After deciding to temper his Sword Dao by using Di Jiao as his opponent, Li Yi chose a small hilltop to stop and quietly waited for Di Jiao to arrive.
Di Jiao was somewhat surprised to see Li Yi stop, but he didn't think much of it. He was only a Mystic Immortal; even if he had some special tricks, they wouldn't pose much of a threat to a Golden Immortal. Di Jiao sped up and soon reached the sky above Li Yi.
"Kid, why have you stopped running? Do you really think a Mystic Immortal can stand against a Golden Immortal?" Golden Horn mocked.
"Whether I can or not, you'll find out when you try." Li Yi didn't argue. He stretched out his right hand, and with a flash of green light, the Green Lotus Ancient Sword flew straight out of his dantian and landed in his palm.
Li Yi poured Power of Slaughter into the Green Lotus Ancient Sword. The Ancient Sword transformed into a dazzling streak of green light, and waves of pressure radiated from it. Space around them grew turbulent. The sword's aura seemed to tear everything apart, splitting the clouds overhead in two. Cracks spread across the rocks beneath Li Yi's feet, as though countless invisible little knives were constantly slicing them.
This was the first time Li Yi had fully unleashed the Green Lotus Ancient Sword's power. In previous battles, even when he was in danger, he had only made full use of the Ancient Sword's hardness. Divine treasures concealed their own radiance, and no one had realized that this plain-looking long sword was actually a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. Otherwise, even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal would have swallowed his pride and tried to seize it.
"A top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—it's actually a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!" Di Jiao felt his heart about to leap out of his chest. "Kid, I never expected you to possess such a treasure. That means it's mine now." Di Jiao's face was filled with greed. He couldn't help it—he was already a late-stage Golden Immortal, yet he didn't even have an ordinary Innate Spiritual Treasure, let alone a top-grade one.
"Hmph." A murderous glint flashed in Li Yi's eyes. He pushed out with his sword, and BANG! A pair of silver wings appeared behind him. Sword light flowed across them, and the entire pair seemed to be made of countless tiny light-swords.
Fighting a Golden Immortal an entire major realm above him, Li Yi didn't dare hold anything back. He brought out every trump card he had.
"Lotus Born Heaven and Earth!" Li Yi shouted. The Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth within a hundred li rushed toward him like countless dragons. Driven by the sword light, a hundred-zhang lotus of green light quickly took shape.
"Go!" Li Yi flicked his sword. The enormous green lotus spun rapidly, its stem swaying as it swept toward Di Jiao to devour him.
Having let his guard down at the start, Di Jiao barely had time to react before the green lotus swallowed him. In an instant, it turned into countless petals. Each petal was shaped like a tiny light-sword, forming a sword-shaped tornado that seemed intent on grinding Di Jiao to pieces.
Li Yi watched Di Jiao being swallowed by the sword-shaped tornado. He didn't believe that a dignified Golden Immortal could be killed so easily.
"Immeasurable Sword Light!" Light-swords rose around Li Yi. They formed a fan shape, and with a point of his finger, Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! A long river of sword qi surged toward Di Jiao, who was being ground down by the sword-shaped tornado.
"Ah! You brat! I'll tear you apart with my bare hands!" A furious roar pierced through the sword qi.
Di Jiao hadn't expected a Mystic Immortal to leave him in such a sorry state. Caught off guard, he had been swept into the sword storm. Even he didn't dare be careless in a storm filled with sword qi. He wasn't in mortal danger, but the slightest mistake could leave him seriously injured. If the other Golden Immortals found out, they'd laugh their teeth out.
BOOM! A streak of green light broke through the sword qi's assault.
"Hmph. Kid, I admit I underestimated you," Di Jiao ground out through clenched teeth. "But I'll make you understand that no matter how strong a Mystic Immortal is, he can never defeat a Golden Immortal."
Di Jiao pressed both hands against the earth and gave a sinister laugh. "Today, I'll let you taste what it's like to have ten thousand arrows pierce your heart."
Li Yi's heart jumped. "Not good!" He turned and left his position just as an ochre arrowhead shot through the spot where he'd been.
Li Yi's expression darkened. Golden Immortals really weren't easy to deal with. Had he been a moment slower, he would have either died or been seriously injured.
"Dodge, dodge! Let's see how many times you can get away!" Di Jiao sneered. "Today I'll show you that the power of a Golden Immortal is beyond the comprehension of a little Mystic Immortal like you—and certainly not something you can challenge."
"Ten Thousand Arrows from the Earth!" With Di Jiao's shout, ripples spread across the ground as if it were a calm lake. Countless ochre stone arrows sprang upright. Whoosh! Whoosh! They shot toward Li Yi in an overwhelming barrage.
From afar, the mass of stone arrows looked like a yellow flood surging upward against the heavens, crashing toward Li Yi.
Facing the dense rain of arrows, Li Yi relied on his Sword Light Flying Wings divine ability and used Immeasurable Sword Light to weave through them.
"What kind of divine ability is that?" Di Jiao was horrified. He had killed dozens of Golden Immortals with this move. Faced with an endless rain of arrows, even Golden Immortals could hardly dodge. Only a defensive Innate Spiritual Treasure could stop them, but such treasures were difficult to obtain. Most Golden Immortals eventually couldn't hold out and were shot dead.
Di Jiao hadn't expected a Mystic Immortal to break his prized divine ability. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. Li Yi was already this formidable as a Mystic Immortal; if he broke through to Golden Immortal, wouldn't Di Jiao be at his mercy? No, since they had become enemies, he absolutely couldn't let Li Yi live. No matter what, he had to kill him today.
Di Jiao would never let an enemy grow stronger at his leisure. The greater the enemy's potential, the sooner he had to be eliminated; otherwise, he'd be the one to suffer in the end.
Di Jiao formed a Hand Seal and raised one hand to the sky. Yellow specks of light drifted in from all around as the earth element in the air gathered and condensed, slowly forming a yellow mountain ten thousand zhang tall. Waves of spiritual pressure poured from the mountain, pressing down the plants within a hundred li. Animals fled in every direction, afraid of being caught in the aftershocks of the battle.
Li Yi narrowed his eyes, staring solemnly at the enormous mountain of condensed energy. He placed dozens of defensive restrictions in front of himself. His wings flashed rapidly as he combined them with Unity of Man and Sword, turning into a streak of light and fleeing.
"Trying to leave? Too late!" Di Jiao's expression twisted. He had even used several of his trump cards to kill Li Yi. How could he let him escape now?
BOOM! BOOM! The world turned yellow. The surrounding mountain ranges were instantly flattened, as if thousands of tons of high explosives had detonated at once. A mushroom cloud slowly rose.
The defensive restrictions Li Yi had set up were like flimsy paper, pierced through by the shock wave. "Cough!" He spat out a mouthful of blood and tumbled far away like a kite with its string cut.
"Ha, ha! The top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure is finally mine!" Di Jiao laughed arrogantly. "With that treasure, my strength will increase several times over."
Lost in his triumph, Di Jiao didn't notice the cold glint that flashed in Li Yi's eyes as he fell.
Di Jiao reached the crater where Li Yi had landed, eager to take the Green Lotus Ancient Sword from his hand. A heart that had remained steady for over a million years shattered under the temptation of a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. Forgetting his usual caution, he didn't even check whether Li Yi was still breathing.
Just as Di Jiao was lost in his fantasies, a sudden shout jolted him awake. "Green Lotus One World!"
"Not good, it's a trap!" Di Jiao tried to retreat, but Li Yi had painstakingly set this trap. How could he let Di Jiao escape so easily? Sword light rose all around the crater.
That's right—Li Yi had known from the beginning that ordinary attacks couldn't do much damage to a Golden Immortal. From the very start of the battle, he had been preparing a trap to lure Di Jiao, unaware, into the area where his Green Lotus One World Sword Art was most powerful.
First, while Di Jiao was acting arrogantly, Li Yi used Lotus Born Heaven and Earth and Immeasurable Sword Light to make him furious and throw off his composure. Then, relying on Sword Light Flying Wings and Immeasurable Sword Light, he broke Di Jiao's prized divine ability, making him feel threatened and stirring his murderous intent, further disrupting his state of mind. Next, Li Yi let Di Jiao's attack knock him away, spitting blood as he fell, causing Di Jiao to lower his guard. Finally, tempted by the top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, Di Jiao completely ignored Li Yi, the "corpse," and stepped into the most powerful area of Green Lotus One World without the slightest caution.
Step by step, Li Yi had led Di Jiao into the trap. The risks involved went without saying. Even with the evasive power of Sword Light Flying Wings, Li Yi had still been seriously injured by the attack of the yellow mountain of condensed energy.
He had paid such a heavy price to fool Di Jiao. How could he let him escape so easily?
Boundless sword light rose from around the enormous crater. Gradually, it took the shape of blossoming lotuses. Di Jiao suddenly lost all sense of the outside world, as if he had entered a lotus world. Above and below, there was nothing but lotus flowers.
The lotuses looked beautiful, but Di Jiao knew how terrifying they were. Each one contained a dense cluster of sword qi. His scalp prickled. He drove all his Magic Power upward, trying to break out of this world.
Unexpectedly, his movement seemed to trigger the entire Green Lotus World. Countless green lotuses spun toward him and exploded at his side, transforming into countless tiny light-swords that sliced into his body. Countless other lotuses grew roots and burrowed into him, their dense sword qi entering his body and wreaking havoc.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Di Jiao let out a series of utterly bloodcurdling screams, like a demon suffering the eighteen tortures of hell, wailing without end.
His flesh was torn apart inch by inch, and blood sprayed through the air. Di Jiao felt as though countless ants were biting him from within while countless little knives carved him up from the outside. The pain nearly made him pass out. He could no longer hide his true form: a hundred-zhang-tall, one-horned beast appeared in the Green Lotus World.
THUD! A gigantic one-horned beast leaped out of the crater. Its body was drenched in blood, with hardly a patch of uninjured flesh left. Dense wounds from the tiny blades covered its entire body. It glared back at the crater with hatred. A trace of fear flashed deep in its eyes, then it turned into a streak of light and fled.
After Di Jiao left, Li Yi appeared at the bottom of the crater, exhausted. He hadn't expected Golden Immortals to be so difficult to deal with. He had used every trick he had and risked serious injury, yet he had only managed to badly wound Di Jiao, not kill him.
It seemed he was still a little outmatched when facing a late-stage Golden Immortal like Di Jiao. Next time he looked for an opponent, he should try to find an early-stage Golden Immortal. If anyone else heard Li Yi thinking this way, they'd probably spit blood. A Mystic Immortal was taking Golden Immortals as opponents—wasn't that asking too much of everyone?
Li Yi looked over the devastated battlefield and quickly left as well, in case Di Jiao returned with those two helpers.
Before you continue