Volume 4 Chapter 88

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Volume 4 Chapter 88: Understanding the Divine

Just as Ninglingzi commanded the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" toward Number One and Number Three, Number One somehow unleashed a mysterious power, also driving the potent evil energy from the "Tian Sha Seed" to meet the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods."

Simultaneously, aside from Ninglingzi controlling the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods," Master Guanghui, Hu Ming, Xiao Bieshan, and even Chou Xuan attacked Number One and Number Three, each showcasing their magical techniques. Ice, thunder, metal, wood, flying sand, and rolling stones surged mightily toward them. The power unleashed by the four Condensed Core Stage cultivators was immense, making it seem as though the entire "Ningyun Mountain" might crumble under the fearsome display.

Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan and the remaining Lingji Stage cultivator stood by Ninglingzi’s side as guardians, closely observing the changing scene.

At the instant the "Tian Sha Seed" released the dense black mist, Ninglingzi, controlling the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods," suddenly sensed something was amiss. A foreboding premonition whispered of the mist’s potential to inflict fatal harm upon the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods," prompting Ninglingzi to quickly maneuver them to evade.

Watching the terrifying magic hurtling toward him, Number One slightly frowned and directed a portion of the black mist to shield his body while allowing the rest to continue pursuing the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods."

Originally, "Golden Armored Soldier God" was meant to attack Number One and Number Three, but now it was being chased all over the mountain by the black aura from the "Tian Sha Seed," much to Ninglingzi’s silent frustration. Yet, the ominous feeling in his heart was so strong, he had no choice but to keep avoiding the black aura. He watched in the shadows as Master Guanghui and others used their Taoist spells against Number One and Number Three, noticing that they barely needed to dodge, and thought perhaps they could defeat these two without using the "Golden Armored Soldier God."

Finally, Chou Xuan’s "Storm Slash," Hu Ming’s "Dragon Fire Spell," Master Guanghui’s "Swastika Seal," and Xiao Bieshan’s "Starlight Shuttle" all launched at Number One and Number Three. A series of loud booms echoed, and debris from the explosions billowed into the sky, covering the blazing sun and causing sand and stones to fly everywhere.

The summit of "Ningyun Mountain" was likely lowered by more than three feet due to the power of these four Taoist spells!

However, the faces of Master Guanghui and the others grew increasingly grave. Through Divine Sense, they clearly sensed that Number One and Number Three hadn’t been harmed by the barrage. Number One and the altar beneath him, protected by the black aura, remained unscathed, while Number Three, who stood motionless, seemed to disappear only to reappear after the explosions subsided.

Surely enough, once the dust settled, Number One and Number Three appeared before everyone again. Number Three seemed completely unharmed, while Number One, having used the aura and his own Taoist spell to withstand the attacks from Master Guanghui and the others, looked pale, suggesting he had suffered some internal injury.

At this moment, the sinister smile on Number One’s face had vanished, replaced by a flicker of killing intent in his eyes. He intensified his control over the black aura, confining the movement of the "Golden Armored Soldier God." He then spoke to Number Three, who stood below the altar staring blankly, "Number Three, hold them off; don’t let them attack anymore. I will deal with these two ‘Golden Armored Soldier Gods’ first."

Seeing that Number Three showed no response and continued to stand there in a daze, Number One frowned and added, "Of those seven remaining orthodox cultivators, you can pick anyone you like except for the one at the Lingji Stage. You can eat one, and I’ll explain to Number Two."

Hearing this, Number Three’s eyes instantly flared with a crimson light, and, without a moment’s hesitation, he charged at Master Guanghui and the others.

Number Three was incredibly fast, even faster than Xu Qingfan, who had mastered the "Wind of Desolation." In the blink of an eye, he was close to the group, his ten fingernails suddenly extending, viciously stabbing toward the closest, Master Guanghui.

When Number Three attacked, everyone was startled. They had been preparing a powerful second wave of magical attacks against Number One and Number Three, but seeing Number Three suddenly charge at them so swiftly, they quickly moved to create distance, while directing their prepared magic towards Number Three.

Perhaps spurred by the presence of food, Number Three was moving twice as fast as when it sneaked up on them during the "Night of Nothingness". It effortlessly dodged out of the range of their magical attacks. When it couldn’t avoid an attack, it turned into a mist of blood, absorbing the strike. Although the blood mist was scattered, it quickly reassembled into Number Three’s form and charged at them again. Clearly, Number Three relied on this ability to evade their magical onslaught previously.

Eventually, Number Three turned entirely into a blood mist, attacking everyone. At first, they paid little mind, thinking they could easily disperse it with powerful magic. However, when a wisp of the mist reached one of the Lingji Stage cultivators, entering their body and draining them dry, everyone became more cautious, quickly scattering any trace of the blood mist with magic.

The blood mist could be dispersed but not completely destroyed. Whenever it was scattered, it reformed into hundreds of strands, drifting back towards them.

Thus, while Number Three could not immediately threaten them, they were unable to spare any attention to attack Number One, leading to a momentary stalemate.

Watching Master Guanghui, Chou Xuan, and others entangled with Number Three, Xu Qingfan frowned inwardly. Number Three truly lived up to being one of the potential core members of the "Ming" organization, demonstrating impressive strength. Although it appeared foolish, it could actually stand against a Real Golden Core Stage expert and three Fake Golden Core Stage experts all on its own, proving to be incredibly powerful.

Yet, one does not know what true strength lies within the actual core of the "Ming" organization.

Xu Qingfan then turned his attention to the battle between the "Golden Armored Soldier God" and the black aura. He understood that while the fight with Number Three and the others was intense, the decisive battle would determine the outcome.

Each of the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" possessed offensive and defensive capabilities stronger than a late Real Golden Core Stage. However, they seemed to be wary of the black aura. If they could evade the black mist’s encirclement, the battle’s dynamics would shift. Number One’s strength far surpassed that of Number Three, and if the black mist truly threatened the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods," the battlefield would change dramatically.

Meanwhile, Ninglingzi was controlling two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" to dodge the attacks of the dark aura while keeping an eye on the battle between Master Guanghui’s group and Number Three. Seeing that the fight was at a stalemate, he grew anxious. He instinctively felt that the dark aura was harmful to the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods," so he hoped to use them to stall Number One and his "Tian Sha Seed," allowing others to break the deadlock. However, he didn’t expect Number Three to be so formidable.

Most importantly, Ninglingzi knew that while the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" were powerful, they were not directly controlled by him. They were only released from the seals binding them, so they had a time limit. Once the time ran out and the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" vanished, it would be disastrous for everyone.

With this in mind, Ninglingzi gritted his teeth and stopped directing the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" to dodge. Instead, he had them stand firm and charge toward the dark aura blocking their path.

"Perhaps this dark aura might not threaten the ‘Golden Armored Soldier Gods’ at all, and everything was just my misconception."

Ninglingzi thought to himself.

Indeed, the situation at the start was as Ninglingzi predicted. The power of the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" was unquestionable. Facing the dark aura blocking their way, they swiftly raised their weapons and slashed, dispelling the aura in no time. Then they charged once more towards Number One on the altar.

Number One, however, had already regained composure, the murderous look in his eyes gone. Seeing the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" approaching again, he drove the "Tian Sha Seed" to release thick aura to block them, only for it to be swiftly dispelled again. This cycle repeated several times.

Before long, the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" were within less than three meters of Number One. Given their height, they seemed ready to strike at Number One.

But Number One only chuckled softly, seemingly unbothered by the powerful "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" before him.

In the distance, manipulating the "Golden Armored Soldier God," Ninglingzi’s expression suddenly changed.

He suddenly realized that the more black miasma the "Golden Armored Soldier God" dispersed, the more difficult it became to control it.

At this moment, he even noticed that the "Golden Armored Soldier God" seemed to have completely broken free from his control, standing still before the altar.

Looking at the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" themselves, the weapons they had used to cut down the black miasma were unknowingly invaded by it, turning black. This blackness rapidly spread across the "Golden Armored Soldier God’s" body.

Number One smiled and said to Ninglingzi, "’Golden Armored Soldier God’ is indeed powerful. Even I can barely defeat one and would have to flee if I faced two. But didn’t the person who gave you the talismans to seal the ‘Golden Armored Soldier God’ warn you? ‘Golden Armored Soldier God’ is constructed from the purest Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi, and though it exists between reality and illusion, it fears most the loss of balance within its Spirit Qi. The miasma of the ‘Tian Sha Seed’ I hold excels at invading other Spirit Qi."

Number One sighed softly and said slowly, "So, from the moment you relied on this ‘Golden Armored Soldier God,’ you had already lost."

Hearing Number One’s somewhat mocking words, Ninglingzi’s face turned pale.

But at that moment, Xu Qingfan, who had been quietly standing by Ninglingzi’s side, observing the situation, suddenly moved.

Xu Qingfan swiftly shifted from stillness and darted towards the altar. Seeing Xu Qingfan flying towards the altar, Number One thought Xu Qingfan intended to attack him, a slight sneer appearing on his face, ready to personally deal with Xu Qingfan. However, Xu Qingfan did not step onto the altar but approached the two motionless "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" before it, placing his hand on them. Suddenly, an aura of extreme purity and life radiated from his body.

As Xu Qingfan moved, the black aura that was slowly spreading over the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" began to gradually fade.

Seeing Xu Qingfan’s actions, Number One’s expression changed, but he once again activated the "Tian Sha Seed," emitting a thick black aura to continue its infiltration into the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods."

Thus, Xu Qingfan and Number One began their battle, using the bodies of the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" as their battleground.

While quietly observing the battlefield earlier, Xu Qingfan finally understood the basic mechanism of the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods." Just as he had previously realized, the simplest construct within the human body involves the balance of life and death energies, which dictates one’s life cycle. The "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" were similarly constructed using two energies akin to the life and death energies.

At this moment, Number One attacked with the Tian Sha Qi to disrupt the balance of these two energies.

So, what Xu Qingfan was doing was using his internal "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi" to expel the dark aura from the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" and restore balance to the energies within them.

Thus, the others saw the black aura on the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" ebbing and flowing, representing the tug-of-war between Xu Qingfan and Number One.

However, Xu Qingfan’s cultivation level was only at the late stage of the Fake Golden Core Stage, far inferior to Number One, not to mention that Number One possessed the wicked treasure known as the "Tian Sha Seed."

So, it wasn’t long before Xu Qingfan realized his strength was insufficient, and he was barely holding on through the sheer power of "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi."

Xu Qingfan knew that with the strength of Number One and Number Three, along with the mysterious Number Two, these two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" were everyone’s only hope. However, they were quickly overwhelmed by Number One, and their internal Spirit Qi was rapidly depleting.

As time went on, Xu Qingfan could no longer escape, because if he tried to retreat amidst the battle, he might be invaded by the malevolent energy. So, he struggled to hold on, gradually falling into a dazed state.

At first, everyone was delighted when Xu Qingfan managed to stop Number One from destroying the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods," but their hope quickly faded when Xu Qingfan began to falter. They wanted to assist him, but were hindered by Number Three, leaving them anxious yet helpless.

Just when the black malevolent energy was about to invade Xu Qingfan’s body, a strange wave suddenly emanated from him, leaving everyone stunned.

This wave was familiar to everyone; it was the unique wave indicating a Condensed Core Stage cultivator had realized a special ability!