Chapter 19: Battle

This time, he came with a purpose and quickly found the spirit beast he was looking for. Although the age was a bit short, since he found the desired spirit beast, it didn't matter much.

For this day, Gu Yi made countless preparations. He checked in advance the habitat of the Sky Swallowing Toad and carefully investigated the changes in spirit techniques and improvements gained by those who absorbed the Sky Swallowing Toad over the years. This project not only consumed time but also money.

Shrek Academy didn't have such detailed information. Only the Martial Spirit Hall could possess such comprehensive data. And he wasn't part of the Martial Spirit Hall. To access this information, one either had to charm a woman with high status in the Martial Spirit Hall like Yu Xiaogang or spend money. Money can make the world go round, fully demonstrated in this world.

"Don't disappoint me, Sky Swallowing Toad." This time, Gu Yi was also gambling. If he lost the bet, he wouldn't be able to cultivate this technique himself. A technique tailored for himself. Zhoutian Liuhe Jing(The Book of Circulating Heavenly Qi and Harmonizing the Six Connections.)[1]. In his years of cultivation, Gu Yi increasingly felt that the human body was a microcosm. Especially when he had opened half of his extraordinary meridians, this feeling became even stronger.

The Zhoutian Liuhe Jing wasn't named randomly. All things in the universe were within its circulation, and nothing was beyond his reach within the Six Harmonies. This was the concept behind the Zhoutian Liuhe Jing, and also his goal. To match the universe within the human body, to grasp all the power in the world, to achieve omniscience and omnipotence. At that time, he would be greater than the Sea God or Asura God, provided he could really reach that level.

At least for now, he was troubled by the overly complex energies in his body. If he hadn't absorbed the spirit ring of the Spirit Gathering Turtle before, increasing his resistance to different energies, he would have died long ago from absorbing so much power. The Sky Swallowing Toad was the fourth spirit ring he tailored for himself. As the name suggests, it could swallow even the sky, making it easier to digest energy. For this reason, he had even experimented with the spirit ring of the Spirit Gathering Turtle before.

As for whether he could kill a ten-thousand-year spirit beast, Gu Yi wasn't worried at all. After years of martial arts training, if he couldn't even kill a ten-thousand-year spirit beast, he would be too weak. Gu Yi searched the area for the whereabouts of the ten-thousand-year Sky Swallowing Toad. The current Star Dou Great Forest was not the Star Dou Great Forest tens of thousands of years later, and there were still many ten-thousand-year spirit beasts. One day later, Gu Yi finally found traces of a ten-thousand-year Sky Swallowing Toad in a swamp.

After years of studying martial spirits, Gu Yi's judgment of the age of spirit beasts was very accurate. This was a Sky Swallowing Toad below thirteen thousand years. Because this Sky Swallowing Toad had a crimson stripe on its back and two faint red ones. The age of a Sky Swallowing Toad was judged by the stripes on its back. A faint red stripe indicated a thousand years of age, and a crimson stripe indicated ten thousand years. Although it was a little older than ten-thousand-year, Gu Yi was still confident in absorbing this Sky Swallowing Toad.

Now was the time to hunt. Gu Yi also wanted to test his own strength. Without hiding his tracks, he directly revealed his figure, standing firmly in the swamp without sinking.

"Croak..." A long croak came from the Sky Swallowing Toad's mouth. But Gu Yi was prepared in advance, blocking his ears with spirit power. Before coming here, he had thoroughly researched the Sky Swallowing Toad, its attack methods, habits, and even its gender preferences, all of which he knew like the back of his hand.

Gu Yi ran through the swamp like walking on flat ground, with an iron sword in his hand. This sword was not a decorative ceremonial weapon, nor did it have any special features; it was an ordinary sword. But it was a true weapon for killing. He just casually took it from a blacksmith's shop. Since then, this sword had been with him. To this day, the blade had a dazzling red hue. When the sword was unsheathed, blood would be seen. It was truly a deadly weapon.

The third spirit ring lit up, condensing the killing intent. The blood sword was like a switch. When it was unsheathed, the killing intent suppressed within Gu Yi's body also burst out, and his eyes became cold.

First Sword!

There were no special sword move variations, just the simplest downward slash. Even street children could pull it off a few times. But the Sky Swallowing Toad felt the deadly threat and sprung tens of meters with powerful hind legs. However, Gu Yi was relentless. His speed surged, and the swamp under his feet bloomed due to his violent movements, while the trees suffered.

Tree: I never expected to experience a mud mask in this lifetime.

After jumping out of the attack range, the Sky Swallowing Toad didn't hesitate. It shot out its massive tongue directly at Gu Yi, its speed so fast that it reached him in an instant. In this situation, Gu Yi didn't panic, but instead glanced at the sky. It was now high noon, the sun shining brightly.

Taking a risk!

Gu Yi chose to swing his sword.

Sword Two!

A fierce surge of solar energy entered his body and then flowed into his long sword. Gu Yi felt like he was holding a sword of fire, scorching hot. His body felt like it was burning; if it weren't for the three enhancements and years of training, he'd be injuring himself before injuring the enemy. The Sword Two, enhanced with solar energy and Gu Yi's martial will, was simply unstoppable. It directly split the Sky Swallowing Toad's tongue in half from the middle. Gu Yi's speed didn't decrease as he held the long sword with both hands and approached the Sky Swallowing Toad after splitting its tongue.

The immense pain made the Sky Swallowing Toad miserable, but it was helpless; its tongue was rendered useless. The Sky Swallowing Toad, which was originally lying on the ground, stood up and swung its short forelimbs directly at Gu Yi. In its eyes, they were short, but in Gu Yi's view, they were massive. However, this sudden attack didn't trouble Gu Yi. He evaded it in an incredible manner. With a missed attack, the Sky Swallowing Toad didn't waste any opportunity. It quickly retracted its tongue. This was its hunting treasure, although it was now split in two, it could still be used.

At this moment, Gu Yi held the sword with one hand while his left hand released a powerful sword aura. Different from the past, after comprehending the martial will earlier this year, he realized how narrow-minded he had been before. Without the accompanying martial will, what was the Six-Meridians Divine Sword? At most, it was compressed spirit power.

The Sky Swallowing Toad also sensed a hint of threat but was too late to react. The sharp sword aura directly hit the softest part of the Sky Swallowing Toad's throat. Gu Yi took advantage of the moment when it opened its mouth to retract its tongue and launched the sword aura. Even the body of a ten-thousand-year spirit beast couldn't withstand this sword aura; it was pierced directly through.

Compared to the Sky Swallowing Toad's massive body, this small wound was nothing more than a trickle of blood. However, the intense pain made the Sky Swallowing Toad unable to bear it any longer, erupting into a rage. Gu Yi could feel a huge amount of energy gathering in the Swallowing Sky Toad's mouth. This was the Sky Swallowing Toad's most powerful ability: Endless Devour.

(End of chapter)

Glossary:

[1]Zhoutian Liuhe Jing- The Zhoutian Liuhe Jing ("周天六合经") is a classic text in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that focuses on the circulation of qi in the body and the harmonization of the six connections. It can be translated as "The Classic of the Six Harmonies of the Circulation of Qi." This text is attributed to the legendary Taoist sage Zhang Sanfeng, who is also credited with the creation of Tai Chi Chuan.

The term "周天" (Zhoutian) refers to the circulation of qi along the meridians or energy channels in the body, while "六合" (Liuhe) refers to the harmonization of the six connections, which are the connections between the yin and yang aspects of the body's internal organs. These six connections are:

1)Liver and Gallbladder

2)Heart and Small Intestine

3)Spleen and Stomach

4)Lung and Large Intestine

5)Kidney and Bladder

6)Pericardium and San Jiao (Triple Burner)

It outlines the principles and techniques for regulating the flow of qi in these meridians and harmonizing the interactions between the internal organs. It covers various aspects of TCM theory, including diagnosis, treatment principles, acupuncture points, herbal medicine, and qigong exercises.