Chapter 1641: Chapter 1265: Endless Life! The Seven Divine Weapons Project!
How delicate is the sensing and combat between spirits?
In the Martial World, whenever an expert reaches this Realm, they attain the superior level of Martial Arts known as the divine clarity level.
The so-called lower Martial Arts involve training in moves and techniques, mid-level Martial Arts focus on stance and meditation, and superior Martial Arts emphasize Divine Thought Strike Skill.
When Shakyamuni’s Holy Heart Technique was executed through the Shock Eye Tribulation, it immediately pulled the spirits of Jiang Dali, Zhang Sanfeng, Sword Saint, Yin Zhong, Divine Walk Grand Protector, and others into the mental space crafted by the tribulation.
Reflected in the outside world, there stood in mid-air Shakyamuni like a thin ice shard, whose eyes burst with dazzling Golden Light akin to Extreme Light, tightly entwined with the eyes of Jiang Dali and the other five, entangled and intense.
It was as if heaven and earth paused in an instant.
The five were caught in different spirit spaces, seeming to fall without a foothold, as if the world was spinning.
Yet in just a breath, they all felt mentally exhausted.
However, all five possess the strength of the Returning to Truth Realm; if any one of them were to clash with Shakyamuni in Eye Skill and Primordial Spirit, the outcome would be uncertain.
At this moment, Shakyamuni’s attempt to suppress five with his strength alone also proved daunting.
As soon as he felt weary in spirit, Jiang Dali let out a long cry from within his Spirit, his eyes releasing a dazzling Divine Power, accumulating to a peak momentum; his mighty gaze erupted like whirlpools spewing brilliance.
Spirit Cage!
"Crack!!"
The sound of shattering like a large crystal glass burst forth from within the Spirit.
The spiritual light between Shakyamuni and Jiang Dali’s eye contact instantly collapsed and shattered.
This clash of Primordial Spirits between the Returning to Truth level 8 and level 9 caused both to sense each other’s spiritual impact.
Jiang Dali’s mind was like a blaring blank, dizzy and lightheaded.
Shakyamuni’s Golden Light in his eyes abruptly dimmed a little, and cracks appeared on his ice-like body.
This brief gap and flaw opened by Jiang Dali allowed the other four spirits to connect in this moment, each exerting their ability, immediately breaking free from the spiritual space Shakyamuni had created.
"Roar!!"
Yin Zhong’s eyes shot forth essence like the eyes of a Divine Dragon, transforming the power of Primordial Spirit into a dragon shape, fiercely crashing towards Shakyamuni in mid-air.
Zhang Sanfeng gave a clear shout, his eyes flashing, taking a firm step with his right foot and a tentative step with his left, pushing with both hands to abruptly transform Primordial Spirit power into yin-yang fish, rotating into Tai Chi to strike Shakyamuni.
"Twenty-two Sword!"
Sword Saint’s gray-white hair fluttered, arms spread wide as a net of fierce bird feather-like Sword Qi, intertwined with Sword Intent, swept skyward, enveloping the mid-air.
"Divine Heaven Extreme!"
Divine Walk Grand Protector’s eyes flashed fiercely, suddenly casting aside Ice Emperor and Divine Mother Luo Xian, unleashing a formidable momentum, his hat bursting open under mighty force, revealing a stony face; abruptly he pushed forward with both palms, a wave of golden arc power crashing out.
The four almost acted simultaneously.
Four ferocious attacks transformed into four rainbows, simultaneously bombarding the Primordial Spirit power erupting from Shakyamuni’s eyes.
Following a deafening explosion.
Under the impact of the mighty forces, Shakyamuni’s ice-like body swelled dramatically, exploded into mist of ice powder, and scattered in the wind as if shattered to pieces entirely.
However, at this moment, rather than relax, the group quickly gathered around Jiang Dali, enclosing and protecting Wu Ming, warily watching the swirling ice mist.
"Come, come, come—well done, well done, you five little ones are quite impressive; I, the One God, have suddenly changed my mind; I too value talent. Considering your hard-earned strength, I’ll grant you one more chance to live."
Familiar, almost haunting laughter emanated from the thinning ice mist, as formidable Primordial Spirit power brewed within the mist.
Suddenly gathering, all the mist converged again, forming a glowing human figure.
This figure eerily seemed squeezed out of thin air, revealing a black Dragon Robe, wearing a Mystic Ice Mask, with hair disheveled, somersaulting in mid-air, landing on the ground, wildly laughing with arms raised to the sky, then slowly descended, scanning the group with insolent and profound gazes.
"Pay respects to the Lord!"
Previously, the eight Heavenly Gate Experts seemed to find confidence again at this moment, swiftly stepping forward in reverence, kneeling with fervent worship shining in their eyes.
"Shakyamuni! Do you really think that just by yourself, you can stop us from leaving now?"
Jiang Dali stepped forward, his tiger-like eyes fixed on Shakyamuni, who was exuding a purple light filled with a dangerous aura.
Especially the alarmingly long blood bar appearing above him was astonishing. Although he had clearly been injured under the joint attack of everyone just now, compared to his terrifying blood bar, almost three times longer than Jiang Dali’s, the damage just inflicted was utterly negligible.
What shook him even more was that this blood bar above Shakyamuni’s head wasn’t even at full Qi-Blood capacity. It was evident that about a third of it was still blank, indicating some severe unhealed injuries.
"So, in the last battle at the God-searching Palace, Shakyamuni’s injuries haven’t fully recovered yet. But even so, his current level of Qi-Blood is truly terrifying and exceeded my expectations. Is this the benefit of devouring Phoenix Blood?"
Jiang Dali pondered suspiciously. Even a Divine Beast like the Fire Qilin currently had Qi-Blood of only over eight hundred thousand, leaving a gap compared to him, let alone comparing it to Shakyamuni.
And even though the Fire Qilin was far less than its prime state before its downfall, it’s expected that even at its peak, its Qi-Blood could only match Shakyamuni now.
Just as his mind raced, Shakyamuni uttered a repulsive ’spitting’ sound, stared at Jiang Dali, and coldly said with a laugh, "Black Wind Village Chief, back then I valued your potential and thus sent the Ice Emperor and Divine Mother to assist you. Yet, not only did you not appreciate it, but you stubbornly opposed me. How ungrateful."
He suddenly extended his palm and slowly clenched it into a fist, with his eyes under the Mystic Ice Mask filled with intimidation. "I could have wiped you out with a backhand. However, you’ve managed to break through to the Returning to Truth realm in such a short time, which honestly surprised me. If you now turn back, it’s not too late! I could make you the First Divine General of the Heavenly Gate, second only to me and above tens of thousands!"
"First Divine General?" Jiang Dali sneered, "Why would this village chief need any title bestowed by you, Shakyamuni?"
"Isn’t this quite ambitious of you, Shakyamuni? With all your scheming, do you plan to unify the entire world?"
Zhang Sanfeng smiled kindly, shaking his head with calmness, "The world is now under the governance of the Holy Dynasty. Even the Martial World isn’t beyond the law. With your unparalleled strength, why not do something beneficial for the world? Yet, you insist on concocting poisons, controlling so many in the Martial World to do your bidding. Do you truly believe more followers would immortalize your name?"
"Immortalize my name?"
Shakyamuni’s tone was mocking as he suddenly laughed up to the sky, "Hahaha!——! What I seek is not fame through history, but eternal, endless life. Don’t you all want it — to live for eternity!?"
"Eternal life?"
Everyone’s expression changed.
Only the eight Heavenly Gate experts kneeling on the ground showed expressions of fanatic worship, chanting slogans like "The Lord is wise, eminent in culture and martial virtues."
These people had actually received tangible benefits from him. Some of them, feeling their end approaching due to aging and decrepitude, had defected to him. Shakyamuni had lengthened their lives by decades, thus they now worshipped him fanatically.
Seeing the crowd’s reaction, Shakyamuni laughed heartily, pacing with hands behind his back, speaking in an enticing tone, "Jiang Dali, since you thought of turning to the Feng Clan to find me and brought the Monk Emperor against me, you should have known about my identity in the past.
I mastered the lost apex alchemy techniques of the Yellow Medicine Technique. Years ago, by using ancient alchemy, I refined the Phoenix Blood of a phoenix into a Divine Pill, thus living for over a thousand years, still with endless life."
Shakyamuni’s words were astonishing, calmly revealing this past secret. The eight Heavenly Gate experts and the Divine Walk Grand Protector, who didn’t know before, were all shocked and stunned, finally knowing Shakyamuni’s biggest secret.
Jiang Dali was unmoved, sneering, "So what if you live long? Life is precious for being splendid, not for limitless solitude. The longer you live, the more you lose the meaning of living. If I were like you and lived for a thousand years, you wouldn’t even have the right to speak in my presence. Living so poorly, tell me, what is the meaning of your life?"
"Silence!!"
Shakyamuni shouted abruptly, his momentum rising like furious waves, bringing a terrifying oppression to the entire Ice Prison.
Hearing Jiang Dali’s words, he recalled someone he considered his greatest humiliation in the past — a similarly gifted young individual who brought him disgrace.
Suppressing his anger, he turned and smiled sinisterly, "My patience is limited. I mentioned these out of talent appreciation for you. Now, I have a plan needing seven Divine Weapons and seven apex experts of this age to complete. You all can participate in this plan. Once it’s completed, I will lead you seven to enjoy endless life, eternal life!"
Ending his speech, Shakyamuni grew excited, tilting back slightly, raising his hands, laughing with vigor, "Endless life! Aren’t you tempted?"
Zhang Sanfeng smiled gently, composed, "Glancing across the grand southwest sky, how many care for the genuine immortal? I, an old Taoist, bear a foul body; living as long as I can is enough. No daring to live as long as the heavens, or as virtuous as the earth."
Yin Zhong stepped forward, eyes gleaming at Shakyamuni, laughed, "Endless life is indeed alluring, yet ironically, it’s precisely what I do not envy. Though I haven’t lived a thousand years, I have seen ten cycles of sixty years."
Divine Walk Grand Protector’s expression shifted continuously, ultimately remaining silent.
Shakyamuni’s gaze turned sinister, looking at Jiang Dali and others who were unmoved and beginning to gather momentum, with a mocking, cunning smile, "How foolish! Since none of you value longer life, then... all of you can go die now!!!"
He laughed aloud, his figure suddenly moving not forward, but retreated bizarrely.
Almost simultaneously, a surge of red light, accompanied by a sense of crisis, suddenly emerged from Wu Ming in Jiang Dali’s embrace...
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