Chapter 32

Guchen Sha was greatly shaken in his heart.

The Black Silk Bat's words were not wrong. The many evil gods of the barbarian tribes issued divine edicts, stating that anyone who killed officials and civilians of the Great Yong Dynasty and offered sacrifices at the temples would receive gifts from the evil gods. This was a vicious move, and it would certainly lead many martial artists, and even local magnates, to secretly betray the court.

How many martial arts experts are stuck at the Grandmaster level, unable to advance? Their entire lives are without hope.

And now there is an opportunity. Who wouldn't want to take a step further? Betraying the court is nothing.

In the past, the evil gods were very stingy. Even if you offered sacrifices to them, it was rare to receive any gifts. But now, it seems they have sensed a crisis and are offering substantial rewards. Anyone who offers sacrifices will receive a reward. This not only greatly increases the strength of the barbarian tribes but also makes the people of the Great Yong Dynasty live in constant fear, afraid that their neighbors might one day seize them for sacrifice.

More importantly, the Great Yong Dynasty has ruled the country by law and propriety in recent years, strictly prohibiting the worship of any gods, even the righteous gods of ancient times, who can only be worshipped with incense and rituals, not with the sacrifice of life and blood. This has led to many righteous gods losing their connection with the world.

This is also the way the Great Yong Dynasty governs, fearing that divine power will influence imperial power.

Throughout history, faith has often surpassed imperial power. Many sects would not follow the orders of the court. As soon as a god in a sect issued a divine edict, the followers would immediately kill officials and rebel. However, the rulers of past dynasties were powerless against them and could only appease them, granting them privileges that ordinary people did not have, which further exacerbated the opposition between imperial and divine power.

In the Heavenly Talisman Dynasty, a great purge was carried out, eliminating over a hundred temples and sects that did not respect imperial power, regardless of whether they were righteous or evil gods, all were banned. Although this unified imperial power and surpassed the cohesion of the ancient emperors, it also incurred the wrath of the gods.

"Now that the people are becoming more enlightened and are no longer deceived by the gods, living in peace and prosperity, I will not allow anyone, even the gods, to disrupt the peaceful lives of the people!" A sense of righteousness surged in Guchen Sha's heart. Having received the Heavenly Talisman Decree, he felt he must do something to uphold justice.

Kill!

He thrust his spiral steel spear forward, and a faint glow of fire appeared, the result of the intense friction between the steel and the air, showing how fierce his attack was.

He gathered all his mental and spiritual energy, the essence of the Sun and Moon Cultivation and the Sun and Moon Transformation, into this spear.

The Black Silk Bat was an extremely powerful evil cultivator, and it was unknown which level of the Dao Realm he had reached. If he gained the upper hand, Guchen Sha would be doomed to be captured and sacrificed to the evil gods. Moreover, this person had killed many civilians and officials to gain the gifts of the evil gods, a behavior that defies heaven. If he were not killed, countless innocent people would die at his hands. A Dao Realm cultivator can kill without a trace, with astonishing destructive power.

The spear pierced through the air in an instant, the spearhead blooming like pear blossoms, with cold stars dotting the air, enveloping the Black Silk Bat from all sides, leaving him no room to retreat.

This move was called the "Star Striking Form" from the Giant Spirit God's spear technique. The Giant Spirit God, holding a divine spear, stood in the void and continuously stabbed at the stars, capable of breaking through the sky.

"The royal family of the Great Yong Dynasty, the bloodline of the Giant Spirit God." Seeing the ferocity of the spear, the Black Silk Bat's aura suddenly surged, his appearance becoming inhumanly fierce: "Sacrificing you would please the evil gods, and I would at least advance to the next level!"

As he spoke, he lightly tapped his finger out.

This finger seemed slow, but it was actually as fast as lightning.

Clang!

The tip of his finger hit the spear tip.

The spear shadows in the air converged, and Guchen Sha's long spear was bent like a bow. He was forced to retreat, his internal organs almost turned over from the shock.

The force transmitted from the Black Silk Bat's fingertip far exceeded his expectations.

"Be careful, he is already at the second transformation of the Dao Realm, with the strength of nine oxen and two tigers." Lou Baoyue also joined the battle, his figure flashing, moving like a streak of light, attacking the Black Silk Bat.

"The second transformation of the Dao Realm is so powerful? I can't resist at all!" Guchen Sha realized the strength of his opponent in one move, the suppression of the realm was insurmountable.

He had fought with Long Yuyun, who was at the first transformation of the Dao Realm, many times. Although Long Yuyun was stronger, he was not invincible. If Guchen Sha practiced for another three to five years and gained more experience in life-and-death battles, defeating a Dao Realm cultivator of a higher level was not impossible, especially since he cultivated the supreme art of the Heavenly Son's Divine Technique.

The second transformation of the Dao Realm, with the strength of nine oxen and two tigers, means immense power, breaking through the limits of human ability, possessing the combined strength of nine oxen and two tigers, and even more.

Guchen Sha estimated that he had the strength of four oxen, making him one of the top figures among Grandmasters. If he continued to take Heavenly Dew, his strength might increase to five oxen, but this was his true limit. To further increase his strength, he would need to break through to the Dao Realm.

However, his foundation was too weak. From birth to the age of fourteen, he lived an ordinary life. Now, it was not easy to make up for this deficiency in a short time.

As he retreated, Lou Baoyue engaged the Black Silk Bat.

The Black Silk Bat was the leader of the Black Silk Sect, notorious for over a decade. His sect was vast and committed many crimes, but after being suppressed by the court, he joined the barbarian tribes. According to the records, he appeared to be less than thirty years old but was actually over eighty, maintaining his youth through evil techniques.

Moreover, after reaching the Dao Realm, the cultivation of heaven and earth's essence slowed down the aging process, extending life by fifty to sixty years.

Even a first transformation Dao Realm cultivator could live to a hundred and still look like a forty-year-old.

"Nine oxen and two tigers, indeed formidable." Guchen Sha saw the Black Silk Bat's attack, even a light palm strike causing a series of explosions within ten steps, and his movements creating a large vortex in the air, far surpassing Guchen Sha's Mountain Moving, River Reversing, and Sea Inverting techniques.

This was the "Postnatal Aura" generated by the extreme speed and power.

Of course, the sixth transformation of the Dao Realm, "Refining Qi into Aura," was "Prenatal Aura," which absorbed heaven and earth's essence, gathered in the hundred points of the body, and was suddenly released when encountering an enemy. This aura could cut through metal like butter, split mountains and rocks, support the body to glide in the air, treat diseases, and even enhance others' cultivation.

The power of the Prenatal Aura was many times greater and more mysterious than the Postnatal Aura.

The Postnatal Aura was merely the result of stirring the air with speed and power.

Guchen Sha's Giant Spirit Palm, Mountain Moving, River Reversing, and Sea Inverting techniques could only stir the air within three steps, creating air currents and sonic booms. The Black Silk Bat's palm technique extended to ten steps, three times the range. Without Lou Baoyue's support, Guchen Sha would have been killed in a few moves.

Lou Baoyue struck with three palms.

These three palms were soft and continuous, like lotus flowers, mist, illusions, and dew, but they tore through the air, creating a white wave of qi, breaking through the Black Silk Bat's aura.

"Actually the Pure Yin Palm." The Black Silk Bat's hands spread, turning black and expanding to the size of fans. "Then let's see my Black Silk Demon Palm."

Their palms collided, leaving footprints on the steel deck of the Fire Shark warship, and neither gained the upper hand.

Lou Baoyue, at the first transformation of the Dao Realm, could match the Black Silk Bat's second transformation.

Swish, swish, swish! The Black Silk Bat leaped up, kicking out three times like a giant bat. Lou Baoyue's body turned misty, transforming his palms into fists, intercepting all three kicks.

"You, you can actually withstand my Ghostly Heart-Piercing Kick!" The Black Silk Bat's voice was sharp: "What treasure did you take to withstand the strength of nine oxen and two tigers?"

"If you advance to the third transformation of the Dao Realm, with copper skin and iron bones, you might have a fifty-fifty chance of killing me. But now it's too early." Lou Baoyue sneered: "However, to reach the third transformation, you would need twenty years of hard cultivation. Even your second transformation is probably just recently achieved. If not for the recent divine edicts from the evil gods, forcing you to kill many civilians of the Great Yong Dynasty for sacrifice, you wouldn't have broken through to the second transformation. Today, I will bring you to justice."

"Damn!" Guchen Sha, proficient in sacrifices, realized from Lou Baoyue's reminder that the Black Silk Bat had recently broken through to the second transformation by sacrificing countless civilians of the Great Yong Dynasty to the evil gods.

His arm trembled, and the spiral steel spear straightened, showing great elasticity.

Star Striking, Air Piercing, Demon Destroying!

The three moves of the Giant Spirit Spear were linked and then combined.

The combined three moves were even more powerful, beyond the capabilities of a Grandmaster. This was a forbidden technique, using the body's damage as a cost.

When Guchen Sha activated it, he felt intense pain throughout his body, his meridians and bones almost breaking, and he felt short of breath. But he was prepared, taking a deep breath, activating the Sun and Moon Cultivation technique, and the dozen Sun and Moon Dragon Scales on his abdomen suddenly disappeared, transforming into heat that flowed through his body, eliminating all the pain and discomfort.

The combined three moves made the spear's momentum twice as fierce as before, with firelight flickering on the spear, the smell of burning metal filling the air.

The Black Silk Bat, still engaged in a fierce battle with Lou Baoyue, never expected Guchen Sha to suddenly attack with such ferocity.

Boom!

The spear pierced through his aura, breaking through layer after layer of air currents, and reached his chest.

The Black Silk Bat let out a continuous howl, his left hand forming a claw and his right hand a hook, pushing and locking in an instant, generating thirteen layers of force, shattering the spearhead in his hand.

But at this moment, Lou Baoyue intervened, her palms trembling slightly, generating eighteen layers of force, striking the Black Silk Bat's heart.

The Black Silk Bat leaped again, his arms wrapping around in a hugging posture, his eyes bloodshot like a vampire bat, shouting, "Black Silk World!"

His entire body turned black, using some mysterious technique to neutralize seventeen layers of Lou Baoyue's force, but the last layer was too powerful to be neutralized, striking him.

Puff!

He spat out a mouthful of blood, howled again, and leaped into the river, not sinking but running on the waves, disappearing in an instant.

"Damn! He got away." Guchen Sha rushed to the ship's bow but lacked the ability to run on water and could not pursue.

"The Black Silk Bat has been notorious for decades, causing the court much trouble. He has been hiding in the barbarian tribes for ten years, diligently practicing martial arts, and is a high-ranking official among the barbarians." Lou Baoyue looked at him with surprise: "Today, being able to repel him is a remarkable achievement. Killing him would be even more difficult. Your spear technique just now, combining the Star Striking, Air Piercing, and Demon Destroying moves from the Giant Spirit Spear, is a forbidden technique that twists the meridians, stimulates potential, and excites the blood and spirit. Even the strongest Grandmasters would suffer broken meridians and heart failure after using it, dying a few days later. Those with innate strength would also be bedridden due to the excessive consumption of energy and potential, their cultivation regressing, and losing the ability to advance to the Dao Realm. After you used it, you seem fine. Could this be the wonder of the Giant Spirit God's bloodline?"