Chapter 713: Exchanges

Zhi Hai just stood there. He didn’t avoid or dodge, but simply used his Unshaken Body of the Wisdom King. It was as if he was waiting to clash with Lou Cheng directly. Seeing this, Lou Cheng felt his blood boil. Without thinking further, he made the Fighting Formula he had previously traced visible, no longer restricting it to affect the other party’s will or mind.

If you want a fight, you’ll get one!

Bam! Lou Cheng moved like a rocket, flames propelling him from his back. In an instant, he covered the distance between them and threw out his punch.

Together with this punch, his muscles expanded as though his whole body was made solely of muscle. The thick veins on these muscles looked like hideous, savage snakes and made his skin dull. He grew substantially thicker and taller.

Zhi Hai’s eyes were calm. He lifted his right arm, which was bursting out of his monk’s robe and punched forward at a normal speed.

Bang!

A crisp explosion filled the sky and invisible shockwaves spread around them. Lou Cheng felt only that his arm had gone numb as his body swayed. He almost lost his balance after being forcefully knocked back several steps by its tremendous strength.

One of them had used Fighting Formula while the other had triggered his Unshaken Body of the Wisdom King. Based on pure strength, Lou Cheng was still slightly inferior.

Weng weng weng! Zhi Hai’s right fist remained suspended but unmoving. From his finger joints to his biceps, his muscles and veins trembled slightly, like a metal plate just hit by a hammer.

At the very end of Fighting Formula, Lou Cheng had added Thunder Zen into it.

Pa! As he retreated, the Fire Force in his body gathered and ignited. This allowed him to forcefully change his direction as he slyly dodged to the right of Zhi Hai. Tensing his leg muscles, he whipped his left leg out.

Just as Zhi Hai was about to kick to the side, where he had aimed to strike before, Lou Cheng’s Fire Force exploded once again. It became an invisible hand that shoved Lou Cheng violently and allowed him to drift behind his enemy, using his left leg as the pivot.

Secondary directional change!

Zhi Hai leaned back slightly. Dull blue Buddha’s Light emanated from his left elbow as he aimed calmly towards Lou Cheng.

However, there was still lingering Fire Force. It exploded fully and turned into a violent propulsion. Though it injured Lou Cheng’s muscles and tendons slightly, it allowed him to drift back to his original path as he appeared on the right side of his opponent once again.

Third directional change!

This was a top-tier application use of the Fire Sect’s Force and originated from Golden Godly Flames. Using Emperor Yan as replacement, Lou Cheng relied on his strong mental strength and body to control his directional change. At the moment, he could only complete three layers of Jet Spray. He could only hope to achieve the fourth when he reached the level of Dragon King.

Zhi Hai’s Unshaken Body of the Wisdom King had strong defensive capabilities, was fast and powerful, and allowed him to use Buddha’s Light with his Force. There was almost no weakness to it. Its only shortcoming was that it was rather clumsy, and he wasn’t as agile while dodging and avoiding. However, this only mattered when he was up against Physical Invulnerability experts who were great with movement techniques.

Before the referee had even announced the beginning of the match, Lou Cheng had already thought about using Three Directional Changes to deal with Zhi Hai. Therefore, he was able to use it naturally without thinking twice, making Zhi Hai’s Thoughtsteal useless.

Zhi Hai also practiced Thoughtsteal. Though, he had only managed to gain a small mastery over it, unlike Abbot Fa Yuan and the Living Buddha Shi Shan, with such a small distance between them, Lou Cheng was still afraid of letting him catch on to even minute signs. Therefore, he had thought through the changes before the match began.

Pa!

Amidst the short, crisp explosion, Lou Cheng appeared rapidly to the right of his opponent. Lowering his left fist, he punched out in a straight line.

Zhi Hai, who had missed his left elbow strike, took a deep breath. He clenched his right hand, which was still trembling a little, and suddenly hammered down. Although he was half a beat slower, he executed just in time, as his straight punch shot directly towards him.

Seeing that the fists of both parties were about to collide, Lou Cheng shifted his center of gravity. As if he was holding a long spear, he forcefully shifted his left arm and changed his position to behind his enemy once again.

Fourth directional change!

For this one, he didn’t rely on the Force from the Fire Sect, as he wasn’t at that level yet. Instead, he used his own carefully honed body and Dan stage technique.

In the realm of Physical Invulnerability, this was something that had been eliminated over time, because the signs before using it were too obvious and the directional change was too slow. One would have been digging his own grave.

However, Zhi Hai was completely absorbed in the tempo of Lou Cheng. In addition, he had not expected Lou Cheng to use such a simple technique and wasn’t mentally prepared for it. When he noticed the issue, it was already too late.

When it came to technique, whether it was too ordinary or not was never the issue. More important was whether or not it was suitable for the situation.

After three directional changes, using it was perfectly appropriate.

Lou Cheng’s eyes reflected the yellow monk’s robe, chunks of muscles, and the skeletal framework in the middle. Having prepared for this in advance, he lowered his center of gravity, shifted his shoulders, and threw his right punch forward like a cannonball towards Zhi Hai’s spine.

After using four consecutive directional changes, he was out of breath and couldn’t use any strong or powerful moves. However, he wasn’t willing to give up on this opportunity, and therefore chose to use a simplified Physical Invulnerability move.

However, this simplified Physical Invulnerability move might prove even more effective than a real Physical Invulnerability move. The strength of Unshaken Body of the Wisdom King was only slightly weaker than Unbreakable and other similar techniques. Taking an attack head-on was common for him. Therefore, it would be best if Lou Cheng could avoid the strongest point and attack his weakness, using something like Internal Explosion.

Specifically, Lou Cheng was using an Internal Explosion punch.

When it infiltrated the body, despite that it would be weakened by Unshaken Body of the Wisdom King, the lingering Emperor Yan Force could still implode from within. This would be enough to damage Zhi Hai substantially. And significantly, it would hit the spine.

Faint purple flames covered the surface of Lou Cheng’s fist. Zhi Hai’s back was a completely open. Several commentators had all stopped their commentaries as they waited for the outcome.

Suddenly, pure, bright blue light erupted. From Zhi Hai’s ribs grew an illusory yet life-like arm. It had all kinds of Buddhism symbols engraved on it and seemed capable of pushing back evils and defeating devils.

Wisdom King Descended on Earth!

This was an extremely unique skill that Zhi Hai had developed from Yamantakafication.

Bam! The arm swung down rapidly and collided directly with Lou Cheng’s right fist.

Its front portion silently exploded into pieces that turned into broken glass and fireflies that danced around them. Nonetheless, it was deflected the lethal punch from its original trajectory.

Before the audience could react, the lingering portion extended suddenly as it became a blue rope that wrapped towards Lou Cheng’s fist, forearm, and finally the entire arm.

The Unshaken Wisdom King held the Treasured Rope in one hand and a sword in the other.

Lou Cheng’s heart was ice-cold and didn’t seem to be disappointed or frustrated. Taking a deep breath, he pulled back violently as he broke the Treasured Rope forcefully. Using the momentum, he retreated backwards.

Crack crack! When the Treasured Rope broke, it cracked instantly and ignited by itself.

The flames were dim blue and looked illusory and cold. Despite his great control over fire, Lou Cheng wasn’t able to stop its spread.

They burned his skin and clothes and sunk into his body.

These were the Demon Subduing Treasured Flames carried by the Unshaken Wisdom King.

One could easily guess the outcome if the flames started burning one’s five organs—the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—and six viscerals—the stomach, large intestine, small intestine, bladder, gallbladder, and sanjiao (a concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine).

Seeing this, Lou Cheng’s eyes contracted. He didn’t dare delay further as he froze his right arm in crystal-clear ice and trapped the Demon Subduing Flames within it.

With this momentary delay, Zhi Hai reacted. He shifted his body sideways and moved his arms. Smashing his right fist backwards, he headed towards Lou Cheng.

At the same time, two illusory arms formed from the dim black and grew out from his shoulders. One carried a sword while the other carried a robe. Zhi Hai attacked without concern for reserving his strength.

His handsome face was tainted with an eery tinge.

Bam bam bam! Zhi Hai threw his four arms forward as he hammered at his opponent like a frenzied monster. There were no breaks and each punch held tremendous force. Lou Cheng’s breathing and blood flow were disrupted by the beating as his arms went numb and he struggled to keep up with the tempo and pressure.

He tried to change his approach several times to break free from this predicament, but the four-armed Zhi Hai didn’t give him the opportunity. Zhi Hai was always able to disrupt his plans and follow with a new barrage of attacks. Neither the scorching hot Emperor Yan Force or the freezing cold Ice Spirit Force were able to move the Unshaken Body of the Wisdom King. As the purple flames clung to him, the glow on his skin prevented any burns. The layer of frost, re-formed over and over as it broke.

The limestone ground cracked and gravel flew into the air. Lou Cheng was clearly losing as he was dragged into the tempo of the Wisdom King.

However, his Ice Heart was solid and kept distractions away. He was calm, and as he defended, he slowly understood why each of his attempts kept failing.

Thoughtsteal!

Zhi Hai was using Thoughtsteal to predict his moves before he actually made them.

Just as the combination of All-Seeing God and Connection Between Heaven and Earth allowed Lou Cheng to know the subsequent events after an opponent’s move, Thoughtsteal allowed Wisdom King to anticipate his opponent before he even made his move.

To deal with this unique, god-like skill, one could either keep distance before approaching, or fight without thinking, meaning one would have to strike before considering the outcome.

The former was what Lou Cheng wanted to do, but he was always disrupted by Zhi Hai. All he could rely on was fighting without thinking.

In his countless practices, Lou Cheng could apply his techniques instinctively, never needing to consider the consequences. However, in battle he had to make his judgements based on the situation and turn what he was thinking into action.

Just pretend this is morning practice. Just pretend this is morning… Lou Cheng, busy hypnotizing himself, wasn’t worried about Zhi Hai hearing him. Zhi Hai wouldn’t know which moves he practiced each morning.

Bam! He lifted both of his hands and stopped the hammering of the two illusory hands.

Without looking at Zhi Hai’s reaction, he made his response. His body shrunk naturally as he squatted down. His left fist punched out from his waist upwards towards his opponent’s vitals. It was a little strange and mysterious.

Zhi Hai’s eyes twitched a little. Both of his arms blocked downwards. One blocked his crotch while the other hand smashed towards Lou Cheng’s head.

Lou Cheng squatted even lower. Just as his left punch collided with his opponent’s palm, he exerted his strength and used the momentum to rebound like a cannon, moving parallel to the ground as he barely dodged the subsequent attacks of his opponent.

Along the way, he extended his body. Pressing against the floor with his palm, he shifted to the side and made multiple directional changes to open up the distance between them and gather his Five Flames.

Zhi Hai had completed his hand seals as he roared sternly,

“Ni!”

As the voice entered his ears, a mysterious feeling engulfed Lou Cheng and his vision blurred. He saw that Zhi Hai had re-appeared in front of him. All of his dodging and avoiding seemed to actually be bringing them closer.

Ni Word Formula? Mental disruption? Did he affect my sense of direction? Did I just make a big circle?

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Lou Cheng knew that Ni Word Formula was a secret move that affected one’s mental state. However, he had never expected that such a unique application technique was in the hands of Wisdom King, Zhi Hai. It felt like no one could escape from his hand.

So far, yet so close, and so close, yet so far. If he wishes for you to come closer, you have to come closer and vice versa.

As these thoughts appeared in his mind, Lou Cheng took a deep breath. He stopped his advance towards Zhi Hai. Retracting his breathing, blood flow, Force, and mental strength to his lower abdomen, he traced out nine ancient seals within his miniature universe.

Confrontation! Army! Fighting! Swordsman! Wholeness! Formation! Dequeuing! Forwarding! Attainment!

He was instantly reinvigorated. He felt like he could rip everything in front of him apart, and that nothing could affect his judgement now.

Seeing Zhi Hai approach, he did not try to open up the distance. Instead, he erupted his Dan Force, made hand seals, and shouted loudly,

“Army!”

As he shouted, Lou Cheng recalled the first time he was involved in a life-or-death situation in Xiushan. He recalled when a life was lost after just three to five moves. He recalled the professional ninth-pin from the Dark Sect that bled from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth after being hit in the temples by his palms. He recalled that battle in the underground car park where his life was hanging by a thread. He recalled Ge Hui whose brain was ruptured by his strike. He recalled the mummy that disintegrated under his Cosmic Phantom. He recalled the resourceful, sneaky Dark Night Bat having his head blasted off by him. He recalled Talin from the branch of the Witch King that turned into a puddle of mud…

The violence in each of these life-or-death situations and the edge he had gained over these intense battles were all integrated into the Army Formula as they swept towards Wisdom King, Zhi Hai.

As a contemporary monk, these were experiences he lacked.

Over the last few days, Lou Cheng had discussed the shortcomings of the Wisdom King with Empress Luo, Lu Yan, Gui Jie, Yan Zheke, Ren Li, and others as he tried to find opportunities he could exploit. Other than that his movements weren’t very agile, this was the only thing he could think of and prepare for. He wanted to bring these scenes back to life and add them to the Army Formula to increase its might.

“Army!”

As he was approaching, Zhi Hai suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He sensed bloodlust and danger as his brain seemed take a beating.

The images were so clear and vivid. His monk heart was deep and therefore wouldn’t lose composure, but it was inevitable that he would feel a little afraid. He tried to resist such emotions, which slowed his movements momentarily.

What Lou Cheng wanted was this tiny moment. Leveraging the momentum of his erupting Dan Force, he strode out with his left leg. His entire body tensed up like a compressed spring.

Lou Cheng raised his right arm and opened his fingers. Faint darkness gathered in the middle of the palm. It looked as deep as the entire universe with small dots of bright light.

“Tilting Northwestern Sky, Sinking Southeastern Earth!”

Pa!

As he placed his palms down, the surroundings dimmed as though they were immersed in thick, boiling porridge.

Zhi Hai saw, but it was already too late to dodge. The dim blue light on the surface of his body shone brightly as he raised both of his real hands and the illusory hands upwards.

Rumble!

The boiling porridge swept across violently as the dim blue light shattered. The illusory arms lost their shape and he was temporarily paralyzed. The two real arms of Zhi Hai had cracks and his skin looked like it was made of metal.

This was a unique characteristic of Unshaken Body of the Wisdom King.

Connecting, Lou Cheng quickly executed Force Concentration. He extended his left palm, opened his five fingers, and grabbed towards the head of Zhi Hai. He didn’t give Zhi Hai a chance to catch his breath at all, just like how he had dealt with the God-Slaying Saber, Lu Yongyuan.

Zhi Hai lifted his right arm forcefully and placed in front of his face. No matter if it was his temples or eyes, these were still weak points that monks who practice Unbreakable must guard.

Pa! Those five fingers grabbed onto Zhi Hai’s arm. Lou Cheng didn’t pull but injected Ice Spirit Force into it. White frost began to spread.

After using Tilting Northwestern Sky, Sinking Southeastern Earth, Lou Cheng relied on Dan Equilibrium to compress his Fire Force while allowing his universe to turn cold.

Self-created unique skill, Lament of the Ice Queen!

Seeing that his body was about to be frozen, Zhi Hai’s eyelids drooped down. Faint golden flames ignited on the surface of his body and extended outwards into eight sky dragons that shattered the ice crystals.

“Dharmapala Veluriyam Flames!”

Lou Cheng retracted his left palm instantly. Pulling his right arm back a little, he shot it out like a bolt of lightning. The excess Fire Force from Lament of the Ice Queen erupted into the shape of a ball and raged rampantly, a tinge of faint purple within it.

He didn’t care about how it looked as long as it was quick. He couldn’t let Zhi Hai recover and adjust himself.

Zhi Hai lowered his stance and threw out his left fist in response. His Buddha’s Light was dim compared to before.

Rumble!

His fist collided with the fireball as the flames raged. The cracks on Zhi Hai’s left arm became deeper, but there was no blood. He was knocked back, causing him to take three steps.

Lou Cheng triggered the Attainment Formula as he pressed ahead. He stomped his left leg on the floor and shook the ground. Hundreds of crushed stones were sent into the air and shot towards the lower body of his opponent like arrows released from a crossbow. Lou Cheng wanted to force him into defending.

However, no one had expected Zhi Hai to not do so. All he did was to tilt his thigh slightly inwards.

Bam! Bam! Bam! The broken stones landed on Zhi Hai’s calves and thighs. They cut through his pants but weren’t able to damage his dim blue skin.

Bam bam! Two lucky stones broke through all obstacles and landed on Zhi Hai’s crotch, but he didn’t scream or shout in pain.

Was this the effect of a Metal Underwear technique? Although Lou Cheng was shocked, his actions were not stalled. Using the strength from stomping the ground, he straightened his back and pressed head. His fists were like two dragons moving across the sea, covered in heavy faint purple flames as they struck towards Zhi Hai’s temples.

With both of his arms injured and him not yet adjusted to the situation, Zhi Hai could only half squat and duck his head down to avoid the attack.

Bam! After breaking through the air barrier, Lou Cheng kicked consecutively. Amidst the crisps sounds of collision, Lou Cheng’s kicks were so fast that they left afterimages with his burning purple flames.

After blocking a few strikes, Zhi Hai backflipped, using his legs as razors to slice upwards.

Bam!

When their legs collided, Lou Cheng followed the momentum and jumped higher. He shrunk his body into a ball before extending it to throw his right hand downwards.

The sky turned dark once again, decorated with countless bright spots. It was as though the starry sky was reflected in it.

Core unique skill, Cosmic Phantom!

Zhi Hai’s legs had just landed on the ground when the surroundings froze. With a quick thought, he completed his hand seals in advance.

He silently became an insect trapped within a block of ice. He couldn’t move at all but only watch as the stars collided into him one after another.

“Ba!”

The serious, solemn voice that came from within the layer of ice and Zhi Hai’s aura strengthened.

Ba Word Formula could temporarily increase one’s strength, but it couldn’t aid in making a huge leap forward.

After using the Ba Formula, Wisdom King, who was at the peak of the Physical Invulnerability stage, would be even closer to the Forbidden Region, much like the Dragon King and Warrior Sage. Plus, the Unshaken Body of the Wisdom King is a technique similar to the Forbidden Region. Wouldn’t that make him… As these thoughts flashed through Lou Cheng’s mind, the changes were already taking shape in front of his eyes.

From within the ice layers that were shattered by the stars, bright light erupted. It wasn’t scattered, but formed the shape of a huge, majestic Buddha Statue made of pure light.

The Buddha Statue extended his right hand, his palms seemingly in possession of limitless light. The stars were drawn to it as they crashed into it one after another.

Vairocana had descended!

Closing his palm, the dazzling white light disappeared and the surrounding area regained its original colors. Lou Cheng had initially thought that the temporary Vairocana Flesh would dissipate quickly, but soon noticed that the atmosphere created by the four surrounding pagodas had all gathered into Zhi Hai, allowing him to maintain it.

Zzz. Homeground advantage… Just as Lou Cheng landed, the Buddha Statue made of light appeared above him. That palm covered the surroundings as it pressed down towards him, leaving him no room to escape.

Lou Cheng knew that this was a true illusion after his mind was strongly affected. He quickly visualized the complete Nine Words Formula to strengthen himself and weaken his opponent’s ability to withstand them.

Confrontation! Army! Fighting! Swordsman! Wholeness! Formation! Dequeuing! Forwarding! Attainment!

The ancient words glowed brightly. The Buddha’s Light finally faded as he saw Zhi Hai. His body was shivering and looked fatigued as he pushed his palm towards him. In the middle of his palm, endless light was gathered.

At this very moment, Lou Cheng wasn’t able to execute any complicated moves after using Nine Words Formula. He circulated all the Emperor Yan and Ice Spirit force within his body and directed them to his hands.

Bam bam! He threw both punches, one covered in horrifying purple flames, the other covered in ice crystals.

Just as they were about to collide with the palm of the Vairocana Flesh, the two fists were suddenly attracted to each other and stuck together.

The Ice and Fire lost balance as they swirled together like a whirlpool. Darkness started to appear from within.

Poof!

The two fists collided with the Buddha’s palm as the light and darkness clashed. With Lou Cheng as the center, the surrounding radius, several tens of meters wide, collapsed into a crater hole. At the spot where his fist collided with his palm, it was over two meters deep.

Lou Cheng’s legs were shaking, just like when he was young and acted tough by refusing to put on pants during winter. Fresh blood flowed from the edge of his mouth as his breathing weakened to its lowest point. He only had a little Force left in his body.

Without thinking, he his formed hand seals instinctively. Triggering the mysterious words, he solemnly said,

“Wholeness!”

After completing his sentence, Lou Cheng’s mental strength and stamina instantly recovered to its original state.

Wisdom King, Zhi Hai, who was standing opposite of him, shouted at the same time,

“Hum!”

A mysterious sensation descended. His fatigue vanished and his condition was refreshed.

“The two of them are indeed a great match for each other,” Poison Milk Hierarch commented. “One of them fought half a match before, while the other is weakened by the homeground advantage. It seems like the match is going to get even more intense!”