Chapter 1555: An Intense Fight

The man in dark green robes radiated with light as he gathered his strength.

Light seeped from his body and manifested in the form of small cauldrons. His entire body seemed to steadily transform into an ancient cauldron—but that was all just an illusion. He was deepening his connection to his path of cultivation.

Cauldrons flowed through his blood as his hands conjured seals. His right hand glowed with rosy light; his left hand, with the power of eternity.

The man's aura suddenly surged in strength. Two fists met in an instant.

"[Second Form: Piercing the Soul]!"

Zhang Lie's disaster-grade mistmeld clam soulshard activated as he infused its energy into his swords, causing them to shine radiantly with multicolored light. He glanced straight at his opponent's soul.

He saw a frightening sight through his dragon's pupil soulshard.

There was a tattered soul that looked as though it would be torn apart within moments trapped in a pitch-black cage and bound by chains of light, as though forcibly holding the wounds closed.

Zhang Lie didn't understand just how such a wounded soul could continue to survive.

The man's body consisted of not just a single soul, but also fragments of other souls being suppressed by this tattered soul.

Zhang Lie had no idea what any of this meant for his opponent, but he didn't hesitate to attack..

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

A rainbow arc accompanied Zhang Lie's slash, as though an aurora borealis were visible in the sky. It shone in all the colors of the rainbow, momentarily hypnotizing anyone who looked at it.

All those who witnessed the hypnotic light would stand still in a daze.

If he were still in peak condition, the man wouldn't have been affected by Zhang Lie's technique. His soul might be tattered, but his spiritual power was sufficiently large as to defend against it. Unfortunately for him, with his soul in such a state, the technique paralyzed him for a few crucial moments.

With Guicang in hand, Zhang Lie flew through the heavens. His sword shone as brightly as the auroras overhead, bringing him momentarily out of the physical into the intangible.

The disaster-grade mistmeld clam soulshard, when incorporated into Zhang Lie's soul-targeting attack, had the ability to target its opponent's soul.

His sword struck the man, but his Divine Embrace provided even better protection than Zhang Lie had expected. It expelled rosy light that surrounded the man, blocking both the physical and spiritual components of the attack.

The rosy light surged into the man's body and augmented his strength to his peak.

This was a technique that Zhang Lie hadn't seen even when fighting against the ninth Immortal King and his substitute. It was clear that this man had to be of incredibly high position within the Hall of Immortals.

His physical body glistened with energy. Void encased his fist.

His fist tore apart the void as it swung toward Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie boasted keen spatial awareness and instantly evaded the attack.

His opponent, however, had a far deeper understanding of space than the ninth Immortal King and his substitute. He was able to send his entire body through the void without the halberds with which the other members of the Hall of Immortals had fought. He attacked Zhang Lie in a flurry of punches from every direction, but he blocked them all.

"Regardless of what happens, I'll kill you!" The man's seals grew more and more resplendent as his [Seal of Deific Descension] took effect.

This time, the deity almost seemed to fuse with his physical body. When he moved, heaven and earth rumbled as though the world itself was about to crack.

The seal had grown even stronger than before.

Surging with strength, the man gave off an entirely different aura. He had the confidence to overwhelm any opponent, a mentality of invincibility.

"[Blades, Reverberate]!"

A blood dragon materialized around Zhang Lie. Energy poured out of him in waves, honing the edge of his blade. The pulses of energy struck the realm like a tsunami, devouring everything within.

The twin blades Guicang and Hanguang emitted a fearsome aura, shining as brightly as the sun and moon. Sword energy materialized from Guicang into a blood dragon that revolved around his body.

The blade Hanguang morphed into a black dragon, and the blade Guicang into a blood dragon. The two dragons, coiling together as one, shot out toward his opponent like a hurricane, bearing down on him with the might of Zhang Lie's spiritual sea between them.

Infused with the blood moon and the black sun, the twin dragons formed a black whirlpool. Tremendous suction, like that from a black hole, sucked up everything around the two combatants—heading straight for his opponent. It shattered the man's [Seal of Deific Descension], but he had more attacks lying in wait. His right hand transformed into the claw of a true dragon. It shone with neither light nor divinity, only a frightening aura that sent chills down even Zhang Lie's back.

At the same time, his left hand manifested the [Solar Tortoise Fist] in an array of black and gold light that swiftly dissipated, all that energy concentrated in his fist as he charged up his attack.

This would be a confrontation among two cultivators the likes of which had yet to be seen.

The man's pair of fists was simply overwhelming in understated strength. Barely any light was given off as they punched through Zhang Lie's whirlpool and straight toward his body.

"[Ninecarp Transformation]!"

Red scales formed a natural suit of red armor around Zhang Lie. He was surrounded by what looked like scarlet flames, but was actually steaming, blood-red water-attuned genetic energy. A black sun rose behind his back, and a blood moon shone at his feet.

A long tail grew out of his back. His black hair took on a red tint, as though they were lit up by an inner fire. Interlocking rings of black and red that warped natural law surrounded his body, and a domineering aura exuded from him.

Red water-attuned genetic energy surrounded Zhang Lie, manifesting in the shape of a dragon.

He sent a sword slash, blazing with fire, at his opponent. The fiery-red genetic energy was interspersed with radiant light that instantly caused the temperature in the hall to shoot up and counter the man's attacks.

Every part of the man's body was now shining with light. The [Arms of the White Tiger] and [Feet of the Qilin] manifested, along with a pair of phoenix wings that appeared to his back. Runes of incomparable strength exploded from his body.

Absolute strength trumped any technique or mastery.

Guicang shattered the heavens; Hanguang pierced everything in its path.

"[Blades, Extinguish]!"

Zhang Lie launched a killing blow. Guicang gleamed brightly in Zhang Lie's hands as he infused more and more spiritual energy into it. From the surface of his spiritual sea came waves charging forward, sounding like stampeding hooves, like raging dragons.