Gu Yuan only felt a very peculiar force sweep over him, causing no significant discomfort. At most, he felt a moment of his physical body losing control, but the eighty-four million particles within him vibrated sharply, and the sensation vanished instantly.
Sensing this, a faint smile touched Gu Yuan's lips. He hadn't expected it wouldn't suppress his vital energy.
"Is that all? Isn't this a pure advantage?"
Gu Yuan's confidence soared, and his vital energy surged in unison.
"As expected!" Dong Qing mused. Before the match, he had already suspected that his Ku Ling Guang (Spirit Light of Salvation) might not be effective against Gu Yuan's unparalleled physique. He hadn't anticipated that the yellow spiritual light, which could control Feng Wu Shuang to his death, would have no effect whatsoever on this anomaly named Gu Yuan!
In the arena, countless spectators watched as Gu Yuan, without any discernible deceleration, charged straight at Dong Qing, completely unaffected by the yellow spiritual light.
On the referee's stand, the officials exchanged bewildered glances, having not anticipated such a turn of events.
"What's going on? Why isn't Dong Qing's yellow spiritual light working on Gu Yuan? I clearly saw Gu Yuan being swept by it," someone asked, perplexed.
Dao Kuang's sharp eyes scanned Gu Yuan's formidable physique, radiating immense vital energy. A thought flashed through his mind, and recalling Dong Qing's words from the previous round, his eyes brightened. He quickly spoke, "Could it be that Gu Yuan's physique is far superior to Dong Qing's, rendering the effect negligible?"
The others exchanged glances and nodded in agreement with Dao Kuang's hypothesis. It was the only explanation they could fathom.
Seeing his yellow spiritual light rendered ineffective, Dong Qing showed no surprise. Instead, a devilish grin spread across his face, darkness swirling deep within his eyes!
He clasped his hands together and let out a long cry!
"Nine Yang!"
*Boom!*
Like the sun rising from the sea, nine scorching suns instantly appeared within Dong Qing's body, arranged in a circular formation behind him. An aura far hotter than Feng Wu Shuang's Divine Phoenix True Fire continuously emanated from him.
Gu Yuan's pupils constricted. He hadn't forgotten that Dong Qing, as a clone of the Heavenly Venerable Tai Yi Jiu Ku Tian Zun, couldn't possibly possess only one ability. After all, Tai Yi Jiu Ku Tian Zun was also known as the 'Azure Profound Nine Yang Emperor'!
Legends spoke of a Heavenly Venerable who controlled the Nine Yang, possessing a terrifying heat far surpassing all the true fires in the world – the power of the Nine Yang!
The vital energy erupting from Gu Yuan's body was continuously scorched by this extreme heat, emitting crackling sounds.
It was like water meeting fire.
A solemn expression settled on Gu Yuan's face. Although he had mentally prepared himself, he hadn't expected the temperature of Dong Qing's Nine Yang power to be so high. He estimated that Feng Wu Shuang's Divine Phoenix True Fire was far inferior to his Nine Yang power.
But Gu Yuan chose to confront it head-on!
The countless particles of vital energy within Gu Yuan began to burn fiercely, transforming into countless blood flames on his skin, radiating an intensely pure and yang energy, continuously clashing against Dong Qing's Nine Yang power.
Dong Qing observed Gu Yuan actually choose to burn his vital energy to generate blood flames and confront his Nine Yang power head-on. This was indeed a path he hadn't anticipated.
Originally, he had expected Gu Yuan to suddenly unleash a power similar to the lightning he had used earlier, to gain a strategic advantage.
As Gu Yuan's vital energy continued to burn, this was the first time he had fully unleashed his vital energy to empower his blood flames since cultivating them. He hadn't expected that the blood flames, whose temperature originally only matched that of ordinary mortal fire, would be boosted by his vital energy to a level comparable to the Divine Phoenix True Fire.
With a resolute heart, Gu Yuan directly mobilized the powers of Zhen and Li, two of the Eight Trigrams, and channeled them into the tide of blood flames emanating from him, extending ten meters around him.
What happens when extreme flame encounters lightning? What reaction will two of the most yang and explosive powers produce?
It would be an explosion amplified severalfold!
As strands of lightning began to flash from Gu Yuan's body, Dong Qing's expression changed. Looking at Gu Yuan's face, he saw a look of madness.
He instantly understood what Gu Yuan was about to do. At this moment, their flames were in a state of equilibrium, constantly consuming each other. If another explosive energy were suddenly introduced, the outcome was predictable!
Countless arcs of lightning erupted from Gu Yuan's body's surface, and several lightning serpents rapidly merged into the two forces of flame that were locked in a stalemate.
What followed was:
*BOOM!!!*
An explosion of light and heat erupted, ultimately forming a small mushroom cloud on the arena, carrying an aura of absolute destruction.
A violent explosion swept through, like a category twelve typhoon engulfing the entire arena. Accompanying it were countless splashes of flame that landed on the arena's defensive array, capable of burning through more than half of its defense. Such a spectacle caused the audience to erupt in gasps, their eyes fixed on the center of the blast.
"Wow, at the most critical moment, contestant Gu Yuan unleashed a third, unstable force – lightning – at the juncture where the flames met. This caused the flames of both Gu Yuan and Dong Qing to instantly lose their stability, resulting in a massive explosion. According to the array, this explosion has significantly approached the power of an Inner Scenery. Let's see who among the two contestants will emerge victorious from such an explosion!"
The announcer's astonished voice rang out. He had hosted this competition for many years and had never encountered such a ruthless contestant. He hadn't expected Gu Yuan to intentionally trigger an explosion!
Returning to the moment of the explosion, as the energy began to surge, Gu Yuan immediately unleashed the full power of the Qian Trigram, transforming it into a tangible film covering his entire body. Beneath the film was the clothing and armor formed by Gu Yuan's Blood Refining Gold, protecting all his vital points. The eighty-four million particles within him also employed the body-refining techniques Gu Yuan had taught them.
Gu Yuan himself activated the Scarlet Fiend Lightning Body, multiplying his physical attributes severalfold.
Gu Yuan felt an intensely powerful heat sweep over him like a tempest.
The Qian Trigram energy on his skin immediately began to melt under the scorching heat.
Due to the sheer power of the explosion, the entire arena was engulfed, leaving nowhere to hide. Moreover, the defensive array's obstruction caused the blast's power to rebound, inflicting a secondary wave of damage.
One minute later!
On the arena, as the explosive storm began to subside, a cough was heard amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd.
It was Gu Yuan's voice.
Gu Yuan's female fans instantly became excited. A gust of wind rose from the ground, and the scene that was revealed astonished everyone. They hadn't expected such immense power (after all, most of the audience, not possessing high cultivation, couldn't discern much through the defensive barrier).
In the center of the arena...