The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 194, page 209: Zhan Xi Ying! Sword energy forms threads!
The next morning.

Li Xiuning and Lian Rou rode to Lu Chen's residence, bringing with them four tall and beautiful horses.

After a while.

Lu Chen, Dugu Feng, Wanwan, and Shi Feixuan emerged from the mansion, each mounting a fine horse, and the group of six rode off towards the East Market of Chang'an.

From Yong'anfang to Chang'an East Market, one has to cross almost half of Chang'an City, passing through many streets and alleys.

Therefore, when Lu Chen and his group passed through the East Market and exited the city through Chunming Gate in the west of Chang'an, his whereabouts had already been noticed by those who were interested.

Combined with the information revealed by a mysterious figure that Lu Chen would be visiting the Lishan Palace today to see the hot spring palace gifted by Li Yuan, a large net has been quietly cast ahead.

……

After leaving Chang'an City through Chunming Gate and passing Longshou Canal, Lu Chen and his party traveled along the imperial road to Lishan in the northwest.

About forty li outside the city, the trees on both sides of the highway gradually become denser.

Suddenly, Lu Chen, who was leading the way, gently pulled on the reins, slowed down the horse, and gradually brought it to a stop.

The five riders, including Dugu Feng, who were following behind, also reined in their horses and stopped.

In the middle of the road stood a tall, thin scholar in blue robes.

The scholar appeared refined and cultured, with a gentle smile on his fair and slender face. However, his imposing and imposing aura made even Dugu Feng, Wanwan, and Shi Feixuan feel considerable pressure.

"Who is that?"

Lianrou asked curiously.

Wanwan gazed at the scholar in blue, looking at his eyes beneath his thick eyebrows, which were surrounded by a strange purple glow. She sensed the aura emanating from him that was both of the same origin as the "Heavenly Demon Art" and yet completely different from it. She slowly said:

"Purple pupils and fiery eyes, the perfected characteristics of the Purple Qi Heavenly Net... it is 'Heavenly Monarch' Xi Ying!"

Li Xiuning was shocked:
"Xi Ying, the fourth-ranked 'Heavenly Monarch' among the eight great masters of the Demonic Sect?"

Even though her martial arts skills have improved significantly recently, a powerhouse like Xi Ying could easily kill her with one hand.

Shi Feixuan's tone was solemn:
"Xi Ying, who has mastered the Purple Qi Heavenly Net, is probably qualified to compete for the top three in the Demonic Sect."

At least his strength is no weaker than that of Zhao Deyan, the Demon General who was originally ranked third.

Just as we were speaking.

Xi Ying's gaze slowly swept over Lu Chen and the others, finally fixing on Lu Chen with his eyes glowing with an eerie purple light. A sinister smile played on his lips as he leisurely said:

“Lu Chen, the Divine Sword Prince? I’ll give you a chance to fight me one-on-one. If you can defeat me even by a single move, I will turn around and leave without getting involved in anything else.”

Shi Feixuan whispered:

“There are a lot of people lying in ambush in the woods on both sides. The people of the Demonic Sect are treacherous and cunning, and breaking their promises is commonplace for them. Xi Ying’s so-called one-on-one fight is not credible. Even if Brother Lu defeats him, he will definitely join the siege.”

Wanwan chuckled softly:
"His desire to fight alone is not fake. Xi Ying was driven to the Western Regions by Song Que for many years. He finally mastered the 'Purple Qi Heavenly Net' and now that he has returned to the Central Plains, he urgently needs to establish his prestige and reputation. He wants to use Lu Chen as a stepping stone to restore his prestige. However, whether he will really keep his promise and withdraw after losing is another matter."

This statement has some merit.

After all, Lu Chen's reputation is now catching up with the three grandmasters, and many people even believe that Lu Chen's deterrent power on the battlefield is greater than that of the three grandmasters.

If Xi Ying can defeat Lu Chen single-handedly, then the name "Heavenly Lord" will immediately resound throughout the world, shaking the world and accumulating enough momentum for him to challenge Song Que and wipe away his previous humiliation.

"Is Xi Ying overconfident because he thinks he has mastered his divine skills? Or has he become a frog in a well because he has been hiding in the Western Regions for too long?"

Dugu Feng was somewhat speechless, feeling that Xi Ying's confidence was rather unfounded.

Wanwan explained:
"Master once commented on the divine skills of various sects of the Holy Sect. He highly praised the 'Purple Qi Heavenly Net' of the Extinction of Emotions Path, saying that after this skill is activated, it is like a spider web woven from true qi. Any prey that hits the web will be entangled more tightly the more it struggles. It is most effective against strength-type masters."

"Furthermore, the wispy energy of the Purple Qi Heavenly Net is extremely profound, adept at targeting protective true qi and hard skills. Lu Chen is most famous for his unparalleled divine power and indestructible Vajra, which Xi Ying may believe is precisely what he can counter, hence his confidence."

Lu Chen secretly thought that the reasons given by Dugu Feng and Wanwan were probably partly true.

But the decisive factor was probably the invasion of calamity into his mind and the arrival of murderous calamity, which made Xi Ying somewhat confused.

However, "Purple Qi Heavenly Net" is also a unique skill in "The Heavenly Demon Strategy" and is worth seeing. Lu Chen would not refuse Xi Ying's challenge.

He leaped off his horse and strode towards Xi Ying, saying:
"It looks like there's going to be a big event today, so I'll use you, Xi Ying, as a warm-up. Unleash the full power of 'Purple Qi Heavenly Net,' this might be the last time you ever have the chance to use this technique!"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Xi Ying's eyes blazed with purple light, and he let out a cold snort:
"Junior is arrogant!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a strange energy fluctuation spread out from Xi Ying's body.

As soon as this energy surged forth, Dugu Feng and the others watching felt a strange sensation. They felt that the space between Lu Chen and Xi Ying seemed to be constantly expanding.

With Xi Ying's martial arts skills, it was certainly impossible for him to actually cause space to expand.

This is merely an illusion at the level of Qi perception.

However, this kind of energy fluctuation that can create the illusion of spatial expansion in people's perception of energy can effectively interfere with the enemy's judgment of spatial distance.

In a duel between masters, even the slightest difference can often mean the difference between life and death.

The illusion of "spatial expansion" created by Xi Ying undoubtedly gives him a significant advantage in terms of "geographical advantage".

Li Xiuning and Lian Rou felt that if they were to fight Xi Ying, they would be unable to accurately grasp the position and distance between themselves and their enemy due to this kind of illusion of energy. Even if they used all their strength, they probably wouldn't be able to touch him at all.

Even Dugu Feng, Wanwan, and Shi Feixuan found this illusion quite troublesome.

"No wonder Xi Ying wasn't afraid of Song Que the Heavenly Blade and dared to return to the Central Plains. This Purple Qi Heavenly Net is indeed miraculous!"

Shi Feixuan's expression was solemn.

Even those who were merely observing felt the spatial expansion and disorientation, and Lu Chen, who was directly affected, naturally felt it even more intensely.

For a moment, he even felt that Xi Ying was getting further and further away from him, as if no matter how fast he strode forward, he could not reach Xi Ying.

This spatial illusion surprised Lu Chen more than pleased him.

With his current strength, he wouldn't even look at kung fu without some special effects.

As for this perceptual illusion...

Deep within his mind, the Lightning Heart Sword suddenly trembled, and two points of crystalline light also lit up in Lu Chen's pupils.

The illusion vanished instantly, and Xi Ying's figure "returned" to a spot three zhang in front of Lu Chen.

And in that instant of seeing through the illusion of perception.

In Lu Chen's bright, sparkling eyes, he saw countless fine, thread-like strands of energy.

The "purple qi" in Ziqi Tianluo does not refer to true qi being purple.

Instead, when Xi Ying uses his power, his skin turns purple. As for true qi, it remains an invisible energy.

At this moment.

While Xi Ying was using the fluctuations of his qi to create perceptual illusions and interfere with Lu Chen's judgment of spatial distance, he had already silently laid out a dense network of qi threads around himself, resembling a spider web.

The wispy energy spread from Xi Ying's ten fingers, weaving into a net that covered a space with a radius of two zhang centered on Xi Ying. This made him resemble a spider coiled in its web, waiting for its prey to fall into it, or a fisherman who had prepared his fishing net and was ready to cast it at any moment.

Even more miraculously, the dense, fine, and delicate energy was as agile as a living thing. With a slight tremor of Xi Ying's fingertips, the strands of energy intertwined and shuttled in the air, making the net of energy covering his body even denser and more resilient.

at this time.

As if still being misled by a perceptual illusion, Lu Chen unknowingly stepped into the "Purple Qi Sky Net".

Xi Ying laughed heartily, his ten fingers trembling as countless strands of energy descended from all directions, coiling around Lu Chen.

As strands of energy wrapped around his body like a net, even with Lu Chen's strength, he felt a slight resistance, as if he were truly being bound and restricted by a large net.

While binding him, the fine, hair-like ends of countless strands of energy kept piercing his body, trying to penetrate his protective energy, break through his skin and flesh, and seep into his meridians.

The hairline is thin yet extremely tough, with a sharp tip like a steel needle, possessing exceptional piercing and penetrating capabilities.

With this characteristic, it's no wonder that Xi should be confident in restraining Lu Chen's unparalleled divine power and indestructible body.

pity.

Lu Chen's strength has improved far too quickly.

Even if we use Lu Chen's performance in the battle to wipe out the Great Ming Venerable Sect to assess his strength, it is already seriously outdated by now.

Lu Chen slowed his pace, letting the wispy energy entangle and pierce him. Through the feedback from the collision between his protective true energy and even his skin and the wispy energy, he deduced the essence of "Purple Qi Heavenly Net" in reverse.

Xi Ying, who thought he had Lu Chen trapped, gradually lost his smug smile as he sensed something was wrong.

He felt that what he had "netted" was not a big fish that could bring him great fame.

It was a giant sea monster.

Although the pace of sinking has slowed.

But every time he took a step forward, the feedback from the "Purple Qi Sky Net" made Xi Ying's fingertips tremble, and even feel a tingling and stinging sensation.

Attempts to pierce through Lu Chen's protective aura, skin, and muscles have all been in vain.

To be precise, Lu Chen only symbolically set up a layer of protective true qi. After the protective true qi was pierced, he no longer tried to protect himself with true qi, but instead directly used his skin and muscles to withstand the attack.

However, Xi Ying's seemingly weak and unyielding internal energy, which should have been extremely restrained by his hard and unyielding skills, actually couldn't pierce him at all!

"What kind of external martial arts is this? How can there be such a powerful external martial arts technique in the world?"

Xi Ying's pupils dilated violently, his eyes flashing with a chaotic purple light.

At this moment, Lu Chen took another slow and heavy step.

boom!
Lu Chen landed with his footsteps.

Xi Ying felt a sharp pain at the tips of all ten of his fingers at the same time. It was because the wisps of energy that were wrapped around Lu Chen's body had been broken in half with his step!

monster!

Xi Ying shouted in his heart, and with his hands clasped together, the wisps of energy that were wrapped around Lu Chen were instantly drawn back into his palms and condensed into a ball.

Then, he joined his fingers together to form a knife, and with a slash in mid-air, the wisps of energy intertwined to form a saw-like shape, cutting towards Lu Chen.

The "Purple Qi Net" is a wisp of energy that combines offense and defense, can be released and withdrawn at will, and can change its form at will to attack or defend in any way.

Faced with the saw-like energy formed by the intertwining of fine, wispy strands of energy.

Lu Chen simply raised his palm and pushed forward lightly. The air in front of him trembled and solidified into an invisible wall.

The saw blade's energy struck the solid wall of air, creating a deafening roar.

The air wall shattered instantly, transforming into a powerful shockwave that swept outwards in all directions, sweeping up dust and smoke from the road, causing the trees on both sides to sway wildly and leaves to fall everywhere.

The energy from the wheel saw was also shattered into countless strands, and because the strands of energy were connected to Xi Ying's ten fingers, he also felt the force of the shock and was forced to take a step back.

Xi Ying's pupils dilated again, finally realizing that Lu Chen's strength exceeded his expectations, and even surpassed the rumors.

But this was his first battle since returning to the Central Plains, and many of his comrades were watching from the forests on both sides.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Xi Ying was unwilling to retreat. With a fierce roar, he advanced instead of retreating, his palms creating countless palm shadows like butterflies flitting through the air, attacking Lu Chen like a tidal wave.

Strands of wispy energy, following his palm strikes, enveloped a space of two zhang in radius, binding and restraining Lu Chen, slowing down his movements, while constantly seeking out weaknesses and openings in Lu Chen's body.

With his full power unleashed, Xi Ying's exposed skin also faintly emitted an eerie purple aura, finally bringing the "Purple Aura Heavenly Net" to life.

As Xi Ying unleashed his full power, Lu Chen, who had already gleaned much of the essence of the Purple Qi Heavenly Net from their previous exchanges, also ceased to hold back. In an instant, a chilling sword wind howled forth, the "Sword Wind Force Field" and the wispy Qi Force clashed and annihilated each other, and the sky full of sword energy intertwined with Xi Ying's palm force.

Bang bang bang bang bang...

The sound of dense, sudden air currents colliding erupted.

Despite going all out, Xi Ying not only failed to gain any advantage, but was instead forced to retreat step by step by Lu Chen's seemingly effortless yet flawless and mysterious sword techniques.

What horrified Xi Ying even more was that, as the battle progressed, Lu Chen's crisscrossing sword energy underwent a strange change.

His sword energy is becoming increasingly slender!

Originally, it would take Xi Ying one or two strands of wisp of energy to block Lu Chen's sword energy.

As Lu Chen's sword energy became thinner and thinner, its power actually increased. One sword energy gradually required Xi Ying to expend two or even three strands of energy to block it.

Furthermore, Lu Chen's sword energy was already quite flexible, able to change direction several times in the air. Of course, its flexibility was still not comparable to Xi Ying's wispy energy, which was connected to his ten fingers and could be manipulated like a puppet's silk thread.

However, as Lu Chen's sword energy became thinner and thinner, its agility also increased. Even though it was not connected to Lu Chen's fingertips, the winding and agile sword energy, at least within the "sword wind force field", gradually began to rival Xi Ying's wispy energy!

When a slender sword aura bypassed Xi Ying's three strands of qi and broke through his two palm strikes, it still managed to leave a thin line of blood on his neck, even though Xi Ying managed to dodge in time.

Xi Ying finally couldn't hold back and let out a long, stern roar:
"What are you all standing there for? If you don't make a move now, and I die, you won't win either!"

The words fell.

Suddenly, bursts of energy erupted from the trees on both sides, and amidst the sharp whistling of the wind, arrows shot out like lightning.

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(End of this chapter)