Once this Taoist art was performed, it could easily turn a Copper armored Corpse into ash and wound a Silver armored Corpse, showcasing its terrifying power. However, its only drawback was the immense consumption.
Uncle Jiu could not even perform it before breaking through to the seventh level of Earth Master. Even now, having reached the eighth level, performing it once would likely drain his entire reservoir of Dharma Power.
For Uncle Jiu, this technique was something of a "chicken rib" useless in practice. Enemies he could insta-kill with it were ones he could already handle, and those he couldn't kill instantly were far too difficult to face. If he used this art and failed to end the fight immediately, he would be the one left for dead.
High consumption was a fatal flaw for Uncle Jiu, but for Qiu Xia, it was nothing. Forget the numerous acupoints he had already opened; even his Lower Dantian's previous capacity could have easily sustained the cost, let alone his power now.
As Qiu Xia successfully channeled the Taoist art, a streak of red gold flames surged toward Jiraiya's Sage Art: Goemon. The two forces collided instantly, causing the surrounding temperature to skyrocket.
The Southern Li-Fire Technique began to consume the heat of the triple elemental attack, igniting the toad oil in the process. Seeing this, the three combatants Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima immediately increased their output, desperate to overwhelm the flames.
It took a massive effort to finally block the fire. Once the Southern Li-Fire Technique dissipated, Jiraiya's Sage Art: Goemon vanished as well. The ground where they had clashed had turned into a pool of molten lava. The ambient heat was so intense that Miroku, who was standing outside the battlefield and protecting herself with spiritual power, was drenched in sweat.
"Do you have anything else?" Qiu Xia asked, looking at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya took a moment to think, then stomped the ground and lunged at Qiu Xia, throwing a punch. Faced with the attack, Qiu Xia slowly raised his hand to block. Jiraiya's strike, along with the Natural Energy follow up from the Frog Kumite, was stopped dead by that seemingly sluggish palm.
After parrying Jiraiya's strike, Qiu Xia began his counterattack. His movements were clearly slow, yet for some reason, Jiraiya found them impossible to dodge. The result of failing to block was painful: Jiraiya's head, as well as the heads of Fukasaku and Shima, were struck repeatedly. Before long, Jiraiya's face was swollen red, while Fukasaku and Shima were covered in bumps.
Exploding his natural chakra to create space and disengage, Jiraiya rubbed his head and hissed, "Damn brat, you really hit hard."
Shima clutched her head and croaked, "Gwa! This kid has no respect for his elders. He gave me and the old man a head full of bumps."
Fukasaku endured the pain and analyzed, "Taijutsu doesn't work, Ninjutsu doesn't work... that only leaves Genjutsu. Old woman, let's use that move."
Shima hesitated. "At our age, is it really appropriate to sing in front of a brat?"
"Do you want to be beaten for nothing?" Fukasaku shot her a look.
Shima immediately flared up. "I'm going to beat this brat so hard his own parents won't recognize him!"
"Kwa kwa kwa!" Having made up their minds, the couple began to sing in unison.
Invisible sound waves, infused with Natural Energy, rippled toward Qiu Xia. Faced with their sonic technique, Qiu Xia remained completely unmoved. Genjutsu? What a joke. The mental feedback from evolving his eyes into the Rinnegan was immense, not to mention that Qiu Xia was constantly refining his soul to strengthen his spirit.
Qiu Xia simply stood there with his hands in his pockets, his expression indifferent as he faced the Sage Art: Frog Call. This scene left the two old toads and Jiraiya dumbfounded. What was this? Was this guy using a cheat code? How could it have absolutely no effect? This was ridiculous.
"Are you done screaming? I swear, is something wrong with your heads?" Qiu Xia remarked. "Do you forget who I am? I am Uchiha Qiu Xia. Even an ordinary Uchiha gains immense mental power after awakening the Mangekyo, let alone me. To think you could use a sound based Genjutsu to hypnotize me... aren't you overestimating yourselves?"
Jiraiya gasped in shock. "How is that possible? This is a Genjutsu infused with Natural Energy!"
"I cultivate Dharma Power, which is what you call Natural Energy," Qiu Xia replied. "Do you think a Genjutsu that doesn't work on me will suddenly start working just because you added Natural Energy? Don't you think you're showing off slight talent before a master? It's like trying to plant a tree in front of the First Hokage."
"What does 'showing off at the master's door' mean?" Jiraiya asked, unable to suppress his curiosity despite the situation.
"What does it mean? Right, it's normal you wouldn't know. To put it in a way you can understand: you're acting arrogant where you have no right to be. Understand now?"
"I get it!" Jiraiya grumbled. You could have just called me arrogant instead of using some fancy term to show off how cultured you are.
"Fine, I've tested my current strength and I've played enough," Qiu Xia said. "Time to seal your memories so you stop coming around to cause me trouble."
Hearing this, Fukasaku and Shima immediately tried to release the Summoning Jutsu to return to Mount Myoboku and pull Jiraiya back with them. However, they found the technique wouldn't trigger.
"What's happening? Why can't we release the Summoning Jutsu?"
"It's simple. If I let you run away, how am I supposed to seal your memories? Oh, by the way, before I lock those memories away, I'll show you something interesting." As soon as he finished speaking,
patterns began to shift within Qiu Xia's eyes. It started with the Three Tomoe, followed by the Taiji, then the Bagua, and finally, a purple gold trim appeared. On each eye, three white jade Tomoe manifested.
"The Rinnegan! How do you have the Rinnegan? What did you do to Nagato!" Jiraiya shouted, jumping back in alarm.
"What do you mean 'Nagato's Rinnegan'? There is only one clan that can awaken the Rinnegan, and that is the Uchiha. Nagato only has it because Madara Uchiha transplanted his own eyes into the boy's sockets before he died. Otherwise, how could Nagato possibly possess them?"
"Madara Uchiha isn't dead? No, didn't he die during his battle with the First Hokage?" Jiraiya pressed.
"It's simple. The Uchiha's Izanagi! It can turn damage received into a dream at the cost of one eye. Compared to a life, an eye is a small price to pay. As for why Madara awakened the Rinnegan, that's also simple.
It's because Madara was the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths' eldest son and possessed the Six Paths Yin Power, while the First Hokage was the reincarnation of the second son and carried the Yang Power. When Yin and Yang combine, the Rinnegan is awakened."
"However, by the time he succeeded, he was already too old. That's why he gave his eyes to Nagato. Alright, I've explained enough. It's time to lock your memories!" Qiu Xia's eyes glared, and Jiraiya along with the two toads felt a massive spiritual pressure crash into them.
Their own mental strength compared to this power was like an ant standing before a giant. After knocking out the man and the toads, Qiu Xia muttered to himself, "The other three toads escaped back to Mount Myoboku,
but they don't know much about me they don't even know my name. I originally planned to seal Jiraiya's memories, but on second thought, wouldn't it be better if he kept them but was simply unable to speak of them? That might yield more Origin Power."
Having dealt with Jiraiya and the two old toads, Qiu Xia walked over to Miroku.
"If you didn't have so much Karmic Merit on you, I would certainly give you a lesson. You've got guts, letting the Third Hokage and Jiraiya trick you into leaving the Land of Demons for Konoha.
Weren't you worried something would happen to your country while you were away? You should know Hiruzen Sarutobi has always been someone who is more of a hindrance than a help."
Miroku remained silent for a moment. "I had no choice. A priestess's destiny is to seal Moryo. If I seal Moryo, no one will be left to take care of Shion. Before I die for that seal, I had to find a power that could help her."
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