Volume 4 Chapter 89

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Volume 4 Chapter 89: Reversal

Feeling the strange wave coming from Xu Qingfan, both Number One, Number Three, and others like Ninglingzi and Chou Xuan were struck with surprise.

At this moment, had Xu Qingfan comprehended another special ability again?

It turned out Xu Qingfan had been using his internal "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi" to balance and expel the invading black malevolent energy within the two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods."

As the battle with Number One inside the "Golden Armored Soldier God" continued, Xu Qingfan became increasingly familiar with the intricate details of its construction, gradually gaining a deeper understanding of the "Divine Descent Technique" over time.

However, this meant that Xu Qingfan had to multitask while fighting against a much stronger opponent, Number One. His Spirit Qi was rapidly depleting, but Xu Qingfan knew that these two "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" were the only hope for victory, so he refused to give up. Before long, his mind began to blur due to the excessive consumption of Spirit Qi and mental energy.

Despite this, Xu Qingfan instinctively continued to draw Spirit Qi from within himself and channeled it into the "Golden Armored Soldier God." Although his mind was hazy, the structure of the "Golden Armored Soldier God" became increasingly clear in his mind. Especially the use of life and death energies in its construction, which led to many new insights for Xu Qingfan.

To seal the "Golden Armored Soldier God" into a talisman, the two before Xu Qingfan were simplified versions, making it easier for Xu Qingfan to understand their structure.

Later, Xu Qingfan recalled the "Flame Phoenix," one of the three great secret techniques of the Feng family. Strictly speaking, it was also a type of "Divine Descent Technique," capable of manifesting the ancient Mythical Beast "Flame Phoenix."

However, the true Divine Descent Technique used Spirit Qi and the collected life and death energies of the universe to manifest the "Golden Armored Soldier God." The puppet created would vary in appearance and characteristics depending on the user. The "Flame Phoenix," on the other hand, used the unique phoenix bloodline of the Feng family in place of life and death energies to manifest, giving it a predetermined appearance and traits.

In his dazed state, Xu Qingfan’s mind was flooded with information— the use of life and death energies, the method to perform "Flame Phoenix," the application of "Flourish Qi" and "Withered qi," the construction of the "Golden Armored Soldier God," and even the Heavenly Way knowledge acquired over the years, all comparing and analyzing continuously in his mind.

Even though his mind was in a dazed state, his ability to analyze this information grew sharper and clearer.

If a Mahayana Stage master were present to observe Xu Qingfan’s condition, they would be astounded to find that Xu Qingfan had inadvertently entered the rare state of "dual mind-body separation" sought after by cultivators.

In the cultivation world, there is a saying that a person’s thoughts can move incredibly fast. Normally, their thinking speed is limited by their body, so it’s just slightly quicker than physical reactions. However, if the mind surpasses the body’s limitations, a moment in reality can stretch into countless years within the mind.

This state is extremely subtle and mysterious, unrelated to cultivation level, but rather to opportunity. A master in the Mahayana Stage can reach it, and so can an ordinary person, but both are rare. This state cannot be maintained. Even if a Mahayana Stage master accidentally enters this state, once they awaken from it, they find it difficult to re-enter and don’t know how they reached it in the first place.

For example, there was once an ordinary person who lived for ten years in a dream, with every detail feeling so real. But upon waking, he discovered it was all a dream, and only a single night had passed. Despite trying to revisit the dream in future sleep, he never succeeded again. This is the state where ‘mind and body separate’.

Xu Qingfan, however, accidentally slipped into this state when his lamp oil was nearly gone.

Therefore, when others saw Xu Qingfan struggling against Number One, seemingly losing and almost succumbing to the evil aura of the "Golden Armored Soldier God," in Xu Qingfan’s mind, this process felt incredibly long, like countless days had passed. During these years, he tirelessly pondered everything about the "Golden Armored Soldier God."

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan felt a loud boom in his mind, and previous confusion suddenly cleared up as if something new appeared in his brain. Even his Spirit Qi flow changed, as if this was always meant to be.

Through this struggle, Xu Qingfan surprisingly comprehended a technique similar but vastly different from the "Divine Descent Technique." However, he didn’t have time to rejoice as he was still dazed, his Spirit Qi exhausted, and about to be invaded by the evil aura.

On the other hand, Number One, who was fighting Xu Qingfan using the "Tian Sha Seed," felt something very different.

Despite Xu Qingfan’s pale face, stumbling steps, and exhaustion, the battle between them was slowly tipping back in Xu Qingfan’s favor.

If before, Xu Qingfan was just relying on his inner Spirit Qi to fight against the evil aura controlled by Number One, then since a strange fluctuation emerged from within him, indicating he had seemingly grasped some divine ability, Xu Qingfan suddenly became incredibly familiar with the structure of the "Golden Armored Soldier God." He was able to use the least amount of Spirit Qi to make the greatest resistance, and eventually could even use the energy within the "Golden Armored Soldier God" to counter Number One. Although the Spirit Qi Xu Qingfan transferred into the "Golden Armored Soldier God" became increasingly scarce, the pressure felt by Number One was much stronger than before.

Meanwhile, the "Golden Armored Soldier God," which had originally been invaded by black evil aura, began to gradually fade from black and slowly returned to its former glittering golden appearance.

In this situation, Number One became very angry because the evil aura contained within the "Tian Sha Seed" was not infinite. It needed to be periodically replenished with the souls of ten cultivators, as if they were being held captive within. Although Number One’s "Tian Sha Seed" had recently been replenished, the continuous corruption of four "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" consumed its evil aura excessively. Plus, with Xu Qingfan’s resistance, Number One suddenly realized that there wasn’t much evil aura left in the "Tian Sha Seed."

With things as they were, Number One decided not to continue using the "Tian Sha Seed" to fight Xu Qingfan. He allowed Xu Qingfan to gradually dispel the evil aura within the "Golden Armored Soldier God," while he floated into the air above the altar, forming hand seals. A surge of demonic energy began to spread around him, accompanied by the faint, terrifying sound of ghostly wailing.

Seeing the cultivation method Number One was using, the expressions of everyone present changed dramatically. The method Number One was displaying had been long lost for ten thousand years, known as a demonic cultivation method!

Although the demonic "Art of Tian Sha" had long existed in the world, witnessing this demonic cultivation method with their own eyes, the crowd couldn’t help but feel a chill of terror in their hearts.

This Number One was actually a demon cultivator!

Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan, due to the depletion of his Spirit Qi, had fallen into a semi-conscious state and was completely unaware of the impending attack from Number One. He instinctively continued to draw the dwindling Spirit Qi within him to expel the evil aura from the "Golden Armored Soldier God."

Witnessing this scene, everyone became extremely anxious but found themselves unable to help Xu Qingfan due to being continuously blocked by the blood mist created by Number Three, keeping them from getting close.

"Enchanted Dark Spirit, Devour the Divine!"

In just a moment, Number One was ready with his spell and spoke softly.

As Number One’s voice faded, the demonic energy around him suddenly transformed into ghostly figures that swiftly charged towards Xu Qingfan.

This was none other than the famous "Dark Spirit Art" of the dark path, using the cultivator’s soul as a base, subjected to torment during refinement, causing these souls to harbor resentment towards all living creatures. They were infused with demonic energy to attack others under the demon cultivator’s control, wielding great power.

Seeing the wailing shadows about to enter Xu Qingfan’s body, everyone turned their heads, unable to bear watching, already imagining Xu Qingfan’s miserable state after being possessed by the Dark Spirit.

"Ah…"

A harrowing cry followed.

Just when everyone thought Xu Qingfan had been brutally killed by the Dark Spirit, they suddenly realized that the cry was indeed Number One’s voice.

In astonishment, everyone turned to look at Xu Qingfan and Number One, discovering that at some point, Number One’s lower body had disappeared, leaving only his torso, with a large amount of blood dripping to the ground.

Astonishingly, even though he lost his entire lower body, people could still see the muscles and spine floating in mid-air where Number One’s waist was severed. Yet, despite the pain and anger on his face, Number One’s upper body continued to float, constantly surveying his surroundings without showing any signs of impending death from losing his lower half.

"Who is it? Who’s attacking me?"

Number One shouted angrily, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

Meanwhile, the Dark Spirits that had previously attacked Xu Qingfan suddenly disappeared, and in front of Xu Qingfan, a crow-like black bird spirit beast was swirling around him, keeping guard.

Ninglingzi recognized that this black bird spirit beast was Xu Qingfan’s spirit beast, Little Black. Earlier, when they met, there was no sign of Little Black, which Ninglingzi found odd but forgot to ask due to numerous events. To his surprise, Little Black appeared at this crucial moment, saving Xu Qingfan’s life.

Originally, in the battle with "Zhang Si," Little Black had suffered a great mental loss and fell unconscious. Although Xu Qingfan later used the method recorded in the green slip to treat Little Black, while its Original Soul recovered, it remained unconscious. Xu Qingfan knew that Little Black was exhausted, so he didn’t forcefully wake it but instead placed Little Black in his arms.

At this time, while Xu Qingfan and Number One were fighting using the "Golden Armored Soldier God’s" body as a battleground, the "Withered Qi" in Xu Qingfan’s body ran faster than usual. Little Black, highly sensitive to "Withered Qi," slowly began to awaken under its influence. Upon waking, Little Black found its master under attack and swiftly flew out from Xu Qingfan’s embrace, gathering its inner death energy. With a few quick pecks, it scattered the attacking Dark Spirits into oblivion.

Little Black initially intended to attack Number One but decided to circle around Xu Qingfan for protection since Xu Qingfan was defenseless at the moment.

Just as Little Black returned to guard, surprising Number One with its sudden appearance, a golden light quickly appeared beside Number One. Though he slightly sensed it, he could only dodge his upper body in time. As the golden light flashed, Number One’s lower half vanished suddenly.

"Who is it? Who’s attacking me from behind?"

Hearing Number One’s angry shout, Ninglingzi and the others were full of confusion. The sky was clear, and the top of Ningyun Mountain was empty, with no sign of anyone.

Only Chou Xuan’s face changed dramatically the moment the golden light flashed earlier.

Just as Number One was frantically searching around, a golden light flashed again, this time targeting him. However, Number One was prepared; although only his upper body remained, his speed was unaffected. He narrowly dodged the golden light’s attack and instantly summoned a ball of black lightning fire in his hand, throwing it towards a certain spot in the sky. He shouted, "Show yourself!"

As Number One’s voice faded, the black lightning fire suddenly exploded in the sky, and everyone saw two people suddenly appear before them.

One person wore a robe with a bagua pattern, exuding a slightly regal demeanor, while the other had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a tall stature, standing protectively in front of the former. Under Number One’s furious attack, his face looked somewhat pale.

The person with the regal demeanor paid no heed to the anger in Number One’s eyes, gave a slight smile to Ninglingzi and the others, and said, "I am Deng Tianao, leader of the Liuhe sect, accompanied by Elder Deng Lian. Greetings to you all."

As he spoke, Deng Tianao turned his gaze to Chou Xuan and with a smile said, "Junior Brother Chou, it’s been many years. How have you been?"

The moment Deng Tianao appeared, Chou Xuan’s face was filled with killing intent.