Chapter 204 – With Double Pupils Already Invincible, Why Borrow Others' Bones?

Yi Hanqing watched Xing Li, who was immune to the suppression of his Sword Domain, and immediately understood that the other party’s ability to reach this level must be related to his Ancient Desolate Body.

From Yi Hanqing’s understanding, the Ancient Desolate Body generally had two effects. One was to grant cultivators with this special Physique a physical strength far surpassing that of ordinary cultivators.

They were the type who, even without cultivation—merely eating and sleeping—could rapidly increase their physical power.

The other effect was to allow their bodies to unlock “Secret Bone” abilities prematurely.

The so-called “Secret Bone” was an ability that Body Cultivators could only unlock upon reaching the “Bone Refining” stage, which was analogous to the Golden Core Stage for cultivators.

It was somewhat similar to the special Divine Abilities of cultivators.

At this stage, the “skin” and “flesh” of Body Cultivators had already reached the limits of what they could achieve at their current level.

To advance further, they needed their bones to withstand even greater forces from their skin and flesh.

Otherwise, without any intervention from other cultivators, the Body Cultivator’s own bones and organs would collapse under the weight of their dense skin and flesh.

Skin Refining, Flesh Refining, and Bone Refining—each stage of a Body Cultivator’s path was not arbitrarily decided.

Instead, it was the result of countless Body Cultivators’ exploration and experience.

But cultivators with the Ancient Desolate Body were different.

They were born with a “Desolate Bone” within their bodies.

This Desolate Bone not only allowed cultivators with the Ancient Desolate Body to begin Bone Refining early but also enabled them to unlock the special secret techniques of the “Secret Bone” in the early stages.

That’s right—Body Cultivators could also use spells and Divine Abilities.

After all, the cultivation method of Body Cultivators was to forge their bodies into something akin to a Magic Treasure.

And Xing Li’s “Desolate Bone” could be regarded as a type of Magic Treasure.

The innate secret patterns inscribed on the Desolate Bone could be seen as the special spells nurtured by this Desolate Bone.

At this moment, Xing Li was using his Desolate Bone secret technique to temporarily become immune to the suppression of Yi Hanqing’s Sword Domain.

This secret technique of his was called “Earth Barren.”

As long as Xing Li’s feet were planted on the ground, he could draw an endless supply of power and become immune to most spell and Divine Ability attacks.

The “Earth” in “Earth Barren” did not merely refer to the ground.

The true meaning of this secret technique was that Xing Li could divert the attacks he received into the ground beneath his feet.

Thus, as long as there was something beneath his feet to stand on, he was considered to be on “ground.”

Although Yi Hanqing’s Sword Domain could influence the surrounding environment, it was ultimately not the “Severing Heaven and Earth” Great Divine Power of a supreme expert, incapable of creating a completely self-contained palm-sized world.

Therefore, while Xing Li appeared to be in a starry sky, he was actually still on the Celestial Ark Deck of Martial God Mountain.

So Xing Li’s “Earth Barren” could still be activated, allowing him to resist the suppression from Yi Hanqing’s Sword Domain.

However, once his feet left the “ground,” the suppression effect of the Sword Domain would resume.

Thus, if the Ancient Desolate Body was his only trump card, Xing Li would still find it extremely difficult to deal with Yi Hanqing.

Even if Yi Hanqing did not know the effects of Xing Li’s Secret Bone, with just a little more observation, he would be able to discern Xing Li’s true situation.The reason Wei Qifeng and the others continuously probed Yi Hanqing, striving to gather as much intelligence about him as possible…

Stemmed from another unique ability of Xing Li…

In the boundless starry sky, after witnessing Xing Li bizarrely break free from the suppression of his Sword Domain, Yi Hanqing immediately launched relentless attacks with his Starry Sword Qi.

Yet what puzzled Yi Hanqing was that Xing Li showed no intention of evading these assaults. Instead, after circulating the Heaven-Human Martial Scripture, he enveloped his entire body with his own Qi and blood, forcibly withstanding Yi Hanqing’s Sword Qi attacks.

His demeanor gave the impression of being suppressed by Yi Hanqing’s Sword Qi.

But Yi Hanqing knew full well that these Sword Qi strikes were merely probes. Not to mention Xing Li, even Wei Qifeng—the former Senior Brother of Martial God Mountain—wouldn’t suffer significant harm from them.

Undoubtedly, Xing Li was doing this deliberately.

However, lacking sufficient intelligence, Yi Hanqing couldn’t discern Xing Li’s motives for such actions at the moment.

Though he sensed that Xing Li was likely up to some trickery, Yi Hanqing’s innate pride compelled him to intensify the surrounding Sword Qi assaults, even while aware that continuing to attack Xing Li was a trap.

Let him be strong, the gentle breeze brushes the mountain ridge.

Let him be fierce, the bright moon shines upon the Great River!

So long as the Sword Qi’s power reached a certain threshold, even the hardest turtle shell could be shattered!

“Go.”

Under Yi Hanqing’s control, more stars within the Sword Domain transformed into brilliant meteors, descending upon Xing Li.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Xing Li covered his head with both hands, his entire Qi and blood forming a protective shell around him, shielding him completely.

Dense clusters of Sword Qi stars crashed against his Qi-blood armor, producing crackling sounds.

Yi Hanqing’s Spiritual Power seemed inexhaustible.

After continuously manifesting thousands upon thousands of Sword Qi formations, a crack finally appeared in Xing Li’s Qi-blood armor.

This fissure gradually expanded, eventually spreading across the entire surface of the armor.

Crack!

With the shattering of the Qi-blood armor, Xing Li’s golden body—covered in peculiar patterns—was fully exposed before Yi Hanqing.

Seeing this, Yi Hanqing immediately raised his hand.

In response, a colossal starry sword materialized above his head.

“Slash.”

The giant sword descended, covering all possible escape routes and leaving Xing Li with no room to evade.

Yet Xing Li himself had no intention of dodging this attack.

He lifted his head, his eyes transforming into eerie ‘Double Pupils.’

Witnessing this, Yi Hanqing’s pupils instantly contracted in the distance.

Double Pupils—a rare talent on par with the Ancient Desolate Body.

For an ordinary person, possessing either one would be enough to elevate them into a peerless Genius.

But Xing Li had actually acquired both.

Similar to how the ‘Desolate Bone Secret Art’ encompassed various forms, the innate pupil techniques of Double Pupils also differed in nature.

Although Yi Hanqing didn’t know what specific pupil technique Xing Li’s Double Pupils possessed, his instincts screamed at him not to allow his opponent to unleash it.

As if guessing Yi Hanqing’s thoughts, a confident smile spread across Xing Li’s face.

“Thinking of stopping me now? Too late.”

With these words, Xing Li’s Double Pupils began to rotate rapidly.

In the next instant, a massive stone stele materialized before him.

Covering the stele were densely packed Dao patterns.

And among these patterns, Yi Hanqing recognized several that were hauntingly familiar.It was none other than his Starry Sword Intent.

【Double Pupil Art: Heaven Sealing Stele】

【Effect: Can record encountered spells and Divine Abilities. When sufficiently recorded, the Heaven Sealing Stele grants complete immunity to attacks of that spell or Divine Ability type.】

The Heaven Sealing Stele—this was Xing Li’s Double Pupil Art.

The standard procedure for activating the Heaven Sealing Stele involved the Double Pupil user continuously analyzing the opponent’s spells and Divine Abilities through their Double Pupils.

Once the analysis reached a certain level, the Heaven Sealing Stele would be unleashed to deliver the final blow.

However, Xing Li, with his Ancient Desolate Body, had forged a different path.

The best way to learn a spell or Divine Ability, aside from observation, was to experience it physically.

With his Ancient Desolate Body, Xing Li could neutralize or even become immune to most spells and Divine Abilities as long as he stood on solid ground.

This allowed him to develop an almost unstoppable tactic:

He would endure the enemy’s attacks with his own body.

While doing so, he would continuously use his Double Pupils to analyze the enemy’s trump cards.

Once he reached a certain point, his Heaven Sealing Stele would fully record the principles of the opponent’s spells and Divine Abilities.

And grant him complete immunity to them.

Of course, if one could kill Xing Li before his Heaven Sealing Stele recorded their spells or Divine Abilities,

Then the Heaven Sealing Stele would pose no threat.

But after rounds of probing by Wu Xiao and Wei Qifeng, Xing Li had observed much about Yi Hanqing.

Moreover, Yi Hanqing’s Starry Sword Domain was not originally his power; he could only barely wield it now, making the Sword Domain significantly weaker than that of a normal Harmony Realm cultivator.

Otherwise, it would not have been so easy for Xing Li to have his ‘Heaven Sealing Stele’ record the Dao traces of Yi Hanqing’s Starry Sword Domain in such a short time.

But there were no “what ifs” in this world.

As soon as Xing Li summoned his Heaven Sealing Stele, he immediately directed it to crash toward Yi Hanqing’s colossal Starry Sword.

When the stele, as massive as a small hill, made contact with the enormous Starry Sword,

Yi Hanqing’s Sword Domain instantly began to tremble violently.

Then, starting from the tip of the sword, the Starry Sword began to disintegrate continuously.

Bang! Bang! Bang!…

Pressing relentlessly against the Starry Sword, the Heaven Sealing Stele shattered it completely in a display of overwhelming force.

It then surged toward Yi Hanqing, intent on crushing him.

Faced with this, Yi Hanqing did not choose to wait for death.

He raised the Peach Blossom Sword in his hand.

In the next moment, the sword transformed into countless petals, swirling toward the Heaven Sealing Stele.

But if even a Harmony Realm Starry Sword could not stop the Heaven Sealing Stele, how could a mere Dao Entry Realm Peach Blossom Sword Intent hope to hinder it?

After scattering the countless Peach Blossom Sword Qi, the Heaven Sealing Stele struck Yi Hanqing’s body with immense force.

However, at the last moment, Yi Hanqing’s left hand produced a Spirit Sword, which he thrust fiercely toward the stele.

Boom!

Almost simultaneously as Yi Hanqing was sent flying backward,

The Starry Sword Domain around him dissipated completely.

Drip, drip…

Yi Hanqing used his sword to support himself, kneeling on one knee on the Celestial Ark Deck.

Copious amounts of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the ground.

His pale complexion unmistakably indicated that Yi Hanqing was severely injured.

Across from him, Xing Li—who had been brimming with confidence moments before—now clutched one of his eyes in stunned bewilderment.Trickles of blood streamed from the corners of his eyes, seeping through the gaps between his fingers and tracing paths down his cheeks.

He stared intently at Yi Hanqing in the distance, his tone grave as he asked, “How did you know the Heaven Sealing Stele was merely a manifestation of my Double Pupils?”

Yi Hanqing struggled to his feet, his body swaying unsteadily as if he might collapse at any moment.

Yet even in this state, he managed to stand, offering a faint smile toward Xing Li.

“I didn’t know.”

Xing Li froze momentarily before instinctively questioning, “If you didn’t know, then why did you use an untested Sword Intent to strike my Heaven Sealing Stele at the final moment?”

After a brief contemplation, Yi Hanqing replied calmly, “Do what one must, and leave the rest to fate.”

“Understood.”

Xing Li nodded, finally comprehending why Yi Hanqing had made that choice at the critical juncture.

Although Yi Hanqing hadn’t discerned the true nature of the Heaven Sealing Stele, he had never considered surrender.

Thus, even at the last moment, he chose to wield his sword against what appeared to be an impregnable defense.

The technique he employed was his final Sword Intent beyond the Starry Sword Intent and Peach Blossom Sword Intent—the Drunken Immortal Sword Art.

It was precisely this strike that breached the Heaven Sealing Stele, which had already been weakened after shattering the Starry Sword Domain, creating a fissure in its structure.

One must understand that Xing Li’s utilization of the Heaven Sealing Stele paralleled Yi Hanqing’s deployment of his Starry Sword Intent.

Both relied on unique innate talents to forcibly wield powers beyond their current cultivation stage.

Therefore, despite Xing Li’s earlier display of absolute confidence,

he hadn’t been entirely certain he could break through Yi Hanqing’s Sword Domain.

Even if he ultimately succeeded, the Heaven Sealing Stele had exhausted most of its energy

after neutralizing the Sword Qi damage from the Starry Sword.

This depletion left it unable to completely withstand Yi Hanqing’s Drunken Immortal Sword.

Having reasoned through this, Xing Li lowered his right hand from covering his eye, admitting with respect, “Truly worthy of being the Hidden Sword Peak Leader of the Azure Cloud Sect. Without the assistance of my other Senior Brothers,”

“I might genuinely not be your match.”

“But, it’s all over now. Surrender.”

Upon hearing this, Yi Hanqing seemed to find the words amusing as he laboriously raised his Spirit Sword, stating serenely, “I may be defeated, but I will never surrender. Come, let me witness the methods of the next generation’s Celestial Being from Martial God Mountain.”

Seeing Yi Hanqing stubbornly persisting even at this stage,

Xing Li’s gaze sharpened, and his body erupted with terrifying Blood Qi once more.

The energy grew so dense it resembled flames, blazing around his entire form.

Though both cultivated the Heaven-Human Martial Scripture

and had reached the Muscle Refining Stage comparable to Foundation Establishment,

the Blood Qi of the initial Martial God Mountain disciple who challenged the Meow King was like a single drop of water.

Wu Xiao’s Blood Qi rivaled a small stream.

The Blood Qi of Wei Qifeng, the Great Master of Martial God Mountain, was comparable to a Great River.

Xing Li’s Blood Qi… was like an ocean.

As he unleashed his full power, a phantom Bloodthirsty Tiger materialized behind him.

Standing beneath this Blood Qi Tiger, Xing Li declared in a resolute voice, “Since you refuse to yield, I’ll beat you until you do.”

With these words, he charged toward Yi Hanqing once more,

his advance resembling a tiger descending a mountain—overwhelming in momentum and awe-inspiring in presence.

But halfway through his charge, he suddenly noticed Yi Hanqing’s eyes had become vacant.It turned out that the Heaven Sealing Stele had already severely injured Yi Hanqing earlier.

Though he had forced his severely wounded body to stand up once more,

this was merely a final flicker of life before death.

Both his Divine Soul and his Physical Body had reached their limits.

His body’s protective mechanisms had caused Yi Hanqing to fall completely unconscious.

He simply hadn’t collapsed, still maintaining his standing posture.

Although he had noticed this, the vicious Xing Li pretended not to see it.

He still raised his fist and struck toward Yi Hanqing.

Because he wanted everyone to know that he had crushed the number one genius of the Azure Cloud Sect’s younger generation!

At this moment, Xing Li’s terrifying Blood Qi Tiger opened its bloody maw.

Its ferocious appearance seemed capable of devouring everything in the world.

But just as Xing Li’s body came within a few steps of Yi Hanqing,

a pale Spirit Sword cut through the sky, landing directly between him and Yi Hanqing.

The next second, a peculiar power erupted from the Spirit Sword.

Under the influence of this power, Xing Li’s Blood Qi Tiger instantly dissipated into wisps of crimson smoke, vanishing between heaven and earth.

Meanwhile, a single hand effortlessly blocked his fist.

“Taking advantage of someone’s precarious state is not the way of the Righteous Path.”

Xing Li looked at Lu Chen, who had easily intercepted his attack, a flicker of astonishment in his eyes.

He knew full well that he hadn’t held back in that punch.

Even someone as strong as Yi Hanqing would be severely wounded, if not killed, if struck by it.

Yet such a powerful blow had been effortlessly blocked by this Disciple from Azure Cloud Sect’s Danyang Peak.

His strength was no ordinary matter.

Thinking this, Xing Li’s eyes immediately grew excited.

Without any hesitation, Xing Li retracted his fist and lifted his foot to kick toward Lu Chen’s waist.

“Attacking without declaration is also not the way of the Righteous Path.”

As he spoke, a black Dragon Claw easily intercepted Xing Li’s sneak attack.

It was a vividly lifelike ink-black Dragon.

The black Dragon perched on Lu Chen’s shoulder, its right claw blocking the leg whip.

Two attacks, both effortlessly defended by Lu Chen.

Xing Li immediately felt immense pressure.

Something was wrong. This person was different from those Alchemists at Danyang Peak; his strength was definitely not inferior to Yi Hanqing’s.

Uncertain of Lu Chen’s background, Xing Li immediately retreated, putting a relatively safe distance between them.

He scrutinized him with a grave expression.

“Who are you?”

Hearing this, Lu Chen calmly stroked the black Dragon’s head on his shoulder and replied, “The sixty-fifth generation Direct Lineage Disciple of Danyang Peak, Lu Chen, Daoist Title Azure Lotus.”

Although he had already deduced from Lu Chen’s Daoist robes that he came from Azure Cloud Sect’s Danyang Peak,

having it confirmed still left Xing Li somewhat shocked.

Because Danyang Peak was a place specifically for training Alchemists.

Such places rarely produced powerful combat-oriented Cultivators.

But those two brief exchanges had let Xing Li sense Lu Chen’s peculiarity.

Not only was this guy’s Swordsmanship exceptional, but his Physical Body strength seemed no weaker than his own Ancient Desolate Body.

More crucially, this person was only at the sixth layer of the Foundation Establishment Stage!

Thinking this, Xing Li’s Battle Intent grew increasingly fervent.

But unlike his boiling blood, Lu Chen remained remarkably calm at this moment.

He turned his head to look in the direction from which he had just come.Meow King and Diting immediately understood and ran over.

Somehow, these two living treasures managed to jointly lift a stretcher.

Under the strange gazes of the crowd, the cat and dog placed the unconscious Yi Hanqing onto the stretcher and carried him to an open area nearby.

It looked exactly like the “Felyne Cart” from Lu Chen’s previous life when he played Monster Hunter.

In that game, once the player’s health was depleted, a cat would appear with a cart to transport the player back to camp.

After setting Yi Hanqing down, Diting’s ears twitched, and he began channeling his Innate Nine Qi into Yi Hanqing’s body.

Nourished by the Innate Nine Qi, Yi Hanqing’s injuries began to heal at a visible rate.

Even his originally weakened Divine Soul, strained from repeatedly using Sword Intent beyond his level, gradually strengthened during this process.

The Great Cultivators from various schools who had been observing the Heroes Convention from the Celestial Ark showed surprised expressions.

They hadn’t noticed anything special about Lu Chen’s Diting before.

But now, it seemed this cute-looking little white dog might not be an ordinary Spirit Beast.

After all, even Nascent Soul Stage cultivators couldn’t easily heal others’ Divine Souls.

A cultivator’s Divine Soul not only possessed uniqueness but also exclusivity.

Yet Diting’s Innate Nine Qi seemed capable of transforming into the Origin of heaven and earth, completely unrepelled by Yi Hanqing’s Divine Soul.

In other words, if they could have a Spirit Beast like Diting,

they could be saved as long as they had a breath left.

It was equivalent to carrying a lifesaver with them at all times.

Suddenly, the Great Cultivators hidden around the Heroes Convention developed strong interest in Diting.

Their attention toward Diting even surpassed their interest in Lu Chen and Xing Li.

However, Xing Li had no interest in Diting.

Looking at Lu Chen, he said seriously, “Are you here to challenge me on behalf of your Senior Brother?”

Contrary to Xing Li’s expectations, Lu Chen replied indifferently, “No, consider this sparring match won by your Martial God Mountain.”

With that, Lu Chen prepared to leave directly.

After all, he had no interest in so-called empty fame.

Winning wouldn’t gain him anything.

Losing wouldn’t cost him anything either.

Given this, why bother sparring with Xing Li?

Although he didn’t want to fight, Xing Li wasn’t about to let him leave so easily.

“Trying to leave? That’s not up to you!”

As he spoke, the secret patterns of ‘Desolate Bone’ reappeared on Xing Li’s body.

With the Desolate Bone enhancement, Xing Li immediately felt the strange power that had been affecting him diminish significantly.

Even the Blood Qi Tiger that had been forcibly dispelled earlier rematerialized.

The tiger crouched on Xing Li’s back, transforming into a solid blood qi armor.

Then Xing Li attacked again, charging toward Lu Chen.

Faced with this, Lu Chen sighed.

The black dragon on his shoulder instantly flew out, rapidly growing in size.

Finally, a massive black dragon nearly a hundred meters long appeared above the crowd.

Seeing the fiercely approaching Xing Li, the black dragon snorted a puff of smoke from its nostrils before bringing its claw down heavily.

Boom!

Xing Li braced against the black dragon’s giant claw with both hands, the Celestial Ark deck beneath his feet denting under the dragon’s overwhelming power.Watching Xing Li, who was briefly suppressed by his Sword Intent Black Dragon.

Lu Chen calmly said, “Forgetting war invites danger, loving war ensures destruction. Your ferocity is too heavy.”

As he spoke, there was no visible movement from Lu Chen.

The Sword Intent Black Dragon increased the force in its grasp, slamming Xing Li directly onto the deck.

Just as everyone assumed Xing Li would be incapacitated by this,

the dragon claw pressing down on the Celestial Ark deck slowly began to rise.

Xing Li’s eyes transformed into Double Pupils, while a peculiar Secret Art Light shimmered across his body.

Witnessing this, Lu Chen’s Azure Lotus Shaped Pupils deepened with intensity.

Observing something indiscernible to others, he remarked with detached calm, “Double Pupils already pave an invincible path—why borrow another’s bones? Grafting another’s essence onto yourself may not end well.”

“I have no interest in you. You’d do better to take a peaceful nap right where you are.”

With that, Lu Chen willed the Ink Dragon Sword—manifested as the Sword Intent Black Dragon—to intensify the pressure of its claw.

Xing Li, who had nearly broken free moments before, was forcibly suppressed once more…

(End of Chapter)