As Nangong Xingyun finished speaking, the clamor around the battle stage receded abruptly like a tide. The gazes of trillions of spectating cultivators, the high-ranking members of the Lineage, and the four Void Emanation Realm envoys in the void all converged on the center of the battle stage. All was silent except for the ancient, drifting winds of the end times.
Chi Junxuan and Ju Gongchen ascended the steps to the platform. Once they were firmly in place, they faced each other from thousands of feet apart. They did not rush to make a move. A vast wind swept through the void, causing their clothes to flutter and rustle.
Chi Junxuan slowly took a deep breath, and the restless Fate Soul essence around him gradually subsided. His eyes were open and clear, showing no sign of underestimating his opponent. He slowly raised his hands, solemnly clasped his fists, and a hearty smile appeared on his face.
"Fellow Daoist Gong Chen, I never expected to face you in the first round." As he finished speaking, there was no murderous hostility in his eyes, only a fervent anticipation of encountering a formidable opponent of the same generation.
"Such an opportunity is rare indeed. Today is the perfect time to test our understanding and insights gained from years of cultivation. Regardless of the final outcome, this exchange will not have been in vain for this grand event."
Opposite him, Ju Gongchen held his ancient spear horizontally in front of him, suppressing its rising sharpness as well. He clasped his hands tightly, his movements swift and decisive. There was no sign of scheming or sinister intent; instead, a long laugh reverberated through the air.
"Hahahaha! Fellow Daoist Junxuan, what I think is exactly the same as yours!" The tip of his spear lightly touched the ground of the battle platform, and the sound of metal colliding with stone echoed. His eyes burned with fierce fighting spirit.
"We usually seclude ourselves for arduous cultivation, rarely having the opportunity to clash at full strength. I have long awaited this battle. Come, let me see how far your cultivation has progressed after all these years of hard work!"
In the surrounding airspace, countless cultivators witnessed this scene and nodded in approval. "This is the demeanor expected of the prodigies of the Lineage." "No harsh words, no underhanded schemes, just honest and upright competition based on their own cultivation."
Chi Boqian stood above the Chi Lineage's camp, gazing quietly at the battle arena, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. The younger generation competed with each other, yet they also respected one another; this magnanimity was the fundamental foundation that allowed the great clan to endure.
On the battle platform, Chi Junxuan slowly exhaled the turbid air from his chest. The next instant, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and a sharp glint appeared.
"Fellow Daoist Gong Chen, be careful, take this!" Boom!
With each step, a powerful force traveled down his feet, causing the entire massive battle platform to tremble slightly. Chi Junxuan's fingers flew, quickly forming hand seals, and streaks of azure-gold primordial energy spread out from beneath his feet, while boundless and profound Daoist energy from heaven and earth converged around him.
"Divine Power - Mountains and Rivers Origin Suppression Seal!" Rumble!
Above the battle platform, majestic Divine Mountain manifested from nothingness, and ancient rivers surged and churned between them. Countless cyan-gold Dao seals floated and sank in the air, their illusory images of mountains and rivers intertwining and merging to form a boundless ancient seal, which, carrying the weight of the earth, slowly pressed down from the sky.
A heavy, overwhelming pressure enveloped all directions, as if the vast, primordial power of the creation of heaven and earth was collapsing. Ju Gongchen, gazing at the ancient seal descending upon him, felt his fighting spirit blaze even brighter, and he roared, "As expected of Brother Junxuan! This divine power is even more refined and pure than before!"
"However, it won't be that easy to subdue me!" A deafening roar erupted, and the azure essence within the spear soared into the sky. Ju Gongchen gripped the spear shaft tightly with both hands, his Fate Soul essence surging wildly within his body.
"Divine Power - Rending Abyss Sky-Piercing Spear!" In the sky, an endless spear shadow rose from the ground, with azure Dao patterns rapidly winding and spreading along the spear shaft, transforming into a dazzling pillar of light that pierced through heaven and earth, its Ultimate sharpness permeating the surrounding area.
Ju Gongchen strode forward, his arm thrusting out, the ancient spear piercing straight towards the ancient seal of mountains and rivers hanging high in the sky. "Break for me!!" A deafening collision that shook the entire Myriad Worlds Graveyard erupted!
The colossal ancient seal collided head-on with the Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear. The cyan-gold Daoist essence of mountains and rivers intertwined and collided wildly with the azure-sharp origin, and powerful ripples of origin spread in all directions, causing layers of ripples to appear on the outer protective light screen.
Trillions of cultivators watched intently, their hearts filled with shock. "Too strong!" "No wonder he's a rising star among the Lineage! To possess such power in the very first clash of the first round!"
At the center of the battle arena, the two supernatural powers remained locked in a stalemate for more than ten breaths before the balance was finally broken with a deafening roar!
The ancient seal of mountains and rivers slowly pressed down, and the spear shadow that stretched across the sky kept retreating. Although Ju Gongchen's sharp origin was indeed incomparably fierce, Chi Junxuan's mastery of the Mountains and Rivers Origin Suppression Seal was ultimately superior.
The ancient seal slowly suppressed the spearhead, and the two powerful divine abilities gradually dissipated, returning the battle platform to calm.
Ju Gongchen gripped his spear, slowly exhaling a breath of turbid air. His face showed no sign of dejection, only an increasingly intense fighting spirit. He nodded slightly to Chi Junxuan and laughed loudly.
"Impressive! Brother Junxuan! Your understanding of the structure of divine abilities and the rules of the Great Dao far surpasses what it used to be!" "Exhilarating, truly exhilarating!" As he finished speaking, he gripped his spear tightly again, his eyes burning with intense light. "But that was merely a warm-up. Now, Brother Junxuan, take my brand new divine ability!"
The two supernatural powers dissipated, and the vast arena returned to silence. Chi Junxuan and Ju Gongchen still stood facing each other thousands of feet apart, their fighting spirit rising even more intensely than when they first clashed.
Ju Gongchen slowly raised the ancient spear in his hand, the smile on his face gradually fading, replaced by the solemnity and seriousness unique to a martial arts cultivator facing a formidable opponent. He gazed at Chi Junxuan and raised his hand in a fist salute.
"Brother Junxuan, this divine power is the most profound trump card I have mastered through years of arduous cultivation. If there are any omissions, I hope you will not hesitate to point them out." Upon hearing this, Chi Junxuan's expression also turned solemn, and he nodded earnestly.
"Go ahead and make your move. I'd love to see Brother Gong Chen's trump card." In the next instant, Ju Gongchen gripped the spear shaft tightly with both hands, and the surrounding world suddenly fell silent. The howling winds of the end times froze at this moment.
He slowly closed his eyes, and a deep, ancient chant echoed across the entire battle arena, "Eternal Silent Void, timeless Wuhen. Where my spear points, lies the end of your time."
Boom! As the last word fell, Ju Gongchen's eyes snapped open, and his spear pierced through the air! "--The Time-Burying Thrust!"
The moment the spear was swung, all the divine radiance vanished, leaving only a vast, pale white expanse, devoid of any glow or divine light. That white seemed to be the last remaining color of the world after countless ages of erosion and the withering of all things.
The airspace three zhang in front of the spear tip suddenly trembled, and tiny, dark cracks appeared out of thin air, then spread wildly in all directions like a spider web on a frozen lake.
The dust floating on the battle platform, the fluttering hems of clothes, the ever-flowing air currents, and even the Fate Soul essence slowly drifting in the void, all solidified. Between heaven and earth, a faint yet soul-shaking hum resounded, not loud, but it seemed as if the entire Primordial Grave was resonating with it.
In the surrounding airspace, countless cultivators' pupils constricted, and whispered exclamations rose and fell. "It's the Dao of Time!" "They've actually touched upon the mysteries of the flow of time!" "Although the range is only three zhang, it's already an extremely domineering technique among those at the Eternal Silence Realm Initial Stage!"
High in the void, the four Void Emanation Realm envoys narrowed their eyes slightly. This single divine ability was enough to show that Ju Gongchen's foundation in Dao was far superior to most cultivators of the same realm.
At the center of the arena, Chi Junxuan's expression changed drastically. The moment the pale spear tip stepped into the three-zhang stagnant domain, he immediately felt an immense constraint binding his body, and his movements were rapidly slowing down.
His consciousness remained clear, and he could clearly see the spear approaching his chest, but the speed at which he could raise his arms was as if he were stuck in an endless quagmire, unable to move at will.
Chi Junxuan remained completely calm, his fingers flying across the paper as he uttered a deep, resonant shout, " --Mystic Mountain Heaven-Suppressing Wall!"
The mountains originated from the void and gathered together. One after another, the cyan-gold mountain phantoms rose from the ground, layer upon layer, stretching across the front. Thick Dao patterns intertwined with each other, and thousands of mountain walls were connected into one, as if ten thousand mountains stretched across the sky, forming a solid defense line.
However, before his supernatural powers were fully formed, the shackles had already swept over his entire body, making his hand seals move more and more slowly. Just as the foundation of the layered mountain walls became unstable, the pale white spear had already pierced through him.
Crack! The first layer of the mountain wall shattered. Crack! The second layer collapsed with a roar. The third layer of the mountain phantom could not hold on either, disintegrating inch by inch. The pale spear tip finally stopped three inches in front of Chi Junxuan's chest. If it had moved forward just a little more, it could have pierced through the protective essence of his body.
The next instant, the time shackles that had enveloped the airspace shattered with a deafening roar.
The previously solidified dust began to drift again, the stagnant Spiritual Qi began to flow once more, and the space covered with black patterns collapsed like a shattered mirror, restoring the natural order of heaven and earth to normal.
Ju Gongchen smoothly withdrew his spear, not taking the opportunity to advance even slightly, and a hearty smile returned to his face. "Brother Junxuan, you flatter me."