Xiao Heng knew that with his current strength, he could not intervene in a battle at the Nascent Soul level. Forcing it would only make him a burden. So he quietly retreated, intending to distance himself from the battlefield.
Just then, he suddenly caught a whiff of a strange fragrance.
Recalling that his opponent was a disciple of the Medicine King Sect, his heart jolted with alarm.
“Be careful, this fragrance seems odd.”
He hurriedly sent a mental message to warn them, while holding his breath to resist the scent.
But this fragrance operated through some unknown means; Xiao Heng simply could not withstand it.
As the scent grew stronger and stronger, Xiao Heng suddenly felt dizzy. His vision swam, and even his body grew weak and limp.
In contrast, Zhang Haobo and Su Xiaomei simply paused for a moment before returning to normal.
The willow-leaf green glints from the gourd seemed endless, and the Mini Medicine King Cauldron’s defense was impenetrable.
The attacks from Zhang and Su only caused the barrier to shudder; for the time being, they could not break the cauldron’s defense.
“Haobo, stop holding back!” Su Xiaomei seemed to have been provoked into fury.
A crimson sun rose into the sky, leaping above the sea of blood.
The countless faceless figures that had been shredded by the green glints from the gourd instantly recombined into a single visage, contorted with rage.
Under the illumination of the crimson sun, the monstrous face suddenly burst into flames.
Emitting a bizarre laugh, it crashed toward Linghu Chang, who was sheltered beneath the Mini Medicine King Cauldron.
Meanwhile, the boundless sea of blood slowly parted in the middle.
A giant, festering hand reached out from the seabed, clawing toward Linghu Chang.
Faced with this pincer attack, the Medicine King Sect disciple’s expression turned grave, yet he remained unflustered.
With a light wave of his right hand, a row of twenty-four golden needles unfurled in sequence.
As he muttered incantations, the golden needles suddenly shot forth like swords, tracing brilliant, crisscrossing lines through the air.
They avoided the burning face and the festering giant hand, heading straight for the true bodies of Zhang Haobo and Su Xiaomei.
These golden needles were incredibly fast. Before the two could react, the needles had already pierced clean through their hearts, leaving their bodies riddled with holes.
Strangely, not a single drop of blood gushed from their wounds. Even more unsettling was the fact that their offensive momentum showed no sign of weakening in the slightest.
Boom!
The Mini Medicine King Cauldron shuddered violently. Linghu Chang spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and his face instantly turned pale. Yet without hesitation, he produced a pill and swallowed it.
Moments later, in full view of everyone, color returned to his face, and his complexion once again flushed with vitality.
What kind of evil technique is this...?
Watching as the two cultivators recovered from their wounds even as their bodies were pierced by the Samsara Golden Needles again and again, a chill crept into Linghu Chang’s heart.
After a brief hesitation, pain and reluctance flashed through his eyes.
He produced another artifact: a round mirror.
Gripping it tightly, Linghu Chang unleashed a beam of white light toward Su Xiaomei. As the light shot forth, the mirror itself slowly crumbled into dust. Where the beam struck Su Xiaomei, a faint, illusory figure gradually took shape behind her.
It shared a 80% resemblence to Su Xiaomei.
The phantom let out a furious roar. In an instant, its hair turned crimson red, and its form split apart, dividing into several faceless, blood-smeared clones. They lunged at Su Xiaomei simultaneously, their movements fierce and unrestrained.
Astonishingly, these manifestations appeared capable of replicating even Su Xiaomei’s innate divine abilities and techniques.
Meanwhile, on Zhang Haobo’s side, another festering giant hand rose from the sea of blood. From deep within that crimson expanse, it felt as though a gaze was peering outward into the world beyond.
Linghu Chang observed this for a moment, then produced a wooden talisman sword.
The sword shot skyward above the sea of blood, summoning a bolt of green lightning that crashed down with thunderous force.
The two festering giant hands surged upward to intercept it, crackling and popping beneath the lightning’s fury. Arcs of thunder wrapped around the wooden talisman sword, green light flickering relentlessly along its surface.
The festering giant hands were quickly wrecked and seemed incapable of counterattacking. Yet no matter how severe the damage they sustained, they swiftly reverted to their original state.
The battle descended into a stalemate.
Relying on his numerous miraculous artifacts and what appeared to be an inexhaustible supply of restorative pills, Linghu Chang held an unassailable position.
Su Xiaomei and Zhang Haobo, meanwhile, benefited from a trait of the new methodology: as long as the Grotto-Heaven remained unbroken, the cultivator would not die. Though visibly battered, neither faced any real danger.
For a time, neither side could gain the upper hand. A grim solemnity settled over the battlefield.
Just what origins do these people have, to possess such strange techniques? Linghu Chang thought darkly. Although my reserves are abundant, I can only hold out for ten days to half a month at most. If I still can’t defeat them by then, I’ll have no choice but to flee to the world outside and call for reinforcements.
How infuriating! Su Xiaomei snarled as she launched attack after attack, each one blocked by layers upon layers of defensive artifacts. He’s just like Shuo Feng, using artifacts to bully others! Just wait until his trinkets run dry. I’ll give him a proper beating then!
This Linghu Chang is only an inner disciple. Zhang Haobo mused silently. In ancient sects, above them are hereditary disciples, and even Dao Heirs. It’s hard to imagine how terrifying their strength must be.
As the three fought in a tangled, chaotic melee, Xiao Heng, who had been affected by the bewitching incense earlier, gradually regained his clarity.
“Stop fighting!” he shouted urgently.
“Fellow Daoist Linghu, this is all a misunderstanding! I swear to the heavens that not a single word I speak is false! It truly has been thousands of years since the era you know of. The world has changed beyond recognition, even the Ten Immortal Dao Sects you speak of have long since turned to dust!”
He paused briefly, then pressed on.