69-74

Chapter 69: Who Are You?

"Do you want my help in your duel against...against..." Tianyi paused, trying to remember the name. Tianyi snapped his fingers. "Right, against Yan Nie!"

After the shock Sect Master Yun received from learning Tianyi's current cultivation realm, it was decided that Tianyi should leave before agitating Sect Master Yun anymore. Right now, Tianyi, Daoyi, Pan Lanyue, and a disciple, whose name Tianyi already forgot, grouped around a table.

Pan Lanyue's hand that was pouring tea froze slightly before resuming them. To be honest, when she recalled that actions she took so daringly, she felt ashamed for her younger self. Did she really need to shame her ex-fiancee like that?

No, but her past self had been venting her bottled up emotions. She was a proud daughter of heaven, born as the first princess of the Pan Kingdom. It had been fine when Yan Nie had still been a genius. Her child-like heart even imagined how handsome Yan Nie had been. But that all changed when Yan Nie lost the ability to cultivate. A lofty princess was going to marry a cripple because of an agreement.

Pan Lanyue hadn't thought anything of it at first, thinking that she could take care of both of them if her future prince consort couldn't cultivate. But she was a child, and she was most sensitive to the adults' attitude around her. No one said anything overt, but the eyes of mockery and pity were too much for a child like her to resist.

So what little goodwill Pan Lanyue had developed for Yan Nie before then all turned into loathing. Not hatred, just loathing.

Even if she regretted it, it was too late. Both her and Yan Nie's pride would never allow them to admit any weakness. But with the troubles assaulting the sect, Lanyue had almost forgotten about the duel.

"Thank you, brother Xi." Lanyue's tone was polite and distant. "I'm confident in my victory."

The little kid that had followed her around in the past had also changed. That little kid had grown up and even became a lofty Nascent Soul Grandmaster. Furthermore, he was actually the child of The Sword Empress. When Lanyue recalled her self confidence back then in comparison, she felt the past her was laughable.

Lanyue observed the handsome face of Tianyi, especially those black eyes of his. In his eyes contained the cosmos. That was what Lanyue honestly felt. If she looked anymore, she was afraid she might get sucked in.

There was a sense of distance that Lanyue couldn't enclose. Back then, it had been fine when the difference between them was still that of a Qi Gathering Pupil and a Foundation Establishment Disciple. But now the difference was as vast as heaven and earth. And that was ignoring Tianyi's lineage.

Should she be happy that Tianyi still remembered her and offered her aid? Pan Lanyue felt that she should, but her self esteem wouldn't allow it. Did Tianyi think that just because she was from a third-rate region that a nameless nobody like Yan Nie could defeat her?

Tianyi asked again, but Lanyue rejected once more. Seeing that she didn't want his aid, Tianyi felt slightly down but still accepted Lanyue's resolution.

"Sister Pan, when you fight Yan Nie, you should do so thinking him as a pseudo Core Formation Master," Tianyi advised sincerely.

"Yan Nie already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm?" Lanyue asked in surprise.

Tianyi shook his head. "Probably not. He should be in the Foundation Establishment Realm, but his prowess should be above his realm."

"You heard about Yan Nie?" Pan Lanyue asked. The Fleeting Sect no longer had any manpower or time to waste searching for Yan Nie.

Tianyi shook his head. "Just a hunch."

"If he isn't at the very least at the Foundation Establishment Realm, I would be quite disappointed. But brother Xi, don't underestimate me just because I'm not from a first-rate sect like the Buzhou Immortal Sect." Lanyue said proudly. The more concern Tianyi felt concerning the duel, the more irritated her heart felt.

"Then, I'll give you an early congratulations for your victory." Daoyi felt her the edge of her mouth twitch. Didn't Tianyi know he was raising flags?

"When is the duel, though?" Tianyi asked, realizing he didn't know the exact date.

"It should be in three days," Lanyue said as she counted using her fingers.

"That fast? It seemed that I made it just in time." Tianyi said. Luckily they had used an unconventional method to come. Otherwise, he wasn't sure he would have been able to make it even with his mother operating the immortal boat.

The topic afterward veered away from the duel as the four people chatted. Or rather three people chatted, the nameless disciple could only keep himself together by nodding.

He was just a nameless Qi Gathering disciple, in front of a real Nascent Soul Grandmaster, the psychological pressure upon him could even be considered an attack. He had never even spoken to the Fleeting Mist Sect Master before.

"Sister Pan, what sort of place is the Pan Kingdom? Besides the country I was born in and the Buzhou Immortal Sect, I have never visited another place besides here." Daoyi asked.

"Sister Jiang, this may be biased, but I feel the Pan Kingdom is one of the most prosperous countries in the whole northern region. Recently my father has reached the Core Formation Realm. He's the only king to reach the Core Formation Realm!" Pan Lanyue's voice was filled with admiration and pride. She was truly prideful of her family.

"That's amazing!" Daoyi played along and complimented, showing her admiration. She didn't plan to tell Lanyue that her Jiang Family's old master was also a Core Formation Master for over a hundred years. In order to cultivate a relationship, you shouldn't tear down another's stage.

Tianyi just sipped his tea. He wasn't as tactless as to praise Pan Lanyue's father. If he, the son of an immortal and prodigy of a generation from Buzhou Immortal Sect, overly praised, then it would seem more like a mockery.

"Senior brother, have you visited the capital before?" Daoyi said, turning the conversation towards Tianyi.

"I have, but it was only so that sister Pan could greet her family before we left," Tianyi said. Although he wanted to show off, he only knew about Jinyang City.

"Sister Jiang, brother Xi, why don't I take you to stroll the streets of the Pan Capital?" Pan Lanyue suddenly said with brightened eyes.

Daoyi looked at Tianyi. Tianyi smiled. "Sure, last time I was regretful that I wasn't able to explore sister Pan's birthplace. Now I can make up that regret."

"Sister Pan, you can't!" At this time, the silent disciple suddenly spoke up. "The enemies of the sect are everywhere. You could be ambushed!"

"Brother Xiao, you don't have to worry. The enemies haven't reached the point of being able to stick their hands inside my Pan Kingdom's capital." Lanyue said. "Besides, with brother Xi here, nothing will happen. He is a legendary Nascent Soul Grandmaster."

"Calling me legendary makes me feel embarrassed," Tianyi said as he held his chin in his hands. "I haven't reached that point yet. But unless an immortal comes, I should be able to protect sister Pan. Even if an immortal comes, I can still stall and escape."

This wasn't a baseless boast. Now that his mother had returned. Tianyi's stock of talisman had naturally returned and even increased! If an average True Immortal wasn't careful, they could be killed by Tianyi's talismans.

Unsurprisingly, the three were given permission. Mengfei had always allowed her son to do as he wished, as long as it was not overtly seeking death. No matter how ridiculous Tianyi's request could be. Once when he was young, he had wasted a staggering amount of precious resources to satisfy his curiosity. It was only after Tianyi discovered how precious the resources that he stopped.

From this point of view, Mengfei was a failure as a mother. Not reigning Tianyi in or teaching him morals and standards. If Tianyi didn't already have memories of his past life, chances are he would have completely become a wastrel. But that would still be better than becoming like Xi Longyi.

Sect Master Yun felt that Tianyi should be more powerful than him. Although ten years had already passed, he was still in the early Nascent Soul Realm. By his estimations, Tianyi should at least have a Four-Colored Nascent Soul. Meaning Tianyi was superior to him in power but not experience.

The journey to the Pan Capital didn't take long, but the day was already late. So the three set out the next on Tianyi's immortal boat. Along them were two Foundation Establishment guards dispatched by Sect Master Yun.

Trusting Tianyi's capabilities and carelessness were two completely different matters.

Tianyi and Daoyi accompanied Lanyue to visit her family. It could be seen that Lanyue had her family at heart, and this wasn't the first time she visited them. Before, her master did not allow her to visit her family in the face of the sect's current affairs. She was sincerely grateful to Tianyi for allowing her to see her father and brother, who she hadn't seen in months.

Lanyue's only complaint was if only her brother could hide his starstruck gaze at seeing Daoyi. But seeing as that her primary role was to show the capital to Tianyi and Daoyi, Lanyue bid farewell to her father.

As for her brother?

He unceremoniously brought himself along. Lanyue saw Tianyi's lips twitch for a moment before it was hidden.

"Hmm?" Tianyi stopped in the middle of the streets. "Yi Auction House? It seems it's pretty busy today."

"Senior brother Xi, there's a reason for it!" Pan Lanri said without missing a beat. "I heard that there might be even an egg of a Divine Beast on auction!"

Tianyi snorted. Divine Beast egg? Even the Buzhou Immortal Sect didn't have such a thing. Or maybe they did. Perhaps it had hatched and was being hidden by the sect. "No need, probably just baseless rumors."

The group continued on their way, exploring the many secret spots of the capital known only to the locals.

"Don't go too far!"

Tianyi stopped as his ears picked up a commotion in the distance. His heart beat in excitement at the thought of a free show, so he led the group towards the commotion. A fair amount of people had already gathered, but just the pressure released by the guards allowed them a front-row seat.

On one side was what seemed to be a scion of the noble clan wearing dark blue clothing. Behind him stood several armored guards, and he was showing an extremely dark face. On the other side, a gentleman wearing a white robe who looked as if he had been carved for jade. It was undoubtedly a face that many maidens would fall in love at first sight for.

But what Tianyi's attention was the woman the white-robed man was standing protectively in front of. He tilted his head as he found the woman extremely familiar.

"Yi Dongli, are you prepared to go against the Zeng Clan for that poisonous woman!" The blue-robed man angrily said, all his good lucks wasted upon his twisted expression.

"Young Master Zeng, don't you think accusing a weak woman is beyond appalling?" Yu Dongli said, his stance clear.

"Appalling?" The young master of the Zeng Clan, a high ranking clan of the Pan Kingdom, derisively laughed. "Don't tell me the young master of the Yi Clan actually fell for that wrenches' guile? She snuck into my clan and stole treasure from the Zeng Ancestral Tomb. Tell me Yi Dongli, if I can swallow, do I even have the qualification to be surnamed Zeng!?"

Tianyi tsked, gradually learning of the crux of the matter.

"You Zeng Clan has a long history. A Foundation Establishment Disciple like miss Jiang here could never break into. You are just spouting nonsense." Yi Dongli said.

"I wouldn't have believed either, but that woman fatally injured my father with a concealed weapon! She not only took treasures from us, but she has many secrets to her!" Zeng young master said as he glared hatefully at the woman behind Yi Dongli.

"Hmpf, this is just one-sided arguments from your side. What proof do you have?" Yi Dongli countered.

"We'll know the truth once she reveals the contents of her spatial pouch!" Zeng Young Master said.

"That is true, exposing it in front of spectators isn't good. How about we go to the Yi Auction House and do so?" Yi Dongli said.

"Do you think I would trust your Yi Auction House after you brazenly sided with her! We should have her royal highness, Lanyue Princess be the judge!" Zeng young master said as he looked at Pan Lanyue.

Lanyue finally discovered the feeling of lying down but being shot by arrows that Tianyi felt all those years ago.

"Your highness," Yi Dongli said as he gave a slight bow that was neither arrogant nor humble, giving people a good impression.

Lanyue sighed. "Young master Yi, scion Zeng. If both of you trust the Pan Royal Family, allow me to preside over this matter."

Before the Zeng young master could agree, the woman behind Yi Dongli stepped forward and gave a smile to Tianyi and Daoyi.

"Long time no see." The woman said.

Tianyi blinked, and before he could control his actions, his mouth already spoke. "Who are you?"

The woman's face stiffened.

"Long time no see, second sister." It was at this moment that Daoyi stepped forward and spoke. Tianyi finally realized who this familiar woman was.

Daoyi's second sister, Jiang Chunye

Chapter 70: Jiang vs Jiang

Zeng young master felt his face turn green with regret. While he had been arguing with Yi Dongli, Zeng young master noticed the arrival of Princess Pan Lanyue.

The Zeng Family of the Pan Kingdom, despite being a conferred Marquis, did not have the power to fight the Yi Auction House. He had been chasing Jiang Chunye, but who knew that Yi Dongli would suddenly appear and protect her? That's why Zeng young master decided to bring out Princess Pan Lanyue as the arbiter.

The Yi Auction House was a mysterious faction with no faction able to see their bottom line, but even they would have to give some face to the royal family of the Pan Kingdom. Not to mention that Princess Pan Lanyue was also the direct disciple of Fleeting Mist Sect Master!

Naturally, Zeng young master also noticed the extraordinary man and woman standing next to Lanyue. The man appeared young and seemed to have no cultivation, but Zeng young master could tell that he simply couldn't discern the other party's true cultivation realm.

The woman had beauty and aura that surpassed even Princess Lanyue. But Zeng young master wasn't out to be blinded by lust. Even without knowing her background, he could tell that she wasn't someone he could casually mess with.

Zeng young master's face stiffened when the thief walked forward, and the Daoyi addressed her as second sister, though. Thoughts of regret flashed through his mind, but it was too late now. He had already asked Lanyue to the judge. Zeng young master could only hope that Lanyue would be fair and expose the thief.

"Indeed third sister. It seems your time at the sect has been well. You've managed to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm in ten years." Jiang Chunye said. Whether it was on purpose or not, Jiang Chunye's Spiritual Crucible Foundation Establishment cultivation base rippled as if to remind Daoyi that she was still the stronger of the two.

"Second sister's time away from the Duke's estate also seems well. You've become a lot more uninhibited. I had worried that you would have perished after you failed the sect examination. Knowing you are alive, I'm sure father and madame will be happy." Daoyi said with a smile on her face.

Jiang Chunye's smiling face stiffened for a moment, allowing her hidden disdain to leak out. But the disdain disappeared as soon as it appeared as if it never existed.

Daoyi, who had been observing this second sister of hers, noticed the disdain. There was some confusion inside her heart. Although there wasn't much interaction between the two of them, Daoyi could still be said to have grown up alongside Chunye. Comparing the Chunye of now to the Chunye of the past, it was like night and day.

A hint of suspicion lingered within her mind. Daoyi didn't notice ten years ago because Chunye still had some reservations about revealing her true personality. But now that she was no longer chained to the Duke's estate, she revealed her original nature as a famed assassin.

While a hostile aura embroiled the two women, Tianyi tapped his fan against his chin before unfolding it. Lanyue blinked at Tianyi, who had pulled out a fan out of nowhere without her noticing.

Tianyi glanced at Yi Dongli, his eyes searching and observing the member of the Yi Family. He could discern the Spiritual Crucible Foundation Establishment cultivation base Yi Dongli exuded. But Tianyi saw deeper into that and saw the Core Formation cultivation base that Yi Dongli had hidden.

While Tianyi was observing Yi Dongli, Yi Dongli was also observing Tianyi. From the first glance, Yi Dongli had already recognized Tianyi's identity as the only son of the famed Sword Empress who reigned invincible among the Huang Realm.

Yi Dongli gripped his fist hidden within his sleeves. Why did the Xi Tianyi arrive in the northern regions? He recalled the report of how a pillar of light appeared within the Fleeting Mist Sect. Did it have something to do with the Buzhou Immortal Sect? Did the Buzhou Immortal Sect dispatch Tianyi?

Yi Dongli and the rest of the realm did not possess much information concerning Tianyi. For the son of an Immortal Empress, Tianyi was actually relatively low profile. Aside from the few battles he partook during the Three Heavens Connection Meeting, nothing more was known to outsiders. That's why the realm was shocked when Tianyi suddenly entered the Nascent Soul Realm without warning.

Yi Dongli's finger briefly brushed over his spatial ring, intending to bring out the communication slips, but stopped immediately. His gaze once more focused on Tianyi, who was smiling at him. Despite the smile that could even cause men to be bent, Yi Dongli felt as if he was a mouse that had been cornered by a lion. No, the difference was even wider than that of a mouse and a lion, but rather a mouse and a dragon.

Yi Dongli felt as if every action of his couldn't escape from Tianyi's eyes. He felt humiliated, since young despite being dispatched to the northern regions, his talent was equal and even surpassed those who stayed at the main sect. He had not placed the Fleeting Mist Sect, Five Poison Sect, and the Sky Whale Sect in his eyes. But now a person appeared who was even more talented, a despondent feeling erupted from within Yi Dongli, but he quickly pushed it down without any change in his expression.

"What do you think, young master Yi?" Yi Dongli was brought out of his thoughts but Lanyue's words. Jiang Chunye and Daoyi had already finished their "sisterly" talk without him realizing.

"Do you trust me enough to search miss Jiang's spatial pouch?" Lanyue asked, her expression neutral. The Pan Royal Family and the Yi Auction House had always maintained a certain distance. Since the Yi Auction House never undermined the Royal Family or violated any laws, the Pan Kingdom never interfered with them.

"Miss Pan," At this moment, Chunye chose to speak up. Annoyance flashed across Lanyue's face for a brief moment, but Chunye acted as if she never saw it. "This world is ruled by strength. I have no objection to having my spatial pouch searched, but only after defeating me."

Hearing those arrogant words, Pan Lanyue no longer bothered to hide her irritation. It was a naked provocation. "You are right. Only the strong are respected. Can I take this as a challenge to this princess?"

"Please give guidance, miss Pan." A fearless smile appeared on Chunye's face, turning her to a valiant beauty who knew fear. Many of the spectators felt their hearts stir as they saw this.

Yi Dongli watched all this without speaking. He didn't feel that Chunye disrespected him, but instead saw it as part of Chunye's charm. Not hiding behind him, but want to solve it with her own strength.

Chunye was in the Spiritual Crucible stage while Lanyue resided in the Spiritual Altar stage. Their cultivation was not equal, but Lanyue didn't feel that she would be any weaker than Chunye who was a loose cultivator. At the same time, Chunye was looking down on Lanyue with her higher cultivation.

"Sister Pan, could you allow me to fight second sister?" At this moment, Daoyi spoke up.

Lanyue showed a surprise expression on her face as she looked at Daoyi. Zeng young master revealed a slightly anxious expression. Although he had seen the hostile interaction between the sisters, he still couldn't help but harbor suspicions.

Lanyue nodded her head after seeing the determined look in Daoyi's eyes. "Young master Yi wouldn't have any objections, right?" Lanyue asked.

Yi Dongli instead looked at Chunye. "Chunye," The way he spoke, her name was beyond gentle. "Do you want to?"

Chunye's smiled widened. "If third sister wants to help me so much, how could I ignore it?"

Tianyi felt his lips twitched. But he was also confused, so he sent a voice transmission. "Daoyi, why did you suddenly want to duel your sister?"

"I didn't notice it before back then. I had thought nearly drowning had provoked second sister's change in personality, but seeing her now... her personality changed far too much. I'm afraid that a cultivator might have possessed her after falling into the pond all those years ago. I want to make sure."

Tianyi nodded. "Do you have a method?"

"Of course, the techniques imparted on Daoist Lu has an attack specifically targeting those who possessed the bodies of others," Daoyi said.

Tianyi nodded.

The spectators cleared a space for the duel. Tianyi released his spiritual sense and watched everything. Although he didn't think that Yi Dongli wouldn't do anything with him around, it never hurt to be careful.

As for whether Tianyi interfered...

Hehe, it's only cheating if you get caught. That's right, Tianyi was imposing double standards.

Within the circle of onlookers, Daoyi and Chunye faced off against the other. The two had similar features as daughters of the same man, but the two's completely different auras dispelled any of that similarity.

"I'll allow you to go first," Chunye said. As the one with the higher cultivation base, she generously allowed Daoyi to make the first move.

"Then I won't be polite," Daoyi said. She jumped back until she was at the edge and brought out her guqin from her spatial pouch.

Although Chunye seemed to underestimate Daoyi, she had not once allowed lowered her guard despite appearances since the battle began. Once Daoyi plucked the first string, a clear melodic note rang throughout. The air seemed to ripple, and Chunye leaped to the side, much to the spectators' confusion.

Their confusion was soon cleared as a long gash appeared on the ground.

Daoyi's attack was to form a sound blade using her qi and her guqin to attack. As the qi was clear in color, only people with the finest senses could detect the sound blade even though they could not physically see it.

As Daoyi continued to play, Chunye began to move seemingly without rhyme or reason. But the spectators knew that she was dodging, as numerous gouges appeared on the ground. Although this attack method seemed simple and crude, for Foundation Establishment cultivators, dodging attacks based on qi sensing without spiritual sense was a hurdle.

Chunye frowned as the battle continued. She had not thought that Daoyi would have such an attack. Chunye sucked in her breath, and she seemed to merge into the air, and even her presence disappeared.

Tianyi, who was watching from the side, raised an eyebrow. It was rare for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to have such a concealment technique. But it couldn't fool his senses. Unless Chunye improved the technique, in front of the spiritual sense, the concealment technique was useless.

There were numerous other drawbacks. Tianyi could see that Chunye completely stopped breathing, her movements slowed, and her blood flow slowed, her internal temperature cooled, and even her heartbeat slowed. But those could also be advantages if a Core Formation Master wasn't careful and didn't use his spiritual sense. Chunye could likely decrease the distance without the Core Formation Master's knowledge. It was a decent concealment technique. At least it would make Chunye nearly invincible against any one Foundation Establishment Disciple.

Daoyi's hand stopped playing the guqin. The music she had playing, however, seemed to linger around her. Suddenly she plucked a string, and a new gouge appeared on the ground. Yet Chunye was nowhere to be seen.

Moments passed like this, occasionally Daoyi would unleash another sound blade, but she never seemed to strike true. For the onlookers, a tense silence descended as they watched with rapt attention, waiting for Chunye to strike.

Tianyi glanced at Yi Dongli, and the two gazed clashed. Tianyi smiled slightly, not expecting the Yi Family young master to be observing him instead of the battle. Did he really have that much confidence in Chunye? Daoyi was a disciple of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, while Chunye was a loose cultivator.

Yi Dongli really did have that much confidence in Chunye. From his experience with Chunye, although her techniques were not supreme, Chunye's wit and usage of what was available to her more than made up for her deficiencies. As long as she learned and mastered better techniques, it would be akin to attaching wings to a tiger.

The silent standoff continued as a gust of wind blew, and a few strands of Daoyi's hair fluttered in the wind. The petals of the fluttering tree floated about, and a few even landed atop of Daoyi's head.

Suddenly Daoyi began to play the guqin without reservation, and an eerie tone reverberated throughout the streets. The music was disconcerting as if two songs were playing at once. One song's pitch was incredibly high and barely within the hearing range of a person, while the other was near silent and caused people to palpitate from the low thrums.

The spectators only felt goosebumps from hearing the eerie song, but Chunye felt differently. Nausea overtook her as the world spun around her. Her gaze became unfocused as she lay on the ground, but she could still make out the silhouette of Daoyi in front of her.

In her experience as an assassin, when humans felt wary, their first thought would be that the attack would come from behind. In truth, the most vulnerable spot would be from above, but any sudden movement would cancel her technique. So she chose the next path to strike: from the front.

Chunye tried to control her nausea, but even with her experience and training in dealing with the feeling, she couldn't control it at all. The reason was simple; Daoyi's attack was considered a soul attack. It produced a feeling of nausea as an aftereffect, but the soul portion was incredibly hard to master, and it drained a lot of spiritual qi. If Chunye could easily suppress it, then soul attacks would not be so feared.

Of course, this type of soul attack was considered incredibly weak and would only work on those on the same level or weaker.

While Daoyi was unleashing the tune, it suddenly stopped, and another song played. Chunye, who felt nauseous, felt danger, so she immediately started to move. But Daoyi had already unleashed her technique.

Chunye felt something inside of being suppressed as if she was a blob of water being constricted all around. But other than that, nothing happened. Taking this chance, Chunye pointed her arm at Daoyi and, with her other armed pressed the trigger in her sleeve to unleash her concealed weapon.

Daoyi frowned. She did not expect her secret move to not have any effect on Chunye. If someone really possessed her, then there should be some other reaction and just an uncomfortable feeling. But she didn't have any time to think as an explosion rang and something shot out of Chunye's sleeves.

A stone golem emerged in front of Daoyi and blocked the concealed weapon. Or at least it should have. The concealed projectile pulverized the golem's torso and continued onto its path.

Chunye smirked confidently. That move of hers could even take down a Core Formation Master. If her dear sister was struck by it, victory was inevitable. But her elation turned into confusion as she felt herself lose control of her body, even her qi no longer obeyed her.

Yi Dongli frowned, and his foot lightened as he prepared to move. But suddenly, an immense pressure crushed down upon him. Yi Dongli looked up to see Tianyi still smiling at him, but those eyes were incredibly cold.

A shiver ran up Yi Dongli's spine, but he reigned his emotions so as not to embarrass himself. He smiled back, and he no longer moved to intersect with the duel.

Chunye watched with shock as she saw the golem crumble to reveal Daoyi intact. The only injury on her was the slight bleeding leaking from the side of her head. Her hairpins long scattered, and her hair was fully unbound.

"Second sister, do you admit defeat?" Daoyi smiled. But only she knew how close to death she was. If the projectile had been more accurate or if she had been slow to move, then a hole would have appeared in her head. A silent shiver ran up her spine.

Chunye glared and tried to struggle. As she did so, the strings tightened her body, and the places where the strings directly touched her skin began to bleed as it embedded itself deeper. She took a deep breath, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Third sister, I didn't expect you to have such abilities. I guess the sect must have poured a lot of resources into you." Chunye had a perfectly smiling face that no one could nitpick, but her words were unkind.

Daoyi smiled. "I'm very grateful to the sect. Thanks to the sect, I can just lie around and wait for resources to be delivered to me. Luckily I don't have to be like second sister. Otherwise, I don't think I could stand it." Her words were complimenting, but the fire it ignited in Chunye's heart was unbearable.

In the end, Daoyi won. But she did not search Chunye's spatial pouch and instead had Pan Lanyue do so. The stolen item was a spiritual beast's egg. The Zeng Family had initially wanted to hatch it themselves once they acquired enough resources, but it had been stolen before it could happen.

The end result was that there was no such egg in Chunye's spatial pouch.

"I don't know where you hid it, but the Zeng Family won't let it end like this!" Leaving those lost words, the Zeng young master left with a flick of his sleeves.

"Third sister, it's been fun. Next time I'll be sure to repay you." Chunye also left with Yi Dongli after the duel.

Tianyi's eyes coldly landed on the Chunye's back, fully committing the person to his memories. "Junior sister, your sister has most likely been possessed or at least had her soul switched."

Daoyi looked at Tianyi but didn't say anything. She had already ingested a pill to heal her wounds, and her hair was once more combed.

"Do you think that girl really stole the spiritual beast egg from the Zeng Family?" Lanyue asked. She had personally thought that Chunye did base on the Zeng young master's reaction, but she didn't discover anything to her surprise.

"Of course," Tianyi said. And with a flip of his hand, an egg larger than his hand appeared on his palm. The egg was white, and the texture was like woven silk.

"Brother Xi, how did you get it!?" Lanyue asked in shock. "You didn't take it when I was inspecting the spatial pouch, did you?"

Tianyi smirked. "Of course not. I found it strange that Yi Dongli had a spatial ring, yet he kept a spatial pouch on him. I just snuck a peak inside the spatial pouch and judging from the items inside. They should have been Chunye's. There was nothing special except this egg. I guess that she must have handed it to Yi Dongli earlier in case something happened."

"Why didn't you speak up then? Zeng Scion still thinks Chunye has it." Lanyue asked.

Tianyi glanced at her. "His actions almost got my junior sister killed. Helping him retrieve it? Hmpf," Tianyi held Daoyi's hand and placed the egg into her hand. "He's already lucky I'm not settling the score with him."

Lanyue closed her mouth. Indeed, if Daoyi wasn't quick enough, there was a high chance should have died or been seriously injured.

"That Yi Dongli isn't simple either. He carries a spatial ring, and his true cultivation base is at the Core Formation Realm. Not even Sect Master Yun has one. You know what this means, right?" Tianyi asked.

Lanyue frowned at the implications of the fact. Yi Dongli could have been merely lucky, but then the spatial should have been offered to the Yi Family elders. The more obvious conclusion was that the Yi Family was far more powerful than they seem. Lanyue recalled the rumor that a force from the Central Heaven Region backed the Yi Auction House.

As they walked away, Tianyi stared at the projectile he retrieved without anyone noticing earlier. The material used was at the Core Formation Realm, so its power did not need to be said. But what truly caught Tianyi's eyes was the shape.

The projectile was shaped like a bullet.

"Sister Pan, I have a favor." Tianyi smiled, but his eyes were cold.

A rumor soon circulated that the Zeng Family had the egg of an immortal beast, but it had been stolen. The thief was Jiang Chunye.

Chapter 71: Before the Duel

Jiang Chunye scrunched her brows together. She was currently cultivating quietly inside underground ground inscribed with formations to increase the density of spiritual qi.

She released a sigh as frustration welled up within her chest, but unable to be vented. After the defeat by her sister's hand, Chunye reflected that she was too arrogant.

When she had opened her eyes after the original owner of the body perished after falling into the pond, she had thought that she had time traveled into ancient times. But she had not, despite the archaic society, this world was nothing but filled with fantasy compared to Earth.

Jiang Chunye was an assassin from modern Earth and had subconsciously looked down on her sisters. Swords, spears, bows and arrows, needles, whips, she had disdained all of these weapons. Instead, she recreated a primitive gun as an assassination tool.

But calling her creation an assassination tool was laughable. The barrel was forged from metal at the Core Formation Realm, and so were the bullets. But upon activation, it would unleash a loud explosion. An assassin who exposed herself during an attack was third-rate.

The only assassin-like feature of the gun was that it did not require the usage of spiritual qi. In one aspect, it could be considered a perfect assassination weapon against cultivators.

Chunye's creation even allowed her to kill a Core Formation Master before when his guard was down. Perhaps that's how she grew arrogant. She thought that her tools and abilities were more than enough to make up the difference in cultivation levels.

But upon Daoyi, a woman she even placed less importance then Jiang Qingya, being defeated and having her prized trump card fail, was enough to wake her up. She had gotten complacent.

Certainly, Chunye's unique methods from her time as an assassin in the modern world were unique within the Huang Realm. But she had also suffered losses at the hands of cultivators using methods that she thought insane. Sometimes, she didn't even know how it was accomplished.

Chunye glanced at her second spatial pouch that Yi Dongli had returned to her after her defeat. Everything was there, except the most valuable egg that she spent weeks to steal. All the efforts she placed into the heist and the aftermath was negated, and she came out of the whole situation even worse.

She wrapped her right hand around the bracelet on her left wrist. The only reason Chunye even snuck into the Zeng Estate was because something in her bracelet was calling out to the egg hidden in their treasury.

Everything had proceeded as plan until the last moment. She didn't expect to be caught once she exited the treasury. Had she not been seen, everything that happened earlier would not have occurred, and she would not be in such a weak and passive state.

Chunye had thought that her diversion was perfect. The Zeng young master certainly did not foresee her having Yi Dongli carry her second spatial pouch. It wasn't that Chunye unconditionally trusted Yi Dongli, but she always had a habit of preparing for the worst.

Yet she never thought that even with the egg on Yi Dongli, it would mysteriously disappear. Not even Yi Dongli detected anything wrong, and he was the one carrying the spatial pouch!

Chunye's gut instinct pointed to Xi Tianyi.

When Chunye first laid eyes on Tianyi years ago, she thought, "What a beautiful child, like a porcelain doll." They never interacted much, so Chunye didn't think much of it. Rather her attention was placed on Daoyi, who had suddenly been accepted by Tianyi's mother as a disciple.

She was there when the imperial edict summoned Daoyi to the palace. Chunye wasn't dumb, she read between the words. She had inwardly sneered, feeling no pity towards Daoyi but apathy.

From her original body's memories, Daoyi had been like a transparent person. Unless you focused on her, you would forget that she existed. But there was a feeling of animosity whenever she laid eyes on her third sister.

It was like the two were two irreconcilable, at least from her point of view.

Although rage had colored Chunye's thoughts, she knew that she could not expose Tianyi. First, she had no proof, and second, Tianyi was far more powerful than her.

She already thought Yi Dongli powerful and even suspected that he hid his real cultivation, but the feeling Tianyi gave her was that of a force of nature. Chunye had never felt such a sensation before.

In addition, Chunye felt that something was off in the Northern Regions. From her journey from the Central Regions to the Northern Regions, there was no noticeable shift, but Chunye's sixth sense was telling her that it would become dangerous.

As an assassin, Chunye's sixth sense has saved her life multiple times. But just as she was prepared to leave the Northern Regions, numerous cultivators attacked her. It would not be a lie to say was it not for Yi Dongli's timely appearance, she would have died.

Somehow word got out that she possessed the egg of a beast of the immortal realm. Chunye snorted, even she didn't know what rank the egg was. It seemed that many cultivators lusted after the illusionary immortal ranked egg.

If Chunye had to guess, the perpetrator was most likely Xi Tianyi. A cold smile formed on her face. Perhaps Tianyi had acted out against her in revenge for nearly killing Daoyi or some other reason. But since it has already reached this step, there was no point reconciling.

Besides, the brief instance of killing intent she felt could not be chalked up to an illusion. Although Tianyi hid it quickly, it could not escape Chunye's senses that had been honed through countless life and death situations.

As for whether the Zeng Family released the information? Forget about it. The group of people who attacked her included two Nascent Soul Grandmasters. For a small place like the Pan Kingdom where the only Core Formation Master was the king, the Zeng Family wouldn't dare to release such information.

In fact, the current Zeng Family was being paid a "visit" by a Nascent Soul Grandmaster according to Yi Dongli. Chunye snickered as she imagined the turmoil that Zeng Family have went through. They too, like her, have been guilty of owning an item beyond their ability.

But the main threat wasn't the irrelevant Zeng Family anymore, but someone far more dangerous.

She, Jiang Chunye, would use all her resources to eliminate the threat known as Xi Tianyi.

Chunye snorted, "I'm just a lowly Foundation Establishment Disciple, and Xi Tianyi is the son of an Immortal Empress. I can only defend against him for now."

Her biggest problem now was how to escape the Northern Regions.

"Miss Jiang, are your injuries healed?" Yi Dongli asked as he opened the door to the room.

"Thank you Mister Yi, were it not for you, this Jiang would have been just a lump of flesh now." Chunye released a genuine smile towards Yi Dongli. This lad had saved her life, so giving a sincere smile was the least she could do. "In the future, when there's a chance, I will definitely repay you."

Yi Dongli had been momentarily stunned by Jiang Chunye's smile. Before, he had always seen her smile, but it was a fake smile created to deceive. Yi Dongli, who had lived a lie in the Northern Region, found himself attracted to this woman who had a smile much like himself. This genuine one, filled with no lies, caused warmth to flow from the center of his chest.

"Miss Jiang, what are you saying. We are friends, think nothing of it." Yi Dongli said.

"How can? Friendship is friendship, and a debt is a debt. And I am a woman who always repays her debts." Chunye said.

"How about this then, stop calling me Mister Yi? Call me Dongli." Yi Dongli said.

"This... " Chunye thought about it for a moment before she agreed. "Only if you call me Chunye from now on. If I called you Dongli and you still called me Miss Jiang, it would be awkward."

"Naturally, naturally," Yi Dongli said as his smile widened even more.

Pan Lanyue was stood still as she tried to process what was happening before her eyes.

In front of her, Tianyi was sitting and moving his arms. And beside Tianyi, Daoyi was sitting and playing a calming tune that Lanyue had never heard of before.

The problem was that Tianyi's arms disappeared at their elbows. No, they didn't disappear but were inserted into black holes that materialized in the air. She could see Tianyi pulled his arm out and insert them back.

Lanyue felt someone tapped her should and turned around to look. What she saw caused her heart to nearly leap out of her chest.

"YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKK!!!"

The disembodied, jade-white arm stiffened for a moment before it started to disappear in the hole in space.

Embarrassment colored Lanyue's face, but it soon turned to rage as she directed her ire at Tianyi was chuckling at her reaction.

"Senior brother, stop being naughty. You're like a child who has gotten a new toy." Daoyi said, reprimanding Tianyi for his prank. Though, there was a slight tug on the edge of her mouth.

Lanyue huff as she inelegantly sat down on the chair. "Brother Xi, just what was that?" Lanyue had a clue, she didn't dare believe it.

"You can consider it a technique based on the concept of space," Tianyi said.

"The legendary Dao of Space!?" Although Lanyue had already guessed it, she still couldn't believe it.

"Mhm," Tianyi grunted as he continued to experiment.

"Is that what you used to take the egg from second sister's spatial bag?" Daoyi asked. The "immortal beast" egg was resting on her lap, below the table.

"Yes," Tianyi said.

Lanyue sighed, no longer able to feel anything Tianyi did that was out of her expectations. Her world view had changed when she discovered Tianyi became a Nascent Soul Grandmaster. Her shock of Tianyi utilizing the Dao of Space to create a hole in space, something normally only the cultivators of the immortal realm could accomplish.

"How long did it take you to learn such a technique?" Lanyue asked, surely Tianyi spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours and effort into it.

"I just tried it out, I didn't expect it to work," Tianyi said.

"You...just tried it?" Lanyue said.

"Hmm? Yeah," Tianyi said as he continued to mess around with the wormholes. "I sensed that Yi guy having a spatial pouch. He was guarding it pretty well, so I would be detected if I used my spiritual sense to enter it. I suddenly had an idea to try to create a wormhole into the spatial pouch. I succeeded on the first try."

Pan Lanyue felt something inside of her crack and shatter at Tianyi's words.

Tianyi didn't notice at all as his mind wandered.

Jiang Chunye should be a reincarnator like me. Although her talent isn't enough to get into the Buzhou Immortal Sect, she still rose to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Was I hasty in causing trouble for her? No, since she dared try to kill Daoyi, then she should expect me to retaliate.

... I sound like those father of the young master stepping stones. "How dare you win against my son!" Or rather junior sister in this case.

Pffft.

This situation is different from the scenarios in the stories I've read. Daoyi wasn't trying to kill her...was she? If someone really had been possessing Chunye's body, Daoyi would've likely killed her. But in the end, Chunye tried to kill Daoyi.

Getting grudges is so easy.

Jiang Chunye, even though you are a reincarnator like me, I'm going to have you die. Compared to a person I've never met on Earth, I'd prioritize my junior sister.

Geez, I''m meeting all these people with main character settings, but they're all becoming my enemies.

Although Tianyi was lamenting, his face revealed an excited smile.

Chapter 72: Ascending the Mountain

"Mother is still in the lightning seas?" Tianyi asked, disbelief coloring his voice.

Elder Shan nodded. "After discussing with Old Codger Yun, in exchange for taking away the treasure in the center of the lightning sea, Grand Elder Xi would construct a Jade Dew Mist Formation to compensate them. However, I did not expect that Grand Elder Xi to not have returned yet. It seemed that the treasure inside the lightning seas is far from ordinary. Who would have expected such a heaven-defying treasure to form in such a remote place and not be discovered for so long?"

The Jade Dew Mist Formation condensed the spiritual qi into a light green, dew-like mist, hence the name. Its effect was superior to the natural mist formed by the lightning seas. In addition, the Jade Dew Mist was extremely gentle, and it did not discriminate against any type of Spiritual Veins. The Fleeting Mist Sect's disciple growth would no longer be so biased anymore.

Tianyi sighed. Back then, he was only ten years old and a Foundation Establishment Disciple. And now another ten years had passed. He was now twenty, almost half of his memories were that of the Huang Realm now.

As time passed, he would accumulate more memories from his second life. Already, he could feel the memories of his first life grow blurry. In contrast, the memories after he started cultivating, especially after Tianyi entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, were especially clear. At least, the memories relating to the subject Tianyi cared about was incredibly clear.

In another ten years, his identity would be closer to a cultivator of the Huang Realm than a former Earthling. Thinking about this, a melancholic feeling arose in Tianyi's chest. He thought about his mother from Earth, a pang of guilt hammered at his heart.

Right now, he still had the desire to search for Earth and find out the truth. But as time went on and the memories became more and more blurry and inconsequential, would he still actively seek out the truth?

Tianyi remembered the faces of his mother, father, sister, maternal grandfather, and maternal grandmother of his previous life. But the faces of his aunts, uncles, and cousins were already becoming blurry.

"Tsk!" Tianyi grumbled. Now that he actively tried to recall the memories of his life on Earth, he discovered that it was worse than the last time he reflected. When I have the chance, I'm going to have to find a way to store the memory of my previous life.

Although Tianyi felt regretful of his fleeting memories, he could only push his worries into the back of his mind and focus on other matters.

"Senior brother, what are you doing?" Daoyi asked.

Tianyi was standing outside of his guest residence, and all around him were floating materials of all sorts. Most of them were metal in nature, but some were floating spheres of liquids.

"I'm creating a new artifact," Tianyi said.

"Did you have a burst of inspiration?" Daoyi asked. She was clear about her senior brother. When he had no inspiration, progress was slower than a snail's pace. But when he did, amazing things happened.

"Kind of," Tianyi said. "I felt embarrassed that my first guest residence was destroyed when tribulation lightning suddenly struck. So I thought of making a method to deal with it."

Daoyi giggled. As cultivators, they did not need much sleep, especially Tianyi, who was at the Nascent Soul Realm. But he still had a habit of sleeping at least once every two days. The tribulation lightning decided to strike at that moment, destroying the manor that Tianyi was staying at.

It caused quite a ruckus yesterday.

It didn't take long for Tianyi to finish forging the artifact. Rather than forging, it was more akin to assembling pieces. In truth, it could only be considered a quasi-Nascent Soul Artifact. It might be useless in the hands of others, but under Tianyi's control, it could unleash devastating might.

The artifact was a monolithic throne of pure black. It had a back that was over ten meters tall, pure black. It had been shaped from Lightning Caller Earth Metal. The special characteristic was that it attracted lightning; it was a natural lightning rod in other words. For others, it might be ridiculous to use an unprocessed Lighting Caller Earth Metal. But Tianyi already attracted tribulation lightning, so it didn't matter.

The base of the throne was created with Thunder Soaker Iron. As its name suggested, when it came into contact with electricity, it would absorb it, even the color would change as a result.

And inside the throne was a system of tubes, and running through these tubes were Volt Absorbing Water. This connected all the different outer components into the core of the throne, a metallic sphere. The sole purpose of this sphere was to absorb the lightning the throne attracted for Tianyi's use.

In other words, this black throne was essentially a glorified battery.

"I'll call it the Thunder Throne," Tianyi said. Battery Chair would have been more apt, but it just wouldn't have been as cool.

Yan Nie walked through the streets of the Pan Kingdom with a complicated gaze. It no longer mattered whether he hid his identity or not. His body exuded a slight pressure that resembled the endless ocean, signifying his cultivation stage at the Spiritual Pillar Formation stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He could see the onlookers, who saw him and his youthful appearance, look at him with veneration.

Had it been in the past before he lost his cultivation, there was no doubt that Yan Nie's nose would have been long pointed towards the sky. But the loss of his cultivation taught him humility.

Yan Nie thought himself unique.

Back on Earth, he had been an ordinary cog of society. But here, with the advantage of his previous life's memory and the superior soul, his cultivation had grown leaps and bounds in comparison to the others. This talent of his what made him think himself worthy of being the Pan Princess' fiance.

That all changed that fateful day.

Spiritual qi was being leaked from his body to an unknown source. It wasn't expelled from his body but mysteriously disappeared. From the ninth stage of the Qi Gathering Realm, he fell to the eighth stage of the Qi Gathering Realm.

From eight to the seventh stage

From the seventh to the sixth

From sixth to the fifth

From the fifth to the fourth

From the fourth to the third

From the third to the second

From the second to the first

In the end, Yan Nie couldn't even be called a cultivator anymore as all the qi in his body completely disappeared, and he became an ordinary mortal. No, it was worse than an ordinary mortal.

Yan Nie had tasted the spotlight and treatment of a genius. In less than a year, he fell from heaven to hell. The people who held him on a pedestal dragged him down and stomped him into the dirt.

People who he thought were his friends turned their backs on him, delivering him even more agony. At first, some stood by his side, but under the pressure of the majority, they abandoned him too. In the end, only his father and Feiyan supported him.

Then a miracle happened.

Yan Nie looked at the ring that hung around his neck with a string. It turned out that the reason why he couldn't contain any spiritual qi was because an immortal was residing inside the ring. Or rather the soul of an immortal.

The immortal gradually absorbed his qi in order to awaken his consciousness. Long story short, Yan Nie took the immortal as a master.

Although Yan Nie's cultivation dispersed, his overall potential increased thanks to his master, Immortal Pillrabbit.

It was only after becoming Immortal Pillrabbit's, Xia Yunli, that he knew he was a frog within a well.

Genius?

Yes, he may be a genius. But that was only the Pan Kingdom. If compared to the whole Heaven Continent, Yan Nie could only be called average.

"That Xi Tianyi that you saw before? That is a true genius. Although he hid it, he cannot conceal his actual cultivation from me. Although at a young age, he had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. But his real genius lies in opening his Extraordinary Meridians! Opening even one of Eight Extraordinary Meridians gives a significant advantage! By my estimate, that youngster should have opened at least three Extraordinary Meridians. His future is limitless, and someone the Buzhou Immortal Sect will nurture!"

Yan Nie had been shocked. The child no more than ten was actually a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, a giant in Jingyang City. But he had even opened up the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, something he didn't even know existed.

The pride and contempt that Yan Nie unconsciously created had disappeared. He vowed that he would work harder to make up for his deficiencies.

Immortal Pillrabbit, who saw this, was pleased. Glad that the knowledge of Tianyi didn't discourage Yan Nie but made him work even harder.

As for how Immortal Pillrabbit knew all this?

Naturally, it was because his identity was special. He wasn't an ordinary immortal, but one of the Twelve Zodiacs of the Cultivators Alliance. The Loose Cultivator Alliance couldn't compare to when they had hegemony over the Mortal Continent. However, they were still stronger than first-rate sects.

"Yan Nie, you don't know this, but the glory days of the Cultivator Alliance was supreme. We were like mortal emperors. The treatment we enjoyed was no less than the Buzhou Immortal Sect! Alas, we were ousted by the Saintly Scholar School." Immortal Pillrabbit shook his head in sadness, his silver-white hair swayed with his movements.

"Even after we were forced to leave the Mortal Continent, we have never given up on reclaiming our title as one of the Three Hegemons of the Huang Realm!" Immortal Pillrabbit's eyes were unprecedently bright, as ambitions filled his chest.

"Alas..." He shook his head. "Even after we left the Mortal Continent, the Saintly Scholar School pursued us. On the surface, we no longer interacted, but both sides used various means to hinder the other in the dark. I, too, became cannon fodder in the cold war between the Saintly Scholar School and the Cultivator Alliance. I didn't expect the Saintly Scholar School to scheme at the crucial moment when I prepared to enter the Seamless Realm, and that I would have a knife plunged into my back."

Yan Nie saw the unbearable sadness within Immortal Pillrabbit's eyes. His master must have experienced something tragic for him not to even be able to conceal it.

"Let's speak of other matters. After you reached a certain realm, you should find a way to travel to the Earth Continent." Immortal Pillrabbit said, the previous sadness disappeared as if it was an illusion.

"Why?" Yan Nie asked.

"Before I perished, my bosom friend, Immortal Thunderbull, had a mission he had to accomplish in the Earth Continent. He is an Immortal Monarch, so the Saintly Scholar School should not be able to scheme against him so easily. If you had his help, your cultivation would be smoother. But crossing the endless seas is an issue that we can't ignore."

Since then, Yan Nie had been finding ways to travel to the Earth Continent. Legend had it that the Three Hegemonic Sects each had a teleportation formation that could transport people into any of the three continents. But even if it was true, it was a pipe dream for Yan Nie to use it.

Yan Nie distanced his these needless thoughts. Tomorrow he would ascend the Fleeting Mist Sect for the Ten Year Agreement. He couldn't afford to distract himself now.

Although he had the teachings of an immortal, he had to rely on himself in the end. Everything Yan Nie gained was through his own hands; he had to fight for every advantage he had. This gave him many experiences, but also because of this, he would not underestimate Pan Lanyue, who was meticulously groomed by the Fleeting Mist Sect.

The day Yan Nie ascended up the Fleeting Mist Sect, the sky was cloudy and dark even though it was daytime. The sun's light had been blocked, leaving only a glimmer of light.

"Halt, who goes there!"

The two Gate Guardians stopped Yan Nie outside of the domain of the Fleeting Mist Sect. Although they asked Yan Nie to identify himself, their eyes flashed in recognition and surprise at Yan Nie's Foundation Establishment cultivation.

"I am Yan Nie. I have come here to fulfill the Ten Year Agreement."

"So it's you. The former fiance."

Leaving those biting words, the two Gate Guardians allowed Yan Nie to pass. Yan Nie showed no change in expression at them and calmly stepped through.

Step by step, he climbed the stairway towards the dueling platform. No blockade or disciples interrupted him. It was quiet to the point of eerieness, but Yan Nie continued without any fluctuations of emotion.

When he reached the top, Pan Lanyue, dressed in pink robes, stood within the arena, waiting for him. Her long dress fluttered in the wind, creating the image of a carefree fairy waiting for the rain.

Suddenly, lightning descended.

Yan Nie turned his attention towards where the lightning struck. It was a familiar face if a bit more mature. Xi Tianyi sat upon a monolithic throne, a carefree smile upon his face even as another bolt of lightning struck him. Yan Nie felt an instinctual fear towards the lightning, but he steeled himself and looked away.

His opponent was Pan Lanyue. At this very moment, nothing else mattered.

Not the descending lightning, not the disciples giving him unkind looks, not the Sect Master of the Fleeting Mist Sect. Only Pan Lanyue was worthy of his attention at this very moment.

Chapter 73: The Duel

Tianyi glanced to his side. Although he sat a fair distance away from Daoyi, he was afraid that the tribulation lightning might have struck her. Thankfully, she was unharmed.

Stupid tribulation lightning. Why did it suddenly descend the moment Yan Nie stepped onto the platform. My name is probably permanently etched into his brain now.

Not just Yan Nie. Many of the Fleeting Mist Sect members also cast a glance at Tianyi when the tribulation lightning descended.

Tianyi continued to sit there and look at Yan Nie and Lanyue as if everything was usual. There was no way he was going to ruin the moment just because of a few surprising lightning strikes.

Lanyue's dress fluttered in the wind, and she pulled a thin sword out of her spatial pouch. The blade was thin like a rapier and glistened despite the low light.

Yan Nie faced her. His blue robes also fluttered in the wind. In his hand, he wielded a long spear. The shaft was black. Without the light of the sun, it seemed to be cut from darkness itself. In contrast, the spearhead glistened vibrantly as if absorbing what little light there was on this cloudy day.

As if on an unspoken agreement, both of them charged forward at the same time. Lanyue's sword met Yan Nie's spear shaft. Despite striking the spear shaft, Lanyue's sword was unable to slice it apart.

Lanyue as the prized disciple of the local hegemon's leader, her sword was not a Core Formation Artifact. But the quality would not be too far off. Under certain conditions, her sword could be superior to low-grade Core Formation Artifacts.

Yet, Yan Nie's spear shaft, the most pliable part of the spear, was able to block it without even bending. Or perhaps the spear was defective. Metal was rarely used to craft a spear shaft because the pliability would be sacrificed. At least, this was the principle for mortal spears.

The spear in Yan Nie's hand didn't emit any spiritual qi or ripples. It was as if it was an ordinary metal that had been shaped into the form of a spear. But being able to block Lanyue's sword, it was naturally not ordinary.

Lanyue and Yan Nie separated before re-engaging once more.

Lanyue's sword floated in the wind like a gentle petal, whimsy and unpredictable, but each movement carried incomparable sharpness.

Yan Nie's spear strike, in contrast, was fierce and violent. They had explosive power. The piercing strike and retraction happened instantaneously, one after the other. Yet, whenever it met opposition, the force would dissipate as if it never existed.

It was a clash between two completely different fighting styles.

Flickering Ember Sword - Third Stance: Petals Converge

The seemingly harmless sword strikes from Lanyue changed. Each strike formed metallic petals like sword tips. Those petals all converged upon Yan Nie from all directions. It was literally an ambush from all sides.

Just as it seemed that Yan Nie would be struck, a blue light erupted from his body. The blue light revealed itself to be a type of flame and encased Yan Nie like a battle aura or armor.

Lanyue halted her attack and immediately retreated. The temperature had dramatically risen when the blue flame erupted and caused a sense of crisis to flash in her heart. She glanced at her sword to see the tip glowing faintly red.

The blue flame covering Yan Nie disappeared once Lanyue retreated. Although it was his own technique, sweat had appeared upon his body. If he wasn't careful, he would be engulfed by his own technique.

When the blue flame retracted, they entered his opened acupoints and conglomerated inside his dantian. Despite being a Foundation Establishment Disciple, Yan Nie had used a special method taught by Immortal Pillrabbit to opened some of his acupoints so he could store flames inside his dantian.

"My turn."

Yan Nie simply said. He burst forward like an unleashed bull. At the same time, he stabbed his spear forward consecutively, the speed so great that it created an illusion of over a hundred spear thrusts at once. Blue light started to appear on the speartips.

Nameless Style - Blossoming Strike

The heat that had disappeared reappeared once more.

Lanyue frowned. Although Yan Nie's cultivation was lower than hers by a minor realm, all his attacks were fierce and overbearing. Being struck once would cause untold damage. In addition, his attacks did not seem to need any buildups, such as hand seals, and could be called forward almost instantaneously.

Lanyue formed several hand seals and spread her arms apart. A pink mist began to be released for the openings of her robes towards Yan Nie. The pink mist enveloped Yan Nie and fully obscured him. With the final hand seal, a dazzling explosion occurred.

Exploding Fog Flame

Before the smoke from the explosion could be dispersed, Yan Nie already jumped out of it. His clothing was a bit singled, but otherwise, he was fine.

Lanyue was not surprised and instead raised her sword into a stance. Yan Nie smirked as he also moved into a stance with the spear tip pointed at Lanyue.

The two once more clashed. Lanyue's sword had taken a red hue, and each swing created a red arc of light. Should Yan Nie be sliced, his flesh would be cut and cauterized at the same time, bringing immense pain.

Yan Nie's spearhead began glowing a light blue. It was a gentle light, unlike the blue flame that erupted from Yan Nie's body earlier. But the air around the spearhead became blurry as if the very air was burned.

And so a dance of blue and red advanced.

Tianyi watched all of this.

Sister Pan's flames come from converting her own qi using a special technique. It really isn't anything special to my eyes, but it might be considered a fearsome technique here.

Her timing of the fog attack was a good call, obstructing Yan Nie's sight and dealing damage.

Although it seems like both are on equal ground with Yan Nie being disadvantaged after being harmed, in truth, sister Pan is the one on the defense.

The damage dealt to Yan Nie is inconsequential at this point. All Yan Nie needs to do is to get a good hit on sister Pan, and the advantage would go to him.

Sister Pan's attacks are too light in comparison. Maybe she has a killer move hidden, but Yan Nie is not letting her have the chance to use any killer moves.

The basis of all this is the blue flame Yan Nie possesses. I can feel a type of yin qi from it despite it being largely yang in nature. Even I feel a threat from the flame.

Of course, at its current state, I can just flip my hand, and the flames would be dispersed. But for me to feel threatened by it, the quality of the flame should be high, at least at the Unity Realm. Perhaps the flame might even have an origin from an Immortal. Yan Nie perfectly fits the bill of a novel protagonist, after all.

Although Yan Nie can only bring out power equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Logically speaking, for Yan Nie to be in the same realm as sister Pan without the backing of a sect in this backwater region, he must have had many fortuitous encounters. Perhaps he even has a method to upgrade his Spiritual Vein.

Tianyi chuckled at the thought. The chances of Yan Nie having a method to upgrade his Spiritual Vein was incredibly rare. Even among the first-rate sects, this was rarely used and needed a vast amount of treasures to accomplish.

I didn't expect Yan Nie to use a spear; I'd thought he'd used a sword. Speaking of spear users, I wonder how Bai Tiezi is doing? He probably hasn't left Tianwei Continent yet. I even left him a map, but he will have to have power equal to a Nascent Soul Grandmaster before he can even attempt to leave.

Between these two, I wonder who is the stronger one. When I left a few years ago, Bai Tiezi had just reached the Spiritual Pillar Formation stage. And he has the inheritance of Immortal Riverrat as well as my personal guidance. I would like to say he has a higher chance of winning, but I cannot be sure until the two battle for real.

The battle between Lanyue and Yan Nie raged on. Lanyue had avoided numerous perilous circumstances, but her clothes had many gashes and tears from avoiding Yan Nie's attack.

In contrast, Yan Nie's current state wasn't good at all. His robes had various gashes and tears like Lanyue. But burn and cuts marred his skin, and even his left sleeves were gone.

Just as it seemed like Lanyue would deliver the finishing blow, Yan Nie thrust his spear towards the sky, and a torrent of blue flames erupted from the ground towards the sky. The blue flames were like a spear and pierced the clouds and dispersed them.

The sky was revealed.

The sun had long set, the stars hung like dazzling gems, and the moon gently shone above.

"Look! Something is dripping down from the moon!"

Lanyue didn't know who said it, but she directed her gaze towards the moon and was stunned. Everyone else was too. A thin strand seemed to be to dripping down towards them, or rather towards Yan Nie.

She could tell that his current state was special as if he had been bottling something, but that thing erupted at this moment. Lanyue gripped her sword; it was so easy right now. All she needed to do was attack while all of Yan Nie's attention was on the moon, and she would win.

But would she really be satisfied with such a win?

In the end, Lanyue loosened her grip on the sword. Even if her win would be accepted, she, herself, couldn't accept such a victory.

As the thin moonlight dripped onto Yan Nie's head, a blue light started to condensed around him. That light started to turn whiter and whiter with the continuous moonlight until it was silvery blue.

Inside Yan Nie's dantian, seven illusionary pillars flickered between truth and falsehood until they truly became permanent. Six of the pillars were all clear as if waiting for something. Only one had a color, blue like the color of Yan Nie's flames.

Atop the pillars, an illusionary basin began to form. With each passing moment, the basin to become more substantial and less translucent until it was perfectly solid. At the center of the basin, a blue-white flame condensed. The blue flame within his dantian gained a white tinge on the edges and shrunk at the same time. The heat increased even more, and it became even denser.

Yan Nie successfully completed his Spiritual Pillar Formation and entered the Spiritual Altar Formation stage!

Yan Nie opened his eyes and looked at Lanyue, who was calmly staring at him. His qi that resembled the vast ocean now had a hint of the heaviness of earth in it as well. All the cultivators who could sense this became shocked. In the middle of the battle, Yan Nie had used a special method and advanced by a minor realm!

Tianyi felt his lips twitch as he took this in. What the hell are you doing? Advancing in the middle of battle, what a protagonist-like thing to do!

"Thank you for your patience." Yan Nie said as he looked at the calm eyes of Lanyue. It was not like he didn't expect Lanyue to assault him at the crucial moment. Rather, he was expecting it and even made countermeasures.

Had she done so, although it wouldn't be as easy, he still had methods to block her. Yet Lanyue watched Yan Nie advance without doing anything.

"It's nothing. When I defeat you, I want to defeat you at your strongest." Lanyue brandished her sword at Yan Nie. "Otherwise, I'd have to hear your excuses!"

Yan Nie chuckled as he moved into a stance. Although the two exchanged thorny words, the atmosphere between the two became less tense than when the match started.

Lanyue had thrown away all prejudice against Yan Nie. She no longer saw him as a cripple or even her former fiance. Instead, she saw a worthy opponent to temper her sword against.

Yan Nie also no longer saw Lanyue as the rude and bratty girl who broke the engagement between them. Her words back then were correct. Even if she did not break it back then, the two would still go their separate ways. Now, all Yan Nie wanted was to defeat this mighty foe before him!

Chapter 74: Five Poison Sect

The day had turned into night.

The clouds no longer concealed the sky as numerous starlight shined down onto the realm. The lunar star gently encompassed the platform and enveloped Pan Lanyue and Yan Nie in her gentle embrace.

As if on prior agreement, the two duelists simultaneously charged at each other.

Lanyue wreathed herself in a garment of flames, looking very much like a spirit of fire. Her sword burned bright red as it turned almost mirage-like.

Flickering Ember Sword - Ninth Stance: Flame Fairy

Sect Master Yun who had been watching the duel calmly before, gasped when Lanyue unleashed her move. Sect Master Yun directed a complicated gaze at Yan Nie.

Flickering Ember Sword, it was a technique he had coincidently acquired from his earlier years. Although incomplete, it had tremendous potential. And Lanyue, who had a Perfect Fire Spiritual Vein, was a natural at it. After Sect Master Yun reached the Nascent Soul Realm, he spent a good portion of his time revising and restructuring the technique for Lanyue.

Flickering Ember Sword - First Stance: Smoldering Sword, Second Stace: Heart Drift... Fifth Stance: Converging Petals... Eighth Stance: Spirit Sword. Those were all techniques meant for Qi Gathering to the Foundation Establishment Realm. In particular, the Eighth Stance was meant to be mastered by a peak Foundation Establishment Disciple. Before the battle, Lanyue was only barely able to unleash the Eighth Stance. But in Sect Master Yun's eyes, this was already enough.

Not many people could even comprehend the technique. But now, Lanyue directly eclipsed the Eighth Stance and unleashed the Ninth Stance, a technique only usable at the Core Formation Realm in theory.

In order to use the Ninth Stance, while summoning the intense flames, it needed the user to have a tranquil heart in the heat of the battle, unfettered by emotions.

Sect Master Yun felt that Lanyue had undergone a qualitative change while waiting for Yan Nie to enter the next stage. There was an air of peace and steadiness to Lanyue now; she had grown. Sect Master Yun allowed a smile to grace his lips. It was excellent news to hear in the dark times of the Fleeting Mist Sect.

With her current mindset, the chances of her ascending the Core Formation Heavenly Tribulation increased by a wide margin.

In contrast, Yan Nie did not display any flashy moves like the Ninth Stance: Flame Fairy, but his spear began to glow bright blue. From the spearhead to the shaft to the butt of the spear. As the spear grew brighter and brighter, it appeared as if he was wielding solid light instead.

At the same time, the temperature drastically increased and created a hazy filter. The heat was so great that even the heat produced by Lanyue was suppressed.

Clang!

Red met Blue

Lanyue's sword clashed against Yan Nie's spear once more. Against Yan Nie's greater explosive power, Lanyue was forced back. However, like a dance, Lanyue retreated and swung her sword, unleashing three attacks for every one attack from Yan Nie.

As time went on, the number of Yan Nie's attacks decreased while Lanyue's increased. Until finally, Yan Nie's spear flew out of his hand and into the air.

Lanyue did not let go of this chance, and she poised her sword to pierce Yan Nie's chest.

Yan Nie, who seemed destined for defeat, clasped his hand together and, a bright blue light was emitted from within his closed hands. He opened his palms and thrust the small blue light against Lanyue's incoming sword tip.

"Big Bang Explosion!"

When Yan Nie uttered those words, all light within the vicinity seemed to have disappeared and plunged the area into complete darkness. After a brief moment of unnatural silence, a tiny light was seen.

It only appeared for a brief moment, but it was as if it was the origin of all things. Light dyed the sights of all the onlookers, causing them to lose their vision.

When the spectators regained their vision, they saw Yan Nie standing alone on the platform. The platform had been burnt black. Some parts were even melted and flowed red like magma.

"Hey, where is senior sister Pan?"

"She couldn't have died, right?"

Just as the disciples were saying the words, someone said.

"Senior sister is there!"

Everyone looked towards where the voice originated from. They saw a young disciple kneeling beside Lanyue. Lanyue herself was on her back and unconscious. Her clothing had been burnt black, and burns marred some of her skin, but there was no doubt she was alive with no crippling injuries.

The onlookers released a sigh of relief, but then they turned towards the winner atop the platform, Yan Nie. As disciples of the Fleeting Mist Sect, they had long grown accustomed to being superior to everyone else surrounding them.

Had it been any other disciple that lost to a no-name cultivator, the title of incompetent would be attributed to the loser. But Lanyue had been with the Fleeting Mist Sect for over ten years, and everyone had seen her limitless potential.

If they gave Lanyue the title of incompetent, then what were they? Less than incompetent?

It wasn't just a matter of losing. Nearly all the disciples admired Lanyue, and only a select few were her enemies. Had to say, Lanyue's relationship skills learned from her time as a princess was useful in her day to day relations. Even though she lost, none of them doubted her strength.

But these prideful youth turned their gaze towards Yan Nie. If word leaked out that their eldest senior sister lost to a loose cultivator, then the Fleeting Mist Sect's reputation would fall by ten thousand li.

If it were normal times, the thought of eliminating the winner and hiding the outcome would already be considered. But now, the Fleeting Mist Sect could ill afford to have their reputation dragged through the mud and invite their enemies a chance to strike at their weakness.

At this time, a clear, clapping sound was heard.

The source of the clapping was Tianyi. He had reservations for the name of the attack Yan Nie used, but it was nonetheless a magnificent battle in his view.

It was certainly a battle that Tianyi himself could never achieve. To him, battles were just a means to an end. But between Lanyue and Yan Nie, he sensed an inextricable link between, not of love but karma.

It was a battle that both of them had to go through, where the winner would achieve a new height. Or at least, that was how the duel was supposed to go.

When Lanyue decided to allow Yan Nie to enter the Spiritual Altar Formation Stage, she had achieved an internal breakthrough equivalent or greater to what she would have achieved had she won the duel. If Lanyue and Yan Nie to duel again in ten years with the two of them given the same resources and opportunities, it would be hard to say who would win.

In this battle of pride, although Lanyue lost, she had gained something as well. Tianyi's opinion of her elevated. If he was in the same position and the opponent stupidly tried to break through, he would unleash all his strength at once and punish them for such arrogance.

With Tianyi at the lead, Daoyi also started to clap, followed by Elder Shan.

Sect Master Yun released a sigh. He gave a glance to Elder Shan before also clapping.

Seeing as their own sect master, the master of Fleeting Mist Sect, also clap, the disciples and elders, no matter how unwilling, began to clap.

Yan Nie stood there, as if unaffected by the crowd. It was as if it didn't matter whether they cheered or jeered at him. But he knew it was because he couldn't.

His last attack used up nearly all of his spiritual qi, and he was grasping to control the source of blue flames within his dantian. He had no spare mental strength for any other matters. Yan Nie had fully expended nearly all the spiritual qi he had. After Lanyue's breakthrough, should he have held back in any way, the chances of defeat were too high.

When he finally came to, he realized that Sect Master Yun was standing in front of him. Instantly, wariness crept up within him.

"Fleeting Mist Sect Master," Yan Nie saluted the elderly man while keeping his guard up.

"Yan Nie, it was a magnificent duel." Sect Master Yun sighed once more. "Lanyue fought well, even surpassed her limits, but it was not enough for her to win."

"Miss Pan is a worthy foe. Even at the last moment, I couldn't predict who would win." Yan Nie said.

"A win is a win. Lanyue will fulfill the agreement, just that... " Sect Master Yun trailed off and glanced at his unconscious disciple, his heart pained at her injuries. He had already checked; there would be no lasting injuries.

"No need," Yan Nie rejected. "All that is said has already occurred during the duel. Anymore is needless." At this point, although his heart would be happy with the apology, it would be needlessly tarnishing Lanyue, who he had come to respect in the midst of battle.

"How boring."

Sect Master Yun immediately shifted around and locked onto the source of the voice. He recognized the voice well. It was the Sect Master of the Five Poison Sect.

The Sect Master of the Five Poison Sect stood in the air and flanking him were four other people also midair. Behind him stood numerous cultivators standing atop flying artifacts.

It was as if something shattered, and as the shards fell, the hidden presence of the Five Poison Sect members was revealed. Their qi no longer hidden, Sect Master Yun finally tightened his face.

Although he had a guess, after feeling the Five Poison Sect Master's qi and the four flanking him, his worst fears had been revealed.

"So you've managed to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, Threepoison. You sure hid it well." Sect Master Yun said.

Threepoison was the title the sect master of the Five Poison Sect chose for himself. It was both a praise and a shame of his. The Five Poison Sect's ultimate art was to merge five supreme poison into the ultimate poison, but before this, he could only merge three of the five poisons.

"It should be Fivepoison now." Sect Master Fivepoison said, his gentle demeanor hiding his ruthlessness.

Sect Master Yun had long stepped into the air and stood on eye level with Fivepoison. His wariness increased even further upon hearing what Fivepoison said. "Hmpf, so what are you here for?"

"What else? To watch a good show." Sect Master Fivepoison said. "It was a pity. You should have killed that young fellow. Fleeting Mist Sect is not fit to be a power like the Five Poison Sect."

Sect Master Yun snorted. "You have no control over how I manage my sect!"

Sect Master Fivepoison nodded. "Indeed. After all, after today there would be no Fleeting Mist Sect. There will be no sect to manage."

As soon as Sect Master Fivepoison said those words, the invaders from the Five Poison Sect aggressively brandished their qi.

Sect Master Yun's face became increasingly ugly. "Threepoison! This is the base of the Fleeting Mist Sect, don't think just because you've brought a few helpers that you would be able to take us down!"

Sect Master Fivepoison revealed a gentle smile. "Of course not, I would never come here without preparation against your guardian formation."

Sect Master Fivepoison revealed a round circular disc. Sect Master Yun had a bad premonition, and as he moved to stop it, two of the four Nascent Soul Grandmaster moved to block him.

Sect Master Yun had a Two-Colored Nascent Soul, and against these two Nascent Soul Grandmasters, he was unable to reach Sect Master Five Poison.

The disc in Sect Master Fivepoison's hand began to shine brilliantly, and before Sect Master Yun could comprehend anything at all, the disc shatter. But at the same time, there were many cries of fear and pain coming from the Fleeting Mist Sect.

Sect Master Yun spared a glance behind him and nearly vomited blood. Since the sudden appearance of the Five Poison Sect, the elders had already started to issue orders to the disciples. Lanyue had been taken away, the disciples ordered to move to strategic locations, and activating the guardian formations.

But after the disc shattered and disappeared, the Fleeting Mist Sect's guardian formation was destroyed. And those in control of it all suffered a backlash.

"THREEPOISON!!!" Sect Master Yun yelled out furiously as mist began to materialize around his body. His attack power increased sharply and caused the two Nascent Soul Grandmasters to dodge. "Don't think just because you've cracked our formation, you will be able to destroy us. The guests from the Buzhou Immortal Sect will not you go!

"Oh? It seems that you've fallen quite low." Sect Master Fivepoison chuckled, his tone full of malice. "Have you fallen so low that you need to rely on external aid to survive?"

"I don't want to hear that from you! What price did you pay to enter the Nascent Soul Realm? Don't tell me you sold your chrysanthemum?" Sect Master Yun revealed a derisive sneer.

Sect Master Fivepoison finally couldn't keep his cool at Sect Master Yun's vulgar words. "Hmpf! Sect Master Yun! I will kill you last. I will make you watch as I destroy your Fleeting Mist Sect and send your prided disciple to the pits of hell! Not even the Buzhou Immortal Sect can help!!!"

At this moment, lightning appeared in front of Sect Master Yun and struck one of the Nascent Soul Grandmasters fighting him. There was a sudden silence as the struck Nascent Soul Grandmaster lost all signs of life and fell to the ground.

Tianyi, still sitting upon his throne, floated upward and smiled. But that smile could not be called pleasant at all and was filled with contempt at Sect Master Fivepoison.

"The Buzhou Immortal Sect can't help?" Tianyi questioned, his tone dangerous. "The Buzhou Immortal Sect won't help. After all, I, alone, am enough to annihilate you all."