Blood Battle Fang Yan (5)

Hao Meng's aura rose steadily. Though his arms were still trembling, his spirit had already reached its peak.

The shouts beneath the stage continued, and Fang Yan's crimson blade shadows still danced across the sky. Yet Hao Meng's heart was as calm as still water, all outside noise and interference fading into nothingness.

A crystal-clear pill suddenly appeared in his hand—the sole Heavenly Origin Immortal Pill.

There were countless kinds of pills in the world. Unlike cultivation methods and martial skills, which were divided into Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow ranks, pills were only divided into Mortal Grade Pills and Immortal Grade Pills, each of which could be further divided into nine tiers. Ordinary Core Formation Realm and entry-level Nascent Soul Realm cultivators only needed Mortal Grade Pills. Immortal Grade Pills might be good, but the Heaven and Earth energy contained within them was far too immense. If one lacked sufficient strength and forcibly consumed one, there would be a hundred harms and not a single benefit.

Yet the Heavenly Origin Immortal Pill in Hao Meng's hand was a genuine Mortal Grade Nine pill. It could be said to be the highest-grade pill that cultivators below the Nascent Soul Realm could use.

The Heavenly Origin Immortal Pill was said to have been created by the great alchemy master Ouyang Ling during his Nascent Soul Realm years. Ouyang Ling had been born a commoner, with no remarkable talent, and even at the age of ten, he had been unable to cultivate. It was not until he was fifteen, when a fortunate coincidence led him to study alchemy, that he became unstoppable. In the end, he entered the path through pills and attained the Tribulation Crossing Realm, earning the title Medicine Immortal.

Master Ouyang had spent his life striving for commoners. Unlike many other grand alchemy masters, he had freely released the many precious pill formulas he created throughout his life, greatly advancing the development of alchemy in the Immortal Realm.

Three hundred years ago, atop Giant Pillar Peak more than five hundred miles west of the White Dragon Empire, Ouyang Ling stepped upon seven-colored rosy clouds amid the worship of countless people and faced his Ascension tribulation lightning. After eighty-one bolts of lightning, he vanished along with that radiant medicinal light. No one knew whether he had successfully entered the Ascension Realm, but the legend of the Medicine Immortal was forever engraved in the brilliant history of the Immortal Realm.

The pill in Hao Meng's hand required more than sixty kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures and took thirty days to refine, making it exceedingly valuable. At the same time, it possessed incredible power: it could instantly draw forth all the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi within the dantian for the user's use, allowing for a strike that burned the boats behind one.

The dantian was where cultivators stored Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. Core Formation, Nascent Soul, expanding the Immeasurable Sea—every step required Yuan Qi to be condensed within the dantian. Unless driven to the very end, no cultivator would dare risk drawing upon all the power in their dantian. This was truly exhausting everything in one's possession for a final gamble.

And Hao Meng believed that this was the moment to stake everything on himself.

Without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed the Heavenly Origin Immortal Pill. A vast medicinal force flowed through his already widened meridians and coursed through his entire body, flowing from Shangqu to Qihai before finally reaching his dantian.

Five years of tireless cultivation had allowed Hao Meng to accumulate astonishing Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi within his dantian. Yet unlike most cultivators, whose Yuan Qi formed a vortex and ultimately condensed into a golden core, his Yuan Qi simply lay in his dantian like a pool of stagnant water, exuding a heavy, twilight decay.

Now, the surging medicinal force of the Heavenly Origin Immortal Pill crashed into that stagnant pool of Yuan Qi like a massive boulder. One stone stirred a thousand waves. The vast Yuan Qi in Hao Meng's dantian began to churn endlessly, flowing into the meridians throughout his body and circulating through one acupoint after another, again and again.

The white light around his fists grew increasingly dazzling with the drastic changes in his dantian. The phantom of the white tiger behind him also began to transform, and an azure dragon suddenly emerged. This was clearly the heavenly phenomenon that only appeared upon reaching the sixth form of the Dragon Tiger Fighting Saint Fist, yet it had appeared on Hao Meng, who had not even formed a core. Every Lineage elder in the stands cried out in disbelief.

"The sixth form, Azure Dragon Without Regret. Since our Hao Family ancestor created the Dragon Tiger Fighting Saint Fist, no one has ever used this move before reaching the Core Formation Realm."

No one understood the difficulty of the sixth form of the Dragon Tiger Fighting Saint Fist better than Hao Meng. The Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi this move required was beyond anything a cultivator who had not formed a core could imagine. But though he knew it could not be done, he still had to risk everything. He could not retreat. Behind him stood more than a hundred students from the Profound Tier Class, and all their hopes rested upon him. Even if it cost him his life, Hao Meng would defy the heavens today.

The crimson Fang Yan opposite him seemed to have lost his own consciousness entirely, completely driven by the thick blood armor. Nothing remained in his eyes but endless killing intent. His intense battle instincts made him swing blade after blade, his frenzied attacks terrifyingly powerful and leaving horrifying blade marks across the arena. Any one of those strikes could have taken Hao Meng's life.

He moved across the arena with strange footwork, flashing back and forth while beastlike roars erupted from his mouth. Fang Yan, completely driven by his instinct to kill, had begun attacking beyond all reason, leaving Hao Meng unable to defend against him.

Another blood blade barely swept past Hao Meng's ear. He rolled like a lazy donkey, trying to evade Fang Yan's attack, but after his blade missed, Fang Yan suddenly reversed his grip like a ghost. He changed the trajectory of the blade midair and swept it toward Hao Meng's throat.

The scent of death enveloped him. There was no avoiding this strike. With a furious roar, the Marauder Wisteria Armor on Hao Meng's body blazed with dazzling purple light. Its active skill—Marauder's Doom—activated instantly, blocking the fatal blade.

But Fang Yan, who had already become a puppet of bloodlust and killing intent, did not lose his composure just because his killing strike had been neutralized. He leaped into the air, throwing the long blade from his right hand, catching its hilt with his left in midair, and chopping down at Hao Meng's right arm once more.

The armor's active skill had already entered cooldown. In that split second, Hao Meng could only raise his arm to block. A searing pain shot through him as a horrifying wound tore across his entire right arm.

He pulled out his last Healing Pill and swallowed it in one gulp, but an even more shocking sight appeared. The blood energy spread over the wound like maggots clinging to bone. The pill's power could not quickly stop the bleeding or heal it, while Fang Yan's blade came chopping down again. Hao Meng had truly been driven into a dead end.

The Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi in his dantian churned without end, vast amounts of Yuan Qi forced into his meridians. In stark contrast to the vigorous life force within him, Hao Meng's body was covered in wounds. Panting heavily, his physical strength was nearly at its limit. Yet ever since Fang Yan had consumed the Blood Demon Pill, he had completely broken past the limits of humanity. This life-burning style of combat was utterly beyond Hao Meng's imagination.

The battle grew increasingly intense, and everyone beneath the stage held their breath. Hao Xiaomeng, who had been hiding beside Li Mu all this time, finally could not hold back her tears. Watching her brother fight desperately atop the arena, how could her heart not ache? Her brother had always been so gentle, shouldering every hardship upon himself.

After dodging another lethal blade, Hao Meng finally felt the immense Yuan Qi in his dantian had all been forced into the meridians throughout his body. White light shone all over him, and the azure dragon phantom behind him had become incomparably solid. With one punch, he knocked Fang Yan's long blade aside. Hao Meng took a deep breath, stepped forward with his right foot, and stood before Fang Yan like a giant.

The mysterious sash at his waist flashed with light. Its active skill—All Things Spring Revival—activated!

Green light enveloped Hao Meng's entire body. The blood energy clinging to every wound instantly dissipated beneath the green radiance, while all his wounds stopped bleeding and healed at a visible speed. Both his body and spirit returned to their optimal state.

"What dense life energy. What kind of Dharmic Treasure is this, to possess such power? This boy has weapons and Dharmic Treasures appearing one after another. It seems his Lineage values him greatly."

Elder Qin in the stands was also won over by Hao Meng's varied methods. An endless supply of pills and powerful weapons and Dharmic Treasures—these were all parts of a cultivator's strength, and there was nothing improper about it.

Standing in the simplest horse stance, Hao Meng faced the aggressively advancing crimson Fang Yan. He stood in the center of the arena like a war god, holding the pass alone against ten thousand men. This was the reflection of his five years of unceasing diligence—plain and unremarkable, yet flawless and unassailable.

The meridians throughout his body had expanded to their limit. A sea of Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi gathered upon his fists. Strength, energy, and man found perfect balance at this moment. His fists blasted forward, and the azure dragon behind him roared as it lunged at Fang Yan within that sea of blood. The force of his punch surged onward without hesitation, without regret.

The sixth form of the Dragon Tiger Fighting Saint Fist—Azure Dragon Without Regret—was perfectly unleashed by Hao Meng, who had yet to form a core.

How could this still be power from before the Core Formation Realm? Even a cultivator who had just entered the Core Formation Realm would absolutely be unable to block this punch, let alone Fang Yan.

The sea of blood filling the sky shattered continuously before the azure dragon. Even the crimson armor could not block this punch in the slightest. Fang Yan flew out of the arena like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily to the ground, his long blade stabbing straight into the earth beside him.

Fang Yan, defeated!

The entire arena fell silent. Everyone was so stunned by the sight that they lost their voices. No one knew who let out the first cheer, but then the entire crowd erupted. Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Hao Meng stood on the arena like an immortal, receiving everyone's admiration.

Just as Hao Meng steadied his breathing and prepared to leave the arena, the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi that had been forced into his meridians suddenly began to riot, surging back into his dantian. This time, it was no longer calm. Instead, it transformed into a golden whirlwind that spun without end.

A round golden core slowly emerged. Hao Meng was greatly startled by this sudden change and did not know what to do. A figure in white leaped down from the stands and arrived beside him. It was Mu Bai.

"Calm your breath. Draw all the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi into your dantian and keep the vortex rotating steadily. You are about to form your core."

Those words struck Hao Meng's ears like thunder. The scene he had dreamed of day and night for five years had actually become reality at this moment. His persistence and effort had finally transformed into this joy. Once he crossed this step, he would truly enter the path of cultivation.

Steadying his mind, Hao Meng followed Mu Bai's protection to a quiet room outside the arena and sat cross-legged. He continuously guided all the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi into his dantian. Core Formation was a long process, lasting as little as one day or as long as several months. But once he succeeded, he would be reborn anew.