novelraw Chapter 468: Arrogant, Too Arrogant
Chapter 468: Arrogant, Too Arrogant
The path of illusion relies not on spiritual power but on powerful Soul Force. Yu Zhao’s spirit had been tempered many times and long since transcended what her outward realm suggested. With multiple layers of intent assisting her, almost the moment Elder Qun Fang finished speaking, Yu Zhao’s Illusion Arts unfolded. As soon as Du Wu Xiang made any move, he would be drawn into the Illusory Realm she had set.
By coincidence, Du Wu Xiang also cultivated the path of illusion, and he specialized in the most offensive branch within it, the art of the Illusory Beast. He had laid out an Illusory Beast tailored for Yu Zhao. The instant she moved, the beast would strike.
Both waited for the other to reveal the first flaw, so the contest froze at the outset. Very quickly they sensed each other’s intent and felt the aura of the same kind on the other. Open combat turned to the covert. Outwardly they did not move, yet their Soul Forces had already clashed several rounds.
The Elders had not noticed for two reasons: the ripples of Soul Force were faint, and the pair’s abnormal stillness had misdirected their attention. Thanks to Ancestor Sui Bian’s reminder, Elder Qun Fang immediately sensed the undercurrent beneath the calm. She was secretly astonished. The Soul Force of both Yu Zhao and Du Wu Xiang exceeded what their realms should possess, especially Yu Zhao, who could stand toe to toe with Du Wu Xiang at late Divine Transformation. No wonder Sui Bian was so confident.
In the invisible mental world, it was so quiet it felt as if time had stopped. Yu Zhao and Du Wu Xiang stood apart. Behind Du Wu Xiang loomed a massive tiger’s head. Dark-gold markings intertwined to form an irregular king character on its brow. Twin tiger eyes burned on either side like flames that could peer into a prey’s soul.
Behind Yu Zhao stood a gigantic double-faced mirror. One face was white, its surface rippling faintly like water. The other was jet black, yet shone with a strange luster that made one want to reach out and probe at a glance.
Neither spoke, but invisible power surged about them, layering into a heavy oppressive aura that collided again and again.
After an unknown interval, Du Wu Xiang spoke first: “Yu Zhao, Ancestor Sui Bian is not your master. Who is?”
Yu Zhao answered evenly: “Wanderer Ming Yue.”
Du Wu Xiang murmured: “Wanderer Ming Yue?”He could not recall any illusion-path senior by that name. Yu Zhao added mildly: “She is not of the Middle Thousand World.”
Du Wu Xiang understood: “So a cultivator of the Upper Thousand World. No wonder I have never heard of her.”
He said: “Your luck is bad. Give you a few more years and I might not be your match. It is a pity for you to meet me now.”
Yu Zhao smiled slightly: “You are speaking too soon.”
He said with pride: “Your Soul Force may contend with mine, but beyond Soul Force, insight into the path of illusion is the key. You cannot defeat me.”
As he spoke, he stamped his right foot forward. In an instant, the tiger’s head behind him flashed like a specter, jaws yawning wide enough to swallow sky and earth as it lunged straight for Yu Zhao. A rank, fishy reek rushed at her. She could even feel threads of moisture on her cheeks and see each individual hair on the tiger’s head.
Her expression did not change. She opened her palm, then flipped it back. The white mirror behind her surged with waves. Several transparent vertical lines split the surface. In the next breath, under Du Wu Xiang’s startled stare, a second ferocious tiger broke the water and crashed headlong into the first.
With low roars and the dull crack of colliding bones, thick ropes of spittle scattered like pelting marbles in all directions. Invisible shockwaves churned in a shrill gale. Space twisted and warped, as if on the verge of collapse.
Du Wu Xiang glanced at the pair of battling tiger heads above and seemed about to speak, but when he saw Yu Zhao’s composure, his jaw tightened and his eyes hardened: “You can copy one. I do not believe you can copy all of my Illusory Beasts.”
He slashed his right arm through the air. Soul Force surged and a tide of beast phantoms flooded forth, each radiating a terrifying oppressive aura. The once-open mental world grew crowded at once.
Set against the mass of beasts, Yu Zhao’s figure seemed tiny, yet the awe-inspiring momentum pouring off her could not be ignored. She lifted her forefinger and curled it forward. The water-bright mirror boiled. Beasts identical to those opposite leapt out one after another, and without any command from Yu Zhao they threw themselves into grapples with their counterparts.
The distortions in space deepened. The ground heaved like waves. Both Yu Zhao and Du Wu Xiang realized the mental world was about to collapse. As expected, in the next moment, their consciousnesses were pulled back into their bodies.
They moved in the same heartbeat.
Yu Zhao raised the Floating Life Mirror with one hand and brought the other palm slapping down. Vines burst from the earth in a rush and whipped toward Du Wu Xiang like living serpents.
Du Wu Xiang reacted without the slightest delay. He tapped his toes and a Golden Roc manifested beneath his feet, bearing him aloft in a soaring climb.
Yu Zhao sprang forward. Another Golden Roc unfurled in midair. In the blink of an eye, the two great birds tangled together, while Yu Zhao and Du Wu Xiang’s figures blurred into the void.
A hurricane howled. Oceanic waves of spiritual power tore outward on all sides. The air seemed sliced by blades, keening in thin screams. The Lingyin Elders felt the raging breath surging from every direction and stared at the hardly discernible figures in the sky, their mouths ajar in shock. They muttered: “This is a bout between Divine Transformation cultivators? You must be joking. How can Divine Transformation be this strong?”
Before this, Ancestor Fei Hong had already guessed that Yu Zhao’s strength would be far from simple. But watching her match Du Wu Xiang exchange for exchange, even taking the upper hand, shook his certainty.
Only Ancestor Sui Bian had expected exactly this. He bared his big white teeth, almost laughing out loud, until Elder Qun Fang, unable to stand it, pinched him again. He barely reined in his grin, glanced at Ancestor Fei Hong, rolled his eyes, and forced a sigh: “I warned Yu Zhao before the bout that friendship comes first and the match comes second. We are all friends, we must not take things too seriously. This youngster is too hot-blooded and would not listen. Fei Hong, do not be angry with her.”
Ancestor Fei Hong did not wish to see the look of a petty man gloating and kept a cold face without speaking.
Ancestor Sui Bian went on, still with a pained tone: “When this bout ends, I must lecture her properly. How can she act so wantonly? Arrogant, too arrogant.”