Chapter 185: Chapter 44: Betrayal Destiny Heavenly Mandate Vitality
“Although you all acted like strangers, certain details gave you away. For instance, when we first boarded the ship, I made an excuse to lay hands on Fan Xing, but you stopped me…”
Zhang Xuan smiled.
Alone, this point wouldn’t reveal much, but once the other party used soul energy, he could utilize the Library of Heaven’s Path. The so-called hiding then became a joke.
“Makes sense, what’s the second point?” Mo Xiaosheng asked.
Zhang Xuan replied, “Fate Masters practice Heavenly Destiny Skills, and they progress much faster than simply absorbing Origin qi. The power you’ve comprehended requires you to constantly betray others to advance. You said you blended in with the crowd, infiltrated the Han Yuan Royal Family, I can believe that; but a person lingering alone in the mountains for years, how is that possible! If that were true, not only would you not advance, but because you had forsaken your own heavenly destiny, your cultivation would also suffer damage…”
Mo Xiaosheng clapped his hands, “I’ve long heard about how formidable Elder Ling is. I didn’t expect such meticulous observation to be true, it seems I have been careless!”
The bones in Mo Xiaosheng’s body creaked and popped as if he was shedding a human skin, his stature gradually becoming taller. In a moment, he grew about a head taller, turning into a pale-faced middle-aged man.
It was none other than Li Yue’an, the fugitive that everyone in Han Yuan City wanted to kill.
After moving his restrained body, Li Yue’an exhaled, “The Painting Sect’s skin technique, though powerful in changing one’s appearance and temperament, still feels uncomfortable after a long time. Being by your side for a whole six years, I was almost suffocated…”
Seeing the change in the person before her, Fu Yingying took a few steps back, her face filled with fear, “You, you…”
She wanted to say something but couldn’t get the words out.
Li Yue’an laughed, “Do you wonder why I would hide by your side? Elder Ling is right; to progress, I must experience betrayal. If I mixed into the royal family, a sudden Dharma Form Realm expert would definitely be thoroughly investigated, but the black market isn’t so complicated, loyalty is enough!”
Fu Yingying was silent.
Those who could enter the black market usually had criminal records or were burdened with lives taken, and were unlikely to be scrutinized thoroughly. Just like that, he had exploited the loophole.
Remembering something, Fu Yingying’s expression turned ugly, “Over the years, there have been several riots in the black market, forcing us to move three times—could it be… all related to you?”
Li Yue’an smiled, “It seems Miss Fu is not as naive as one might think! Without those betrayals, how could I have possibly made a smooth breakthrough and reached the third level of the Dharma Realm?”
Fu Yingying trembled, “You reached the third level?”
If it were just Detachment, relying on Ling Buyang and herself, she could still fight; but the Dharma Form Realm was basically impossible now!
Li Yue’an nodded, “Correct!”
Zhang Xuan stepped forward, smiling, “With the strength of the Dharma Form Realm, continuing to betray the black market won’t be very effective. So… you planned to find an opportunity to betray Fu Yingying, your young mistress whom you’ve followed for many years. If successful, your cultivation would still improve! You just saw my bounty increase sharply, so you plotted…”
“So, you let this disciple tell her that she found traces of Li Yue’an, then confused Fu Yingying to strike together with me! If you kill Fu Yingying, your betrayal of destiny further excels, and your cultivation progresses one step further, killing me for the 59 million Origin Currency bounty… That’s enough for a lifetime of ease, quite a smart plan!”
“Only… there’s one thing I can’t figure out; with the strength of the third level of Dharma, way stronger than mine, if you truly wanted to kill me, why didn’t you just leave Han Yuan City earlier? Why drag it out until now?”
The strength Ling Buyang had revealed was only second level of Ninefold Source Pool, Reality Depiction.
Although also very strong, but in front of the third level, it would be easy to crush—no need to come here, right?!
Upon saying this, Zhang Xuan seemed to realize something, eyes widening in realization, “Oh, I understand now; not bad, you probably made an agreement with others right here in the city… And you dread that he would succeed and share the reward, betraying him, bringing me to an even more remote place!”
Li Yue’an clapped again, face full of admiration, “If anyone else says Elder Ling, you are brash but not shrewd, I’ll definitely be the first to disagree. Just by bringing me here, you deduced so much… Indeed impressive, but so what? It’s already too late! I have already achieved the Dharma Form, and with two continuous betrayals, my strength will certainly advance even further, so no matter how pleasing your words today, you are doomed!”
As he spoke, Li Yue’an spread his arms wide, took a deep breath, and slightly tilted his head upward, “The heavenly destiny is mine, strength, come to me!”
Whoosh!
Accompanying his words, instantly, countless fragments of the heavens sprinkled down, burrowing into his body, seemingly ready to liberate him from his cultivation shackles at any moment.
Betraying destiny, the stronger and deeper the emotions of the people betrayed, the greater the benefits. Having followed Fu Yingying for a whole six years, the benefit was unimaginable.
“I have waited a long time…”
Zhang Xuan let out a breath of relief.
The Library of Heaven’s Path had long identified his identity; he even willingly followed them here and talked this long, all because this was the goal. At this moment, seeing him attracting it, he couldn’t bother with idle talk any longer, his spirit moved, transforming into numerous tentacles, swallowing up the scattered Heavenly Mandate Vitality in the air.
Indeed, all the betrayals accumulated over the years had brought along a power that was much stronger than Han Xiao’s, as countless fragments of the heavens swarmed in, in the blink of an eye gathering within the library, forming numerous books. The previously slightly damaged Mo Blade Water Flow also took the opportunity to continuously absorb and gradually became satiated and solid.
“One hundred thousand paths!”
Zhang Xuan’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
In just over a dozen breaths, he absorbed a full one hundred thousand paths of Heavenly Mandate Vitality!
Of which fifty thousand paths were absorbed by Mo Blade Water Flow, while the rest transformed into books, floating inside the library.
Lucky break! Not in vain did he waste two hours, eagerly following them here…
Crack!
With the surge of these Heavenly Mandate Vitality, his cultivation that was stuck at the Divine Soul Realm, suddenly leaped forward, his soul popping out from his body.
Ninefold Source Pool first level, Detachment!
It’s indeed the Yuan Power drawn by the means of Heavenly Mandate, much better than those purchased and forged Yuan Power, it broke his cultivation realm without any cultivation method!
As his cultivation surged, his strength skyrocketed once again, in a blink of an eye, reaching the pinnacle of 999 horsepower that the Ninefold Source Pool could critically encompass!
Simultaneously, his divine soul grew even stronger.
While he relished the quick absorption and the expedited breakthrough, not far off Li Yue’an had his arms outstretched, hoping to embrace even greater progress, then suddenly just stood there dumbstruck.
“Where is the Heavenly Mandate Vitality?”
Blinking, he felt somewhat bewildered.
This was the betrayal he had long prepared for, he should have been showered with endless Yuan Power to aid his breakthrough… How could it disappear after just absorbing a few strands?
“No, it’s you…”
Though he didn’t know where the Heavenly Mandate Vitality had gone, his own breakthrough hadn’t occurred, yet not far off, Elder Ling’s presence grew increasingly strong, and even the foolish Li Yue’an realized what had happened.
This was what he had struggled to obtain, and it was brazenly devoured by the other…
Every person’s Heavenly Mandate is different; it was supposed to be that others couldn’t absorb what he conjured. Why not only was it successful, but also so rapidly? He must have used some secret method!
Knowing that this was not the time to ponder these things, Li Yue’an roared, “I will kill you!”
As his words ended, he charged forward.
Before he even approached, the potent strength roared forth, blooming lotuses in the air, pressing down on Zhang Xuan as if to shred him into pieces.
Skills, Step by Step Lotus!
This Li Yue’an, not only did he have high cultivation, but his talent was also formidable; otherwise, he couldn’t have continually betrayed without any harm and the Han Yuan Royal Family was also helpless against him.
Seeing this move, Fu Yingying cried out, “Elder Ling, be careful… This Step by Step Lotus contains three hidden killer moves…”
Before she could finish, Ling Buyang had already charged forward, devoid of any finesse, his moves looking recklessly extreme.
“This is bad…”
Her heart sank as Fu Yingying staggered.
Step by Step Lotus, each step concealed a threat, one should dodge and look for an opportunity to counterattack against such martial skills. Charging head-on was simply courting death…
Before this thought even concluded, Elder Ling who appeared before Li Yue’an, opened his five fingers wide and fiercely clenched.
Bang bang bang bang!
A series of lotuses instantly exploded, at the same moment, the unrefined fist landed on Li Yue’an’s chest.
Splat!
A gush of fresh blood spewed forth, the miraculous visions in the sky vanished without a trace, and Li Yue’an, his eyes filled with disbelief, was sent flying, smashing heavily against a large tree, breaking it outright.
“This…”
Fu Yingying’s throat went dry.
To almost burst a Dharma Form Realm expert with a single punch, just how strong was this force? Could it be that this was truly Elder Ling’s real strength and reliance?
“Step by Step Lotus, my foot!”
After sending his opponent flying with one move, Zhang Xuan quickly approached, grabbed the man’s neck with one hand and lifted him up.
“You…”
Li Yue’an had thought that with his strength, killing his opponent would be as simple as slaughtering a chick; he had never dreamed it would turn out like this… His vision was darkening and even now, he couldn’t quite fathom it.
If Ling Buyang had such strength, why would Feng Zhaoting even compete at all?
A slap could have killed him!
“What do you mean, you!”
Zhang Xuan landed a slap across his face, swelling Li Yue’an’s cheek like a steamed bun.
“Since the All-knowing List dared to price me at 59 million, naturally, I’m not so easy to kill. You thought to take advantage while in midst of chaos, dream on…”
After several more slaps, he snorted coldly: “Alright, you can die now!”
This guy had committed many evils and moreover, if it weren’t for his own sudden strength increase, who knew who would have died? Zhang Xuan felt no sympathy whatsoever, his fingers tightened, ready to eradicate him, when he saw the desperate Fate Master before him looking urgently.
“Elder Ling, don’t kill me; if you spare me, I will tell you who teamed up with me, and lead you to them… Otherwise, with him lurking behind, no matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to stay on your guard…”