The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS

The collision of ice and fire True Qi against the Xuanyin Sword Armor caused a powerful shock that shook the entire ice cave ceaselessly, cracking the ice beneath their feet with countless fissures.

Emperor Shitian's complexion revealed a reddish tinge, his momentum fiercely rising.

"Is this... burning essence blood?" Qingyu was truly shocked this time.

First using the Phoenix Fire power, and then beginning to burn essence blood. Emperor Shitian's behavior did not match the original story at all.

"It seems I can't rely solely on the original text in the future..."

Qingyu had always viewed the characters he encountered from the perspective of reading novels and comics in his past life. But what he was challenging were not the characters arranged by the author in the story, but real people.

The real world would not be one-sided like novels and comics. Real people wouldn't follow forced plot developments.

Qingyu regained his focus, silently operated his Mysterious Technique, and formed a Tai Chi Diagram with Pure Yin Xuan Qi and Fierce Yang Gang Qi. He dissolved the Xuanyin Sword Armor and confronted the power of ice and fire.

The two forces collided silently. Although fierce, the ice and fire Qi was dissolved and neutralized by the Tai Chi Diagram, and even a powerful force rebounded back.

Nine Heavens Scripture · Taiji Return.

"Boom—"

Suddenly, a throbbing heart caused Qingyu's offensive to hesitate.

"Heavenly Heart Tribulation?"

Qingyu pressed down his Qingyu True Energy, attempting to suppress his increasingly vigorous heartbeat.

In response, Emperor Shitian unleashed a myriad of Ice Blades.

Ten Thousand Ridges Piercing Cloud.

Countless ice blades pierced towards him, each carrying fierce Sword Intent, each strike comparable to the full force of a Sword Dao master.

This Ten Thousand Ridges Piercing Cloud seemed to integrate the mystique of All Swords Return to the Sect, making the ice blades extremely sharp, attacking like ten thousand swords simultaneously.

"Thud—"

The Golden Bell sounded, and a suddenly appearing Golden Bell Shield blocked the Ten Thousand Ridges Piercing Cloud, with bursts of Buddhist chants clearing the chilly air of the ice cave.

The ice blades shattered on the Golden Bell, but also caused the bell to crack countless times, its golden light dimming significantly.

During this period, Qingyu had been focused on Qi Cultivation and hadn't had time to absorb the relics he had collected from Vajra Temple, slowing down the progress of the Golden Bell Shield.

However, fortunately, Qingyu's defense was not just one layer.

The Xuanyin Sword Armor reappeared, with dark green Sword Qi surrounding him.

But before the sword armor could fully form, a divine light, faster than the Sword Qi and treating the Golden Bell Shield as nothing, rushed into Qingyu's brow.

Qingyu staggered back several steps, a momentary daze in his eyes, and the Xuanyin Sword Armor could not be fully activated.

It was the God Slaying Tribulation, the last of the Sacred Heart Four Tribulations.

In the original comics, Emperor Shitian had never used it before exiting the scene, but now he suddenly did, catching Qingyu off guard.

Emperor Shitian did not fight Qingyu to the death with his entire Primordial Spirit, but suddenly attacked Qingyu with Primordial Spirit Power, causing him to be momentarily dazed.

After a millennium of cultivation, even though the results might not have been that impressive, Emperor Shitian had honed a powerful Primordial Spirit. Even Qingyu, a master in this area, was strategically deceived by him.

Emperor Shitian used the Vertical Intent Ascension Step again, appearing behind Qingyu in an instant. He clawed his right hand onto Qingyu's shoulder, where the Ice Blade, containing both extreme cold Qi Force and Fire Power, broke through the damaged Golden Bell Shield and clawed fiercely into the flesh.

Qingyu felt his fresh blood moving rapidly inside his body in response to the wound on his shoulder, causing chaos in his circulation.

Meanwhile, his heart kept beating relentlessly, growing more fierce. Even the robust body molded by the Golden Bell Shield couldn't prevent the heart from throbbing dangerously.

"Ha ha, young one, you have ultimately fallen into my hands," Emperor Shitian taunted.

True Qi continuously flowed from Emperor Shitian's hand into Qingyu's body, assimilating with his True Qi before taking it over.

"I should thank you for refining Dragon Essence and integrating it fully into your True Qi. Otherwise, absorbing the power of the Dragon Essence wouldn't have been so simple. Now, I no longer need to worry about the clash between the Dragon Essence and Phoenix Blood.

With the dragon and Phoenix united, I am the only eternal True God in this world. Ha ha ha..."

Thinking of what was to come, Emperor Shitian couldn't help but burst into wild laughter.

That his long-held wish was achieved so easily, far beyond his expectations, how could this not drive him to ecstatic madness.

"The Sea Absorption Holy Heart Mantra fundamentally involves devouring, but the technique isn't about devouring—it's about assimilation. First integrating True Qi into my body, then controlling it from the inside, and transforming my True Qi into a part of the Sacred Heart Technique, all while retaining the essence and rarity of True Qi.

A miraculous magic door, but Xu Fu, have you forgotten the Furious Wind and Thunder? Have you forgotten the Five Thunders Transmutation Hand?" Qingyu lightly chuckled, shattering Emperor Shitian's euphoria and sending him a strong sense of foreboding.

The next instant, the ominous premonition was realized. The True Qi, now part of the Sacred Heart Technique, returned to Emperor Shitian's body and transformed again into a form of True Qi that could assimilate all things, eroding the Phoenix Blood and millennia of power within Emperor Shitian.

Since he had actively assimilated this True Qi, it rapidly merged with his cultivation, and a terrifying phenomenon ensued...

Qingyu gently removed Emperor Shitian's clawing hand from his shoulder and gave him a palm strike on the chest.

Yin and Yang Qi burst into Emperor Shitian's body, disrupting the balance between Phoenix Fire and Xuanbing Power, causing Emperor Shitian to lose his ability to resist the power of the Five Thunders Transmutation Hand.

"Xu Fu, your real trouble isn't the Sacred Heart Technique, but the Phoenix Blood. The powerful regenerative ability of the Phoenix Blood meant that unless decapitated, you'd be hard to kill. That was your real reliance. Without the Phoenix Blood, even with a thousand years of wisdom, you'd be nothing but weak."

Qingyu looked at Emperor Shitian's resentful eyes and chuckled.

Like the previous encounter with the Qilin Demon Nie Feng, Emperor Shitian's regenerative abilities were astoundingly strong. While the Phoenix Blood couldn't keep him from aging, it did enable his regenerative abilities to terrifying extents.

For instance, in the previous Heavenly Heart Tribulation, this Martial Arts required one to use the heart to draw forth the opponent's heart; to make the opponent's heart tear apart, one must first suffer the same impact. But under the Phoenix Blood's regenerative power, such heart-stopping damage was completely negligible for Emperor Shitian.

If Qingyu didn't first eliminate the Phoenix Blood, Emperor Shitian would be untouchable.

Therefore, Qingyu deliberately set up this trap. He used the scent of Dragon Essence to lure Emperor Shitian, letting him walk into his own demise.

In the original story, Emperor Shitian was tricked by Furious Wind and Thunder, suffering from the Five Thunders Transmutation Hand, resulting in the dispersal of his Phoenix Blood and millennia of power. Now, he found himself suffering the same fate, his power being cunningly transformed by Qingyu.

For this reason, Qingyu had from the beginning refrained from using the Return to Nothing maneuver, nor revealed the transformative nature of his True Qi.

When Emperor Shitian thought he had assimilated Qingyu's Sacred Heart Technique True Qi, little did he know that Qingyu had beaten him at his own game, reversing the assimilation of the Sacred Heart Technique True Qi.

And then, after Emperor Shitian had merged this devoured True Qi, he too walked the path to his doom.

"To stumble into the same trap twice, how ironic. Farewell, Xu Fu."

A ghostly green Sword Qi pierced through the brain.