Chapter 1704 (Raw 1716): Intense Battle
Xiao Chen did not have enough time to figure out what the mark on his forehead was. He held up the Seven Deadly Sins and s.h.i.+elded Yang Qing.
Upon seeing this white-clad monk approach, he immediately concluded that this person was hostile.
"I finally meet you. I"m the Black Lotus Church"s Ming Xuan, also a Profound Light Temple"s Yan-generation disciple."
When Ming Xuan saw Xiao Chen, he smiled unhurriedly and introduced himself.
Xiao Chen revealed a surprised expression. To think that a Black Lotus Church disciple could join an orthodox Buddhist sect and even get a spot to enter the Fiendish Demon Battlefield.
He felt somewhat confused, truly unable to wrap his head around such a development.
The orthodox Buddhist sects were mortal enemies with sects that believed in evil Buddhas like the Black Lotus Sect, yet this white-clad monk actually openly entered the Profound Light Temple.
"Young Master Xiao, what"s going on?"
Xiao Chen did not have time to explain his conflict with the Black Lotus Church. He whispered, "Go and absorb the power of faith from the Sarasvatī Buddha first. I"ll block him. If need be, I"ll lure him away."
Xiao Chen did not dare to underestimate this Holy Son Ming Xuan when facing him. The other party not only possessed a much higher cultivation but, more importantly, also gave off an unfathomable feeling.
Short of a breakthrough, Xiao Chen simply did not have the confidence to defeat the other party. If only he had more time.
"Take care."
Yang Qing did not delay. After giving her well-wishes, she leaped into the air and jumped down the cliff, descending towards the Buddha statue.
The Holy Son Ming Xuan smiled gently and said, "Not bad. We are finally alone. Come back with me!"
Not wanting to delay and invite potential trouble, the Holy Son Ming Xuan leaped into the air and flew over after speaking.
His figure left afterimages in the air. Each of the afterimages looked stern and dignified, appearing like ancient Buddhas forming all sorts of hand seals.
Vast and boundless Buddhist Might immediately spread out into the surroundings. Then, the Holy Son Ming Xuan threw a palm strike.
Immediately, the boundless Buddhist Might condensed into a solid-looking golden light bursting out from the Holy Son Ming Xuan"s palm as it thrust towards Xiao Chen in an overwhelming manner.
Before this immense pressure, Xiao Chen remained expressionless. He appeared like he had turned stiff, not moving at all, like a sculpture.
Invisibly, the s.p.a.ce surrounding Xiao Chen had also been affected, drawn tight into something like a huge chunk of ice.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen moved, shouting, "Break!"
As Xiao Chen held the Seven Deadly Sins, he spread out his Great Dao Energy and executed the Army Breaking Saber Technique.
The Army Breaking Saber Technique was the most suitable in situations like this, where Xiao Chen faced enormous pressure. The greater the pressure, the more ferocious the might.
He slowly raised his saber, moving it up from below. He was like a lone warrior holding a spear and facing a strong army, piercing through the sky.
"Crack! Crack!" The stiff, ice-like s.p.a.ce around him shattered. The saber released a resplendent light, clas.h.i.+ng with the Holy Son Ming Xuan"s palm strike.
Amid adversity, the saber strike that Xiao Chen nurtured for a long time exploded forth with absolute killing force.
When the unparalleledly sharp saber light appeared, it pierced thousands of holes in the Buddhist light and Buddhist Might.
In the clash with the palm wind, the saber light held the upper hand, knocking back the Holy Son Ming Xuan, who was in the air.
The Holy Son Ming Xuan frowned slightly, appearing startled. Unexpectedly, the half-step Primal Core Xiao Chen could erupt with such a strong saber strike.
Rise! Xiao Chen soared into the air. After seizing the upper hand in momentum, he grasped the opportunity and smoothly chained Breaking Stars after Breaking Vast Armies.
The dark clouds in the sky scattered, and bright starlight descended. When the saber light swept across, it seemed like it wanted to destroy the stars.
When the Holy Son Ming Xuan landed on the ground, he did not fl.u.s.ter in the face of danger. Holding a string of Buddhist prayer beads, he formed hand seals with both hands. Then, a black lotus bloomed silently under his feet.
When the Breaking Stars descended, the Holy Son Ming Xuan"s body suddenly released an intense black Buddhist light. His right hand formed a dharmic hand seal that blocked that unparalleled saber light.
The chanting of scripture echoed in the surroundings. As the Holy Son Ming Xuan raised his right hand, the words of the scriptures gathered. The s.p.a.ce around him continuously grew even stronger as if it was about to become the Buddhist"s legendary spiritual mountain.
Change!
Xiao Chen felt the downward motion of the saber suffer from heavy obstruction. He flicked the tip of the saber up and changed the move in one breath of time to the Flawless Saber Technique"s Heartbreaking Stance.
Xiao Chen"s heart shattered, and he felt a pang. All the potential of his body was forced out amid the acute pain, turning into a bright, unparalleled saber light that shot out.
The Holy Son Ming Xuan felt a pain in his chest, his face revealing a trace of suffering. Then, the dharmic seal broke.
Xiao Chen did not pause at all. The saber light spun around and brought out the Breaking Stars move, which he withdrew earlier, at lightning speed and without any warning, executing it in a berserk fas.h.i.+on.
Oh no! the Holy Son Ming Xuan thought to himself. Then, he pressed his palms together and quickly retreated.
"Boom!"
The moment the Holy Son Ming Xuan pressed his palms together, he erupted with an equally ferocious Buddhist Might from his body to resist the Breaking Stars.
The clash resounded in the surroundings. Xiao Chen held the advantage in momentum. The Buddhist Might that the Holy Son Ming Xuan burst out with at the last moment could not block the Breaking Stars.
After knocking away the Holy Son Ming Xuan, Xiao Chen tore through the layers of Buddhist Might and roared, executing Breaking the World.
The berserk saber light immediately turned uncontrollable. The boundless Saber Might was like tens of thousands of unruly wild horses that broke free of their restraints. They snarled irritably like they were trying to destroy the world.
With this short exchange, Xiao Chen perfectly brought out his exquisite skills with the saber.
Finally, there was a great opportunity. Once Xiao Chen executed Breaking the World, he knew that the Holy Son Ming Xuan would not be able to run.
The Holy Son Ming Xuan had no more s.p.a.ce to retreat.
Breaking the World scattered all of the Holy Son Ming Xuan"s Buddhist Might and the various defensive Martial Techniques formed by his hand seals. Then, the saber landed on his shoulder.
"Dang!"
There was a loud sound. Horror appeared in Xiao Chen"s eyes. His saber penetrated only about one centimeter before it could go no further. The collarbone of the other party blocked the saber.
What is this physical body?
"Hehe! Enough playing around!"
The Holy Son Ming Xuan did not care about the wound on his shoulder. Instead, he gave Xiao Chen a relaxed smile.
Xiao Chen thought to himself, Oh no! Then, his right hand released the saber, and he moved back.
The Holy Son Ming Xian smiled calmly, without any panic. He held the index and middle fingers of his right hand together. The string of Buddhist prayer beads hung from them. After a moment, he ferociously shoved it forward.
"Bang!"
Xiao Chen had already retreated several meters when a powerful force knocked him into the air. His internal organs ruptured, and when he landed, he vomited a mouthful of blood.
His entire body hurt. Aside from internal injuries, cracks of various sizes appeared all over his body. Some of the shallower bones even shattered.
"What hand seal is that?!"
Xiao Chen gazed at the Holy Son Ming Xuan"s posture with a rictus of horror. In that earlier moment, the strength that the other party displayed already came infinitely close to the casual strike of an ordinary Star Venerate.
Show the enemy weakness. Then, use a lightning-quick strike to severely injure the other party.
Xiao Chen thought about the exchange between himself and the Holy Son Ming Xuan and could not help smiling bitterly. This was the same method he had used to defeat the Little Thunder Saber.
However, someone else used it on him. Karma cycled around. Retribution was truly distasteful.
"To think that you still have some fight in you! Your physical body is rather impressive!"
The Holy Son Ming Xuan casually pulled out the Seven Deadly Sins from his shoulder and tossed it aside. He revealed a startled expression when he discovered that Xiao Chen still possessed a strong lifeforce despite being injured to the point of nearly fainting.
The Holy Son Ming Xuan could not help his surprise. This physique was astonis.h.i.+ngly strong.
The Holy Son Ming Xuan was shocked, but Xiao Chen was even more shocked. Xiao Chen used his full power with Breaking the World. To think that he could only leave an unremarkable wound on the other party"s shoulder.
"Compared to your physical body, what does mine count for?"
Xiao Chen did not care. He stood up after much difficulty, refusing to give up.
The Holy Son Ming Xuan said indifferently, "Your physical body is not qualified to compare to mine. If not for you comprehending Great Dao Energy, you could not have injured me at all."
These were very bold words. However, Xiao Chen did not refute them. His own Azure Dragon War Body could not improve further without a Cultivation Technique. He only relied on the Life Juice Source to improve his physique.
Purely in terms of the physical body, Xiao Chen truly could not compare to the other party.
"You still want to continue fighting? Just obediently give up, and I can let you suffer less. The Sect Venerate never said that he wanted your life. You can relax." The Holy Son Ming Xuan sensed that Xiao Chen still had some trump cards. He did not want to push Xiao Chen too hard, so he tried to advise Xiao Chen softly.
When Xiao Chen heard that, he was enraged. He laughed wildly and said, "Don"t worry. Even if he won"t kill me, I will kill him. Sooner or later, I will personally charge into the Black Lotus Church and take the head of that Sect Venerate!"
The Demonic Calamity of the Kunlun Realm had caused countless of his brothers to die. Their deaths could not be in vain.
Xiao Chen wanted to charge into the Black Lotus Church, not for himself, but for the Kunlun Realm companions that sacrificed themselves in the Demonic Calamity—Chu Yang, Fu Hongyao, Yan s.h.i.+san…and many others, too many.
"Ignorant."
The Holy Son Ming Xuan snorted coldly and revealed disdain on his face. He no longer bothered with any nonsense and prepared to end this battle quickly.
Breaking the Mundane!
When the Holy Son Ming Xuan moved, Xiao Chen immediately grabbed hold of the opportunity. He sucked the Seven Deadly Sins, which was on the ground, into his hand. Then, he smoothly executed the Mahāmāyā Abstinence Violation Saber Technique"s Breaking the Mundane.
A surging mundane world with tens of thousands of scenes spread out, together with Xiao Chen"s saber light.
The Holy Son Ming Xuan"s footsteps slowed. A warm scene appeared before him. It was from before he became a monk, living with his parents and siblings.
This was Ming Xuan"s most cherished memory. No matter how he was instructed under the Black Lotus Church"s Church Master or what he became, he would never forget his mundane past, a concern that he could never break off.
"Break!" Xiao Chen shouted coldly. A golden swastika flew out of his forehead, and a realistic-looking golden Buddha appeared behind him. A three-kilometer-long saber light shot out of its hand and merged with the weapon Xiao Chen held stabbing ferociously towards the Holy Son Ming Xuan.
"Whoos.h.!.+" The Holy Son Ming Xuan"s eyes suddenly opened as he startled to his senses.
However, it was already too late. That three-kilometer-long saber light from the Buddha"s hand pierced through the Holy Son Ming Xuan"s chest.
Xiao Chen was bathed in a Buddhist light. The saber in his hand quickly followed, stabbing into the chest of the Holy Son Ming Xuan.
"Pu ci!"
The Holy Son Ming Xuan grunted in pain. In the time it took for a spark to fly, he landed a palm strike on Xiao Chen"s shoulder.
"Bang!"
Both got knocked back at the same time. Xiao Chen was further injured. After he fell to the ground, he found it hard to stand up. The Holy Son Ming Xuan swayed but did not fall over in the end.
However, the might of Breaking the Mundane also completely entered the Holy Son Ming Xuan, causing him to pale and an indistinct black light to appear.
Xiao Chen, who was on the ground, sighed helplessly. He had already done his best. If the other party still wanted to fight, then Xiao Chen could only take the risk of activating his Great Desolate Eon bloodline in his current state.
However, it was hard to say whether the other party had a Great Desolate Eon bloodline as well.
"Whoos.h.!.+" Just at this moment, something strange happened. The thirty-kilometer-tall Buddha image in the deep valley suddenly shattered into a powder that spread into the surroundings.