Daoist Competition

Thinking again, he thought to himself: "This is also good, Hui Xuan the old fox deliberately used words to trick me into leading the charge earlier, I should slowly cast the spell and let him take some hits first."

He clapped his hands, and a gray-white mist appeared in his palm, like strands of smoke rising into the air, forming a huge lead-colored cloud in the sky, a mile wide, thick and stagnant. Then, with a gesture, dozens of lightning flashes streaked through the cloud, silent yet gathering and brewing channels of light.

Ancestor Hui Xuan suddenly saw Zhang Yan rushing at him with full force, and his heart immediately tightened.

He knew his escape technique was inferior to Zhang Yan’s, and hastily retreating would only expose weaknesses, so he did not dodge. His expression calm, he reached into his sleeve, pulling out a swollen grain of wheat, and shook it in front of him. As he watched, a single grain shriveled, and a hue akin to jade and gold appeared on his Protective Treasure Light, looking thick and solid. As the sword light swept across the Treasure Light, sparks scattered frequently.

At this time, he made the same judgment as Daoist Ji, believing Zhang Yan’s purpose was merely to concentrate his power to kill one person first, then turn to deal with the other. Looking skyward, he noticed Daoist Ji seemed to have initiated a great method. After a brief consideration, he decided to neither dodge nor escape, drawing Zhang Yan towards him to give Daoist Ji a chance to strike.

Thus, he formed a spell, shaking the wheat in his hand constantly, urging his mana to build his Protective Treasure Light as solid as an iron wall.

Viewed from the ground, it seemed like a dazzling circle of star fire, unaffected by the sword light’s chopping and slashing.

He dared to do so because he possessed this treasure, believing Zhang Yan could not breach his defense immediately. Although he suspected Daoist Ji might employ some tricks, as long as Daoist Ji aimed to seize the Nine Yellow Star Bead, their ultimate goals remained aligned. As long as they could eventually rid themselves of Zhang Yan, he was willing to endure some losses.

Zhang Yan slashed back and forth using the Divided Light Sword Technique around Ancestor Hui Xuan, each sword light swift and fierce, overlapping like waves, one over another. The sound of sword light against Treasure Light echoed across the sky, while thunder illuminated the heavens, creating a truly majestic spectacle.

Daoist Ji, watching, felt alarmed, deciding not to stand by any longer. Pointing downward, a gray light shot like an arrow from the lead cloud, striking the golden curtain below in the blink of an eye. White brilliance spread, exploding like thunder and flames, yet even after a hundred attempts, it could not shake the Qiankun Leaf even slightly.

Although the technique failed, his face bore no urgency; his heart concealed a sliver of intent to see both opponents exhaust themselves and reap the rewards after—a show of power without truly unleashing his full potential.

Seeing this, Zhang Yan couldn’t help but smile slightly, having witnessed these individuals’ prior actions, knowing their apparent harmony was only a facade masking deceitful intentions. Astutely manipulating their psychology, he ignored Daoist Ji and focused on Hui Xuan first.

Ancestor Hui Xuan initially thought himself capable of withstanding the sword light’s slashes, but supporting it for a while only led Zhang Yan’s sword light to increase from over thirty to sixty-four strokes. The relentless downpour of sword light resembled a hailstorm, drastically intensifying the pressure.

Yet even then, Daoist Ji had yet to break Zhang Yan’s Protective Dharma Treasure, and Hui Xuan’s increasing difficulty brought curses to his mind. But it wasn’t time to break ties yet; he still relied on Zhang Yan, begrudgingly transmitting his voice, "Ji Daoist, why have you not struck harshly?"

Daoist Ji replied, "Brother Hui Xuan, hold your temper. This man’s mana is profound; if we do not drain it, I may not be able to kill him even with all my means. Brother, you should see this; he is unfazed by our Forbidden Locking Skill. If he escapes wounded but alive, where would we chase him? Bear it just a bit longer, once he is exhausted, I’ll show my killer move."

Ancestor Hui Xuan immediately ceased speaking. Despite Daoist Ji’s selfish motives, his reasoning was sound, leaving him only to silently summon his disciple, "Disciple, come lend your master a hand. Daoist Zhang is now restrained by me and can’t spare to attend to you. Come without fear."

Qu Changzhi, understanding the situation, knew it was only about who could break through the defense first to claim an advantage. Listening to his master’s orders, he hesitated not a bit, ascending in tunneling light, reaching close shortly, and casting out a handful of Silver Beans towards Zhang Yan.

Daoist Ji seeing Qu Changzhi approach, suspected Ancestor Hui Xuan might genuinely fail to hold on and feared he’d no longer cooperate. He too pulled out a Lion Head Gold Bracelet, chanting some spells, and threw it downwards aiming accurately.

The treasure fell with a resonating thud on the Qiankun Leaf, as though a mallet striking a grand bell, shaking heaven and earth, reverberating across the Yun Tian, causing the light curtain to tremble. Only then did the Silver Beans follow, though much less so, like stones entering water, merely stirring tiny ripples.

Daoist Ji waved and summoned the Jade Bracelet, casting it down again after a moment’s preparation. This time, it caused the Qiankun Leaf to quake even more, seeming ready to yield.

Seeing this, Ancestor Hui Xuan realized he was supposed to be putting genuine effort, quickly summoning his strength to resist the continuous rain of sword light.

These two were trying to exhaust Zhang Yan’s mana, yet Zhang Yan was equally waiting for this, simply holding off on other methods for the moment, solely slashing with his Flying Sword.

Then he noticed Qu Changzhi getting close, his face coldly scornful, suddenly waving his sleeve to unleash hundreds of You Yin Heavy Water towards him.

Qu Changzhi, under the Forbidden Locking Skill, could only confront head-on like his master, but did not anticipate the Heavy Water breaking his Protective Treasure Light in an instant. His blood drained from his face, retreating hastily while urgently fetching a dust-like fan to swipe around.

Just as he thought he could handle it, an inconspicuous drop of ink penetrated, stopping his motion as if facing an immovable mountain. This hesitation allowed a great city-battering ram to strike heavily against his chest, with a muffled groan, his body spun mid-air, falling down amidst a shower of blood.

...

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