Chapter 2663 - 2725: Stalemate
Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded: Li Yifei stomped on the creature repeatedly. The creature flailed its limbs but was like a flipped turtle, unable to react, lying on its back howling.
However, Li Yifei knew this wasn’t a solution. The opponent’s defense was incredibly strong, something he rarely encountered. This creature was essentially indestructible. Even top martial artists, if stomped like this, might not die but at least suffer ruptured organs. But Aliza remained unharmed, his stomach still bulging!
Changing out his gloves, the True Qi Blade appeared in his hand, causing a slight change in Aliza’s complexion. He reached to grab Li Yifei’s foot but missed, prompting Li Yifei to retreat.
Aliza quickly sprang up, shouting loudly, "Outrageous, outrageous! How dare you humiliate me like this!"
As he yelled, Aliza raised his hands high, reciting a lengthy incantation Li Yifei couldn’t understand, yet he felt the surroundings shift. The formerly red-glowing Aliza was now causing the entire coffin to shake. It was indeed shaking because the ground and the entire space trembled. Li Yifei heard rustling sounds, like rats hiding in the dark.
The sound was unsettling, reminiscent of teeth grinding. Thus, he charged forward, slashing his blade at Aliza. With a mountainous body so strange, Aliza couldn’t dodge. But Li Yifei was stunned when his True Qi Blade shattered upon contacting Aliza.
It wasn’t Aliza’s body that shattered, but Li Yifei’s True Qi Blade. Even facing extremely powerful opponents or weapons, the True Qi Blade could last a few rounds before breaking. Yet one slash against Aliza caused it to break, surprising Li Yifei.
The struck area emitted a red glow, which quickly disappeared. This was unbelievably strange! Li Yifei sensed the bizarre nature within the red glow. The whole space resembled a creature’s belly, and he was in its intestines, creating immense pressure.
Aliza’s mouth hadn’t stopped; he seemed to be summoning some power. Li Yifei knew he had to be fully serious, or he might suffer greatly, so he applied all his strength.
Even with the full strength of Ma Xingyun and the Great Formation’s boost, they only pushed Li Yifei to go all out. Now, a mere Aliza forced him to use all his strength, a total surprise.
Of course, Li Yifei at full power was terrifying. His expression grew colder, eyes filled with killing intent. He was like a fully drawn longbow, shooting at Aliza, hitting him square in the chest. Immediately, Li Yifei delivered three consecutive palm strikes, each stronger and more frightening than the last, each aimed at vital points.
Such an attack, especially since Aliza had opened his guard completely, allowing the assault without care, allowed Li Yifei to unleash his full force. This type of attack, even Murong Yuanqing and like would not dare to attempt; they wouldn’t dare take such an assault from Li Yifei because it would cause severe injury or even life-threatening damage.
With three palm strikes, Aliza was finally pushed back three steps—each strike pushed him back a step, reducing his accumulated momentum each time. This proved he was not invincible; neither his body nor other aspects were. With enough strength, he could be defeated.
"How dare you, I’m the Worm King, invincible. Li Yifei, die!" Aliza, feeling the pain within after being pushed back three steps, roared and charged at Li Yifei. With his huge form, like a massive black shadow thundering forward, he might even shake a wall of steel. But Li Yifei suddenly changed his approach, standing still with legs slightly apart.
At that moment, Li Yifei recalled a technique familiar to many—Tai Chi, or its relevant force application methods. Aliza had great power but was slow and clumsy, making him a perfect match for Tai Chi’s principles, using force to counter force, using his force against him.
Understanding the principle and having a clear technique, all Li Yifei needed was practice. Standing still, his waist and base remained as steady as a mountain. When a massive, ugly fist came crashing down, Li Yifei raised his hands, appearing to confront the charge. In reality, upon contact, he used force to counter force, dissipating much of the power with trembling hands, gripping the fist, redirecting Aliza’s momentum back against him. The sudden acceleration caught Aliza off guard, not knowing what Li Yifei intended, even as he braced for impact.
This brief delay allowed Li Yifei to seize the chance, drawing strength, using force to counter force, right away executing a grasp and push technique, not only diffusing the opponent’s power but maintaining composure while returning the force back to Aliza.
Aliza, coming in aggressively, was toyed with and repelled by Li Yifei, faster and with more force—though slightly off course—but it collided with the wall with a resounding crash. The entire giant coffin shook, unknown if the corpses hung above were shaken loose.
"Still good!" Li Yifei nodded in satisfaction.
Amidst the dust, Aliza screamed, nearly driven mad with rage. Though not in much pain, he felt humiliated. Had he transformed this much just to be bested by Li Yifei? No, it couldn’t be true. He demanded power, immense power only could defeat someone like Li Yifei.
Jumping up from the ground, Aliza’s mountain-like body thundered towards Li Yifei, roaring furiously. Now, he no longer resembled a man but a monstrous mountain of flesh, his grotesque form twisted by rage. Yet again, a dark mass was hurled away, crashing into the wall like before. Li Yifei sensed if this continued, the coffin might truly break apart.
"Impossible, I refuse to believe it!" Aliza shouted again, rushing forward, but still to no avail.
Apparently, brute force wasn’t always the solution—intelligence needed to be applied. Like now: Li Yifei countered Aliza’s thunderous attack with Tai Chi, effectively and comfortably, barely exerting effort while toying with him—a challenging feat generally.
Even tossing someone away, Li Yifei didn’t feel much satisfaction, understanding Aliza seemed to have endless strength and couldn’t be truly harmed, rendering such acts mere humiliation without substantive damage, which held little value. But what was Aliza’s weakness, Li Yifei hadn’t discovered yet.
Certainly, if he had found it, Li Yifei would have struck earlier.
After being tossed once more, Aliza no longer charged recklessly. His eyes reddened, saying, "Li Yifei, enough! I’ve never seen shamelessness like yours!"
"Oh? I’ve never seen anyone as ugly as you; it’s truly nauseating." Li Yifei responded calmly.
Aliza took a deep breath, his body seemingly swelling instantly, "You stole the woman I love, now you humiliate me like this. I vow vengeance—if I don’t repay this insult, I..."
"There won’t be a later; today will decide the outcome and settle the score. Besides, remember what I said before—I’m pursuing you for investigation!" Li Yifei interjected Aliza’s words. He began proactively attacking, suspicious that Aliza might be stalling for something, so giving him no respite was crucial.
As Li Yifei contemplated this, he lunged forward, deploying Tai Chi moves. Aliza’s eyes were filled with hatred yet he seemed helpless—clearly, he hadn’t reached his peak strength, as he halted further growth, even temporarily.
He was unlucky to encounter Li Yifei; anyone else might have faced a different result. Aliza’s immense body, weighing four or five hundred pounds, with iron-like skin, bulldozing in a confined space, would have turned others into pulp—not Li Yifei, who deftly maneuvered, counterattacking while humiliating Aliza.
Even his furious jumps were futile, striking Li Yifei did little harm, despite Li Yifei’s equally formidable physique and defense.
"Aliza, you’ve become a monster; you know that. You’re a monster now!" Li Yifei taunted.
"No, I’m not a monster, you are—outsiders like you, especially you! Ever since you appeared, Na Yi lost her spirit, Bunong sided with you, even villagers; my kin praise you exaltedly. It’s wrong, you’re a Chinese, an outsider, undeserving of these praises meant for me, my honor!" Aliza yelled continuously.
"Haha, foolish! Even without me, these praises and desires wouldn’t belong to you!" Li Yifei laughed and shook his head.