Chapter Fifty-Six: Game Over

Convinced that all of Qingxu’s previous words were nothing but nonsense, the last trace of caution in Youxin’s heart faded. Now, his mind was wholly set on extracting the secrets of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms from Qingxu’s lips. Of course, after achieving his goal, he would kill Qingxu, for by now, a deep and bitter hatred existed between them. To prevent future revenge, it was best to uproot the threat entirely.

“You shallow fool, my Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms are a secret art designed specifically to restrain the dragon race—how could it be a dragon technique? As for being a disciple of a sage, that needs no recognition from you. I advise you, for the last time, to cease fighting and surrender, join forces with the human clan, or else you will regret it.” As Qingxu spoke, he waved his hand, dispersing streams of immortal power to resist the battle aura, all the while sincerely urging Youxin.

“All this talk is useless. You can barely protect yourself now, yet you dare threaten me? You truly do not know the meaning of death. I ask you once more: will you give me the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms or not?” Youxin’s body was wracked with pain, and he could not hold out much longer. In a matter of moments, if the battle soul was not dispelled, his death was certain. The situation was urgent; if he failed to extract the secret from Qingxu, he would have to kill him immediately. Otherwise, once he lost the battle soul, he would be the one to perish.

“Your secret art, the Battle Soul of the Heavenly Shaman, is indeed unique, yet in my eyes, it is but a petty trick. With a mere wave, I could reduce it to dust. I pity your original form; I have advised you repeatedly, but you are stubborn and unyielding. Thus, you cannot blame me for being ruthless.” To resist the battle aura, Qingxu’s immortal power was rapidly consumed, but he cared little, for he possessed a clone.

“This is your own choice, abandoning your last chance at life. So then... you may die!” With a cruel grin, Youxin unleashed the full power of the battle soul, and the battle aura instantly doubled. Qingxu, relying only on the cultivation of a mid-stage Earth Immortal, was suddenly at a disadvantage, and the situation grew perilous.

Boom!

Just as Youxin was about to strike Qingxu down, an overwhelming and unmatched force erupted from Qingxu’s entire being. Thousands of streams of battle aura could not approach within ten feet of him under this pressure.

To resist such terrifying battle aura with mere presence—what level of cultivation was this?

Unbelievable!

The overwhelming power Qingxu displayed was utterly beyond Youxin’s comprehension. For a moment, he was dumbfounded; the battle aura dissipated, the Heavenly Shaman Battle Soul hovered, lost and uncontrolled.

“To resist battle aura with mere presence—what realm is this? Celestial Immortal? Profound Immortal? Impossible!” He did not know much about the Profound Immortal, but he had seen Celestial Immortals before. They could never resist battle aura with mere presence.

At the very least, this was the realm of Profound Immortal!

He reached this conclusion, but it was a despairing one. The Heavenly Shaman Battle Soul was strong, but at its current level it could only contend with Earth Immortals. Against a Celestial Immortal, defeat was certain; against a Profound Immortal, the gap was vast, with no suspense.

Had Youxin known he was mistaken, that Qingxu was displaying the power of an early-stage Grand Unity True Immortal through his clone, he would have been utterly terrified.

“No! Impossible! You must have used some illusion to deceive me. Before, you lied about being a disciple of a sage. Your tricks will not fool me—die!” Refusing to accept the truth before him, Youxin shouted, fully controlling the battle soul and charging in himself.

All or nothing—a fight to the death!

“Alas! It is ever thus: when strong, men are arrogant to the extreme; when weak, they cannot accept reality. Truly, without severing the three corpses, one’s mind is stained by dust.” Qingxu sighed, reflecting that if their positions were reversed, he would immediately either make peace or flee to save his life. How could he stubbornly resist, blind to the situation?

Thunder rumbled!

Like a mountain toppling, Youxin and the Heavenly Shaman Battle Soul launched a combined assault on Qingxu from both sides; battle aura soared, immortal power shot forth.

“To produce such power at the early Earth Immortal stage is remarkable. Even late-stage Earth Immortals would struggle against it. But before an early Grand Unity True Immortal, the gap is too vast. There is no suspense.” With this thought, Qingxu declared loudly, “The game should end now!”

Yes—a game! Before Grand Unity True Immortal, all Youxin’s efforts were meaningless. The gulf between three major realms was as vast as heaven and earth, not exaggerated at all—if anything, understated.

Qingxu gently extended his left index finger, pointing twice at Youxin and the Heavenly Shaman Battle Soul.

Bang! Puff!

There was no suspense. With Qingxu’s finger, the Heavenly Shaman Battle Soul instantly collapsed, vanishing without a trace. A thread of heavenly and earthly soul returned to Youxin’s spiritual palace, but his immortal power sealed it, leaving him little better than an ordinary man without cultivation.

Pulled by the force, Youxin spat a mouthful of blood, his face pale as paper, spirit depleted, like a gravely wounded patient.

“Second Chief?”

“That damned Taoist! Everyone, attack!”

“Take revenge for the Second Chief!”

...

The surrounding Youqiong tribe members, witnessing this scene, rushed furiously at Qingxu.

“No!” Youxin cried out, terrified, trying to stop them, but he was powerless. His heart was in turmoil, as if already seeing his tribesmen suffering heavy casualties. A single Earth Immortal was not something numbers could overcome—let alone a ‘Profound Immortal’ like Qingxu.

“Like ants shaking a tree—how ignorant!” With a light wave of his hand, all the charging Youqiong tribe members fell to the ground, their blood and energy stirred, unable to muster strength.

Taiyi was quick-witted. Seeing this, he immediately led his tribe to restrain the Youqiong members.

“Don’t harm my people!” Youxin pleaded anxiously.

“No need to worry. Though you are stubborn, I am a cultivator and will not hold grudges. The unity of humanity is the trend of the times. Humanity was created by the Holy Mother Nuwa, and thus should honor her, establishing a woman as chief. If you insist on defying Heaven, even with compassion, I must kill you. Alas!” Qingxu sighed.

“You truly are a fully realized immortal, a sage’s disciple. I was blind to your greatness and offended you; I beg your forgiveness. I will not obstruct the unity of humanity, but as for Youqiong matters, let my elder brother decide. He is currently in seclusion; let me call him out for discussion.” Humbled by Qingxu’s terrifying power, Youxin was convinced and now believed all that had been said.

“This Taoist must truly be a disciple of the primordial sage, always hiding his power, pretending to be weak. He did not wish to damage my pride, and advised me repeatedly. I failed to understand his true intent and brought shame upon myself—there is no one else to blame!” Enlightened, Youxin felt Qingxu’s virtue ever deeper, and a sense of admiration arose.

“Bring Youqiong to see me. I will speak with him directly.” Qingxu replied calmly, exuding immortal dignity.

“As you command, Immortal!” Youxin bowed deeply, then headed into the depths of the valley to seek out Youqiong, who was in seclusion.