Both Teng Qingshan and Li Hang sensed the two soaring battle intents. Teng Qingshan turned his head and saw that the Void Realm experts, who had been harmonious moments before, had naturally divided into two sides: the left side comprised the Yu Huang Sect, the Ying Clan, and the Mani Temple; the right side was the Celestial God Palace. The two individuals radiating the strongest battle intent were— Qin Shiqi and Pei San! Over a dozen Void Realm experts were gathered here, and Qin Shiqi and Pei San were the only two foremost Cave Void experts among them!

"They were all polite just a moment ago, and now they're ready to fight," Teng Qingshan found himself rather expectant.

"Tsk, tsk, I believe more than half of the Void Realm experts in the Nine Provinces are present today," Li Hang was somewhat excited.

Teng Qingshan's gaze swept over the assembly: three from the Ying Clan, three from the Mani Temple, two from the Yu Huang Sect along with a Void Realm beast, three from the Celestial God Palace standing there, plus the lightning eagle circling overhead. Adding Teng Qingshan, Li Hang, one from the Snow Eagle Sect, and the Six-Legged Saber Chi.

A total of 14 Void Realm experts, and three great Void Realm beasts. Furthermore, Pei San's disciple, the 'Beast King' Wu Hou, as well as Pei Hao, were within the main army. There were also Void Realm experts in Hong Tian City. Indeed, today could truly be called a gathering of over half of the Nine Provinces' Void Realm experts.

"These dozen or so individuals are more terrifying than the vast million-strong army beside us," Teng Qingshan closed his eyes, clearly sensing the dazzling aura of each one, like suns, and two continuously rising black holes. The auras of the million-strong army were like endless grains of sand; compared to the suns, they amounted to nothing.

Suddenly—

"Pei San, I have meditated for a long time and have some confusion. Could you perhaps offer some guidance?" A cold voice echoed.

"Hahaha, Qin Shiqi, looking across the Nine Provinces, few are worthy of fighting me. However, you count as one," Pei San laughed heartily, brimming with fighting spirit.

All the surrounding Void Realm experts fell silent, watching quietly. Everyone understood— The Yu Huang Sect, the Mani Temple, and the Ying Clan had not come here simply to watch the Celestial God Palace destroy Hong Tian City. Their purpose was to stop the Celestial God Palace... Of course, if the Celestial God Palace's strength proved truly overwhelming, the Yu Huang Sect, the Mani Temple, and the Ying Clan would choose to withdraw.

The battle between Qin Shiqi and Pei San was the true test of the Celestial God Palace's might. After all, there were differences in strength even among Cave Void experts.

"Hiss, hiss~~" "Hiss, hiss~~" Pei San, clad in white robes, and Qin Shiqi, dressed in golden robes, naturally generated powerful vortices around their bodies. A grayish, faintly electric stream of light shot out from Pei San, sweeping toward Qin Shiqi. From Qin Shiqi’s body, a sharp, dual-colored black and white stream of light shaped like a sword shot out, sweeping towards Pei San. The moment these two different world powers collided, the space around their bodies rippled like the surface of water.

"Retreat, retreat!" Li Chao roared sharply.

"Retreat!"

Teng Qingshan grabbed Li Jun and swiftly retreated. Nearly all the watching Void Realm experts rapidly withdrew in unison, moving at least a full li away from the two Cave Void powerhouses. Under the reprimand of Li Chao, the Sword Sect Master, the numerous soldiers already standing at a distance began to retreat frantically, but their speed was still too slow. Wave-like spatial ripples spread outward in all directions for over a hundred zhang. Everywhere they touched—be it rocks, trees, or dozens of unlucky soldiers who were slightly slow—instantly dissolved into dust. The area within that hundred-plus zhang radius was ground incredibly flat.

"It's just as I thought, just as I thought," Li Hang beside Teng Qingshan said with excitement.

"Brother Li Hang, just now, what was happening?" Teng Qingshan was alarmed. He had seen Pei San fight before, but never with such power.

Li Hang explained, "Legend states that when two Cave Void experts fight, they use their own world powers. Once two different world powers meet and clash, they cause the original stable Heavenly Power of the Nine Provinces to shake. This phenomenon only occurs when two Cave Void experts clash; one Cave Void expert cannot cause it."

"Look!" Li Hang’s eyes shone brightly.

Teng Qingshan's pupils contracted. He saw that the two Cave Void experts caught in the spatial turbulence were simultaneously employing sword techniques! That Qin Shiqi held a purple divine sword. Pei San, however, formed a sword-finger with his right hand, condensing a grayish sword shadow at the tip.

"Arrogant!" A furious roar came from Qin Shiqi's mouth.

"Win against me first, then talk," Pei San smiled lightly, his laughter hearty and filled with fighting spirit.

The two Cave Void experts instantly engaged in battle, clashing hundreds of times in the blink of an eye. With every collision of sword shadows, the sword shadow condensed by Pei San would sometimes shatter, sometimes reform, and sometimes lengthen sharply... Although his weapon was inferior to his opponent's, he fought Qin Shiqi to a stalemate. The space vibrated, and occasionally, surging fragmented world power swept out.

Rumble~~~

The heavens shook, the earth trembled, dust filled the sky, and no one dared to approach.

"What a formidable Sword Dao," Li Hang was stunned.

"What's going on?" Teng Qingshan frowned in confusion. "Pei San told me that one should only cultivate one path. The last time I saw his palm technique, one strike could withstand the full power of a peak Void Realm expert's sword, and he killed the old Palace Master of the Carefree Palace. Clearly, his palm technique has reached an extreme. How is he also so powerful in the Dao of the Sword?"

...

"Pei San!"

Qin Shiqi in the battlefield roared, and the purple divine sword in his hand instantly erupted with streams of purple light. By Teng Qingshan's instant visual estimate, there were ninety-nine light streams, forming a vortex, surging towards Pei San. This time, Pei San let out a low grunt: "Om!"

At that moment, Pei San's right hand instantly formed a fist, like an iron pestle capable of crushing the entire world. When he smashed out that punch, the surrounding space seemed locked, and faintly, Buddhist chants resonated as he struck.

"Boom!"

All ninety-nine streams of purple light exploded.

"What!" The faces of the Yu Huang Sect members changed drastically.

"Impossible!" Even the three perpetually smiling monks of the Mani Temple cried out in shock.

"He—" Teng Qingshan was also stunned.

The famous Six-Syllable Mantra of the Buddhist Sect comprises 'Om Mani Padme Hum,' and the punch Pei San just displayed was a secret Buddhist technique. Clearly—when executed by Pei San, this move possessed incredible power. It naturally generated Buddhist chants, which was enough for the Buddhist Sect to revere him as a 'Buddha.'

According to the ranking in the Buddhist Sect, Void Realm experts are Bodhisattvas, and only the strongest are worthy of being called Buddhas. However, in the current Mani Temple, the requirement for the title of 'Buddha' was not extremely high. Those who successfully reincarnated were generally respected as Living Buddhas, and those who reached the Cave Void realm were also called Buddhas!

"Why does he cultivate the Dao of the Sword, and also the Dao of Buddhism?" Teng Qingshan couldn't believe it.

But the two Cave Void experts engaged in fierce combat did not stop.

"Hah~~~" With a powerful roar, the purple divine sword in Qin Shiqi's hand instantly became hazy, seeming ethereal, subtly encircled by a dual-colored black and white stream of light.

"Fix!"

Pei San smiled, crossing his ten fingers, bending his two little fingers upward. Instantly, they formed an invisible shield that directly covered this sword strike. He then brought his hands together, clamping the purple divine sword. With lightning speed—Pei San's entire being suddenly radiated a fierce aura, like a ferocious beast.

"Roar~~" Letting out a heaven-shaking roar, a gigantic phantom of a fierce tiger faintly manifested on Pei San’s body, terrifying to the extreme. Pei San lunged forward fiercely, his hands like the claws of a wild beast, intending to tear Qin Shiqi apart.

"Break!" Qin Shiqi shouted fiercely, and the red mole between his brows instantly seeped out a bead of blood.

Whoosh!

The purple divine sword in Qin Shiqi’s hand instantly grew immense, enveloped by the black and white streams of light. This massive divine sword, with lightning speed, performed a horizontal slash towards Pei San. At this moment, a hint of joy appeared in Pei San's eyes. He smiled and lightly patted the huge sword surface, and like a fairy in a dream, his figure flickered, easily dodging the attack.

"Not bad, not bad, Qin Shiqi, you haven't disappointed me." Pei San’s eyes shone brightly. Saying this, he prepared to strike again.

"Stop!"

Qin Shiqi retreated deeply, fixing Pei San with a long look, then turned and flew towards the other two Void Realm experts of the Ying Clan.

"Incredible."

"How is this possible?"

The Void Realm experts who witnessed the fight were all stimulated.

"Palace Master's Esoteric Hand Seal is truly formidable. Every time I watch it, I gain some insight," the great monk from Celestial God Mountain chuckled.

"How could this be?" Li Chao, standing beside Teng Qingshan, exclaimed, "Some cultivate the Dao of the Sword, some cultivate the Dao of the Fist, some cultivate the Dao of the Saber... How can he, he—"

Except for Pei San's disciples, almost everyone present was in a state of shock. Those who cultivated understood: one should focus on a single weapon. Teng Qingshan felt this strongly... If he diverted his attention to ponder axe techniques, his spear technique practice would feel affected. Immersing oneself solely in spear techniques was the optimal method for achieving the highest accomplishments.

"Pei San told me himself to cultivate a single path independently, so why is he—" Teng Qingshan was utterly confused.

"Loyalty to one path is absolutely correct."

"Yu Huang uses an axe, and Li Taibai follows the Dao of the Sword," Teng Qingshan knew this clearly. "They both specialize in one path. But just now, Pei San first used the Dao of the Sword, then the Buddhist method. After that, he used the Esoteric Hand Seal. Then, his entire person became like a wild beast—that should be the Way of Beasts... Finally, his evasion technique had an element of enchantment."

Teng Qingshan suddenly recalled something— The Celestial God Palace had numerous branches, such as Celestial God Mountain, Snow Lotus Sect, Sword Sect, and Myriad Beast Valley.

"Could it be that Pei San has mastered everything cultivated by these branches?" Teng Qingshan glanced at Pei San in the distance.

...

Among the numerous Void Realm experts present, the three monks from the Mani Temple were perhaps the most shocked. One white-browed old monk stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Pei San, may I ask where you learned this Six-Syllable Mantra? In our Mani Temple, only the Maha Secret Codex details the cultivation method for the Six-Syllable Mantra. Where did you learn it?" The usually humble monks of the Mani Temple were very anxious. While the Maha Secret Codex was not as prestigious as the Divine Codex Golden Body Buddha, more Void Realm experts in the Mani Temple cultivated from the Maha than from the Golden Body Buddha. This was because the Golden Body Buddha was too profound. The Maha, however, contained many cultivation methods, with the Six-Syllable Mantra being the most crucial; succeeding in cultivating even one syllable could lead to the Void Realm. The importance of the Maha was evident.

"Where did I learn it?"

Pei San glanced faintly at the white-browed old monk, "What, back then your Patriarch Shakya could create the Maha; can others not create something as well?"

The white-browed old monk glared in anger.

"Everyone, do as you wish," Pei San scanned the groups from the Mani Temple, Yu Huang Sect, and Ying Clan. "Forgive the Celestial God Palace; we do not have time to entertain you."

"A'Chao," Pei San called out.

"Master," Li Chao stood respectfully to the side.

"Issue the order, challenge them, and prepare to assault the city," Pei San commanded.

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