Chapter 735 - 780: 5 Emperor Dragon Fist, an Evolvable Venerable Technique

Shui Ningxin sensed the fearless heart beating within Shen Jianfeng, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to express her gratitude...

Just then, a gale suddenly swept in from the northwest. The distinct fluctuation of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi immediately caught Shen Jianfeng’s attention.

Looking in the direction of the gale, a massive, funnel-like vortex could be faintly seen in the northwestern sky. It was a terrifying sight.

"Jianfeng, it’s Shen Lang! Shen Lang is over there!" Shui Ningxin cried out, a mixture of joy and surprise.

Shen Jianfeng was taken aback. "This anomaly is clearly the work of an expert at or above the King Martial Realm, but what makes you so sure it’s my cousin? It could be someone else, you know."

"I don’t know, I just... I can sense a Vast Righteous Qi, exactly like the one I felt from Shen Lang before..." Shui Ningxin said timidly.

"Vast Righteous Qi?" Shen Jianfeng puffed out his chest. "And what about me? Don’t you sense a Vast Righteous Qi from me that’s even stronger than my cousin’s?"

Shui Ningxin hesitated for a long moment before mumbling, "Yes... It’s about the same..."

"It’s either there or it isn’t. Why do you sound so uncertain? Fine, whatever. If my cousin is over there, then that’s where we’re going!" Shen Jianfeng declared, flourishing his Long Spear.

"Your soul is so weak, how can you sense all this? So strange..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Jianfeng stuffed an Elixir Pill brimming with Spiritual Qi into the Fiery Demon Wolf’s mouth.

The Fiery Demon Wolf, which had been on the verge of collapse, swallowed the pill and let out a fierce roar before breaking into a frenzied sprint.

In an instant, it left the pack of Demon Beasts far behind.

It was said that besides the Shen Family, you’d be hard-pressed to find another upstart who would feed Elixir Pills to their mount.

Shen Jianfeng was thriving on Songdu Peak these days. Across the Profound Dao Sect’s Nine-Nine Eighty-One Peaks, everyone from Peak Masters and Elders to his martial brothers were constantly stuffing Elixir Pills and Spirit Stones into his hands. He was living the good life.

Even his Fiery Demon Wolf mount reaped many of the benefits.

Otherwise, how could a mere Fiery Demon Wolf possibly outrun the powerful Demon Beasts in the Third Floor of the Yumu Cave Blessed Land?

...

Beneath the massive vortex Shen Jianfeng had spotted, Shen Lang sighed by the waterfall. With a wave of his hand, a sudden gust of wind swept away the pile of spent Spirit Stones before him, now nothing but gray rocks.

In a single day, he had absorbed a total of 166 Top Grade Spirit Stones.

In addition to those Spirit Stones, Shen Lang had also absorbed nearly all the Spiritual Qi from the surrounding jungle.

But for the Tai Chi Diagram in its current state, such a vast amount of energy was still just a drop in the bucket.

The energy within the Tribulation Thunder wasn’t actually so immense on its own. However, it contained unimaginable Heaven and Earth Rules. For the World Tree, simply destroying the Tribulation Thunder would have been easy. But analyzing, deconstructing, reassembling, and then completing its Refinement was an entirely different and extraordinarily difficult matter.

Tribulation Thunder was, after all, a part of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, incomparable to ordinary lightning.

To complete its Refinement, one not only had to deconstruct its energy but also comprehend the Rules it contained.

If he could successfully refine it and gain control over Thunder Tribulation, he would practically be a Demigod in this world!

In fact, not even a Demigod was powerful enough to control Thunder Tribulation!

’This is an unimaginably terrifying prospect. If not for the Tai Chi Diagram and the World Tree inside it, even I, with the mind of the War Emperor, wouldn’t dare to contemplate, let alone attempt, such a thing.’

’This much energy should at least allow the World Tree to completely suppress the Tribulation Thunder for a while.’

’As long as I set aside time each day to replenish its energy, it won’t be long before I can help the World Tree complete the Refinement of the Nine-Nine Tribulation Thunder! Once I control Tribulation Thunder, who will be able to stand against me?’

Shen Lang suppressed his elation and opened his right hand, palm facing up.

POP! POP! POP!

With a series of soft pops, a ray of Spirit Light erupted from each of his five fingertips.

Five different types of energy, each with a unique Attribute, hovered over his fingertips.

Vermilion Bird Divine Fire, Thunder Power, Wind Spirit Power, Ice Spiritual Power, and Netherworld Qi!

Driven by the Five Emperors Dragon Fist, the five energies began to spin rapidly, like five small, multicolored dragons.

They simultaneously repelled and fused with one another.

A terrifying vortex formed in the center of his palm.

An aura of destruction emanated from it, causing even Shen Lang to raise an eyebrow in shock.

Before his battle with the Rock Demon Lord, the Five Emperors Dragon Fist had already demonstrated its formidable power.

Back then, the power he had released from his fingertips was the Power of the Five Elements: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

The Tai Chi Diagram could condense the Power of the Five Elements with incredible speed, so fast that the Five Emperors Dragon Fist could be unleashed the instant Shen Lang willed it.

But now, with three of those forces replaced by Vermilion Bird Divine Fire, Thunder Power, and Netherworld Qi, the power of the same Five Emperors Dragon Fist had increased by more than a hundredfold!

Although Vermilion Bird Divine Fire was a type of the Power of Fire within the Five Elements, it was hundreds, even thousands of times stronger than an ordinary flame.

Thunder Power was of the Supreme Yang and Firmness, its might unpredictable and far surpassing Water Spirit Power or Wood Spirit Power...

’And if I manage to complete the Refinement of the Tribulation Thunder and apply its power to the Five Emperors Dragon Fist, the same move will see another unimaginable leap in power!’

As for Netherworld Qi, it was not one of the Five Elements, yet it was not entirely separate from them either. It was the essence of Supreme Yin and evil, the purest form of Yin Attribute Energy.

In some respects, its destructive power even surpassed that of the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire!

With Vermilion Bird Divine Fire and Netherworld Qi incorporated into the Five Emperors Dragon Fist, the technique’s power had reached an unbelievable level.

’If not for the slow speed of condensing the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire and Netherworld Qi, how could the Rock Demon Lord have possibly withstood it if I had used this version of the technique back then?’

Shen Lang then held out his left hand, and the Power of the Five Elements—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—immediately appeared on his fingertips.

Unleashing the Five Emperors Dragon Fist with the Power of the Five Elements was several times faster than using Vermilion Bird Divine Fire and Netherworld Qi.

The main reason the version with Vermilion Bird Divine Fire and Netherworld Qi was slower was that the Tai Chi Diagram couldn’t condense those two energies into a sufficient, usable form quickly enough.

’It seems I need to form all ten Elements Mansions as soon as possible. It would be a real shame if I couldn’t use this powerful version of the Five Emperors Dragon Fist, fusing Vermilion Bird Divine Fire and Netherworld Qi, simply because of its casting speed.’

’In a battle between experts, every second counts. A delay of even a moment can lead to a catastrophic defeat.’

’However, my Divine Thought is depleted for now. Plus, I haven’t studied Netherworld Qi as thoroughly as I have the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire. I’ll need to spend more time pondering it. It looks like forming the Yin Element Mansion for Netherworld Qi will have to wait.’

After a moment, Shen Lang’s furrowed brow relaxed, and a pleased expression appeared on his face as he watched the rapidly spinning Spiral Qi Force in his right palm.

’I can’t believe the Five Emperors Dragon Fist is this powerful, even in its early stages of development. Not only does it scale with a Martial Artist’s own Cultivation, but its power can also be massively boosted by incorporating different energies! The fact that it can continuously evolve... no wonder even a peerless genius like the War Emperor only managed to create three stances.’

’Even though I’m still just exploring its potential, it’s already leagues stronger than the Secret Skills of the other Four Directions Great Emperors!’

’Looks like I’ll need to focus more of my time and energy on this. When it comes to Cultivation Techniques, quality is better than quantity. The War Emperor studied countless powerful techniques, even managing to acquire those of the other Four Directions Great Emperors. Looking at it now... it seems he truly synthesized the best of all the world’s techniques to create the Five Emperors Dragon Fist!’

’As I gain new insights in the future, I’ll continue to optimize and perfect it. It will surely become powerful enough to sweep away all obstacles and set the world right!’

Shen Lang thrust his left and right hands out, blasting one attack north and the other west!

Amid a deafening roar, a huge cliff face immediately crumbled. The mountain collapsed and the earth split apart!

Watching silently as the two towering mushroom clouds slowly dissipated, Shen Lang drew the Immortal Celestial Saber and held it in his hand.

The battles against the Rock Demon Lord and against Feng Xihai’s group—though he hadn’t relied heavily on the Immortal Celestial Saber—had revealed a major shortcoming of his.

That shortcoming was...

...the unfathomable power of his Chaos Divine Body could not easily enter the Immortal Celestial Saber.

He couldn’t use the Immortal Celestial Saber to amplify that power and then unleash it!

Qin Yun and Feng Xihai had once said that Shen Lang’s strength lay in his formidable physical body, but in today’s world, there were no Cultivation Techniques for becoming a Saint of the Flesh.

Powerful Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts like the Immortal Celestial Saber and the Bone Blood Seal were all forged for Martial Artists who focused on Cultivation Methods!

For the Martial Artists of this world, "Magic" was primary, and "body" was secondary.

Someone like Shen Lang, who practiced Dual Cultivation of Body and Technique—and whose "body" was even stronger than his "Magic"—was one in ten thousand.

Countless Martial Artists relied on absorbing nature’s spiritual energy and converting it into Spiritual Power for their use.

Spiritual Power was, fundamentally, the source of a Martial Artist’s strength.

To activate a powerful Imperial Artifact like the Immortal Celestial Saber, a Martial Artist needed a sufficient Cultivation level. They had to pour their Spiritual Power into the saber. Then, through the properties of the saber’s materials and the conversion of its Spirit Array Map, they could finally unleash immense power via the Artifact Spirit.

All of these Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts were forged for the sole purpose of maximizing the effectiveness of Spiritual Power.

The power of the physical body, however, had little connection to these powerful Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts.

When Shen Lang activated the power of his Chaos Divine Body and swung the Immortal Celestial Saber, very little of that power actually circulated within the blade, let alone being amplified before being unleashed.

To put it bluntly, it was like a Giant swinging a boulder. It was powerful, yes, but that power had its limits.

All it demonstrated was brute force.

The true power of the Immortal Celestial Saber was not being utilized at all.

In his usual battles, the power of the Immortal Celestial Saber was primarily driven by the Spiritual Power and Sword Intent in his body.

The contribution from his Chaos Divine Body was extremely limited.

Shen Lang looked at the Immortal Celestial Saber before him, his brow furrowed slightly as he slowly slid a finger across the body of the blade.

BZZZT...

A wisp of power from his Chaos Divine Body surged from his fingertip and into the blade.

VMMMM!

The Immortal Celestial Saber trembled lightly. A light flickered across the blade, and most of the power from the Chaos Divine Body was repelled, dissipating into the air.

The small portion of power from the Chaos Divine Body that did manage to enter the saber, as observed by Shen Lang’s Divine Thought, didn’t follow the path laid out by the Spirit Array Map at all. Instead, it rampaged wildly within the blade like an untamed stallion!