Volume 5 Chapter 103
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Volume 5 Chapter 103: Three Bets, Life Against Death
"Boom…"
Amid the loud noise, Xu Qingfan’s Tai Chi Bagua pattern finally overcame the strong man’s "Shock Door" and "Blocking Door" dual swords, pinning him to the ground.
After pinning the strong man to the ground, the Tai Chi Bagua pattern did not stop; it continued to slowly rotate, eventually transforming into a black-and-white sphere that tightly wrapped around the strong man.
In fact, the true power of "Life and Death Cycle" can only be shown after it pins down the opponent. Between "Flourish Qi" and "Withered Qi," the Spirit Qi trapped inside the body will quickly disappear, and these two Spirit Qis will continuously seep into the enemy’s body, crushing their organs and vital energy into pieces. Unstoppable and unpreventable.
According to Mr. Liu’s evaluation of Xu Qingfan’s move, even though Xu Qingfan is just a late-stage cultivator of the Real Golden Core Stage, once this move is successfully used, unless the opponent is at the peak of the Golden Core Stage, they will have no ability to escape. Even a peak Golden Core Stage cultivator, after escaping from the "Life and Death Cycle," would greatly diminish in strength.
But the current problem is that the strong man pressed down by Xu Qingfan’s "Life and Death Cycle" is not merely at the peak of the Golden Core Stage; in fact, this strong man is one of the rare experts among the Mahayana Stage masters.
On the other side, Xu Qingfan’s face was pale, and he kept gasping as he looked at the spinning black and white ball in front of him. His body shuddered, and suddenly, Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan appeared beside him, falling to the ground. Although they were beings made of pure energy, they looked just as pale as Xu Qingfan, their bodies slightly transparent, clearly showing that their Spirit Qi was greatly depleted.
The recent fierce battle, though brief, had drained all of Xu Qingfan’s Spirit Qi, as well as that of his two clones, Xu Zhiyuan and Xu Ying. The dangers they faced were not something easily explained to others.
Xu Qingfan knew that the "Way of Life and Death" was extremely powerful, so powerful that it could even kill someone much stronger. However, the level difference between him and the strong man was too great; the "Way of Life and Death" could not harm him at all. In fact, if he wanted to, he could easily break free at any time.
But Xu Qingfan did not run away. As mentioned before, the strong man could escape if he wished, and at that moment, Xu Qingfan’s Spirit Qi was greatly depleted, making it impossible for him to escape far before the strong man broke free.
Xu Qingfan had no intention of fleeing; he was waiting for the strong man to escape.
He knew that every Mahayana Stage master was extremely proud, and this strong man was no different. Even when fighting him, the strong man had compressed his Spirit Qi to match Xu Qingfan’s level. With thousands of years of experience and countless understandings of the Heavenly Way, and vastly superior skills in using Spirit Qi, it would be an unbearable humiliation for a Mahayana Stage master to need a stronger Spirit Qi than Xu Qingfan’s to defeat him.
But Xu Qingfan also understood that while his "Cycle of Life and Death" could not harm or trap the strong man, he was confident that the mysterious nature of the "Cycle of Life and Death" could not be easily overpowered by the strong man’s Spirit Qi.
Once the strong man broke through the "Cycle of Life and Death" and appeared before him, it would prove that he had used his true strength. Showing his true power would mean that he had been defeated in the encounter with Xu Qingfan. Even if he had only used less than one percent of his Spirit Qi, he would still have lost.
Xu Qingfan was taking a gamble. In fact, the reason he had dared to refuse the strong man’s offer was that he had thought of this gamble.
He, as a Mahayana Stage master, would never use his strength to overpower others in arrogance. Even if he had that thought, Xu Qingfan would find a way to suppress his Spirit Qi to Xu Qingfan’s level. Xu Qingfan was also betting that he could defeat the strong man with the same level of Spirit Qi using his various abilities, and he was betting that, with the pride of a Mahayana Stage master, he would never bother him again after losing.
With one bet after another, Xu Qingfan’s chance of success became slimmer, but it was still better than making a dangerous deal with the strong man or fighting him and dying instantly.
Thankfully, Xu Qingfan had been quite lucky so far; he succeeded in his first two bets, and the strong man had indeed suppressed his Spirit Qi, although not because of Xu Qingfan’s efforts. He also managed to defeat the strong man with the same level of Spirit Qi, though the strong man’s underestimation played a role. Otherwise, during the long time before Xu Qingfan used "Life and Death Rebirth," the strong man could have killed him a hundred times.
Nevertheless, his first two bets were successful, and now this was his last bet, hoping that the strong man, after his defeat, out of pride as a Mahayana Stage master, would not pursue him, at least for a short time.
However, this was also the most dangerous gamble. The strong man might feel ashamed after losing and leave, but he could also become angry or not want others to know about it and kill Xu Qingfan with a single strike. If the strong man used all his strength or even just a bit of his true power, killing Xu Qingfan would be no different than swatting a fly.
But Xu Qingfan also knew that after reaching the Mahayana Stage, cultivating the mind was far more important than the body. Setting aside the pride of a Mahayana Stage master, if the strong man truly killed Xu Qingfan, it would have a huge impact on him and might even plant an internal demon within him, making it hard for him to advance in his cultivation.
The pride of a Mahayana Stage master would not allow the strong man to do that.
Of course, not every Mahayana Stage master would act like this. For example, Zhang Xusheng seemed quite willing to create some internal demons for himself and easily overcome them, or the two elders Tian and Di, who had reached a point where they did not even know what an internal demon was, or the ancestor of the Zhong family, who practiced the path of slaughter in the Heavenly Way; killing a Mahayana master or a mortal was no different for him.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan felt less confident in his earlier assumptions.
Looking at the round ball nearby, which continued to change between black and white without any difference, Xu Qingfan frowned slightly. He wondered why this strong man had not freed himself yet. Was it because he was too embarrassed to face others? As a master of the Mahayana Stage, even with such pride, he shouldn’t be too afraid to face failure, right?
With a slight sigh, Xu Qingfan thought to himself, "As long as this strong man’s nature is as proud as most masters, after I tell him that the ‘World Defying Sword’ has already been sealed away, he should not bother me for a while. After all, there aren’t many masters like Mr. Liu who, despite being asked to leave, still sit there unmoving."
Thinking this, Xu Qingfan felt a bit more at ease.
Seeing the black and white ball still motionless, Xu Qingfan thought, "Could it be that this mysterious strong man is studying a way to break free from ‘life and death reincarnation’? Although Mr. Liu mentioned that ‘life and death reincarnation’ cannot be broken by anyone below the peak of the Golden Core Stage, this strong man is still a master with extraordinary insight, so I must stay cautious."
Realizing this, Xu Qingfan no longer stood silently in place. He first hugged Little Black, who had fainted due to the breaking of the "Death God Clone." Then, a look of regret flashed in his eyes as he waved his sleeve to gather all the scattered pieces of the "Five Spirit Bell." It was damaged beyond recognition, and he wondered if it could ever be restored. After all, its strong defense had been very helpful to Xu Qingfan, and he had developed a certain bond with it over the years.
After doing all this, Xu Qingfan no longer hesitated. He forced the little Spirit Qi left in his body and flew toward the direction of "Ronghua Mountain."
No matter what, returning to "Ronghua Mountain" would at least be safer.
But just as the clouds appeared beneath Xu Qingfan’s feet, another loud rumble sounded from the location of the round ball. Xu Qingfan’s heart skipped a beat as he turned around in surprise, only to find that the "life and death reincarnation" he had cast was now shattered, dispersing into the essence of heaven and earth. The mysterious strong man was still standing exactly where he had been, and he had regained the ordinary presence he had when they first met, his eyes deep and continuously observing Xu Qingfan.
Although he had prepared for this scene in his heart, seeing the strong man’s eerie gaze again made Xu Qingfan feel uneasy. The only comfort he had was that the strong man had indeed forcefully broken the "life and death reincarnation" using strength many times greater than his own.
In this battle, the strong man was defeated.
Finally, Xu Qingfan steadied his mind. Just as he was about to explain that the "World Defying Sword" was not in his possession and say a few polite words to show respect to the strong man, the strong man suddenly spoke.
"You are good."
It seemed that although, in a way, this strong man was defeated by Xu Qingfan, he showed no sign of anger or discouragement. His tone remained calm yet distant, just like when they first met, which made Xu Qingfan breathe a sigh of relief.
"There is an interesting little thing four hundred miles south of Ronghua. You should go look for it. If you find it, it will be a twist of fate."
The strong man spoke these strange words before Xu Qingfan could say anything and then suddenly disappeared from his sight.
In the end, Xu Qingfan had won his last gamble. After the strong man’s defeat, he indeed felt too embarrassed to trouble Xu Qingfan further. However, after the strong man left, Xu Qingfan did not feel happy at all. He suddenly realized that after relaxing, all that was left was exhaustion. This battle had taken more out of him than he imagined. His body was low on Spirit Qi, but to withstand the strong man’s pressure, his mind raced between life and death, leaving him even more tired, so much so that he had no strength left to express his joy of survival.
"Huh?"
Just as Xu Qingfan was thinking about the strong man’s strange words before leaving, his gaze passed over the place where the strong man had just stood, and he suddenly froze.
