John's fighting spirit ignited fully, impressing the creature quite a bit.
"That's how a cultivator should be!" the creature replied as it pointed its finger at John.
Boom!
The Qi attack exploded off the creature's finger, piercing rapidly towards John. It emanated the power of an Early Meridian Forging Experts attack. Any other youth at John's cultivation would blanch at the attack, seeing only death in their future.
However, John's face was filled with only determination and grit, as he watched the attack rapidly approach him.
Heavenly Lightning Domain!
John once again activated his Heavenly Lighting Domain, and eight lightning nodes instantly lit up as they unleashed his most powerful lightning attacks. At the same time, his finger pointed towards the attack.
Lightning Ruin!
Lightning Ruin!
John was able to unleash two lightning ruins before the attack would reach him. He put his full essence power into these attacks, supported by both his Lightning Attribute Body and twenty compression dantian core.
"Hmm?" The creature narrowed its eyes as it stared at John's essence attacks. Its power was far beyond what he expected John to be capable of.
"Just how many secrets does this boy contain?"
Boom!
The lightning domain attacks and lightning ruin attacks slammed onto the approaching attack, causing an even more powerful explosion than last time to radiate outwards. John was bathed in heat and fire as the explosion washed over him, but he stood there firmly with his battle axe raised, ready to meet the attack.
His skin and robes were singed from the explosion, but he didn't even flinch as he kept his fighting spirit at maximum.
Supreme Battle Art!
Immortal Asura Transformation Art!
John instantly activated both arts, pushing his body to its maximum power state. The Immortal Asura Transformation Art changed the very nature of John's body, allowing him to unleash its greatest power, while the Supreme Battle Art utilized his body Qi to empower his body even further.
As expected, the creatures Qi attack sped through the explosion, dimmed slightly but still containing immense power. While John's essence attacks were far beyond what anyone in his realm could accomplish, they still were quite a bit weaker than an Early Meridian Forging Experts attack.
As the attack approached him, the bloodlust grew stronger. It attempted to invade his mind and drive him mad. John scoffed at this, and empowered his willpower to its maximum, resisting the maddening murmurs. Such a thing was trivial when compared to the sinister gate, which he cultivated in front of daily.
John raised the aura of his bloodlust to the peak, clashing against and fully negating the bloodlust of the creature's attack.
"How can someone so young have such a strong bloodlust?" the creature murmured once again in surprise. John was truly shocking him with every move he made.
John raised his axe above his head, and gripped the handle with all his might. His arm muscles bulged out powerfully, as he swung the axe down in front of him. The air rippled from the attack, causing booms to echo out just from his swing.
Three incredibly profound Dao's emanated off the axe, giving it even more power.
Boom!
John's battle axe collided against the Qi attack. The ground shattered beneath his feet from the power of the collision, and John was sent soaring backwards by the attack. His feet carved two long lines in the earth as he maintained his balance, his axe still cleaving against the Qi attack.
John grit his teeth as his arm muscles bulged out with full power. He felt an incredibly powerful and terrifying energy run through his axe and into his body. His blood tumbled within his body while his arms felt like they were shattering from the force of the impact. HIs Immortal Asura Transformation Art was pushed to its peak as he resisted the attack.
Boom!
The Qi attack exploded in John's face, sending him flying backwards like a broken kite. His body tumbled head over heels dozens of times before he landed on the ground below. However, he managed to land on his two feet, and once again slid backwards for nearly a mile before finally coming to a rest.
Blood soaked his arms, which now shook with pain. His skin was slightly charred from both the initial and final explosion, and his breathing was incredibly heavy. However, despite all the damage, John stood there with a steady body and an unflinching expression.
His eyes, still filled to the brim with fighting spirit, stared directly at the creature who was now several miles away.
Slight surprise appeared on the creature's face as it looked back at John. It had expected him to be half-dead at best after taking that attack head on, but John stood firm and resolute still.
"Hmm, not bad. Maybe you truly do have the power to pass this trial," the creature mused. "You have six hours to rest."
John breathed out a large sigh and sat on the ground. Despite him standing at the end of the attack, the attack was the limit of what he could withstand.
'If I take the next attack, which should be a Middle Meridian Forging attack head on, I'll either die, or be crippled. I need to raise my power once more.'
John instantly popped a healing pill in his mouth as he focused on recovery.
'Its a good thing I bought so many of these healing pills,' John mused with a smile on his face. While they were Qi Condensation Grade healing pills, they were the very peak of that grade, and so they were still quite effective if eaten in larger quantities.
'However, I'll need to start purchasing pills above my realm so I have them on hand when I level up.'
John put such thoughts aside and focused on recovery. At the same time, his mind went into his palace realm, to do what he had attempted to do before the second attack.
A black bound book appeared in his hands, and John traced its exterior words for a second before opening it to the third page. Just like the second page, the third page of the Immortal Asura Tome contained information on the Immortal Asura Body, the Immortal Asura Transformation Art, and the Body Limiters.
'In my haste to complete the Divine Trials, I completely forgot about the Body Limiters. Let's see which one is next.'
John had already read the first part of the page. When he had been fighting Damon, he had paused for a few moments to reach the parts on the second form of the Immortal Asura Transformation Art.
However, in his haste, he was unable to read about the Body Limiters. A new body limiter was unlocked with every major realm advancement, and so John had a new one to look at.
"Lets see….the next body limiter is the...Limiter of Pain."
John quickly read the section, and just as it did with the first body limiter, the page described the second body limiter, and how to activate it.
"The second body limiter is the Limiter of Pain. The core of the Limiter of Pain is located at the lower spine, and many blocked meridians, deadened muscle and nerves, and weakened bones are connected to this area. By clearing these obstructions and activating the appropriate muscles, nerves, and bones, the Limiter of Pain will be unlocked. Doing so will result in an incredible increase to the body's flexibility and durability."
John's eyes instantly lit up at the description.
"Increase in durability! That's exactly what I needed."
John looked at the diagram below the description, which depicted which meridians needed to be cleared of obstructions. After carefully studying the diagram, he sent his Qi to the meridian pathways depicted. His Qi instantly ran into many blockages.
"Without the diagram, it's near impossible to even tell that these are meridian channels. I would never have been able to find them without it. Time to open them."
John's Qi powerfully exploded against one of the obstructed meridians, sending a wave of pain throughout his body. However, he continued to do so, battering the blocked meridian with his powerful Qi.
Boom!
Boom!
Muffled sounds echoed from within his body, as John repeatedly sent powerful Qi to clash with the obstructions. After nearly an hour of doing this, the last meridian obstruction was finally cleared. John instantly felt his Qi flow in an easier manner, and the Qi flowing through the newly opened meridians diffused into the nearby muscles and bones, nourishing them with their power.
John slowly but surely felt his body begin to strengthen, in both power and durability. While the Limiter of Pain focused mostly on durability, every Limiter unlocked would also increase his body's attack power.
John continued to feed the malnourished areas with rich and vibrant Qi, quickly bringing them to full power. He felt the core of the Limiter of Pain, located at his lower spine, activate, as if all the meridian channels, muscles, nerves, and bones concentrated to that area.
John's eyes lit up in excitement.
'My body has become much more durable than before, and with the added flexibility of this limiter, my attack power has increased as well. With this, I should be able to live through the last attack.'
By this time, John's body had fully healed. His eyes once again lit up with a fiery passion for battle, as he stood up and looked directly at the creature once more.
"Come on. Hit me with your final attack."