Chapter 720 705: No Challenge at All

With Xue Shiyin's sword pointed at him once again, Chu Qingcheng actually calmed down.

He glanced at the cold glint flickering on Celestial Cry and said nonchalantly, "I possess the Qi Observation Skill, passed down from ancient times. I can observe celestial phenomena and comprehend life and death. Accomplishing something like this is not impossible."

"But now isn't the time to explain. Some other day, when we have time, I can demonstrate the Qi Observation Skill for you… I acted rashly and offended you when I grabbed you earlier, but it would be truly inappropriate for you to go over there right now."

"What do you mean by that?" Xue Shiyin said, momentarily stunned. "You already said many powerful auras have appeared. Xiaolang could be in danger at any moment. I should be the one to go help, so how could it be inappropriate?"

Chu Qingcheng said slowly, "How much do you know about Xiaolang's methods? Even a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse might not be able to do anything to him, right?"

"This is his game. It's not suitable for others to participate."

"Anyone who appears by his side will only interfere with his plans and distract him... especially you and Dingdang."

Xue Shiyin raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say? That I'm a burden to him?"

Chu Qingcheng shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I'm just saying that he values your lives more than his own. If you're by his side, not only will you be unable to help, but you'll only serve as a distraction."

"So my point is, you shouldn't go to the Third Floor area yet... It won't be long. He'll be back soon."

Xue Shiyin sheathed her longsword, glanced at Chu Qingcheng, and asked her previous question again. "Tell me, who are you really? And what is your purpose for being near Xiaolang?"

Chu Qingcheng turned around and spread his hands. "I am Chu Qingcheng, the one and only Chu Qingcheng in all of heaven and earth. A member of the Celestial Phoenix City's Chu Family."

"If you don't believe me, you can check for yourself. See if I've hidden my Cultivation, or if I've been a victim of Possession. You can even check if my bone age is twenty-three."

Xue Shiyin snorted coldly and turned her head away.

'I already spent a long time examining him carefully. What's the use in checking again?'

Chu Qingcheng sighed and murmured, "Perhaps you misunderstand me... The reason I was avoiding you is actually very simple. Back in Celestial Phoenix City, besides Xiaolang, I was the person most familiar with Dingdang! Now that Dingdang has suddenly ended up like this, I was afraid you'd misunderstand and think we had something to do with her current state... After all, what happened to Dingdang occurred after she returned from Celestial Phoenix City."

Xue Shiyin's gaze sharpened, and her voice softened. "How did Dingdang and Xiaolang meet? Can you tell me what happened in Celestial Phoenix City?"

A smile touched the corners of Chu Qingcheng's lips. He took the opportunity to sit on a long, bluestone slab nearby, then patted it lightly. "Come, sit here. I'll tell you all about us... no, I'll tell you all about Xiaolang and Dingdang."

Xue Shiyin frowned slightly as she looked at the dusty bluestone.

However, her brow quickly smoothed out, and she sat down generously beside Chu Qingcheng.

"So, back when Dingdang and Xiaolang met, Xiaolang was being ganged up on by a group of people..."

Chu Qingcheng was a natural storyteller. As he recounted the events in Celestial Phoenix City with some embellishment, he actually managed to completely captivate Xue Shiyin.

Looking at Xue Shiyin beside him, who was like a mature version of Xue Dangdang, Chu Qingcheng was filled with emotion.

'Sigh, a million years... To think the past would truly repeat itself, with you pointing your longsword at me once more... How nostalgic!'

'A soul split in two, yet her temper is exactly the same as it was back then. A blessing in disguise... This is all my own doing, my own sin!'

'You ask who I am? In truth, I am merely someone here to repay a debt.'

Night fell. While Chu Qingcheng was telling stories to Xue Shiyin...

Shen Jianfeng took advantage of the fact that everyone was starting to rest, and under the cover of darkness, he snuck toward the northern exit of the Dragon Bone Wilderness.

...

In the Stone Forest, the battle between Shen Lang and the Rock Demon Lord was raging.

The fourth technique of the Five Emperors Dragon Fist, empowered by Tianren Star—the second level of the Nine-Star Profound Meaning—was practically Shen Lang's strongest attack without using a Divine Weapon.

But Tianren Star, the second level of the Nine-Star Profound Meaning, was not so easily activated. Even with Shen Lang's Chaos Divine Body, using it multiple times in a short period caused immense damage to his body.

Besides this punch, with Shen Lang's current Cultivation, the only things that could inflict a fatal blow on the Rock Demon Lord were the Immortal Celestial Saber and the Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads.

At this moment, the Rock Demon Lord's body rapidly shrank, revealing its strongest form.

Both its speed and power had increased dramatically.

Shen Lang was finally forced to draw the Immortal Celestial Saber!

Even so, facing a Rock Demon Lord with even greater speed and power, the pressure on Shen Lang mounted!

'This Flame Demon Lord's combat skills are extraordinary. Its timing is unbelievably precise. It must have received careful instruction from the powerhouses of Yumu Cave Blessed Land!'

After clashing with the Rock Demon Lord several times, Shen Lang once again noticed how exceptional it was.

This beast didn't fight with the brute force of a typical Flame Demon; instead, it advanced and retreated with ease, its movements perfectly controlled.

Just as before, while this Rock Demon Lord was calling humans insidious and cunning, it was playing dirty itself, using its Lava Realm to conjure a pool of magma that had nearly trapped Shen Lang.

Afterward, its movements and techniques as it attacked Shen Lang were similarly a series of brilliant, profoundly unpredictable moves.

It was only because Shen Lang's combat skills were monstrously good. Any other expert at the Seventh or Eighth of Heaven of the King Martial Realm would have likely been defeated long ago...

"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"

The light of the Immortal Celestial Saber in Shen Lang's hand flared as he unleashed three consecutive slashes, forcing the Rock Demon Lord back.

'The power of this Lava Realm is more than ten times stronger than Dugu Zhange's Water Realm. Trapped inside it, I'm constrained at every turn, while this Flame Demon is only getting faster. As its advantage grows and mine shrinks, I'll probably be forced into a purely defensive fight.'

Shen Lang's thoughts raced. 'The people of Yumu Cave Blessed Land are truly remarkable. To think they could train even a Flame Demon to be this powerful. It has almost no openings, and the few small ones that exist are covered by its lightning speed. This battle is going to be a real headache.'

In terms of speed and power, there was still a considerable gap between the current Shen Lang and this Rock Demon Lord.

Even with the Immortal Celestial Saber, he didn't have much of an advantage.

In terms of combat skill, the Rock Demon Lord was also exceptional. Even though Shen Lang had identified several openings, it had used its incredible speed to cover them up.

If he were to use the Celestial Purity Sect's "Demon Blade Technique" or other powerful Sword and Saber Techniques, Shen Lang was confident he could defeat this Rock Demon Lord.

However, a large group of King Martial Realm powerhouses were currently watching, and among them were members of the White Bone Hall, which had an ambiguous relationship with the Demon God Hall.

Under these circumstances, even with such a trump card, Shen Lang couldn't use it.

But without using a trump card like that, he couldn't break through this Lava Realm, nor could he breach the Rock Demon Lord's defense!

Shen Lang's gaze turned cold, and he stomped his right foot hard!

Amidst a deafening roar, the massive boulders around Shen Lang began to float.

Shen Lang kicked out with both feet, instantly sending a dozen boulders in front of him flying toward the Rock Demon Lord!

The Rock Demon Lord's charge slowed for a moment. With a furious roar, its palms flew, shattering an incoming dark-brown boulder into dust!

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Carrying the sound of wind and thunder, the Rock Demon Lord arrived in a flash, another fierce and majestic punch already smashing down.

At that moment, through the swirling dust that filled the air, Shen Lang's gaze fell upon the Rock Demon Lord's chest, where the network of veins was now hard to see clearly.

Before the Rock Demon Lord had shrunk, all the veins on its body were clearly visible.

Everyone could see the lava flowing through those veins.

These veins were similar to those of other Flame Demons, extending from the Heart of the Flame Demon and spreading throughout the body.

They were just like the blood vessels and meridians of a human.

Humans are the spirits of all creation, so powerful Demon Beasts eventually transform into human form.

Gods have human forms;

Demons also have human forms.

And creatures like the Flame Demon were the same; the more powerful they became, the closer they resembled a human form.

The most Low-level Flame Demons look like nothing more than a flaming rock;

But in the Rock Demon Lord's current, strongest form, its facial features and limbs were not much different from a human's.

The only difference was that the power of Human Race experts primarily came from the Nascent Soul, which was located in the abdomen, in the position of the original Pill Sea;

Whereas the source of a Flame Demon's power was the Heart of the Flame Demon, located in its chest.

Both their powers were channeled throughout the body via a network of internal veins.

'Whether the power extends from the Heart of the Flame Demon or from the Pill Sea, as long as it has a human form, the network of veins and Mystic Gates within the body should be the same.'

'The Heart of the Flame Demon and the Pill Sea are just two different ways of utilizing power.'

'In that case...'

At that moment, two images surfaced in Shen Lang's mind.

One image was of his recent encounter with Dugu Zhange's sneak attack.

The moment Dugu Zhange attacked, Shen Lang had recognized that he was from the Dugu Family.

On Dugu Zhange's body, seven major acupoints resonated with the Big Dipper in the sky, forming a Spirit Array Map that covered his entire body through a Supreme Secret Technique.

Within this Spirit Array Map, the Big Dipper shone dazzlingly, and his Spiritual Power was endless and incomparably fierce!

From top to bottom, his shoulders, hands, waist, hips, abdomen, heels, and toes were like the Big Dipper, constructing a perfect and ingenious Spirit Array Map.

By using the pull and release of Power from this Spirit Array Map, the man's Mystic Gates were all connected, his movements were as fast as a phantom's, and his Spiritual Power cycled endlessly like ocean tides, each wave stronger than the last!

It was precisely because he saw through all this at a glance that when Dugu Zhange ambushed him, Shen Lang shattered the latter's "Seven-Star Soaring Clouds" Secret Skill in a single move and repelled him;

The other image...

Was the great battle against Drunken Thousand Cups, one of the Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses from Evil Wind Valley, back at the Shen Family estate;

At that time, there was a huge gap in Cultivation between Shen Lang and Drunken Thousand Cups, but Shen Lang seized the initiative. After shattering Drunken Thousand Cups's Armor, he used close-quarters combat, landing heavy punch after punch on the various acupoints and Mystic Gates on Drunken Thousand Cups's body.

Every single one of these acupoints was a vital pathway for the flow of Spiritual Power within the body!

Through this relentless assault, Shen Lang quickly placed a Restriction on Drunken Thousand Cups's body, completely disrupting the circulation of his Spiritual Power and locking it down, setting up multiple obstacles along its vital pathways!

Just like that, Drunken Thousand Cups was beaten from start to finish, never once managing a decent counterattack!

Back then, Shen Lang had not yet deeply integrated the War Emperor's memories, nor had he fully assimilated all of the War Emperor's experience.

But the Shen Lang of today...

Under the gaze of his Silver Eyes of Truth, the speed of the charging Rock Demon Lord seemed to slow to a crawl.

And the profound network of meridians within its body was laid bare, displayed with perfect clarity right before Shen Lang's eyes.

Shen Lang glanced at the pool of magma at the Rock Demon Lord's feet, then up at the sky above the Stone Forest, and suddenly let out a laugh. "I thought this would be a tough fight. I wanted to see how far you could push me, to have you awaken my potential... but who would have thought you'd be no challenge at all!"

"What a disappointment!"