The atmospheric tension became incomparably dense as wolf and serpent stared at each other. Wu Yu's Shadow Moon Wolf emanated a boundless pressure that seemed innate, capable of subduing ten thousand with merely its presence. Wei Wuyin's Titanic Mudworm Snake was more natural, but its eyes were radiating a high degree of spirituality and intelligence.
Normally, Wei Wuyin wouldn't have decided to clash with Wu Yu, the founder of the Myriad Monarch Sect. This would hold true if they remained on the Myriad Monarch Planet, but Junia's formations were not the original ones devised by Wu Yu. He felt somewhat confident that in Junia, Wu Yu had little trump cards to act. Furthermore, he might not be able to act freely.
Considering Huangfu Jinwei's current state as a Sinful Soul, he couldn't simply miss this opportunity. He decided to make a slight wager.
Wu Yu was not an individual that wasted time convincing others after his initial efforts. Wei Wuyin's reply had challenged him and his prestige. If he didn't teach him a lesson, how could he retain his dignity? While his current state wasn't particularly exemplary, he was still unwilling to allow such a thing to occur.
Woosh!
Wu Yu flashed with astonishing speed. In a moment, he had arrived behind the snake, his eyes staring at the tail that wrapped Huangfu Jinwei's form. His actions were incomparably decisive as he leapt towards it, claws fully unleashed and ready to slice into even astral steel.
Wei Wuyin did not have full control over the Titanic Mudworm Snake like Wu Yu did for his Shadow Moon Wolf, but it retained its natural instincts and senses. It replied with a twist of its body, its bundled tail sweeping away from Wu Yu's claws, and its body sought to dive into the ground. It was seeking to flee!
Wu Yu snarled lightly. After swiping air with his life ending assault, he landed and saw the actions of this little earthly snake. 'You think you can escape?' If he had a true body, he would coldly snort and unleash imperialistic might. Alas, he was left with this wolf. He howled.
From its feet, endless shadows formed and spread throughout the world. For an inconceivable distance, the entire world was consumed by living shadows that seemed like crazed wraiths. They had wolf-like forms and constantly released howls similar to his. It was chilling and they emitted a power that seemed to influence the spirit. They bit and clawed at the snake's scales!
"Hm?" Wei Wuyin was startled by this event. The Titanic Mudworm Snake was instantly oppressed, and the ground had become infused with odd shadow power. It tried to utilize its ability to dig into the earth but was continuously halted and attacked by these wolf-like shadows. Surrounded by these creatures, he couldn't help but find this incredibly odd.
What was this?
The mental foundation of the snake was under assault, and even his connection grew unstable and uncertain. He needed to reinforce his spiritual force to remain tethered to the serpent's senses.
While he questioned, Wu Yu didn't hesitate to follow-up. With the world engulfed by these shadows, he vanished. In a blink of an eye, he arrived beside the bundled tail and clawed at the scales of the serpent. Blood splashed and scales fragmented as the attack hit! But this single strike couldn't reach Huangfu Jinwei's body.
The Titanic Mudworm Snake had a tough body with physical attributes of a peak Soul Idol. While Wu Yu had taken over the body of the Shadow Moon Wolf, its offensive power wasn't augmented by his possession. A single swipe merely caused surface damage.
Wu Yu hadn't stopped with simply one attack. With a ferocious intensity, he sent several claw strikes towards the same area but the damage wasn't anything significant.
Observing this, Wu Yu slightly frowned. The world of shadows immediately dissipated, clearly unable to be sustained for long. When the world returned to normal, the snake had already twisted its body into a ball, protecting Huangfu Jinwei and its own head. This formed a shell of flesh and scales, making penetrating it harder than before.
Wei Wuyin was looking at the horizon, the quick exchange had revealed that Wu Yu had limitations in the Shadow Moon Wolf's body. That being said, he could execute bloodline powers far beyond the Shadow Moon Wolf's capabilities. That domain of wolf shadows was incredibly terrifying and had been instantly conjured. It easily suppressed the snake despite its innate strength and abilities.
He frowned slightly.
Wu Yu was also in a conundrum. While he wanted to kill, in the face of the serpent's protective efforts, he couldn't penetrate its scales and dense flesh. As for unleashing a spiritual attack, that likely wouldn't work. He could feel the vibrant and vigorous spiritual force integrating into the Titanic Mudworm Snake constantly. Furthermore, the snake could simply remain in a ball state while restrained. It solved nothing.
'Is he trying to wait me out?' It felt strange and disappointing that Wei Wuyin had challenged him yet resorted to such cowardly actions. Unfortunately, his current thoughts were jinxing his situation. Wei Wuyin simply hadn't taken action yet. The actions of the snake had been its own, an expression of its free will based on Wei Wuyin's initial orders.
After all, the Titanic Mudworm Snake was not a direct fighter. Similar to the Shadow Moon Wolves, it relied on sneak attacks and explosive moments of sheer power. If it sought to protect a living existence, it was best to tunnel into the earth. This was its decision and belief.
As for Wei Wuyin, he wanted to see if Wu Yu could unleash powers of the Mystic Ascendant Realm or if he was truly limited. If it was the former, it didn't matter what he desired or planned, Huangfu Jinwei was not leaving here alive. He would likely lose his snake and be forced to suffer this loss. But if Wu Yu was restricted in the first exchange, then he had options.
And from observing what had happened, while Wu Yu could unleash powers beyond the Shadow Moon Wolf, it seemed it wasn't very great, lasting, or invincible. He knew what he had to do.
From his Sky Palace, Wei Wuyin's silver eyes shone with a distinct brilliance that foretold the unleashing of incredible forces. He sent a spiritual force transmission: "Step down. If I take action, I won't stop." He warned, his voice laced with a heart-chilling tone. This was him giving Wu Yu the appropriate respect as a senior.
During that time in the Myriad Monarch Sect, he had decided to hold himself back due to the possible trump cards Wu Yu might possess on the Myriad Monarch Planet. While his instincts were correct, he still felt frustrated about that moment. No longer were they on the Myriad Monarch Planet.
Wu Yu calmly heard this and revealed a faint hint of a smile. To think he had fallen so low that he would be threatened by a junior, demanded to step down or else. How embarrassing. Even if he was the next King of Everlore, the other old foxes would still laugh at him, no?
He didn't deign to reply. His eyes that revealed a calm and arrogant light said it all.
Wei Wuyin gave a brief nod. His strong hand pressed towards the empty void, his palm facing the direction of the serpent. Endless ripples were emitted from his fingertips. A distinct power of void was being exuded, and it seemed to stretch an infinite distance.
This was void force and Wei Wuyin was currently deploying a fragment of its powers. When Wei Wuyin was trying to study Void Force, he realized it didn't have much offensive strength and it wasn't very useful in executing the spatial arts of the sect. In fact, he was befuddled by this development. According to Kratos, the Dao of Void incorporated space and time, but it didn't work for basic spatial arts.
He didn't know the cause, but Kratos had one response: It felt like trying to use liquid gold for hydration, it just wasn't possible. Even now he did not understand what that meant. He could only take it that the spatial arts were too simplistic to be fueled by void force.
Fortunately, he found one use: transmission. The innate strength of Void Force was its ability to carry all forms of power and send it towards a location at speeds surpassing imagination across the void. It was nearly instant, and distance was mostly irrelevant. In fact, he was using it now to stay connected in real-time with the Titanic Mudworm Snake.
With void force, he could transmit spiritual force with little to no delay. Of course, this needed a pre-existing spell formation to connect with or at least be in a range he could sense. In terms of the profoundness of Void Force's uses, it was its only power that Wei Wuyin had discovered. He called it:
「Instant Void Transmission」
He closed his eyes. From his dantian, a one centimeter Astral Core brightened. It released gushes of boundless astral force that vanished instantly.
Wu Yu was ready to strike and persist, seeking to cleave through the scales and flesh. Even if it took him several minutes, he would simply have to do so. Just as he was about to pounce and unleash consecutive attacks without end, Wu Yu halted. His eyes widened.
'What is this? This is astral force?!' Without warning, the Titanic Mudworm Snake was releasing wisps of elemental origin force from its scales, and the damaged flesh and scales started to rapidly recover as earth, wood, and water force was being conjured and infused into its body.
Long Chen sensed this change and was immediately startled into confusion. "How can a beast emit astral force?! Is Huangfu Jinwei acting?" He, just like Wu Yu, didn't understand what was happening.
However, Wu Yu had a bad premonition.
