txolops Chapter 370 Sparring and Testing
Chapter 370 Sparring and Testing
These two seemed completely unaware of this common sense, ignoring his polite remark that his "breath was not yet stable," and immediately demanded to "witness his supernatural abilities." Their intention was all too clear—they wanted to take advantage of his unstable footing and unstable state to force him to make a move, so as to probe his strength and assess his true combat power.
If he reveals even the slightest flaw during the "sparring," these two seemingly righteous Nascent Soul cultivators would probably not hesitate to capture this "rootless duckweed" rogue cultivator and divide up his opportunities and treasures.
The fact that the other party chose to propose the idea under the guise of "exchange of skills" or "being eager to hunt," rather than directly launching a confrontation, also left themselves enough room to maneuver.
If, after testing the waters, they find that Luo Ming's strength far exceeds their expectations and he is difficult to defeat, they can back down gracefully and characterize the matter as a "friendly exchange," even if they are certain that Luo Ming cannot do anything to the two of them.
It should be understood that while defeating a Nascent Soul stage cultivator is easy in the cultivation world, killing them completely is extremely difficult. Without several times the manpower and a well-thought-out plan, it is impossible to stop a Nascent Soul stage cultivator from escaping.
"Hmph, well thought," Luo Ming thought to himself with a sneer.
He saw through the other party's scheme, but felt no fear. Perfect, he also wanted to take this opportunity to assess the power of his newly broken-through "Myriad Spirits Blood Body"! At the same time, he wanted to see just how capable this Nascent Soul cultivator from Tiannan truly was.
The "I've heard so much about you" smile on Luo Ming's face vanished instantly, replaced by a wild and unrestrained laugh filled with fighting spirit. His voice was loud and clear, as if he had truly encountered a fellow practitioner he wanted to spar with.
"Haha! Fellow Daoist Yan's words are exactly what I wanted to say! I've been wanting to test the strength of this newly formed golden body dharma form! I humbly request Fellow Daoist Yan's guidance!"
Before he finished speaking, a fierce glint flashed in Luo Ming's eyes, and he no longer held back any more words!
"boom--!!!"
A vast, dark golden aura erupted from his body like a volcano suppressed for millions of years! Fine, tortoise-shell-like dark golden patterns instantly appeared on his skin, his muscles bulged, his bones cracked, and his body expanded and grew taller at a visible speed!
In the blink of an eye, a colossal giant, hundreds of feet tall and as if cast in gold, stood atop the island ruins!
The giant's face was exactly the same as Luo Ming's, with sharp eyes like lightning. His body exuded a heavy, majestic, and terrifying pressure. It was the complete form of the "Myriad Spirits Blood Body" Dharma body!
Immediately afterwards, the giant's right hand, as large as a small mountain, suddenly clenched into the void!
"Buzz—!!"
A burst of light! A massive battle axe, over ten feet long, with a deep, dark gold color and exuding a chilling, heavy, and sharp aura, appeared out of thin air in the giant's palm!
This axe is not an illusion, but rather formed by fusing Luo Ming's incredibly heavy "Tungsten Giant Axe" with his twelve natal magic treasures, the Xuan Yuan Pearls, into a liquid metal-like substance that strengthens it! Its weight has reached an astonishing level!
For Luo Ming, whose strength has increased dramatically and who needs heavy weapons to fully utilize his abilities, this giant axe is the perfect match!
Upon seeing this, Yan Lie's eyes flashed with surprise, seemingly not expecting Luo Ming to be so decisive, attacking without warning, and even manifesting a Dharma form and drawing such a powerful weapon. He subconsciously glanced at Wang Tiangu beside him.
Wang Tiangu maintained his composed and refined observer's demeanor, a faint, enigmatic smile on his face, as if he were truly just there to watch the spectacle. However, the fingertips of his hands, clasped behind his back, twitched almost imperceptibly.
Yan Lie cursed inwardly as "old fox," knowing that Wang Tiangu wouldn't act until he saw the benefits, and decided to test the waters first.
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and without further hesitation, he swung his thin right hand sharply in the direction of Luo Ming!
"call--!!!"
A vast expanse of azure flames, like a torrent bursting its banks, surged forth from his sleeves! The flames swelled with the wind, instantly covering the sky and turning half the sky into a strange azure hue!
The flames did not disperse; instead, under Yan Lie's control, they rapidly converged, twisted, and condensed!
In the blink of an eye, a "Flame Giant," whose size was in no way inferior to Luo Ming's Dark Gold Dharma Image, whose entire body was composed of cyan demonic fire, whose face was blurred, whose hand held a giant sword also formed from flames, and which exuded a scorching, violent, and sinister aura, suddenly took shape and stood in opposition to Luo Ming's Dark Gold Dharma Image!
The fire giant roared silently, and the space around it was slightly distorted by the intense heat.
Luo Ming stared at the giant of fire, and at the eerie fiery aura emanating from it that gave him a faint sense of threat. His expression faltered slightly, and a thought flashed through his mind:
"Azure Sun Demonic Fire? The signature divine power of the Demon Flame Sect truly lives up to its reputation. This flame is insidious and scorching, specifically designed to damage the spiritual essence of magical treasures and corrode the physical body and soul. It's probably even stronger than the 'Heavenly Capital Corpse Fire' of the Extreme Yin Ancestor. I wonder how it compares to the flame divine power inherited by the Azure Sun Sect, which also bears the name 'Azure Sun' over in the Chaotic Star Sea?"
However, the thought only flashed through his mind. He was currently engaged in actual combat and couldn't afford to dwell on it.
"drink!"
The dark gold giant that Luo Ming had transformed into let out a deep, thunderous roar. Without further hesitation, he took a step forward with his massive body, and the ground beneath his feet exploded!
He gripped the massive, dark gold axe, which was dozens of feet long, with both hands. The immense power of his blood and qi surged into the axe, causing the dark gold light on the blade to surge. With a terrifying shriek that tore through the air and an unparalleled heavy force, he cleaved down fiercely towards the head of the fire giant opposite him without any fancy moves!
The fire giant seemed to be enraged by Luo Ming's tyrannical attack. It let out a silent roar, and the flaming giant blade in its hand shone with a dark blue light. Without flinching, it slashed upwards at the black metal axe that was coming down, intending to meet the attack head-on!
With a soft "plop!"
The giant axe and the fiery blade collided violently! There was no terrifying loud noise, but the imposing fire giant opposite was directly cleaved in two by Luo Ming's attack.
"burst!"
Yan Lie, who was controlling the fire giant in the distance, had a sly smile in his eyes, and he shouted in a low voice as his hand seals suddenly changed!
"BOOM—!!!"
Without warning, the remains of the fiery giant exploded! It transformed into a boundless, viscous, and corrosive blue sea of fire, instantly engulfing and enveloping Luo Ming's hundred-foot-tall dark gold dharma image from head to toe!
The sea of fire surged and contracted wildly, attempting to penetrate the dark gold Dharma image and scorch and corrode Luo Ming's life essence and Dharma image foundation!
When the flames came into contact with the dark golden aura of blood and qi on the surface of the Dharma body, they immediately emitted a violent, teeth-grinding corrosive sound. Large swaths of the dark golden aura of blood and qi were eroded and dissolved, turning into wisps of green smoke!
"In the end, they were just too ignorant to dare to get so close to my demonic fire!" Yan Lie's face lit up with joy upon seeing this, and he felt much more at ease.
Once someone is touched by his Azure Yang Demonic Fire, it is extremely difficult to get rid of, and it will continuously consume the opponent's magic power and blood like a bone-deep ailment.
The opponent's physical cultivation form appears powerful, but he has just broken through and his control over power is bound to be rusty. Once he is enveloped by my demonic fire, it will probably not be long before his blood and qi are severely damaged and his form becomes unstable!
Wang Tiangu, who had been watching from the sidelines, also had a glint in his eyes. He moved his sleeve slightly, about to make a move, when his expression suddenly changed drastically.
At the same time, Yan Lie's smile froze abruptly, his pupils contracted sharply, as if he had witnessed something utterly unbelievable, and he exclaimed in shock:
"This...how is this possible?"
The dark blue-black sea of fire that had been burning and corroding the dark gold Dharma image suddenly seemed to be imprisoned and suppressed by an invisible, yet vast and unimaginably heavy force!
The rolling flames suddenly stopped, like insects frozen in amber, becoming stagnant and slow, even the way the flames danced seemed to slow down!
What shocked Yan Lie even more was that the close connection and control he had with the "Azure Sun Demon Fire" through his divine sense became blurred, sluggish, and even... threatened to be forcibly severed at this moment!
"What...what kind of supernatural power is this?!"
Yan Lie's expression changed drastically, and he could no longer maintain his previous composure. His eyes were filled with surprise and disbelief.
He desperately tried to regain control of the demonic fire by urging his divine sense and magical power, but it felt like a mud ox sinking into the sea. The sea of fire that enveloped the dark golden Dharma image only trembled slightly a few times before returning to that strange, stagnant state.
At the center of the sea of fire, a pale golden halo appeared on the surface of the dark golden dharma image enveloped in demonic flames. The halo swirled, emanating a profound and vast aura that seemed capable of suppressing all things.
It was Luo Ming who refined one-third of the "Xuanwu True Blood" origin, and when he felt the erosion of the sinister flames in the outside world, he spontaneously activated the defensive and... suppressive power, which was very similar to the Yuan Magnetic Divine Power of the Xuanwu, but even more powerful.
Xuanwu, the god of water, the ruler of the north, and the guardian of the north, possesses an innate resistance to and ability to control fire, especially evil fire!
Although Luo Ming had refined a small amount of true blood, it was more than enough to deal with the "Azure Sun Demonic Flame" at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm!
The dark golden avatar's eyes, formed from concentrated blood and qi, pierced the stagnant sea of fire, locking onto Yan Lie, whose expression had drastically changed in the distance. The avatar's massive mouth opened slightly, and Luo Ming's calm yet slightly mocking voice boomed out like muffled thunder:
"Fellow Daoist Yan's Azure Sun Demonic Flame is indeed as renowned as it sounds. However... it seems to be lacking a bit of refinement."
"In that case, Fellow Daoist Yan, please accept my attack—Blood Demon Slash!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a terrifying blood blade, tens of feet long, shot out from the blue sea of fire!
Blood Blade's speed was extremely fast. Almost the instant it appeared, it seemed to tear through space, and it appeared in front of Yan Lie, whose expression had changed drastically!
"not good!"
Yan Lie was terrified! He sensed a deadly threat from the massive blood-red blade slashing towards him! The sheer power of its blood energy and the terrifying sharpness it contained far exceeded his expectations!
This is hardly the kind of attack a cultivator who has just broken through and whose aura is not yet stable could unleash! This is clearly the power that only those old monsters who have advanced to the Nascent Soul stage for hundreds of years can possess!
At the critical moment of life and death, Yan Lie could no longer care about anything else. He let out a strange cry and suddenly opened his mouth!
"puff!"
A beam of dark light shot out from his mouth, growing larger as it faced the wind, instantly transforming into a square shield with a diameter of over three zhang, as black as ink, with complex defensive runes engraved on its surface and a heavy spiritual light, blocking the blood-red giant blade directly in front of it!
It was in his dantian that he had refined a top-tier magic weapon for hundreds of years—the "Flame Shield"!