If Lu Jin wants to win this fight on his own, he'll need to break through from the second stage peak to the third, just like Zuo Ruotong did seventy years ago under pressure.
Only then would he stand a chance.
Lu Jin, Ruan Feng, Zhang Zhiwei, and Zhou Sheng were locked in an intense battle, so much so that the Old Heavenly Master could even spare attention to protect Zhang Chulan and others he cared about, creating a huge commotion.
In contrast, the confrontation between Qingshui and Gu Jiting seemed much smaller.
"Impressive. No matter how much I interfere, I can't affect your mind," Gu Jiting remarked, looking at Qingshui with admiration.
At this moment, while seemingly calm, both sides were engaged in a mental and spiritual confrontation.
Great Luo Insight, the reason it can perceive a portion of fate and see the complete picture of all things, is because this technique allows the practitioner's vision to ascend to a higher dimension, viewing everything from a more elevated perspective.
In essence, Great Luo Insight enables the practitioner to perceive all things as a Great Luo Immortal would.
This also grants the practitioner of this technique certain high-dimensional characteristics.
For example, like the Quanzhen sect, when their spiritual cultivation reaches its peak, they can manifest their Yang God.
"So this is how you drove Hu Haiwang, the former head of the School of Techniques, insane?"
Qingshui was also observing Gu Jiting, equally astonished.
No wonder Gu Jiting could drive Hu Haiwang mad.
That man was once one of the Ten Elders; if he were still alive today, he would at least be on the same level as Lu Ci or Wang Ai.
No practitioner's mental abilities are weak. Without sufficient spiritual cultivation, it's impossible to break free from the inner landscape after entering meditation. Yet, one of the top practitioners in the country was driven insane by Gu Jiting.
The feeling this guy gave him was very similar to the extremely oppressive and corrosive mental attack his Marvel Universe avatar felt when confronting Dormammu.
If his Marvel Universe avatar hadn't spent so long studying the Mind Stone, becoming proficient in mental arts, and if he hadn't recently mastered the divine skill of mental aura, he truly would have been helpless against this guy.
The manifestation of the Yang God through Great Luo Insight can interfere with reality, but against highly cultivated and resourceful individuals, it's not as effective. What's truly potent is the mental attack that possesses characteristics of a high-dimensional being.
He can directly engage in a spiritual cultivation battle.
And because Great Luo Insight grants him the characteristics of a high-dimensional being, he can gain an overwhelming advantage in this regard. Furthermore, by seeing past timelines and discerning a portion of future fate, he can easily pinpoint weaknesses in the opponent's mind during the process.
If it weren't for someone like the Old Heavenly Master, a stat-monster who has maxed out both his vital and spiritual cultivation, an ordinary peak practitioner like Lu Jin would suffer greatly.
As for Qingshui, encountering Gu Jiting was a perfect counter.
Although he didn't have the Mind Stone as a fallback like his Marvel Universe avatar, Gu Jiting was still just a human practitioner with partial high-dimensional properties, not on the same level as a true high-dimensional Dimensional Demon God like Dormammu.
The two simply stood there, staring at each other, not making a move.
Though calm on the surface, the clash of their wills had already begun to affect reality.
For mortals, manifesting the Yang God is considered the culmination of spiritual cultivation, allowing the spirit body to possess physical properties and interact with reality like an ordinary person. Qingshui's mental aura, which amplifies all his abilities, naturally also has the power to influence reality.
For some inexplicable reason, all Anomalous Humans near the duo felt a sudden constriction in their chests. Some even felt as if their hearts and heads had been struck by a heavy hammer, thinking they were ambushed. Without a second thought, they retreated into the distance.
The ground slowly cracked, and tiny grains of sand floated into the air.
Beneath the Platinum Armor, Qingshui's Shadow Clone was fully focused, mobilizing all its mental power to resist this oppression.
On the other side, Gu Jiting appeared much more relaxed. However, upon closer inspection, the spirit body, which had previously been as solid as a real person, was now slightly dimmer than before.
"I see. Mr. Gu, without a physical body, it must take considerable effort for your spirit body to replenish itself, no?" Qingshui suddenly asked with a smile, looking at Gu Jiting.
"Oh? How did you figure that out?" Gu Jiting asked.
"Your heart feels off, too calm. Although it's gentle and has its own emotions, it feels like something is missing. I suspect it's due to the lack of a physical body as an anchor, a lack of stability.
Spirit and flesh are inherently complementary and unified. As science states, human emotions are regulated by hormones, which can sometimes make us impulsive and lose self-control. However, precisely because of this, the power of the mind can influence the body, and a strong body can in turn replenish the mind. Only when the body and mind are unified, influencing and promoting each other, can breakthroughs occur.
If I'm not mistaken, after you abandoned your physical body, your cultivation grew rapidly for a short period, but now, you haven't made any progress for a long time, have you?
I imagine your spiritual cultivation has reached a point where, as a human, you could be considered 'graduated,' perhaps even higher. But because your vital cultivation has remained stagnant since you abandoned your body, no matter how high your spiritual cultivation, it lacks sufficient vital cultivation to support it and cannot fully exert its power. You can only borrow the abilities of Great Luo Insight, leveraging the power of heaven and earth to supplement yourself and serve as your means."
Qingshui remarked indifferently, looking at Gu Jiting's Yang God body.
Gu Jiting sighed at Qingshui and nodded:
"Professor Zhuo is indeed impressive. The Great Luo Immortal's ability to perceive all things, to know the past and glimpse fate, requires sufficient spiritual cultivation to truly see the world through an immortal's eyes. As for vital cultivation, it doesn't need to be at the Old Heavenly Master's level; something close to Lu Jin's is barely enough.
Unfortunately, I was only in my thirties then, my cultivation incomplete. I was ambushed by Hu Haiwang and a large group of masters from the School of Techniques. To escape with my life, I had no choice but to abandon my physical body and actively undergo 'corpse liberation' to secure a sliver of survival.
My path was cut short by Hu Haiwang. That old man, who could become the head of the School of Techniques, was quite capable. Even I had to expend considerable effort to drive him to his death."
"Since replenishing your 'blue bar' is troublesome, why don't you surrender directly? If we keep fighting, you, senior, will be at the biggest disadvantage."
"It is troublesome, but young man, don't underestimate this old man just because you've figured out a little something. Aren't you just a Shadow Clone with limited Qi? Even with high-tech Magic Tools, you might not be able to outlast me. I was being foolish just now, but next, you'd better be careful. Don't forget, as a practitioner, my skills might not be much worse than Brother Zhou's."
Gu Jiting snapped his fingers, and bright fireballs appeared around him.
"*Separation Release: Crimson Refinement!*"
The explosive fireballs, carrying heat that distorted the air, surged towards Qingshui. Mid-flight, they collided with Ice Bombs.
Ice and fire exploded, hissing and generating steam.
"Kan-character, Water Bomb!"
From the white mist, countless bullet-like water bombs flew out, only to be rapidly annihilated by the Separation Release sword qi.
Gu Jiting touched his arm, which had been struck by a sword qi, his expression growing much more serious. His body quickly shifted as he used the Eight Gates Transport to move and evade.
The reason he dared to be so reckless was that he relied on his lack of physical form, making him immune to physical attacks. Unless his lifespan ran out, Gu Jiting, possessing some high-dimensional characteristics, was practically immortal as long as his energy bar didn't completely deplete to the point where he couldn't maintain consciousness and was assimilated by the universe.
However, Qingshui's attack included mental reinforcement, which truly could harm him.
Even though it was significantly weakened by the time it hit him, it still couldn't be underestimated.
Gu Jiting was extremely wary of Qingshui, and Qingshui also felt that this old fellow's abilities were indeed extraordinary. Relying solely on a Shadow Clone and a set of armor, there might truly be a risk of things going awry.
In terms of mastery and changes in the Qimen Layout, and the diversity of techniques, Gu Jiting was inferior to Zhou Sheng, who was nearby and had mastered the Wind-Rear Strange Gate.
He couldn't manipulate the four plates, nor could he even make "himself" the central palace like in Martial Marquis Qimen.
But when he borrowed the power of heaven and earth, he could push these techniques to the extreme of what a conventional sorcerer could achieve, making him quite troublesome.
If the two of them continued to fight like this, it would likely take a long time, and it would come down to who couldn't hold on first.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhou Sheng had already given out first.
*Boom!*
A massive elephant was blasted into the rock wall, leaving a deep crater.
"Zhang Zhiwei, you're too rough! If I hadn't dispersed the force, just that one blow would have broken my Qi meridians that I just repaired."
The giant elephant transformed back into human form, becoming Zhou Sheng, his mouth bleeding, as he grumbled at Zhang Zhiwei.
He had already sustained internal injuries from the Old Heavenly Master's Lightning Technique.
If he hadn't transformed himself into a thick-skinned elephant at the critical moment, he would have been critically injured by now.
"You think I didn't gauge my strength properly? Don't assume only a few of you are worried about damaging this treasure land. I'm the one holding back the most. If it weren't for the trouble, and if you weren't Huaiyi's sworn brother, do you think you could have lasted this long under me?
At worst, I'd just kill everyone who needs killing, and we can repair it again. Your grand-disciple also knows Wind-Rear Strange Gate. I remember there's an old foreigner outside who knows Six Storage Immortal Thief. The Dual Hand will be useless once that cave inside is repaired. Repairing Qi meridians is a bit troublesome, but it's not like I don't have other ways to compensate."
Zhang Zhiwei, enveloped in solidified golden light, sneered at Zhou Sheng a few times.
This made Zhou Sheng hesitate.
This old fellow… he seemed to be right.
"You really have other ways to repair Qi meridians?"
Zhang Zhiwei scoffed.
"Your Wudang has Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng's Tai Chi Diagrams, which evolve Yin-Yang, Five Elements, and Eight Trigrams to aid in Qimen cultivation. My Celestial Master's Mansion also has the Ruyi Three Treasures passed down by the Ancestral Celestial Master. Although the Zheng-Yi Alliance Talismans cannot leave Longhu Mountain, Professor Zhuo has cultivated to the second rank. Whether it's earth veins, water veins, or wind veins, there are corresponding methods to regulate them.
Even if the Tongtian Lu focuses on borrowing the power of heaven and earth rather than observing it, as long as I remember what Brother Gu's repaired Qi meridians looked like, I can follow the blueprint and still repair this treasure land."
"Then… we're not fighting anymore? But that won't do! Old Seventeen needs to be saved, and Old Gu only has two years left to live. If we don't get this immortal opportunity, wouldn't we have come here for nothing?"
"But if you want to keep fighting, I'm afraid you won't have those two years left to live. Besides, isn't there the Six Storage Immortal Thief? That thing isn't as bizarre as your Wind-Rear Strange Gate. The barrier isn't that high, and there aren't significant negative effects within thirty to fifty years. With your abilities, you should eventually find a way to solve it within that time. At worst, your cultivation of one's nature is much higher than Ruan Feng's. He cultivated Six Storage Immortal Thief for seventy years to become like that. You should be able to last much longer than him, right?"
"That makes sense. So, Seventeen and Little Gu…"
Qingshui's voice carried clearly from afar, causing both Zhou Sheng and Gu Jiting to stop fighting in unison.
"I can alleviate some of the troubles on Senior Ruan, including the methods Qu Tong left on him. As for Senior Gu, your current state is a pure spiritual body. You could very well enjoy incense offerings like a Northeast Shaman and become an immortal. With me here, you won't have to worry about being labeled as a dark sacrifice, having your temple torn down, or your statue smashed. While it might not be as carefree as you are now, it could still be mutually beneficial with the country."
It seemed… this could actually work.
Although it couldn't compare to the immortal opportunity in this cave, they really couldn't defeat their opponent.
The people below were still fighting, suffering heavy casualties, and as time passed, they gradually fell into a disadvantage.
However, the outcome of the battle was still decided by the fights between the few top experts.
The Old Heavenly Master was terrifyingly strong. Even Zhou Sheng could only barely resist him for a while. If the fight continued, Zhou Sheng would either die here or be severely injured and flee.
And at over a hundred years old, although his body was robust and he had the Wind-Rear Strange Gate to regulate his own Qi flow, if he were too severely injured, he might kick the bucket before he could even recover.
Gu Jiting also admitted that he couldn't defeat this scholar, Professor Zhuo.
He could only manage a 50/50 fight against one of his clones. If he encountered the main body, he couldn't even imagine how he would fight.
Not to mention, behind this great professor stood an entire country.
As for Lu Jin…
"You guys, don't interfere! I'm about to break through! Don't interfere!"
Lu Jin's hair and beard flared, and milky white Qi waves surged around him, constantly repairing the Qi that was being relentlessly corroded and decomposed by the Six Storage Immortal Thief.
Although he was constantly getting beaten and it looked quite dangerous, completely falling into a disadvantage, with Lu Jin's cultivation, he could indeed hold on, enough to attempt to break through to the third stage of Reverse Growth.
"Take it easy, Old Lu. You're already old, don't kill yourself playing around."
The Old Heavenly Master sighed, saying this while still ready to act at any moment. If Lu Jin couldn't hold on, he would be able to save him in time.
Ruan Feng remained silent, only attacking.
Controlled by Qu Tong, he still had consciousness and thoughts, but he would only obey Qu Tong.
If Qu Tong didn't tell him to stop, he wouldn't stop. If Qu Tong told him to die, he would die without hesitation.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Read 1111+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------