Chapter 80: Sparring

Elder Xiazi sat down while the two disciples stood behind him. Moyu Qingyan personally offered fruits and fine wine.

“Please,” Luo Feng said, holding a wine cup.

Elder Xiazi also poured himself some wine. For powerful cultivators, their eyes could be trained to be very formidable, but even if they were blind, it didn’t affect their ability to perceive everything around them.

In fact, many cultivators, whether their divine bodies were in gaseous or liquid form, didn’t have eyes as a structure.

“Please,” Elder Xiazi raised his cup as well.

After taking a sip of wine, he smiled and said, “Before coming to Huyang City, I had already heard of the great name of Divine Lord Luo He. General Yong Hu of the Yuguo royal capital couldn’t even hold back Divine Lord Xue Yun with the help of Huyang City’s grand formation. However… in just one night, Divine Lord Luo He, you managed to kill Yutian Hu, Yutian Yi, and even the fleeing Divine Lord Xue Yun outside the city. Your strength is indeed above that of General Yong Hu.”

“General Yong Hu was only concerned about the citizens inside the city, fearing that too many would be affected, so he let Xue Yun escape,” Luo Feng said.

“The confrontation between Yong Hu and Xue Yun was publicly sold by the Yan Feng Pavilion,” Elder Xiazi said. “Anyone could see that Xue Yun’s strength was unfathomable. This has made my Heart Shadow Sect admire Divine Lord Luo He even more. The Sect Master had already ordered that upon arriving in Huyang City, under no circumstances should we offend the Divine Lord.”

“The Sect Master is too kind,” Luo Feng replied with a smile.

Moyu Qingyan, who was standing by and attending, perked up his ears to listen carefully.

Not to offend the master? This Heart Shadow Sect truly feared his master.

“This time, the Heart Shadow Sect has come to Huyang City seeking a place to survive,” Elder Xiazi sighed. “It’s very difficult for a sect to survive.”

Luo Feng listened quietly.

“To survive, the disciples of our Heart Shadow Sect are willing to go to any lengths,” Elder Xiazi continued. “We hope the Divine Lord can understand the Heart Shadow Sect and not interfere in these matters.”

“Hahaha…” Luo Feng laughed, “I am neither affiliated with Yuguo’s officialdom nor your Shiguo. I am just a wandering cultivator! As for whom I would help? Ah, we wandering cultivators struggle desperately for resources. If someone offers enough resources to hire me, how could I refuse?”

Luo Feng understood the other’s implication.

They wanted a promise from Luo Feng not to interfere in the Huyang City conflict.

“Enough resources to hire?” Elder Xiazi asked, “How much would it take to hire Divine Lord Luo He?”

“I treat everyone equally. Yuguo has already given me quite a few benefits, but I haven’t agreed to help them yet,” Luo Feng said. “If the Heart Shadow Sect wants to hire me, it would take two billion cosmos sand.”

“Two billion cosmos sand?” Elder Xiazi’s face twitched.

What a bold quote.

Luo Feng watched from the side. After all, the King of Yuguo had gifted him a leaf from the Void Divergent Tree, and Jiugang Marquis had given him ten million cosmos sand as a token of gratitude. These were acts of goodwill.

He had quoted one billion cosmos sand to Yuguo, considering it a friendship price.

Offering the Heart Shadow Sect two billion cosmos sand was reasonable. If the Heart Shadow Sect agreed to such a high price, word would get out, and Yuguo wouldn’t have anything to say. After all, Luo Feng had given them a half-price deal.

“I’m just a wandering cultivator. Whoever gives me resources, I’ll help them. I believe Elder Xiazi can understand,” Luo Feng said, looking at him.

The conversation between Luo Feng and Elder Xiazi.

It left Elder Xiazi’s two disciples and Moyu Qingyan, who were listening, a bit shaken. Two billion cosmos sand? That was an enormous fortune.

“I understand. Even for our sect’s disciples, it’s not easy to obtain resources,” Elder Xiazi said. “I have traveled the world, challenging powerful individuals everywhere. With the Divine Lord’s formidable strength, would you care for a spar?”

“A spar?” Luo Feng nodded, “Sure.”

Elder Xiazi sensed the other’s confidence and immediately nodded, “I’ll arrange for a more spacious place.”

“Let’s just do it in my abode,” Luo Feng said. “It’s just a spar; this place is big enough.”

“It might damage the Divine Lord’s abode,” Elder Xiazi remarked.

“You won’t have to pay for any damages,” Luo Feng chuckled as he stood up.

“Divine Lord, you are truly generous,” Elder Xiazi also stood up, and the two disciples behind him and Moyu Qingyan beside them tensed up.

…

In an open area of Luo Feng’s abode, Luo Feng and Elder Xiazi faced each other from a distance. Morosa, Moyu Qingyan, and the two disciples of the Heart Shadow Sect watched from the corners of the abode.

“Please,” Luo Feng smiled at the other.

Elder Xiazi turned his hand, and a black spike appeared in his hand. The black spike, at first glance, looked quite ordinary, its luster subdued, with no visible secret patterns.

Since it was just a spar, neither side burned their divine power, and their auras were well-contained.

“This Divine Lord Luo He still wants to play both sides, and he dares to ask for two billion cosmos sand? If I can make him realize the gap in strength, he’ll be much more compliant,” Elder Xiazi thought to himself.

“Divine Lord, be careful,” Elder Xiazi said, and as he spoke, the black spike in his hand thrust forward.

This thrust unleashed the ‘Life and Death Domain’ that had already permeated the surroundings. Luo Feng’s Life and Death Domain enveloped the entire abode. As Elder Xiazi thrust out, the Life and Death Domain heavily blocked it.

The Life and Death Domain was a combination of three chaos-level techniques, manifesting as a vast Taiji cloud formation. The rotating Taiji cloud formation was several times more powerful than pure ‘Chaos Control.’

Rip!

Elder Xiazi’s thrust forcibly pierced through the obstruction of the Life and Death Domain, tearing through the cloud formation and sending waves of energy rippling outward. The spike had already reached Luo Feng’s robe.

Luo Feng remained motionless, but a gray protective robe appeared on the surface of his clothes. This was the condensed Life and Death Domain combined with two chaos-level techniques related to chaos law. Five techniques merged into one to form this protective chaos robe.

Although it wasn’t as powerful as the Blood Cloud Formation created by merging nine techniques, the Life and Death Domain and chaos robe were just part of what Luo Feng had comprehended during these five eras.

“Poof!” This thrust managed to pierce through the gray chaos robe on Luo Feng’s body, finally reaching his skin. The Perfect Divine Body, honed through three refinements, was pierced, and a small red dot of blood appeared.

“Hmm?” Elder Xiazi instantly retreated, somewhat in disbelief.

“Impressive, impressive. Elder Heart Eye’s casual thrust can break through my domain and protective robe, even injuring me,” Luo Feng marveled.

Elder Xiazi felt the pressure.

“I cultivated the Divine King-level inheritance, ‘Sixfold Destruction,’ combining seven chaos-level techniques to form this thrust,” Elder Xiazi was secretly astonished. “I have encountered Infinite Bodies before, and this thrust was enough to severely injure them. But against Divine Lord Luo He, it barely broke the skin?”

What seemed like an ordinary thrust was actually one of Elder Xiazi’s most lethal moves.

“Divine Lord, please try this move of mine,” Elder Xiazi said, and in an instant, his figure blurred.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh!!!!!!

In a flash, he split into thirteen figures, each one delivering a strike. Each thrust seemed terrifying on its own, but when the thirteen strikes merged, the combined force was truly earth-shattering.

“Boom~~~” The converging black thrust astonished Luo Feng. “As expected of a disciple from a Divine King-level sect. The techniques are indeed profound, forming an array of moves that combine into a single strike? Relying on just the protective robe to withstand this won’t be enough. I’ll have to use some real power.”

As the terrifying thrust approached, Luo Feng extended his left hand.

Boom!

His arm swelled, and his hand grew enormous, as if covering the sky. Each of Luo Feng’s five fingers contained a two-colored vortex, the entire hand resembling a chaotic world.

Boom~~~

When that terrifying thrust collided with Luo Feng’s hand, the force of the collision annihilated each other, tearing each other apart.

On one side was a technique recorded in the Divine King-level inheritance, which the disciple only needed to follow to increase their foundation, bringing them closer to the chaos-level.

On the other side was the fusion of the Origin Path of Life and the Origin Path of Destruction, combining the two into one, and further merging chaos insights. This was one of Luo Feng’s six major killing techniques, the ‘Tenfold Annihilation Palm.’

If the ‘Tenfold Infinite Blade’ from the ‘Nine Blades of Breaking the Realm’ was purely defensive, then this ‘Tenfold Annihilation Palm’ was an offensive technique. It combined ten chaos-level techniques into one, wielded by a hand forged through three refinements of the Perfect Divine Body! It was one of Luo Feng’s true killing moves. Luo Feng still had to restrain his power, as too much force would exceed the ‘Eternal True God

’ range.

Luo Feng had long set a rule for himself: there was no need to hide his accumulation in terms of realm since the outside world already believed he was close to the chaos-level. However, the power of the Perfect Divine Body had to be restrained.

Even when restrained to the level of the ‘Infinite Body,’ it was still enough to suppress Elder Xiazi.

The Tenfold Annihilation Palm, though still a bit rough in its fusion of ten techniques, was not inferior to Elder Xiazi’s killing formation.

“Boom~~~”

That terrifying thrust was ultimately shattered and completely obliterated under Luo Feng’s giant hand.

This scene left Elder Xiazi stunned.

“This Luo He, is from the laws lineage of the Infinite Body. And his accumulation in terms of realm is even higher than mine,” Elder Xiazi instantly realized, “If he were following the bloodline cultivation system, with such accumulation, he would have reached the chaos-level long ago.”

“Elder Heart Eye’s formation technique is indeed formidable,” Luo Feng praised, “I was forced to use one of my ultimate moves. Does Elder Heart Eye have any more techniques?”

“No need to continue; I am indeed no match for Divine Lord Luo He,” Elder Xiazi said. “This sparring has indeed broadened my horizons. Divine Lord Luo He, I shall take my leave now. I will also report your hiring price to the Sect Master.”

“Alright,” Luo Feng nodded with a smile.

Elder Xiazi turned and immediately left with his two disciples.

During this battle, the abode was constantly shrouded in the Life and Death Domain. Elder Xiazi didn’t burn his divine power and also intentionally restrained the range, so the abode remained relatively intact. Only the open area where they fought was left with some pits and depressions on the ground.

“Phew.” With a single thought, the ground quickly repaired itself.

“Master, this Elder Heart Eye is quite strong,” Morosa said, “Probably stronger than Xue Yun.”

“Hmm, Xue Yun’s formation was still relatively crude. This Elder Heart Eye’s killing move was more natural and powerful,” Luo Feng nodded. “As expected of a Divine King-level sect.”

Although he also possessed the inheritance of two Divine Kings, unfortunately, Master Zuo Shan Ke was from the artifact-refining lineage of Divine Kings, and none of the Divine King inheritances suited him. The three generations of ancestors from the Broken Eastern River lineage left behind three Divine King-level inheritances: ‘Annihilation,’ ‘Donghua,’ and ‘Undying River,’ but they were all auxiliary methods.

There was no choice. Whether it was Master Zuo Shan Ke or the third-generation ancestor, they were only at the initial Divine King level. This was why they met such ends. One escaped into the Universe Sea, while the other perished completely.

Strength was the foundation!

…

“Elder Heart Eye, how did your visit to Divine Lord Luo He go?” The Heart Shadow Sect Master had returned from visiting the Yan Feng Pavilion. “I heard you sparred with him?”

“I asked him not to interfere, but he demanded a hiring price of two billion cosmos sand,” Elder Xiazi frowned, “So I had to follow the backup plan and spar with him to make him feel pressured. But during the fight… his divine body is stronger than mine, and even his realm is higher than mine.”

The Heart Shadow Sect Master Feng Yuqi couldn’t help but say, “Both of our patriarchs have said that Elder Heart Eye, your accumulation is deep enough. You just need a bit of opportunity, and you’ll have a chance to break through. His realm is actually higher than yours?”

“Although it’s slightly higher, we’re still on the same level,” Elder Xiazi said. “Once I lead the disciples and wield the mechanical secret treasure ‘Heart Demon Kite,’ I can match Luo He.”

The Divine King who founded the Heart Shadow Sect had crafted thirteen mechanical secret treasures based on his inheritance, intended as sect heirlooms.

However, after countless years, only seven of the thirteen sect-guarding mechanical secret treasures remained. The Heart Demon Kite was one of them.

When the Divine King founded the sect, he left behind many methods. But as the sect declined, their methods became fewer and fewer.

“This was just a spar, and I didn’t use my will-based secret technique, ‘Shadowless Thorn.’ That’s my strongest move!” Elder Xiazi said, “If I used the will-based secret technique, it wouldn’t be a spar; it would be a life-and-death battle.”