Xia Feikuai saw that Fang Yuan had resorted to an Immortal-level Killer Move, so he had no choice but to deploy one of his own in return.
The pure white sphere of light did not move quickly. It lacked the swift, agile advantage that the Light Path was known for.
But as it flew through the air, it displaced everything in its path, emitting a deep, resonant hum.
Bang!
The wine-jar-sized light sphere slammed into the Divination Turtle's shell with the weight of a mountain, driving Fang Yuan's transformed body deep into the earth below.
The massive Divination Turtle's entire body sank, plunging more than a foot underground.
Xia Feikuai's move was indeed formidable. The Light Path had always been renowned for its speed, but Xia Feikuai's Azure Origin Strike did the exact opposite — it struck like a heavy fist, and when it connected, the sheer force would often catch opponents completely off guard.
However, the Divination Turtle's shell remained entirely unscathed.
"Hm?" After the strike, Xia Feikuai inspected the result, and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
Forget about a crater — the entire turtle shell was perfectly intact. There wasn't even the slightest dent.
Of course it was.
Xia Feikuai's move used Light Path energy to simulate Strength Path force, making it a rather unorthodox attack.
But Fang Yuan's Divination Turtle transformation was a Seventh Transformation Immortal-level Killer Move, centered around the Transformation Immortal Gu and the Divination Turtle Shell Immortal Gu. In particular, with the latter alone, Fang Yuan could possess a shell no weaker than that of the ancient desolate beast Divination Turtle.
Now bolstered by a full Immortal-level Killer Move and numerous supporting Gu Insects, the defensive power of the shell surpassed that of a genuine ancient desolate Divination Turtle.
Ancient desolate beasts had always been tough-skinned and resilient, brimming with vitality, and among all species, turtles were among the hardest creatures in existence.
That Xia Feikuai's Azure Origin Strike had been completely ineffective was hardly surprising.
But for the man on the receiving end, this was almost absurd.
"The Azure Origin Strike was rendered entirely ineffective? What an absurdly hard shell!" Xia Zhuomo marveled inwardly.
Xia Feikuai stopped attacking altogether. He felt a long-familiar sensation creep back — a splitting headache.
Staring at that impossibly thick shell, his head throbbed, and he found himself at a loss for what to do.
He could have targeted other parts of Fang Yuan's body, but he had deliberately chosen to strike the hardest point on the shell. Of course, there had also been an element of probing — he wanted to gauge how deep Fang Yuan's true strength ran.
"What should I do?" Xia Feikuai thought rapidly.
Despite his impatient temperament, he was able to regain his composure during a spar.
But at that moment, Fang Yuan activated his second Immortal-level Killer Move.
The aura of numerous Gu Insects billowed outward — Immortal Gu among them, alongside mortal ones. Fang Yuan opened his mouth and spat out a countless number of tiny turtle shells.
The tiny shells bore a striking resemblance to the Divination Turtle's back. If you removed the head, tail, and limbs of a Divination Turtle, then shrank the remaining shell down countless times, you would end up with something almost identical.
A massive swarm of tiny shells hovered in midair, spinning rapidly on their own.
"What is that?" Xia Feikuai ceased his deliberation. Caution prevailing, he flew backward, putting distance between himself and Fang Yuan.
Boom!
He threw a punch straight ahead — the Azure Origin Strike once more.
But this time, the wine-jar-sized sphere of heavy light never reached the Divination Turtle.
Those fist-sized little shells swarmed toward the Azure Origin Strike like flies drawn to blood, or a hive of bees buzzing into motion. In a flurry, they surrounded the incoming attack head-on.
Bang bang bang...
The tiny shells seemed remarkably hard. In the collision, several hundred of them were directly annihilated.
But the Azure Origin Strike was also whittled away entirely, ultimately dissolving into a burst of luminous fragments before fading helplessly into midair.
Immortal-level Killer Move — Hard Shell!
This was the refined version Fang Yuan had developed from his earlier Immortal-level Killer Move, incorporating his Divination Turtle transformation. It was making its debut appearance here in the Southern Border — indeed, across the entire Five Regions.
The core of this Immortal-level Killer Move was, of course, the Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu — Vajra Thought.
However, he had also added the Seventh Transformation Persistence Immortal Gu, along with a large number of mortal Gu as support.
Its power had naturally surged a great deal, well worth the enormous effort and thought Fang Yuan had invested.
"Oh! These look like turtle shells, but at their core, they are actually thoughts!" Xia Zhuomo's eyes blazed with a strange light as he instantly pierced the secret.
As a Wisdom Path Immortal Gu Master, he was highly attuned to all manner of thoughts. This was precisely his area of expertise.
As for Xia Feikuai, he cultivated the Light Path, not the Wisdom Path. Even though he was a Seventh Transformation cultivator, it was only with Xia Zhuomo's prompt that he realized the truth.
"Fellow Immortal Zhuomo has quite the insight. And quite the assist, too," the Divination Turtle spoke, its voice dripping with sarcasm.
In truth, Fang Yuan hadn't deliberately tried to conceal anything. It was simply that after combining this move with the Divination Turtle transformation, what had originally been glistening golden thoughts had all become dark, unremarkable little turtle shells.
"Little Mo, silence. I will break through his shell in this battle," Xia Feikuai declared.
Xia Zhuomo grunted and said no more. Fang Yuan's mockery had left a sour expression on his face.
Xia Feikuai closed his eyes.
He began to build his momentum.
The aura of Gu Insects rose steadily from within him, one after another, rapidly spreading outward.