Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1624 - 858: Battle_2

Propelled horizontally across a hundred meters, the Great Cultivator found his physical form and Nascent Soul completely immobilized by the lethal 'Chaos Sword Intent'.

While the kick itself inflicted only moderate physical harm, the Great Cultivator was left utterly helpless, his fate hanging entirely upon Li Yuanba's whim.

A suffocating silence descended upon the gathering; events had unfolded with such blistering velocity that onlookers remained stunned.

"It’s Li Yuanba! How did he arrive here?" one of the Great Cultivators exclaimed, recognizing the encroaching warrior.

Under normal circumstances, completion of a competitive task would mandate that a Great Cultivator spend at least a month or two in seclusion to integrate their gains.

Great Cultivators rarely engage in tasks consecutively; an intense skirmish with peers typically necessitates a substantial period of recovery.

Given that Li Yuanba had only recently finished a prior assignment, his sudden reappearance and relentless enthusiasm caught the other Great Cultivators completely off guard.

Though over twenty Great Cultivators stood poised against him, Li Yuanba showed no signs of hesitation. Instead, the 'Chaos Sword Intent' radiating from his core surged to its zenith, unleashing an aura of terrifying intensity.

Galvanized by his combat fervor, the Xingyi Sword orbited his frame, poised to deliver a terminal strike against the next adversary to cross him.

Among the twenty-plus Great Cultivators, only a handful dared to hold their ground; the remainder chose to retreat slowly.

The threat level emanating from Li Yuanba was simply too immense to ignore, especially after he effortlessly shattered three magic treasures with a single blow. The recent rumors surrounding his prowess suddenly felt all too real to the scattered crowd.

"Stand your ground! We still number twenty-seven; even with his strength, he cannot overcome us all at once!" a Great Cultivator commanded, his voice deep and authoritative.

Clearly a figure of some standing, his words managed to rally the faltering confidence of the group.

Truthfully, the prospect of being terrified by a single individual was a grave insult to the pride of these elite Great Cultivators.

Li Yuanba initially intended to focus his assault on the individual who had spoken, but that man proved craftily opportunistic, slipping behind several peers the moment he finished his exhortation.

This cunning Great Cultivator had studied the accounts of Li Yuanba’s previous exploit; he knew the Xingyi Sword’s speed was terrifying, particularly the opening strike, and the latest display had only reaffirmed the lethal swiftness of the weapon.

"Join forces!"

"Unite!"

Twenty-seven Great Cultivators scrambled to position themselves around the vocal leader, forming an defensive front against Li Yuanba.

Yet, Li Yuanba’s attention shifted away from them, his gaze narrowing toward a distant horizon.

A streak of golden light cut through the air, closing in rapidly. Li Yuanba realized with a jolt that this anomaly had completely bypassed his drone satellite surveillance system.

"Amitabha!" The chant reached them long before the golden figure arrived in clear view.

The twenty-seven Great Cultivators had yet to coordinate their formation when the sound wave struck. Many paled immediately, and one practitioner who favored demonic arts nearly coughed up a lungful of blood.

Li Yuanba steeled his resolve, channeling his spirit to fortify his Nascent Soul.

He identified the divine ability instantly—it was the Thunder Sound Divine Ability, a signature mastery of the Da Leiyin Temple.

"A Peak Great Venerable!" he thought, trembling inwardly with alarm.

Admittedly, the sudden appearance of a Peak Great Venerable in such a place felt as unlikely and shocking as winning a grand jackpot.

Within any of the major powers, the number of active Peak Great Cultivators remained exceedingly low.

Even when a Peak Great Cultivator is brought out of seclusion, they typically focus only on vital strategic locations, rarely bothering with trivial tasks like this one.

To mobilize a Peak Great Venerable strictly for a few Great Cultivator Spirit Medicines seemed entirely disproportionate to their lofty status.

Major super-power resource hubs often yield dozens of such Spirit Medicines in a single cycle; those were the caliber of objectives worthy of a Peak Great Venerable.

The demonic-arts practitioner, having spewed blood from the sonic attack, hastily deployed a defensive Jade Talisman. With a flicker of his figure, he utilized an Escape Skill to vanish into the distance.

Because Buddhist cultivation and magic arts are naturally antithetical, the practitioner knew he stood no chance against such a master and prioritized his survival.

The golden light descended between Li Yuanba and the remaining assembly, revealing a middle-aged monk whose complexion shimmered with a faint, metallic hue.

Li Yuanba felt a peculiar shiver; this Peak Great Venerable possessed a physical presence reminiscent of a golden corpse, arguably more artificial than his own late-stage Golden Corpse.

Of course, this was merely surface-level; the faint golden sheen was a testament to extreme mastery of Buddhist Body Refining arts.

This monk was a rare hybrid prodigy, having achieved the Peak Great Venerable stage in both physical conditioning and Qi Refinement.

"Great Venerable Ming Hai, had I known that you possessed an interest in this resource node, I would have certainly yielded my claim!" a Great Cultivator declared, recognizing the master and offering a deep bow.

"My gratitude, Mr. Li," the monk replied with a polite, enigmatic smile, returning the gesture.

As his gaze swept across the others, the remaining Great Cultivators felt the weight of his presence and, despite their own ambitions, bowed in unison to signify their withdrawal.

Li Yuanba witnessed the absolute aura of authority firsthand; twenty-seven Great Cultivators, who had moments ago been brimming with bravado, dissolved their formation and backed away entirely upon the arrival of Ming Hai.

They did not depart the vicinity, however, choosing instead to hover at a respectful distance.

By maintaining this perimeter, they hoped to observe the bounty of the resource point without provoking the wrath of an entity like Ming Hai.

With their departure, the stage was left to only Li Yuanba and the enigmatic monk.

"You must be the rising talent from the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, Mr. Li Yuanba. Your sword intent is truly razor-sharp!" Ming Hai remarked, identifying him with ease.

Li Yuanba’s meteoric rise and display of overwhelming strength had already made him a focal point for every major power in the region.

"Great Venerable Ming Hai, why descend to covet such a meager resource? Does your interference leave no path of survival for those of lesser power?" Li Yuanba retorted, his voice calm but icy.

Great Venerable Ming Hai remained unruffled, his expression fixed in a soft, mocking smile. As he prepared to speak, Li Yuanba sensed a surge of ominous energy—the onset of a divine ability.

Li Yuanba possessed an innate sensitivity to divine abilities far exceeding his peers.

Having cultivated numerous divine skills alongside his original self, Li Shiming, he could instinctively perceive the buildup of such techniques before they were unleashed.

He immediately activated 'A Short Step, Infinite Distance', his silhouette flickering and vanishing from his stance.

Just as his previous location became vacant, a concentrated sonic wave erupted from the monk's lips, slicing through the air where Li Yuanba had stood a split second prior.

"What a treacherous monk!" Li Yuanba thought to himself as he reformed a kilometer away.

Ming Hai maintained his serene, saintly facade even while being censured, showing no sign of agitation, yet he had attempted a ruthless assassination attempt via the Thunder Sound Divine Ability without blinking.

Had Li Yuanba not been hyper-vigilant, that assault would have surely left him critically wounded.

Although Li Yuanba had reached the caliber of a Great Cultivator, his physical durability, while enhanced, was still insufficient to withstand a direct strike from a Peak Venerable.

Suddenly, the monk’s skin flared with a golden light, his body swayed, and a visible tear appeared at the shoulder of his kasaya.

At the exact moment Ming Hai unleashed his sonic strike, Li Yuanba had surreptitiously launched the Xingyi Sword.

"Cunning wretch!" Ming Hai cursed inwardly.

The audacity for both sides to coordinate lethal ambushes during a civil conversation was beyond the scope of ordinary practitioners.

He conveniently ignored the fact that he had initiated the treachery with his blast.

Caught off guard by the sheer velocity of the Xingyi Sword while fully committed to his own offensive, Ming Hai found himself unable to execute a perfect parry.

The blade pierced his shoulder, though after shredding the kasaya, it was ultimately brought to a halt by the monk's hardened flesh.

With a sharp flex of his shoulder, Ming Hai expelled the lingering 'Chaos Sword Intent' that had begun to penetrate his meridians.