Chapter 20: Ling Xuance Battles an Nascent Soul Peak Expert

Chapter 20: Ling Xuance vs. Nascent Soul Peak

Ling Xuance's face stayed cold and unruffled, with no trace of panic or frustration.

What looked like desperate dodging to the crowd was, in truth, a calculated maneuver—every step, every shift hid hidden patterns, as invisible lines of formation silently interwove, letting him secretly set up a maze formation across the whole stage while pretending to run.

The formation was done!

Ling Xuance's eyes sharpened. He stopped retreating, gripped his sword, and lunged into a sudden counterattack!

The Dark Moon Sword's light exploded, flooding the sky with radiant moonlight as sword shadows filled half the barrier.

Freezing spiritual power poured off the blade, and bone-chilling cold instantly swept across the whole stage!

White frost spread visibly, racing across the stone floor. In seconds, the scorching stage was covered in ice and snow, the chill leaking through the barrier and making even the crowd below shiver.

"It's an ice spiritual root! A top-grade innate ice spiritual root!"

"Unbelievable! Not only does he have heaven-defying talent, but he's also got a rare innate ice spiritual root!"

The crowd erupted in noise, endless gasps of amazement filling the air.

Meanwhile, a few reclusive elders skilled in formation dao suddenly changed expressions, staring hard at the stage floor as they shouted in shock.

"No! It's not just the ice root—every step he takes follows formation logic. There's something hidden under his feet—he's setting up a formation with his movements!"

Only then did the crowd realize that what looked like pointless dodging was actually a step-by-step plan!

Inside the barrier, the Blazing Bone Sect elder dodged the sword thrust aimed at his heart, but the icy force grazed his shoulder. His black qi shattered under the ice and half of it dissipated.

Enraged and alarmed, his savage nature fully triggered, he stopped holding back and unleashed his full cultivation base!

The full pressure of his late Nascent Soul peak cultivation, dormant for years, exploded outward, crushing down on Ling Xuance with overwhelming force!

The gap in cultivation was now fully exposed. Ling Xuance's power was heavily suppressed, his sword moves turning sluggish. After a few exchanges, he gradually fell behind and was forced to retreat step by step.

The crowd below felt their hearts tighten.

True Person Lianhua's fingers clenched her sleeve, her brows furrowed with worry as she leaned forward slightly. Sect Master Taiyi's face was tense, his heart hanging in anxiety, not daring to breathe too loud.

The Supreme Elder in the high seat also frowned slightly, his eyes locked on the battle inside the barrier, his expression grim.

The grueling battle of overwhelming disparity dragged on for a full three hundred exchanges.

Suppression of cultivation level was ultimately hard to overcome with sheer force. Ling Xuance's shoulder was hit by the baleful palm wind.

His white robes stained with dust, a sudden tightness seized his chest, and blood uncontrollably trickled from the corner of his lips.

"Pfft—"

The moment blood appeared, the Blazing Bone Sect elder was overjoyed, his wild, arrogant laughter echoing across the Taiyi Sect.

"Hahaha! Let's see how this genius brat stays so arrogant now! That's all you've got! A mere Mid Nascent Soul—just asking to be humiliated!"

Ling Xuance slowly raised the hand hanging at his side, casually wiping the blood from his lips with a fingertip. The crimson only made his features look even colder and more ethereal.

Meeting the crowd's worried gazes and his opponent's smug laughter, he slowly straightened up. He stood tall and straight as a pine, his fierce aura not diminished in the slightest.

The next instant, Ling Xuance raised his hand and rapidly formed seals!

Complex, obscure formation sigils condensed between his fingers at lightning speed. Spiritual light swirled in the air, and the hidden formation he'd set up step by step earlier activated fully in an instant!

Hmm—

Endless white mist rose from the stage, instantly flooding the entire barrier. The vast fog hid heaven and earth, forming a world of its own—a masterful illusion-killing maze formation had fully taken shape!

"What exquisite formation arts!"

The spectators below gasped in awe, their eyes full of shock.

Inside the barrier, the Blazing Bone Sect elder's vision was completely blocked. All he could see was endless white mist, unable to spot his opponent.

"A mere maze formation dares to trap me? Break for me!"

A massive black Bone-Burning Palm slammed out, smashing viciously into the mist.

But the mist was pliant and unpredictable. The palm wind only scattered a wisp of fog before it closed right back up. No matter how many palms he struck, he couldn't shake the maze formation in the slightest, let alone break it.

Having completely lost sight of his target, the Blazing Bone Sect elder flew into a mad rage. Black wind lashed wildly as he bombarded every direction inside the barrier, yet he couldn't find even a trace of Ling Xuance.

The spectators below could see everything clearly, and watching the Blazing Bone Sect elder rage in frustration, they couldn't help but snicker.

"Hahaha! A dignified late Nascent Soul peak elder can't even find his opponent!"

"So arrogant and overbearing just moments ago, and now he's like a headless chicken—truly laughable!"

The Blazing Bone Sect disciples all had faces as dark as the bottom of a pot, sitting stiffly as if on needles, wishing they could just leave.

Above the layered white mist, hovering in midair within the barrier.

Ling Xuance stood in the void, his blood-stained white robes billowing, his demeanor cold and transcendent. He gazed down with indifferent eyes at the raging figure below, his expression utterly calm, waiting for the perfect moment to strike back.

After a long bout of frantic striking, the Blazing Bone Sect elder's breathing grew ragged and heavy. His baleful aura grew increasingly weak and disordered, his movements gradually slowing—no longer possessing the fierce dominance of before.

Now!

Ling Xuance's gaze suddenly turned fierce as all his moonlight sword aura converged into one!

He became one with his sword, his form completely merging with the Dark Moon Sword, transforming into a snow-white beam of sword light that pierced heaven and earth. Carrying the momentum of the formation, he thrust forth his most powerful strike!

Shhh—!

The supremely sharp sword force exploded with earth-shaking power. The biting sword intent tore through the air and slammed violently against the barrier's light wall!

A crisp crack sounded—the unyielding Spirit Transformation barrier was actually shaken into a long, thin fissure by this single strike!

The crack spread, and terrifying sword pressure leaked through the gap.

The entire crowd's scalps went numb, an extreme fear of death surging through their hearts.

This strike of his might not lose to Sword Venerable Guhong's legendary sword from years past!

Everyone held their breath, frozen stiff, with only one thought in their minds—if the barrier shattered, this single sword strike would sweep across the entire venue and slaughter everyone present!

Within the barrier, there was nowhere to hide!

The snow-white sword light pierced through the mist with precision, tore through the Blazing Bone Sect elder's protective baleful qi, and drove straight into his chest!

"Pfft—!"

The Blazing Bone Sect elder's body shuddered violently as a mouthful of scalding blood sprayed out, sending him flying back several yards before crashing heavily onto the arena floor.

Black qi erupted wildly around him as his dark robe exploded into shreds, and in an instant, densely packed, twisted black runes crawled across his exposed skin, his aura suddenly swelling to several times its former strength in a terrifying surge.

He cackled maniacally, unleashing a devastating wave of force that blasted outward in all directions!

The overwhelming shockwave swept through the entire barrier, instantly driving back the midair sword light and scattering the surrounding mist!

Ling Xuance had anticipated this, retreating with agile grace—his toes lightly tapping the void to weather the violent backlash before landing steadily atop the tall arena pillar.

He stood on one leg, white robes fluttering wildly, bloodstains dotting his shoulders, his sharp brows and cold eyes looking even more aloof and imposing against the backdrop of the arena.

The countless spectators below watched the seemingly one-sided yet fiercely contested battle and couldn't help but murmur in admiration.

"Incredible! A Mid Nascent Soul cultivator actually forcing a late Nascent Soul peak elder of the Blazing Bone Sect, who'd cultivated for a thousand years, to this point!"

"Any ordinary cultivator of the same rank would have been crushed to pieces by the pressure of that realm. Yet he, wounded as he is, still holds the upper hand, dictating the pace of the fight—his talent and temperament are both top-tier!"

"To possess such combat power at just three hundred years old—across the entire cultivation world, no one can surpass him!"

On the high platform, the Supreme Elder gazed at the cold-faced Ling Xuance on the stage, genuine pride shining in his eyes. He gently stroked his beard, his gaze growing ever more anticipatory.

This young man has an unyielding spirit, balanced offense and defense, a heaven-gifted spiritual root, a divine weapon, and mastery of formations—his future is bound to be dazzling beyond measure, far surpassing countless peers!

After a brief standoff, turmoil erupted once more on the stage!

Cornered to the brink, the Blazing Bone Sect elder went utterly mad, his techniques losing all form, every strike a desperate bid for mutual destruction!

The frenzied late Nascent Soul peak pressure bore down with full force, carrying a malice that corroded bone and gnawed at the heart, engulfing the entire arena.

Ling Xuance, already wounded and severely depleted of qi and blood, was instantly forced onto the defensive against the elder's reckless, desperate counterattack.

The biting malice drove him into constant retreat, his spiritual power growing sluggish, the old wound on his shoulder flaring with searing pain. His brows furrowed slightly, his expression growing grimmer.

Inside the small world,

Lin Yu, watching through the hazy light screen, saw Ling Xuance steadily losing ground and felt her heart clench: "Brother Che, take out that vine!"

The familiar, soft voice landed in his ears, instantly easing the tension in Ling Xuance's heart.

His eyes brightened at the words. With a flicker of thought—

An ancient vine shot out from his storage ring, firmly adhering to the pristine, snow-white blade of the Dark Moon Sword.

The white and dark contrasted starkly, making it strikingly conspicuous.

The crowd below was puzzled, craning their necks to see, unable to understand why he'd pull out a withered branch in the middle of a deadly duel.

Only Jin Ling, standing beside True Person Lianhua, felt her tense shoulders suddenly relax, the gravity in her eyes giving way to a light smile.

True Person Lianhua, the Sect Master, and the others were perplexed, leaning in to ask quietly: "It's just an ordinary vine—why does it make you so confident?"

Jin Ling crossed her arms, her expression calm and confident: "Sect Master, Master Lianhua—just wait and enjoy the show. With Little Martial Uncle secretly helping, not even one late Nascent Soul Blazing Bone elder—let alone three more powerhouses of the same rank—could harm Martial Uncle in the slightest, let alone win."

Her words only deepened the confusion of True Person Lianhua and the surrounding peak masters, none of them able to fathom what terrifying secret lay hidden in that unremarkable vine.

On the stage, Ling Xuance steadied his breathing, suppressing the surging qi and blood within, and after a moment of adjustment, raised his sword once more and struck through the air!

Radiant sword light sheathed in biting cold slashed straight at the frenzied Blazing Bone Sect elder.

The elder's eyes blazed with murderous intent as he twisted aside, barely dodging the fierce strike, about to counter with his bone-corroding, soul-devouring miasma—

But the next instant, something astonishing happened!

The ancient vine clinging to the sword blade suddenly came alive!

Dry branches unraveled into threads, splitting in an instant into countless fine tendrils that spread like black mist, like snakes emerging from their holes. They shot forth along the sword's momentum, tangling and winding densely, sealing off every escape route and binding the old man fast in the center of the arena!

"What is that?!"

The crowd below gasped in astonishment.

The Blazing Bone Sect elder's face drained of color as black qi erupted violently around him. He swung his palm in fury, hacking viciously at the vines coiled around him.

The explosive palm force blasted out, and the seemingly fragile, slender vines shattered and scattered.

But before the broken vines could fall to the dust, they oozed a fine, ink-black venom—highly corrosive and deadly—that instantly adhered to the old man's exposed skin.

A hissing, corrosive sound rang out sharply as plumes of black smoke rose!