War God Long Ao

To any outside observer, the battle between Long Ao and Miao Cheng was an immense mismatch.

Miao Cheng was a genuine Peak Taoist Ancestor, while Long Ao was merely a Basic Level Earth Emperor. Could a Basic Level Earth Emperor possibly defeat a Peak Taoist Ancestor?

It was common knowledge that the gap between an Earth Emperor Martial Artist and a Taoist Ancestor Martial Artist was enormous; they were not on the same level at all.

However, watching Long Ao press his attack, forcing Miao Cheng back with punch after punch, left everyone stunned.

"Long Ao, I'll let you have a taste of my Flame Sect's Fiery Flame Heaven-Burning!"

Fiery Flame Heaven-Burning was one of the Flame Sect's most powerful Martial Arts.

Back when he and Zhang Zhihang were both Earth Emperor Martial Artists, Miao Cheng had used this very technique to defeat Zhang Zhihang and claim the second spot on the Wind and Cloud Ranking. This alone was a testament to the power of the Flame Sect's Fiery Flame Heaven-Burning.

Miao Cheng drew upon the powerful Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi around him, using some unknown method to convert it directly into flames. At that moment, from a distance, he looked like a blazing Fire God—powerful and unnerving.

Dugu Bai and Xia Jun, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, saw Long Ao locked in a life-or-death battle with Miao Cheng, and their expressions turned grim.

Despite their overwhelming worry, neither of them intervened.

In a life-or-death battle between Martial Artists, no one would interfere unless they were shameless or willing to disregard the code of martial ethics and forcefully insert themselves.

This was the spirit of a Martial Artist.

"Brother Dugu, is Brother Long any match for Miao Cheng?"

"Miao Cheng's defeat is certain."

Dugu Bai had reached his conclusion without a moment's hesitation. 'After all,' he thought, 'how could someone who can destroy even a Void Spirit possibly lose to a mere Taoist Ancestor Martial Artist?'

The Fiery Flame Heaven-Burning Martial Art.

Miao Cheng's entire body seemed to be ablaze. At that moment, he was like a living volcano; anyone who touched him would be instantly incinerated by the flames. A light touch would result in severe burns, while direct contact meant being burned to death.

Long Ao, of course, knew how powerful this Flame Sect Martial Art was and had no intention of clashing with Miao Cheng head-on. He also refrained from using his Nether Tiger Arm or Divine Dragon Arm again.

With so many people watching, Long Ao would certainly not reveal his Godslaying Mirror or God-Locking Pearl.

The Blood-Drinking Mad Saber. In the end, Long Ao decided to use it, unleashing a direct slash at Miao Cheng.

He was using the Blood-Drinking Eight Techniques. The first technique, Netherworld Nine-Link Strike; the second, Ice-Sealed Heart Devourer; the third, Sea of Blazing Flames; the fourth, World-Ending Blade Aura; and the fifth, Ten Thousand Bones Soul Devourer. As for the final three techniques, Long Ao's current strength was insufficient to cultivate them.

But even the first five techniques were not to be underestimated.

Fighting fire with fire.

Miao Cheng had unleashed the Flame Sect's Fiery Flame Heaven-Burning, so Long Ao chose to counter with the third technique of the Blood-Drinking Eight Techniques: Sea of Blazing Flames.

The two techniques were different. Long Ao's Sea of Blazing Flames involved channeling all his power into the Blood-Drinking Mad Saber, using its slaughterous intent to condense his energy into a blade aura of pure flame.

As the blade aura descended, Miao Cheng didn't dodge in the slightest, choosing instead to block it with his own body.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been cleaved in two by the blade aura. But now, things were completely different. By using Fiery Flame Heaven-Burning, Miao Cheng had instantly doubled his physical Defense Power, allowing him to withstand the attack.

It had to be said that Miao Cheng was truly a genius of his generation. The original Fiery Flame Heaven-Burning of the Flame Sect was not nearly so powerful; through his own careful refinements, he had increased its might several times over.

When his blade aura failed to kill his opponent, Long Ao was taken aback for a moment.

'Do I have to use Heaven and Earth Mourn Together?'

Long Ao was fully confident that if he used his Self-Created Martial Skill, Heaven and Earth Mourn Together, he could completely suppress Fiery Flame Heaven-Burning and kill Miao Cheng.

He was absolutely certain that with Heaven and Earth Mourn Together, he could defeat anyone beneath the Void Realm.

However, without using Heaven and Earth Mourn Together, killing a High Level Taoist Ancestor—let alone a Peak Taoist Ancestor—was no easy task. Such was the gap between realms.

Because of this, Long Ao knew that only after his Cultivation officially broke through to the Taoist Ancestor Realm could he guarantee victory every time and become the true number one expert beneath the Void Realm.

The Taoist Ancestor Realm.

He retreated ten steps. Just as everyone was wondering what Long Ao was up to, twelve enormous pythons suddenly appeared beside him. Each python had two heads: one cyan and one crimson.

Ice and Fire Double-headed Pythons?

Seeing the twelve Ice and Fire Double-headed Pythons appear beside Long Ao, everyone was astounded. One Ice and Fire Double-headed Python at the Earth Emperor Realm would have been surprising enough, but for twelve of them to appear at once was simply terrifying.

Miao Cheng himself, let alone the spectators, was utterly shocked. But things had already reached this point; whether he wanted to fight or not, he had no choice.

In his heart, however, Miao Cheng didn't take the twelve Ice and Fire Double-headed Pythons seriously. He believed that even twelve Earth Emperor Spirit Beasts combined would be no match for him.

'Is Long Ao an idiot?'

Just then, Long Ao gave the command. All twelve Giant Python Corpse Slaves shot forward, speeding toward Miao Cheng.

The bodies of the twelve Giant Python Corpse Slaves were immense. Moving in unison, they looked like a chain of small mountains rolling forward—a truly shocking sight.

Watching the twelve Ice and Fire Double-headed Pythons charge Miao Cheng, everyone was once again stunned. No one could fathom where Long Ao had acquired these Earth Emperor Spirit Beasts, nor why they were so obedient.

Twelve Ice and Fire Double-headed Pythons of the Earth Emperor Realm were equivalent to twelve Earth Emperor Martial Artists. Once they joined forces, they could sweep away almost anyone beneath the Taoist Ancestor Realm.

Miao Cheng did not dodge. Brimming with confidence, he shot forward in a single bound. Before he even arrived, his immense Flame Power surged ahead, crashing down like a tidal wave.

A Taoist Ancestor was a Taoist Ancestor, after all. Using Fiery Flame Heaven-Burning, Miao Cheng should have been able to slaughter the twelve Ice and Fire Double-headed Pythons. Yet after only a few exchanges, he made a shocking discovery: no matter what he did to them, the twelve giant pythons seemed impossible to kill.

'Unkillable?' Miao Cheng couldn't wrap his head around it. 'Why can't I kill these twelve pythons?'

Miao Cheng refused to believe they were immortal and charged forward once more. This time, however, he was completely engulfed by the twelve Ice and Fire Double-headed Pythons.

With a furious roar, he broke free from the pythons' siege and shot straight toward Long Ao. "To shoot the rider, first shoot the horse. To capture the thieves, first capture the king." Miao Cheng was no fool; he knew that as long as he could kill Long Ao, the seemingly unkillable Ice and Fire Double-headed Pythons would no longer be a threat.