NOVPUBHearing Xu Zimei’s words, Qiong Qi stood up, his mouth twisted into a sinister smile.
His laughter was loud, causing ripples to spread through the space around him.
"If you can defeat me, the Heaven-reaching Record is naturally yours, and I won’t have a chance to choose," Qiong Qi said.
"Although I am not at my peak at the moment, I am still without rivals on the Eternal Ancient Continent."
"Is that so," Xu Zimei said with a light smile as he too stood up.
Behind Qiong Qi, torrents of blood-red Spiritual Energy surged into the sky, reflecting against both the heavens and the earth.
This blood-red Spiritual Energy kept churning as if something was trying to break free from within, struggling continuously.
"Come on, let’s see how much you weigh," Qiong Qi stretched out his hand and said nonchalantly.
"If you disappoint me too much, I guess you won’t be able to leave here alive."
Xu Zimei shook his head and smiled, sensing that Qiong Qi’s strength had not yet recovered to the point of Stepping into Immortality.
He must be at the level of a Divine King, but judging purely by the thickness of Spiritual Energy, aside from the Heavenly Curtain War God of the True Martial Holy Sect, this man was the strongest he had encountered.
Xu Zimei slowly drew the long saber from his back, and his aura gradually intensified.
"The so-called ’Seven Fears’, the first is the fear of the fierce beast," Qiong Qi extended his right hand and saw the phantom of a ferocious beast burst through the red Spiritual Energy behind him.
It directly stepped into the void behind him.
The beast resembled a cow with four horns, and its hair hanging down like a straw raincoat, shrouding its body.
Qiong Qi swung his arm, and the phantom of the beast merged with his left arm, its formidable presence rushing toward Xu Zimei.
"Since you know of the Sect of Seven Fears, you should understand what the ’Seven Fears’ stand for," Qiong Qi said coldly.
With one strike, space collapsed, and the power increased hundreds of times. Xu Zimei barely caught it, but his figure was forced back several steps.
"For catching my strike, you are not bad among Divine Kings," Qiong Qi said indifferently.
"Continue," Xu Zimei smiled.
"The ’Seven Fears’ were formulated by our ancestors based on seven great ferocious beasts, watch closely now," Qiong Qi said blandly.
"The second fear is the fierce beast with five tails and one horn, its voice like thunder splitting rocks, feeding mainly on ferocious beasts."
As Qiong Qi’s words fell, another phantom of a ferocious beast attached itself to his right arm.
Qiong Qi closed the distance immediately, engaging in close combat with Xu Zimei.
His fists, imbued with the power of dual beasts, were extremely violent with each swing.
Xu Zimei seemed quite comfortable handling it, as if Qiong Qi still had a hidden ailment and was reluctant to use some moves.
"The third fear, Gu Eagle, the fourth fear, Li Li," they heard two more roars, and two more phantoms attached themselves respectively to Qiong Qi’s legs.
This time not only did his strength greatly increase, but his speed also improved exponentially.
Each of Qiong Qi’s steps weaved through the void, arriving without a trace and departing without tracks, his afterimages difficult to catch.
"Interesting," Xu Zimei smiled.
The long saber in his hand erupted with a radiant Blade Intent as he deployed the ninth stance of Way of Inquiry, ’Deep Blue World’.
Surrounded by layers of deep blue Spiritual Energy, within this small world of just a few dozen meters, Xu Zimei could perceive any change in everything around him.
"Way of Inquiry twelve stances, ’Blood of the Firmament’," he slashed down with the long saber once more.
Even the blade itself started oozing blood, unable to withstand the force, as it was not Tyrant Shadow after all.
It began to show several cracks.
Qiong Qi’s figure was also pushed back several steps, and he seemed to be gasping for breath.
"It seems you’re already on your last legs. Are you going to keep this up?" Xu Zimei said with a light chuckle.
Actually, Qiong Qi had not recovered at all; on the contrary, his body was still very weak.
Since Xu Zimei entered this core area, Qiong Qi had been controlling the skull to attack him.
When he realized he was no match, he decisively abandoned the attack and awaited Xu Zimei’s arrival with a rather comfortable posture.
All that talk was just meant to confuse Xu Zimei; his current state wasn’t suitable for fighting at all.
"Oh dear, you’ve discovered it; what a pity," Qiong Qi sneered, seemingly not tense in the least.
Looking at Xu Zimei, he said, "How about we make a deal?"
"What makes you think you are in any position to make a deal with me?" Xu Zimei walked toward him step by step, inquiring.
"You want the Heaven-reaching Record, but do you really know what the Heaven-reaching Record is?" Qiong Qi asked.
"If you give it to me, of course I’ll know," Xu Zimei replied.
"If you kill me, you won’t get the Heaven-reaching Record either. Let’s call a truce, and I can tell you the secret," Qiong Qi proposed.
"No need; I guess the Heaven-reaching Record must be inside that room," Xu Zimei pointed at the White Bone House behind him and smiled.
Qiong Qi’s expression tightened, and narrowing his eyes, he stared intently at Xu Zimei.
As Xu Zimei walked step by step toward the White Bone House, a surge of energy suddenly came attacking him from behind.
Xu Zimei turned to look just in time to see Qiong Qi emitting a pale blue glow all around him at that moment.
He seemed to have entered a special state.
The dark illness within his body was rapidly recovering, and strength was surging endlessly around him.
The power grew stronger and stronger as if it were about to reach the limit his body could tolerate.
His entire body was hollow, eliciting a very strange sensation.
"Didn’t you want to know what the Heaven-reaching Record is? Now I’ll tell you," Qiong Qi said indifferently.
"One of the ancient top ten Divine Methods, the Heaven-reaching Trilife Gate."
Xu Zimei could distinctly feel that Qiong Qi’s aura had instantly recovered to the level of Stepping into Immortality.
And it was rising even higher, with potential room to grow.
The blood-red Spiritual Energy around them began to rage, he took to the air, and with a wave of his hands, the Sea of Blood in the sky condensed together, twisting and even roaring.
"Chaos, go have some fun with him," Xu Zimei waved his right hand and released Chaos from the Divine Continent.
A majestic beastly presence pervaded the area, and upon seeing Chaos, Qiong Qi’s expression changed.
Then Xu Zimei asked, "Who exactly are you? You surely cannot be from this world."
"If you manage to survive, I’ll tell you then," Xu Zimei smiled.
With that, he strode directly into the White Bone House.
Meanwhile, Chaos, spreading its wings that blotted out the sun, charged towards Qiong Qi.
...
Entering the White Bone House, the space inside wasn’t too large, with a platform at the very center.
The lofty red glow originated from the platform.
Atop the platform, the most conspicuous object was a floating book.
A blue-covered book, translucent and slowly spinning.
"The Heaven-reaching Record, one of the top ten Divine Methods, huh," Xu Zimei murmured to himself.
He hadn’t even gone to the Heaven Beyond Heavens yet, and he was already increasingly coming into contact with things from another world.
As he reached out with both hands towards the Heaven-reaching Record, a rebounding force emanated from it, knocking Xu Zimei’s right hand away.
