sinovels Chapter 174 Battle of Wits
Chapter 174 Battle of Wits
"Disciples of this island, please remain calm and return to your caves to guard your posts."
A streak of light flew over, revealing Fang Qing's figure.
"Are you the garrison commander of this island?"
Zhong Lingxiu scanned the area with her divine sense: "Mid-Foundation Establishment stage? He deserves to die!"
In fact, he and Fang Qing had a close relationship. They had a brief encounter during the beast tide, and even earlier, during the attack on the fishing grounds, Fang Qing was chased by him and managed to make a profit...
But at this moment, in Zhong Lingxiu's eyes, Fang Qing was just an ordinary cultivator from the Azure Sea Sect.
His eyes flashed coldly, and the Ice Soul Mystic Light in his hand was about to fly out, instantly changing the world!
The chanting of Buddhist hymns filled the air, and golden light shimmered.
There was a scene of flowers falling from the sky and golden lotuses springing from the ground.
A high platform had been moved from all four directions, with celestial palaces in each direction. Countless chanting sounds came from the platform, and a strange golden deity was faintly visible sitting among them.
"Teleportation?"
"A top-tier, forbidden formation among the third-tier formations?!"
Zhong Lingxiu gasped, "Someone's lying in ambush on me? Ruan Zhixuan, Shi Tiexin... come out!"
Now trapped in a third-tier formation, unable to escape easily, a powerful enemy is bound to make a move.
He dared not delay and quickly took out his own natal magic weapon—an equally gleaming bead, the Ice Soul Bead, a magic weapon recorded in the Zhong family's "Mysterious Ice Secret Technique"!
This one wasn't the one belonging to the Zhong family patriarch, but rather one that Zhong Lingxiu painstakingly crafted herself after reaching the Core Formation stage in the East Sea, using third-tier precious materials. But in an instant, Zhong Lingxiu's divine sense saw Fang Qing also unleash an "Ice Soul Pearl"!
No! That's an Ice Soul Pearl talisman!
His eyes instantly turned red: "You thief!"
The Ice Soul Pearl magic treasure contains mysteries, and even Core Formation cultivators who have not mastered the Ice Soul Mystic Light will find it difficult to craft it into a talisman!
The one Fang Qing has must come from the Zhong family, and it must be from the direct line!
Zhong Lingxiu scanned the area with her divine sense and found no Core Formation cultivators lying in ambush, indicating that there must have been a third-order formation set up here originally.
"It seems to be a countermeasure against the Sea Annihilation Alliance's covert operations? With a third-tier formation and the person in charge wielding a talisman... they can hold out for a long time even against a Core Formation cultivator, waiting for reinforcements..."
"This person might be able to stall for a while against True Immortal Hei Yuan... Unfortunately, he's using the Ice Soul Pearl talisman, and he's run into me!"
Zhong Lingxiu narrowed her eyes slightly, and the Ice Soul Pearl in her hand emitted rays of white jade-like light. Suddenly, ice crystals condensed behind her, transforming into a pair of extremely beautiful icy wings.
"disease!"
He made a hand seal, and the Ice Soul Pearl flew out, carrying a strange suction force.
The Ice Soul Pearl, which was formed from the talisman, was already weak. At this moment, it stopped in mid-air, with dense runes appearing on its surface. Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared, and it transformed into a talisman on the spot.
The talisman ignited without wind, and streams of magical power surged forth, actually flowing into the magical treasure, the Ice Soul Pearl, making it even brighter.
"How could I not guard against outsiders using a talisman crafted by my own Core Formation cultivator to kill my own family?"
With a gentle flap of her icy wings, Zhong Lingxiu instantly advanced a hundred feet, her speed far exceeding that of a typical early-stage Core Formation cultivator.
His eyes flashed with a cold light, and the Ice Soul Mystic Light in his hand was like a sharp blade, ready to behead this mid-Foundation Establishment stage guardian cultivator in one move.
But in that instant, Zhong Lingxiu saw the cultivator's face.
The other person's eyes held only calmness, or even the joy of a fisherman catching a big fish...?
"not good!"
He belatedly realized what was happening and prepared to summon the Ice Soul Pearl magic weapon, but it was already too late.
In the void, a deep blue bead appeared out of thin air, leaped lightly, carrying with it boundless mountains and seas, and crashed into the Ice Soul Bead. It was none other than the magical treasure—the Sea Transformation Bead!
An extremely fierce and highly refined power, even surpassing Zhong Lingxiu's Core Formation power of the Azure Sea Technique, suddenly erupted before him! Fang Qing smiled, a white jade flute appearing in his hand, and gently blew on it.
"A Core Formation cultivator?"
Before Zhong Lingxiu could even be surprised, she felt an invisible sonic force spreading and instantly penetrating her internal organs.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and the Ice Soul Mystic Light reacted instantly, freezing all the injuries on his body.
Moreover, a set of crystal-clear half-body armor appeared on his body. This armor seemed to be made entirely of black ice, emitting a chilling aura that penetrated to the bone.
"A defensive magic weapon?"
"As expected, outsider cultivators are much wealthier!"
Fang Qing made hand seals, and the jade flute magic weapon emitted a long cry, transforming into a white phoenix with incredibly agile eyes and various colored runes shimmering at the tips of its wings. It flew towards Zhong Lingxiu, its icy beak poised to peck at her.
"Two magical treasures?"
Zhong Lingxiu was also extremely solemn at this moment. He formed hand seals and pushed the layers of Ice Soul Profound Light to their limit, transforming it into an Ice Crystal Phoenix, which flew towards the white phoenix formed by the magic weapon.
Two phoenixes circled in the sky, occasionally scattering icy radiance and invisible sound waves downwards.
Even the slightest remnant of this battle could severely injure a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and completely annihilate a Qi Refining cultivator...
"How could such a prodigy exist in this remote and impoverished sect?"
Zhong Lingxiu felt the depletion of her Core Formation power, her expression extremely solemn.
He never imagined that his first step toward revenge, which he thought would be a leisurely stroll, would turn out to be fraught with difficulties.
"I am a disciple of a Nascent Soul sect, and I have been gifted with exceptional talent since childhood... Never mind, I still have to use my hidden strength."
Chung Ling-hsiu has also prepared many trump cards in her bid to claim the relics.
At that moment, a flash of inspiration appeared in his hand, and a strange talisman materialized.
This talisman, about the size of a palm, is completely different from a talisman treasure, yet it carries a more dangerous radiance.
"A third-tier treasure talisman?!"
"This secret mandala formation is just an empty shell; at most, it can isolate the void, but it doesn't have much suppressive effect... After all, we can't invite that many guardian deities..."
"It's time to use our real skills."
Fang Qing reacted swiftly, letting out a cold snort.
The Core Formation level divine sense suddenly erupted, transforming into a golden Vajra pestle that slammed into Zhong Lingxiu's sea of consciousness.
Zhong Lingxiu let out a muffled groan, her action of activating the treasure talisman interrupted.
Then, a figure flashed in front of him, and he saw Fang Qing!
The two were extremely close, almost making eye contact.
Only then did he finally recall that Zhong Wufu was at the fishing grounds that night: "You are...."
But Zhong Lingxiu could no longer speak, because an incredibly powerful blood aura, comparable to that of a third-tier demonic beast, had already erupted from the person opposite her! Fang Qing brought his five fingers together, forming a fist, and slammed it heavily onto the ice armor!
Crack!
At that moment, Zhong Lingxiu seemed to hear the mournful cry of her own ice armor magic weapon, and she understood even more clearly why the other party still chose to fight her at close range, even though he knew she had a defensive magic weapon.
"Third-tier Body Refinement? There's such a monstrous talent here?"
He retreated quickly. Although the magic weapon barely held on, the recoil still made his internal organs feel dislocated. He felt a mouthful of blood welling up in his throat, but he forced it back down.
Whizzing!
With a flash, Fang Qingke gave Zhong Lingxiu no chance, landing heavy punches on the ice armor one after another.
"..."
Zhong Lingxiu could no longer contain herself. She spat out a mouthful of blood essence and shouted, "My ice armor is covered with ten-thousand-year-old cold poison... Even if you are only at the third level of body refinement, you might not be able to..."
But when he saw Fang Qing's palm, he was stunned.
Fang Qing's palms had skin as smooth as jade, showing no signs of poisoning whatsoever.
Do not!
Moreover, there seemed to be a layer of transparent flame burning on the opponent's palm, causing the void to distort.
This flame originates from the nameless, stems from the fire of the heart, and burns away everything; therefore, it is called "The Ashes of Ignorance"!
Zhong Lingxiu suddenly felt the anger in his heart ignite, transforming into a third-order spiritual fire he had never heard of before, which exploded within his body in an instant! This made his already damaged internal organs even more severe, adding insult to injury.
After his magical power was greatly diminished, he could no longer control his magical artifact. In the sky above, a sonic phoenix sang triumphantly, its countless sonic wings like sharp blades disintegrating the ice phoenix formed from the Ice Soul Mystic Light...
On the other side, the Transformation Pearl also displayed its divine power, suppressing the Ice Soul Pearl.
Zhong Lingxiu couldn't even maintain her flight and landed on the ground. She had replaced her hand with a third-tier talisman, but she could only manage a bitter smile.
The talisman in his hand was a top-grade third-tier "Void Escape Talisman," a life-saving treasure bestowed upon him by his sect. Once activated, it allowed him to traverse the void and escape.
Unfortunately, they had walked right into the trap and entered this forbidden formation, so it was no use.
Fang Qing landed on the ground with a "white bone relic" hidden in his sleeve.
Since he knew that the one who came was Zhong Lingxiu, who was in the early stage of Core Formation, he naturally had to make thorough preparations. Therefore, he also borrowed this Purple Mansion magic treasure. If the battle went poorly, he would convert his [Female Earth] magic power and use the wonders of this Purple Mansion magic treasure to summon the Great Bone Demon God to devour Zhong Lingxiu directly.
Fang Qing had privately tested it and found that the power of his Purple Mansion magic treasure surpassed that of the Transformation Pearl and the Jade Flute.
"Actually, the most convenient thing is to bring Sangji over..."
"But such a great secret cannot be shared even by my disciples who have been converted..."
He looked down at Zhong Lingxiu, who was already seriously injured and unable to fight.
Zhong Lingxiu gave a bitter laugh: "You're the fish that escaped from the fishing grounds back then? Haha... I originally thought that this time, when I returned for revenge, I would at least make the entire Xiaohuanhai tremble with fear, and my fearsome reputation would stop children from crying at night. But I never expected that I would fall into your hands right from the start and become a laughing stock..."
He was once a peerless genius who could overpower Cui Zhe, the one who could steal the life-threatening sword. He never expected to lose so miserably to a peer, who would even flee at the mere sight of him back then!
"Enough with the nonsense, do you want to live or die?"
Fang Qing's voice was icy, carrying a hint of murderous intent.
He wasn't helping Bihaimen solve their problems; he was only taking action to resolve his own.
"You dare kill me? My master is a Nascent Soul cultivator, and I lit a soul lamp within the sect... If I die, the sect will definitely react, at least sending a late-stage Core Formation cultivator to investigate!"
Zhong Lingxiu threatened.
"Oh?" Fang Qing didn't take it seriously. Conversion is not the same as killing, and there is no such thing as the soul lamp going out.
He sneered and placed his palm on Zhong Lingxiu's head: "If you don't want to die, relax your mind..."
For a moment, Zhong Lingxiu's mind went blank, as if she saw a crimson sun rising slowly...