Against the Flow of the River

The moment the golden light faded, a fist-sized ball of gold emerged from the base of the tree trunk, darting upward like a living creature.

It first clung to the thick main branch, then leaped lightly onto the slender twigs. Each twist seemed to follow some ancient rhythm, weaving tiny, flowing traces of light among the boughs.

As the golden sphere of light streaked forward, its volume shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The cultivators outside the barrier held their breath, their gazes closely following the speck of golden radiance until it accurately struck the top of the green light ball suspended at a fork in the branches at a certain turn.

With a soft, muffled pop, the golden light sank into the green radiance like a clay ox entering the sea. The next instant, the green ball shattered with a crisp sound, revealing a green jade talisman radiating spiritual light. At the same time, the golden barrier enveloping the entire arena dissipated without a trace like morning mist.

"Cough! Cough!" Just as someone instinctively reached out to snatch it, Zhang Tie's low cough sounded at the right moment, and those eager figures instantly froze in place as if struck by a binding spell.

The small, emaciated old man in coarse clothes, Bo Zixin, had no time to wipe the winding bloodstains from the corner of his mouth. With a flash of his figure, he took the jade talisman into his palm, put it into his storage ring without even looking at it, and then turned into a stream of light, landing on a stone platform several feet away from Zhang Tie, his fingertips still trembling with residual spiritual power.

"This old man, Bo Zixin, many thanks to Fellow Daoist for the assistance!" The old man's voice