When Ku Xuan heard Fang Yi's assessment, his aged face darkened.
He had thought that with Yao Ling and the Demon Seal Faction,
plus the Nine-Nine Yin Baleful Nether Serpent Formation, even a Nine Yuan Nirvana expert from the Dao Sect would have to shed a layer of skin.
But once Fang Yi arrived, Yao Ling had not lasted even a few exchanges.
Ku Xuan had lived so many years and seen all manner of geniuses, but how old was the young man before him?
A boy of fifteen or sixteen at Five Yuan Nirvana had killed Yao Ling and all the others in just a few exchanges.
In all his long life, Ku Xuan had seen only a handful of people fight so outrageously far above their level.
Zhou Tong, Hua Chen.
One was a peerless prodigy from over a century ago; the other was the foremost member of the Yuan Sect's younger generation.
Only those two could fight in the Nirvana Realm and battle Life Profound experts.
And Fang Yi, standing before him, was younger and even more terrifying than Zhou Tong had been back then.
A chill rose in Ku Xuan's heart. If he did not make Fang Yi stay here today, the Dao Sect might produce another Zhou Tong in the future.
No, a Zhou Tong even more terrifying than Zhou Tong. He had to kill him!
The short blade in his hand shuddered violently, dense azure patterns appearing across its surface as an aura far more powerful than before burst from it.
"A Heaven Tier Spirit Treasure?"
Fang Yi raised an eyebrow.
"A superior Heaven Tier Spirit Treasure, the Azure Flood Dragon Blade."
"To die beneath it is no injustice to you," Ku Xuan said coldly.
The Azure Flood Dragon Blade erupted with dazzling azure light, and a faint dragon's roar came from within it,
then the illusory form of an azure flood dragon hundreds of zhang long burst from the blade and lunged at Fang Yi, baring its fangs and claws.
Wherever the flood dragon's phantom passed, space was torn open with pitch-black cracks. Its might was astonishing.
Fang Yi's expression did not change as he shouted, "Great Desolation Scripture!"
In an instant,
an utterly desolate aura erupted from Fang Yi's body.
The earth, trees, and even people within several thousand meters of him all withered and turned desolate at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The power of desolation surged from the earth like a tide and poured wildly into Fang Yi's body.
Fang Yi's aura began to rise rapidly: Five Yuan Nirvana, Six Yuan Nirvana...
Only when it had climbed to a level approaching the Nine Yuan Nirvana Realm did it slowly stop.
"What?!" Ku Xuan's pupils contracted sharply. "How could you absorb such terrifying power?!"
Fang Yi did not answer. He unleashed the full might of his Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo.
Golden Qi and blood surged wildly within him, while golden light intertwined with the power of desolation around him, forming a terrifying field of force.
The charging azure flood dragon phantom slowed dramatically before the field, as though it had plunged into a mire.
Fang Yi raised his fist and struck.
Boom!
Golden fist light crashed into the azure flood dragon phantom. The phantom let out a piercing wail, shattered inch by inch, and scattered into azure light that filled the sky.
The fist light continued unabated, striking the Azure Flood Dragon Blade itself.
Bang!
The punch sent the Azure Flood Dragon Blade flying backward. Several fine cracks split its surface, and the blade gave a mournful ring.
Ku Xuan was sent staggering back several hundred zhang, his face full of disbelief.
"Impossible... a superior Heaven Tier Spirit Treasure... how could it be... in one punch..."
How could the gap between the Life Profound Realm and the Nirvana Realm be erased just like that?!
Even if Fang Yi had mastered the Great Desolation Scripture and possessed a special physique, the Life Profound Realm was still the Life Profound Realm. The qualitative transformation of Origin Energy was not something martial arts could make up for.
Fang Yi gave him no chance to catch his breath. The immortal king phantom stepped forward and reached straight for Ku Xuan with its enormous hand.
Ku Xuan gritted his teeth. Origin Energy churned wildly within him, and a terrifying fluctuation far stronger than before erupted from his body.
"Yuan Heaven Seal!"
Ku Xuan formed a complex hand seal, and a jade-colored seal dozens of zhang across condensed above his head.
The great seal was covered in runes unique to the Yuan Sect, radiating a domineering aura that suppressed all things.
Fang Yi glanced up at the jade-colored seal, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
"Yuan Heaven Seal?"
He brought his hands together, and the power of the five elements collapsed wildly in his palms. A five-colored wheel appeared before them.
The instant the wheel turned, the power of the five elements in heaven and earth surged in, forming a colossal vortex.
The vortex and the Yuan Heaven Seal collided repeatedly, and as they wore against each other, the vortex steadily ground away and devoured the seal's power.
"Damn it!"
Ku Xuan had not expected Fang Yi to be able to contend with him. Seeing this,
he formed another hand seal, this one several times more complex than the last.
"Great Yuan Heaven Slash!"
A blade of light hundreds of zhang long cleaved out of the void.
An exceptionally domineering Origin Energy fluctuation coiled around the blade light, and wherever it passed, pitch-black cracks split open in space.
Fang Yi's expression remained unchanged. The immortal king phantom smashed the azure flood dragon with a backhanded palm strike, while the five-colored vortex expanded again and swept toward the blade light to devour it.
But this time, the blade light cleaved straight into the vortex, splitting it in two.
Fang Yi raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting."
The power of the Thunder Emperor Precious Technique surged wildly from his body into the five-colored vortex. The split vortex exploded, transforming into five-colored lightning that filled the sky.
The moment the lightning collided with the blade light, the whole world flashed bright.
Crimson, gold, deep blue, emerald green, and ochre lightning intertwined, like thunder dragons rolling through the sky.
Ku Xuan's blade light was devoured bit by bit by the lightning until it vanished without a trace.
"Impossible! How could the Great Yuan Heaven Slash be blocked?!"
Ku Xuan's voice was full of shock, and he was no longer concealing his identity.
He had used the Yuan Heaven Seal and the Great Yuan Heaven Slash in succession.
Both martial arts ranked among the finest in the entire Eastern Xuan Region, yet Fang Yi had countered them so effortlessly.
What was more, he could clearly sense that Fang Yi's aura was still rising throughout the fight.
Something was wrong.
The more one fought, the more Origin Energy one consumed. His aura should have been growing weaker and weaker.
Yet Fang Yi's aura was growing stronger and more terrifying.
Ku Xuan did not know that this was precisely a trait of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body: it grew stronger against stronger opponents, and the fiercer the battle, the more its physique was awakened.
When Fang Yi had sparred with others in the Dao Sect before, no one had been able to push him this far, so he had rarely truly used the full power of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body.
But now Ku Xuan, a Life Profound Realm expert, combined with the domineering martial arts of the Yuan Sect, had instead forced out the power hidden within Fang Yi bit by bit.
Golden light burst from Fang Yi's body and intertwined with the five-colored lightning, filling the sky with brilliant colors.
Ku Xuan's expression grew uglier and uglier.
"Hand of Heavenly Yuan!"
Ku Xuan let out a low roar. This was his final trump card.
It was one of the strongest martial arts passed down by the Yuan Sect, and also the strongest martial art he had mastered.
An enormous Origin Energy hand thousands of zhang across condensed out of the void.
The hand was covered in profound patterns and radiated an oppressive force akin to the might of heaven.
The instant the hand descended, space collapsed under its pressure, and pitch-black cracks spread from its edges.
Fang Yi looked up at the enormous Origin Energy hand, his expression finally turning a little more serious.
"Bring it on."
He formed a hand seal, the power of the five elements circulating wildly within him as five-colored lightning condensed into a thick suit of armor around him.
At the same time, the immortal king phantom appeared again. This time, it held a spear formed entirely of five-colored lightning.
The immortal king phantom gripped the lightning spear and thrust.
"Five Emperors Great Demon Spear!!"