Mount Qingcheng.
Verdant woods clothed its slopes, with peaks standing all around. A thousand cinnabar steps climbed upward, and winding paths led into secluded depths.
It was early morning, and thin mist still lingered around the mountainside. Walking up the mountain steps felt like entering an immortal realm.
It was not a long holiday like May Day or National Day, yet Mount Qingcheng was still bustling with streams of visitors today.
All because a showdown that had drawn countless eyes was about to unfold atop Mount Qingcheng.
Lin Fei's party of three wasted no time and took a cable car straight to the summit. As it climbed, Lin Fei gazed down through the glass at the verdant mountain, falling silent for a moment.
After Zhang Daoling left Mount Heming back then, was this where he had built a thatched hut to preach the Dao, and where he had shed his mortal form?
"Majestic Mount Qingcheng still stands today, yet Zhang Daoling of old is nowhere to be seen," Lin Fei murmured, recalling Zhang Daoling's vast, righteous spirit back then.
"Until I destroy the witch-demon cult of Bashu, this humble Daoist swears on his life that he will not ascend!"
Even now, the moment when he had made that great vow remained vivid before Lin Fei's eyes.
The cable car soon reached the summit, interrupting Lin Fei's thoughts.
As the three stepped out, they discovered that the summit of Mount Qingcheng was already packed.
Lin Fei found that most had come to watch the excitement, though there were also ancient martial cultivators. The vast majority of those were in the Body Refinement Realm, with only two experts in the Houtian Realm-the so-called grandmasters.
One was an old Daoist from Mount Qingcheng, dressed in Daoist robes, his long white hair secured behind his head with a Daoist hairpin. He carried a peachwood sword on his back and held a horsetail whisk, a kindly smile on his face that made people feel drawn to him;
The other was a middle-aged man who bore some resemblance to Bai Zhan, his gaze sharp as a blade and his hands clasped behind his back. Simply standing there, he gave the impression of a tiger whose might could swallow ten thousand miles, inspiring awe.
Neither, however, drew much more of Lin Fei's attention. Instead, several outdoor livestreamers holding phones left him speechless. To get the best livestream footage, some of them had even climbed trees.
Only Nightmare, hidden inconspicuously in the crowd, felt conflicted as he looked at the two grandmasters.
That idiot Black Rose didn't even know to tell Bai Zhan to keep a lower profile. How am I supposed to act with two grandmasters watching? He sighed inwardly and decided to watch for now, waiting for an opportunity.
In the square before Shangqing Palace, Bai Zhan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, motionless as a mountain.
Seeing Lin Fei look at her and give a slight nod, Wu Moling immediately drew a deep breath and walked over to stand opposite Bai Zhan.
A mountain breeze stirred, sending fallen leaves flying.
"You're here?" As though sensing her, Bai Zhan abruptly opened his eyes and rose to his feet, brimming with fighting spirit.
"I'm here," Wu Moling said solemnly.
Bai Zhan drew a deep breath and stamped down hard.
Bang!
With a tremendous crash, the ground trembled slightly, and he actually heaved a huge flagstone into the air.
Cries of astonishment swept through the crowd.
The flagstone spun in midair, intermittently blocking the gazes meeting between Bai Zhan and Wu Moling.
His was aggressive as fire; hers, steady as a mountain.
Crack!
Bai Zhan spun and kicked the flagstone, instantly shattering it into countless fragments.
The stone fragments whistled through the air, streaking like ribbons toward Wu Moling in a vicious barrage.
The sight left quite a few hearts in people's throats.
Yet Wu Moling likewise stamped down, sending a flagstone flipping into the air to block every incoming fragment.
Cracks instantly covered the flagstone under the force of the impacts. Wu Moling immediately swept out with a crisp whip kick, forcibly knocking it aside.
"Did you see that, chat? These are real experts!" An outdoor livestreamer who called himself Xiao Yang could not help growing excited at the sight.
Seeing a scene straight out of a television drama in real life was simply breathtaking.
The livestream chat exploded too.
Mingming Star: "What the hell? I just got here. Are they filming?"
Lu Benwei Is Awesome: "Holy shit, 66666."
I Love Timofeng: "Come on, fight! Holy shit, I'm getting impatient."
Little Lazy Cat: "Be careful, streamer. Don't fall out of the tree."
Seeing the gift notification in the chat, Xiao Yang exclaimed in delight, "Thanks to A Sheet of Quiet Joy for the rocket! Boss, you're awesome."
Just then, the two finally moved.
Both charged at each other, pressing forward without hesitation!
Bai Zhan's assault was ferocious. Straight punches, knee strikes, and elbow blows rained down without pause like a raging storm, while sonic booms rang incessantly through the air.
The sheer force of it made some spectators' scalps prickle.
Without question, any one of those attacks could easily shatter stone or snap a tree. Never mind ordinary people-if most of the cultivators present took even one hit, they would probably suffer a broken bone, if not death.
Yet to everyone's shock, Wu Moling punched, blocked with her arms, and swung her elbows, her responses seamless as a heavenly robe.
Everyone present was stunned.
"I'm not surprised Madman Bai has this kind of power, but just who is this Wu Moling? She's actually holding her own!"
"No wonder she dared accept Madman Bai's challenge. So she was an expert hidden away in Rongcheng."
"Tell me, with a woman this strong, which grandmaster could her master be?"
Lin Fei heard everything, but merely watched the fight with an unchanged expression.
Seeing his prolonged assault fail to break through, Bai Zhan was delighted rather than angry, like a hunter thrilled at the sight of prey.
He raised his right leg high and chopped down with force. A huge shadow of a leg swept through the air, cleaving down at Wu Moling's head like a massive axe.
That stance alone gave some idea of why those who accepted Bai Zhan's challenges ended up crippled, if not dead...
Wu Moling clenched her teeth and crossed her arms in an X beside her head, meeting the blow head-on!
Bang!
Wu Moling's arms were smashed down in front of her forehead, her knees bending as her body sank. Unable to withstand such tremendous force, the flagstone beneath her feet instantly shattered into fragments that shot viciously in every direction like bullets!
If one of those fragments struck an ordinary person in a vital spot, it would be little different from being shot.
They would die either way.
The old Daoist of Mount Qingcheng frowned and swept his horsetail whisk.
In an instant, a fierce gale howled, casually sweeping the fragments hurtling toward the crowd aside.
Ji Yaoguang nearly cried out and asked Lin Fei worriedly, "Is Moling all right?"
Lin Fei calmly shook his head. "No need to worry."
When Bai Zhan's charged strike failed to work, he immediately lost the initiative.
Even as he withdrew his right leg, Wu Moling had already closed in and launched a fierce attack.
Under the crowd's dumbfounded stares, Bai Zhan was actually forced to retreat again and again.
"Holy shit, am I seeing things?"
"Madman Bai is actually getting beaten back?"
An uproar swept through the crowd. They could hardly believe what they were seeing.
Some even turned to Bai Pojun, wanting to see his expression as his son fell into a disadvantage.
Yet Bai Pojun's expression remained unchanged, as composed as ever.
Seeing the two evenly matched, with neither winning after so long, Bai Pojun finally said in a low voice, "End this quickly."
The old Daoist of Mount Qingcheng looked at him, finally visibly moved. "You taught him that move?"