274: Chapter 272 Two Women Fighting

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao rose up with an ethereal grace, transforming into a streak of cyan light, tearing through layers of the Void Realm, and galloping steadily toward the territory of the Daming Dynasty.

Her speed was extremely fast, yet her mind remained focused and her Divine Sense was projected outward, maintaining the most composed defensive posture of a top-tier expert.

She never underestimated any corner of the world, nor did she ever look down on any unknown opponent.

After traversing thousands of miles of barren land, not long after, Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao stepped into the airspace of the Daming Dynasty border.

As soon as she entered the boundary, the world changed abruptly.

The originally restless and chaotic currents of the Void Realm instantly fell silent, and the thin, impure Spiritual Qi instantly became mellow and condensed. The entire world seemed to suddenly tighten and become orderly, with invisible rules and barriers quietly enveloping her, gently yet firmly declaring the sovereignty of this territory.

Hum—

The next instant, a vast and meticulous Divine Sense instantly locked onto her body.

This Divine Sense was vast and boundless, covering ten thousand miles of territory and penetrating mountains and rivers. It looked gentle and harmless, yet it controlled every movement in this world; any disturbance, any living creature entering, had nowhere to hide.

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's gaze tightened slightly, and her figure suddenly stopped in its tracks.

The clouds in the airspace gently surged. Without any earth-shattering phenomena or piercing killing intent, a figure in white stepped out lightly.

She had the appearance of a young girl, with clothes as white as snow, exquisite features, and fair skin. She looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, with a slender figure and an ethereal temperament. There was not a trace of the heavy composure of a Supreme expert about her; instead, she carried a sense of liveliness, coquettishness, and a scattered, childish air.

Fortune Spirit had her hands behind her back, her tiptoes gently touching the Void Realm. Her head was tilted slightly, and a pair of clear eyes were scanning Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao up and down. Her eyes were full of novelty and playfulness, and the corners of her mouth were raised high, wearing a coquettish and provocative, teasing smile.

"Eh? A newcomer? And a super pretty big sister at that!"

Fortune Spirit muttered in a low voice, her tone filled with childlike curiosity. Then, she immediately straightened her face, pretending to be serious and dignified, deliberately putting on the airs of a Dominator of the world, though the playfulness and childishness between her brows could not be hidden at all.

"Hey! Person from beyond the sky, stop!"

Her voice was clear and soft, with no deterrent power at all. "Who let you enter my Daming territory as you please? Did you get my permission? You've got some nerve, nobody dares to barge into my territory without my permission!"

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's expression did not change; her cold, beautiful face remained as calm as water, without a ripple.

"I have no intention of provoking a conflict. A few days ago, a Cultivator wearing a Qingxuan Dao robe fell above your Daming Imperial City. This person might be my father. I am only here to find someone. Once I find them, I will leave immediately and will not stay to cause trouble."

"Looking for your father? Looking for your father my foot!"

A curse slipped out, and Fortune Spirit was incredibly arrogant.

During this period, she had killed countless people from beyond the sky; who knew if the other party's father was dead or alive.

Besides, people from beyond the sky should just be killed; it would be perfect for nourishing her body.

"I don't care if you're looking for your dad or your mom, looking for clues or opportunities! Rules are rules!"

"People from beyond the sky, if you haven't gotten a nod from me, stepping into my Daming territory is a violation! If you violate the rules, you must be punished!"

She put her small hands on her hips, her head held high, looking righteous and confident.

"Don't give me any of that nonsense, surrender first! Otherwise, I'm going to start bullying you!"

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's brows furrowed imperceptibly.

She had traveled through ten thousand realms and had seen domineering Supremes, composed great powers, sinister Cultivators, and arrogant Prodigies, but she had never seen an expert who held top-tier power yet possessed such an immature, unreasonable, and childish heart.

Clearly holding the power of the rules of the entire world, with unresolvable combat power and monstrous authority, yet she acted like a mischievous child, doing whatever she pleased, acting wantonly, ignoring reason, and only following her whims.

If it were an ordinary Cultivator, they would have already become angry, argued, or fought impatiently, but Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's heart was extremely composed, having long ago practiced the mental fortitude to remain calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before her.

"Then let it be death!"

"Hey, you're quite arrogant!"

Fortune Spirit raised her eyebrows, laughing with her eyes curved, looking extremely provocative. With a wave of her small hand, she instantly mobilized the Spiritual Qi of the entire border.

The moment her words fell, the gentle aura around Fortune Spirit instantly converged, and the Spiritual Qi of the entire border airspace suddenly became violent and gathered crazily!

There was no earth-shaking momentum, no process of gathering power; the local rules, Luck, and Spiritual Qi of the entire Daming territory were instantly at her disposal!

Boom—!

The invisible territorial pressure suddenly descended, and the entire airspace was instantly locked. Space stagnated, Spiritual Qi solidified, and the airflow stopped. All paths for Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao to dodge, move, or flee were instantly and completely sealed!

"I said I would punish you, so I must punish you! I am very principled!"

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's pupils shrank, and warning bells rang in her heart. She dared not be the slightest bit careless.

She seems a bit strong!

Fortune Spirit was in a playful mood throughout, fighting as she pleased, with all sorts of tricks, without the slightest gravity of a life-and-death struggle, looking instead like she was playing a fresh and interesting game.

Standing in the center of the airspace, her figure was light and swaying, sometimes standing on tiptoe, sometimes spinning, her small hands waving casually, unleashing the Supreme Divine Ability of this world.

With a lift of her small hand, the ground bulged, and thick walls of earth and stone piled up layer by layer, densely sealing off all directions, clumsily yet domineeringly trying to trap Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao;

With a flick of her sleeves, golden threads of Luck danced in the sky like mischievous ribbons, entangling the Void Realm and sticking to the Spiritual Qi, clumsily imprisoning her opponent;

With a thought, the wind and clouds in the airspace rolled backward, fierce winds blew chaotically, and light and shadow were distorted, deliberately messing up the battlefield's visibility, childish and rogue-like;

When she expanded her Divine Thought, a shallow illusion spread out, filled with flashy lights and shadows, without any fatal killing intent, purely wanting to tease and watch her opponent's flustered and embarrassed appearance.

All kinds of methods emerged one after another, full of new tricks, yet without half the killing weight of a top-tier expert, full of the meaning of a child's mischievous play.

But even if the methods were childish and mischievous, relying on the rules of the entire Daming territory, the power was still terrifying and unresolvable.

Within this world, she was the sky, she was the earth, she was the rules themselves.

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao responded calmly, not losing a step.

Facing the endless and varied methods of the world, she remained determined and extremely calm, not flustered, not impatient. The cyan Dao rhyme protected her body steadily, her barrier was condensed and thick, dissolving the power of the world layer by layer; her figure shifted and moved, her prediction was precise, her positioning was steady, avoiding all the flashy but domineering attacks.

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao exhausted her Dou Di cultivation, the cyan Dao rhyme bloomed to the sky, palm power crisscrossed, killing intent was biting, and countless spatial cracks were generated and erupted under the palm wind, doing her best to resist head-on.

Bang—!

Palm winds collided, Dao rhymes clashed, rules collided!

The terrifying shockwave instantly swept across the ten-thousand-mile border airspace, the clouds exploded completely, the airflow was wildly chaotic, and the Void Realm trembled layer by layer!

Just from one clash, Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's body shook violently, her blood surged slightly, and her figure could not help but slide backward several feet.

Her heart was even more horrified.

She was a genuine Peak Dou Di expert, capable of killing across levels, crushing ten thousand enemies, and almost invincible among her peers.

But at this moment...

After dozens of rounds, she was suppressed the whole time, retreating step by step, and gradually falling into a disadvantage.

The cyan barrier on her body was covered with fine cracks, the spiritual light continued to dim, the spiritual power in her body was consumed greatly, and her blood surged quietly.

Boom—!

Another heavy palm strike of territorial Luck descended!

This palm still had no killing intent, just a simple heavy suppression, but it carried the weight of the entire world.

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao tried her best to block, her Dao rhyme surged, but it was still difficult to completely dissolve it!

Bang!

The huge force penetrated her body, her figure shook suddenly!

She was like a cyan butterfly swept by a gale, her body involuntarily flew backward hundreds of feet in the air, slamming heavily against the invisible barrier of the border Void Realm.

Pfft—

A mouthful of bright red blood spilled from the corner of her lips, staining her cold, fair jaw, and her clothes were stained with spots of blood.

The pain spread through her body, her spiritual power was chaotic, but Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's mind remained composed, not losing her composure, forcibly stabilizing her shaking figure, without a trace of embarrassment or loss of poise.

But just at this moment of victory, when she was already seriously injured and defeated, Fortune Spirit, who should have taken advantage of the situation to press on and completely suppress her opponent, suddenly stopped.

She was still floating in the high sky, her small hands behind her back, tilting her head to look at the retreating Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao. The playfulness and excitement in her eyes suddenly faded, replaced by a face full of depression, entanglement, and annoyance.

She did not pursue forward even half a step, and the Spiritual Qi of the world that was originally raging around her faded by more than half, and even the pressure of the Void Realm's imprisonment relaxed a lot.

Having been able to crush her opponent and take her down in one fell swoop, she stopped firmly in place, motionless.

This scene was too strange, too abnormal.

If it were someone with a volatile temperament, they would have taken the Opportunity to flee and get away.

But Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao was not.

She was exceptionally composed, meticulous in thought, and had extremely meticulous observation skills. The more abnormal the situation, the more she would calmly review and delve into the root cause.

She raised her hand, gently wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, her fingertips were slightly cool, and her expression remained calm without waves.

She just stood quietly in place, her gaze deep, watching the white-clothed girl in the sky with a tangled face, silently retracing every detail, every attack and defense, every fluctuation of power in the entire battle.

Within a few breaths, all the doubts were connected, and all the confusion was suddenly cleared.

She discovered an extremely critical pattern.

Throughout the fierce battle just now, as long as her position was slightly inclined toward the inside of the territory, standing within the Daming land, Fortune Spirit's offensive would be domineering and sharp, pressing layer by layer, without reservation, and the methods of the world would emerge one after another, with full power;

But whenever she was forced to retreat, her figure shifted, approaching the white line of the border, stepping out of the territorial boundary by half a step, Fortune Spirit's offensive would instantly slow down, her power would plummet, the rhythm would break, and she would even actively withdraw her force, not daring to continue the attack.

Especially the heavy blow just now, which looked fierce and domineering, directly hitting her and causing serious injury, but in fact, the end clearly held back, not daring to unleash the full force of a territorial kill.

And the position she was standing in now was just right—half a foot out of the Daming Dynasty territorial boundary line.

In an instant, Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao completely understood the truth.

This expert in front of her had a fatal, insurmountable shackle.

The other party was Fortune Spirit!

Although it was impossible to explain why the other party had intelligence, the methods just now were too similar.

The other party was born relying on the Daming territory and existed relying on the local Luck. Invincible within the territory, useless outside the territory.

Once she stepped out of the boundary of this world, losing the blessing of rules and Luck, her strength would plummet off a cliff, instantly falling several levels, and she would no longer have the unresolvable combat power to crush a Peak Dou Di.

She was not unwilling to chase now; she was afraid to chase, and could not chase.

Thinking through everything, the bottom of Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's eyes finally returned to calm, without surprise or joy, without waves.

She still stood silently, quietly watching the frustrated Fortune Spirit in the high sky, not speaking, not attacking, not retreating, only using her cold and clear gaze to watch silently, as if she had already seen through all her cards and embarrassment.

Being stared at with such a piercing gaze, Fortune Spirit instantly felt uncomfortable, and the playful smile on her face froze completely.

"Tsk, seriously!"

"Is that all the strength you have? Too trashy. I'll give you one more chance. Come, attack me. As long as you can hit me once, I'll let you off today."

Watching her stubborn posturing, a faint ripple passed through the depths of Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's cold, clear eyes, vanishing in an instant.

She spoke indifferently, her voice cold, calm, and unhurried, yet every word struck precisely at the vital point.

"If I do not enter your territory, you are powerless to continue the fight."

"If you can leave your borders, you may come and fight; if you cannot, there is no need to feign strength or engage in petty verbal sparring."

Fortune Spirit's expression turned ugly, but she still forced herself to say, "What are you babbling about?"

"Come and hit me."

As these four words fell, Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao remained calm and indifferent, yet she had completely seized the initiative of the situation, locking Fortune Spirit in a deadlock where she could neither advance nor retreat.

Fortune Spirit was instantly rendered speechless, her little face puffed up, cheeks flushed bright red, feeling both angry and helpless.

"Fine, fine, fine!"

She stopped bickering with Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao, suddenly looked up toward the direction of the Imperial City, and released her clear voice, which resounded throughout the entire ten-thousand-mile territory of the Daming Dynasty, carrying a touch of coquetry, a hint of grievance, and a dash of mischievous bravado.

"Yuan Chen——!!!"

"Hurry up and come here!!!"

"A super good-looking beauty from outside the territory ran over here! Her strength is decent, and she's incredibly sharp; I can't handle her!"

"You need to come over immediately and just drag her back! Making her your little wife is fine too!!"

The voice was resonant, piercing through the clouds and spreading across the mountains and rivers.

As the words fell, the entire Daming Dynasty was shocked.

Countless commoners in the cities, soldiers in the camps, and Cultivators in the Sects all looked up in astonishment.

Above the border airspace.

Hearing this extremely mischievous shouting, Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's cold eyes still held no trace of anger.

She slowly raised her hand, her fingertips gently wiping away the residual blood from the corner of her lips.

She did not turn to flee, nor did she retreat in haste.

The clue to finding her father was here; with the truth unknown and her relative unfound, she would never give up halfway and leave in a rush.

Although Fortune Spirit possessed the authority of an invincible territory, her Heart-Nature was childish, she was constrained by the world, and her perspective was limited; in the end, she was merely a derivative spirit body of this world and could not be considered a true plane Supreme.

She posed no threat to her.

However, the man whom Fortune Spirit had called out to—the one who controlled the entire Daming territory and firmly suppressed this Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi spirit body—Yuan Chen, was the true number one powerhouse of this Canglan Domain plane, the true ultimate controller.

She stood steadily, waiting quietly for his arrival.

She also wanted to see with her own eyes what kind of unfathomable strength this local powerhouse who could tame a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi spirit body truly possessed.

Fortune Spirit's uninhibited shout, which had traversed the ten-thousand-mile territory, still lingered in the currents of heaven and earth as Yuan Chen emerged from his room, cursing and grumbling.

He raised his slender fingers, unhurriedly smoothing out the slightly wrinkled collar of his brocade robe, then straightened the hem that hung to his waist, even carefully aligning the embroidered cloud patterns on his sleeves.

"This girl is becoming increasingly unruly."

Yuan Chen sighed softly.

However, for her to go so far as to use the Luck of Heaven and Earth as a medium today to spread her shout across every inch of the Daming land, she must have encountered a deadlock she could not resolve on her own; it was a genuine cry for help.

Yuan Chen did not want to delay the situation at the border. A faint golden light enveloped his figure, and in an instant, he traversed a thousand miles of mountains and rivers, appearing in the airspace above the Daming border in the blink of an eye.

From afar, he could see Fortune Spirit floating indignantly inside the territorial boundary, her fair little face flushed red, hands on her hips, staring fiercely at the girl in the green dress on the outside across an invisible boundary, her eyes full of grievances with nowhere to vent.

Yuan Chen walked up slowly, raised his index finger, and tapped Fortune Spirit lightly on her smooth forehead. The force was gentle, yet it carried the faint majesty of disciplining a naughty child.

"Tell me, what is going on?"

Having her forehead tapped, Fortune Spirit instinctively shrank her neck. The pent-up grievances instantly welled up, and she grabbed the sleeve of Yuan Chen's brocade robe, speaking in a rapid, fragmented manner, like a child who had been wronged complaining to an Elder, recounting the whole incident from beginning to end.

"Yuan Chen, you finally came! Just now, this woman from outside the territory intruded into our Daming lands for no reason. I set a rule that outsiders must submit to inspection without resistance if they haven't reported in, but she refused to comply and started asking for her dad."

"I had no choice but to stop her, but this person is frighteningly sharp; she saw through my weakness of being constrained by the territory at a glance. I couldn't out-argue her, couldn't beat her, and after wasting half a day here with no solution, I had to call you over to help."

After finishing, she secretly peeked at Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao outside the boundary and added in a low voice: "Her cultivation is only a bit stronger than Elder Hei Yan's. I could have handled it myself, but since the rules of heaven and earth are binding me, I really had no choice but to disturb your sleep."

"That was seclusion!"

"Fine, if you say it was seclusion, then it was seclusion."

Yuan Chen stood quietly in place, lowering his eyes to listen to Fortune Spirit's rambling account of the background. He had already sorted out the ins and outs of the whole matter in his mind. He nodded indifferently and cast his gaze slowly toward the woman outside the territorial boundary in the direction Fortune Spirit had indicated.

From the moment Yuan Chen appeared, Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao had put away all her distracted thoughts. Her calm, cold gaze never left him for a moment, meticulously probing, deducing, and sensing.

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao released her own Peak Dou Di Divine Thought, cautiously probing forward. However, the moment her vast and pure domain-outside Dao rhyme Divine Thought approached within three feet of Yuan Chen, it was as if it had been cast into an infinitely silent deep sea, dissolving without a sound. She couldn't even capture a trace of the other party's true cultivation fluctuations or Dao rhyme level.

In her heart, she was already certain that this person was the undisputed number one powerhouse of the Canglan Domain plane, far more unfathomable than Fortune Spirit by a hundred or a thousand times.

Although there was shock in her heart, she maintained her usual steady and calm demeanor on the surface, without showing a shred of panic or fear.

She took a half-step forward, and across the invisible territorial boundary, her cold, steady voice clearly reached Yuan Chen's ears. Neither humble nor arrogant, she asked directly: "Are you Yuan Chen?"

As the question left her lips, Yuan Chen raised his eyes, calmly looking up and down at Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao outside the boundary.

Clad in a green dress that was elegant and otherworldly, with a cold, peerless beauty, she was surrounded by the pure and heavy Dao rhyme of a domain-outside Dou Di. Her aura was refined and pure, her Heart-Nature as steady as a mountain, and facing the Supreme authority of this plane, she had not shown the slightest sign of retreat or flattery. She was indeed a rare and top-tier Prodigy from outside the territory.

His eyes couldn't help but light up; she's mine.

His gentle voice, neither high nor low, slowly drifted across the boundary: "I am Yuan Chen. I heard you are looking for your father. What is your father's name? Let me see if I know him."

"My father's name is Venerable Ling Yue."

So it was him.

That Dao Cultivator from outside the territory who had torn through the domain-outside rift, fallen into the Daming Imperial City, recklessly broken into the Zichen Palace, and accidentally damaged the foundation of half the palace several months ago, was none other than Venerable Ling Yue.

He still remembered that when he detained this person, the other party had mentioned that he came from a Sect in the Xuan Continent, held the position of Elder, and had a daughter under his command with peerless talent who held the position of Sect Master, recognized as the number one Prodigy of the Xuan Continent.

The astonishment in Yuan Chen's eyes quickly faded, instantly replaced by a playful and cunning smile: "So that's how it is; you are that Sect Master from the Xuan Continent who holds power at such a young age?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's cold and calm expression finally flickered suddenly.

Her eyes, which were usually unruffled, rippled slightly, and the anxiety and burning impatience that had been building up for days surged up instantly.

Yuan Chen identifying her identity in one sentence was by no means a coincidence; this meant that he had definitely seen Venerable Ling Yue and perhaps even knew her father's entire whereabouts!

She took half a step forward, her green dress fluttering slightly in the wind. Her tone could not hide her urgency, yet she still maintained basic propriety: "You really have seen my father! Where is he now?"

The playfulness in Yuan Chen's eyes grew stronger, but his face remained calm. Pretending to be solemn and profound, he slowly began to weave a lie.

"Your father is truly a reckless man."

"Several months ago, he fell from the domain-outside rift into my Daming Imperial City and crashed straight into my Zichen Palace, accidentally smashing half of my palace foundations and destroying countless treasures. My Daming Imperial City has strict regulations; the palace and treasures are all condensed from the Luck of the plane and are of immeasurable value. Damaging public property naturally requires compensation at the assessed value."

"I demanded Spirit Stones and treasures from him to pay off the debt, but he had nothing on him and couldn't pay a single cent. In his desperation, he personally promised to pledge his own daughter to me as compensation for the damaged palace."

Yuan Chen raised an eyebrow and chuckled, his tone carrying a bit of serious rascality: "I waited for several months, but I didn't receive the 'collateral' he promised. With no other choice, I could only temporarily place my father-in-law under house arrest in the Imperial City, detaining him daily while waiting for him to fulfill the agreement."

Fortune Spirit on the side: "Shameless!"

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's mind fluctuated violently, her emotions turning over several times.

The first thing that surged into her heart was extreme ecstasy and relief.

Her father was not dead.

But this relief lasted only for an instant before being completely ignited into fury by Yuan Chen's subsequent teasing words.

Pledge his daughter? Fulfill the debt?

Absurd! Ridiculous!

She had been through trials and tribulations, her proud bones were innate; how could she allow others to so wantonly tease, ridicule, and humiliate her!

"You are courting death."

These two words were cold and bone-chilling, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, yet they hid an extremely frigid killing intent—the ultimate sign that she had been enraged.

Before the words had even faded, Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao needed no extra buildup; she clenched her single hand in the air!

Hum——!

The Void Realm trembled, and a small, translucent green hammer with brilliant patterns condensed, tearing through the air. She was determined to teach the rogue before her, who had wantonly teased her, a harsh lesson.

The next instant, the green hammer sped through the air, carrying a fierce gale, and struck directly at Yuan Chen's face. It was so fast that the Void Realm was torn into fine cracks by the wind of the hammer!

Yet, facing this fierce blow capable of crushing Prodigies of ten thousand domains, Yuan Chen, standing inside the territory, remained composed, not moving a single step, his expression unchanged, his eyes still carrying a faint sense of mockery and composure.

He merely raised his hand casually and flicked his fingertips.

Bang!

A dull, crisp sound suddenly exploded.

That green magic hammer, containing the power of a Peak Dou Di and being incomparably fierce, could not even approach within three feet of Yuan Chen before exploding in mid-air!

The scattered fragments of green Dao rhyme flew everywhere, instantly dissolving into the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi without even creating a single ripple.

One move, shattered in an instant!

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's pupils constricted suddenly, her heart shaken, her whole body instantly tensed up.

She had already anticipated that Yuan Chen was unfathomable, but she had never imagined that the gap between them was so vast!

Without a shred of hesitation.

Her fingertips moved instantly, and a blood-colored high-level teleportation talisman that had been sealed for a long time in her palm was crushed!

Sshh——!

Sect Leader Ling Tianjiao's figure flashed, and without hesitation, she escaped into the teleportation light gate, instantly fading from the sky and vanishing without a trace.