The two battlefields were locked in stalemates, the fighting fierce to the extreme. Though Xu Yang was locked in a fierce battle with Hu Xinrong, he had still noticed how things stood on the field. After a quick calculation, he immediately made his decision.
Xu Yang pushed his Iron Body to the limit and used his Iron Wall ability to temporarily shield himself. Then he whipped out the Talisman Treasure God-Sealing Lock and poured all his Gang Qi into it. The talisman treasure immediately transformed into a massive lock. It was golden all over, exactly like an ordinary door lock.
As soon as the lock appeared, Xu Yang immediately controlled it and sent it flying toward the battlefield where Ling Feng and the others were fighting. Seeing Xu Yang's move, Hu Xinrong immediately sensed something was wrong. He hurriedly threw punch after punch at Xu Yang, but the Iron Wall before him blocked them. Though Hu Xinrong made the wall shudder repeatedly, he still couldn't break through its defenses or land a blow on Xu Yang.
Under Hu Xinrong's assault, Xu Yang controlled the God-Sealing Lock as it flew above Liu Peng and Zhao Man. The lock sent down a golden pillar of light, enveloping them both. The two immediately discovered, to their horror, that their divine senses had been sealed inside their bodies and could not escape. They had lost contact with all the Dharma Artifacts they controlled, which hung motionless in midair.
Seeing this, Ling Feng first froze, then was overcome with joy. He immediately sent the broad Flying Sword shooting toward Liu Peng with one hand and a golden needle Dharma Artifact toward Zhao Man with the other.
Liu Peng and Zhao Man's faces changed dramatically. They hurriedly flew backward while patting their Qiankun Bags, taking out a shield and a green pearl. Liu Peng held the shield before him to defend against the Flying Sword's slash, while Zhao Man raised her hand and flung the green pearl at the golden needle.
With a loud boom, the Flying Sword slashed into Liu Peng's shield, immediately carving crack after crack into it. Liu Peng's face changed drastically. Then, his expression hardened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood essence onto the shield. After absorbing Liu Peng's blood essence, the shield's power immediately surged, allowing it to block the Flying Sword's attack.
Zhao Man's green pearl collided with the golden needle and immediately exploded, transforming into vines that coiled around the needle and firmly pinned it in midair. Seeing this, Zhao Man breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly went to the edge of the golden pillar of light, raised her hand, and struck it, trying to break through and escape.
With a bang, Zhao Man's right palm struck the pillar and sent her stumbling back two steps, but the pillar remained utterly unmoved. Her face immediately darkened. She hadn't expected the pillar of light to be so sturdy.
Left with no choice, she took out the Silver Phoenix Hairpin again, gripped it tightly, and stabbed it viciously into the pillar. With a loud boom, the hairpin pierced a large hole through the light. Zhao Man was overjoyed. She hurriedly struck the edge of the hole with her palm, widening it further, then withdrew the Silver Phoenix Hairpin and escaped the pillar.
The moment Zhao Man escaped the God-Sealing Lock's restraint, a scream came from behind her. Her face immediately changed, and she turned to look. Before her eyes, Liu Peng lay with a golden needle through his brow, thin streams of blood continuously flowing from the wound.
It turned out Ling Feng had left Zhao Man alone and focused his attacks on Liu Peng. After all, Liu Peng's cultivation was a whole realm higher than Zhao Man's, so Ling Feng naturally had to eliminate him first before killing Zhao Man. Thus, after freeing the golden needle from the vines, Ling Feng sent it straight toward Liu Peng.
Liu Peng was already struggling mightily to defend against Ling Feng's Flying Sword. Now that he was also under attack from the golden needle, he could hold out no longer. The needle pierced his brow, and he fell to the ground in despair, dead.
Everything had happened far too quickly. Before Hu Xinrong could react, Liu Peng had already fallen dead. Furious, he immediately abandoned his attack on Xu Yang and went to Zhao Man's side. Keeping a wary eye on Xu Yang and Ling Feng, he said solemnly to Zhao Man, "Junior Sister Zhao, there's no point in scheming against each other anymore. You'd better show your true strength. Otherwise, neither of us will leave here alive."
Hearing this, the look of alarm vanished from Zhao Man's face. She giggled and said to Hu Xinrong, "I didn't expect Senior Brother Hu to see through my disguise. Since that's the case, I suppose I have no choice but to show my true strength."
Hu Xinrong snorted. "I knew you weren't simple long ago. Only Junior Brother Liu was foolish enough to believe you. And now look at him—dead and buried. You and Master were flirting right in front of me. Did you think I was blind? That old geezer certainly wouldn't shortchange you. He'd pass on all sorts of good things to you and have you secretly keep an eye on me."
Zhao Man's face turned ugly at his words. So Hu Xinrong had seen through her long ago, while she'd foolishly thought he was just lecherous and unambitious! It had all been an act for her sake. Fortunately, Xu Yang and Ling Feng were so powerful that Hu Xinrong had been forced to reveal his true colors. Once this was over, she would be sure to tell Master.
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Zhao Man rapidly formed hand seals and dispelled the seal inside her body. Her cultivation immediately rose, stopping only at the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. Hu Xinrong's cultivation also began to rise, reaching the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining as well.
Seeing Zhao Man's cultivation, Hu Xinrong looked jealous. He said bitterly, "I didn't expect you to reach the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining when you'd only just become Old Ghost Huang's disciple. Looks like Old Ghost Huang put a lot of effort into you."
Zhao Man gave Hu Xinrong a flirtatious smile. "You can only blame the fact that Senior Brother is a man. If you were a woman, Master would dote on you too."
"Hmph! Forget it. If I were a woman, I wouldn't offer myself up like you, without a shred of shame," Hu Xinrong sneered.
Zhao Man merely giggled, not taking his words to heart, and said nothing more. But a flicker of concealed venom passed through her eyes. Clearly, she wasn't as indifferent as she pretended.
Seeing the change in Hu Xinrong and Zhao Man, Xu Yang's expression turned grave. He hadn't expected the two of them to have hidden their strength as well. It looked like he would have to use the Talisman Treasure Samadhi Ring. At the thought, his heart ached. Using the talisman treasure this way would quickly exhaust its power.
While Hu Xinrong and Zhao Man were raising their cultivation, Xu Yang lifted a hand and tossed the Talisman Treasure God-Sealing Lock to Ling Feng. "This is the Talisman Treasure God-Sealing Lock. You know what it does. You can use it against Zhao Man in a moment."
Ling Feng caught it and nodded to Xu Yang. "Understood. Hu Xinrong also cultivates both body and magic, and his realm is higher than yours. Be careful when the fight starts."
Xu Yang nodded to show he understood. Then he shot Ling Feng a glance and immediately charged at Hu Xinrong, intending to strike first. Seeing this, Ling Feng hurriedly rushed at Zhao Man and led her to another battlefield, so they wouldn't interfere with each other.
Xu Yang clashed with Hu Xinrong again and immediately felt immense pressure. He hadn't expected Hu Xinrong's strength to have increased so much. In only a moment, Xu Yang was forced onto the back foot. One reason was that Hu Xinrong, like him, cultivated both body and magic and was powerful. The other was that Xu Yang's Qi Refining cultivation was too low. After all, Xu Yang was only at the peak of the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, a whole major realm below Hu Xinrong.
Seeing this, Xu Yang's heart sank. He knew he couldn't win in a head-on fight against Hu Xinrong, so he could only intensify his attacks and force him back temporarily. Seizing the opportunity, Xu Yang quickly took out the Talisman Treasure Samadhi Ring and sent a stream of scarlet Samadhi True Fire toward Hu Xinrong.
Hu Xinrong's expression changed dramatically. He hadn't expected Xu Yang to have another talisman treasure. He hurriedly took out a Black Small Banner and tossed it into the air to block the Samadhi True Fire. At the same time, he seized the chance to close in on Xu Yang, hoping to interrupt his spellcasting.
The Black Small Banner quickly grew larger in the air, becoming a flag three meters tall. It was completely black, and its surface fluttered as though stirred by an unfelt wind, rapidly releasing streams of black Killing Intent. It managed to temporarily hold back the Samadhi True Fire. But from the way the banner was rapidly fading, it wouldn't last long. Once the Killing Intent had been burned away completely, the banner would be ruined.
Seeing the Samadhi True Fire temporarily blocked, Xu Yang's heart sank. Hu Xinrong was now charging at him with a savage expression. After a quick calculation, Xu Yang realized that if Hu Xinrong got close, he would interrupt his spellcasting. With no other choice, Xu Yang recalled the Samadhi Ring and released a stream of Samadhi True Fire to force Hu Xinrong back. The two were locked in a stalemate once more.
Elsewhere, Ling Feng attacked Zhao Man with his Flying Sword and golden needle while looking for a chance to use the God-Sealing Lock. After suffering badly at the hands of the God-Sealing Lock, Zhao Man had been on her guard the whole time, giving Ling Feng not the slightest opening.
At the same time, she controlled the Silver Phoenix Hairpin to stab at Ling Feng again and again, then took out a white bracelet and slipped it around Ling Feng's golden needle, severely restricting its movements so it could no longer attack with abandon. His Flying Sword was also held off by the Silver Phoenix Hairpin, and the two were evenly matched.
Ling Feng was growing terribly anxious. He knew Xu Yang was weaker than Hu Xinrong and might already be at a disadvantage. If Xu Yang lost, the two of them would be in trouble. As for the Talisman Taiyin Divine Light Ray, Xu Yang's cultivation was far too low to activate it. That was a spirit talisman only Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could use.
Ling Feng dared not delay any longer. He activated the God-Sealing Lock and sent it toward Zhao Man. Her face changed dramatically at the sight, and she hurriedly darted from place to place, never daring to stay still for long. The God-Sealing Lock had already locked onto her aura; if she lingered even a moment, she would be trapped inside its pillar of light.
As Ling Feng controlled the God-Sealing Lock to close in on Zhao Man, he also manipulated his Flying Sword and golden needle to hinder her movements. A look of despair appeared on Zhao Man's face. She suddenly changed direction and charged at Ling Feng, who retreated while holding the God-Sealing Lock before him.
Zhao Man hurriedly changed direction and charged at Ling Feng again. Seeing this, Ling Feng grew wary. He controlled the God-Sealing Lock to block Zhao Man's path while his Flying Sword and golden needle attacked her without pause. Seeing how wary Ling Feng was, Zhao Man had no choice but to raise her hand and throw out a talisman, which landed on the God-Sealing Lock. She had originally intended to hit Ling Feng with it.
As soon as the talisman landed on the God-Sealing Lock, it transformed into a golden chain and bound the lock firmly in place, leaving it unable to move. Ling Feng's expression changed in alarm, and he blurted out, "A Lesser Sealing Talisman! How do you have a talisman like this?" At the same time, he felt a rush of relief. Luckily, he'd been extremely cautious and hadn't let Zhao Man get close. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
The Lesser Sealing Talisman's purpose was to seal. Anyone struck by it would immediately be sealed, unable to control either their Gang Qi or divine sense. For an hour, they would be lambs waiting for the slaughter.
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