Du Kong saw that Wu Tao actually disregarded his status as the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple, "Lianyi," and was about to attack again with his sword…
He knew then that this matter had gone beyond his original expectations.
…
"No! If this continues, Shaolin Temple will truly bleed!"
Thinking of this, Du Kong could no longer hold back. He chanted "Amitabha" loudly and then said, "Brother Qingyunzi, must you push us so hard?"
"After all, it was your disciple who attacked our Shaolin branch and then caused trouble here, leading to this disaster…"
"This was originally your fault, so why are you now putting on this stance and fighting Shaolin to the death?"
…
Wu Tao's anger intensified upon hearing Du Kong's nonsensical words.
The situation had reached this point, and it was useless even if a heavenly king appeared, let alone Du Kong's few light words.
"Less nonsense, take another sword strike!"
As Wu Tao spoke, the True Martial Sword in his hand erupted with light!
The situation on the field was on the verge of breaking out!
On the other side, Du Kong gathered his strength while secretly contemplating a countermeasure.
"With the realm of Grandmaster Qingyunzi, when he truly fights with all his might, his internal energy can leave his body and become tangible."
"Especially when attached to the True Martial Sword, it can transform into countless sword energies, coupled with his Heavenly Derivation Calculation Sword Technique, its power is not to be underestimated!"
Du Kong and Qingyunzi were of the same generation. They naturally understood each other, and could even be said to know each other inside out.
At this moment, Wu Tao turned in front of Du Kong, pointing the True Martial Sword directly at him!
Du Kong immediately felt a sharp sword energy rushing towards him, and the terrifying pressure struck like a mountain collapsing and the earth cracking!
An ordinary person would have been scared to death, but Du Kong's pupils merely constricted, showing no trace of fear.
He had faced even greater situations, let alone this old acquaintance.
The Heavenly Derivation Calculation Sword Technique emphasized both calculation and speed. After a swift and forceful thrust, the sword produced countless marvelous changes, as if a thousand swords had been unleashed.
A single sword pierced the air, but a thousand swords seemed to attack from nowhere. The myriad sword lights, flashing with cold gleam, were truly unstoppable by anyone except masters of the same level.
Du Kong's monk robe billowed, and he forcefully clapped his palms forward, stomping his foot down. He unleashed the most powerful move from the Great Compassion Palm, "Heaven and Earth Grieve in Autumn"!
With a dull thud, the marble floor beneath his feet seemed unable to bear the weight and shattered, as if this old fellow weighed several thousand kilograms.
Shaolin Temple's martial arts were cultivated both internally and externally, reaching the peak of Yang energy. This was even more so for Du Kong, whose internal energy had reached the Grandmaster realm.
With another step, more marble slabs cracked. His rough, aged hands struck forward, forming palm prints like mountains.
Seeing that Wu Tao and Du Kong, two Grandmasters, were truly fighting, the sect leaders and other powerful figures around were shocked and exclaimed, "Not good!"
With tacit understanding, they all stepped forward and placed their disciples and grandchildren behind them.
Because they wanted to witness this astonishing battle up close, everyone had stayed very close to the battlefield.
Considering their cultivation and realm, how extraordinary must they be?
The power they unleashed when they were serious could be imagined, so those with weaker martial arts nearby needed to be protected.
With this strike, the residual wind waves swept out in all directions, knocking many people flying.
Following this, a tremendous explosion followed, which was enough to shock even those watching from afar, let alone those present.
Those with shallow internal energy felt a wave of dizziness in their minds, and the severely affected even bled from all seven orifices and fell unconscious.
The sound of the explosion traveled far and wide, startling countless birds to abandon their nests and fly out. It also attracted a man wearing a black hooded cloak, who let out a hearty laugh.
"Du Kong and Qingyunzi, those two old fellows, have started fighting?"
The man took off his hood and threw it aside, revealing a pale face and snow-white hair. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties.
Behind this man, who was in his fifties or sixties but still exuded undiminished vigor, stood over a thousand followers of the Heavenly Demon God Cult, all dressed in uniform black.
This man, in his fifties or sixties, was the leader of the Heavenly Demon God Cult, Youming Kuang, who had been defeated by Wu Tao's original body, Qingyunzi, decades ago.
It turned out that the reason Youming Kuang had ordered his subordinates to massacre the Lanke Temple was not due to any so-called Mo Ke Divine Skill, but a meticulously planned conspiracy that exploited the long-standing conflict between the top sects of Taoism and Buddhism.
That's right, this entire event, from beginning to end, was a conspiracy.
Wu Tao's sword had grazed Du Kong's arm, but the force of Du Kong's palm strike was also real.
Blown back five steps, Wu Tao stamped his feet to absorb the force, directing it downwards into the ground.
The next second, Wu Tao's feet sank into the ground. This was a marble floor three inches thick.
"Old bald donkey, why is his internal energy still so strong? He shouldn't be much older than me?"
"Damn it, he really knows how to maintain himself! My whole body hurts from the impact…"
Wu Tao appeared outwardly unharmed, but the blood in his meridians was churning.
The onlookers finally breathed a sigh of relief. The power of the strike between these two was truly terrifying.
Before Du Kong's palm even arrived, its pressure had already come! It was like a mountain pressing down. Wu Tao met it, and with another "bang" of a loud noise, Wu Tao's entire body shook again.
After repeating this more than ten times, bruises began to appear on Wu Tao's chest and abdomen, a sign of internal injuries.
Wu Tao thought to himself, "This can't go on. Du Kong's palm force is astonishing, and I can't just endure it head-on. I need to find another way!"
But he did not know that Du Kong was even more surprised at that moment!
"At Qingyunzi's age, how can he withstand my dozen or so strikes without any apparent injury?"
Knowing that he couldn't continue like this, Wu Tao's True Martial Sword suddenly blazed with light, transforming into a mass of green mist.
The next second, this mass of green mist transformed into thousands of sword threads.
As Wu Tao thrust the True Martial Sword, the myriad sword threads wove a vast net around, determined to subdue Du Kong.
Seeing this, the onlookers were all greatly alarmed, and the Shaolin monks were even more shaken!
"Is this the power of a Grandmaster? How can it be so formidable? In thousands of years, no one has ever been able to wield sword techniques to such a degree!"
The martial artists watching were all inwardly astonished. Even Du Kong, his opponent, showed a look of admiration on his face!
However, Du Kong was not one to wait to be defeated. For the sake of Shaolin Temple, he was willing to pay anything, including his life.
Du Kong's brows furrowed, and his internal energy surged again. His deep red monk robe billowed like bubbles, making him appear even more terrifying!
Wu Tao and Du Kong were now fighting desperately. The fierce winds from their palm strikes and sword energies swept out in all directions. Even the few masters who had reached the advanced stages of the Grandmaster realm were forced to retreat!
The battle between these two Grandmasters was truly awe-inspiring!
Wu Tao's sword strikes became faster and faster, each one connecting seamlessly, as swift as lightning and as powerful as thunder.
The Heavenly Derivation Calculation Sword Technique was already fast, and with Wu Tao going all out, its speed was even more astonishing.
Du Kong formed a mudra with his fingers, and behind him appeared a golden, thousand-armed, thousand-palmed Buddha illusion.
The thousand-armed, thousand-palmed Buddha struck out simultaneously, and its speed was more than doubled.
They exchanged blows back and forth, fifty to sixty moves, in the time it took for a single stick of incense to burn.
The number of times their swords and palms clashed was countless, dazzling the eyes and leaving the spectators dumbfounded.
However, after these fifty to sixty moves, the masters watching could almost tell who would win.
"If Du Kong has no further trump cards, after a hundred moves, all the internal energy in his body will be depleted…"
"From this perspective, True Master Qingyunzi has a considerable advantage!"
Xie Feng of the Tianshan Sect thought this in his heart, and others had similar thoughts.
As expected, after a hundred moves, facing Wu Tao's onslaught, Du Kong gradually began to falter. His heart filled with anxiety, and the thousand-armed, thousand-palmed Buddha illusion gradually dispersed, as if it had broken on its own.
Wu Tao launched another twenty to thirty moves. Seeing that Du Kong was undoubtedly defeated, he no longer pressed the attack. He held the True Martial Sword horizontally and slashed towards Du Kong, who had no choice but to block it.
With two loud "bangs," Du Kong was once again forced to retreat.
However, this time Wu Tao did not pursue. Instead, he sheathed the True Martial Sword and announced loudly, "Master Du Kong, you have lost. Shaolin Temple has also lost."
Wu Tao now held complete control of the situation, and could stop whenever he pleased.
Although Du Kong was unwilling, he admitted his defeat and said nothing more. He let out a heavy snort but did not leave.
Although Wu Tao had won, any discerning observer could see his exhaustion.
At this moment, over a thousand Taoist priests from Qingyun Monastery and thousands of Shaolin monks were fighting desperately. Over a hundred corpses already lay on the ground.
And as more blood flowed, the Qingyun Monastery Taoist priests and Shaolin monks fought even more fiercely.