A frightened look was seen on the old and thin face as the elder wondered, ‘What’s this skill? Why is it so powerful?’ Little did he know, the abilities that generated the frost and the ice arrow were unique skills from the imperial family’s divine weapon, and that Wu Hanning was the only one who could release them freely. Though Ou Yangming reverted those powers, he needed to consume way more essential Qi as compared to Her Royal Highness.
Despite that, he could cheat by using the Devouring ability. As long as his essential Qi was not depleted right away, he had nothing to fear.
At a distance away, the little phoenix had quietly moved backward, and it cursed to itself.
‘Brother, why are you playing with ice and snow? Isn’t that the exact opposite of our native ability?
If someone else had played with ice and snow in front of the little bird, it would have breathed blazing fire to burn that person into ashes. Nonetheless, when it sensed the familiar and warm energy inside Ou Yangming, it could not bring itself to go against him.
Hence, while the icy atmosphere was unpleasant for the little bird, it merely took a few steps back.
The elder looked grimmer than before, and he eventually consumed more essential Qi too to release greater powers and resist the continuous attacks from the ice arrows.
Keeping a distance away from each other, Ou Yangming released two skills while the elder gathered more shields to resist the powers. It seemed like a friendly battle, but the two of them knew how dangerous the fight was, and they dared not relax at all.
After a brief moment, Ou Yangming inhaled deeply and removed two pieces of equipment, then he replaced them in the blink of an eye.
This time, Ou Yangming would employ special earth mastery and wood mastery skills. Stone awls kept emerging from the ground while the plants on the walls around them grew crazily; they tried to harm and disturb the elder from different angles.
The immature powers could not harm the elder, and they were far less threatening than the ice arrows and the frost earlier.
Even so, the elder was extremely perturbed. ‘Why does this young fella have so many pieces of equipment, and they’re all attached with skills?’
It was worth noting that even in the upper realm, ordinary people could not acquire pieces of Skill Equipment. Ou Yangming had performed basic abilities from different masteries, but the fact that he could imprint the skills on the pieces of equipment was commendable. At this point, the elder was struck with an untimely thought.
He wanted to see how many pieces of Skill Equipment the young man had.
A piece of Skill Equipment was an intensive energy consumer, and it could not withstand continuous consumptions. This was the reason Woo Lejia and the others were careful when they released skills from their pieces of equipment, and they always waited for at least an hour before they released their skills for a second time.
This was because they could protect the pieces of equipment better. If they had continuously activated the skills as Ou Yangming did, the pieces of equipment would surely be destroyed.
Apart from Ou Yangming, nobody else in the world would waste such valuable resources like that.
After inciting skills for over ten times in a row, Ou Yangming abandoned the two pieces of equipment and retrieved new ones again.
Different powers were released at the elder, who could not take a break even if he wanted
to.
“Roar…”
Far away, the Eight-armed Giant Beast’s mad roar echoed, but it did not take long before it faded away.
Ou Yangming was relieved because it was a furious roar from the spirit beast, who was retreating. Li Xinfan, Elder Universe, and the other powerhouses did not let him down, they managed to force the mighty spirit beast to retreat. The young fellow became more relaxed, and he released the skills from the pieces of equipment with more ease.
The little phoenix looked in that direction with shock and thought, ‘The Eight-armed Giant Beast was forced to retreat by the Humans?’
Nevertheless, it had a new target at the moment. Whether the Humans were eliminated by the Beasts or the other way round, it was not bothered at all.
The elder gave his all to resist Ou Yangming’s attacks from the different pieces of equipment. At the spur of the moment, his wrist shook as his invisible shield was destroyed by a fireball.
Feeling appalled, the elder quickly shifted his body to evade the fireball’s attack, but it made a turn in the mid-air and flew toward him again. He immediately focused to form another shield to stop the fireball.
By the time the elder gained his footing, he realized that he was almost depleted of essential Qi…
Chapter 404 - Another Crystal Ball
The elder was horrified. Honestly, he was formidable and could not be compared by the Humans of this world.
Even if Wu Yuanwei—the imperial family’s strongest powerhouse—had come, the elder could contend with him too. Although the elder consumed essential Qi to form the interspatial shields, he could not have been depleted of the Qi so easily. Besides, if his essential Qi was truly exhausted, how could Ou Yangming have the vigor to release skills from pieces of equipment without an end?
It was true that much lesser essential Qi would be consumed for the release of skills from pieces of equipment, hence Ou Yangming saved a lot of his Qi. Nonetheless, the essential Qi difference between the elder and the young fellow was way bigger than the amount saved by the latter.
All of a sudden, the elder’s eyes lit up as he was struck by a thought. He finally noticed Ou Yangming’s trick, so he yelled fiercely, “You’re using Master’s power!”
Ou Yangming scoffed. When he previously used his military saber to devour energies from the Earthly Dragon Beast’s flesh and blood, he tried to hide it so the energy fluctuation was not that intense. Since the young fellow’s trick was now exposed, he no longer had to do it discreetly.
The piece of meat stabbed by his saber shrunk in an instant, allowing Ou Yangming to fully recover his essential Qi. As a result, his energy, essence, and spirit were at their peaks again. Following that, a flash was seen coming from the saber as Ou Yangming slashed it at the elder without any hesitation. “Wait, I have something to say!” The elder’s face changed, and he shrieked.
“Okay, go ahead,” Ou Yangming uttered. He stopped attacking with his military saber, but just as the elder sighed a breath of relief as he thought the young fellow would back away, the saber-light flashed again. Ou Yangming swung his saber faster than before.
The elder widened his eyes so much so that his eyeballs were going to drop out. He roared and crouched, then he flew backward to dodge the attack.
‘This human is extremely shameless. I can’t believe he’s more cunning than I am!’
When the elder thought he had evaded the saber, it somehow glowed in green light and caught up to him at an unbelievable speed.
The change happened without warning, causing the elder to be caught off guard, by which he could not even use his interspatial shields in time. A sinister look was seen in his eyes as he lifted a hand to block the wind blade.
“Pow…”
The wind blade slit the elder’s wrist mercilessly, leaving a bloody wound on him. It was so powerful that his hand was almost cut off from his body.
Nevertheless, the elder was unyielding. Without groaning at all, he attempted to flee the small alley as though he was wearing roller skates.
Ou Yangming was well-prepared. Once he shouted, every part of his body shone as he simulated various skills at the same time and aimed them at the elder.
Pieces of equipment with skills were unusually precious items. In particular, before Ou Yangming appeared in this world, it was incredibly difficult to obtain one of those in this world. If that was not the case, based on the imperial family’s foundation and abilities, Wu Hanning would not have asked for her weapon to be enhanced in a specific way.
On the other hand, Ou Yangming did not cherish these piece
s of equipment at all because he could smith them at any time if he wanted to. Therefore, when he went all out, the power released was so unbelievable that the elder’s paths were completely blocked.
Even so, this was only because Ou Yangming had limited pieces of equipment with him and could only selectively release the skills he had. If he retrieved every piece of equipment in his interspatial back, the outcome would be appalling
Despite that, the elder kept swaying his body. His eyes were dark and hollow as if he could perceive every subtle change, such that could always dodge the attacks at crucial moments. The states of the integration of Heaven and man, as well as the thoroughly meticulous, were vividly displayed by him.
Having said that, Ou Yangming was patient. He knew very well how fearsome his opponent was, thus he never hoped to succeed in one move. The young fellow took the opportunity when his opponent was lacking essential Qi by making an all-round attack. He did this to set up a huge trap as he wanted to prevent the elder from escaping.
Only then would he use his ultimate trump card.
Ou Yangming roared and let his 99 points of mental power burst out like an erupting volcano.
The environment around them underwent a slight change as the Simulated Spiritual Fist was unleashed to an extreme at that moment.
Consequently, the elder trembled, and he lost sight of Ou Yangming. Instead, he noticed three Earthly Dragon Beasts taking earth-shattering steps toward him.
It was such an enormous threat that even the elder could not withstand the suppression.
Given a certain gap between sizes, it could not be compensated by ordinary cultivation bases anymore.
The elder furrowed his eyebrows. He was also a powerhouse that used the Illusion Art, thus he knew he had fallen into his opponent’s illusion. The elder sneered, then his eyes gleamed as he released great mental power as well.
With that, two similarly formidable mental powers clashed straightforwardly without being assisted by any techniques.
At the spur of the moment, the world through the elder’s eyes shook. Numerous dense cracks akin to spiderwebs appeared out of thin air.
The spiritual world created by Ou Yangming was smashed as it could not remain perfect under the impact.
Even so, the elder was not delighted at all; he was taken aback. ‘I exerted all my mental power to attack, but I couldn’t break his spiritual illusion?
‘How could this be?’
Just as the elder was stupefied, he noticed that instead of spreading further, the spiderweb cracks slowly disappeared.
After an absolute collision between mental powers, Ou Yangming, who was on defense, gained the upper hand instead.
The elder became dejected, and he sensed a penetrating chill in his body. It was as though he was naked in a severe winter, where there was no hint of warmth at all.
However, he was a resolute and courageous person, or he could not have gotten away from the little phoenix many times. Seeing as he was in a disadvantageous spot, he reached out to hold his injured arm and tugged it hard.
That arm was ripped where the wound was as he forcefully pulled it away from his body.
When the elder tossed his arm into the air, it exploded and resulted in a rain of blood, which painted the alley red.
Ou Yangming was immersed in executing the Simulated Spiritual Fist at that moment, but he was distracted when a blood-red color filled his mind.
A severe and chilly aura invaded his sea of consciousness, and it began to spread as if it was going to freeze his consciousness. This was an evil secret technique, which was impossible to guard.
Nonetheless, just as the chillness grew in all directions, two powers in Ou Yangming’s sea of consciousness surged. They were the purple Military Fire and the colorless Devouring ability.
The Military Fire dissipated the chillness wherever it flowed, whereas the Devouring ability simply devoured every bit of the iciness like a bottomless hole.
It took only a moment-a split second-for the intense chill, which could freeze a Supreme Great Ancestor, to vanish completely.
Subsequently, the Military Fire and the Devouring power hid one after another like they never appeared. Ou Yangming came back to his senses and could see what was going on in front of him.
He escaped the Bloody Secret Technique, but he could not maintain the spiritual illusion anymore.
Blood was dripping from one of the elder’s arms as he glared at Ou Yangming resentfully. “Very well, since you’re not willing to inherit Master’s power well, I can only kill you! Wait for me, I’ll be back very soon…” He shifted backward and slowly disappeared in the dark, but his weird laugh echoed everywhere.
Ou Yangming wanted to stop him, but he stopped right after he took a step forward because he sensed the odd and dangerous power around the elder. If the young fellow acted rashless, he figured that it might cause a counter-effect.
Just when the elder’s body slowly went away, the dark area lit up out of the blue.
A small fireball, which came out of nowhere, ignited that dark corner.
The elder’s body, which was going to disappear, became clear again, and his face took on a ghastly expression.
“You! It’s you!”
Accompanied by his shrieks, his body was burned by a blazing fire.
The scorching fire seemed to carry a unique ability, by which the elder could not break free at all no matter how he struggled. It was even more frightening when the elder tried to twist his body but was pinned to the ground, hence he was burned by the flaming fire as he could not leave. In the end, he could only let out spine-chilling screeches.
His voice died away very quickly, and it was evident that he was on the verge of death.
Ou Yangming took a step back. He knew this happened because the elder pursued a small gain and neglected the greater danger behind him. Nevertheless, the young fellow was surprised that he was not fearful of the fire, and he found it approachable instead. It felt like the burning fire was his relative and would not harm him at all.
Soon after he had the thought, the purple Military Fire in his sea of consciousness swayed and resonated with it.
Seeing as the elder was slowly losing power, a thought crossed Ou Yangming’s mind. He leaped forward abruptly and entered the flame. Sure enough, the fire was raging, but it did not hurt the young fellow at all, to the extent that even his clothes were not burnt.
Ou Yangming reached out to tap the elder’s forehead.
Next, a bizarre and chilly mental conception gushed into his sea of consciousness.
It was the elder’s soul and mental power, and they were preserved through the queerest secret technique.
However, they were surrounded by the greater Military Fire once they entered Ou Yangming’s sea of consciousness. Amid the shrill screams, another crystal ball floated in the center of Ou Yangming’s sea of consciousness.
Chapter 405 - Formalities Between The Same Kind
Ou Yangming exhaled deeply and looked away from the flame, which was still burning.
Although the Sky-devouring Elder’s body had turned into ashes and would not rise again, the fire did not go out as it kept burning. Ou Yangming stared at it for a long time but could not find the fire’s fuel.
Nonetheless, he now knew these secret techniques were mysterious and unpredictable. In particular, the imperceptible flame could not be treated lightly.
Ou Yangming pondered for some time before he bowed sternly at the fire and expressed with respect, “Thanks for the help, senior.”
He was not a fool, so he knew someone had secretly helped him when he exchanged blows with the elder earlier.
The elder was depleted of essential Qi in the end, so much so that he could not generate interspatial shields anymore and was forced to escape by activating his mental power. This was exactly the reason Ou Yangming had the opportunity to trap him right away. Given the elder’s cultivation base, his control over his body was probably at a thoroughly meticulous s
tate.
Even so, he did not know what having his essential Qi exhausted meant.
It would be fine if that was all, but when the elder performed a self-harm secret technique and could almost escape, he was burned by the blazing fire. If Ou Yangming still could not notice any clue, he would simply be incompetent.
He did not know who was helping him, but no doubt, it was a kind gesture.
In a dark corner, the little phoenix staggered.
‘Senior?
‘I became a senior… If those old fellas hear about this, will they beat me to my death?’
Ou Yangming quietly waited, but the scorching fire suddenly disappeared. He was stunned, but he sighed and cupped his hands. “Since you’re not willing to meet me, I dare not force you to do so, and I’ll make a move first. Thanks for your help today, and I promise to be at your service in the future if you ever need me.” The young fellow did a fist salute and flashed out of the small alley.
He figured that the unknown powerhouse probably had his reasons for hiding in the dark.
Nevertheless, he did not know that the little phoenix was hopping and chirping in the dark corner at the moment.
The little bird had regarded Ou Yangming as its kind long ago.
Since they were of the same kind, according to a rule passed on since ancient times, the little bird must comb its feathers neatly and present its best side during their first official meeting. It was a form of respect and a genetic imprint on a phoenix’s marrow.
Who knew, just as it did its best to comb its feathers to look its best, Ou Yangming left just like that.
‘He left…’
In the dark, the little phoenix stopped as if it was immobilized.
It was only after Ou Yangming completely disappeared from the small alley it shouted furiously.
The little bird breathed a red fire from its mouth, but it forcefully swallowed the flame after it extended roughly 3.3 meters forward and had not burnt anything.
It was worth noting that the fire was unordinary because it could burn everything and turn everything into ashes once it was released. It could even be used to destroy Heaven and Earth.
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