Dong Buyi grasped the volcano in his hand,and the unmatched Mountain God Seal,full of explosive power,attacked.Su Xin,on the other hand,sheathed his sword and extended a single finger–his index finger.
The outer disciples were immediately intrigued.Su Xin's nickname was'Blood Sword Divine Finger.'His fame on the ranking list was not solely due to his eccentric swordsmanship,but also owed to this peculiar finger technique.
As the volcano seal descended,Su Xin continuously pointed out with a seemingly ordinary finger,disrupting the tranquility of the void.Ripples spread like chaos in a calm pond,and the power of the volcano seal began to dissipate.
Break!
The breaking move within the Startling God Finger–the Three-Finger Shattering Heaven!When the Startling God Finger reached perfection after practicing the Twenty-Four Solar Terms,one could comprehend this extraordinary technique.In the original work,Bai Choufei had once used this move to defeat a formidable opponent.
This was the ultimate secret of Bai Choufei's finger technique.With one finger breaking through,the volcano seal disappeared without a trace.However,the true qi within Su Xin's body was instantly depleted by almost half!
Dong Buyi was genuinely surprised.He did not expect Su Xin to possess such a mysterious finger technique,capable of rivaling his Mountain God Seal.
The issue,however,was that Dong Buyi was currently in the Elemental Spirit Realm,while Su Xin's cultivation was only at the Innate Divine Palace Realm.If Su Xin were to reach the Elemental Spirit Realm,the outcome of a clash between his Mountain God Seal and Su Xin's finger would be unknown.
"What technique is this?"Dong Buyi inquired.
Su Xin's lips curled up,and he replied,"Three-Finger Shattering Heaven."
"Hahaha!A splendid Three-Finger Shattering Heaven!"Dong Buyi laughed heartily."Blood Sword Divine Finger,your nickname is indeed fitting.Your sword technique is eccentric,but this finger technique truly deserves to be called divine!However,I still have one seal.Prepare yourself!"
Dong Buyi's hands began forming seals like dancing butterflies.Despite his appearance resembling that of an old farmer,there was a sense of beauty in his seal formations.His hands moved gracefully,resembling dancing spirits.
In an instant,the seal was complete.Dong Buyi's hands seemed to hold a mountain peak and at the same time,a sun and moon.
"This is the Sun and Moon Peak of Western Liang!"Su Xin said solemnly.
Dong Buyi nodded,"Indeed,it is the Sun and Moon Peak.This mountain seal was created by an ancestor who observed mountains from all over the world.I discarded the dross and retained the essence,also traveling through the rivers and mountains of the world.I grasped the inspiration from the mountain peaks and left only the nine strongest Mountain God Seals,now known as the'Nine Ruling Mountain God Seals.'
The Sun and Moon Peak is where I comprehended the world,melted and refined my divine power,and ascended to the Elemental Spirit Realm.It's also the only peak among the Nine Ruling Mountain God Seals that I personally comprehended.Can you withstand this seal?"
As Dong Buyi's words fell,he held the sun and moon,and the power of heaven and earth continuously rotated within the Sun and Moon Peak.Dong Buyi appeared like an ancient deity grasping stars and moons.
When the Sun and Moon Peak pressed down,it seemed like the end of the world.The sun and moon fell from the sky,the forces of yin and yang intersected brilliantly,leaving the outer disciples of the past years in a state of enchantment.
A hint of seriousness flashed in Su Xin's eyes.This seal was not easy to withstand.He had frightened Dong Buyi with the Three-Finger Shattering Heaven just now,and he was certain that Dong Buyi had rearranged the order of the Nine Ruling Mountain God Seals.The Sun and Moon Peak was undoubtedly one of the last three seals.
In martial arts like the Nine Ruling Mountain God Seals,each subsequent seal was stronger than the previous one,with the last seal being the most powerful.
The Ice Mountain Seal and the Volcano Seal earlier were both ordinary mountains.Still,now,with the Sun and Moon Peak,it had become extraordinary.
The Western Liang Sun and Moon Peak was said to be the divine peak of a certain foreign tribe in Western Liang.Daily worship at this peak served as their spiritual support and was also Dong Buyi's place of enlightenment,where he melded and refined his Elemental Spirit,promoting to the Elemental Spirit Realm.It embodied his own path and was one of his strongest Mountain God Seals.
Facing this seal,the true qi in Su Xin's body circulated wildly.Whether it was the Purple Haze Divine Art or the Mountain Scripture Technique,Su Xin brought both to their limits just to unleash this final move–the Dream-Shattering Finger!
"All phenomena are like a dream,like bubbles and shadows!"
In the instant Su Xin's Dream-Shattering Finger was unleashed,whether it was the ferocious true qi or the massive peak descending from the sky,everything seemed like ephemeral bubbles,easily pierced!
Silent ripples spread out.When the Sun and Moon Peak clashed with the Dream-Shattering Finger,everything dissipated into nothingness.
The pillars and the surrounding ground of the hall seemed as if they were torn apart madly,covered with numerous cracks.With a gentle breeze from the outside,the hall,covering dozens of yards in radius,collapsed more than half.
Dong Buyi and Su Xin stood in the midst of ruins.The outer disciples of the past years were dumbfounded,staring blankly at Su Xin.
As disciples of the largest sect in the world,they had witnessed the actions of powerful individuals on the ranking list.However,they had never seen a battle between a ranking list powerhouse and a cultivator in the Elemental Spirit Realm.Such might was beyond description.
A smile appeared on Dong Buyi's face,"Indeed,the new generation surpasses the old.I have indeed underestimated the strength of this generation's ranking list powerhouse,and underestimated you,Su Xin.
It seems that when Six Gates Sect appointed you as the Chief Constable of Jiangnan Dao,it was not a desperate move but a recognition of your true strength."
Rest assured,I,Dong Buyi,am willing to admit defeat.I will truthfully submit the imperial transportation and tax duties to the court.Tomorrow,you can send someone to the dock to oversee the transportation."
Su Xin also smiled,giving a slight bow,"Master Dong is magnanimous.I appreciate your gesture.I will take my leave now."
Su Xin turned to leave,but at this moment,Dong Buyi said,"Wait."
"Is there anything else,Master Dong?"Su Xin turned back and asked.In front of so many people,Su Xin was somewhat skeptical that Dong Buyi would go back on his word.
"Just because you came to my sect,and I lost the bet,I'll give you the winnings.Also,I'll give you a gift so you don't leave empty-handed."
Dong Buyi called over one of his disciples and gave some instructions.The disciple immediately ran out and soon returned with a booklet,handing it to Su Xin.
Seeing the surprise in Su Xin's eyes,Dong Buyi explained,"The relationship between my sect and the court is neither good nor bad.A few years ago,when Jin Wulin was still in power,I was aware that he had been controlled by the White Lotus Sect.Why would he suddenly go crazy and seize the tax revenue and expel your inspectors from Jiangnan Dao?That was just creating trouble for himself."
Su Xin was puzzled.He had always thought that this incident was due to Jin Wulin indulging the martial artists in Jiangnan Dao,and the sect's domineering behavior,which led to the conflict.But now,listening to Dong Buyi,it seemed there was more to the story.
Dong Buyi continued,"The real reason is that Jin Wulin came to me voluntarily and made a deal.Since then,my sect doesn't have to pay imperial transportation taxes or worry about those inspector constables.However,every month,we have to provide Jin Wulin with a batch of cultivation resources.The records of these monthly transactions are in this booklet.I was cautious because I didn't want Jin Wulin to betray us,but I never expected he would undermine the foundation of the Great Zhou court."
Su Xin was taken aback.His original plan was to use the intense battle with Dong Buyi to regain control of the transportation taxes and inspection rights,discredit Lei Yuan and others,and then remove their official positions,abolish their martial arts,and kill anyone who dared to resist.However,now the situation seemed even more straightforward.
With the accusation of colluding with remnants of the Wu Kingdom,Lei Yuan and others would be useless even if they reported to the Six Gates Sect.Moreover,if Su Xin killed many people within the Jiangnan Dao Six Gates Sect,there would be no one higher up who would say anything.
During the last cleanup of those colluding with the remnants of the Wu Kingdom,only half of the people were killed,and many high-ranking members died.They didn't finish the job at that time,but now Su Xin was helping them clean up again,which would be a credit to him.
The accusation this time was too severe,and the evidence was conclusive.Even if Lei Yuan and the others tried to shift the blame to Jin Wulin,it would be futile.
Holding the booklet,Su Xin gave a slight bow to Dong Buyi,saying,"Thank you,Master Dong."
After expressing his gratitude,Su Xin turned and left.The disciples of the sect made way for him,showing reverence in their eyes.It was a respect given to a strong individual,regardless of their status.
Dong Buyi watched Su Xin's departing figure and thought to himself that the Six Gates Sect,or rather,the Iron family,had truly struck gold this time.However,Su Xin was like a sea dragon that could cause storms.Could their small pond,attached to the court,accommodate him?
After walking a certain distance away from the sect,Su Xin immediately swallowed two pills and sat down to recover the depleted true qi and internal energy.The consumption from the Three-Finger Shattering Heaven was too great;both moves almost drained ninety-nine percent of Su Xin's internal energy.He could barely stand,and it was only during the conversation with Dong Buyi that he managed to recover a bit of strength.
However,after using the Three-Finger Shattering Heaven,Su Xin noticed something he had overlooked before.The proficiency of his Twenty-Four Solar Terms Startling God Finger had significantly increased.Originally,only the Proficiency of Awakening(Jing Zhe)had reached 99%,almost reaching perfection,while the others were around 60%.
Now,Su Xin's Proficiency of Awakening had reached 100%,completely comprehending the true meaning of this move.The proficiency of the others had also increased to around 80%.
