"How do you know that your path is better than mine?" Qi Xiu’s calm gaze sent a shock through the handsome Daoist’s heart.
An indescribable sense of isolation made him feel like a frog being looked down upon in a well.
Suppressing the discontent in his heart, the handsome Daoist, with a cold expression, stepped forward with his hands behind him, seemingly ordinary. But with each step he took, his figure grew fainter and more illusory, becoming increasingly elusive.
As he moved, streaks of dark and obscure Qi spread throughout the mirror world like ripples.
Cold, vast, desolate!
The endless Lunar Qi spread in all directions.
This place seemed to have transformed into a realm of Yin.
Looking around, Qi Xiu’s eyes brimming with purple, he realized the handsome Daoist, having comprehended the "Taiyin’s Infinite True Scripture," had completely merged with the endless black fog.
Impossible to detect.
He could only roughly discern his position through the Observing Qi Skill, sensing the changes in Qi around him.
This method of concealment is more profound and sophisticated than the Water Patrol Evasion Skill. Is it the Divine Marvel evolution of the Mo Jiao’s elusiveness?
Watching the handsome Daoist completely disappear, Qi Xiu remembered the three Divine Marvels possessed by the Mo Jiao.
Elusiveness allowed one to be like the Mo Jiao itself, poised between the tangible and the intangible. But this Divine Marvel originally could not make one vanish into thin air.
Presumably, after the Mo Jiao swallowed the tiger and underwent Transform into Dragon, its original Divine Marvel was also enhanced.
Suddenly, the black fog surged! The long-dormant mist seemed to awaken, stirring restlessly and sweeping toward Qi Xiu.
It was like a giant wave of darkness, slowly spreading forward.
A cold, grim cry echoed from within the mist.
Instantly, the surging black fog erupted! Its extreme thirst for Essence, Qi, and blood turned this mass of fog into the most terrifying evil in the world.
Feeling as if the Essence, Qi, and blood within him were about to fly out of his body, Qi Xiu lightly exclaimed and instantly activated his Escape Skill to move out of the black fog’s embrace.
This Daoist had abandoned "The Secret of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture" and converted all his power into the "Taiyin’s Infinite True Scripture." Therefore, he could no longer use the Star Absorption Skill. But the "Taiyin’s Infinite True Scripture" was originally derived from "The Secret of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture." Furthermore, the handsome Daoist’s comprehension was outstanding, allowing him to combine it with the intent of Tai Yin. He created this move, "Taiyin Jue Mie."
This Taiyin Jue Mie may not be as powerful as my Star Absorption Skill, which can drain all of a person’s power in a short time. But it specifically draws the Essence, Qi, and blood of living beings. The volume of the black fog is vast, surging like a tide. Once touched, one will immediately be sucked in and unable to break free. If it is allowed to spread and envelop, I’m afraid in one day, it could destroy an entire city! Compared to my Star Absorption Skill, this is truly a Demon Skill!
Sensing the eerie and sinister nature of this Taiyin Jue Mie, Qi Xiu shifted his position continuously, avoiding the enclosing Tai Yin black fog that clung to him like bone-eating maggots.
His Gang Qi was now exhausted, and he only had one last Mixed Primordial Bead left. If he were to be trapped by this Tai Yin black fog, it would more likely be disastrous than not.
"Qi Xiu, I told you, you’re bound to lose. However, my initial offer still stands. If you agree to lend your body to me for two hours a day, I will help you subdue the Dual Heart Mirror. Think about it; with you and me working together, who in the world can stop us? I can assure you, in no more than a year, as long as I can get out, I can help you cultivate three hundred and sixty-five Mixed Primordial Beads. Within five years, I’ll enable you to contend for Bloodstain. In at most a hundred years, you too will be a Dao Expert!"
The voice, full of seductive temptation, kept coming from the black fog, and the handsome Daoist’s face appeared, earnestly advising his original self.
"Fine, I agree." Qi Xiu said with a gentle smile, reaching out his hand. "To show sincerity, let’s shake hands."
"You don’t appreciate favors!"
Glancing at Qi Xiu’s dark and foreboding hand, the handsome Daoist snorted coldly and increased the surge of Tai Yin black fog forward!
Encircling, chasing, dodging, and fleeing—a true pursuit battle was unfolding in this mirror world.
The handsome Daoist drove the Tai Yin black fog to frantically chase Qi Xiu, trying to drown him in this Taiyin Jue Mie. But Qi Xiu was neither hurried nor worried, remaining tranquil and collected, focusing only on evading the Tai Yin black fog’s encirclement and engaging in a guerrilla battle with the handsome Daoist.
This fellow! He had seen through it from the very beginning!
As time went on, the surging of the black fog slowed, its area shrinking, and in the end, it simply retracted completely into the handsome Daoist’s body.
"You saw through it from the beginning, didn’t you?"
Staring intently at his original self, the handsome Daoist shook his head and chuckled.
Stopping in his tracks, Qi Xiu clasped his sleeves and smiled faintly, raising his hand to point at his own head. "Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture Mystery was created by me. You’ve derived something new, but the foundation is still with me. Your Taiyin Jue Mie is fierce and domineering indeed, but it lacks a solid and substantial foundation. Now that both of us have almost exhausted our Gang Qi, wielding this power must be quite strenuous, mustn’t it?"
Qi Xiu’s words made the handsome Daoist chuckle and cover his forehead.
"Truly worthy of being my original self. I was hoping to bluff you with a bold move. You’re right; without enough Cultivation, it is indeed arduous to wield Taiyin Jue Mie. Moreover, I no longer have any Mixed Primordial Beads..."
As he spoke, a hint of helplessness couldn’t help but appear on the handsome Daoist’s ordinarily malicious face.
He gave up "The Secret of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture" to cultivate the "Taiyin’s Infinite True Scripture." Although he brought his understanding to the extreme and grasped the power that truly suited him, it was a choice of one over the other. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Giving up "The Secret of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture" also meant losing the BUG-level, unprecedented and unparalleled terrifying amount of Gang Qi from the Mixed Primordial Bead. This vast and boundless black fog of Taiyin Jue Mie was the result of conversion from the Mixed Primordial Beads. Without the solid backing of the Mixed Primordial Bead, he, who had just comprehended the "Taiyin’s Infinite True Scripture," simply didn’t have enough Cultivation to control this extreme Yin force that could scorch miles of earth.
The endless black fog retracted into his body, and the Mo Jiao, which was almost ready to Transform into Dragon, reappeared on the handsome Daoist’s shoulder.
"If you have no other tricks up your sleeve, then I, Qi Xiu, will claim victory in this round."
Standing with his hands behind his back, Qi Xiu was calm and composed.
This clone of his possesses talent and comprehension no lesser than my own, but his Temperament is vastly different. Aggressive and extreme, sharp and treacherous. If it came to fighting and killing, I am far inferior to him. Had the opponent not been my own clone, aware of all my methods and trump cards, I would probably have already been slain by a sneak attack from his formless body-penetrating Sword Qi. If this person were released into the outside world, he would definitely grow into a towering figure of the Demonic Path, causing storms of blood and commanding mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Yet it is precisely this Temperament that led him to recklessly pursue glory, desiring to completely surpass me, his original self. Though he deduced the "Taiyin’s Infinite True Scripture" with great wisdom, he lost his solid foundation. Facing me, who grows stronger in battle and is immovable as a mountain, his defeat is clearly imminent.
"That won’t do. At the very least, I should struggle desperately before death. Don’t you agree?"
With the corners of his mouth slightly raised, the handsome Daoist suddenly lifted his head, and the Mo Jiao lingering by his side abruptly merged into his body.
The next instant, the Daoist’s crimson, demonic pupils suddenly turned pitch-black, like bottomless abysses occupying his eyes.
A relentless cold abruptly appeared around his body. Qi Xiu frowned slightly, a peculiar feeling rising in his heart.
"[Supreme Dark Path of Tai Yin—Annihilation!]"
His eyes suddenly widened, veins bulging around their sockets. The handsome Daoist locked eyes with Qi Xiu, his face turning ghostly pale as if he had expended a vast amount of energy.
Seeing the color drain from the handsome Daoist’s face, that peculiar feeling in Qi Xiu’s heart suddenly exploded.
An intense warning sounded through his Mental State. A glint of golden light flashed behind his head. Relying on a premonition that surged from the depths, Qi Xiu subconsciously soared half a foot into the air.
The next instant, at his chest, a twisted shadowy figure expanded like a vortex, gradually dissolving his body into nothingness.
His face turned white. Qi Xiu, having never felt such a bizarre power, mustered all the Gang Qi from his last Mixed Primordial Bead, using the Thunder Escape Light to forcefully break free.
Flashing several hundred meters away, Qi Xiu touched his chest with lingering fear.
The sensation of his body being expelled and disintegrated was more painful than being slashed by a thousand knives or having his flesh peeled. It was like forcibly tearing that part out of his body. Fortunately, the Human Path Merit warned me. I soared half a foot up, changing the target of this force from my head to my chest. Otherwise, I would have been powerless to escape this force’s annihilation!
Is this... the power of Elusiveness?
Gazing at the staggering handsome Daoist across from him, Qi Xiu’s expression was serious.
Perhaps he had previously viewed this Daoist’s creation of the "Taiyin’s Infinite True Scripture" with a hint of disdain, feeling it was incomparable to his own "The Secret of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture." But having experienced that force just now, he had to admit: in pure combat and killing, this "Taiyin’s Infinite True Scripture" was indeed stronger than "The Secret of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture"!
"Indeed..." Pale as a sheet, the handsome Daoist chuckled hoarsely, his body flickering like a candle in the wind, seeming about to dissipate. "Elusiveness is about concealing oneself between the tangible and the intangible, using it to dodge attacks and hide one’s presence. But after I created the "Taiyin’s Infinite True Scripture," this power underwent a sublimation. It can now be applied to any target. If manipulated properly, it can eradicate any existence. You’ve felt it, haven’t you?"
"Mm," Qi Xiu nodded firmly and responded without hesitation, "This power is truly terrifying enough to make one tremble. ’Annihilation’ is indeed a fitting name. This force makes you feel as if it wants to forcibly erase you from this world. Just on this point alone, my "The Secret of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture" is inferior to yours."
"Hahaha, do you really mean that?" Hearing Qi Xiu admit inferiority, the handsome Daoist laughed heartily, bending over so much his knees nearly buckled as he looked at Qi Xiu. "Do you really mean that?"
"Mm, I’m satisfied to hear you say that. But Qi Xiu, do not think that defeating me this one time means our issues are resolved."
Gradually straightening up, the handsome Daoist regained his sly and malicious demeanor, pointing a finger at Qi Xiu. "We will meet again!"