Your Spell Version is Too Low!

Chapter 266: Chapter 254: I’m Done Pretending, I’m Laying My Cards on the Table

"Sigh..."

A soft sigh, genuine in its regret, escaped from the roiling, inky black Dao Rhyme.

Qi Yun watched the surging black qi billow from his body, a wry, helpless smile on his face.

"I had hoped to spend a little more time with Fellow Daoist Mo Shou."

"Now... that will be difficult."

Before the words had even faded, his figure flickered slightly.

Like a reflection in water shattered by a stone, the pure, gentle guise of "Yun Zhongzi" receded like a tide.

The green robes became a Deep Blue Daoist Robe, the delicate features returned to their original handsome, profound state, and the deliberately restrained gentleness of "Yun Zhongzi" vanished from his brow.

In its place was the steady, imperious air of one long accustomed to high station and wielding great authority.

The Demon Dao aura around him, which had previously only been "pure," now unfurled without reservation.

A Venerable intent, all-encompassing yet Commanding All Skills, was unleashed!

Facing Mo Shou Master, whose pupils had contracted in shock and whose face was completely frozen, Qi Yun cupped his hands slightly, his movements unhurried.

"Let’s reintroduce ourselves."

"I am Qi Yun, a third-generation disciple of the Wuji Holy Sect and a Daluo Master."

His words were like a clap of thunder that shattered the mist.

"You... you’re the Northwest Demon?! Qi Yun... a Daluo Master..." Mo Shou Master repeated in a mumble. A flash of shocked fury crossed his staid face but was quickly suppressed.

The will of a Foundation Establishment Master, honed over centuries, recalibrated with even greater speed after the initial, extreme shock.

In his mind, snippets of their time together over the past few months flashed by.

Those "casual" conversations, those "curious" inquiries about Righteous Dao intelligence, those "incisive" analyses of the situation...

So, he, Hu Chan, Qing Zhi, and the others had been living side-by-side with a Demon Dao titan who had been hiding his fangs for all this time.

Who knew how many Sect secrets and strategic movements had been completely exposed through casual chatter.

After the horror came a bone-chilling coldness and a resolute killing intent.

’This man must not be allowed to live!’

The last ripple of emotion in Mo Shou Master’s eyes completely subsided, replaced by the dead silence and sharpness of a deep pool.

He spoke no more, not even bothering to look at Qi Yun’s seemingly regretful face.

The aura around him suddenly erupted. The vast Magical Power of a Foundation Establishment Master—and one from the Earth Spirit Sect, renowned for his sturdy defenses and profound Arrays—began to circulate with a ROAR!

"HUMMM—!"

The void behind Mo Shou Master suddenly twisted and expanded as an ancient and profound phenomenon unfurled.

A massive, illusory "Stone Array" formed from countless shifting, combining, and dissipating ochre-yellow Talismans and ancient Array Patterns!

Within the center of the Stone Array, the veins of mountains and rivers and the shadowy dragons of Earth Qi could be vaguely seen rising and falling.

Chain-like patterns ran through it from top to bottom, radiating a complex Dao Rhyme of suppression, sealing, nurturing, and circulation.

This was the manifestation of the Thousand Spirits Hidden Dao Foundation, the very foundation upon which he had become a Master and which he had cultivated for hundreds of years!

This Dao Foundation was not built for offense. Instead, it excelled at borrowing the power of the Earth Veins for Array Formation, trapping enemies, and providing unparalleled defense. It could evolve infinite array formations in a small space to wear down all things.

The moment the illusory Stone Array appeared, the dead earth for a hundred miles around seemed to suddenly come "alive."

The ground rose up silently, forming thick ramparts imbued with Earth Element Dao Intent, instantly sealing off all of Qi Yun’s possible escape routes.

Mo Shou Master’s hands formed seals, his movements as swift as lightning. With each tap of his fingertips, a mote of ochre-yellow light vanished into the void, echoing the illusory Stone Array behind him.

He was rapidly constructing the prototype of an invisible, multi-layered Trapping and Killing Array in the area around them!

He was going to trap Qi Yun here completely, using the power of the Array in concert with his own Daoist Foundation Divine Techniques to grind him into dust!

Faced with a Demon who knew too many secrets and possessed such terrifying deceptive abilities,

only an overwhelming, decisive kill could bring him peace of mind!

Faced with the sudden appearance of this Array’s blockade and the killing intent, as heavy as a mountain pressing down on him, Qi Yun merely raised an eyebrow.

"The Array Dao of the Earth Spirit Sect truly lives up to its reputation."

"I don’t need praise from a Demon like you!"

The illusory Stone Array formed by the Thousand Spirits Hidden Dao Foundation flared with brilliant light.

Mo Shou Master changed his hand seal from fingers to a palm, pressing down into the air.

Suppress!

RUMBLE—!

The ground beneath Qi Yun’s feet instantly transformed into the Quicksand Trapping Dragon Formation, as viscous as a mire yet as hard as iron.

Countless yellow chains condensed from pure Earth Spiritual Energy shot out from the mire, coiling toward his legs.

The chains were covered in Sealing Runes, carrying an incredibly heavy, "Mountain-Suppressing" Daoist Intent, intending to lock him firmly to the ground!

At the same time, the previously invisible array force fields in the sky suddenly manifested, transforming into miniature "Sumeru Mountain Shadows" that were as heavy as actual mountains.

With a rumbling sound that tore through the air, they crashed down one after another toward Qi Yun’s head!

An attack from above and below, a chain of array formations!

Trapped within, Qi Yun felt the air around him congeal like lead and mercury. An infinite suction pulled at his feet while a crushing force of ten thousand tons bore down from above.

It seemed as if in the next moment, he would be suppressed and pulverized by the power of the earth!

"We’ve been together for quite some time, after all. Fellow Daoist Mo Shou, you really don’t pull any punches."

With a faint smile, Qi Yun formed a seal with his left hand and softly chanted:

"Nanming Li Fire, burn the heavens and extinguish the earth!"

VWOOM—!

A blazing, tyrannical, and magnificent Sword Intent, capable of incinerating all filth and obstruction in the world, erupted from within his body.

In the void, countless streams of crimson Flowing Light appeared out of nowhere, converging and solidifying. In an instant, they formed the illusory image of a sword over a hundred feet long, burning with the raging Nanming Li Fire—the Nanming Li Fire Sword!

Although this sword was not a physical Magical Treasure, but an illusion formed by the Treasure Creation Spell,

the Nanming Li Fire Sword Intent it contained was personally comprehended by Qi Yun and had been tempered and purified by Daluo Heaven. Its power was in no way inferior to the Lifebound Sword Gang of a Sword Cultivator of the same realm!

"Slash!"

Qi Yun pointed with two fingers. The Nanming Li Fire Sword let out a clear, ringing cry and transformed into a crimson ribbon of light that tore through the sky.

It didn’t slash at the man, but straight at the ground!

Wherever the sword light passed, the world-incinerating Nanming Li Fire erupted, brazenly colliding with the viscous, heavy Quicksand Trapping Dragon Formation below!

HISS—!

BOOM!

Crimson fire and yellow earth violently consumed each other, sending up a sky full of turbid, hazy smoke and letting out muffled explosions.

The coiling ochre-yellow chains rapidly turned red-hot, softened, and disintegrated under the scorching Li Fire!

A crater of scorched, vitrified black earth was burned into the ground beneath his feet, allowing him to temporarily escape the terrifying suction.

’Such an exquisite Sword Formula, no less potent than a Secret Skill from the Sword Pavilion!’

Seeing his trap broken, Mo Shou Master’s heart sank further.

He knew he could not delay any longer!

This man’s methods were too strange and varied. He had to use his true killing move!

Mo Shou Master took a deep breath. A strange, feverish flush appeared on his perpetually stoic face.

He bit his tongue sharply, spitting out a mouthful of lifeblood essence mixed with surging Magical Power. It turned into a bloody mist and merged into the illusory Stone Array of the Thousand Spirits Hidden Dao Foundation behind him!

"Thousand Spirits Return to Storage, Ten Thousand Arrays United!

Earth Vein Diversion, Sealed Heaven and Earth!"

Amidst his sharp cry, the illusory Stone Array suddenly expanded and solidified several times over, as if an ancient stone formation was truly about to descend upon the world.

Countless runes flickered and reassembled manically.

An indescribable and terrifying sealing power, one that threatened to drain the Spiritual Mechanism of the Earth Veins for hundreds of miles and completely sever this part of Heaven and Earth from the outside world, began to brew and spread rapidly!

The sky suddenly dimmed, as if covered by a thick, ochre-yellow curtain.

The pressure on Qi Yun surged, making even breathing feel stagnant, as if he were trapped in solidifying amber!

This attack utilized the power of Mo Shou Master’s Dao Foundation. He intended to stake everything on this single blow, to completely seal and refine Qi Yun!

However, just at the moment when Mo Shou Master’s formation was about to complete but had not yet done so!

On Qi Yun’s hand, an unremarkable Spell quietly lit up—the Avoiding Tribulation Curse.

The instant the Spiritual Light of the Avoiding Tribulation Curse flashed, a more profound Dao Rhyme—one that seemed to "follow tribulation’s flow, avoiding the substantial to strike the void"—began to circulate.

Qi Yun’s figure transformed into a strange stream of Flowing Light, extremely faint and almost transparent, formed by the twisting and coiling of countless tiny Spells.

It grazed the edge of the closing formation and slipped right out.

Mo Shou Master was completely oblivious to this.

His entire Essence, Qi, and Spirit had already merged with the illusory Stone Array behind him, now expanded to its limit, and with the violently trembling earth below, whose Spiritual Mechanism was being frantically plundered.

The immense power to completely strip away, suppress, and control a piece of Heaven and Earth was gathering in his palms.

"Refine!"

A short cry, as deep as thunder rumbling within the earth, erupted from Mo Shou Master’s lips!

He slammed his palms together in front of his chest.

His ten fingers interlocked, knuckles white from the force.

BOOM—!!!

An invisible, titanic sound seemed to ring out between Heaven and Earth.

The giant bubble of light, woven from countless ochre-yellow Talismans and Array Patterns and covering a radius of hundreds of miles, finally sealed completely. It transformed into a massive, ochre-yellow sphere as solid as amber, its surface rippling with the illusory images of mountains and rivers.

Inside the array, a brilliant flame ignited.

This was the Thousand Spirits Grand Fire.

Any sentient being caught in this grand fire would be burned to ashes and refined into a Dao Jade Crystal Stone.

Mo Shou Master’s face was slightly pale, and beads of sweat were visible on his forehead. Activating such a Grand Array was an immense burden even for him.

’No matter how profound your Talisman Skill, no matter how strange your methods, once you’ve fallen into my Thousand Spirits Concealment Array and I’ve ignited the Thousand Spirits Grand Fire for Refinement, there is no escape from your Dao perishing and your body being destroyed!’

Mo Shou Master’s heart was as still as an ancient well, filled only with the resolute determination to see his enemy utterly destroyed.

He even began to make fine adjustments to the Array, preparing to collect as many remnants of Qi Yun’s Dao Foundation as possible after the Refinement.

’Perhaps I can refine a high-quality Demon Origin Dao Jade...’

And just at this moment—when he was completely focused, his Magical Power surging to its peak, his Heart and Spirit inextricably linked to the Array’s operation, and his perception of the outside world at its absolute lowest—

A long, fair hand emerged from the shadows behind him, silent and unnoticed.

It stirred not a breath of wind, leaked not a hint of an aura, and simply, naturally, came to rest on Mo Shou Master’s right shoulder.

The palm was cool to the touch, the sensation real.

Mo Shou Master’s clasped hands froze instantly!

...