"Brother Huang, fine skill!"
Shen Dongming pulled his staff back, suppressing his churning blood and qi. He then exhaled and cried out, muscles knotting along both arms as his true qi surged wildly into the coiled-dragon staff without holding back in the slightest.
The staff flared with brilliant golden light, and the nine dragon patterns upon it seemed to come alive, letting out bursts of dragon roars. The staff momentum stacked like mountain upon mountain, layer after layer, bearing down upon Huang Tian.
At the same time, Master Longding was an onlooker no longer. He took a stride forward, lotuses blossoming in the void beneath his feet. Phantom golden lotuses bore his cloth shoes, bringing him before Huang Tian in an instant.
"Patron Huang, take care."
He slowly thrust his right palm forward.
This strike seemed calm and slow, but in truth congealed dazzling Buddhist light. As the palm force surged ahead, the void behind him faintly manifested a Vajra Arhat over a hundred feet tall!
The Vajra Arhat's eyes widened in fury, its six arms shaking in unison before mirroring his action—it raised a palm, and a colossal palm radiating boundless golden light pressed down directly upon Huang Tian, blotting out the sky and sun!
"That is the Patriarch's Vajra Demon-Subduing Great Mudra!" In the State Protection Temple, a monk cried out in shock.
"This move is enough to flatten a small mountain!"
"After fifteen years, we finally get to see the Patriarch unleash this peerless divine ability again!"
"..."
Under the watchful eyes of the gathered monks, the mountain-like golden palm compressed the air around Huang Tian until it congealed.
There was no dodging this move; it could only be met head-on!
Yet, he had never intended to dodge.
Letting out a long cry, his muscles and bones resonated together, his blood and qi surging like ten thousand stampeding steeds.
Huang Tian clenched both fists, knuckles cracking with thunderous pops. A heavy, golden-yellow halo swirled over his fists, and both arms suddenly swelled by a notch, green veins coiling like dragons and serpents.
And then.
Both fists smashed out together!
Rumble!!
Fist met staff!
Fist met palm!
A brutal collision!
An intensely dull roar reverberated across the expanse, rippling outward like circular shockwaves toward the surrounding peaks. In an instant, countless boulders tumbled down amidst cascades of earth; viewed from afar, it resembled an earthquake, like mud dragons descending the mountains!
In midair, Shen Dongming and Master Longding both grunted in stifled pain, their faces turning slightly pale. Struck by the surging fist force, they were blasted back several hundred yards, their passage tearing shriek-like ripples through the air.
Yet Huang Tian still stood firm upon the mountain summit, though the peak was now reduced to shambles—ancient trees snapped, clumps of grass uprooted, the ground stripped bare and scarred with crisscrossing fissures.
"He... he actually met Senior Shen's full-strength staff strike and the Patriarch's Vajra Demon-Subduing Great Mudra bare-handed!" A monk's eyes went wide and round, as if witnessing something completely incomprehensible.
"Fighting one against two without falling behind—no, he even holds the upper hand! Has he broken through to Celestial Being? How could a mere Rank One martial artist be this strong? Senior Shen and our Patriarch are peerless powerhouses in the top ten of the Celestial Being Ranking!"
"..."
While the monks were still seized by terror and amazement, Huang Tian's eyes shone bright, and he laughed heartily, his voice shaking the wilderness.
"Delightful! Fellow Daoist Shen's staff is peerlessly ferocious, and the Master's palm carries the momentum of collapsing mountains. Experiencing both at once is truly exhilarating! Again!"
Shen Dongming quelled the shock in his heart and exchanged a glance with Master Longding. They knew Huang Tian's strength definitely far exceeded theirs, because up until now, Huang Tian had only been employing the divine intent he comprehended today, not even unleashing his full power.
Though they knew he was using the opportunity to temper his new divine intent, the two still felt somewhat stifled.
"Hoo—"
Exhaling heavily, Shen Dongming gave a roar, his figure blurring once more.
A colossal golden staff phantom instantly spanned heaven and earth, sweeping across toward Huang Tian's waist like a divine dragon whipping its tail. The staff wind tore through the air with wails like ghosts and wolves, and the peak below, merely grazed by the gale's aftermath, cracked open into a massive chasm several li long!
At that moment, Master Longding acted again as well. Bringing his palms together before his chest with solemn dignity, he uttered a Sanskrit chant. The Vajra Arhat behind him blazed with greater radiance, roaring to the heavens as its six golden palms struck straight forward!
In the howling gale, black hair thrashing like dragons and serpents, Huang Tian's fighting spirit burned ablaze. His right foot stomped violently on the summit, sending a heavy tremor through the mountain peak, and he shot into the heavens like a cannonball.
Then.
Both fists blasted out in an unending flurry!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Fist shadows filled the sky!
Each fist silhouette was congealed like a golden-yellow meteor, bearing a terrifying might that could crush all things as it crashed brazenly into the sky-covering staff shadows and palm prints.
It was as though countless fireworks had exploded in the sky all at once.
Fist, palm, staff—three colors intertwined, collided, exploded!
Deafening roars rolled incessantly, like a herd of primordial colossi trampling and stampeding across the earth!
The shockwaves from the impacts turned into howling hurricanes sweeping in every direction, scattering the clouds in the sky and toppling the peaks on the ground!
Peaks had their summits sheared flat, dense forests were uprooted, and the earth was scarred with crisscrossing rifts!
Truly, mountains collapsed, the earth cracked, and the winds and clouds changed their colors!
"Hurry, retreat further, they're fighting their way over!"
In the distance, a Rank Two martial artist watching the battle saw Shen Dongming sent flying backward by Huang Tian's punch, rocketing toward them like a meteorite. Terrified, he roared an alarm and leaped away. The others scattered like birds and beasts, hastily putting more distance between them and only breathing a sigh of relief once they were over ten li away.
"Celestial Beings! Celestial Beings! Too strong!" someone groaned.
"With such might, even thirty or fifty Rank One Grandmasters joining forces couldn't defeat them!"
"Even if they could, would a Celestial Being powerhouse be foolish enough to stand there and endure a siege? A simple divide-and-conquer strategy, and even a hundred Grandmasters could only sigh in helplessness!"
"..."
While the onlookers gaped in astonishment, Shen Dongming and Master Longding grew more alarmed the longer they fought.
They had nearly exhausted their repertoire, pushing their martial techniques and divine abilities to their absolute limits, at times even surpassing their usual standards!
Yet Huang Tian was like a bottomless ocean, a boundless continent supporting all quarters of the world. No matter how ferocious or exquisite their offensives were, his divine fists parried them with ease!
The two grew more exhausted with every exchange, while Huang Tian became increasingly invigorated.
The victor was already clear!
Suddenly, Shen Dongming's expression changed.
For the coiled-dragon staff he brought crashing down was caught in Huang Tian's grip, held with an iron clamp.
"Come!"
He roared fiercely, the muscles in his arms bulging as he yanked backward with all his might.
Buzz—
The coiled-dragon staff let out a trembling hum, yet it remained firmly locked in Huang Tian's left hand!
"Ah!!"
Shen Dongming's eyes reddened, his blood and qi burning like fire. Gritting his teeth, he yanked once more. Yet the staff did not budge an inch, as if the other end were pinned under a divine mountain, completely immovable!
"Fellow Daoist Shen, go rest for a moment!"
Huang Tian clutched the coiled-dragon staff, sank his left hand down, then hoisted it by raw power and swung it through several great arcs in midair, whipping Shen Dongming around in spins at the far end of the staff.
Then, Huang Tian hurled it forward with a violent thrust!
The next second, Shen Dongming's burly frame, along with the gilded coiled-dragon staff, was swept up by an irresistible, titanic force. Like a fired cannonball, he carved a straight wake of air across the sky, hurtling toward a high mountain a thousand fathoms away!
He moved so fast that a series of sonic boom clouds detonated across the air!
Boom!!
A dull, earth-shaking roar far more terrifying than any previous collision echoed across all directions.
The peak of that mountain a thousand fathoms away, the instant it collided with Shen Dongming's body, trembled violently as if struck by a celestial meteor. Then, amidst flying rubble and plumes of dust, the upper section—several dozen fathoms tall—slowly tilted, slid, and utterly collapsed!
A grayish-yellow mushroom cloud bloomed, rolling plumes of dust rising like dragons and serpents to blot out the sky and sun, dyeing that stretch of the firmament a dusty yellow.
Deep in the mountains, myriad beasts prostrated themselves, shivering and whining in terror at the cataclysmic sight of the mountain's collapse.
In just a few breaths, a somewhat disheveled figure shot into the sky from the ruined rubble of the collapsed mountain—it was Shen Dongming.
His robe was torn in many places and covered in dust, his hair bun somewhat disarranged, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Yet his aura remained formidable, his eyes burning bright, clearly having suffered no grave injury.
Yet he had no intention of attacking again. Had Huang Tian not applied clever, controlled force just now, he would have suffered serious wounds at the very least; rushing back into the fray now would no longer be a friendly spar, but a petty clash of egos.
Shaking his head in awe and admiration, he sat cross-legged in the void to adjust his breathing, watching the battle from afar.
Now facing Huang Tian alone, Master Longding knew defeat was certain; without Shen Dongming running interference, victory and defeat would likely be decided within two or three moves.
Still, certainty of defeat was one thing; since this was a spar, it had to be seen through to its conclusion!
Whir—
Spiritual qi across dozens of li surged wildly, converging upon Master Longding. Infused with spiritual qi and his true qi, the phantom Vajra Arhat behind him expanded at a visible rate, growing increasingly solid and radiant.
It was as though a true golden-bodied Arhat held up its six arms in the void, majestic and dignified.
Whoosh—
Master Longding raised a palm, and the Vajra Arhat raised six palms along with him, sundering layers of air to bear down in unison.
Golden light flowed through the six colossal palm prints of the Vajra Arhat, before finally merging into Master Longding's single palm.
Between heaven and earth, there remained only that irresistible great mudra, bearing down like the sky collapsing!
Facing this virtually unavoidable palm strike, Huang Tian's expression turned solemn. He sank his hips and waist, shifting his center of gravity like a falling boulder.
Instantly, his sunken waist snapped forward like a coiled spring, his power-laden spine dragon springing open as a magnificent fist smashed outward!
Boundless golden-yellow radiance swirled across the fist imprint, faintly revealing mountain ranges and sprawling plains, as if this one punch were unleashed carrying the mighty force of hundreds and thousands of great mountains!
Boom!!
Under the stunned gazes of the spectating martial artists, fist and palm slammed together like the earth colliding with a meteor. The earth-shattering roar materialized into tangible shockwaves, instantly sweeping across dozens of li around!
Ridges and knolls crumbled like sandcastles, collapsing rapidly as torrents of mud and rock cascaded from high mountains like dragons, surging outward in every direction.
The earth was churned up in layers, rolling like ocean waves. Countless ancient trees and massive boulders were launched into the air by wave after wave of shockwaves, pulverized and shot skyward, raining down toward the distant martial artists like a tempest.
"Still not safe! Even ten li away isn't safe! Fall back further! Back, back, back!"
"Don't panic, it's just a few stones flying like hidden weapons—"
"Brother Yang, hurry and run! Your face is already cut open! If you stay any longer, you'll be gravely injured by the flying stones!"
"Leave quickly! We have to be at least fifteen li away to be safe!"
"..."
Amidst the frantic shouts, Master Longding, having clashed with Huang Tian's fist, flew backward toward the high heavens like a kite with a severed string!
Accelerating rapidly, he turned into a streak of light, shooting straight toward the cotton-thick clouds stretching for ten thousand li across the sky!
Bang—
The streak of light plunged into the sea of clouds, his figure completely swallowed by the dense cloudbanks.
Only after a dozen breaths did Master Longding pop out from the clouds with a soft puff.
Yet at this moment, he was in a rather sorry state: his already drab monk's robe had several tears, and his dark-complexioned face was damp with moisture condensed from the clouds and mist.
With a surge of his blood and qi, the moisture evaporated. Tapping his cloth shoes against the void, he swiftly descended beside Huang Tian. By then, Shen Dongming had also crossed over in a couple of strides.
The two exchanged a look, both shaking their heads in marveling defeat.
"Brother Huang, if I hadn't seen that there was no phenomenon of you breaking through to Celestial Being, I would have suspected you had long reached the pinnacle of Celestial Being!"
Shen Dongming remarked with deep feeling, "I once sparred with Brother Wan—Wan Shenyang. The might he projected was quite similar to yours just now: vast, grand, and majestic. No matter how I attacked, he handled it with ease, then met force with force and defeated me effortlessly."
Wan Shenyang, third on the Celestial Being Ranking!
One of the highest peaks of martial arts in this world!
Master Longding's emotions were complicated. "Patron Huang possesses such strength while still in Rank One. If you step into the Celestial Being realm..."
He could hardly fathom it. Could it be that upon becoming a Celestial Being, Huang Tian would immediately dominate the world?!
Crucially, Huang Tian had long comprehended divine intent; the chasm between mortals and heaven was no longer an obstacle to him, and his breakthrough was assured!
'A martial peak even taller than Yin Fenghai is about to rise...' Master Longding's mind swayed.
Huang Tian smiled and offered a few polite replies to their praise. Master Longding then quelled the turmoil in his heart and said, "This place is in ruins. Please accompany me to the temple to rest a while, patrons. We can also sit and discuss the martial path together."
"Splendid!"
With a flick of their sleeves, the three took a few strides across the sky and descended upon the State Protection Temple before the Yupan Mountain Range.
"Greetings, Patriarch, Senior Huang, Senior Shen!"
Within the temple, many monks bowed in greeting, yet as they did, their eyes involuntarily darted toward Huang Tian.
There was simply no helping it; his display just now was too staggering. To single-handedly suppress two veteran Celestial Beings, and to seemingly not even have exerted his full strength, was utterly terrifying and absurd!
More importantly, this man was only Rank One!
He was already like this at Rank One; wouldn't he reach the heavens once he entered the Celestial Being realm?!
Beneath the monks' watchful gazes, Huang Tian remained composed. He walked alongside Master Longding and Shen Dongming to a quiet and secluded courtyard. The three took their seats, each with a cup of fragrant tea placed before them.
After taking a few sips of tea and resting for a short while, the three took turns sharing their insights and experiences regarding martial cultivation...
While they sat peacefully discussing the Dao, the martial artists who had watched the battle could not remain calm. Filled with immense excitement, they shared the course and outcome of today's clash, and before long, an uproar swept through the Imperial Capital, Great Gan, and even across the Five Nations!
Chapter 141