Chapter 474: Chapter 457: An Insurmountable Chasm?
He certainly didn’t think Wang Meng was on his level.
Wang Meng got back to his feet. A strike from a Great Perfection expert was truly formidable; his arm had gone numb.
However, no one had noticed that Wang Meng could actually contend with a Great Perfection expert.
Celestial Demon’s aura was incredibly oppressive, but Wang Meng was like a boulder in a raging torrent, completely unmoving.
With a point of the Mozi Sword, Wang Meng’s Elemental Power erupted. A golden Giant Dragon wearing a crown soared into the sky, radiating boundless light. It tilted its head back and let out a long roar, as if the Dragon Emperor himself had descended.
The moment the Holy Statue appeared, Wang Meng’s aura completely changed. A surging power flowed out of him endlessly. Celestial Demon’s Great Perfection aura was instantly scattered by the appearance of the Dragon Emperor Holy Statue.
Celestial Demon’s pupils contracted violently. It was a look of hatred and helplessness!
Ever since the Star Alliance emerged, the old traditions had been broken. Holy Statues had appeared in the past, but no one paid them much mind. They made one slightly stronger, but it was nothing to write home about. Ultimately, the line that determined true strength was Great Perfection.
But the Star Alliance valued Holy Statues and delved into their power. The key was their acknowledgment of the Holy Statues’ existence; they believed that cultivators who could awaken their Origin Power were the most talented.
This was undoubtedly the greatest blow to the older generation of cultivators. The famous Sects were less affected, as they possessed excellent legacies, but for someone like Celestial Demon—ambitious and relatively young—this new standard of power was a truly bitter pill to swallow.
He could imagine that in a few decades, when he should have been at his peak, he would instead become a stepping stone for the generation of Holy Statue Life Artifact users. How utterly tragic that would be.
The Dragon Emperor Holy Statue!
Dragons were undoubtedly at the apex of this world. Among Holy Statues, the strongest manifestations were dragon-shaped and human-shaped.
Dragons were undeniably the pinnacle of perfect power, while human-shaped ones represented the power of gods.
Mingren’s Holy Light Demon Collapse Body was undoubtedly one such example, a classic one at that. Hu Jing’s Dawn Goddess Holy Statue was another.
Now, with the addition of Wang Meng’s Dragon Emperor, Yuu Kunlun and the others present could essentially ignore Celestial Demon entirely.
The Holy Hall’s status would have to be re-evaluated. Five great Holy Statues... One could only imagine the shockwaves this news would create once it got out.
And the source of it all was Wang Meng.
With the Dragon Emperor Holy Statue manifested, Wang Meng attacked again. His Sword Qi instantly rose to another level. Not only was the power of his attacks enhanced, but every strand of Sword Qi, already perfectly flawless, now carried an extra layer of a dragon’s explosive, tyrannical might.
Celestial Demon could no longer afford to be careless; a trace of caution entered his defense.
Supported by the Dragon Emperor Holy Statue, the Mozi Sword roared as it launched its assault. However, it was clear that even this was only enough to make Celestial Demon take the fight seriously.
But Celestial Demon could no longer act as relaxed and at ease as he had at the start.
The roaring Mozi Sword was like an enraged Giant Dragon, a wolf’s fang tearing through the air. One after another, beams of sword light enveloped Celestial Demon. Finally, Celestial Demon counterattacked.
He suddenly thrust out with his sword. It was a move from a Great Perfection expert, a strike that seemed capable of the Creation of Heaven and Earth itself, and it instantly shattered Wang Meng’s Sword Array.
BOOM...
Wang Meng’s body was sent flying into the air. The Mozi Sword clattered loudly.
However, this was a sword from Mo Chen, forged for use by cultivators at the Great Perfection level. Otherwise, it would have shattered from that blow long ago.
In mid-air, Wang Meng suddenly flipped over, and the moonlit sky seemed to brighten in response.
SHING...
Another sword appeared in Wang Meng’s hand—it was the Holy Sword of the Holy Hall.
With a sword in each hand, Wang Meng let out a furious roar and descended from the sky. The two Treasure Swords erupted with countless beams of light as he continuously poured his Elemental Power into them. His Life Wheel spun, ceaselessly putting out its most frenzied output of energy.
The sky-filling Sword Qi coalesced into a roaring Giant Dragon that slashed down at Celestial Demon. Celestial Demon met it with a sword strike of his own. When the two torrents of Sword Qi collided, it was as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth were splitting asunder.
BOOM...
The Sword Qi from both sides canceled each other out.
Wang Meng landed, dual-wielding his swords, an expression of utter dominance on his face!
Everyone was stunned. Fan Hong’s jaw dropped, unable to believe his eyes. ’...He’s fighting a Great Perfection expert???’
Xie Tianhua watched quietly from among the crowd. Cheng Cheng would certainly not have let her come, so she had dispatched Xie Tianhua to be on duty instead.
Xie Tianhua’s own strength was not weak; he wouldn’t be defeated in a single blow by a Great Perfection expert. But there was no way he could be as tyrannical as Wang Meng.
His will, his spirit, his presence—none of them fell short in the slightest.
How could the Dragon Emperor Holy Statue ever be subservient to another?
Celestial Demon glanced at a faint scratch on his wrist, a strange smile touching his pale face.
The Ten Thousand Demons Sect and the Holy Hall had vied for supremacy for many years. In the end, he had successfully outlived Xuee Zhongnan. To be honest, there was still a hint of emptiness and loneliness in his heart.
Countless years ago, a much younger Celestial Demon had come to the Holy Hall and become one of its disciples. The young Celestial Demon displayed extraordinary talent. He had set Xuee Zhongnan as his goal, believing that one day he could reach the same position and become the Master of the Holy Hall. But his methods were too radical; he was unscrupulous in his pursuit of cultivation and was ultimately forced to leave.
After leaving, Celestial Demon drifted between many Sects before finally, step by step, reaching his current position.
Looking at the Wang Meng before him now, he saw someone even more passionate and confident than the Xuee Zhongnan of the past.
Perhaps this would be the battle to settle it all.
The Demon Sword in Celestial Demon’s hand radiated an intense aura. At this moment, regardless of Wang Meng’s level, he would fight with his full strength to completely settle the long and complicated history of love and hate with the Holy Hall.
BOOM...
Wang Meng’s twin swords clashed violently with Celestial Demon’s Demon Sword. Celestial Demon’s Elemental Power was clearly a cut above, and he completely held the upper hand. But even at such a disadvantage, Wang Meng still stubbornly fought back!
When it came to Sword Technique, Wang Meng was actually a step ahead!
It was a frenzied battle. Celestial Demon was now treating Wang Meng as a true opponent. He held nothing back, fighting to kill!
And Wang Meng, in turn, displayed astonishing willpower and terrifying reserves of power. In a confrontation with such a large power gap, the weaker party’s energy consumption should have been far greater and faster, yet Wang Meng showed no signs of weakening at all.
This was the foundation of the Five Elements Body.
Everyone inside and outside the Holy Hall was dumbfounded. ’Is this really a fight between a Great Perfection expert and someone at the First Layer of Minor Perfection?’
It was completely unbelievable.
But Yuu Kunlun and the others could see things more clearly. They didn’t know what Celestial Demon was thinking, but even though the fight looked ferocious, he was actually just testing out moves. To be precise, he hadn’t used any of his killing techniques. Wang Meng’s Five Elements Body was indeed formidable, and his Dragon Emperor Holy Statue was unbelievably powerful, but no matter how strong he was, his energy would eventually be depleted.
This insurmountable gap was not one that a miracle could overcome.
Amidst the frenzied clash of swords, Wang Meng began to sustain injuries. Yet even under the immense pressure, the form of his Sword Techniques never faltered.
Xie Tianhua watched with rapt attention. ’How to unleash one’s full strength under such high pressure is truly an art form. If I were facing this kind of pressure, I’d be doing well to perform at sixty or seventy percent of my capacity. But Wang Meng is actually withstanding it... What incredible confidence! What unyielding resolve!’
The word "retreat" had never existed in Wang Meng’s vocabulary.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM... BOOM...
Celestial Demon’s Sword Technique was grand and sweeping; he didn’t bother playing around with ultimate moves, instead choosing to overwhelm Wang Meng directly and decisively. With one explosive strike, Wang Meng was sent flying. Celestial Demon’s figure blurred, and in an instant, he appeared before Wang Meng, plunging the Demon Sword toward his chest.
This was a sacrificial offering!
The end of the Holy Hall, and the beginning of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect!