My enemies became my companions

Chapter 720 Three Ranks of First Grade (Two Combined)

Light and shadow swirled, and thousands of rainbows rose from the ground, raining down like arrows. Xu Qi stood quietly in the void, his fist energy still lingering. Looking at the figure holding up the Ming Palace and illuminating the world, he felt a slight, harmless... expectation in his heart.

Perhaps it was because no one had climbed Mount Datian for too long that it had become increasingly desolate. In the past, when Wei Gang challenged him to three rounds of boxing, each time more challenging than the last, he could only manage to stay within three steps. When Jianjia from Yinjian Mountain climbed Mount Datian, he said, "I invite you to discuss the Dao with me." His words still carried a hint of politeness, but in the end, he took a step back to end the matter. As for the other martial arts geniuses who climbed the mountain for fame or other reasons, they were even more cautious. It was already difficult for them to stand firmly in front of him.

Among them were a few arrogant fools who boasted before coming up the mountain, but when they actually stood before him and felt his martial intent, which was as overwhelming as the sky, they lost all their arrogance and became trembling with fear.

Xu Qi's thoughts raced for only a moment. His gaze swept over the formless body of the Pure Saintess, and then seemed to pierce through the void, glancing at the slowly healing river of time.

Life is but a fleeting moment, like duckweed adrift in the long river of time. His presence is ever-present. I still remember the days when he challenged Wu Buyue to a duel, how spirited and exhilarating he was, a feeling that even the time when he shared the title of the best in the world with Bodhisattva Sword could not compare.

Xu Qi's face was calm, making it impossible to discern the true nature of this Heavenly Being. He seemed to be watching the world's events unfold, but now that he was the number one martial artist in the world, he appeared to have gained a lot of lifelessness.

Having been stationed in the Tianshan Mountains for sixty years, I naturally hope that there will be more and more promising young talents emerging.

What's truly lamentable is that he far surpassed Wu Buyu, to the point that back then, in Wu Buyu's martial arts world, countless people aspired to become the best in the world, and there was even the famous Chongyang Sword Viewing Pool, which became known throughout the world. However, now, sixty years later, even fewer people can climb the mountain.

It's no exaggeration to say that the higher you climb, the colder it gets.

The title of the best in the world has long overshadowed the entire martial arts world.

The people of the martial arts world had become accustomed to and numb to this, as if the number one in the world had always been there, rising like the sun and constant like the moon. Even when people in the marketplace were debating the top ten of the martial arts rankings, they excluded Xu Qi, the number one in the world.

Even Wei Gang, who is second in the world, no one would think that he could shake the position of the number one in the world. He is undoubtedly the second-best in the world in hundreds of years, and is only praised as a sub-celestial being.

For this reason, Xu Qi left the Great Tianshan Mountain, where he had been stationed for sixty years, not only to suppress the legendary great demon, but also to seek out a worthy opponent.

His departure from the Great Tianshan Mountains, where he had been stationed for sixty years, was not swift.

He was unwilling to easily break the rules he had set for himself. No matter how much of a demonic sect he was, unless a truly great demon appeared in the world, he was willing to remain an observer, watching the mortal world churn and letting all beings have their own destiny. If it was just an ordinary demon causing trouble, even if it turned the world upside down, the people of the world would go and slay the demons; why should he personally take action?

But now, a great demon has been born, and he is doing things that will change the world and reverse cause and effect.

In Xu Qi's view, this was shaking the very foundation of this world and crossing the proper boundaries.

The Holy Maiden of Purity was surrounded by radiant light, and the Ming Palace exuded immense power. However, in Xu Qi's eyes, the borrowed authority ultimately lost the purity and grandeur of the martial arts path and proving the Dao through force.

Even so, they are still a formidable opponent.

He felt no fear, but rather a sense of anticipation and excitement, like the thrill of hunting.

Could this great demon before us be even more formidable than Wei Gang, the second strongest in the world?
Or is it enough to rival the Bodhisattva Sword?
Xu Qilang laughed, his body surging with powerful fist energy. He took a step forward and thrust his right fist straight out.

The serene saintess gracefully retreated, her delicate hand rising lightly, and countless fragments of time rose up in response, forming a continuously flowing barrier in front of her.

The fist's force struck the barrier, but it vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea. The power was dispersed into countless fragments of time and disappeared without a trace.

It's like using minimal force to achieve maximum effect.

Xu Qi remained unmoved, but his fist force was even stronger, bursting forth with a powerful edge from within. It turned out that the mud ox that had entered the sea had shattered the barrier to pieces, and the remaining fist energy drew a perfect arc in the air, distorting and swallowing even the light in its path.

With a light tap of her fingertips, the Bright Palace shone brightly, and seven layers of barriers unfolded instantly. Each layer contained different laws of heaven and earth, with talismans and scriptures rotating endlessly within them.

The fist energy broke through six layers in succession, finally pausing slightly before the last layer of barrier.

In that instant, the Pure Saintess had retreated to a distance of over a hundred feet.

She formed a hand seal, and behind her appeared the phantoms of three thousand worlds of light. In each world, countless scriptures flowed and converged into a long river that swept towards Xu Qi.

Xu Qi smiled for no reason. He hadn't smiled like that in a long time. He remembered the last time was when Wei Gang climbed the mountain for the second time.

The Pure Saintess frowned. When she was killed by Gongsun Guan, she was already only half a step away from the first rank. Unlike ordinary people who were like blind men touching an elephant when it came to the struggle for the first rank, she was not confused. The struggle for the first rank, especially the struggle between life and death, often started with mutual probing and wear each other down, like peeling back layers of a cocoon. In the end, the difference was just a hair's breadth, which determined life and death.

However, whether it was due to his arrogance as the best in the world or his temperament, Xu Qi seemed to want to win in an instant, as if it were a sure thing.

In the next instant, Xu Qisheng cleaved the long river in two.

It wasn't with a sword or a knife, but with just a hand chop, an unparalleled and magnificent fist force, it severed the long river in two like a hot knife through oil!
The long river stopped flowing, but the boundless light it contained could not be stopped in the slightest. It collapsed with a roar and turned into fireflies all over the sky.

Xu Qi pressed his advantage relentlessly, stepping through the air as he continuously punched the sky, extinguishing all light within his fists. The once bright sky was gradually being hammered back into a world of darkness.

This magnificent and awe-inspiring scene loomed over everyone, making it seem both unattainable and breathtaking.

Apart from Gongsun Guan and Chen Yi, everyone else was greatly shocked, especially the three Holy Maidens, whose eyes inevitably flickered. No matter how the Pure Holy Maiden was not the Mingzun they recognized, she still held the power of the Ming Palace and was almost no different from the Mingzun. Now she was on par with the True Celestial.

The Pure Saintess's ten fingers flew, instantly changing nine different hand seals. Each change triggered strange phenomena in the heavens and earth, sometimes with thunderclouds gathering and sometimes with the Milky Way hanging upside down, as countless spells poured down like a torrential rain.

Xu Qi's fist techniques changed again, each punch simple and direct. His fist energy was sometimes as condensed as a needle, targeting a single point; at other times, it was as vast as the sea, enveloping the surrounding area. The two advanced and retreated, leaving countless afterimages in the sky, their booming sounds like thunder, never ceasing.

Suddenly, Xu Qi's figure flashed, as if he had appeared in a flash, and he instantly appeared three feet in front of the Pure Saintess. When he threw his fist, even the light of the Ming Palace dimmed!
The Holy Maiden of Purity finally paled and hastily summoned the Bright Palace to protect herself. With a loud clang, like a great bell, she and the palace were blasted thousands of feet away, her radiance trembling wildly.

Xu Qi did not press his advantage; instead, he stopped mid-air, something he hadn't done in a long time.
Hearty.

Chen Yi looked up at the magnificent scene. Even the aftershocks were enough to shatter mountains and split the earth. The Dragon Tail City beneath them was already devastated. Fortunately, this was in the World of Ignorance.

The scene before us, where even the long river of time is trampled upon, is far beyond what even Zhou Yitang's ninety-one battles with the blind arrow could compare to.

In the ninety-first battle, he was able to go into a state of demonic possession and, at the most crucial moment, push away the blind arrow's desperate shot, becoming a variable in the battle. In today's earth-shattering battle, only the top ten in the world can influence the outcome of the battle in the most subtle ways.

Chen Yi glanced sideways at the Demonic Sect Leader, who stood with his hands behind his back.

Unfortunately, Gongsun Guan will not make a move.

Perhaps for this religious leader, it doesn't matter who becomes the Mingzun. To put it that way is a bit vulgar. From his perspective, who becomes the Mingzun is predetermined.

Chen Yi didn't pin his hopes on Gongsun Guan. He continued to lightly tap the Hou Kang sword with his finger, and the sword, which had been faintly gleaming, became even more subdued. The old saintess came to her senses and finally couldn't help but say, "What are you waiting for, boy? After spouting nonsense, you're not going to do anything?"

Chen Yi glanced back at the old saintess but did not reply.

The old saintess was extremely anxious, wishing she could throw him into the battle and end it all.

At that very moment, the entire world of ignorance trembled.

It seemed to tremble at the clash between the two great Buddhas in the sky, but it was nothing more than an unremarkable aftershock.

Chen Yi slowly raised his head, sensing a deeper change, and slowly, a smile appeared on his lips.

He slowly raised his sword.

Everyone looked over and held their breath. The old saintess, who had been disappointed in him, trembled with regret and desperately wanted to stop him.

However, after Chen Yi drew his sword, he did not aim it at the battle, but rather at the forbidden area, and slashed it out of thin air.

The sword light flashed suddenly, but it wasn't dazzling; it silently disappeared into the void.

The next moment, the space in front of everyone was torn open like a fragile brocade, with huge ripples at the edges that twisted and rolled irregularly. Dense darkness, which seemed to devour souls, surged out from it, quickly staining the surrounding light.

An enormous head slowly emerged from the crack.

The Lord of Resentment's enormous, pupil-less eyes, filled only with rolling gray-white light, indifferently swept across the outside world. Countless faces of resentment, writhing in agony, rolled around its body. The mere aura emanating from its very existence caused everyone present, except for Gongsun Guan and Chen Yi, to tremble in an instant.

"You!" The old saintess's face turned deathly pale, her finger trembling as she pointed at Chen Yi. "Have you gone mad! That's the Lord of Resentment! The Mingzun's irreconcilable enemy! You've brought it here, are you trying to make us all perish with it?!"

The Holy Maiden of Wisdom also looked horrified, her aura instinctively gathering as if facing a formidable enemy. Yin Tingxue and Donggong Ruoshu were almost suffocating under the pressure, and subconsciously huddled together. Even Zhu E, who had been silent and unconditionally trusting Chen Yi, had her eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment.

Gongsun Guan lowered his eyes slightly, seemingly unsurprised.

“The True Venerable One is not afraid of the Lord of Resentment.”

Chen Yi simply sheathed his sword slowly, his gaze calmly sweeping over the enormous creature.
"Let's go."

After speaking, he leaped up and landed directly on the back of the Lord of Resentment. Compared to him, his figure was like a drop in the ocean. The Lord of Resentment, who had previously threatened to fight him to the death, paused slightly, as if he was really waiting for him to come up. Then, his huge, gray-white eyes swept over the crowd with indifferent "gaze," and then glanced at the Pure Saintess holding the Bright Palace in the sky. He let out a low roar full of endless malice, as if mocking, or as if carrying some kind of instinctive...anger.

In the sky, Xu Qi and the Pure Saintess, who were locked in fierce battle, paused slightly.

It is as if a giant Kun (a mythical fish) leaps up from the deep sea.

It crashed violently into the two giant Buddha statues in the sky, carrying with it endless darkness.

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Qi's eyes, and he unleashed a punch.

The holy maiden radiated light, and countless scriptures flowed out from the temple gates.

In an instant, the three forces collided with a deafening roar!

thump.

The heavy impact sounded like Mount Buzhou collapsing, and the entire sky was torn open with spiderweb-like cracks.

Xu Qi's invincible fist energy was the first to be impacted, shattering piece by piece under the onslaught of the chaotic darkness. His body trembled violently, and he was forced to retreat hundreds of feet.
The radiance of the Pure Saintess shattered one after another under the impact of resentment, and the Bright Palace cried out incessantly. The formless Dharma body flickered and retreated.

The Lord of Resentment let out a deafening roar, his giant gray eyes locking onto the Bright Palace, and the boundless darkness condensed once more.

The entire world trembled, as if the end of the world was approaching.

Xu Qi, having stopped, slowly turned around, narrowed his eyes, and glanced at the suddenly appearing Demon Lord of Resentment, and the person above him.

"...Oh...an extraterrestrial demon?"

As the radiance around the Pure Saintess slowly returned to normal, she saw the Demon Lord again, especially Chen Yi, who was standing safely on top of the Demon Lord of Resentment. A slight ripple appeared on her faceless expression, as if her "pupils" had suddenly shrunk.

Chen Yi, who was riding the Demon Lord beneath his feet, simply smiled slightly at the two of them.

Beneath his feet lay endless, obscure resentment, and darkness swirled in all directions. Chen Yi surveyed the two figures in the sky. Only by releasing the Demon Lord at this moment could he have the ability to intervene in the battle.

The Lord of Resentment is an aggregate of ignorance, and naturally becomes a great enemy of the Bright Lord.

As for who the Bright Lord is, the Lord of Resentment couldn't tell at all. Chen Yi had already grasped this point when he was in the World of Ignorance, and left behind a backup plan. It was an almost instinctive and unintentional act, but he didn't expect it to actually come in handy.

What he didn't expect was that, although the Lord of Resentment loathed him, he actually responded faintly to the sword intent he left behind.

Perhaps it is related to Zhou Yitang's statement that she is a demon from beyond the realm.

However, none of these things are important right now. At this moment, the only thing to do is to deal with the Pure Saintess first.

Distracting thoughts are instantly eliminated.

Chen Yi's eyes sharpened, his gaze fixed on the Pure Saintess holding up the Bright Palace high in the sky.

At the thought, the Demon Lord of Resentment beneath his feet seemed to receive a silent command. The savage light in his gray-white giant eyes intensified, and he let out a roar that tore through the universe. The surging dark resentment around him once again frantically condensed, transforming into a torrent that was thicker and deeper than before, surging forward like a dragon straight toward the Pure Saintess.

The radiance surrounding the Pure Saintess flickered for a moment, and her body, which should have been a waveless source of light, began to ripple with an extremely subtle yet real ripple.

It was as if a mortal was suddenly startled, and his pupils contracted.

(End of this chapter)