Chapter 1694: Shu General (II)

Li Zhouwei raised his brows slightly at those words. At the same time, his golden gaze fell onto Li Muyan.

Mount Xiping was a spiritless mountain separating the two regions. Its terrain was treacherous, and its peaks towered into the clouds. Cultivators with a lower cultivation could not even cross it. It was easy to defend and difficult to attack, requiring no great number of cultivators to hold.

A single powerful cultivator supported by a formation would be enough to defend it. However, once it fell into another's hands, they would command the heights, and its natural defenses would be nearly impossible to overcome. That alone would leave everyone at the lake unable to eat or sleep in peace.

Whether Shu State was truly determined to seize Mount Xiping was difficult to say, but Moongaze Lake could never allow Mount Xiping to be lost!

Daoist Master Hongyan's expression shifted slightly as he sighed inwardly, He truly cannot wait for a fight to break out...

Yet now that Li Muyan had spoken, Daoist Master Hongyan had nothing more to say. He silently stepped back to stand behind him.

The golden-eyed young man before them suddenly spoke, cutting off whatever Li Muyan had been about to say. "Li Muyan... The Li Family of Mount Tan may not recognize the King of Wei, but do you recognize the Emperor of Wei?"

Li Muyan had not expected such a response. His expression changed drastically as he replied coldly, "What are you implying? My Li Family of Mount Tan hails from Jiangnan and has nothing whatsoever to do with the north! What Emperor of Wei are you talking about?"

Yet in the instant he blinked, the young man before him vanished!

Daoist Master Hongyan's expression changed drastically as radiance instantly gathered around him. Scorching heavenly light rushed toward his face, and Li Zhouwei appeared in midair.

He reached forward and closed his hand around a point of golden light. As the golden-eyed man’s arm swept across his body, the light stretched fluidly in both directions, forming a crescent-bladed halberd. Its icy gleaming edge suddenly sprang forth and stabbed toward them like a piercing blade.

His voice rolled like thunder, cold and imposing. "The more you try to conceal it, the more obvious it becomes!"

Li Muyan gritted his teeth. His silver armor blazed brilliantly as his divine ability gathered around him. In an instant, streams of lightning converged from the surroundings, pouring into his armor, while dazzling golden light erupted from between his brows and flooded the air before him.

Li Zhouwei's halberd descended with the weight of a mountain, yet its movements remained nimble and elusive. It found a tiny opening amid the lightning and golden radiance and stabbed straight through. At the same time, a trace of contempt flickered across Li Zhouwei’s face.

Boom!

Golden lightning poured down with a thunderous crash, but a brownish-yellow and emerald umbrella leaped into the air and spun open. A field of earthen-brown light blossomed from it, completely shielding against the golden radiance without allowing even a sliver through.

[Hundred-Ridge Profound Stone Umbrella]. It was Majestic Earth against thunder.

Li Zhouwei’s lightning was blocked with ease, but the surging halberd blade could not be ignored.

Li Muyan opened his mouth slightly and shouted, "Ha!"

In an instant, a wave of silver lightning rippled outward and erupted around his body. It transformed into layer upon layer of silver chains that wrapped themselves around the halberd one after another, abruptly halting its advance.

At the same time, Daoist Master Hongyan summoned the spirit artifact in his hand. Seething, hazy flames coiled up his arm and transformed into a long spear of spirit flame. It shot out of his grasp and thrust straight toward Li Zhouwei's face!

Li Muyan sneered at the sight. But unexpectedly, the long halberd twisted amid the surging lightning and erupted with brilliant golden light, causing him to falter for an instant. Da Sheng nearly broke free on the spot.

Li Muyan immediately grew wary and thought, Daoist Master Hongyan attained divine ability many years ago, and has mastered both of his divine abilities. Although I only attained divine ability recently, I’m bolstered by the Light of Martial Inquiry and am already no weaker than most. Still, Li Zhouwei bears destiny upon him, so I must remain cautious.

His divine ability and mana surged even more fiercely as he desperately held the halberd in place. Yet Li Zhouwei merely gripped it in one hand and strolled forward at an unhurried pace, not even sparing them a glance. He raised his other hand casually, and ten bolts of purple-white lightning crashed down from the sky, all striking the spirit-flame spear at once.

Boom!

Thick black smoke billowed upward as a purple-gold thunder mace emerged from the vortex of dark clouds overhead. Its dazzling golden radiance made Li Muyan's expression shift.

It truly is a fine treasure... What a waste for it to languish in the hands of Bright Yang! But this is nowhere near enough... That man surnamed Qing is watching from afar. I need to force Li Zhouwei to reveal some of his true ability!

He gritted his teeth and sneered. "You dare mention the Emperor of Wei? You truly do not know your place. An ignorant junior like you dares hope that my Li Family of Mount Tan shares an ancestry with you remnants of Wei!"

His words rang out like thunder, but surprisingly, the first to react was Daoist Master Hongyan. Startled, he clicked his tongue inwardly as his heart sank, He truly dares say anything... Does he really trust that man surnamed Qing so much?

Li Muyan’s taunt finally drew Li Zhouwei’s attention back to him. A cold anger tinged with disgust appeared on his face. "This king shall grant your wish."

In the space of a single thought, the golden-eyed young man drew his brows together. An immense and irresistible force tore through the divine ability, blasting silver fragments into the air. Li Muyan stumbled forward as his divine ability fell out of balance, and a muffled explosion sounded just beside his ear.

Clang!

In that instant, his vision spun. Golden light flashed before his eyes, and a loud ringing filled his ears. Everything before him shattered into countless fragments of green, white, purple, and yellow. All he could perceive was the deafening noise around him and a wet, icy sensation beneath his nose.

His consciousness sank into darkness for an instant, as though he had suddenly crawled out from the depths of countless abysses. His mind cleared with astonishing speed, and he jolted in horror as the colors before his eyes finally returned to normal!

Yet the rolling thunderclouds overhead and Daoist Master Hongyan beside him had both vanished. Above him stood a radiant heavenly gate as immense as a mountain, while everything within sight was filled with boundless black and gold. Only a single point of radiance remained before him.

It was Li Zhouwei, who was staring at him with a cold expression. The young man before him seemed impossibly distant, yet also close enough to touch.

In a single instant, Li Muyan finally saw what the endless darkness enveloping him truly was... It was neither a divine ability nor a dharma artifact, nor was it a spirit formation or spirit veil. It was an immeasurable multitude of densely packed streams of dark-golden light.

[Imperial Divergence Light].

The torrent-like divine ability poured down upon him. He was like a tiny boat caught in the flood, struggling helplessly and unable to move, while a gleaming long battle-axe as massive as a mountain slowly descended from above, radiating a terrifying aura that left him unable to breathe.

The Brilliant Yang King's Axe!

Li Muyan could no longer maintain his composure. His eyes bulged as he shouted, "Great General!"

Boom!

The wind and rain outside abruptly ceased. Gray qi descended from the heavens like lightning and formed an enormous hand. It seemed to have been gathering strength for some time, and it violently swept aside the [Imperial Divergence Light] around him before clenching down with tremendous force!

At the same time, a cold shout rang through the sky. "Li Zhouwei!"

Bang!!!

The Brilliant Yang King's Axe seemed to strike something indestructible. A cloud of golden dust burst from the halberd blade and drifted down like rain. A gray jewel tumbled awkwardly out of the air, unable to steady itself, and crashed into the ground like a meteor falling from the heavens!

Had Li Muyan been struck by the Brilliant Yang King's Axe, even if he escaped death by the narrowest of margins, he would still have needed to hide away and recuperate for more than a decade. Although he had now been protected, cold sweat still covered his body. Taking advantage of the moment when the [Imperial Divergence Light] was shattered, he cast off the streams of light clinging to him and raised his brows, preparing to flee.

Yet the black-robed young man before him had already vanished.

The gray qi between heaven and earth suddenly condensed, revealing a delicate-featured young man. His Daoist robe was plain and unadorned, but his expression was exceedingly grim. One hand, throbbing with pain, was hidden behind his back, while the other gently closed around the empty air.

Clang!

A metallic hum rang simultaneously in everyone's ears. The army to the west staggered and fell into chaos, while a golden bangle flashed briefly in the air before vanishing once more.

Yet in that very instant, the gleaming halberd blade was already reflected in Li Muyan's pupils. Every one of his divine ability mystics converged upon his body as he simultaneously roused his True Essence, exhaling a stream of white qi through his nose.

"Command!"

Yet his opponent's spirit artifact came far too quickly!

Bang!

The gray pearl had only just crashed into the ground when a full-powered strike from the halberd hammered into an unguarded Li Muyan. The white qi was torn through before it could even fully condense, and Li Muyan followed it down like a falling star. He crashed into the western battle formation with a deafening impact, unleashing a storm of lightning and flame. Mountains cracked; the earth split; and the rain ceased across heaven and earth!

The young man who emerged from the gray qi now wore an exceedingly grim expression. He stared coldly at Li Zhouwei and stepped forward, drawing the gray qi into a mass as immense as a mountain.

The two faced each other in the sky for a brief instant, while the silver-armored general crawled out from the heap of soldiers. He coughed repeatedly and spat out black blood roiling with purple flames. Before he could steady himself, his expression abruptly changed in horror.

Almost simultaneously, shock and fury flashed through the eyes of the young man confronting Li Zhouwei.

He suddenly sprang into action, shouting, "What a temper you have, King of Wei!"

Clang!

Li Zhouwei did not answer him. Instead, an earth-shaking metallic clang rang out as something abruptly pierced through the great void before Li Muyan.

It was a golden spear about three meters long, entirely smooth and unadorned, without a single pattern or ridge across its surface!

[Descending Light Unified Spear]!

Li Zhouwei had obtained this object from the grotto heaven, but had never used it before. It was forged from [Xiao Metal], unbound by cause and effect, free from all constraint, difficult to detect and impossible to divine!

Pfft!

The golden streak had been lying in wait for some time. It flashed like lightning and pierced straight through Li Muyan's chest before vanishing without a trace. The man grunted and staggered back several steps, coughing up blood once more.

The man wielding gray qi in the sky erupted in humiliated fury, roaring like thunder!

"Li Zhouwei!"

The spear had not pierced Qing Jifang's body, yet it might as well have. It had run straight through his dignity. As the noble scion of an immortal sect, Qing Jifang considered himself a cut above everyone he met beneath the heavens. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

His fury erupted at once, and gray qi spread across the sky.

Qing Jifang sneered. "Good... What a fine King of Wei... You dare show no respect to Changhuai... Let us see who ends up humiliated!"

The gray pearl immediately leaped from the ground and landed in his hand. Surging gray qi boiled and churned, spreading in waves around Li Zhouwei's dharma body. Li Zhouwei, however, wore a slightly peculiar expression as he silently studied the hand Qing Jifang had kept hidden behind his back.

As expected of the son of Changhuai's Grand Daoist Master. He recklessly took a [Light Splitting] strike directly from the Brilliant Yang King's Axe with his divine ability and dharma body. Even with such a sturdy dharma body, profound divine ability arts, and ample time to prepare... four of his fingers must have been broken... Yet he has not uttered a single sound!

When Qing Jifang saw him staring directly at the hand hidden behind his back, realization struck him at once. It felt like yet another unbearable humiliation, adding fuel to his already blazing fury.

Yet in truth, four of his fingers were hanging on by little more than scraps of flesh, while the powerful Bright Yang divine ability continued spreading through the wound. For the moment, he truly did not dare bring the hand out, leaving him grinding his teeth in rage.

Li Muyan and Ni Xuguang[1]... One turned an act into a real fight and carelessly underestimated the enemy, while the other shirked his duty and stood there like a wooden fool... Both were instantly left dazed by his spirit treasure. Had either of them been a remotely competent Purple Mansion Realm cultivator, why would I have needed to take that axe head-on?

Qing Jifang possessed profound cultivation techniques, a noble background, and countless treasures. Under ordinary circumstances, there was no possible way such a cumbersome spirit artifact could ever strike him in battle! He was certain he had countless ways to wound Li Zhouwei in this battle, yet he had somehow been forced to suffer precisely this kind of loss!

Li Zhouwei... Laugh while you still can... Once you suffer defeat in the north, let us see whether anyone at Moongaze Lake can still laugh!

1. Daoist Master Hongyan's given name. ☜

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