Against The Heavens 76 The Might Of That One Sword.

"You!? What are you?!"

Was it possible for humans to transform like this, did such techniques really exist? Or could this youth be someone from the Demon Race? It wasn't strange for Gao Gang to be shocked like this. After all, how many humans had managed to form a blood bond with a Divine beast?

Li Yang didn't give Gao Gang a response, stomping the ground and shooting forward, his body turning into a golden blur. Gao Gang's expression sank, but he quickly reacted, a thick gray saber appearing in his grasp. He swung the saber, a gray slash shooting out from the tip, a low howling sound coming from it as it shot towards Li Yang.

The slash moved far faster than Li Yang had expected it to, somewhat surprising him, it seemed like this Gao Gang had the strength befitting of a vice sect-leader. Li Yang quickly raised his sword and slashed down on the gray line, a screeching sound ringing out as the two attacks collided.

The gray line was very tenacious and st.u.r.dy, so Li Yang guessed that it would take him about two seconds to fully shatter it. So as to not waste those two seconds, Li Yang once again stomped the ground, sending a torrent of frozen energy into the ground and towards Gao Gang, the floor cracking as it froze. At the same time, the fire that was burning in the surroundings also seemed to receive an order, gathering together and turning into a flaming tornado that roared towards Gao Gang.

Gao Gang's expression sank even further. Just how had his luck been so s.h.i.+t that he ended up encountering this freak of nature? But Gao Gang had many years of experience and had traveled to many places, so he was still quick to react. He swiped his interspatial ring and pulled out two small jade orbs that were engraved with countless tiny runes. He tossed one orb towards Li Yang, who had just finished shattering the gray slash, and the other orb he threw at the ground, shattering it.

The moment the orb hit the ground and shattered, the runes that had covered it spread out through the area, immediately forming an array that gathered together the surrounding Qi to form a defensive s.h.i.+eld. The orb he threw at Li Yang was very similar, shattering mid-air and spreading its runes into the air around Li Yang. But rather than forming a defensive array, it formed a trapping array that turned the surrounding Qi into thick chains that sought to tie up Li Yang.

Li Yang's two-fold fire and ice attacks were blocked by the defensive array, while the chains coiled all around his body and tied him in place. But rather than look annoyed or anxious, his eyes lit up with glee and excitement.

"Oh, what's this? You can even shrink arrays like this? Things have really changed since I was around, everything is so new and exciting."

There was nothing more boring than knowing everything, so the more Li Yang saw that the world had changed while he was gone, the more excited he got. There were so many new things to discover, so many new things to learn. Gao Gang was about to gloat in front of the tied up Li Yang, but then he saw a black light flash through the trapping array, the chains tying up Li Yang starting to twist and implode as if there was a tiny black hole located inside them, so he quickly changed his tune.

"You want to know about this?! If you let me leave, I promise to tell you everything I know!"

He was uncertain whether or not Li Yang had any more strength, nor did he know if any of Li Yang's other allies were making their way here. The longer he was forced to stay here, the higher his chance of dying was, so it was better to bargain with Li Yang in hopes of surviving. But Li Yang quickly dashed his hopes, shrugging his shoulders.

"Sorry, but I can't do that. Besides, I can just ask someone else about that information, or I can just check the clan library."

If this Gao Gang had access to knowledge about these miniature arrays, then how could the ma.s.sive Yuan clan not have any information about it? Li Yang reached out with his arm and tapped onto the runes that s.h.i.+mmered in the air in front of him, a black light flas.h.i.+ng at his fingertip. The energy of true destruction sank into the runes, twisting and crus.h.i.+ng them as if they had entered a black hole.

The array was quite powerful, so if he used any of his other elements to break it, he would need a few seconds to do so. But while it was strong, it was not so strong that it could resist his element of destruction.

Watching one of the arrays fall so easily to Li Yang, Gao Gang's heart couldn't help but sink. But he had yet to give up all hope, so he quickly braced himself for more combat. He didn't want to let Li Yang keep up his momentum, so he stepped forward before Li Yang got the chance to.

The defensive array around him followed him as he moved, providing an extra layer of defense as he sent out three slashes with his saber. Three gray lines flashed through the air, connecting together and mutually strengthening each other. Li Yang could see that each of the three lines was filled with transparent faces that shrieked and howled in pain, these were the souls that Gao Gang had refined into his weapon.

Li Yang grasped his sword, pus.h.i.+ng it forward and sending out a sharp stab. The stab looked simple, but the moment Li Yang finished his stabbing motion, a loud booming sound rang out, a thin bolt of golden lightning shooting out from the tip of the sword.

The bolt of lightning moved strangely straight for a bolt of lightning, spiraling rapidly as it moved. There was a small black dot, barely the size of a grain of dust, placed at the very tip of the bolt of lightning, s.p.a.ce and light distorting around it as they were sucked into it and crushed.

This was one of the most penetrative attacks that Li Yang was currently able to launch, a highly compressed bolt of lightning tipped with a controlled miniature black hole. The bolt of lightning collided with the three lines, the miniature black hole swallowing up two of the attacks before it became unstable and ended up swallowing itself.

The bolt of lightning took care of the last gray line, piercing straight through it and flas.h.i.+ng past Gao Gang. The gray lines, as well as the defensive array, had diverted the course of the attack slightly, resulting in the bolt of lightning piercing through Gao Gang's right shoulder rather than his head.

The attack left a smoldering hole in Gao Gang's shoulder, but the flesh around the wound started to wriggle strangely, slowly regrowing itself and causing Li Yang's eyes to light up with glee and interest once more.

He had managed to wound Gao Gang, but it still cost him quite a bit. Controlling the element of destruction required a great amount of energy, so even though he had only unleashed three tiny dots of it, it had drained a little over half of his Qi. But his attack had served its purpose, Gao Gang's face had turned completely pale from shock and fear, quickly calling for peace.

"The sect treasury, didn't you want to know where it was?! If you let me live, I can tell you where it is!"

Was this a joke? Just a single one of the youth's attacks had pierced through three of his attacks, as well as piercing his defensive array and then his body? In fact, Gao Gang could still feel that there was some lightning left in his shoulder, roasting his flesh even as it healed itself. He thought that Li Yang would take a step back after Gao Gang's offer, but he simply sent him a faint smile.

"No need. It doesn't matter whether you want to tell me or not, in the end, you will tell me."

Li Yang's smile was faint and handsome, but when mixed with his current appearance, as well as how their surroundings looked, it filled Gao Gang with a sense of dread. Gao Gang steeled his heart and decided that he had to use one of his secret techniques, even if it would cost him quite a bit.

He narrowed his eyes, his face turning white as a sheet of paper as he sent a glare at Li Yang. A thin stream of invisible energy shot out from his eyes, heading directly for Li Yang, who hadn't noticed anything. The stream sank into Li Yang's chest, his face instantly turning pale as he took several steps backward, blood dripping out from the corners of his lips. But just when Gao Gang hoped that his technique had worked, Li Yang called out in a voice that was a mixture of shock and curiosity.

"A soul attack!? But you don't cultivate the law of the soul. Nor do you cultivate the law of the body, but your body is still so strangely tough, even slowly regenerating. Could it be cultivation techniques?"

When Li Yang had been alive, a soul attack had been something that only people who cultivated the law of the soul, acquiring the special energy that was Soul Force, could use, killing people by shattering their soul and not leaving any traces. But it was easy to tell who cultivated the law of the soul, as their eyes and the energy around them would be quite different from other people.

And then there was the fact that Gao Gang's flesh was slowly healing itself, something that only people who used the law of the body could do. But people who cultivated the law of the body only attacked by using their own great strength or a special type of energy that only they possessed. Gao Gang hadn't done any of this, so he clearly didn't cultivate the law of the body. Gao Gang couldn't help but be shocked, not only because Li Yang had survived his attack, but also because he didn't know about this very common information.

"You... you don't know about soul cultivation or body cultivation?"

He couldn't help but give voice to his confusion, but his words caused Li Yang's eyes to light up, blazing with interest and desire. So it was true, cultivation techniques that focused on the body and the soul had been invented.

Li Yang had a strong soul thanks to the fact that he had been reincarnated, but there was nothing he could do with that strong soul, as he didn't know anything about the law of the soul. He also had a strong body thanks to forging it in fire and lightning, but he was unable to fully utilize this strong body since he didn't know much about the law of the body.

But if he could get his hands on some cultivation techniques that focused on the body and the soul, he could fully utilize his soul and body. Mixing those two with his already strong Qi cultivation, his strength would drastically increase. His b.l.o.o.d.y lips couldn't help but curve up slightly as he looked at Gao Gang, a light mutter escaping his lips.

"Man, I wish Brother Feng was here. I could have him search your soul and we could learn all your little secrets."

Zhao Feng was exactly someone that specialized in the law of the soul. If he had been here, he could have simply extracted Gao Gang's soul and searched through his memories as he wished, learning everything. Li Yang, on the other hand, had to rely on other methods.

Gao Gang was about to say something, but he suddenly felt his vision turn blurry, his legs turning weak and soft as he collapsed to the ground. his body nearly devoid of strength. He struggled to move, but his limbs felt incredibly heavy, his movements slower than a snail. His expression quickly distorted as he realized what might have happened.

"This...Poison?!"

This was the only thing he could think of. But exactly when had Li Yang been able to poison him? Li Yang wiped away the blood at the corners of his lips, taking a few steps closer to Gao Gang, giving a light shake of his head. Had Gao Gang been focusing on the battle, he probably would have been able to put up a far better fight. But ever since the fight started, all of Gao Gang's focus had been on trying to find a chance to escape or bargain with Li Yang.

"You can still move huh? Well, my control over the poison is far worse than Ying'ers. Had she been here, your mind would have probably already been overtaken by the poison."

Since he had fused with Shenlong and Huanglong, he had of course gotten control over the poison that Huanglong contained. But Li Yang knew preciously little about the law of poison, so his usage of it was clumsy and childish. He had just barely been able to spread it through the area like a fine mist, as well as hide a small amount of it in the bolt of lightning that pierced through Gao Gang's shoulder.

Had Fang Ying been here, she could have just waved her hand and used poison to mind control Gao Gang, finis.h.i.+ng far faster than Li Yang. Li Yang didn't step too close to Gao Gang, keeping a slight distance as he didn't know what other cards he might have up his sleeves.

"Now then, how about you tell me where the sect treasury is?"

Li Yang's faint smile looked like the smile of a demon, and Gao Gang quickly learned why. Li Yang didn't even give him the chance to speak up, a small arc of lightning shooting out from his fingertip and sinking into Gao Gang's body. The arc of lightning slowly made its way through his body, interacting with Gao Gang's nerves and causing them to screech out in such horrendous pain that Gao Gang's throat turned b.l.o.o.d.y from screaming. He managed to resist for about three minutes, but quickly caved in after that.

"I'll talk, I'll talk! The treasury is located at the center of this palace, about 100 meters below ground! The entrance is located beneath one of the Soul Storing Pillars, the one carved with a human face!"

He considered himself to be a strong-willed person, but when faced with such pain that his entire body was screeching, his will was quickly shattered. Li Yang pulled the arc of lightning out off Gao Gang's body, the same faint smile that he had used to observe Gao Gang's screaming still on his face.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now you can die."

Li Yang stretched out his arm, three orbs starting to condense in front of his palm. One consisted of golden lightning, one of deep blue ice, and one of crimson flames. The orbs quickly increased in density, spinning around each other and forming a tri-colored circle that radiated a horrifying energy. But before he got to launch the attack, Gao Gang let out a hoa.r.s.e shout and pulled out a few array orbs from his interspatial ring.

"You monster, die!"

All the orbs shattered, releasing a terrifying amount of energy that gathered together to form a single ma.s.sive array that turned into a thick tornado made up of sharp blades of wind. Gao Gang's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Li Yang, expectantly waiting for his killing move to reap Li Yang's life.

Li Yang's expression quickly sunk, because he could tell that this tornado contained a truly horrifying amount of energy, enough to actually kill him, even if he defended. Since it was like that, he could not hold anything back.

The sword he was holding vanished back into his interspatial ring, a violet-golden light flas.h.i.+ng in his hand as a different sword appeared. It was a standard Jian sword, the hilt bound in black leather with thin violet veins running through the leather. The blade was deep golden in color, a violet wavy pattern running along the back of the blade. This was his actual sword, but in his current state, he could at best use it for around one second. Seeing the sword appear, as feel as feeling the tremendous amount of energy that it radiated, Gao Gang's face contorted violently as he tried to call out.

"Wha..."

He never got to finish his sentence, because Li Yang sent out a single slash with the sword. A brilliant golden sun bloomed at the tip of the blade, a thundering sound nearly deafening not only the people in the sealed up palace but even the people in the city around them.

A thick bolt of lightning that was a mixture of golden and violet, of lightning and poison, shot out from the tip of the blade and rushed into the heavens. Gao Gang, everything within 200 meters of Li Yang, and even parts of the array that surrounded the palace, all turned to ash under the glory of that single bolt of lightning.

Li Yang quickly put away the sword after launching the attack, his face pale and his right arm b.l.o.o.d.y from just using the sword for half a second. He let out a weak laugh, shaking his head.

"Really, if Ying'er were to learn that I let a guy like this break free of her poison, she would probably laugh at me until she was out of breath."

Li Yang had used Fang Ying's poison, but Gao Gang had still been able to regain control over his arms, allowing him to launch that last attack. He had only been able to do this because Li Yang had simply been far too clumsy in his control of the poison. Li Yang quickly swallowed a pill to restore his energy, glancing at the now empty area around him.

"I made a bit too much noise, better head to the treasury as fast as possible."