Chapter 492 - 274: The Great Battle

Chapter 492: Chapter 274: The Great Battle

"You little bastard! You’ve already broken through to Celestial Essence? You hid it well," Liu Qingyuan spat, his voice a mixture of shock and fury.

According to his calculations, Xu Yang should have needed another year or so to have any chance of breaking through to the Celestial Essence Realm. He never expected this to be the case at all. Xu Yang had already reached Celestial Essence, and he was the one who had killed Song Yushao.

Such talent was more terrifying than anyone had imagined, and his power was immense.

What was most terrifying, however, was Xu Yang’s self-control. He hadn’t announced something as significant as breaking through to the Celestial Essence Realm, showing none of the flamboyance of youth. He was like a venomous snake hiding in the shadows, even more unfathomable than Zhang Jingyuan.

He had been wracking his brain for a way to kill Xu Yang before he reached the Celestial Essence Realm, but he had been a step too late. Now, Xu Yang was even audacious enough to ambush him.

Liu Qingyuan was filled with shock, fury, and a pang of regret. He never should have put Xu Yang down just to curry favor with Li Chuyang, which had caused this enmity between them.

The issue could have been resolved, but his subsequent rage over Liu Xunjiang’s death—which he directed at Xu Yang—escalated the enmity between them to a life-or-death struggle.

"And whose fault is that but yours, you old bastard?" Xu Yang’s voice was glacial.

The talent he had shown before had already given Liu Qingyuan sleepless nights, making the man eager to see him dead. If he hadn’t concealed his abilities, there was no way he would have survived to this day.

"I can’t let you live!" Liu Qingyuan wasted no more time on words and charged straight for Xu Yang.

He had asked about the battle at Yunxi Villa. He knew Song Yushao had been killed only after a grueling battle with a Crimson Flame Tiger, so Xu Yang had simply picked up an easy kill.

He had to kill Xu Yang today, no matter what. If he missed this opportunity, given Xu Yang’s talent, he would be the one to die in the future. And that day would come sooner rather than later.

He had been stuck at the Celestial Essence First Layer for many years, his Cultivation barely advancing an inch. With Xu Yang’s talent, a Secondary Dragon Ascension was a certainty. In three to five years, at most, he would break through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer.

Once Xu Yang broke through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer, ten lives wouldn’t be enough to save him.

There are nine layers in the Celestial Essence Realm, and the gap between each one is as wide as the sky is from the earth.

He hadn’t broken through to the Celestial Essence Realm until he was almost forty, making him utterly incomparable to a genius like Xu Yang, who had only been in the Inner Sect for just over a year. Having been in the Purple Sun Sect for so long, he had seen many such geniuses, and they all eventually grew into overlords of Yun Province.

Li Chuyang’s father, Li Lingdu, had been just such a genius.

BOOM!

Liu Qingyuan’s Gang Yuan surged, and his body erupted with a searing light, like a great sun crashing to earth. The surrounding grass and trees instantly withered and yellowed before smoldering and bursting into flames.

In an instant, huge flames erupted all around, billowing thick smoke.

Sun Boiling Sea Technique!

Most of the Purple Sun Sect’s Cultivation Techniques were Supreme Yang Techniques, with the Purple Sun Scripture reigning supreme. However, the Purple Sun Scripture was passed down exclusively through the Sect Leader’s lineage. Only the Sect Leader and the designated successor could cultivate it.

Second was the Li Fire Technique, the profundity of which was not far inferior to the Purple Sun Scripture. This technique was the heritage of Li Fire Peak, and only its disciples were permitted to cultivate it.

Ranked third was the Sun Boiling Sea Technique. It was said to be a simplified version of the Purple Sun Scripture, and while not as potent, it wasn’t much weaker than the Li Fire Technique.

Liu Qingyuan had cultivated the Sun Boiling Sea Technique for many years, whereas Xu Yang had only just broken through. Even if Xu Yang had a foundation of Golden Gang Qi, Liu Qingyuan was confident that his own Gang Yuan was stronger.

His figure vanished. Radiating scorching heat, he shot toward Xu Yang like a blazing sun. The burning trees in his path were obliterated by his tyrannical aura, blasted into smithereens.

He flew so low that his body skimmed the ground, carving a deep gash in the earth.

CRACK! CRACK!

Xu Yang moved as well!

The bones and sinews throughout his body issued a series of sharp cracks. His aura erupted like a volcano as a shockwave radiated out from him, churning up the grass and soil.

Amidst this majestic aura, specks of gold appeared on his skin. They spread rapidly until, in an instant, his entire body was a brilliant gold, as if cast from the molten metal itself.

Golden Gang Skill!

Gang Yuan surged around him like burning golden flames, radiating a heat intense enough to melt metal.

BANG!

The ground beneath him shattered. Xu Yang took a single, powerful stride and vanished. The two had yet to collide, but their auras were already locked in combat. The earth cracked and split, and the Power of Heaven and Earth churned violently.

BOOM!

The air shuddered. A colossal Bright King Image materialized behind him, emitting a blinding light. In that instant, an aura as immovable as a mountain settled over Xu Yang, as if he had become one with the world itself.

Bright King Unmoving Body!

A tyrannical aura blotted out the sky as the Power of Heaven and Earth swarmed toward him. Xu Yang’s robes billowed, his muscles bulged, and he seemed to grow taller as boiling power roared through his veins.

He was far more powerful than when he had killed Song Yushao.

But Liu Qingyuan was no Song Yushao; he was much stronger.

Facing the incoming palm strike from Liu Qingyuan, he threw a punch without hesitation.

BOOM!

A deafening roar echoed as a gale of energy erupted. His fist, wreathed in golden flames, tore through the air, its ferocious Fist Strength blanketing Liu Qingyuan.

Both men cultivated Supreme Yang Techniques. Even before fist and palm collided, their surroundings were already being devastated. The ground was scorched red, and heat washed over the area in searing waves.

BANG!

Fist met palm. Flames carrying a terrifying force capable of shattering stone exploded outward. In the ensuing shockwave, everything within a radius of a hundred feet was pulverized, and a plume of dust shot into the sky like a dragon.

For several hundred feet around, the fierce winds extinguished all the burning plants, then blasted them into powder.

RUMBLE...

The earth cracked apart and sent rubble flying. Farther away, massive trees were uprooted and toppled over in droves. The scene was utterly horrifying.

If Xu Yang hadn’t held back earlier and fought Liu Qingyuan with his full strength in the canyon, none of Sun Tao’s group would have survived.

In a way, Sun Tao had saved Lu Ren, Zhang Hanzhou, and the others.

If Sun Tao hadn’t been in the group, Xu Yang wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of luring Liu Qingyuan here to fight. He would have simply started the battle back in the canyon.

"Martial Dao Imagery!" Liu Qingyuan’s pupils contracted as he stared intently at the Bright King Image behind Xu Yang.

For a Celestial Essence Martial Artist, comprehending Martial Dao Imagery was normal. Their lifespans were at least two hundred years; if they couldn’t grasp it in one year, they could take ten. If ten years wasn’t enough, they could take twenty. It was only a matter of time.

But how long had it been since Xu Yang’s breakthrough? He had already cultivated the Bright King Unmoving Body to the Great Success Realm of Imagery Body Refining. It was highly probable that Xu Yang had comprehended his Martial Dao Imagery *before* even reaching the Celestial Essence Realm.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Xu Yang’s legs seemed rooted to the earth, immovable as a mountain. The ground beneath his feet, however, continuously cracked and shattered.

To Liu Qingyuan, Xu Yang felt like an unmovable mountain. No matter how much strength he put forth, he couldn’t push him back a single inch. It was as if his palm had struck a great mountain; the rebound force nearly shattered his bones and snapped his tendons. His blood roiled, and a hum reverberated through his entire skeleton.

At the same time, an even more violent and searing energy traveled up his arm from Xu Yang’s fist, threatening to cook him from the inside out.

"You ate that Vermilion Flame Fruit!"

In that instant, he understood. The Vermilion Flame Fruit that Song Yushao had painstakingly cultivated had been claimed by Xu Yang. It had made Xu Yang’s Gang Yuan far more potent than the Supreme Yang Gang Yuan he himself had spent decades cultivating with the Sun Boiling Sea Technique.

"That’s right!"

The Bright King Image behind Xu Yang flickered, emanating a majestic pressure as it continuously drew the Power of Heaven and Earth into his body.

A tyrannical aura flared as he unfurled his fist into a palm and struck, his hand tearing through the air.

The ground buckled as if struck by a monstrous wave, and the earth itself churned.

Fuyue Bear King’s Palm!

However, the Martial Dao Imagery of the Fuyue Bear King’s Palm did not appear behind him, because only one Martial Dao Imagery could be manifested at a time; they could not be stacked.

But even without its Martial Dao Imagery, an attack using the Fuyue Bear King’s Palm was stronger than one from a simple Fist Technique.

His muscles swelled further, making him resemble a giant, rearing bear. A tyrannical aura flooded the area, and the surging power made the veins on his arms bulge.

BOOM!

Mountain-Shattering and Mountain-Breaking!

An incomparably ferocious Force tore through the air. The surrounding Power of Heaven and Earth swarmed toward him, and his palm shone with a dazzling golden light.

A sharp glint flashed in Liu Qingyuan’s eyes, and his killing intent surged. He had to kill Xu Yang today, no matter what.

With a loud BANG, his Protective Gang Yuan flared. Power surged like a river, converging madly on his hand as he aimed a cunning strike at Xu Yang’s armpit.

He too had cultivated the Fuyue Bear King’s Palm and knew its weaknesses.

The palm strike was as fast as lightning and packed with ferocious Force. Before it even landed, ripples appeared on Xu Yang’s Protective Gang Yuan, and the converging Power of Heaven and Earth was scattered. All that was left between them was a contest of pure power.

Xu Yang’s gaze turned glacial, his own killing intent erupting.

If Liu Qingyuan didn’t die, he couldn’t undergo the Dragon Ascension with peace of mind, as it would leave Xu Qing in danger.

The palm he had thrust out twisted, striking diagonally at Liu Qingyuan’s hand.

BOOM!

The two palms collided with a sound like a hammer striking an anvil. Both torrents of Gang Yuan shattered, erupting into a storm of Vigorous Energy that swept outward. The ground for a hundred feet around sank once more, forming a massive crater as dust shot into the sky.

Both men shuddered, their blood churning like a tidal wave. A flush rose to their faces.

One had a tyrannical Physique. The other, though his Body Refining Cultivation wasn’t high, had been entrenched in the Celestial Essence Realm for years, and his physical body was equally fearsome. Coupled with his abundant Gang Yuan, the exchange ended in a draw, a low hum thrumming through their bones.

BOOM!

Xu Yang suppressed the churning in his blood. His aura climbed, his power boiled, and another shockwave swept out from him. The Bright King Image behind him swelled, growing even larger.

Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength!

By now, his mastery of the Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength had deepened, allowing him to increase his combat power by nearly forty percent.

The boiling power surged like a dragon. His bones hummed, and the great dragon along his spine seemed to come alive, its segments writhing.

"You’ve actually cultivated the Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength to such a level!" Liu Qingyuan shouted, his heart pounding with shock.

He knew exactly what kind of Cultivation Technique the Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength was, because he had cultivated it himself. But even after years of study, he was still at the Entry Realm, not yet having reached Minor Achievement.

Xu Yang had only possessed the Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength for a few months, yet he could already use it to boost his combat power this much. His Comprehension was simply terrifying.

His heart filled with even more regret for making an enemy of Xu Yang, but at the same time, his resolve to kill him only grew stronger.

"Kill!"

Xu Yang’s battle intent surged. He took a step that cracked the ground, lunging forward like a primordial beast wreathed in a monstrous Evil Qi.

Behind him, the Bright King Image shone with brilliant light, frantically absorbing the Power of Heaven and Earth.