I Can Eat the Energy, but That Punch Really Hurt

Deep within the Myriad Sha Abyss.

The Fierce Sha Qi around Shen Ni was rapidly withdrawing.

The once boundless black-and-red Sha clouds vanished by more than half in the blink of an eye, before all of them flowed into his slowly rising palm.

That hand still looked little different from an ordinary Daoist's.

But as power continued to gather, blood-colored beast markings appeared across its surface.

The surrounding void trembled.

Hairline cracks in space spread from Shen Ni's fingertips, only to close rapidly under the suppression of some invisible force.

Lu Yuan saw it clearly.

Shen Ni was compressing his vast fierce Sha power to its utmost limit while merging the power of his own Principle into his flesh.

That would make the power of the actual attack incredibly concentrated.

Clearly, it would not be so easy to suck all that power into his belly as he had when he devoured Qiongqi's Divine Ability.

A trace of caution gradually appeared in Lu Yuan's eyes.

The Beast Emperor before him was indeed far more formidable than Qiongqi.

In particular, the vicious beast origin within Shen Ni could even make the Fierce Sha Qi of the surrounding world willingly submit.

Although Lu Yuan had undergone a bloodline transformation, there was still an obvious gap between their levels of power.

Even so, Lu Yuan had no intention of retreating.

The Grand Void Sky Whale's greatest strength lay in its fleshly body.

What was more, his flesh and blood could always continue to grow stronger by devouring energy.

In an actual fight, he might still have a chance to hold his own.

Shen Ni looked at Lu Yuan and suddenly chuckled.

"What, ready to get serious?"

Lu Yuan replied slowly, "You're much stronger than Qiongqi, so of course I have to take this a little more seriously."

Shen Ni's smile deepened slightly at those words.

"At least you have some discernment."

The next moment.

Shen Ni made his move.

There was no earth-shaking Dharma Form.

He simply raised his palm and slowly pressed it toward Lu Yuan.

Boom!

The entire expanse of void abruptly collapsed!

An incredibly concentrated force crossed several thousand li in an instant, plunging straight toward Lu Yuan's head.

Lu Yuan's golden pupils contracted slightly.

So fast!

He had barely sensed the attack approaching when that terrifying force was already upon him.

Though the Grand Void Sky Whale's enormous body was formidable, the speed at which it could move individual parts ultimately fell short of a top expert like Shen Ni.

Lu Yuan immediately opened his enormous mouth.

A devouring suction burst forth!

Whoosh—!

The remaining Fierce Sha Qi in the surroundings was instantly swept into his mouth.

Shen Ni's palm force was affected as well.

The black-and-red energy on its outermost edge began to twist, then turned into torrents that Lu Yuan forcibly absorbed.

Yet there was little surprise in Shen Ni's eyes.

He had already witnessed Lu Yuan's devouring ability.

Naturally, he had made preparations for this attack.

As the outermost Sha Qi was drawn away, the Beast Emperor Principle truly concentrated deep within the palm force finally revealed itself.

A blood-colored palm print appeared.

It was only a few tens of thousands of zhang across.

Before Lu Yuan, it looked extremely small.

Yet its oppressive force made even the scales on Lu Yuan's body begin to tremble.

"Take this!"

Shen Ni's voice had only just reached him.

The blood-colored palm print slammed down!

Boom—!

A tremendous blast shook heaven and earth.

Lu Yuan's enormous head was forcibly knocked to the side.

Vast patches of dark-gold scales trembled at once, their grating friction echoing throughout the Myriad Sha Abyss.

The next instant.

Crack!

Cracks appeared along the edges of dozens of scales.

Immediately afterward, several scales at the very center shattered!

Golden-red blood gushed from beneath the scales.

Every drop that fell into the Sha Sea sent up a great spray of water.

Lu Yuan felt a searing pain shoot through the side of his face.

The force was exceptionally overbearing.

Even though most of the energy on the outside had been devoured, the remaining Principle still rushed into his flesh through the gaps in his damaged scales, tearing at the muscles and bones within.

"...Hiss."

Lu Yuan could not help sucking in a sharp breath.

It hurt.

It really hurt.

An attack of this magnitude far surpassed the damage Qiongqi had dealt him before.

Worse still, after invading his flesh, the Principle continued to batter it.

If he allowed it to spread, the injury would likely grow more and more severe.

Lu Yuan immediately circulated the power within his body and began devouring the fierce Sha energy left in the wound.

At the same time, his vast Qi and Blood rapidly gathered, beginning to suppress the rampaging Principle.

Rumble!

Blood surged through his body.

The remaining power was steadily stripped away and converted.

The pain in the wound finally began to subside.

And at that moment.

The fleeing vicious beasts in the distance also noticed the change on the battlefield.

They turned back and looked at the shattered scales on the side of Lu Yuan's face, disbelief spreading across their faces.

"His scales were broken!"

A Golden Immortal vicious beast came to an abrupt stop, its scarlet eyes wide.

"His Majesty the Beast Emperor broke through that giant beast's scales with a single palm strike!"

A vicious beast beside it grew excited as well.

It had personally seen the Heaven-Splitting Hou and Qiongqi fight Lu Yuan, so it knew just how hard those dark-gold scales were.

The Heaven-Splitting Hou had bitten down with all its might and even broken its own fangs.

Qiongqi had used the Daluo Principle to attack repeatedly for a long time, yet had only managed to leave limited injuries.

Now Shen Ni had delivered just one casual palm strike.

And Lu Yuan's scales had truly shattered!

Golden-red blood spilled into the Sha Sea.

The sight instantly sent the watching vicious beasts into a frenzy.

"Hahaha! As expected of His Majesty the Beast Emperor!"

"I knew it! With His Majesty personally taking action, there's no way that giant beast would come out ahead!"

"So powerful! This is the power of the Beast Emperor who rules the Northern Land!"

A vicious beast king at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level was so excited that its entire body trembled.

It gazed at Shen Ni's black-robed figure floating in the void, its eyes filled with fervor.

It had cultivated bitterly for countless ages just to reach the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

In its eyes, a top Great Luo like Qiongqi was already terrifying enough.

But only after seeing Shen Ni act with its own eyes today did it truly feel the insurmountable gap between the two.

Facing the same hundred-thousand-li giant beast, Lu Yuan,

Qiongqi could only rely on speed to fight a running battle.

Shen Ni, however, had broken through his defenses head-on!

"His Majesty's might truly far surpasses that of the other kings!"

The vicious beast king growled excitedly.

The vicious beasts around it chimed in.

Inside the Beast Emperor Palace.

The black-armored giant finally smiled at the sight.

"Good!"

It abruptly clenched its fist, its voice full of exhilaration.

"I knew it! With His Majesty personally taking action, no matter how strong Lu Yuan's fleshly body is, he'll have to bow his head!"

The skeletal giant beside it nodded as well.

"That Grand Void Sky Whale's bloodline truly defies the heavens, but it hasn't fully matured yet. If it wants to contend with His Majesty using its fleshly body alone, it still falls a little short."

Qiongqi had remained silent the entire time.

Its attention had never left Lu Yuan.

Compared with the other vicious beasts, Qiongqi understood better just how terrifying Lu Yuan's peculiar devouring ability was.

Shen Ni's palm strike had indeed broken through his defenses.

But that giant beast...

Did not seem to have lost its ability to fight.

Instead, he was recovering rapidly.

Qiongqi's gaze sharpened slightly.

"Wait, look at his wound!"

The smile on the black-armored giant's face faltered.

It looked back at the water mirror.

At that sight, its entire face froze.

Within the Myriad Sha Abyss.

Lu Yuan had completely suppressed the fierce Sha power remaining in his wound.

That incredibly pure power was continuously converted, then absorbed into his flesh and bones.

Although its quantity was nowhere near the vast amount of Sha Qi he had devoured before, its quality was astonishingly high.

Lu Yuan even felt that his bones, which had already been hard enough, had grown noticeably stronger after absorbing that power.

Even more astonishing was the wound.

The edges of the scales that had just shattered were regrowing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A layer of fine dark-gold markings gradually spread over the exposed flesh.

As Qi and Blood continued to gather, new scales slowly formed.

Although a full recovery would still take some time, the blood that had been flowing steadily had gradually stopped.

Lu Yuan gently moved his head.

The pain remained.

But it no longer affected him as badly as before.

He lowered his head to look at the injured spot and could not help remarking, "That hit was heavy."

When Shen Ni heard this, however, he showed little pride.

His gaze also fell on Lu Yuan's wound.

Naturally, the changes there did not escape his notice.

With that palm strike just now,

Although Shen Ni had not truly used all his power, it had still been enough to grievously injure an ordinary Daluo Golden Immortal.

Under normal circumstances,

Once the Principle invaded the fleshly body, the injury would continue to worsen.

Clearing it away would require a great deal of time and Law Power.

Yet in just a brief moment, Lu Yuan had already devoured and converted most of the remaining fierce Sha power.

He had even used that power to heal his injury.

For the first time, a distinctly grave look appeared in Shen Ni's eyes.

"Even the power that invaded his flesh can be devoured..."

This Grand Void Sky Whale's abilities seemed more troublesome than he had imagined.

Shen Ni could tell that Lu Yuan's body still had a limit to what it could withstand.

That palm strike had just proved it.

As long as the power was overwhelming enough, it could still hurt him.

But the problem was this.

Truly killing such a being would probably be far more difficult than killing an ordinary Great Luo.

Especially since he could keep growing.

At that thought, Shen Ni's desire to recruit him grew even stronger.

"Well, Lu Yuan?"

Shen Ni looked at Lu Yuan, his voice calm once more.

"Can you still withstand another palm strike from this emperor?"

Lu Yuan did not put on a brave front.

"It really was powerful."

He looked at Shen Ni, his golden eyes growing more serious.

"Your Principle is far stronger than Qiongqi's. If that last attack had been any heavier, I'm afraid I would have been hurt much worse."

Hearing this, Shen Ni nodded slowly.

"Good, you understand."

He stood with his hands behind his back, his tone still carrying a note of appreciation.

"This emperor does not wish to kill you. Agree to join the Imperial Court now, and everything that happened before can still be wiped clean."

Lu Yuan shook his head gently.

"We've already started fighting, so let's see who's stronger first."

Shen Ni frowned slightly.

But Lu Yuan's gaze had already settled on him again.

He could clearly feel that, after absorbing the remnants of that Principle, his strength had indeed increased a little more.

Although his injuries had yet to heal completely,

the newly grown scales were noticeably tougher than before.

The change filled Lu Yuan with a thrill unlike anything he had ever felt before.

High-level energy really was the best nourishment for growth.

A casual strike from an expert like Shen Ni contained such immense power.

If he could keep taking and absorbing those attacks in battle, wouldn't his growth speed increase even further?

Of course, Lu Yuan wasn't stupid enough to stand still and let Shen Ni keep attacking him.

That palm strike had already proved that Shen Ni was indeed capable of seriously injuring him.

If he kept taking hits without fighting back, sooner or later he would suffer a crushing loss.

In that case...

He would strike first!

Lu Yuan's enormous body slowly moved.

The surrounding Sha Sea immediately began to churn.

His massive tail fin, stretching more than a hundred thousand li, gradually unfurled, while the giant fins that had rested against his sides also began to sway gently.

An immensely heavy pressure of Qi and Blood spread with Lu Yuan's movements.

Shen Ni's gaze sharpened slightly.

"Getting ready to fight back?"

Lu Yuan looked at him, his voice deep.

"I've already experienced that palm strike of yours."

"Now let me try."

As his words fell,

the Qi and Blood in Lu Yuan's body roared into motion!

At that moment, his colossal body, over a hundred thousand li long, truly began to exert its strength.

Rumble!

The entire Sha Sea shook violently.

Endless black-and-red seawater was pushed aside by a terrifying force.

Lu Yuan's head, as vast as a star, slowly rose, and his previously rather unhurried swimming posture abruptly changed.

Shen Ni stood in the void.

As he watched the Grand Void Sky Whale that blotted out heaven and earth, a trace of fighting spirit gradually rose in his eyes.

"Come!"

Lu Yuan swung his giant fins fiercely.

His colossal body surged forward!