Crushing, crushing... The ground trembled, air currents exploded, destroying everything. But the "Flowers Blooming in the Void" movement technique of the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Swords completely evaded it, extremely dangerous, yet extremely beautiful.
After he escaped the impact of the "Death Star," he turned around and his heart sank.
As the smash ended, the enormous celestial body gradually faded in his eyes and disappeared into this space.
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Thunderbolt Hand!"
At the same time, the mysterious man swung his palm toward the location of the "Death Star," his fist intent solid as a tangible substance, to prevent the "Death Star" from escaping into the void.
The moment they made contact, the enormous metal sphere burst forth with thousands upon thousands of bolts of lightning, crackling and popping so loudly that it shook the acupoints all over his body, almost causing him to lose his connection with the power of heaven and earth.
Watching helplessly as the celestial body that had nearly killed him vanished, the mysterious man frowned deeply, his heart sinking. If it hadn't disappeared, it could be considered a natural disaster; but now that it had vanished into the void, it was clearly manipulated—a man-made catastrophe.
The mysterious man gritted his teeth, then tore through the space of the great formation and entered the palace once more.
This palace is the Gen Palace that Jiang Liu visited before. Gen represents mountains, and the attacking force it generates is petrification.
The mysterious person arrived at this small world, ignoring the "petrification power." Attacks of this level had no effect on his peak Immortal body. He also did not try to retrieve the treasure in the array's eye, but instead looked up at the sky.
Sure enough, the dark figure reappeared and fell to the ground.
Once again, he dodged awkwardly, and watched the falling star disappear before his eyes. Then, the mysterious man leaped into the air and flew towards the direction where the star had crashed.
He had tried to escape the great formation many times, but torn space was not an option. He had been circling within the formation. Now that a celestial body had suddenly appeared and was attacking him, he naturally deduced that the sky might be the exit.
The direction from which this "death star" fell from the sky was naturally the flaw in the grand formation; the layers of space and the labyrinth above had already been torn apart. If no one stopped him, he would break through the formation and escape. But Jiang Liu was not able to do as he wished; the "death star" crashed down upon him once more.
As the enormous celestial body approached overhead, the mysterious old man's face twisted and became ferocious.
"Ahhhhh... I can't stop it... Ah... I roam freely between heaven and earth!"
With a flash, the person vanished beneath the "Death Star".
Inside the central palace, Jiang Liu made a hand seal and laughed, "Do you understand now? This is like whack-a-mole. Wherever he sticks out, that's where you whack him! My Death Star is tough enough that his head can't block it, so he can only be crushed like a mouse!"
Ao Luan covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "Such a peak-level human immortal is called a ground rat by the abbot. If he heard that, he might vomit blood!"
"I don't know if he's vomiting blood or not, but I do know he's bleeding from his head right now!" As Jiang Liu spoke, the "Death Star" slammed down several more times.
For this mysterious person, there is nowhere to go but to the heavens and nowhere to go, and he is being chased by a huge mysterious metal sphere.
The tall hat reminiscent of the ancient philosophers had been knocked off. Although he still exuded an imposing, almost divine, aura, he looked utterly disheveled. His hair was disheveled, and there seemed to be traces of blood seeping from his head.
"Who are you? Come out and fight... Ah... Heaven and Earth are vast!"
In an instant, the Death Star struck again, and he fled once more.
After running over it more than ten times, Jiang Liu felt that it was about time.
"Let's go and meet this mysterious visitor from outer space!"
With that, he headed towards the great formation. At this moment, the "Yanfu Great Formation" set up by the ancient dragon race had been almost completely destroyed. If he didn't appear soon, this mysterious person might break out of the formation.
Enemies meeting are bound to be filled with hatred.
The mysterious man had disheveled hair, slightly reddened eyes, and a ferocious expression on his face. He gritted his teeth, as if he wanted to devour Jiang Liu alive.
"I have ruled the Path of Strategists for a hundred years, and no one has ever driven me to such a state. You are the first, and the last. I will not be satisfied until I have torn you to pieces!"
Jiang Liu looked down at the old man, thought for a moment, and vaguely remembered that there was indeed a founder of the Zongheng Dao, called the Zongheng Ancestor. The Divine Strategist didn't even give him a name; he was just a minor character.
"So you are the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Alliance! Are you going to the Great Thousand World? I didn't expect you to arrive so early... You may not be able to go! Using this Dragon's Graveyard as your burial place is not bad, it's a feng shui treasure land, you're lucky!"
"You little punk, take this punch!"
A punch came flying, filled with boundless rage and killing intent. The vast fist intent, the "substantial essence of fist intent," also swept over Jiang Liu, directly attacking him.
Jiang Liu knew exactly how powerful the "Fist Intent Essence" was. Just like the Stone Buddha's "One Strike to Annihilate the World," no matter how arrogant Jiang Liu was, he dared not use his physical body to receive it.
Without the slightest hesitation, the Death Star stood in front of him, blocking all the destructive power that could have shattered a small world.
However, the punch from the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Sects was not merely a physical attack; it also included a spiritual attack on the Dao heart. This intangible and formless attack was something the "Death Star" could not withstand. Instantly, a vast power invaded Jiang Liu's sea of consciousness, and the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Sects' towering body, pointing to the sky and stomping on the earth, surged forth.
"Between heaven and earth, I roam freely!"
The eight words, each one like a hammer, struck Jiang Liu's heart with devastating force, seemingly shattering his Dao heart into pieces.
Chapter 229 Descendants of the Philosophers
This punch was aimed directly at the Dao Heart; it was a mental attack, directly affecting the soul.
This punch is powerful, but it also has a huge drawback. This is a clash of Dao hearts, a fight to the death. If Jiang Liu breaks through this punch, this Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Sects will inevitably suffer a huge injury to his Dao heart.
Jiang Liu had encountered this kind of attack before. Back then, during his battle with the White Bone Cave Corpse Demon, he suffered from a demonic supernatural power called "The Manifestation of the Heavenly Demon of Others' Hearts".
It is a supernatural power that relies on the primordial spirit to invade the enemy's sea of consciousness and incite their inner demons. It is a power that destroys a person's Dao heart and leads them into demonic possession.
Extraterrestrial demons come without a trace and go without a mark. They arise from the mind and are born from thought. They are elusive and unpredictable, changing randomly like electrokinesis, and they specifically target cultivators who are about to attain enlightenment.
The fist attack of this patriarch of the strategists was no stronger than the Corpse Demon's "Heavenly Demon Manifestation of Others' Minds". Jiang Liu was not afraid when he was at the Refining Essence into Qi stage, and he is even less afraid now.
Within his sea of consciousness, the image of the Patriarch of the Horizontal and Vertical Realms appeared, pointing to the heavens and treading the earth, poised to roam the four seas and dominate the Dao Heart. Jiang Liu sneered, his Dao Heart stirred, and suddenly, golden light seemed to bloom between his brows, his eyes becoming deep and indifferent, as if gazing down upon a deity of the heavens. A tortoise-snake image instantly condensed within his sea of consciousness—the true form of the True Martial Emperor—then transformed into a figure clad in a black robe, an indescribable aura of majesty surging forth.
This majesty was the awe-inspiring power of a god-king who ruled over all the heavens. The sea of consciousness instantly froze, and the image of the patriarch pointing to the sky and stomping on the earth suddenly exploded, scattering into countless fragments.
Meanwhile, the true form of the patriarch of the strategists let out a miserable scream, severely injured, and staggered away in a panic.
Attacks on the Daoist mind and spirit are the most dangerous; a single strike can determine life or death. One wrong move, and one's body and Dao will perish.
At this moment, the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Realms, a peak human immortal from the outer world, finally showed fear on his face. He barely managed to tear through space to escape, but spat out a mouthful of blood.
"There's no escaping it!"
Jiang Liu sneered, then delivered a chop to the side.
This slash flashed with a metallic, cold light, seemingly capable of cleaving anything in its path in two.
The essence of the "Severance Technique" lies in cutting things in two with a single stroke.
This hand strike landed squarely on the back of the patriarch of the School of Divinity and Strategists, tearing his wide robe, reminiscent of the ancient philosophers. This robe, which should be called armor, was of a level comparable to the "Heavenly Horned God Armor" of the God of War "Shang," and its defensive capabilities were not bad. However, it was cleaved through by a single strike, the blade piercing into the patriarch's back.
Instantly, blood splattered. Fortunately, this top-grade armor provided protection; otherwise, he would have been instantly killed.
Having withstood the attack, the Grandmaster of the Strategists had already traversed the void. However, restrained by the "Yam-Fu Grand Formation," he could not escape.
Jiang Liu followed, only to discover that this peak-level Immortal expert was playing hide-and-seek with him. He wanted to escape the great formation, but he couldn't get out.
Fortunately, Jiang Liu had already figured out the operating rules of the great formation, so no matter how the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Sects tried to escape, he couldn't escape Jiang Liu's grasp. Moreover, his Dao heart was injured, and his strength was greatly reduced.
After traversing several more spaces, Jiang Liu unleashed a powerful "Shake" technique, causing the void to tremble and severely injuring him once more.
"You can't escape. I promised to bury you in the Dragon Tomb, and I will never go back on my word!"
As he spoke, he threw another punch, causing the space to tremble. The punch, upon landing in the ears of the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Sects, was a death warrant.
"I surrender, I submit..." Facing a fist that was no less powerful than his peak attack, the Martial Ancestor was seriously injured and knew that he could not stop it. If he could not stop it, he would die! In an instant, he made his choice.
"Hmph!" Jiang Liu sneered, his fists showing no mercy, each punch unleashing the power of an entire province.
This level of attack surpasses the ability to shatter the void, but it is not yet at the level of a creator, and it is still beyond the ability of the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Alliance to withstand.
Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass came from where the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Sects was located, and then a punch struck his body directly.
No matter how strong a human immortal's physical body is, it cannot withstand this power that shatters the void. "Fist intent substance" is insufficient; only by reaching the immortal realm of "flesh and blood regeneration" can one resist it. Because at the stage of "flesh and blood regeneration," even if the body is shattered, it will grow back on its own, and at its extreme, it is "rebirth from a drop of blood."
"Reborn from a drop of blood," it naturally has no fear of shattering the void.
With a single punch, the Founder of the Horizontal and Vertical Sects' body was instantly covered with countless cracks, but his body was still desperately trying to prevent this collapse and to live.
It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death.
As long as you're alive, there's hope.
In an instant, Jiang Liu's palm pressed down on his crown. With such a terrifyingly large hand grabbing his head, the patriarch of the Horizontal and Vertical Sects seemed to see his entire head being crushed like an egg!
"Oh dear!"
There is great terror between life and death!
Sensing the approach of death, the Grandmaster of the Horizontal and Vertical Alliance was unable to retaliate and could only let out a scream to release his fear.
"shock……"
"puff……"
His entire head exploded like a watermelon once again. Following the Sword Saint Gongyang Yu, the head-exploding maniac Jiang Liu had once again blown up the head of a powerful figure.
Once the divine sense invaded, it read some of his memories.
"Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, in the Central World... Xu Yi... even at the peak of the Ninth Tribulation, one cannot afford to offend him. The Central Son, Qi King Xu Wuyi, and the Eight Ministers... all possess strength above the Creator level... I wonder how the Stone Buddha fared after entering the Outer Heavens!"
While they were pondering, the five divine artifacts that the Ancestor of the Strategists had collected to suppress the array's core were also revealed. Each artifact displayed unparalleled power: a mirror, a bronze incense burner, a bare piece of wood, a command flag, and a long spear.
The five magical artifacts are all used to suppress the core of the formation. The mirror is called the "Six Yang Fire Dragon Mirror," which, when still in the air, releases countless flames that condense into the shape of dragons and snakes; the long golden halberd is called the "Geng Xing Golden Halberd," which is extremely sharp and releases bursts of cold light; the command flag is called the "Wind and Fire Command Flag," which is filled with the power of wind and fire; the bronze incense burner also produces countless sparks, releasing bursts of heat; and the "Jia Yi Azure Dragon Wood" also emits azure light.
Without anyone to suppress them, these five magical artifacts were about to take flight.
Jiang Liu suppressed it with a wave of his divine sense. A moment later, Ao Luan took out the remaining two suppression items: a white jade shell the size of a cartwheel and a three-legged bronze cauldron.
The nine divine artifacts—the "Jia Yi Azure Dragon Wood," the "Yin Thunder Phosphorescent Gourd," the "Tian Kui Divine Water Cauldron," the "Six Yang Fire Dragon Mirror," the "Geng Xing Golden Spear," the "White Jade Carriage Shell," the "Alligator Dragon Egg," the "Wind and Fire Command Flag," and the "Starfire Incense Burner"—were all placed in front of Jiang Liu.
By the time Jiang Liu had almost finished digesting the memories of the Ancestor of the Horizontal and Vertical Sects, several hours had passed. Ao Luan was not in a hurry, but she became interested in the "Six Yang Fire Dragon Realm". After exploring it for two hours, she activated it and six fire dragons emerged.
“Besides this alligator egg, you can choose three of the rest!” Jiang Liu said.
Ao Luan smiled and said, "The Yin Thunder Phosphorescent Gourd and the Six Yang Fire Dragon Mirror are enough. I know my limitations..."
Just then, Jiang Liu looked up at the sky and sensed a spatial fluctuation.
"Someone else is here! These are truly troublesome times!"
A short while later, several figures completely enveloped in halos appeared in this turbulent void, a place rarely visited for thousands of years since ancient times. These figures, shrouded in oval halos, resembled deities, each dressed in tall crowns and strange robes, exuding the elegance and style of ancient philosophers.
Ao Luan followed Jiang Liu's gaze and blurted out, "He is a descendant of the philosophers of the Middle Ages, and the head of one of the four great families of the Great Qian Dynasty!"
"So it was them!"
As the light faded, four figures appeared. Like the slain Ancestor Zongheng, they wore tall hats and wide robes, their faces radiating majesty, coldly observing Jiang Liu and Ao Luan.
"Hand over the treasure in front of you, and I'll spare your lives!"
"The world's treasures belong to those with virtue!"