.

They kept rotating. From afar, it looked as if he was carrying a formation map around his body. The stone awls flowed as if they had the power to split open the sky.

“Hmph, so you’re a caster. No wonder you’re so arrogant. But that’s not enough.” Ji Haoran had an even more playful look in his eyes. He looked at Ou Yangming as if he was looking at his prey. The more the prey struggled, the greater his pleasure would be when he killed him.

He raised his hand, and a red light flashed in his palm. He shouted coldly, “Blood Clouds Palm!”

As soon as his voice fell, he gently pushed his palm out. A huge red palm appeared out of thin air. Every line on it was clear as if it could suck in one’s mind and soul. A circle of blood clouds coiled around his palm and spun non-stop.

“Boom…” The Qi force collided in front of the spiritual Qi.

Where the explosion occurred, white lines that made one’s heart palpitate appeared in the space.

The giant hand collided with the formation map. With a loud bang, the world rumbled, and a circle of invisible airwaves reversed.

Nonetheless, this stalemate only lasted for 2 breaths. The formation map formed by the stone awls began to shatter. Many stone awls were scattered into fine yellow sand that fell from the sky. It was as if a yellow sand rain was falling in this world. It would be fine if that was all but even the whole formation map showed signs of collapsing.

Ji Haoran grinned at Ou Yangming.

Even so, Ou Yangming remained calm and collected.

He pointed the long spear in his hand once again and pushed it outward. He said softly, “Combine!”

As soon as he said that, the stone awls in the formation map condensed inward with the large hand as the center. How much sand was there in the desert? It was probably endless. There were as many stone awls as there was sand. It was like a rainstorm hitting a pear blossom. With a majestic aura, they directly submerged the big hand.

Ou Yangming raised his left hand and closed it toward the center. He squeezed his hand lightly and yelled coldly, “Sand Burial!”

His voice had not faded away, but the stone awls continued to collapse and shrink toward the center, producing a powerful squeezing force.

This finally made Ji Haoran frown. He opened his mouth, exhaled lightly, and shouted, “Explode!”

“Boom…” The palm condensed from condensed Qi exploded, creating a destructive force that shattered the stone awls.

This exchange between them was incredibly fast. They countered each other’s moves in a flash but each time they attacked, there was hidden killing intent. As long as any of them was careless, they would suffer a fierce and continuous attack.

Even so, they had equal control over the rhythm of the battle, which was why they were evenly matched.

Of course, if a winner must be determined, Ou Yangming was winning by half a move. After all, he was only an Advanced Spiritualist while the other party was a top-grade Spiritualist.

The yellow sand scattered, and the world returned to peace.

Everyone outside the light screen looked as if they had seen ghosts. Regardless if they mocked or ridiculed Ou Yangming before this, at this moment, their faces were full of surprise. Their hearts were pounding, and there was only one thought left in their minds. ‘How’s this possible? An Advanced Spiritualist is actually fighting a top-grade Spiritualist to a draw. Besides, the top-grade Spiritualist isn’t ordinary at all. He’s Ji Haoran, who’s the Ji family’s Daoist disciple and has the potential to dominate a generation.’

Zang Jian’s expression was complicated. When he thought about what he had once thought, his face burned with pain.

‘Did I look down on such a genius back then? He’s someone who can contend with a Daoist disciple!’

More importantly, Zang Jian had fought Ji Haoran before and suffered a loss. Naturally, he knew how difficult it would be to deal with this opponent.

He Jian exchanged a look with Jiang Yingrong. After taking a light breath, he transmitted his voice, ‘Shopkeeper Jiang, congratulations. Given that the Jiang family has his help this time, there’s no need to worry about not being able to flourish. As long as Brother Yu becomes a top-grade Spiritualist, other than Daoist disciples, no one can block any of his attacks.’

Jiang Yingrong’s eyes lit up. Her slender fingers caressed her perfect collarbone. She responded telepathically, ‘Elder he, you’re right. You’re the Guardian Elder of the Jiang family. It’s just that…” She frowned slightly as if she did not understand something.

‘Just what?’ He Jian asked.

‘When I see Brother Yu use the Stone Awl Art this time, I just feel that the magic art seemed to have become much more powerful than before,’ she voiced out her doubts after some thought.

‘Yes. Last time, when the two of us were out, Brother Yu went beyond the thoroughly meticulous state and achieved the connection between Heaven and man. It probably has something to do with this.” He Jian did not reveal the news about Mount Return Sword and cleverly answered this question.

‘Then it must be so. Entering the state of the connection between Heaven and man must’ve helped his mental power advance,’ Jiang Yingrong replied to him with a voice transmission. Even so, deep down she still did not think highly of Ou Yangming. After all, Ji Haoran’s reputation in the Big Ruins was too notable. Given such a reputation, it must be justifiable.

Nevertheless, He Jian and Jiang Yingrong were only right about one of the reasons behind Ou Yangming’s improvement. The other reason was that the head devoured the Bone Dragon, whose mental power was fed back to the young fellow’s body, directly increasing his mental power by 20%.

The winds in the desert were very hot. They rolled up Ji Haoran’s sleeves. He looked at Ou Yangming with a scrutinizing gaze and said, “Interesting. If you block one more move from me, I’ll move your name up a few spots on my Path-proving Tablet. This is an opportunity that no one can ask for.” He waved his sleeve forward casually.

Ou Yangming shook his head in an irrefutable manner. There was not the slightest change of expression on his face.

The red light on the Blood Spear Dragon Slayer circulated and pressed down from above. He noted coldly, “With my spiritual power as the guide, bestow the yellow sand with a spiritual sense. Gather!” His voice contained the domineering intent of the Solitary Thought Skill. ‘I said, bestow the yellow sand with a spiritual sense! Even the heavens can’t stop me!’ He sounded tyrannical and awe-inspiring as if anything he said would be the laws of the world.

After all, the Dragons were inherently domineering, and the Solitary Thought Skill was their greatest secret technique. It used a king’s aura to nourish one’s domineering aura without an end.

When Ou Yangming’s voice swept out in all directions, cold winds whimpered like a lone wolf crying at the moon, or an evil ghost crying at the grave.

It was as though something beyond one’s understanding was about to appear. At the same time, Ou Yangming visualized the Bone Dragon in his spiritual world, condensing its indestructible spirit and gathering its indestructible will.

The Blood Spear Dragon Slayer suddenly pushed outward. In an instant, the yellow sand within 333 meters from him started flowing like water. It was as if a powerful creature was swimming in the sand.

Ou Yangming looked down, and a weird look appeared in his eyes. He spoke coldly, “I’m saying that the yellow sand is like an ocean, and I’m saying that the sand can turn into a dragon. Rise!”

Before he could finish his words, a Bone Dragon condensed from the yellow sand broke through the air. Its aura was majestic and swept in all directions. Even this space shook. After letting out a long cry, it pounced toward Ji Haoran.

Not only did this sand dragon possess the Dragons’ will, but it also possessed the Dragon’s soul.

Seeing this shocking scene, even Ji Haoran felt a little apprehensive. It was not because of its strength but because of his deep-rooted fear of the Dragons as a local of the Big Ruins.

He forcefully suppressed this thought and focused. He crossed his hands, which almost turned into an afterimage as he continuously struck out in the air. Many palm shadows gathered in front of him as he coldly shouted, “Blood Clouds Overturn the Sky!”

Before he finished, he pushed his right hand outward and lifted his left hand from below.

Red palms grew with the wind and seemed like they were going to blot out the sky and cover the sun. The blood lights reflected half of the sky into red and suppressed the sound of the winds.

Furthermore, an even larger palm print seemed to be hidden under the yellow sand. It lifted the sand up to a height of 33 meters.

If someone were to look down from the sky at this sky, one would be so shocked that one would be lost for words. A Bone Dragon made of yellow sand crashed down from the east to the west. Every bone on it was lifelike. Wherever it passed, spiritual Qi and air were stripped away at the same time, forming a mottled color that was difficult to describe.

On the other side, plenty of palm prints joined together, bringing with them a power that could overturn the sky. They swept up the yellow sand to a height of 33 meters and arrived in an instant.

“Bang…” It sounded as if the sky had been split open. The Bone Dragon and the palm prints collapsed at the same time. Everywhere visible was filled with yellow sand. A black light swept out in all directions. It was worth noting that even Advanced Spiritualists’ Qi and blood would boil if they touched the airwaves that were set off from the periphery. Being at the core of the collision and being swept up by the spiritual Qi, the yellow sand that shot out was like shrapnel that exploded with mighty kinetic energy, causing even Advanced Spiritualists to be careful in dealing with them.

The yellow sand was like raindrops as it struck the light screen. Violent ripples gushed out as if they would tear the light screen apart at any second.

This scene caused everyone’s hearts to be filled with shock.

They thought to themselves, ‘This is the combat power of first-level Daoist disciples. Aren’t they too fearsome? An ordinary top-grade Spiritualist won’t be able to retaliate in front of them.’

Especially when they thought of how one of them was only an Advanced Spiritualist, the shock in them instantly turned into fear.

Jiang Yingrong retracted her gaze from the yellow sand, her face filled with anxiety. She looked at He Jian and asked, “Elder He, who won?”

“Both of them are first-level Daoist disciples. There’s no way to determine the victor with techniques at this level.” He Jian stared at the yellow sand, his eyes as deep as the sea.

“Hiss, hiss… . What? There’s no way to determine the victor with their techniques?” Jiang Yingrong’s pupils shrunk. She was a top-grade Spiritualist and was also a God-favored one, but she was still too far from a Daoist disciple.

Only a Daoist disciple could stop a Daoist disciple!

The yellow sand dispersed, and the world returned to its peace.

Ji Haoran’s eyes no longer had the casual look they had before. Instead, they were filled with a solemn expression. The aura emanating from his body was calm and smooth, and he did not dare to act rashly.

On the contrary, Ou Yangming was clearly more casual. His long hair fluttered in the wind behind him, and his clothes were not messy at all. His face was full of dominance, and the purple clouds above his head hovered in the air. There was a faint sign of a dragon and a tiger fighting each other.

He took a step forward with his right foot, which was followed closely with his left foot. His voice was incomparably cold as he questioned, “Aren’t you going to kill me to attain your path? Come on!”