Chapter 533: Confrontation

Suddenly, crimson light blazed before him, like flames dancing wildly in the wind, rising in swirling heat.

Yet when it drew near, there was no pain or searing heat—instead, it felt as if his skin had been dipped into warm water, a gentle warmth spreading over him.

At this moment, Yin Ruohua handed him only a small copper fish, entirely cast in bronze, its mouth clutching a fire bell.

Meeting Chen Hang’s gaze, Yin Ruohua stepped forward slightly and smiled:

“It is solely thanks to Chen True Person’s strength that I have survived until now. With my abilities, merely making the top ten is already a stroke of luck—I am undeserving. What comes next is beyond my capacity to interfere with.”

“Rather than let this copper fish fall into someone else’s hands for free, I might as well do you a favor and let Chen True Person remember this day.”

One knows one’s own limitations best.

Of all the Jin Dan True Persons still remaining within the Emperor Lao’s State Map, none could be matched by Yin Ruohua alone.

Even if she had mastered the Blood Atonement Divine Needle, a supreme great technique, it would still be of little use—she could not turn the tide…

“Moreover, I have no desire to suffer heavy damage in this battle and drain too much primordial energy.”

“I chose the Blood Atonement Divine Needle not for eccentricity, but because it aligns closely with a lineage of my Qi Wu Yin Clan, allowing mutual verification and balance of yin and yang.”

Yin Ruohua paused, then continued, her eyes tinged with resignation:

“Now that all this is done, I must return to my clan to enter seclusion and deepen my cultivation. There is no point in wasting time on a contest destined to end in failure—better to withdraw early and preserve my progress.”

The Qi Wu Yin Clan’s lineage?

Chen Hang’s gaze shifted slightly; he nodded faintly and asked no further questions.

“But won’t your elder brother take offense at this gesture?”

he asked.

“Can a mere copper fish in my hands decide the outcome of the Jin Dan Champion’s contest?”

Yin Ruohua laughed at this:

“According to the rules, the top ten Jin Dan True Persons must still battle within the map for a full month. After that, their final rankings will be determined by the number of copper fish they hold and their battle records, as judged by the Arbiters and the presiding Elders.”

“That time is more than enough for you and your brother to settle your rivalry and determine a clear victor!”

“And if I went to seek him out myself, I’d likely be ambushed halfway…”

Upon hearing this, Chen Hang did not feign modesty or offer empty thanks.

Yin Ruohua suddenly felt uneasy, blinking once.

“If he’s going to take offense, he’s probably already begun to resent me since the moment we started traveling together…”

She added this quietly to herself, then recalled Yin Wujie’s usual conduct and winced.

With Yin Wujie’s outwardly open and unrestrained nature, he’d surely exaggerate her actions, report them to the clan, and turn it into a spectacle.

And that jest about sending word to Gu Yi and Wei Lingjiang—perhaps it wasn’t merely a jest?

“Truly an unwarranted disaster. But the pure need not explain themselves. Even if Xiao Gu is narrow-minded, she shouldn’t blame me—I’m on her side.”

“Yet earlier, wasn’t she ready to fight Chen True Person to the death? After the Ganliu Herb Garden, though she still called him ‘brat,’ her attitude seemed to have subtly changed?”

At this thought, Yin Ruohua grew puzzled, her mind drifting elsewhere.

Before she could dwell on it further, Chen Hang solemnly performed a ritual bow and smiled faintly:

“I do not wish to accept your kindness without repayment. Should you ever face an insurmountable difficulty, if I can lend aid, I hope you will not hesitate to inform me.”

Hearing Chen Hang’s tone, sincere and utterly without pretense,

Yin Ruohua smiled, her slender eyes narrowing slightly, a faint dimple appearing.

After exchanging a few polite words, she did not linger—she merely summoned her intent, and in an instant, she soared beyond the clouds, vanishing.

“Second one.”

Chen Hang held the fire-bell copper fish he had received, gazed at it briefly, then activated his magic power, letting it settle.

Since the transformed alcohol mist had already dispersed, and even though Yin Ruohua had left, the copper fish did not flee—it remained still and obedient in Chen Hang’s palm.

As his magic power surged into it, the copper fish emitted clear chimes, like a jade chime slowly struck, its sound resonating through the trees, crisp and audible.

This scene was observed by all the cultivators outside.

As the first Jin Dan True Person in the Emperor Lao’s State Map to claim a second copper fish,

Chen Hang naturally became the center of attention, drawing murmurs and speculation…

…

“This year’s Jin Dan Assembly in Xu Du Heaven has been quite interesting. The top ten Jin Dan True Persons are no mediocre lot—even the one who wielded the Blood Atonement Divine Needle is no one to underestimate.”

“Could the fortune of Great Heaven truly be so great? Just one grand contest has produced so many Dao Seeds?”

Inside a flying palace shaped like a precious lotus, several figures sat upon jade altars, surrounded by shimmering colored light and swirling mystery-qi, unmistakably high cultivators of extraordinary aura.

One middle-aged Daoist, with a full forehead and a ginger-yellow complexion, suddenly sighed, clapped his hands, and shook his head to his companions:

“Especially Chen Hang, the first to claim the fish—he excels in thunder arts, is skilled in swordcraft, possesses formidable physicality, and seems to have some innate talent in divination.”

“All these traits have reminded me of another Jin Dan True Person?”

“Fa Sheng Heaven… that one who recently received heavenly investiture and the ‘Dongzhen Lu,’ the top scholar of the Daoju examination, Lin Shulong!”

A giant, ten feet tall, with dragon horns on his brow and clad in a light brown pine-patterned Daoist robe, sighed and interjected:

“I once met Lin Shulong. I know his greatest strengths are thunder arts and swordplay—in this regard, Lin Shulong and this Chen Hang are quite similar.”

At these words, the cultivators on the jade altar grew interested, each voicing their opinions.

It was no wonder—they rarely encountered two Daoist prodigies whose favored techniques were so alike, and their allegiances had been irreconcilable from the start.

Never mind how Xia Ji once expelled the entire Yu Chuan Dao lineage from Fa Sheng Heaven.

All could see clearly: barring some monumental change, Fa Sheng and Xu Du, along with other Yang World Great Heavens, would inevitably clash in a brutal war, with no room for reconciliation.

Given their positions, Chen Hang and Lin Shulong would inevitably have to face each other one day!

Yet when a yellow-robed cultivator subtly raised the matter of choosing sides,

an elderly woman with silver-threaded hair and a nine-jointed bamboo staff shook her head slightly.

She tapped her staff lightly on the altar, producing a single resonant sound, cutting off the conversation.

“How can such matters be openly discussed? Don’t forget—we are in Xu Du, not Yan Xian Heaven.”

The old woman rose and surveyed the room, speaking calmly:

“The great river flows eastward—how can fish and shellfish swim against the current? To follow it is to live; what choice is there?”

“No matter how fiercely Fa Sheng and Xu Du eventually fight, we can only act according to the times. Do not entertain thoughts that do not belong to you—preserve your life first, then there will be a future.”

After the old woman spoke, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy; the ginger-yellow-faced Daoist, who had spoken first, lost all enthusiasm.

All present in this palace were native cultivators of Yan Xian Heaven—either sect elders or royal clan members, all of high rank and great influence.

It was only at the invitation of Xu Du Heaven’s presiding Elders that such figures had set aside their duties to come personally to observe the Ji Chuan ceremony.

Yan Xian Heaven lay close to Fa Sheng Heaven, and its many Dao lineages had always obeyed Fa Sheng without question.

But with the current situation, the Eight Sects and Six Clans had openly invited them to observe—Yan Xian cultivators dared not refuse, nor could they fully break ties.

After much deliberation, they had sent a group of high-status cultivators, secretly bearing lavish gifts, fearing the Eight Sects and Six Clans might find some pretext to come knocking.

Caught between these two colossal mountains, survival was truly difficult—even breathing was hard…

“Not only are we in Yan Xian in an awkward position—Xuan Lei and Ling Du are the same.”

“My fellow Daoists, do not worry too much. Perhaps some great figure will one day take notice and intervene.”

“After all, if Fa Sheng’s affairs are true, then under the entanglement of all factions, it will be a catastrophe second only to the collapse of the Dao Court—bringing ruin to the cosmos!”

Though the old woman herself did not believe it, she offered a few words of comfort, then shook her head:

“Let us speak no more of this. Since the Eight Sects and Six Clans invited us to observe, let us now be mere spectators.”

“The Jin Dan True Persons within the Emperor Lao’s State Map will surely become Xu Du’s future nobles. The lavish gifts we brought—aren’t they partly intended for these Dao Seeds?”

“If we can truly befriend them, perhaps when the great calamity comes, they might speak a word in our defense!”

The Yan Xian cultivators on the jade altar nodded silently—each inwardly agreed.

“A petty state, weak and isolated, forced to rely on others’ goodwill, unable to act freely—truly pitiful!”

The ginger-yellow-faced Daoist sighed inwardly, then turned his gaze to Chen Hang, who was now refining the copper fish, and his thoughts shifted.

“When Lin Shulong received the title of top scholar in the Daoju examination, our Ancestor ordered me to deliver our sect’s copper ring as a gift.”

“Our Ancestor once brought back a ring and a jade plate from the Gate of All Wonders. The copper ring was given to Lin Shulong. But for this Xu Du observation, our Ancestor ordered me to bring the jade plate—to present as a gift to the Jin Dan Champion…”

The ginger-yellow-faced Daoist’s eyes flickered:

“Which of them will this treasure ultimately belong to?”

“Chen Hang? Yin Wujie? Or that Yu Huangshang?”

While the Yan Xian cultivators weighed their thoughts heavily, and the observers from Xuan Lei and Ling Du felt much the same,

in a waterside pavilion, the atmosphere was subtly tense.

A middle-aged man with an ancient appearance, clad in a sky-blue Daoist robe, wore a strange expression.

His gaze rested on Chen Hang; he opened his mouth several times but held back, until a red-robed youth beside him finally broke the silence.

“Uncle, should we inform the clan of this?”

The red-robed youth hesitated.

“….”

The middle-aged man fell silent.

He was a clan elder of the Qi Wu Yin Clan; though not of the direct line, he had become a cultivator thanks largely to the support of Yin Wujie’s branch. Thus, he had come specifically to this Jin Dan Assembly to guard Yin Wujie and Yin Ruohua.

But the current situation had truly surprised him.

Whether it was Yin Ruohua claiming the fish, or her aiding Chen Hang in ambushing Chen Bai—it all left him stunned…

“Bring ink and brush. We must inform the clan regardless.”

The middle-aged man’s emotions were deeply complex, unsure what to think.

Having finished refining the copper fish, Chen Hang did not linger; he launched a sword light and soared into the sky.

The middle-aged man silently withdrew his gaze, sighed unexpectedly, and his expression grew solemn:

“But speaking of it, I suspect this one is a formidable rival to Wu Ji—stronger even than Yu Huangshang!”

…

…

As Chen Hang headed straight toward the Great Cave Essence Jade, at that same moment, within the Emperor’s Mandate Map.

At the edge of a vast, boundless marsh, Wei Lingjiang suddenly halted, hand on her sword, standing still in the deep azure void.

Dozens of li before her, a writhing, churning, sinister crimson cloud loomed over the peaks.

Countless blood spirits rolled and surged within the cloud, darting like lightning; piercing laughter and wails echoed fiercely, lingering long without fading, sending chills deep into the heart, as if plunged into an icy abyss!

Seeing he faced Wei Lingjiang, Lu Rong inside the crimson cloud was slightly surprised.

Then he opened his divine eyes, took a look, swept his hand across his face, and closed the brilliant light within.

“This aura resembles Hu Zhao’s Wu Xiang Wu Jie Quan Sheng Seal. So, Master Wei, you previously clashed with Gu Yi—and bested her?”

Lu Rong, hands clasped behind his back, spoke with a trace of regret:

“No wonder she’s a first-rank Golden Core—Gu Yi’s combat prowess is known even in the southern lands. To miss a chance to fight her is truly unfortunate.”

Wei Lingjiang shook her head: “I did defeat her, but she possesses a superior evasion technique—she has not yet been eliminated.”

Lu Rong pondered, then nodded.

After a moment’s further thought, he uncommonly bowed in greeting:

“To face a first-rank Golden Core is what I’ve long desired. Since our paths have crossed, I must apologize—but I must act.”

“Yet I have some acquaintance with Chen Hang from our travels beyond the heavens.”

“In his honor, Master Wei, I grant you time to recover— I will not take advantage of your depleted magic power.”

“…”

Wei Lingjiang said nothing, only stiffened her expression, a sharp gleam flickering in her eyes.

Elsewhere.

Half a day later.

A sword light flashed across the clouds, and Chen Hang’s figure emerged from within.

Before him stood the towering pillar of light, barely a hundred li away—yet Chen Hang no longer flew; he descended through the clouds and landed atop the peak.

Not far opposite him, a hundred battle flags were arrayed in midair, staggered and overlapping, forming some arcane formation.

Vast golden winds were drawn down, howling ceaselessly at each flaggate, surging like tidal waves, undulating and churning!

This formation lay directly between Chen Hang and the Great Cave Essence Jade.

Sensing Chen Hang’s gaze, a figure stepped slowly from within the flag gates, chuckled, and said:

“I expected Zhou Fujia, that sword-crazed man, to break my formation—yet it’s you, Brother Chen. What a coincidence.”

“A fine set of magic treasures.”

Chen Hang glanced at the hundred flags and said:

“But Yin Xiong, the one here is merely a projection—you cannot fully wield the power of these treasures to stop me.”

“I only need to delay you a little while—that’s enough.”

Yin Wujie stepped forward from the flag gates and smiled:

“Once I’ve dealt with those few, I’ll come in person to challenge you!”