"Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body?" Cheng Junie wondered.

Having cultivated for hundreds of years and perused no fewer than several thousand ancient scriptures and secret texts, he had never heard of or encountered this so-called Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body.

"This is a very ancient physique that cannot be born naturally," the Dragon Demon explained, his eyes fixed on Qi Xiu. "It can only be achieved by reversing the acquired to the innate. By possessing both Taiyang and Tai Yin forces simultaneously, allowing them to converge and merge, one might have a chance to trace back to the origin and achieve this physique. This physique possesses a robust fleshly body, is divinely innate, and is rarely found in the world. It can control all Ten Thousand Laws, even completely opposing Dharma Gates, without any repulsion. Any Dharma Gate can be utilized to its fullest extent, even exceeding its usual power, when wielded by someone with this physique. It is known by the saying: 'One Qi births Ten Thousand Laws, Hunyuan transforms Qiankun.'

"Furthermore, the Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body can absorb all kinds of spiritual qi, yuan qi, and Essence qi from the world as cultivation resources without any side effects. Simultaneously, because it comprehends the principles of yin and yang, it can reverse the state of spirit-flesh union. It allows for the merging of spirit and flesh at will, as well as the separation of the soul from the flesh at any time. This completely eliminates the drawbacks of spirit-flesh union.

"However, this physique is not perfect. Each advancement step for the Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body requires an enormous amount of resources—nearly one hundred times, or even one thousand times, that of an ordinary cultivator. Moreover, the further one progresses, the more resources are needed—an almost unimaginable amount."

As he watched Qi Xiu gradually transform into the Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body, a brilliant light shone in the Dragon Demon's eyes.

Successful instances of the Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body emerging were exceedingly rare. Even in the Dragon Demon's era, only two such beings walked the world. Because this physique could not be formed naturally, it could only be achieved through cultivation, transforming from the acquired to the innate. Moreover, the same method could not be used twice. Thus, the emergence of an Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body relied heavily on coincidence and luck.

"HMPH!"

Just as Cheng Junie and the Dragon Demon were watching Qi Xiu's transformation, Qi Xiu, his eyes tightly shut, suddenly let out a muffled groan. His face turned extraordinarily flushed, his vital energy surged turbulently, and countless threads of colorful light darted chaotically from his seven orifices, showing signs of him losing control.

The Dragon Demon's gaze sharpened. He quickly scanned Qi Xiu's body, probing the source of the abnormal vital energy.

"Quick! Feed him the last Dragon Origin!" he exclaimed. "His transformation is just one step short of completion; otherwise, all his efforts will be in vain!"

Realizing that Qi Xiu's unstable state was due to insufficient Essence in his body to complete the transformation into the Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body, the Dragon Demon immediately urged Cheng Junie.

Though several thoughts flashed through his mind, causing a brief hesitation, Cheng Junie quickly approached Qi Xiu, took the last Dragon Origin from his sleeve, and placed it into Qi Xiu's mouth.

Once the last Dragon Origin was swallowed, Qi Xiu's restless and disordered vital energy instantly calmed. His abnormally flushed complexion returned to normal, and the colorful light streams from his orifices flowed back into his body.

"This boy's Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body... it's complete," the Dragon Demon murmured, his form and voice growing faint, flickering in and out of existence. With the last Dragon Origin consumed by Qi Xiu, the Dragon Demon himself was on the verge of disappearing.

"I never expected to witness the emergence of an Innate Mixed Yuan Holy Body before my departure," the Dragon Demon said, his voice fading. "Young ones, I leave this for your escape. If you can overcome that half-corpse outside the door, use this to leave. Do not take the main gate; a Dao Body Realm old flood dragon lies in wait there."

Detaching his left arm from the shoulder, the Dragon Demon hastily etched some marks onto it and tossed it to Cheng Junie.

Supporting himself on his knees, he slowly sat down. He watched as the radiant light around Qi Xiu—who had completed his Holy Body transformation with the aid of the Dragon Origin—gradually receded. A rare smile touched the corners of the Dragon Demon's lips.

"Everything is settled. I... can finally rest..."

Before he could finish his words, this guardian of the Dragon Pond Forbidden Area had already dissolved into a swirl of fine sand, vanishing into the void without leaving the slightest trace.

「Outside the Dragon Pond Forbidden Area」

Nie Biao, who had been humming an unknown tune with his eyes closed, seemed to sense something and suddenly snapped his eyes open.

On his right shoulder pauldron, a Treasure-Seeking Mouse wore a sinister smirk. The mouse slowly pointed a tiny paw towards the large gate before them, then drew a finger across its own throat.

"HEH HEH, understood," Nie Biao chuckled.

He stood up, his armor clashing with a ringing sound. Bloodlust surged in his eyes like a tide. Nie Biao took a step forward, his overwhelmingly dense murderous aura transforming into a pitch-black storm. It slammed violently into the grand gates of the Dragon Pond Forbidden Area, blasting them open!

The black wind howled, chilling to the bone!

THUD, THUD—

Unurried footsteps echoed as they entered the Dragon Pond Forbidden Area. Amidst the dense black fog, a pair of eyes, like crimson lanterns, slowly lit up.

"The game of hide-and-seek is officially over," a voice drawled. "You two have hidden long enough. It's time we were going."

Chuckling, Nie Biao walked into the Dragon Pond Forbidden Area with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze slowly falling upon his two targets.

One was a Sword Cultivator, and the other...

Nie Biao clicked his tongue softly. He looked at Qi Xiu, who sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut, a peculiar light flickering in his own eyes.

He'd started eating people two hundred years ago. His nose was extraordinarily keen; he could detect a person's foundational vital energy even from dozens of miles away, not just when they were right before him. Yet, this clean-cut, scholar-like young Daoist before him... for a moment, he couldn't quite 'savor' his essence. How strange! Most peculiar!

"Interesting," Nie Biao mused. "Perhaps... I'll just eat an arm. After all, that old flood dragon only said to bring you out. He didn't specify you had to be in one piece."

His interest in Qi Xiu piqued, greed surged in Nie Biao's crimson eyes. Swallowing audibly, GULP, GULP, he slowly advanced.

This damn brat, why isn't he awake yet?! Cheng Junie thought frantically.

Seeing Nie Biao closing in, Cheng Junie gritted his teeth, drew his sword, and stepped forward. With a mental command, he instantly reactivated the Nanming Li Fire Sword Formation he had previously set up within the Dragon Pond Forbidden Area!

A monstrous conflagration erupted from the ground, raging and sweeping across the area, its azure flames surging with ferocious power.

This Southern Bright Separation Fire was a rare and wondrous flame of heaven and earth! Not only was its temperature extremely high, but it also possessed a powerful suppressive effect against dark entities and Demons.

However, Cheng Junie's Nanming Lihuo Sword Skill was not yet perfected, and he lacked the core Nanming Li Fire Sword to serve as his bonded sword. The Magic Sword in his hand was merely a temporary substitute. Therefore, the Southern Bright Separation Fire he wielded was impure, manifesting as this azure color.

The true Southern Bright Separation Fire, when burning at its utmost intensity, should be pure white. Legend told that it was the flame that burned upon the Ancient God Vermilion Bird—a flame capable of incinerating anything, its power utterly terrifying!

Nie Biao nonchalantly observed the fierce Southern Bright Separation Fire Sword Light sweeping towards him. He showed no reaction, allowing the Sword Light—potent enough to blast apart a hundred miles of land—to strike his body.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Sword Light exploded continuously, yet Nie Biao, standing at the epicenter of the blasts, remained completely unharmed. Not even a single crack appeared on his armor.

The Golden Armored Corpse Demon... truly terrifying!

"Southern Bright Separation Fire?" Nie Biao sneered. "A pity. If it were the white Southern Bright Separation Fire, I'd definitely turn tail and run."

A cruel smirk spread across Nie Biao's face as he suddenly lifted his foot and stomped forward heavily!

BOOM—

Instantly, a sky-rending torrent of baleful blood energy roared forth, and a dazzling crimson light engulfed the entire Dragon Pond Forbidden Area. The metallic stench, so thick it was almost tangible, caused the entire Nanming Li Fire Sword Formation to dim at a rate visible to the naked eye.

This was corpse qi! Corpse qi so dense it had transformed into a baleful miasma!

Overwhelmed by a force of an entirely different magnitude, the Nanming Li Fire Sword Formation abruptly shattered, corroded and decayed by the corpse qi. The azure Southern Bright Separation Fire was rapidly extinguished, leaving only a few lingering sparks.

So ferocious! An eyelid twitched as Cheng Junie instinctively tightened his grip on the Magic Sword in his hand.

Golden Armored Corpse Demon, Nie Biao.

This man had become notorious over two hundred years ago. Originally, he was the kind-hearted son of a wealthy family, known for his generosity. However, while distributing winter supplies to disaster victims in the mountains, he was robbed by several opportunistic refugees. They took all his belongings, broke his limbs, and threw him into the wilderness to be devoured by wolves.

He lay in agony in a mountain valley for several days.

Nie Biao was eventually found and taken in by a passing corpse-herding Daoist. The Daoist, seeing the immense resentment and unwillingness in Nie Biao's heart, intended to refine him into a bronze-armored jiangshi. However, at a critical moment, the Daoist's enemies tracked him down. The corpse-herding Daoist was killed, and Nie Biao narrowly escaped with his life, but he had become a half-human, half-corpse entity.

After this, Nie Biao's temperament changed drastically. He became cruel, perverse, and took pleasure in devouring humans.

Following that, he experienced a series of fortunate encounters. First, he obtained an inheritance from the Immortal Palace of the Middle-Aged Demon Sect, causing his Cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds. Subsequently, he found a Mass Corpses Worshiping Moon Cave and interred himself within it. From his original state as a bronze-armored half-corpse, he transformed into a Golden Armored Corpse Demon. His combat prowess became such that he rarely met an equal.

Gazing at the Golden Armored Corpse Demon Nie Biao before him, Cheng Junie took a deep breath. His tall, sturdy frame slowly began to radiate an intense sharpness, a cutting intent that seemed capable of slicing through the very void!

"Heh, since you're courting death, I'll start with you!" Nie Biao sneered, sensing the Sword Intent erupting from Cheng Junie.

In the next instant, a pair of fleshy wings abruptly sprouted from Nie Biao's back. His terrifying physique transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting explosively towards Cheng Junie!

CLANG!!!

A fierce sword keen rang out! An endless, brilliant Sword Light, like a volcanic eruption, spewed forth from Cheng Junie's body. It faintly solidified into a colossal silver sword that seemed to span heaven and earth as it surged towards Nie Biao.

BOOM—

The instant they clashed, a deafening explosion, as if the sky were tearing and the earth sundering, resounded. The void itself rumbled, on the verge of shattering and collapsing!

"HAHAHA! Is this all you've got?!" Nie Biao roared. "Shatter for me! Shatter! Shatter! Shatter!!!"

A maniacal, terrifying laugh erupted from him, his eyes blazing with horrifying blood-red light. Draped in a layer of tainted golden light, he actually met Cheng Junie's full-powered Sword Intent-infused strike head-on with his bare hands!

Then, he thrust his fists forward violently. A barrage of fist shadows blotted out the sky, smashing down upon the colossal silver sword like an avalanche!

CRACK!

A continuous series of cracking sounds echoed as Nie Biao, like a frenzied ancient Blood Demon, swung his seemingly indestructible fists, forcibly shattering the colossal silver sword inch by inch.

"PTUI..."

His Swordsmanship shattered, Cheng Junie suffered a severe backlash, spitting out a large mouthful of blood. A dimness clouded his eyes.

He's too strong! As a Golden Armored Corpse Demon, Nie Biao already possessed an unparalleled physique. Furthermore, the ancient armor he wore was an Exotic Treasure, capable of amplifying his physical strength several times over. With this, his combat power was far beyond what an ordinary Blood-Stained Realm cultivator could match.

Having violently torn the entire colossal silver sword to pieces, Nie Biao instantly charged before Cheng Junie. His massive hand, wreathed in corpse-fiend energy, descended as if to blot out the sky, aimed to take Cheng Junie's head with a single blow.

At this moment, Nie Biao had clearly gone berserk; the Flood Dragon King's orders had long been cast a vast distance from his thoughts.

Seeing the massive hand, thick with corpse-fiend energy, crashing down, Cheng Junie's face filled with unwillingness, yet his gaze was resolute. Even if it means self-destruction, I will not become food for this Corpse Demon!

Just as Cheng Junie clenched his fists, preparing to die preserving his integrity, a calm voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.

"Duck!"

His heart jolted. Without a shred of doubt, Cheng Junie immediately ducked.

The next second!

A slender, fair, yet powerful and steady hand suddenly shot out from behind him, fiercely meeting Nie Biao's descending palm!

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