Star Martial Soaring Cloud

A small mound of earth was forming from the void and crashing down on Lin Shisan, who was trying to escape.

The earthen mound was formed from the essence of heaven and earth. Although small, it was as solid as a real stone mountain. Its surface was covered with an earthy yellow spiritual light, and it carried an overwhelming power. When it fell, even the air was compressed and made a muffled sound.

An Shengyilang clearly took special "care" towards Lin Shisan—he wanted to give this deserter an unforgettable lesson.

Lin Shisan stopped.

He had to stop.

The Frost Sword was drawn, and its icy blue sword light shot into the sky, carrying a chilling aura, and collided with the earthen hill with a thunderous crash!

"boom--!"

The deafening roar was deafening. The earthen hill was cleaved in two by a single sword strike, sending rocks flying and dust billowing into the sky, obscuring the sun.

An Shengyi raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Interesting."

Clearly, he hadn't expected that this coward who deserted in the face of battle would possess such strength.

Double the power to the extreme, unheard of.

But he just smiled, and that smile was still full of contempt.

"Earth Release・Iwayama!"

After one mountain is destroyed, another one appears.

The second earthen mound followed closely behind, condensing from the void. It was larger and heavier than the first one, with a majestic shape that blocked out the sun. It crashed down with a howling wind, and the wind pressure arrived first, bending the grass and trees around Lin Shisan.

Lin Shisan raised his sword and slashed again, his tiger's mouth was shattered by the impact, and blood dripped down the hilt, staining the Frost Sword in his hand red.

Third parties, fourth parties, fifth parties... one after another, earthen mounds of earth condensed from the void, endlessly crashing down on Lin Shisan.

The difference in their levels of understanding is like an insurmountable chasm.

One side can draw upon the power of heaven and earth, possessing inexhaustible vital energy; the other side is merely a mortal body, whose strength, however unparalleled, will eventually be exhausted.

This is the difference between a fish leaping over the dragon gate and a dragon leaping over the hurdle.

The Fish Leap Realm cultivates oneself and explores the limits of the human body. Even with extraordinary abilities, one cannot escape the constraints of "limited human power".

The Dragon Gate Realm cultivates the power of heaven and earth. Since heaven and earth are infinite, so too is the primordial energy. With every move, one can manipulate the power of heaven and earth.

Lin Shisan was still slashing.

He cleaved through the sixth, seventh, and eighth directions... but his speed slowed down, the sword light dimmed, his aura weakened, his steps began to falter, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

An Shengyilang didn't look at him anymore, as if he had lost interest. What kind of waves could a dying ant stir up?

His gaze returned to the five people on the summit, a hint of impatience flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"More than a hundred years have passed, and they are still a bunch of sickly weaklings from Kyushu, utterly vulnerable."

He sighed, his tone full of disdain, and formed hand seals again. This time, the movements were much faster than before, his fingertips flying, leaving behind afterimages, and the earthy yellow spiritual light around him suddenly surged.

"Earth Release·Stone Man."

The cold words fell, and the world changed color.

Centered on An Shengyilang, the earth and rock elements within a radius of a hundred feet began to surge wildly. This surge was not a chaotic storm, but a deeper, more essential agitation—as if the earth itself had come alive, stretching its muscles and bones, brewing a catastrophe.

The rocks beneath my feet began to tremble violently, not like an earthquake, but as if the rocks were being catalyzed and growing wildly.

A stalagmite as thick as an arm suddenly sprang up from the ground, gleaming with a cold light, piercing straight into the round, hollow abdomen.

The monk activated his golden body and withstood the attack, but the stalagmite did not stop. Instead, it wrapped around his body, spread, and split, turning into countless thorny stone vines that tightly bound his limbs, the thorns piercing his flesh and drawing blood.

Xiao He swung his sword and severed a stone vine, but the severed vine did not disappear. Instead, it regenerated after hitting the ground, turning into more vines that surged in from all directions, surrounding him like a tide.

No matter how fast Wuchen's sword strikes, he cannot cut through the endless stone tendrils.

With each one he severed, three new ones sprouted, binding him layer upon layer, causing his bones to creak. His green robe was torn by the stone tendrils, and his body was covered in wounds.

Ling Cheng's situation is even more dangerous.

Suddenly, a deep trench split open in the ground beneath his feet, and a giant stone hand emerged from the crack, its five fingers as thick as mountains, radiating a heavy, earthy yellow spiritual light, gripping his entire body tightly in its palm.

He struggled desperately, and his longsword pierced the stone hand, but only left a shallow mark. The stone hand did not move at all, but instead gripped it tighter and tighter.

Wang Xiao stepped on the Seven Star Rain Step, his figure already at its peak, but there were simply too many stone vines—under his feet, above his head, in all directions, everywhere, like a dense, impenetrable net, enveloping him.

A stone tendril wrapped around his ankle, which he slashed off with his sword. Another tendril wrapped around his wrist, which he then slashed off. Three more tendrils attacked from behind, tightly constricting his neck and waist, making it hard for him to breathe and causing his vision to blur.

Five people were trapped by layers of vines, giant hands, and cages formed from earth and stone. The trappings tightened, their breaths grew weaker, and their blood stained the rocks on the cliff top, appearing particularly glaring in the raging wind.

An Shengyilang hovered in mid-air, calm and composed, not even his breathing was disordered. He just looked at them coldly, as if they were a few flying insects entangled in a spider web.

"Die."

He said it in a flat tone, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.

The stone vines tightened suddenly—

Then, everything stopped.

The wind stopped, and the swirling pebbles remained suspended in mid-air, no longer falling.

The smoke and dust stopped, and the lingering fog remained stationary, no longer moving.

The wildly spreading stone vines, stone hands, and stone pillars seemed to be choked by an invisible hand, suddenly freezing in place, motionless, and even the tightening force disappeared without a trace.

Even the indifference on An Shengyi's face froze for a moment.

Time seemed to stand still.

No, time didn't stop.

It was some kind of power far beyond heaven and earth that froze everything in this space.

Wang Xiao's eyes widened. He could feel the stone vines still wrapped around his body, but they no longer tightened or grew. They just stood there, frozen, having lost all their power.

A green light slowly drifted in from afar.

The light was as warm and gentle as jade, yet it carried an indescribable majesty, as if it were the ruler of heaven and earth descending upon the world.

It passed through the solidified dust and the stiff stone vines, and slowly landed in front of everyone.

As the light faded, a mythical beast stood silently in the center of the field.

Deer and Shu.

It is surrounded by a faint green halo, with wood grain flowing on its fur, reflecting the spiritual energy around it and exuding vitality.

But its eyes were no longer as clear as water as before; instead, they were filled with two raging flames of anger.

This is not the Lu Shu in Wang Xiao's memory—not the Lu Shu who leisurely cultivated in the hot spring, not the Lu Shu who looked at him like he was an idiot, and not the Lu Shu who acted coquettishly and rubbed his hand against Lin Yueyao.

At this moment, it was like an angry god, its imposing aura causing the heavens and earth to tremble.

An Shengyi's smile froze completely.

His gaze was fixed on Lu Shu, a complex expression flashing in his cloudy eyes—surprise, apprehension, and a hint of barely concealed guilt.

"Hey, it's you! We gave you a new life, and you dare treat me like this?"

His voice suddenly turned cold, filled with murderous intent, "You beast!"

Wang Xiao saw an emotion he had never seen before in Lu Shu's eyes.

That was anger, that was hatred.

It wasn't a hatred born of a single day or night, but a deep-seated resentment etched into the bones and seeped into the blood, an indelible bitterness that had settled over countless days and nights.

The deer-like creature did not answer; it simply stared coldly at An Sheng Ichiro, its green aura growing ever stronger.

It slowly raised its front hooves, and then gently lowered them.

It was just this gentle drop.

An Shengyilang's face changed completely, all color drained from his face, and he turned deathly pale.

The void beneath his feet suddenly distorted, and an invisible, powerful wood-elemental spiritual energy shoved him backward violently. He was unable to resist and was pushed dozens of feet away, crashing into a boulder on the edge of the cliff.

He rapidly formed hand seals, and a thick stone shield of earthy yellow spiritual light condensed in front of him. The shield was engraved with intricate runes and gleamed with a chilling light, attempting to resist this power.

However, the invisible wood-elemental spiritual energy did not pursue him; it merely pushed him away and protected him in front of everyone.

Lu Shu's goal was not to kill him first, but to save him.

The radiance of Jianmu flew out from between Lu Shu's eyebrows, and the emerald green light surged towards the five people trapped by the stone vines like a tide. The light was full of vitality, and wherever it passed, the stone vines shattered inch by inch, turning into dust and scattering in the wind. The wounds on everyone's bodies were slowly healed under the nourishment of this spiritual energy.

Wang Xiao felt a sudden lightness in his body, and the stone vines that had been suffocating him crumbled away.

Yuan Kong, Xiao He, Wu Chen, and Ling Cheng have all escaped their predicament, and their wounds are healing at a visible speed.

Everyone quickly sat down to meditate and recuperate, using this power to restore themselves to their peak condition.

The deer didn't look at them; it just stared intently at An Shengyilang, its green light growing stronger and stronger, like a burning emerald flame that dyed the entire Qingming Cliff green.

An Shengyi steadied himself, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and fixed his gaze on Jianmu Zhihua. His cloudy eyes suddenly lit up, and a greedy light almost overflowed from his eyes.

"The Glory of the Jianmu Tree!" His voice changed. "So it really was you, you wicked beast, who did this!"

He wanted to rush over and seize the Jianmu Flower, but Lu Shu simply took a step forward, and the wood-elemental spiritual energy around him suddenly surged, forming a green barrier that kept him outside.

Lu Shu and An Sheng Ichiro instantly engaged in a fierce battle.

Wood-type magic was used against earth-type magic.

On one side are the auspicious beasts of the Nine Provinces, imbued with the spirit of the Jianmu tree, brimming with vitality and unparalleled in strength; on the other side are the Five Ninjas of Fusang, who have mastered earth-based magic, possessing a powerful and fierce strength that can shake heaven and earth.

An Shengyilang roared, his body surging with earth-yellow spiritual light as he formed hand seals: "Earth Release: Ten Thousand Stone Collapse!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the earth and stone elements around him surged wildly, and countless boulders condensed from the void, smashing fiercely towards Lu Shu. The boulders exploded, and waves of earth surged skyward, blotting out the sun, causing the entire Qingming Cliff to tremble.

The deer roared to the sky, its voice piercing through the clouds, its body shimmering with wood grain, and a verdant light shot straight into the heavens.

Countless emerald vines sprouted from the void, like dragons emerging from the sea, wrapping around the giant rocks. The vines clung to the rocks, and as the rocks crumbled, the vines grew back, endlessly binding all the scattered rocks in the sky. The vines continued forward, attacking An Sheng Ichiro.

Ansei Ichiro conjured earth into armor, the thick, earth-yellow armor covering his entire body. He struck with his palm, as firm as a mountain, at the attacking vines, unleashing "Earth Release: Earth Splitting Palm!"

Where the palm wind passed, the earthy energy surged, shattering the vines. But the shattered vines would instantly grow back, endlessly regenerating.

The wood grain on the deer-like creature's body transformed into scales, and its emerald light condensed into a long spear. Its hooves thundered as it thrust straight at An Sheng Ichiro.

The wooden spear pierced the air with a whistling sound, its tip brimming with dense spiritual energy, causing even space itself to slightly distort in its wake.

Ansei Ichiro crossed his arms, conjuring a massive stone shield in front of him, and unleashed, "Earth Release: Thousand Waves!"

The wooden spear and the stone shield collided with a deafening roar, and a burst of emerald and earthy yellow spiritual light exploded. The shockwave blew away the rubble on the cliff, and the rocks on the top of Qingming Cliff cracked open again with countless deep grooves. The clouds and mist were blown away by the shockwave, revealing the bottomless abyss below the cliff.

An Shengyi was forced to retreat repeatedly by the shockwave, his earthen armor shattered, and several wounds appeared on his body, from which blood flowed freely. The deer-like creature was also forced back a few steps by the shockwave, its fur covered in dust, but its eyes remained sharp and fearless.

The earth element's solidity and strength, and the wood element's vitality and sharpness, collided to their fullest extent at the top of Qingming Cliff, filling the sky with spiritual light and creating towering waves of energy.

An Shengyilang clearly felt the strain. Lu Shu possessed the essence of Jianmu, and its wood-type spiritual energy was inexhaustible. Although he borrowed earth energy from heaven and earth, under Lu Shu's pressure, the earth energy circulation became increasingly sluggish. However, for the time being, Lu Shu could not do anything to his earth-type impenetrable wall.

"Boss, how much longer?" An Shengyilang shouted urgently, his voice filled with barely concealed panic. He knew that he was no match for Lu Shu in a one-on-one fight.