Liu Mu’s face was pale as death, his long hair soaked through and plastered into wet strands. With immense difficulty, he drifted upward, retreating to another corner of the fractured space.
Xiao Chen was in agony. His body truly felt as if it were about to shatter. But trapped within the space Liu Mu commanded, he could not yet see a way out. He raised his right hand with excruciating effort—the terrible spatial forces made it tremble, veins standing out like cords. Gritting his teeth, he forced his arm up and shot a blinding sword-lance toward Liu Mu, seeking to pierce him through.
By now, Liu Mu had also lost all composure. Sweat drenched his entire body, turning to rising steam that almost engulfed him. Seeing that brilliant sword-light hurtling toward him, he struggled to spread a sheet of azure light in the air. A sharp clang rang out as the incoming divine radiance vanished; at the same time, the azure light shattered into nothing. The power born of space had blocked that fierce strike!
Though the time from the start of the battle until now had been brief, it felt to both combatants as if a hundred years had passed. Both teetered on the edge of collapse.
Liu Mu felt he was nearing exhaustion. He had never expected to encounter such a formidable foe—someone his Space-Crushing Art could not overpower. Gritting his teeth, he traced out a series of complex, obscure trajectories in the air. Azure divine light blazed forth, coalescing into crescent blades of dazzling radiance that spun toward Xiao Chen like a storm!
It was a rain of blades formed from spatial spiritual power! Had that power been sufficient, it could have torn the void itself. Though Liu Mu had not yet reached that stage, such a barrage of spatial blade-light was enough to look down on any opponent at the same level.
At that moment, Xiao Chen truly felt death drawing near. The sickly, languid Liu Mu was terrifyingly strong—the most fearsome enemy he had ever faced.
Xiao Chen had never once considered surrender. Even in the last instant before death, he would struggle with all his might. That was his nature.
His arms were nearly translucent; one could see the blood flowing within, the bones quivering, and his vital energy churning—any moment they might shatter. But in this instant, Xiao Chen had no choice. He pushed the power of the Mortal-Shedding fifth heaven to its absolute limit. His hands actually broke through the spatial restraints!
Even though his body might shatter, Xiao Chen did not hesitate. He swung his arms, striking out with mysterious, unfathomable hand seals in rapid succession.
Starlight blossomed within that space. Seven most brilliant constellations appeared before Xiao Chen—the stars of the Big Dipper whirled around him, forming a dazzling curtain of light. The entire space blazed with divine radiance!
Xiao Chen’s heart surged with fierce emotion. He named this shield of seven-starred light “Seals the Gods.” Normally he could barely execute it, but now, pushed to the brink between life and death, his latent power had fully erupted, and he had succeeded in unleashing this technique—the Big Dipper Seals the Gods.
The spatial blade-light formed by concentrated spiritual power, when raised to a certain realm, was said to cut through all obstacles. At its highest level, even gods could not stand against it! Liu Mu did not yet possess such cultivation, but this dreadful rain of blades was still terrifying enough.
The tearing sound of the air was like the death knell, gripping the heart. Yet something astonishing occurred: when the dense rain of blades struck the Seals the Gods shield, they melted into that brilliant canopy like a hundred rivers flowing to the sea!
The light before Xiao Chen was so dazzling it felt like ten suns blazing at once—no one could keep their eyes open. The blade-rain formed of spatial spiritual energy dissolved into pure power within the Big Dipper’s “ladle,” then streamed toward the “handle”!
Xiao Chen’s hands continued to trace through the air—esoteric, unfathomable patterns that seemed about to rend the void itself. The diagram of the Big Dipper grew hazy, then suddenly exploded with a terrible wave of energy. It merged with the spatial power he had absorbed and shot forth from the tip of the ladle’s handle!
It was as though Xiao Chen’s own strength and Liu Mu’s had been superimposed, then amplified! That blazing beam, like an invincible heavenly sword, grazed Liu Mu’s ear and slammed into the wall of light behind him.
With a thunderous roar, the hundred-square-meter strange space shattered and vanished. When all had settled, Xiao Chen stood amid the plain of white bones. His bones cracked and popped, but his body had held firm—it had not broken.
He stood like a tempered blade, eyes fixed on his opponent before him.
Liu Mu staggered a few steps, then planted himself on the ground like a nail. He, too, stared at Xiao Chen. After a long silence, he finally spoke. “You win. I never thought a spiritist of the Mortal-Shedding fifth heaven would lose to a martial artist of the same realm.” Yet he showed no sign of dejection. “In truth, my strength is not inferior to yours.”
“Are space spiritists so special?” Xiao Chen found the sickly Liu Mu somewhat overly proud.
Liu Mu gave a wry smile. Loss was loss. He said with self-deprecation, “I admit defeat, but you needn’t mock me. Space spiritists are said to be undefeated among cultivators of the same level—the kings of their generation. We both stand at the Mortal-Shedding fifth heaven, yet today… I have lost to you. That shames me.”
“I was not mocking you. Before this, I had never heard that space spiritists were kings among their peers. I come from the Mortal World…”
Xiao Chen saw that Liu Mu bore no resentment from his defeat and did not treat him as an enemy. So Xiao Chen gradually softened. If he could avoid making enemies, why would he seek them out?
“You come from the Mortal World…”
Through a brief exchange, Xiao Chen at last understood what it meant to be a space spiritist. They were indeed kings among practitioners, as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Yet he had just defeated one who was said to be undefeated at the same level. A surge of confidence filled his heart—legends could be broken!
Meanwhile, Liu Mu learned from Xiao Chen what had happened on the outer islands recently. He had penetrated deep into Dragon Island long ago, and ever since the sealing of the island, he had been training near the divine stele.
“Alliances? Restrictions? Sooner or later, there will be a bloodbath. Most of the people on Dragon Island will likely not survive.”
“Brother Liu, since you can foresee that, how about we look out for each other from now on?”
“Good. I would not want an enemy like you either.” After the great battle, Liu Mu’s face was paler than before.
“And I would not want a terrifying foe like you.” Xiao Chen spoke truthfully. The space spiritist at the Mortal-Shedding fifth heaven was the strongest opponent he had ever faced.
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