Chapter 174: Watching the Battle at Zijin Ridge

Qin Ming left Jialing City, mounted his Silver-Winged Frost Bee, and hurried back toward Wangyue Island.

He flew through the air for roughly half a day.

Suddenly.

His powerful divine sense detected a large gathering of cultivators several li away.

There lay a range of undulating mountains; along the nearby ridges ran a bluestone Great Wall, winding continuously like a coiling long dragon nestled among the peaks.

Qin Ming had originally intended to leave directly, but upon hearing the topics discussed by those cultivators rushing over, he immediately took interest.

He instantly recalled the Silver Wing into his spirit-beast bag, employed the Breath-Concealing Art to reveal only a Foundation Establishment initial-stage cultivation base, then casually intercepted a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator to ask questions.

That Qi Condensation cultivator was manipulating a dharma boat, swiftly flying toward the gathering place, when he was abruptly blocked.

A flicker of anger flashed in his eyes, yet upon sensing that the magic power fluctuations emanating from the other person far exceeded his own, a smile reappeared on his face.

"Hehe! Senior, what instructions do you have?" The Qi Condensation cultivator piled smiles onto his face and bowed respectfully to Qin Ming.

Looking at this burly, curly-bearded giant with a face full of horizontal flesh before him, he inwardly cried bad luck and felt thoroughly intimidated.

Qin Ming pretended to be profound, snorted coldly, and asked, "Hmph! Why are you running? Is this one so terrifying?"

"You brat, explain clearly to this old man what exactly is happening ahead! If your explanation fails to satisfy this one, beware of having your legs broken!"

Hearing this, the late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator shivered all over in fright and hastily answered truthfully, "Reporting to Senior, today is the day Linghu Yang and Wei Wuya, the First Sword of Wei, agreed to duel; shortly, the two will engage in a decisive battle at Zijin Ridge, and many cultivators are rushing to witness this once-in-a-century grand event."

"This junior is also hurrying to join the excitement."

Hearing this, Qin Ming was momentarily stunned, not expecting it to concern Wei Wuya.

"Cough! Tell me again, who exactly is this Linghu Yang? How dare he challenge Wei Wuya?"

"Ah? Could it be that Senior does not know? That Linghu Yang is the hermit currently making waves; with a Foundation Establishment perfect-stage cultivation base, he defeated a Fake-Dan Laozu, shaking the entire Wei Immortal Realm."

Qin Ming frowned, recalled for a moment, and realized that back in Canghai Xiancheng, he seemed to have indeed heard people discussing this person, leaving somewhat of an impression.

'No wonder he dares to challenge Wei Wuya; it seems he does possess some strength.'

"Alright, scram!" Qin Ming said in a muffled voice.

Hearing this, that Qi Condensation cultivator felt as if granted a great pardon and took his leave, sweating profusely.

"Truly damn unlucky! Is today unsuitable for travel? How did I run into such a fiend? Fortunately, the other party isn't some great villain, or I would be finished."

Watching the direction in which that cultivator departed, Qin Ming pondered inwardly, 'This is somewhat interesting~'

'Then I might as well go along the way to witness what level the ceiling combat power of the Foundation Establishment stage in the Wei Immortal Realm actually is.'

Thinking thus, Qin Ming also flew toward Zijin Ridge.

One stick of incense later.

Qin Ming arrived at the site where the duel was about to begin; Zijin Ridge was already teeming with people, bustling with excitement.

"Who do you say will win this battle?"

"Need you even ask? Of course it's Linghu Yang! Able to defeat a Fake-Dan Laozu, he is an unparalleled genius not seen in a hundred years!"

"As the First Sword of Wei, how could Wei Wuya be undeserving of his name? After so many years of bitter cultivation, his path of the sword cultivator has likely reached the realm of divine mastery! That Linghu Yang surely cannot withstand even a single strike from him."

"Then do you dare to make a wager? Bet that superior-grade dharma treasure of yours?"

"Come on! Who's afraid of whom! But let's settle this beforehand: if you lose, you must hand over that hundred-year-old Wind Spirit Grass!"

"Done! It's settled then! Who's afraid of whom!"

"..."

Scenes like these unfolded continuously at Zijin Ridge.

Qin Ming watched, slightly dumbfounded; the duel between Wei Wuya and the other had not yet begun, yet the crowd of cultivators below had already started placing bets.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Just then, two dazzling trails of escape light shot from the distant sky, approaching from afar and arriving in an instant.

Two valiant figures stood suspended in mid-air, gazing at each other.

Linghu Yang stood tall and straight, his gaze sharp, his facial contours hard and resilient; cradling a long blade—a top-grade spiritual weapon—in his arms, he spoke faintly to Wei Wuya, "This battle shall determine both superiority and life or death!"

"As you wish." Not a trace of fluctuation appeared on Wei Wuya's face.

The surrounding crowd of cultivators, hearing such simple, crude, yet domineering opening words, could not help but feel their blood boil.

Qin Ming, too, observed secretly from the nearby air; he had just released his divine sense to probe and discovered that the fluctuations of magic power cultivation between the two were nearly evenly matched.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The great battle was about to erupt.

In the sky, two trails of light interwove, flashing with a vast, dazzling brilliance that drew shocked cries from the crowd below.

Boom! Boom! Two deafening explosions rang out; Wei Wuya and Linghu Yang had already clashed in mid-air.

Some cultivators felt the momentum was immense, yet they simply could not make out what exactly was happening.

Qin Ming, however, saw clearly: within a mere instant, the two Foundation Establishment perfect-stage geniuses had exchanged dozens of blows. Visible to the naked eye, a mass of crimson sword light and a sheet of blue rosy glow intertwined, fighting from the heavens down to the earth, flattening the nearby mountain peaks.

Many cultivators watching the spectacle, seeing such terrifying might, hastily mounted their dharma treasures and fled far away.

They feared being caught in the aftermath of the two parties' dharma combat, meeting an end of death and Dao extinction.

For a moment.

In the distant mountain ranges, rocks shattered; dazzling spells detonated one after another, kicking up rolling dust and smoke.

As the First Sword of Wei, Wei Wuya manipulated a top-grade spiritual weapon sword; sword light flickered around his body, sometimes forming a sword shield, sometimes transforming into a sword formation for attack, several times forcing Linghu Yang into perilous situations.

Wherever the sword light passed, nothing could withstand it; everything was slashed into fine dust.

Yet Linghu Yang was no easy opponent either; he wielded a golden long blade spiritual weapon, surrounded by five-colored flame light, his aura pressing close to that of a Fake-Dan.

"Hmph! Brother Wei, impressive moves; next comes the strongest strike of my life. If even this move cannot defeat you, then I will admit defeat." Madness gleamed in Linghu Yang's eyes, his fighting intent awe-inspiring! Immediately, he tapped his brow, causing a drop of dark-red fresh blood to float out, instantly dripping onto the blade.

Boom! That ancient, simple golden long blade seemed thoroughly awakened by something; in an instant, it transformed into a shimmering Jin Guang of starlight and vanished from sight.

Clearly, at the cost of consuming essence blood and lifespan, he had activated some extremely terrifying secret technique.

Immediately, Linghu Yang pressed his palms together and raised them above his head.

Boom! A blue blade-light phantom, dozens of zhang long, instantly appeared over Linghu Yang, radiating an earth-shattering, heaven-destroying aura!

Even Wei Wuya, seeing this, couldn't help but frown, cursing inwardly: "Truly a damn madman!" Qin Ming, transformed into a bearded burly man, was standing aside in the sky watching the show, and just as he was getting into it—

He suddenly felt something was off.

The position where Wei Wuya stood was directly in front of Qin Ming; he hadn't expected that Linghu Yang's strike, made at the cost of burning his vital essence, would possess such formidable power.

Just as Qin Ming prepared to dodge farther away to watch, he saw the blade-light phantom manifested by Linghu Yang sweep toward Wei Wuya with an unstoppable, crushing force! Boom! The cultivators observing the battle from Qin Ming's side, gazing at this single slash that pierced the heavens, were so frightened their faces turned deathly pale; they bitterly lamented in their hearts, regretting not having stood farther away.

They had never expected that merely watching the excitement would drag them into trouble; in their hearts, they could only pray silently that Wei Wuya would be able to withstand this overwhelmingly powerful spell.

"Good heavens!"

"This strike of Linghu Yang's probably exceeds the scope of Foundation Establishment spells, doesn't it?"

"This person is truly a madman; it's over, there's no time to dodge."

"Let's hope Wei Wuya has a way to deal with this, otherwise it'll be disastrous!"

Just as everyone scattered and fled in all directions—

Under Linghu Yang's control, the blue blade-light phantom, dozens of zhang long, erupted with renewed momentum, instantly soaring another ten-plus zhang higher, and slashed straight down toward the front!

An unexpected scene unfolded.

Faced with such a terrifying trump card of overwhelming power, even Wei Wuya, hailed as the First Sword of the Wei State, had no intention of taking this slash head-on.

Seeing this, Wei Wuya took out a gray talisman, immediately slapped it onto his body, and his entire person vanished from the spot as if by magic.

In an instant, he reappeared a li away.

This maneuver left even Qin Ming dumbfounded.

"Damn it! Wei Wuya actually chickened out!"

"It's over, it's over! That blade is coming down; run!"

"Too late; we're dead for sure."

"..."

Qin Ming's facial skin twitched; he had never expected that merely coming to be a spectator would still get him caught up in the magical duel's fallout.

With Linghu Yang's ultimate strike already locking onto the airspace where he stood, unless one possessed a Void-Shift Talisman like Wei Wuya's, there was simply no escape.

Nearby cultivators wailed in despair, their faces filled with hopelessness.

Roar! Just then—

A blood-red, four-armed giant shadow, towering twenty-plus zhang high and standing between heaven and earth, appeared in midair.

The moment the blood-red four-armed giant shadow appeared, it radiated an unparalleled, domineering aura, sending out layer upon layer of shockwaves that surged in all directions.

Cultivators caught in the blast were like small boats tossed in giant waves, instantly blown askew; some even fell straight down from the sky.

The blood-red four-armed giant ape phantom showed not the slightest fear toward the slashing blade-light.

Crack-crackle-pop!

Its four arms stretched out, its five fingers on each hand clenched together, all transforming into fists; like a blood-red demonic god, it crossed dozens of zhang in an instant, charging straight at the blade-light phantom in the sky and striking horizontally!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Crack! After several earth-shaking, mountain-trembling collisions, the blue blade-light in the sky was instantly shattered by several punches from the blood-red giant phantom, dispersing like foam.

Thump! The lingering force of the fist-images did not diminish; one punch smashed into Linghu Yang, who was in the air behind, sending him flying like a cannonball straight into the mountain range behind him.

On the mountainside, a clear, pitch-black depression in the shape of the character 'Tai' immediately appeared. Hiss! The observing cultivators all sucked in a cold breath; not only were they rejoicing at having escaped death, but gazing at the scene that had just unfolded, their shocked hearts could not calm down for a long time.

Not far away, Wei Wuya likewise stared in awe, looking at the bearded burly man transformed from Qin Ming, his heart already churning like turbulent waves. (End of chapter)