140: A desperate fight

Chen Xuan asked curiously, "Fellow Daoist Qin, didn't you see anything special about that person?"

Hearing this, Qin Tianxing turned his head again to look at the curling green smoke above the Arena Stage.

But the green smoke blocked his vision like a mist; his Gold Vein Qi-Gazing Eyes couldn't penetrate it at all. He could only watch the light and shadows intertwining within the smoke, unable to discern any truth.

A bitter smile appeared on Qin Tianxing's face as he cupped his hands and said, "I am clumsy-eyed and failed to see the key point. I ask Brother Chen to offer some guidance."

Just as Chen Xuan was about to speak, Qi Yue, standing beside him, suddenly opened her vermilion lips and spoke in a voice as cold as frost: "Could it be... that a foreign soul body is hidden within that man in lavish clothes?"

Mm, as expected of someone with experience.

"A soul body."

Qin Tianxing muttered it twice, then suddenly realized.

"So that's how it is. I was wondering why such a Prodigy suddenly appeared in this Heavenly Selection Grand Ceremony, able to contend with Brother Chen's top Disciple. It turns out he has the help of a foreign soul body!"

"It seems our Mysterious Realm Emissary has also been left in the dark; I didn't expect someone to be so audacious."

Even in this situation, Qin Tianxing didn't forget to offer a word of flattery.

Unable to restrain himself, Wang Er suddenly stood up and said in a heavy voice:

"Brother Chen! This boy is cheating by using a foreign soul body, breaking the rules of the Heavenly Selection Grand Ceremony. Do I need to stop the match immediately and execute him to uphold the law?"

Hearing this, Chen Xuan slowly shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the Arena Stage, his voice calm yet carrying an unquestionable authority: "No need."

"The path of immortal cultivation is full of variables; surprises are the norm. My Disciples came here this time specifically for the sake of tempering themselves."

As he spoke, Chen Xuan silently added in his heart: If they truly encounter a life-or-death crisis, I'll just use a teleportation talisman to save them.

Hearing this, Qin Tianxing quickly agreed: "Brother Chen is absolutely right! Growth only comes through adversity. For your top Disciple to clash with such a 'special' opponent is also a rare Opportunity!"

..."Clang! Clang! Clang!" The sounds of Sword Qi colliding were incessant, and sparks flew between the two.

Long Lie's green Spiritual Qi surged like a raging tide. The longsword in his hand hummed, and several sword-length Sword Qi condensed out of thin air, slashing toward Ye Hao like a torrential rain.

Ye Hao's eyes narrowed. He swirled his longsword into an exquisite sword flower, Chaos Qi wrapping around the blade like ink-colored satin. Every swing precisely struck the green Sword Qi.

It was a truly exhilarating fight!

"Boom—!"

At the moment the two forces collided, a huge shockwave exploded in the air. Ye Jing's remains on the ground were further torn apart by several stray strands of Sword Qi, a gruesome sight.

At that moment, Long Lie suddenly withdrew his sword and retreated. After all, the Spiritual Qi wasn't his own; a battle of attrition would only become more troublesome.

"Kid, you do have some skill, but unfortunately... time's up!"

"Activate the Formation!"

Long Lie shouted loudly, and the hundreds of yellow paper Talismans scattered around suddenly took flight and disintegrated, turning into a sky full of fine gold and silver light particles.

These light particles didn't scatter randomly but followed profound trajectories into two layers: the gold particles spiraled upward like stardust, weaving a circular halo in mid-air, while the silver particles flowed downward like a stream, spreading into a circular pattern on the ground. The two layers intertwined at a visible speed, quickly forming a translucent Formation barrier covering dozens of feet.

With a wave of Long Lie's hand, seven three-inch-long miniature Flying Swords appeared before him.

With a thought, the seven Flying Swords traced seven green arcs in the air, precisely embedding themselves into the seven nodes of the Formation barrier.

The gold and silver light particles within the Formation barrier suddenly flared. Dense Spiritual Qi patterns appeared on the gold halo, beginning to actively draw out the Spiritual Qi from within the Cultivator.

The silver light patterns rose as a pale green mist, enveloping the space within the Formation. The circulation speed of Spiritual Qi within the body suddenly slowed down, as if bound by invisible shackles.

Ye Hao narrowed his eyes slightly; his whole body felt as if it had fallen into a quagmire.

The circulation of his Spiritual Qi met with an obstruction.

Before Ye Hao could observe further, the seven Flying Swords arrived like sharp arrows piercing through the air.

Six Flying Swords split into upper and lower paths, their blades wrapped in pale green light, stabbing toward Ye Hao's limbs and joints. The remaining one hovered in mid-air, a dark light flickering on its spine as it aimed for the vital point on Ye Hao's back.

Ye Hao's pupils constricted; he didn't dare hesitate for a moment.

He abandoned the idea of a wide-range parry, instead holding his longsword across his chest and tilting the blade to precisely strike the two Human Rank Flying Swords attacking from the left.

"Clang! Clang!" Two crisp sounds rang out.

The blade vibrated slightly. He used the force to drift backward, narrowly avoiding the stabs from the Flying Swords on the right.

This was the Spirit-Rending Flying Sword Formation. Its core wasn't direct lethality but rather using the Formation barrier woven from the Talisman light particles to drain Spiritual Qi, then using the seven Flying Swords as conduits to amplify this consumption.

The consumed Spiritual Qi could even be slowly fed back to Long Lie himself.

With one side weakening and the other strengthening, the longer a Cultivator stayed in the Formation, the smaller their chances of winning. It was considered one of the extremely exquisite killing Formations.

As the primary lethal means of the Formation, the rank of the seven Flying Swords was naturally better the higher it was.

Unfortunately, Long Lie's resources were too meager; of the seven Flying Swords, six were of the Human Rank, and only one dark red Flying Sword had reached the Earth Rank.

This was the most prudent fighting style Long Lie had chosen. Although a Golden Core Realm Cultivator had much Spiritual Qi, it was far from inexhaustible.

Moreover, the man before him was only at the Golden Core First Layer.

From the initial summoning of the two fire snakes to the current Formation, it was all a gradual plan, slowly revealing his killing moves.

Ye Hao carefully observed the Formation while dealing with the attacks from the Flying Swords.

Before he could adjust his breathing, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a green light darting from the left corner in his peripheral vision.

Ye Hao's pupils constricted. In his haste, he took out his previous ancient inkstone to block. He used the recoil to retreat rapidly, thinking he had evaded the strike, but he hadn't expected the dark red Earth Rank Flying Sword hovering in mid-air to suddenly accelerate. Its blade, wrapped in a faint blue light, lunged toward his left arm like a venomous snake.

This strike came too fast, and the obstruction from the Formation made his dodge half a beat too slow.

"Squelch—!" The sharp blade tore through his clothing and carved a deep, bone-deep wound on Ye Hao's left arm. Blood instantly gushed out, sliding down his arm.

"Kid, do you regret it now?" Long Lie's sinister laugh exploded in his ears.

While Long Lie felt the Spiritual Qi being fed back by the Formation, he was also somewhat shocked: what kind of Cultivation Technique was this kid practicing?

To be so resilient at the Golden Core First Layer.

Ye Hao didn't answer. The Chaos Heavenly Evolution Art within him continuously circulated, and a layer of gray Chaos Qi suddenly surfaced around him. His hands formed a profound hand seal, with his thumbs and middle fingers touching, and the other three fingers pointing diagonally toward the sky.

The moment the hand seal formed, the Chaos Qi around him surged violently, spreading outward like a tide, actually managing to temporarily withstand the pull on his Spiritual Qi from the gold halo!

However, a steady stream of Chaos Qi was still being sucked away by the Formation.

A trace of solemnity flashed in Long Lie's eyes; he knew this was the opponent's desperate struggle.

As long as he blocked this strike, the treasures on this boy and that immortal bone would all be his.

He didn't dare let Ye Hao continue gathering power anymore. He raised his palm abruptly, and the Spiritual Qi fed back into his body circulated frantically.

Azure Nether Lightning Summoning Art!

Countless pale green threads of light gathered toward the horizon, actually drawing in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from outside the Formation.

Dark clouds covered the sky, and several bolts of green lightning as thick as barrels rolled within the clouds, striking down toward the top of Ye Hao's head with a sharp, air-tearing sound.

This kind of power was more than several times stronger than what those Holy Land Prodigies could display.