With a decision made in his heart, Fan Tong's attacks instantly changed.
His palm suddenly swept forward, and in an instant, the countless threads of blood colored Spiritual Energy swirling around his body surged forth like a tidal wave, filling the sky with sharp whistling sounds.
The overwhelming blood colored threads completely sealed off Liu Bai's space to evade. When Liu Bai tried once again to employ his Wood Divine Lightning to break through, he discovered that although these threads looked delicate, they possessed unimaginable toughness and showed great resistance even against the purifying force of Wood Divine Lightning.
This scene made Liu Bai's expression change. It seemed escaping from the City Lord of Mu City would not be an easy task.
Fan Tong let out a cold laugh. His hand seals shifted, and the blood colored threads swiftly wove together, condensing into a massive blood palm that came crashing down from above.
Boom!
Blood surged violently as the blood palm descended with a howl. Even the air was crushed, while the earth below was pressed into a gigantic palm print.
Liu Bai's face changed drastically. This move was clearly far stronger than the previous one, and with his Five Elemental Divine Lightning alone he could not hope to escape.
After all, his Five Elemental Divine Lightning Art had only just reached the introductory stage, so its might was far from invincible. Moreover, his opponent was a genuine late-Phase Heaven Transformation Realm, more than an entire great realm above him.
Boom!
Liu Bai lifted his head, taking a deep breath. Facing the blood palm descending from above, his Five Elemental Spiritual Energy erupted violently within him. In his palm condensed a gray ball of Spiritual Energy the size of a human head.
"Fusion of the Five Elements!"
This was currently Liu Bai's strongest technique. If it could not break through, then he would have to risk everything.
With a punch, the orb of Spiritual Energy shot forth, meeting the blood palm at a seemingly leisurely pace.
Boom!
A violent Spiritual Energy shockwave swept through the sky. The ground cracked open instantly, while Liu Bai's figure staggered back two steps.
Amid the turbulent Spiritual Energy, Fan Tong's figure remained unmoved, though surprise flickered across his face.
Even though he had already raised his evaluation of this youth, Liu Bai's full strength still shocked him.
"This brat actually possesses power comparable to the late-Phase Heaven Transformation Realm? How is that possible!"
The two locked eyes, both seeing the heavy caution within the other's gaze. The next moment, their figures transformed into two streaks of light that collided fiercely.
Five colored radiance and blood light split the heavens, while the two figures clashed at the intersection, fist shadows roaring, carrying surging Spiritual Energy in a head on collision.
Their shadows intertwined, residual afterimages flickered, and the deep booming of fists and feet was like mountains colliding, filled with crushing force. At this moment, both chose the most savage close combat.
During the entanglement, Liu Bai clearly sensed the surrounding blood energy constantly attempting to invade his body with foul corruption. Yet his Ice Muscle Jade Bone Physique expelled the filth even faster.
He was certain that if anyone else were fighting Fan Tong now, even another late-Phase Heaven Transformation Realm, they would find this corruptive energy extremely troublesome.
As the battle dragged on, that filth would gradually weaken them, and eventually Fan Tong would inevitably be the final victor.
This was the sinister aspect of his Blood Spiritual Energy.
Although Liu Bai's physique protected him, his cultivation was ultimately weaker. He was suppressed in every exchange, while the blood light in the heavens gradually overwhelmed the five colored radiance.
Gritting his teeth, black Spiritual Energy flowed over Liu Bai's fists. In an instant, five Death Seals shimmered and he struck out with a punch.
Fan Tong's pupils shrank as endless blood light surged to meet him.
Boom!
The violent collision separated the two by force.
Seizing the opportunity, Liu Bai quickly opened his Attribute Panel and instantly poured all his experience into his five cultivation methods.
"Ding, congratulations, Mountain God Art has been raised to the sixth level at the cost of 17500 experience points."
"Ding, congratulations, Golden Crow Explosive Flame Art has been raised to the eighth level at the cost of 23500 experience points."
"Ding, congratulations, Profound Water Art has been raised to the eighth level at the cost of 23500 experience points."
"Ding, congratulations, Flowing Gold Spirit Transformation Art has been raised to the eighth level at the cost of 24000 experience points."
"Ding, congratulations, Azure Wood Art has been raised to the eighth level at the cost of 24000 experience points."
Boom!
Liu Bai's Spiritual Energy instantly surged wildly. His aura directly rose to the mid-Phase of Heaven Fusion Realm. Although it was only a small realm increase, the Spiritual Energy within his body had nearly doubled.
"Great Sun Burning Sea Palm!"
A blazing sun appeared in the sky. Liu Bai stood as if he were the sovereign of the sun, bathed in its raging fire. He thrust out a palm, sending fiery radiance surging forth.
A golden flame bird let out a piercing cry and shot out of the blazing sun. Carrying terrifying fire that warped the very air, it blasted toward Fan Tong.
Fan Tong's expression changed instantly. He had not expected this boy to possess such terrifying flame power, precisely the bane of his Blood Fiend Spiritual Energy.
"Boundless Blood Sea!"
Boom!
Endless blood Spiritual Energy erupted from Fan Tong's body, instantly forming a boundless blood sea that blotted out the heavens. In the end, it transformed into a colossal Blood Sea Demon that devoured the flame bird in one gulp.
But Liu Bai merely curled his lips into a cold smile. His voice was calm. "Explode."
In an instant, the massive Blood Sea Demon swelled violently. When golden flames leaked from within, the colossal figure deflated like a pierced balloon.
More and more golden fire erupted, and under its terrifying heat, the blood sea was frantically evaporated. The sky turned scarlet with mist.
Liu Bai frowned slightly. He decided to strike while his opponent was weakened.
His hand seals shifted rapidly. The Five Elemental Spirit Wheels within his organs spun furiously, five colored Spiritual light rising as beams into the clouds above.
Boom rumble rumble!
The beams churned the heavens. In moments, pitch black thunderclouds spread across a hundred li, blanketing the sky.
"Five Elemental Divine Lightning Art, Descent of Thunder!"
Rolling thunder roared, and infinite lightning poured down like thunder dragons, bombarding the blood mist.
Gold Lightning was fierce, Wood Lightning purified evil, Water Lightning was chilling, Fire Lightning was violent, and Earth Lightning was steadfast. With all five descending, all living things bowed in submission.
Boom boom boom boom!
Under the frenzied assault of the five Divine Lightnings, the vast blood energy was instantly evaporated. The once endless blood sea rapidly shrank, within moments dwindling from ten thousand meters to less than one thousand.
Suddenly, the blood sea churned violently, and a cyan shadow shot out, piercing through the thunderclouds and vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
"He ran…"
Liu Bai frowned, quickly ceasing the thunder bombardment.
In just over ten breaths, two thirds of his Spiritual Energy, comparable to a late-Phase Heaven Transformation Realm, had been consumed. If his opponent had not retreated, he would have been the first to collapse.
Surveying the area and confirming that the old man had truly fled, Liu Bai swiftly swallowed two recovery pills before hurrying toward the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy.
At this point, both sides were uncertain of the other's true condition, so neither dared to continue fighting recklessly.
But overall, the advantage was still on the other side, because Liu Bai was well aware that he had no companions with him, while his opponent most likely did.
Furthermore, with that flying boat in his possession, his opponent could leave at any moment. Liu Bai neither had the means to stop him nor the ability to chase after him. That was why from the very beginning Liu Bai had never intended to keep him behind.
On the way back, Liu Bai did not follow the original planned route. Instead, he changed paths several times before finally arriving at Northern Heaven City just before sunset.
Upon reaching Northern Heaven City, Liu Bai finally let out a sigh of relief. As one of the great fortress cities that guarded the periphery of Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, there was no one in the entire Northern Heaven Continent who dared to act recklessly here.
Thus, stepping into this city meant true safety for Liu Bai. He no longer had to worry about some elusive flying boat suddenly appearing to launch an ambush on him.
After finding a place to rest and recover, Liu Bai took out the Space Bracelets he had obtained from Fan Jiu and Elder Lin, preparing to examine his spoils of battle.
The first and most important item was naturally the High grade Spiritual Artifact, the Kaiyuan Moon-Chasing Bow. This bow was exceptionally suitable for Liu Bai, for with its long range and the stealthy killing method of the Ghost Arrow Art, Liu Bai could now deliver lethal strikes from well beyond his opponent's detection range.
If fortune favored him and the Soul Seizing Power was triggered, even a Heaven Transformation Realm expert could be slain in a single shot. It was without doubt a deadly weapon.
Apart from the Kaiyuan Moon-Chasing Bow, there were also two other High grade Spiritual Artifacts. One was a blood colored longsword, reeking with a thick aura of bloodlust, clearly the weapon of Fan Jiu, inheriting the same heretical path as his father's cultivation.
The other was a pitch black claw shaped exotic weapon, belonging to Elder Lin.
It was fortunate that Liu Bai's scheme of feigning weakness had deceived both of them. Especially Elder Lin, who had barely displayed any of his true strength before being struck down by Liu Bai's ambush and losing all combat ability. Otherwise, simultaneously killing both men would have been extremely difficult, let alone capturing them alive.
No doubt even that black robed old man himself must have felt that his death had been unbearably stifling.
Besides the three High grade Spiritual Artifacts, Liu Bai also seized a massive amount of Spirit Coins from their Space Bracelets, at least five to six million. With this wealth, Liu Bai was no longer the pauper he once was.
There were also plenty of recovery and healing pills among the loot. Liu Bai even discovered several Beast Spirit Pills, and not just ordinary ones but Heaven-rank Beast Spirit Pills. Consuming one could allow an early-phase Heaven Fusion Realm expert to directly break through a small realm. The effect was strongest with the first pill, halved with the second, and after the third, entirely ineffective.
However, such pills were not without drawbacks. Since they were refined from the beast souls of Spiritual Beasts, if the true essence of the beast was not fully purified, the user could suffer backlash.
What was worse, Heaven-rank Beast Spiritual Pills were refined from the essence of Heaven-rank Spirit Beasts, which meant the risk of backlash was even greater.
"So that is why Fan Jiu managed to reach the late-Phase Heaven Fusion Realm. It was because of these Beast Spirit Pills…"
No wonder Liu Bai had felt that his combat strength seemed lacking. Cultivation obtained through pills, if not fully stabilized, would make one's Spiritual Energy hollow and unstable, which greatly diminished combat power.
Storing away the pills, Liu Bai decided he would later consider whether to exchange them for Spiritual Value at the Academy, or save them to bring back to Liu Territory for his family's use.
Next, Liu Bai took out three scrolls of different colors.
The blood colored one needed no inspection; it was clearly another heretical technique cultivated by the Fan father and son.
"Blood Demon Art Fragment, high-level Spirit-grade, can refine one's Spiritual Energy using the blood of living beings, condensing Blood Fiend Qi to corrupt an opponent's Spiritual Energy…"
Liu Bai's eyes narrowed slightly. If even a fragment could reach the level of a high-Level Spirit-grade, then the complete Blood Demon Art was certainly of Atleast Deity-grade Art level.
Moreover, this Art should have originated from the Demonic Dragon Palace, and might even be the very method cultivated by the Blood Dragon Demon, Yu Yuan. This was something that could potentially be exchanged with the Academy.
Of course, there was another possibility…
Although Liu Bai would never cultivate this himself, he could still use the system's ability to restore the Art into its complete form and then hand it to the Academy.
A complete Deity-grade Art would undoubtedly far surpass a high-level Spirit-grade in value. Perhaps he might even be able to exchange it directly for a cultivation method truly suited to himself.
As this thought crossed his mind, Liu Bai's smile deepened.
The other two scrolls were both offensive High-level Spirit-grade Art. One was the Nether Ghost Claw cultivated by Elder Lin, while the other was Fan Jiu's Blood Demon Hand.
It seemed Fan Jiu had yet to fully master either the Blood Demon Art or the Blood Demon Hand, which explained why he carried them on his person. Elder Lin, on the other hand, only carried the Nether Ghost Claw, since the rest of his offensive means had already reached a profound level, no longer requiring scrolls for assistance.
None of the three techniques were suitable for Liu Bai himself.
This was not surprising. At this stage of cultivation, most people had already chosen their fixed path, whether in cultivation methods or offensive techniques, and would only pursue those that suited them best.
Especially since the Fan family father and son both cultivated such sinister heretical arts. In the Great Thousand World, cultivation was not divided as starkly between righteous and evil as in the martial worlds of Liu Bai's previous life. However, heretical arts were deemed heretical precisely because their requirements were excessively perverse, making them intolerable to most people.
Thus, as long as cultivators had the choice to walk the proper path, few would ever recklessly pursue such detestable techniques.
.....
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