Corpse-Dissection Immortal Is Still an Immortal

A massive sense of crisis descended.

When Fang Xiu said this was merely a clone that could be used for combat at will, the atmosphere changed instantly.

Even under the tight protection of Susanoo, he could still sense that something was wrong; something akin to intuition was screaming warnings at him.

Corpse-Dissection Immortal? He had indeed underestimated her before—

Only by tempering both body and spirit to their absolute limits, ascending through the clouds, and enduring all subsequent tribulations with one's own strength to achieve the immortal fruit, was one worthy of the title of immortal.

But looking at it now, he realized he had been superficial.

Or perhaps, after gaining a simplified Sage Body and an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, his mentality had unknowingly inflated, much like Second Pillar, always thinking he was invincible.

At the same time, Yanxu Daoji standing opposite him formed hand seals without a trace of worldly aura, and a transparent dragon-shaped phantom surged forth, circling as it lunged toward Fang Xiu.

Wood Release: Wood Shield.

A giant shield bearing the fangs of a malevolent ghost formed instantly, gripped by the right hand of Susanoo, its interior saturated with earth-style sage chakra.

Defense, maxed out!

Both sides were moving at extreme speeds, so the two forces collided in the blink of an eye.

The surface of the Wood Release, a fusion of earth, water, and yang, resisted for only a moment before being pierced through by the dragon phantom; only the interior, filled with pure sage chakra, stood firm as a rock!

"As expected of sage chakra, a power capable of harming Six Paths-level lifeforms in the Naruto World..."

Usually, a ninja's chakra is condensed by the individual, a fusion of spiritual and physical energy, but sage chakra relies on nature—the power of this world, this planet—and its theoretical ceiling is very high.

Thoughts raced.

Finding a good opponent to test his other abilities, Fang Xiu decisively used genjutsu.

One must know that among his standard six-dimensional data, his spiritual power was exceptionally prominent even without deliberate enhancement, let alone now that he was using the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Yanxu Daoji, who had become an immortal through corpse-dissection, froze, a dull expression appearing on her face.

However, it didn't even last a snap of the fingers before this dullness dissipated. She regained her senses, her expression remaining solemn but without a hint of panic.

Unlike ordinary ghosts, she had relied entirely on her own strength to break free from the shackles of the flesh, so she feared no common ninjutsu; only the sage arts used by Fang Xiu and those eerie eyes were worth her attention and caution.

And the former... was clearly more focused on defense!

"Genjutsu is useless?"

"As expected."

"She is not some ghost king with a mottled spirit; the most critical part of becoming an immortal through corpse-dissection is the soul. To attack the strongest with one's own strongest..."

Discovering that this path was blocked, Fang Xiu poured all his energy into driving the earth-style sage chakra to wrestle with the dragon phantom, while simultaneously using the ocular technique of his already exposed left eye.

Takemikazuchi!

The half-body Susanoo, currently struggling against the dragon phantom, suddenly became aggressive. Lightning flashed across its semi-fleshed surface, creating a zone of energy turbulence.

The level of power spiked, and an effective attack emerged.

The dragon was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"So that's how it is. This eye... is essentially using spiritual power to amplify thunder." Having successfully deduced part of the truth, Yanxu Xianji didn't care that her move had been broken and subconsciously studied Susanoo's right eye.

Seeing the leopard through a tube, there must be equally terrifying energy hidden within!

Metal, wood, water, fire, earth?

As an ancient cultivator, Yanxu first associated it with the traditional Five Elements, while those strange eyes emitted a hidden and powerful spiritual fluctuation.

The world spun!

As a master of genjutsu, Fang Xiu realized clearly that he had been attacked by such means again. Unfortunately, it was different from the past.

The spiritual power of this female immortal before him far surpassed that of the Fusang Ghost King, making it impossible for him to show off—to cast Mirror Heaven and Earth Change and reflect the illusion back at her on the spot.

However... the ultra-high resistance brought by the Uchiha bloodline combined with Hashirama Cells was definitely not Kyōka Suigetsu.

No matter how this Daoji manipulated her pair of eyes, Fang Xiu, tightly wrapped in Susanoo and difficult to break through, never sank into them, always being pulled back at the critical moment.

If one possessed a pair of near-eternal Mangekyō and still got dragged into an illusion by someone else's spiritual power, unable to control oneself, then Fang Xiu would likely become the disgrace of the Uchiha.

Moreover, the ocular technique born from his right eye was called Amenotokotachi, which could stabilize his own state, prevent erosion by negative forces, and make the caster nearly immune to all evils and impervious to all methods for a certain period.

The theoretical ceiling was extremely high!

Thus, the situation seemed to have reached a stalemate.

Both realized that their pride-and-joy genjutsu could not lock in victory, so they had to continue competing in raw power: one injected magic power to drive the dragon—which was about to take physical form—to struggle and tear at the ghost-engraved shield;

The other deepened his defensive reinforcement, letting Susanoo hold the shield to block, while driving his left eye to strengthen the thunder, condensing the Sky-Piercing Spear in his hand for a defensive counterattack.

He was going all out anyway; it was just a Wood Release Clone...

With this thought, Fang Xiu actually gained the upper hand to a certain extent. Three minutes passed, and as a near-wailing dragon roar dissipated, the lightning spear flickering with violent power finally pierced through its head.

"If I had mastered sealing techniques, I might have been able to avoid this war of attrition..."

Almost simultaneously, Fang Xiu, who looked like a heavenly warrior descended to earth, having smashed the surrounding area over and over again, saw his eyes dim. His unbreakable defense began to collapse from within.

The ranking board shattered.

The Susanoo rapidly faded until it dissipated.

He himself turned into a withered tree, rotting and crumbling, with only the lush, primeval forest covering the ruins of the hospital serving as proof that he had ever been there.

At the same time.

As the clone was dispelled, all combat experience and related memories flooded back into the main body, and the consumed ocular power and chakra were replenished in a mere instant.

In fact, Fang Xiu had been maintaining Sage Mode the entire time to deal with any threats that might appear at any moment.

"Right."

"The form of that dragon..."

Now, hiding in a concealed area and able to calmly review the battle, Fang Xiu could not help but let his thoughts wander; he suddenly thought of Uzumaki Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan—

When facing a major blow, that guy had once summoned a purple phantom dragon that specialized in attacking spirits; any ninja touched by the phantom would surely die! Perhaps it was a method to restrain the Corpse-Dissection Immortal, or even other powerful spiritual entities.

"When it comes down to it, the current level of my Mangekyō is simply not high enough. Previously, using it against negative spirits like vengeful ghosts was invincible; I could even devour them and turn them into resources, and I could even suppress the likes of ghost kings."

"Correspondingly, after returning to the space, I will follow the established path to expand Sage Mode, no longer limited to the Earth Release I copied..."

"Additionally, the path of the Gene Lock should also be balanced; a mere first stage is simply not enough to look at for the time being."

After one battle, Fang Xiu benefited greatly.

At least he now had a clearer plan:

Side quests to strengthen and complete his bloodline.

Remaining reward points to exchange for cultivation time.

Of course, special exchanges for the next trial could not be ignored either...

There are simply too many paths to becoming stronger! As for whether to do a second team battle or return to the Naruto World after one team battle... I personally lean more towards the latter, and I would like to ask for everyone's opinions.