251: The Star Absorbing Technique, the Eight Qis Return to Origin!

The originally condensed Sword Qi suddenly erupted, transforming into hundreds of fragmented Sword Qi, each precisely targeting a wisp of Xenomorph True Qi.

“Chichi—!”

The dense clashing sounds of Qi were like rain hitting banana leaves.

For a time, Qi surged through the courtyard, ice and fire intertwined, and the clang of metal against metal was incessant.

An Yunshan's martial arts were indeed extraordinarily bizarre; his eight True Qi attributes were all different, mutually reinforcing and restraining, cycling endlessly.

Moreover, like a vortex, he continuously generated suction during combat, interfering with his opponent's True Qi circulation. Ordinary masters facing him would find their True Qi in disarray within ten moves, leaving them at his mercy.

However, Lu Jiuyuan's swordsmanship was equally extraordinary. Having fought countless battles, the Guhong Sword in his hand was like a living thing, always finding an opening to penetrate and break the eight-Qi cycle at the most critical moment.

Boom!

The Qi exploded, and the two figures instantly separated.

An Yunshan floated back three zhang, landing silently, the eight Qi still circulating in his palms, but his eyes grew even more somber.

He hadn't expected Lu Jiuyuan's swordsmanship to be so cunning, repeatedly finding the fleeting weak points in his eight-Qi cycle and breaking through with precision, which made him quite uncomfortable.

What shocked him even more was that the opponent's True Qi was incredibly condensed, and the True Qi he absorbed with his unfailingly effective Star-Sucking Art was minuscule.

“Good swordsmanship, good Internal Energy!”

An Yunshan said hoarsely, “Unfortunately, human power has its limits. This Star-Sucking Art of mine, with eight Qi returning to the origin, cycles endlessly, inexhaustibly, overwhelming opponents with sheer force. How many times can you withstand it?”

Lu Jiuyuan flew seven zhang away, leaving deep marks on the ground.

“How did your Star-Sucking Art become like this?”

“The Star-Sucking Art can absorb others' Internal Energy for one's own use, but it cannot transform the opponent's Internal Energy into one's own Internal Energy.”

An Yunshan explained calmly; applying the Star-Sucking Art to such an extent was one of his proudest achievements.

“It's not considered a top-tier martial art. Many people have practiced this technique since ancient times, but they often perish due to the conflicting and impure True Qi within their bodies.

But I am different. I painstakingly cultivated Star-Sucking True Qi for 40 years, then carefully selected eight top-tier Jianghu experts.

After absorbing their lifelong cultivation, I used a fundamental Qi to suppress the eight Qi, sitting at the center and commanding all directions! I can absorb and release at will, free and unfettered!

This is your honor; everyone who has truly seen me strike has died.”

Before his voice faded, he moved again. This time, he no longer launched close-range assaults but continuously struck out with both palms, sending out streams of palm force imbued with different True Qi attributes from a distance.

Sometimes, a crimson palm print carried a scorching heat that could incinerate everything; sometimes, a dark blue palm wind emanated a bone-chilling cold; sometimes, an earthy yellow Qi was as heavy as a mountain pressing down; sometimes, a green stream of light was as swift as lightning... The eight Qi rotated, endlessly changing, enveloping Lu Jiuyuan from all directions, completely sealing off all his escape routes.

Lu Jiuyuan's eyes narrowed slightly; this old fellow was indeed troublesome.

He wielded his Guhong Sword, its light flashing, either thrusting or parrying, poking or smashing, precisely breaking apart each incoming palm force of different attributes.

Each time the sword tip met a palm force, a violent energy ripple erupted. Ice and fire intertwined, metal and stone clashed, leaving the courtyard's ground, rockeries, and pillars in ruins.

However, An Yunshan's offensive was like a tide, one wave following another, with the eight True Qi attributes used in alternation, forcing Lu Jiuyuan to constantly adjust his responses, greatly depleting his mental energy.

Even more troublesome was the omnipresent, albeit weak, pulling force, which clung to him like a maggot in the bone, continuously interfering with his True Qi circulation and stealing his Internal Energy. Over time, he would inevitably fall into a disadvantage.

“I can't drag this out with him!” Lu Jiuyuan's mind raced, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

Just as two palm forces—one blazing like fire, one chilling like ice—struck simultaneously, Lu Jiuyuan neither dodged nor retreated. The three True Qi within his body surged and roared with unprecedented speed!

His left palm suddenly radiated cold, condensing frost-white freezing Qi, while his right palm blazed with flames, crimson fire Qi surging. He simultaneously unleashed the two extreme powers of ultimate cold and ultimate heat!

“Hmm? Trying to counter me with ice and fire? Preaching to the master! Watch me use ice and fire to subdue ice and fire!”

Seeing this, An Yunshan curled his lips in disdain. He urged his palm force, making the ice and fire dual palms even more powerful.

However, the next instant, the disdain on his face instantly turned to astonishment!

Lu Jiuyuan's palms did not meet separately but suddenly clasped together in front of his chest!

The extreme cold frost Qi and the extreme hot fire Qi—these two forces that should have conflicted and annihilated each other—did not explode in his palms. Instead, they were forcibly bound, compressed, and fused by an even more profound and magnificent power!

Three-Part Yuan Qi! The return to the origin means to gather all things into one furnace!

With the thick earth and diamond as the bone, the changes of the fire cloud as the network, and the freezing cold as the filling, he forcefully commanded ice and fire!

A transparent, colorless, strange Qi vortex, with ice-blue and fiery-red halos flowing at its edges, appeared between Lu Jiuyuan's palms.

As soon as this Qi vortex appeared, the surrounding air seemed to be sucked dry, light distorted, emitting a terrifying destructive fluctuation.

“Take this, Three-Part Yuan Qi!”

Lu Jiuyuan let out a low roar and thrust his palms forward!

The ice-fire primordial Qi ball emitted a low rumble and instantly collided with the ice and fire dual palms unleashed by An Yunshan!

There was no violent collision as imagined, nor was there a frantic release of energy.

The ice-fire primordial Qi ball did not directly clash with An Yunshan's palm force. Instead, at the moment of contact, it deflected, as if alive, arcing around the most ferocious torrent of palm force and directly striking An Yunshan's body!

An Yunshan's pupils contracted sharply. He never expected Lu Jiuyuan's control over True Qi to be so exquisite, able to manipulate such violent power as if it were an extension of his arm!

In haste, he could only rapidly recall the eight True Qi, forming a continuously circulating, colorful True Qi shield in front of him.

“Boom—!!!”

The ice-fire primordial Qi ball slammed fiercely into the eight-Qi shield!

This time, it was a straightforward, unadorned head-on clash!

The anticipated explosion did not happen immediately. The primordial Qi ball, like a high-speed rotating drill, frantically eroded and tore at the eight-Qi shield.

Ice-blue and fiery-red halos flashed rapidly, intensely rubbing and annihilating with the eight-colored True Qi, emitting a grating “sizzling” sound and bursting forth with blinding light!

A violent wave of Qi violently spread out in a ring, centered on the point of collision!

“Crack! Rumble!”

The pillars around the courtyard snapped, the rockeries and huge stones were sent flying and shattered, and the bluestone slabs on the ground were churned up layer by layer, as if plowed!

Dust soared into the sky, obscuring the moonlight.

“Ugh...!”

An Yunshan grunted, his body shaking violently, retreating seven or eight steps with a “thump, thump, thump,” each step leaving a deep footprint on the ground. A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

The circulation of the eight Qi within his body clearly became sluggish and chaotic, and the carefully maintained balance.

Under the incomparably domineering impact of the Three-Part Yuan Qi, there was a faint sign of collapse!

“Whoosh!”

A figure in a green robe broke through the dust, man and sword becoming one, transforming into a streak of light, directly piercing An Yunshan's heart!

It was precisely when his old strength was depleted and new strength had yet to form!

A trace of horror and fury flashed in An Yunshan's eyes. He roared, disregarding the stinging pain in his Meridians, forcefully urged the unpacified eight True Qi, and thrust both palms forward. A twisted Qi wall, mixed with eight colors, appeared out of thin air, attempting to block this killing blow!

“Break!”

Lu Jiuyuan exhaled, the Sword Qi at the tip of the Guhong Sword highly condensed. A point of cold light arrived first, followed by the sword striking out like a Dragon!

The sword tip precisely struck the weakest and most chaotic point of the Qi wall!

“Puff—!”

Like tearing silk, the twisted Qi wall was pierced by a single sword! The Sword Qi's momentum remained undiminished, penetrating straight through!

An Yunshan retreated violently, simultaneously twisting his body with all his might.

“Rip!”

The Sword Qi grazed past his ribs, bringing forth a spray of blood and leaving a deep, bone-visible wound. Even his wriggling internal organs could be vaguely seen.

Had he not retreated quickly, this sword would have already pierced his heart!

“Hoh... hoh...”

An Yunshan clutched the wound on his ribs, blood gushing from between his fingers, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

“Three-Part Yuan Qi... What a Three-Part Yuan Qi! To be able to break my Star-Sucking Art, my eight Qi returning to the origin!”