It had just rained, and the bluestones on the mountain were wet and slippery.
Gu Gengren’s fingers moved swiftly. Each time he plucked the zither strings, a wisp of green Qi would spread out, carrying a murderous intent that did not match his temperament.
Streams of green Qi spread out in all directions with him as the center, and the space was quickly folded.
Gu Gengren was at the center of the folded point. It was not because he could fold the space with his current strength, but because the zither sound resonated with the spiritual Qi in the space, causing ripples to be formed.
“100 Strings Sound! He exhaled a breath of green air.
Before his voice was gone, all of his fingers seemed to have become the most perfect piece of art, jumping rapidly on the zither strings. Every movement was just right. The more he moved, the more was overflowed; the lesser he moved, the more was lost. Meanwhile, the Qi in Gu Gengren’s body dissipated such that even if one used one’s mental power to sense it, one would not be able to detect it.
As Gu Gengren’s voice spread, the green air fused with the sound waves on the zither strings.
100 arrow feathers condensed in the air, flashing with cold stars. They were as cold and sharp as if they had just been fished out of the cold pool in the far north. They seemed to be able to pierce through all the obstacles, including the shackles that bounded one’s heart for the path.
All of a sudden, the sound of the zither surged, making people’s blood boil. Gu Gengren’s blood vessels seemed like magma was flowing inside.
He let out a long cry, “Golden Spears Armored Horses, condense!”
Before his voice was gone, 100 armored green horses appeared in Ou Yangming’s senses. They were very real. The horses roared at the sky at the same time while white gas spewed out of their nostrils. The 100 armored horses charged at the same time, and their imposing manner was incomparably powerful. It was as if 100 Advanced Spiritualists had gathered their imposing manner and were crushing toward the young fellow.
The peak of the mountain was suppressed by this powerful aura and lowered inch by inch.
Gravel pierced through the air while waves crashed against the shore.
Countless fine and dense holes appeared on the bluestones at the edge of the cliff, emitting cold air at the same time.
This scene was enough to shock everyone below Venerable Ones.
Nonetheless, in terms of aura alone, even Li Xin couldn’t crush Ou Yangming, so how could Gu Gengren do it?
With a calm face, Ou Yangming slid his right index finger over the Blazing Fire Cold Cicada, and the reflection of cold mists appeared in his eyes as he uttered softly, “Cold Mists Art!”
Following that, the tadpole-like runes on the Blazing Fire Cold Cicada lit up, covering half of the mountain. The temperature in the surroundings plunged, and a cold mist that was 10 to 13 meters wide stirred up like a hurricane and rushed towards the 100 horses. The world was vast, and snow began to fall within 33 meters from Ou Yangming.
“Condense!” He pointed the staff in his hand.
The 100 horses turned into ice sculptures in an instant.
It was as though they had been hit by an enormous mountain and collapsed.
All of this took a long time to describe but from the moment the 100 horses were condensed to the point they collapsed, it took less than 2 breaths.
Gu Gengren’s face was pale, and his body staggered backward. Even his zither fell on the peak.
“Young Master, are you okay?” Elder Mu was dressed in a black robe, and he looked anxious. He took a step forward.
“I’m fine!” Gu Gengren let out a soft cry and used his eyes to stop Elder Mu. He was shocked, and he wondered, ‘I’ve killed top-grade Spiritualists before with this move. I didn’t expect that he could block it so easily. How’s this possible? His mental power is too terrifying.’ If he were to find out that Ou Yangming had previously secretly learned from the alchemists in front of a top-grade Venerable One, what would he think?
Gu Gengren covered his mouth with his hand. When he let go of his hand, his palm was dark red.
‘I can’t continue like this. I must end the battle quickly,’ he thought. Deep down, there was actually a hint of fear in his heart. Yes, fear. At this moment, Ou Yangming felt like a bottomless starry sky to him. No matter how forceful his powers were, they would be completely absorbed by the young fellow.
Without any hesitation, a suction force burst out from Gu Gengren’s hand, and he grabbed the zither. His fingers almost turned into an afterimage.
At the same time, he plucked the zither strings, causing countless strange notes to reverberate. A ruthless look flashed in his eyes.
He shouted, “1,000 Strings Sound!”
Subsequently, plenty of rocks flew, and 1,000 arrow feathers appeared at the same time. 1 turned into 10, 10 turned into 100, and the whole peak turned into a sea of arrow feathers. The whistling sounds reverberated through Heaven and Earth. Not to mention Advanced Spiritualists, even top-grade Spiritualists would not be able to stir up more than a third of these waves.
Wen Zhou felt his lips dry, and his voice became hoarse. “This move can threaten even the Daoist disciples of the Ultimate Sword Peak.”
As soon as he said this, Ling Yue’s pupils constricted, and he thought, ‘You must block it!’
Jian Chengzhe’s face was filled with madness, and he roared internally. ‘I won! The Seven Dazzling Pill is mine! I knew I’d win for sure!’
At the spur of the moment, Gu Gengren pressed his hand down and yelled, “Attack!”
The arrow feathers that blotted out the sky instantly looked like star marks that pierced through the sky. They were incredibly sharp as they shot towards Ou Yangming.
Gu Gengren even tapped the tip of his foot lightly. He abandoned his zither and picked up his sword. He followed behind the sword feathers and turned into a white lightning bolt that tore the starry sky into pieces. He was exceptionally fast. The longsword in his hand was perfectly round, and a cold light shot out in all directions.
Ou Yangming’s expression was solemn. He looked at the incoming arrows and muttered softly, “Titanium Protection!”
Right after that, innumerable yellow halos appeared out of nowhere. They were thin and dense, interweaving into a net. They directly enveloped Ou Yangming’s body such that his skin also turned a faint bronze color. He looked like a bodybuilder who had practiced body refining martial arts, and he looked tough.
After witnessing this, Gu Gengren’s heart trembled. He quickly made gestures with his left hand and used his mental power to move the arrow feathers. He gathered all the arrow feathers in the sky and turned them into a golden arrow feather, allowing the sharpness of the arrow to reach its peak.
Next, he pushed out with his left hand, and the speed of the golden arrow feather burst out, almost to the point where it was difficult for his mental power to detect it.
The golden light on Ou Yangming’s body became more intense, and he used the Titanium Protection to block the golden arrow.
A sound of metals colliding spread in all directions, and the two were in a stalemate for a while.
Just then, Gu Gengren rushed over, and his Qi momentum was locked on the spot between Ou Yangming’s eyebrows. He swung his sword, and he was fast and ruthless.
“Almost!” A cold light flashed in Ou Yangming’s eyes. He had secretly operated the Solitary Thought Skill, gathered his Qi, and breathed in and out. Before long, he uttered, “The Voices of Gods and Demons!”
A tremendously sharp sound wave rushed forward. Wherever it passed, even spiritual Qi was completely crushed. A pale white color that made one’s heart palpitate appeared in the air.
Upon seeing this, Gu Gengren felt a chill run down his spine.
Every cell in his body began to quiver. He stopped in his tracks and took a step back.
“Retreat? Can you retreat?” Ou Yangming sneered, and he pressed forward lightly. The speed of the sound wave increased significantly, by which the golden arrow could not block it at all. It turned into golden powder bit by bit, but the sound wave still did not stop as it went straight for Gu Gengren’s chest.
There was a particular reason Ou Yangming used the Solitary Thought Skill at this time.
Firstly, the execution of the skill had to be unexpected. Moreover, the closer the distance between them, the greater the destructive power.
Secondly, Ou Yangming was a caster, so he could only assume a defensive stance. If he took the initiative to attack, even a fool would know that there would be a trap. This would not allow him to achieve the effect.
However, Gu Gengren took the initiative to abandon his zither and attack. This gave Ou Yangming a great opportunity.
He seized the opportunity well!
With that, Gu Gengren was forced into a desperate situation.
The longsword in Gu Gengren’s hand kept slashing out. It was either as violent as the eruption of a volcano, as cold as the unusual coldness on a snowy ground, or as illusory as mists. It was unpredictable, fast or slow, and it sometimes paused or stopped. Numerous sword techniques merged into one and slashed out at the same time as he tried to reduce the sharpness of the sound waves, but he only managed to block a little.
“Faster, faster!”
Gu Gengren roared, but his Qi was locked, so how could he escape?
Ou Yangming took a step forward and looked like he had entered an artistic conception. With a blast, his attack looked like the last straw that crushed the camel’s back as he instantly broke Gu Gengren’s stance.
The young fellow pressed his staff against Gu Gengren’s throat, and he said calmly. “You lost!”
Concurrently, he lifted his hand to break the Voices of Gods and Demons.
Gu Gengren’s eyes revealed a look of confusion. He was stunned for a moment before he smiled bitterly and expressed, “Congratulations, Brother Yu. I lost this time, but I won’t lose the next time. This feeling isn’t good.” He tied up his long hair and held the zither in his hand.
Ou Yangming did not speak and shook his head irrefutably.
Elder Mu took a step forward. The wrinkles on his face were as though they could crush a fly. He asked anxiously, “Young Master, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. If Brother Yu hadn’t shown mercy and scattered his last move, I would’ve been seriously injured.” As Gu Gengren said that, he bowed to Ou Yangming.
Ou Yangming turned around and jumped to dodge the salutation.
He then walked to Ling Yue’s side and cupped his hands. “Brother Ling, I didn’t let you down.”
Every cell in Ling Yue’s body began to tremble. He was too excited, and he screamed internally, ‘Seven Dazzling Pill—the Seven Dazzling Pill!’ His mind was chaotic at this time!
It was only after Guan Yue lightly pinched him that he regained his senses.
He smiled embarrassedly and responded, “Sorry for making a fool of myself, Brother Yu!”
Guan Yue flushed and was in a good mood.
Among the people present, only one person was in a bad mood, and that was Jian Chengzhe. All the cells in his body were screaming, and he asked himself, ‘Why? Why is Ling Yue so lucky? Why doesn’t the Seven Dazzling Pill belong to me?’ He was filled with hatred.
That said, apart from Ling Yue, Jian Chengzhe did not dare to offend anyone else here. He could only force this hatred onto this “unlucky junior brother”, and he made up his mind to find an opportunity to kill the young man without being noticed. In that case, all the cultivation resources under Wen Zhou’s command would become his. His heart had been filled with the will of a devil.
A fierce look flashed across Jian Chengzhe’s eyes as he followed the small path down the peak.
Wen Zhou looked at Jian Chengzhe’s retreating figure and sighed internally. His throat moved slightly, but he could not say anything.
He shook his head and flipped his wrist, then a small porcelain bottle appeared in his hand. He said softly, “This is the Seven Dazzling Pill. Cultivate well in the future and strive to break through to become an Intermediate Spiritualist as soon as possible so that you’ll also carry a sword case on your back.”
“Yes!” Ling Yue nodded heavily. His heart was burning with passion.
