Breakthrough, the Realm of Dust!
Jiang Xiaofan stopped to eye the young man and motioned Ye Yuanxue to back away before striding forward. Ready for battle, he coolly glanced again at the Realm of Dust cultivator.
"Come on!"
Jiang Xiaofan beckoned the young man to come at him. He had already decided to challenge his opponent"s fire elemental spirit channel head-on. He hoped his fighting potential would be triggered so that he would break through to the Realm of Dust and never have to use the flying sword ever again
Ye Yuanxue was acquiescent, holding Little One in her arms and retreating to the side. She knew what Jiang Xiaofan planned to do and wished that he could finally enter the Realm of Dust here and now.
The young man peered at the badly deformed w.a.n.g Ao. His heart sank, and he grew more cautious towards Jiang Xiaofan. That person"s body strength was too frightening. He couldn"t help but admit that even he was no match for him.
However, it was because his opponent was Jiang Xiaofan that the young man boiled with rage. After all, he had suffered an enormous defeat at his hands. He, a spirit channeler, had been challenged multiple times by a mere Micro Realm cultivator who had displayed not the least bit of fear; furthermore, he had been injured twice by his opponent.
*Boom*
His body was completely enveloped in flames, and he released a burst of spiritual energy so powerful that a storm brewed in the illusory sky.
Jiang Xiaofan grew solemn. He activated his Jade Purity Cultivation Method and prepared himself.
The young man"s expression grew ice-cold as he glided forward and released a palm strike. With a soft *hah* sound, the flames around him suddenly transformed into a searing stream of light that burned through the heat haze, and it trapped Jiang Xiaofan underneath.
Jiang Xiaofan felt enormous pressure from this change in attack. All the cells in his body tingled with danger; however, he didn"t avoid it with his Shadow Steps. He needed to gain the necessary combat experience for the breakthrough. In other words, he had to confront his opponent"s spirit channel.
He channeled his Jade Purity Cultivation Method to its maximum. Under the veil of densely radiating green rays of light, he also activated his primordial, peerless Buddhist Sutra. Consequently, Jiang Xiaofan"s spiritual instinct became clearer than ever.
Golden sparks flickered in his eyes as he stared at that stream of burning light. With his right hand raised, he gradually welcomed the attack as it enveloped his body. This was the first time that he had attempted to repel a spirit channel.
Intolerably hot and excruciating pain was the first feeling that came to mind when he had contacted the spirit channel. Although he had a layer of spiritual energy on his hand, the spirit channel was, after all, a spirit channel. With the force of that attack on his body, he finally realized the difference in strength between the two realms.
Still, Jiang Xiaofan didn"t surrender. With a gold light gleaming in his eyes, he concentrated his focus, raised his left hand in sync with his right, and pushed the spirit channel back. With the distance between them narrowed, he could perceive the spirit channel"s mighty power much better.
*Boom*
Even more terrifying was its barrage of energy fluctuations. Shocked, Jiang Xiaofan"s heart frosted over. Such monstrous power! He then recalled the words of the elder whom he had met when he had first entered the sect. You can influence Heaven and Earth and use your willpower to control objects. If you reach the apex, you can even soar across the skies, tunnel through the ground, move mountains, and fill the seas.
"So what if you have the power of Heaven and Earth?! I swore to witness the Dao and transform into Heaven itself!"
Jiang Xiaofan"s black mane began to dance wildly in midair. The green divine light radiating from his fist abruptly beamed more vividly, and blanketing that light was a faint glimmer of golden spiritual energy. He then raised his fist high above in the air.
This was a horrifying clash of powers. Everyone"s expression dramatically changed, and their throats dried. They had never seen a crazy person like Jiang Xiaofan who used two barehanded fists to fight off a spirit channel. He had to be deranged.
Jiang Xiaofan punched his fist outward one after the other. The look in his eyes was resolute. Even though the burn and pain continued to overwhelm his senses, he didn"t have the slightest intention of backing down from this fight. There was only one thing on his mind, and that was the belief of disrupting that light, shattering the spiritual energy, and destroying this obstacle before him.
"You madman!""
The young man was stunned, and his body started to tremble. Every time he released his spirit channel, he had to suffer from self-inflicted damage. Chills also ran down his spine upon seeing Jiang Xiaofan countering his spirit channel with body strength.
Above all else, he could notably feel his energy sapping away and that the power of his released spirit channel was weakening. Under the continuous strikes of those green-fisted, iron punches, his spiritual energy eventually dissipated. His stream of light devolved into flames which then weakly flickered and began to die out slowly.
The Buddhist Sutra ceaselessly channeled its power throughout his body. He could sense his cultivation leveling up. His innards then glowed, and his self-activated Diamond Sutra channeled qi as well. Energy unabatingly surged within him. Soon! Very soon! Almost at the breakthrough!
Jiang Xiaofan inwardly roared. The might of his fists grew more ferocious, and his gold-colored spiritual energy could no longer be veiled by the guise of the green light. However, it didn"t matter. With a slight tremble of the bra.s.s piece, the rays of golden light were instantly dimmed while his qi continued to erupt from within.
*Bang*
Jiang Xiaofan punched out, and his surrounding area violently shook. His opponent"s spiritual channel was nearly shattered.
Another punch was released. This time, the young man staggered a step back with a look of astonishment on his face.
Accompanying Jiang Xiaofan"s third punch was a blast of brilliant green light. He wielded no sword, but the young man could feel the presence of one. In the gesture of a sword finger[1], the air whistled and thirteen forms of green sword qi shot forth.
"Thirteen Swords of the Clear Moon!"
With a bellow, his thirteen forms of sword qi attacked the spirit channel from all sides. As for the final strike, the swords merged into the most powerful sword that he could conjure with his willpower and he sliced downward on the spirit channel.
The young man immediately vomited a mouthful of blood, and his complexion paled to a deathly white. His spiritual energy had been exterminated by Jiang Xiaofan, and he had paid the ultimate price for it. His heart meridian[2] was damaged.
"This is…."
"Ridiculously terrifying!"
Everyone widened their eyes in utter amazement. Who would believe them if they were to say that a Micro Realm cultivator had shattered a Realm of Dust Cultivator"s spirit channel by sheer force? Yet, this was what they had seen with their own eyes, and it undoubtedly was a miracle.
"This guy is indeed powerful!" Ye Yuanxue whispered.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xiaofan didn"t stop there. He flicked his wrist and emitted a dazzling light of sword qi from his fingertips.
A meter-long sword qi appeared which then condensed into an energy sword in his hand. He could feel the strong energy fluctuations from it. This sword was even sharper and mightier than his longsword. More importantly, he wielded it with ease.
*Hah hah*
The sound of his energy sword slicing the illusory sky rang out.
Jiang Xiaofan"s body was aglow, and his internal energy uninterruptedly surged. His body felt like it was on the verge of exploding. His hair danced wildly again. The gra.s.s underneath him was uprooted and dust was swept into the air.
Despite the power of the bra.s.s piece, Jiang Xiaofan could not suppress his qi. He continuously directed its circulation as his inner body vibrated from the fluctuations. He could feel the door to the Realm of Dust opening to him.
After relaying a message to Ye Yuanxue through spiritual awareness, he transformed into a flash of lightning and headed to the nearby forest. A step shy of eruption, he could no longer control the energy inside of him. He was finally advancing to the Realm of Dust.
*Woosh*
A gust of wind blew before the crowd of onlookers" eyes. At the next second, Jiang Xiaofan"s figure vanished from sight, causing bewilderment among them. Why did he suddenly disappear?
"Jeez, this guy!" Ye Yuanxue gasped.
Using his Shadow Steps, Jiang Xiaofan hastily ran past a mountain and darted for the center of the forest.
*Boom*
Brilliant rays of light burst from his body. His immensely powerful aura rocked the ground underneath him and sent shocks of qi to the rim.
His entire body was enveloped by the golden rays as if he was doused in gold-colored paint. His blood boiled and roared, and his innards became translucent as they shined. Following that was an upgrade of the Diamond Sutra.
Jiang Xiaofan clenched his golden fists and punched outward. Each of his punches violently shook the surrounding air which created visible shockwaves. Evidently, his physical strength had gotten stronger, and, additionally, he could now break most metals.
"What an intimidatingly powerful aura!"
Even from a faraway distance, everyone on the island could feel Jiang Xiaofan"s qi. Dumbfounded, they looked in Jiang Xiaofan"s direction. The young man from Ziyang Sect did the same as well.
Jiang Xiaofan"s eyes twinkled with divine light. The crisp sound of something cracking resonated from his body. Afterward, more intense rays of golden light radiated forth and bathed the nearby vegetation in its brilliance.
I have entered the Realm of Dust!
He was so thrilled that he wanted to roar in the sky. The moment that he had long been waiting for had finally come. He could feel the might of his newfound strength as his body continued to emit golden rays. He lightly balled up his hands and believed that there was almost nothing in this world that he couldn"t break.
*Ring*
Without warning, the unmoving bra.s.s piece slightly vibrated and released a wavering yet gentle multicolored glow.
Jiang Xiaofan was greatly taken aback by its unforeseen movement. For a moment, he faintly heard the scream of a demon and the call of Buddha. It seemed as if a door within his body had been opened, and a mysterious but empyrean voice reverberated from it like the ringing of a heavenly bell.
He could definitely sense it. That dusty door was now opened, and a majestic light shone forth which was then absorbed into his flesh and blood. His sea of awareness swayed, and everything quickly became clear to him.
In an instant, his spiritual energy had increased and his body strength had grown unimaginably stronger. He also felt a strange but unique energy flowing inside of him. It was different than what he had before. Spirit channeling!
Using his willpower, the s.p.a.ce beside him suddenly twisted like a wavelet. Deeply startled, Jiang Xiaofan realized that he had just distorted s.p.a.ce!
However, he soon calmed down. Light flashed in his hand, and the Celestial Demon Sword appeared in his grip because he wanted to stab the spatial dimension that was before him.
To his surprise, the sword that could slice and pierce through anything was unable to puncture a hole in the dimension. There was a powerful force that blocked it.
Jiang Xiaofan immediately bulged his eyes in excitement. He had used already seventy-percent of his strength with the addition of his incredibly sharp sword, yet, he could not cut through that s.p.a.ce dimension. How unbelievably frightening!
The revelation of his spirit channel almost had him jumping for joy. Even if he was a complete imbecile, there was no way that he couldn"t have sensed the mysterious and terrifying might of his newfound technique. This was the power of s.p.a.ce! He could distort any s.p.a.ce around him into chaos and repel almost any physical attack that came at him. He could even, to a certain degree, defend himself against spiritual energy attacks!
Editor: Vis
Footnotes
^ ^ The heart meridian is a yin meridian and is paired with the Small Intestine meridian. It reveals itself through the brightness in the eyes, governs Fire and Heat, rules the blood and its vessels and directs circulation - it is the House of the Spirit.