79: Chapter 80 Cultivation

In the Lu Family seating area, a middle-aged man slowly stood up.

He was not tall, with a thin face and a few strands of white hair at his temples. He wore a faded, grey-blue Daoist robe and appeared to lack any sharp edge.

The Clan Chief of the Hexi Lu Family, Patriarch Lu Xuanpu.

Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

Jiang Yuhe lowered her eyes and smoothed her cuffs; the lotus Magical Artifact in her sleeve stirred slightly.

Looking at her back, Jiang Chengning said in a low voice, "To have led the Lu Family for so many years, this man is certainly not someone to be trifled with. Do not rush to win."

Jiang Yuhe nodded and stepped onto the water.

She climbed onto the water stage, and Listening to Rain spread out silently.

Opposite her, Patriarch Lu Xuanpu had also taken his stance.

The middle-aged man bowed slightly toward her, his voice gentle, "I have long heard of the Jiang Family's reputation; it is a great fortune to meet you today."

Jiang Yuhe returned the salute.

"Patriarch Lu, please."

The mist on the lake rippled gently.

Gazes from all directions fell upon them once more.

The two stood facing each other across the ten-zhang water stage, the water beneath their feet undulating slightly.

Patriarch Lu Xuanpu first raised his sleeve and flipped his palm; several thin streams of water surged upward from the edge of the stage, forming three layers of water curtains that stood horizontally before him.

The three water curtains did not rush to press forward but spread out layer by layer, their Qi connected, cutting the entire water stage into several sections.

Patriarch Lu Xuanpu's voice was gentle.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, to have achieved so many consecutive victories at such a young age, I dare not be arrogant."

As he spoke, a small grey-blue seal slowly rose from behind the three water curtains.

The small seal was carved with several ripples and emitted a thick spiritual light.

Jiang Yuhe's fingertips moved slightly.

A fine rain fell silently.

The threads of rain landed on the water curtains, causing them to ripple gently, but they were not immediately penetrated.

The lotus in Jiang Yuhe's sleeve turned slightly, and several water swords shot out from the lotus heart, skimming across the water stage.

Unhurried, Patriarch Lu Xuanpu pressed his small seal downward, causing the three water curtains to close in simultaneously.

The water swords struck them, breaking through the first layer, then half of the second, before the remaining force was gently dissipated by the third water curtain into the stage beneath their feet.

On the surrounding viewing stands, some nodded slightly.

"Patriarch Lu Xuanpu is, after all, a veteran of the Late Stage of Qi Refining."

"Indeed. Jiang Yuhe's Daoist Magic is exquisite, but if she is dragged into a battle of attrition, she may not necessarily have the advantage."

Jiang Yuhe could feel it too.

But what the crowd did not know was that the talismanic Qi of "Perceiving Subtleties and Avoiding Danger" had granted her twice the True Essence reserves of others.

If it continued to drag on, she would naturally win.

But Jiang Yuhe suddenly retracted her lotus.

The fine rain on the water stage also slowed accordingly.

Patriarch Lu Xuanpu's expression turned cautious.

The next moment, Jiang Yuhe raised her right hand and extended two fingers.

She did not form any hand seals, nor did she activate her lotus Magical Artifact; she simply pressed her two fingers together and tapped forward gently.

A water arrow took shape before her fingertips.

The water arrow was initially only a foot long, clear throughout, with no sharp edge to speak of.

Yet, the moment the water arrow formed, the Qi of the entire water stage trembled.

A heavy, almost irresistible momentum of spring water suddenly rose upon the arena.

Grain Rain brings life to the hundred grains, nourishing all things; the rain falls silently, able to penetrate soil and pierce stone.

Water magic condensed into a blade; one could only wonder how much True Essence Jiang Yuhe had injected and compressed into that inch of arrow light.

Patriarch Lu Xuanpu shook his robe, and the three water curtains before him closed simultaneously.

The small seal emitted a brilliant green light, and a layer of grey-blue protective shield formed behind the water curtains.

The water arrow shot forth.

When it first left Jiang Yuhe's fingertips, it remained small.

After shooting out three feet, the water Qi on the stage seemed to obey a command, converging toward it.

First, a thin ring of mist, followed by several thin streams.

Afterward, the entire surface of the stage was pulled by the water arrow; layers of water light were lifted and swirled around the arrow's body, emitting a low, rumbling sound.

Like a river tide entering a gorge.

The water arrow grew larger and swirled more violently as it traveled; by the time it reached three zhang before Patriarch Lu Xuanpu, it had transformed into a water tornado spanning the entire water stage.

The arrow tip led the way.

Sweeping up the Qi of the heavens and earth behind it, it was like a long arrow dragging an entire raging river along with it.

The first Daoist Magic Patriarch Lu Xuanpu cast had barely met it before being swept inside.

The water blade had originally been aimed at the arrow's body, but the moment it touched the outer vortex, it was like falling into a millstone. Shredded by the water's momentum, it instantly shattered into countless specks of spiritual light, becoming part of the water arrow's momentum instead.

The three water curtains before Patriarch Lu Xuanpu stood tall, which should have dissipated the force layer by layer, as stable as a levee.

But when the water arrow rolled in, the water curtains, upon close proximity, were like three sheets of thin paper.

The water curtains didn't even have the chance to hold up before being engulfed by the monstrous water force behind the arrow, becoming an inconspicuous part of the water tornado.

The small grey-blue seal shook violently.

The ripples upon it lit up, attempting to suppress the water's momentum.

The water arrow did not even pause; the water Qi swirling from behind converged violently, like rivers flowing together, pressing the small seal's spiritual light inward inch by inch.

Patriarch Lu Xuanpu's protective spiritual light suddenly flared, the grey-blue radiance thick, layered, and solid, wrapping his entire body within it.

The water arrow had arrived before him.

It was a force of water forcibly condensed into the shape of an arrow.

The arrow tip remained clear, while the water Qi of the entire stage swirled behind it, the vortex like a pillar, white mist churning, almost obscuring half the water stage.

Patriarch Lu Xuanpu felt his vision darken.

His protective spiritual light was pressed inward by the water force, the grey-blue radiance trembling violently. It did not even block it for a moment before the arrow tip broke through, as if destroying withered weeds and smashing rotten wood.

Patriarch Lu Xuanpu's pupils constricted sharply.

In that moment, he could no longer feel the clamor outside; he only felt a point of extremely cold and heavy water essence before his sternum.

Above the Shuiyue Pavilion, Liu Xuanhe suddenly raised his eyes.

He gently closed the jade scroll in his hand and uttered a single word:

"Still."

As the word fell, a green light, like an imperial edict, hung above the water stage.

With a clap of spring thunder, all Qi returned to balance.

The sound of water on the entire stage ceased abruptly in that instant.

The water arrow stopped half an inch before Patriarch Lu Xuanpu's chest.

The arrow tip had already pierced into his protective spiritual light, while behind it, several-zhang-high water Qi swirled like a pillar.

The water ripples did not fall, and the mist did not dissipate.

Even the residual light of the Daoist Magic swept into it was like insects in amber, frozen within the vortex, unmoving.

Cold sweat could not stop seeping from Patriarch Lu Xuanpu's forehead.

He opened his mouth, about to concede, when a sleeve of green light swept down from the Shuiyue Pavilion.

The green light was irresistible; it wrapped around Patriarch Lu Xuanpu and threw him directly off the water stage.

Liu Xuanhe flicked his sleeve again.

The water arrow and residual spiritual light suspended in mid-air dissipated completely.

With a loud crash.

The frozen water force fell back onto the stage, turning into countless fine raindrops and splashing up a vast expanse of white mist.

Liu Xuanhe's voice followed immediately.

"Third match, Jiang Family wins."

"Grade A list, the Jiang Family of Baili Mountain defeats the Hexi Lu Family."

The lake was quiet for a moment.

A moment later, the sound of discussion rose like a tide.

"What Daoist Magic was that?"

"It was not Daoist Magic." An elderly Loose Cultivator stared at the water stage and said in a low voice, "At least, not just water magic."

A Cultivator nearby asked in confusion, "Senior, what do you mean?"

The old Loose Cultivator slowly exhaled.

"When Cultivators duel, they first compare the level of their Daoist Magic, then the strength of their Magical Artifacts. Further on, they compare their respective understanding of the seasons and the Dao."

"The deeper one's Daoist attainment regarding the seasons, the more exquisite and profound the same Daoist Magic becomes, closer to its true essence."

He pointed toward the water stage.

"That female Cultivator of the Jiang surname only condensed one water arrow just now. It looked simple, but in reality, her Grain Rain Daoist attainment is extremely high. Ordinary water arrows use water as a blade, seeking speed and sharpness; her arrow, however, used Grain Rain to create momentum, seeking the essence of spring rain falling upon the soil, commanding all things."

"The water stage is naturally water, and ordinary water Cultivators can borrow the momentum of water. But no matter how they borrow, it is mostly still borrowing water as a blade or a curtain. She, however, made the water Qi of this entire stage follow her arrow."

"Therefore, under this massive gap in Daoist attainment, even if you tied two Patriarch Lu Xuanpus together, they would absolutely not be able to defend against this strike."

Another person muttered:

"But how old is she..."

The old Loose Cultivator shook his head.

"This is Daoist attainment."

"The flashier the Daoist Magic, the less likely it is to be superior. If one can cultivate the most ordinary water arrow to the point of destroying withered weeds and smashing rotten wood, or swirling the stage into momentum, that is what is called deep Daoist attainment."

In the distance, in the Gu Clan seating area, Young Master Gu Xingzhi gazed at the water stage, the smile in his eyes gradually fading slightly.

In the Han Clan seating area, Han Zhaoye gripped his sword sheath tightly with five fingers, looking at Jiang Yuhe a few extra times.

After Patriarch Lu Xuanpu was sent off the stage by the green light, his face remained somewhat pale. A moment later, he cupped his hands toward her.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, your Daoist attainment is profound. I do not lose unjustly."

Jiang Yuhe returned the salute.

"You flatter me."

She turned and walked off the water stage; the mist on the lake closed back up.

The Jiang Family of Baili Mountain.

Had already advanced to the next round of the Grade A list.