Chapter 1131: Peak Battle
The skin on the standing monk's body had completely turned golden, with tens of thousands of profound Sanskrit characters floating and sinking on its surface.
That was the Buddha Emperor's Golden Body.
At the standing monk's current realm, his mastery over the golden body had reached an extremely profound level. It was precisely for this reason that even the exceptionally talented Xue Wuye was suppressed by him.
Of course, even without the Buddha Emperor's Golden Body, the standing monk's enlightenment and natural talent were still of the top tier.
"Are you the number one powerhouse of the human race? I, the master, have long wanted to fight you. Since you've jumped out, I'll cut you down first, then deal with Zhang Ruochen."
The Devouring Demon Dragon flew amidst the clouds, its body dozens of miles long. Every scale seemed forged from refined iron, emitting destructive power and force. The impression it gave was virtually no different from the divine dragons of the ancient era that could overturn rivers and seas.
An ordinary human half-saint, merely catching a glimpse of a scale or claw of the Devouring Demon Dragon, might already be scared into lying prostrate on the ground.
The standing monk pressed his palms together. Behind him, a Buddha shadow, taller than a mountain, manifested.
Resounding Buddhist chants echoed through heaven and earth, as if thousands upon thousands of monks were reciting scriptures.
The standing monk struck out with a palm, meeting the dragon claw of the Devouring Demon Dragon.
The Buddha shadow also struck out with a palm, its golden hand as enormous as the dragon claw.
"Boom."
The two powerful forces collided. On the ground, dense cracks appeared. In the sky, the thick clouds were shattered by the shock, as if heaven were collapsing and earth were splitting apart.
The standing monk and the Devouring Demon Dragon finally unleashed their true strength, far surpassing other top-tier powerhouses, even tearing space apart.
Whether human cultivators or barbarian beasts, all retreated over a hundred miles away. No one dared to approach.
"Dragon Soaring the Nine Heavens."
The standing monk executed the tenth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, letting out a long roar. He transformed into a golden dragon dozens of miles long, charging above the clouds to battle the Devouring Demon Dragon.
Buddhist light and demonic qi intertwined, causing the entire heaven and earth to tremble.
The creatures below sensed danger. If the standing monk and the Devouring Demon Dragon rushed to their position, with their cultivation levels, they would most likely be crushed.
Thus, everyone continued to retreat, all the way to several hundred miles away.
The native human cultivators of the Azure Dragon Dynasty's royal capital were also watching the battle on Dragon Summit Mountain.
When they saw the two dragons flying in the sky, they were all scared pale. If they lost the city-protecting grand formation, who could withstand such formidable extraterrestrial demons?
Chi Wansui and the Kun Clan Prince were both members of royal clans and also spear technique masters. They fought in a forested area only about seventy miles from Dragon Summit Mountain, smashing one mountain peak after another.
The war weapon Chi Wansui used was the Qilin Spear, bestowed by Empress Chi Yao. The Kun Clan Prince used the Red Sea Vajra Spear. Both were extremely powerful thousand-mark sacred artifacts.
When the two long spears clashed, a deafening sound erupted, like two massive iron mountains colliding.
"That a spear technique master like you could emerge from the human race is somewhat surprising to me," the Kun Clan Prince said with a cold laugh.
The material of the Red Sea Vajra Spear in the Kun Clan Prince's hand was quite special, excavated from the deep sea. Even without activating its inscriptions, it weighed 273,000 jin.
Once all the force-type inscriptions within the spear were activated, the Red Sea Vajra Spear's weight could exceed a hundred million jin.
Of course, with the Kun Clan Prince's current cultivation, he could not yet fully activate all the inscriptions in the Red Sea Vajra Spear.
Even so, the Red Sea Vajra Spear in the Kun Clan Prince's hand was still extremely heavy. A casual strike could shatter a quasi-saint-level figure into pieces. Even a lower-level saint would find it no easy task to block a single spear thrust from the Kun Clan Prince.
"Then let's see whose spear technique is superior."
The power erupting from Chi Wansui's body was no weaker than the Kun Clan Prince's. The Qilin Spear in his hand was a war weapon once used by the Azure Emperor, as powerful as the Red Sea Vajra Spear.
"Sun and Moon Align, Radiance Illuminates the World."
Cyan light surged from Chi Wansui's body, condensing into dozens of azure dragon shadows. Instantly, an emperor's aura was bestowed upon him, causing the aura he emitted to surge significantly.
The technique Chi Wansui cultivated was the same as Empress Chi Yao's, called the Azure Radiance Divine Art, a supreme art of the First Central Empire's royal clan.
Throughout the entire Kunlun Realm, fewer than ten cultivators practiced the Azure Radiance Divine Art, and every one of them was a core figure of the royal clan.
Soon, Chi Wansui wounded the Kun Clan Prince, striking him so hard that he spat blood, forcing him to defend and retreat simultaneously.
"Chi Wansui, ranked ninth on the Half-Saint List, actually defeated the Kun Clan Prince, ranked sixth?"
"Shengshu Cainü must have underestimated Chi Wansui."
...
In truth, what everyone didn't know was that when Shengshu Cainü compiled the Half-Saint List, aside from Huang Yanchen, all nine realm sons had just stepped into the ninth-rank half-saint realm.
Yet many beings on the Half-Saint List had already crossed one or two quasi-saint tribulations, or even three.
For this reason, the rankings of the several realm sons on the Half-Saint List were not particularly high.
How could the nine realm sons, cultivated by Empress Chi Yao at the cost of countless resources, possess only this much strength?
The nine realm sons had cultivated together in the Reincarnation Seal for a total of fifteen years. In truth, most of that time was spent consolidating their previous realms. After undergoing countless refinements, each person's physique rivaled Zhang Ruochen's Five Elements Chaos Body, and their spiritual will far exceeded ordinary people.
Arriving at the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm, the cultivation of all nine realm sons surged rapidly. The rankings on the Half-Saint List naturally became less accurate.
A Le did not have the top-tier resources of the nine realm sons, and his strength was somewhat weaker. When he fought the Kun Clan Prince, he had already sustained some injuries.
Now, in his battle with the Bi'an Heavenly King, he was completely on the defensive, covered in bloodstains, appearing as if he might collapse at any moment.
Yet A Le possessed a fierce tenacity. Even if his strength was inferior to his opponent's, even if he was gravely wounded, he still charged forward bravely, his battle intent growing even stronger.
It was that very tenacity that made even the Bi'an Heavenly King feel wary, unable to suppress and kill A Le for a long time.
"Not even a saint yet, yet you dare call yourself a heavenly king? I think taming you into a mount wouldn't be a bad idea."
A rough voice rang out, exceptionally bold and unrestrained.
All the creatures present felt a chill. Just who was this fierce individual, daring to claim they would tame a primordial great ferocious beast into a mount?
The Bi'an Heavenly King was quite furious and roared, "Who? Come out!"
"Ssshh."
To the northwest, a crimson sea of fire covered the earth for a hundred miles, rolling up fire waves dozens of feet high. It passed through a gap between two mountains and surged forward rapidly.
When the sea of fire reached the Bi'an Heavenly King, it immediately converged upward, condensing into a massive handprint that slammed down.
With a bang.
The enormous handprint knocked the Bi'an Heavenly King's massive body to the ground, shaking the earth.
Only then did someone finally see that at the center of the flaming handprint stood a burly man. He had a sturdy build, covered in muscles, and exuded explosive power.
The human cultivators of the Liangyi Sect all erupted in excitement, shouting loudly: "Senior Sister has finally arrived!"
"Senior Sister is still as mighty and domineering as before, her style undiminished."
The burly man at the center of the flaming handprint was none other than the number one beauty of the Liangyi Sect, Gai Tianjiao, who possessed the Innate Extreme Yang Body.
Having received guidance from Empress Chi Yao and cultivated in the Reincarnation Seal for fifteen years, her Innate Extreme Yang Body had advanced further, not much weaker than Zhang Ruochen's Five Elements Chaos Body.
Her body had grown even stronger, with yang qi boiling inside. Every muscle emitted scorching heat, capable of melting metal and iron, like a human-shaped primordial ferocious beast.
Not long ago, Gai Tianjiao had crossed her second quasi-saint tribulation, and her cultivation had surged dramatically. Even now, she couldn't fully control her increased power. Thus, wherever she stood, the area within a hundred miles turned into a sea of fire.
Arriving with Gai Tianjiao was another realm son, Sui Han.
Sui Han was a disciple of the Confucian Path Qin Sect and also the top scholar of this year's First Central Empire imperial examinations. His spiritual power, sword dao, and qin art had all reached the top tier.
Sui Han and Gai Tianjiao were complete opposites.
Sui Han wore a green robe, had soft, beautiful long hair, and carried an ancient qin in his arms. His features were delicate, his eyelashes long, and his skin as smooth as mutton fat.
In terms of appearance alone, Sui Han could rival Xue Wuye, both being first-rate handsome men.
However, Sui Han had a bit more feminine softness about him. If he changed into women's clothing, he would surely be a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.
Sui Han also chose an opponent: the Jingtian Crown Prince.
The Jingtian Crown Prince was controlling the Fangcun Sacred Staff, trying to use the terrain's power to suppress the Shi Shenghua, when he saw a man in a green Confucian robe, effeminate in manner, walking toward him.
"I've long heard that the Undying Blood Clan produced a spiritual power genius, the crown prince of the Jingtian Ancient Clan. That should be you, right?"
Sui Han arrived at the foot of Dragon Summit Mountain, walking with elegant steps. He slowly placed an ancient qin flat on his knee, setting his ten long, snow-white fingers on the strings. Forming orchid fingers, he said with a smile, "Listen to my tune, 'Falling Geese in Autumn Wind,' and I'll send you to the Yellow Spring."
"Such big talk. You actually want to send this crown prince to the Yellow Spring? You overestimate yourself," the Jingtian Crown Prince said. Seeing Sui Han's gaze, he felt a wave of disgust, his brows knitting together.
Sui Han's eyes carried a hint of autumn waves, the corners of his eyes tilted upward, full of coquettish charm.
"Fight."
The Jingtian Crown Prince could hardly tolerate a man looking at him with such eyes. He took the initiative to attack, grabbing the Fangcun Sacred Staff and pointing it at Sui Han.
A cyan beam shot out from the top of the sacred staff, causing space to bulge and explode with a loud bang.
"Why so impatient? Be elegant."
Sui Han smiled faintly, gently pressing his fingers on the qin strings. Instantly, a ripple of sound waves surged out from the strings, meeting the cyan beam.