Chapter 111: Xu Cheng's Counterattack

Purple lightning flickered, completely engulfing Xu Cheng. Had he been an ordinary cultivator, he would have been reduced to ashes by such terrifying bolts. Even for Xu Cheng, however, such a formidable strike inflicted significant wounds.

"He was hit! He was hit!"
"Could he be dead?"
"He is a master of the Transformation stage, on par with our Senior Brother. Perhaps he still has a few tricks up his sleeve?"
"That may be true, but if I were to take a direct hit from Senior Brother’s Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, I would surely be dead!"

The cultivators of the Celestial Master Sect on the viewing stands buzzed with speculation. When the lightning finally faded and the dust settled, a figure emerged, appearing remarkably unscathed.

"I underestimated you! You truly have some skill," Zhang Yangshuo said. Far from being annoyed by his failed attack, he looked at Xu Cheng with growing interest.

Xu Cheng, having been on the receiving end of consecutive attacks, was somewhat provoked. Runes manifested in his eyes, and dozens of Underworld Flame chains materialized out of thin air, coiling toward Zhang Yangshuo. The aura of death carried by the iron chains caused Zhang Yangshuo, who had been treating this as a game, to knit his brows in an instant.

Just as the chains were about to ensnare him, he released dozens of purple lightning bolts from his body, striking the chains and reducing them to black powder that vanished into the air. The neutralization of his Underworld Flame chains was unexpected; Zhang Yangshuo, radiating a massive amount of electricity, moved like a bolt of lightning and appeared abruptly behind Xu Cheng.

Zhang Yangshuo pressed a ball of purple lightning into the center of Xu Cheng’s back.

"So fast!"

This speed surpassed that of most cultivators. By the time Xu Cheng reacted, he was already airborne, his body crackling with electricity.

"Distracted while fighting me? Do you not know what it means to be as quick as lightning?" Zhang Yangshuo said coldly while still in the air. "If this is all you have, you had better leave the stage!"

In an instant, Zhang Yangshuo’s speed increased significantly. Xu Cheng could barely track the flicker of lightning before he felt the scenery around him flying in reverse. In truth, he was being sent flying backward, while Zhang Yangshuo, having halted his own momentum, gathered a massive ball of lightning, roughly ten feet in diameter, in front of him.

He caught up to the retreating Xu Cheng in a heartbeat. With a thunderous boom, the direct hit from the lightning orb was enough to make even Xu Cheng struggle, his body threatening to crumble into dust.

"Let us end this! Heaven and Earth, Five Directions, Creation Divine Lightning!"

Zhang Yangshuo murmured with a smile, sensing victory was at hand. The only person standing in his way of descending the mountain would likely vanish from this world. On the sidelines, Zhang Taiping prepared to intervene to save Xu Cheng, but his shoulder was firmly gripped by someone.

It was the ancestor, Zhang Huamao. His hand pressed down on Zhang Taiping like a massive mountain. "Have you forgotten what I told you? How could a Messenger of the Yellow Springs die so easily?"

Hearing Zhang Huamao's words, Zhang Taiping realized his mistake. This Messenger of the Yellow Springs was, after all, a formidable individual who had survived the primordial spirit attack of their own ancestor. Though his disciple's cultivation was profound, it was still a few levels below Xu Cheng's.

As Zhang Yangshuo unleashed the Creation Divine Lightning, a bolt of black lightning imbued with the aura of destruction struck Xu Cheng. It was indeed his opponent's ultimate trump card; Xu Cheng spat out a large mouthful of blood.

Just as he was about to give in to his anger, Xu Cheng saw the blood on the ground. As a Messenger of the Yellow Springs, it had been a long time since he had felt the sensation of blood. His initial rage instantly transformed into a flicker of joy. He found that he could still manipulate the crimson blood on the ground—it could gather or disperse at his will.

A black spear materialized from Xu Cheng’s palm, and sensing Zhang Yangshuo’s position, it shot forward. To the eyes of the Celestial Master Sect cultivators, they only saw a black spear flying out from the thick smoke surrounding Xu Cheng, thrusting directly at Zhang Yangshuo.

"He's still capable of this?" Zhang Yangshuo whispered, barely parrying the spear attack. In the moment he was stunned, a surge of red blood welled up from around him, wrapping around his body and condensing into a red coffin.

Countless Underworld Flame chains manifested from thin air, binding the floating red coffin tightly.

"Yellow Springs Immortal Art: Hell Seal!"

Xu Cheng revealed his form and whispered. Another black spear appeared in his hand, its shaft wreathed in phantoms of hell; once thrown, it seemed capable of destroying everything.

The next moment, the Hell Spear transformed into a black bolt of lightning, attacking the coffin-bound Zhang Yangshuo. However, the situation shifted abruptly. Endless purple lightning shattered the bindings of the coffin, and from within, a purple dharma manifestation over ten feet tall appeared. It had a single vertical eye, a face like the God of Thunder, and a pair of wings on its back that flickered with electricity as they flapped.

Seeing the lethal spear attack, the manifestation’s central eye fired a crystalline bolt of lightning, colliding with the spear and causing both to vanish into nothingness.

"A truly well-matched opponent!" said Zhang Yangshuo, now encased within his dharma manifestation.

"Lord of the Underworld Manifestation!"

Seeing this, Xu Cheng showed his respect by manifesting his own avatar. A ten-foot-tall figure of the Lord of the Underworld, clad in black, enveloped his body.

"Divine Firmament Thunder Seal!"
"Reincarnation Seal!"

Both men roared, unleashing their most powerful seals. They collided with a violent crash. The black hole representing reincarnation and the Divine Firmament lightning representing the might of heaven clashed, generating such intense fluctuations that a layer of the fighting stage’s ground was stripped away.

In that instant, if not for his immense strength, Zhang Yangshuo would have nearly been dragged into reincarnation. The seemingly unremarkable man before him possessed such formidable power. His fighting spirit ignited, and in a flash, a new seal manifested in his mind—the Universe Divine Lightning Seal. With this seal, one could command all lightning.

"Let the final move decide the winner!" Zhang Yangshuo stepped back and said.

"Agreed!" Xu Cheng nodded.

"Celestial Master Sect, Five Thunders Orthodoxy Immortal Art: Universe Divine Lightning Seal!" Zhang Yangshuo chanted softly, infinite electricity dancing around him.

"Yellow Springs Path, Forget-River Reincarnation Immortal Art: Six Paths Reincarnation Seal!" Xu Cheng refused to be outdone. His manifestation folded its hands over its chest, and a black hole appeared between them, surrounded by six mysterious, indecipherable characters representing the six paths.

The momentum gathered by the two was immense. Had Zhang Taiping not been maintaining the protective barrier of the fighting stage, nearly half of the Celestial Master Sect disciples would have been killed or injured.

A moment later, the Six Paths Reincarnation Seal became massive, as did the Universe Divine Lightning Seal. The violent collision between the two immortal arts caused space itself to crack, and the explosion of energy forced both men to retreat.

Xu Cheng retreated fifty steps.
Zhang Yangshuo retreated fifty-one steps.