Chapter 164 - 163: Reminiscing with an Old Friend
The battle among the four gradually began to show signs of victory and defeat.
Bai Hongtu’s Sword Dao was no less exceptional than that of the Sword
Monarch. Moreover, he was adept in runes and formations, leaving the Sword Monarch in a disadvantageous position, unable to match him simply with the sword in his hands.
Yu Yin had just broken through to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage and lacked the profound foundation. Despite having the support of national fortune, he was still inferior to an old hand like Li Er, who had undergone the divine tribulation once before.
In fact, the Ruyi Gourd was a supreme magical artifact whose powers naturally surpass those at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. Otherwise, the Yin Yang Heaven Seal wouldn’t have had to activate the Spiritual Treasure in the first place, and those present at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage would have had to step in to suppress them.
However, Yu Yin did not want to employ the full power of the Ruyi Gourd. Even if she were to defeat Li Er, she would not feel as though she had won due to her genuine abilities.
She would rather not want a victory of such nature.
Although both the Sword Monarch and Yu Yin were at a disadvantage, a clear victor could not be determined for the time-being, as battles at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage tend to be long-lasting.
After exchanging glances, Bai Hongtu and Yu Yin decided to break off from the fight and come together.
Eight small flags flew out of Bai Hongtu’s Storage Ring, forming an ancient large formation above Li Er and the Sword Monarch.
Stepping forward, Yu Yin arranged the fortune chessboard below Li Er and the Sword Monarch.
The large formation and the fortune chessboard became an entity, separating a certain space. Countless runes appeared, their purpose unknown.
Li Er and the Sword Monarch found the flow of spiritual energy within their bodies gradually slowing down. Even releasing Sword Intent and their divine embodiment became a much more complicated task than before, just like a mortal acting underwater, facing resistance at every turn.
“What is this?” Li Er had never seen a technique that combined national fortune with a formation.
“Originally, we intended to deal with Jiang Li with it, to see if we could win just once in a hundred battles. But, surprisingly, we had to use it on you guys first,” said Bai Hongtu.
Bai Hongtu and Yu Yin were among the strongest competitors for the position of the Human Emperor. Unfortunately, because Jiang Li was too exceptional, they gave up hope of becoming the Human Emperor.
However, they wanted to defeat Jiang Li, so they thought of combining national fortune with a large formation.
Plans often fall short of changes. The two of them deliberated for many years and finally completed this plan, but Jiang Li’s growth was rapid. He hammered the extraterritorial Heavenly Demons as if he was hammering his own grandkids. So, even with this technique, they had zero chances of winning, therefore, they did not use it.
This was the first time that the two of them publicly used this technique.
With the large formation and the fortune chessboard activated, runes formed the figures of Li Er and the Sword Monarch, and the movements they used did not differ significantly. Li Er used his divine embodiment; so did the figure of him created by the runes. The Sword Monarch issued his Sword Intent; so did his opposing figure.
Moreover, the figures of Li Er and the Sword Monarch formed by the runes moved smoothly without any resistance!
Li Er found the figure annoying; whatever he did, it imitated him.
Li Er crushed a galaxy; so did the figure of him.
Li Er let out a roar that shocked the universe; so did the figure.
Li Er slapped himself hard. The figure remained still.
Li Er could affirm that this disrespectful rune must have been designed by Bai Hongtu!
The Sword Monarch and Li Er clashed with the figures formed by the runes. The latter’s imitation was unsolvable, and the two fell into a fierce battle.
If they punched the figure, it would return a punch. If they gave it a sword strike, the figure would return one.
Li Er let out a wild roar, exuding an ancient aura. His clothes couldn’t withstand this force and turned into fragments.
His colossal divine embodiment broke through the barrier of the large formation and the fortune chessboard. It was so high it terrified onlookers. The stars were like grains of sand to his enormous body.
That night Li Er did not brag!
Bai Hongtu and the Sword Monarch both felt a little embarrassed. Everyone was bragging, why was he the only one telling the truth?
Li Er chuckled sinisterly, his large hand covering the sky. Even the Zhou Dynasty continent seemed no bigger than a pebble in his eyes.
“Huh, big but sluggish. Not matured enough,” Bai Hongtu and Yu Yin both felt that it wasn’t threatening. There’s no rule in the world that states the larger the volume, the stronger the combat power. Otherwise, Buddhists wouldn’t pursue the Gold Body of Sixteen Feet.
The intense battle between the four resumed, threatening to shatter the stars, especially Li Er, whose destructive power was immense. A tricky turn of his body was enough to destroy countless stars.
“Ah, it’s up to me after all,” sighed Jiang Li. If it were to continue this way, leaving aside everything else, the cultivators of the Zhou Dynasty would develop a psychological shadow.
Ji Zhi never ran out of his medicine and kept munching on his Heart-saving Pills. He side-glanced at Jiang Li, thinking that without him, could such a battle break out?
Jiang Li rose and flew towards the battlefield.
These four didn’t stop even when they saw Jiang Li, clearly engrossed in their battle.
Jiang Li flew right through their divine embodiment defenses, grabbed Li Er by his ankle, and tossed him to the ground.
The defense of the divine embodiments was impregnable. Even when Bai Hongtu and Yu Yin joined forces, they couldn’t break it, but Jiang Li passed through with ease.
The Sword Monarch, with his powerful Sword Qi, made the stars tremble. Jiang Li broke his Sword Intent with a punch, stepped on the Sword Monarch, and tossed him over to Li Er.
“Hold on, I give up,” Bai Hongtu reacted and quickly called out.
“Too late,” Jiang Li said ruthlessly.
Tens of thousands of runes blocked Bai Hongtu’s path. Even an Immortal would take a while to breakthrough them, but Jiang Li didn’t plan on using brute strength. He entered a ghostified state, becoming shadowless and formless, passed through the runes, and pinned Bai Hongtu by his neck.
Bai Hongtu was startled and recognized Jiang Li’s technique, Becoming Shadowless, one of the thirty-six divine skills of Heaven Gang. Once mastered, one’s body is neither here nor there. It can be seen but not touched.
“When did you master this?!”
Jiang Li didn’t answer and threw him on top of the Sword Monarch.
“I’ll go down myself.” Yu Yin hopped onto Bai Hongtu.
Originally Jiang Li did not plan to let Yu Yin go so easily, but she was fast and found her place herself on Bai Hongtu.
Jiang Li couldn’t exactly pick her up and throw her again.
“I told you guys many times before, to be mindful of the impact, to maintain at the Nascent Soul Stage. You guys, do you think you’re at Nascent Soul Stage?”
“Did I choose you guys to attend the conference so you could cause chaos? I asked you guys to give face to Ji Zhi, to support the Zhou Dynasty’s activities.”
“You guys look at yourselves and what you’ve become. Do you even have the demeanor of someone at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage?”
The four thought about when he said such things. Looking at how Ji Zhi was standing expressionless to the side, they decided not to refute Jiang Li and proceeded earnestly to accept the conferment.
Ji Zhi snorted coldly, thinking he didn’t let them cause a ruckus? I believe in your tales.
Ji Zhi made up his mind to focus on his cultivation, trying to get back to the strength he had five hundred years ago, to hammer the shameless Jiang Li.
“And look at the stars in the sky now. How many are left?” Jiang Li exclaimed in despair.
“Three hundred and sixty- three.” Li Er honestly replied.
“From today onwards, you people must restore the stars to their original form.
If you cannot restore them, don’t return to the Zhou Dynasty.”
Jiang Li too once stood at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. He knew of their tricks. Even if stars were crushed, they could put them back together. This task was not difficult for them. However, it would be time-consuming.
“Oh.” The four agreed obediently.
“But before going into the universe, I want to meet an old person,” Bai Hongtu said. “I want to meet an old person, too.”
“Me too.”
“Ditto. ”
“Go ahead and come back quickly.”
The four walked towards the Heavenly Fate Daoist with evil grins on their faces…
“You guys, don’t come here!” “So you’re a bit frivolous, huh!” “You resort to any means, huh!”
“Your faction is old-fashioned, huh!”
“You’re simple and foolish, huh!”
After a while, the four flew into the universe to clean up the mess, their spirits lifted gloriously after venting out their grievances.
“Heavenly Fate Daoist, are you selling this corpse? Our Corpse -Driving Sect is willing to buy it at a high price.”
“From now on, whenever your Corpse-Driving Sect buys information, the price will increase by fifty percent.”
The Heavenly Fate Daoist swallowed a large pill prepared in advance, and his vitality surged again..