Chapter 777: Were You Summoned Just Because You Came?

As one of the three great prodigies of Beizhou, You Yao had struck in anger using her most familiar divine ability; even if it did not represent her full strength, it was by no means something the chief disciples of the other branches could easily receive.

The instant Bai Mang pierced the sky and tore apart that curtain of Qingguang's chessboard, Shen Yi had already proven to everyone that he too possessed the qualification to command the four prefectures.

Moreover, judging purely from appearances, the two traded blow for blow, and he seemed even more at ease than You Yao in every gesture.

"Zhu Shixiong Taixu only entered the Lingxu Cave how long ago, yet his Purified World is already used with such mastery…"

Though the disciples would not conclude from this single scene alone that Shen Yi was stronger than You Yao—after all, he still had the advantage of that spirit treasure—when it came to talent alone, this senior brother was truly somewhat terrifying.

"It should end here, shouldn't it."

As the saying goes, one can see a leopard through a tube; from what had just occurred, it was clear that even if a gap in cultivation still remained between the two, it was absolutely not a large one.

At this realm, even if they continued to fight, how could a victor be decided in a short while? In the end, the elders would surely have to step in and separate them.

If Jiang Shijie You Yao still wished to preserve some dignity in Beizhou, turning and leaving now, rather than letting things escalate beyond control, would be the rational course.

"…"

True Person You Yao watched the boundless Qingguang dissipate into nothing, her eyelid twitching; she had never seen someone who could hide so much—nearly every time they met anew, she could discover something new about him.

At this point, even she had developed a few感慨 toward this person.

If he had only strength without knowing restraint, then when he first arrived in Beizhou, his edge would have been too sharp and would surely have drawn the hostility of the entire Sanxian Sect, who would have joined hands to drive him out… or even suppress him to death.

Only by holding back his temper, advancing step by step, and gaining full recognition from the sect's followers could this person truly possess the qualification to contend.

This Taixu Zhenjun had made thorough preparations; following his method, he could have picked any fellow disciple to challenge—someone like Master Yun Miao, that coward, was not even necessary. The chief disciples, Li Shan included, caught off guard and suffered losses, would likely have accepted the wager and let him have his way.

Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong target.

How could she, You Yao, ever become a stepping stone for another?

"Want to step on this seat to climb up…"

You Yao raised her right arm; with a turn of her palm, a pearl transparent as water rose into the air.

She fiercely mobilized the tribulation power throughout her body, pouring it all into the pearl, and her cold voice swiftly rang out: "In your dreams."

Even if it meant mutual destruction, this one must be reduced to dust first; let alone the fact that he did not yet possess such ability.

"Biyou Pearl!"

Though both were thrice-tempered spirit treasures, as You Yao's personal possession, this pearl's fame was clearly far greater than the Wuwei Sword.

The instant the pearl burst with radiance, the disciples on Tashan had already instinctively scattered.

"You Yao, are you trying to drown the entire Kaiyuan Prefecture?"

They even dropped the address of Jiang Shijie; among fellow disciples, sparring ultimately served the purpose of contending for incense and offerings, but this mad woman now actually wanted to destroy the entire Kaiyuan Prefecture.

The crowd's words were quickly drowned out by the rumbling roar.

One saw waters from the four seas surge in from the horizon, as if a boundless great marsh had been forcibly conjured above Kaiyuan Prefecture; the surging tides, drawn by the Biyou Pearl, transformed around it into countless massive water dragons.

In the past, seeing this scene, True Person Master Yun Miao would surely have been frantic—after all, in his view, these places would all be his own dao arena in the future; how could they be so wantonly wasted?

But now, he stared fixedly at Shen Yi, eager to see just how the other would die miserably beneath this spirit treasure.

The next moment, ten thousand dragons roared and crashed together into the mortal world!

"…"

Shen Yi faced the heavens directly, holding his sword as if lifting a brush, then swept ink toward the firmament.

The Wuwei Sword still looked as plain and unadorned as ever, to the point that even the earlier Bai Mang had completely vanished, like an ordinary iron sword.

But the instant it rose, all the water dragons reversed course, surging back up and once again gathering into a boundless expanse of water.

With every inch Shen Yi's arm rose, the great marsh ascended a hundred li.

One man, one sword, lifting the Wang Yang to the heavens, suspending it in the sky, forming a single straight white line.

Both spirit treasures were thrice-tempered; what was being compared now was the depth of the cultivators' foundations.

Though the Wang Yang rose slowly, it was genuinely moving upward.

When this scene fell into the eyes of the crowd, they nearly forgot to retreat, simply staring in a daze.

Zhu Shixiong Taixu had once again refreshed his fellow disciples' understanding of him; not only was his talent superior to the prodigies of Beizhou, now even his cultivation realm surpassed Jiang Shijie You Yao's!

At this moment, You Yao's expression had already grown somewhat unsightly.

The first strike could still be excused by the spirit treasure, but what excuse could be found this time?

She could hardly imagine how a Qi Refining cultivator, in a place like Da Nanzhou where monks held sway, had cultivated to such a state; and possessing such strength, he had actually still been driven out of Da Nanzhou, forced to flee to Beizhou to preserve his life.

The exclamations of her fellow disciples ringing in her ears, You Yao's five fingers trembled slightly; she strained to press downward, yet could not halt the rise of this great marsh.

With her breadth of experience, how could she fail to see that this insect-demon disciple's cultivation surpassed her own?

Thinking of this, she cast a cold glance to the side.

"Hah."

Master Yun Miao let out a long breath; this time, without the slightest hesitation, he summoned once more the fan from before—its frame like jade—and when it unfolded, the fan's surface was misty clouds.

He darted downward, robes flaring high, sleeves billowing.

All the grievances suffered back in Zhenning Prefecture were now gathered into this single fan strike.

One saw that though the wind was formless, it was sharper than a steel blade, and utterly impossible to guard against.

Before the howling sound even arrived, the towering mountain ranges had already collapsed one after another like rotten wood.

Having endured for so long, the moment he struck he realized… though his strength might not match those three, it was not far off at all; throughout Beizhou, he was entirely worthy of the title of a branch's chief disciple.

Let alone others—even You Yao unconsciously raised a brow, feeling a trace of surprise.

Unfortunately, this fierce strike failed to draw anyone's praise or admiration; what rose around them was only a string of curses.

"Utterly shameless—I've never seen anyone serve as a dog like this!"

"Master Yun Miao, that's your own junior brother!"

Joining the others to pressure Taixu Zhenjun could be excused, at worst earning the name of a spineless wretch, but to strike in a sneak attack while these two were locked in a standoff—judging by the posture, it was clearly aimed at taking a life.

Helping an outsider to harm a junior brother from the same branch—how could any sane person do such a thing?

"Heh."

Listening to the curses at his ear, Yun Miao not only did not stop, but once again mobilized tribulation force, fanning tirelessly.

In his eyes, only that culprit who had caused him to fall to his current state remained.

Shen Yi held the Wuwei Sword to block that Biyou Pearl; under such circumstances, the successive blasts of gang wind had already plunged him into crisis.

Just then, a disciple suddenly shouted: "Zhu Shixiong Taixu, watch out!"

Reminded by this, everyone only then noticed that another figure behind You Yao had likewise vanished from the spot at some unknown time.

That petite Dao child appeared expressionlessly behind Shen Yi.

The Deer Child had entered the tutelage of Master Qingguang since childhood, serving as an attendant Dao child, learning all immortal arts.

But at this moment, it mobilized the demonic power throughout its entire body.

You Yao and Yun Miao were both suppressing this person, while the Deer Child was the truly fatal killing move.

As everyone knew, demons and monsters' close-quarters combat ability might not match those monks of the Puti Sect, but they could easily tear apart an immortal's Dao body.

In an instant, a piercing demonic howl resounded through the mountains and rivers.

"Ong!"

The massive body now standing on the mountaintop, though not as towering as the divine dharma body of that white deer from before, was still a genuine true form of a demon; it raised its two fists like drumsticks and suddenly hammered down toward the tiny figure below!

Each of the three played its role, and finally constructed this inescapable killing formation.

"It's over…"

The many Sanxian Sect disciples did not think for a moment that it was Shen Yi's lack of strength; one could say that, unless it were those elders in the sect who had reached the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, counting through both sects, there should not be a single third-rank cultivator who could handle such a situation.

This was simply not a duel of arts, but a premeditated murder!

Shen Yi felt the fierce wind attacking from behind, and finally black clouds surged forth from his entire body.

The next moment, his entire person vanished from this stretch of heaven and earth.

"You cannot leave."

Before the disciples' taut heartstrings could relax, they saw that the deer demon, as if long prepared, thrust both palms into the black clouds, then violently tore them apart; demonic power raged between its palms, and taking advantage of the moment before the Taixu realm had fully closed, it forcibly ripped open a gap, then strode in after him.

"So that's all you've got."

Seeing Shen Yi flee, a fierce grin finally appeared on Yun Miao's expressionless face.

You Yao was right; sometimes one simply overthought things. One only needed to lift a finger to discover that what blocked oneself was nothing but a mere bubble, pierced with a single poke.

"Kill him."

You Yao waved her sleeve to recall the Biyou Pearl, her form transforming into a streak of light, carrying Yun Miao as they both darted toward that rift.

She wanted nothing else today, only the life of that worm-demon disciple.

In the blink of an eye, all four combatants vanished from Kaiyuan Prefecture.

Only the still-shaken crowd remained; amid heavy panting, they exchanged a silent glance. You Yao's aggressive pressure seemed to make these disciples see this great tribulation anew.

So it turned out that among fellow disciples, one could be vicious to such an extent!

……

The Taixu that once could make one sink into depravity, that thick gray fog, still brimmed with a deathly-still atmosphere.

But in the eyes of these three, who had attained the Nine-Nine Transformations and studied Dao classics since childhood, it appeared somewhat laughably absurd.

To try to preserve one's life with such meager tricks was undoubtedly the talk of a fool.

The burly deer demon advanced unhurriedly, casually waving its arms to scatter the surrounding gray fog; blood-red demonic qi rose, probing into this Taixu realm in all directions like spider silk.

You Yao and Yun Miao also strolled leisurely, not only utterly unruffled, but even feeling the excitement of a cat toying with a mouse.

To drag out that panic-dodging youth from this gray fog — since he was a worm-demon disciple, he should be like a worm-demon, crushed to death in one's grasp.

"Two fists cannot fight four hands; submit obediently to your execution."

The deer demon was different from those two; it sought not to vent its anger, but to avenge.

It had no leisure or idle fancies.

It only wished to use that man's flesh and blood to sacrifice to its brother's departed soul.

The deer demon raised its head, looking toward a certain spot, then calmly clenched its fist; the blood threads spread throughout the gray fog, following its motion, resembled a giant claw, seizing the veil of fog in one grip and flipping it aside!

"Found you."

The three stood side by side, looking ahead.

The Bai Shan youth was not as panicked as they had imagined, nor did he seem to be dodging; he stood with arms at his sides in the depths of Taixu, simply standing quietly like that.

Behind him, a colossal figure formed from gathered black clouds seemed about to burst apart this stretch of Taixu.

"Not planning to run a bit more?"

Yun Miao walked to the very front, lightly touching his own cheek; he seemed to still feel the burning heat on his face.

When the other party had shoved him aside in Zhenning Prefecture, how洒脱 and unrestrained he had been, basking in the fellow disciples' amazement, while trampling him, the senior brother, into the mud without the slightest mercy.

He only hoped that this little junior brother, when his Dao perished and his body fell, could be just so carefree.

Just then, Yun Miao was yanked back by You Yao.

He turned his head in confusion; before he could ask, his pupils rapidly dilated.

He saw, on the left and right sides, two figures so massive one could not take them in at a single glance, standing silently like dead objects, like two heaven-supporting mountains, silently looking down upon them.

Two fists cannot fight four hands — this saying was indeed true.

Shen Yi looked toward the deer demon and said softly: "Do you have any more hands?"

Yet this deer demon seemed to have gone deaf; it stared blankly at the left side, gazing up at that towering dharma body wreathed in flowing clouds, its body slowly beginning to tremble: "You dare… use my elder brother's corpse to make a puppet…"

So lifelike, as if its elder brother had been reborn.

The white deer looked down at the Deer Child and sighed: "I told you to come, and you really did come in."

It seemed to see its former self; since the beginning was exactly the same, the ending was likely no different either.

The next instant, the towering dharma body suddenly swung its fist and slammed the Deer Lad deep into the Grand Void with a thunderous crash.

Since you've already come, then settle down and serve the Master faithfully.

Almost at the same moment, the indigo-colored mountain of flesh also reached out with a giant palm, forcing Yun Miao to retreat swiftly, its ferocious laughter deafening: "Spineless shrimp, come keep your South Emperor Grandpa company for a bit!"

Only Youyao remained in place; she looked toward the youth ahead.

This person seemed shrouded in a layer of mist, making it impossible for her to see him clearly no matter what.

After a moment, Youyao gently shook her head, then raised her slender neck once more, her gaze sharp as a blade, her voice cutting: "I'd very much like to see just how much more you're still hiding!"

She was not Yun Miao — she absolutely would not be intimidated.

The Biyou Pearl suddenly shot from her hand, and bolstered by her majestic tribulation force, it once again raised a Venerable Bihai of towering waves within the Grand Void realm!

A scene exactly identical to the one before.

Shen Yi also swung the Wuwei Sword, but compared to the earlier stalemate, the change this time seemed somewhat different.

The surging waves dissolved into water-mist and scattered in an instant.

The radiant Biyou Pearl didn't last even a single breath before its entire body dimmed, falling from the air and dropping at Youyao's feet.

Her fingers trembled violently as she stared at the pearl at her feet in disbelief.

There was indeed a gap in cultivation between the two.

Only it wasn't slight — it was nearly double.

(End of chapter)