Chapter 12
In the southern part of the Central Plains, in a forest basin not far from the Immortal Palace, the land was lush and verdant, filled with emerald mountains and forests. In the very center of the forest lay a plain, covered only by short grass and shrubs and a small river that flowed through it. On this plain stood a massive palace with blue outer walls. Scattered villages were dotted around the palace, its inhabitants living off the river's waters and their crops.
This palace was now known by its ancient name as the "Qiyan Palace,". Legend had it that it was a temple built to enshrine a great divine being from antiquity. Later, as the faith waned and its believers vanished, the magnificent palace remained and was used as a dwelling for mortals.
Many years ago, this place was the headquarters of the renowned Central Plains sect, the Yujian Sect. The Mo clan's ancestors, immortal heroes, wielded the legendary divine artifact, the Immortal Sword "Cangxu." The most battle-hardened war god among the seven immortal heroes, after defeating the "Mingtian Demon Emperor," the Mo clan settled in the southern forests, taking control of the Qiyan Palace. They renamed the palace Yujian Sect, and the surrounding villages and towns all submitted to the Mo clan's rule, grateful and becoming disciples of the Yujian Sect, coexisting with it in a symbiotic relationship.
However, eighteen years ago, after Wei Wuyuan initiated the "Heavenly Star Rebellion," the master of the Yujian Sect, Xiu Bo, was defeated by Wei Wuyuan's blade on the peak of the Immortal Palace's mountains. Following this, the sect's disciples were brutally massacred, and the Yujian Sect quickly vanished from the martial world.
Now, this once glorious and prosperous palace was under the control of the Wei clan of the Immortal Palace. The Wei clan restored its ancient name, Qiyan Palace, and dispatched a clansman, Wei Wuban, to lead its followers. Wei Wuban was Wei Wuyuan's younger brother and Wei Wuxin's elder, the second of the three Wei brothers. He was a master of the Wei clan's ancestral divine art, the "Heaven Shattering Great Law," and was Wei Wuyuan's trusted right-hand man, entrusted with great responsibilities.
In addition to being ordered to govern this place, he had another crucial mission: to guard the Mo clan's divine artifact, the Immortal Sword Cangxu. This sword, containing supreme divine power, was still preserved deep within the "Qiyan Palace," under the strict guard of the Wei clan. The divine sword could only be wielded by a descendant of the Mo clan; it could not be destroyed, nor would it submit to anyone from another clan. Therefore, there was no choice but to seal it away for safekeeping.
However, at this moment, under the cover of night, Qiyan Palace had been transformed into a scene of carnage, a veritable hellish battlefield. Inside and outside the palace walls, flames soared to the sky. The sounds of battle, the clashing of weapons, the dying moans, and angry roars intertwined. The air was thick with the stench of blood and the foul odor of burning, with severed limbs scattered everywhere.
Beneath the hanging blood moon, two figures were engaged in a fierce clash high above the central plaza of Qiyan Palace, moving at speeds and with power beyond mortal imagination.
Emperor Wei Wuyuan floated in mid-air, his golden imperial robe rustling in the turbulent currents. His face was stern, his gaze arrogant. He was single-handedly fighting against two world-renowned and ferocious adversaries: one of the three great masters of the Demonic Sect, the Dharma King Cang Li, and the Barbarian King of the Northern Wasteland's "Shituo," Tuoba Kai.
Dharma King Cang Li was dressed as a monk, wearing an old, faded monk's robe. In his hand, he held a nine-ringed tin staff, but the nine rings were not metal; they were nine ferocious skulls, each with a faint, ghostly fire flickering in its eye sockets. His face was withered, his cheeks sunken, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp light. He chanted a twisted sutra under his breath, and with every swing of his staff, countless phantoms of aggrieved souls and fierce ghosts poured from the skulls' eyes, forming a massive black tide that swept towards Wei Wuyuan, carrying a soul-corroding yin energy.
His technique was called the [Myriad Souls Reincarnation Mantra]. Though its name spoke of reincarnation, it was in fact an incomparably sinister art that enslaved the souls of the dead. On the other side, the Barbarian King Tuoba Kai combined brute strength with refined skill to the utmost. Every time his over-two-meter-tall, burly frame exerted force, the ground beneath his feet would tremble slightly. The giant wolf-tooth club in his hands seemed to move with wide, open swings, but in reality, the angle and timing of each strike were precisely calculated, subtly sealing off Wei Wuyuan's dodging space and constantly coordinating with Dharma King Cang Li's attacks.
The dense, blood-colored killing intent and the power of totems that swirled around him now formed a phantom of a demonic wolf, which acted like a layer of thick, substantial battle armor. It not only greatly enhanced his defense but also lent his wolf-tooth club a ferocious and agile quality, like the bite of a demonic wolf.
"Heh heh heh... Wei Wuyuan, your Heaven Shattering Great Law may be invincible under the heavens, but I doubt it can defeat the two of us working together. If you do not withdraw your guards today, all the disciples of your Qiyan Palace will die today," Dharma King Cang Li said, his voice hoarse, like two pieces of dry bone rubbing together. He slammed his nine-ringed skull tin staff into the ground. In an instant, nine massive, ink-black ghost claws, condensed from the earth, shot out, grabbing at Wei Wuyuan's limbs and body.
Barbarian King Tuoba Kai also roared, and at the same moment, his wolf-tooth club turned into a black lightning bolt, striking down at Wei Wuyuan's crown with the force of a collapsing mountain.
Beneath the hanging blood moon, the three figures moved like phantoms, leaving afterimages in the air above Qiyan Palace's central plaza. Every collision erupted with deafening roars and waves of energy that swept in all directions.
The Emperor, Wei Wuyuan, floated at the core. His golden imperial robe fluttered slightly in the turbulent currents, but it did not disturb his mountain-like composure in the slightest. His face was stern, his gaze deep. Faced with the joint attack of two of the current era's top masters, there was not the slightest fluctuation in his expression.
Every time Dharma King Cang Li swung his nine-ringed skull tin staff, the ghostly flames in the skulls' eyes would surge. Countless fine, hair-thin, pitch-black talismans would spread from the staff's body, merging into the twisted sutra he chanted. Black energy churned around him, and the shrieks of countless souls intertwined. Attacks from the [Myriad Souls Reincarnation Mantra], condensed to the extreme, continuously bombarded Wei Wuyuan. Sometimes the soul-corroding "Netherworld Ghostfire," sometimes the soul-binding "Soul-Locking Demon Sound," and other times the [Hundred Ghosts Painting] that had accumulated boundless resentment. His moves were sinister, vicious, and unpredictable.
On the other side, Barbarian King Tuoba Kai did not simply attack with brute force. He constantly observed Dharma King Cang Li's offensive, sometimes striking with the force of a thunderclap at the weak points of Wei Wuyuan's defense to create openings for Cang Li's spells, and other times using seemingly clumsy moves to block Wei Wuyuan's potential counter-attack routes.
Facing this absolute killing pincer attack from all directions, above and below, Wei Wuyuan said coldly, "Dharma King, you have fallen so low as to join hands with a barbarian? Heh heh heh. You mere clowns dare to show off your paltry tricks before me?"
A faint golden light flashed in his eyes. The profound True Essence of the [Heaven Shattering Great Law] surged violently within his body, but he held it in, gathering it all in his palms.
He had indeed fought a great battle with Dharma King Cang Li many years ago. At that time, he had already held the advantage. Now, his power was even greater than before; the present was not the past.
He pushed his left palm forward. There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a layer of red Fierce Qi, thin as a cicada's wing yet indestructible, that spread from his palm, forming a perfect circular shield. The nine black mist claws, capable of tearing through metal, struck the golden Qi, only to sink into it like a clay body entering the sea. All the yin energy and tearing force were silently dissipated by the seemingly fragile shield, without even causing a ripple!
At the same time, Wei Wuyuan's right fist met Tuoba Kai's heaven-shattering club. He did not choose to meet it head-on. Instead, he twisted his wrist, and with a mysterious and profound angle, at the very last moment before the club struck, he lightly tapped a seemingly insignificant node on the side of the club's shaft.
A crisp clang of metal on metal rang out. Tuoba Kai's strike, which could have split the heavens, was slightly deflected by Wei Wuyuan's seemingly light punch, causing the nine layers of vibrating force to falter for an instant! It was this momentary disruption that allowed Wei Wuyuan's body to drift past the fierce gale of the club, unscathed!
"This...!" A look of shock flashed in Tuoba Kai's eyes. He knew better than anyone the power and skill behind his strike. An ordinary expert, let alone neutralizing it, would find it difficult to even withstand it directly. Yet Wei Wuyuan had deflected it with such ease!
Dharma King Cang Li's pupils also shrank. He had fought the Emperor, Wei Wuyuan, several times. Although he had always been at a disadvantage, the gap between them had never been this vast. For his own infallible demonic art to be so easily dispelled by his opponent was simply inconceivable.
"How has this Wei fellow's cultivation increased so much? The Heaven Shattering Great Law is truly unfathomable!" Dharma King Cangangli cried out inwardly, filled with shock and horror.
"Wei Wuyuan, you do have some skill. No wonder you can sit so firmly as the hegemon of the Central Plains." Faced with such a formidable foe, Tuoba Kai's fighting spirit only grew after his failed attack. He laughed loudly and said, "However, since I have lowered myself to join hands with this demonic old man today, I will not stop until I achieve my goal. Don't blame us!"
The two exchanged a glance, both knowing that if they did not join forces, neither of them alone would likely be a match for Wei Wuyuan. This man truly deserved the title "Unmatched Under Heaven."
The next moment, Dharma King Cang Li and Tuoba Kai's offensive changed again. Cang Li's [Myriad Souls Reincarnation Mantra] turned into a sky full of soul phantoms and vicious curses, constantly interfering with and eroding Wei Wuyuan's mind and qi. Tuoba Kai's wolf-tooth club, in turn, aimed for the vital points around Wei Wuyuan's body with every strike, each one containing his lifetime of cultivation and combat wisdom. Sometimes it was as ferocious as a raging wave, other times as treacherous as a venomous snake emerging from its hole.
Wei Wuyuan, however, maintained that steady and composed demeanor of a grandmaster. Standing amidst the storm-like attacks, his golden imperial robe fluttered, but his figure was as stable as mountain. At times, he would point a finger, and a golden-red light would pierce the air, precisely shattering an incoming soul phantom. At other times, he would strike with a palm, his qi spreading to cleverly deflect the immense force of the wolf-tooth club. And at still other times, he would dodge with mysterious footwork, as if strolling through a courtyard, yet always managing to evade the most fatal blows.
The battle between the three grew even more perilous and exquisite. Every move and stance was the ultimate expression of their own power and understanding of the martial way.
The sounds of energy collisions, the clanging of weapons, and the howling of spells were incessant. The terrifying force plowed the ground within a radius of several hundred meters over and over again.
*****
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