Daoist Competition

This item was originally brought by him to guard against the Flying Sword, but it takes too long to activate between each move. Now, as the two are at a stalemate, it provides him the perfect opportunity to improve his setup. Once the Heavenly Net forms, Zhang Yan will be like a fish caught in it, unable to escape to the heavens. Without Hui Xuan, it doesn’t matter afterward; once he kills Lady Lian, he can conceal his spiritual mechanism, and no one will know what happened here was his doing.

Zhang Yan glanced to the side, also noticing Daoist Ji’s movements. His thoughts flickered as he smiled slightly but did not reach out to stop him. He realized that this man would not truly exert himself to attack before securing his arrangement, so he might as well play along.

Ancestor Hui Xuan noticed that Daoist Ji was focused only on manipulating the spider silk, ignoring him entirely. His heart sank, knowing this Evil Sect cultivator only regarded him as bait and would not come to his aid. With a grudge, he abandoned the thought, shouting loudly to the sky above, "Lian Murong, what are you doing standing there? Hurry and help!"

At this shout, Lady Lian trembled all over and, after a moment of silence, took to the tunneling light, flying westward.

Ancestor Hui Xuan was stunned for a moment, angrily cursing, "Foolish wench, today you are on the same side as me. Even if you escape, where can you run to?"

Lady Lian dared not go up to assist in the battle, not because she thought the two could not defeat Zhang Yan, as she couldn’t discern this with her eye power. The reason she ran was that she saw the fate of Elder You and Qu Changzhi and thought it would be in vain to go up, better to slip away amidst the chaos and at least save her life for now.

Ancestor Hui Xuan felt the Qi Mechanism fading away in the clouds, then disappearing, leaving him in despair with his path blocked and no outside assistance, trapped in a death trap. He clenched his teeth, took out a handful of golden sand, and threw it upwards. Instantly it turned into countless Stone Eggs, falling down like hail. The force was so great that even the Water Element True Light couldn’t hold them. He didn’t expect to harm the enemy with this, only hoped to restrain Zhang Yan to find an opportunity to escape.

Zhang Yan snorted coldly, raised his hand, and initiated the Five Elements Escape Technique, casually moving the Stone Eggs elsewhere.

Hui Xuan’s eyes turned blood-red with unwillingness. He took out two Profound Jade Pippas, crushed them with force, causing a wisp of black smoke to rise into the sky, wherever it touched, darkened like ink entering water, polluting the clouds. A stench filled the air.

Zhang Yan waved his great sleeve, and suddenly thunder roared, with hundreds of Gang Thunders raining down, blasting the murk away in an instant.

Ancestor Hui Xuan also fired a Sleeve Arrow straight at Zhang Yan’s eyes, but before it got close, it was blocked by the Qiankun Leaf.

With nearly a millennium of cultivation, though he had collected various treasures from other sects, few were compatible with his own Cultivation Technique, unable to unleash their full power, rendering them ineffective against Zhang Yan, merely depleting his Mana.

Yet he knew this action was akin to drinking poison to quench his thirst, but still didn’t stop, believing that if he could delay long enough for Daoist Ji to complete his arrangement, there might still be a chance for survival.

After a moment, all his methods were exhausted, yet Daoist Ji still hadn’t made a move, leaving him in despair.

Zhang Yan saw he had no further aggressive actions, knowing he was at the end of his rope. He noted the stalk of grain was wilting, only a few grains left, realizing the opportunity had come. With a clear chant, countless Purple Lightning erupted from the Gang Cloud, forming a river of Purple Qi, rumbling ahead to crush forward.

Daoist Ji remained unmoved, with a cold gaze, making no move to support.

He had gradually summoned his Heart Silk, just a little more before he could completely obscure the heavens and earth here. To step forward and act now would waste all his previous efforts. Hence, he decided to ignore, secretly thinking, "Even if Zhang Daoist can kill Hui Xuan, he must have little Mana left. How can he still contend with me?"

With no other choice, Ancestor Hui Xuan made a last-ditch effort, tossing the remaining grains, which exploded with full force to maintain his Protective Treasure Light, shouting, "Daoist Zhang, do you know the Treasure Bead you acquired from the underground palace has a significant origin? That bead is originally called the Nine Yellow Star Pearl, belonging to..."

He hoped to delay with words, but Zhang Yan seemed oblivious, leaping forward, with countless Purple Lightning following him like a wild wolf, devouring Hui Xuan’s figure in an instant.

Daoist Ji was astonished, not expecting Hui Xuan’s demise to be this quick. At this moment, his arrangement was still a bit away from being ready, and the heavenly screen woven by spider silk was not entirely sealed. Suddenly, seeing a sword light swirling overhead, seemingly about to escape through a narrow gap, he panicked, throwing his Lion Head Jade Bracelet to divert the sword light away.

He didn’t pursue further but instead performed a spell, sealing the spider web completely, darkening the sky. At ease, with his hands behind his back, he smirked sinisterly down below, "Daoist Zhang, I won’t hide it from you. I came for the Nine Yellow Star Pearl. We have no grudges. If you hand over the pearl obediently, we can stop here and go our separate ways!"

Zhang Yan smiled faintly, "How can such a thing trap me?"

Daoist Ji sneered coldly, pointing around, "Fellow Daoist, don’t boast. This is refined from thousand-year White Spider Silk. Even if you have Water and Fire Divine Power, it’s not something you can break instantly. Moreover, with me here, do you think I’ll let you work slowly? You’d best abandon this thought early."

Zhang Yan smiled again, saying no more, and casually launched a treasure into the sky. The item appeared like a large pillar, with four leaves at both ends, spinning like the wind, with splendid cloud colors reflecting a rainbow, slowly rising into the sky.

Daoist Ji’s expression changed upon seeing it, "The Hundred Refinement Heart Locking Pillar?"

This Dharma Treasure, crafted by the ancestor master of the Little Cang Realm, was known for its power. Breaking the spider silk would be easy, but wouldn’t that waste all my Heart Power?

In a panic, he shouted, leaping forward to intercept, but suddenly heard the sound of Sword Qi piercing the air, startling him. He hastily summoned his Protective Treasure Light, but the sword light struck relentlessly, leaving him no respite. Moments later, there was a loud boom as he looked up to see the dome had been torn open with a huge hole, and then a sword light flew up, vanishing in an instant outside.

...

...(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)