Chapter 551 - Battle
Time seemed to come to a standstill in that moment.
Under the vast, gloomy sky, two mountainous figures faced one another.
Li Qingshan’s face had neither fury or hatred, only tranquility.
As tranquil and unmoving as the earth.
Divine strength emerged from every corner of his body and the earth below him, acc.u.mulating into an ocean drop by drop and merging with his body.
Boundless like the earth.
The entire world vanished. The vicious Corpse King who stood as imposing as a mountain gradually blurred in his eyes. Even the colossal, incoming punch no longer emitted any pressure.
That was merely a “rock in his way”, something that a person would always come across in their lives.
All he had to do was shatter it!
Gazing into the resolute and tranquil eyes, the Corpse King became slightly perturbed as well.
Just what is this puny daemon? If he possesses the flames of the phoenix, then so be it, but he has so many variations. Looking at his aura, it’s only at the level of overcoming a single heavenly tribulation, yet he possesses great strength that even Corpse Commanders struggle to rival. Even with that being the case, we’re still worlds apart, yet he’s bold enough to challenge me? Fine, I’ll grind you into mincemeat then!
With a thought, four bone spikes suddenly protruded from his fist, whistling towards Li Qingshan’s face. Before their punches had even collided, the spikes would have pierced Li Qingshan already.
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The punch became even more dangerous, yet Li Qingshan remained unfazed.
Having changed his attack on the spot, it meant he was lacking in confidence.
Before he knew it, the momentum had shifted slightly.
The flow of time recovered.
The black shockwaves immediately shattered the bone spikes. The destructive power was so great that even the Corpse King felt shocked.
The moment when the two fists collided actually resulted in momentary peace.
The overly loud sound was like a colossal being, unable to worm into a person’s narrow ear channels, instead leading to a false impression of silence.
Following that moment, the world seemed to sink into rumbling and shaking that never stopped.
The tranquil ground immediately began to surge like the violent waves of an ocean. Hills rose and collapsed as cracks opened and closed, without a single moment of pause.
Dust filled the air, rising into the sky.
Black corpse qi poured from the Corpse King’s body like an avalanche, crushing the fragmented daemon qi and completely swallowing Li Qingshan. It pressured, ripped at, and seeped into his body.
Li Qingshan did everything he could to direct the Corpse King’s power into the earth. He held his head high as he looked straight into the Corpse King’s eyes, letting out a thunderous growl.
The surging flames of the phoenix erupted from his daemon core, expelling the corpse qi.
His arm that seemed to be forged from black iron swelled up, bulging and riddled with blood vessels.
The iron hooves produced two deep pits behind him without him taking a single step back.
Cracks appeared on his skeleton as they produced the sound of twisting metal. He completely disregarded it, simply pouring all of his strength into the punch.
He refused to budge!
The Corpse King’s eyes widened, filled with disbelief. The force behind his punch had actually failed to reduce the measly daemon to mincemeat.
Instead, a wondrously great power emanated from the measly daemon’s fist, shattering his strength and corpse qi.
This sight stunned all of the cultivators present. He was holding his ground against a Corpse King. Was this truly something a Daemon General could do?
Gu Yanying sighed in praise inside. What power! How impressive!
He definitely isn’t an ordinary daemon. Just what kind of fortuitous encounter did he come across that provided him with the source of such great strength? The Dark Queen ingested another pill. As she recovered, she looked for Xiao An with her brows furrowed, but she found nothing.
The Marquis of Ruyi and Han Anguo exchanged glances. They also became extremely conflicted inside. They felt fear, yet they also hoped the moon demon could repel the Corpse King.
The daemon had the momentum. Force could not overwhelm him!
This power is far too strange. How can I lose to you!?
His dignity as a king had been viciously provoked. The Corpse King also began to roar. Corpse qi coiled around his arm like snakes and dragons, merging with it and turning it pitch-black before pressing forward viciously.
Thump!
Li Qingshan’s colossal body was sent flying. He spun around in the air and landed firmly on the ground, leaning on one hand. However, he still slid several hundred meters before coming to a halt due to the great momentum.
He really is a Corpse King after all. His physical strength is something else. Though, that’s only because my Tiger Demon Transformation and Spirit Turtle Transformation are only at the fourth layer. They’re unable to endure and rein in the power of the fifth layer of the ox demon, or I wouldn’t lose to him. What a pity!
He took on a Corpse King as a Daemon General and managed to survive a punch, yet he still felt dissatisfied, believing he had not unleashed his full strength!
If the Dark Queen and the others found out about his thoughts, they would never believe it.
However, that was the reality of the situation. Simply by throwing a punch, before even colliding with the Corpse King’s fist, his bones had become riddled with countless tiny cracks. Even his tiger bones that were as st.u.r.dy as steel could not withstand it.
And, even if he used the spirit turtle to pacify his sea of consciousness, entering a state of intricacy, he was unable to completely control the flow of every bit of power.
Like a child swinging a large blade, it was already strenuous enough for him to point the blade at the enemy. He could not unleash the power of the blade at all, and he would even injure himself if he were not careful.
The three transformations were connected. If any of them lagged behind, it would prevent him from unleashing his full strength.
This was the power of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. A single layer of difference among the nine transformations would make his strength grow in an overwhelming manner.
Whether his strength had multiplied by twenty times, fifty times, or even more, he was unable to estimate it right now, nor did he have the time to estimate it.
He gritted his teeth firmly as he forced down the surging blood. The flames of the phoenix coiled around him and healed his wounds. He stood up and made his way towards the Corpse King again.
The Corpse King said coldly, “I’d like to see how many of my punches you can withstand!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Again and again, the ground shook violently.
The hilly terrain around Burial Mound mountain had undergone a devastating change through the constant earthquakes. It had been reduced to a yellow desert.
Within a range of fifty kilometers, every single pebble seemed to be carefully crushed and ground, reduced to thin sand.
The Corpse King stood above the Gate of Hungry Ghosts without moving at all, sending Li Qingshan flying again and again and filling the air with sand and dust.
But every single time, he would stand up immediately, making his way back towards the undefeatable opponent.
The Corpse King’s face became twisted as he gazed at the incoming Li Qingshan like he was looking at a monster.
From the constant clashes, Li Qingshan’s strength grew. Under the tremendous pressure, he gradually forced out the strength of the ox demon.
If he could not be completely destroyed, he could not be defeated.
Gu Yanying noticed how the Corpse King’s arm trembled and how it would only stop after a while. She thought in disbelief, He’s harmed the Corpse King. Probably no one would believe me if I mentioned it.
But then she shook her head. But that’s all. His great strength alone is not enough for him to defeat the Corpse King. The Corpse King has chosen to engage him like this purely because of his dignity as a king. Otherwise, he’ll struggle very much once the Corpse King uses his various techniques and abilities. More importantly, the Corpse King is currently undefeatable. He’s not afraid of wasting time at all.
The specks of green light in the surroundings grew clearer, like an ocean was extending over from the distance. She could already make out blurry figures—monstrous, twisted, colossal, obscure, and all forms of bizarre.
Li Qingshan threw another punch.
Under those gazes, the Corpse King felt deeply humiliated. “Since you want to die so much, I’ll give you what you want!” He opened his huge, withered hand and avoided Li Qingshan’s punch, grabbing Li Qingshan by the wrist with three fingers and wrenching him in.
Li Qingshan had never been able to control this overly great strength in the first place. Both his reactions and skills in battle paled in comparison to the Corpse King.
His punch missed.
Boom! Black shockwaves scattered, shaking up the s.p.a.ce there.
At the same time, the other huge, withered hand grabbed Li Qingshan’s head from above.
“It’s over!”
Gu Yanying let out a gloomy sigh. The Hungry Ghost realm was about to descend. The final scene she had caught was indeed fascinating. It had not disappointed her.
In the end, she gazed at Li Qingshan deeply, actually feeling some pity inside.
Originally, we could travel along this path of cultivation together, at least for a while, but I never thought we’d have to bid farewell so soon. Perhaps there is a day when we meet again among saṃsāra.
Right when Gu Yanying wanted to turn around and leave, she suddenly felt something was amiss. Despite facing imminent death, the corner of Li Qingshan’s lips curled slightly, and he let out a gentle sigh.
A huge, half-transparent white sword rose up from behind him, plunging into the Corpse King’s hand and penetrating all the way through.
The blade of the sword suddenly turned into white flames, worming into the wound furiously.
When he fought a battle to the death, how could she not be present?
Xiao An had refined the Corpse King’s ten fingernails and healed her wounds before secretly making her way over underground, all for this opportunity. She channeled the Samādhi Flames of White Bone into the Corpse King’s body.
Their teamwork required no words. They completely understood each other tacitly.
An extremely-terrifying sensation of coldness sank into the Corpse King’s heart. As he gathered his corpse qi, he was only able to suppress the Samādhi Flames of White Bone, but not extinguish it. The white flames slowly spread from the centre of his palm. He swung his hand hard.
Boom!
His palm exploded, and a huge, gaping hole appeared. Only then did he manage to purge the Samādhi Flames of White Bone.
How could Li Qingshan let such a great opportunity slip by? The burning phoenix wings spread out, reaching almost three hundred meters in length. The vague cry of a phoenix could be heard as he rose into the air, hurling both fists at the Corpse King’s chest.
The series of dazzling, eye-catching attacks were simply to hide the true killing strike.
Below him, the Buddha Slaying sword embryo spat out another streak of light thirty meters long, swinging from left to right quietly, right towards the Corpse King’s waist.
However, the Corpse King understood extremely well where the true threat lay. He raised his arm and swung it hard. Corpse qi turned into a huge wave and sent Xiao An flying. Only then did he free up a hand to stop Li Qingshan.
Although Xiao An had charged over immediately, a vigilant Corpse King would not fall for a trick like that so easily again. Meanwhile, the last smear of azure in the depths of the horizon was gradually being devoured by pale-white.
It was over. Even if Li Qingshan and Xiao An worked together, they were unable to defeat a serious Corpse King, let alone in such a short amount of time.
Li Qingshan was confident he could crush this b.a.s.t.a.r.d single-handedly if the tiger demon and spirit turtle both reached the fifth layer, but time waited for no one.
Gu Yanying glanced past their battle and let out a gentle interjection of surprise. Li Qingshan’s punch that had missed left behind a thin, black crack in s.p.a.ce. She called out, “Strike the s.p.a.ce around him!”
“Your highness, prepare to take action!” Gu Yanying shot through the air towards the Corpse King. She held an almost-transparent feather between her fingers. Little bro Qingshan, I’ll gamble with you this time!