Chapter Ninety-Seven: Magical Duel

Just thinking about it was enough to make one’s blood surge. A duel between Master Cloud Punishment of the Six Sons of Cloud Heaven Sect and Jin Tianzuo, the third Golden Lamp Immortal under the Eleventh Gentleman of the Fallen Leaves Sect, was the sort of spectacle a cultivator might never see in an entire lifetime. Yet it had unfolded here on the Spirit Rising Arena, where the crowd had come to worship the martial arts. What should have been a struggle between the Yihua Gate and Guihai City had, to no one’s expectation, turned into a contest between Cloud Heaven Sect and Fallen Leaves Sect.

Both Jixi and Jun Burang felt the oppressive weight of the atmosphere and could hardly breathe. Although the two masters had already made it clear that this duel had nothing to do with the two great spirit sects, everyone knew that neither side could afford to lose.

Just as the crowd was lost in speculation, a thunderous crash rang out from the arena. A domineering black force and an equally formidable golden radiance collided again and again in the air. Master Cloud Punishment and Jin Tianzuo had finally made their move.

Mo Bai did not place his thoughts on the stage. Even in the face of such a high-stakes duel, his heart seemed to have quietly slipped away with the sight of Nalan Xiner’s return and into that hidden chamber. Though he did not know where it was, he believed the woman named Xiao Xue would surely help him rescue Little Hua and Miss Gan.

The little demon girl came running over in a fluster, then whispered to Mo Bai, “Brother Mo, I’ve done everything you asked of me. But Xiner still feels uneasy. Can that cold woman really be trusted?”

Mo Bai could only smile helplessly at her. He did not want to make anyone else worry and fear. Pointing at the arena, he said, “Xiner, look who has come.”

Following his指示, Nalan Xiner looked up and was so startled she did not know what to do. “Th-third Grandfather? How can he be here? Shouldn’t he be at the Cliff of Reflection, repenting?”

Mo Bai raised a finger to his lips and quietly signaled for silence. “This is a secret of Cloud Heaven Sect. Don’t go saying things carelessly.”

Nalan Xiner stuck out her tongue. “Still, I care more about whether that cold woman is really capable.”

Looking at the nervous little face before him, red as an apple, Mo Bai reached out and smoothed her braid. “Rest assured.”

Those two words were enough to calm Nalan Xiner at once. Mo Bai could not help thinking that she seemed to have already grown up.

Light and shadow flickered across the stage. The black and gold figures each fell into a stillness, though neither had changed position. They had already sensed each other’s strength. Cloud Heaven Sect and Fallen Leaves Sect were among the five great spirit sects of Linglong, and the two of them were the best among their peers; naturally, they knew what manner of testing should be used to probe an opponent’s power.

Jin Tianzuo smiled faintly. “Master Cloud Punishment’s Heavenly Dao spirit qi truly is overbearingly fierce.”

Master Cloud Punishment had no intention of flattering him back. With a dark expression, he said, “Naturally. Yours is merely the orthodox Gold-Heaven qi of the Fallen Leaves Sect. Your sect has so many kinds of spirit qi no wonder your cultivation is not pure enough.”

Jin Tianzuo’s teeth itched with anger. He snapped, “Good, very good. Then let me show you just how worthless my sect’s so-called impure spirit qi really is.”

As he spoke, he tapped a finger and formed three spirit qi swords. Two shot toward Cloud Punishment in an instant, while the third slowly descended beneath Jin Tianzuo’s feet. In the next moment, he drifted lightly upward, standing atop that golden spirit sword.

Master Cloud Punishment’s wide black robes billowed without wind as his Heavenly Dao spirit qi surged to its utmost, meeting Jin Tianzuo’s offensive head-on.

Jin Tianzuo laughed aloud. “And you think you can break my Golden Lamps with that?” As he spoke, the two golden spirit swords began to spin rapidly in midair. Before long, they had transformed into two glittering golden lamps hanging in the sky.

At the same time, Cloud Punishment’s spirit swords struck. Two hissing sounds rang out, and those golden lamps sent forth flecks of lampfire that instantly reduced his spirit swords to nothingness. The spirit cultivators below were instantly shocked.

A spirit sword was the most ordinary form of spirit qi attack, but everything depended on who wielded it. Given Master Cloud Punishment’s cultivation, such a simple technique should have rivaled the secret spirit arts of ordinary cultivators. Yet no one had expected Jin Tianzuo’s Gold-Heaven qi to be so terrifying that it could turn a sword into a lamp. No wonder his nickname was the Golden Lamp Gentleman.

The instant Master Cloud Punishment hesitated, Jin Tianzuo lifted his left foot. With a sharp rustle, a beam of golden light suddenly shot from the spirit sword beneath his foot straight at Master Cloud Punishment. At the same time, the two golden lamps above Cloud Punishment’s head blazed with brilliant radiance, releasing spirit qi toward the incoming light. In a blink, the golden radiance transformed into a gigantic spirit sword, crashing down toward Master Cloud Punishment’s head.

Cloud Punishment frowned, now understanding that those two golden lamps were auxiliary spirit vessels used to absorb spirit qi. Seeing the golden greatsword bearing down on him, he darkened, moved both hands, and sent out a massive black invisible sword. It met the golden greatsword head-on and shattered it into fragments with a thunderous boom, though his own black sword trembled as well.

Jin Tianzuo gave a cold smile. “Heavenly Dao Great Yu Sword in your hands has taken on the flavor of crooked, heretical tricks. It is almost laughable. Let me see how many more of my strikes you can withstand: Barefoot Golden Slaughter Sword!”

As he finished, Jin Tianzuo’s left foot swayed repeatedly. Shh, shh, shh. Several beams of golden light detached themselves from the spirit sword under his foot, and under the illumination of the golden lamps, they attacked from seven directions toward Cloud Punishment once more.

Master Cloud Punishment still did not shift his position. Stubbornly, he urged the Heavenly Dao Great Yu Sword, which he had refined and improved, to contend with the Barefoot Golden Slaughter Sword. The great black sword swayed violently in the air, spinning through a full circle as it blocked all seven of Jin Tianzuo’s golden swords and prevented the formation of a multi-angle encirclement. One could see how shrewd Cloud Punishment was. Then the great black sword gradually swelled in midair until it became enormous, and without the slightest politeness, it tangled with the seven smaller golden swords, each three times smaller than itself.

Seeing that the encirclement had failed, Jin Tianzuo immediately began driving the seven golden swords to grind down the Heavenly Dao Great Yu Sword. This time, the Heavenly Dao Great Yu Sword no longer possessed the same overwhelming force that had effortlessly shattered the golden blades. After breaking three of them, it fell into the siege of the remaining Slaughter Swords. Amidst the constant clash of golden light, its blade began to wobble.

Master Cloud Punishment’s face turned ashen. Grinding his teeth, he flickered into motion and struck a posture of attack. His hand seals flashed rapidly, and black spirit qi erupted all over his body before surging toward the golden lamps above. Clearly, those lamps posed far too great a threat to him.

Cloud Punishment rose like a giant bird of the heavens. He extended one finger toward the lamp on the left. With a tearing sound, a burst of spirit qi shot forth and struck the lamp. The lamp seemed to have suffered a devastating blow and began to sway violently. Seeing this, Jin Tianzuo immediately poured a stream of golden spirit qi into the lamp. Its brilliance flared again, and it steadied once more.

Cloud Punishment’s brow tightened. With a loud roar, he suddenly unleashed a black spirit sword from between two fingers. A sharp crack rang in his ears as the lamp was shattered by his strike and lost all its light. The next moment, he swept a hand and sent it flying into nothingness.

The few golden spirit blades battling the Heavenly Dao Great Yu Sword also seemed to have suffered a severe impact, their brilliance dimming at once. Master Cloud Punishment sneered and lunged toward the other lamp.

Jin Tianzuo cried out, “Dream on if you think you can destroy my Golden Lamp!” Then he moved his foot, urging the golden sword toward Cloud Punishment as his hands spread wide. A golden beam shot toward him, faster than any previous attack.

But Master Cloud Punishment did not care in the slightest. A surge rose behind him, and a ring of black spirit qi shield formed at his back, forcibly taking the full force of Jin Tianzuo’s strike. With a crack, the black shield split down the middle and could no longer hold. Yet by then, Master Cloud Punishment had already reached the lamp. He gave a cold laugh. “Golden Lamp Immortal? Hah. Nothing but a joke!”

“A joke? Truly a joke? I think the joke is you. The joke of the entire spirit cultivation world.”

Jin Tianzuo’s strange words hung in the air. The golden sword beneath his feet no longer struck at Cloud Punishment’s black shield; instead, it regarded the two fingers from which Cloud Punishment had already released spirit qi with an obscure meaning.

With a hiss, for some reason the lamp showed not the slightest ability to resist. Master Cloud Punishment cried inwardly that something was wrong, only to see a cloud of golden sand rush toward him. Those tiny grains were like demons from hell, intent on burrowing into his eyes.

At the very last moment, Master Cloud Punishment knitted his brows and erupted with a burst of icy qi from within his body, freezing the golden sand that had been only inches from his face in midair. Even so, cold sweat broke out all over him.

Jin Tianzuo was stunned. He had been fully confident that he could blind Master Cloud Punishment with the golden sand, yet an unexpected change had occurred. With a furious shout, the golden sand seemed to be provoked and began expanding.

Using that instant of ice, Master Cloud Punishment retreated rapidly, continuously forming seals as he resisted the grains of golden sand pursuing him. Jin Tianzuo reacted at once and sneered, “So Master Cloud Punishment knows the Ice Vortex Force of the Cold Monk as well. How learned you are. I wonder how many powers outside Cloud Heaven Sect can still save your life!”