Chapter 554: Facing the Emperor's Soldiers Bare-handed

The Tuo Mountain Bell. When Li Qiye saw this treasure, his eyelid twitched. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, staring at the Tuo Mountain Bell bobbing above Saint Child Ji Que’s head.

Lan Yunzhu knew Li Qiye better than anyone. The moment she saw his expression, she immediately had a premonition and knew someone was about to suffer terribly.

At this moment, countless people in the crowd held their breath, watching the scene in the sky. Li Qiye and the other two were locked in a standoff. A terrifying aura rolled off them in waves, making everyone’s hearts pound in their chests. The Tuo Mountain Bell of Saint Child Ji Que and the Demon Bell of the Ghost Insect Demon Child, in particular, radiated an aura that could suppress everything in the world, causing people’s legs to tremble involuntarily.

The Tuo Mountain Bell was a supreme, Heaven-Defying treasure. The Demon Bell was an Emperor Artifact; though shrouded in Demonic Qi, its Emperor’s Divine Force and Immortal Force were majestic and grand, aligned with the Great Dao.

Under this supreme Divine Power and invincible Immortal Force, cultivators with shallow Dao Practice felt their legs go weak. The less capable ones collapsed straight to the ground.

Even a Saint Emperor’s expression would change when faced with the suppression from two Emperor Artifacts. An attack from these two treasures was no laughing matter; an ordinary Great Sage Treasure couldn’t even block a single strike!

“Bring out whatever weapons you have. Otherwise, you’ll never get another chance,” Saint Child Ji Que said coldly, certain of his victory.

At this moment, Saint Child Ji Que and the Ghost Insect Demon Child were brimming with confidence. They had come bearing two Invincible Weapons and were certain they could blast Li Qiye to smithereens. Against these two Invincible Weapons, Li Qiye wouldn’t have the slightest advantage even if he possessed an Emperor Artifact! Even with an Immortal Emperor True Artifact, his chances of winning wouldn’t be high. After all, the Tuo Mountain Bell was a Supreme Treasure on par with an Immortal Emperor’s own.

Many people were now staring at Li Qiye. In fact, very few had ever seen him use a treasure. It could even be said that no one had ever seen him take out a single respectable one. During the battle outside the Snow Shadow Ghost Clan, he was completely bare-handed. Even when he did use weapons, they were just swords and sabers forged from Mortal Iron.

Therefore, many had long speculated whether Li Qiye truly possessed a Heaven-Defying, invincible weapon. Otherwise, how could he possibly challenge experts like the Emperor’s Throne and Tian Lunhui with just his bare hands or some mediocre treasures? He’d have little chance of victory!

In the eyes of the onlookers, even if Li Qiye’s strength surpassed that of Saint Child Ji Que and the Ghost Insect Demon Child, he would surely be suppressed by the Tuo Mountain Bell and the Demon Bell without an Emperor Artifact of his own. He would absolutely be blasted to smithereens by the two Invincible Weapons.

“Weapons?” Li Qiye glanced at them languidly and said, “To deal with you two, do I even need a treasure? My bare hands are more than enough.” As he spoke, he spread his hands.

“That’s way too arrogant.” Li Qiye’s words caused an uproar. Everyone had witnessed his arrogance and wild conceit before, but taking on two Invincible Weapons with his bare hands? That was beyond madness. Forget Li Qiye, even Long Zun Tian, with his Vajra Saint Body at Great Success, probably wouldn’t dare claim he could face two Invincible Weapons bare-handed at the same time.

“You’re courting death! Kill him!” The Ghost Insect Demon Child grinned cruelly and roared. In an instant, he poured all of his Blood Qi into the Demon Bell. The bell instantly erupted with a monstrous demonic light. Following an ear-piercing shriek, an enormous Ten Thousand Demon Insect flew out from it.

This Ten Thousand Demon Insect was incomparably ugly, its body covered in ghastly bone spurs that were horrifying to behold. As soon as it flew out, it flapped its wings, instantly stirring up an endless tide of Demonic Qi that seemed to transform the entire Water Realm into a Demon Realm.

Although the Ten Thousand Demon Insect overflowed with monstrous Demonic Qi, its core was aligned with the majestic Great Dao. The Emperor’s Divine Force and Immortal Force erupting from the Demon Bell contained not a trace of Demonic Qi. This imperial force crushed down upon the heavens, while the Ten Thousand Demon Insect’s bone spurs pierced through the world. The simultaneous appearance of two completely different auras from a single Immortal Emperor’s Treasure made even Saint Emperors turn pale, feeling as if their bones were being scraped and their souls drained dry by the creature.

Once the Demon Bell erupted, countless cultivators on the ground collapsed. It wasn’t just ordinary cultivators; even King and Marquis True Masters were unable to stand at this moment, slumping to the ground. Even Saint Venerables were trembling in fear. With the Ten Thousand Demon Insect hovering over their heads, they couldn’t block its pressure even with their Saint Venerable power.

The light from the Ten Thousand Demon Insect’s bone spurs seemed to pierce everyone’s soul, instilling a profound terror in the deepest recesses of their hearts.

The Demon Bell’s terrifying Divine Power truly frightened many Saint Venerables. A Saint Venerable of the same level, if they didn’t have an Emperor Artifact, would face certain death if they encountered the Ghost Insect Demon Child’s Demon Bell. Under such demonic might, they were simply no match.

BOOM! With a deafening explosion, just as the Ghost Insect Demon Child activated his Demon Bell, Saint Child Ji Que refused to be outdone. His Blood Qi surged like a sea as he powered the Tuo Mountain Bell.

CLANG! The bell tolled, a sound that could shatter the souls of gods. With a furious roar, Saint Child Ji Que and the Ghost Insect Demon Child attacked simultaneously, and the two Invincible Weapons shot toward Li Qiye in an instant.

The Tuo Mountain Bell flew horizontally, shattering the Void. Although it lacked the terrifying, horrifying aura of the Demon Bell, its advance was unstoppable, possessing an air of ‘slay gods who stand in the way, slaughter immortals who block the path’.

The two Invincible Weapons closed in for the kill instantly. Forget the others; many of the Saint Venerables present were so frightened their souls nearly scattered. They couldn’t help but shut their eyes. Under the assault of two such Invincible Weapons, not just a Saint Venerable, but even a Heaven-Defying Saint Emperor would be annihilated, turned to ash.

The instant the two Invincible Weapons bore down on him, Li Qiye moved. The Void trembled. In that split second, Li Qiye shot forward at an unparalleled speed, meeting the horizontally flying Tuo Mountain Bell head-on.

When Li Qiye suddenly rushed to meet the incoming Tuo Mountain Bell, countless people—including Lan Yunzhu—cried out in alarm. When facing an Invincible Weapon, others wouldn’t even have time to retreat, let alone charge forward to meet it.

Even if one were to fight, the first choice would be the Demon Bell, not the Tuo Mountain Bell. The Tuo Mountain Bell was incalculably stronger than the Demon Bell!

But Li Qiye did the opposite, forgoing the weaker target for the stronger one. He went straight for the Tuo Mountain Bell, extending a hand at an incredible angle to meet the incoming weapon!

Everyone was stunned silly watching this. They could all imagine Li Qiye’s arm being blasted into a shower of gore and flesh beneath the Tuo Mountain Bell, his entire body pulped by its impact.

But in that instant, the unthinkable happened. As Li Qiye met the Tuo Mountain Bell, he smoothly guided it aside. It was a perfect example of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds; the Tuo Mountain Bell was actually redirected, carving a perfect arc around Li Qiye.

Incredibly, with that one smooth motion from Li Qiye, the Tuo Mountain Bell’s invincible strike didn’t even touch him. In that instant, it simply changed its angle and trajectory, guided by his single hand to trace a flawless path past his body.

Li Qiye’s redirection was absolutely perfect. Even if a True Dragon had been attacking him, it would have been led astray by that simple guiding motion. It was such a simple and perfect redirection that the Tuo Mountain Bell’s trajectory was altered instantly and flawlessly, without the slightest bit of hesitation.

In that split second, Saint Child Ji Que’s expression changed dramatically; he was horrified. With that simple guiding motion from Li Qiye, he had momentarily lost control of his Tuo Mountain Bell as its trajectory was instantly altered!

The Dragon-Disarming Hand. This was an incredibly ancient Secret Technique, a gift to Li Qiye from Huang Jiaofu. This Secret Technique had a heaven-shattering origin!

The Dragon-Disarming Hand had two marvelous aspects. First, it could disarm and receive a weapon by nullifying its force layer by layer. Second, it embodied the principle of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds!

When one needed to directly receive an incoming weapon, the Dragon-Disarming Hand could weaken the attack’s power, neutralizing it section by section, layer by layer, until it could be caught.

And the “four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds” was exactly what Li Qiye had just done with his smooth redirection. This seemingly ordinary motion contained endless and profound variations, allowing one to temporarily seize control of an opponent’s weapon in the instant of contact!

BOOM! With a massive explosion, the Void shattered. The Ten Thousand Demon Insect instantly closed in for the kill. Although its terrifying bone spurs hadn’t struck yet, the feeling was as if they had already pierced a cultivator’s True Destiny, leaving them utterly powerless to resist.

The Demon Bell’s attack arrived, churning up a monstrous tide of Demonic Qi and carrying an invincible Emperor’s Power. In that instant, even a Saint Emperor could likely only sit and wait for death, completely unable to block such an invincible strike.

However, Li Qiye didn’t even spare the Ten Thousand Demon Insect a glance. The moment he guided the Tuo Mountain Bell aside, it instantly changed direction and hurtled toward the Ten Thousand Demon Insect.

In the instant the Tuo Mountain Bell left his hand, Li Qiye’s Blood Qi erupted to the heavens. In that split second, he used a Brilliant Strike to launch the bell forward. In that flash of lightning, the entire Tuo Mountain Bell lit up.

In that moment, the Tuo Mountain Bell vanished. In its place, within an endless Sea of Dao, a majestic mountain materialized. It stood like the sovereign of all mountains in the Nine Realms, a solitary peak guarding all Nine Realms from within the boundless Sea of Dao.

Under the power of the Brilliant Strike, the Tuo Mountain Bell unleashed its most invincible attack, as if an Immortal Emperor themselves were personally wielding it! At this moment, the bell’s charge could annihilate the Nine Realms; even a Great Sage would be smashed to ashes by this blow!

This sudden change left everyone stunned, including the Great Sect Ancestors. For a moment, they were under the illusion that an Immortal Emperor had personally arrived. Even those Great Sect Ancestors shuddered inwardly; no one would dare to receive such a strike from the Tuo Mountain Bell.

BOOM! With a thunderous crash, in a flash of lightning, Saint Child Ji Que lost all control of the Tuo Mountain Bell as it smashed into the Demon Bell with its most invincible attack.

This single strike drained the color from the Ten Thousand Realms. It wasn’t just everyone in the Water Realm; all the cultivators in the Five Realms were startled, their legs trembling in fear.

With an ear-piercing shriek, the monstrously demonic Ten Thousand Demon Insect was instantly annihilated. The Tuo Mountain Bell then slammed into the Demon Bell. The resulting impact was like the entire Ghost Sacred Realm exploding; the sheer noise was enough to knock even the Great Sect Ancestors off their feet!

Two Invincible Weapons had clashed head-on, and the Tuo Mountain Bell had unleashed its most invincible, most Heaven-Defying strike. Without a doubt, even as an Immortal Emperor’s Treasure, the Demon Bell had suffered a major loss.

The Demon Bell was sent flying backward. The stunned Ghost Insect Demon Child was struck by his own Demon Bell. Under the force of an Emperor Artifact’s strike, he exploded into a shower of blood that filled the sky, without even a chance to scream.