"Please, Junior Brother Ling."
Watching Ling Tianwei enjoy himself as he ignored him, Yuan Xixiao could not help bolstering his voice with spiritual power.
With those two words, "junior brother," Yuan Xixiao's little scheme was plain to see: whoever said it first became the senior brother.
"Junior brother?"
Hearing that, Ling Tianwei's gaze immediately sharpened. He was clearly displeased, having been taken advantage of for no reason at all.
Seeing Ling Tianwei's emotions so easily provoked, Yuan Xixiao could not help feeling somewhat disdainful.
"That's right! Junior Brother Ling, let's begin!"
Yuan Xixiao directly formed a hand seal. Since they had stepped onto the dueling platform, the fight had begun.
Even though Yuan Xixiao knew that Baiyuan Sacred Land had planted a trick on Ling Tianwei, he could still seize the initiative on the arena.
As for martial virtue, who cared? Out in the world, no one spoke of such things.
As the hand seal formed, spiritual power surged.
"Myriad Laws Treasure Body."
"Profound Gang Curse."
Yuan Xixiao simulated it in his mind, and his spiritual power instantly stirred the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.
Streams of gang qi appeared from nowhere, faint sharp edges emerging from the dry gold. In an instant, the gang qi blotted out the sky and covered the sun, all of it aimed at Ling Tianwei.
Yuan Xixiao's speed was evident. Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could not yet achieve Words Manifestation, but being one step faster in forming seals and circulating spiritual power was the key to victory.
"Go."
With a point of Yuan Xixiao's finger, the skyful of gang qi, enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, shot toward Ling Tianwei. At the same time, his hands were already forming another set of seals, his spiritual power circulating anew as he awaited what would come next.
Under Yuan Xixiao's Myriad Laws Treasure Body, the Profound Gang Curse, already the foremost offensive spell among metal-element techniques, gained several more degrees of sharpness.
Ling Tianwei was not about to be outdone by such a display.
After all, following his Foundation Establishment in a Hundred Days, he had begun cultivating quite a few spells.
To match his Death Intent and Grudge Intent, Ling Tianwei had deliberately selected yin-style techniques.
"Heavenly Cataclysm Technique."
Ling Tianwei lightly brought his hands together and circulated his spiritual power.
In an instant, black qi filled the skies. Before long, Death Qi spread everywhere, and a corrosive force swept outward in all directions.
The power of the two techniques collided at once, and the enormous impact made even the dueling platform tremble.
Dense spiritual power filled the entire arena with the impact of their clashing spells, making the spectators nod repeatedly.
"As expected of prodigies who achieved Foundation Establishment in a Hundred Days. Even their spells are far stronger than those of cultivators at the same level."
"Go, Senior Brother Li! Take down that little bastard from Baiyuan Sacred Land!"
Cheers and shouts rang out without end.
After all, this was only a battle in the Foundation Establishment Realm. To Qi Refinement cultivators, it might have been an incomparably spectacular sight.
But to the Nascent Soul and Nascent Soul Elders above, it was merely a small skirmish.
Before long, Ling Tianwei and Yuan Xixiao exchanged blows continuously.
All sorts of spells poured down, though most were only basic techniques.
Yet Ling Tianwei, a cultivator with a Pure Yang Heavenly Spirit Root, was casting all manner of yin techniques. The devouring, corrosive, dark spells made several elders repeatedly turn their eyes toward Bai Muxu.
Bai Muxu, meanwhile, was made awkward by those looks. Before coming here, he had said that unless absolutely necessary, Ling Tianwei could not use his Dao Intent—and even if he did, he could only use one kind.
The other elders did not know that Ling Tianwei had comprehended the Dao Intents of death and grudge.
The techniques Ling Tianwei cultivated also matched the Dao Intents he had comprehended.
Thus, the various methods and spells Li Tianwei was displaying now looked exactly like those of demonic cultivators: yin qi filled the skies, while all kinds of strange auras continuously corroded the surroundings.
"Why do I feel like Senior Brother Li is so much like a demonic cultivator?"
Some disciples had already begun whispering among themselves.
If anyone was suffering the most, it was Yuan Xixiao. At this moment, the pressure on him was through the roof.
Originally, he had believed that with the spells cast through his Myriad Laws Treasure Body, he could suppress Li Tianwei at the same cultivation level. He had never expected Li Tianwei to neglect proper spells in favor of cultivating all sorts of underworld techniques.
Every so often came a curse, followed by yin qi corrosion and spells that blanketed everything in Death Intent.
Because he had never cultivated these spells, even his Myriad Laws Treasure Body found them difficult to dismantle. He could only meet them head-on.
Yet these sinister techniques all released their power in the shadows.
For example, the Heavenly Cataclysm Technique possessed corrosive power from the start. Within a certain range, it formed a vortex that devoured vitality and spiritual qi, even transforming the spiritual qi of heaven and earth into poisonous yin qi.
And under such techniques, the entire arena became filled with poisonous yin power.
Then Li Tianwei would occasionally hurl out several soul-devouring curses.
If Xiao E had not prepared a mid-grade magical treasure that protected the Divine Soul in order to ensure Yuan Xixiao could complete this task, he would likely have already been defeated.
"Looks like there's no other way. I had thought I could cripple you openly and aboveboard."
"Now, it seems I can only use that method."
Feeling himself sink ever deeper toward defeat, Yuan Xixiao gave a sinister smile. He had already decided to use this chance to stir up the Corrupting Grudge Qi within Li Tianwei.
Especially since Li Tianwei had cultivated a breath-concealing technique, Yuan Xixiao could basically confirm that there was absolutely something wrong with him.
Having made up his mind, Yuan Xixiao no longer cared about anything else.
He directly used the Vengeful Curse Xiao E had taught him earlier.
"All evils shield the body, the law connects..."
As he formed the hand seals, the hidden curse emerged.
Naturally, Yuan Xixiao had not forgotten to conceal the technique he was using.
As Yuan Xixiao cast the Vengeful Curse, a faint power that drew in grudges began to surge. The surrounding spiritual qi whistled toward Li Tianwei, mixed with strange thoughts.
This was done by stirring the Corrupting Grudge Qi within the Wuhun Banner. Since a little something extra had been mixed into it, even if an expert had used a method to suppress it, this curse could still draw it forth.
After all, from the moment one absorbed the Corrupting Grudge Qi, a mark had already been left upon the body. That mark was like a fuse, capable of igniting everything.
Thinking of this, Yuan Xixiao had already envisioned Li Tianwei's fate.
Very quickly, the curse silently invaded Li Tianwei's body.
As it entered him, Li Tianwei's movements visibly paused, as though he had sensed something.
Yuan Xixiao also noticed Li Tianwei's hesitation. The corner of his mouth curled up as he continued employing his hidden methods.
Li Tianwei had also noticed the abnormality within his body. It had to be said that Baiyuan Sacred Land's methods were indeed powerful—the Vengeful Curse had truly stirred up the Corrupting Grudge Qi he had absorbed before.
However, because Li Tianwei had comprehended Death Intent and Grudge Intent, the two Dao Intents restrained that Corrupting Grudge Qi.
But now that the Vengeful Curse had been cast, the Corrupting Grudge Qi began to boil.
Li Tianwei naturally detected the abnormality in his body, but it was not as Yuan Xixiao and the others had expected—Li Tianwei would not fall to demonic cultivation because of it.
Instead, to Li Tianwei, it simply felt as though power had suddenly begun boiling over.
After all, beneath his Dao Intents of death and grudge, ordinary Corrupting Grudge Qi had little effect on Li Tianwei.
Naturally, that referred to ordinary Corrupting Grudge Qi.
But the Corrupting Grudge Qi Li Tianwei had absorbed was no simple matter. It was Corrupting Grudge Qi that had continuously grown and expanded through the Qi-Splitting Qi-Drawn Method, using fission within spiritual qi to combine violently berserk spiritual qi with Corrupting Grudge Qi.
And only Li Tianwei knew what kind of transformation that Corrupting Grudge Qi had undergone through fission.