You Think Yourself Worthy of Standing as My Equal?

The Great Immortal Zongheng is alive?!

The martial arts heroes who had followed him there were speechless.

They followed along hoping to see something exciting, something big, but who would have thought they'd witness something like this!

The old Shaolin monk stared wide-eyed, blinking rapidly, his prayer beads spinning so fast they almost formed a golden halo.

The Wudang priest unconsciously tore open his wine gourd, spilling wine sparsely on the ground and wetting his shoes, but he didn't care.

To be honest, many of the figures on the Ancient Heavenly Ranking were top masters and leaders from two hundred years ago.

Their impact on the world is naturally profound and far-reaching.

However, in the past two hundred years, martial arts have advanced by leaps and bounds. In terms of the martial arts skills of these ancient masters when they were alive, most of them may not have been able to match those of the masters of today.

The true names on the Ancient Heavenly Ranking represent a power that is more about Heavenly Ranking than actual strength.

Therefore, in the last hundred years, many people have practiced the martial arts of the Ancient Heavenly Ranking and have surpassed the predecessors of the Ancient Heavenly Ranking.

Some of them even shared the same names as those on the Ancient Heavenly Ranking.

The Returning Wind Dancing Willow Sword Sect, for example, follows the custom of changing all titles to Daoist Gu after assuming the leadership.

However, these masters who surpass their predecessors can at most have their own names on the current Heavenly Ranking.

He never claimed that he could claim the title on the Ancient Heavenly Ranking as his own, or that it could be applied to this life.

But the person on the mountain clearly included the name of the Great Immortal Zongheng and Vertical in Present Ranking.

If the Great Immortal didn't die, he shouldn't have been included in the Ancient Heavenly Ranking back then. Does that mean he died for a period of time and then came back to life?

Reincarnated, awakened to the truth of his past life?!

Thoughts surged through everyone's minds, and new ideas surged forth like a riot, many absurd thoughts flashing by so quickly that even they couldn't catch them.

Before they could reach a conclusion.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted!

"Shameless scoundrel! How dare you impersonate the Great Immortal Zongheng and use evil magic to usurp his name! You are insulting my entire Great Xuan! Do you want to be the ancestor of the dynasty?"

Gao Ye shook his arms, breaking through the layers of invisible pressure surrounding him. His hair and beard flew wildly, and his eyes blazed with fury.

"Today, I will tear you to pieces!"

He spread his arms wide, palms facing upwards.

One hundred and eight Sea of Bitterness Dharma Protectors all floated up behind him, forming a giant arrowhead formation.

Although there was a three-foot distance between each guardian, they seemed to remain in a constant state, with the distance neither increasing nor decreasing during the overall movement.

The power of the Heavenly Ranking from Venerable Changti was poured into this formation, like a giant golden arrow from the heavens.

Around the Golden Arrow, palm-sized Sanskrit characters were fluttering everywhere.

The air was filled with the sound of a white bull's horn, melodious and pleasant.

As the golden arrow hurtled towards the mountain, the horn blared suddenly, completely drowning out the force of the arrow and the sound of the collision between it and the mountain's stone steps.

Alas, all who saw this scene with their own eyes could only hear the sound of horns.

It's like watching an ancient scroll depicted by gods and Buddhas; the ending of the painting was actually predetermined long ago.

The Shitou have no chance to make a sound; the entire mountain path and stone steps will be smashed in two in silence.

The fabrics used to record the crimes on the mountain were destroyed simultaneously, and the entire mountain shook.

But the scene that was expected did not appear.

A wisp of blue mist seemed to rise from the mountaintop, suddenly drifting down.

The clouds and smoke transformed into human form, completely unaffected by the horn's sound. Standing halfway up the mountain, they raised a hand to block the giant golden arrow.

At the tip of the giant arrow was only one Sea of Bitterness Dharma Protectors, who was the result of the combined power of 108 ascetic practitioners, with his palms clasped together and his fingertips pointing forward.

Buzz!!!

The golden palms, when they were still three inches away from the fleshy palm, were already compressed by a tremendous force, slowed down, and stopped.

Golden light waves suddenly expanded from the gap between the two sides, and cyan light waves also suddenly burst forth, their expansion speed catching up with that of the golden light waves.

"Mountain collapse!"

Chu Tianshu's eyes darted around, his lips slightly parted, and in an instant, his right hand pinched the second joint of his middle finger with his thumb, as if he had grasped a pulse of energy in the world.

He then abruptly released his grip, unleashing a powerful palm strike.

This palm strike was as fast as a dream and as sharp as a divine blade.

With a single palm strike, he shattered the thick barrier formed by the combined forces of the two, landing squarely on the tips of the Sea of Bitterness Dharma Protectors's palms.

The guardian's pupils trembled rapidly for a moment, as if he had left the battlefield and entered a completely unfamiliar yet incredibly pleasant world.

The sky is high and blue, the earth is like water.

Quiet and peaceful, without any restraint or confusion, serene and blissful.

The ecstasy experienced by most living beings, regardless of gender or animality, is actually similar: the pleasure of procreation.

But the spirit and soul of these ascetics were already far different from those of ordinary people.

During their arduous training, they endured the torment of the most potent aphrodisiacs and the combined attacks of the most dangerous seductive drugs, but they survived them all.

However, they could not resist this tranquility and ease.

They felt as if they had attained enlightenment.

The feeling that had sustained them in obeying orders and killing was nothing but a fleeting illusion, an illusion; only this moment of peace was eternal.

"Hooray! I did it!"

The guardians, who had been silent for many years, began to utter strange, indistinct chants.

The entire arrow-shaped formation collapsed in an instant, like wild geese flying in disarray, each soaring into the sky and disappearing into the distance.

Just as Chu Tianshu shattered over a hundred "Bewitching Geese" with a single palm strike, two figures appeared beside him.

Gao Ye charged forward with incredible speed, his head and face cutting through the wind as he rapidly approached, leaving everything behind him, down in the mountains, instantly receding into the distance.

He appeared before Chu Tianshu in a straight, leaping motion.

The Master Diantou's movements were even more unpredictable.

When he was at the foot of the mountain, he turned his toes and his body, as if he suddenly merged with the shadows of the large rocks and tree canopies on both sides of the stone steps.

Despite taking a roundabout route, he's not slower than Gao Ye.

It's as if the Master Diantou moves with his body, which is specifically designed to walk in curves. Buddhism reveres circles, and his body movements have brought the circular motion to its ultimate expression in the world.

When he appeared behind Chu Tianshu, he was like a spinning top that suddenly emerged from the ground. Silently, he pressed down with his right thumb and struck Chu Tianshu on the back of the neck.

"Wish-Fulfilling Heavenly Demon Slash?!"

Chu Tianshu instantly sensed that familiar feeling behind him.

The kung fu of this Celestial Master of Mount Wutai actually bears traces of the Demonic Sect sword that was once the most powerful weapon of the Demonic Cult.

The difference is that the leaders of the Demonic Sect Cult throughout history could only use this sword technique in the movement of the blade, while this monk was able to Fayong in his movement.

His entire body moved through the air like a blade; this movement Fayong for assassination, was simply astonishing.

Although the Heavenly Ranking can sense true events, outsiders will encounter obstacles when viewing it, and they will also have to sift through the influence of falsehoods. Therefore, it is impossible to see everything in detail just by looking at the Heavenly Ranking.

Chu Tianshu had no idea beforehand that this monk was so skilled in assassination.

"Die!!"

The Master Diantou and uttered this word in his heart, as if reciting the most perfect Buddhist scripture.

He could not tolerate the accusations being proven true and spread. Now was the perfect opportunity to use the righteous cause of the court to execute this man.

Regardless of whether this person is the Great Immortal Zongheng or not, once he is killed, he will have no chance to speak again.

Gao Ye, with almost the same feeling, made his move from the front, his palms striking out. He didn't display much imposing power, but his strength was concentrated in the lines of his palms.

The veins are incredibly clear and translucent.

A tremendous chill seemed to descend upon the air, sealing off even the finest moisture, forming plum blossom-shaped ice and snow that swirled, gathered, and crashed towards Chu Tianshu.

All the ice, snow, and frost flowers, when they come rushing towards you, can freeze steel into powder.

Bang!!!

At the critical moment, both masters felt the space in front of them seem to shake and suddenly turn bluish.

Their attack struck a solid, bluish-green sphere.

Gao Ye's palms sank deeply into the sphere, and frost-like white spots condensed and expanded on the surface of the sphere.

But this thing was solid. He blasted it in half a foot deep, but he didn't feel any relief at all. On the contrary, he felt even stronger resistance, so strong that it was unreasonable.

The Master Diantou did the same, pressing his thumb in more than three inches deep until his entire hand was sealed by the bluish-green sphere.

This is True Qi, but how can someone release True Qi energy at such an absurdly fast speed?!

This solid sphere of energy could only be formed by countless layers of normal True Qi.

At this speed, just the outward release of energy would probably tear a normal expert's body to shreds.

It's still quite dry because all the moisture has been removed by high-speed friction.

Buzz!!!

Without warning, the sphere spun at lightning speed.

Gao Ye withdrew his palm extremely quickly, only feeling the tip of his fingertip slightly grazed by the Qi ball.

The Master Diantou's right hand, from the wrist down, suddenly "disappeared"!

That part of his limb, which was originally embedded in the cyan sphere, was taken away in an instant.

The cyan sphere spun and wobbled, then rolled directly towards him.

The Master Diantou, suppressing the excruciating pain with his mind, his expression unchanged, displaying profound composure. In an instant, he moved through the air like a knife, his figure turning to the side.

But that cyan sphere could rotate to the side much more easily than him.

In a flash, the azure light twisted and caught up with the Master Diantou's heel.

The hardness of the stone steps was far less than that of the Master Diantou's internal energy.

However, under the ultra-high-speed crushing of this cyan sphere, the rough stone steps were temporarily crushed into a smooth, reflective, high-density shape.

Starting from his heels, the Master Diantou was crushed into thin paper, and his entire body was rolled up.

At the moment when his body and clothing were flat and intimately pressed against the ground.

His soul let out a deafening shriek, striking violently from below in a desperate resistance.

Boom!!!

The yellow soul shattered, and the cyan sphere was also covered in cracks, rising three inches into the air.

Gao Ye's palms arrived instantly, striking precisely the palm prints Gao Ye had created earlier.

The blue ball shattered and scattered. Chu Tianshu spun around and flew up, striking Gao Ye with a palm strike from above.

"The Plum Blossom Numerology: Lead Troops to Conquer All Under Heaven Method!"

Gao Ye's eyes were filled with anger, and with a flip of his hand, the vitality of the surrounding heaven and earth formed thousands of pink and white plum blossoms out of thin air.

When Chu Tianshu struck out, he looked down from this vantage point.

All the plum blossoms seemed to be distributed around the enemy, forming a highly mathematically beautiful, symmetrical, and extremely complex pattern.

The ancient study of the I Ching entered a new realm under the guidance of Shao Plum Blossom Numerology) of the Northern Song Shao Kangjie, who created the "Plum Blossom Divination."

This is a delicate and unique method of divination.

In accordance with the natural purity and coolness of plum blossoms, there is no need to forcibly pick the flowers. Just seeing them is enough to serve as a tool for divination, unlike ancient divination methods that involved laboriously lighting fires and baking tortoise shells, which were overly crafted.

However, Shao Kangjie himself only performed divinations on a whim or when he had a flash of inspiration. He could not cast divinations arbitrarily. Relying too much on inspiration makes it even more difficult for later generations to learn from him.

It wasn't until Transcendent Preceptor and Chancellor applied this knowledge to martial arts and established the "Three Calculations and Three Non-Calculations" that a set of rules was established, allowing future generations to study and improve their skills in a down-to-earth manner.

The three calculations are: celestial phenomena, terrestrial weather, and military formations.

Three things are not considered: love and hate, national destiny, or future generations.

Human relationships are the most subtle things. Between love and hate, countless thoughts arise in an instant, and changes are endless and unpredictable. To make a divination about this matter, whether the result is good or bad, is a lie and only adds to doubt.

The fate of a nation is extremely complex. To seek divination to determine its fate is like trying to catch fish by climbing a tree; it is detached from reality and focused on abstract concepts. It means speaking only about major issues while ignoring minor details, which will harm both oneself and others.

The word "future" is essentially undetermined. In this very moment, countless things and phenomena exist, waiting to be calculated and managed. The possibilities are endless. If people do not manage the present and instead focus on the future, they will inevitably fall into a state of nihilism.

These three concepts—falsehood, grandiosity, and emptiness—are the way of sorcerers, not the proper path of martial arts or the essential principles of governing the world; they should all be discarded.

The Plum Blossom Yi Numerology Mystic Art was thus achieved.

By adopting an overcorrection-like approach and abandoning empty rhetoric, what we gain is an extremely meticulous grasp of the present moment.

View the phenomena of heaven and earth, and all kinds of energy, as countless soldiers.

By discerning the flow of the vital energy of heaven and earth through sound, light, color, taste, and temperature, one can as easily as examining a soldier's background and physique.

Intelligence, morale, and armor.

Then, one can naturally arrange troops and formations to nourish and enhance the martial artist's Divine Intent, unleashing immense divine power.

Gao Ye ascended to this position by killing the former fifth-ranked person on the Heavenly Ranking.

In his hands, this profound skill was like a vast army entering battle. After the initial adaptation, every wisp of vital energy and every bit of Divine Intent would become stronger with each battle.

After their exchange, he was extremely confident that he could kill this Great Immortal Zongheng.

BOOM!!!!

As their palms clashed, dozens of steps behind Gao Ye crumbled.

Numerous small, angular stones, accompanied by dust, flew up in countless strands and droplets, like a large pot of boiling white sand.

But the area covered by this pot of white sand was so enormous that, compared to it, Gao Ye, a living person, looked like an ant.

"You?!"

Gao Ye's expression changed drastically. He couldn't understand how the opponent's power seemed even more profound than when he released that cyan sphere earlier.

But before he could think it through, his body was already thrown back and slid into the battlefield.

They just get stronger with each battle; everyone has that kind of ability.

The Three Po Dantians and the dantian work together, and this process of adjustment is exactly what they need.

Chu Tianshu's gaze was cold. He flickered in the air for a moment before leaping through the void to catch up.

The blue palms transformed into jade-like luster, crystal clear, with countless tiny, shimmering points of light surging and undulating inside.

A pair of dreamlike, beautiful palms swept through the air, unleashing a series of devastating blows.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!

Amidst the white sand, countless plum blossoms continuously condense, fluttering and scattering towards the sky.

The sounds of battle, which collapsed from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain, happened in the blink of an eye.

Who exactly are you?

A furious roar echoed from the white sand, "Even if you truly Zongheng, you're still only fifth—"

The sound was suddenly interrupted.

White dust and smoke tore open a large hole.

At the very center of the void stood Chu Tianshu, who was pressing his palm down from mid-air.

Under that palm, Gao Ye was speechless. Blood was seeping from his forehead. He clasped his hands together, mustered his remaining strength, and could only withstand Chu Tianshu's palm.

As the void expanded, a gust of wind swirled around Chu Tianshu, causing his hair to flutter wildly.

The person seemed to grow heavier with each passing moment as they released the gale force.

The pressure is increased segment by segment with each palm strike.

Gao Ye fell to his knees with a thud. His head was covered by a palm strike, and his pupils seemed to go out of control, turning around in an instant, his expression frozen in terror.

"Yes!!"

Chu Tianshu's eyes gleamed fiercely, and he exhaled smoke as he loudly proclaimed, "In my life, I have done so many great deeds, my merits are boundless, I am compassionate and merciful, my medical skills are divine, and I possess the blood of a hero."

"Who do you think you are? You dare to be ranked alongside me?!"

A piercing scream emanated from Gao Ye's body.

A rich, emerald-green flame burst forth from its back, shooting out several dozen feet.

At the source of the fire, the crack extends upwards, along the spine, and reaches the brain.

Flames erupted, engulfing his entire body and turning his clothes and flesh to ashes.

In the end, only a skeleton remained, its jaw agape, kneeling before Chu Tianshu.

Flames and smoke still trailed behind the skeleton in the wind.

Chu Tianshu landed on his feet, his eyes gazing out, his eyelids seemingly covering the entire mountain range.

With a flick of his sleeve.

The sound of bones cracking and flying, regardless of distance, echoed through the mountains and touched the hearts of everyone present.