Chương 88: Chapter 89: Battle of the Sects, Reversing Heaven and Earth Alone (7)

"Curse him! That Ming Diao Zhanchen from the Qingyan Sect is a viper in human skin! He hid his true cultivation on purpose—how utterly despicable!"

"Treacherous, foul, and underhanded! Senior Sister Yueli has walked right into his trap. This is a disaster!"

"Senior Sister, hold strong! If you lose to this wretch, I'll fight to the death before I let him take you away as his prize!" On the side of the Xuanxiao Sect, the disciples watched the sudden eruption of Ming Diao Zhanchen's true power with faces drained of color. Their shouts of outrage were fueled by a desperate, bloodshot intensity as they realized the depth of the deception. Qingxiaozi and Dan Chenzi stood with expressions as dark as a gathering storm.

The breath-concealing technique practiced by Ming Diao Zhanchen was of no ordinary grade; even with their seasoned perceptions, they had failed to detect a single ripple of his true power until he chose to reveal it.

"What a calculating mind," Dan Chenzi muttered, his voice cold.

"He must have planned this long before he even stepped onto the stage. He deliberately suppressed his aura to lull us into a false sense of security, and his true target was always Yueli." In stark contrast to the gloom of the Xuanxiao Sect, the contingent from the Qingyan Sect was a riot of jubilation and mockery.

"Go for it, Senior Brother Ming Diao! Bring that Xuanxiao Sect beauty home and make her your bride!"

"Senior Brother is truly majestic! To snatch away the finest jewel of the Xuanxiao Sect right before their eyes—it makes us green with envy!"

"Hey, you Xuanxiao Sect whelps! Stop barking from the sidelines! If any of you are truly unsatisfied, feel free to step onto the stage. I'm sure Senior Brother Ming Diao wouldn't mind getting 'intimate' with you as well!"

"Indeed, well said! These cowards were too terrified to act earlier, sending out a delicate beauty to do their fighting. Now that she's about to be won over as a Dao Companion for our Senior Brother, they start their pathetic squawking. How utterly contemptible!" Tiandaozi and Ancestor Ming Diao exchanged glances, their eyes lingering on the grim faces of Qingxiaozi and his companion. A surge of petty satisfaction washed over them, their smiles widening.

The thought of seizing a girl of such peerless beauty and exceptional talent was a victory that tasted sweeter than any wine. On the Ascension Terrace, Ji Yueli's expression shifted slightly. A flicker of panic crossed her features, but she suppressed it with a cold, iron-willed resolve.

"The Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment!" A bitter taste filled her mouth. At the 9th level of Qi Condensation, her secret arts might have granted her a fighting chance against an opponent at the Early Stage, but against the Middle Stage, her odds of victory plummeted below twenty percent. Taking a deep, steadying breath to calm her racing heart, her eyes—bright as pearls from the deep sea—flashed with a sudden, desperate finality.

"The outcome is yet to be decided, Daoist Ming Diao," she stated, her voice crystalline and frigid.

"Though your cultivation is profound, do not think for a moment that I will simply bow my head and surrender!" As she spoke, a surge of spiritual pressure erupted from her body. Though it was significantly weaker than Ming Diao Zhanchen's aura, it managed to graze the threshold of the Early Foundation Establishment realm through sheer force of will.

"Hah!" Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Without a moment's hesitation, Ji Yueli reached into her storage bag and produced an ancient, palm-sized jade plaque of a dull yellow hue. With a sharp infusion of spiritual energy, she tossed it above her head. An ethereal amber glow radiated from the plaque, expanding into a protective dome that enveloped her within a ten-foot radius.

Seeing the barrier successfully manifest, a trace of relief touched her face; she clearly placed great trust in the defensive capabilities of this artifact. After a brief, agonizing pause of hesitation, she bit down on the tip of her slender index finger. A wince touched her brow as hot, vibrant essence blood welled up, coalescing into a shimmering crimson orb at her fingertip. Using her blood as ink and her finger as a brush, Ji Yueli began to trace a complex, foot-wide rune in the void.

The sigil was a labyrinth of esoteric patterns and profound geometry. The effort of manifesting this single rune seemed to drain her of every drop of mana; her face turned a ghostly, translucent white, and her breathing became ragged and chaotic. Despite its small size, the blood-red rune exuded an aura of ancient majesty. One look was enough to know it was no ordinary technique. Even as it hung suspended in the air, a suffocating pressure began to radiate from it, heavy and oppressive.

Ming Diao Zhanchen felt the burgeoning power within the rune, and the arrogance on his face finally gave way to a mask of solemnity. He was conceited, but not a fool. Recognizing the lethal threat posed by the sigil, he dared not remain careless.

"Arise!" He slapped his forehead, and for the first time in the duel, he summoned a true magic treasure. It was a jade Ruyi, a foot long and carved from the finest emerald-green jade. Its surface was etched with intricate scenes of the scholarly arts—the zither, the go board, calligraphy, and painting—with faint glimmers of light flowing through the carvings like liquid silk. This Ruyi was clearly a rare treasure.

Under the surge of his mana, it transformed, manifesting countless green silk threads that cascaded downward like the weeping branches of a willow tree. These threads formed a dense, shimmering curtain that shielded Ming Diao Zhanchen from all sides. Simultaneously, the blood-red rune floating before Ji Yueli suddenly erupted with a blinding golden radiance. A strange, otherworldly power seemed to be summoned from a rift in space, descending upon the world using the rune as its anchor.

"Buzz!" In that exact moment, Reyn's face underwent a violent transformation. His body tensed like a coiled spring, and a flash of panic darted through his eyes. Though he regained his composure a heartbeat later, the look he cast toward Ji Yueli was filled with profound shock and suspicion. Just as Ji Yueli had activated the rune, the Golden Seal fused within Reyn's soul—which had remained dormant and silent for so long—suddenly shuddered with violent intensity.

A mysterious, ancient aura surged from the seal, and though it retracted within a breath, the sensation it left behind was terrifying. It was a primal, bloodline-deep urge to submit, a feeling that made his very soul tremble. For a fleeting second, Reyn felt as though his entire will had been stripped away, leaving him unable to even conceive of resistance. What kind of treasure is this Golden Seal? Why would it resonate so violently with Ji Yueli's technique?

In that brief span of time, Reyn had clearly felt a portion of that aura enter the blood-red rune before Ji Yueli. When it returned to the seal, it hadn't diminished; if anything, its presence felt a fraction more substantial. This sudden anomaly caused Reyn's expression to darken. His entire journey in cultivation thus far had been supported by the power of this Golden Seal. If he could not uncover its true nature, he would never truly be at peace. Fortunately, Reyn's internal turmoil went unnoticed by the crowd.

Every eye was glued to the Ascension Terrace, captivated by the overwhelming pressure emanating from Ji Yueli's blood rune. At the moment the golden light flared, Ji Yueli's eyes widened in a flash of pure, unadulterated disbelief. This was followed immediately by a surge of ecstatic joy. Though she masked her reaction with incredible speed, she could not hide it from Reyn's keen observation.

Her gaze swept frantically across the surrounding area, searching for something, but when she failed to find a source for the anomaly, a deep, lingering disappointment settled in the depths of her eyes. Does Senior Sister Ji actually perceive the aura of the Golden Seal? Reyn thought, his mind racing. Her runic method is eerily similar to the techniques used by Yu Meiren and the Spirit Corpse Venerable in the sealed land, though the scale of power is vastly different.

Could it be that she possesses a specific bloodline that allows her to resonate with the seal? It seems the origin of this Golden Seal is tied to her in some way. I must find an opportunity to investigate this further. Seeing Ji Yueli's gaze lingering suspiciously near his position, Reyn quickly lowered his eyes, slowing his breathing until it was as calm and indistinguishable as a still pond.