He extended his hand, starkly displaying a deep sword wound on his palm which was so bloody that the bone underneath was almost visible.
Also, the sword intention attached to the wound was something that even Ba Hesi Ba couldn't remove instantly, he could only use True Qi to wrap it up and stop the bleeding.
"Long time no injuries, this really makes me nostalgic." Ba Hesi Ba looked at the wound on his hand and sighed.
He raised his head and looked at Pei Xuanjing, solemnly asking, "Does that sword have a name?" Pei Xuanjing answered lightly, "Flying Immortal from the Sky!"
"Flying Immortal from the Sky?" Ba Hesi Ba muttered to himself, then said to Pei Xuanjing, "I'll remember this sword."
Pei Xuanjing remained silent.
He heard Ba Hesi Ba speak again, "Your sword seems incomplete. If I were to wait for it to truly fully evolve, I'm afraid even I wouldn't be able to block it."
Pei Xuanjing shook his head, "I lost. There are no excuses."
Ba Hesi Ba was right. Pei Xuanjing's current Flying Immortal from the Sky had fundamentally changed compared to the original.
In the original sword intention, Pei Xuanjing tried to integrate his own fundamental skill Shenxiao Heaven's Intention into it, but it hadn't yet succeeded.
Just like Ba Hesi Ba said, according to Pei Xuanjing's prediction, if it truly becomes a complete skill, its power wouldn't be comparable to what it is now, and there might be a chance to win.
But failure isn't necessarily bad, at least it shows that I haven't yet truly reached the limit of the First-grade Realm.
Having thought this, Pei Xuanjing laughed freely, dispelling his gloom.
Ding Ding Ding…
Just then, a loud ringing sound came from the True Martial Sect behind him.
"Taoist Friend, I didn't extend you the courtesy for your long journey. Please forgive me."
The person arrives and his voice follows.
A mellow voice came from the True Martial Sect, as pleasant as a spring breeze against a Buddha's countenance. "Master has come out!" "Master Sanfeng is out?"
"Taoist Sanfeng?"
Upon hearing this voice, everyone first paused, then showed delight on their faces.
Soon after, a frail, upright old man in Taoist attire with a ruddy complexion descended from the sky.
"Disciple greets Master!" Li Jingxiu and other disciples paid their respects.
"We have met Master Sanfeng." Many experts on scene echoed together, erupting with tsunami-like voices on Taihe Mountain.
"Greetings, Taoist Sanfeng." The Celestial Master and others spoke.
Taoist Sanfeng gently waved his sleeve to raise his disciples, then gave a courtesy in return to the
Heroes who had come to aid, "I thank everyone."
He then spoke to the Celestial Master and others, "Thank you all."
The Celestial Master and the rest nodded in acknowledgment and comfortably accepted. Next, he set his gaze on Pei Xuanjing, "Thank you, Taoist Friend, for aiding us. I am truly grateful."
Pei Xuanjing met Taoist Sanfeng's gaze and gave a slight smile, "You're too kind."
Taoist Sanfeng nodded slightly and said, "Once I have settled things here, I'll discuss the Tao with everyone."
Having said that, he took a step forward toward Ba Hesi Ba and addressed, "I have met the National Master."
Ba Hesi Ba responded respectfully, "I, Ba Hesi Ba, have met the real person."
Taoist Sanfeng nodded, then said, "As our guest, you should be treated with courtesy. However, you have harmed my guest, so don't blame me for being unsparing. Since you're here for a challenge, I give you two hours, after which we shall fight."
His words were gentle but lacked any ounce of politeness.
This demeanor was nothing like what Pei Xuanjing had imagined — a profound and lofty senior grandmaster with an amiable manner. Instead, it was full of dominance and absolute refusal.
Pei Xuanjing found this surprising but many people, especially Zhang Zhizhan and Master Jie Tan, found no dissonance.
The title of "number one in Central Plains Martial Arts" wasn't earned for nothing, it was fought for one punch, one kick at a time.
And did they really believe that Taoist Sanfeng, who occupied Taihe Mountain and created his own sect, was an amiable fellow?
Why were there only stories of Taoist Sanfeng's wisdom and not of his enemies?
"That's because most of his enemies are dead." Danyang Zi sighed to Pei Xuanjing through a secret voiced transmission.
A look of understanding appeared on Pei Xuanjing's face as he realized.
The so-called "no rivals in the world" truly meant suppressing all enemies, naturally leaving no enemies.
In literature, there's no first; in martial arts, there's no second.
The title of number one wasn't simply won. Who would willingly yield without being scared away or crushed in a fight?
Moreover, Pei Xuanjing remembered something else. Why had there been few news of the Demonic Way in the six hundred years since he'd been here?
According to what Bai Xiaosheng and others had said then, there was constant internal strife and inter-sect fighting within the Demonic Way, making it difficult to decide on a leader.
But why was there constant strife within the Demonic Way?
Wasn't it precisely because of this Taoist Sanfeng's devastating tactics, slashing down and suppressing many top figures of the Demonic Way, causing the Demon Way's passing to almost stop for a generation, slowly declining and never uniting even after six hundred years?
The mountain wind whistled, bringing an eerie silence upon Taihe Mountain.
All the eyes were fixed on the National Master of Great Yuan, Ba Hesi Ba, waiting for his response.
Aren't you Ba Hesi Ba here to challenge Master Sanfeng?
Now he's here and he hasn't shirked, he's agreed to your challenge, so make your move!
Under the watchful gazes of the masses, a smile appeared on Ba Hesi Ba's face. He was not offended by Taoist Sanfeng's words.
He suddenly took a step forward. His aura began to skyrocket, and his booming voice spread in all directions, "Esoteric Sect's Ba Hesi Ba, please enlighten me, Master!"
Boom!
A surge of intense heat rolled forth, filling the air with an overwhelming Blood Qi, like an uncontrollable flooding river.
Just the rich Blood Qi bursting from him made Pei Xuanjing give him a second look.
This was a result of his hundred years of accumulated strength, slowly honed and tempered day by day. Even with a simulator, Pei Xuanjing couldn't match it.
Pei Xuanjing speculated that without the help of a simulator, it would take at least thirty years of hard cultivation to reach this level of blood strength.
Even with the augmenting simulator, barring any unforeseen early death, it would take him until he was sixty to accumulate such a formidable Blood Qi.
Thus, one could see the gap between them. Even with the simulator at hand, Pei Xuanjing still lacked quite a bit compared to such a strong character.
"If Ba Hesi Ba were born six hundred years later, he would surely be able to break the constraints of Heaven and Earth and ascend to the Spirit Realm when the Heavens and Earth recover," Pei Xuanjing thought with emotion.
Ultimately, he was born in the wrong era. It was not him, but the era that was wrong..
Over the thousands of years since the Tang Dynasty, who knows how many powerful ones like Bahesiba have been frustrated not by lack of natural talent, but by the constraints of heaven and earth, ultimately falling into despair and dying in depression.
A thought arose in Pei Xuanjing's heart: a person's growth involves not only relentless striving but also the push of the times.
At least, when one has no right to dominate or even open an era, all people are confined in the process of history, unable to transcend, to break free of constraints.
At this moment, Pei Xuanjing's desire for strength increased.
He would never be satisfied with this, he also wanted to break the shackles, transcend the world, become an immortal True Immortal, create his own era, and write his own legend and mythology.
Just as Pei Xuanjing was in deep thought, Bahesiba's momentum reached a peak. His torn monk's robe fluttered, and he seemed to turn into a god or Buddha.
He threw out an unprecedentedly powerful and rigid punch, with a roar like that of a Dragon Elephant, resonating up to the mountain peak.
At this moment, on the whole Taihe Mountain, astonishing thunder rose from the ground, the wind and clouds changed, the gale roared, the sand and rocks flew, and the tremendous momentum seemed to affect the celestial phenomena.
How terrifying can a punch be?
Bahesiba's punch told everyone that the power of a punch can affect the celestial phenomena, can cut rivers, break mountains, and shake the earth. "Bahesiba!"
Pei Xuanjing looked shocked, saying word by word.
He knew in his heart that it would be difficult for him to take this punch.
The best he could hope for against this punch was serious injury, or even death.
He could feel the Martial Arts truth contained in the punch, so overbearing that it seemed to be able to smash the sky and sink the earth.
In Pei Xuanjing's eyes, the opponent seemed to be a god or Buddha coming down to earth, walking among people, with awe-inspiring Blood Qi rising as if to obscure the sky.
Pei Xuanjing had no choice but to tightly hold the Three-Five Evil Slaying Sword in his hand, circulating his True Qi and Blood Qi to resist this terrifying pressure.
Far away, the heroes withdrew involuntarily in the face of the overwhelming momentum, except for strong ones like the Heavenly Teacher.
"Hehe."
A faint laugh suddenly sounded on Taihe Mountain, and a gentle Martial Art truth almost enveloped the whole Taihe Mountain.
Accompanying this laugh, many martial artists who had felt oppressed suddenly felt as if a breeze had blown over, sweeping away the original oppression.
The laughter of Master Sanfeng became louder and louder, louder and louder, almost echoing through Taihe Mountain and extending dozens of miles away.
"The Way of Ultimate Rigidity, huh? It seems to have reached the extreme of rigidity." Master Sanfeng gently spoke, ripples in his originally calm eyes.
Such a strong and rigid martial arts truth indeed made him exclaim. After all, anyone who can reach this step requires extremely strict natural talent and willpower, needing to go through trials that ordinary people can't bear.
"Ah, what a pity." He suddenly changed the subject, sighed, and lamented, "The rigid are most likely to break. The Way of Ultimate Rigidity is indeed overbearing, but it inevitably loses a bit of balance, it's too dogmatic."
Then, he slowly raised his hands.
Whoo…
True Qi seemed to gather in his palms, spinning quickly like a whirlpool. The Blood Qi on his body began to slowly rise.
The Inner Qi between his palms, one transformed into pure yang, and the other into pure yin.
The movement of his palms, the change between motion and stillness, the alternation of Yin and Yang, is unpredictable.
The Taiji Grand Dao, both rigid and soft, mutually beneficial, ever-changing.
He stood still, with the air gathering and circulating around him, as if surrounded by flowing clouds.
In the face of Bahesiba's extremely rigid punch, Master Sanfeng just clapped his hands in mid-air, a seemingly weightless palm made heaven and earth seem to sink.
A Taiji pattern floated out, radiating dazzling light.
Boom!
The extremely rigid fist seemed to hit into emptiness, all of it was absorbed into the Yin-Yang harmonious Taiji pattern.
All of Bahesiba's power was poured into the Taiji pattern, causing the Taiji pattern to grow larger and brighter.
The Yin-Yang harmonious Taiji pattern attracted everyone's attention.
As if it covered heaven and earth, the Great Tao between heaven and earth appeared on this Taiji pattern at this moment.
"Is this the top martial art of the True Martial Sect, the Taiji Grand Dao Skill, which was said to be one of the top ten martial arts in the world six hundred years later?" Pei Xuanjing couldn't help but think as he looked at the Taiji pattern.
The Taiji Grand Dao Skill, as the legend goes, is a peerless martial art created by Master Sanfeng based on the Chunyang Wuji Skill, comprehending the Yin-Yang Taiji Way, and it incorporates his martial arts throughout his life.
In later generations, it was ranked alongside the Imperial Realm Worldly Skill of the royal family, the
Tathagata Palm of the Zen Sect, the Heavenly Demon Scripture of the Demonic Way, the Three Heavens True Law Divine Skill of Dragon Tiger Mountain and other peerless martial arts as the strongest martial arts in the world.
"Harmonizing Yin and Yang, Taiji's way, huh?" Bahesiba looked at the Taiji pattern and roared,
"Today, the real person has really opened my eyes."
As for the fact that his punch was blocked, it seemed to take it for granted, as if it was a matter of course.
After all, his opponent was Master Sanfeng, who was known as the number one person in the Central Plains Martial Arts. If even this punch couldn't be taken, it would be a pity, a pity that he couldn't find a worthy opponent.
He stepped out one step at a time, like a Dragon Elephant stepping, his clothes flying, his voice echoing, and his loud voice shaking the four directions..