Chapter 567 - 342: Thousand Years of Death
However, after unleashing a furious barrage, Zou Feng frowned.
He hadn’t felt the solid impact of hitting Liu Chenyu.
The next moment, a giant Dharma Aspect of Liu Chenyu, condensed from Spiritual Qi, instantly materialized in the sky.
For a moment, Zou Feng couldn’t even tell if this was the Dharma Aspect or if he himself had been shrunk by Liu Chenyu’s Skill...
’No, that’s not the point. The real question is why Liu Chenyu could be completely unscathed after clearly taking one of my strongest killing moves!?’
’It wasn’t as if my Big Move was guaranteed to take her down, but she had dealt with it far too easily!’
’Could it be...’
’...that I’m already under the influence of an illusion, and I just wasted my attack on thin air?’
The more Zou Feng thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Liu Chenyu’s illusions were so bizarre that it was difficult to tell when he was ensnared and when his mind was clear.
As his mind raced for a countermeasure, the giant Dharma Aspect opened its cavernous mouth and abruptly began to suck in.
An irresistible suction pulled at Zou Feng, making him feel as if he had lost control of his body. It felt as though something vital within him was about to be sucked completely dry by Liu Chenyu, leaving not a single drop behind.
Truly worthy of her reputation, that wretched empress of replenishment. This oral technique alone was enough to make one unconsciously cast aside all inhibitions, forget the battle, and willingly experience its potent effects.
But Zou Feng was, after all, proficient in the Dual Cultivation Skill and was currently in a sage-like state, his immunity to such charms maxed out.
THUMP—
He stomped his right foot hard on the ground. Brilliant and profound runes materialized beneath him as he settled into a stance, unleashing a technique he hadn’t used in a very long time: the chaotic form of the Great Universal Hand, Thousand Hands Exorcism!
In fact, with his power having multiplied many times over, it could no longer be called Thousand Hands Exorcism. It was now Ten Thousand Hands Exorcism.
Against an illusion master like Liu Chenyu, relying solely on the power of Skills and techniques was clearly ineffective.
It would take a technique like the Great Universal Hand, which also focused on ’mental attacks,’ to make any headway.
Sure enough, after a barrage of indiscriminate, omnidirectional attacks, Liu Chenyu’s true Mind Body was finally forced to reveal itself.
Yet, she didn’t retract her Dharma Aspect Divine Skill. Instead, she shifted its posture, apparently intending for the Dharma Aspect to sit down right on top of him.
Zou Feng’s expression changed drastically.
If it managed to sit on him, heaven knew what terrifying abyss he would be plunged into.
’No other choice! Another dragon! Power of Four Dragons, activate!’
Normally, just channeling the Three Dragons Power was already a significant strain.
Once he channeled four, the battle had to end quickly. Otherwise, Zou Feng would suffer a severe backlash from the overload and be grievously wounded, without his opponent even needing to land another blow.
With the Power of Four Dragons coursing through him, black flames erupted furiously around Zou Feng, transforming him into a giant pillar of fire that shot toward the sky.
To counter the Dharma Aspect’s ’sit-down’ attack, inspiration struck Zou Feng. He clasped his hands, extended his index and middle fingers, and formed the hand sign for "One Thousand Years of Death."
Flame Vortex: One Thousand Years of Death!
The Silent Extinction Poison Flame and the Abyssal Vortex Prison-Suppressing Force automatically coated his fingers as Zou Feng thrust them viciously upward.
A massive Qi Force, in the exact shape of his hand sign and swirling with a terrifying vortex, blasted toward Liu Chenyu’s descending Dharma Aspect...
A dozen or so breaths later, Zou Feng stumbled out of the gate of light, looking utterly battered.
His steps were unsteady, and he nearly lost his footing as he emerged.
The nearby disciples immediately noticed that Zou Feng was gasping for air, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He had clearly expended a massive amount of energy in the battle and suffered an internal injury.
’Could it be... that Zou Feng lost his fight against a Mind Body?!’
Zou Feng had entered the gate of light alone twice in a row. It was obvious that, having no current opponents, he could only challenge the Mind Bodies of past prodigies.
It seemed he’d won the first time, but on this second attempt, he must have run into a tough opponent and likely lost.
Seeing this, many people were dying with curiosity to know whose Mind Body could have given Zou Feng such a beating.
Zou Feng heard the buzzing discussions around him, with everyone assuming he had lost, but he didn’t bother to argue.
After all, a Mind Body’s strength wasn’t a perfect one-to-one replica of the original. Therefore, even though he had just scraped by with a bitter victory against Liu Chenyu’s Mind Body, he couldn’t truly call it a win.
A bitter victory like that meant if he had faced the real Liu Chenyu from her time in the Spiritual Energy Realm, he would have been finished.
’Liu Chenyu has cultivated to this day by performing replenishment on tens of thousands. She’s truly incredible!’
’During her time in the Spiritual Energy Realm, she was likely one of the very best disciples of the same level in the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect.’
’No wonder Jiang Wanzhao, despite her utter loathing for her, never questioned Liu Chenyu’s strength and even sounded quite wary when speaking of her.’
’However, I’m completely drained right now. I’ll need a good amount of time to recover, which means I have to give up on challenging again for now.’
’In any case, my next step is to keep challenging Liu Chenyu’s Mind Body, again and again, no matter the cost in Immortal Fate.’
’I’ll keep at it until I can defeat her with relative ease.’
Zou Feng was confident it wouldn’t take him too long to achieve this.
That vicious battle had pushed him past his limits, and his improvement was substantial.
This was exactly the kind of exhilarating, all-out battle he had been looking for.
It was just as Jiang Wanzhao had said: things had been going too smoothly for him lately, and he lacked a trial of this caliber.
That was why, after being ambushed by Liu Chenyu, the "Heavenly Gate" he had once been able to see had vanished...
’And it’s not enough just to challenge Liu Chenyu’s Mind Body. I have to take on True Monarch Tianyan and even Jiang Wanzhao’s Mind Body as well.’
The next moment, just as Zou Feng was about to leave the Sacred Hall of Combat, his Token began to vibrate.
He took it out and saw that one of the people in the top ten of the Sky-Ascension List who hadn’t responded to him earlier had finally sent a reply.
This person was currently ranked second on the Sky-Ascension List, and his name was Song Yuanze.
Zou Feng had heard all sorts of rumors about him.
Song Yuanze was a pure Body Refinement Cultivator.
Every skill he cultivated was dedicated to strengthening his physical body. When he fought, he used no flashy Skills, no talismans or Spiritual Artifacts, and not even any formal Martial Arts stances. He relied solely on his physical body for head-on, close-quarters combat.
Even so, the man was absurdly strong. He frequently participated in campaigns into the Outer Realms and frantically challenged the other prodigies on the Sky-Ascension List.
It hadn’t taken him long to brawl his way up to second place on the Sky-Ascension List.
The only reason he hadn’t challenged for the top spot, or so the rumors said, was because the number one ranked cultivator was in seclusion and couldn’t accept.
However, whether the number one was *truly* in seclusion was anyone’s guess.
Zou Feng had also tried messaging the number one ranked cultivator, but that person’s Token was set to block all incoming messages, so it wouldn’t go through.
When Song Yuanze hadn’t replied before, Zou Feng had been puzzled. ’Isn’t this guy rumored to be a battle maniac? He doesn’t even dare to accept my challenge?’
Now, it seemed he had simply missed the message.
"Thank you for the invitation. We will fight eventually, but not now!"
After reading the message, Zou Feng rolled his eyes.
’It would have been better if he hadn’t replied at all.’
Of course, Zou Feng had no way of knowing that the very moment he defeated Liu Chenyu’s Mind Body, someone else had sensed it.
「In a harsh Outer Realm teeming with giant Exotic Beasts.」
A colossal python, its body thicker than a water vat, was eyeing its surroundings as it prepared to hunt.
The python appeared perfectly normal on the outside, but in reality, a bewitchingly beautiful woman with delicate features was resting inside its belly.
The snake’s stomach should have been an extremely corrosive, toxic, and utterly hostile environment, yet the woman wore an expression of blissful enjoyment.
"Oh?"
She suddenly sensed something, a look of surprise crossing her face.
’My Mind Body from when I was in the Spiritual Energy Realm... was defeated?’
This woman was, of course, none other than Liu Chenyu, the one who had left Zou Feng so traumatized.
She then closed her eyes, her fingers forming a sign as she focused on sensing more deeply.
A moment later, Liu Chenyu’s eyes flew open, her face ecstatic. "Worthy indeed of being the ninth ideal husband I have chosen! He’s certainly hard enough!"
"It seems it’s time I paid a visit in person..."
Before her voice had faded, the giant python let out a blood-curdling shriek as its massive body rapidly burst apart.
But the exploded flesh and blood didn’t splatter outward. Instead, it rapidly converged on Liu Chenyu’s location.
In the end, its entire colossal body condensed into a single, blood-red Elixir Pill, which landed in Liu Chenyu’s hand.