The purple aura gradually gathered on Gu Xu Zao Hong’s face, and his whisk in hand moved without wind, while the T-silk threads danced wildly as if they had come to life. He stared tightly at Mei Qing and shouted, “This humble Daoist attained enlightenment during the Xuande reign, and more than a hundred years have passed since. Compared to you, if we were to fight, it would truly be taking advantage of my seniority. However, today’s battle isn’t about personal honor or disgrace—it concerns the glory of our sect. Although this humble Daoist disdains attacking from behind, once my spell is unleashed, I shall hold back nothing at all. Mei Qing, you must be careful!”
Mei Qing, however, replied without the slightest gratitude, “You’re the one who wants to fight, yet you pretend to feel reluctant about using your seniority against me. Do you really think saying these words absolves your conscience and makes you in the right? You’ve been a Daoist for a hundred and eighty years—how come you’ve become even more of a hypocrite with age? Talking about warning me to be careful—do you mean to say you wouldn’t attack me if I hadn’t been careful enough?”
Mei Qing’s sharp tongue momentarily startled Huang Guxu. Yet this veteran Daoist was quite interesting—far from showing any anger, he instead apologized with a sincere expression, “Indeed, I was being overly sentimental. Today, we are enemies, not friends. Let us settle this by strength alone.”
Mei Qing sneered, “Why waste so many words? Just watch my palm strike!”
Saying this, he suddenly extended his hand, and the Five Elements Pearl shot forth once again, forming a linked chain of black lightning that surged toward Huang Guxu.
Though Mei Qing had launched his attack, inwardly he was groaning bitterly.
Earlier, Mei Qing had deliberately provoked Huang Guxu with rude words as a test. Huang appeared tall and imposing, spoke in a loud voice, and wore dazzling golden robes, wielding a whisk—seeming like a flamboyant and cheerful person. Yet the first words he spoke were surprisingly courteous, contradicting his outward appearance.
People like Huang Guxu, who had ruled a sect for ages and mastered Daoist techniques long ago, had indeed walked more bridges than Mei Qing had walked roads. Mei Qing simply couldn’t believe anyone like him could be free of ulterior motives.
Therefore, seeing that Huang’s behavior contradicted his appearance, Mei Qing disregarded his words and instead adopted a deliberately rude and cheeky attitude.
Unexpectedly, this Master Huang truly possessed remarkable self-control. Despite Mei Qing’s provocation, Huang showed no sign of anger, repeatedly yielding in tone while maintaining a calm demeanor.
In a battle between cultivators, victory is not determined solely by cultivation level or superior techniques. Everything—environment, words, and momentum—exerts a profound influence on both sides.
Take Zhuo Wanchun earlier, for example. Provoked by a few words from Mei Qing, he had rushed to attack first, inevitably becoming agitated. Once locked in combat, Zhuo had been shocked by Mei Qing’s far greater power than expected and enraged at losing face in front of everyone. In his fury, he lost his Daoist composure, attacked recklessly without leaving any room for retreat, and failed to anticipate Mei Qing’s unexpected moves, leading to his crushing defeat.
But now, Huang Guxu remained calm and composed, exuding confidence, which instead made Mei Qing anxious and uneasy, gradually falling into a disadvantage. Mei Qing knew that if this continued, the situation would only worsen for him. Thus, against his usual style, he was forced to strike first.
When Huang Guxu saw Mei Qing attack, his expression turned serious. He retreated before advancing, his Daoist robe glowing even brighter. The silver threads of his whisk suddenly stretched out, reaching nearly a zhang in length, instantly filling the space before him like countless silver snakes weaving unpredictably.
As Mei Qing’s Five Elements Lightning met the threads, he felt them act like an enormous net, unraveling and stripping away his spiritual energy piece by piece, causing him to frown deeply.
Mei Qing usually won by creating chaos, but this time he faced Huang Guxu, who fought steadily and deliberately, clearly intending to overwhelm him with superior strength. Huang made no attempt to score a decisive blow, merely seeking to exhaust Mei Qing until his power ran out. Though this method was nearly as underhanded as cheating, it undeniably left Mei Qing at a loss for how to counter it.
Moreover, those silver threads were like entangling vines—once entangled, breaking free became extremely difficult.
The Geyao Sect traced its origins to the Lingbao School, primarily venerating the Celestial Venerable of Lingbao and regarding the *Lingbao Du Ren Jing* as its supreme scripture. Its most revered treasures were known as the Seal and the Book, both held in extremely high esteem within the cultivation world. As the sect’s spiritual officer, Huang Guxu had arrived here brandishing the sacred Lingbao Jade Book, resolved to secure victory.
However, after witnessing Mei Qing shatter Zhuo Wanchun’s Immortal Jade Seal and seeing Tao Zhongwen’s indifference to Zhuo’s defeat, Huang couldn’t help feeling a sense of shared fate with his fallen comrade, making him more cautious in his own attack.
Therefore, his assault lacked any urgency or relentless pursuit. Instead, he merely entangled Mei Qing, preventing escape, and ignored the several openings Mei Qing deliberately exposed.
Mei Qing inwardly groaned. Though Huang wasn’t pressing hard and he still had reserves of strength, this kind of battle tested only cultivation depth and experience. As a newcomer to the world of cultivation, how could he possibly match an old fox like Huang?
Yet having come this far, Mei Qing couldn’t withdraw unless Huang made a mistake. But judging by Huang’s careful approach, there seemed to be no openings at all.
In all his previous battles, Mei Qing had never felt so frustrated. His opponent was like a sticky lump of sugar—impossible to shake off, impossible to strike effectively. Slowly wearing him down, never hurrying. No matter how many times Mei Qing deliberately exposed weaknesses, Huang remained unresponsive, sticking strictly to his strategy of entanglement.
Mei Qing’s Shenzhao Five Elements Thunder Technique often caught newcomers off guard, causing them to suffer losses. But Huang Guxu was an old fox who had seen it all. He had even witnessed scenes from the Mei family sect in the past and had some understanding of this thunder technique. Having just observed Zhang Yuchong’s fight with Tao Zhongwen, Huang had extended his whisk’s silver threads, weaving through the Five Elements, matching Mei Qing’s spiritual energy in a prolonged stalemate, deliberately avoiding direct confrontation. This left Mei Qing with strength he couldn’t use, helpless and frustrated.
After a short while of fighting, Mei Qing grew increasingly impatient, realizing this couldn’t go on forever. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly summoned his immortal crane to soar skyward, split his hands apart, and formed a strange hand seal.
Huang Guxu recognized this hand seal instantly. Earlier, when Mei Qing had faced Zhuo Wanchun, he had used this exact seal before throwing a stone that instantly shattered the Jade Seal and left the young immortal half-dead.
Though Huang possessed vast knowledge and formidable cultivation, he had been unable to discern the nature of that mysterious stone in the heat of battle. He had only sensed a distant, ancient aura—could it possibly be an ancient treasure passed down from antiquity? Thus, during the fight, he had remained constantly vigilant, fearing he might fall victim to Mei Qing’s trickery.
Therefore, as soon as he saw Mei Qing’s posture, Huang immediately slowed his whisk slightly, pulled his body backward, and wove the silver threads into a dense net that enveloped him completely. Looking at Mei Qing again, he was so furious his nose nearly twisted sideways.
It turned out Mei Qing hadn’t thrown any stone at all. Instead, his figure flickered, and he shouted, “Evade!” activating a teleportation technique that made his figure vanish in an instant.
However, this place was within the Heaven Net Formation, unlike the outside world. Mei Qing only managed to teleport about ten zhang away before his form reappeared. Though he had only gained a small distance, Mei Qing remained undeterred. His goal had merely been to break free from the entanglement. Now that the two were separated, he could rely on his immortal crane and teleportation artifacts to engage in a mobile battle, avoiding direct confrontation.
At that moment, Mei Qing suddenly felt a chill in his heart, his spiritual sense sharply alerting him. Without hesitation, he quickly activated his movement technique, shifting several feet aside. Immediately, a series of chilling killing auras slashed toward him from behind like shadows!
Though he didn’t turn around, Mei Qing’s extended spiritual awareness clearly detected the threat. Three strange figures, each over eight chi tall and clad in red robes, approached him in a triangular formation. Each wielded a pitch-black long blade, spinning toward him like a storm chopping firewood.
Mei Qing had just dodged the first attacker when he found himself directly within the range of the other two. With no way to avoid the strike, Mei Qing gritted his teeth and roared, “Strike!”
Suddenly, two enormous hands appeared in midair, glowing with golden light and covered in scales. They swiftly seized the blades of the two strange figures.
With a twist of his palms, Mei Qing caused the two giant hands to twist the blades into tangled spirals. Then, clapping his hands together, he sent the hands slicing sideways toward the three strange figures.
The three figures did not retreat but instead charged forward, letting out eerie howls. The central one swung dual blades, while the other two attacked barehanded, throwing themselves recklessly at the giant hands as if their lives meant nothing.
Mei Qing shifted his footing, his body rotating in harmony with the sun and moon, as purple energy surged toward the crown of his head. He exhaled deeply and chanted, “Break the金刚, subdue the demons! Om!”
Suddenly, a massive vajra appeared in the giant hands, connected by a bone rod in the center, with a skull at each end. The two skulls simultaneously opened their pitch-black mouths, revealing gleaming white teeth, and let out a piercing roar. With a single strike, they smashed down onto the blades and arms extended by the three figures.
A series of “plop-plop” sounds filled the air. The Vajra’s strike shattered the blades and arms of the three figures, then continued onward with a golden gust of wind, striking their waists and instantly reducing them to splinters, like rotten wood.
Yet the three strange figures fought like lifeless zombies. Even as their bodies shattered into pieces, they remained ferocious, their severed heads and limbs still biting and clawing at the pestle, producing continuous screeching sounds.
Seeing this, Mei Qing was startled. Immediately afterward, he felt a sudden impact on his body, his head spinning as his limbs became immobilized. Then, he suddenly saw countless thick, silver threads, like giant serpents, wrapping around him from all directions.
“Bad!” The thought of Huang Guxu’s strange whisk flashed through Mei Qing’s mind, and he realized he had finally fallen victim to his opponent’s ambush.
With great effort, he sank his spiritual awareness into his body—then everything went black.
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