One man and one saber. It was as if in within all of heaven and earth, there was only that one person's existence. That person's gaze was filled with disdain, looking down on all others.
People blankly watched that figure. That scene was forever imprinted in their minds, something impossible to forget.
Even once they were old seniors, they would still tell stories to their grandchildren about that domineering figure.
"Jiejiejie, interesting. I can sense your anger, but I can't sense your fear. You really are an ignorant fool. Do you really think you are able to fight against me?" Gui Sha laughed sinisterly.
"Old ghost, despite living for so long and proclaiming yourself as an expert, you don't even know what the source of a cultivator's strength is." Long Chen walked close to Gui Sha and stopped, standing there and mocking him.
"Then what do you say it is?" Gui Sha sneered. He had already seen through the circumstances and was able to break out of this formation any time he wished. But first he wanted to grab a protective talisman. That would be Long Chen. He was just waiting for an opportunity.
Long Chen sneered, "The greatest strength of a cultivator isn't their talent, willpower, not any techniques, but a will to protect.
"A cultivator can explode out with ten times his strength when facing death. But if you have something to protect in your heart, you can explode with ten times that strength; in other words, a hundred times the strength.
"That is because when us cultivators must protect our goal, protect what is important to us, we are able to give up anything, including our own lives. That is the power of a will to protect."
Most people just blankly stared as he said that. But Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu came to a sudden enlightenment.
As for Elder Tu Fang, he was delighted and finally understood why both Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu would revive their ancestral marks at the same time.
For their companion's safety, their own lives became no longer important to themselves. That had already surpassed the realm of life and death to an even higher realm.
Tu Fang sighed. Long Chen was not even a fraction of his age, but he already had such a profound understanding of cultivation. If he didn't die, he would definitely become a heaven-shaking expert. Unfortunately… Divergents were doomed to have short lives.
"Only when you have something to protect can you push forward with all your strength. Only when you have something to protect can you possess a determination undeterred by death. Only when you have something to protect can your Dao-heart become firm, capable of bringing you through all the thistles and thorns on the cultivation path, advancing bravely.
"As for you inhuman corrupt apprentices, you treat your fellow humans as cultivation tools. You will never be able to understand what it means to protect something. So what qualifications do you have to jeer at me? You are the one who is ignorant," icily said Long Chen.
"That's just crap, hypocritical pompous nonsense you fools like to repeat. On the path of cultivation, who hasn't stepped on top of other people in order to climb higher?
"This is a world where the weak are prey to the strong, a survival of the fittest. None of you have the right to criticize us.
"If your reasoning really was correct, over these countless years, your Righteous sects wouldn't have constantly been suppressed by our Corrupt sects.
"The weak have no right to speak so grandly. An amateur who has just entered the cultivation world also dares talk big? That's truly laughable.
"Since you've said some crap about protecting, just bring out that power and show me what that trash is," icily taunted Gui Sha.
From ancient times till now, the Righteous and Corrupt paths had always opposed the other. The war between them had never stopped. They both thought their own paths and reasoning were correct while the other was wrong.
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So when Long Chen mentioned that, Gui Sha also retorted as well. The most infuriating thing to him was was that Long Chen had tricked him into handing over the Netherworld Ghost Steps, which was a blasphemy against his beliefs.
"With something to protect in the heart, the spirit always has somewhere to return; that is the source of a cultivator's strength! Since you want to see it, then I will show you!"
BOOM!
Long Chen's voice seemed to have come from above the heavens, shaking everyone's hearts. When he finished, a terrifying wave of qi crushed the land. A huge three hundred meter ring of light appeared.
When that ring of light appeared behind Long Chen, the world began to incessantly tremble. Intense rumbling came from the air as the air seemed to become an ocean with huge waves surging towards Long Chen.
Terrifying energy released a powerful pressure. Some people had difficulty breathing, feeling as if they were being crushed by a huge mountain.
"What a powerful pressure!" Tu Fang was shocked. The current Long Chen's strength had already far surpassed the Blood Condensation realm. That was completely inconceivable.
Just what was the ring of light behind him? How did it manage to constantly absorb spiritual qi from the world? Was it some kind of Battle Skill or part of a cultivation technique?
Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu were also shocked. Was that figure enveloped by that divine ring really the Long Chen they knew?
Just the pressure from that light made it hard for them to breath. Was that the same glib-tongued fellow from before?
Guo Ran was standing amongst the crowd, looking at that figure with worship. His fists were tightly clenched; that was his unstoppable boss.
All the Elders looked at Long Chen with astonishment. But there was one of them who sunk into contemplation after that initial shock, a hint of greed appearing in his eyes.
"In order to protect those close to me, I have no fears; my heart is bright and a grand Dao fills me. How could you evil demons possibly understand that? Receive my saber!"
Long Chen stepped forward, the saber in his hand growing as Saber Qi filled the sky. But in just an instant, all that Saber Qi condensed into one saber.
BOOM!
That saber slashed down, directly cutting a huge ditch into the ground hundreds of meters long. As for Gui Sha, he was at the end of that ditch; a huge hole opened on his chest, but no blood flowed out.
Looking at that long ditch, people were too terrified to speak. That kind of destructive strength was something they had never even dreamed about.
Perhaps if it struck them, even a thousand lives wouldn't have been enough to survive that attack. That Long Chen was even more monstrous than the monsters.
Lei Qianshang and Qi Xin's expressions greatly changed, and a feeling of intense jealousy filled them. They were also arrogant geniuses, and being suppressed like this caused them to be indignant and furious.
"Bastard, if this corpse wasn't such trash, I would be able to kill you with a single slap!" Gui Sha angrily roared.
He was an expert of the Corrupt path with many great skills. But now all that remained of him was his soul, he was suppressed by the formation, and this corpse was not at all on the same level as him, causing him to fly into a rage.
"Tch, who doesn't know how to boast? If I had also lived as long as you had, I could kill you with a single fart," sneered Long Chen.
Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu exchanged a glance. It seemed the Long Chen they knew had returned.
"Bastard, die!"
Gui Sha charged at Long Chen, those strange lines once more lighting up his body, his devilish aura becoming even more terrifying.
"You aren't a person or a ghost anymore, but you still haven't died, so why should I?"
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Long Chen slashed his saber on the coming Gui Sha. With those strange lines covering Gui Sha's body, the two of them once more began to fight.
But people could clearly see some small things flying out while the two fought.
"What is that?"
"It looks like… that person's flesh!"
"I understand now! Long Chen's strength was risen to the point where he can already break apart that corrupt corpse's defense!" suddenly exclaimed someone.
Everyone carefully looked, and it was true. Holes had appeared in Gui Sha's fist. Those small things that were flying out were bits of his fists' flesh.
That corrupt corpse had been soaked in a medicinal bath to become incredibly hard to the point where blades could not harm it. With the assistance of Spiritual Strength, its defense was incredibly sturdy.
That was especially true since Gui Sha's soul had been training for over a thousand years. His Spiritual Strength was a boundless ocean which made the corrupt corpse's body even harder.
But now he was already greatly exhausted. With Long Chen's increase in strength and his Spiritual Strength sharply dropping, his defense was no longer able to block Long Chen's attacks.
Tang Wan-er and Ye Zhiqiu celebrated. That meant victory was near. Now that this opponent's Spiritual Strength had begun to run out, he was already unable to continue for much longer.
They had all killed a corrupt corpse before and knew that this was a sign that victory was near. Although there had been many twists and turns, they had still succeeded in the end.
Tu Fang nodded. He really was worthy of being a legendary Divergent. Once he had a core disciple's grooming in the Xuantian Monastery, he wouldn't just rise one or two levels, but perhaps all the way to the top.
Not only was he excited, he also rejoiced in the fact that he had chosen to bring Long Chen to the Xuantian Monastery. Having given him that chance, he had also given a chance to the monastery. Was that perfect coincidence the will of the heavens?
Wielding his saber, his Saber Qi shook the heavens. With the support of his divine ring, he practically couldn't use up his spiritual qi even if he tried.
This place was the Xuantian Monastery, and the spiritual qi was more than plenty here. As long as he didn't use his FengFu Battle Armor, he was more than capable of replenishing his energy. He wouldn't have to worry about running out of spiritual qi for a while.
So the longer it went, the more advantageous it would become for him. That was because Gui Sha was exhausting his Spiritual Strength. Each bit he used would make him a bit weaker. He was unable to replenish his energy.
BANG! Gui Sha was forced back several steps by Long Chen's saber. At this point his fist was only bone, all the flesh having already been torn away.
He had no method to replenish that much spiritual energy. Gui Sha was truly in a desperate situation now.
"Netherworld Devouring Life!"
A black image appeared behind Gui Sha. That image was one of a fiend's eye. When it appeared, Gui Sha's aura immediately once more exploded out in greater strength, and it actually locked Long Chen in place.
Long Chen shook, as he could sense Gui Sha's strength had at least multiplied several times. But on the other hand, his Spiritual Strength was now quickly draining away even faster.
That was definitely one of his final moves. By sacrificing a great deal of his Spiritual Strength, he could crazily increase his strength. That old fellow truly was too terrifying. Even as just a soul, he still possessed so many tricks. If he had been alive, he would definitely have been far too powerful.
But when he arrived there in his thoughts, Long Chen became a bit regretful that he hadn't managed to steal more techniques from him. Only obtaining the Netherworld Ghost Steps truly was regretful.
"Yellow Springs Fist!"
A claw that was only made of bone charged at Long Chen.
Long Chen took a deep breath. At this point, he had two choices. He could use the FengFu Battle Armor or he could use it.
Raising his saber, he no longer reserved any energy from his FengFu Star. His spiritual energy charged through nine acupuncture points and then finally inserted into his saber.
The saber immediately began to emit a sharp sound and strange light appeared over it. The entire saber seemed to come to life; a ray of Saber Qi soared in the sky, lighting up the battlefield.
"Split the Heavens!" Long Chen silently shouted inside, his saber slashing down!