Chapter 1226: Heart-Incinerating Thunder, Compassionate Dragon Blade
"What is Luo Changsheng trying to do?" Huo Poyun shouted, his face full of tension.
"He actually withstood the Brilliant Red Lotus head-on..." Yan Juehai had not yet fully recovered from the previous soul impact. Their Phoenix lineage's strongest flame had been forcibly endured by Luo Changsheng, which naturally made his heart feel extremely bitter.
"After all, it is a 'divine body' tempered by the Primordial Divine Water. Otherwise, he would have long been burned to ashes," Huo Rulie said in a low voice. As soon as he finished speaking, his brows suddenly tightened as he thought of a certain forbidden profound art of the Shengyu Realm, and he exclaimed in shock, "Could it be that he is going to..."
Sizzle! Sizzle! Zzzzzz...
In Luo Changsheng's palm, purple lightning bolts continuously crackled, becoming denser and denser, eventually twisting into a violently writhing mass of lightning.
Luo Changsheng raised his hand, but instead of hurling the lightning in his hand toward Yun Che, he fiercely blasted it against his own heart.
Crack!!!
Yun Che: "!?!?"
Luo Changsheng's heart exploded with purple light, and then, streaks of bright purple light patterns suddenly spread rapidly from his heart to every part of his body—extending to his torso, limbs, fingers, neck, face... and finally, even his remaining hair stood on end, turning from charred black to a crystalline bright purple.
During this process, Luo Changsheng's profound energy, which had weakened by several percent, suddenly surged, returning to its peak state in an instant... then broke through its limits and continued to increase. The suddenly expanding aura swept across once more, pressuring Yun Che into a panicked retreat, his face turning extremely gloomy.
"It really is... Heart-Incinerating Thunder," Mu Bingyun murmured softly, her icy eyes condensing worry.
"Heart-Incinerating Thunder, the forbidden profound art of the Shengyu Realm that forcibly breaks through limits... Wasn't it said that one must be at least at the Divine King Realm to cultivate it?" Mu Huanzhi's expression was horrified.
"That is for ordinary people," Mu Huanzhi sighed heavily. "If Luo Changsheng's body has truly been tempered by the 'Primordial Divine Water' as the legends say, then it is not surprising that he can use the Heart-Incinerating Thunder. Alas, this has now thoroughly turned for the worse."
"Oh my, a life-shortening forbidden technique," Shitian Shendi squinted his eyes. "The foremost of the Four Divine Sons of the Eastern Domain, famous even in the Southern Divine Domain, has been forced to the point of shortening his own lifespan. Splendid, simply splendid, hahaha."
Shitian Shendi's loud laughter carried undisguised mockery.
Luo Changsheng's body shimmered with countless bright purple patterns, and even his profound energy took on a faint purple tint, surging far more violently than before, like rolling lava in purgatory.
With purple patterns covering his entire body, Luo Changsheng's profound energy had surged by nearly fifty percent compared to just moments ago. He slowly raised his head, a pair of deep purple lightning bolts flashing through his pupils. Even the pain from being burned by the crimson flame seemed to have vanished along with the transformation of his body and profound energy.
Yun Che's heart sank heavily. This was a profound energy boost—and a full fifty percent boost at that.
In the understanding of profound practitioners in the God Realm, profound arts that could temporarily increase one's profound energy were the rarest and most difficult to cultivate among advanced techniques. Moreover, because such a cross-limit boost placed an equally excessive burden on one's body and vitality, it generally came with relatively severe side effects.
However, since this surge in profound energy could often turn the tide and even save one's life, the side effects were generally considered tolerable. As such, these techniques remained the dream of all profound practitioners.
A profound art that could boost profound energy by thirty percent was already extremely rare and advanced. One that could boost it by fifty percent was even more extraordinarily scarce. Luo Changsheng's Heart-Incinerating Thunder could boost his profound energy by a full fifty percent—and maintain that boost for a considerable duration.
In terms of profound energy amplification, the Evil God Art was absolutely the ancestor of all such profound arts' ancestors.
Because the amplification brought by the Evil God Art could no longer be called mere amplification—it was a terrifyingly extreme berserk state! Amplifying Yun Che's Divine Tribulation Realm Level 9 profound energy to the point where he could contend with the Divine Spirit Realm Level 10 was no simple matter of several times or a dozen times amplification. If this fact were known, even the pinnacle Divine Lords of the God Realm would be so shocked they'd wet themselves.
Moreover, even if Yun Che said it himself, no one would believe him.
Without the profound energy amplification of the Evil God Art, Yun Che in his normal state couldn't even defeat Luo Changsheng using only a single pinky finger.
A fifty percent profound energy boost was utter trash in the face of the Evil God Art, but appearing on Luo Changsheng at this moment was undoubtedly a terrifying nightmare for Yun Che.
However, this nightmare did not end there.
Boom!!
Luo Changsheng's arm grabbed at the void, and an extremely dazzling white light suddenly flashed, instantly obscuring Yun Che's vision.
At the same time, an overwhelmingly heavy aura combined with a dense baleful aura suddenly erupted. Under this terrifyingly explosive pressure, Yun Che's chest felt as if struck by a massive hammer, sending him retreating thousands of feet in an instant. On the spectator stands, countless profound practitioners felt their hearts suddenly jolt, unable to catch their breath for a long time.
Even those watching through the Star Monument experienced an intense sense of palpitation.
It seemed that the moment the white light flashed, Luo Changsheng had opened an ancient seal, releasing a fearsome demon god.
What is this... Yun Che's heart was shocked. When he looked at Luo Changsheng again, he saw that in his purple-streaked hand, there was now a strange pale-white giant blade.
This blade was nearly a zhang in length, comparable to his own Heaven-Defying Sword. Its entire body presented an eerie pale-white color, making it impossible to determine what materials it was forged from. The blade had no edge, and on its back were lined six skulls—not human skulls, but... dragon skulls!
Each of these six dragon skulls bore a ferocious expression. Even a single glance would cause the soul to tremble. Faint white light flickered in the eye sockets of the dragon skulls, suggesting that some remnants of consciousness still remained.
"This is... the Compassionate Dragon Blade!"
From the spectator stands, Yun Che heard several exclamations.
"So he's finally using it," the Glazed Light Realm King muttered, a tone of sigh in his voice. "With the Heart-Incinerating Thunder and the Compassionate Dragon Blade, Luo Changsheng now has an easy victory over Yun Che... But it's a rather unsightly victory."
"What... is that blade?" Huo Poyun exclaimed in shock. Although he was far from Luo Changsheng and separated by a barrier, he could still feel an extremely terrifying aura from that pale-white giant blade. When his gaze swept over the dragon bone skulls on the blade, his soul felt as if something was pressing down heavily, plunging toward the endless abyss.
"It's the Compassionate Dragon Blade," Huo Rulie said, closing his eyes and exhaling heavily, his voice becoming exceptionally weak. "So, the legends are all true."
"Compassionate... Dragon Blade?" Huo Poyun's eyes stared blankly. He had never heard that name before, nor had he ever felt such a terrifying aura from any profound artifact.
"It is said that Luo Guxie once entered the Primordial Divine Realm three times in twenty years to find the Primordial Divine Water for Luo Changsheng, finally succeeding on the third attempt. The first two attempts were not without gain, however. On the second attempt, she obtained this ancient demon blade. The blade was not inscribed with a name, so she named it 'Compassionate Dragon.'"
"The name 'Compassionate Dragon' comes from the legend that the blade seals the souls of six ancient evil dragons," Yan Juehai continued Huo Rulie's words. "The blade itself is likely forged from the dragon spines of these six ancient evil dragons."
"Ancient... demon blade?" Huo Poyun's heart tightened fiercely.
As the most central and original secret realm of the entire Chaos, the Primordial Divine Realm was both extremely dangerous and filled with a vast number of ancient relics. Any profound artifact obtained from a place like the Primordial Divine Realm, even the most inferior one, would surely shake the entire God Realm.
Because that was the Primordial Divine Realm!
"Although, due to the changes in the Chaos, the power of this demon blade cannot compare to its ancient might, even a mere wisp of its sword's might is terrifying enough. Especially... it is said that the six evil dragon souls sealed within the blade still retain a thread of existence and have not completely perished. Now, this appears to be true as well," Yan Juehai's brows were tightly knitted. The soul-shaking evil aura was proof that a lingering spirit remained within the blade.
"However, judging from its aura, even with the Heart-Incinerating Thunder boosting his profound energy, Luo Changsheng must pay a price to wield it," Yan Juehai shook his head. "In the end... he is still Luo Changsheng of the Shengyu Realm, with Luo Guxie as his master. For Yun Che to defeat him... Alas."
"No," Huo Rulie opened his eyes, his gaze burning. "Yun Che has already won by forcing Luo Changsheng to this point."
"Correct! Master is right; Brother Yun has already won! I believe it is not just Master and I—in the eyes of most people, he is already more impressive than Luo Changsheng!" Huo Poyun clenched his fists tightly and spoke heavily.
Even from such a great distance, one could feel the extremely terrifying baleful dragon pressure, let alone Yun Che facing Luo Changsheng directly. His face turned completely grim, veins bulging on his forehead, and his bones creaked slightly.
Luo Changsheng slowly raised the Compassionate Dragon Blade. A gentle gust of blade wind swept out, instantly creating a vast vacuum around him. He slowly lifted his head. His pupils, glowing with purple light, had returned to complete calm and indifference—returning to the demeanor of a judge who held the winning hand, controlled everything, and looked down on all.
"Yun Che, you are indeed remarkable. I must praise you: you are the most powerful opponent I have encountered since birth. These wounds I bear and the pain I have endured are far greater than all I have experienced in my entire life combined."
He spoke slowly, his tone revealing no trace of anger.
Yun Che: "..."
"Activating the Heart-Incinerating Thunder allows me to break through my limits, but it also shortens my lifespan. As for the Compassionate Dragon Blade, I cannot fully control it yet, and forcefully using it will rapidly consume my vitality. Yun Che, you are the first to force me to use both the Heart-Incinerating Thunder and the Compassionate Dragon Blade!"
"Though you are destined to lose, losing to the Heart-Incinerating Thunder and the Compassionate Dragon Blade..."
"You want to say that I lose with honor, don't you?" Yun Che's entire body was tense, his eyes icy cold, but a hint of a mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "It seems you've completely forgotten what I warned you earlier. Better not speak too soon, or else... when your face gets swollen, it will hurt even more than just now!"
"Heh." Luo Changsheng let out a faint, derisive laugh. Though he appeared calm on the surface, within him raged a violence of utmost fury. Unprecedented pain, unprecedented severe injury, unprecedented defeat, unprecedented humiliation... all naturally brought unprecedented rage.
Even if his temperament were a hundred times milder, he could not remain calm and indifferent.
He could have crushed Yun Che using only the Heart-Incinerating Thunder, yet he revealed the Compassionate Dragon Blade as well, clearly showing that his anger and hatred had reached an extreme. He was determined to defeat Yun Che with the fastest speed, the utmost power, and the most overwhelming dominance—a thorough, utter defeat!
To make Yun Che's defeat a hundred, thousand, ten thousand times more miserable than his own earlier humiliation, leaving not even a shred of hope for resistance!