Demonic Ape Seizes the Moon [Requesting Monthly Votes, Investment]

"Buzz."

Jiang Ming's Sea of Bitterness trembled. A ripple spread outward, and a demonic shadow appeared. With a casual grab, it plucked away the bright moon, then tossed it back in reverse.

All of this happened in an instant. Many people did not even have time to see what it was.

Ji Haoyue felt his entire body shake. In an instant, the rippling water around him shattered into fragments and was forced back into his body. He was sent flying backward, each step landing with a resounding thud and leaving clear footprints in the ground. Even the ancient battlefield's surface cracked beneath his feet.

Ji Haoyue's battle intent surged. Two brilliant divine rays shot from his eyes, while his purple robes fluttered and snapped despite the lack of wind. He stood there, staring intently at Jiang Ming, as though he wanted to see through him completely.

He was not injured. He had merely been blasted away by his own phenomenon. Since he had already entered the Dao Palace Secret Realm and opened two Divine Treasuries, his divine power was vast. For him, the battle had only just begun.

"Clang!"

At the same time, Hua Yunfei sat cross-legged with a precious zither laid across his knees. His fingers plucked the strings, producing clear, melodious notes, as though a divine phoenix were crying out.

This was undoubtedly a heavenly melody, rare in the world. Yet it was also an offensive killing art, concealing murderous intent that could seize one's soul and terrify one's spirit. Rings of tangible sound waves rippled out from the strings, seeming almost alive as they crashed toward Jiang Ming, while Ji Haoyue remained unaffected.

"Nine Tribulations Phoenix Song."

Just as expected. A year ago, when he had fought Hua Yunfei, this peerless sacred melody had forced out all his strength before he barely managed to defeat Hua Yunfei.

In truth, Ji Haoyue did not know that Hua Yunfei still had hidden trump cards he could not use—certain inherited secret arts and killing techniques from Ruthless's first lifetime.

Jiang Ming naturally knew Hua Yunfei's methods as well. Shrouding the Heavens had been a leisure novel he enjoyed reading, and he would skim through it eagerly, wishing he could finish it all in one glance.

However, Hua Yunfei was a character who had left a deep impression on him.

He watched the glimmering rings of ripples, seemingly carved from crystal, clash against his demonic radiance. Every collision was like two mountains crashing together, causing the ground and space around them to tremble faintly.

"Hua Yunfei truly is a peerless genius. Ordinary Dao Palace Realm cultivators would be unable to withstand such pleasant zither music. In a single exchange, their bodies would be pierced through and turned into sieves."

"With Bright Moon hanging overhead, once he breaks into the Four Extremes Secret Realm, his phenomenon alone will allow him to fight across an entire realm. Incredible!"

"Still, this little monk from the Western Desert is even more astonishing. He has actually held on for so long against the attacks of the Ji Family's Divine Body and Yunfei."

Several old antiques watching nearby chatted casually, taking the opportunity to praise one another.

"Boom!"

Jiang Ming's True Essence Sea boiled. This physique was simply incredible. His true essence surged, vast and boundless. Even if it was insufficient, he could refine the purple vital essence within his Sea of Bitterness to replenish it. Demonic energy roiled around him, and the black Great Sun Demon Wheel behind his head gleamed with dark light, bursting with dazzling black demonic radiance. He was fully activating the Seventy-Two Transformations, evolving the profound divine abilities contained within the imprint of the Ancient Monk Lineage's first ancestor.

At last, another marvelous art emerged in his mind: the Fearless Lion's Roar!

This was the innate treasure art of the Fearless Vajra Lion Lineage subdued by the Ancient Monk Lineage—a genuine lion's roar technique and a True Immortal-level secret art.

However, Jiang Ming had pushed the Seventy-Two Transformations to the utmost limit he could currently attain. Fortunately, he had broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage and elevated his realm, allowing him to accomplish this.

Even so, it only possessed sixty percent of its power at the same realm.

But that was already enough.

"Brother Haoyue, Brother Yunfei, be careful."

Jiang Ming gave them a warning. Forming seals with both hands, he sank his qi into his dantian. The next moment, a black Vajra Fearless Lion manifested behind him. Its body was as massive as a mountain, powerful and intimidating, sturdy and majestic. It stood upon the void and raised its head in a sky-shaking roar.

Rings of black ripples burst from Jiang Ming's throat. Empowered by the black Vajra Fearless Lion dharma seal behind him, they spread forward. In an instant, the earth split apart, rubble from the ancient battlefield exploded, and the sight was terrifying.

"Roar..."

As the Fearless Lion's Roar erupted, the sound waves became the most terrifying blades—formless yet substantial. The black ripples were clearly visible, like a boiling black demonic sea. Towering waves rose one after another, blotting out the sky and covering the earth without end.

The uneven ancient battlefield instantly sank more than three feet. Small mountains over a hundred meters tall and enormous boulders several zhang high all exploded into powder.

The elderly onlookers were dumbfounded at the sight. Such a powerful secret art was a lost technique of the Western Desert's Vajra Temple lineage.

This sonic art was undoubtedly a legendary secret technique. It was no weaker than the Western Desert's Six-Syllable Mantra. Now, it seemed its reputation was truly well deserved.

In an instant, Ji Haoyue fully activated the Great Void Technique. His entire body seemed branded into the void, transforming into Dao Patterns within space and imprinting himself deep within the void, placing himself in an innately invincible position.

Meanwhile, Hua Yunfei remained calm and ethereal, like an immortal. His fingers rapidly plucked the light strings, resembling two dancing phoenixes. The melody suddenly became high and impassioned, like phoenix cries soaring through the nine heavens.

The next moment, accompanied by nine clear and melodious phoenix cries, nine divine rays pierced the skies and shot toward the stars. Nine divine phoenixes could clearly be seen evolving from the zither music in the void. They were manifestations of the Dao, yet appeared lifelike.

The nine golden divine phoenixes had graceful bodies that shone brilliantly. They spread their wings and soared through the sky, every movement incomparably elegant and dazzling.

"Every time I hear this lost ancient melody, I gain a different feeling. The Phoenix Tribulation Song has been lost for far too long. It is an unparalleled divine sound, said to be capable of directly obliterating a living being's origin and killing an opponent at the root."

"The Nine Tribulations Phoenix Song is said to be a secret art created by at least a Great Saint, perhaps even a Quasi-Emperor. It has been lost for tens of thousands of years—no, perhaps even longer."

"This truly is a battle between dragons and tigers. Two peerless secret arts, lost for ages, are colliding."

The old men's exclamations sounded almost like they were playing along, but both the old men and old women stared in horror.

The nine divine phoenixes swept across the sky, crying out in the most elegant and beautiful postures. They radiated an aura that made souls tremble.

The Vajra Fearless Demon Lion behind Jiang Ming seemed to have been provoked. It leapt down, stepping on black sonic ripples as it charged toward the nine divine phoenixes.

Ji Haoyue no longer attacked. He simply began watching as well, curious to see what sparks would fly when these two lost sound-based secret arts collided, and which would prove stronger.

"Buzz."

The instant the two sonic arts came into contact, the entire secret realm shook violently. Such attacks seemed to have reached the might only cultivators of the Four Extremes Secret Realm possessed.

"Boom."

As the black and golden ripples collided, the center of the battlefield seemed to be split in two. A trench thirty meters wide and several hundred meters deep appeared. At that moment, the entire secret realm seemed as though it would be pierced through.

The secret realm shook violently, and dense cracks appeared in the void.

Crash!

Suddenly, silver nets like a heavenly dragnet appeared throughout the secret realm, sealing it once more. This was an arrangement of the Taixuan Sect. For cultivators below the Four Extremes Secret Realm, this secret realm was a precious hidden place for cultivation.

Every secret realm space could only be opened by a Saint. It absolutely could not be casually destroyed, for it was rare foundational wealth.

"We miscalculated. These little ones' combat strength has already reached the Four Extremes Secret Realm level, affecting the secret realm's fragile space."

The Star Peak Master formed hand seals and traced Dao Patterns to stabilize the space, sighing repeatedly.