Battle of Half-Immortals!

The Baxia Clan Head hiked the price on the spot, making Clan Head Jin grit his teeth in fury. Yet thinking of how spectacular this battle was, to describe it vividly with nothing but one's bare mouth would probably require the skill of a professional storyteller. "Fine, but you can't raise the price again!" Clan Head Jin glared threateningly at the Baxia Clan Head—did he truly think their Qiongqi Clan was a pushover? After handing over the money, Clan Head Jin felt more and more pained the more he thought about it. "Should I find some time to learn storytelling?" If he knew how to tell stories, would he have had to throw away this hard-earned money? Zhu Tian performed a carp leap, attempting to spring up from the ground. How could Jiang Lianyi give him the chance? Leaping down from the altar, she kicked Zhu Tian right where he lay in the crater. That single kick nearly made Zhu Tian vomit up his intestines. "Cough—" Zhu Tian was pinned under Jiang Lianyi's foot, failing several attempts to rise, and flew into a towering rage. "I merely yielded two moves to you, and you really think you're something!" Zhu Tian hadn't expected Jiang Lianyi to be so difficult to deal with. Judging from the Phoenix Clan's reactions, they hadn't known of Jiang Lianyi's existence, indicating she had most likely awakened only recently. If so, it should have taken Jiang Lianyi a long time to return to her peak. Yet the moment they crossed hands, he discovered that the Jiang Lianyi of this moment was in her ancient prime, without the slightest fatigue or weakness, which was why he had suffered such a massive loss. Damn it, how was this possible? With an enraged roar, he reverted to his true form, expanding in size, and rammed Jiang Lianyi off him. Jiang Lianyi stepped on empty air twice, steadying herself midair without a ripple of panic. Her arms shifted, transforming her into a five-colored phoenix. The phoenix spread her wings and soared high, her entire body covered in radiant, multicolored plumage. Sunlight pierced through her feathers and fell upon the earth, turning into five-colored rays of rosy glow. When low-level cultivators with hidden injuries were bathed in the five-colored glow, their hidden ailments actually began to fade away. A demon's strongest state was fighting in true form. Having reverted to their true forms, the two half-immortals held nothing back and struck out boldly! With a kick of his feet, Zhu Tian overturned the meticulously crafted glazed white jade Altar of Heaven—it was both an altar and a magic treasure! The nine-tiered Altar of Heaven of glazed white jade, hundreds of meters tall, was hurled furiously at Jiang Lianyi. Jiang Lianyi spun her wings, catching the altar, dissipating its momentum, coating it in a layer of lightning, and hurling it right back. Zhu Tian opened his mouth, unleashing an invisible sound wave that froze the altar in place. Under the onslaught of the sound wave, the altar trembled faintly yet violently, before being hurled at Jiang Lianyi once more. If Jiang Lianyi dared to touch the altar the same way as before, the altar and the lightning would detonate together! Jiang Lianyi had long seen through Zhu Tian's petty scheme and commanded space itself to seal the altar. "Back to you." The altar was like a toy in the hands of the two half-immortals, tossed back and forth, but only the spectating cultivators knew that after changing hands several times, it had accumulated layers upon layers of attacks; if it went off, even veteran Tribulation Transcendence cultivators would be gravely injured. Ultimately, unable to endure the stacked reinforcements of attacks any longer, the altar detonated between the two. Two half-immortals and six Tribulation Transcendence great demons clashed in supernatural combat—four battles unfolding at once left the crowd utterly dazzled, wishing they had grown several extra pairs of eyes. There were many Body Integration cultivators present; while they could still grasp the general flow of the Tribulation Transcendence battles, the half-immortal clash was completely beyond their comprehension. Yet that didn't stop them from all choosing to watch the half-immortal battle. The spiritual energy within a thousand li was drained dry, falling under the control of the two half-immortal great demons. The two demons fought from the sky down to the ground, and from the ground back into the sky. All along the way, space shattered, leaving devastated ruins everywhere. The six battling Tribulation Transcendence great demons did their best to keep away from the two, terrified of being swept into the crossfire. The sky was ablaze with radiant colors and unfolding phenomena—Heavenly Maidens Scattering Flowers, Phoenix Bearing Auspice, Parasol Tree Birthing a Phoenix... Then came thunder and lightning; two colossal silhouettes fought behind the storm clouds, revealed only in fleeting glimpses whenever lightning flared. Zhu Tian danced gracefully—looking like a winged pig dancing—singing a chilling, desolate song to accompany the dance. "Speak not of good autumn harvests in bumper years; when autumn ends and sentences fall, off go the heads..." Sensing danger, Jiang Lianyi flapped her phoenix wings and banked sideways. An imperceptible blade grazed past, shearing away a few phoenix feathers. "The Autumn Song from the Four Seasons Songs?" Jiang Lianyi was well-versed in musical mastery. She chanted softly in return, her voice equally laced with slaughterous intent. Two contrasting melodies echoed across the sky, turning into visible ripples that stirred space itself—murderous intent lurking in every direction, an ambush on ten fronts! Suddenly, torrential rain poured from the sky, clattering against the ground. "Hm? That's not rain. These are... seeds?" Lu Yang picked up a seed from the ground, unable to discern its origin. "Those are seeds of the Dragon-Binding Vine. Your era probably doesn't have them." "Dragon-Binding Vine?" "Just as the name implies, this thing once bound Ao Ling." Lu Yang recalled Immortal Fairy mentioning that the difference in strength between Jiang Lianyi and Ao Ling wasn't large—a forty-sixty split, with Jiang Lianyi having a forty percent win rate and Ao Ling sixty percent. Taking root as soon as they hit the ground, the Dragon-Binding Vines sprouted and swelled. In an instant, Dragon-Binding Vines sprang up across the entire Demon City, like countless hands reaching toward the sky—an eerie sight. The Dragon-Binding Vines grew at blistering speed, suddenly curving to wrap around and envelop Zhu Tian. Zhu Tian flapped his four wings, which were like four celestial sabers capable of cleaving heaven and earth in two, cutting through everything without impediment. This time was no different; the four wings unleashed four blades of saber qi, hacking the Dragon-Binding Vines to pieces. Yet immediately afterward, Zhu Tian noticed something abnormal: vigorous flames were actually burning at the severed ends of the Dragon-Binding Vines, as if the vines were hollowed out inside and filled with fire. "Not good, this is Nirvana True Fire!" The Dragon-Binding Vines grew anew. Zhu Tian continued flapping his wings to sever them, but no matter how many he cut down, the vines grew back again, endless and inexhaustible. Immortal Fairy explained to Lu Yang, "The Dragon-Binding Vine is an immortal vine Lianyi specially cultivated. By roasting it with Nirvana True Fire, she fused a wisp of flame into the seed. Once the Tree Planting Art is used to make it take root and sprout, the Dragon-Binding Vine becomes an immortal vine that grows forever under the empowerment of Nirvana True Fire. "Under the control of her rudimentary Dao fruit, the Dragon-Binding Vine moves according to Lianyi's will—agile, versatile, and impossible to guard against. "Xiao Ling didn't anticipate this trick back then, was caught off guard, and ended up tied up tight." Zhu Tian was likewise bound by the Dragon-Binding Vines, his six wings wrapped around him like the leaves of a zongzi. Unwilling to be tied down like this, he let out an enraged roar. "Law Phenomenon of Heaven and Earth!" He cast the Law Phenomenon of Heaven and Earth, turning into a ten-thousand-zhang behemoth with bulging muscles, attempting to break free by sheer brute force. Seeing that enlarging didn't allow him to break free, he turned into human form, trying to slip out through the gaps in the Dragon-Binding Vines. Under Jiang Lianyi's control, the Dragon-Binding Vines could expand or shrink at will. No matter what form Zhu Tian took, they bound him tightly, leaving him unable to break free. "You forced my hand!" Zhu Tian's eyes bulged with fury as he opened his cavernous maw, spewing forth countless ancient ghosts to assemble an army of the nether. The ancient ghosts took diverse forms—humans, demons, and spirits alike. These were the vanquished of the ancient war, devoured by Zhu Tian and refined through the power of his rudimentary Dao fruit. "The legendary Nether Soldiers Crossing, all demons disperse!" A Tribulation Transcendence great demon gasped in horror. This was an illustrious ancient legend: when the nether soldiers crossed, the earth was scorched for a thousand li, not a blade of grass survived, and even an entire planet would be rendered barren. It was a demon taboo, often used to scare children. So the origin of this legend was Supreme Zhu Tian! No matter how Lu Yang looked at this technique, it seemed familiar. "Of course it looks familiar. The Tiger Clan learned this technique and adapted it into the method of chang ghosts, which is the origin of the saying 'acting as the tiger's minion,'" Immortal Fairy said nonchalantly. Jiang Lianyi spat out a ball of flame whose temperature was even higher than the sun's—this was the origin of Nirvana True Fire! She bit the tip of her tongue and dripped phoenix essence blood onto the Nirvana True Fire. Astonishingly, the Nirvana True Fire let out a phoenix cry, transforming into a phoenix identical to her. This was the true Phoenix Nirvana! Nirvana True Fire: supremely unyielding and supremely yang, the absolute nemesis of ghosts, phantoms, and evil spirits!