Chapter 515 Part 1

Chapter 515 Part 1: The Peak of Martial Arts (1)

In the air, there were loud sounds of fighting and shouting.

Before him were flashes of swords and flickering lights, surrounded by raging fire.

He sat quietly in the ruins of a tower in the middle of the battlefield, the only calm center in this storm.

Countless magical spells brushed past him, but no cultivator aimed their spells at him.

The Grand Elder blinked and fell dead, the leader of the Long Life Gate sect lost his will to fight like a startled bird, and naturally, no cultivator dared to challenge him at this moment.

A cloud of dark energy rose; it was tens of thousands of armored soldiers rushing in.

"Form up!"

The leading commander, Zhang Kui, waved his dual spears, with heavy black and red energy gathering at the tips, like blazing fire and fresh blood, piercing forward with a roar like thunder.

Zhang Kui was not the only one.

The thick, dark red energy also gathered faintly on the soldiers’ weapons, like threads, turning into one sharp blade after another that could slice through fierce flames.

"Is this Li Changge’s Spiritual Sky Piercing Battle Formation? It seems a bit different," Qiao Mu observed from afar, feeling surprised.

"Break the mountain!"

"Break the mountain!"

As thousands of soldiers charged forward together, the blood clouds above the army gradually gathered and transformed, crashing down like waves in a storm.

With a sharp sound like tearing silk, the previously hollow Mountain Protection Formation was completely torn apart, shining brightly and scattering like tiny pieces of gold under the setting sun.

Wherever it went, one cultivator after another was swept away by this heavy energy, their spirits shaken, falling pale-faced from their treasures above.

"This is not Li Changge’s Spiritual Sky Piercing Battle Formation."

"It is the Spiritual Human Mountain Battle Formation."

At that moment, Lu Yanbei’s voice came from beside him.

He held a bloody stone sword in his right hand and carried the head of a person with a topknot in the other, going back and forth.

"Didn’t you say you wanted to be a green leaf? So soon?" Qiao Mu turned his head to look.

"The difference between the strong and the weak in this world is not just about one’s level of skill. That person has lost their fighting spirit; even if they are at the Soul Changing Stage, they are like a scared bird—easily defeated."

Lu Yanbei replied.

He brushed off the dust and found a clean spot beside Qiao Mu, sitting down like him.

"The Spiritual Human Mountain Battle Formation is a new battle array developed by the Immortal Slaying Army over the past fifty years," Lu Yanbei explained.

"Years ago, General Li Changge left behind the Spiritual Sky Piercing Battle Formation, which is a top-tier soldier formation. There shouldn’t be too many soldiers; otherwise, the commander will be under great pressure."

"The soldiers in the Spiritual Sky Piercing Battle Formation are elite, with one hundred in a small team, led by a centurion who can handle the strength of a hundred men."

"Li Changshi and Hai Siyuan, who have the strongest skills, can command an army of three thousand elite soldiers."

"But the Spiritual Human Mountain Battle Formation is different." Lu Yanbei looked at the soldiers spread across the mountain.

"With more than ten thousand soldiers covering the entire area, they are all seasoned fighters, but they do not work together as well as the Spiritual Sky Piercing Battle Formation, nor do they have a commander as skilled as Li Changshi."

"With thousands forming one, turning men into mountains, and a fierce aura like clouds, this is the current Human Mountain Army."

"Once the army is formed, a tremendous pressure similar to a powerful martial artist using the spiritual refining Eye Attacking Technique is created."

At this moment, the two sat on the ground, and they saw the army of ten thousand soldiers storming through the mountain gate, engaging in battle with the Long Life Gate cultivators who had fallen to the ground.

Fifty years later, the Long Life Gate cultivators are no longer purely Taoist cultivators; many have begun to practice martial arts as well.

However, in front of this army of ten thousand, both magic and martial skills are as insignificant as a drop in the ocean, quickly drowning in the endless shouts of battle.

"Has the Spiritual Sky Piercing Battle Formation, which just emerged fifty years ago, really changed so dramatically?" Qiao Mu was surprised.

The Spiritual Sky Piercing Battle Formation was obtained from the corpse of the Taoist soldier Li Changge when the five Immortal Gates attacked Peach Blossom Villa.

When Qiao Mu left the Great World of Jiu Province, this battle formation had not yet been tested by blood and fire.

When he returned to Jiu Province, he was no longer the same.

"Fifty years is a very long time…" Lu Yanbei glanced towards the distance.

"The Qiao family member from back then, in terms of strength and skill, cannot be compared to anyone today."

"The Qiao family member from fifty years ago could overcome cleverness with strength and could break laws with force, but we cannot do that."

"Even Xue Changhe, with a thousand years of family power behind him, falls short."

"The key to our ability to resist the two great Immortal Gates for fifty years lies in our breakthrough in technique…"

Hearing this, Qiao Mu felt a stir in his heart.

When he first met Earth Sword Immortal, he saw the moment Earth Sword Immortal drew his sword, an illusion of a vast river flowed upwards, which was actually the gathering of sword light forming a river.

In the past, even when he was in Jiu Province, such a feat was impossible.

Based on the explosive growth of Qiao family’s divine skills over three years.

In the fifty years since Qiao Mu left Jiu Province, the great tree of martial arts had grown branches that pointed in a completely different direction from where Qiao Mu was.

………………………..

Suddenly, a streak of blood light shot through the sky, and the fleeing leader of Long Life Gate landed clumsily on the ground, his robe billowing in the wind, shimmering with spiritual light.

Before him, Xue Changhe held a flame-shaped sword called Burning Sea, surrounded by seven swords of varying shapes and lengths forming a ring of swords.

"It has been over a thousand years," Xue Changhe said slowly.

"After spending more than a thousand years, the Xue family members have finally stepped into Long Life Gate, standing before the Immortal Sect Leader."

The leader of Long Life Gate squinted his eyes.

"A mere thousand years, and you dare to boast in front of me?"

The leader of Long Life Gate also sneered.

After experiencing initial fear, he felt a little calmer now.

The members of the Qiao family who had left the mortal world have returned; this is very bad news, and perhaps he cannot escape his fate today.

It’s not just about fighting; even escape is very difficult.

But the members of the Xue family cannot do that.

A respectable leader of Long Life Gate, even if he must face disaster today, should not die at the hands of the Xue family.

The members of the Xue family are test subjects created by Long Life Gate, kept for a thousand years just for the master’s plan to bear fruit in the future.

If he really dies at the hands of the Xue family members who have raised him for a thousand years, isn’t it the result of the cause planted over a thousand years ago, now he must eat the bitter fruit?

The leader of the Long Life Gate glanced towards Qiao Mu, who was watching from a distance.

That Xue Changhe could clearly rely on the Qiao family member who appeared in the world again, but instead, he was overly proud, thinking he could do it all by himself….

"Perhaps today, he cannot escape the disaster and will ultimately die at the hands of the Qiao family member…."

"But if he is quick enough, he can kill Xue Changhe with his own hands before the Qiao family member comes to help."

The leader of the Long Life Gate flicked his big sleeves, and two glimmering metal spheres flew out, then floated in the air, stretching rapidly, and finally transformed into two silver immortal puppets without facial features.

His dharma body perished in Qiao Mu’s hands within fifty years, and fifty years is not enough time for him to refine a new one.

"All martial arts that appear in the world will ultimately be used by my Long Life Gate."

"Eight Armed Heavenly Dragon Fist!"

Two immortal puppets moved like lightning, their iron fists swinging like a wild storm, with countless shadows of fists rushing in from all directions.

The leader of the Long Life Gate practiced martial arts without training in combat skills; even if he started training from scratch for fifty years, he knew he would not be a match for Xue Changhe, a giant in martial arts.

So, these two immortal puppets made from Soul Changing Stage materials were his last hope.

The leader of the Long Life Gate at the Soul Changing Stage had lived for over three thousand years; he had already lived longer than the entire history of the Xue family.

Even without practicing combat skills, his understanding of martial arts would still be remarkable.

But just the next moment.

Whoosh!

A blood-red sword light cut through the heavy shadows of fists.

Xue Changhe, holding the Burning Sea, stepped forward closer.

"The Eight-Armed Heavenly Dragon Fist is indeed the best martial art in the world. But having strength alone is not enough!"

At that moment.

A fine, crimson light of true strength spread out from within, creating an invisible pressure that made the ground sink slightly.

Xue Changhe raised his Burning Sea and gently made a cut between his wrists, causing blood to rush out immediately.

A faint red light radiated from Xue Changhe, becoming thicker and thicker until it was as dense as blood.

The Xue family’s martial arts are best represented by the Blood River Topping Skill and the Blood Origin Skill.

The blood in the bodies of Xue family members is no longer just blood.

Over the long span of a thousand years, the later generations of Xue family members could no longer hold the growing power in their dantians, which led to the creation of the Blood Origin Skill.

Amidst this thick and inescapable blood light, figures of various shapes and sizes emerged from within.

In the distance.

Qiao Mu, watching from far away, slightly moved his gaze.

"It’s not just a simple use of forbidden techniques," Qiao Mu concluded.

As a legendary martial artist with unmatched skill in forbidden techniques, Qiao Mu could naturally see this point.

This scene reminded him of the "Sky Piercing Sword River" from Earth Sword Immortal, where illusions seemed to appear with every move, marking a distinct difference from the martial arts of Jiu Province in his time.

Lu Yanbei next to him nodded in agreement.

"Senior Qiao Huo truly has keen eyes," Lu Yanbei remarked.

"Fifty years ago, the Qiao family’s martial arts left a rugged path for the martial artists of this world, one that could stand against the immortal way, laying the foundation for martial arts in Jiu Province for generations to come."

"If we say the martial arts of the Qiao family are purely powerful, then what Xue Changhe displays today is the pinnacle of techniques that allow mortal martial artists to stand against the Immortal Gate."

"True strength relies on the spirit. When body, mind, and skill become one, the power of techniques can greatly increase, but that is still not enough."

Lu Yanbei said.

"The heart reveals the world outside; with my will taking the place of destiny, I create a small world of my own. This is the pinnacle of martial arts in Jiu Province today!"

"If there are valleys in the heart, there will be valleys beneath the sword; if there are mountains and rivers in the heart, there will be mountains and rivers beneath the sword."

Lu Yanbei looked into the distance at Xue Changhe, only to see the shadowy figures surrounding him becoming clearer and clearer.

"And the world within Xue Changhe’s heart is the source of his vast power over these fifty or sixty years," Lu Yanbei sighed softly.

………………………………………….

Shadows surrounding Xue Changhe gradually became clearer.

Xue Changming, holding an empty sword case, gazed at the scene with slightly blurred vision.

He recognizes all these figures.

There is a portrait of the previous family head hanging in the ancestral hall, who is his grandfather, Xue Changhe’s real father.

There are also the elder uncles he met when he was young, who are of the same generation as Xue Changhe.

And there are Xue Changhe’s children and nephews from this generation, who are now very old.

These people are the Xue family martial artists who passed their skills to Xue Changhe over the last fifty to sixty years; they have long since passed away, but still live vividly in Xue Changhe’s memory.

Today, they stand around Xue Changhe, surrounding him, like a forest of Dao Xu’s phantom blood shadows.

"The blood flowing within me is the blood of my ancestors."

"For a thousand years, it has been this way, generation after generation. The river of blood has never run dry."

In the light of blood, a Dao Xu phantom shadow grips one famous sword after another from within the sword ring, flying forward right after Xue Changhe.

"Today."

"Dear ancestors, please witness."

The rushing shadow of blood moved like a ghost, transforming into a raging wind in an instant.

The two silver immortal puppets protecting the leader of the Long Life Gate trembled violently, their chests pierced through by the passing sword light.

And this is just the beginning.

The blood light grew faster, like wind rushing through the trees.

Wave after wave of blood shadows danced wildly, intertwining in the world, creating strands of blood light that floated gently with the wind.

Finally.

Thousands of blood lights gathered into one, as Xue Changhe’s Burning Sea pierced through, and where the sword landed, the blood light blazed, piercing through the two immortal puppets and the leader of the Long Life Gate behind them.