Chapter 114: Taoist Nun Miaohua [Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year]
“Mooaah... Roar...”
Gazing up at the Thunder Dragon and Wind Tiger soaring in the sky, the golden giant sword that Li Yang had transformed into rippled with surging golden waves.
“Clang clang...”
Accompanied by a sharp wail of the sword, the void instantly tore open with streaks of pitch-black spatial rifts.
“Spatial Divine Art!”
Watching the golden giant sword vanish into the space, Master Dongwei’s expression shifted abruptly as he focused his mind and heightened his vigilance.
He was well aware of the innate divine arts of ancient beasts, but he had never expected that this Six-Winged Golden Centipede could awaken the Spatial Divine Art.
Spatial Divine Art—he had only heard of it before but never witnessed it in person. Divine arts involving the words “space” and “time” were notoriously difficult to counter. Without a cultivation level reaching the Immortal Realm, one could not even sense the slightest spatial fluctuation.
“Zzzz...”
While Master Dongwei remained on full alert, suddenly a colossal black hole tore open in the void, emitting an irresistible gravitational pull.
“Gah gah lih...!”
The red-crowned crane beneath Master Dongwei let out a panicked cry and was helplessly drawn into the black hole.
“Heaven and Earth Infinite, Mandated by the Celestial Order: San Wu Du Gong, Heavenly Master Borrowing the Law!”
At the very moment the suction threatened to engulf him, Master Dongwei was startled but swiftly formed hand seals. Above his head, a phantom seal suddenly flickered into existence, stabilizing the surrounding space.
“Whoosh...”
“Ride the sword across the skies!”
Seizing the moment the void was locked in place, Master Dongwei pointed forward, and the Yin-Yang Male-Female Demon-Slaying Sword immediately reversed course, supporting his body.
“Hissss wuuu...”
Feeling the binding force of the spatial prison, a surge of magical power swept through Li Yang’s body. The countless legs of the centipede spun like razor wheels, slicing through space, breaking free from the confinement, and bursting out of the void.
From the beginning, Li Yang had never intended to kill Master Dongwei. As the chief disciple of Dragon-Tiger Mountain, protected by the San Wu Du Gong Heavenly Master Seal, if he died at Li Yang’s hands, it would surely alert Master Zhang.
Without the Yin-Yang Male-Female Demon-Slaying Sword and the Heavenly Master’s protective seal, Li Yang, with his divine arts, might have been confident enough to utterly annihilate Master Dongwei at a mere glance.
“Flying body leaves no trace, standing firm without shadow.” Though it was a divine art involving space and ethereal transformation, its essence was simply an application of spatial laws. Although Li Yang could not perceive or analyze these laws, that did not prevent him from wielding them.
To put it simply, even if I cannot build a car or understand its mechanics, that does not stop me from driving one.
Moreover, this divine art was instinctively inscribed in the genes of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede, so naturally, Li Yang wielded it effortlessly.
Especially now that he had cultivated magical power, bolstered by that power, the spatial divine art’s might was incomparable.
“Rumble rumble...”
“Brother Dao, I come to aid you!”
Just as Master Dongwei was concentrating on defense and contemplating retreat, a thunderous storm echoed through the void. Riding the storm was none other than Shi Jian, hastening from the Northern Sea.
“Hah... Searching endlessly with no trace, yet it comes without effort!”
Gazing at the Six-Winged Golden Centipede in the void and sensing that familiar aura, Shi Jian’s eyes gleamed with fierce light as he sneered coldly.
“Brother Dao, have you seen this beast before?”
Master Dongwei raised his brows in surprise at Shi Jian’s unusual behavior.
“Of course I have. Not only have I seen it, but it also bears mortal enmity with me.”
Facing Master Dongwei’s astonished expression, Shi Jian narrowed his eyes as blue lightning flickered around him, his hair standing on end.
“I wonder if you might set aside our grievances and join forces—let us subdue this demon first?”
Producing the Jade Seal of the Nine Elders’ Celestial Sovereign from his bosom, Shi Jian turned to Master Dongwei and spoke.
“Your wish is firm, but I dare not request it!”
Though unaware of the deep hatred between Shi Jian and the Six-Winged Golden Centipede, nothing prevented them from uniting against their common foe.
“Overestimating yourself!”
“Shhh... zzzz...”
Seeing the murderous intent in Shi Jian’s eyes, Li Yang realized his identity had been exposed. He ceased holding back, spreading his six wings behind him. The space around him shattered into black dimensional rifts that sliced toward the two opponents.
“Heaven’s spirit, Earth’s spirit: San Mao True Lord manifests power!”
Facing the rifts that cleaved the world, Shi Jian did not dare underestimate the threat. His body was suffused with rampant lightning, feet treading the Eight Trigrams, while the Jade Seal of the Nine Elders’ Celestial Sovereign in his hand emitted a jade-green glow that swelled with the wind.
Beneath the seal, a crimson San Mao divine talisman transformed into a vast sealing emblem, ruthlessly pressing down on Li Yang.
“Hissss wuuu...”
Sensing the imprisoning force, Li Yang’s body trembled violently. His surrounding space felt like a swamp—no matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the Jade Seal’s suppression.
Gazing upon the crimson seal beneath the Nine Elders’ Celestial Sovereign Jade Seal, Li Yang’s heart grew heavy. Truly, these dark binding runes carved by San Mao True Lord himself were extraordinary in power.
Even Shi Jian’s cultivation could manifest such overwhelming suppression, revealing the immense might of this celestial jade seal.
“Puff... Yang thunder, Yin storm, heed my command; respectfully summon the Upper Clarity Celestial Venerable’s power: Upper Clarity Thunder Law, grant pardon!”
Seeing Li Yang trapped, unable to escape into space, Shi Jian’s eyes flickered with lightning, spitting a mouthful of pure essence-infused blood. His hands traced the steps of the Heavenly Gang, and the sky darkened, black clouds pressing down.
“Rumble rumble... crackle crackle...”
Summoned by the black clouds, a massive crimson thunder drum appeared, from which a thumb-thick Upper Clarity divine thunder, glowing purple, descended upon Li Yang’s head.
Observing the tumultuous sky and the destructive aura radiating from the purple thunder, Li Yang’s heart leapt in terror. His extraordinary spiritual senses screamed warnings as the centipede’s spirit writhed in his mind like a doomed creature sensing its nemesis.
The Maoshan Sect originated from the Upper Clarity Dao lineage, and the Lightning Thunder Fist evolved from Upper Clarity Thunder Law, which specialized in targeting cultivators’ souls. Compared to essence and qi, the soul was undoubtedly Li Yang’s greatest weakness.
“Profound Heaven’s Nine Transformations: Form Shift!”
“Hissss wuuu...”
With a thought, the spectral images of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede within every cell of Li Yang’s body awakened simultaneously. A roar echoed from his soul’s depths, and a towering, ferocious thousand-handed form appeared in the void.
The form stood a hundred zhang tall, radiating a primal, savage ancient aura the moment it manifested.
“Human-Immortal Form!”
Seeing the colossal form in the void, Shi Jian’s pale face drained of color, eyes filled with disbelief.
“Brother Dao, allow me to lend you a hand!”
“Boundless Heaven and Earth, borrowing cosmic power: Dragon and Tiger, Yang Yang, Heavenly Master’s Demon-Slaying!”
As Master Dongwei’s words fell, a massive Yin-Yang sword energy descended upon the form.
“Hiss... Break...”
“Crack crack crack... crash... rumble rumble... zzzz... shhh...”
Faced with the soaring sword light and the purple Upper Clarity divine thunder, Li Yang’s magical power surged. Accompanied by a piercing hiss, the space around him cracked open, and the San Mao True Lord’s talisman shattered bit by bit.
Li Yang clenched his fists with his thousand hands on either side, unleashing a staggering wave of magical energy that surged skyward. The sword light and purple thunder in the void broke apart piece by piece, instantly pulverized by the frenzied spatial power.
Looking down at the subtle cracks spreading across the form, Li Yang’s fury flared. The injuries left by his last battle against the Human Dao’s fate had not yet healed, and now, pressured by Shi Jian and Master Dongwei, forcing out his form once more, had drained the centipede’s primordial essence he had painstakingly accumulated.
His Golden Centipede form was only half-formed; each use consumed some of the primordial force stored within. Without necessity, Li Yang would never lightly wield it.
Too frequent a drain on the centipede’s essence, if not replenished in time, could lead to the form’s collapse and cause irreparable damage.
“Die!”
“Crack...”
Seized by fury, Li Yang struck decisively. His giant hands reached out, activating the Six-Winged Golden Centipede’s innate divine art. The void instantly condensed into a solid mass. With crisp sounds, spatial cracks flickered around Shi Jian.
“San Mao True Lord borrowing power, seal protecting the body!”
Feeling the oppressive force and deathly aura, Shi Jian’s expression changed. Several purple talismanic arrows shot from his sleeve, vanishing into the void. The Jade Seal of the Nine Elders’ Celestial Sovereign swiftly returned, cloaking his head.
“Desperate struggle!”
Watching Shi Jian’s moves, Li Yang sneered. Though his centipede form was still incomplete, it was the exclusive power of an immortal—how could an ordinary cultivator like Shi Jian resist it?
Though formidable, the Jade Seal was not Shi Jian’s own treasure but only borrowed. How much power could he truly wield?
“Crack... puff...”
With a clenched fist, Li Yang caused the space to collapse instantly. Shi Jian didn’t even have time to scream as his body was crushed into a pulp, dissipating into a mist of blood.
“Whoosh...”
“Brother Dao!”
Witnessing Shi Jian’s fate, Master Dongwei’s face turned pale, his gaze toward Li Yang filled with caution and fear.
“Trying to flee...”
“Stay!”
Looking toward the void where the Jade Seal, carrying Shi Jian’s soul, was escaping, Li Yang roared. His thousand arms shot forth, snatching the glowing seal out from the void.
“Spare me...”
“Puff...”
Ignoring Shi Jian’s pleas, Li Yang breathed out a torrent of solar true fire. The jade light on the seal dimmed immediately, and Shi Jian’s soul inside evaporated in an instant.
Holding the still-struggling Jade Seal, Li Yang flickered away, retracting his form. Golden magical energy surged into the jade seal.
Once something was in his hands, it never left. Especially such a precious treasure—Li Yang would never let it go.
...
Meanwhile, above the East Sea, as Li Yang prepared to forcibly refine the Nine Elders’ Celestial Sovereign Jade Seal, Daoist Nun Miaohua suddenly sensed a disturbance.
Looking toward the not-so-distant sky where Master Zhang was battling the Dragon Seed, her expression flickered with unease. Finally, she transformed into a streak of pure light and sped toward Li Yang’s direction.