Chapter 198: The Peerless Might of the Tongtian Temple

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The transformed armor’s reminder came, “Be careful, that old thing is going all out!”

The battlefield was changing too quickly. Qin Haoxuan had no such experience and had never even known of the existence of a Beast Talisman Transformation. Because his last attack had brought him too close, the sudden increase in the Talisman Beast’s power and speed caused the very air to crackle and explode. The giant bear paw slammed viciously into his chest.

BOOM!

The sound of an explosion erupted from his chest. Qin Haoxuan was sent flying backward like a cannonball, leaving a visible channel in the air along the arc of his flight.

The defensive power of the armor that Xing had become was astonishing, but at this moment it was also dented slightly. The immense force sent Qin Haoxuan’s qi and blood churning and made Xing cry out in pain. If not for his protection, even with the Dao Heart Seed Demon Art, Qin Haoxuan would surely have been torn to pieces, his corpse left incomplete.

After striking him, Hao Xiu sensed that the armor was unusual and began to direct the Talisman Beast to attack Qin Haoxuan’s head, which was unprotected. If that blow landed, he would be deader than dead.

The Talisman Beast was fast, but Qin Haoxuan’s reaction was faster. As its paw descended again, he pushed off the ground with both hands, sliding sideways to narrowly avoid it. He then kicked off the ground and leaped high into the air. He clasped his hands together above his head, and the Immortal-Demon Seed erupted with all its spiritual energy, causing his Heaven-Cleaving Slash to instantly expand to a length of one hundred feet as he brought it chopping down.

Is that still a fucking Heaven-Cleaving Slash? Hao Xiu was so shocked his eyeballs nearly popped out. The limit of the art was fifty feet, even for a Spirit Tree Realm expert. How had he produced a hundred-foot-long blade?

As Qin Haoxuan leaped high, the sunlight shining from behind him momentarily transformed him into a figure like a god of war. In that instant, his mind was a complete blank. The very rhythm of the heavens and the earth seemed to align with his own.

He had never felt anything like it before. Acting almost purely on instinct, he brought the slash down on the Talisman Beast’s head.

CRACK!

BOOM!

The head of the Talisman Beast began to crack. One crack… two cracks… ten… a hundred… In just an instant, its head completely exploded. The Heaven-Cleaving Slash formed by Qin Haoxuan’s arms also could not withstand the powerful impact and shattered. A mist of blood sprayed from the pores of his arms from the force of the blow.

“Pfft—”

Hao Xiu coughed up a mouthful of old blood as he watched his Talisman Beast collapse to the ground and turn into shredded talisman paper.

“This… this… how is this possible…” he stammered, staring dumbfounded at the disheveled, dust-covered Qin Haoxuan, who now looked like a war god descended to the mortal realm. He became even more certain that Qin Haoxuan had a great treasure on him. Even the most talented cultivator, with such a vast difference in strength, shouldn’t have been able to even fight back, let alone destroy his Talisman Beast.

Although Qin Haoxuan had destroyed the beast, he had also suffered some internal injuries. His qi and blood were in turmoil, and his face was pale. For the first time, the Immortal-Demon Seed was showing signs of an insufficient supply of spiritual energy. The beast’s destruction had also caused a backlash that injured Hao Xiu’s vital energy. He forcibly suppressed a second mouthful of blood that was about to erupt.

Qin Haoxuan wanted to charge forward and continue the fight, but seeing Hao Xiu’s calm and composed expression, he deeply suspected that the old fellow still had another trump card up his sleeve, just as he himself had the Formless Sword and Xing.

Seeing the hesitation on Qin Haoxuan’s face, Hao Xiu said without a moment’s delay, “You little beast, don’t get arrogant. I will spare your life today. We will fight again another day.” With that, he retreated back to his camp.

Seeing him leave, Qin Haoxuan felt an impulse to rush forward and risk it all, but this impulse was quickly suppressed by a reminder from Xing. “Old Qin, if you were him, what would you do?”

What would I do? Qin Haoxuan was instantly sobered. If he were in that situation, he would also feign a retreat. If the opponent pursued, he would use a spiritual sense attack, followed by the Formless Sword, or have Xing finish him off. The opponent… could do the same to him.

That was close. Qin Haoxuan began to reflect. His combat experience was far inferior to Xing’s. He secretly estimated the distance between them. Because Hao Xiu had been controlling the beast from afar, even the Formless Sword would not have been able to harm him at such a distance. As for a spiritual sense attack, even if it injured him, he would have surely run away by the time Qin Haoxuan could close the distance.

Seeing him leave, Qin Haoxuan also thought, Today I have consumed too much spiritual energy. If I continue to fight him, the outcome is uncertain. I might as well go back and continue cultivating the Advent of the Ghost God. Instead of fighting to a mutual loss now, it’s better to wait until I’ve mastered the art. At that time, he will surely be no match for me.

Hao Xiu returned to his rear camp, and the general of his army immediately requested an audience. He said with a cautious, fawning smile, “High Immortal Hao, the immortal in the enemy camp is truly formidable. Do you think we need to ask the Tongtian Temple to send other High Immortals to support us?”

This Tongtian Temple was an alliance secretly formed by the rogue cultivators of the Soaring Dragon Nation. Although it was not as powerful as a major sect like the Taichu Sect, it had many members. The rebelling King Ling Feng had dared to revolt because he had their support, and Hao Xiu was one of them.

Hearing the general suggest calling for reinforcements, Hao Xiu’s face turned cold with displeasure. He had recognized Qin Haoxuan’s identity as a Taichu disciple, and through the battle, had become certain that he possessed a strange treasure. Rogue cultivators had few resources; if he wanted to monopolize all the benefits on Qin Haoxuan, he certainly couldn’t have other cultivators coming to take a share.

He said in a cold voice, “General Chang, do you not trust this seat? Do you think this seat cannot defeat that yellow-mouthed brat?”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare! Please calm your anger, High Immortal. This humble general has no such thought,” the general said, his face pale with fear under Hao Xiu’s cold glare.

“I will deal with the immortal in their camp. You need not worry,” Hao Xiu said, his expression softening. “Such a small matter does not require calling for reinforcements from the alliance. You may leave. This seat is going into seclusion for a few days. Unless the enemy immortal comes to challenge me, I am not to be disturbed for any other reason.”

“Yes, yes,” General Chang said, repeatedly kneeling and bowing as he retreated.

As he refined his Talisman Beast, back in his own camp, Qin Haoxuan was not idle. He was eagerly cultivating the Advent of the Ghost God.

For three days, Hao Xiu was busy refining his humanoid Talisman Beast and did not come to provoke or ambush him. Qin Haoxuan, in turn, didn’t bother him and certainly didn’t go looking for trouble. After three days, he had finally mastered the step of drawing the ghost into his body and was preparing to begin.

“This is extremely dangerous,” he said to Xing. “The ghost soldier we refined has the strength of a Twenty-Fifth-Leaf cultivator, and I am only at the Fourth-Leaf. The difference in strength is vast. A single misstep, and I could even be possessed by it. Do you have a foolproof plan?”

Xing smiled. “The yin energy of the Advent of the Ghost God can suppress this ghost soldier, and you can use its sealing technique to deal with it. Besides that, you also have an innate advantage. For example, your spiritual sense is abnormally powerful. Although this ghost soldier is at the Twenty-Fifth-Leaf, its spiritual sense is as weak as an infant’s compared to yours. How could it possibly occupy your body?”

He paused, then smiled. “Actually, this is also your fault. Unless one is a genius, it takes ten or eight years to master the first level of this art. In that time, even a Fourth-Leaf cultivator can reach the tenth-plus-leaf level. With the art’s ghost-controlling method, drawing the ghost in at that point would certainly be no problem. Who would have expected a freak like you to master it in one night? But you don’t need to worry. The very characteristic of this art is to control the strong with the weak. For you at the Fourth-Leaf to control a Twenty-Fifth-Leaf ghost soldier is not too outrageous. Just be careful.”

With his words, Qin Haoxuan nodded with a look of understanding, and the stone in his heart was lifted. “That’s true.”

“But you should still be careful. I will stand guard for you to prevent a sneak attack from the enemy cultivator,” Xing said. He stepped aside and watched quietly, not disturbing him. He had also reverted to his demonic form, ready to defend against a sudden ambush.

Qin Haoxuan took the jade vial in his hand and infused a stream of spiritual energy into it. Inside was a ghost soldier with long black hair and a body seething with killing intent. Its strength was far greater than his own, a full Twenty-Fifth-Leaf. Its every move was filled with a sinister, terrifying yin energy.