Chapter 152 - Courting Death (Part V) (Patreon)

After the Broken Maze was flattened, Qi walls rose all around the district, fortifying its edges and enclosing it so that nobody outside could enter or see what was happening within.

Then, the cultivators made their moves.

“Big Sister Zou Si, I learned a new technique. Please appraise it!” the young Pao Pao said, her puppets carrying her to another side of the battlefield as she unleashed her high-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation. She remained in her palanquin.

Zou Si glanced at Wei Zhang and Councillor Mu before sighing and phasing away, appearing above Pao Pao’s palanquin.

“Show me how much you've grown!” she shouted, teasing about weight once more.

Her cultivation stage was lower than Pao Pao’s, yet she still moved forward to hold the other woman back.

Pao Pao’s technique filled her palanquin with roots, completely encasing it and fending off Zou Si’s attacks, while the four puppets pulled greenish spears from inside their mouths and rushed toward her.

Zou Si had to dodge the spears and use waves of Qi-infused air to throw the puppets into the sky and disrupt their battle formation. She leaped from side to side to avoid being encircled by them, all while continuously attacking the encased palanquin.

They were probing each other, that's all.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the two low-stage brothers, Wu Zhai and Wu Zhong, faced the high-stage Foundation Establishment, Lord Ye Ren. They had rushed here as soon as Zou Si and Pao Pao began their fight.

“Entertain me,” Lord Ye Ren said, flexing his muscles and clenching his palm, his Qi condensing into his body rather than spreading outward.

The Wu brothers said nothing as their bodies dissolved into sand.

Next, Lord Ye Ren casually punched to his right with a simple jab, and Qi erupted from his fist.

Two figures coughed blood and stumbled into view nearby, while Ye Ren did not bother following up with another attack.

“No tricks,” he said, crossing his arms. “Come again.”

The brothers wiped the blood from their mouths with their sleeves and exchanged a glance before using a Qi technique to form hundreds of fists made of earth and sand behind them. These fists shot toward Lord Ye Ren, burying him beneath a yellow mound.

Less than a second later, the entire mound collapsed inward, and Ye Ren emerged, calmly uncurling his hand, while his body bore not a single trace of dirt.

Opening his closed fist, he let a single yellow stone fall to the ground.

It landed with the weight of a heavy rock.

The Wu brothers exchanged a concerned glance, realizing that Ye Ren had compressed their entire technique into that one stone.

“Again,” Lord Ye Ren said. “Don't keep me waiting.”

This time, they changed their tactic, their feet merging with the ground as they slid in different directions. From now on, it was clear they would use special battle tactics!

Meanwhile, Councillor Mu nodded to the couple and left with them, heading toward yet another section of the battlefield. Once there, he cupped his hands and said, “This old man greets the envoys of the Vast Sky Sect.”

The pair nodded, maintaining their silence and eerie smiles.

“This lowly one possesses a few rust techniques,” Councillor Mu said expressionlessly. “Please, give me your pointers, Honored Disciples.”

He unleashed his high-stage Foundation Establishment aura, trying to suppress the duo in the early stage.

However, the moment they also released their cultivation, the birds perched on their shoulders flew into the air and exploded into tiny red fireworks.

As the embers touched their skin, their cultivation surged to the middle stage.

Not underestimating them because of their lower cultivation and age, Councillor Mu immediately mobilized his Qi. The phantom chains behind him expanded and rushed forward, wrapping around the pair in a cocoon.

The attack was so fast that they seemed too slow to react!

Yet Councillor Mu was not pleased.

His chains, despite lacking physical form, suddenly heated up. Red and orange flames melted them, forcing him to retract the technique.

Only then did he see what had been hidden inside.

With crimson skin, hair made of feathery flames, and four shining eyes, an androgynous being stood before him. Wearing flaming vests and the size of two people, it possessed four arms and radiated a high-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.

And it had mixed features of the previous Vast Sky Sect’s couple.

Sighing, Councillor Mu's eyes turned cold as more chains materialized around him.

“Very well,” he said. “This old man won't hold back either.”

As spectral chains clashed against waves of flame, in another part of the destroyed district, Wei Zhang looked toward the Scribe from the Fallen Star Palace and nodded.

“Fellow Daoist Gui Mao,” he said, “would you like a cup of tea?”

Gui Mao, with a black turtle shell strapped to his arms, slowly walked to one side.

Taking it as an agreement, Wei Zhang walked beside the black-robed old man.

Then, with a flash of starlight, both disappeared, their Foundation Establishment Qi waves vanishing from perception.

Lucian observed as, in less than ten seconds, only he, Grandmaster Miao, Madame Ching, Vermilion Tide, and Mei Huo remained in the area.

“Why don’t we solve this ourselves and let these kids play with one another? I dealt with more than two women at the same time in my young days,” Grandmaster Miao said, pointing at Mei Huo and Lucian.

Sneering, Vermilion Tide replied, “Stop bullshitting. The amount of Yin-Yang energy in him is far beyond that of a Qi Condensation cultivator. He can play with us just fine.”

Madame Ching nodded with a wry smile. She didn't care much about Grandmaster Miao's crude words.

“Mei Mei told me that Young Master Bo Xian suffers from Qi deviation but can use incredible techniques. He should belong to the same generation as Lady Vermilion Tide. Why don’t we let them talk and trade a few moves?”

As she spoke, shadows seeped out from beneath her feet and spread across the ground. The technique stopped only after reaching the cyan Qi lines which had surged around Grandmaster Miao.

Lucian was paying attention to everything, and he noticed a silent question in Grandmaster Miao's gaze.

He wants to know if I can deal with her, Lucian thought, misunderstanding the look. Not a chance.

If he were alone, he could partially sever his own neck and activate the Curse of Wrath. But with so many allies nearby, he would inevitably attack someone other than Vermilion Tide.

Lucian could influence the Curse of Wrath, but that only meant giving one or two simple commands, such as where to go or who to focus on or ignore. It did not mean he could control it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a curse.

Meanwhile, Grandmaster Miao sighed inwardly as Lucian shook his head. What he had actually wanted to know was whether Lucian could deal with her without revealing his full strength.

Normally, Grandmaster Miao would use Qi lines to communicate, but Madame Ching could interfere with them or interpret them as an attack. Neither situation would be good for him.

Amidst their thoughts, they heard an angered voice.

“Enough,” Vermilion Tide said, gnashing her teeth as golden scales spread across her body and two horns grew from her forehead. “We don’t have much time!”

A golden spear appeared in her hand, its tip pointing directly at Lucian. Then, she kicked the ground to attack!

With a groan, Grandmaster Miao unleashed his killing technique alongside his semi-domain, both of which had been prepared long ago.

“Cyan Sea Swallows the Shore,” he shouted, Qi spreading through his Qi lines and resonating with them, amplifying the technique and his voice.

Madame Ching’s eyes narrowed as the shadows on the ground swelled into a dome, attempting to defend her from the incoming technique.

Mei Huo sank into the shadows, her presence disappearing entirely. Then, Vermilion Tide kicked the ground, avoiding the expanding cyan domain.

As usual, Grandmaster Miao’s technique created countless runes, each connected to a network of Qi lines that fused with the surrounding Water and Wood Qi.

However, that was all that happened.

The marine monsters Madame Ching had heard about and Vermilion Tide had fought before never appeared, and they grew suspicious.

Without waiting for them to act, Grandmaster Miao burst into laughter.

“Come!” he shouted, waving his hand. “Let me test my new technique!”

Vermilion Tide assumed a defensive stance, while Madame Ching remained inside her shadow dome, observing through investigative techniques.

Next, to their surprise, Grandmaster Miao used his Qi lines to seize both himself and Lucian.

And flew away.

“...!”

Vermilion Tide’s eyes widened in disbelief, while Madame Ching immediately gave chase.

“He’s buying time,” Madame Ching said as the shadows beneath her stretched upward, forming thousands of wings that attached themselves to her and lifted her into the air. “Get him!”