Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 222 The End
Chao Fengying stared wide-eyed at Gao Wu, her eyes filled with shock.

Gao Wu's final strike at the Azure Dragon Cup melted the arena, forcing Chu Shenxiu to retreat. His domineering and unparalleled divine power left a deep impression on Chao Fengying.

Today was different. Gao Wu's palm strike was light yet extremely sharp, which allowed him to easily pierce through the seven-colored rainbow light protecting Tianye Grass. Even more terrifying was the intense palm force contained within, which penetrated directly through Tianye Grass's entire body, burning it to ashes silently.

The intense and domineering palm force could be so mysterious and sinister, which shows that the senior brother has fully mastered the innate divine power, which is why he can change from yang to yin and change at will between yin and yang, reality and illusion.

More importantly, witnessing a beautiful young woman turn to ashes and her life perish in the most direct way before her eyes had a tremendous impact on her.

Chao Fengying noticed that her senior brother's expression was calm, his gaze deep and cold, showing no emotion or sympathy whatsoever, completely different from his usual playful and joking demeanor.

She always thought her senior was exceptionally sunny and cheerful, very polite and courteous to everyone, and particularly fond of helping others. From the first time she met him, she felt he was trustworthy.

Only then did she discover another side of her senior brother: cold, ruthless, tough, and resolute, showing no pity and wavering in the slightest. She was somewhat afraid of this side of him…

"Fengying, fighting is not a game. If you fight, you must be responsible for your own life and death."

Hai Wuji didn't emphasize good and evil, right and wrong; he simply told his young apprentice about the cruelty of battle.

As for good and evil, right and wrong, didn't you think it through before you took action? Then you deserve to die.

The Sword Saint noticed that Song Mingyue remained remarkably calm throughout, showing no emotion even as she witnessed life end. This aloof student was almost cold-blooded in her composure.

No wonder Gao Wu and she are inseparable; they really are the same kind of people.

Only Fengying is a true child; though highly intelligent, she is still very immature...

Gao Wu walked over holding a golden needle about an inch long: "Master, what is this?"

"An evil object created by the demon god. They call it the Seven Laws Divine Decree." Hai Wuji picked up the golden needle and examined it carefully. His expression was also very serious. This evil object clearly contained the seven divine powers of the Scorpion King.

From an energy level perspective, it should be level seven. However, the seven divine power imprints gathered in this thing are unusually stable.

Even if a level seven martial artist holds it all day, it will inevitably be corrupted and eroded by the seven divine powers.

"I'll study it for two days and see if I can remove the spiritual imprint." Hai Wuji put away the golden needles. These things are very dangerous and can't be allowed to be handled by Gao Wu.

The manifestation of the seven divine powers in the real world is, in essence, a reshaping of the source power. If the divine imprint of the Scorpion King can be removed, the Seven Laws Divine Decree will still be very valuable.

Gao Wu, however, was eager to try: "Master, I can try to refine it using my innate supernatural power..."

"No."

Hai Wuji refused without hesitation, "I have to fight Pei Jidao in a few days. I can't waste my energy on irrelevant things."

Even if Gao Wu's Fire Control Divine Power can refine the Seven Laws Divine Decree and destroy its spiritual imprint, now is not the time.

Hai Wuji commented: "By fusing the talent for controlling fire and the ability to use sharp metal with sword intent, achieving inner sharpness and outer roundness, and transforming yang into yin, it can already be considered a high level of skill."

"The details are still a bit rough, but that can't be improved in a short time."

As he spoke, he glanced at Gao Wu's shoulder. Tianyecao's dying palm strike had only torn Gao Wu's martial arts uniform, leaving his skin bruised and swollen, but it had not damaged his bones or tendons.

It can only be said that Gao Wu's physical strength is comparable to that of a bio-engineered battle suit. Such physical talent even amazed Hai Wuji.

"If we were to fight in the arena, you would have a significant physical advantage, enough to offset Pei Jidao's advantage in source power."

Hai Wuji sighed: "Unfortunately, a battle of such importance will inevitably be fought with both sides giving their all, without any rules. This is a battle to the death!"

Gao Wu's eyes were bright and sharp. He said confidently, "Master, don't worry. I know what's important and I will not show any mercy."

Hai Wuji laughed. This kid is really confident!
However, this vibrant and energetic youthful spirit also made him very gratified. When faced with things that cannot be changed, one should confront them with the most positive attitude.

Gao Wu asked impatiently, "Master, how do we deal with that Dongye Zhen?"

“You’ve only fought one match. Go back and carefully study the details of the battle,” Hai Wuji said. “Come see me tomorrow morning to summarize your experiences and insights.”

"Oh."

Gao Wu was slightly disappointed; he had wanted to finish off Higashino Makoto in one fell swoop.

He had just secretly looked at the Book of Immeasurable Merit, and the Heavenly Wild Grass had provided him with nearly 30 million merits, bringing his total merits to 90 million.

Amano Kusa may look beautiful and quiet, but her blood debts far exceed those of Kitano Anzu. She truly deserves to die!

Even if Higashino were truly a benevolent figure in the Scorpion Cult, he would still have accumulated at least ten million merits. As the chief priest, Higashino must have risen through the ranks by fighting his way up; how could he possibly be a benevolent person!
Once they defeat Higashino Makoto, they can accumulate 100 million merit points. Gao Wuzhen is getting a little anxious, but the problem is, he can't tell Hai Wuji about this.

Killing followers of the demon god can increase one's cultivation level... That's too bizarre!
Back in the bedroom, Gao Wu asked Song Mingyue, "What are your thoughts?"

"Amanogusa is very strong, much stronger than me."

Song Mingyue analyzed carefully: "Her martial arts cultivation is truly superb, stronger than both of us. Her final strike transformed seven kinds of power into sword intent, with an outer roundness and an inner sharpness, making it even more formidable."

Gao Wu said, "I have her Seven Laws Divine Robe here. Let me help you refine it. It's at least equivalent to a bio-armor. It's enough to greatly increase your combat power."

"The teacher is right. The big battle is imminent. Don't think about these things."

Song Mingyue shook her head. She felt that Gao Wu was too relaxed and had not truly entered a fighting state.

Pei Jidao is definitely much stronger than Tianyecao. As the direct disciple of the Martial Saint, he must also possess a top-grade divine weapon.

They are stronger than those in high-level martial arts on every level. The only thing high-level martial arts can rely on is their innate abilities. The urgent task is to explore the potential of their innate abilities and integrate them with martial arts.

Her martial arts level was similar to Gao Wu's, and even if it were slightly higher, she couldn't help him. All she could do was resonate with Gao Wu spiritually and help him hone his mental strength. Gao Wu naturally had no objection to this, and the two sat facing each other with their eyes closed, establishing a stable connection through spiritual resonance.

Song Mingyue's Xuanming Heavenly Serpent Divine Form has clearly grown larger, which is actually a manifestation of the increase in spiritual power.

Gao Wu responded with the Azure Dragon Divine Form, the dragon and snake dancing together, the power of the Xuanming Heavenly Serpent even surpassing that of the Azure Dragon. He turned his thoughts and tried to activate the Vermilion Bird Divine Form.

The Vermilion Bird divine form, formed from blazing flames, is the exact opposite of the cold, deep, and mysterious Heavenly Serpent, just like fire and water, which are inherently incompatible.

Through spiritual resonance, the two divine forms can dance harmoniously together, subtly displaying the subtle interplay of water and fire.

After the spiritual resonance ended, Gao Wu and Song Mingyue both felt refreshed and full of energy, yet their hearts were at peace and serene.

This time, the resonance was even more rewarding than before.

In the past, the dance of dragons and snakes was a mutual refinement of spiritual strength. This time, however, the dance of snakes and the flight of sparrows have truly achieved the wonderful harmony of yin and yang.

This is also because the two have an extremely close spiritual resonance. When Gao Wu upgraded to the Vermilion Bird Divine Light Mantra, Song Mingyue also benefited, and her divine appearance and the Vermilion Bird Divine Light Mantra also established a connection.

The Vermilion Bird Divine Light Mantra caused Gao Wu's spiritual power to surge sevenfold. The Vermilion Bird Divine Light Mantra itself reached a state of perfection, allowing Gao Wu to manipulate it with ease and confidence.

However, his sudden surge in spiritual power lacked a cultivation process, and his overwhelming spiritual power was difficult to control. Such spiritual resonance, like that of merit and demerit, could refine his spiritual power, allowing him to operate it more precisely and meticulously.

For example, when converting spiritual power into sword intent, the conversion efficiency used to be only 50% or 60%, but after honing it to perfection, it can reach 100%.

This is a gradual process, and significant progress cannot be achieved in just a few days. If this duel were postponed for a year, Gao Wu felt that even without upgrading his divine spell, he would still have a very high chance of winning…

The next morning, Gao Wu went to Hai Wuji to report his insights and experiences.

Hai Wuji patiently waited for Gao Wu to finish speaking, then brought up his battle from yesterday, using his insights and experience to break it down and explain it step by step.

The Sword Saint had no time to praise Gao Wu; he focused instead on Gao Wu's mistakes. Through this detailed explanation, Gao Wu realized that he had made many errors in the battle.

These mistakes were all within his ability to correct, but he wasn't aware of them. Hai Wuji pointed them out directly, and only then did he realize where he could improve.

In fact, Hai Wuji didn't like teaching so directly. A better approach would be for Gao Wu to gradually recognize his own problems through reflection.

Directly stating the answer in a blunt manner is akin to a teacher telling students the answer directly, omitting the thought process, which is extremely detrimental to the long-term development of advanced martial arts schools.

Time is of the essence, so Hai Wuji can only try his best to solve the various minor problems of Gao Wu.

Fortunately, Gao Wu has good comprehension skills. He can immediately grasp the key points of the problems pointed out, and he has made some progress in a day. At least his foundation is more solid.

"I will use a secret technique to stimulate Higashino Makoto's potential in a moment. With her cultivation and foundation, she can probably maintain her peak condition for two or three minutes."

Hai Wuji instructed Gao Wu, "Your task is not to kill her, but to examine your own problems through combat, understand?"

"Understood!" Gao Wu nodded vigorously.

On the same beach as last night, the charred Higashino Makoto suddenly opened her eyes and immediately saw Gao Wu.

Even though his mind was somewhat confused, Higashino Shin recognized the warrior in the dark red armor as Gao Wu.

Without saying a word, Higashino Makoto immediately activated her Pain Armor and the Twin Blades of Termination, and charged straight at Gao Wu.

Although Higashino Makoto's mind was not very clear, his source power was exceptionally strong. Through his Yin spirit, the source power aura radiating from the other party was dazzlingly powerful.

With the support of the source energy, Higashino Makoto's speed also reached a high speed of 200 meters per second.

It's important to know that the initial velocity of a regular 60-kilogram bow and arrow is only 60 meters per second, while a bullet, although fast, weighs only a dozen grams.

A human's weight is thousands of times that of a bullet, yet they can maintain such high speeds—that's terrifying. Moreover, Higashino Makoto can suddenly change direction and stop at high speeds.

Fortunately, Gao Wu's speed was comparable, and perhaps even stronger. He carefully countered with the Heavenly Fate Sword, engaging in combat with Higashino's twin swords.

Higashino Shinbutsu's martial arts skills are even cruder than Amano Kusanagi's, but he has the advantage of strong source power. His dual swords have sharp and fierce variations, and the hidden variations within them are extremely insidious.

Gao Wu could only withstand a few blows before he couldn't take it anymore. The opponent's source power was too strong. No matter what changes the Heavenly Fate Sword made, his sword would be knocked away with a single slash.

He could only unleash the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Spell, barely managing to hold his own against Higashino Makoto by bursting out his source power.

Chao Fengying watched nervously from the sidelines. She couldn't quite see the changes between the two sides clearly; it was all happening too fast.

However, the sword light of the Destiny Sword was noticeably dim and was constantly shrinking and retreating, indicating that his senior brother was in a very bad situation.

Higashino Makoto unleashed a powerful level six source energy, making it difficult for her to breathe. She was also somewhat puzzled; her senior brother was also a martial artist, so how could he withstand Higashino Makoto's attack…

By continuously releasing the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Curse, Gao Wu held out for nearly two minutes. Dongye Zhen was ultimately not quite clear-headed; he never thought of unleashing his full potential and remained instinctively chasing Gao Wu.

As the battle progressed, Higashino Makoto gradually regained some consciousness. She felt that her physical condition was very wrong, and that pursuing high-level martial arts seemed to be of little use.

She hesitated for a moment when she thought of this, but Gao Wu seized the opportunity and unleashed a burst of power, slashing straight down with the Heavenly Fate Sword.

This move, the Soaring Dragon Sword, appeared strong but was actually flexible, barely managing to withstand the Finale Twin Blades. Higashino's twin blades faltered slightly; she was about to unleash her source power when she sensed something was wrong.

An invisible and shadowless spirit, wielding the Heavenly Fate Sword, thrust straight at him from the rear, piercing through the back of Higashino Makoto's head...

The battle ends here.

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(End of this chapter)