The billowing black mist thinned slightly, vaguely revealing the outline of a body even larger than the continuous mountain range, covered in jagged keratin and ancient scars. Even a fleeting glimpse was enough to chill the Holy Lord to the bone. "Your cultivation is also strange; you've actually entered the Saint realm? In just eleven years, you've made such astonishing progress. It seems you've received a heaven-defying Fortune. However!!!"
Its tone suddenly turned fierce, and its killing intent solidified like icy spikes. "A mere Saint, unaware of the difference in strength, dares to act wildly towards me and ruin my eternal plan! Today, I will capture you, extract your soul and refine your spirit. All your opportunities, Fortune, and even this sacred and extraordinary body will belong to me! This will become the foundation of my Dao."
"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Li Qingshan merely let out a cold, ambiguous laugh, raising his eyes to stare directly at the two blood moons. "It seems that after being imprisoned for too long, your eyes, and even your mind, haven't quite grasped the true difference between us."
"The gap?" Crocodile Ancestor looked down at a mayfly in the dust, his voice devoid of any emotion, only absolute coldness and condescension. "Years have passed, what has given you such laughable arrogance, daring to speak to me like this? Back then, you were nothing but a few insects that could be crushed into bloody pulp with a flick of your wrist. Now, you've been fortunate enough to grow a little bigger, and you dare to bare your teeth at me? It seems I've been dormant for too long; the ants of this world have forgotten the reverence they should have for me!"
In the end, the Crocodile Ancestor's blood-red eyes shone brightly, and its killing intent, like the accumulated ice of the North Sea for thousands of years, suddenly collapsed, turning into a tangible cold wave that swept wildly across the heavens and earth, freezing the remaining moisture into scarlet ice crystals that fell down in a flurry.
Li Qingshan ruined his chance to attain enlightenment and blocked his path to transcendence. This enmity is irreconcilable and cannot be washed away even by the vastness of the Milky Way!
"Clang clang clang!!!"
Suddenly, a metallic tremor that shook the very soul soared into the sky, ringing out like ten thousand peerless divine swords being drawn simultaneously, causing Disorder Heaven and Shake Earth! From the black swamp below, which had not yet been completely swallowed, a hundred thousand jet-black divine lights suddenly shot out! Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be black crocodile scales as large as palaces, with sharp edges that gleamed with a cold light that seemed to cut through the Void!
These scales seemed to possess a life of their own, colliding and combining in the air with a deafening roar, instantly transforming into a ferocious yet extremely majestic jet-black armor!
The armor has an ancient and simple design, covered with wild and primitive patterns, with sharp bone spikes emerging from the joints, and a furious crocodile head relief on the chest, spitting out a man-eating dark light. This is a complete and powerful legendary holy garment!
Amidst a series of teeth-grinding, bone-reconstructing vibrating sounds, the black-gold divine armor flowed like water, perfectly covering and adorning the Crocodile Ancestor's massive, mountain-like demonic body.
Immediately afterwards, a great dark light shone brightly, and the laws surged! The terrifying demonic body of the Crocodile Ancestor, comparable to a mountain range, began to shrink and condense rapidly! The vast blood energy and demonic power were compressed to the extreme, and countless Great Dao Runes appeared in the Void, wrapping around its body.
The next moment, the demonic light dissipated, and a tall, majestic middle-aged man clad in black armor descended, his feet firmly planted on the surging black waves as if walking on flat ground.
He was about two meters tall, with a physique as imposing as if cast from an ancient Demon Mountain. Just standing there, he exuded an imposing, godlike aura.
His entire body was shrouded in black, ribbon-like mist, resembling dragons and pythons—a highly refined blend of demonic and malevolent energy.
Thick black hair cascaded down his shoulder armor like a waterfall, but his eyes remained blood-red, cold and ruthless.
With each step he took forward, subtle black ripples appeared in the space beneath his feet, bringing a suffocating, terrifying sense of oppression, as if his heart were being gripped by an invisible hand.
The Crocodile Ancestor, now in human form, seemed to possess a danger and oppressive force that was even more refined, concentrated, and deadly than its colossal, sky- Shrouding the Heavens demonic body! Its black and gold armor gleamed with a cold metallic luster, making it appear exceptionally powerful, like a dark war god returning from Mythic Battlefield.
Those who can forge legendary sacred garments capable of traversing star fields and being passed down through the ages are all extremely terrifying figures.
Even in the powerful Beidou Big Dipper Star Domain, few can subdue such a demon saint.
"Buzz!"
Without another word, he extended a massive hand covered in black armor and reached forward! The movement appeared slow, yet it contained the ultimate truths of heaven and earth. With a deafening roar, a section of the sky in front of him was shattered by the pressure emanating from this hand, revealing the chaotic Void turbulence behind it! The massive black hand covered the sky and blocked out the starlight. Its five fingers, like pillars of heaven, came together, and within its palm, a black vortex that devoured everything was formed, bound by chains of law!
This grab, seemingly aimed at Li Qingshan, was actually directed at the fluttering, amber-yellow banner above Li Qingshan's head, radiating Wuji Apricot-Yellow Flag Xuanhuang Qi! Faced with such unparalleled immortal material that even Ancient Great Emperor would cherish, Crocodile Ancestor could no longer suppress his greed and burning desire, wanting to seize the banner first and then subdue the man!
However, just as the giant black hand was about to touch the Xuanhuang Qi, "Swoosh!"
A dazzling and magnificent light suddenly erupted from in front of Li Qingshan without warning! It was a raging fire, displaying nine distinct and sacred colors: red, orange, gold, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white intertwined and flowed, beautiful and magnificent, yet containing a terrifyingly high temperature that could burn away the heavens and purify all things!
Nine-colored flames surged into the sky, as if they were alive, and instantly enveloped the enormous black hand that Shrouding the Heavens. It was the immortal fire of the Big Dipper Fire Domain, which Li Qingshan had evolved with his supreme Battle Saint Method!
"Um?"
A muffled groan, filled with pain and rage, came from the Crocodile Ancestor's mouth.
His massive black hand, covered in legendary holy armor and powerful enough to shake stars, had now transformed into a gigantic torch.
The nine-colored flames clung to him like a malignant tumor, burning relentlessly. No matter how much black water, endless demonic runes, and attempts to sever some of the connections between the laws surged from his palms, they could not be extinguished! The raging flames emitted such high temperatures that they caused a large area of water near the black sea eye below to steam into the sky, almost drying it up!
"What kind of supernatural power is this? A mere Saint Realm could actually injure my Saintly Body," Crocodile Ancestor's words turned incredibly cold, each word seeming to be squeezed out from an ice cave.
He switched between several ancient supernatural powers, and even used his life essence to activate the original Dao principles of the Holy Armor, before he managed to extinguish the strange nine-colored flames in his hand with great difficulty.
He opened his palm, and saw that the area covered by the black and gold armor showed signs of melting, with a faint charred color. Traces of intense pain and burning Dao wounds remained within, which would be difficult to remove in a short time.
"Haha, just an appetizer." Li Qingshan chuckled, a flash of nine-colored flames appearing and disappearing around him. "Hurry up and unleash the true power you've cultivated through two thousand years of suppression, Ancient Demon Saint. Hopefully, it will give me a little enjoyment."
"Arrogant!" Crocodile Ancestor narrowed his blood-red eyes, his killing intent almost tangible. "In my eyes, you are nothing more than a slightly larger, fire-breathing insect. If I get serious, one hand is enough to suppress and capture you." Despite his words, when he looked at the nine-colored flames that were faintly appearing around Li Qingshan, a deep sense of apprehension flashed in the depths of his eyes.
The flame gave him an extremely ancient and extraordinary feeling, as if it touched some kind of primordial power.
"Your physique is very special, and your destiny is extraordinary." The Crocodile Ancestor's voice carried a calm and cruel dissection of its prey. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to find and initially refine such a rare and precious material as the Source Root of Mother Qi of All Things, which even the Ancient Great Emperor longed for. Today, I will kill you, seize your foundation, devour your origin, and extract the Mother Qi Source Root. Perhaps this will be the starting point for my path to becoming the supreme Demon Emperor!" In his words, greed and killing intent had completely merged.
Just as tensions were running high and an earth-shattering battle was about to erupt, "Namo Amitabha Buddha,"
A grand, solemn, and peaceful chanting, seemingly capable of cleansing all the sins of the world, drifted in from afar.
At first, it was like a gentle breeze carrying the sound of chanting, but it quickly transformed into a vast wave of sound, with all the heavenly bodhisattvas chanting together and thousands of ancient Buddhas reciting in unison!
Accompanied by chanting, countless golden runes lit up from the edge of the turbulent Demon Sea Eye, densely packed together to form a dazzling avenue of Buddhist light.
The ancient golden ship, which had been swirling in the raging vortex of the Demon Sea Eye and seemed on the verge of capsizing at any moment, now shone with a brilliance ten times brighter than before! The Buddha and Bodhisattva images engraved on the ship's hull glowed together, as if they were about to come to life.
It defied the all-consuming black ocean and spatial turbulence, cutting through the waves and resolutely heading towards the sea area where Li Qingshan and the Crocodile Ancestor were confronting each other!
At the bow of the ship, five hundred golden Arhats remained seated, skin and bones, their bodies radiating divine light.
Originally, it was thought that they had all completely passed away, leaving only their golden bodies and Buddhist power. But at this moment, the old monk at the very front, whose face was the oldest and most withered, slowly and with great difficulty opened his eyes!
What kind of eyes were those? Within them seemed to hold the birth and death of stars, the passage of time, and were filled with endless wisdom and compassion, yet also bore the weariness and perseverance of countless ages. As the eyes opened and closed, two gentle yet seemingly illuminating golden Buddhist lights flashed by.
"It's you? The ancient Buddha who passed away in Thunderclap Monastery, you're actually still alive?" Crocodile Ancestor shouted for the first time, his voice filled with disbelief and a deep sense of fear, even more so than when he was injured by the nine-colored flames!
The golden ancient ship finally approached and steadily anchored on the gradually calming black sea. Like a moving Foshan, it exuded a peaceful yet incredibly solid force field, repelling the monstrous aura of the Crocodile Ancestor.
Five hundred golden Arhats sat cross-legged like a forest, but only the old monk in the center had his eyes open. His withered lips moved slightly as he continued to chant ancient Buddhist scriptures that no one could understand. With each syllable, the Buddhist light emanating from the ship intensified.
"Old monk! Two thousand years ago, when I escaped my predicament, you already looked like a lamp burning out, about to pass away! Why are you still..."
"How have we managed to survive until now?" Crocodile Ancestor roared, a vein even throbbing slightly on his forehead, revealing his inner turmoil.