This was the first time Chen Shi had offered up the Western King's Jade Seal as a magic treasure.
In the past, the Western King's Jade Seal had little power. Without the Mountains and Rivers Map and without the enfeoffment of gods, it was merely an ordinary treasure carved from jade. However, combined with the Mountains and Rivers Map and the Earth Spirits from various regions, its power grew greater and greater.
Because it was the symbol of royal authority.
Mountains and Rivers referred to geographical terrain and waterways, while State and Grain referred to all the land gods and grain gods upon that geography.
Land and grain represented the territory of survival and food, which were of utmost importance to the human race.
The Mountains and Rivers Map was the record that governed and documented the human race's territory of survival and grain production.
Only by possessing these could one truly wield royal power.
Since the True King's passing, the Western King's Jade Seal had been held in the Western Capital, but it was essentially an empty shell, of little use, precisely because it lacked the Mountains and Rivers Map within.
But now, Chen Shi had already lit up four provinces on the Mountains and Rivers Map.
The power of state and grain from four provinces empowered this seal. As the treasure seal descended, the space around them twisted. The sky visible to Zhong Wuwang's eyes shrank to the size of the seal, and this patch of sky was pressing down upon him.
As it drew closer, the seal grew larger and larger in his field of vision, filling his entire sight until nothing else remained!
Such was the might of supreme royal authority!
Zhong Wuwang's expression changed instantly. The earring dangling from his ear suddenly flew up. The sun wheel on the earring blazed with fiery light, transforming into a blazing sun soaring into the sky, while the crescent moon turned into a curved moon. Sun and moon intertwined, yin and yang churning endlessly, as they rose to meet the descending Western King's Jade Seal.
This earring of his was a heavy immortal treasure. It was obtained on his first departure from Despair Slope when he followed his master on a journey. His master had taken him into an area of prehistoric relics, where he acquired it from the corpse of an immortal.
Back then, the earring floated in the air, and no one could approach it. Even his master, whose cultivation was unfathomably profound, was repeatedly forced back by the yin-yang energy emanating from the earring.
Only Zhong Wuwang had perceived the mysteries of the patterns on the earring, comprehending the method to refine it, and calmly claimed it for himself.
Since then, he had hung this earring on his left ear, wearing it as an ornament in daily life, but when danger arose, it became his protective talisman.
Though small, its power was incomparably fierce. It had accompanied him through many dangerous situations. This time, when the ancestral masters of the Fei, Yan, and Gu families came to kill him, their strength was undeniably terrifying. Even with his Innate Dao Embryo, he had suffered repeated severe injuries. Fortunately, with the Yin-Yang Sun-Moon Rings, he had managed to escape death time and again.
What he hadn't expected was that, encountering Chen Shi this time, he would be forced to offer up the Yin-Yang Sun-Moon Rings just to buy a sliver of hope for survival!
Yin and yang energies drove a great sun and a curved moon higher and higher. As the two energies circulated, they actually formed a magnificent scene of mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, and plains beneath the sun and moon!
The treasure's power grew stronger and stronger. With a deafening clang, it collided with the Western King's Jade Seal. Then the sun and moon extinguished, the great sun and bright moon rapidly shrank, and the world formed by the yin-yang energies collapsed and annihilated!
This immortal treasure transformed back into a sun wheel and a crescent moon, tracing two streams of gold-white light through the air before hanging back on Zhong Wuwang's ear.
Zhong Wuwang let out a muffled groan. The recoil force from the Yin-Yang Sun-Moon Rings caused wounds all over his body to burst open, blood flowing freely.
Fortunately, the Innate Dao Embryo within the miniature shrine bore the brunt of most of the recoil force, preventing him from exploding to death.
After the Western King's Jade Seal clashed once with the Yin-Yang Sun-Moon Rings, the vision that had covered the entire sky vanished. Zhong Wuwang immediately seized this opportunity to flicker away in escape.
His injuries were extremely severe, and his own cultivation could hardly be used, which was why he had been forced to hide in Qinghe Town.
The injuries he had barely suppressed now erupted again due to the clash with Chen Shi. If he continued to tangle with Chen Shi, once the Western King's Jade Seal descended again, he would have no chance of survival.
He used Earth Escape. Earth Escape was a technique where a cultivator's body transformed into earth, traveling through the ground. Anywhere there was earth, they could traverse, and in a safe place, they would transform from earth back into human form and fly out.
However, the moment he dove into the earth, the ground around him vanished, and his figure appeared in the sky.
"Heaven-Earth Variation? The earth turned into the sky!"
Zhong Wuwang remained completely composed. He immediately activated the Innate Dao Embryo, breaking the Heaven-Earth Variation, and transformed into a streak of fire to flee.
But just as he entered the state of Fire Escape, he immediately flew out from a clump of flames—right next to Chen Shi.
He was met with Chen Shi's storm-like offensive. Using his fingers as swords, Chen Shi sent sword energy shooting from his fingertips toward Zhong Wuwang's heart. Zhong Wuwang retreated and sidestepped, dodging the sword energy that shot from his fingertips. At the same time, Chen Shi's other hand had already reached his throat, clamping down on his larynx, about to tear his throat out.
Zhong Wuwang tensed his throat. Thick tendons bulged and bounced, flicking Chen Shi's fingers away.
Chen Shi kicked at his groin. Zhong Wuwang slid his feet to evade, tilting his head to avoid a slap aimed at his ear. But at that moment, pain struck so hard that tears almost flowed from his eyes. Chen Shi hadn't attacked his vital points; instead, two fingers plunged into his wounds, hooking his flesh and nearly ripping it out.
Zhong Wuwang immediately used Water Escape to flee, but the next moment, great waters appeared, and he flew out from them, only to be met by sword light that split into two, then four, then eight, then sixteen.
The two of them dodged and leaped across the water's surface, the sword energy around them growing more numerous, whistling and dancing all around.
Those streams of sword energy passed through the cracks between Chen Shi's fingers, from under his armpits, from his elbows, from behind his back, and from other hidden places. His form shielded the sword energy, and the sword energy shielded his attacks, throwing Zhong Wuwang into chaos.
Zhong Wuwang activated the Innate Dao Embryo, freezing all the sword energy in place, then transformed into a bolt of lightning to flee.
"Think you can get away?"
Chen Shi raised his hand and grabbed, then yanked. A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, and Zhong Wuwang's form flew out from within that lightning bolt.
Chen Shi charged forward. The two engaged in close-quarters combat, their attack speed growing faster and faster. Chen Shi's every move no longer targeted his vital points but only stabbed at his wounds.
Zhong Wuwang's vital points had been tempered to be flawless, with perfectly impenetrable defense. However, the wounds on his body were precisely the weak points that the ancestral masters of the Yan, Gu, and Fei families had found.
This battle was extremely grueling for Zhong Wuwang. Almost every single wound was attacked by Chen Shi five or six times. Some wounds were stabbed into repeatedly by Chen Shi's fingers, as if he was trying to pull out his flesh and tendons.
He had never seen such a ferocious fighting style.
With attacks this fast, he had no time to cast spells or divine abilities. He could only meet force with force!
"If I can't escape, I will surely die here!"
The thought crossed his mind, and he immediately activated the Innate Dao Embryo. A continuous crackling of thunder sounded as bolt after bolt of lightning struck down from the sky.
Zhong Wuwang transformed into a bolt of lightning and fled, his form appearing within another lightning bolt, then fleeing again, rapidly escaping along the continuously appearing flashes of lightning.
"Chen Shi, once my injuries heal, I will have no more weaknesses. Then we'll have a rematch!"
His voice faded into the distance.
Across the great plains of Lingzhou, bolt after bolt of lightning kept falling, extending far into the distance, covering several thousand li in an instant.
At the same time, in Lingzhou City, the three ancestral masters Yan Weizhong, Gu Tong, and Fei Zichong immediately sensed something and each soared into the air, pursuing those bolts of lightning across the sky!
"Found you!" The three ancestral masters' spirits soared.
Zhong Wuwang fled several tens of thousands of li in one breath, escaping Lingzhou Province, then immediately switched to a different escape method.
He sensed three auras, nearly as powerful as immortals, chasing him. He surmised they were the three ancestral masters, so he dared not hesitate, knowing that if he didn't change his escape method, he would fall victim.
He switched escape methods several times in succession, fleeing to Tangzhou Province, then to Zhemanzhou Province, and Juzhou Province, covering a continuous distance of over ten thousand li before finally shaking off the three old immortals.
Zhong Wuwang concealed his form and tracks, hiding himself away, but still couldn't suppress his excitement.
"This time, despite being severely injured, with Chen Shi wielding the most powerful immortal artifact of the True King's Era, and with three old immortals chasing me, I still managed to escape! Once I patch up these wound weak points, I will have no flaws left, and then I'll have the confidence to kill those three old immortals!"
Every wound on his body was a weak point. Under normal circumstances, it was difficult for him to discover these flaws himself. But the ancestral masters of the three great clans were all peerless geniuses of the True King's Era. In their battle with him, they had keenly identified these weaknesses. Now Zhong Wuwang could target his own vulnerabilities, improve his cultivation techniques and divine abilities, making his techniques even more perfect—and even take a step further!
That step would be becoming an immortal!
His descent from the mountain this time was calculated. He knew the experts of the Thirteen Great Clans would hunt him down, and he intended to use this opportunity to polish himself and break through!
He had absolute confidence in becoming the first immortal under the new method.
Just then, as the excitement faded, Zhong Wuwang began to feel the various wounds on his body burning with fiery pain.
Chen Shi had beaten him badly this time. In terms of cultivation and strength, Chen Shi was far inferior to him, but he had specifically attacked those wounds, making his injuries even worse.
"Child Prodigy, this was your one and only chance to hurt me."
Zhong Wuwang smiled faintly, but then suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left ear. He reached up to touch it and froze, his whole body turning ice-cold.
He couldn't feel the Yin-Yang Sun-Moon Rings.
That immortal artifact had vanished without a trace!
Along with the Yin-Yang Sun-Moon Rings, his left earlobe was also missing!
His left ear was missing a chunk of flesh!
Zhong Wuwang's expression darkened, his face shifting between emotions. He recalled that just before he had fled using the lightning, during their close-quarters combat, one of Chen Shi's attacks had seemingly missed, grazing his left ear.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Chen Shi's attack hadn't missed at all. He had taken the opportunity to tear off the earring along with his earlobe!
Outside Clearwater Town, Chen Shi did not give chase. With his level of cultivation, he couldn't catch up anyway.
Scholar Zhu was recovering from his injuries, and Little Duan Immortal was also wounded. Drawing on their cultivation would only worsen their conditions.
He opened his palm. In the center of his hand, a lump of flesh pulsed and throbbed.
This thumb-sized lump of flesh was precisely Zhong Wuwang's left earlobe.
And hanging from the earlobe was the immortal artifact, the Yin-Yang Sun-Moon Rings.
Chen Shi tossed the lump of flesh to the ground, picked up the Yin-Yang Sun-Moon Rings, and suddenly broke into a smile. "With this treasure, the yin-yang purgation, and even the Three Corpses Gods, will no longer be a problem!"
