Ultimate Technique: Dragon-Turning Breathing Method

The venomous water arrows shot from behind slowed down the moment they entered the force field, as if they had lost precise control and become somewhat scattered. Although they still flew toward Situ Xuan, their power was greatly diminished.

At the critical moment, relying on his beast-like intuition, Situ Xuan twisted his body violently. The poison arrows grazed his ribs, and the corrosive venom splashed onto his arm, immediately causing a piercing, burning pain. His skin began to fester with a "hissing" sound.

Meanwhile, the giant fist swung in anger by the Earth-Shaking Giant Ape from the side seemed to have its violent power slightly interfered with upon entering this Darkness Overcasting Heaven and Earth force field, showing an imperceptible stagnation and deviation.

It was this slight deviation that gave Situ Xuan his chance!

He ignored the intense pain in his arm, ignored the new wounds all over his body, and even ignored the Bloodthirsty Demon Rats that had already bitten into his pant legs and pierced his skin!

In his eyes, there remained only the Earth-Shaking Giant Ape, whose movements were deformed due to its injured ankle and the interference of the force field!

"North Star Dragon Strikes Tiger!"

He crouched low, his entire body like a demonic dragon lunging from the abyss, or a fierce tiger descending the mountain to hunt!

Dragon-form charge, tiger-style pounce!

He condensed all his strength, soul power, baleful aura, and even his boiling will into this single combined strike!

His body left a trail of afterimages, grazing the ape's deviated fist wind by the narrowest of margins, instantly lunging toward the knee joint of the ape's supporting leg, which was struggling to move flexibly due to its injury!

"Break for me!"

Situ Xuan roared, his palms joined like a blade. Black light and blood-red flames intertwined; this was no longer a pressure-point strike, but the purest, most violent slash!

Using his hand as a blade, he unleashed the determination to sever everything!

"Rock Mountain Twin Severing Wave!"

"Puchi--!"

The hand-blade cut into the ape's thick knee joint as easily as a hot knife through butter! The explosive sound of shattering bone echoed clearly across the clearing!

"Awoo--!!!"

The Earth-Shaking Giant Ape let out a heaven-shaking wail, its massive body unable to support itself any longer, and it collapsed to the side like a falling mountain!

The immense weight slammed into the ground, triggering a small earthquake that even startled the Iron-Winged Goshawk in the air, causing it to increase its circling altitude.

After completing this earth-shattering strike, Situ Xuan was also nearly exhausted.

He knelt on one knee, gasping for breath. The veins on his forehead bulged, and sweat mixed with blood dripped down his chin.

A wave of numbness spread from where the venom had corroded his left arm, his right arm trembled slightly from overexertion, and his soul power was draining rapidly like a receding tide.

At his feet, the Bloodthirsty Demon Rats were still gnawing frantically. Although they couldn't cause a fatal wound in the short term, the pain of being bitten by thousands of ants and the continuous drain were extremely difficult to endure.

He was reaching his limit.

In the monitoring room, Wu Zhangkong, Long Hengxu, and even the staff member from the Spirit Pagoda held their breath.

Watching the figure on the screen—bathed in blood, teetering, yet still radiating an unyielding, fierce aura—they were filled with an indescribable sense of shock.

"He... he actually..."

Long Hengxu opened his mouth, only to find his throat dry, unable to utter a complete sentence.

A sharp light flashed in Wu Zhangkong's eyes as he slowly exhaled: "It's not over yet."

Yes, it wasn't over!

The Earth-Shaking Giant Ape had fallen, losing its greatest threat, but the Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python and the Iron-Winged Goshawk remained!

They seemed momentarily deterred by Situ Xuan's life-risking counterattack, but immediately, their greed for the spiritual light halo overcame their hesitation.

The Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python slithered its body, approaching rapidly. Its cold, vertical pupils locked onto the gasping Situ Xuan, its snake tongue flickering as it clearly prepared for its next attack.

The Iron-Winged Goshawk in the air began to dive once more, its sharp talons glinting with cold light, preparing for a lethal strike.

And more Bloodthirsty Demon Rats had crawled all over the lower half of Situ Xuan's body, attempting to drown him.

Situ Xuan raised his head, looking at the approaching poisonous python and the goshawk, then at the increasing number of demon rats on his body.

In his eyes, exhaustion and madness intertwined, but that unyielding fighting spirit was like a candle in the wind—flickering, yet never extinguished.

"Heh... hahahahaha..."

He suddenly began to laugh, his voice hoarse and desolate, wild and surging. "Come! Come! Come and kill me!"

Just at this life-or-death impasse, Situ Xuan's wild laughter stopped abruptly.

An unprecedented clarity, like ice-cold spring water poured over his head, instantly washed away the killing intent and madness that had filled his mind.

The exhaustion of his body, the intense pain of his wounds, the depletion of his soul power, the encroaching threat of death from the outside... all of this seemed to turn into a strange background noise, becoming distant and blurred.

His consciousness was more focused than ever, internalized, and sank into the deepest part of his body.

"Yin... Yang... Movement... Stillness... Life... Death..."

Fragmented words flowed through his heart. The essence of the Fist of the North Star, the core principles of the Black Heart Evil Palm, and every bit of his past training collided and merged with his current near-death experience.

He recalled the "Yin" of the Fist of the North Star; it was not merely softness or trickery, but a form of "Stillness"—internalized, settled, and insightful of the essence. Meanwhile, the "Evil" of the Black Heart Evil Palm was the "Movement" that drew upon external forces for violent destruction.

One movement and one stillness, one external and one internal, one evil and one yin... seemingly contradictory, yet they seemed to possess a deeper connection.

"Transforming stillness into movement... the first of the first..."

The mantra of the Dragon-Turning Breathing Method surfaced naturally in his mind. In the past, although he could use it, he had never grasped its true essence, treating it only as a technique to increase reaction speed. But at this moment, under the pressure of life and death and his profound experience with the two martial arts, that layer of mist seemed to be torn open by a crack.

His breathing changed unconsciously.

It was no longer merely to coordinate his strength or gather soul power, but had entered a marvelous rhythm. Each inhalation and exhalation was long and profound, as if resonating with some pulse in the surrounding environment. At first, it was extremely subtle, like a hidden dragon in the abyss, coiled and ready.

Outside, the Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma Python had slithered within ten feet, its neck pulled back in preparation for a lethal strike, a sinister gleam flickering on its fangs.

The Iron-Winged Goshawk dove to its lowest point, its iron-hook-like talons tearing through the air, aiming straight for the crown of Situ Xuan's head.

The swarm of Bloodthirsty Demon Rats had already reached his waist, the sound of their frantic gnawing enough to set one's teeth on edge.

In the monitoring room, the last glimmer of hope in the eyes of Wu Zhangkong was about to extinguish, and Long Hengxu had already turned away.

Just at that moment of absolute silence, as if time itself had frozen—

"Hoo..."

Situ Xuan's chest rose and fell slightly, and a nearly inaudible sound of exhalation rang out.

Immediately following, a sudden change occurred!

Centered on Situ Xuan, the air within a radius of several dozen feet seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand, suddenly beginning to rotate!

It started as a light breeze, but in an instant, it transformed into a howling gale!

This was not a storm formed by the external release of soul power, but something closer to the might of heaven and earth itself!

The gale whipped up dust, broken leaves, and remnants of flesh from the ground, forming a gray tornado that enveloped Situ Xuan's figure within it!