The vast West Sea blazed with fire.
A fiery cloud swept across the sky with incredible might. Only upon closer inspection could one see that it was actually a soaring celestial beast.
This beast, called the Phoenix Sheep, had the divine feathers of a phoenix and the massive body of a mountain sheep, perfectly combined. It was a rare second-generation bloodline whose talents were on par with the first-generation celestial beast descendants.
In terms of cultivation talent and strength, none of the draconic descents were on par with the pure-blood True Dragon. However, this celestial beast, the Phoenix Sheep, was not only on par with phoenixes but even surpassed them in some aspects, such as strength.
"Baaaaa—"
The Phoenix Sheep let out a low, muffled bleat, filled with anger.
It would wake up once every thirty years and the first thing it would do was fly to the West Sea for a fight with the legendary Divine Phoenix.
The phoenixes were few in number, possibly no more than ten, all living on Divine Phoenix Island in the West Sea. The strongest among the Divine Phoenix Clan was the Phoenix Sheep’s father.
Ever since it was fully grown, the Phoenix Sheep would challenge the Divine Phoenix King every time it woke up. Although it was defeated every time, it persistently returned to fight again.
This was its fury!In the past, whenever the Phoenix Sheep flew to the West Sea, its father, who was a Divine Phoenix, would always come out to meet it. But this time, its father did not appear.
At this moment, the Phoenix Sheep was already close to Divine Phoenix Island, the place it loathed, but the Divine Phoenix King still did not show up.
Just as the Phoenix Sheep thought its father was hiding, another figure appeared in the sky.
Compared to the Phoenix Sheep, this figure looked small. But despite the small size, the figure exuded an extremely strong spiritual energy.
It was a tall man, dressed in a tattered hemp robe, with disheveled hair, and a worn-out gourd hanging at his waist. His face looked rugged and angular.
“Are you looking for the Divine Phoenix King?” he said with a lazy smile on his lips, “I am also looking for the Divine Phoenix King. It seems it has hidden, waiting for the opportunity to reach the ninth realm, and the entire Divine Phoenix Island has disappeared.”
The Phoenix Sheep looked down from above, watching the man with fiery eyes.
Through its instincts, it sensed ill intentions coming from this person.
"But I've been ordered to make it appear. Since you’re its child," the man continued, "capturing you will surely make the Divine Phoenix King show up, won’t it?"
He spoke in such a casual tone, yet his words suggested he intended to single-handedly capture a seventh-realm celestial beast!
However, the Phoenix Sheep, sensing immense danger from the human cultivator, believed he was not joking. So, it decided to strike first!
"Baaaaaaa—"
With an enraged roar, the Phoenix Sheep flapped its fiery wings and unleashed a blast of golden-red flames!
The fire that the Phoenix Sheep had unleashed was the Phoenix Spirit Divine Fire that Chu Liang had just obtained. However, the intensity of this blaze far exceeded what hundreds of Chu Liang's fire seeds could produce!
Boom——
The man raised his hand and shattered the fireball. Water-blue flames swirled around him, and as he concentrated with his divine intent, the West Sea began to tremble!
“I was sent to deal with the Phoenix Sheep because I can counter your phoenix fire!” he shouted, lifting his hand to summon massive waves. In an instant, the seawater formed five spiraling giant dragons!
The five water dragons surged from the sea, coiling around the Phoenix Sheep. As soon as they touched its blazing body, they sizzled and clashed violently!
Amid the chaos of water and fire, the man leaped onto the Phoenix Sheep's back and stomped down with force!
Boom!
…
"Phoenix Sheep's Fruit of Life!"
After Chu Liang plucked the Phoenix Sheep's Fruit of Life, Li Shiyi conceded and ceased her attacks.
Instead, Feng Chaoyang and Luo Xiaoyong, who were nearby, stopped fighting and glared at Chu Liang with intense hostility.
The effect of the Chain of Resentment seemed to weaken on the same person over time. Initially, it lasted for a while, but now it ended after just a few breaths.
Feng Chaoyang eyed Chu Liang suspiciously. "Did you use some trick to make us fight each other?"
Feng Chaoyang’s suspicion was understandable. Although he thought a fourth-realm cultivator shouldn't be able to manipulate such a situation, he recalled the timing of Luo Xiaoyong's sudden attacks. Both the first and second instances occurred while he was challenging Chu Liang, and the third happened right before the fight for the Phoenix Sheep's Fruit of Life.
Chu Liang was the direct beneficiary all three times.
"Heh," Chu Liang replied with a faint smile. "The Phoenix Sheep's Fruit of Life is right here. Brother Feng, if you want it, feel free to challenge me now."
"Great! I have been wanting to do that for a while now!" Feng Chaoyang declared, a surge of energy coursing through him.
After saying this, he waved his sleeves, instinctively wanting the people beside him to back off. Just as he was about to speak further, his expression suddenly stiffened. For some reason, he forced himself to hold back and avoided glancing at Luo Xiaoyong.
This time, he had learned his lesson: if he was going to act, he needed to do so swiftly and decisively.
Chu Liang had studied Feng Chaoyang’s fighting style during their previous encounters and had a rough understanding of his strength. He crouched low and shot forward like an arrow, shouting, "Come on!"
"Let's go!" Feng Chaoyang's body instantly glowed with divine light as he charged forward!
Chu Liang activated the Dragon Blood Burning Technique, flames surging around him! At the same time, Feng Chaoyang shone brightly, enveloped in divine light!
In an instant, they clashed for the first time!
Chu Liang grabbed half a gold brick with his right hand. When Feng Chaoyang's fist approached, he sidestepped using the Turbulent Stream Movement Art, allowing Feng Chaoyang’s punch to graze his chest. Meanwhile, Chu Liang struck Feng Chaoyang’s face with the golden brick.
Boom boom——
Two almost simultaneous thunderous sounds echoed through the air!
In this collision with Feng Chaoyang, Chu Liang actually used the tactic of exchanging injury for injury!
As Luo Xiaoyong and Li Shiyi watched from the sidelines, they were shocked. Luo Xiaoyong had fought Feng Chaoyang three times, and none of the injuries he inflicted were as severe as this collision!
But correspondingly, Chu Liang also took a solid hit!
As Li Shiyi watched this scene, her pupils dilated sharply. She gained a deeper understanding of the fearsome nature of the martial world and the urge to return home increased even more…
"Ugh..." Feng Chaoyang's punch struck Chu Liang's chest, sending him flying back dozens of zhang, but Chu Liang remained upright.
"Ah—" Chu Liang’s brick hit Feng Chaoyang’s face, sending him tumbling through the air before crashing to the ground.
Victory was decided in a single exchange!
Chu Liang exhaled softly, adjusting his boiling qi and blood.
He had carefully studied Feng Chaoyang's fighting style before deciding on this strategy. Despite the versatility of the Celestial King Sect's Heavenly Star Unusual Art, Feng Chaoyang's personal preference—likely influenced by his personality—was for close combat with direct punches.
And close combat was exactly where Chu Liang excelled.
Though he could only use the Brick Combat Technique, his physical strength, enhanced by the Secret Dragon Blood Technique and the Blood Burning Technique, was terrifying within the fourth realm.
By using an injury-for-injury approach, Chu Liang faced few challengers within his cultivation realm. The only exception would be tough martial artists like Yun Chaoxian!
A swing of the golden brick with a right hook would form a dent on a body forged from meteoric iron! Despite Feng Chaoyang's divine light protection, he could not fully defend against the hit.
Yet, even this might have only resulted in a tie. The key to Chu Liang's decisive victory was the Jiuli Soul Armor!
The killing of the vicious beast Taowu earned him this reward! The power of this reward was self-evident.
As Feng Chaoyang punched Chu Liang fiercely in the chest, he absorbed about 30-40% of the impact himself due to the rebound damage. Additionally, the damage inflicted on Feng Chaoyang transferred a portion of blood-stained aura to heal Chu Liang.
With this exchange, the previously balanced situation turned into a decisive victory for Chu Liang!
Seeing Feng Chaoyang sprawled on the ground, motionless for a moment, Chu Liang knew he had won with a single decisive blow. However, in a real fight to the death, allowing an opponent to recover could change everything. If Feng Chaoyang managed to get back up, the outcome was uncertain.
Chu Liang approached slowly, bending down to extend his hand to Feng Chaoyang.
The divine light usually surrounding Feng Chaoyang had been shattered by the rebound force. At this moment, he still felt disoriented. Seeing Chu Liang extend his hand towards him, he also reached out to grasp it.
Chu Liang pulled him up and said, "Brother Feng, you've fought several battles earlier, so I had the advantage. Next time, when you're at your best, we can have a proper match."
"No need to say that. A loss is a loss," Feng Chaoyang replied, feeling a flicker of dissatisfaction. He thought that if it hadn't been for the unexpected rebound force, he might have won by keeping his distance. But hearing Chu Liang's words, he waved his hand and said, "I accept my defeat. I'll train harder and win next time."
Chu Liang smiled and said, "It's good for us comrades on the righteous path to spar, as long as it doesn't harm our relationship. Ultimately, we're improving ourselves to slay demons and defend our Dao!"
Feng Chaoyang also felt this deeply and nodded in agreement. "That's right!"
Any hostility he had felt towards Chu Liang was now mostly replaced by respect. This person had not only defeated him with a single blow but also showed a magnanimous spirit.
Just as he was about to speak further, a crackling sound echoed overhead. The sky split open with a huge fissure, and fiery rain began to pour down!
"What is going on?" The four of them were all shocked.
Did the master of the hidden realm, the Phoenix Sheep, come back? But it usually stays in the West Sea for a few days. Why had it come back so quickly this time? Is this an anomaly?
Li Shiyi and Chu Liang immediately summoned their flying swords for protection, while Luo Xiaoyong summoned a layer of mysterious ice shield. All of them were preparing themselves for any danger.
Feng Chaoyang also summoned the General's Constellation Orbs, ready to use his divine abilities at any moment.
But as soon as he summoned the General's Constellation Orbs, he was shocked.
Why is there only one left?
What?!
GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts
Translator: GT
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