Lingyuan Immortal

Chapter 998 Three Heroes Battle Li Mang

The starry sky is vast, and light flashes by.

After escaping from Shen Liangcai, Chen Mu and his two companions traveled without hindrance.

Although this saved a lot of trouble, the three of them had already tasted the sweetness of capturing the road signs, so how could they not feel a little disappointed?
Fu Danian, in particular, would frequently take out the Dao Beacon from his pocket to sense things, but always came up empty-handed.

However, just when the three thought they would reach the rendezvous point smoothly, the beacon in Fu Danian's hand suddenly lit up with an unusual light.

His spirits lifted, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Chen, there's someone! They're moving very fast, it seems they're heading straight for us..."

With a slight thought, Chen Mu activated his spiritual awareness and indeed detected a burst of intense white light tearing through the dark star curtain, rapidly approaching.

The white light contained a dense aura of Dao markers, numbering no less than a dozen. To gather such a number in such a short time must have been no easy feat.

Murong Xi frowned slightly and cautiously suggested, "Junior brother, the enemy is coming with great force. Should we temporarily avoid their attack?"

Fu Danian, however, was unwilling to give up. He stroked the Xuan Yang Greatsword on his back, his fighting spirit rising: "Why be afraid before the others arrive? Besides, we are not far from our fellow cultivators. Even if we are outmatched, we can simply retreat!"

Chen Mu's gaze was calm as he looked at the rapidly enlarging point of light: "Although the starry sky is vast, deliberately circling around it would take too much time. Let's just adapt to the situation."

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Murong Xi nodded slightly and said nothing more.

In a short while, the three figures became clearly visible.

Upon recognizing the arrogant young man in the crimson-gold brocade robe at the head of the group, Murong Xi exclaimed, "It's him? Li Mang..."

At the same time, Li Mang also saw Chen Mu and the other two clearly. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, then he looked at Xu Xuanling, who was silent beside him, and a playful smile appeared on his lips:

"Brother Xu, isn't this the young man at the initial stage of the Profound Gate Realm that you previously 'praised' so much? Heh, it seems that Brother Xu wasn't mistaken this time. These three mere individuals have obtained Dao Beacons that are no less than those of He Zhiyun's rabble!"

His gaze swept over Chen Mu and the other two as if it were a physical object, especially lingering on Chen Mu, where his undisguised greed and eagerness almost burst forth.

Chen Mu was not surprised to see the number of road signs, after all, the charm of road signs could not be concealed by them.

To his surprise, judging from the man's words, it seemed that he had just met He Zhiyun and his group, and the atmosphere was not harmonious, otherwise he would not have spoken so disparagingly.

Even so, why did He Zhiyun remain inactive? Was it because he hadn't realized that the other party's destination was opposite theirs? Or did he think that the other party wouldn't have the idea of ​​"punishing" them?

But Li Mang's eyes said it all...

Was this a careless oversight by He Zhiyun, or was it intentional...?
Surely they don't think the three of them can rival or compete with Li Mang and his two companions?
Although Chen Mu was confident in himself and his senior sister, and believed that Fu Danian wouldn't hold them back, he was also self-aware.

Putting aside the vast difference in their cultivation levels, just considering their inherited profound skills and Daoist techniques, Li Mang and his companions held an overwhelming advantage. If they were to truly clash, they would have absolutely no chance of winning…

Xu Xuanling saw Li Mang's fighting spirit and, mindful of his duty, advised him in a low voice, "Since Brother Li agrees with what I said, then don't cause any more trouble. Waiting for the entrance to the third level to appear is the most important thing."

In a flash, Li Mang took a step forward, ignoring Xu Xuanling's whispered advice. He laughed loudly, his posture arrogant:
"No, no! Brother Xu, you are mistaken. To have an entrance but no sufficient Dao marker to knock on the door is a joke, isn't it? Since these cultivators from the lower realms have some ability and possess Dao markers, I, Li, will just casually weigh them up and let them understand as soon as possible that following He Zhiyun is nothing but courting death!"

Before he finished speaking, his aura suddenly surged, and a fierce and violent fire swept out like a raging sea, instantly turning half of the starry sky red. The terrifying pressure pressed down on Chen Mu and the other two like a mountain.

"Boy, state your name!" Li Mang looked down at Chen Mu, pointing a finger at him with a dismissive tone, as if scrutinizing prey.

Chen Mu frowned slightly, but instead of fear in his eyes, he calmly asked, "And who are you?"

His tone was calm, yet it carried a sense of gentle breeze caressing the mountainside.

Li Mang's eyebrows shot up, the playful smile on his face instantly freezing, then turning into a furious, offended laugh:

"Good! What an arrogant scoundrel from the lower realm who doesn't know his place! Even He Zhiyun wouldn't dare to be so presumptuous in front of me. I was looking for an excuse to use you as a scapegoat to teach him a lesson, but it seems I can save myself the trouble!"

"Today I will show you what a world of difference truly means!" Li Mang shouted fiercely, showing no mercy whatsoever.

The void behind him suddenly twisted and contorted, and the enormous phantom of the Fire Pot Dao Fruit, inscribed with countless flame runes, suddenly appeared.

The spout was aimed at Chen Mu, and a line of fire, almost pure white in color, shot out silently yet as fast as thunder. A terrifying heat wave, as if scorching the sky and boiling the sea, took the lead, instantly vaporizing the stardust fragments along the way.

Faced with the furious attack from the expert at the later stage of the Dao Inquiry Realm, Chen Mu's expression was solemn, but he showed no sign of panic.

He held his hands in front of him as if embracing, and the illusory image of the Ze Ding Dao Fruit flashed and disappeared behind him.

In an instant, the sound of rushing rivers seemed to rise in the void, and heavy water, deep blue and almost black, appeared out of thin air, layer upon layer, instantly forming a constantly flowing "water curtain of heaven" in front of him.

This is not ordinary water-based magic, but rather it incorporates the original essence of the transformed "Spiritual Pivot Pure Source True Water". As the water curtain flows, it naturally generates a pure source Daoist charm that can resolve all laws and cleanse impurities.

laugh--!
The pure white fire line crashed hard into the deep blue water curtain. There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a tooth-grinding sound of violent erosion and wear.

Water vapor evaporates wildly, and is constantly replenished by the heavy water source.

The water curtain trembled violently, caved in deeply as if it might be pierced at any moment, yet the pure and primordial Daoist essence it contained stubbornly neutralized the violent and destructive nature of the Heaven-Burning Fire.

Chen Mu swayed slightly, his face paling slightly, clearly under immense pressure, but he managed to barely block the fatal blow.

"Huh?" A hint of surprise flashed in Li Mang's eyes.

Although his attack was not at full strength, it contained the true fire of the Fire Pot Dao Fruit. Even a mid-stage Dao Seeking cultivator might not be able to easily withstand it. Yet, the opponent, a lower-level cultivator at the initial stage of the Profound Gate Realm, was able to withstand it.
Just as Li Mang was filled with surprise and doubt, two attacks suddenly erupted from Chen Mu's two sides.

"Madman, take this!" Fu Danian had been preparing for this attack, roaring like thunder.

He raised the Xuan Yang Greatsword high with both hands, and the Xuanhuang light on the sword blade surged, unleashing a heavy and fierce aura.

The next moment, he transformed into a streak of yellow meteor tearing through the crimson flames, becoming one with his sword, and with an indomitable and resolute momentum, he slashed straight at Li Mang's flank, his target being the edge of the slightly weaker phantom of the fire pot with its flowing flames.

Almost simultaneously, Murong Xiqing shouted, "Cloud Water Sword Domain, rise!"

Her body was surrounded by swirling clouds and shimmering water. The Life-Giving Cloud and Water Sword did not leave her hand, but instead, as she activated her sword technique, it instantly split into hundreds of illusory and real cloud and water sword energies.

These sword energies were not cold chains, but rather agile, swift, and ever-flowing, carrying the ethereal quality of clouds and the enduring power of water. Like a sudden, towering wave of sword energy, they swept across the connection between Li Mang's physical body and the Fire Pot Dao Fruit.

Wherever the sword domain passed, the raging fire seemed to be cut and penetrated by countless fine sword threads.

The timing of these two attacks was impeccable, precisely at the moment when Li Mang's old strength had just dissipated and new strength had not yet arisen, and when his mind was slightly distracted by Chen Mu's hard resistance to his attacks.

"You're asking for it!" Li Mang exclaimed, both shocked and furious.

He never expected that these two "unremarkable" cultivators from the lower realms would dare to attack him first, and that their coordination would be so tacit and cunning.

In a moment of haste, he made a hand seal with his left hand, and the phantom of the fire pot suddenly trembled, spewing out a large stream of crimson flames that transformed into a giant shield of fire to block Fu Danian's Xuan Yang Greatsword. With his right hand, he joined his fingers like a knife and slashed through the air, sending a condensed fire blade hurtling towards the surging cloud and water sword wave, attempting to evaporate and tear it apart.

Boom! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
The Xuan Yang Greatsword slammed into the flaming shield, unleashing a deafening roar. The shield shook violently, and the Xuanhuang sword energy and crimson flames were annihilated.

Fu Danian grunted and was forced back several steps by the recoil, his tiger's mouth split open, and blood stained the sword hilt.

On the other side, although Li Mang's fiery blade evaporated and vaporized some of the Cloud Water Sword Qi, Murong Xi's Cloud Water Sword Domain was inexhaustible. The evaporated water vapor instantly condensed into new sword qi, which, like a bone-deep infection, penetrated the gaps in the fiery blade and continuously seeped into Li Mang's protective spiritual light.

Murong Xi's face was slightly pale, clearly indicating that maintaining such a strong sword domain restraint was extremely taxing, but she had already achieved her goal of distraction, successfully disrupting Li Mang's rhythm.

This momentary hesitation and distraction was a golden opportunity for Chen Mu.

The pale golden candlelight in his eyes suddenly intensified, and the "Eastern Bright Candle Illumination" was activated to its limit. In an instant, he discerned the slight flaw in Li Mang's Dao Fruit operation caused by his hasty response.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Mu formed hand seals, and the magical power within his body resonated wildly with the Daoist essence of Ze Ding.

Then the precarious water curtain in front of him suddenly collapsed inward, turning into a single, extremely deep drop of water.

Immediately afterwards, the drop of water spread silently, rippling outwards, like a drop of ink falling into a clear lake.

Immortal Technique - Moon in the Water!

A flawless "water moon," reflecting the starry sky and the raging flames opposite, appeared out of thin air and stood between Chen Mu and Li Mang.

At the edge of the water and moon, space was slightly distorted, emanating mysterious and unpredictable fluctuations between reality and illusion.

"Celestial arts?!" Li Mang's pupils shrank sharply, and a warning screamed in his heart.

Chen Mu truly exceeded his expectations time and again. A cultivator from the lower realm actually possessed a divine technique inheritance? And he actually mastered it?!
A strong sense of crisis made him hold nothing back, and he was no stranger to immortal techniques.

"Break!" Li Mang roared, no longer showing any contempt.

He activated his Dao Fruit with all his might, and the light from the spout of the gourd blazed to its extreme. What spewed out was no longer a condensed line of fire, but an endless torrent of crimson-gold flames, carrying a terrifying will to burn stars and boil dry galaxies. Like a dam breaking, the world-destroying lava rushed toward the seemingly fragile water moon.

Immortal Technique - Burning the Heavens and Boiling the Seas!
This is Li Mang's trump card, far more powerful than the previous probing attacks.

He was confident that even if he reached the pinnacle of his cultivation, he would still pay a heavy price to directly confront this attack.

However, a bizarre scene still unfolded...

The raging, earth-shattering sea of ​​crimson fire did not instantly evaporate and destroy the "moon in the water" as expected the moment it touched it.

That moon reflected in the water seemed not to exist in reality, yet it also seemed to encompass the entire starry sky. The torrent of flames was silently "swallowed" by the rippling water.

The surface of the water moon rippled violently, and the reflected flames twisted and boiled, as if a cataclysmic collision was taking place inside, yet strangely, not a single ounce of energy leaked out and impacted Chen Mu himself...

The sinister smile on Li Mang's face froze, replaced by unbelievable horror.

He could clearly feel that the power he had unleashed to scorch the heavens and boil the seas was like a clay ox entering the sea, being led by that water moon to some unknown void dimension, or even... being "digested" and "transformed" by some mysterious law.
"break!"

Seizing the opportunity, Fu Danian disregarded his injuries and poured all his magical power into the Xuan Yang Greatsword, launching another desperate attack.

This time, he targeted the opening in Li Mang's physical body that was exposed due to the restraint of his immortal techniques.

Murong Xi was not to be outdone. With a flash of sword light in her eyes, the spread-out Cloud and Water Sword Domain suddenly contracted, and hundreds of sword energies converged like rivers flowing into the sea, instantly gathering on the Life-Giving Cloud and Water Sword in her hand.

The sword's radiance surged, emanating a refined cloud and water sword aura, transforming into a dazzling streak that seemed capable of cleaving through galaxies. It arrived first, following closely behind Fu Danian's Xuan Yang Giant Sword.

In an instant, Li Mang was attacked from both sides.

He had to maintain "Burning Heaven and Boiling Sea" to resist the strange Water Moon Immortal Technique, while also facing Fu Danian's sword strike and Murong Xi's fatal sword strike that condensed the essence of the sword domain.

He roared repeatedly, and the Fire Pot Dao Fruit spun wildly, spewing out layers of flame shields in an attempt to block, but how could he possibly block them all in such a hurry?
Boom! Pfft!

Fu Danian's Xuan Yang Greatsword tore through the flame shield once more, and the impact caused Li Mang's protective aura to fluctuate violently.

Immediately afterwards, Murong Xi's dazzling sword light, imbued with the power of her sword domain, pierced through the gaps in the shield like a venomous snake. Although Li Mang managed to dodge to the side at the last moment, the sharp sword energy still grazed his ribs.

His protective aura was torn apart, his robes were ripped, and a deep, bone-revealing wound instantly appeared, blood splattering as sword energy containing the intent of the Cloud and Water Sword frantically drilled into his body.

The "moon in the water" maneuver, Fu Danian's reckless frontal assault, and Murong Xi's masterful transition from restraint to deadly surprise attack—these three elements worked seamlessly together, forming a deadly net in the blink of an eye...

And this is the moment Chen Mu has been waiting for!
His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his hand seals suddenly changed.

The "moon in the water" that had absorbed a massive amount of scorching fire suddenly dimmed and then abruptly reversed.

An overwhelming force, blending its own water-based origins with the profound mysteries of the "Moon in the Water" immortal technique, and faintly carrying the immense water elemental power that had been transformed and replenished, burst forth from the Moon in the Water as a "Sea-Suppressing Seal" that seemed capable of devouring all light.

The Ze Ding Zhen Hai Seal contains the true meaning of suppressing, sealing, and assimilating all waters. Now, in Chen Mu's hands, it uses the power of immortal techniques to evolve into a profound technique that restrains all fires.

Om-!
The phantom of the fire pot emitted a mournful cry of unbearable strain, trembled violently, and the flames spewing from its spout instantly dimmed and became chaotic.

Li Mang felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. His mind was connected to the Dao Fruit, and he immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale.

He felt as if his proud Dao Fruit was being suppressed by an ancient iceberg, its operation was sluggish, and even his primordial fire was being suppressed.

Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted.

Chen Mu and his two companions seized this fleeting opportunity and launched a fierce and merciless attack.

Li Mang, on the other hand, was overwhelmed and in a sorry state.

Despite possessing advanced cultivation at the later stages of the Dao and powerful immortal techniques, he was severely suppressed by the exquisite coordination of the three and the strange "Moon in the Water" immortal technique, unable to unleash even 70% of his full strength.

Only now did he realize that he had seriously underestimated these three cultivators from the lower realms, especially Chen Mu, who was at the initial stage of the Profound Gate Realm.

If things continue like this, forget about seizing the beacon; I might actually suffer a disastrous defeat, losing face would be a minor matter, and I might even be seriously injured...

Thinking of this, Li Mang no longer cared about saving face. He angrily roared at Gan Qingni and Xu Xuanling, who were watching the battle from behind, his voice filled with unprecedented urgency.

"Sister Gan! Brother Xu! What are you waiting for?!"

……

(End of this chapter)