Fairy Eternity felt that Xie An’s words made a lot of sense.

Indeed, these kinds of things are very addictive, and she often went about with Jiang Lianyi and Ao Ling in tow.

Lu Yangxin said, "I knew there was something off with you, Xie An. Great Xia has no beggars; the old beggar was just a disguise. So, are you truly just a beggar?"

This isn’t a test of character at all. Who’s testing whom is anyone’s guess.

Elder Brother Dai, what kind of lousy list did you give me? The first person on it is not normal.

"Then, I wish the respected elder a joyful cultivation. We’ll take our leave first," Lu Yang signaled to Old Meng with his eyes. He had a lapse of judgment just now, revealing Xie An’s identity in front of Qiao’er, which might affect Xie An’s chance with the younger girl, so he felt extremely guilty.

The two men backed away and left the ruined temple.

"Wait," Xie An, with an unhappy expression, glared at Lu Yang. "You called me out in front of Qiao’er. How am I supposed to interact with her in the future?"

Hearing that Xie An was a Transcendance Tribulation Stage Great Cultivator, Qiao’er had a numb expression, obviously shocked by the news.

"Do you need something, senior?" Lu Yang’s face was plastered with a respectful smile, as deferential as one could be.

"Since you’ve called me senior, I can’t be stingy. How about this: I’ll suppress my realm to the early Nascent Soul Stage, and we can have a fight. Let me teach you something about combat!"

Lu Yang: "..."

If the senior wants to hit me, he could just say so without going through all this trouble.

"Are you going to fight or not?"

Xie An indeed showed the demeanor of an elder, not pressing his opponent with a higher realm.

Lu Yang sighed. It seemed inevitable that they would fight.

"Then please enlighten me, senior," he said.

The two stepped out of the ruined temple. This was the outskirts of the city, rarely frequented by pedestrians, which explained the temple’s dilapidation.

Xie An released some of his suppression; his realm gradually climbed—Qi Cultivation Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, Golden Core Stage, early Nascent Soul Stage!

He simulated his appearance from the Nascent Soul Stage with great magical power, even simulating a Nascent Soul.

Imitating the Nascent Soul Stage was a piece of cake for him; he had done it before when recovering his Dao heart.

"Come on, Lu boy!" Xie An struck a pose, displaying the magnanimity of an elder, allowing Lu Yang to make the first move.

Lu Yang didn’t dare to be negligent as he wielded the Green Peak Sword. Drawing his sword was like drawing water, the sword light razor-sharp, combining essence, energy, and spirit into one, with an elusive sword intent that would shame all sword cultivators in the world.

"Excellent swordsmanship!" Xie An’s eyes shone. The kid had improved his swordsmanship from the last festive battle with the Heavenly Court Sect.

If Xie An had really been an early stage Nascent Soul, he would not have been this kid’s match.

Fortunately, he now had the perspective of someone who had reached the Transcendance Tribulation Stage but was in the Nascent Soul Stage!

Snap!

The Nine-section Whip lashed out, its tip striking the air and sending out splinters of lightning.

The Nine-section Whip, yielding yet overwhelming, was like a flood dragon in water, unpredictable and hard to grasp. A slight touch to the Green Peak Sword deflected its sharpness, rendering its formidable power useless if it couldn’t hit its target!

Lu Yang flicked his wrist, and the long sword split into four—indistinguishable as to which was the true Green Peak Sword.

Sword light gathered sword qi, falling from the nine heavens and entangling with the flood dragon in the water, making it hard to tell them apart in their struggle.

Then, both the Three Flavored True Fire and the Golden Bird True Flame flew out together, the temperature rose drastically, the air scorched and twisted. As Xie An spit out purple lightning, lightning and fire collided, roaring as if heaven and earth were shattering.

Lu Yang drew an underground prison to trap Xie An below. Xie An laughed, and countless water dragons sprouted from under his feet, breaking the prison. Lu Yang used a water-splitting technique to dissolve them; the water dragons hadn’t even touched him before they turned into vapor and dispersed in the air.

Lu Yang dove underground as the Intertwined Stem Lotus bloomed, giving birth to twin figures. Two men, two swords, attacked Xie An at the same time. Xie An misstepped through the narrow gaps between the swords, and as his third eye released a Nascent Soul wielding the Nine-section Whip, he tangled with the two Lu Yangs.

Their magical duel continued, with neither able to gain the upper hand nor emerge victorious.

"Good lad, you’ve actually managed to exchange blows with me." Xie An’s corners of his mouth curled up into a sinister smile, but do you think that’s all I’ve got?"

"Today, I’ll let you witness just how terrifying a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator is with the experience of the Transcendance Tribulation Stage!"

Xie An stepped across the Supreme Ultimate Steps, his footsteps sketching out a grand array. Within the array, spiritual energy stirred wildly, the soil burst open, and vegetation grew rampantly. This array method could control all vegetation within its range and required a high degree of precision to deploy—an array that no cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage could possibly execute!

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The vegetation went wild, entangling heavy clumps of earth, with a Nascent Soul armed with a Nine-section Whip at its topmost layer, sealing off all avenues of retreat!"

"Break!"

Lu Yang uttered a light cry, simultaneously slashing out with his Green Peak and Dark Moon Swords, shattering wood into splinters and creating a gap. But before he could rush out, the gap was blocked by the wildly growing trees.

Lu Yang soared into the sky, seeking escape, but above him, Xie An’s Nascent Soul blocked the way, leaving no chance for escape!

Lu Yang looked enviously at Xie An’s Nascent Soul wielding the Nine-section Whip in battle, wondering why his own Invincible Nascent Soul had to strike himself... Wait, the Invincible Nascent Soul seemed capable of more than just hitting its own master.

"Predecessor, I’m sorry for the offense!" Lu Yang employed his cultivation technique, severing the connection with the Invincible Nascent Soul, and sent it towards Xie An’s Dantian.

Xie An burst into hearty laughter, "If you have any tricks up your sleeve, use them now and show me whether you possess even a fraction of Yun Zhi’s elegance... Damn it, what is this?!"

Before Xie An could finish laughing, the Invincible Nascent Soul barged into his Dantian and started attacking anyone it came across. Enjoy new adventures from freewebnovel

He had lived for several thousand years but had never seen anyone’s Nascent Soul fight like this!

Xie An hastily summoned his Nascent Soul back and began battling the Invincible Nascent Soul within his Dantian.

No matter how the Invincible Nascent Soul struck, each move was exquisitely superior and ingeniously precise, always hitting Xie An’s pain points. Even with his experience at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, he couldn’t cope with such attacks, which left him writhing on the ground, sweat the size of soybeans rolling down his forehead.

Suddenly, an infinite strength burst forth from Xie An, expelling the Invincible Nascent Soul from his body.

Lu Yang reconnected with the Invincible Nascent Soul and smiled, "Predecessor, that was not the combat power of the Nascent Soul Stage."

Just now, in a bid to prevent himself from being viciously beaten by the Invincible Nascent Soul, Xie An had subconsciously employed a portion of his power.

"Enough, enough, you win. Just scram if you’ve got nothing else," Xie An waved his hand irritably, conceding defeat.

Lu Yang clasped his hands, sheathed his sword, and turned his head to shout, "Old Meng, time to leave."

"Hold on, this little girl has an exceptional constitution," Meng Jingzhou said with excitement in his voice.

Meng Jingzhou was holding a Spirit Root Stone the size of a palm—the highest quality type that didn’t require contact to assess a person’s Spirit Root. It only needed to be placed next to a mortal to detect their spiritual roots.

While watching Lu Yang battling Xie An to an indistinguishable outcome, he thought it was a good opportunity to test Qiao’er’s Spirit Root.

A clear, ice crystal, free from impurities, appeared within the transparent stone as it lay beside Qiao’er.

A variant Single Spiritual Root—Ice Spirit Root!

"This girl has the Ice Spirit Root!"

"What, such good fortune?" Lu Yang was delighted to hear this, an unexpected boon indeed.

"Oh, I forgot to mention earlier, that girl is also at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. You’ve seen her at the celebration, she’s the Supreme Elder of the Seduction Sect," Fairy Eternity reminded.

Lu Yang: "..."

Qiao’er finally snapped out of the fact that her dear Qiong was actually the Supreme Omnipotent Sovereign, radiating an intense chill that struck fear into others.

"Supreme Omnipotent, who would have thought it was you!"

For half a year she had called him Brother Xie, planning in secret to provide Xie An with resources, enjoying the thrill of nurturing him, before revealing her identity and marrying him. But to think that Xie An was the despicable Supreme Omnipotent Sovereign!

Feeling this familiar power, Xie An’s expression changed as he, too, became furious: "Qian Jiao, it’s you, old witch!"

He had been looking forward to practicing cultivation together with Qiao’er, facing many dangers, capturing her heart, being forced to reveal his identity at a critical moment, defeating their enemies, and soaring the heavens together with Qiao’er. He never expected Qiao’er to be the old witch Supreme Qian Jiao!

Lu Yang felt that the Purple Cloud Palace of Heaven and Earth was truly blessed to have taken in two cultivators at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage as disciples, an achievement not even the Seek Dao Sect could boast of.