Chapter Forty-Nine: Crossing the Border, Like a Wandering Dragon Returning to the Open Sea (Part One)

Hearing Yi Beidou's words, Yue Ming, who had originally arrived with an imposing and aggressive manner, froze slightly, the expression on his face turning somewhat rigid.

"It seems the person in charge in Yunhai Province did not accurately convey my words to you."

"I said, I do not need any assistance. You can consider this entirely as my personal action. Should any trouble arise, it has nothing to do with you, so as to avoid complicating simple matters."

Yi Beidou said.

"Are you joking? How much do you understand about the local situation? I know you possess special mental abilities, perhaps capable of locating the target and successfully infiltrating to destroy them."

"But even if you have the ability to successfully destroy the target, your whereabouts will inevitably be exposed. On foreign soil, without anyone's help, do you really think you can easily slip away and leave?"

Yue Ming said with a frown.

The truly dangerous part was not the operation itself, but the retreat after the operation. The massive commotion would undoubtedly make Yi Beidou the target of public criticism.

In the chaotic, warlord-ridden region of the Nanyang Triangle, the Vanguard Group or certain other entities could use their influence to mobilize military forces, posing a tremendous threat.

"That is not something you need to worry about. I naturally have my own methods."

Yi Beidou said calmly.

"I think you are somewhat arrogant. You must remember that beyond the heavens there are heavens, and beyond people there are people. You are not yet invincible in this world."

Yue Ming said in a deep voice.

He could somewhat understand Yi Beidou's mindset; after all, he had walked a similar path in the past.

He was only forty-five years old now, having achieved sainthood at the age of thirty-nine. He belonged to the new generation of saintly masters in Donghua, and even historically, he could be considered young among those who had attained sainthood.

When he had just achieved sainthood, his body underwent a qualitative transformation, and his spirit reached its peak. He had been filled with towering ambition, feeling as though he could conquer everything and stand invincible in the world—an illusion brought about by a suddenly enhanced physique.

But later on, he realized that the waters of this world ran very deep, concealing far too many things. Although he never altered his resolve to forge ahead bravely and overcome all difficulties, he had put away his complacency and arrogance.

Clearly, Yi Beidou was currently in that exact psychological stage he himself had experienced right after achieving sainthood.

Probably even those figures at the very top would not have expected Yi Beidou to be so conceited.

"It seems you do not wish for me to pass easily. Very well, I am quite interested in the methods of a master who has achieved physical sainthood. Since you have traveled thousands of miles here, I cannot let your trip be in vain. Let us waste no more breath and exchange a couple of moves."

Yi Beidou said.

Boom!!

The vital blood within his body surged like a rushing river, emitting a resounding roar. His muscles bulged, the roots of his hair stood on end, and his angry hair fluttered in the air.

Murderous intent and demonic aura swept forth like a tidal wave.

"Very well, then let me witness it."

A sharp light flashed in Yue Ming's eyes; he wanted to test this person's caliber.

If he was just spouting wild arrogance and couldn't last two moves in his hands, it would serve to dispel the other party's rash notions.

Bang!!

Channeling his vital blood, his stature suddenly shot up, and his already bear-like frame grew even broader and taller, resembling a giant spirit deity.

His eyes were like copper bells, brimming with divine light, and carrying a natural majesty—truly like a heavenly guardian king descended to the mortal world.

Yet the changes upon his body were the most wondrous of all.

Swoosh!

Streams of mist suddenly emanated from around his body, lingering outside his frame like jade belts or feathered garments, adding a sense of divinity and celestial aura to his currently tyrannical figure.

In ancient times, anyone seeing such a figure in the mountains and forests would surely have thought they had encountered an immortal.

Yi Beidou narrowed his eyes slightly, understanding that this mist was formed by the moisture within Yue Ming's body being vaporized by his high body heat and expelled through his pores.

He acutely perceived that the pores of Yue Ming's skin were opening and closing slightly, as if breathing.

Every single aperture of the body serves as a pore.

This was the martial art practiced by Yue Ming: the Heavenly Garment Skill.

It was a form of hard qigong; the practitioner's body became incomparably robust, guarded as if by a heavenly garment, impervious to ordinary harm. When cultivated to a profound realm, one could even master the mystery of "body breathing."

At a realm like Yue Ming's, his physical form had undergone transformation, and the millions of pores across his body acted as countless windows, continuously supplying the gases required by his physique.

This was known as the "Heavenly Garment Dharma Body."

The greatest factor limiting human athletic capacity was respiration, and Yue Ming's body had lifted this restriction to a certain extent.

Thus, his physical stamina was like the ocean, and his breath like mountains and rivers.

Hah!!

Yue Ming let out a low shout as sound waves rolled outward. His figure instantly lunged toward Yi Beidou, striking out with a palm as broad as a cattail-leaf fan.

Swirling clouds and mist confused the vision, concealing murderous intent within the haze.

This was called the "Giant Spirit Emerging Cloud Palm."

His inner intent was equally vast. Yue Ming garrisoned the southern district, guarding the gates of the country and suppressing evil spirits. Bearing a heavy responsibility as the Southern Heavenly General, he earned the moniker "Southern Heavenly King."

With one man holding the pass, ten thousand evils could not enter. No matter where he stood, everything behind him was a forbidden zone that none could tread upon.

Yet Yi Beidou did not retreat in the slightest, striking forward with a cupped palm. As vital energy surged violently, the mist that confused the vision dissipated entirely.

Parting the clouds of illusion to knock upon the heavenly gate—if heaven grants no Dao, I shall shatter the gates and force my way in.

No fog could confuse him, no intent could sway him, and no barrier could obstruct him.

Heavenly Demon Questions the Dao!

Boom!!

Their palms collided, and vital energy exploded. Yue Ming was indeed worthy of being a person who achieved sainthood through hard qigong; his bodily strength was so immense that every strike felt like a high-speed collision with a truck, matching Yi Beidou in power without the slightest inferiority.

As the two exchanged blows, the forest floor sank, but their bodies merely swayed slightly, neither retreating half a step.

With this single move, a look of astonishment already appeared in Yue Ming's eyes.

This person truly possessed some genuine strength.

However, this was only the beginning.

Swoosh!!

His pores opened and closed, practically devoid of any breathing or inhalation motions. Without pausing at all after a powerful strike, he continuously blasted palms toward Yi Beidou. The mist evaporating from his skin transformed the forest into a sea of clouds.

Continuous assaults!

A style of attack that would be extremely stamina-draining for an ordinary person was merely an everyday routine for Yue Ming. The body-breathing capability of his Heavenly Garment Dharma Body not only allowed him to dispense with lung respiration during critical moves, but also granted him stamina that felt infinitely inexhaustible.

His attacks were like clouds in the sky, like mountain ranges on the earth, continuous and unending.

Heavenly Saint Sea of Clouds!!

A bright light flashed in Yi Beidou's eyes. Prior to this, his encounters and clashes with saintly masters had mostly been superficial brushes—when had he ever experienced such unbridled exhilaration as this?

With intent stimulated and flesh colliding, the blood within Yi Beidou's body boiled more fiercely, and the demonic nature of his physique grew increasingly intense.

Boom!!

murderous intent surged, baleful Qi gathered at his fingertips, and intent merged with power as if blossoming with light.

Extinguishing the Law!!

Their palms collided again, remaining evenly matched. Without a moment's pause, Yue Ming's next attack descended.

Yi Beidou yielded not an inch, meeting the blow with his palm.

Extinguish the Law! Extinguish the Law! Extinguish the Law!

Yue Ming's palm techniques rolled on endlessly like a sea of clouds, while Yi Beidou's murderous tribulation of extinguishing the law was likewise continuous and unending.

How could a murderous tribulation ever be easily severed?

What surprised Yue Ming even more was that while their initial attacks were evenly matched—and he even held the upper hand, given his Heavenly Garment Dharma Body and absolute advantage in a war of attrition involving consecutive strikes—

As the battle continued, he discovered that Yi Beidou's murderous intent was becoming increasingly pure, his physical stamina and attacks growing ever more blazing, and the murderous tribulation he manifested turning increasingly terrifying.

Boom!!

With a single palm strike from Yi Beidou, the surging murderous intent actually caused Yue Ming to feel a chilling cold throughout his body. His pores contracted instinctively, and the body-breathing capability conferred by his Heavenly Garment Dharma Body was abruptly interrupted, causing an instant obstruction in his execution of power.

Bang!!

Under that palm, Yue Ming retreated two steps before steadying himself. He watched as Yi Beidou's figure flickered and vanished into the mountain forest, leaving only a single sentence echoing among the trees:

"Thank you for tempering my murderous edge."