Chapter 269: Path of Origin
Chapter 269: Path of Origin
Cheng Lingyu remained calm and retorted, “You seem to have forgotten how I arrived here.”
Lan Feng froze momentarily before grasping the implication.
Cheng Lingyu had fought through every gate. Regardless of his cultivation level, he’d cleared the Seventh Gate – this alone demanded respect.
“Had you not come, how could you become my sacrifice?”
Though growing wary, Lan Feng maintained his defiant tone. With no alternatives left, failure to kill Cheng Lingyu or Hu Yuer meant eternal entrapment here. This gamble was his only option.
Hu Yuer scoffed. “Fool.”
“Silence!” Lan Feng roared.
Hu Yuer arched an eyebrow and strode toward him, intent on delivering punishment, but Cheng Lingyu intercepted her.
“Allow me.”
“You?” Hu Yuer hesitated.
Cheng Lingyu smiled. “If I can’t defeat him, proceeding further would be pointless.”
After brief consideration, she withdrew.
Lan Feng barked a humorless laugh. “Cheng Lingyu! What insignificant weed dares belittle me?”
“The weed that’ll flatten you,” Cheng Lingyu replied cheerfully. “Care to wager?”
“Gladly. Your death will serve my sacrifice.” Lan Feng sneered coldly, killing intent blazing.
Still smiling, Cheng Lingyu advanced. His formation activated beneath him, brilliance swirling into a tornado-like aura.
“Pathetic Soul Martial Sixth Realm ant.” Lan Feng sneered. “I’ll crush you single-handedly.”
“Then why hesitate?”
The calm reply pierced Lan Feng’s pride. “DIE!” he bellowed.
A massive palm materialized above, lightning-wreathed, bearing down with Nine Provinces-crushing force.
Cheng Lingyu halted. Spiritual patterns coalesced around him, erupting into a translucent wind pillar that shattered the descending strike.
“Feeble effort. Did hunger weaken you?”
The taunt enraged Lan Feng further.
“ENOUGH!”
Lan Feng launched skyward like a furious dragon, manifesting sky-rending blades behind him.
Cheng Lingyu frowned. “This is…”
“The Path of Origin from Ten Thousand Paths Heavenly Domain,” Lan Feng boasted. “Upon reaching Blood Martial Realm, cultivators begin discerning their future path of cultivation.”
“Ten Thousand Paths… Path of Origin?” Cheng Lingyu murmured, astonished.
Lan Feng smiled and explained, “The Ten Thousand Paths Heavenly Domain means heaven and earth hold countless methods, each governing a unique domain. The Path of Origin refers to the personal cultivation path every cultivator carves based on their traits and learnings—it’s the foundation of the Ten Thousand Paths Heavenly Domain.”
This was Cheng Lingyu’s first time hearing such concepts, leaving him astonished.
“Does every cultivator who reaches the Blood Martial Realm manifest their own Path of Origin?”
Lan Feng scoffed, “Impossible! Countless exist in the Blood Martial Realm, yet barely one in a thousand manifests a Path of Origin. These paths split into types—open, perilous, broken, and hopeless. Most perish on them despite having one.”
Cheng Lingyu eyed the blades behind Lan Feng and remarked, “Your mountain of blades marks a hopeless path.”
Lan Feng snorted, “Foolishness! As Heavenly Blade Sect’s disciple, my path naturally manifests as blade peaks.”
Cheng Lingyu said flatly, “Against me, blade mountains or flame seas—all shall fall.”
He surged upward, brilliance erupting as seventy-two formations merged into a vortex devouring heaven and earth.
Lan Feng’s brows furrowed. “Formation Martial Arts combination? Impressive, but it won’t bridge your weak cultivation level.”
Swinging his arm, Lan Feng’s blades coalesced into a giant clawed hand that tore through space toward Cheng Lingyu.
The claw radiated lethal sharpness, fracturing dimensions and warping the void.
Cheng Lingyu’s expression hardened. A seven-layered octagonal pagoda—the Glowing Star Seven-Colored Source—materialized around him in full defense. Simultaneously, he unleashed Thunder Palm’s Power of Utmost Brightness and Strength against the claw.
Above the blood lake, lightning gathered into a crackling sphere above Cheng Lingyu.
“Useless! Your cultivation’s too feeble,” Lan Feng sneered, slamming his hand down. The demonic claw shattered the Thunder Palm and crushed the lightning sphere instantly.
The claw then seized the pagoda, nearly crumpling it. Blood trickled from Cheng Lingyu’s lips.
Hu Yuer whispered worriedly, “Cheng Lingyu, should I—”
“Unnecessary,” he interrupted sternly. Concentrating, sword shadows flickered in his eyes—Soul Swords shifting frequencies unpredictably.
Cheng Lingyu’s Soul Martial Sixth Realm paled against Lan Feng’s Blood Martial Third Level. Yet spiritually, he eclipsed Lan Feng completely.
While Lan Feng honed his physical body through blood refinement, Cheng Lingyu’s soul cultivation soared beyond. Their clash hung in balance.
A mental strike shattered Lan Feng’s defenses, staggering him. Roaring, Lan Feng launched a frenzied assault.
Cheng Lingyu activated Skywing Escape, slipping through spatial constraints with unfathomable mystique. He countered using Formation Martial Arts to channel nature’s power against Lan Feng.
Hu Yuer watched, impressed by Cheng Lingyu’s adaptability. A Soul Martial cultivator challenging Blood Martial required audacity and hidden prowess.
Cheng Lingyu had pushed limits through Thousand Layers of Snow training, absorbing less than a third of his amassed resources. His Ten Cave Heavens and Ten Immortal Souls granted profound skills still beyond his current mastery.
Having conquered seven blood lake trials against blood shadows’ blood energy assaults, facing Lan Feng’s refined true essence techniques offered new insights.
Lan Feng dominated mid-air, battering Cheng Lingyu backward repeatedly. Yet Cheng Lingyu persisted, awakening every cell’s potential without resorting to spiritual attacks.
Three hundred exchanges later, Lan Feng’s frustration mounted. Unable to finish Cheng Lingyu despite his advantage, and wary of Hu Yuer’s presence, he unleashed full fury.
Pressure skyrocketed, forcing Cheng Lingyu to reveal Ten Cave Heavens and his Soul Domain Avatar—a thousand-foot golden giant mirroring his features, infused with Ten Immortal Souls’ powers.
Lan Feng gaped at the indestructible Golden Body Avatar. Even the Yin Lock Immortal Palace’s durability and Diagram of Heavenly Heart and Myriad Domains’ mysteries reinforced it.
As their battle crescendoed, Hu Yuer noticed Cheng Lingyu’s secret—through Nine Ring Star Vortex and Youchen Nine Domains Orchid’s defenses, he stealthily siphoned Lan Feng’s true essence during clashes.