Chapter 68: Jindan vs Yuanying
Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy
Spirit Sword Hall, Four Divisions Peak of Spirit Sword Mountain.
A well received confrontation of cultivators has finally been presented by Wang Wu and Wang Lu; the Master’s and the disciple’s manipulation was played before everyone’s eyes.
Being humiliated by the pair of Master and disciple was way beyond Daoist Master Zhifeng’s bottom line. As such, no matter how cautious hewas, he had to do something about it.
No Yuanying Stage cultivators was without balls. The path of Immortal Cultivation was filled with thorn and obstacles, and no one who had never faced hardships with great perseverance could arrive at this stage. Even if Daoist Master Zhifeng has been turned into a cautious old man after living for more than four hundred years. But, when needed, he could still “hold a sword in his hand to vanquish evil”.
“Wang Wu, you bring about your own destruction, you can’t blame me for this.”
Daoist Master Zhifeng said as he spat out a small sword onto his hand. That small sword began to fly in a circle as it grew into a three-feet long sword. In Daoist Master Zhifeng’s hand, it was slightly bulky, and although the sword looked plain and thick, it exuded an aura that made people’s heart palpitate.
Wang Wu’s eyes lit up. Spiritual Treasure, it was a Spiritual Treasure! “Sixth Junior Brother, come here, help me estimate its value!”
The Sixth Elder, who was sitting nearby, could not understand what his Senior Sister was thinking; he wryly smiled as he shook his head. “The Sword of Mount Kun is an eight rank spiritual treasure. In the Blue River Region’s Mysterious Sky Mansion, it can be priced around eight hundred thousand spirit stones. In the Central Region, the price is somewhat lower, around six hundred thousand, more or less.”
Hearing these large numbers Wang Wu almost dance with joy. “Very good, Sixth Junior Brother, after this is over, I will invite you to dinner!”
Lu Li hurriedly waved his hand to decline her invitation. “Forget it, Senior Sister, you always pick the Misty Peak cafeteria, I really can’t handle it.”
The Misty Peak’s owner awkwardly coughed a few times. “This exotic cuisine is, after all, the preferred cuisine of foreign people; it’s understandable if it doesn’t fit with the local taste.”
A racially different Elder burst out laughing. “Senior Brother, you’re too much, in the past, when I am still a slave in the Western Continent, I have eaten all kinds of thing… ouch, who stepped on me!?”
Several Elders in the Spirit Sword Hall glared at him. Daoist Master Zhifeng’s complexion was already as hard as iron. “Have you guys had enough!”
Daoist Master Feng Yin also thought that they were already out of line; wantonly insulting an Elder of the Shengjing Sect indeed could not be justified.
“Very well, since Daoist Master Zhifeng has agreed to the duel invitation from Junior Sister, without further ado, let’s just start it.”
With that, this Daoist Master with glasses put his hand on the armrest of his chair, and all of a sudden, the space in the Spirit Sword Hall disintegrated and was replaced by a floating clouds instead. This was the tallest practice field of the Spirit Sword Sect, Cloud Tread Rooftop.
Daoist Master Zhifeng bewilderedly looked all around him, and he was surprised to discover that they were really transported into another space, instead of being absorbed in the illusion of a realm.
He moved his hands and feet to check the space’s stability; he had never encountered someone with this kind of magical ability. Even though he knew of a Unity Stage cultivator, but no Unity Stage cultivator could have such a magical ability!
Was this fellow really just Deity Stage? Could it be just like the report said? That the Spirit Sword Sect’s Deity Stage was comparable to Unity Stage of another sect? That was insane!?
His heart was suddenly filled with panic.
However, Daoist Master Feng Yin quickly dispelled his anxiety. “Um, no need to care about this, Daoist Master Zhifeng. It’s because we’re in the Spirit Sword Mountain that I can draw power from the mountain to implement this spell, using half the work for twice the result; nothing amazing about it.”
“It turns out to be so… As the Leader of the Spirit Sword Sect, he naturally has a variety of convenience. I was just scaring myself just now. A few days ago at the White Moon Country, when Wang Wu and I exchanged some moves, her power obviously didn’t surpass that of a Jindan Stage. On the contrary, it seems like her speed and her attack power are not as good as ordinary Jindan Stage cultivator. Moreover, she’s so poor that not only she didn’t have a spiritual treasure, she didn’t even have a magical treasure…” Daoist Master Zhifeng thought.
“That being the case, there is nothing to worry about.”
Daoist Master Zhifeng’s complexion was still hard like before; he said in a deep voice, “Wang Wu, we don’t need to discuss our dispute again. Since you challenged me to a duel, I hereby promise that if I lost this duel, then I will no longer contest the authenticity of what is written in those sincerity papers, and I will bear all the sins! However, if I win…”
Wang Wu nodded. “I will let you dual cultivation with me by sleeping together in bed, hahaha.”
The nearby Wang Lu suddenly had a scare, thinking, “My goodness! Master, take it easy, don’t you remember you almost lost the last time you made this kind of bet!”
Daoist Master Zhifeng coldly said, “I don’t need to dual cultivation with you as long as you plead guilty and accompany me to the Shengjing Sect to ask for punishment.”
Wang Wu was taken aback. “Accompany you to the Shengjing Sect!? You want me to sleep with all the people in the Shengjing Sect!? Isn’t the price a bit too much here?”
“Who asked you to discuss this indecent topic!” Daoist Master Zhifeng became flustered. “You’re one of the Elders from the top five sects in the Union of the Ten Thousand Immortals, how could your thoughts be so dirty!?”
Wang Wu angrily retorted, “Aren’t you the one who put out your demand first!? Let me tell you, as long as you win you can sleep with me! But if I win, I not only want you to admit your mistake, I also want all the equipment and spiritual treasures in your body!”
As she spoke the later part of the sentence, her eyes covetously stared at the Spiritual Treasure, the Sword of Mount Kun; she nearly couldn’t hold back her saliva. However, on the surface, she still looked indignant. This display of “restraint” really humbled her disciple.
Daoist Master Zhifeng didn’t want to argue anymore. “Fine, suit yourself. Let’s take our respective Heart Devil Oath then.”
A few moments later, the two people each issued a vow to the Celestial Law and put their cultivation as the collateral. After their hearts had been clear, they set their agreement about the duel.
They must not receive outside support and would stop short at killing.
If this were written into a contract, it would take a lot of papers, however, with the Great Heart Devil Oath’s restriction, it would simply need their consent.
After the oath taking, Daoist Master Feng Yin changed the space again and a raised platform, which was like a competition arena, appeared on the Cloud Tread Rooftop.
However, when Daoist Master Zhifeng entered the arena, the space suddenly changed again; a boundless sea of clouds stretching into the horizon appeared before his eyes. As for Daoist Master Feng Yin, Liu Xian, and the other Elders, they were but small dots on the edge of this sea of clouds.
“Is… this another space warping ability? No, this could also be a form of extremely advance realm casting,” Daoist Master Zhifeng inwardly exclaimed in surprise and could not help but acknowledge that the Spirit Sword Sect’s position as one of the top five sects wasn’t without a base. Although the sect itself wasn’t large, within the Shengjing Sect, only a few super large divisions had this level of practice field.
This vast expanse of space could only be sensed by the duelists. However, from the outside perspective, they were just in the middle of the raised platform on the Cloud Tread Rooftop. Meanwhile, all the energy that would be released on their duel would immediately be absorbed by the practice field so as not to hurt others. Furthermore, once there was an emergency, the array placed in this field would be immediately triggered, putting a stop to the duel in order to avoid unnecessary casualties.
After inspecting the practice field using his Primordial Spirit, Daoist Master Zhifeng determined that nothing was out of place, thus his heart slightly settled a bit. However, after a while, he became impatient; he had been on stage for so long, yet Wang Wu was still on the outside, what was she waiting for!?
After a long time, his opponent, Wang Wu, arrived on the arena flying on top of her green bamboo sword.
“Sorry, I’m late. Just now, I made a bet on the sideline, so I had to spend some of the time to look for someone to finance my bet, don’t mind it, hahaha!”
“Ma-made a bet!?” Daoist Master Zhifeng could not believe what he had just heard, thinking, “What is wrong with this Spirit Sword Sect? Can’t they have a little respect for this important duel?”
Wang Wu sneered. “Towards a fish like you, there’s no need to take this duel seriously. It’s not like this is a duel between your Sect Leader He Tu and our Sect Leader… But, if that’s the case, I would be the bookie!”
Daoist Master Zhifeng didn’t want to listen to her nonsense; he wielded the Sword of Mount Kun down and stabbed it on the ground. Immediately, the clouds under their feet shook as if they were shaken by an invisible force. Soon, their white color turned brown, and their form eventually solidified, forming a solid rock floor. This happened in an area with a radius of one kilometer with Daoist Master Zhifeng at its center, and it kept moving outwards!
The Sword of Mount Kun, as an eight rank spiritual treasure, was a pure soil element sword, and Daoist Master Zhifeng himself also possessed the extremely pure soil element of Earthly Spirit Root. On this Cloud Tread Rooftop, which wasn’t connected to the earth qi, his skill could only be displayed sixty to seventy percent of the maximum output at most. However, with the Sword of Mount Kun, a Daoist Master of the Yuanying Stage was able to turn “void” into “real”, manufacturing the home ground advantage. The initial ethereal atmosphere on this Treading Cloud Rooftop has been displaced by the rushing wave of earth type spiritual energy.
Although this skill seemed superficial, in essence, it was actually a supremely wonderful method wielded by this Yuanying Stage cultivator. It used the “four taels of weight to push the five hundred kilograms of weight” method to change the surrounding spiritual energy. Although Daoist Master Zhifeng wasn’t quite proficient in fighting, his spell casting ability was worthy of his Yuanying Stage title, and he immediately won the audience applause from the sidelines.
Elder Liu Xian slightly nodded in admiration, and then said, “What a wonderful ‘cloud condensed into solid’. Shengjing Sect really lives up to their reputation, worthy to be the head of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals.”
Elder Fang He also gave his high appraisal. “Although this person has an unbearable character, his attainment in spell casting is really good. Compared to those common Yuanying Stage cultivators that I saw when I wander around the southern region, he is one level higher than them.”
The Daoist Master Feng Yin with glasses pondered in silence, and nobody knew what kind of end result he saw in his eyes...
Meanwhile, in the back row of the audience seat, a certain red and white robed disciple was holding a stack of sincerity paper, while loudly shouting, “Everyone look! Daoist Master Zhifeng has just cast a wonderful spell, proving that he is completely superior to ordinary Yuanying Stage cultivators! But on the other side, there is that unreliable, no integrity, low cultivation, and poor swordsmanship, the shameless Fifth Elder of the Spirit Sword Mountain. The gap between the two sides needs not be mentioned! However, our odds are unchanged; Daoist Master Zhifeng would have 1:5 odd, while the Fifth Elder is still 1:10! Everyone, place your bet before it’s too late!”
……
All those things that happened down stage didn’t affect the duelists. Daoist Master Zhifeng took the initiative to gain the upper hand by using the Sword of Mount Kun to solidify the clouds, but his opponent, Wang Wu, didn’t seem to care about that and just shrugged. She just held her emerald green bamboo sword in a posture which showed that she didn’t prepare to cast any spell.
Daoist Master Zhifeng inwardly sneered, thinking, “This woman is clever, she knew that with her Jindan Stage power, she has no chance to compete on spell casting against me. The only way to win for her is indeed by using the sword art; as someone who isn’t proficient at fighting, there’s a chance the sword could overcome the spells. Moreover, since I deliberately showed my flaw, she’s obviously going to fully take advantage of it…”
“Very well, as you wish. I am going to take the first strike.”
Then, Daoist Master Zhifeng swung the Sword of Mount Kun, and immediately after, the surrounding earthly spiritual energy was pushed out like a hurricane. In a split second, the clear sky was immediately covered with a layer of sandstorm, and in the middle of which, the Sword of Mount Kun moved again and obliquely pointed at Wang Wu’s shoulder from a distance.
Boom!
The ground trembled, and the several kilometers of rocky floor seemingly came to life and roared up along with the sword’s action. Under Wang Wu’s feet, a foot thick stone pillar rose up from the ground, like a sharp sword piercing through the sky.
On the audience, Elder Liu Xian clapped his hands and praised, “What a good stone needle! Hey, even before the impact, the destructive power of the earth element has covered her in all directions, and it was even imbued in that stone needle. There’s no chance she could avoid it! Oh, it’s really rare to have such a powerful spell in a Yuanying Stage cultivator!”
Sadly, such a spell could not hurt Wang Wu even one bit. In the face of this unexpected crack on the ground, her countenance didn’t even change. She just lazily pointed her bamboo sword downward against that thrusting-upward stone needle. The green emerald sword flickered, and no matter how strong the destructive power from that stone needle was, everything was dissolved by the sword.
A moment later, the ground became smooth again, and Wang Wu leisurely stood above that pointed needle; her gown was still as white as snow, unstained even by a speck of dust.
On the audience, the Spirit Sword Elders kept their silence, seemingly already accustomed to such a scene. However, the disciples behind them went into an uproar.
Just now, the stone needle from that Daoist Master of Yuanying Stage looked like it rose one hundred meters high from the ground, but actually, it was the result of the compression spell from Daoist Master Zhifeng’s profound cultivation. The destructive power that was condensed on that stone needle was enough to break a city wall or destroy a nation, especially on the tip of that stone needle. If the tip directly met its target, the impact force was enough to instantly disintegrate the body of a Jindan Stage cultivator, breaking their Jindan in the process… However, just now, the tip of Wang Wu’s bamboo directly clashed with the tip of that stone needle, yet it didn’t have any effect on the sword at all, much less on Wang Wu!
Thereupon, people finally recalled a stream of hoary legend: it was said that this Fifth Elder was a grand master of defense?
Before, the disciples only knew it from the seven incredible tales of the Spirit Sword. Could one of them be true? A Jindan cultivator has successfully withstood the direct strike from a Yuanying cultivator; it seemed like this Fifth Elder did have some ability!
On the stage, after seeing that his attack failed, Daoist Master Zhifeng’s countenance became even more imposing. The Sword of Mount Kun was still in his hand, and the sandstorm became more and more violent as he prepared another more powerful killer move.
Wang Wu somewhat boringly swayed her bamboo sword. “Oh, men in old age really can’t keep it up anymore. Old Chap Zhifeng, this not-as-good-as-it-looks stone pillar doesn’t have enough power. Come on, keep pumping up your passion~I’ll wait for you.”