"Sword into Formlessness!" Mei Feng was also startled. Although he was a demonic cultivator, he was, after all, a Nascent Soul cultivator, and his discernment was still there. At the sight of this technique, he knew this person possessed considerable supernatural abilities and immediately became more vigilant.
However, over these past fifty-some years, the more he practiced the Origin Demon Great Art, the more he felt this demonic technique was powerful. The cultivation methods he had practiced before simply couldn't compare to it, and his body had been tempered by the Origin Demonic Qi to become incredibly sturdy. He firmly believed that even if this person's supernatural abilities were considerable, his own Origin Demon Great Art would not possibly lose to him.
Thinking of this, Mei Feng snorted coldly. Without moving his feet, he even dissolved his body into the black mist, floating up into the air.
Qin Xi didn't move, but the sword energy transformed from his Three Yang True Fire Sword was continuously changing. The sword energy split from one into two, two into four, four into eight—in an instant, it actually manifested over a hundred identical strands of sword energy.
These strands of sword energy revolved around him at a regular speed, forming a sword formation. Each strand of sword energy exuded an intense aura.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange activated her Hunyuan One Breath Technique to protect her entire body, feeling quite joyful in her heart. Although she hadn't yet advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, she could still see that Qin Xi's technique clearly indicated he had cultivated the sword art attached to the Three Yang True Fire Sword to an extremely high realm. The supernatural abilities he cultivated were inherently adept at destruction and renowned for their power. Now that he had cultivated the Three Yang True Fire Sword's sword art to this stage, even if he faced Song Feng Shangren, he would have the strength to fight. And this Mei Feng, obviously, hadn't cultivated the Origin Demon Great Art deeply and was far inferior to Song Feng Shangren.
Upon seeing Qin Xi's sword formation, Mei Feng's face, hidden within the black clouds, changed color. He immediately decided to strike first to gain the upper hand.
As the black Qi on his body grew thicker and thicker, a wind suddenly rose on the small island. This wind grew fiercer and fiercer, carrying with it black Demonic Qi that even blotted out the daylight.
Such commotion caused the Nascent Soul cultivators on the small island to change their expressions one after another. To actually be able to stir up wind and clouds—Mei Feng's strength was also extraordinary.
Seeing this scene, the Three Great Demon Lords all frowned deeply. They cultivated demonic arts themselves and could easily tell that this set of demonic arts was very advanced. The three of them secretly compared in their hearts: Was Mei Feng's demonic art even more advanced than what they themselves cultivated?
"Fellow Daoist Yuan Mu, this Mei Feng's strength is also quite formidable. This duel is interesting," Scholar Yu said, tapping the folding fan in his hand with considerable interest.
True Person Yuan Mu smiled slightly and asked, "According to Scholar Yu's view, which of these two will emerge victorious?"
Scholar Yu stroked his chin, shook his head, and smiled. "One is of the Dao, the other of the Demonic, each with their own ultimate techniques. It's hard to say." In terms of cultivation level, the two were not far apart. In terms of methods, one had Sword into Formlessness, the other had Demonic Qi reaching to the heavens—each possessed their own supernatural abilities.
"Amitabha." Venerable Wuming chanted the Buddha's name, smiling as he said, "The supernatural abilities of these two Fellow Daoists are both extraordinary. I'm afraid it will be a case of mutual destruction."
Upon hearing this, Lady Miaoying's eyes flickered as she said, "This little sister, however, holds a different opinion."
"Oh?" True Person Yuan Mu asked. "Junior Sister Miaoying's insight has always been unique. What have you discerned?"
Lady Miaoying smiled slightly. "This duel is not a friendly exchange, but a fight to the death. That was proposed by Fellow Daoist Qin."
Scholar Yu's gaze shifted, somewhat understanding. "Junior Sister Miaoying means..."
"Given the current situation, with the mysterious space of the Guixu Sea about to open, his Dao companion is situated among Nascent Soul cultivators and urgently needs support. Yet Fellow Daoist Qin chose to fight a life-and-death battle with a cultivator of the same rank... Could it be he isn't afraid that after mutual destruction, his Dao companion would be isolated and helpless? From this little sister's understanding over these past days, this Fellow Daoist Qin is no fool."
Upon hearing this, the several late-Nascent Soul cultivators all fell into thoughtful silence.
If that was the case, did this Fellow Daoist Qin have an eighty to ninety percent certainty of exterminating Mei Feng?
While the several late-Nascent Soul cultivators were discussing, Qin Xi and Mei Feng had already begun to fight.
Mei Feng's Demonic Qi gathered more and more, then suddenly shot toward Qin Xi.
The characteristic of the Origin Demon Great Art was that during combat, one didn't need to rely on external objects like magic treasures; the Demonic Qi itself was their strongest means of attack. This Origin Demonic Qi could both attack and defend, and its corrosive properties were extremely strong. If struck solidly, it would find every crack to invade the opponent's flesh. By that time, the person eroded by the Demonic Qi would suffer unbearable agony.
Qin Xi, however, remained calm and unhurried. The sword energy transformed from the Three Yang True Fire Sword around his body suddenly erupted with brilliant light—golden radiance flickered, red light dazzled the eyes, transforming into a sea of sword light.
"Boom—" The sword formation and the Origin Demonic Qi collided, exploding with intense spiritual energy fluctuations. Not to mention the several Core Formation cultivators, even the Nascent Soul cultivators with slightly lower cultivation felt their minds and spirits shaken. Many were inwardly horrified: Were mid-Nascent Soul cultivators actually this powerful? Wouldn't an early-Nascent Soul cultivator like themselves be unable to last more than a few breaths under their hands?
Seeing this, Venerable Wuming flicked his kasaya and once again protected the several junior Core Formation cultivators. The cultivation method he practiced was gentle and adept at defense, making him most suitable for this task.
Enveloped by Venerable Wuming's golden light, Mo Tiange felt grateful and bowed to him in thanks. Although this Venerable Wuming was aligned with True Person Yuan Mu and the others, in small details, he had shown her considerable care, which was already quite rare.
"Qin... Fellow Daoist Mo." A voice sounded in her ear—it was Ling Yunhe. Previously, when Mei Feng suddenly attacked, followed by Qin Xi's arrival, he had been suppressed by the auras of the two mid-Nascent Soul cultivators and couldn't move easily. Only now, with Mo Tiange having retreated to the side, did he have a chance to speak with her.
"So Fellow Daoist Mo's previous name came from this. It will be inconvenient to address you that way from now on." Ling Yunhe looked at her, his smile somewhat complicated.
Seeing that Qin Xi was handling Mei Feng's attacks with ease, Mo Tiange felt slightly relieved and replied, "To be honest with Fellow Daoist Ling, this one's sect Daoist name is Qingwei. After coming to Yunzhong, I changed my name to Qin Wei. The surname was a coincidence."
"Is that so?" Ling Yunhe smiled faintly and didn't say more on the matter. Like her, he raised his head to focus intently on watching the two fight.
Every time Mei Feng's Origin Demonic Qi struck, it was blocked by Qin Xi's sword formation. Mei Feng had been unable to do anything to him. However, as the two fought, this Origin Demonic Qi slowly dispersed strand by strand, winding around Qin Xi's sword energy.
Ling Yunhe frowned and said, "Fellow Daoist Mo, this Demonic Qi is unusual. If the sword energy is corroded..."
Mo Tiange was also worried, but she said firmly, "Senior Brother definitely has a way..."
After several instances, more and more Origin Demonic Qi surrounded Qin Xi's sword energy. This black Qi drifted around the sword energy, even causing the radiance of the sword energy to dim considerably.
Seeing this, Mei Feng laughed heartily. "Fellow Daoist Qin, my Demonic Qi is no ordinary Demonic Qi. If I ruin your sword energy, let's see what you can do then!"
Qin Xi frowned slightly, but the next moment, he sneered. "You think you can ruin my sword energy just with this Demonic Qi? Naive!" Having said that, flames suddenly shot out from his arm. But these flames were not the same red as his Three Yang True Fire; instead, they were a kind of deep, Nether-blue cold color.
The flames shot out from his arm and instantly covered all the sword energy. The blue flames crawled sluggishly over the sword bodies, from dots of Nether-blue color to light blue, then to deep blue.
The next moment, Mei Feng's expression abruptly changed! These blue flames actually devoured all the Origin Demonic Qi drifting around his sword energy, leaving not a trace.
"You—" He couldn't believe it. Impossible! He had personally witnessed the corrosive power of Origin Demonic Qi. No matter how sturdy the material, as long as it was devoured by Origin Demonic Qi, it would slowly corrode away without exception.
While he was still trying to understand, Qin Xi had already withdrawn the blue flames. With a shake of his arm, the sword formation brightened, spreading out inch by inch once again.
Before this, his sword formation already had over a hundred strands of sword energy. But now, one split into two, two into four—it actually became countless, impossible to count.
This sword energy spread out in the air like a golden-yellow ocean. Its momentum was so vast it almost made one feel they would be submerged the next moment.
Qin Xi formed a hand seal and shouted, "Go!" The sword energy blotted out the sky and covered the earth, surging toward Mei Feng.
Mei Feng snorted coldly. Demonic Qi surged, tightly protecting himself.
The momentum of the Origin Demonic Qi was far inferior to Qin Xi's sword formation. But when the sword formation encountered the Origin Demonic Qi, it could advance no further.
"You think you can exterminate this seat like this? Wishful thinking!" Mei Feng's voice came from within the black clouds.
Qin Xi, however, sneered coldly. Suddenly, several more beams of sword light shot out from his arm, forming an even smaller sword formation. This small sword formation didn't have the vast momentum or dazzling radiance of the previous one. Instead, it was a deep, Nether-blue, silently flying toward Mei Feng.
"Pfft—chii—" Two faint sounds rang out in succession. Several beams of blue sword light shot from Qin Xi's arm to piercing into the black clouds—it took less than a single breath.
"Ah—" A miserable scream came from within the black clouds. Mei Feng roared angrily, "Impossible! This is impossible!" His Origin Demon protective body had actually been pierced? How was that possible?
He was just about to gather his Origin Demonic Qi to push and squeeze these sword beams out when, the next moment, sudden, intense pain overwhelmed him. A scorching sensation instantly engulfed him.
"Boom—" A mass of burning black Qi fell down. The Nether-blue flames slowly devoured the black Qi bit by bit, finally burning away even the person inside until nothing remained, leaving only a storage pouch to drop.
Qin Xi let out a relieved breath. With a shake of his arm, all the sword energy merged into one, finally transforming back into the Three Yang True Fire Sword and returning into his body.
Seeing this scene, the small island fell silent for a moment.
The eyesight of Nascent Soul cultivators was not low. They could all see that the key to Qin Xi's victory was that domineering blue flame. And this thing—not a single one of them recognized it.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, impressive technique!" The first to react was Lady Miaoying. She smiled slightly, flicked her horsetail whisk, and sent Mei Feng's storage pouch to Qin Xi's hand, saying, "But I wonder, Fellow Daoist Qin, what supernatural ability is this?"
Qin Xi received the storage pouch and replied, "This is this one's natal magic treasure, the Three Yang True Fire Sword."
"Is that so?" Lady Miaoying asked again. "Then what is that blue flame? It is truly overwhelmingly domineering."
Qin Xi smiled and answered, "That is a supernatural ability this one comprehended when forming my Nascent Soul—Extreme Yang True Fire. It's only at a minor achievement stage now. I've made Fellow Daoist Miaoying laugh."
Lady Miaoying was about to say more when suddenly, crisp bell sounds came from the air.
These bell sounds, carried by the wind, seemed to come from extremely far away, yet they clearly appeared in everyone's ears.
Lady Miaoying stopped speaking and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Ma has finally arrived."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange looked up and saw a withered, thin old man riding a donkey through the mid-air.