Chapter 336 - 183: Mystic True Supreme Immortal Light (2)
"I don’t mean to brag, Brother Zhong, but I’ve made considerable preparations for our rematch."
"And yet, from what I can see, you seem to have regressed rather than improved..." He snapped his fan shut, shook his head, and asked, "Did something go wrong with your cultivation? I would have thought such a thing impossible for you."
A hint of surprise surfaced on Zhong Shenxiu’s face. His cultivation base had long since re-stabilized. Never mind Xuzhuang and the others; even the Immoral Taoist and Jide Taoist hadn’t noticed anything unusual. He hadn’t expected Li Chengzhen to see through him at a glance.
’Is it one of the Spirit Treasure Sect’s Divine Techniques?’ Zhong Shenxiu wondered. After all, back when he was traveling through the Cyan Sky Realm without revealing his identity, Li Chengzhen had still recognized his extraordinary nature at a glance and deliberately pursued him. They had ended up sparring in a secluded spot—
Although Zhong Shenxiu had come out with a slight edge, he had to admit that Li Chengzhen was no common practitioner, which was why he had decided to befriend him under his true identity.
As he was lost in thought, Li Chengzhen suddenly raised a finger. A flash of treasured light shot out, transforming into a bolt of Divine Thunder that crashed down on Zhong Shenxiu. With a frown and a mere thought, Zhong Shenxiu called down a jet-black thunderbolt from his Gangyun.
The two bolts of lightning collided in midair with a deafening BOOM, exploding in a shower of sparks that seemed to indicate an even match. Li Chengzhen, however, simply raised an eyebrow. "Brother Zhong, why have you abandoned your Purple Sky Divine Thunder in favor of this Small Annihilation Skill?"
The Small Annihilation Skill wasn’t bad, but Li Chengzhen knew that Zhong Shenxiu had already cultivated his Purple Sky Divine Thunder to the Ninth Realm. When he had used it during their last duel, its power was not only astonishing, but its myriad transformations made it incredibly difficult to counter.
Compared to the Purple Sky Divine Thunder, Zhong Shenxiu’s Small Annihilation Skill was rudimentary indeed.
Zhong Shenxiu didn’t try to hide it, replying frankly, "It’s not that I’ve completely abandoned the Purple Sky Divine Thunder, but I am indeed unable to use it for the time being."
Li Chengzhen shook his head in disappointment. "It seems that’s not the only technique you’ve had to temporarily set aside."
Zhong Shenxiu’s guess was correct. Li Chengzhen did indeed possess a peculiar Divine Technique, but it wasn’t a secret art of the Spirit Treasure Sect—it was innate!
Regardless of whether someone concealed their presence, the moment their aura crossed with Li Chengzhen’s, it could trigger his perception, allowing him to sense good fortune, disaster, threats, goodwill, hidden schemes... and all manner of other things.
During their last chance encounter, the sense of pressure he felt from Zhong Shenxiu was something he had rarely ever experienced. This meeting, however, was a great disappointment.
Whether Zhong Shenxiu had truly suffered a setback or there was some other profundity at play, what Li Chengzhen’s senses told him was that his opponent had genuinely regressed.
Li Chengzhen said coolly, "In that case, Fellow Daoist, I’m afraid you are no longer my match in this fight."
Zhong Shenxiu replied with composure, "Since you’re so confident, Fellow Daoist, feel free to put it to the test."
Li Chengzhen let out a great laugh and suddenly roared, "Excellent! Then watch yourself, Fellow Daoist!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, another thunderous BOOM echoed from the forest. In a single step, Li Chengzhen was already in front of Zhong Shenxiu!
He curled his five fingers into a shape that was part fist, part hand seal. His movements were like a titan pushing a divine wheel. As his palm strike descended, it seemed the scene of him instantly defeating Cen Fenghong was about to repeat itself.
In the next instant, however, the Gangyun directly above Zhong Shenxiu abruptly parted. Countless rays of brilliant light burst forth, converging into a single beam that shot out in a flash!
The divine light struck Li Chengzhen, pinning him in place like a divine needle and blasting him a thousand zhang backward until he slammed into a thick, jade-like branch. With a sound like ripping silk, the divine light pierced through the branch and Li Chengzhen’s back, vanishing into the unknown distance.
A massive hole was now visible in Li Chengzhen’s abdomen. His body, supposedly indestructible and reinforced by the Treasure Gang, had been instantly pierced by Zhong Shenxiu!
At the same time, however, the two men wore diametrically opposed expressions.
"The Mystic True Supreme Immortal Light... a Great Divine Technique from the Upper Profound Sect worthy of its reputation for having claimed innumerable lives in the Cyan Sky Realm."
Li Chengzhen slowly raised his head, a smile spreading across his face. "How fortunate. If your full range of Taoist Skills were as formidable as before, and you had the confidence to leisurely spar with me and probe my true abilities, you might have actually managed to shatter my golden body!"
Zhong Shenxiu watched as a golden light flowed across Li Chengzhen’s body. A golden haze emerged from the gaping hole, and within a few breaths, the wound had rapidly healed.
’So that’s how it is.’ Zhong Shenxiu’s brow furrowed slightly, but he understood after a moment of thought.
The Treasure Gang Qi Yuan Body-Holding Spell was likely not a spell in the traditional sense, but a reserve of primordial Divine Technique qi hidden somewhere within the body. Even if his golden body was injured or even shattered, as long as that primordial qi remained, he could circulate his Magical Power and recover in an instant.
Although having his golden body shattered by the Mystic True Supreme Immortal Light had consumed a massive amount of Li Chengzhen’s Magical Power in an instant, it hadn’t, as he said, inflicted any true damage. From now on, Li Chengzhen would be far more cautious, and Zhong Shenxiu knew he would be hard-pressed to find another opening.
At this thought, Zhong Shenxiu couldn’t help but shake his head, a smile gracing his lips. ’I thought that even in my current state, I could last until my match with Fellow Daoist Xu,’ he mused. ’It seems I’ve underestimated Fellow Daoist Li.’
Outside the Cyan and Purple Tribulation Pearl Fruit Tree, a look of astonishment crossed the Immoral Taoist’s face. He pinched his fingers together in a quick divination, then slapped his forehead. "This shouldn’t be happening..."
His outburst drew the attention of the others, but he paid them no mind, muttering to himself, "According to my divination, Zhong the Kid shows no signs of peaking and then declining. On the contrary, he should be advancing vigorously, well on his way to overpowering Xu the Kid and taking the lead."
Zhong Shenxiu’s near-regression in cultivation naturally could not escape the notice of a Primordial Spirit True Man. But according to the Immoral Taoist’s divination, not only was he supposed to be fine, he should have been making even greater progress!
Because of that divination result, the Immoral Taoist had stopped paying close attention. He had even been secretly worried that Xuzhuang would be overshadowed by him once more, losing the Purple Tribulation Pearl Fruit to him—
But the current situation was completely at odds with the reading.
"His long-term prospects are flourishing as he gathers strength to strike, but his short-term situation is stagnant as he conceals his abilities and bides his time," the Jide Taoist sighed. "No wonder my recent divinations showed the favor of the first Temple Master was not with me."
As everyone listened intently to the conversation between the two Zhenren, they also kept a close eye on the changes within the water mirror.
Indeed, after Zhong Shenxiu failed to secure victory with that one strike, Li Chengzhen adopted a slow and steady approach. Zhong Shenxiu, in turn, repeatedly used only a handful of techniques, such as the Small Annihilation Skill and his Swordsmanship. Whenever he found himself in a perilous situation, he would use a blast of Mystic True Supreme Immortal Light to force Li Chengzhen back.
They fought like this for dozens of rounds. To the astonishment of the spectators, even with only a few techniques at his disposal, Zhong Shenxiu seemed to be improving in the heat of battle, executing his moves with increasing profundity and ease.
But Li Chengzhen was no ordinary opponent. After dozens of rounds, seeing that Zhong Shenxiu had no other tricks up his sleeve, he began to press his advantage relentlessly. A few moves later, he suddenly stopped dodging and evading, taking a blast of Mystic True Supreme Immortal Light head-on. At the cost of having the better part of his left shoulder and arm blasted away, he planted a fist seal squarely on Zhong Shenxiu’s chest.
In that instant, a divine light appeared, enveloped Zhong Shenxiu, and shot back through the atmospheric layer, returning him to the top of the Wine Immortal Gourd.
"This..." Mi Yuan Dao was momentarily speechless. He remembered back when he was at the Golden Core realm, he had challenged the Upper Profound Sect. Zhong Shenxiu had effortlessly wielded unique Sixth Rank Taoist Skills for dozens of rounds without repetition, suppressing him so thoroughly he couldn’t even raise his head.
In that duel, Mi Yuan Dao, a true disciple of the Spirit Treasure Sect, was easily defeated by Zhong Shenxiu. That loss cemented Zhong Shenxiu’s reputation as the number one cultivator of his generation and left Mi Yuan Dao so disheartened that he followed his elders to the distant Guangyuan Realm to continue his cultivation.
Now, seeing Zhong Shenxiu struggling and actually losing to someone else, even knowing there were extenuating circumstances, Mi Yuan Dao felt his image of the man begin to crack.
But Zhong Shenxiu’s expression remained impassive. He stepped out of the divine light, simply clasping his hands in a salute toward the Jide Taoist. "I have failed to live up to your expectations, Zhenren. This junior apologizes."
The Jide Taoist shook his head. "A short-term setback is of no consequence."
The Immoral Taoist rubbed his chin, a suspicious look in his eyes. "What sort of game are you playing, you kid? Back when you first started Qi Refining, learning Taoist Skills came to you effortlessly. How is it that after all these years of cultivation, you’ve ended up in this state?"
It was the Immoral Taoist, after all, who had first bestowed upon him the moniker, "Zhong Shenxiu, naturally born for Dao Zhen." His question was born of genuine concern.
Zhong Shenxiu merely smiled at the question and declared openly to the crowd, "In the past, I was trapped in the dilemma of ’am I truly myself?’ It wasn’t until my journey to the Guangcheng Dojo that I finally had an epiphany."
"The ’I’ is the true self, unswayed by the external. If it were not so, what would be the point of seeking to perceive one’s true nature?"
The Immoral Taoist seemed to understand something. The cigarette between his lips quirked upward. For a moment, he completely forgot about Taoist Skills and Divine Techniques, a single thought surfacing in his mind: ’This kid... he’s probably not far from refining a Primordial Spirit.’