Daoist Competition

Originally, there was external assistance arriving, requiring the Peng Yuan Sect to send someone to respond. However, within the sect, only the Supreme Elder Mu Bingxin was a Nascent Soul cultivator. For the safety of the sect, it was generally unwise to take action. After being repeatedly outmaneuvered by the Demon Sect, no one was willing to send cultivators anymore. Now trapped above the East Sea, nearly cut off from the outside world, it’s only a matter of time before they fall. When that happens, the entire East Sea might completely become Demon Sect territory.

Zhang Yan asked about the situation and roughly understood the circumstances here, then said indifferently, "Resolve it yourself."

Quan Yangxin trembled all over. Realizing there was no way he could survive, he steeled his heart, inserted his fingers into both ears, and died instantly as his brain shattered. His Primordial Spirit drifted out, circling once. Seeing Zhang Yan showed no sign of making things difficult, he bowed three times to him and then flew out the window.

Not understanding, Zhao Yang said, "Why did True Master Zhang let him go? What if he leaks the information..."

With a faint smile, Zhang Yan replied, "So what if it gets leaked? Even if they don’t come, I will still go to their doors."

His fifth disciple Jiang Zheng is still cultivating in Peng Yuan Sect. Now that their mountain gate is besieged by the Demon Sect, he cannot sit by and do nothing.

"Go tell Master Zhang that everyone on the boat is to remain here and not go out. I’ll be back soon."

Having said that, he then stirred up a swirl of Gang Wind and dashed away in the direction Quan Yangxin mentioned.

Meanwhile, when Shen Dong stepped out of the door, he did not conceal his form but strode openly through the air, seeming to fear people wouldn’t notice.

This move wasn’t ignorance but intentional.

He had already considered that he wasn’t Zhao Yang, naturally weaker at seeking information. To achieve his goal, he had to take an unconventional path.

Flying with such swaggering grandeur would most likely attract the attention of Demon Sect disciples. By then, he would find a way to lure them to the Dragon Country Flying Boat, allowing Zhang Yan to capture and interrogate them. What information could be more accurate than what came directly from a Demon Sect practitioner’s mouth?

However, Zhao Yang, having practiced Demon Sect techniques, could blend in. Shen Dong, on the other hand, was unmistakably a Xuanmen Sect Practitioner, making this move extremely risky, with the slightest mistake leading to death.

Yet the more this was the case, the less he wanted to back down. If he truly succeeded, wouldn’t it prove that he was even more worthy of attention than Zhao Yang?

His strategy was not blindly impulsive but had some reliance.

He possessed an Escape Skill named "Yin Long Smoke Escape." This technique not only had fast flying speed but, in crucial moments, could split into more than ten smoke forms identical to himself, causing others to suddenly lose track of his escape direction.

After circling the sea, he indeed attracted attention, although not as he initially imagined.

The sea below surged, and then a middle-aged Daoist with black hair and beard emerged, greeting him from afar, "Fellow Daoist, are you a disciple of Peng Yuan? I am Guo Kuo, greetings."

Elder Yang Shouzhen of Yuan Shen Sect stood atop an island, squinting at the distant Peng Yuan Sect mountain gate, his gaze full of gloom, tinged with a hint of greed.

He had heard that the ancestor master of Peng Yuan Sect was an Ascension Great Power Expert. If he could obtain the remnant, he could master the sect’s Divine Skills. Even if he didn’t gain it himself, offering it would earn him plentiful rewards, not to mention the sect’s numerous Elixir Pills and Spirit Flowers and Strange Grasses. Occupying them entirely would be worth several decades of painstaking cultivation.

Lately, he heard that the sect intended to send replacements for him, which made him feel a bit furious and uneasy.

On this East Sea, he had presided for decades, and nearing success, someone else was to pick the fruit. How could he be willing?

Thus, he conspired with Elder Gongyang Zhong of the Blood Essence Sect, deciding he would head to the sect to borrow an Array Breaking Formation Treasure and quickly break through the Mountain Gate Formation, offering his share a bit more generously.

He had left ten days ago without a sound, leaving Yang Shouzhen extremely agitated.

At that moment, a disciple arrived riding on Xuan Guang, and upon landing announced hastily, "Ancestral Master, just now Junior Master Quan’s Life Incense extinguished."

"Hmm?"

Yang Shouzhen’s gaze sharpened, Life Incense extinguished meant a life lost.

Among the sect’s disciples, Quan Yangxin was considered fairly strong, tasked to guard a critical island these days. The possibility of Peng Yuan Sect cultivators making a move was high.

However, instead of being frightened, he rejoiced, as Peng Yuan Sect had long been inactive after the siege, and a disciple’s sudden action implied they were losing patience, presenting an opportunity for him.

He pondered, saying, "Transmit my words, you..."

But before finishing, there was a sudden surge of spiritual mechanism around him, changing his expression as he shouted, transforming into black fog and leaping from the island.

Yet before getting far, the sky darkened, followed by a thousand-foot-wide Great Hand breaking through the Gang Cloud, straight downward, smashing onto the island!

With a thunderous crash, rocks split, mountains collapsed, and sea waters rolled back—the entire island was torn violently into pieces by the strike!

Watching this, shock and anger mingled within him, but looking upward, it seemed as if cold water was poured upon him, shaking him vigorously—a silent turn to flee.

After rushing dozens of meters, his figure wavered and vanished from sight in mid-air.

Zhang Yan in Heaven waved a sleeve, dispersing the rising smoke and dust below. Sweeping his gaze, finding no trace anywhere, he laughed coldly, reached out with a Forbidden Locking Skill, and instantly subdued the spiritual mechanism within tens of miles.

Yang Shouzhen, having barely escaped a few miles, suddenly felt an overwhelming force, freezing his body and forcing him to reveal himself.

Yet he remained unwilling, his face flushed as he exerted all his body power to break free. How futile it was, for once the Heaven and Earth Locking Skill was unleashed, without a powerful Dharma Treasure or Upper Grade Escape Technique, there was scarcely a way to escape.

Zhang Yan watched his struggle, expressionless, raising his sleeve lightly, whereupon the Xuanhuang Great Hand rose again, opened its five fingers, and ruthlessly grasped, crushing him into pulp.

...

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