Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-538

As Cang Qingfeng transformed, a majestic energy engulfed the hall, the phantom of that enormous turtle-snake filling the entire hall and almost suffocating everybody.

Cang Qingfeng crazily laughed.

He called back the twelve Dao Diagrams. He no longer needed their suppression.

He Changan was released, but he could only join everyone else in gazing at the terrifying majesty of the Black Tortoise.

The turtle-snake phantom continued to grow larger and larger. Cang Qingfeng roared, and that python acting as the tail slithered through the air, rushing at Tang Jie with great force.

Tang Jie immediately activated the Chaoswind Step, dodging the python, which hurtled toward He Changan instead.

He Changan bellowed and swung his halberd, which let out circles of black energy and unleashed a shower of black dots. Those black dots were a sign that the Formless Heavenly Demon Art was operating at maximum, and the black pearl he had swallowed had tripled the power of the art. The power of his full might was truly able to obliterate mountains.

The immense force slammed into the python, unleashing a powerful shockwave that shook the entire hall. If this hall hadn't been made from rare metals, it might have crumbled right there.

The powerful impact sent He Changan flying back, and the python coiled back while hissing.

Meanwhile, Tang Jie had moved behind Cang Qingfeng, and his saber swung at the part of the phantom where the python connected to the turtle.

Nothing could hide from the power of Insight, so even the phantom of the Black Tortoise had had its weakness exposed. The spot that Tang Jie was attacking was the weakest part of the phantom.

"Raaa!" Furiously roaring, Cang Qingfeng turned around and punched.

Tang Jie's saber had only cut halfway when the blast of wind from the fist jolted him, and before he could bring down his blade any farther, he was sent flying.

Fortunately, Tang Jie had activated the Frost Domain, the True Essence Astral Barrier, and the Formless Golden Body, and while this punch had obliterated all three layers of his defense, it ultimately failed to hurt him. Even so, Tang Jie was still quite alarmed by the horrifying power in that punch.

While Cang Qingfeng was pushing back Tang Jie, Zhu Yun and the ghost guard attacked him from the rear. There was a clang as the usually-unstoppable Jade Shattering Claw failed to punch through. The ghost guard's Nether Claw still managed to ignore defense and penetrate through the armor, but a moment later, Cang Qingfeng growled, and his body erupted with red light. The seething blood energy rushed at the ghost guard, instantly dissolving the arm that the ghost guard had thrust into the turtle.

He reacted quickly, pulling out the arm and retreating, but by this time, the arm had decayed down to the bone.

Cang Qingfeng turned around and savagely laughed, "So it was a ghost! Hahaha, what dogshit 'True Person Gui'? It was just to fool us! Tang Jie, you dared to dabble in forbidden arts? Are you not afraid of being punished by the rest of the world?"

Tang Jie had kept the ghost guard a secret this whole time, but now, it had been exposed, just like that, yet he was unmoved. "It doesn't matter. It's not like a lot of people will be leaving this battle alive."

As he spoke, he used the Chaoswind Step to evade Cang Qingfeng's attack again.

The Chaoswind Step was perfect for this sort of localized battle, and in the face of the extremely powerful Cang Qingfeng, Tang Jie didn't even try to save spiritual energy as he blinked around.

As Cang Qingfeng was showing his might, Tang Jie was also beginning to reveal all his power.

The Heavenly Spirit Law Body, the Ninedark Mantra, and the Violet Jade Mantra had utterly transformed him. In terms of strength, even if he didn't use the golden blade, he would still have been able to go blow for blow with the Heart Demon Tier Ao Chihu.

As he went all-out, his figure could be seen all around the center of the hall. Of the 27 stars of the Chaoswind Step, Tang Jie had comprehended 18 of them, and he was holding nothing back, constantly moving between all 18.

In terms of spatial traversal, nobody here could compare to him.

As he blinked around, he constantly swung his saber, waves of energy crisscrossing the space, each one representing an immense and very real threat.

Even so, the Black Tortoise Cang Qingfeng remained as terrifying as ever.

He constantly punched, each punch like a powerful spell art.

Boom!

The Jade Shattering Claw collided with the steel punch of the Black Tortoise.

Cang Qingfeng ended up having five holes punched in his right fist, but the fingers of Zhu Yun's left hand were all broken, and he wailed as he was sent flying.

Cang Qingfeng gave chase.

A deluge of petals descended.

Cang Qingfeng punched. "Scram!"

The spell art power of the Silkheaven Net was scattered to the wind with one punch, and Yiyi grunted as she fell back, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

Sharp bolts of finger energy struck Cang Qingfeng, clinking off his body like they had struck a steel shell. Cang Qingfeng briefly paused and turned to see Hong Yuan, rapidly retreating with a pale expression.

"Seeking death!" Cang Qingfeng thrust out his left palm at Hong Yuan. Through the Black Tortoise's essence blood, he had already healed his left arm.

When it seemed like Hong Yuan would be hit, there was a warcry, and several hundred bean soldiers raised their spears and attacked Cang Qingfeng.

The combined attack of five hundred bean soldiers slammed into Cang Qingfeng's palm blast, and it was as if they had been struck by a hurricane, all of them sent flying, screaming as they dissolved into motes of light. At least one hundred beans had lost all of their energy and died in that strike, and the remainder were all injured.

The bean king had never seen such a battle result before, and he angrily roared at Tang Jie. Tang Jie didn't even need to think to know that he was asking for more soldiers.

But because of this, Cang Qingfeng's attention was drawn away from Zhu Yun to Xu Miaoran's group. He savagely smiled and said, "Tang Jie, you run fast, but what about your woman?"

He punched several times, this time targeting Xu Miaoran.

Xu Miaoran's eyes flashed. "I'd have to be that easy to kill first."

As Cang Qingfeng charged over, she flung a talisman at Cang Qingfeng.

Cang Qingfeng didn't take this talisman seriously, charging right at it.

But suddenly, he sensed danger.

The turtle-snake phantom suddenly called out, and Cang Qingfeng stopped and crossed his arms in front of him. A large ethereal shell appeared in front of him and then instantly turned solid.

At the same time, the talisman exuded a blazing light and exploded on Cang Qingfeng's shell, causing cracks to appear on it.

That talisman then scattered. As it turned out, it was several dozen talismans stacked on each other, so it was no wonder it was this powerful.

This was one of the combat methods Tang Jie had taught Xu Miaoran: how to hide one's tactics, fool one's enemies, and then take them in a single explosion. Stacking several dozen talismans on top of each other and using them as one wasn't easy. It needed an illusion spell to conceal it, and then delicate technique to control them. The former was handled by Yiyi, and the latter was handled by Xu Miaoran, who had practiced it countless times. She was so proficient in dividing up her spiritual energy into controlling multiple talismans that even Tang Jie couldn't compare to her.

In Cang Qingfeng's eyes, Xu Miaoran was just a young lady from a big clan, little different from Jin Yutang. But after several months of training, Xu Miaoran had completely transformed. She already had the resources of her family, and all she lacked was the ability to use those resources. Through Tang Jie's curriculum, though she hadn't gotten much stronger, her combat power had soared.

After taking this big loss, Cang Qingfeng angrily roared, "Die!"

He still considered Xu Miaoran a weakling, and he once more attacked Xu Miaoran in the hopes of forcing Tang Jie into a direct confrontation.

Punching with both hands, he pushed back the ghost guard and He Changan, and then the python behind him swung out to attack Xu Miaoran.

Xu Miaoran grimaced, and as she used her Seven Star Steps, she produced a bronze lantern.

She blew at Cang Qingfeng, and a torrent of flame rushed out from the lantern.

Alas, while the lantern was powerful, it was still lacking in front of Cang Qingfeng, and the python pushed its way through the flames.

Xu Miaoran fell back again, raising a golden hoop while a jade token on her waist shone.

The python chased like a heaven-piercing spear, knocking away the golden hoop and crashing right through the barrier.

All those art relics seemed to not exist before the python, which easily overwhelmed them.

"Young Lady!" Xian Tao and Hong Yuan realized that she was in trouble and rushed to her rescue.

But Cang Qingfeng pushed them back with two punches.

As Tang Jie lunged, Cang Qingfeng laughed. "So you're finally willing to come out?"

The python finally turned to bite at Tang Jie.

At this moment, an icy voice rang out next to Xu Miaoran's ear: "You were the one who killed my young master!"

What?

Xu Miaoran turned her head.

Zhu Yun's Jade Shattering Claw was lunging straight for Xu Miaoran's face.

Jin Yutang's death had ended any hope Zhu Yun had of remaining with the Beast Refining Gate. Even if he survived this battle, he would have to deal with the vengeance of the Sanguine True Lord, so how could he not be resentful?

But he had been feigning ignorance until the right moment had come.

Tang Jie was being suppressed by the giant python, and Xu Miaoran had been forced into a corner, all of her defenses broken. Zhu Yun finally struck, throwing aside the general situation to go ahead and kill her first.

This was the only way he could explain himself to the Sanguine True Lord.

"Miaoran!" Tang Jie hadn't thought that Zhu Yun would choose this time to turn on them.

It wasn't like he didn't think that Zhu Yun would cause him trouble, but he didn't think Zhu Yun would be so impatient. When facing a terrifying opponent like Cang Qingfeng, there was no time or space to think about other matters.

That claw was about to strike Xu Miaoran's face, and he had been pushed too far away by the python, putting her location out of his teleportation range. Tang Jie angrily roared, "Fixate!" At the same time, the python slammed him into a wall. Fortunately, he had ascended in time to avoid being swallowed.

Zhu Yun's body momentarily paused because of the True Word, but he quickly broke free of it and continued to rush at Xu Miaoran. Tang Jie's Fixate word was not able to buy Xu Miaoran enough time to completely escape, and that claw quickly caught up. But at this moment, someone charged out from the side and hugged Zhu Yun.

Shi Jingzhai!

This crazy old man made a silly laugh as he hugged Zhu Yun, causing Zhu Yun to lose his opportunity to kill Xu Miaoran.

Furious, Zhu Yun turned the claw on Shi Jingzhai's head.

With his strength and cultivation, there was no way Shi Jingzhai could block this claw.

Five fingers penetrated completely through his skull, and blood gushed out from his eyes.

"Big Crazy!" Yiyi began to weep as she raised her hands, countless petals forming into a dragon and sweeping toward Zhu Yun.

"Out of my way!" Zhu Yun shouted, letting out a sonic blast wave that prevented the petals from getting close and causing the dragon to crumble.

But at that moment, Shi Jingzhai suddenly opened his eyes.

Having his head pierced through had not managed to kill this crazy old man. He was somehow still alive.

His throat shifted, as if Shi Jingzhai's mind had cleared up.

Hugging Zhu Yun by the abdomen, he let out a giggle and suddenly jumped into the air.

Zhu Yun was caught completely off-guard by this move. He was just about to give Shi Jingzhai another Jade Shattering Claw when he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Turning his head, he saw the giant python rushing at him, its mouth wide open.

Zhu Yun's soul almost left his body from sheer terror. He hastily tried to escape, but Xu Miaoran thrust her palm at him from below, and Xian Tao and Hong Yuan also came over to thrust out their palms. There had been no communication before this, but the trio had attacked with such unity that it was like their minds were linked, all of them pushing Zhu Yun toward the python's mouth.

Alarmed, Zhu Yun was about to resist when he heard Tang Jie call out, "Scatter!"

It was like the voice of death.

The spiritual energy he had just gathered dispersed.

A single moment became an eternity!

Zhu Yun lost all hope of escaping, and a moment later, the python consumed Zhu Yun and Shi Jingzhai together.

"Big Crazy!" Yiyi wailed. She had spent the longest with Shi Jingzhai, and she was the most grief-stricken at his death.

"Aaagh!" Zhu Yun's terrified and frantic yells came from within the python.

He desperately struggled within the python, using his Jade Shattering Claw to the maximum.

The desire to survive unleashed all his latent potential, and the python began to feel an adverse reaction. Even Cang Qingfeng was starting to grimace. Swallowing Zhu Yun like this was somewhat too heavy of a burden.

"Kill him!" He Changan shouted.

Everyone could see that this was the best chance.

If they couldn't kill Cang Qingfeng now, they might never be able to.

The halberd swung down in a stunning blow.

Cang Qingfeng howled in fury and punched back at the halberd.

As that enormous surge of energy thundered forward, the turtle-snake phantom erupted in size, and that python which had just swallowed Zhu Yun and Shi Jingzhai once more attacked, still targeting Xu Miaoran.

Cang Qingfeng was now certain that Xu Miaoran was Tang Jie's weakness.

Just as that python charged, another person appeared in the air.

That person punched the python in the head and sent it flying back.

"Tang Jie?" He Changan cried out in shock.

The person who had appeared was clearly Tang Jie, but this one had a formidable strength, and from his aura, he was clearly that giant body refiner from before. But for some reason, after shrinking down, he now had Tang Jie's original appearance.

Countless thoughts flashed through He Changan's mind. At that moment, he finally understood something and blurted out, "An avatar! You had an avatar!"

Even Cang Qingfeng was flabbergasted, crying out, "Which one is the original body?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Tang Jie said as he punched again, sending out a mighty blast that once more blew back the python. Meanwhile, Zhu Yun was still holding on, continuing his frenzied assault and causing the python to howl in pain.

Cang Qingfeng finally realized that he was in trouble. He put all of his strength into activating his essence blood, and that python grew in size once more and lunged at He Changan with its giant body.

Unexpectedly, He Changan chose to retreat rather than fight, so the python turned back on Xu Miaoran.

"Shit!" Tang Jie cursed.

The original body had waited until now to appear largely because he was worried that He Changan would try something.

None would truly trust in each other.

He Changan was willing to accept Tang Jie earlier because his side had the advantage in manpower. Once Cang Qingfeng was taken down, He Changan was confident that he could turn around and seize Tang Jie.

But the situation had changed.

Ao Chihu, Zhu Yun, and Nan Ningjiang were all done for. He Changan's only remaining ally was Xu Mingyue, and this seemed intentional on Tang Jie's part, so there was no telling whether she would actually help him.

Meanwhile, Tang Jie's side had two Tang Jies, one Xu Miaoran, two maids, one Yiyi, the ghost guard, and countless bean soldiers. This sort of combined strength already exceeded He Changan's. In these circumstances, it was He Changan's turn to think about how he could use Cang Qingfeng to weaken Tang Jie.

It was precisely because of this that the original body had not intervened all this time.

Alas, Cang Qingfeng was too fierce and his attacks too ruthless. By focusing on Xu Miaoran, he had finally forced out the original body.

As expected, He Changan immediately retreated to preserve his strength.

Cang Qingfeng had also seen this, so he decided to stop attacking He Changan and focus entirely on Tang Jie. "Let's see what else you can do!"

The tables rapidly turned.

Without He Changan to take the front, the original body had to replace him.

It was only when replacing He Changan that Tang Jie realized how important He Changan's position had been.

As the person taking the brunt of Cang Qingfeng's power, Tang Jie felt like he was pushing back against an entire mountain. Even with his formidable refined body, he still felt like he was reaching his limits. It was no wonder He Changan hadn't been able to attack under these circumstances.

In terms of strength, the original Tang Jie was still far weaker than He Changan.

Upon realizing this, Tang Jie shouted, "He Changan, if you don't attack now, we'll all die, and you'll be done for as well!"

He Changan chuckled. "I won't wait until you're all dead, just until one of the two Tang Jies and that ghost are dead."

He suddenly rushed at the avatar Tang Jie and punched.

Among the three targets, He Changan was the most concerned about the golden-blade-wielding avatar. If he had a choice, He Changan would choose to kill this one. By killing him and taking his golden blade, he could also pose a threat to Cang Qingfeng.

But the avatar was the hardest to kill.

With the Chaoswind Step, Tang Jie easily dodged.

"You want to run?" He Changan chuckled and swept his halberd at Xu Miaoran.

This bastard had learned from Cang Qingfeng, also forcing the avatar into a direct confrontation, and only the avatar had the speed to come in time. But at this moment, a dark figure shot out and slammed into He Changan's halberd—the ghost guard.

The halberd was knocked off its trajectory, but at the same time, the ghost guard was sent flying by He Changan's energy. The energy of the Formless Heavenly Demon rendered the ghost guard temporarily immobile, and a moment later, it was caught up by numerous Blood River Fiends and carried off toward that blood-colored gate.

Everyone suddenly realized that the Blood River Fiends were retreating, and even that crimson gate was beginning to close.

The passage to the Blood River Domain was beginning to close.

Those countless Blood River Fiends dragged the ghost guard along, taking it beyond the gate and out of sight.

"Bastard!" Tang Jie cursed.

He Changan also gasped in surprise.

Xu Miaoran used this opportunity to retreat and shouted, "It's enough now, right? You said that only one of them going down was enough."

He Changan grunted. He could tell that Cang Qingfeng was at the end of his tether. While the power gained from burning his essence blood was formidable, it was not permanent. This was the perfect moment to go back on his word, not a time to hold up his promise.

Just as he was about to attack again, he heard a rush of wind behind him.

He Changan turned around and saw that python coming right at him. The original Tang Jie, who had been fighting against Cang Qingfeng moments ago, had suddenly retreated.

He Changan froze, instantly realizing he was in trouble.

He wanted to renege on his promise, but Cang Qingfeng clearly didn't know this.

The ghost guard had been dragged into the Blood River, so in order to prevent He Changan from once more holding down most of his power, Cang Qingfeng had chosen to strike first.

Worst of all was that Tang Jie clearly had no plans of stopping it.

Whoosh!

The python coiled around He Changan and carried him high into the air.