Chapter 409: Chapter 127: Flying Waterfall Fury
In the midst of being pursued by the Yin Law Department, he still appeared to have energy to spare, even precisely locating Jiang Li as if he too was proficient in the Exchange Skill.
"After defeating you, I’ll seek out the ominous energy of the Yin Law Department."
Li Qinglian stood tall, possessing an effortless and prideful demeanor as he placed his hand on his sword, Sword Qi blossoming around him, creating layers of visions swirling around him.
"Wang!"
Seeing this, Xiao Tian immediately took a posture as though he wanted to pounce, resembling a bloodthirsty beast grinding its teeth.
Although the Bull-headed ghost felt uneasy, he knew that he must not show cowardice at this critical moment, otherwise his painstakingly earned position would be lost; he immediately grasped his steel trident, ready to step forward.
However, Jiang Li held back both the ghost and the dog with a wave of his hand.
"Perhaps the Yin Law Department won’t need to take action— I might be able to take you down myself."
Jiang Li slowly rose from his wheelchair, stepping on the wooden planks of the walkway, his tone light yet filled with caution.
Since taking to his wheelchair, this was the first time Jiang Li had stood up before making a move. Although Li Qinglian was of the Sixth Rank, in terms of threat, he was even greater than the fifth-rank opponents Jiang Li had faced before.
So, it was better to take action personally.
As their eyes met, Li Qinglian’s gaze was sharp as Sword Qi, whereas Jiang Li held a profound depth in his look, where Star Battles, stems, branches, and divination combined, deep and unfathomable like the ocean.
In the battle of gaze, Li Qinglian failed to gain any advantage.
"Good!"
He softly praised, clapping his hand once as his long sword unsheathed, a streak of sword light shooting out like a green rainbow, aiming straight for Jiang Li’s face.
"Boom!"
Innate Qi spontaneously formed in front of his face, the green rainbow touching the utmost refined Primordial Qi and getting completely neutralized, leaving only a gust of wind scattering in all directions.
"Your petty tricks probably can’t fulfill your boastful claims."
While neutralizing the Sword Qi, Jiang Li swept his arm around, suddenly conjuring Wind Force that whipped up a storm on the walkway, the flow of air surging forward like tidal waves.
"Just a small test."
Li Qinglian gripped his unsheathed sword, the sword light burgeoning on its own, cutting through the winds. He himself then intoned slowly, creating unity between his body, hand, and sword—"Within ten steps, kill one man."
Space seemed to blur around them, the cold sword light as if traveling through space, not even a fraction of a second passing before it slashed across Jiang Li’s body.
Cold, sharp, extreme—the Spiritual Sense desperately signaled danger though his body seemed too slow to react.
Simultaneously, runes appeared in Jiang Li’s seven orifices; the Heavenly Dharma changed abruptly—
"Clang!"
In that instant, shorter even than a split second, he formed his fingers into a sword and touched the sword tip.
Golden light surfaced at his fingertip, Innate Golden Qi solidified immensely, clashing with the sword tip of the Qixing Dragon Abyss, producing a brief sound of metal clashing, causing the sword light to deviate and barely graze past Jiang Li’s body. Jiang Li transformed his finger to a palm, golden light spreading to his palm core, ready to imprint on Li Qinglian’s chest.
"Thousand miles without stopping."
Li Qinglian continued with the poem, his figure swayed outward, moving slowly yet swiftly to hover in the air outside the walkway, his form enveloped by a sword light, hovering without falling.
He was in fact a Sword Cultivator, not a Martial Cultivator, naturally proficient in Sword Control Technique, hence he did not fear falling from midair.
Jiang Li gained the upper hand with one move, following up his advantage. Heavenly Dharma adjusted his Perception, strengthening his gaze, his palm still moving forward, but the Golden Qi in his palm was now transformed into the purest Innate Qi, striking out towards the empty air.
What seemed a simple strike was actually as fast as a sword—Innate Qi pierced through the air, and without hesitation, Li Qinglian used his sword to block this Qi in front of him.
"Boom—"
A powerful surge spread through midair, the seemingly trivial ball of Innate Qi possessing immense strength, its force exploded, and Li Qinglian felt a great strength slamming into him, sending him flying uncontrollably backwards.
Even though he was forged by a Ginsengfruit, his strength alone was still far inferior to Jiang Li; the magnificence of Qi Tomb was fully exemplified in Jiang Li, unparalleled at the sixth rank.
His figure swiftly flew backwards nearly thirty meters, with a directly downward waterfall behind him, water droplets splashing, the dense moisture already touching Li Qinglian’s body.
Suddenly, his True Qi vibrated stopping his backward momentum, Qixing Dragon Abyss flew from his hand, the sword light drawing circles above and below, a tremendous sword momentum abruptly expanding, pulling along the cascading waterfall.
"Directly from three thousand feet high, it seems as if the Milky Way is falling from the sky."
The sword led the waterfall, which actually reversed its downward course, pulled by the sword light rising into the air, then suddenly surging forward, the several-meter-wide waterfall flowing horizontally like a torrent, as majestic as the Milky Way falling.
"Three Points Return to Primordial Qi."
Jiang Li spread his hands, Innate Qi formed a massive vortex in front of him, and then turned to harness Wind Qi, the movement of Wind Qi enveloping the waterfall into a huge vortex in midair, spinning continuously.
The sky seemed to have turned into an ocean, with both men positioned on opposing sides of this sea.
"From the west the Yellow River breaks through Kunlun Mountains, its roar touching the Dragon Gate tens of thousands of miles away."
Li Qinglian howled and swung his sword, the tumultuous and surging Sword Qi coloring the waterfall waters a murky yellow, suddenly transforming into a torrential river, roaring ferociously, its relentless momentum carrying sharp Sword Qi, each droplet transforming into a sharp sword, charging forward.
Merging his own sword with the forces of nature, Li Qinglian also possessed the Unity of Heaven and Man, even surpassing Zhang Daoyi by far.
After all, he was an incarnation of Taibai True Monarch, and even though his power was only sixth-rank, his realm and mental state remained.
Moreover, unlike Taibai True Monarch who later advanced to Taibai Golden Star and specialized in the sword of the gold element, Li Qinglian was inclusive and followed a different path of the Sword Dao from his original self.
The muddied Sword River surged, roaring upon the vortex, immediately causing the massive vortex to collapse and disperse, as torrential sword momentum charged toward the trail on the mountainside.
Jiang Li exerted his energy, Innate Wind Qi layered sweeping across, encapsulating the water currents; the collapsing vortexes reassembled like rivers flowing back into the sea and then surged out fiercely with the push of Jiang Li’s palms.
"Flying Waterfall Fury."
Like a waterfall rolling back, turning into a furious assault on the sky, water against water, Innate Qi against Sword Qi, two different colored torrents collided mid-air, like massive waves hitting the shore, surging ceaselessly.
"Boom—"
Waves rolled like thousands of layers of snow, the sword captured layers of muddiness, and the crazed flow of Sword Qi exploded, emitting a thunderous boom, shooting violently in all directions.
Striking the mountain wall, it immediately left dense small holes and even split the rocks, causing pieces of the mountain to slide down, slamming onto the wooden trail which hastily collapsed, and even shook the surrounding mountains, making them reverberate violently.
Li Qinglian unleashed wind and raging waves with his Sword Qi, not retreating but advancing, his sword momentum burst forth, preparing to slash open this wild flow and launch an offense.
Advance, advance, advance!
At this moment, he exhibited a fanatical demeanor, his heart only held the sword, advancing with no retreating.
But before he could strike, suddenly, the center of the torrent was pierced through, a residual image carrying a chilling wind struck piercingly from the sky, its fierce Sword Qi directly targeting Li Qinglian.
It was Jiang Li!
He finally struck with his sword.
And he directly broke through the wild flow, fearless against the intertwined Sword Qi and the horizontal raging torrents.
Li Qinglian’s heart was both shocked and delighted, he positioned his sword in front, the Sword Qi bloomed like a peacock spreading its feathers, layer upon layer combined, forming a giant blue lotus, facing the residual image.
"Boom!"
The dark sword shadow struck at the center of the blue lotus, the petals of the lotus swiftly rotated, fierce, soft, sharp, and firm... streams of Sword Qi spiraled towards the center, but the sword shadow was domineering and unmatched, shattered each blade of Sword Qi, striking directly towards Li Qinglian’s chest.
"Dang—"
The sword tip stabbed upon the chest, emitting a sound like a large bell, but the Qixing Dragon Abyss moved like a sentient being in a flash, barely managing to block in front of the chest.
But the domineering sword momentum pushed Li Qinglian forward, blasting him onto the waterfall which again began to fall, the Sword Qi erupted, severing the waterfall and also pinning Li Qinglian against the mountain wall behind him.
"Xiyi Sword Skill."
Li Qinglian’s figure flashed suddenly, retreating more swiftly than his collision with the mountain wall, his feet stepping on the mountain wall, Qixing Dragon Abyss swung horizontally, slashing onto the incoming sword shadow, Sword Qi erupted once more, severing the waterfall again, causing the two figures to retreat left and right.
Jiang Li also stood on the mountain wall, standing vertically against the mountain with the Mo Wu Sword in hand, looking towards the opposite side.
Li Qinglian was also standing vertically against the wet mountain wall from the waterfall, with a hint of crimson appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Clearly, that strike just then had not left him unscathed.
The waterfall rushed down once again, while the figures on both sides stood with their swords, their feet firmly gripping onto the mountain wall.
This was not the trail; both of them, possessing the Pure Body, simultaneously attracted the mountain, not as firmly stuck to the ground, yet enabling them to stand effortlessly on the mountain wall.
"What tremendous power."
Across the waterfall, Li Qinglian seemed to be able to see the opposite figure, speaking faintly.
That strike just now was without any craftiness, purely dominant in strength, not just in power, but in the physical prowess as well.
The opponent’s physical strength was not inferior to his power, allowing him to easily pierce through the chaotic flow of their clash, almost pinning Li Qinglian to the mountain.
As a practitioner like Jiang Li mastering both powers and Divine Essence, and boldly guessing, the opponent’s Divine Essence might also be on par with his essence and Qi, advancing the Three Elements together with no weaknesses.
And in terms of transformation, he was not inferior to himself.
While Jiang Li’s Sword Dao was not as proficient as Li Qinglian’s, he used the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill in conjunction with Heavenly Dharma to delve into the microscopic aspects, employing Qimen transformations, and utilizing Innate Qi fearlessly against Li Qinglian’s myriad Sword Dao.
The longer the battle ensued, the clearer it became how profound the man’s depth was, even if Li Qinglian’s realm was higher, he found it difficult to contend with Jiang Li.
Jiang Li’s foundation had caught up with the gap in realm, somewhat equalizing it to a feeling where one force overcame a multitude.
"Hoo—"
The wind, growing stronger, stirred his clothes, and looking up at the sky, he could see clouds congregating towards this location.
Li Qinglian once again thought of the battle between Jiang Li and Yuan Zhen, at this very moment, feeling quite similar to that time.
The difference was back then, the weather around Divine Capital was unpredictable due to the Emperor, where Jiang Li had the advantage of the east wind, but now, Jiang Li had begun to manipulate the heavenly phenomena with his own power.
Once Jiang Li managed to change the heavenly phenomena, with his mastery of using the forces of nature, Li Qinglian’s situation would become even more critical.
Jiang Li was the strongest opponent Li Qinglian had encountered since he had emerged, within the same realm, only Jiang Li could suppress him to such an extent.