"Great Fortune Bearer?"
Ren Xiaoyao saw the text information before his eyes.
Understanding dawned on him at once.
According to what the text information conveyed,
if he stood by and watched someone die, the danger of his future Heavenly Tribulations would double.
But conversely,
if he stepped in to save Tantai Pudu and gained her favor, then when he faced Heavenly Tribulations in the future, he could use Tantai Pudu's fortune to weaken them.
Ren Xiaoyao naturally did not hesitate and directly chose the second option.
He had already witnessed
the terror of Heavenly Tribulations.
Moreover, according to the guidance,
Accompanied by Ren Xiaoyao's growing strength,
the Heavenly Tribulations he would need to overcome would also become increasingly terrifying.
Under such circumstances,
if the Heavenly Tribulation doubled again,
Ren Xiaoyao did not dare guarantee that he could endure it. Besides, there was no need for a person to force down hardship for no reason.
Gaining the favor of a Great Fortune Bearer
and weakening the Heavenly Tribulation was the optimal solution.
At this time,
within the True Martial Sect,
Ren Xuanji looked at Tantai Pudu with amusement and said, "Tantai Pudu, aren't you curious why we knew you would come to the True Martial Sect today?"
"The one who provided me with the clue was the Devil Master. That Devil Master has most likely also pledged allegiance to the Imperial Court, hasn't he?"
Tantai Pudu's gaze was calm as she spoke.
"Before coming here, I already knew this might be a trap. But the calamity of the Blood Gu involves far too much, so I had no choice but to come here and investigate."
"Hehe, it is not because the Devil Master pledged allegiance to the Imperial Court. Rather, the Devil Master you encountered was a fake from the very beginning."
Ren Xuanji sneered and said.
"But the Blood Gu is indeed real. The True Martial Sect has indeed been secretly raising Blood Gu for the Empress, and Blood Gu is an indispensable raw material for refining Blood Pills. Without this half-true, half-false information, we could never have lured in a Martial Saint Realm expert like you!"
Blood Gu!
Upon hearing this, Tantai Pudu's expression turned exceedingly ugly as she said,
"Mad! I think all of you have gone mad! To expand your power in such a short time, you would resort to such unscrupulous methods! Aren't you afraid of harming the harmony of Heaven, suffering Heaven's condemnation, and leaving behind a stench for ten thousand years?"
"A stench for ten thousand years?"
After hearing this, Ren Xuanji burst into laughter and said,
"Foolish woman, you inherited only the Martial Dao True Essence of your predecessor, not the wisdom of those who came before! In this world, only power is justice. History is written by the victors. I could even have the court historians record an entry on you, Tantai Pudu, and make you bear endless infamy!"
Afterward,
Ren Xuanji looked at Shi Jiuchong and said, "Elder Shi, everything depends on you!"
Shi Jiuchong nodded as well.
He then gave the other seven or eight Heavenly Human Realm martial artists present a meaningful look. They immediately understood and spread out, Sealing Off Tantai Pudu's paths of retreat.
Tantai Pudu sighed and said,
"What a Great Absorption Technique. It can absorb the True Essence of others—truly a supreme divine art. It seems I cannot escape calamity today, can I?"
"Though the Great Absorption Technique is profound and mysterious, it also has limitations."
Shi Jiuchong believed Tantai Pudu was already prey in his hands, and in high spirits, he explained,
"The True Essence within every person's body is different. Though the Great Absorption Technique can forcibly draw out the True Essence in another's body, it also leaves completely different True Essences within the absorber's body. Absorb only a few people and one can forcibly contain it, but absorb too many, resulting in too much chaotic True Essence, and at best one will go astray; at worst, body and life will both perish!"
At this point,
Elder Shi chuckled and said,
"Therefore, not many disciples of the Qianqiu Pavilion outer sect cultivate the Great Absorption Technique. After all, Qianqiu Pavilion is a sacred land of the martial world, and it has other divine arts capable of reaching great heights."
"Only when one truly encounters a bottleneck that cannot be crossed would one cultivate the Great Absorption Technique and force a breakthrough. After all, once the Great Absorption Technique is used, different True Essences exist within the body, and it becomes impossible to rely on one's own cultivation to raise one's realm again."
After hearing this, Tantai Pudu nodded.
Though this Great Absorption Technique was wondrous, it indeed had considerable drawbacks.
Then,
Elder Shi looked at Tantai Pudu and said,
"But my Cultivation Path has already reached its end. I originally had no hope of advancing further from the Martial Saint Realm through my own efforts. Only by absorbing your True Essence, Tantai Pudu, might I advance another step!"
Afterward,
Shi Jiuchong did not hesitate in the slightest. He transformed into an afterimage and struck Tantai Pudu with a palm.
That palm blasted apart the void. Amid a piercing explosion, Shi Jiuchong had already arrived before Tantai Pudu, and a scarlet palm wind struck toward her.
Tantai Pudu snorted coldly. She held a whisk in her left hand while her right hand erupted with True Essence, meeting Shi Jiuchong's palm strike head-on.
Boom!
A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering commotion spread out.
Where Shi Chongjiu and Tantai Pudu's palms met, countless violent Gale Winds sprayed wildly in every direction, smashing into the ground and blasting terrifying, savage cracks across its surface.
After Shi Chongjiu and Tantai Pudu exchanged that palm strike,
Shi Chongjiu retreated half a step in midair, yet his figure remained steady.
Tantai Pudu, however, took a step back on the ground, her body swaying.
The stone-brick floor beneath her feet shattered into pieces.
With this single palm strike,
the difference between them had already become clear.
Yet surprise appeared on Tantai Pudu's face. Though Shi Jiuchong was stronger than her, he was not strong enough to crush her outright.
Then,
Tantai Pudu still had a chance at survival.
And at that moment,
the seven Heavenly Human Realm martial artists following Shi Jiuchong did not hesitate either, directly charging toward Tantai Pudu.
In an instant,
seven fierce and terrifying streams of True Essence surged forth, as though they would devour and drown Tantai Pudu.
Yet when faced with the joint assault of these seven Heavenly Human Realm martial artists, Tantai Pudu did not take them too seriously.
She flicked the whisk in her hand.
At once, the terrifying power of the Martial Saint Realm overflowed from the whisk, shattering the killing True Essence of the seven Heavenly Humans.
Boom!
The True Essence lashed out from the whisk did not disperse. Instead, it slammed into three Heavenly Human Realm martial artists.
These three Heavenly Human Realm martial artists only felt their protective True Essence shatter. Then they spat blood and suffered grave injuries.
This sight Made One's Scalp Tingle for Ren Xuanji.
One had to know that although he had barely entered the Heavenly Human Realm through the Great Absorption Technique,
in terms of combat power alone,
he was absolutely no match for any one of the seven Heavenly Humans who had besieged Tantai Pudu earlier.
That meant
that if Tantai Pudu wished it,
a casual flick of her whisk could leave Ren Xuanji with no burial place.
Having figured this out,
Ren Xuanji immediately became much more low-profile.
He hid behind the crowd and no longer spoke,
Afraid of drawing Tantai Pudu's attention.
"Insignificant Heavenly Humans dare raise their hands against me?"
Tantai Pudu snorted coldly. She then focused all her attention on Shi Jiuchong, knowing that whether she could retreat unscathed today depended on this battle with Shi Chongjiu.
Shi Jiuchong looked at Tantai Pudu with considerable admiration and said, "Tantai Pudu, you truly have some skill. That is all the better—there will be greater use in Devouring you!"
"Hmph!"
Tantai Pudu snorted coldly as well and said, "Fight with all our strength. Who wins and who loses is still unknown!"
At this moment,
Tantai Pudu gathered her True Essence. Her Daoist robe billowed, and her long hair drifted in the wind.
"No, you are doomed to lose!"
Shi Chongjiu smiled coldly and said, "When martial artists fight, aside from True Essence, another key factor determines victory and defeat: martial arts. I am already stronger than you, and I have mastered powerful martial arts from Qianqiu Pavilion. What do you have to contend with me?"
As his words fell,
countless Blood Red Auras
surged forth from Shi Chongjiu's body.
Within this Blood Red Aura,
Tantai Pudu sensed an unprecedented and enormous threat.
"What kind of demonic art is this?"
Tantai Pudu drew a deep breath.
For some reason, upon sensing this blood-colored mist, even as a Martial Saint Realm expert, she felt bone-chilling fear.
"A demonic art?"
"Hahahaha, how short-sighted. This is not a demonic art, but a Superior Martial Art passed down to me by an Inner Cabinet Elder!"
Then Shi Chongjiu's gaze became incomparably solemn as he roared, "Blood Shadow Divine Skill!"
Immediately,
before everyone's eyes,
Shi Jiuchong within the mist seemed to gain one afterimage after another. These afterimages were just like his true body, each possessing the power of the Martial Saint Realm.
No one could distinguish them.
Within the mist,
among those successive Afterimages,
which afterimage was Shi Jiuchong's true body. At this time, countless afterimages charged toward Tantai Pudu.
Tantai Pudu could not distinguish which was Shi Jiuchong's true body at all and could only guard against every afterimage.
But no matter how thoroughly she defended herself, a hundred close precautions still left one oversight.
It was then seen that
one afterimage turned from illusory to solid.
With one palm strike, it slammed into Tantai Pudu's left arm. Caught unprepared, Tantai Pudu was sent flying by the blow. She crashed heavily onto the ground, smashing a Giant Fissure into the stone-brick floor.
At this time,
Tantai Pudu coughed up blood in great mouthfuls. Her left arm had lost sensation. She struggled up from the ground and stared fixedly at Shi Jiuchong within the blood-colored mist.
Shi Jiuchong gave a sinister smile and said, "Tantai Pudu, I know you must be incomparably unwilling in your heart, but what use is unwillingness?"
The others, seeing this scene, also burst into laughter, feeling incomparably delighted.
Seeing that Tantai Pudu was already half-crippled, Ren Xuanji finally stepped out and said eagerly, "Elder Shi, your divine skill truly covers the world. This junior admires you greatly. Next, please drain Tantai Pudu's True Essence and achieve a breakthrough in one go into the Through Profound Realm!"
"Hahaha, good!"
Shi Chongjiu was naturally in excellent spirits as well.
He then extended his hand.
An incomparably terrifying suction force emerged from his palm.
At the same time, Tantai Pudu only felt the True Essence within her body being pulled by that enormous suction force.
Sorrow filled Tantai Pudu's eyes. She knew she could not escape calamity today, but she did not want her lifelong True Essence to benefit Shi Chongjiu. Thus, she condensed a strand of True Essence in her palm and aimed it at the crown of the head, intending to kill herself.
"You want to die?"
"Dream on!"
Shi Chongjiu noticed this as well.
His face immediately twisted savagely. Transforming into an afterimage, he appeared before Tantai Pudu and kicked away her right hand.
Tantai Pudu's face instantly turned ashen.
She knew
that even if she wanted to die, she was powerless to do so.
A miserable smile surfaced on Tantai Pudu's face.
Then,
Shi Chongjiu once more activated the Great Absorption Technique.
That powerful suction force
immediately made Tantai Pudu suffocate.
Just then,
from above the void,
an indifferent voice rang out.
"Sword Come!"
Then, the longsword hanging at Ren Xuanji's waist immediately flew out. The sword tore through the air, ripped apart everything in its path, and shattered the Great Absorption Technique's suction force upon Tantai Pudu.
"It wasn't me!"
Ren Xuanji's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly tried to explain.
But Shi Chongjiu's attention was not on Ren Xuanji at all. Instead, he stared at the longsword standing proudly in the void, his brows tightly furrowed as he murmured,
"Void-Distance Sword Control... Could this be the Sword Control Technique from legends?"
Before you continue