Chapter 372 - 196: Moment of Crisis

"Kill!"

Gu Yun let out a bone-chilling cry. The vast, ocean-like Magical Power within him surged as a terrifying Dao Rhythm swirled around his body. Crimson thunder crackled in the air, and under the pull of his immense Magical Power, the area for thousands of miles around instantly transformed into a Thunder Domain.

A terrifying, deep sea of lightning roiled in Gu Yun’s eyes, radiating an intense pressure that made him seem like a Thunder God in charge of Celestial Punishment!

"Divine Skill·Taiyi Thunder Technique!"

BOOM!

Countless bolts of Taiyi Divine Thunder suddenly descended, emitting a blindingly brilliant light. It was like the dawn of creation, piercing through the endless darkness and washing out all other colors from the sky. The bolts radiated a terrifying power, like the might of the heavens themselves, threatening to shatter the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands!

In the next instant, the sky-rending bolts of Taiyi Divine Thunder, imbued with vast heavenly might, hurtled down toward the dark red beam of light that pierced the heavens.

"BOOM!"

The two supremely powerful attacks collided in the Void Celestial. For an instant, the world fell utterly silent. The surrounding space for thousands of miles became like a monochrome ink-wash painting.

Then, it shattered completely.

The instant the two powerful attacks collided, the entire world began to tremble violently. Vast swathes of space for thousands of miles around shattered, revealing a pitch-black, abyssal void where no light could penetrate.

Terrifying shockwaves blasted outward in all directions. Storms of spatial energy ravaged the sky. At that moment, it was as if the world was ending.

"This aura..."

’Blood Nether Celestial’s’ eyes narrowed as he observed Gu Yun’s current aura. ’It feels... familiar,’ he thought, ’as if I’ve encountered it on the Cangwu Immortal Continent before.’ He then shook his head slightly. ’It doesn’t matter if my opponent is a god or a ghost. I have the confidence to suppress any falsehood.’

’It’s true that I had to use my Divine Soul and other methods to forcefully descend into this world, using this body as a vessel. My current power is less than one percent of my peak; I can barely exert the strength of someone touching upon the Harmonization Realm.’

’But that’s still more than enough to deal with a mere Tongxuan Realm Cultivator.’

’Even if he’s using some technique to explosively increase his power, a Tongxuan is still just a Tongxuan. Does he really think he can defy the heavens?’

’Besides, my attack contained a wisp of my Tribulation Cosmos Realm’s might and was executed with an extremely advanced Technique, a method that bordered on the Dao itself. How could he possibly survive?’

"BANG!"

Up in the sky, bolts of Taiyi Divine Thunder radiating crimson light intertwined with the gloomy divine radiance that pierced the heavens. It was like two worlds colliding, emanating an aura of supreme destruction.

Then, as if containing a higher level of power, the massive, heaven-piercing beam of dark light, after clashing with the Taiyi Divine Thunder for only a moment, annihilated the Divine Thunder with irresistible force. It then shattered the sky and surged toward Gu Yun with supreme might.

"Three Thousand Roaming Dragon Steps."

Gu Yun watched with cold eyes as his Divine Thunder was annihilated by the opponent’s dark light, which clearly contained a much higher level of power. His face remained impassive, his expression calm and utterly rational.

He immediately executed the Three Thousand Roaming Dragon Steps. His body moved like a phantom, a roaming dragon, flitting through space at extreme speed to forcibly evade the terrifying attack.

"BAM!"

The terrifyingly huge beam of dark light, imbued with an extremely high level of power, annihilated Gu Yun’s afterimage and slammed into the heavens. It tore a massive hole in the sky that stretched for thousands of miles. Through it, one could vaguely see an endless, pitch-black abyss, swirling with terrifying streams of chaotic energy. The force of the blow was felt thousands upon thousands of miles away!!

"How... how can it be this strong!"

Thousands of miles away, the pupils of Du Yuan and Qin Xiao contracted, their eyes filled with unprecedented shock.

An expression of utter disbelief was plastered on Qin Xiao’s face. He stammered, "Who in the world is that?"

"And Fellow Daoist Gu... to think he’s this powerful as well."

The moment Gu Yun and ’Blood Nether Celestial’ had launched their Heaven-Reaching attacks, the two of them had fled thousands of miles away. They hadn’t dared to remain, fearing they would perish if they were careless.

The shock in Du Yuan’s eyes had yet to fade. He shook his head slowly, signaling that he too was unaware of Gu Yun’s true strength. He had known he was strong, but he never imagined he would be *this* strong! ’With power like that,’ he thought, ’killing us would be as easy as slaughtering chickens.’

"Let’s remain still and observe the action," Du Yuan said, his aged face calm. He then added, "Elder Qin, I suspect that Demon Fiend has been possessed by a powerful expert."

"Old Ghost Du, are you serious?" Qin Xiao exclaimed in shock.

Du Yuan nodded slowly. If the Demon Fiend hadn’t been possessed, there would be no other way to explain its completely different disposition, or that terrifyingly high-level aura that made even their souls tremble.

"If that’s true, then we’re in deep trouble." Qin Xiao’s gaze turned to the distant horizon, his expression becoming incredibly grave.

...

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The sky remained shattered, a massive hole gaping in the heavens. Terrifying gales of astral wind raged within, exuding a frightening aura.

"He dodged it?" ’Blood Nether Celestial’ murmured with a hint of surprise, standing amidst the dust and rubble of the shattered earth. He looked up at the flickering figure in the sky. "But so what? You’re still going to die."

The moment the words left his lips, ’Blood Nether Celestial’s’ figure vanished. His speed was so great it was as if he were teleporting.

The next instant, he appeared before Gu Yun. A scarlet light flashed in his eyes as he clenched his right hand into a fist, gathering a terrifying dark power. Before Gu Yun could react, he unleashed the punch. It crushed the space before it, hurtling toward Gu Yun’s chest with immense Divine Power!

’So fast!’ Gu Yun’s pupils shrank. His opponent’s speed was unbelievable; he had appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye. Seeing the dark fist, which contained immeasurable power, smashing toward him, Gu Yun crossed his arms at the last second. Streams of crimson Thunder erupted, forming a protective barrier of lightning.

"BAM!"

The next moment, ’Blood Nether Celestial’s’ fist, which held enough power to shatter the Void Celestial, slammed into Gu Yun’s barrier of Thunder. It shattered the shield as if it were made of glass and crashed into the center of Gu Yun’s crossed arms.

In that instant, a supreme force, like the weight of the Ninth Layer Celestial Mountain, surged from his arms into the very bones of his body. Gu Yun felt as if he were about to be torn apart.

If he hadn’t tempered his Physique to an incredible degree by drawing on Star Power, that single punch would have pulverized him into a shower of blood!

Even so, the monstrous force slammed into him, sending his body flying like a cannonball. He shot through the void and crashed violently into the earth below, gouging out a massive crater as dust and debris billowed into the air.

"Cough... cough."

Amidst the billowing dust, blood trickled from the corner of Gu Yun’s mouth as he slowly climbed out of the crater, which was hundreds of feet deep.

CRACK. CRACK. He could feel his ribs breaking, a pain that pierced him to the marrow. His white robes were shredded, revealing countless wounds from which blood flowed like a stream, dripping onto the broken earth.

Even amidst the billowing dust, arcs of Thunder and lightning still flickered around his body, flashing with a dangerous light.

"You should be proud. With your level of strength, surviving a single one of my attacks is an accomplishment."

’Blood Nether Celestial’ hovered in the void, his robes fluttering and his blood-red hair dancing wildly. His eyes, which seemed to have witnessed eons, calmly regarded Gu Yun below as he spoke softly.

’Hmm?’

’Has the Celestial Dao noticed me already?’

’Blood Nether Celestial’s’ brow furrowed slightly. He had used his Divine Soul to possess this Demon Fiend’s body, employing several deceptive Techniques to mask his presence from this world’s Celestial Dao. He hadn’t expected it to sense that something was amiss so quickly.

’But before that, I’ll collect some interest.’ ’Blood Nether Celestial’ lowered his head slightly, his deep, blood-red pupils gazing downward as a flash of killing intent crossed his eyes.

"This ends now."

’Blood Nether Celestial’ let out a low hum. A terrifying Demon Qi, pure to the extreme, coiled around him. An awe-inspiring might that far surpassed the Tongxuan Realm emanated from his body, making him seem like a Demon Lord of Chaos who could suppress the heavens and the earth. He raised his hand, flattened his fingers into a palm, and slammed it down.

A sky-blotting Palm Seal, carrying a majestic aura, pressed down from above. The massive palm was inscribed with gnarled, esoteric patterns that pulsed with a terrifying demonic rhythm. It seemed to contain an entire world within it as it shattered the sky, descending upon Gu Yun with supreme Divine Power, intent on utterly crushing him!