Undying Life

Chapter 862: The Mighty Zhong Shan

Just as Sima Zongheng's longsword was about to strike Zhong Shan, a ten-meter-tall jade seal suddenly appeared above the sword. It was the Fang Tian Jade Seal. The moment it descended, an emperor's aura, a suppressive force over the entire world, emanated from it.

Sima Zongheng was startled.

In Sima Zongheng's mind, Zhong Shan only had that great blade as his celestial weapon. But the aura of this jade seal? A terrifying aura pressed down, even causing Sima Zongheng to feel a tremor in his heart.

A celestial weapon, absolutely a celestial weapon! This jade seal is also a celestial weapon?

"Boom!"

The Fang Tian Jade Seal collided fiercely with the longsword. The tremendous force from the collision drove the longsword deep into the ground, disappearing instantly.

At that moment, Zhong Shan and Sima Zongheng's great blades clashed. Both blades seemed to bring forth different worlds—one hot, one cold. In the collision, the surrounding mountains shattered.

In the distance, some areas froze into icebergs while others turned into fields of magma. The surroundings were all reduced to ruins, except for Daji's tomb behind Zhong Shan, which remained untouched.

The first clash resulted in a draw? No, with the longsword driven underground, Sima Zongheng realized in horror that he was actually at a slight disadvantage.

How is this possible? He is just a celestial being.

The longsword emerged from the ground again, circling around Sima Zongheng. Coldly staring at Zhong Shan, Sima Zongheng couldn't believe how strong Zhong Shan was.

Had he been hiding his strength all along? Since the opening of the heavens, he had been concealing his power? But the Sage King couldn't be mistaken. How could a celestial being of the second heaven realm contend with a great celestial?

Unless, unless he was one of those unparalleled fierce individuals, possessing an innate ferocity that allowed them to perform extraordinarily in battle.

Is Zhong Shan one of those fierce individuals?

No, after the opening of the heavens, he immediately chose to submit. Is he really a fierce individual?

Sima Zongheng, standing at a distance, had a look of suspicion in his eyes. Zhong Shan held the great blade in his right hand and the Fang Tian Jade Seal in his left.

Fighting a great celestial? Zhong Shan indeed felt no pressure. He had so many trump cards that a single great celestial couldn't trouble him. For instance, in the past, only ancient immortals could break through the barrier of the Yang Realm in the Minor Thousand World, but Zhong Shan, even as a mortal, could tear it open with the power of the world at his disposal. Now, as a celestial being, could he not handle a great celestial with a broken Dao heart?

In the past, why didn't the Lingxiao Heavenly Court act? Simply to secure the position of the Great Yi in the heavenly realms.

Although Zhong Shan could contend with a great celestial, he couldn't prevent their destruction. To protect the Great Yi, Zhong Shan had to choose submission.

Sima Zongheng, having had his Dao heart broken by Zhong Shan, was still a great celestial. If Zhong Shan couldn't handle him, it would be unworthy of his title as a Sage King.

It was just the situation that kept Zhong Shan from delivering a killing blow. And Zhong Shan didn't need to reveal much. For people like Sima Zongheng, it wasn't necessary to expose everything.

"Hmph..."

Sima Zongheng couldn't believe it. As a great celestial, facing a mere celestial being, an insurmountable gap existed. How could he possibly win? Was it because he was careless?

Sima Zongheng stretched out his hand, and the surrounding world changed. Under the azure sky, an ancient green pine tree, towering to the heavens, suddenly stood behind Sima Zongheng.

Sima Zongheng's world materialized.

But Zhong Shan, also possessing a world, stood unafraid. Behind Zhong Shan, the sky turned purple, revealing the Divine Realm once more.

The two worlds seemed to interlock, with Zhong Shan standing in the Divine Realm, harnessing its power, while Sima Zongheng did the same with his world.

"How can a celestial's world be so stable..." Sima Zongheng remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Your world is just too weak!" Zhong Shan retorted disdainfully.

"Hmph, arrogant..." Sima Zongheng responded coldly. He then slashed at Zhong Shan with his great blade, his longsword unleashing endless sword energy.

Zhong Shan smiled coldly and engaged Sima Zongheng in battle. Their clash lasted nearly a full day.

The two worlds collided, creating chaos. Rivers flowed backward, and everything shattered into pieces.

Sima Zongheng couldn't gain the upper hand. With his Dao heart broken, he grew increasingly agitated as he was suppressed over time.

Once again, he struck with his fiery great blade, which, amplified by the wood element energy of his world, transformed into a blazing sun descending upon Zhong Shan.

The longsword tangled with the Fang Tian Jade Seal.

The great blade, Longevity, rose to meet it, resembling a giant moon. The two blades collided fiercely again.

Under the terrifying energy clash, Sima Zongheng became desperate. Taking a risk and sustaining internal injuries, he thrust his left hand toward Zhong Shan.

A fiery red palm, carrying apocalyptic power, aimed to turn Zhong Shan into ashes.

In Sima Zongheng's mind, Zhong Shan might be fierce, but his physical body shouldn't compare to that of a great celestial, right?

A palm strike with destructive power ensued.

Zhong Shan's eyes turned cold. Extending his left hand, a silver palm appeared in the void, surrounded by clouds and faint runes. The silver palm met Sima Zongheng's fiery red palm. The Heaven-Opening Palm!

"Boom!" Both worlds dissipated simultaneously—one by choice, the other forcibly.

Zhong Shan put away the Fang Tian Jade Seal and the Longevity great blade, flicking his sleeve nonchalantly as he looked into the distance.

Sima Zongheng flew through the ruins, eventually crashing into a distant mountain, causing it to collapse.

Dust and debris covered the ruins. When the dust settled, a weakened Sima Zongheng was revealed.

His left hand was broken, his body covered in blood, and his face pale with defeat. Looking at Zhong Shan from afar, a look of terror flashed in his eyes.

How could this be? A simple clash of palms.

A great celestial lost to a celestial in a direct confrontation? How could this happen?

Sima Zongheng couldn't believe it, but his body felt as if his bones were shattered, unable to move. His eyes were filled with terror.

"Sima Zongheng? Just so," Zhong Shan said disdainfully.

"Poof..."

In the distance, Sima Zongheng spat out a mouthful of blood. His Dao heart was already broken, and now, beaten by a mere celestial and mocked with "just so," even his best composure couldn't prevent him from coughing up blood in anger.

"Huff! Huff!" Suddenly, several figures flew over.

One by one, they arrived. Seeing the ruins before them, almost everyone was stunned.

Ruins? The massive battlefield ruins? Great celestial Sima Zongheng? Celestial Zhong Shan?

Zhong Shan had defeated Sima Zongheng? How could this be?

Among the group of arriving people were Sima Qianjun and Sima Qing. Sima Qing raised an eyebrow, while Sima Qianjun rushed towards the ruins.

"Second Uncle, are you alright?" Sima Qianjun quickly retrieved a pill and fed it to Sima Zongheng.

Sima Qing didn't pay further attention to Sima Zongheng. Instead, he looked past Zhong Shan towards the mountain behind him, noticing a gate at the mountain's base with a nine-tailed fox sculpture above it.

Seeing the sculpture, a gleam appeared in Sima Qing's eyes. Without exchanging more words with Zhong Shan, Sima Qing's eyes suddenly turned slightly green. But just as quickly, they returned to normal because at that moment, Mr. Fox arrived with another large group.

Zhong Shan observed keenly. In that fleeting moment when Sima Qing's eyes turned green, a soul-captivating power emanated. It was a pupil technique.

Sima Qing had tried to use a pupil technique against him but was interrupted by Mr. Fox's arrival.

Mr. Fox, upon arriving, also glanced at the weakened Sima Zongheng, slightly surprised but quickly pieced together the situation.

"Zhong Shan, what's inside the mountain behind you? Where is the princess?" Mr. Fox asked.

"The princess is inside the mountain..." Sima Qing also asked.

"Everyone, please wait. The princess will come out to see you all soon," Zhong Shan nodded.

Just as the crowd was about to speak again, a sudden voice interrupted.

"You're a tough guy, aren't you exaggerating? It's said you're only at the second level of the celestial realm? You beat Sima Zongheng like this? Are you even human?" It was Su Afo's voice. As soon as Su Afo arrived, he witnessed the astonishing scene of the dignified great celestial Sima Zongheng being beaten with broken bones by Zhong Shan. It was incredible. Su Afo felt he had missed a great show.

"Su Afo, what are you saying?" Sima Qianjun snapped angrily. Su Afo casually glanced at Sima Qianjun, then eagerly looked back at Zhong Shan, his disregard infuriating Sima Qianjun.

"Zhong Shan, what's inside the mountain? If you don't tell us, we'll go in ourselves," Mr. Fox said.

The surrounding experts were all eager, especially Sima Qing, whose eyes were filled with longing.

"The princess is inside receiving what belongs to her. Please do not approach. Zhong Shan will not make things difficult for everyone," Zhong Shan said calmly.

"Young Lord, there must be a great treasure inside. My battle with Zhong Shan has lasted a day and a night, and Princess Nine-Tails has yet to come out. We must break into the mountain quickly!" Sima Zongheng said weakly.

Hearing this, everyone knew it was a significant matter. A group of experts took to the sky, their imposing auras pressing down on Zhong Shan, as if ready to subdue him and charge into the mountain.

"Boom!"

A ten-meter-thick blood lightning suddenly descended from the sky, carrying a powerful, corruptive destructive force, heading straight for Sima Qing.

Sima Qing's expression changed, and he struck upward with his palm.

"Boom!"

Sima Qing's palm shattered the blood lightning, but the powerful shockwave knocked him down a thousand meters, while the other experts were also thrown off balance by the aftershock.

Everyone was astonished, not only by the blood lightning but also by Sima Qing's strength.

How powerful was Sima Qing?

Zhong Shan looked up at the sky. This blood lightning wasn't his doing but came from the blood clouds above. Was it Su Daji? Was Su Daji attacking Sima Qing?

"What are you all doing?" A sudden shout echoed from all directions, it was the voice of the Chess Sage Meimei.

In the center of the group, the figure of the Chess Sage Meimei appeared out of thin air, commanding a presence that stunned everyone.