Chapter 1682: Sparring
"These are just a few little tricks that aren't all that noteworthy," Han Li replied with a modest smile before also slowly descending toward the island.
Liu Shui'er's brows furrowed slightly, and she was forced to swallow the questions that she was about to ask as she also descended as a streak of blue light.
At this moment, Shi Kun had already been waiting for a short at the center of the island.
He'd also witnessed Han Li unleashing his Fire Raven to melt that dome of ice, but his expression remained quite calm, in stark contrast with the insanity he'd just displayed in battle.
Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon seeing this.
"We don't have much time, so let's start practicing the combination secret technique right away," Shi Kun suggested as soon as Han Li and Liu Shui'er descended nearby.
"Of course. However, this secret technique has to have a main instigator while the other two play supportive roles, and it's best for the leader to be the one with the most powerful Divine Essencefused Light. The three of us should unleash our respective Divine Essencefused Light to decide on who the leader should be," Liu Shui'er replied with a nod.
"I have no issue with that. I've heard that Fairy Liu possesses a natural Essencefused Body, while I possess an acquired Essencefused Body; I wonder which one is more powerful." Shi Kun's eyes lit up with a hint of excitement as he spoke.
"I think we'll both have our strengths and weaknesses. Due to the fact that I possess a natural Essencefused Body, I have great control over my Divine Essencefused Light, as if it's an extension of my body, but cultivating it is very difficult for me. In contrast, with an acquired Essencefused Body, you're able to enhance your powers easily using external help," Liu Shui'er analyzed in a calm manner.
"But those with natural Essencefused Bodies have a chance to evolve their Divine Essencefused Light; that's something the likes of myself can't compare with. On top of that, I had to endure a lot of suffering to acquire this body. Fellow Daoist Han, I've heard that you're different from both of us in that you're only able to unleash the Divine Essencefused Light through the use of an Essencefused Treasure; is that true?" Shi Kun chuckled as he turned toward Han Li.
"That is indeed true. My Divine Essencefused Light definitely can't compete with you two, so I won't participate in this contest," Han Li replied with a nonchalant smile.
Shi Kun stared at Han Li for a moment upon hearing this, but didn't press him any further as he said, "In that case, we won't force the issue, Brother Han. Why don't you have a sparring match with me, Fairy Liu?"
Liu Shui'er nodded before slowly rising up into the air until she was hovering over 200 feet above the ground.
For some reason, she also seemed to be very interested in Shi Kun's acquired Essencefued Body.
Shi Kun let loose a low cry, and yellow light flashed all over his body as he rose up to the same altitude as Liu Shui'er before facing her in mid-air.
Meanwhile, Han Li flew back to over 1,000 feet away, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake before looking up in an expressionless manner.
He didn't have any interest in leading the combination secret technique, but he was rather interested to see how powerful the Divine Essencefused Light of these two beings were.
At this moment, Shi Kun let loose a loud cry as his skin gradually turned black, transforming him into what appeared to be a black rock golem. Immediately thereafter, he made a hand seal, and grey light instantly took the place of the yellow light around his body.
This was none other than the Divine Essencefused Light.
"Look out now, Fairy Liu!" Shi Kun warned before raising an arm and spreading his fingers apart before making a grabbing motion.
A pillar of grey light immediately shot forth from his palm, but as soon as it left his body, it transformed into thousands of grey threads of light that filled the entire sky.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked on from down below.
Liu Shui'er made a hand seal in an unhurried manner upon seeing this, and grey light also erupted from her graceful body, forming a massive wheel of light with a radius of 30 to 40 feet behind her, and the wheel was slowly rotating behind her.
The center of the wheel flashed, and a burst of grey light swept forth, hurting directly toward the oncoming threads of light.
The two clashed in an instant, resulting in a loud explosion.
Both of them were using the same type of power, so none of the Divine Essencefused Light's advantages over other types of powers could play a role here. As such, this battle could only be decided purely by the powers of their respective Divine Essencefused Light.
Following the conclusion of the explosion, all of the grey light had vanished into nothingness, and it appeared that their first clash had concluded in a tie.
"Splendid! Now see if you can handle this!" Shi Kun chortled as he suddenly slammed his hands together in front of his chest.
His black rocky body shuddered as a burst of piercing grey light emerged, and it was as if he'd transformed into a scintillating grey sun that was too bright to be directly appraised.
A serious expression appeared on Liu Shui'er's face for the first time, and she immediately made a series of quick hand seals while chanting something at the same time.
The grey wheel of light behind her blurred before rotating at a rapid rate, and countless runes surged forth from it in a frenzy, shattering before converging again.
In the blink of an eye, a massive rune had taken shape at the center of the wheel of light.
"Go!" Shi Kun let loose a low cry as he swept both arms through the air, and they transformed into countless projections that hurtled through the air, as if he'd unleashed hundreds of punches in a split second.
Each and every fist projection then transformed into a head-sized ball of grey light, and hundreds of them rushed toward Liu Shui'er in a frenzy, creating quite an intimidating sight to behold.
In the face of such an astonishing assault, Liu Shui'er merely harrumphed coldly before pointing a finger up ahead.
A burst of buzzing immediately rang out from the grey wheel of light behind her, and its rotation came to an abrupt halt as the massive rune shot forth from its center.
A peculiar scene then unfolded.
As soon as the rune sped into the air, it swelled drastically in size, reaching several hundred feet in just a few flashes. It continued on toward the balls of grey light in a soundless manner, obscuring virtually the entire sky.
After striking the massive rune, all of the balls of light vanished in a flash like sandcastles being swept away by the rising tide.
Shi Kun had grey light flashing from his hands, and he was about to unleash a second wave of attacks, but his expression immediately faltered upon seeing this. After a short while, he lowered his hands as a wry smile appeared on his face.
"That's enough for me. As expected of a natural Essencefused Body; my acquired body simply can't compare. There's no way that I'll be able to beat that attack."
Shi Kun made no effort to prolong this sparring match, immediately conceding after deciding that there was no chance for victory, then descended back onto the ground.
"There's no need to be so depressed, Fellow Daoist Shi. I only recently grasped that ability, and I wouldn't have unleashed it had it not been for the fact that you'd thrown such a devastating attack at me. In reality, the power of your Divine Essencefused Light is quite comparable to mine," Liu Shui'er chuckled in consolation before pointing a finger at the giant rune.
The rune immediately shattered amid a flash of grey light, then disintegrated into specks of grey light that surged back into the grey wheel.
Following a gentle wave of her arm, the grey wheel of light disappeared in a flash, and she also slowly descended from up above.
"Hehe, there's no need to try and flatter me, Fellow Daoist Liu; I'm well aware of the extent of my abilities. I gave everything I could just then, but you probably only used 60% to 70% of the power of your Divine Essencefused Light at most. I don't know about Fellow Daoist Han, but there's no way that I can match you in this aspect," Shi Kun replied in a nonchalant manner.
"Even Brother Shi is no match for Fairy Liu, so there's no way that I can compare when my Divine Essencefused Light is merely stemming from a treasure," Han Li said with a hint of a smile on his face.
Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun naturally didn't' completely believe what Han Li was saying, but seeing as his Divine Essencefused Light really did stem from a treasure, it was most likely the case that it would indeed be inferior in power compared to theirs.
As such, the two of the three of them exchanged some further pleasantries, and they didn't force Han Li to display his power.
Unbeknownst to them, the treasure that Han Li was referring to was an entire Divine Essencefused Mountain. If they'd known that, there was no way that they'd be thinking this way.
Thus, following that sparring match, Liu Shui'er was assigned the leader of the combination secret technique, while Han Li and Shi Kun were to play secondary support roles.
The three of them immediately set up a giant illusionary formation in the nearby area to disguise the fact that the entire island had been razed to the ground, then began to practice the secret technique.
A dozen or so days passed in a flash.
During this time, no other beings or sea beasts passed by the island, so no mishaps occurred.
After three or four more days, the illusionary formation on the island suddenly vanished, and three humanoid figures rose up into the air.
This was naturally none other than Han Li's trio.
Liu Shui'er wore an elated expression, while Han Li remained quite calm, and Shi Kun looked like he simply didn't care.
It appeared that their cultivation on the island had gone very smoothly.
"I didn't think that our cultivation of the combination secret technique would go so smoothly; we've managed to master it in just half a month."
"Hehe, that's mainly because your mastery of the Divine Essencefused Light far outstrips ours. Fellow Daoist Han and I both benefited greatly from cultivating with you," Shi Kun chuckled in reply.
"Indeed, I didn't think that there were so many forms that the Divine Essencefused Light could adopt; I really must thank you for your instruction," Han Li chimed in with a smile.
"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist; I was only able to master these things as I possess a natural Essencefused Body. If you two were in my shoes, I'm sure your mastery of the Divine Essencefused Light would only be superior to mine," Liu Shui'er chuckled in a modest manner.
"That's enough exchanges of pleasantries; let's go and find those restricted ruins as soon as we can. There's no way to ascertain where we are now in the middle of the ocean, so we have to find land first before deciding where to go next," Shi Kun suggested.
Han Li and Liu Shui'er naturally had no objections to this.
Thus, the three of them picked a certain direction before flying toward it.