Before the grove, the intense flame wind stopped right in front of Qingyu and couldn't advance any further.

The suddenly rising aura of Qingyu even caused Xuanming to change color.

"How is this possible?!"

Xuanming couldn't believe that the opponent's aura had surpassed his own, and the sudden surge in power was completely stable, showing no signs of being boosted by secret techniques.

"Nothing is impossible."

Qingyu gently flicked his sleeve, and a storm of sword energy swept out, threading endlessly through the air and turning the surrounding space into an ocean of swords.

After contemplating the Martial Arts of Xuanfa for many days, Qingyu's understanding of the Four Symbols Ultimate Skills deepened. He grasped the fundamental changes of Taiyin, Taiyang, Shaoyin, and Shaoyang, which allowed his nearly complete Golden Core to undergo another transformation, reaching the Fifth Transition of the Golden Core.

With such power, coupled with the amplification of the Earth Essence Qi absorbed by the Earth Dominating Technique, it was only natural for Qingyu's power to surpass Xuanming.

"The red sun is in the sky."

Facing the endless torrent of sword energy, Xuanming shouted abruptly, his body soaring up like a blazing sun.

The air grew hotter, and Xuanming's body seemed like a roasting furnace, annihilating all external objects and fiercely rushing towards the sword energy storm.

"——"

Without a sound, the sword energies meeting the red sun melted as quickly as if they were real objects, leaving only a lingering trail of blue smoke in the air.

"There's some skill here," Qingyu commented, still holding Qiuli in one hand and the other hand behind his back, slightly lifting his eyes to watch the recklessly charging red sun.

The bright one is also fire; Chi Ming Peak's "Red Sky Refining Yang Map" specializes in the extreme path of fire, extremely rigid and extremely yang, truly extraordinary.

However, compared to the Great Sun Buddha Light that once obliterated most of a castle with a single ray of light, this red sun was merely so-so.

"Daoist Qingyu, try to take this strike from me."

The red sun shot towards him, and within it, Xuanming joined his hands at his chest, continuously gathering Flame Power between them.

In the blink of an eye, the red sun enveloping him was completely absorbed into his palms, a round of crimson sun floating between them.

"Refining Yang."

Xuanming pushed both hands forward, and the sun flew straight towards Qingyu.

"Such solid Flame Power," Qingyu observed, his gaze intense, his right hand, previously held behind his back, now hung by his side, "but it's still not enough."

A little over a year ago, the then newly transitioned Golden Core First Transition Qingyu was inadvertently severely injured by Xuanming. Although there were some unexpected factors, it was a fact that Qingyu's strength was inferior.

But today's Qingyu, whose Golden Core had transformed into the Fifth Transition, was no longer in the same realm as his past self. Although Xuanming was strong, Qingyu now surpassed him.

"Three Elements Returning to Origin."

A water-like sphere formed in Qingyu's lifted right hand, containing extremely vigorous Qi Mechanism and immensely powerful forces.

Stretching his hand forward, he clenched his right hand, expanding the Primordial Qi Ball, enveloping Qingyu within it.

"Boom—"

Refining Yang collided with the Three Elements Returning to Origin, and upon contact, a strong resonance occurred. The water and fire energies clashed intensely, lifting a storm of matching colors of red and blue.

In an instant, the ground beneath Qingyu's feet cracked, numerous rocks vibrated, and the intense storm ignited the nearby grove, which was then immediately extinguished by a rising tide of Primordial Energy.

"Boom—"

Another loud noise ensued, the sun exploded completely, the flames completely obscuring Qingyu's figure. The scattered Flame Wind blew out, and this time, the grove was entirely ignited by the flames.

Amid the flames, the powerful explosion impacted the Qi Shield formed by the Three Elements Returning to Origin, causing it to fly backward.

But in mid-air, Qingyu's True Qi sank into his body, the external Qi Shield rotated, and Pure Yin Mystic Energy was added within it, unloading the Flame Power and impact, allowing the Qi Shield to land back on the ground after drifting several yards.

"Disperse."

Qingyu waved his right hand, and the Qi Shield expanded explosively, directly repelling the scattered Flame Power.

The moment it exploded was the most powerful, and afterward, that move lost its threatening force.

Flames scattered, sprinkling sparkles across the ground, creating a magnificent landscape.

If it had been at nighttime, the sight would undoubtedly have been beautiful.

"Daoist Xuanming, are you able to continue the fight?"

Qing Yu's eyes swept toward the slightly breathless figure, and he placed his right hand behind his back once more, appearing calm and collected.

Xuanming clenched his fists, as if flames might burst forth again, but after seeing Qing Yu's composed face, he relaxed his fists.

The green Essence Qi that wrapped around him flowed endlessly, and vast amounts of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi were absorbed into his body. The True Qi that had been depleted during their earlier exchange was quickly replenished by these supplements.

In a prolonged battle, he would surely be at a disadvantage.

Xuanming ultimately had self-awareness and cupped his hands together in salute, "Daoist Qing Yu is a notch above Xuanming, I willingly admit defeat."

"Not at all," Qing Yu also cupped his hands and offered a polite smile, "It was just luck."

"Daoist, your strength is exceptional, may I ask where you studied?"

Since he couldn't gauge his opponent's depth, he might as well ask. Perhaps the other party had carelessly revealed some crucial clue!

Unfortunately, this was just a vain hope on Xuanming's part.

Qing Yu responded with the usual cliché, "I am a loose cultivator of the wilds, taking Heaven and Earth as my teachers, with no formal lineage."

'You must be kidding!' Xuanming cursed inwardly.

To reach such a level just by deeming Heaven and Earth as your teachers, are you the legendary Heavenly Person Transformation?

Such a perfunctory answer was truly enough.

In the worldly society, it is indeed not uncommon to find loose cultivators without a sect or school who have reached the True Pill Realm or even the Divinity Realm.

However, such individuals have traveled for many years, accumulating abundant resources and experiences to advance to this level.

Any loose cultivator who has reached the True Pill Realm would have a considerable reputation in the worldly society, recognizable by many.

But this Daoist Qing Yu had no known history in the worldly society; where did such strong power come from?

Therefore, claiming to have no lineage was an obviously barefaced lie.

"Haha, Daoist, you truly do have extraordinary heavenly talent," Xuanming said with a forced laugh, praising him.

Though he knew it was a lie, Xuanming still had to respond with compliments. He couldn't afford to be straightforward.

"Too kind, too kind," Qing Yu accepted the praise with a smile.

"This place is ten miles away from the Zhenwu Sect, and as the saying goes, 'After accompanying someone for a thousand miles, a departure becomes inevitable.' Xuanming shall take his leave now," Xuanming continued.

"Daoist, please go ahead," Qing Yu gestured with his hand.

"Farewell."

Xuanming turned around, preparing to leave.

"Daoist, please wait a moment."

"Hm?" Xuanming turned around puzzled, only to see Qing Yu's figure had ominously disappeared and reappeared silently behind him.

"Daoist, I see that your True Qi has been greatly depleted. Please, take this Elixir to help restore your True Qi."

There seemed to be a flicker of mystery in Qing Yu's eyes as he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a pure white pill.

'Elixir?'

Xuanming hesitated for a moment before accepting the Elixir, expressing his thanks, "Thank you, Daoist."

"Farewell."

Without urging Xuanming to take the Elixir immediately, Qing Yu's figure slowly faded away.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.