Chapter 65: Confrontation

However, it was Xiao Han who made the first move.

"Frost Mirror Image."

In an instant, two identical white-robed figures charged toward the Great Heavenly Venerable.

At the same time, Xiao Han did not forget to leave a word for Tianyin Laoren: "Old man Tianyin, this Gu You Shengzhe is handed over to you. Just hold him off; once I finish off this old immortal, I will go and wipe him out."

"……"

Tianyin Laoren wanted to say something but stopped, "I am a Dou Sheng powerhouse too, after all!" How could he not be able to fight someone one-on-one?

He complained a little in his heart, but upon closer thought, this was his first battle after advancing, so it was better to be safe!

However, Gu You Shengzhe did not think so; he only felt that he had been greatly insulted.

He cursed loudly: "Ice Saint, a mere yellow-mouthed child, dares to spout such nonsense and wants to oppose my big brother.

Now you even delusionally hope for a Half-Saint to hold back a Dou Sheng powerhouse, hmph! You truly do not know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth!"

"Hey, old brat Gu You, who told you this old man is a Half-Saint?"

Just as Gu You Shengzhe finished speaking, the voice of Tianyin Laoren leisurely rang out beside his ear.

"What?" Gu You Shengzhe was terrified for a moment, his expression changing drastically. In his panic, he struck out wildly by instinct.

"Bang~"

Gu You Shengzhe retreated several zhang in succession, stepping deep indentations into the void.

"Cough~"

A smear of blood seeped from the corner of Gu You Shengzhe's mouth; because he had not realized Tianyin Laoren had broken through to Dou Sheng, he had been too contemptuous of the enemy.

Since their cultivation levels were almost identical, having encountered Tianyin Laoren's sneak attack while caught off guard, Gu You Shengzhe suffered a secret loss.

"How did you break through to Dou Sheng?" Gu You Shengzhe asked, suspicious and uncertain. He and Tianyin Laoren were from almost the same generation; everyone knew each other well, so who was there to fool?

Just as Tianyin Laoren knew Gu You Shengzhe could not have broken through to Dou Sheng on his own, Gu You Shengzhe understood Tianyin Laoren in the same way.

"Could it be that Langya Pavilion Master?" However, he reacted quickly. Gu You Shengzhe was somewhat surprised; he had not expected the relationship between these two to be so deep.

Although one could use a certain degree of external force to break through to Dou Sheng, as someone who had experienced it personally, he knew very well that the resources required were massive.

Gu You Shengzhe did not doubt that Langya Pavilion had these resources; in the past few years, Langya Pavilion had made a fortune.

It was just that what Gu You Shengzhe had not expected was that Langya Pavilion would be willing to consume these resources for Tianyin Laoren.

Wouldn't it be better to keep them for oneself?

It had to be said that Gu You Shengzhe was already a bit jealous, thinking of how he had worked himself to the bone for the Soul Hall and Soul Clan for so many years, only to have the Hall Master help him obtain the opportunity to break through to Dou Sheng a short while ago.

Yet, now this old immortal had broken through so easily?

He said with some unwillingness: "Old man Tianyin, I want to see how much skill a half-baked Dou Sheng like you has."

"Ten Thousand Soul Chains." Countless chains with terrifying human faces rolling on them shot out, heading straight for Tianyin Laoren. The chains were filled with ghostly energy, and the momentum was extremely oppressive.

As if he had seen the scene of Tianyin Laoren falling under this move, a grim smile appeared on Gu You Shengzhe's withered old face.

"Old ghost Gu You, it seems you have also forgotten the signature skill of my Sound Valley!"

Facing these massive chain attacks, Tianyin Laoren showed no fear at all, instead sneering. He stepped lightly in the void a few times and dodged all the chains with ease.

But immediately following, the chains surrounded Tianyin Laoren once again.

The latter was unhurried; with a wave of his hand, an exquisite and ancient zither appeared in his grasp. It was the sect-protecting treasure that Old Man Heavenly Sound had originally gifted to Langya Pavilion as a congratulatory present—the Bright Phoenix Zither.

Because Tianyin Laoren had broken through to Dou Sheng, his original zither was no longer of much use, so Xiao Han had returned the gift to its original owner.

Tianyin Laoren sat cross-legged in the void, his hands plucking the strings slightly, and sound-wave blades instantly shattered several chains.

The others continued unabated, and seeing the black iron chains filled with Dou Qi about to descend upon Tianyin Laoren.

At this moment, a melodious zither sound rang out, and the previously manic soul chains became quiet almost instantly.

Looking closely, even the human faces on the soul chains began to blur; the expressions on the faces were no longer painful but a kind of liberated ease.

"Not good!"

Seeing this, Gu You Shengzhe immediately retracted all the chains in the blink of an eye.

Just now, he had struck out fiercely in anger, but he had neglected the methods of Sound Valley.

Just as the Soul Hall possessed chains that restrained Soul Bodies, a sect like Sound Valley, which was almost omnipotent, likewise had methods for dealing with souls.

"Pure Land" — a nameless Dou Technique, its function is to transcend souls.

Its power depends entirely on the practitioner's understanding of the path of music, and as the Sound Valley Master, Tianyin Laoren's understanding of the path of music had naturally reached its peak.

Thus, in Tianyin Laoren's hands, this move was a natural nemesis to evil objects like the Ten Thousand Soul Chains refined from souls; in front of Tianyin Laoren, his chains were no different from ordinary iron chains.

"Old ghost Gu You, why don't you keep using them!"

Tianyin Laoren was full of smiles; facing a Soul Hall powerhouse like Gu You Shengzhe, to a certain extent, Tianyin Laoren was truly invincible among his peers!

"Hmph, old immortal, don't get cocky. Even without using Soul Bodies, this Saint can still kill you."

One might lose the battle but not the spirit; having lost a powerful means of confrontation, Gu You Shengzhe naturally did not have much confidence, but he would never admit defeat in words.

……

If things were easy and pleasant on Tianyin Laoren's side, Xiao Han's side was completely a one-sided thrashing.

As soon as the Great Heavenly Venerable engaged Xiao Han, he was shocked to discover that the cultivation of this so-called newly promoted Dou Sheng, the Ice Saint, was actually at the two-star level.

That would have been one thing; his own mid-stage two-star Dou Sheng cultivation could still exert a suppression of cultivation. However, the strength of the person before him was simply too excessive!

The Great Heavenly Venerable had just barely managed to block Xiao Han's spear with his blade, and the immense force transmitted through it almost made his broadsword fly out of his hand.

Before he could even catch his breath, another figure attacked again, sending him flying hundreds of zhang; the powerful and heavy attack made his chest feel stifled.

Looking at the two almost identical figures in front of him, the Great Heavenly Venerable took a deep breath.

Only now did he realize the terror of this Dou Technique; he could not find or detect the real body, and the two could swap positions at any time.

Indeed, one must look at who is using the Dou Technique!

At lower levels, one-versus-two is completely easy and pleasant for many, but now that they had reached the legendary level of Dou Sheng, one-versus-two was truly too difficult.

After all, everyone's Dou Techniques and Cultivation Methods are about the same; as for combat experience? Everyone has killed their way up here, so who could be lacking?

It seems the evaluation that the Wind Lightning Pavilion of the Central Plains' signature Dou Technique—"Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body"—is comparable to the Heaven Tier is not an empty claim.

It is just a pity that such a Dou Technique fell into the hands of a faction that does not even have a Saint Realm expert; it is simply a pearl cast into darkness!

With the discernment of the Heavenly Venerable, he could naturally discover that Xiao Han's Frost Mirror Image had some similarities to the Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body.

But the flaw is that the mirror image is, after all, not a physical entity. The opponent is entirely relying on extreme speed to produce the effect of two physical entities.

Clearly, when it comes to level of sophistication, the Frost Mirror Image cannot compare to the Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body; after all, that is a true physical clone!

"After this is over, I really must go to that Wind Lightning Pavilion to obtain the 'Three Thousand Lightning Illusory Body'."

Even now in the midst of battle, the Heavenly Venerable does not forget to pay a visit to the Wind Lightning Pavilion.

Central Plains, Wind Lightning Pavilion.

At this moment, Lei Zunzhe suddenly shivered, as if he had been targeted by some ferocious beast.