Chapter 898 - 893: Fei Xue’s Methods
In an instant, the entire [Seven Luminaries Array for World Stabilization and Truth Preservation] trembled violently.
Two overwhelming torrents of Mana collided. Even after the Array diluted the aftershocks, the neighboring Seven Luminaries Heaven still experienced the anomaly of mountains shifting and rivers flowing backward.
This kind of collision left no room for maneuvering—it was a head-on clash of pure force!
Lü Yang and World Purger Fei Xue faced each other across the distance. On one side, brilliant light flooded like an ocean amidst the deafening roar of thunder and lightning; on the other, white silk cascaded through the sky as a boundless Celestial River swept forth.
The two stalemated for a moment. Ultimately, the boundless Celestial River was the first to collapse, shattering into countless flecks of foam. It was clearly unable to sustain its Mana and seemed to show signs of defeat. However, seeing this, Lü Yang only watched coldly. He had not the slightest intention of pressing the attack. Instead, he voluntarily pulled back and restrained his Mana.
"Something isn’t right. With my [Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder] at Perfection, the Ascension Ceremony completed, and the foundational support of the Dao of Arcane Body, winning is no surprise, but it shouldn’t be an overwhelming victory," he thought. "She’s luring the enemy. If I rush in to pursue, I’ll likely fall into her trap."
Lü Yang pondered, his eyes ice-cold. Although he believed he had absolute certainty of winning this Combat, he wouldn’t truly underestimate his opponent because of it.
On the other side, the shattered foam regrouped after pulling a distance away from Lü Yang. The boundless Celestial River reappeared, and World Purger Fei Xue stood barefoot on the water’s surface. Her breathtakingly beautiful face bore traces of both surprise and admiration.
"What immense Mana!" she thought.
She considered her Cultivation to be quite extraordinary; she had practically reached the absolute peak of the Middle Stage of Golden Core. Aside from lacking somewhat in her Fruit, everything else was virtually maxed out. Therefore, even though she could tell that Lü Yang’s Cultivation was no less than hers—and might even be superior—she still chose to clash head-on. Yet, Lü Yang’s strength exceeded her expectations. Although her recent retreat had an element of luring the enemy, the act itself was an undeniable display of weakness.
Thinking of this, World Purger Fei Xue immediately changed her tactics. "Since my Mana is outmatched, I can only compete in imagery Profound Mysterious and True Treasure foundations. This person doesn’t practice the Pocket World Technique, so I hold the advantage in this aspect."
If brute force couldn’t subdue him, she would win through variations.
World Purger Fei Xue had engaged in Combat for five thousand years without suffering a single defeat. The reason wasn’t just her high Cultivation, but her exceptional Talent Skill in Combat!
In the next second, she rolled up her sleeves.
[Fruit of Gully-Rill Water] Profound Mysterious, [World Purifying Light]!
In an instant, a ray of light materialized in her palm. Its color was pure, a flawless blazing white, as if formed by gathering the most immaculate substances in Heaven and Earth.
The glowing illumination surprisingly shared a similar effect with the lightning of the [Fruit of Divine-Empyrean Thunder]. Its speed was so great that it entirely surpassed the lock-on of True Monarch Divine Thought, making it incredibly hard to capture. Lü Yang had barely caught sight of it when, in the next fraction of a second, a stinging pain struck his eyes. Following that, every part of his body illuminated by the light began to turn ethereal and fade.
The Fruit of Gully-Rill Water possessed a cold, clear, and pure nature. Therefore, the initial function of the [World Purifying Light] was to remove impurities and refine objects. Rather than an offensive Profound Mysterious, it leaned much more toward a supportive role. However, in the hands of World Purger Fei Xue, it took on an entirely different form.
It was used to erase everything she deemed an "impure object." A perfectly good supportive Profound Mysterious was actually wielded by her with an unparalleled, domineering presence!
Seeing this, Lü Yang didn’t panic. Not to mention that his Dharma Body was near Perfection and his robust frame was difficult to injure, his [Fruit of Pine-Cedar Wood] definitely wouldn’t be instantly destroyed in a single move either.
The next second, light ignited at his fingertips, and a resonant Daoist chant left his lips: "[Wind-Shaking Bamboo Flute Rain She Banner]!"
[Fruit of Pine-Cedar Wood] Profound Mysterious, [Righteous Perseverance]!
No matter the attack, as long as it couldn’t kill him, he would gradually develop a resistance to it. At the same time, the heavier his injuries, the faster he would recover!
Once this Profound Mysterious was set in place, the rate at which Lü Yang was being erased by the [World Purifying Light] immediately slowed down. It continued to decelerate as time passed. If both sides remained at a stalemate like this, eventually, the [World Purifying Light] would completely lose its effect on him.
"Is that the extent of her tricks? Impossible!" Lü Yang thought to himself. Instead of relaxing, he focused his mind and calmed his breath.
Suddenly, a brilliant golden light burst forth from the overwhelming, blazing white glow before him. However, it wasn’t until the golden light closed in that he clearly saw its true form. It was a stone.
The stone was engraved with streaks of golden Talisman patterns. It was barely the size of a fist, easily grasped in one hand, yet it provoked an indescribably intense sense of crisis in Lü Yang. Yet, just like the [World Purifying Light], this stone possessed an unblockable, divine speed!
By the time Lü Yang saw it, it had already reached the center of his brow. Without the slightest deviation, it abruptly descended and smashed viciously into his Purple Mansion!
"BOOM!"
With just this single strike, Lü Yang immediately understood what it was.
"A True Treasure refined by extracting the imagery of the [Fruit of Gully-Rill Water], forged through countless Combats and ultimately finalized with the Ascension Ceremony of the [Five Thousand Years of Fighting Number One] Fruit!"
In an instant, Lü Yang’s entire body shook violently. Under the bombardment of this stone, his supposedly indestructible Dharma Body seemed as fragile as paper. It was effortlessly sliced open, split cleanly in half straight down from the center of his brow! Then it exploded, transforming into a sky full of crimson vitality light!
The next second, his vitality gathered back together.
Lü Yang’s figure reemerged. Aside from a red mark on his forehead, there was nothing unusual about him, though traces of astonishment were hidden deep in his eyes as he looked at World Purger Fei Xue.
"What an incredibly powerful True Treasure!" Lü Yang thought. "It wasn’t able to cleave my Dharma Body because its raw power was that strong, but because an imagery was attached to it, naturally giving it the property of Defense Break. Does the [Fruit of Gully-Rill Water] possess such imagery?"
On the other side, World Purger Fei Xue’s figure also reappeared. The glistening golden stone rested in her palm, pulsing restlessly. Meanwhile, the gaze she directed at Lü Yang was similarly filled with a hint of shock.
"The [Sea and Mountain Heaven Opening Stone] actually didn’t kill him," she thought. "This is going to be troublesome..."
Although her previous strike seemed casual, she had actually gone all out, intending to secure victory in one blow. However, the result had greatly disappointed her.
"With the properties of the [Fruit of Pine-Cedar Wood], if the first strike fails, the power of the next strike will be reduced. Since he managed to survive just now, it will only become easier for him moving forward. Given his Position, I can’t expect him to be like Venerable Victory Treasure Pestle Bodhisattva, having all his Profound Mysterious occupied by my attacks," she assessed.
There were no unbreakable Abilities in the world. The [Fruit of Pine-Cedar Wood] was no exception. At the very least, World Purger Fei Xue had two methods to deal with a Fruit Position Profound Mysterious like [Righteous Perseverance], which became harder to fight the longer the battle went on.
The first was naturally to kill the opponent in a single strike—directly crushing the opponent with absolute strength so that [Righteous Perseverance] wouldn’t even have the time to stack its resistances.
The second method was to compete in foundations. As the name implied, when a one-hit kill was impossible, one could launch enough lethal attacks to force [Righteous Perseverance] to stack more resistances. This was because Fruit Position Profound Mysterious was limited. [Righteous Perseverance] couldn’t stack resistances infinitely; the actual amount of resistance it could accumulate was capped by a total limit determined by the Cultivation and Position of the Master of Fruit Position. Once that limit was exceeded, it would completely break down.
"From the looks of it, I can only choose the second method. After all, with my strength, wanting to completely crush him is too wishful thinking."
The probing ended here.
In the next second, World Purger Fei Xue laughed heartily. "Daoist, aren’t you underestimating me a little too much? Do you really think you can subdue me with just the [Fruit of Pine-Cedar Wood]?
"Today, I’ll let you witness what it truly means to have immense Abilities and boundless Mana!"