Chapter 244: A Burning Stalemate

Watching the massive fiery red lion’s head vanish into the air, Sun Tianyang’s expression shifted subtly. He hadn’t expected Yang Yan’s entire set of martial techniques to possess such formidable power—especially that final black light seal. The explosion it unleashed produced a dark halo of energy that utterly destroyed the fiery red lion’s head.

This move, the Furious Lion’s Roar, was one of Sun Tianyang’s proudest techniques, having reached an advanced Mystical Tier level. With his Spirit Sea Realm at the second layer, its power was enough to split mountains and cleave the earth. Yet even with such strength, he couldn’t withstand the impact of Yang Yan’s martial strike.

Still, he had managed to resist the deathly aura attack embedded within Yang Yan’s third black halo. He dared not imagine the trouble if that faint deathly energy had infiltrated his body, for that strange force could even consume his spiritual energy.

Previously, Yang Yan’s display of soul power had also caught Sun Tianyang’s attention. He had originally believed that with his own soul power, he would not be at a disadvantage against Yang Yan’s attacks. But to his great surprise, Yang Yan, at such a young age, had cultivated his soul power to the pinnacle of the Soul Realm—a feat truly astonishing.

Unfortunately, Sun Tianyang had made no preparations against soul power attacks or defenses; he lacked any martial techniques related to soul offense or defense.

“Hopefully, he can only unleash that soul attack once,” Sun Tianyang silently prayed.

But Yang Yan paid no heed to his wishes. With his spirit energy guiding him, he instantly executed the Void Step Technique. Supported by his overwhelming soul power and enhanced by the Void Step, his speed alone was now equal to Sun Tianyang’s, a second-layer Spirit Sea Realm cultivator.

“Then I’ll let you taste the power of the Four Soul-Slaying Sword Technique, unleashed through soul power,” Yang Yan said coldly in midair, his lips curling into a faintly sinister smile as he faced the grim-faced and retreating Sun Tianyang.

With a clenched palm, the boundless invisible soul force surged from his brow, culminating in the formation of a transparent long sword, wholly condensed from soul power.

Sun Tianyang’s expression changed drastically when he noticed this. He had never imagined Yang Yan’s soul power had grown so strong as to manifest a tangible weapon purely from soul force—it was terrifying.

Compared to Yang Yan, Sun Tianyang’s own weakness lay in soul power. The fact that Yang Yan could condense his soul force into a sword and seemed poised to unleash the same sword technique again left Sun Tianyang aghast.

Yang Yan, of course, gave him no breathing room. With a flick of his wrist, the first strike of the Four Soul-Slaying Sword Technique was unleashed once more.

As Yang Yan swung his wrist, an invisible sword aura suddenly shot toward the nearby Sun Tianyang, who was now visibly alarmed. This sword aura did not stir any natural energy fluctuations in its path; instead, it exuded an eerie silence, as if it did not truly exist within this space—a dangerous and uncanny presence.

Seeing this, Sun Tianyang’s face paled. Soul power was his vulnerability, so he knew he couldn’t clash head-on. As he retreated sharply, he tried to evade the attack.

Yang Yan snorted coldly. With a thought, the sword aura’s trajectory abruptly changed to follow Sun Tianyang’s movement like a relentless parasite.

One advantage of using soul power to wield sword techniques was that Yang Yan could control the attack’s angle and direction at will through his mind.

This left Sun Tianyang with no escape. His only option was to shatter the sword aura.

He shouted fiercely, channeling a torrent of fire-element spiritual energy from his core into his palm. Then, he struck out with a punch at the incoming invisible sword aura.

As his fist swung, the air before it was hammered into a concave arc, and a fiery red dragon, as thick as an arm, roared fiercely, charging out to clash with Yang Yan’s soul attack.

Normally, the best way to counter a soul attack was with soul power itself. But Sun Tianyang knew he couldn’t match Yang Yan’s soul force and risked soul injury, which was irreversible, unlike bodily wounds that could heal over time.

Hence, he decided to rely on the overwhelming fire spiritual energy within him to counter Yang Yan’s soul assault.

With a roar, the fiery dragon collided violently with the invisible sword aura.

A deafening explosion followed as the two attacks annihilated each other midair. The shockwaves of spiritual and soul energy rippled outward like water waves, stirring energy storms that swept the area like a violent gale.

Sun Tianyang secretly exhaled in relief. Though Yang Yan’s soul power was formidable, his own spiritual energy was not weak. Though using physical spiritual energy to resist soul power reduced his attack’s effectiveness, he had no other choice.

Had he forced his soul power against Yang Yan’s, his own soul might have suffered damage.

Before he could relax, Sun Tianyang suddenly noticed Yang Yan vanish again nearby.

When Yang Yan reappeared, he was above Sun Tianyang’s head. With a flick of his wrist, numerous soul sword auras densely gathered overhead.

Sun Tianyang was familiar with this attack. The first time Yang Yan had wielded it, it was driven by wood-element spiritual energy. Now, it was condensed purely from soul power at his brow.

Sun Tianyang could clearly sense that all these sword auras were real manifestations of soul force, none mere illusions.

His face darkened sharply. Previously, a single soul attack had already left him struggling; now, so many appeared at once. Though each individual attack was weaker than before, their sheer number was nearly endless.

Yang Yan ignored Sun Tianyang’s shifting expression. With a wrist movement, the sword auras rained down like a storm.

Sun Tianyang felt a deathly threat. If all those sword auras struck him, his soul would be pierced through like a sieve, with no chance of survival.

A fierce glare appeared on his face. He shouted to the sky, and the fiery red armor surrounding his body began to melt, reforming above his head into a magma-like zone of intense fire spiritual energy, engulfing him completely.

As the magma zone formed, Yang Yan’s relentless sword aura assault surged on. Countless invisible sword auras charged into the molten fire above Sun Tianyang’s head. Upon contact, they emitted sizzling sounds before dissipating.

But as one sword aura vanished, more followed, ceaselessly firing into the magma zone, causing the molten pool to boil and churn while gradually shrinking.

At a critical moment, under the relentless sword light barrage, the magma zone finally collapsed. Sun Tianyang’s face changed drastically. With a shift in hand seals, he roared loudly:

“Explode!”

The magma zone above him erupted violently, unleashing a terrifying crimson firestorm that swept through the air, obliterating Yang Yan’s countless soul sword auras.

Sun Tianyang’s face turned pale, revealing the strain the defense had cost him.

Before he could breathe easier, Yang Yan’s movements shifted again nearby.

With his brow glowing, his soul power compressed in front of him, then suddenly formed three slender sword energies.

These sword energies were dozens of times smaller than the previous sword auras, but their latent power sent shivers down Sun Tianyang’s spine.

He could tell these were soul power compressed to the utmost by Yang Yan, a level far surpassing the earlier, more common soul sword auras.

Before Sun Tianyang could react, the three slender sword energies shot toward him at terrifying speeds, impossible to evade even for a second-layer Spirit Sea cultivator like him.

“Kid, you’re forcing my hand!” Sun Tianyang’s face twisted with rage and hatred as he glared at Yang Yan.

He shouted, and a dark red light emerged from his lower abdomen, eerie and ominous.

Threads of thick, dark red energy rose from his core, gathering before him.

This dark red energy was viscous, like blood about to dry, yet packed with terrifying power. Even Sun Tianyang’s previous fiery lion technique wielded less than a tenth of this energy’s strength.

“That’s… the old man’s primordial spiritual energy!” Yang Yan’s expression darkened as he focused on the infernal energy.

Sun Tianyang’s innate spiritual body grade was Sixth Grade Primordial Fire, an excellent cultivation talent. Yet despite many battles, this was the first time he had summoned his primordial spiritual energy—and his opponent was merely a youth looking sixteen or seventeen.

As the primordial energy surged within his lower abdomen, it slowly condensed in his palm into a dark red blood orb.

Though only palm-sized, the orb’s deep crimson hue rivaled the eerie blackness of Yang Yan’s previously unleashed Death Seal. But this orb pulsed rhythmically, like a human heart beating.

The blood orb throbbed faintly in Sun Tianyang’s hand, spreading a strange, bloody, and unsettling atmosphere across the sky.

“Kid, forcing me to use my primordial spiritual energy means you can die with peace of mind!” Sun Tianyang’s murderous gaze fixed on Yang Yan, clutching the blood orb.

Without hesitation, he thrust his palm forward, sending the orb hurtling toward Yang Yan.

Initially small, the orb swelled rapidly with distance, growing within breaths to the size of a house, engulfing Yang Yan’s entire figure.

Yang Yan’s three slender sword energies struck the massive blood orb fiercely, but unlike before, their soul energy attacks failed to shred it.

The three razor-sharp sword energies vanished instantly upon contact, as if sinking into mud.

However, the blood orb’s size shrank by nearly one-third.

Momentarily suspended in midair, the enormous dark red orb then surged forward with astonishing speed toward Yang Yan, continuing to swell.

Yang Yan’s heart sank at the sight. Though he had anticipated a Spirit Sea cultivator’s primordial spiritual attack to be strong, he had not expected such overwhelming power.

The final three sword energies of the Four Soul-Slaying Sword Technique were formidable attacks, especially when condensed purely from soul power, far stronger than those formed from spiritual energy.

Yet the blood orb had withstood the assault, defying expectations.

Moreover, the orb’s power had barely diminished. If Yang Yan were struck by it, even with his skills, survival would be impossible.

His expression turned grave. Without hesitation, he brushed his hand over his Universe Pouch, summoning forth a treasure-grade magical artifact.

As it appeared, its once radiant surface dimmed, as if Yang Yan was absorbing its power.

Simultaneously, his arm began to glow silver-white, muscles swelling to twice their size, a surge of strength coursing through him.

Having absorbed the artifact’s power, he discarded it like a scrap of broken metal.

Sun Tianyang silently clicked his tongue. Though treasure-grade artifacts were not rare to him, fewer than ten people in Kunyang Sect possessed them.

Since Sun Tianyang had reached the Spirit Sea Realm, low-grade treasures no longer boosted his combat power—only medium or high-grade treasures made a difference.

Seeing Yang Yan casually expend a low-grade treasure pained even Sun Tianyang’s stoic mind.

Yang Yan ignored his thoughts. After absorbing the artifact’s spiritual energy, he immediately drew upon the boundless energies of heaven and earth, channeling them into his arm.

“An ability to harness natural energies in martial arts? This kid is truly abnormal,” Sun Tianyang muttered, his complexion shifting again.

Though Yang Yan’s strength rivaled his own, he had not yet reached the Spirit Sea Realm. While he could draw upon natural energy to some extent, it was impossible to consume it so voraciously.

That privilege belonged only to Spirit Sea masters.

Yang Yan’s ability to channel heaven and earth’s energy at his Tongling Realm level was evidently due to his martial technique.

Sun Tianyang’s astonishment deepened beyond words.

From the start, Yang Yan wielded two complete martial techniques, including one with soul power attacks. Then came the horrifying Death Seal containing deathly energy. Now, Yang Yan could channel natural energies and absorb power from treasure-grade artifacts—an utterly terrifying array.

With eyes closed, Yang Yan summoned his Mystical Ice Body to its pinnacle. Without it, the fierce influx of natural energy would have shattered his arm.

Now his physical strength had greatly increased, enabling him to withstand at least triple the power he had before.

This meant his Tongbei Demon Fist’s strength would multiply exponentially.

Feeling the explosive power surging within, Yang Yan’s spirit soared with pride and curiosity. He wondered just how powerful his fully unleashed Tongbei Demon Fist could be.

At a crucial moment, when his energy reached a critical point, he roared fiercely and swung his right arm.

A fist-shaped phantom, the size of a man, surged forward and crashed violently into the huge red blood orb suspended in the air.

Though smaller than the orb, none dared underestimate the immense energy contained within the fist. Its passage left faint black scars in space, hinting at its terrifying might.

In the blink of an eye, the phantom struck the blood orb.

At impact, the orb dented like a squeezed ball, then seemed to possess a devouring power, slowly absorbing the fist phantom.

As the phantom was swallowed, the orb’s surface became riddled with dents, swelling as if ready to burst at any moment.

Yang Yan sneered coldly and shouted, “Explode!”

At his command, the absorbed fist phantom detonated inside the orb.

A terrifying force erupted, shaking the energies of heaven and earth, which grew turbulent and restless.

The explosion tore the orb apart, scattering dark red energy everywhere.

Below, the already fragile grand hall was swept away by the blast.

Many unfortunate Kunyang Sect disciples were struck by flying debris, coughing up blood as they retreated.

(End of chapter)

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