Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 91

Volume 6 Chapter 91: The Peak Battle (9)

The conversation splits into two, with each side expressing their views.

While chaos reigned inside the headquarters, outside "Black Glory Valley," a rare battle of the cultivation world was taking place after thousands of years.

After Zhang Xusheng appeared, he did not attack immediately; instead, he began to negotiate and confront the masters of the Righteous Alliance.

Immortal Zizhen asked Zhang Xusheng to hand over the ‘Four Spirit Sky Map’ and reveal the location of the "Ming" organization’s headquarters. Zhang Xusheng, however, insisted that he wanted to work together with the Righteous Alliance to eliminate the "Ming" organization, and during this time, he would keep the "Four Spirit Sky Map" safe.

Scholar Buxing told Zhang Xusheng not to resist or make excuses, to which Zhang Xusheng replied with a smile, saying he was happy to see an old friend and had no reason to resist or make excuses.

Venerable Deaf Mute Blind asked Zhang Xusheng not to stray from the topic, to which Zhang Xusheng replied with confusion, saying he was answering their questions.

At first, Immortal Zizhen, as the leader, spoke a few more words with Zhang Xusheng, but gradually fell silent, coldly watching Zhang Xusheng like Mr. Liu and Li Fulu.

As time passed, the masters of the Righteous Alliance not only failed to extract the location of the "Ming" organization’s headquarters from Zhang Xusheng but, under Zhang Xusheng’s influence, the conversation oddly shifted toward the possibility of collaboration, and they unknowingly revealed how the Righteous Alliance had discovered his location. Upon realizing this, they felt both ashamed and furious.

As Zhang Xusheng continued to delay, the masters of the Righteous Alliance finally lost patience.

Immortal Zizhen and the other two merely watched Zhang Xusheng’s performance coldly. After confirming that Zhang Xusheng truly had no intention of revealing the location of the "Ming" organization’s base, they did not hesitate and launched an attack.

However, through this negotiation, Zhang Xusheng successfully bought nearly half an hour of time, thinking that it was about time to activate the "Three Talent Formation."

The abilities of a Mahayana Stage master are naturally far beyond those of Xu Qingfan. Every movement they make is combined with the Heavenly Way, and both their offense and defense draw upon the power of the Heavenly Way, creating immense strength that changes the skies and the earth. Often with a mere wave, a distant hill can silently vanish from existence.

Although Zhang Xusheng is one of the top cultivators among humans, he cannot be sure that he is stronger than Immortal Zizhen, Li Fulu, and Mr. Liu. With the addition of the other eleven masters, being surrounded feels like a small boat in a raging sea, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.

Despite this, with his ghostly-like movements, Zhang Xusheng managed to narrowly evade attacks from the fourteen masters, enduring for a full incense stick of time. Even in situations that seemed certain to lead to his death, he astonishingly continued to evade, and while the situation was perilous, he maintained a calm and gentle smile on his face.

Though they are opponents, Immortal Zizhen and the others could not help but admire him in their hearts. While they believed their own strength was not inferior to Zhang Xusheng’s, if they switched places with him, they could not guarantee they could do what he has done.

The battle between the masters was grand and powerful. The demons hiding not far away dared not approach in the slightest as the battlefield expanded. After a moment, they seemed to sense something, paused slightly, and then their eyes flashed with excitement and bloodlust. They no longer stayed outside "Black Glory Valley" and quickly flew westward.

Then, after about a cup of tea’s time, the "Heavenly Level Defense Formation," "Earth Level Defense Formation," and "Human Level Defense Formation" were activated one after another.

Just as the "Three Talent Formation" was about to form, Zhang Xusheng, who had been avoiding the confrontation, finally made his move. With a wave of his hand, an enormous wave of blood appeared in the sky, suddenly attacking the weakest among the fourteen masters, Master Bo Guangyan and Taoist Crane. The other masters hurried to help and defend, but Zhang Xusheng skillfully seized the opportunity and quickly slipped into the defensive formation.

"Dear Taoist friends, do you wish to continue fighting with me here?"

After entering the defensive formation, Zhang Xusheng asked with a calm smile.

With his control over the "Three Talent Formation," Zhang Xusheng was confident to face anyone who dared to follow him.

The masters of the Righteous Alliance looked at Zhang Xusheng not far away with hatred, but none of them moved to attack; they understood the power of the "Three Talent Formation."

As for Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Li Fulu, they remained expressionless. They already knew they could not easily defeat Zhang Xusheng, so they quietly formed a "Little Three Talent Formation" to try to break the "Three Talent Formation" in front of them first.

However, at that moment, Zhang Xusheng’s smile suddenly froze on his face.

As Xu Qingfan destroyed the core of the "Three Talent Formation," Zhang Xusheng keenly noticed something wrong with it. Indeed, in just an instant, the three barriers that had begun to merge suddenly scattered and disappeared silently from the world.

At the same time, Zhang Xusheng sensed that within his base, several violent auras suddenly grew stronger. Those uncontrollable failed experiments he had imprisoned in the dungeon were now breaking free.

Sensing this, for the first time in many years, Zhang Xusheng discovered that things were out of his control.

"Did Mingluo betray me?"

This thought flashed through Zhang Xusheng’s mind when he sensed the strange changes, but he quickly dismissed it. He did not believe that Mingluo and the others would have the courage to do such a thing. However, no matter how sharp Zhang Xusheng’s mind was, he could not imagine what changes had truly occurred within his own stronghold.

However, this thought only crossed Zhang Xusheng’s mind for a moment and then vanished. At that moment, it was useless to think of anything else; it was urgent to escape with his life from the fourteen masters of the Righteous Alliance.

Without the assistance of the "Three Talent Formation," Zhang Xusheng no longer had any support to rival the masters of the Righteous Alliance.

Watching Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Li Fulu form the "Three Talent Formation," their momentum surged as they quickly approached him. He noticed the other eleven masters spreading out to surround him. Strangely, Zhang Xusheng felt neither helplessness nor fear; instead, he was filled with a subtle excitement.

Relying on his strength and intelligence, he had been sailing smoothly these past years. Whether facing the powerful Righteous Alliance or the mysterious "Ming" organization, they posed no threat under his plans. Yet because things had gone so easily, Zhang Xusheng felt a sense of boredom.

High places are lonely, and the view makes everything else seem small. This may sound too arrogant, but it truly represented Zhang Xusheng’s mindset over the years.

And at this moment, things suddenly slipped out of his control. Under the pressure of the fourteen masters of the Righteous Alliance, defeat and death seemed to draw near, yet an excitement that had not appeared in many years surged within Zhang Xusheng’s heart.

As Zhang Xusheng became stronger, he began to crave the thrill of life and death, and his personality seemed to lean towards self-destruction. Perhaps that was why he had been cultivating his opponents so eagerly before.

Or after Zhang Xusheng had everything, he started to seek another kind of release—destruction.

Of course, to destroy Zhang Xusheng, one must have the power to do so; otherwise, Zhang Xusheng would destroy them without mercy.

"I haven’t used all my strength in a long time. Let’s see how much you can push me."

A strange smile appeared on Zhang Xusheng’s lips as he watched the "Three Talent Formation" made up of Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Li Fulu getting closer. Suddenly, Zhang Xusheng softly murmured, "Overflowing Night!"

As he spoke, a towering black light erupted from Zhang Xusheng. Wherever that black light touched, the previously clear sky within a radius of thousands of miles turned into a pitch-black night without stars or moon. Even cultivators using the "Sky Eye Skill" found it impossible to see their own hands in front of them; this was Zhang Xusheng’s third ultimate skill—"Overflowing Night."

With the senses gone, they did not know each other’s location. In the darkness, nightmare struck their hearts—that was "Overflowing Night."

Seeing the surrounding darkness, the masters of the Righteous Alliance were all stunned. Even with their levels of cultivation, they found that once they were trapped in the dark night, their senses vanished, and they could barely feel the situation within a few feet around them. Though they tried to use all their radiant spells to drive away the darkness, it was endless; any light within a thousand miles was swallowed up in an instant.

Not only that, the masters clearly felt that their once peaceful hearts suddenly flooded with various negative emotions—fear, bloodlust, and weakness—filling their minds in an instant. No matter how hard they tried to suppress it, they were powerless.

The so-called "Overflowing Night" is not just a simple darkness that blocks light; it is a deep shadow filled with the negative feelings of countless beings, such as resentment, fear, greed, and hatred. Any expert with even the smallest crack in their heart will find these feelings magnified many times in the "Overflowing Night," leading them to madness and self-destruction.

At that moment, apart from the three members of the "Three Talent Formation"—Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Li Fulu—the other eleven masters quickly used their powers to protect themselves from Zhang Xusheng’s surprise attack while trying hard to control the sudden wave of negative emotions in their hearts, barely holding on. For a while, they could not threaten Zhang Xusheng at all.

Although Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Li Fulu maintained their composure and were not swayed by negative emotions, when the darkness appeared before them, they suddenly lost their way, feeling as if they were in a vast night sky, unable to find Zhang Xusheng’s position.

Yet, faced with this unexpected change, Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Li Fulu showed no signs of panic. Mr. Liu coldly snorted first and said to Immortal Zizhen and Li Fulu beside him, "Let me handle this!"

Hearing Mr. Liu’s words, Immortal Zizhen and Li Fulu, who were about to take action, stopped and simply made hand signs to enhance Mr. Liu’s power through the "Three Talent Formation."

As they spoke, Mr. Liu moved his fingers, and suddenly, a gold lamp, about the size of a child and looking ancient, appeared in front of him. Under Mr. Liu’s control, the lamp soared into the sky, releasing brilliant golden light, which instantly drove away a portion of the darkness formed by the negative emotions of countless beings. As the golden light spread, the dark shadows faded away. The eleven masters, who had been struggling in the darkness, quickly returned to their senses and rushed to the brightest part of the golden light, their faces showing signs of relief.

"Silent Lamp!? No wonder you’re called Immortal Many Treasures; the gold treasure among the Five Elements has actually fallen into your hands."

From the depths of the darkness, Zhang Xusheng’s voice suddenly echoed, filled with awe, but it was impossible to determine his location in the dark.

Years ago, to fight against the Shura Clan, humans gathered nearly all the rare treasures of the world based on their understanding of the Five Elements Taoist Method and forged five treasures representing the five elements of nature. The Silent Lamp is one of these gold treasures, containing endless Golden Spirit Qi and its countless transformations. After the Shura Clan was defeated, this treasure fell into the hands of the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and was passed down among his disciples for thousands of years, gaining immense power from the endless Buddhist teachings. However, during the last great disaster, when the "Pure Land Sect" was destroyed, this treasure vanished from the cultivation world, and it is unknown how it found its way into Mr. Liu’s hands.

It is said that the "Silent Lamp" is hard to extinguish. When lit, it emits a light like that of Buddha, driving away demons and healing. When extinguished, it creates an empty silence and chaos that destroys and harms souls, threatening to end the world. It is engraved with the great wishes of the Western lands, and when it is used, it seems to place people between the Heavenly Way, with heavenly power that cannot be resisted.

Originally, the "Silent Lamp" was such a treasure that, paired with Mr. Liu’s powerful Spirit Qi, it could completely drive away Zhang Xusheng’s "Overflowing Night" technique. However, Mr. Liu did not practice a gold-type cultivation method and was not skilled in Buddhist teachings, so he could only display a fraction of its power. Even so, he managed to disperse nearly half of Zhang Xusheng’s "Overflowing Night." This created a scene where darkness and golden light, evil and divine authority, each took up half of the space.

Hearing Zhang Xusheng’s voice echoing through the world, Mr. Liu snorted coldly again, as if he had located Zhang Xusheng’s position. He pointed, and in an instant, the golden light from the "Silent Lamp" concentrated at one point and shot toward a spot in the darkness, revealing Zhang Xusheng’s hidden figure to everyone.

Zhang Xusheng did not expect that Mr. Liu could find his hidden position using the "Silent Lamp." He was very afraid of the golden light that restrained the dark and evil forces, and when the golden light shone on him, he could not help but let out a grunt of pain and quickly dodged to the side.

Meanwhile, Mr. Liu, Immortal Zizhen, and Li Fulu were already attacking Zhang Xusheng, guided by the golden light.

Immortal Zizhen waved his hands, and waves of purple light spread around him. The flickering purple light seemed to resonate with the fluctuations of Spirit Qi in the world. As the purple light gradually merged with the surroundings, it began to activate the flow of Spirit Qi, making the purple flicker more frequent and the fluctuations of Spirit Qi more intense. After a moment, the Spirit Qi within hundreds of miles was entirely controlled by Immortal Zizhen, forming a powerful whirlpool of Spirit Qi around Zhang Xusheng. Inside this whirlpool, the five elements of Spirit Qi clashed violently, creating a terrifying force of crushing and grinding. Zhang Xusheng had nowhere to escape and was pulled into the whirlpool. Despite gathering all his strength, he still could not withstand that crushing force, and his body was instantly turned into a rain of shattered flesh and blood, falling onto the ground beneath everyone.

However, something strange happened.

Zhang Xusheng had an ordinary build and not much flesh, but after his body broke apart, the blood and flesh seemed endless, continuously dripping onto the ground, and the amount increased. In a moment, it transformed into a mighty rain of blood, infinite and overwhelming. Before long, beneath everyone’s feet, it became a vast sea of blood!

This was another of Zhang Xusheng’s three ultimate techniques, known as the "Blood River Method," which he had previously used to easily defeat Scholar Buxing and Master Tianhan.

At that moment, the art of "Overflowing Night" still existed, and the "Silent Lamp" continued to float above the heads of the masters. Along with the sea of blood beneath their feet, the masters seemed to enter a world that was half dark and half golden, with a blood-colored, three-colored landscape below them, strange and mysterious.

At this moment, the eleven masters, apart from Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Li Fulu, finally realized the huge gap between themselves and the four: Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, Li Fulu, and Zhang Xusheng. When the four fought, they struggled to protect themselves, let alone help Immortal Zizhen and the others against Zhang Xusheng.

The sea of blood surged, creating countless towering waves of blood that swept through the space with strong fluctuations, heading toward the masters in the sky. Moreover, hidden in the sea of blood were countless powerful beings that had been turned into Blood Sea Puppets by the blood sea’s power, suddenly appearing and roaring as they attacked the masters.

The power of the blood sea was so immense that even under the golden light of the "Silent Lamp," much of it was suppressed. However, once struck by the blood waves, the blood sea’s power could invade one’s Original Soul, likely turning them into a Blood Sea Puppet controlled by Zhang Xusheng in a short time. Each Blood Sea Puppet’s strength was actually not inferior to that of the high-ranking members of the "An" organization!

Facing the surging blood waves and the countless Blood Sea Puppets rushing in, it was now Li Fulu’s turn to take action.

"Ice Xun!"

With Li Fulu’s low shout, countless large blocks of ice suddenly appeared around him, transforming into numerous meteorites that struck the sea of blood below his feet. The ice crystal meteorites, strong and dense, carried endless coldness. Wherever they landed, the Blood Sea Puppets that had just emerged from the blood sea were smashed into pieces. Once these ice crystal meteorites hit the sea of blood, the powerful coldness within instantly filled every corner of the blood sea.

Immediately, under the powerful coldness, the strength of the blood sea began to weaken, and eventually, it was completely frozen, turning into an endless blood sea ice sculpture. Under the illumination of the "Silent Lamp’s" golden light, it reflected a strange and enigmatic glow, creating a beautiful yet sorrowful scene.

At that moment, Zhang Xusheng’s terrifyingly powerful "Blood River Method" no longer posed a threat to the masters of the Righteous Alliance.

However, as they looked at the sea of blood and the ice sculpture beneath their feet, which was vividly alive with waves and whirlpools, the world around them was calm. Yet, for a moment, the masters of the Righteous Alliance could not find Zhang Xusheng’s whereabouts.

Up to this point, the battle between Zhang Xusheng and Immortal Zizhen had been challenging. Because Immortal Zizhen and the others formed the "Three Talent Formation," they had gained strength throughout the fight. However, they were always at a disadvantage. Every attack was easily countered by Immortal Zizhen and the others. The ultimate techniques "Overflowing Night" and "Blood River Method" were broken one after another, but when facing attacks from Immortal Zizhen and the others, Zhang Xusheng struggled to defend himself. At this moment, he was likely sealed inside the blood sea ice sculpture, unable to escape.

Nevertheless, Immortal Zizhen and the others remained serious. They all understood that Zhang Xusheng would not be defeated so easily.

"Can we find out where Zhang Xusheng is?"

The calmness of the world felt strange, as if it held endless risks. After a long time without seeing Zhang Xusheng make a move again, and unable to sense his location, Immortal Zizhen frowned and asked Li Fulu.

Li Fulu closed his eyes and sensed the changes in the coldness within the ice sculpture sea. After a long while, he shook his head to indicate he had not discovered anything.

Mr. Liu activated the golden light of the "Silent Lamp," searching the dark sky in circles, but still could not find Zhang Xusheng’s whereabouts.

"Creeeak… Creeeak…"

Just then, something unusual happened. The sharp sound of ice cracking shattered the stillness of the world. Looking down, they saw that the frozen blood sea was slowly showing cracks. Powerful forces emerged from beneath the ice. As these forces stirred, the solid ice shattered, and the blood sea came to life again.

Seeing this situation, Li Fulu’s face changed. The technique of "Ice Meteor," which could freeze the blood sea, was one of his two most powerful abilities. Could it really have been broken by Zhang Xusheng?

"Boom… Boom… Boom… Boom…"

As the cracks on the thick ice gradually connected, suddenly four loud booming sounds erupted. The thick ice developed huge holes everywhere and then shattered completely. The blood sea beneath everyone’s feet began to surge wildly once again, and from the large holes, four Mythical Beasts radiating immense authority suddenly appeared, charging towards the masters in the sky.

Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise.

"Four Spirit Sky Map!?"

Upon seeing the four Mythical Beasts, the expressions of all the masters changed dramatically.