Huanglong Zhenren was taken aback, then said dismissively,
"Do you think there's any difference between a Heavenly Immortal and a True Immortal in my eyes?"
So what if Lu Changsheng had made some progress in his cultivation lately?
At most, he'd broken through from Heavenly Immortal to True Immortal.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he froze as if rooted to the spot.
"No, this can't..."
Huanglong Zhenren's mouth hung half open, but he couldn't manage a complete sentence.
Lu Changsheng had stopped hiding his cultivation. A surge of magical power swept out from within him.
And the strength of that power belonged neither to a Heavenly Immortal nor a True Immortal, but to a Mysterious Immortal!
This was completely beyond Huanglong Zhenren's expectations.
Even after his killing blow had been blocked, he'd been confident he would win.
Lu Changsheng had the Xiantian Lingbao Ling Yun Jian, but his cultivation was too low to unleash its full power.
Meanwhile, Huanglong Zhenren had already advanced to Taiyi Golden Immortal. He could use his overwhelming advantage in cultivation to make up for his disadvantage in magic treasures.
But he'd never imagined Lu Changsheng wasn't a True Immortal, but a Mysterious Immortal.
How long had it been since their battle at Lingganhu?
Less than a hundred years—and Lu Changsheng had broken through two realms!
Even if those were relatively low realms, from Heavenly Immortal to Mysterious Immortal,
that was still a breakthrough across two major realms.
The next moment, Huanglong Zhenren suddenly understood.
The Xuanling Fruit!
That had to be it.
The Xuanling Fruit must have played a major part in Lu Changsheng attaining the Mysterious Immortal Realm in such a short time!
That Xuanling Fruit should have been his!
At the thought, Huanglong Zhenren's face twisted into a hideous scowl.
While he was still reeling from Lu Changsheng's Mysterious Immortal cultivation, Lu Changsheng had already moved.
A clear sword hum rang out across the East Sea.
Ling Yun Jian appeared once more.
Grip the sword, raise his hand, slash!
Three movements, simple to the extreme.
There was no technique to it, and he used no divine ability.
The instant that plain, unadorned slash came down, Huanglong Zhenren's Sword Rain shattered.
One sword breaks ten thousand arts!
Ling Yun Jian once again showed the might of a Xiantian Lingbao.
Lu Changsheng gazed at Ling Yun Jian in surprise.
Had its power grown stronger?
No, that wasn't it.
The problem wasn't with Ling Yun Jian. He was the one who'd grown stronger!
Back when he was a Heavenly Immortal, he could unleash forty percent of Ling Yun Jian's power.
Now that he'd advanced to the Mysterious Immortal Realm, he could unleash sixty percent, or even more.
As expected, cultivation was what mattered most!
Lu Changsheng turned his wrist and pointed his sword at Huanglong.
"Last time, at Lingganhu, you took one strike from me."
"I wonder how many of my strikes you can withstand this time."
His brazen words instantly flushed Huanglong Zhenren's face. The left side of it twitched uncontrollably.
Anyone who didn't know better would think Lu Changsheng was the Taiyi Golden Immortal and Huanglong Zhenren the Mysterious Immortal.
Then again, facing Lu Changsheng in the Mysterious Immortal Realm, Huanglong Zhenren did have little advantage in this fight.
But he absolutely couldn't let Lu Changsheng take the Yin Yang Jiao Dan.
"Don't think that holding a Xiantian Lingbao means you've already won."
"I, Huanglong Zhenren, beat you once. I won't lose to you twice!"
"Today, I'll show you what it means to be a Taiyi Golden Immortal!"
Huanglong Zhenren practically roared the last few words.
His hands formed a Seal Method, and a bolt of Jade Purity Divine Thunder shot toward Lu Changsheng.
Lu Changsheng casually cut it down with his sword.
As the Jade Purity Divine Thunder struck, several more bolts of thunder crashed down from the heavens.
And that wasn't the end of Huanglong Zhenren's attack.
The earlier Sword Rain reappeared.
For a moment, the two divine abilities—Sword Rain and thunderstorm—seemed poised to swallow Lu Changsheng whole.
Ordinarily, Huanglong Zhenren's assault would leave a Mysterious Immortal with only two choices: die or flee. Even a Golden Immortal would be hard-pressed to survive it.
But Lu Changsheng was different.
Even though the Spirit Capturing Pearl could no longer defend him, Ling Yun Jian was enough.
If one strike wasn't enough, he'd use two, then three...
Lu Changsheng raised Ling Yun Jian, his sword aura surging skyward.
Every slash crushed most of Huanglong Zhenren's assault.
But Huanglong Zhenren showed no intention of stopping.
"Are you trying to wear me down this way?"
"Your magical power will run out first."
Lu Changsheng taunted him.
As soon as he finished speaking, Huanglong Zhenren appeared behind a bolt of lightning.
He held a long sword formed from magical power and slashed at Lu Changsheng.
"You asked how many of your strikes I could take. Now I'll ask you: how many of mine can you withstand?"
With a roar, Huanglong Zhenren brought his sword down toward Lu Changsheng's neck.
He couldn't withstand Ling Yun Jian, but Lu Changsheng, a Mysterious Immortal, couldn't withstand his attacks either.
Just one strike—if he could land this one, even if it didn't kill Lu Changsheng outright, it would leave him gravely wounded.
As Huanglong Zhenren's sword came down, Ling Yun Jian moved in Lu Changsheng's hand, its point aimed straight at Huanglong Zhenren's vital heart.
He meant to force Huanglong Zhenren to retreat!
Feeling the edge of Ling Yun Jian, Huanglong Zhenren sensed the sword wound that had already healed begin to ache faintly.
Faced with Ling Yun Jian, he showed no sign of retreating. Instead, he sped up, and the Spirit Sword in his hand grew even sharper.
Lu Changsheng's expression darkened.
Had Huanglong Zhenren gone mad?
If he didn't retreat, Ling Yun Jian would strike him first.
That slash would leave Huanglong Zhenren dead or crippled.
What was he trying to do?
The next moment, Lu Changsheng saw the answer.
Just as Ling Yun Jian was about to pierce Huanglong Zhenren's heart, he produced a talisman with his left hand.
As the talisman burned, a force enveloped Huanglong Zhenren.
Even Ling Yun Jian, a Xiantian Lingbao, was stopped by that force.
That was Huanglong Zhenren's plan.
He would use the Defensive Talisman Bestowed by Yuanshi to block Ling Yun Jian and create an opening to kill Lu Changsheng.
This was his only chance!
Seeing the trace of astonishment in Lu Changsheng's eyes, Huanglong Zhenren seemed to envision himself killing Lu Changsheng.
"Die!"
With a furious shout, Huanglong Zhenren swept his Spirit Sword across, intent on cutting off Lu Changsheng's head.
But when the blade was less than half an inch from Lu Changsheng's neck, the astonishment in his eyes gave way to amusement.
"So what if I take one of your strikes?"
A low rumble of thunder sounded within Lu Changsheng.
The next instant, arcs of lightning surged across his body.
Indestructible Thunder God Body!
Though Lu Changsheng had only reached minor mastery of the Indestructible Thunder God Body, Huanglong Zhenren was merely an Early Taiyi Golden Immortal.
By the time the strike broke through the Indestructible Thunder God Body's defenses, it had already lost most of its power.
"What?!"
Huanglong Zhenren cried out in disbelief.
Lu Changsheng immediately countered with a slash.
Ling Yun Jian struck again.
Huanglong Zhenren instinctively took a step back, but the sharp edge that burst from the sword tip still left a sword wound across his chest.
Scarlet blood instantly stained his robe.
Yet Huanglong Zhenren seemed not to feel the pain. He stared fixedly at Lu Changsheng.
"You—you've also cultivated a Body Tempering Divine Ability!"
He had used up the last talisman bestowed by his Master, all to seize a chance to gravely wound or even kill Lu Changsheng.
He'd never expected this outcome.
"What, do I have to tell you in advance what divine abilities or cultivation arts I've learned?"
Lu Changsheng mocked him.
"But you've improved quite a bit since last time. You took the same strike from me, yet this time your wounds are much lighter."
The remark nearly made Huanglong Zhenren choke with rage.
The price he'd paid to block that strike was the talisman his Master had given him!
"Who are you, really, and why do you keep targeting me?!"
Before you continue