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Chapter 502:You are the only one who dies

Shen Qitian, however, focused his gaze on Zhong Shan. Seeing the endless mud waves rise to the sky, Shen Qitian\'s eyes flashed with resentment. The "Benefitting All Living Beings" technique should have been his, but now it was in Zhong Shan\'s hands.

"Brother Shen, this is perfect. Old Three and Old Nine are fighting. If they both get injured, we can swoop in and easily collect the three jade tokens," the young demon seed said excitedly.

"Things are not that simple. Look at Zhong Shan. He wields the powerful \'Benefitting All Living Beings\' technique from the former Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty. Defeating that red-robed man shouldn\'t be too difficult for him," Shen Qitian said gravely.

Indeed, "Benefitting All Living Beings" was formidable. The enormous mud waves roared, filling the sky and enveloping both Zhong Shan and the red-robed man.

Inside the mud waves, the two fought fiercely.

In the mud?

Zhong Shan had chosen this technique for this very reason. He remembered reading in a magazine about how bullets lost their lethality after traveling just ten meters through water, illustrating the immense resistance of water. If water could offer such resistance, then mud would be even more formidable.

In the mud waves, Zhong Shan remained unrestricted, while his opponent\'s power was halved, giving Zhong Shan a significant advantage.

Thus, Zhong Shan chose this technique without hesitation. "Benefitting All Living Beings" indeed benefited him greatly.

Shen Qitian took a deep breath as he watched the massive mud waves in the distance.

"This technique is indeed overpowered. Once trapped in the mud, one is at a severe disadvantage," Shen Qitian thought.

"Don\'t worry. Old Three has better potential than Old Nine, so he should have the upper hand. Here, Zhong Shan has the advantage. With both sides clashing, their overall strength should be about equal. All we need to do is wait," the young demon seed said.

"Wait?" Shen Qitian raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, wait. Even if one side remains unscathed, your Purple Gold Patterned Dragon Staff\'s seal has been unlocked, right? The power stored within it for three strikes of \'Fixing the Sea\' is equivalent to a peak Imperial Extreme Realm full-strength strike. You\'ve only used it once, so there are still two uses left. Plus, you\'ll be attacking by surprise. We can\'t lose," the young demon seed said eagerly.

"Fixing the Sea?" Shen Qitian glanced at the young demon seed, his eyes showing a hint of coldness.

Fixing the Sea was indeed a powerful force sealed in his staff from his past life. It was incredibly potent. He had used it once to severely injure Jian Hong, providing him a long period of safety. Who knew when Jian Hong would recover from his injuries? He needed to ensure his safety.

However, Zhong Shan must die.

Shen Qitian drew out the Purple Gold Patterned Dragon Staff, looking at the massive mud waves in the distance.

With a wave of his hand, the enormous staff shot into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.

"Brother Shen, what are you doing? They haven\'t fought to the point of mutual destruction yet. If we attack now, they\'ll notice us and join forces against us," the young demon seed said, his eyes flashing with concern.

"Don\'t worry. I know what I\'m doing," Shen Qitian said with a wicked smile.

The young demon seed nodded, accepting Shen Qitian\'s assurance.

Shen Qitian smirked coldly. Wait until the end? What if Zhong Shan escaped? If he had the chance to kill Zhong Shan now, he would take it. As for the young demon seed? Their relationship was superficial at best. Whether he succeeded in the torch-passing ceremony was of no concern to Shen Qitian.

In the distant valley, a vast expanse of muddy swamp had turned into a turbulent sea, with waves crashing skyward like a relentless storm. Clearly, an intense battle raged within.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion shattered the air, "Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The entire sea of mud erupted violently, sending waves of muck flying in all directions. Half of the swamp was blasted away, revealing a man in a red robe.

His eyes flickered with uncertainty, and a faint purple glow emanated from the "Yao" character on his forehead—a divine mark. Only by activating this mark did the red-robed man manage to escape Zhong Shan\'s trap, his power surging dramatically.

His clothing was in tatters, and his exposed body was covered in blood. If he hadn\'t activated the divine mark at the last moment, today might have been his end.

Despite his ragged appearance, the red-robed man\'s confidence grew. With the divine mark activated, he no longer feared Zhong Shan. His power had increased significantly, nearing the Empyrean Realm.

As the red-robed man escaped, Zhong Shan gradually retracted the surrounding mud, revealing himself. The two men stared coldly at each other once more.

In the distance, Shen Qitian, unaware of the red-robed man\'s surge in power, only saw Zhong Shan unscathed, while the red-robed man looked battered and bloodied. Zhong Shan\'s strength was indeed formidable.

Deciding to act, Shen Qitian pointed towards Zhong Shan. The Purple-Gold Dragon Staff, which had soared into the clouds, responded as if receiving an order. It descended rapidly, aimed straight at Zhong Shan.

The staff grew larger and larger as it fell, transforming into a colossal pillar that seemed to pierce the sky. The immense force from its base created an overwhelming pressure, causing nearby mountains to collapse under its weight. This was just its aura; the actual staff was aimed directly at Zhong Shan, threatening to crush him.

The power of the staff, capable of stabilizing the seas, was incredible. The surrounding air rippled and distorted under its might, creating an almost surreal scene. Even before the staff hit the ground, its pressure had already crushed the mountains. The red-robed man, despite his enhanced power, dared not confront it and retreated with difficulty.

The staff locked onto Zhong Shan, as if determined to smash him to pieces. He looked up, realizing there was no time to dodge. The staff was already upon him.

From a distance, Shen Qitian watched intently. The staff struck.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

The staff collided with Zhong Shan, smashing into the earth and creating a kilometer-deep crater. The impact caused surrounding mountains to collapse. The red-robed man narrowly avoided the destruction, feeling both relieved and terrified.

The massive staff shrank instantly, transforming into a streak of light that returned to Shen Qitian\'s hand.

The mighty strike reverberated through the land. The fierce battle between Jian Ao and the third elder halted abruptly as they looked towards the source of the commotion. They immediately saw Shen Qitian and the demonic youth in the distance.

"Seventh Brother?" Jian Ao and the Third Elder\'s eyes turned cold.

In the midst of their fierce battle, there was a bystander trying to benefit? Immediately, their killing intent shifted towards Lao Qi. How dare he attempt a sneak attack? Not a chance.

Lao Qi felt wronged to the core. If his sneak attack had succeeded, it would have been fine, but now he was exposed and in trouble. He cast a cold glance at Shen Qitian.

Shen Qitian, gripping the Purple-Gold Dragon Staff, had a maniacal gleam of excitement in his eyes.

Zhong Shan must be dead. Under such circumstances, there was no way he could survive. He must be dead.

"Hahahahaha," Shen Qitian laughed heartily and then shot into the sky.

Ignoring everyone else\'s fury, he broke through the black clouds and fled alone.

Flying out of the black clouds? Naturally, no one would pursue him; chasing him would mean forfeiting the competition, and who would want that?

Lao Qi felt like coughing up blood, cursing himself for his poor judgment in choosing such an assistant.

Seeing Shen Qitian leave, Lao Qi didn\'t hesitate and fled in the opposite direction, disappearing without a trace. Staying would only incur the wrath of both groups, so he chose to escape quickly.

With Lao Qi and Shen Qitian gone, the remaining three turned their gaze back to the massive crater.

Was Zhong Shan dead?

The Third Elder and the man in the red robe believed Zhong Shan was dead. After all, such a sneak attack would be impossible to evade, even for them. Only Jian Ao believed Zhong Shan was still alive and flew towards the crater.

Was Zhong Shan still alive? Of course.

Or rather, Zhong Shan hadn\'t been hurt at all.

The Zhong Shan that was supposedly crushed by the "Sea Stabilizing" staff was merely a shadow clone. From the moment he entered the Underworld Heaven, Zhong Shan had swapped identities.

Using a shadow clone to replace himself, his real body had become a shadow hiding within the shadow clone.

A shadow clone could only exist for one hour each day, but Zhong Shan had more than one shadow clone, allowing him to continuously supply new clones.

One shadow clone was crushed, but Zhong Shan had hundreds more.

The Myriad Shadows Sutra, like the Hongluan Sutra, was a heaven-defying technique. For Zhong Shan, whose body was a shadow, this technique seemed tailor-made. Having cultivated the eighth level of the twelve-level Myriad Shadows Sutra, Zhong Shan had become exceedingly formidable.

The man in the red robe, standing near the crater, felt a twinge of regret. He wished Zhong Shan had died by his hand.

"Old Ninth, your assistant is dead. Hand over your jade token, and I will spare your life," the Third Elder said, smiling as he looked at Jian Ao.

"You\'re the one who\'s dead!" A voice suddenly retorted from not far away.

Hearing Zhong Shan\'s voice, the Third Elder and the man in the red robe stiffened, their eyes nearly bulging out of their heads.

People can scare each other to death. Even in the Imperial Realm, an unexpected event could still shock them.

Following the voice, they saw Zhong Shan emerging from a pile of rubble, looking completely unscathed.

How could this be? How could he have avoided it? That previous strike was something even an Empyrean Realm expert couldn\'t evade; they would have to take it head-on. Yet Zhong Shan seemed perfectly fine, not even a speck of dirt on his clothes. How was this possible?