Chapter 33

Xuankong spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to regulate his breathing, and jumped up from the cloud with a koi fish flip.

Drawing his sword, he said, "You treacherous Daoist, let's fight another five hundred rounds!"

He gritted his teeth and unleashed his divine power, slapping his crown and shouting, "Quickly!" Instantly, a golden light shone from his head, and a fierce wind swept across the clouds, enveloping all directions. A jade dragon swayed its body, wagging its tail on the cloud, its two dragon eyes watching as the True Man Shenhuai spat out a bolt of lightning from his mouth.

True Man Shenhuai was taken aback, staring blankly and saying, "Is this your spirit? Are you related to the dragon clan?"

Xuankong sneered, "Your ancestor was related to the dragon clan. If you listen carefully, you'll know that I, Xuankong, am the founding disciple of Laoshan Sect, a pure-blooded human. How can I be similar to a traitor like you?"

Xuankong's words were venomous, and before True Man Shenhuai could make a move, he was so angry that his internal energy was in turmoil and his limbs trembled. He pointed at Xuankong, trembling with anger, "You... you young whelp... your words are truly venomous. If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll surely cause chaos in the heavens!"

He abandoned his intention to hold back, stepping in the air in the pattern of the Big Dipper, and pushed his left hand outward, sending a white flower from the incense burner to shield himself.

"An unbreakable flower, eternal and undying. What can your mere dragon breath do to me?"

"Grandson, the one who caused chaos in the heavens is your grandpa!"

Xuankong leaped onto the forehead of the jade dragon's spirit, causing a storm and clouds to form as he rained thunderbolts on True Man Shenhuai. True Man Shenhuai, deeply resenting Xuankong's foul mouth, waved his hand, and a duster appeared in his right hand. He drew a Taiji Bagua in the air, recited a true incantation, and dissolved the eternal flower into boundless incense mist, enveloping both the jade dragon and Xuankong.

Xuankong sneered, "The same trick won't work on me twice. Even if I agree, the Saints won't agree!" At that moment, he was not fighting alone; behind him stood five undying experts known as the "little strong ones."

True Man Shenhuai pondered, his face showing doubt, "What are the Saints?"

"They are your grandfathers!" In a short while, Xuankong had found five more undying grandfathers for True Man Shenhuai. Though his mouth was trapped in the incense mist, he couldn't find a way out, searching his sleeves for a solution.

"I don't believe your incense mist will never dissipate."

Xuankong, born with the power of thunder, had rapidly advanced in cultivation after being taken in by the old Daoist. Later, he obtained the dragon pearl from the White Dragon. Though not fully refined, he had glimpsed the threshold of Celestial Immortality. If he had another month to stabilize his realm, he would not be easily defeated by True Man Shenhuai, even if the latter had powerful magical treasures.

Unfortunately, he had been overly angry on the mountain, injuring his spirit.

Now, using his divine power and forcing the thunder technique, he had injured his internal organs. Despite his actual cultivation being slightly higher than True Man Shenhuai's, he could not break through the unbreakable flower and was instead exhausted, his limbs weary and his breathing heavy.

He used the thunder technique, striking the incense mist of the unbreakable flower, but was soon counterattacked. His sword strikes, landing on the incense mist, generated a powerful backlash.

It seemed that the immense force that had exhausted him and made him spit blood in the illusion came from this.

No wonder Xuankong, despite repeatedly unleashing powerful techniques, could not defeat True Man Shenhuai, always maintaining a stalemate.

Unable to break the unbreakable flower, True Man Shenhuai outside the incense mist occasionally waved his duster, sending sword qi into the mist. Despite Xuankong's long practice of sword techniques, he was deeply alarmed. True Man Shenhuai's sword skills were on par with his own, and with the magical treasure incense burner, he would likely be defeated in a prolonged battle.

Sword qi rained down from outside, and Xuankong, determined, urged the jade dragon to ride the wind and fly away, avoiding confrontation with True Man Shenhuai.

Seeing Xuankong trying to escape, True Man Shenhuai was not in a hurry. He pointed his duster, and the incense mist formed by the unbreakable flower followed Xuankong closely, tightly enveloping him and preventing him from breaking through. True Man Shenhuai cast a spell and pursued Xuankong, saying,

"You young whelp, you don't know what's good for you. That little fox has a grudge with the Pure Brightness Sect, but it has nothing to do with you. Why are you sticking your neck out for that troublemaker?"

Xuankong, at a disadvantage, refused to listen to True Man Shenhuai, retorting, "So what if I took in the little fox? The Pure Brightness Sect is powerful, but so is the Laoshan Sect."

True Man Shenhuai sighed, realizing that he had offended Xuankong's sect first, which was why Xuankong was now fighting him to the death. He slowed his duster and explained why he had broken through the sect's barrier to stand up for his junior disciple.

Xuankong, spitting blood in anger, finally understood the reason. Indeed, the little fox had gone to offend the Pure Brightness Sect. He felt sorry for himself, being dragged into this mess for no reason. If he ever saw that yellow-furred fox again...

He sneered a few times, already imagining the fox being skinned, boiled, stir-fried, and steamed in his mind.

Initially, he had fought True Man Shenhuai out of a sense of righteousness. With his anger subsiding, his strength waned. His arms felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, and his internal organs ached, but he refused to give in, still urging the jade dragon to fly forward.

"Alas, why do you insist on this?" True Man Shenhuai sighed, wanting to retract his magical treasure, but Xuankong's flight speed was too fast to catch up.

Flight techniques were closely related to cultivation. Xuankong, without powerful magical treasures, was no match for True Man Shenhuai, but after obtaining the White Dragon's power, his essence was much more abundant.

This dragon power, also known as true dragon power, how vast was a true dragon's body?

The amount of essence it could contain was far more concentrated than that of a mortal. The White Dragon, Ao Lie, was enshrined in the West as the Eight-Part Heavenly Dragon and the Vast Power Bodhisattva, compressing his dragon power into the dragon pearl and focusing on cultivating the Dharma. This dragon power was now at Xuankong's disposal.

Determined to advance, Xuankong gathered a long breath in his mouth, and the jade dragon's spirit did the same.

This move, created by Xuankong to counter strong enemies, was not yet fully developed, but in this critical moment, he had no choice but to try. Standing high on the dragon's forehead, he closed his eyes, merging his cultivation with the jade dragon's spirit. Both opened their mouths and spat out a gray thunderbolt.

As mentioned earlier, all thunder techniques fall within the five elements. Xuankong had integrated the five-element thunder techniques, creating a primordial force similar to the chaos before the universe was formed. This thunderbolt, known as the Nine Heavens Primordial True Thunder, could break through all techniques.

True Man Shenhuai, pursuing Xuankong, was blocked by the incense mist and could not see clearly. He only felt the thunder surging within the mist. Suddenly, a deafening thunderbolt struck, shattering the incense mist surrounding the jade dragon's spirit, reducing it to dust and making it disappear without a trace.