Daoist Competition

Nowadays, my mana is no longer what it used to be. Under the strike of the Xuanhuang Great Hand, there was no sign of dispersion or loss. With a turn of mana, I changed the strike to a grab, and the five fingers cleverly closed in an instant.

Rong Junzhong frowned deeply. Even with the protection of the Treasure Tree, he dared not take such a strike head-on. He had to raise the Three-Fingered Fork again, use the Shock Character Technique, driving the force to one spot, and drill into the center of that great hand. After a dozen consecutive strikes, he saw the yellow smoke gradually thin out, then turned the treasure fork into the size of a mountain range and fiercely crashed into it. With a loud boom, like breaking down a city gate, he finally scattered the great hand.

Zhang Yan smiled. After several trials, he roughly judged the opponent’s position, then shouted, turning into Celestial Rainbow Light, and flew towards that place.

As he approached, Rong Junzhong sensed the presence, and his expression suddenly became serious.

If he was found, the previous arrangements would be in vain. Thus he immediately used his mana, deploying the Forbidden Locking Heaven and Earth Skill. Although he knew he might not be able to handle this person, as long as he held him for a moment, he could widen the distance and hide again.

Zhang Yan suddenly felt a heaviness on his body, then smiled and used the Five Elements Escape Technique.

This Divine Skill is the first Dharma technique for tunneling and moving in the Mingcang Sect. Practitioners are not afraid of being trapped or captured. However, if someone else uses it without enough Five Elements Essence Qi, it would be in vain. But he was different. With the Five Directions Five Elements Tai Xuan True Skill as the foundation, he could purely rely on mana to control it. Using it now, it produced miraculous effects, breaking out of the confinement in an instant.

After breaking this technique, he rushed another hundred feet forward, still not catching sight of Rong Junzhong. Fearing his escape, a thought arose, and a sword light flew out, quickly transforming into thirty-two beams, then shot in all directions like arrows.

The Xuanyue Sect cultivators were not adept at escape techniques. Even though Rong Junzhong fought with his Nascent Soul, he was no faster than Zhang Yan’s Sword Escape Technique. Without other means to deal with it, once entangled by his sword light, escape would be impossible.

The changes happened extremely fast. Rong Junzhong did not expect the locking technique to fail to stop Zhang Yan. In a moment of shock, a sword light had already flown over, striking the Treasure Light with a clunk.

"Not good!"

Rong Junzhong knew his opponent was unlike others, decisive and fierce in combat, cunning and shrewd. Once at his front, he would never give him the chance to widen the distance again.

To leave or stay?

Not leaving, the fight had only lasted a moment, and Zhang Yan’s mana was not much depleted, far from reaching a life-and-death decision point.

To leave, he could only use the Three Sounds and Three Void Thunders to blast a frontal attack, stall him, and make his exit easier. But he initially intended to keep this method for a critical moment. If used now, his thunder skill’s substance would be known to the opponent in advance.

During the fighting, the situation changes rapidly, allowing no hesitation or indecision. His mind turned, making a decision. The original strategy remained unchanged, to temporarily evade the sharpness and wait for another opportunity.

He softly shouted, beckoned with his hand, and suddenly thunderous sounds arose. It felt as if countless lightning bolts struck from all sides, yet only the sound could be heard, unseen where they came from or where they returned, even without the slightest spiritual mechanism fluctuations. The sound grew louder, as though ten thousand thunders were bursting, soon shaking the heavens and the earth.

At the same time, he pinched a spell, and his Nascent Soul transformed into a streak of faint rainbow, vanishing in an instant.

When Zhang Yan heard the thundering sound, he felt the sword ball in his brow tremble incessantly. His eyes flashed, the Earth-Breaking Qiankun Leaf flew out from the Gang Cloud, descending with a golden light, enveloping him. In just a moment, the booming thunder crashed around him incessantly, like an endless wave, but it never broke through the thin golden light curtain.

He scanned around, the sword light darting back and forth, weaving into a net, yet he did not see Rong Junzhong. It was clear he had moved far away.

He mused to himself, "This thunder technique is more formidable than what was seen earlier, likely hiding some means. Rong Junzhong used it here without follow-up moves, seemingly trying to block me. It seems this person is not eager to win but rather relying on the situation to slowly wear me down."

He almost instantly guessed Rong Junzhong’s intentions.

If a Nascent Soul Third Realm cultivator lowered themselves to merely evade battle, it indeed becomes difficult to kill them, yet it’s not impossible to overcome.

Zhang Yan’s eyes flickered. He gestured and surprisingly withdrew the Qiankun Leaf, not raising the Protective Treasure Light, allowing the lightning to strike him. His body shook a few times and then stood firm again.

He had already reached the Fourth Realm of God Contract, his body robust, with two layers of treasure clothes protecting him, enduring the lightning while still standing firm. He judged that this thunder technique was likely used casually by Rong Junzhong. A full strike could have been more formidable, yet injuring him would still be challenging.

The two exchanged a blow, seemingly evenly matched, but he thus gained insights into his opponent’s thunder skills, which was indeed an advantage.

After a moment’s thought, he took several sheets of talisman paper from his sleeve. With a flick of his fingers, they transformed into streaming light, scattering in all directions. After doing all this, he looked towards the depth of the mist, squinting, "Let’s see how far you can hide this time."

After Rong Junzhong retreated far, he didn’t see Zhang Yan coming after him for a long time, leaving him puzzled. Thinking again, he felt a hunch, "Could it be his mana is exhausted?"

Then he shook his head, knowing this opponent was not so simple, better to remain cautious and not rashly impulsive.

However, to confirm if it was true, a few tests could be conducted first, and once confirmed, he could act.

He rummaged in his sleeve, took out a talisman, and slapped it against his palm. A mass of foul air ascended into the air, transforming into four emaciated demonic creatures with large hands and feet, a horn atop their heads, and red eyes. Slowly their bodies turned from illusion to reality.

This object was a Supreme Treasure from the Fu Yang Sect in the past. Each demon was refined from the Primordial Spirit of a Nascent Soul cultivator, immensely powerful, especially fond of devouring cultivators’ brains, extremely vicious.

As an evil sect object, he, being a Xuanyue cultivator, could not openly use it. He had created the fog earlier to serve a concealing purpose.

Not long after, the four demons solidified, their eyes revealing sinister light while exuding a ferocious aura.

Even Rong Junzhong felt frightened seeing this. Not daring to keep it close, he used a spell to command them, and the four demons vanished without a trace.

...

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