Chapter 50: The Talisman’s Deception

This situation caught everyone by surprise, save for Du Cheng, who nodded in satisfaction, though he then heard a voice transmit a message.

“It seems Han Xue’s judgment is sound, and Huang Qi’s efforts will not have been in vain.”

Du Cheng recognized it as Gu Sheng’s transmitted message. Seeing Gu Sheng concealed on the mountain, he replied via transmission: “Indeed. Even on his deathbed, Senior Brother Huang still fretted over that ‘Talisman Maniac’s Handbook’. Though our paths diverged, helping Senior Brother Huang find someone who recognizes his talent can be considered fulfilling his final wish.”

Regardless of the transmitted conversation, Du Cheng’s expression remained largely unreadable, a stark contrast to the multitude of disciples watching the battle.

“How did she manage that? Could she have been concealing her cultivation? Is Junior Sister Lian actually a Great Perfection cultivator?”

“That’s impossible. I was the one who introduced Junior Sister Lian when she first joined the sect. Unless she was already hiding her cultivation then, how could she possibly have advanced from the fourth layer to Great Perfection in just two years?”

The Lake Hall disciples were engrossed in their fervent discussions, yet none could fathom what was truly happening. Disciples from the other two halls, even more bewildered, quickly gravitated closer to join them.

“Junior Brother, if you’d be so kind, tell us about this Junior Sister Lian’s background.”

“Junior Sister Lian usually keeps to herself, so we’ve barely seen her and are just as confused.”

More people gathered, asking, “What about her spiritual roots? Could she have dual spiritual roots? Senior Brother, since you introduced Junior Sister Lian to the sect, you should know, shouldn’t you?”

“Spiritual roots… I seem to recall they were five-elemental roots.”

“Impossible, you must be mistaken. Not only are five-elemental roots inherently chaotic in spiritual energy, but the meridians are also a complete mess. If she started at the fourth layer, reaching the sixth layer in two years would be a miracle.”

The speaker’s tone was so certain that no one else harbored any doubt; instead, the Lake Hall disciple who had introduced Lian Yueying began to question their own memory.

Before the disciples could reach a conclusion amidst their chattering, a sudden clamor erupted from the stage, drawing all their gazes towards it.

From Lian Yueying’s hands, a flurry of talismans transformed into a dazzling array of spells, assailing Li Ming. Yet, despite their seemingly chaotic nature, these spells were meticulously ordered, almost exclusively cast according to the cycle of the Five Elements.

The mutually enhancing effects were negligible at best, but their true advantage lay in not interfering with one another.

At this moment, there was both good news and bad news.

The good news was that Lian Yueying’s plan had succeeded: the opening ‘Rising Tide’ was meant to intimidate Li Ming, preventing him from advancing recklessly, thus allowing Lian Yueying to wear him down with talismans.

Furthermore, in terms of spiritual energy depletion, Li Ming, struck by the true talismans, and Lian Yueying were evenly matched.

The bad news, however, was that Li Ming no longer harbored any contempt for Lian Yueying. With his full concentration now engaged, Lian Yueying’s talismans could only serve to deplete him, and it wouldn’t be long before Li Ming uncovered her strategy.

This tactic could only be employed once, and only once in front of such an audience. Yet, facing a Great Perfection cultivator, she had no room to hold back.

In the blink of an eye, a quarter of an hour passed. Li Ming, seeing Lian Yueying make no other moves while his own spiritual energy steadily diminished, finally pressed closer to her once more.

However, this time, he was even more cautious than Ouyang Xiu had been previously, knowing Lian Yueying could not unleash another ‘Rising Tide’.

‘Li Ming is so cautious that even if I create a large cloud of dust again, I won’t be able to conceal talismans within it. This is tricky… No, command talismans don’t necessarily have to follow a “hide first, reveal later” sequence. They don’t understand talismans anyway, so any method I use will be new to them.’

With this thought, Lian Yueying fixed her gaze on the approaching Li Ming, retrieving more talismans. Immediately, five true talisman spells launched an assault against him, as faint blue runes appeared on her hands, swiftly connecting to the talismans.

Li Ming saw a net composed of five ‘Grand Momentum Blades’ sweeping towards him. He retreated several steps in succession, then dodged aside, counterattacking by throwing several stone spears at Lian Yueying. Yet, he noticed the ground behind Lian Yueying was already covered in talismans.

As the stone spears struck, Lian Yueying’s hands continued their relentless motion, blocking them with true talismans.

However, these stone spears were no ordinary spells; upon clashing with the ‘Grand Momentum Blades’, they fragmented, transforming into a dense shower of sharp spikes that surged towards Lian Yueying.

‘It has *that* effect? When he used this move to block the ‘Rising Tide Grand Momentum Blades’ earlier, I didn’t notice any special effect. It seems I might have underestimated him a bit?’

The distance was too close for Lian Yueying to personally cast the ‘Mountain-Bearing Shield’; she could only employ talismans to do so, which, in turn, revealed the subtle arrangement on the ground.

It was clear that Lian Yueying could control a far greater number of talismans than before, each one meeting an incoming spike, momentarily slowing Li Ming’s charge. Then, abruptly, his momentum surged.

Having fought Lian Yueying for so long, he likely understood her strategy. To prevent her from deploying even more talismans, he had to close the distance quickly.

Li Ming was correct in his assessment, yet he failed to discern the deeper intricacies of her plan.

Lian Yueying, with her back to her prepared position, showed no panic as Li Ming charged. With a pull of her command talisman, a dozen ‘Grand Momentum Blades’ and countless golden arrows simultaneously assailed Li Ming. His ‘Mountain-Bearing Shield’ was shattered in an instant, forcing him to retreat and use spells to defend himself.

‘To inscribe runes in the manner of talismans—Senior Huang Qi truly was a genius. Talismans drawn like this can suppress a Great Perfection cultivator.’

Outside the arena, the disciples’ eyes widened at this spectacle. They didn’t understand how Lian Yueying achieved it, but they clearly saw an eighth-layer cultivator suppressing a Great Perfection master.

“Junior Sister has used talismans, right? What exactly is Junior Sister Lian doing?”

“I don’t know, I can only activate one talisman at a time… Ah, Senior Sister Lian looks so dependable!”

The female disciple, cupping her face in infatuation, drew sidelong glances from others, who then distanced themselves slightly before remarking, “How can Senior Brother Li be suppressed? Is Junior Sister Lian wielding some kind of magic treasure?”

“What kind of magic treasure can a Qi Condensation cultivator even wield? In my opinion, it’s likely some talisman-related spell. However, Senior Brother Li isn’t being suppressed; he’s probably just probing.”

Whether it was a probe was known only to Li Ming himself.

Since the start of the match, he had felt a constant sense of powerlessness, not only having to constantly guard against incomprehensible talismans but also confronting an endless stream of bizarre spells.

Let alone him, even Du Cheng couldn’t discern how Lian Yueying was unleashing such potent ‘Grand Momentum Blades’, their power approaching that of a casual strike from an early Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Inside the arena’s viewing pavilion, Zhou Zhongchen watched Lian Yueying’s movements, then glanced at Zhou Yan on the other side. His expression remained placid, his thoughts inscrutable.

Turning to Zhou Yan, his patience had worn thin after several probes. More importantly, he was eager to see how Lian Yueying would fare, so he seized an opportunity to fully unleash the ‘Mountain-Bearing Art’. Three ‘Thousand-Jins Blades’, imbued with irresistible might, shattered Yu Cheng’s defenses, striking his golden protective aura and forcing him to cough up a mouthful of blood.

Evidently, Yu Cheng was utterly powerless against Zhou Yan, who wielded the ‘Mountain-Bearing Art’, and thus, this match concluded.

Zhou Yan, distracted, exchanged bows with Yu Cheng, completed the formalities, and then stood on the stage, meticulously studying Lian Yueying’s combat strategy.

Despite how preposterous it seemed, he had a distinct feeling that Li Ming might actually lose to Lian Yueying.

Currently, all eyes were fixed on the stage where Lian Yueying and Li Ming fought. Disciples continuously called their friends over to witness this rare spectacle, and surprisingly, the Lake Hall’s semi-final arena now boasted more spectators than even the Peak Hall’s.

After today, Lian Yueying was sure to become famous within the Tuoshan Sect. Li Ming, however, felt a profound sense of crisis.

After all, a Great Perfection cultivator defeating an eighth-layer one was inconsequential, but the reverse? Not only would he likely face ridicule, but he might also lose his self-confidence.

A thick sense of crisis enveloped his heart, and Li Ming erupted with an unprecedented fighting spirit. Knowing he couldn’t prolong the fight with Lian Yueying, he chose to charge fiercely, just as Ouyang Xiu had, relying on his cultivation advantage.

Lian Yueying had long since activated the ‘Sea Convergence Art’, restoring her spiritual energy as much as possible. Fortunately, she had primarily relied on talismans throughout the match, leaving her with enough spiritual power for at least two more ‘Rising Tides’. With this assurance, she grew even calmer, her hand movements almost becoming muscle memory.

As talismans were expended and true talismans forced retreats, Lian Yueying’s true talismans rapidly diminished. After just a few exchanges, only ten remained, while Li Ming finally showed a hint of weariness.

Having cultivated to the late Qi Condensation stage, the nature of one’s spiritual roots became less crucial during combat.

In terms of foundational mastery, Li Ming could not compare to Ouyang Xiu. And simply knowing how to cultivate, he was clearly not as clever as Lian Yueying.

In his younger days, he had suffered ten defeats in ten battles against Zhou Zhongchen, leaving his mental state unstable. He only knew how to diligently cultivate but had never mastered the art of refined combat. Watching from outside the arena, Zhou Zhongchen shook his head repeatedly, his expression a mix of pity and lament.

Inside the arena, Lian Yueying repelled Li Ming once more. Feeling that the time was right, she decided against using her remaining five true talismans.

‘As expected of a Great Perfection cultivator, even if his technique is lacking, his spiritual sea is truly unfathomable. However, after using so many true talismans, I have enough spiritual energy for one ‘Rising Tide’ but not two. How should I counter him now?’

Lian Yueying considered herself adept at pre-arrangements, but her weakness in spontaneous encounters had yet to be resolved.

Yet, every opponent who posed such a challenge to her possessed a higher cultivation level. She had long grown accustomed to fighting those of unequal strength, a fact she herself had never realized.

‘I’ll take a gamble. Li Ming isn’t mentally sharp enough; he might not see through this.’

Lian Yueying stood holding her command talisman, unleashing a deluge of talismans that bombarded Li Ming. His charge faltered; he blocked with his ‘Mountain-Bearing Shield’ and evaded with his movement technique. By the time the assault ceased, his third ‘Mountain-Bearing Shield’ had already shattered.

As the dust settled, Lian Yueying was no longer in her original position. Scattered talismans remained on the ground, yet the ‘Light Body Talisman’ and ‘Wind Harmony Art’ had granted her extreme speed. She had already circled to Li Ming’s flank, activating more talismans and dropping others.

Clearly, Li Ming was getting anxious. Seeing Lian Yueying abandon her defensive position, he realized her true talismans might be running low, and immediately employed an evasion art to pursue her.

Lian Yueying was too slow to dodge. Seeing a ‘Grand Momentum Blade’ hurtling towards her, she could only draw her longsword and use the ‘Three-Foot Mirror’ to absorb it, then instantly counterattack before circling the arena and fleeing.

Thus, Lian Yueying retreated while fighting, and Li Ming pursued while attacking, transforming the positional battle into a chase. Not only did Li Ming, somewhat blinded by his belief in impending victory and his sole focus on Lian Yueying, fail to notice, but even the disciples watching from outside the arena paid little attention to the seemingly useless talismans scattered on the ground. Most assumed Lian Yueying had failed to activate them in her panic.

Of course, the elites from Peak Hall and Bamboo Hall naturally saw through it. Ouyang Xiu, needless to say, understood, and beside him, Senior Sister Fang Huanyi’s eyes narrowed slightly, her hand, clutching her sword, tightened almost imperceptibly.

“Such a move! If I hadn’t come today, I might have suffered a loss during the Grand Competition. Junior Brother Ouyang, you’ve sparred with her; she must still have some tricks hidden, right?”

Ouyang Xiu, recognizing Fang Huanyi’s burgeoning interest, shook his head. “I don’t know. That day, Junior Sister Lian and I merely exchanged pointers and did not fight to the very end.”

Nearby, Liao Zhibamboo and Cai Xiangcheng from Bamboo Hall approached. Cai Xiangcheng was clearly interested as well, though he remained somewhat taciturn.

Liao Zhibamboo cupped his fist towards Fang Huanyi. “Senior Sister Fang, do you intend to spar with Junior Sister Lian in the Grand Competition? Having reached the Minor Competition finals, eight thousand contribution points are surely yours, and Senior Sister can already break through to Foundation Establishment, can’t you?”

“I can certainly wait two years. What? Does Junior Brother Liao think I’m in the way? Even without me, Peak Hall still has Junior Brother Wang and Junior Brother Ouyang. To claim first place in the Grand Competition, one must still overcome them.”

“Senior Sister jested, I…”

Before his words could finish, a tremendous roar suddenly echoed from within the arena.