Chapter 260 - 254: Seventy-Two Paths Illusionary Tower Fist

Chapter 260: Chapter 254: Seventy-Two Paths Illusionary Tower Fist

If the Gratitude Sensing Realm, with its three distinct levels of Outer Sensing, Inner Sensing, and Heart Sensing, is fundamentally about a Martial Artist progressively deepening their perception of the world, then the Heart Intent Realm is the opposite—it’s about making the world perceive *your* existence!

Making even a single person remember you requires a memorable "trait," let alone the world and nature itself.

A Martial Artist must forge a brand unique to themselves to be perceived by the world, and this brand is the so-called "Heart Scene"!

A Heart Scene is the culmination of a Martial Artist’s life’s work—a condensation of their essence, qi, and spirit....

Fu Juemin recalled when he first stepped onto the path of the Martial Dao. He had been captivated when he heard the two words "Heart Intent" from Li Tong’s lips.

He never imagined that in just over half a year, he would be facing it as an opponent.

"Truly the pinnacle."

Fu Juemin let out a wistful sigh, his aura locking onto Fan Wuyan in the distance.

This was the first time he had ever attempted to channel the Demon Soul Force of three Great Demons into his body simultaneously while in the state of Five Poison Great Success with All Five Orifices Opened!

At this moment, nearly every meridian in his body screamed in pain. It wasn’t just the backlash from the Poison Force of the Five Poison Great Success; the immense Vitality he had stirred to an unimaginable level was about to overflow, desperately needing an outlet!

If not for the Pure Body from his Great Success Pharmacist Skill and the rapid healing of the Innate Primordial Liquid, an ordinary person would have likely died from Body Bursting the instant the Demon Souls entered them.

Fu Juemin could still endure it, but it wasn’t pleasant. So...

’Best to end this quickly.’

The Demon Soul Totems of the Black Python, Demon Toad, and Guardian Palace transformed into roiling, murky smoke, flowing like a thousand rivers into the sea as they converged on Fu Juemin’s right hand.

The Muddy World Saber, which he had comprehended during his battle with Xue Hen, underwent a terrifying qualitative transformation upon being infused with the three Demon Souls!

The instant Fu Juemin slashed out, the long street fell silent, and every drop of rain froze in the air!

As a colossal, dark, and twisted blade of light shot from Fu Juemin’s arm, all the collected water on the hundred-meter-long street levitated, merging with the blade light. It formed a surging, turbid torrent that swept majestically down the street!

The imagery of this strike was drawn from the flash flood Fu Juemin had personally witnessed and experienced during his battle with the water monkeys.

Beneath the torrent of blade light, a towering, jet-black ancient tower, wreathed in clouds, rose from the ground!

’It’s appeared again.’

Fu Juemin’s eyes glazed over for a moment. Soon, the Black Tower was crushed by the blade light, swept into the turbid current, and vanished....

Once all the strange phenomena had subsided...

TAP... TAP...

Fu Juemin stepped onto the long street, now as clean as if it had been washed, his footsteps echoing crisply.

All the pooled water on the street beneath his feet had vanished, and the rain seemed to have stopped as well.

Only after Fu Juemin had taken ten steps did a single drop of rain—PAT—smack against the ground!

Then a second, and a third...

More and more, faster and faster.

The downpour began again.

Fu Juemin stood in the rain, his body shrouded in a dark, turbid smoke as thick as miasma, like a walking, silently burning fire.

He narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction he had just attacked.

He saw a long, massive gash from his saber stretching down the bluestone street. The old tram that had been blocking the way was now split in two, its halves resting on either side of the street. At the street’s end, Tongji Gate was...

No, that wasn’t right!

Fu Juemin froze for a moment.

Tongji Gate was gone.

He slowly raised his head, only to see that the spot where Tongji Gate should have been was now occupied by an ancient, imposing Black Jade Tower wreathed in clouds.

There was no telling how many meters tall this Ancient Black Jade Tower was; its majestic body stretched endlessly upward until it vanished into the gray, rainy sky.

At this very moment, the rain poured in torrents, and thunder rumbled ominously.

Fu Juemin pulled his gaze from the Black Jade Tower and scanned his surroundings, only to realize—

Fan Wuyan was gone.

Everyone else was gone, too.

The entire Vermilion Bird Street was utterly deserted, without another soul in sight!

Lightning flashed intermittently across the sky, casting a shifting pattern of light and shadow across Fu Juemin’s face.

Fu Juemin’s eyelids lowered, his expression calm.

"So... this is a Heart Intent Heart Scene?"

....

Meanwhile, from the onlookers’ perspective...

After unleashing that world-shocking, utterly terrifying strike, Fu Juemin, for some unknown reason, simply stood frozen in place.

His head was bowed, his expression unreadable, as if he were silently contemplating something.

With one sleeve torn and a grim look on his face, Fan Wuyan stood on the shattered, chaotic street. He was a mere meter away from the shocking saber gash that ran nearly the entire length of the street, all the way to Tongji Gate.

It was clear that in the instant the blade light bore down on him, he had used some technique to forcibly shift himself a meter to the side, barely dodging the earth-shattering strike!

Fan Wuyan looked at his right arm. The shockwave of Saber Qi had only grazed him, yet it had shattered his Protective Qi Membrane and shredded his sleeve. An indescribable shock still flashed in his eyes.

He turned his head back to the figure standing silently with bowed head, shrouded in thick, miasmic smoke. At last, an undisguised, intense killing intent appeared on his face!

"Seventy-Two Paths Illusionary Tower Fist!"

"Thousand Gates Locked!"

Fan Wuyan’s figure blurred into motion, transforming into a gray shadow that shot straight for the other man’s face.

He threw a right punch, and streams of visible black light swirled around his fist.

From his explosive start to the strike itself was but an instant. By the time he closed in on the figure, his one fist wreathed in black light had suddenly multiplied into a hundred, then a thousand fists!

Densely packed, they resembled a terrifying black net, closing in on all the vital acupoints on the figure’s body!

Just as this "net" was about to fall, the figure, who had remained silent all this time, abruptly looked up!

A sudden flash of lightning from the sky illuminated his handsome face, reflecting in his eyes—

BOOM!!—

A terrifying shockwave erupted. The black net formed by countless fist-shadows was torn apart. Amidst the exploding spray of water, Fan Wuyan’s figure shot backward, and with a few flashes, he retreated to his original position.

He stared intently at the mist that had yet to disperse, his brow tightly furrowed. His voice was laced with disbelief. "Impossible!

"You faced my Heart Scene directly and took a punch from my Illusionary Tower. You should have been trapped in the illusion for at least ten breaths!"

WHOOSH—

The mist parted, and a figure slowly walked out from within.

Fu Juemin tugged at his slightly wrinkled shirt, a cold smile on his face, and said slowly, "I told you. You don’t know me."

BOOM!

As his voice fell, Fu Juemin’s figure suddenly vanished, leaving only a blurry afterimage to slowly dissipate.

Almost simultaneously, Fan Wuyan also exploded into action, and the two figures clashed on the long street!

Both figures moved with extreme speed. The onlookers at the edge of the street could barely tell who was who, only managing to catch glimpses of two afterimages constantly colliding and swapping positions...

The terrifying sound of clashing Vitality and colliding fists and feet was incessant, shaking the ground so hard the pooled water levitated, and repelling every raindrop falling from the sky.

A transparent, completely empty "domain" continuously expanded outward—a combat aura of sorts, formed by the collision and entanglement of their two terrifyingly powerful streams of Vitality!

Suddenly!

"Infinite!"

BOOM!—

A tyrannical and terrifyingly powerful Palm Force condensed in mid-air into a tangible "Grinding Disc," which shot out from the fray. It landed on a shuttered bun shop on the side of the street, instantly blowing the entire shop apart from a distance!

In an instant, wood splinters and brick fragments flew everywhere.

Before the crowd could even feel horrified, the next second brought a long laugh, accompanied by an old yet chilling voice.

"Tower Overturning Mountains and Rivers!"

Within the battle, a ball of black light suddenly erupted and exploded!

Following this, a figure stumbled back from the center of the fight—THUD, THUD, THUD—staggering more than ten meters away before managing to regain his balance.

Fu Juemin looked up, his brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the broken membrane of Vitality over his chest and the black fist print that seemed to be sunken deep into his flesh.

"Are you starting to realize? Every time you strike, you’re always off by just a little bit..."

Fan Wuyan wore a smile as he walked toward him at a deliberate, unhurried pace. Streams of eerie, glowing Vitality, as thick as small snakes, slithered over his body.

He spoke to Fu Juemin in a slow, methodical tone as he walked.

"Sometimes you accidentally miss a little to the left, other times you accidentally miss a little to the right."

"Or maybe you miss high, or you miss low..."

As he spoke, his entire form inexplicably began to blur in Fu Juemin’s vision.

Even the sound of his voice became erratic—now near, now far; now clear, now faint.

’The will infused into his Fist Technique is so strong it can interfere with my Perception, throwing my five senses into disarray and causing my Consciousness to constantly misjudge?’

Fu Juemin exhaled softly. His brows relaxed, the black fist print on his chest slowly faded, and his expression returned to calm.

He looked at the approaching Fan Wuyan and said flatly, "Again."

...

Not feeling great today, kind of sleepy. We’ll finish the fight tomorrow.