Chapter 317 317 – Duel Between Ninth-Stage Cultivators
Everyone stopped their actions and came to watch when it was time for the supreme elders to clash. This rare opportunity rarely presented itself. Ninth-stage cultivators seldom left the comfort of their seclusions to make an appearance outside, much less fight in public.
Among the audience were the top disciples, elders, grand elders, and even many supreme elders. Due to the tension between the sects currently as well as the complicated situation with the unranked sects, every sect sent at least one supreme elder to oversee their sect's forces and make sure their interests remained unharmed.
On one side of the platform, stood a man with a long white beard and flowing hair in a matching color. Around his body coiled a long, black snake, and its head rested on the man's shoulder, its tongue occasionally slipping out of its maw with a hiss.
On the other side of the platform were a man and someone who was probably a woman. The evil sects sent one supreme elder each, meaning one of them specialized in brute force and a heavy weapon, while the other was a master of charm and illusions. Because of the distorted charm of the evil cultivators, some called it Lust Qi or Bewitching Qi.
"Fight." The elder of the Divine Sword Sect guiding the challenge declared the beginning of the match.
The androgynous opened their eyes, and the whole audience, even behind the veil cast by the formations, was entranced. Ken and his companions found the person beautiful beyond measure.
The weak-willed cultivators were already kneeling with their faces pressed to the ground while yelling for the genderless human to please them, punish them, or tease them.
Ken himself was already on his knees, bewitched by the powerful technique. Before he was forced to disgrace himself, a powerful wave washed over the mountain, and everyone sobered up from their enchanted state.
Similar scenes took place all over the mountains surrounding the valley as the local supreme elder of each sect saved their disciples. The technique was considerably weakened by the formations, leaving enough power to subdue only those under the Supremacy Phase.
"A disciplined mind brings happiness," Henry shared his wisdom. He was the only one who still wasn't on his knees, although he wasn't far from it either.
"You're just castrated, it has nothing to do with discipline," Tiara mumbled in annoyance. Her pride as an enchantress was hurt from being affected by another's enchanting.
"Speak only that which brings you honor," the monk replied with his vague words. Ken thought the monk meant that he still had his family jewels intact, but he wasn't sure.
Meanwhile, on the platform, the snake stopped its hissing, and a load of poisonous liquid dripped out of its mouth as if it gave up on spitting it but had nothing else to do with it. In fact, that's exactly what happened, a result of the evil cultivator's bewitching.
"Hmph," The white-haired man snorted and his Qi released the beast from the illusion it was in.
"Don't forget I'm here!" The big man, Jabari, shouted. He had a two-handed broadsword. Its blade was over forty centimeters wide and two meters long. Cutting the air toward the man casually, she sent a long heavy slash.
The snake, awakened from its sleep, met it with a whip of its tail, and a loud gong reverberated throughout the valley. An explosion pulled everyone's attention toward the mountain behind the white-haired man, finding out it was the clash of the shockwave from the sharp attack and the barrier set by the cultivator protecting the area.
Those maintaining the formations would be exposed to extreme danger if they were not directly protected by their grand elders.
Next, the beast tamer, Atad, and the snake responded with a combined attack of their own. The snake spat its venomous gas while Atad scattered it in the air with a strong gust of wind that carried the poison everywhere instantly.
"Will they lose?" Someone asked. The Poison Qi seemed impossible to resist. Luckily, it was not powerful in the sense of blasts and shockwaves, and the barrier held it in easily.
However, instead of rejoicing about having the upper hand, Atad squinted his eyes in suspicion before widening them in realization and covering both himself and his companion with a strong shield of wind.
Everyone snapped out of the illusion together and found the androgynous behind their opponents. They sent their palm forward to touch Atad's back, but he came out of his reverie and the shield of wind exploded, sending strong gales that took his enemy away.
Ken's hair flattered behind him as he stabbed his sword at the ground to stop himself from being sent away by the shockwave. The strong blast of wind sent all the poison away, putting Jabari and his friend in safety.
The pace of the clash soon took a step up, and they began rushing from side to side of the platform. On the unranked sect's side, Jabaritook the role of heavy hits and defense while his partner, Corey, confused the snake and its master often to break their dangerous combined attacks.
The battle was entering its last stage as the whole place was melting underneath them from the snake's venom. The trees lost their shape and turned rotten, the stone grounds lost their shape as every part touched by the toxic turned liquid, the sea creatures were dying in their sea that turned into a dark shade of purple, and the ice quarter was turning into water.
It was not all the damage done; the blasts from the broadsword user left deep craters and long slashes on the ground.
The four were in a standoff, and the battle renewed. Dozens of sharp, heavy broadswords formed in the air and rotated at high speed as they flew at the Atad and his snake. Atad's specialty seemed to be enhancing the snake, and indeed, the beast's tail whipped from side to side, destroying all the ethereal swords.
Atad himself created many figures of realistic snakes that pounced on Corey with open maws. Ken would not have been able to recognize the secrets of the attack if not for the clear Whip intent that made Ken physically sense the existence of a whip cracking in the air.
At that moment, Atad's eyes widened in surprise when a sword appeared out of thin air and pierced his side. He did his best to defend, but the heavy strike managed to pass through the small space between the snake's coiling.
"Argh!"
The elder stepped back, but the damage was done, a huge bleeding hole that was big enough to make his intestines visible was opened in the left side of his stomach. Blood could be seen dripping from his wound for a short moment, but soon he channeled his Qi and forced his blood circulation to continue regularly.
The snake hissed in distress and squeezed its owners gently as if trying to fill any holes in their defenses. Despite the pain and the pressure, Atad remained cold and calculated, knowing that a single hint of weakness would tilt the battle further in their enemies' favor.
"Break!" He said and his Qi swept through the valley. The illusion was broken, and the secret was revealed; Corey's technique made their enemies think they were one meter to the left. The effect was subtle enough to go unnoticed, and the experience of the evil sects made the difference again.
The fight lasted two full days before Atad succumbed to his wound and fell, putting on full display the might of ninth-stage cultivators. Despite the length of the battle, nobody left their camp.
During the intense battle following, Corey and Jabari were unable to inflict even a single additional wound, but the one they made decided the outcome of the duel.
"Winners, the Mysterious Mountain Sect. They won the challenge with the advantage of 26 points. However, the great sects are suspicious of their origins."
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