Chapter 99: Chapter 68: The Divine Techniques of a Nascent Soul Practitioner (Part 2)
As the others unleashed their various techniques, exchanging several blows in an instant, Tan Chong charged into the hall without looking back. He saw Wei Lingyun standing before the offering table and, without a word, the fiery cloud above his head began to roil violently. Suddenly, over a hundred streams of fire shot out, crisscrossing as they flew toward Wei Lingyun.
Wei Lingyun snorted and flicked his sleeve. A sky full of Youyun suddenly billowed out from behind his shoulders and swept forward. Tan Chong’s hundred-odd streams of fire plunged into it but were completely annihilated after penetrating just a few dozen feet, not even making a muffled sound.
Tan Chong didn’t look surprised, though his brow furrowed. He watched as the rolling Youyun destroyed his technique without losing any momentum, surging toward him like a tide that blotted out the sky. Tan Chong formed a Magic Formula with his hands, and a brilliant golden light suddenly rose from the red cloud above him. A closer look revealed it to be a green lantern, but its flame was so dazzling that it shone in all directions. Wherever the golden light fell, the Youyun melted away like snow in the sun.
Just as he saw his Magical Artifact succeed, Tan Chong’s expression suddenly changed. Where the Youyun had receded, countless withered demonic claws stretched out, grasping blindly amidst a howling, sinister wind. In unison, they clawed downward.
The expressions on Tantai Jing and the others changed drastically. They broke away and dodged toward the side of the entrance. Fortunately, Wei Lingyun ultimately had no intention of killing his own allies; the Youyun parted to let them escape.
The withered demonic claws reached for Tan Chong and his group. They weren’t particularly fast, but a chill shot through Tan Chong’s heart, and the cultivators behind him all froze in their tracks!
In an instant, Tan Chong’s Magical Power connected with the Protective Talisman on his body. Just as he was about to activate it, a sudden RUMBLE sounded from behind!
A massive, indistinct Chaos Hand shrouded in dim light passed over everyone’s heads. Its five fingers spread wide as it snatched downward, gathering the boundless Youyun and drawing it into its palm. The countless withered demonic claws within swarmed onto the Chaos Hand’s fingers, raising their sharp talons to claw down viciously. The Chaos Hand trembled slightly, and then its fingers abruptly clenched shut!
Shrill wails, like the screech of sharp blades on metal, came from within its fist. The great hand then shuddered once more and exploded, scattering Chaos Primordial Qi and the remaining wisps of Youyun into the air. A streak of black light shot back toward Wei Lingyun with a mournful shriek, circled him a few times, and then vanished into his sleeve.
Wei Lingyun’s brow twitched, and a dangerous light flared in his eyes as he stared at the hall’s entrance. A young Daoist with a heroic and spirited air and an extraordinary bearing strode inside. His voice arrived at the same time: "Wei Lingyun, so you really have reached the Nascent Soul realm."
Wei Lingyun said coolly, "Zhong Shenxiu. I’ve heard of you. Born from the destiny of the Profound Sects, a natural-born Daoist... It seems your reputation is well-deserved."
Tan Chong’s expression was grim. "Wei Lingyun, you’re courting death! Do you really think the Yinji Demon Sect can protect you?"
Wei Lingyun let out a hearty laugh, his tone full of scorn. "After I entered this Grotto Heaven, I just so happened to perfect my cultivation and form my Nascent Soul. So what? You think I should back down from a bunch of Golden Core ’juniors’ like you? All because of the bullshit rules of your precious orthodox sects?"
Just then, Xuzhuang stepped unhurriedly through the entrance into the hall. He heard Wei Lingyun’s words and instantly understood. ’No wonder I felt a greater sense of threat from him than from Zhong Shenxiu,’ he thought. ’So that’s why.’
"If you value your lives, get out now. After I take control of this Grotto Heaven, I might just spare you!" Wei Lingyun’s gaze shifted to Tantai Jing and the others at the side of the hall. "Junior Brother Tantai," he said indifferently, "go and retrieve that golden seal."
Tantai Jing, Si Xuan, and the others dared not disobey, and they quickly moved to Wei Lingyun’s side. Sun Suzhen’s body tensed as she prepared to intercept them, but she froze when Wei Lingyun’s sharp gaze swept over her. Frustration welled up inside her. ’Dammit... I wonder if the people from Shangxuan will dare to attack with us? If only Senior Brother Yue were here. With all of us martial siblings fighting together, we wouldn’t need anyone else. We might even have a chance against him.’
The thought only deepened her frustration. Where on earth had Yue Junlan gone?
At that moment, Zhong Shenxiu suddenly flicked his wide sleeve. A streak of Sword Qi shot out, carving a line across the hall floor right in front of Tantai Jing and the others. "I advise you all," he said coolly, "not to cross this line."
"What?" Tantai Jing’s heart skipped a beat. He glanced back at Zhong Shenxiu in disbelief, then turned to look at Wei Lingyun. A cold sneer was spreading across Wei Lingyun’s face. "Zhong Shenxiu," he said grimly, "do you really think you can fight me just because you broke one of my techniques?"
Zhong Shenxiu replied calmly, "I would indeed like to experience for myself the Divine Techniques of a Nascent Soul Practitioner."
"You’re courting death!" Wei Lingyun roared. Youyun instantly billowed from above his head, and a giant, four-armed demon leaped out. It was clad in armor, holding a saber in one hand, a trident in another, a bell in a third, and leaving the fourth empty. Riding a roiling, ghostly mist, it charged toward them in an instant.
"A fine welcome!" Zhong Shenxiu laughed. A purple light suddenly flashed above his head. BOOM! A bolt of purple lightning flashed and instantly struck the four-armed demon. The demon’s charge halted abruptly, as it had clearly suffered considerable damage.
’As expected of a demon that’s been refined for so long it’s comparable to the Nascent Soul realm.’
Zhong Shenxiu wasn’t surprised. ’Otherwise, it never would have survived my Purple Sky Divine Thunder. Still, Wei Lingyun must have ascended to Nascent Soul after entering this Grotto Heaven; it’s the only way he could have avoided divination by a Primordial Spirit. This demon must be one of his few powerful trump cards. A perfect opportunity to sever one of its arms.’
His thoughts moved faster than lightning. In an instant, Zhong Shenxiu had a plan and unleashed all his techniques at once!
A shimmering sword light shot from his sleeve, instantly splitting into thirty-two beams that flew toward the demon. The purple light above his head flickered, gathering for another Purple Sky Divine Thunder. He unleashed the Mixed Element Qi Refining Great Capture again, and the giant hand swelled to over a hundred feet wide before slapping down viciously at the demon!
A fierce light flashed in Wei Lingyun’s eyes. The four-armed giant demon trembled, threw its head back and roared, its muscles bulging as it began to move again.
Two more arms suddenly burst from its back, stretching forty to fifty feet long. It thrust them upward to block the Mixed Element Qi Refining Great Capture. The demon’s entire body sank, its back hunching several dozen feet under the strain, but it managed to hold firm.
The demon roared, swinging its saber and trident so fast they created an impenetrable defense. With a free hand, it grabbed a clump of Youyun, refined it for a moment in its palm, and hurled it forward. The Youyun transformed into a jet-black thunderbolt and collided with the Purple Sky Divine Thunder. BOOM! The hall itself stood firm, but the entire mountain peak beneath it shook violently!
At the same time, the demon raised its final arm, about to ring the bronze bell in its hand.
This all took place in a single instant. Seeing Zhong Shenxiu and Wei Lingyun clash, the other cultivators finally reacted. ’Attaboy, Zhong Shenxiu!’ Sun Suzhen cheered internally as she made her move. With a shake of her shoulders, a surging wave of light once again rose over a hundred feet high and rolled toward the four-armed demon.
Sun Suzhen’s Divine Technique was formidable. Against cultivators of the same level, a single sweep of her light wave could engulf and suppress any Flying Sword or Magical Artifact. But facing a demon controlled by a Nascent Soul Cultivator, she harbored no illusions of an easy victory. She directed the wave of light toward the arm wielding the saber. The demon slashed into the light, and just as she’d hoped, it was like plunging the blade into a vortex; the saber’s momentum faltered.
"Now!" Sun Suzhen shouted. She channeled her Core Energy, pouring a continuous stream of it into the wave of light. The power swelled, and for a moment, she had the demon’s arm firmly trapped.
Yu Jing, who was forming a Primordial Seal, had also sent out a Mixed Element Qi Refining Great Capture. Seeing Sun Suzhen’s success, he was inspired. He urged his great hand forward, originally intending to grab the arm with the trident. But the demon was using the trident to defend against Zhong Shenxiu’s Flying Sword, making it a difficult target. In a flash, he changed his plan, sending the hand toward the arm holding the bell instead. The demon fell for the feint and swung its trident to intercept. Yu Jing immediately changed the hand’s direction again, seizing the trident and gripping it tight!
The two had acted without a word of communication, their coordination perfectly in sync. A glint flashed in Zhong Shenxiu’s eyes as he instantly understood their intent. Seeing that they had successfully restrained two of the demon’s arms, he seized the fleeting opportunity. His thirty-two sword beams converged into a single ring of light that slashed toward the demon’s neck.
But a Nascent Soul-level demon was not so easily contained. Wei Lingyun surged his Magical Power, and the demon’s arms trembled, shattering the Divine Techniques of both Sun Suzhen and Yu Jing. The two cultivators shuddered from the backlash. The demon’s arms snapped back to cross in front of its neck in defense—only to block empty air!
Zhong Shenxiu had anticipated this. As the demon pulled its arms back to defend, his sword light abruptly changed course, slicing off the arm that held the bell. "Fellow Daoist Sun!" he yelled.
Understanding his intent, Sun Suzhen fought through the pain of her injuries and unfurled her wave of light. It swept up, enveloping both the severed arm and the bell, and suppressed them.
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