Star Palace, within the towering palace.
As Lu Yang's "arrogant words" fell, not only did an uproar break out among the Perfected Lords, but even the Great Perfected Lords couldn't help but feel a bit of curiosity and interest.
"Hao Yuan, what do you think?"
Among the six Great Perfected Lords of the Spiritual Power Dao present, one couldn't help but look at Exalted One Hao Yuan and smile, "Do you really think this person can defeat Zhen Gao with a single punch?"
"His tone is certainly not small!"
"I admit, the combat power of Perfected Lords who achieved the Grotto-Heaven Method in the Immortal Nexus is indeed a cut above ours. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been beaten back so miserably back then."
"Moreover, the strength of this Immortal Lord Master of Tribulations and Ferryman of Karma is probably at the absolute pinnacle even among the Immortal Nexus Perfected Lords. Nine times out of ten, Zhen Gao won't be his match... But it shouldn't be to the point where he can't even take a single move, right? Not to mention, after all these years, Zhen Gao has the augmentation of quite a few formation-artifact."
"Who knows."
Exalted One Hao Yuan shook his head, his expression solemn. "Let's just watch. Don't forget, this is a Saint Sect Perfected Lord. It wouldn't be strange no matter what he does."
"That's true."
"But speaking so absolutely... even if Zhen Gao is heavily injured by this punch, as long as he stubbornly refuses to admit defeat, how will this Master of Tribulations step down from the stage he set?"
Speaking up to this point, Exalted One Hao Yuan suddenly raised an eyebrow.
Previously in the Mystic Spirit World Realm, he had seen Lu Yang's desperado-like aura with his own eyes. Therefore, a speculation unavoidably surfaced in his mind:
'Heavily injured yet still stubbornly refusing to admit defeat?'
'Then just beat him to death...'
"Hahahaha."
At this moment, as Lu Yang's words fell, Zhen Gao similarly let out a burst of loud laughter, the sound shaking the sea of stars. "I win as long as I take one punch from you?"
"Good, good, good!"
His laughter gradually ceased, and a hint of ferocity crept into Zhen Gao's tone:
"Those who dare speak like this are either spouting nonsense or truly possess the ability. You had better be the latter... Otherwise, I won't hold back later."
Faced with these words brimming with hostility, Lu Yang paid them no mind. He merely extended his hand leisurely, slowly opened his palm, and said lightly:
"You first?"
Those two simple words completely detonated Zhen Gao's emotions. His gaze darkened, and without any further hesitation, spiritual power fluctuations as vast as the ocean roared out from his body. Boundless radiance bloomed, as if a brilliant sun had suddenly been ignited within the dead, dark sea of stars.
What was the "Spiritual Power Dao"?
Merely having a lot of spiritual power? That applied to Star Lords; they only possessed a large quantity of spiritual power but lacked any usable methods, which was why they had to compensate with Dao Soldiers.
But in Zhen Gao's era, Spiritual Power Dao cultivators didn't have the auxiliary support of Dao Soldiers.
'The strength of spiritual power lies not only in oneself, but also in the enemy!'
Whether it was the profound wonders of Dao Fruits or profound Dao Arts, fundamentally, they all required the support of spiritual power. And the true Spiritual Power Dao could influence the enemy!
A second later, the hand seals Zhen Gao was forming changed, and a Dao resonance spilled from his lips:
"Seized by spiritual power, few hearts remain unturned!"
[Mystic Art of Returning to the Origin].
Before the Dao resonance faded, boundless radiance had already appeared—not on his body, but on Lu Yang's body, pouring out of him out of thin air!
"Hm?"
Seeing this, Lu Yang raised an eyebrow, revealing a bit of surprise. This was because his entire body was constantly protected by the lightning spiritual light of [Divine Firmament Thunder].
Yet at this moment, as Zhen Gao's hand seals and Dao resonance fell, the protective lightning spiritual light around his body actually disintegrated into thin air! It scattered into a vast expanse of spiritual power, and then, completely escaping his divine sense's control, it transformed into boundless iridescence and converged towards Zhen Gao. It had effectively defected!
"This move is quite interesting."
Lu Yang nodded slightly, noticing some clues. "Spiritual power is the foundation of all methods. This is an art of reversal, capable of returning all kinds of methods to their fundamental essence of spiritual power."
And it wasn't just that.
The spiritual power that was broken down and reconverted wouldn't be usable by the original owner. Instead, it would be utilized by Zhen Gao, further amplifying the might of his own spiritual power.
It could both break methods and borrow other methods to strengthen oneself.
'As expected, the Spiritual Power Dao actually has method as well.'
It was just that triggering this method was extremely difficult. At least among Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords, Zhen Gao was likely one of the few existences capable of executing this art.
"A pity..."
Facing Zhen Gao dissolving his protective lightning light and the subsequent crashing wave of spiritual power, Lu Yang's expression didn't change, nor did his posture.
He remained standing steadily, his palm open.
Boom!
In an instant, the ocean crashed down. But it wasn't a simple, violent bombardment. Instead, it insidiously seeped into Lu Yang's body through his seven orifices and every pore.
"The variations of spiritual power also have distinctions of Yin and Yang. A violent smash is merely a Yang method. The Yin methods are equally exquisite, capable of seeping my spiritual power into your body, triggering a response from your own spiritual power and assimilating it. In the end, your spiritual power will become my spiritual power. What methods will you have left to use?"
Zhen Gao's voice rumbled over.
This wasn't just explaining his methods; it also contained a Dao resonance vibrating with spiritual power, capable of shaking the soul and shattering divine sense, leaving one muddled and unsteady.
For a time, many gazes converged on them.
"What a powerful Dharma Body!"
Some Perfected Lords with discerning eyes couldn't help but exclaim in admiration upon seeing this. "How was such a Dharma Body cultivated in the present world? Its sturdiness is simply unbelievable!"
"Zhen Gao can't even injure this person."
"Even if he did, it would recover in an instant; it's completely meaningless... He doesn't even need spiritual power; relying on this Dharma Body alone is enough."
The Perfected Lords sighed with emotion, and even the Great Perfected Lords felt a sense of admiration. However, gradually, some people's expressions became strange. "It's impressive, yes, but while Zhen Gao can't hurt him, it seems he can't do anything to Zhen Gao either. He spoke so absolutely earlier; he's probably regretting it now, right?"
Rumble!
Another loud boom rang out. Zhen Gao took a step back, his face somewhat ugly. Not far away, Lu Yang's figure hadn't wavered in the slightest from beginning to end.
His entire body was completely unharmed.
And from start to finish, Lu Yang hadn't launched a single counterattack, simply letting Zhen Gao exhaust all his methods. This caused Zhen Gao's expression to grow increasingly gloomy.
Just based on this alone, Lu Yang stood in an invincible position against him.
"However... you haven't won either!"
Zhen Gao sneered coldly and changed his hand seals. A vast expanse of radiance converged in his palm—this was all the spiritual power he had extracted from Lu Yang's body.
Without spiritual power, relying solely on this Dharma Body, he had more than enough to defend but lacked the ability to attack. How could he possibly defeat him?
And with only one punch?
Let's see how you throw a punch!
"Are you done?"
Finally, watching Zhen Gao switch from offense to defense, Lu Yang moved. As he slowly stepped forward, his previously open palm gradually clenched into a fist.
"The Spiritual Power Dao truly lives up to its reputation. Letting you attack first can be considered giving you enough face. Next, we'll see how your luck is, and whether the others react fast enough."
"...What?"
Zhen Gao paused upon hearing this. He could understand the first half of Lu Yang's words—seeing how his luck was. But why did it depend on whether the others reacted fast enough?
However, he had no time to think.
Because as he spoke, Lu Yang had already slowly drawn his clenched fist backward, stretching his arm as if drawing a bow to notch an arrow, raising it high into the air.
Boom!
In an instant, heaven collapsed and the earth tore asunder!
He didn't need a single shred of spiritual power; this was the purest manifestation of the Dharma Body. Zhen Gao's frenzied attacks just now had long since fully charged Lu Yang's [Future Life Aspect].
[Tribulation Evil Profound Light]!
A dusky radiance exploded on Lu Yang's fist like a storm. Carrying a concept of great terror and great extinction, it smashed solidly towards Zhen Gao!
Dodge? Block?
Useless!
Back then, even [Sky-shrouding] had been hit squarely the first time he encountered the [Tribulation Evil Profound Light]. How could Zhen Gao possibly be an exception?
In a daze, Zhen Gao seemed to see a scene from the future—the scene anchored by the [Tribulation Evil Profound Light]. It left him no room to maneuver. The dusky radiance crawled up his body, rendering him unable to move, forcing him to watch helplessly as this punch landed squarely on his face—
Bang!!!
A second later, Zhen Gao's entire body was launched into the air. Like a shooting star trailing myriad rays of brilliant light, he crashed heavily into the towering palace behind them.
At this moment, even the sea of stars lost its luster.
And under the gazes of dozens of astonished eyes, Lu Yang's fist stopped firmly in mid-air, intercepted out of nowhere by another hand, having never actually landed.
What knocked Zhen Gao back and caused his severe injuries was merely the aftershock of the punch's wind.
His luck was good.
Exalted One Hao Yuan reacted very fast.
(End of Chapter)