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Chen Zuqi has many methods.

For example, once he has mastered the art of Divine Intent, he can make any target feel a desolate and bleak atmosphere through all five senses Six Consciousnesses simply by emitting his divine will.

Even with Miaofan internal martial arts skills and years of meditation, his concentration and mental state were severely affected just now.

However, these things showed virtually no effect on Chu Tianshu.

Chu Tianshu didn't even need to use his physical body to withstand the interference of the White Bone Divine Intent; his Weapon Soul would mobilize concentrated Mind Power to offset those negative effects.

As for methods like leveraging external forces or neutralizing their power...

Chen Zuqi has a good tolerance for sharp objects and hard force, but his ability to control and transform these attacks is far less than that of internal energy. He is somewhat unaccustomed to Chu Tianshu's fighting style.

That leaves only the brute-force method.

The ultimate technique to boost luck: brute force against brute force!

Chen Zuqi spread his arms wide, and the black and white wisps of energy emanating from his body, along with the two powerful and violent internal forces, were visible to everyone in the hall.

However, only Chu Tianshu sensed another scene in that split second.

Above Chen Zuqi's head, a continuous stream of pale white Yanxia was being drawn down.

That was power from the Mist and Rosy Clouds Realm Layer, filled with the resentment of people from the past who had become bones. As soon as it entered the body of this Pirate Heavenly King, it was transformed into white internal energy.

One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand, yet the cries of those bones can still be heard.

Xiahou Feishan's Sword Dao Divine Intent was still unknowingly clashing and grinding against a certain kind of power in the Mist and Rosy Clouds Realm Layer.

Chen Zuqi, on the other hand, can already leverage this confrontation.

If we can't borrow manpower, we'll borrow the power of Yanxia.

However, this state has significant aftereffects. If it lasts for a long time, it will cause Chen Zuqi to often space out and become somewhat confused about his own identity.

He never imagined that this battle at Southern Shaolin would force him to use this move.

Call!!

As Chu Tianshu's figure arrived, Chen Zuqi suddenly dodged backward, clinging tightly to the large red-lacquered pillar.

The black and white wisps of air behind him resembled a wondrous lifting mechanism.

The instant he touched the pillar, he rose ten feet in height, leaving a trail of afterimages.

Chu Tianshu's palm strike, delivered as he pursued, landed on the pillar but missed its target, thus wasting no effort; the pillar remained undamaged.

But Chen Zuqi's figure suddenly lowered, and he stomped on Chu Tianshu's forearm.

Just as Chu Tianshu withdrew his hand, he saw a leg shadow tear through the air and kick towards him.

BOOM!!

Chu Tianshu blocked with his arm, his sleeve suddenly tearing, and at the point of impact, a gray ripple seemed to explode.

When the waves touched the ground, a trench ten feet long appeared on the stone bricks, and the broken stones were thrown to both sides like powder.

Chen Zuqi pushed the pillar with both hands behind his waist, his figure leaping forward through the air, kicking out in quick succession.

Using his own "Black Armor Blade" technique as a starting point, he amassed and transformed white internal energy. When attacking, ninety percent of the energy was newly transformed, and he unleashed his surging inner energy without restraint.

Chu Tianshu blocked more than a dozen of his kicks, feeling that each of his strikes was not only magnificent and powerful, but also carried an upward surging Submerged Current.

It looked like they were about to lift Chu Tianshu entirely into the air.

Chu Tianshu had already entered the Vajra Samadhi state, and his internal energy was flowing freely within his body. Each collision was extremely powerful and short, not even allowing the opponent's strength to fully erupt.

Even so, he still felt as if his feet were barely touching the ground, and he couldn't help but retreat repeatedly before he could regain his footing.

Upon seeing this, Chan Master Miaokong suddenly pulled off the prayer beads around his neck, spread his arms, and darted forward.

Zhao Yannian learned his "Supreme Divine Power of Demon-Subduing Samadhi Beads" from Miaokong.

Miaokong himself was even more skilled in this technique, making him one of the top hidden weapon masters in the Southern martial arts world.

The rosary hanging around her neck had as many as 108 beads, each flat and as hard as steel.

With a burst of all his might, all the prayer beads were precisely aimed at Chen Zuqi's acupoints.

It was as if a string of prayer beads had been arranged in mid-air to form a rough human shape, which was then rapidly imprinted onto Chen Zuqi.

What's even more remarkable is that he knew Chen Zuqi could absorb internal energy, so he didn't pour his internal energy into the prayer beads, but only used it to launch them.

Collapse!!!

The prayer beads struck a few inches in front of Chen Zuqi and suddenly produced a loud bang.

Black and white wisps of air were faintly visible, and the number of white wisps of air was increasing rapidly.

They forcefully kept the prayer beads suspended in mid-air, preventing them from moving forward.

Miaokong's face was filled with horror, and she couldn't help but groan. Blood flowed from her nose and ears.

He used his power too quickly and too forcefully, which injured himself first.

Each bead of the rosary launched at such a cost possessed a force no less than that of Divine Fire Gun.

By using his internal energy to block the prayer beads from a distance, Chen Zuqi consumed so much internal energy that it was almost equivalent to Miaokong's entire cultivation level.

A person's internal energy is limited; if it is used up too drastically, it will soon need to be replenished through restorative breathing.

After Chen Zuqi forcefully blocked the prayer beads, his expression hardened, and he suddenly clenched his hands together.

All the prayer beads were gathered into a ball by the vast internal energy.

He had no time to care about Miaokong at this moment; his primary objective was to kill Chu Tianshu.

With internal energy protecting his body, he blocked the prayer beads, then pulled them back and smashed them down—the entire movement took only a moment.

The sphere formed by the prayer beads spun rapidly with a buzzing sound as it hurtled down towards Chu Tianshu.

Chu Tianshu's face was now shrouded in this dark shadow when he suddenly patted his belt.

Wow!!!

Flames soared into the sky.

It was a transparent flame, yet it distorted the air and warped the senses of everyone around it.

A fierce flame, two or three zhang high, suddenly erupted, completely obscuring Chu Tianshu's figure, making everyone's hearts pound with fear.

Chen Zuqi hadn't expected this turn of events.

He vaguely felt that this was an illusion, but he couldn't discern Chu Tianshu's location under the illusion's cover.

The rosary sphere has already fallen down according to its original trajectory.

Boom!!

The grayish-white internal energy inside the rosary sphere suddenly exploded.

The illusion of fire created by Chu Tianshu was extinguished.

Under Chen Zuqi's attack, a hole more than three feet deep appeared in the rock foundation of the main hall.

Taking advantage of that brief moment, Chu Tianshu shifted the distance diagonally, formed sword fingers with both hands, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and pointed his fingertips at his shoulders.

He then straightened his arms.

A whooshing sound, like steel grinding against steel, emanated from his body, forming a powerful, surging roar.

That was the speed at which his internal energy flowed, which rapidly increased under stimulation.

Chu Tianshu browsed through the secret manuals of the Southern Shaolin, searching for the secrets of Refining Spirit into Qi. Although he had not yet made any breakthrough progress, he was also good at finding other benefits in the process.

For example, the "Indra Claw," the most powerful killing technique in Southern Shaolin, embodies the spirit of the Thunder God, and its effects are mainly achieved through the specific circulation of internal energy in the meridians.

Chu Tianshu cultivated the Martial Stove God, and all his meridians were opened. His Yellow Sprout True Qi flowed freely without obstruction. Although the source of his internal energy was different from that of the locals, he could still simulate a similar circulation path.

If he were to use fourteen hearts to circulate the Palm Thunder, matching the Indra Claw, it would still be insufficient against an opponent like Chen Zuqi.

Then unleash the inner power of the "Sky-Spanning Divine Art" even faster, faster, and even faster!!

"You brat, prepare to die!"

As soon as the illusion of flames vanished, Chen Zuqi sensed Chu Tianshu's location, exhaled to aid his internal energy, and was about to pounce with all his might.

Unexpectedly, Chu Tianshu's figure suddenly tore through the air and rushed straight towards them.

The wind howled, and a bluish light shone on our faces.

A cyan aura emanated from his palms, circulating rapidly, making this already pure energy even more condensed and intense.

Several slender cyan rays of light flickered and danced on his palm.

It was like a silent flash of lightning amidst the clamor of the wind.

Chen Zuqi's brow twitched, his face contorted with rage, and he unleashed a palm strike, channeling the power of his White Bone Technique to its maximum.

The temporarily converted white power completely overwhelmed his own black internal energy, spreading throughout his entire body.

This made him appear like a white-haired, white-faced, white-robed, and ethereal being surrounded by white Immortal.

Click!!

A faint but extremely clear cracking sound rang out.

It was like a bolt of lightning suddenly striking the earth from the clouds in a vast, desolate wilderness.

The light and sound both emanated from the point where the two men clashed.

Chu Tianshu's palm struck the other's palm, unleashing a sharp, cyan lightning bolt.

The surging white internal energy seemed to be cleaved open by Chu Tianshu's body, blowing backward from both sides of him.

The robes of everyone in the hall were billowing in the strong wind.

Outside the hall, some craftsmen who had heard the strange noise and stood up to look were blown off their feet by the strong wind.

Chen Zuqi looked surprised and suspicious. "You..."

The opponent's internal force took effect too quickly, actually cleaving through his powerful internal energy and embedding itself directly into his bones.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Blood seeped from Chu Tianshu's mouth, his teeth were scarlet, and he swung his palms rapidly.

Chen Zuqi blocked ten palm strikes in succession, when suddenly a bolt of lightning shot out from his chest, tearing his clothes and revealing a charred wound.

He heard the sound of his heart veins cracking, and it sent chills down his spine.

Even if one could distinguish between the power of bone-setting techniques and the surging, endless transformation of energy, it wouldn't be enough to stop the opponent's attacks.

In that moment of hesitation, Chu Tianshu's hand broke through his arm defenses and reached for his face.

Chen Zuqi hastily turned his head to the side.

Chu Tianshu clenched his fingers and ripped out a large clump of hair from his temples, leaving it dripping with blood.

The Clinging Garment Throwing Method, with its force penetrating deep into the skin and flesh, tore off a piece of Chen Zuqi's scalp with this single grab.

"Roll!"

Chen Zuqi roared in pain, sweeping his arms forward and slamming his palms together.

Two streams of white internal energy collided and erupted, repelling everything in their path.

The Buddhist banners hanging from the beams were all torn to shreds, and the incense burner was shaken so hard that it clanged, sending dust flying outwards.

Chu Tianshu's figure was like a phantom, yet he had already avoided the impact, circled around to his back, and as he passed by from the side, he casually ripped off a piece of flesh from his right leg.

When Chen Zuqi tried to turn around, he discovered that the bones of his knee joint were exposed.

The sharp pain in his knee slowed his turn, but years of combat experience made him abandon the idea of turning and quickly unleash his power, trying to charge forward.

However, excruciating pain erupted repeatedly from his back.

Miaokong and the others looked up.

Chen Zuqi rushed forward, but behind him flashed a series of blood-red claw shadows.

They couldn't even see where Chu Tianshu was.

All that could be seen were streaks of blue light flickering at the ends of those blood-red claw shadows.

Chen Zuqi had only darted two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) when the hand chasing him had already surpassed his body length.

Puff!

A blood-soaked hand, clutching a heart, emerged from Chen Zuqi's chest.

A thin, blue light flickered in his palm, annihilating the heart into ashes.

Chen Zuqi's face contorted, his lips moved but no sound came out, and his body fell forward, revealing Chu Tianshu standing behind him.

The corpse's back exposed stark white bones, beneath which lay patches of blood in varying shades, a sight too painful to behold.

Chu Tianshu's face was covered in blood and sweat, yet his gaze was fixed intently on the corpse, sending a chill down everyone's spine.

"Lin Bing Dou Zhe..."

Chu Tianshu's voice was long and drawn out as he waved his hands in the air, making four vertical and five horizontal gestures.

He controlled the bloodstains on his hands, directing them to his fingertips and leaving them in mid-air, forming nine blood lines in the air.

"All troops, advance in formation!"

A scream suddenly rang out in mid-air.

An angry face rose up within the grid of four vertical and five horizontal lines.

In those facial features, one could still vaguely make out Chen Zuqi's face.

"I've dominated my life for half my life, and yet I've failed here!"

"I'm not reconciled, kid! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

Chu Tianshu swung his hand and slashed.

A blue electric arc sliced through that face.

"Your physical body dies once, your Evil Spirit dies once, killing you twice isn't enough. If you could transform into an Evil Spirit again..."

Chu Tianshu couldn't stop the blood from dripping from his mouth onto his clothes, and he laughed heartily.

"Then you're welcome to come see me again!"

(End of this chapter)