195: How about we have a friendly competition?

Gu Qiuyue hadn't even had the chance to reach out and receive this priceless treasure when the smile on the face of Wu Tian, the purple-robed old Daoist standing atop the clouds, slowly faded slightly.

The originally warm and jade-like atmosphere instantly became more bone-chilling than the dead of winter with his next sentence.

“However...”

Wu Tian stood with his hands behind his back, his seemingly cloudy old eyes shooting out two beams of light like physical substance, piercing straight at Su Lin.

“I have been in seclusion for three thousand years and have long ceased to concern myself with worldly affairs.”

“Coming out today, besides thanking Fellow Daoist Su for your kindness in saving the world, there is one more thing stuck in my throat that I must say.”

He paused slightly, and the Tribulation Transcendence Stage pressure he had originally restrained to the extreme began to leak out bit by bit.

Just this sliver of leakage caused the surrounding space to let out an overburdened creak, as if the entire world were trembling beneath his feet.

“I heard that a hundred years ago, Fellow Daoist Su was the number one person in the world, with sword arts that reached the gods and unparalleled Formations.”

“Now, although your Realm appears to be only Body Integration, this Aura of yours is something even my old bones cannot see through.”

Wu Tian slowly raised his right hand, a ball of purple-gold lightning silently flickering in his palm.

“The Great Dao is a lonely path; it is hard to find a kindred spirit.”

“I am bold enough to ask Fellow Daoist Su... for a hand.”

“How about we spar a bit?”

A spar.

The scene instantly erupted into Chaos.

The Sect Masters of the various Sects who had been scared witless now raised their heads one by one, their eyes bursting with ecstatic light.

A spar?

A Tribulation Transcendence Stage looking for a Body Integration Stage to spar?

This was no spar! This was clearly an excuse!

This was to eliminate demons and defend the Righteous Path!

“I knew it! I knew the Chaotian Sect wouldn't let this Devil Head go!”

The Sect Master of the Tianyuan Sword Sect trembled with excitement, screaming inwardly,

“What thanking? It's all a ruse! Old Ancestor Wu Tian is being polite before using force!”

“Excellent! As long as Old Ancestor Wu Tian takes action, Su Lin is dead for sure!”

The Myriad Poison Ancestor also clenched his fists, his eyes full of venomous spite. “Even if those disciple of his are strong, can they be stronger than an Earth Immortal?!”

The guests present remained respectful on the surface, but the glances they exchanged were filled with the excitement and anticipation of watching a good show.

As expected, the Righteous Path and evil cannot coexist.

An outlier like Su Lin, who brought Female Demon Lords everywhere to cause trouble, was bound to be punished by heaven in the end!

However.

Before Su Lin could speak.

Four terrifying bursts of Killing Intent, like four erupting volcanoes, instantly exploded in front of the main hall.

“What did you say, you old geezer?!”

Su Hongling was the first to explode.

She pulled out the giant sword [no edge] she had just put down.

“Want to fight with my Old Man?”

“Are you worthy?!”

She took a step forward, the ground beneath her collapsing with a bang, as she stood in front of Su Lin, her giant sword pointing directly at Wu Tian in the sky.

“If you want to touch him, you'll have to step over my dead body first!”

“Want to spar? Fine.”

Luo Ximei's voice was cold to the extreme. In her platinum right eye, divinity and demonism intertwined wildly, and the space behind her began to collapse on a large scale.

“This Venerable One will play with you.”

“Since it's a spar, we'll determine both superiority and life and death!”

She flipped her wrist, the myriad soul banner fluttering loudly as the roars of countless vengeful ghosts echoed between heaven and earth.

“Let's see if your old bones are harder, or this Venerable One's myriad soul banner!”

“I won't allow it.”

Mu Qingxue's figure appeared beside Su Lin like a ghost, her hands forming seals.

Crack, crack, crack!

A white cold wave surged into the sky, building an ice wall a thousand zhang high between her and Wu Tian.

“No one can... harm Revered Master.”

Her voice had no fluctuation, but that resolute chill made everyone present feel their Souls freezing.

“Unless I die.”

Although Chu Weiwei didn't speak, her actions were the most direct.

She silently opened all her poison bottles and mixed the colorful poison powders together, a visible purple-black poison cloud beginning to spread beneath her feet.

“Revered Master's body has just recovered; he cannot be disturbed.”

She looked up, her pure little face showing a morbid and twisted smile.

“Old Grandfather, if you take one more step forward, Weiwei will make you rot until not even your bones are left oh.”

Four disciple.

Like four mother beasts protecting their young, they fiercely shielded Su Lin behind them.

That desperate stance showed no retreat, even when facing a Tribulation Transcendence Stage powerhouse.

Wu Tian looked at this scene, the strange light in his eyes deepening, even carrying a few hints of undetectable approval.

But he did not stop; instead, he increased the pressure, seemingly provoking them on purpose.

“If that's the case, then my trip here was truly a mistake.”

A provocation tactic.

Very low-level, but very effective.

Especially for someone with a hot temper like Su Hongling.

“Bullshit!!”

Su Hongling was furious. “My Revered Master is invincible in the world! He just disdains to fight you! You old dog...”

“Hong Ling.”

A slender and powerful hand lightly pressed on Su Hongling's shoulder, which was about to go berserk.

Su Hongling's whole body stiffened. She turned her head and met Su Lin's eyes, which were as calm as water.

“Revered Master...”

“Step down.”

Su Lin's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a reassuring power.

“But...” Su Hongling grew anxious. “He's at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage! You're only at Body Integration...”

“So what if I'm at Body Integration?”

Su Lin smiled and reached out to tidy her bangs, which had been ruffled by the wind.

He stepped past Su Hongling and lightly patted the backs of Luo Ximei's and Mu Qingxue's hands, signaling them to withdraw their Divine Abilities.

Finally, he glanced at Chu Weiwei, who was still mixing poisons.

“Put the poisons away. That is a guest, not a test subject.”

Chu Weiwei reluctantly capped her bottles.

After soothing the four gunpowder barrels that were about to explode, Su Lin straightened his Starlight Dharma Robe and walked step by step to the very front of the high platform.

He looked up at the Old Man in the clouds, who was like a deity.

There was only a calmness, as if he had encountered an interesting opponent.

“Since Fellow Daoist Wu Tian has such an interest.”

Su Lin smiled slightly and stood with his hands behind his back, his sleeves fluttering in the wind.

“Then I, Su, shall exchange a few moves with you.”

“Revered Master!!”

Four cries of alarm came from behind him.

The guests below were ecstatic.

He agreed!

He actually agreed!

This is seeking death!

A Tribulation Transcendence Stage fighting a Body Integration Stage—what's the difference between that and crushing an ant?

“Good! You have guts!”

Wu Tian laughed loudly, his figure instantly disappearing from the clouds.

In the next instant.

Above the Nine Heavens, the wind and clouds changed color.

“Fellow Daoist Su, please!”

Su Lin's toes lightly tapped the ground.

Buzz!

A ripple appeared in space.

His figure did not turn into a rainbow like ordinary Cultivators; instead, he vanished into thin air, as if merging into this world.

When he reappeared, he was already standing ten thousand zhang high in the sky, facing Wu Tian from a distance.

“This movement technique...”

Wu Tian's pupils shrank slightly.

No spiritual power fluctuations; it was entirely the application of Space Law.

And this application was so skillful that it even surpassed his own as a Tribulation Transcendence Stage!

“Interesting.”

Wu Tian no longer acted arrogant; his expression became solemn.

He slowly raised his right hand.

“In my life, I have only cultivated one method, called [Haotian Righteous Qi].”

“Fellow Daoist, be careful.”

As his voice fell, the entire sky suddenly turned a dazzling gold.

That wasn't sunlight.

That was the vast, extremely masculine, and upright Haoran Righteous Qi!

This Aura had no frills; it was pure momentum.

Suppressing people with overwhelming momentum!

The golden sea of light was like the Heavenly River pouring down, cascading toward Su Lin.

Everywhere it passed, clouds dissipated and space solidified.

Below, the Daochu Sect, even with the protection of those four Prodigy disciple, was teetering under this pressure.

This was a strike from the Tribulation Transcendence Stage!

Enough to destroy a whole region!

“So strong...”

Luo Ximei's face was pale. She could feel that if she were the one facing this strike, even her Demon God Manifestation would likely be crushed instantly.

“Revered Master...” Chu Weiwei tightly gripped the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white.

High in the sky.

Facing this overwhelming golden sea of light, Su Lin appeared as small as a speck of dust.

But he did not dodge.

He just slowly closed his eyes.

Inside his Qi Sea and Dantian, the Nascent Soul suddenly opened its eyes.

The left eye was the sun, the right eye the moon.

[Myriad Heavens Star Chart], unfold!

“Buzz!!”

A strange hum resounded through heaven and earth.

Under everyone's shocked gazes.

The sky, which was originally broad daylight, suddenly went dark.

It wasn't dark clouds blocking the sun.

It was the arrival of a starry night!

Centered on Su Lin, a deep, vast, and brilliant scroll of the starry sky suddenly spread out!

Countless stars flickered within it, slowly rotating according to some mysterious trajectory.

That golden Haotian Righteous Qi rushed into this starry sky like a clay ox entering the sea.

That terrifying power, originally enough to crush mountains and rivers, was actually diverted, divided, and swallowed by those stars!

Starry Shift!

Ten Thousand Methods Returning to the Source!

“What Domain is this?!”

Wu Tian's face changed drastically.

He felt that his Law power, after entering that starry sky, actually lost control and instead became nourishment for that starry sky!

“It is only polite to return a favor.”

In the center of the starry sky, Su Lin slowly opened his eyes.

Within his pupils, the galaxy was reversing.

He raised his hand and pointed lightly at Wu Tian.

“Fall.”

Within that starry sky, a massive meteorite.

No, it was a true star phantom, burning with raging fire and carrying world-destroying kinetic energy, smashing down toward Wu Tian!

This strike fused Su Hongling's Law of Strength, Luo Ximei's demonic fire, and the weight of the [world core]!

“How is that possible?!”

Wu Tian cried out in alarm.

He felt a fatal threat from this star!

This was simply not a power a Body Integration Stage could possess!

“Haotian Shield!”

He formed seals with his hands, and the golden righteous Qi transformed into a massive shield blocking his front.

“Bang!!!”

The star collided with the shield.

The world went silent.

Immediately after, a visible shockwave swept out, scattering all the clouds within a thousand miles.

“Crack!”

That Haotian Shield, representing the defense of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, actually cracked!

Wu Tian felt a tightness in his chest, and his whole body was knocked back three steps by this terrifying force.

After three steps, he stabilized himself, his face alternating between blue and white.

He lost?

In a direct head-on collision, he actually lost to a Body Integration Stage?!

Although he hadn't used his full strength, he could feel that the opponent hadn't used his full strength either!

Within that starry sky, something even more terrifying was hidden.

For example, that Chaos Aura that made even his Soul tremble.

“Good! What a Su Lin!”

Wu Tian suddenly burst into laughter; there was no anger in his voice, but rather it was full of exhilaration.

“Originally, I thought that as long as I suppressed my Realm and used thirty percent of my power, it would be enough to test your depth.”

“It seems I was arrogant.”

Wu Tian took a step forward, golden lotuses blooming in the void beneath his feet. His Aura began to climb steadily; it was no longer a test, but the true, terrifying pressure of a Tribulation Transcendence Stage powerhouse.

“Fellow Daoist! Be careful next!!”

“With this move, I will use fifty percent of my spiritual power, and it contains my insights into the ‘Heavenly Dao Order’ from the past three thousand years!”

“Please, Fellow Daoist Wu Tian!”

Su Lin took a deep breath, his expression more solemn than ever before.

Fifty percent power.

This sounded like he was being looked down upon, but Su Lin knew very well the chasm between the Tribulation Transcendence Stage and the Body Integration Stage.

At the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, one has already begun to touch the threshold of Ascension, and the spiritual power in the body has begun to transform into immortal essence.

The opponent's fifty percent power was enough to crush ten ordinary Great Perfection of Integration Stage experts!

“Since that's the case...”

Su Lin held nothing back.

He slammed his hands together, and the [Myriad Heavens Star Chart] inside him operated frantically. The newly formed ‘Star God’ Nascent Soul let out a long howl in his Dantian.

“Buzz!!!”

The starry sky Domain originally covering his body suddenly underwent a drastic change.

Those brilliant stars began to dim, and a gray, extremely oppressive Aura surged from his body.

That was the power of the [world core]!

“Dead Silence.”

Su Lin whispered.

A gray-white halo appeared behind his head. Everywhere it passed, even the Spiritual Qi in the air instantly lost its vitality, becoming filled with Death Qi.

“Decay.”

Next, a dark red halo was superimposed on it. That was the curse from the Red Lotus Blood Sea, capable of making all things wither.

“Destruction.”

Finally, a purple-black halo appeared, carrying the berserk will of that Ink Jade Qilin from Tongtian Demon Peak.

With the three-colored halos on his body, combined with the stars filling the sky, Su Lin looked both sacred and eerie at this moment, like an ancient Star God in charge of calamity.

“What power is this?!”

The guests below felt their scalps go numb. That Aura made them feel instinctive fear, as if their Lifespan would drain away with just one look.

“Revered Master...”

The four disciple stared fixedly at the high sky. They could feel that Su Lin was overextending himself, using a power that did not belong to him.

“Haotian · World-Suppressing Seal!”

High in the sky, Wu Tian made his move.

He held up one hand to the sky, and endless golden light gathered in his palm, transforming into a golden seal ten thousand zhang in size.

That seal was covered with ancient inscriptions, each word representing the rules and order of the Righteous Path.

“Fall!”

The seal fell.

It was as if the entire firmament had collapsed.

Space was locked, and time seemed to freeze. Other than resisting head-on, there was no other way!

“Come on!”

Starlight exploded in Su Lin's eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced, actively charging toward that seal.

He clenched his right fist, and the starry sky scroll behind him instantly contracted, condensing onto his fist.

At the same time, the three powers of Dead Silence, Decay, and Destruction, like three venomous dragons, coiled around his arm.

This punch was his strongest strike since his Rebirth!

“Break... for me!!!”

Fist and seal collided.

Sound had already been swallowed by the terrifying clash of energy.

A moment of absolute whiteness appeared between heaven and earth.

“Crack!!”

A visible ring of energy, like a nuclear explosion, swept across ten thousand miles!

“Not good! Quickly, activate the Formation!”