Testing spells

The New Method cultivator panicked, throwing out all kinds of runes with a pained expression.

The runes unleashed more than a dozen different spells: the Golden Bell Spell, Silver Light Spell, Iron Garment Spell, Vine Armor, and others.

The spells flared with power, shielding him securely.

"With all these protective spells, the strongest is a top-tier defensive spell personally crafted by a Qi Refining Ninth Layer expert."

"It can even withstand the strongest blow from someone at the peak of half-step Foundation Establishment."

"I'll definitely block this."

"As long as I survive this calamity, I'll immediately contact the others and bring them here for revenge."

"I want this bastard dead!"

But in the next instant, his smile froze.

He heard a series of explosions.

He looked up and saw a multicolored giant hand descending from the sky.

Several of his outermost defensive spells shattered with a crash, like eggshells struck by a stone.

"Impossible!"

"These spells have strong defenses too!"

"They can withstand spells from at least the third to fifth layers of Qi Refining."

"Didn't he only just start refining magic?"

"How can his attacks be so powerful?"

"How did he do it?"

"But I have a Qi Refining Ninth Layer..."

Crack!

Another sharp crack cut off his thoughts completely.

Even the Qi Refining Ninth Layer defensive spell shattered beneath the giant hand of multicolored smoke.

At that moment, he fell utterly silent.

"How could this happen?"

The New Method cultivator stopped in his tracks.

Not because he no longer wanted to flee, but because more than a dozen Palace Maidens wielding swords and sabers had appeared ahead.

The Palace Maidens smiled and laughed sweetly, their killing intent chilling.

He backed away.

Behind him stood small Paper People.

Some of these Paper People were Paper Horses, while others rode Paper Tigers or Paper Birds.

They chattered noisily, equally brimming with killing intent.

Drip!

Sweat broke out on the New Method cultivator's forehead.

The next instant, more than a dozen Palace Maidens rushed toward him.

"Fireball Spell!"

Boom!

A fireball shot out, heading straight for the densest cluster of Palace Maidens.

The Palace Maidens rolled across the ground, swiftly dodging.

The New Method cultivator controlled the fireball, locking onto one Palace Maiden.

Seeing that she could not escape, the Palace Maiden swung both sabers, fiercely hacking at the fireball.

Bang!

The fireball exploded.

The Palace Maiden turned into a skyful of burning paper scraps.

The other Palace Maidens attacked from every direction.

The New Method cultivator cast another spell: the Spirit Shield Spell.

Whoosh!

Spirit Turtle Shields appeared around him.

Long sabers hacked down, but the Spirit Turtle Shields merely rippled faintly.

Wang Quan watched with curiosity.

These Palace Maidens possessed strength equivalent to innate martial artists and had abundant combat experience.

They could easily kill spirits that knew no spells.

But against cultivators who could cast spells, they appeared helpless.

Unless I use the Illusion Art to make my opponent lose focus!

Otherwise, these Paper People can't possibly kill a cultivator.

With a thought, he snapped his fingers.

The next instant, wisps of green smoke burst beneath the Palace Maidens' feet, and they turned into sheets of paper, returning to the [Plain Moon Paper-Cutting Box].

The New Method cultivator secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that Wang Quan would not kill him.

But the next instant, he saw Wang Quan snap his fingers.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Strips of paper flew from the box, transforming into multicolored Giant Serpents.

The Giant Serpents slithered forward, coiling around the New Method cultivator.

The New Method cultivator released fireballs.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Numerous Giant Serpents exploded and burned.

Yet some Giant Serpents still reached the cultivator, swinging their tails and winding around him.

His defensive spell activated, manifesting in the form of a spirit turtle and easily blocking the Giant Serpents.

The New Method cultivator exhaled a stale breath. "So that's how it is."

"Your spells can only take people by surprise. They're completely useless in a head-on fight."

"I've figured out your tricks!"

"So now, kindly die!"

The cultivator's lips curled upward, his face full of confidence and arrogance.

He unconsciously ignored the giant hand above his head.

Wang Quan sighed.

Though the [Plain Moon Paper-Cutting Art] was wondrous, it was mediocre at killing enemies head-on.

Still, he had expected this.

He had chosen this Fundamental Method precisely because the spell excelled at transformations, escaping, and the like.

So this situation did not surprise him.

But if his opponent thought this meant he had no ability, that was truly laughable.

Leaving everything else aside, that multicolored giant hand was still hanging above his opponent's head.

If he wished, he could crush the man to death with a single slap.

However, he still wanted to test his other methods.

So he opened his mouth and spat out a strand of magical power.

Whoosh!

The strand of magical power landed on a Giant Serpent formed from paper. As though pumped full of drugs, the Giant Serpent swelled in size, and its constricting force increased more than tenfold.

Creak! Creak!

The spirit turtle phantom above the New Method cultivator's head swayed, but still easily blocked the attack.

"That's it? Not good enough!"

The New Method cultivator sneered, circulating his magical power and casting the Fireball Spell.

Wang Quan slapped the box, releasing Paper People to block the Fireball Spell.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Paper People exploded one after another.

The New Method cultivator's expression shifted slightly. He released other offensive spells, but the Paper People blocked them all.

At that moment, Wang Quan spat out another strand of magical power.

The Giant Serpent grew larger again, its constricting force surging once more.

Bang!

The spirit turtle phantom shattered.

The New Method cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he opened his mouth to beg for mercy.

But the next instant, the Giant Serpent constricted.

Crack!

Crack!

The cultivator's body was instantly wrung into the shape of a twisted dough stick.

Those who practice [nature cultivation] under the New Method don't have strong enough bodies.

It took two strands of my magical power to strangle him.

Would methods like Thunderfire make it easier?

Ultimately, the [Plain Moon Paper-Cutting Art] was not suited to head-on combat.

Merely breaking one defensive spell had cost him two strands of magical power.

That dissatisfied him.

At that moment, he felt he needed to master some dedicated offensive spells.

And the strongest offensive spells in the Qi Refining Realm were, in fact, the various forms of Thunderfire.

Since I can enter the Second-Layer World, I can gather its moonlight and refine Thunderfire capable of contaminating Yin Spirits.

As he pondered, he released more Paper People to herd the fleeing spirits back.

"Keep working!"

"No slacking!"

Having witnessed Wang Quan's power, the spirits naturally dared not run around. They all obediently returned to work.

At the mountaintop:

A great number of eyeballs shone in every direction.

Qian Xiuyue and another cultivator used spells to connect with the eyes and observe the surroundings.

"The ones directly north have been dealt with!"

"The ones to the south have been dealt with too!"

The New Method cultivators launching this surprise attack had come from six directions in all.

Now they had all been dealt with.

Qian Xiuyue and the other cultivator focused their attention on Wang Quan.

Seeing Wang Quan easily dispatch the New Method cultivator, and even find the leisure to test several spells, both fell silent.

After a long while, Qian Xiuyue sighed. "This man... is a little more powerful than I imagined."

The other cultivator chuckled. "However powerful he is, that's all he amounts to!"

"How long has he been refining magic? How many strands of magical power does he even have?"

"He can only bully these New-Method Cultivators."

"If he encounters Orthodox Cultivators like us, he's finished just the same!"

Qian Xiuyue shook her head. "He gathers moonlight over a very large area. He probably refines a lot of magical power every day."

"It won't be long before he reaches a hundred strands of magical power."

"When that happens..."

The other cultivator smiled. "By then, with this set of Star Banners worth tens of millions, we'll have developed the Mountain Villa properly. We'll be able to refine half a strand, or even a whole strand of magical power every day."

"That will be when we truly advance by leaps and bounds."

"And by the time he refines a hundred strands, we'll already have gone to the Second-Layer World to seek opportunities and gather resources."

"In cultivation, fall one step behind, and you fall behind at every step!"

"Besides, making the wrong choice leaves an even greater gap!"

"If he still refuses to join us, he really will have taken the wrong path!"

Qian Xiuyue nodded. "I hope he joins us soon, so we can all progress together."

"That way, when we see him again in a few years, he won't be far behind us."

"Otherwise, I fear being around one another will feel awkward."