Immortality begin with Alchemy Grandmaster Chapter 2653 - 979: Great Desolate Awakens, Commanding the Seas and Sinking the Lands

"Huff... Huff..."

A lone figure swayed amidst the vast, undulating ocean, rising and falling with the swell of the waves.

He gasped for air, his mouth agape as he struggled to catch his breath.

The face, once striking and handsome, was now twisted into a savage expression.

Even more harrowing were the countless gashes and lacerations mapped across his battered form.

His shoulders, throat, arms, torso, and limbs were a mosaic of wounds of varying depths, blood leaching continuously from the torn, ragged flesh.

Such a state was utterly inconceivable for Luo Chen.

Possessing Origin Force, he could usually recover from even the most catastrophic injuries—like when a strike from the Netherworld Earth Dragon cleaved his body asunder—by consuming a portion of that energy to knit his flesh back together almost instantly.

The fact that these wounds refused to seal for so long pointed to two dire possibilities.

Either his Origin Force had been depleted to a critical low, rendering him incapable of accelerated healing, or his adversary’s strikes possessed a malevolent quality that hindered the body's natural mending process.

As it stood, Luo Chen was suffering from both.

"She is far more formidable than I had calculated!"

Luo Chen drew in a sharp breath. He compressed his lips, his Red Eyes Golden Pupils dilated to their maximum, sweeping across the surrounding space with predatory focus.

Through the grueling intensity of their duel, Luo Chen had slowly unravelled the secrets of Qing Shuang's Body Refinement technique.

Like himself, she eschewed the traditional path of a Body Refiner and ignored the path of Qi Blood Change.

Yet, where he had channeled massive external reserves to forge his body into a vessel of raw, infinite power, Qing Shuang’s strength derived from her very essence.

Her true form was none other than the Azure Phoenix, a Divine Bird from the ancient annals of gods and immortals.

Unlike typical Demon Beasts that prioritize Qi Refinement after their transformation, Qing Shuang never discarded the innate advantages of her physical origin. She balanced her progress, continuously tempering her formidable frame into something akin to a peerless divine artifact while simultaneously mastering Qi and gaining insight into the Spatial Law.

This unique harmony allowed her physical body to harness immense Qi Power, turning every strike, kick, or palm-thrust into a devastation that mimicked true Magic Powers.

There was no need for complex maneuvers; sheer, unadulterated strength crushed everything in its path.

Had Luo Chen not possessed dozens of defensive techniques and a vast library of strategies, he would have been utterly annihilated by her relentless, straightforward onslaught.

"Truly, she earns the title of the strongest beneath the realm of Divine Transformation!"

While a sliver of genuine admiration bloomed in his chest, golden radiance surged within his eyes.

The Yuan Tu Sword, held in a reverse grip, whipped out a cascade of light. It fractured into five distinct blades that lanced toward five directions: zenith, nadir, left, right, and forward.

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!

The sound of four decoys disintegrating rang out in rapid succession.

Finally, the tip of the true blade collided with a slender, pale hand.

Clang!

Though Luo Chen had pierced her Void Escape Divine Technique repeatedly, and even dismantled her adaptive Void Residual Shadow Technique, Qing Shuang could not suppress a flicker of genuine shock.

One hand locked onto the Yuan Tu Sword while the other pivoted, closing the distance to strike toward Luo Chen’s temple.

Her autumn-clear eyes locked with his Red Eyes Golden Pupils, and a contemplative air surrounded her.

"Is the secret within those eyes?"

Her left palm shifted, curling into a claw with two fingers extended.

Luo Chen arched backward in a sharp, defensive crouch reminiscent of a mortal practicing the iron bridge technique. Simultaneously, he drove his Origin Force into the Yuan Tu Sword, causing it to gyrate with violent intensity.

Buzz!!!

The erratic, high-speed spin rendered the blade impossible to suppress through sheer grip strength alone.

Grunting in sudden pain, Qing Shuang was compelled to let go, though her fingers still managed to carve two ribbons of flesh from Luo Chen’s body as he pulled away.

"Huff..."

Luo Chen exhaled a plume of Turbid Qi. Seeing the gaping, bone-deep gash on his forearm, a realization struck him like lightning. He finally understood how she could pinpoint his true position despite having a lesser Divine Soul Endowment, and how her techniques managed to circumvent his Ghost-God Evading Technique.

"It is Qi Mechanism Sensing!"

Luo Chen was no stranger to this method; Wang Yuan had been proficient in it once.

The principle of Qi Mechanism Sensing posits that thoughts direct the spirit, and the spirit in turn projects as Qi.

Every sentient creature radiates an external Qi Mechanism.

Save for those who have achieved a 'Leakless' state through perfect mastery of their physique, it is impossible for a cultivator to completely mask their Qi.

Experienced martial artists, even lacking high-level Divine Consciousness, can spread their own Qi Mechanism to detect others within a certain radius by feeling subtle discrepancies in the environment.

This ability relies not on the strength of the Soul, but on the sensitivity to Qi and the calm to maintain one's own, allowing them to track an opponent unerringly.

Luo Chen had never dreamed that Qing Shuang, an unconventional Body Refiner, possessed such an ancient skill.

Furthermore, it acted as a perfect foil to his Ghost-God Evading Technique.

"So, this Soul Technique has become nothing but a drawback."

With a decisive thought, Luo Chen wiped away the layers of illusions he had projected. His movements ceased their attempt at finesse and, moving forward, he fought with raw, brutal directness.

Witnessing this change, Qing Shuang clearly understood his intent.

Her Void Escape Divine Technique had been countered, and the proximity to the Netherworld Coast restricted the use of certain larger-scale arts; thus, they reached a unspoken agreement to engage in a titanic, physical stalemate.

Sizzle, clank, clang!

Punches collided with palms, kicks met strikes, and the longsword danced against the silver hue of her skin as they traversed the void.

In this wide-open arena, they traded wound for wound, their stamina plummeting at a staggering rate.

After their heads crashed together in a final, brutal collision, both drifted apart, blood streaming down their faces, looking profoundly battered.

For the moment, neither rushed to renew the assault, choosing instead to stand firmly and draw in breath to replenish their waning energy.

The very fact that warriors of such caliber—each boasting near-infinite pools of Origin Force or raw Qi Power—needed a moment of respite spoke volumes about the exhausting nature of their struggle.

And, just as they paused to catch their breath, the conflict atop Soulbreak Cliff seemed to reach a fever pitch. The illumination from the Great Formation protecting the eight-hundred-mile expanse of Soul Island began to tremor with violent intensity.