Chapter 260: Divine Melding Art, Three Styles of Divine Obscuration

Chapter 260: Divine Melding Art, Three Styles of Divine Obscuration

The intense battle between Xu Yan's group of four and the two God Refining Heaven's Humans was fiercely fought, but due to being concealed by the array formation, the commotion did not spread beyond their immediate vicinity.

Meng Chong, Su Lingxiu, and Fang Hao joined forces to besiege Su Liancheng, a God Refining Heaven's Human. Meng Chong's blades danced, their edges sometimes fierce and other times silent as they slashed through the air.

His attacks were overwhelmingly aggressive, cunningly erratic, and deftly versatile.

Meng Chong had truly elevated his mastery of the dao of the blade.

Su Lingxiu's golden needles flew with deadly precision, and her Great Marsh God Shovel weighed down their opponent, slowing Su Liancheng's movements.

Fang Hao, on the other hand, relied on array formations and the Heaven's Oddity to support Su Lingxiu and Meng Chong, effectively restraining Su Liancheng. As the trio's coordination became more seamless, Su Liancheng found himself at a disadvantage.

Several of his attacks went astray, a result of the disorienting effects of the Confounding Array.

"I wish I had a Strange Door Soldier Box," Fang Hao lamented inwardly, knowing that he had not yet refined one for himself.

Su Liancheng realized that if the battle continued in this vein, he would be at a persistent disadvantage and might even face the risk of falling in battle.

He inhaled sharply, and streams of crimson light began to emerge from his body, layer after layer, until his aura intensified by threefold.

At that moment, he unleashed a secret martial art!

A God Refining Heaven's Human, forced to resort to such means, filled Su Liancheng with rage. He lifted his hand, and a short spear shot forth, aiming to strike where he had heard Fang Hao's voice.

Fang Hao's expression shifted slightly, and he shifted his footing, his mind conjuring the image of the Eight Trigrams. In an instant, he had shifted his position to the other side.

Taking advantage of this momentary distraction, Su Liancheng roared in fury and unleashed a frenzied assault on Su Lingxiu, the weakest of the three.

He would crush this young girl!

Su Lingxiu's face paled, and she moved swiftly, creating numerous afterimages as she dodged. Her Great Marsh God Shovel channeled the power of the marsh, turning it viscous to entrap Su Liancheng's body.

Golden needles rained down relentlessly!

However, Su Liancheng fixed his gaze on her, his attacks relentless.

Boom!

Meng Chong's fist slammed down, the Godslayer Blade executing a ruthless strike.

Suddenly, Su Liancheng's body retreated, and in the blink of an eye, he was pressed against Meng Chong's chest.

"Die!"

The short spear in his hand viciously stabbed towards Meng Chong's heart.

"Be careful!"

Fang Hao's expression changed. Although his second senior martial brother possessed an exceptionally robust physical body, if that spear pierced him, he would undoubtedly be severely injured!

Within Fang Hao's body, the Heaven's Oddity Pattern blossomed with light. In that instant, it was as if the might of the heavens themselves had manifested in his mind.

"Rise!"

The Heaven's Oddity, empowered by the grand array, awakened.

For a fleeting moment, Fang Hao felt his vision darken, his bones creaking under the strain of channeling such a powerful heavenly might.

Boom!

In that instant, Su Liancheng felt enveloped by an unknown, overwhelming might, as if he had unknowingly stepped into a mysterious formation. His body abruptly froze.

However, the might of his godly soul surged, shattering the restraining might of the formation.

The short spear in his hand thrust forward!

Boom!

But this strike, too, missed its mark.

Meng Chong had once again shifted his position, and the Godslayer Blade relentlessly chopped down.

"Senior martial sister, a pill!"

Su Lingxiu rushed to Fang Hao's side and stuffed a pill into his mouth.

"Senior martial sister, I'm fine!"

As the pill entered his body, Fang Hao's condition stabilized, and to his delight, he discovered that the Heaven's Oddity Pattern within him had advanced.

At that moment, Fang Hao turned his gaze towards Su Liancheng, his eyes shimmering with a keen light. He had discovered a faster way to perfect the Oddity Pattern.

By continuously invoking the might of the heavens, pushing himself to the absolute limit, his body would be strained to the brink of endurance, and he might even sustain injuries in the process.

Normally, recovering from such injuries would take a significant amount of time, hindering his cultivation.

However, with the aid of pills, the situation was entirely different.

"Senior martial sister, with these pills, I've found a way to cultivate!"

Fang Hao was thrilled.

Su Lingxiu handed him several bottles of pills, her expression concerned. "Junior martial brother, is this method truly feasible?"

"Definitely!"

Fang Hao nodded excitedly.

Meanwhile, Meng Chong and Su Liancheng continued their fierce battle, their Indestructible God Armor shattering and regenerating repeatedly. Su Liancheng's ferocious attacks relentlessly bombarded Meng Chong's body.

However, Meng Chong's expression remained unchanged, and he even seemed to deliberately allow Su Liancheng's attacks to land.

He was using Su Liancheng's assaults to cultivate the Hundred Refinements of the Heavenly Hammer!

Su Lingxiu joined the fray once more, feeling that she was too weak and lacked a means to assault her opponent's godly soul.

"I'm an Elixir Forging Martial Artist—a pill-forging martial artist. If I can heal soul injuries, then I should also be able to inflict them!"

She raised her hand, and delicate golden needles appeared.

An idea began to form in Su Lingxiu's mind.

She lifted her hand, and a golden needle shot forth.

"If it can melt away at one's godly soul, then it's terrifying!"

In that moment, Su Liancheng's heart was filled with the intention to retreat and escape.

However, trapped within the array formation, he couldn't find a way out.

In his opinion, Su Lingxiu's needle was even more dangerous than Meng Chong's Absolute God-slaying Strike.

If that needle could penetrate his godly soul power and directly pierce his soul, even if it only melted a tiny bit, he wouldn't be able to bear it.

Although the Absolute God-slaying Strike was overpowering and fierce, one could still refine their godly soul power to resist it. With his strength, he could barely withstand it.

On the other hand, Su Lingxiu's needle wasn't as sharp, but it seemed to possess a corrosive power that could erode and melt away at his godly soul power.

It was even harder to defend against such an attack on the soul!

"It works!"

Su Lingxiu rejoiced, "As I thought, if I can heal soul injuries, then there's no reason I can't injure souls as well. I just haven't figured out how to do it until now."

Boom!

At that moment, Fang Hao once again harnessed the might of the heavens and earth, using the array formation as a foundation. He stepped into the Heaven's Oddity Art, drawing Su Liancheng into the formation's scheme!

Su Liancheng's heart sank as he felt himself being entangled in some mysterious technique, orchestrated by the unseen person. He felt a sense of helplessness, unable to comprehend the strange methods being used against him.

If not for the fact that their strange techniques were somewhat weaker, he would have been completely bound and at their mercy.

Boom!

Shaking off the mysterious restraints, Su Liancheng's eyes turned cold as he launched a frenzied attack on Meng Chong, intending to inflict heavy damage while his opponent was distracted.

Fang Hao's figure swayed, his face pale, but his eyes shone brightly. He quickly swallowed a pill, and before he had fully recovered, he once again harnessed the might of the heavens.

Su Lingxiu flicked her fingers, and a crimson needle light shot out, striking Su Liancheng's godly soul power once more.

This strike was even stronger than the last, causing his soul power to melt away instantly, and the crimson needle light almost pierced his godly soul itself.

Su Liancheng's heart was filled with terror, and a strong sense of crisis made him roar in anger. He charged in one direction, disregarding everything, trying to escape.

"You can't get away that easily!"

Meng Chong coldly snorted and shifted his position, blocking Su Liancheng's path.

At that moment, phoenix flames surged, mist swirled, and even directions seemed to flip. Fang Hao once again manipulated the grand array, stepping forward and causing a radiant light to appear on the ground.

A force akin to chains rose from the ground, binding Su Liancheng.

It was the Earth Lock Art of the Heaven's Oddity!

Meng Chong, Su Lingxiu, and Fang Hao joined forces to suppress Su Liancheng, even using him to improve themselves. In another part of the grand array, Xu Yan's sword light circled, and the array had transformed into a sword formation.

The array Fang Hao had set up transformed into the Mountains and Rivers Sword Formation under Xu Yan's control. At that moment, Kolin Ping felt as if he were trapped within a world of mountains and rivers, with Xu Yan as its master.

Sword intent swirled, and the might of the Mountains and Rivers Sword Formation continuously swept towards him, filling Kolin Ping with a sense of crisis.

He desperately tried to break out of the sword formation several times, but was forced back each time.

Outside the formation, Li Xuan watched silently. Within the formation, Xu Yan had broken through to the initial stages of the Godly Will realm, comprehending the sword formation and greatly enhancing his strength.

Now, on his own, he was capable of facing off against a God Refining Heaven's Human in the early stages of their cultivation.

"The outcome has already been decided."

Whether it was Kolin Ping or Su Liancheng, their fates had been sealed the moment they stepped into the array formation.

"Through this battle, Fang Hao will become more adept at using the Mysterious Martial Arts, gaining more insights."

This battle was a good thing.

"Your disciple, Su Lingxiu, has comprehended the Divine Melding Needle, and you've gained the Divine Melding Art."

Su Lingxiu was an Elixir Forging Martial Artist, so if she could heal soul injuries, it stood to reason that she could also inflict them. She just hadn't figured out how to do so until now.

This was an inevitable outcome.

"The Jade God Sect and the Su Family will serve as stepping stones."

Li Xuan thought to himself.

Strong cultivators stepped on countless stepping stones on their path to the peak. For Xu Yan and Meng Chong, who had just entered the Spirit Realm, the Jade God Sect and the Su Family would be the stepping stones for their rise.

"The Jade State ultimately isn't that strong. The true geniuses of the Spirit Realm aren't found here."

Li Xuan mused silently.

While Kolin Ping and Su Liancheng were God Refining Heaven's Humans, their strength was probably not that remarkable among their peers.

After dealing with the Jade God Sect and the Su Family, it was about time to leave the Jade State and head to the true powerhouses of the Spirit Realm, where they would clash with the true geniuses.

The battle was drawing to a close.

Su Liancheng's face was pale, his energy spent. He went berserk, fixating on Su Lingxiu and wildly attacking, wanting to take someone down with him even if he died.

Suddenly, Su Lingxiu unleashed a barrage of golden needles that burst forth like rain. Taking advantage of a gap in Su Liancheng's defense, Meng Chong's Absolute God-slaying Strike shook his godly soul power.

At that very moment, a slender needle, condensed from Dan Yan's fiery essence, pierced into Su Liancheng's godly soul power, creating a tiny puncture.

The needle penetrated his godly soul body.

In the blink of an eye, the needle's entry point became familiar, melting and expanding to the size of a fingertip!

"Ah!"

Agonizing pain coursed through Su Liancheng's godly soul, causing him to let out a miserable scream. His eyes bulged slightly due to the intensity of the pain, and his body trembled as his defenses and attacks faltered.

Buzz!

A dazzling blade light descended, phoenix flames surged like pythons, and the power of the grand array engulfed him!

On the other side, Xu Yan's expression turned cold as he lifted his hand. Within the sword array, a lightning sword strike fell, followed by the Sundering Sword, upending mountains and rivers with its might.

In an instant, Kolin Ping's body was pierced through, and his godly soul crumbled under the relentless assault of the Sundering Sword.

"Where do you come from?"

Kolin Ping's face was filled with disbelief and anger as he couldn't accept that he was about to perish in this place.

"What realm are you from?"

At this point in the battle, he had realized that Xu Yan's realm was unusual. He wasn't a Small Heaven's Human of the Gathering God Realm, nor a Great Heaven's Human of the Merging God Realm, nor even a Refining God Heaven's Human! Yet, he possessed a power similar to godly soul power, but distinctly different.

"Godly Will Realm!"

Xu Yan replied indifferently.

Kolin Ping's face twisted in confusion. What was the Godly Will Realm? Why had he never heard of it before?

Before he could ask further questions, his godly soul dissipated, vanishing from existence.

On the other side, Su Liancheng also perished within the grand array, his face contorted with resentment and anger.

"Your disciple has killed a Refining God Heaven's Human, and you've gained the third style of the Divine Obscuration Art."

Li Xuan took a step forward, returning to the manor.

Within the grand array, Fang Hao's face turned pale. Although he had gained a lot from this battle, his expenditure of energy had been equally great. However, his understanding of array formations and the workings of the Heaven's Oddity had deepened.

With a grand wave of his hand, the array artifacts flew back, and the grand array was dispelled.

"I killed a Refining God Heaven's Human!"

Fang Hao felt like he was dreaming. Not long ago, he had been a lowly cultivator, dreaming of becoming a master forger of tempering artifacts. But now, he had set up a grand array with his senior martial siblings, and together, they had slain the lofty sect's Refining God cultivator!

Life's twists and turns were indeed wondrous!

The battle had come to an end, and with the deaths of the Refining God Heaven's Humans from the Jade God Sect and the Su Family, a huge wave was about to rock the Jade State. Both the Jade God Sect and the Su Family would feel a chill down their spines!

The four senior martial siblings returned to the manor, and Fang Hao's first order of business was to enhance the array formation within the manor once again, improving its defenses.

Once the array was set up, each of them settled down to assimilate the insights gained from the battle.

Meng Chong was not far from achieving the initial minor success of the Indestructible Golden Body. Su Lingxiu was just a step away from achieving minor success in the Godly Will Realm.

Fang Hao's internal Heaven's Oddity Pattern was nearing perfection, and soon he would be able to set up the Oddity Gate and condense another Heaven's Oddity Pattern.

Shi Er, Zhou Ying, and Meng Shushu were also spurred on by these events and began to diligently cultivate, aiming to break through to the Godly Will Realm as soon as possible.

Even Chi Mao was determined to become the king of great beasts!

On the second day after the deaths of Kolin Ping and Su Liancheng, a martial artist passed by the vicinity of the manor but failed to discover its presence.

After Fang Hao reinforced the array formation, it became even more concealed and harder to detect.

Near the capital city of the Zheng Nation, martial artists gathered in large numbers, scouring the surrounding areas like a carpet search. Almost all the martial artists from the Jade God Sect and the Su Family had been deployed.

On the sixth day, two Refining God Heaven's Humans passed by.

Moreover, they were both mid-stage Refining God Heaven's Humans, one from the Jade God Sect and the other from the Su Family.

Li Xuan silently observed them and found that even mid-stage Refining God Heaven's Humans were not particularly formidable. They could still be easily eradicated with a wave of his hand.

The Jade State was in an uproar!

The Jade God Sect and the Su Family had lost two Refining God Heaven's Humans, who had joined forces to search for Xu Yan and Meng Chong, but they had vanished without a trace, and no one knew where they had fallen.

The Jade God Sect and the Su Family were furious and further increased the bounty. Refining God Heaven's Humans scoured the Jade State in all four directions, even hiring freelance Refining God Heaven's Humans to join the massive search operation.

The vigorous search campaign swept across the Jade State, as if they were determined to turn every stone, but after half a month, there was still no clue as to Xu Yan and Meng Chong's whereabouts.

It was as if Xu Yan and Meng Chong had disappeared into thin air.

(End of Chapter)

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