82: Mastering the power of nature, he stood up to the great poet Li Bai!

Three days later.

Western China, the heart of the Taklamakan Desert.

This is a true forbidden zone for life, known as the "Sea of Death."

However, right in the heart of this unchanging sea of sand, a metallic temporary base rose from the ground in just forty-eight hours.

Above the base, three high-orbit reconnaissance satellites belonging to the military had already completed emergency orbital maneuvers, pointing their cold lenses at a vast area with a fifty-kilometer radius centered on the base.

In the lower airspace, several "Rainbow" series high-altitude long-endurance drones were circling on fixed routes, their high-precision optoelectronic pods under the fuselage continuously transmitting real-time footage back to the ground.

A surveillance Skynet covering both heaven and earth had been quietly woven.

Chen Jianguo arrived at the command center with the Ninth Bureau's technical team.

Inside the base, a state of Level 1 combat readiness was instantly declared.

The massive main screen was split into dozens of independent monitoring feeds, displaying every movement in the desert in real-time. From the minute shifts of sand dunes to the density of dust in the air, all data was being frantically analyzed and recorded.

Staff members in various uniforms operated rapidly at their posts. The sounds of typing and hushed reports intertwined, and the air was thick with high tension.

"Report: wind speed in the target area is 3.2 meters per second, humidity is below 5%, everything is normal."

"All sensor arrays are functioning normally."

"Satellite imagery is clear; no abnormal targets detected."

A Z-20 utility helicopter roared loudly as it landed steadily on the base's temporary helipad.

The cabin door opened.

Wearing a set of ordinary white sportswear, Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 walked down the gangway alone under the gaze of a group of fully armed soldiers.

He did not enter the base. Instead, he picked a direction and set off alone toward the center of the boundless desert, his figure appearing as tiny as a black speck in the vast sea of sand.

Half an hour later, another special plane emblazoned with a unique insignia roared into view.

The plane landed at the base.

Zhang Ruoxu, with his snow-white hair and beard and an air of transcendent grace, entered the command center directly, accompanied by Ninth Bureau field personnel.

As for Saber Li Bai, he didn't even wait for the plane to come to a complete stop.

Ten thousand meters in the air, the moment the cabin door opened, he stepped out.

His green robes fluttered wildly in the gale as his form transformed into a straight green rainbow in the sky, tearing through the clouds and plunging directly into the depths of the desert.

The direction in which the green rainbow fell mirrored the direction Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 was heading.

Inside the command center, Zhang Ruoxu's arrival caused a minor stir.

He calmly scanned the room, which was filled with a futuristic and cold martial atmosphere, observing the busy uniformed personnel and the screens flashing with endless data.

When the main screen clearly captured the image of Li Bai traveling as a rainbow, covering a thousand meters in an instant, Zhang Ruoxu's eyes narrowed slightly.

He understood.

The state attached great importance to today's sparring match.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Rome, inside a luxury hotel suite.

Jiang Ming's true body was sinking comfortably into a sofa.

There was no physical screen before him, but through the soul link with Mirror Image No. 1, a virtual viewing interface containing all sensory information was clearly unfolding in front of him.

He could see what Mirror Image No. 1 saw, hear what he heard, and even feel the dry desert wind.

"I hope I don't lose too badly..."

Jiang Ming muttered to himself.

Even though Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 had been strengthened by Jiang Ming's true body and was on the same level as Li Bai, Mirror Image No. 1, who lacked any combat experience, would likely be no match for Li Bai... In the heart of the desert.

The setting sun was as red as blood, dyeing the rolling sand dunes a magnificent gold.

Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 stopped his pace.

About a kilometer directly ahead of him, Li Bai's figure emerged from the green rainbow, standing silently.

The two looked at each other from a distance.

The howling wind and sand suddenly came to a standstill at this moment.

All sounds were silenced.

Inside the command center, all the high-precision microphones clearly captured that voice.

"green lotus sword, Li Taibai."

Li Bai's voice carried an innate pride and free-spiritedness.

"Jiang Ming, please advise."

Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 nodded slightly as a return of the courtesy.

Then, he slowly raised his right hand.

He activated the ability of [Child of Weather].

The sky changed.

Within a ten-kilometer radius, the sky transformed from a cloudless blue to a somber gray in just three seconds.

Thick, heavy dark clouds gathered from all directions, as dense as lead, pressing down firmly overhead.

The temperature plummeted by a full twenty degrees.

The dry smell of dust in the air was replaced by a cold, damp breath.

In the next second.

Splash!

A torrential downpour, something that should have been impossible in the heart of the Taklamakan Desert, fell from the sky.

Raindrops as large as beans slammed frantically onto the scorching sand, kicking up a mist of white steam.

"Warning! Warning! Abnormal meteorological data!"

"Detected a pressure drop of 98 hectopascals in the central zone within three seconds! Temperature dropped by 22.6 degrees Celsius! Humidity reached 100% instantly!"

"This is impossible! This completely violates the laws of thermodynamics! This isn't scientific!"

...Inside the command center, all meteorological monitoring equipment simultaneously emitted sharp alarms. The data curves on the screens jumped frantically at vertical angles, completely overturning all known principles of meteorology.

Several meteorologists who had been urgently summoned stared intently at the screens, their expressions shifting from shock to lethargy, and finally to a total blank.

Their worldview was being ruthlessly crushed.

Chen Jianguo stood before the main screen, hands behind his back, his face as grim as still water.

He did not speak, merely using his sharp eyes to stare intently at everything on the screen.

Amidst the torrential rain.

Li Bai continued to stand silently. As rain fell within a foot of his body, it was automatically parted by an invisible force; not a single drop of water dampened his green robes.

He looked up at the leaden sky, a hint of approval showing in his eyes.

Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 raised his hand again.

[Raven Summoning Technique] activated!

"Screech—!"

From within the impenetrable dark clouds, countless Shadow Crowss composed of pure shadow energy emitted shrill shrieks and charged out.

They had no flesh or blood, no physical form, and were pitch black all over, with only two points of crimson fire burning in their eye sockets.

There were thousands upon thousands, blotting out the sun.

They converged into a black storm of death, carrying an aura that could tear everything apart as they lunged frantically toward Li Bai's position.

The Shadow Crows legion slammed hard into the invisible protective sword qi surrounding Li Bai.

It was like surging waves crashing against an eternal reef.

The moment the countless Shadow Crowss touched the sword qi, they were strangled by the sharp intent contained within, shattered into the most primitive shadow energy, and dissipated into a cloud of black mist.

But almost simultaneously, even more Shadow Crowss were infinitely respawning within the dark clouds, charging forward one after another.

Endless and immortal.

Inside the command center, Zhang Ruoxu watched the shocking scene on the screen and spoke slowly; his voice wasn't loud, yet everyone around him heard him clearly.

"Neither living nor dead, nearly approaching the Great Dao."

"Impressive technique."

On the battlefield, Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1's figure abruptly vanished from his spot.

In the next second, he appeared high in the air, a hundred meters behind Li Bai.

Beneath him was a massive black throne formed by countless Shadow Crowss circling and converging.

[Raven Throne]!

Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 sat calmly upon the throne, looking down at Li Bai from above.

He pointed a finger lightly toward the center of Li Bai's back.

[Celestial Judgment]!

Boom!

A bolt of purple lightning, thicker than a water bucket, tore through the dim sky and struck straight toward Li Bai with a violent aura that could destroy anything.

Li Bai didn't even turn his head.

He merely reached back and gripped the hilt of the "green lotus sword" at his waist.

Just a split second before the purple lightning was about to strike him.

He drew his sword from its scabbard.

A seemingly ordinary blue-green sword light flicked upward lightly.

The moment the violent purple lightning touched the blue-green sword light, it was precisely split in two down the middle.

It was cut open.

Like a piece of cloth being cut down the middle by a pair of sharp scissors.

The two separated bolts of lightning struck the sand dozens of meters away on either side of Li Bai.

The high temperature instantly melted the sand, leaving behind two massive glass craters over ten meters in diameter, bottomless, with edges as smooth as mirrors.

Splitting lightning with a single sword stroke.

Li Bai sheathed his sword, the entire process flowing like water.

Only then did he speak, his voice remaining calm.

"Your lightning technique is good, but unfortunately, it's too focused on raw power and lacks variation."

Atop the throne, Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 did not reply.

[Plant Control (Advanced)] ability activated.

Trait [Growth of All Things] activated!

With Li Bai at the center, beneath the sand for a kilometer around, countless plant seeds that had been suppressed by this Sea of Death for centuries were forcibly stimulated by a domineering life force.

Resilient Tamarisk, drought-resistant Saxaul, and various unnamed desert plants burst frantically through the sand.

They sprouted, budded, and grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just ten seconds.

This area transformed from a barren wasteland into a lush jungle over ten meters high, filled with dense foliage.

A sea of green completely swallowed Li Bai's figure.

Trait [Every Tree a Soldier] activated!

The entire jungle instantly came to life.

Countless thick roots, like subterranean giant pythons, burst from the ground and coiled frantically toward Li Bai.

Innumerable sharp branches hardened like swords, whistling through the air as they stabbed at him from all directions.

Standing in the forest, Li Bai neither dodged nor avoided the world-destroying siege.

He took the wine gourd from his waist, tilted his head back, and took a long draught.

As the spicy liquor slid down his throat, a hint of drunkenness entered his eyes, along with a touch of heroic passion.

He began to recite.

"Do you not see the waters of the Yellow River coming from the sky, rushing to the sea, never to return."

[Qinglian Sword Song] activated!

As the verse was recited, an invisible and grand artistic conception, beyond the description of words, spread out with him at the center.

It wasn't energy, nor was it a shockwave; it was an overlay of a "concept."

All the frantically growing plants, all the strangling roots and branches, seemed to be violently washed away by an invisible, mighty force of time.

In that single instant, they completed the entire process from sprouting to peak growth, then to withering and decay.

The entire newly born jungle instantly turned into rotten wood on the ground, scattering with the wind.

The moment the poetic conception spread, Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 activated [Elemental Avatar].

His body on the throne instantly decomposed, merging into the torrential rain and vanishing completely, perfectly avoiding that conceptual wash.

A moment later, he re-materialized into human form within the curtain of rain a hundred meters away.

Li Bai looked at the reappearing figure and raised his wine gourd once more.

He recited again.

"When one is successful in life, one must enjoy to the fullest; do not let the golden goblet face the moon in vain."

This time, the sword intent was entirely different from before.

If "the waters of the Yellow River" were the ceaseless, unstoppable force of time.

Then "enjoying to the fullest" was an ultimate state of grandeur and light.

In the sky, all the Shadow Crowss that had been unafraid of death instantly froze upon contact with this artistic conception.

The concepts of "shadow" and "death" they represented were forcibly dispelled and purified by the grand and bright conception of "enjoying to the fullest."

One after another, they silently turned into nothingness.

The [Raven Throne] in the sky also collapsed as the Shadow Crows legion was annihilated.

The dark clouds shrouding the sky began to slowly disperse.

The torrential rain also gradually ceased.

Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 slowly descended from the air, his feet stepping onto the damp sand.

Li Bai looked at him, and the green lotus sword in his hand never left its scabbard again.

He hung the wine gourd back on his waist; after all, this was just a sparring match, not a life-and-death duel.

He spoke.

"Today, we are evenly matched. What do you say?"

Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 nodded.

"I have learned much."

As he finished speaking, his form suddenly decomposed into hundreds of Shadow Crowss.

The flock of ravens cawed, took flight, and scattered toward the base.

Li Bai smiled freely, and his form once again turned into a green rainbow, soaring into the sky and returning to the base the way he came.

On the vast desert, only two massive glass craters and a patch of rain-soaked sand remained, bearing witness to the astonishing duel that had just taken place.