Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1636 - 864: Divergence (Part 2)

"Jian Tianyi, Li Yuanba, prepare for a showdown!" Great Cultivator Lin and Great Cultivator Yu roared simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of strikes aimed directly at Jian Tianyi and Li Yuanba.

As if by prior arrangement, the surrounding Great Cultivators swarmed forward, launching their own ruthless assaults in tandem with the duo.

Beams of vibrant spiritual power coalesced around Jian Tianyi and Li Yuanba, signaling the commencement of a monumental clash.

The Phoenix Palace Master observed the 'Nanming Leaving Fire' surging toward her, yet she remained entirely unflustered. With a graceful flick of her wrist, a late-stage fourth-grade Red Gold Phoenix manifest before her.

The moment the Red Gold Phoenix materialized, its feathers erupted into flames; these fires peeled away from its form to intercept the incoming 'Nanming Leaving Fire.'

The two elemental blazes locked in mid-air, neither willing to yield, resulting in a tense stalemate.

Before Great Cultivator Ren Mu, a top-tier fourth-grade shield materialized, reinforced by water spiritual power to intercept the assault.

The 'Nanming Leaving Fire' struck the barrier, creating a thick shroud of red mist as the fire and water clashed and evaporated.

Master Cui found himself fighting a two-on-one battle. He did not aim for the destruction of the Phoenix Palace Master or Great Cultivator Ren Mu; instead, he exerted all his effort to prevent these two peak Great Cultivators from reinforcing the other ongoing skirmish.

The 'Nanming Leaving Fire' served as a superior tool for explosive suppression, guaranteeing that for the time being, the Phoenix Palace Master and Great Cultivator Ren Mu were occupied.

"Leave these two to me; handle the others!" Jian Tianyi commanded Li Yuanba via divine sense amidst the chaos.

His Lifebound Flying Sword locked onto the incoming strikes of Great Cultivator Lin and Great Cultivator Yu. Harnessing the peak Great Cultivator level 'Void-Breaking Sword Intent,' he shattered the combined offensives of his two rivals almost instantaneously.

Upon receiving the command, Li Yuanba vanished, utilizing 'World Inches Apart' to reappear directly in the midst of the opposing Great Cultivators.

As he cut through the void, a Mountain Peak Treasure appeared above him, swelling into a gargantuan mountain.

Once the 'Ten Thousand Sword Peak' reverted to its true state, it generated a heavy gravitational field.

While this gravity did not cripple these near-peak Great Cultivators, it effectively hindered their movements for a vital heartbeat.

Because Li Yuanba’s cultivation realm was relatively low, the gravitational field of the 'Ten Thousand Sword Peak' wavered when forced to affect so many top-tier targets at once.

Exploiting this momentary lapse in their defense, Li Yuanba lashed out with his Xingyi Sword, delivering two strikes like rapid lightning.

He abandoned precision strikes in favor of sheer destructive potential, aiming to inflict maximum trauma in the briefest possible window.

A fourth-grade Sword Foundation manifested in his grip, which he drove toward the closest top Great Cultivator.

Originally, eight top Great Cultivators stood present. Three were left wounded once they shook off the gravitational influence.

The trio turned ashen, frantically channeling their spiritual power to purge the 'Chaos Sword Intent.' While the strikes had been designed for speed, they had breached the targets' defenses with enough force to cause significant, if not fatal, wounds.

Regardless, those three were effectively neutralized for the current conflict, leaving only five of the original eight top Great Cultivators in fighting condition.

The remaining five recalled their offensive treasures, scanning the sky warily for the 'Ten Thousand Sword Peak,' fearing the massive object might suddenly descend upon them.

In the Cultivation World, the crushing impact of mountain-type magical treasures remains exceptionally lethal. Even though Li Yuanba had only recently reached the Great Cultivator realm, the potential impact force of his treasure remained a credible threat.

However, they underestimated their opponent; the physical weight of the 'Ten Thousand Sword Peak' was far surpassed by the projectile attack about to follow.

More than two thousand energy-converted flying swords erupted from the 'Ten Thousand Sword Peak,' swarming the five combatants like a horde of metallic bees.

Refusing to sit idle, the five Great Cultivators deployed their defensive treasures, concurrently launching their own artifacts toward Li Yuanba.

Li Yuanba utilized 'World Inches Apart' once more, reappearing on the opposing flank of the battlefield.

Since his breakthrough to the Great Cultivator realm, his control over the 'World Inches Apart' Divine Foot skill had increased drastically. He could now blink across the field repeatedly with minimal cooldown.

He dared not face the combined might of five powerful enemies, choosing instead to rely on his signature evasion.

He did not retreat from the field; his movement was akin to a dance on a razor’s edge.

Even within the reach of his five enemies, who only needed a flick of their divine sense to redirect their treasures at him, he remained elusive.

However, the temporal window Li Yuanba granted his opponents was minuscule; they could not even muster a second round of attacks before they were forced to recall their treasures to defend themselves.

The five Great Cultivators had failed to anticipate that every one of the two thousand fourth-grade flying swords carried the destructive 'Chaos Sword Intent.'

Their defensive treasures lasted only for a few collisions before they were systematically dismantled.

Panic set in, and with their hair standing on end, they instinctively activated their emergency Jade Talismans, vanishing into flashes of escaping light.

The flying swords struck nothing but empty air; not a single top Great Cultivator had been slain.

Seeing their comrades’ plight, the three wounded Great Cultivators, who were still focusing on purging the 'Chaos Sword Intent,' panicked and likewise activated their own life-saving talismans.

Li Yuanba felt a pulse of annoyance; he had hoped to permanently eliminate at least one or two—preferably all—of them.

Plainly, his raw power was not yet enough to force an absolute victory; when faced with adversaries equipped with supreme life-saving artifacts, finishing them off was a significant challenge.

Whether through his original self, Li Shiming, or his creation Li Yuanba, their past successes at slaughtering foes had always depended on a decisive one-hit kill.

Without that overwhelming lethality, securing an easy kill had become difficult.

Pushing aside his frustration, Li Yuanba turned his attention back to the grueling duel between Jian Tianyi and the two peak experts.

With a wave of his hand, he cleared the field, pulling the flying swords back into the 'Ten Thousand Sword Peak' for maintenance.

He prepared to join the fray on the other side of the battlefield.

Currently, Jian Tianyi was actively suppressing the two peak Great Cultivators, though a swift victory remained elusive due to their stubborn tenacity. In a one-on-one duel, Jian Tianyi certainly could have secured a win by now.

However, in this two-on-one setup, the synergetic combat style of the peak experts formed a formidable wall of force.

Great Cultivator Lin erected barrier after barrier of ice, successfully stonewalling Jian Tianyi’s Lifebound Flying Sword.

Though these ice walls shattered upon impact, Great Cultivator Lin manifested new ones with frightening speed.

Great Cultivator Yu deployed an array plate, constructing a complex formation beneath them.

Following this, Great Cultivator Lin pushed his power to the brink, manifesting endless waves of ice. Together with the formation, they created an impenetrable Ice Crystal Fortress in mid-air.

Jian Tianyi’s blade hammered at the fortress relentlessly; although he chipped away at its integrity, Great Cultivator Lin repaired the structure effortlessly from within.

Sheltered inside their Ice Crystal Fortress, the two peak Great Cultivators finally gained the breathing room necessary to launch a counter-assault.

Though Jian Tianyi still held the upper hand, his momentum was slowly being neutralized.

Li Yuanba sighed under his breath; peak Great Cultivators were truly a headache. The combined effort of two experts, bolstered by ice-attributed laws, had maximized their defensive potential to the very limits of the peak Great Cultivator level.