Chapter 531: Do Not Linger Over Passing Waters

The green peaks are elegant and beautiful, their colors so rich they seem dyed—

Gazing from a great height, one sees a thousand mountains arching in rows, with distant waters vaguely meeting the sky.

Walking among them, one feels as if traversing a landscape scroll; the scenery is enchanting, the colors perfectly complementary.

Wei Lingjiang and Gu Yi look at each other from afar.

One stands atop the peak, her sleeves lightly fluttering, her cloud-like bun towering, resembling a clear lotus in the rain, uniquely beautiful and serene.

The other is surrounded by ethereal smoke, her features exquisitely beautiful and deep, like an epiphyllum under the moon, burning and dazzling.

"I didn't expect to see you here; this is quite an unexpected joy, Wei Lingjiang..."

After a moment of silence, Gu Yi speaks first. She tucks a few strands of hair blown messy by the wind behind her ear and says:

"They say it's better to meet by chance than by appointment. Since we've encountered each other on the path, let us settle our new grudges and old scores all at once."

"By old scores, do you mean the Miaoyi Spirit Mansion in the North Sea?"

Wei Lingjiang's voice is faint:

"Gu Yi, your temperament is so narrow; I fear it is no blessing for your cultivation. Even if there is no disaster now, you will surely face tribulation in the future.

For the sake of us both being cultivators from the Eastern Continent, I advise you to cultivate more purity and guard your heart; only then will you avoid inviting calamity."

Thirty years ago, for the sake of contending for the fortune within the Miaoyi Cave Mansion, Wei Lingjiang and Gu Yi began their feud.

Because the former obtained the Ten Thousand Dragon Banner that controlled the mansion, she could command the remaining arrays within, nearly wiping out the hundred Heavenly Demon generals under Gu Yi's command. Had Gu Yi not discovered the array eye in time, she would have had to use the supreme treasure bestowed by her sect to escape.

After suffering such a great loss, Gu Yi naturally remembered this matter firmly.

In the thirty years since, she has repeatedly sought trouble for Wei Lingjiang, tit for tat.

Both sides have gone back and forth, fighting quite fiercely.

Hearing Wei Lingjiang speak this way now, Gu Yi uncharacteristically does not retort with sarcasm. She seems to think of something, her lips curling into a faint smile.

"Looking at your aura, it seems you just experienced a fierce battle to obtain that copper fish."

Wei Lingjiang glances at her and continues:

"Now that only the last two copper fish remain in the world, and the time for the final decision has arrived, us fighting now is actually of no use."

The final winner of this Danyuan Assembly is determined by the number of copper fish held by each Danyuan True Person.

Since entering this Huanglao Sheji Map, a total of ten Fire-Bell Copper Fish have appeared one after another over the past three months. Anyone capable of completely refining one is guaranteed a spot in the top ten.

To date, only the last two copper fish remain to appear, after which the Huachun Mist in the arena will completely dissipate.

And this assembly will welcome its most intense round of slaughter!

However, before this, if two Danyuan True Persons who have both obtained fish meet and fight,

the loser is naturally out, but the winner cannot take the opponent's copper fish into their own possession.

Due to the restrictions of the assembly's laws, they can only watch helplessly as the opponent's copper fish escapes into the blue sky on its own, hiding itself among the mountains, lakes, and rivers, waiting for another fated person who has also obtained a fish.

Only Danyuan True Persons who have also obtained a fish can, by chance, glimpse the true form of the escaping copper fish; others, even if they want to pick up scraps, are powerless to do so.

Therefore, until all ten copper fish have appeared and the Huachun Mist has dissipated,

the Danyuan True Persons in the arena who have obtained fish have a tacit understanding not to strike at each other beforehand.

This is to avoid all their hard work ending up benefiting someone else for nothing, while they themselves gain no advantage.

This is also the reason why Wei Lingjiang, despite having a poor impression of Gu Yi, is not in a hurry to attack at this moment.

"A few days ago, I faced Hu Xu of the Xuanfeng Cave and broke his Yellow Sand Secret Blessing. This copper fish was obtained from him. Though he has a great reputation, his ability in spell-fighting was not as formidable as I thought.

It seems that rumors in this world are not necessarily true; fame is ultimately not something to rely on. As for judging who is superior, one only knows after trying, right?"

Gu Yi thinks for a moment, shakes her head, and speaks, though the last sentence carries a hint of mockery.

She looks at Wei Lingjiang:

"Why, we have fought more than two or three times; are you actually going to bow your head to me in front of the Danyuan Grand Situation?"

Wei Lingjiang remains unmoved, guarding her inner spirit, her gaze slightly cold.

Since Gu Yi appeared, she has been quietly initiating an offensive, mixing Heavenly Demon Sound into her words to shake Wei Lingjiang's mind.

Once Wei Lingjiang's mood fluctuates even slightly, the Heavenly Demon Sound can take advantage of the gap, allowing Gu Yi to secretly gain the upper hand.

Such tactics are a type of method Gu Yi is accustomed to using.

At first, it caused Wei Lingjiang a small loss, but she quickly realized it, and even if Gu Yi continued to use it, it would be of no use.

However, Gu Yi was only probing this time and did not intend to use this divine ability to achieve success.

After a few sentences, she smiles mischievously and suddenly speaks out of the blue:

"But having said that, you and Chen Hang must have a secret affair, right?"

"..."

Wei Lingjiang raises her eyes, her expression faint.

"If we are to be precise, it should be that we once had one, right?"

Gu Yi examines her expression and speaks slowly:

"But I am curious, you, True Person Wei of Chiming, have always cultivated in seclusion at Lutai Mountain, ignoring worldly affairs, to the point that your name is not prominent in the Year-End Evaluation. So how did you come to know Chen Hang?

Was it childhood sweethearts with feelings secretly growing, was it a match made by parents, or was it a chance encounter leading to love at first sight?

Do not look at me like that, I am just joking. Given Chen Hang's former status as a loose cultivator, the first two are just absurd talk; it seems it can only be the latter? But since it is so-called mutual affection, how did you two later end up..."

Gu Yi deliberately pauses:

"Like spilled water that cannot be gathered?"

The surroundings suddenly go quiet; for a moment, even the sound of the wind seems to die down.

Cloud shadows slowly move over and drift away silently.

Seeing Wei Lingjiang not responding, Gu Yi does not mind, just blinks and continues to herself:

"It seems I guessed correctly; you two really did have a secret affair.

It's just that although Chen Hang seems as hard as iron, he is not a heartless person. So, you two?"

"Ridiculous."

Wei Lingjiang's tone is flat, with neither anger nor killing intent:

"Is this all the petty tricks you can play?"

Gu Yi is not annoyed upon hearing this; instead, the smile in her eyes grows deeper: "Eh, do not overthink it. It's just that I have suddenly found Chen Hang somewhat interesting in recent years and want to understand him a little better. If I could get some pointers from you, that would naturally be even better.

This is a sincere request for advice, not an intentional mockery. Did True Person Wei misunderstand?

However, on this point, I have a word of advice. I wonder if True Person Wei would like to hear it? The so-called past is gone and cannot be chased..."

Seeing Wei Lingjiang unmoved, Gu Yi lifts her eyelashes slightly, draws out her tone, and puts on a solemn appearance:

"I advise True Person Wei to stop lingering over passing waters and realize the orchid cause early?"

After saying this, there is no response.

After waiting for a moment, just as Gu Yi feels a bit bored and is about to shake her head and strike directly,

on the ethereal green peak, Wei Lingjiang suddenly smiles.

At this moment, she is just like a lotus reflecting in the wind, extremely pale yet beautiful, dazzling and radiant, making it hard for people to open their eyes for a moment.

"Gu Yi, who do you think I am, hoping to shake my will with such petty tricks?"

Wei Lingjiang's gaze reveals a surging fighting spirit, and she smiles inexplicably.

"And as for the matter between me and my Junior Brother, there is no room for you to interfere."

She takes a step forward, presses her hand on her sword, and slowly draws it from its sheath:

"Hu Xu of Xuanfeng is no nameless person. He made a name for himself in the Southern Lands with his Yellow Sand Secret Blessing and defeated a group of Jin Dan peers. Even though I was cultivating in Lutai Mountain, I had heard of this matter.

But do you think that by defeating him, you can win against me?"

Gu Yi restrained the smile on her face, her expression becoming much more serious.

"You are quite interesting."

She says.

The two only confront each other for a moment before striking simultaneously.

Two powerful magic powers rise into the air; one is like a clear jade field, yet permeated with a hot, sharp intent, as if it has the power to scorch the sky.

The other is like a vast silver ocean, boundless and surging, making one unable to fathom its depth!

The air suddenly bursts with brilliance, burning and pressing.

The two magic powers collide fiercely, like surging tides, making a crashing sound, shaking the clouds into pieces and scattering the spiritual energy!

And just at this moment, a small red tripod suddenly leaps out from behind Wei Lingjiang, its mouth facing downward, spitting out layers of flame light, like a woven net, tightly covering her body.

Puchi—

Almost the instant the red tripod appears, a small golden hammer also strikes.

In just one clash, it tears a hole in the fire net, then strikes upward, nearly shaking the red tripod.

Seeing that it is difficult to achieve success easily, the flame streams spraying from the tripod's mouth, under Wei Lingjiang's drive, even turn into red burning chains to entangle, while the golden hammer shakes in mid-air and retreats.

At this moment, Gu Yi feels a sudden movement in her heart and, without a word, turns into green light and escapes from her original position.

The next moment, a majestic sword light strikes through the air, crossing the blue sky in the blink of an eye, neatly cutting the large green peak behind her into two halves.

"Wei Lingjiang, your matter of using the array in the Miaoyi Cave Mansion to destroy my demon generals will not be so easily brushed aside."

Gu Yi appears from the brilliance, looks at the mountain split into two, and smiles in her heart:

"Since that is the case, then as said before, new grudges and old scores will all be settled here together!"

As the thought arises, Gu Yi casually throws an object.

An embroidered ball tied with silk tassels and hanging with jade pendants flies out, emitting a whistle, then explodes on its own, with pale smoke and white mist rolling out, whistling and rushing!

"True Thought Golden Insects?"

Seeing that in the depths of the sky-crossing mist, there are hundreds of thousands of golden-scaled exotic insects, pouring down like rain.

Wei Lingjiang points her finger, and a five-foot-tall flag, with a bright red surface painted with dragons playing in the sea, suddenly flies out.

It is brilliantly shining, its colors burning!

In the air, red dragons roar from time to time, and dark fire flips and flies, causing the mountains to shake and the earth to move, with an extremely fierce momentum!

After fighting for half a day, both Wei Lingjiang and Gu Yi have suffered significant consumption, knowing that if they do not bring out their trump cards, it will be difficult to take down the opponent, dragging this spell-fight into a war of attrition.

If it truly comes to that, the former naturally has the advantage.

A majestic First-Grade Jin Dan is already a top-tier achievement in Jin Dan accomplishments.

When it comes to the depth and strength of magic power, Wei Lingjiang is inherently a step stronger than others!

But Gu Yi naturally will not let such a thing happen.

She has repeatedly driven her magic power, using several Huzhao divine abilities in the blink of an eye, clearly intending to end the battle quickly and not wanting to fall into a protracted war.

It is just that Wei Lingjiang is not easy to take down, and the classics she governs are also top-tier in the world, and she also has several divine abilities to protect her body, which is why the two have fought to this stalemate, with victory or defeat hard to distinguish in a short time.

In a short moment, the fire dragon flashes dozens of times, and Gu Yi's figure also blurs, disappearing from its original position.

Until she goes more than ten miles away, Gu Yi raises the golden hammer, aims at a gap, and beats the persistent fire dragon to pieces.

And the golden hammer's remaining momentum does not decrease, rushing outward, colliding squarely with Wei Lingjiang's flying sword, and finally stopping.

"Let's try this method."

Gu Yi puts away the golden hammer, her gaze moving.

Since she forcibly snatched the copper fish from Hu Xu, three days have passed.

This also means that Gu Yi has firmly occupied a top-ten seat and is destined to share in the Danyuan fortune.

So this spell-fight with Wei Lingjiang, whether she wins or loses, is something Gu Yi can let go and fight to her heart's content!

She takes the secret formula, and as the magic power in her body circulates, a giant white bone hand gradually turns from virtual to real, its five fingers spread wide, climbing into the depths of the extreme sky, bringing with it gusts of evil wind and fierce cold.

Causing the celestial phenomena to change suddenly, breaking the clouds and scattering them!

This white bone hand is between virtual and real, as if wanting to encompass infinite mountains and rivers, wanting to suppress all unusual movements.

No matter what variables there are, they cannot escape this palm!

One of the six killing arts of Huzhao—Formless Constant Life-Preserving Seal!

As soon as this supreme divine ability is unleashed, Wei Lingjiang feels the surrounding spiritual energy has been polluted by turbid energy, as if she were in the deepest part of the underworld, and she can clearly hear the various roars and shouts of demons in her ears, making it difficult to guard her mind, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Facing such an offensive, it is no longer easy to dodge, so Wei Lingjiang simply puts away her protective jade talisman to avoid this magic treasure being damaged in vain.

Then she draws her fingers together, and in an instant, there is a tremor, and a gas barrier appears, the world vaguely divided into inner and outer layers, then inexplicably closing again.

At this moment, Wei Lingjiang has light flames and auspicious clouds shining above her head, supported by auspicious mist.

Her whole person seems to suddenly merge with the Dao, with an extra layer of mysterious rhyme on her body, like the great sun hanging in the middle of the sky, wanting to trigger the movement of the star tracks and the phenomena of the four seasons!

"Correct Heaven Division..."

Gu Yi's gaze moves slightly.

The Heavenly Dao has its constants, and its order is called correct—

Although this supreme divine ability of Chiming is not good at frontal attack, it is a very powerful blessing method and must not be underestimated.

Huzhao and Chiming are both in Dongmi, and past Huzhao elders have often suffered from this type of loss, so Gu Yi is not unfamiliar with its mysteries.

However, before the two supreme divine abilities could collide, the world suddenly shook, and colorful light shot out from the western corner, extremely dazzling.

Before anyone had time to be surprised, almost in the next instant, another colorful light shot up from a very distant northern position, illuminating the clouds!

At this moment, in the Huanglao Sheji Map, the remaining two copper fish appeared at the same time.

"Copper fish appeared? It's quite fitting. It seems that in this battle, you and I will have to fight even more."

Gu Yi smiles.

As she presses down virtually, the giant hand climbing in the sky unfolds gently, instantly piercing through layers of vacuum and pressing down fiercely!

And the movement of the copper fish appearing not only startled Gu Yi and Wei Lingjiang.

As long as they are Danyuan True Persons in this scroll, they all have a sense of it now.

In the desolate mountains and great marshes, Chen Hang, who was sitting cross-legged and adjusting his breath, also opened his eyes, but he did not do much.

Only after waiting for another three days, until his vital energy was fully restored, did he stand up and wave his sleeves into the clouds. ===== CHAPTER 532 =====