Chapter 1430: After Your Turn (I)

Dark clouds churned as the battle dragged on. Divine abilities clashed and shook the heavens, leaving the world mottled and fractured.

The [Heavenly Balance Profound Bureau Cloud] was originally a spirit treasure capable of covering an entire region and turning the heavens crimson. Yet it was blocked by the Grand Daoist Master's divine ability and could not spread fully. Instead, [Veiled Yin] surged upward in rolling waves, carrying pale, shadowed currents that broke through in several places. At the same time, the radiance of Buddhist lands shone through, leaving patches of gold here and red there. Black clouds and white vapors intertwined, painting the entire sky in shifting colors.

Violent winds and raging clouds followed the appearance of [Veiled Yin] qi, stirring the world. The currents were pale yet dim, yet streaks of green qi emerged from their depths that transformed into layers upon layers of clouds. They gathered beneath the Grand Daoist Master's feet and echoed the incense burner in his hand, pouring forth without end.

In the sky, a white pearl hovered before Wei Xuanyin's brow. Faint cracks seemed to run across its surface as it burst with dazzling white light, sharp as blades and swords, stabbing down toward the Daoist Master below who was surrounded by surging black qi.

Kuiqi stood within the clouds, forming seals with his hands. His black hair whipped wildly in the wind. Dark blood trickled from his lips, spilling down onto his robes, where it transformed into drifting feathers that were instantly torn apart by the gale.

He had been fighting the man before him for quite some time. Their divine abilities had clashed and shifted dozens of times, and he had brushed against death more than once. Only by trading injury for opportunity had he managed to maintain their stalemate.

Pitch-black clones emerged from his body one after another, each taking a different position. Some held bronze swords, while others grasped black cords. The barrage of white light blasted them apart into black qi, yet more and more shadows continued to appear.

Kuiqi's lips were pale. His figure flickered between the many shadows without a second’s pause, showing no sign of easing up. All his attention remained fixed on the opponent's sleeve.

The Grand Daoist Master effortlessly operated his divine ability, yet his sleeve contained the dangerous aura of a coiled serpent. From time to time, it would lock onto Kuiqi's true body among the clones. If not for Kuiqi's exquisite art techniques, which allowed him to move seamlessly between his projections and disrupt that lock, the attack would have already struck like a snake leaving its den.

The situation before him was far from favorable. The white pearl suspended in the air released an increasing number of beams, and the incantation forming in the opponent's hands was steadily nearing completion...

Although I am also gathering [Oblivion Subduing Light]... what he holds is likely even stronger!

Wei Xuanyin slightly lowered the two fingers held before his lips as his somewhat gentle eyes stared straight ahead. He finally withdrew his divine ability and plucked out a single point of light.

Dong...

At the same time, the bright white pearl in the sky began to spin, releasing a blinding radiance. Hundreds upon thousands of snow-white beams, dense as a torrential rain, poured out, sweeping away every black clone in the sky in an instant.

Kuiqi's true body was forced out, now exposed within the drifting rain of light!

His condition was clearly poor. His black hair hung like fine feathers, each strand distinct. The dark clouds around him resembled a flock of owls in flight. From his sleeves came the cries of large black birds, mournful and piercing, rushing outward in a frenzy. Each creature bore a wide beak and black feathers, sinister and uneven, as if they had long taken his robes as their nesting place, letting out chilling, eerie wails.

That single point of white light drifted gently within the snow-white storm. Its glow was dim, tinged with green and silver. Light as a feather, it arrived one after another, falling right before him.

There was no way out. Kuiqi finally stopped the art in his hands. He drew a bronze sword with one hand, while the other pressed two fingers against the blade. His pupils widened, and he ground his teeth,

[Oblivion Subduing Light]!

A speck of black finally appeared within the dense white radiance, like duckweed drifting in the rain, unsteady and wavering. Yet the opponent's cultivation far surpassed his, and the speed of casting was much faster. Faced with such mastery, how could he possibly withstand it?

Clang!

The bronze sword quickly lost its glow under the white light, revealing its original form. That single point of white light pressed down upon the blade, forcing Kuiqi and the sword to sink together. The [Great Kui Convergence Bronze Sword] bent slightly, forming a shallow arc. The two fingers pressed against it melted at once, turning into rolling black qi that dissipated into the air.

Kuiqi's expression did not change as his Body Divine Ability surged into motion. The five talismans attached to his body exploded at once, releasing black smoke. He stepped back and dissolved into black qi, retreating.

As he retreated, another 'Kuiqi' remained in place. It gathered all its mana to block the descending white light.

Boom!

Dense black qi shot into the sky. Kuiqi spat out blood, and cracks spread across his dharma body. He turned sharply. The pink radiance over the plains surged upward as if to swallow the heavens. Even Tuoba Ci coughed blood and lost an arm, his body wrapped in rising yellow qi.

Yet the moment he freed himself, Wei Xuanyin was nowhere to be seen in the sky. The man in white had long since left his position. Only the bright white pearl remained, radiating sharp beams across the clouds. Wei Xuanyin, the National Preceptor of Zhao State, was not renowned solely for his four [Veiled Yin] divine abilities. He was also a master of calculation arts, which had allowed him to appear on the battlefield without warning.

As Kuiqi shattered five talismans and broke free, the Fate Divine Ability [Owl Chasing the Fox] that had long enveloped him finally dispersed. At that precise instant, the white-robed Grand Daoist Master activated his divine ability and appeared beside him, his sleeve flaring open.

Boom!

Yet the great void trembled first. Wei Xuanyin's sleeve shifted slightly, as if a long hook were fastened to his wrist. A streak of white light flashed and vanished as Wei Xuanyin’s sleeve was yanked up. The sky in the direction his sleeve pointed turned into a vast, indistinct pale darkness. Spiritual energy collapsed into emptiness, and a wind of destruction spread through the air.

Kuiqi barely escaped disaster. Yet the light of [Veiled Yin] brushed his arm, catching it in the aftermath. Flesh dissolved, leaving only stark white bone. Countless finger-sized white jade shrews clung to it, gnawing madly.

"

Oh?

"

Wei Xuanyin raised his head slightly, and a trace of doubt appeared on his face. Two narrow ridges pressed in from around him. Clouds dispersed, and streams flowed beneath his feet, as if he stood upon a small drifting boat. The terrain narrowed into steep, overlapping cliffs, dim and lightless.

His brows lifted in surprise as he exclaimed, "[Holding the Ridge]!"

Sure enough, an old man stood within the distant clouds. He held a white jade fishing rod and lifted it lightly. One end was locked onto Wei Xuanyin's sleeve from afar as it restrained his divine ability.

It was Xiao Chuting!

"So you've stepped in as well..." Wei Xuanyin did not seem unfamiliar with him. He even raised a brow, showing a hint of delight. A divine ability carried his voice to Xiao Chuting through the clouds in an instant. He said with interest, "You've restored [Pit Water]... Fellow Daoist Xiao, you should be clear which side you belong to."

The old man seemed somewhat helpless as he shook his head gently. Wei Xuanyin did not believe him in the slightest. His eyes studied him closely, as if weighing something...

They have been sowing discord for years. Chunyi Dao and Jingyi Mountain now share a blood feud. Xuanyi will neither come nor dare to... and Crimson Reef Island is stirring. Chunyi Dao cannot act either...

There are still a few Purple Mansion Realm rogue cultivators in Jiangbei, but they would never stand for such matters. Yuandao

[1]

has distanced himself for years and would not hand leverage to Peacock at a time like this...

And we still have him... the pieces are all in place... now we watch how the situation changes!

Wei Xuanyin did not move. After that brief exchange of glances, the long line drifting in the great void suddenly tightened, humming under strain. Xiao Chuting looked at him calmly and replied through a divine transmission, "The Xiao Family once received help from Xiukui. Though I dwell in the Northern Sea, I could not ignore that debt. I had no choice but to come. Forgive the offense!"

1. A Daoist Master of Nine Mounds Mountain. First appeared in Chapter 1209. ☜