Chapter 53: The Hundred Flowers Unification Art

The terrifying, surging fire dragon lasted only a brief moment. A sharp sword light cleaved it cleanly in half, splitting it from jaw to crown.

Then, with a thunderous roar, it shattered, dissipating into countless sparks which rained down upon the greater part of the dueling stage.

Yun Xueshang held her sword aloft, looking up. Hua Yan, at some unknown point, had ascended into mid-air. The array disk she had wielded was gone, replaced by a vibrant, multicolored net.

The instant Yun Xueshang’s sword had shattered the fire dragon, this net had silently appeared above her head.

“It’s not over yet! Again!”

Hua Yan’s delicate shout echoed as the multicolored net abruptly expanded, then swiftly swooped down from above. With a flash of shimmering light, it directly enveloped Yun Xueshang.

Yun Xueshang’s expression tightened. She swung her sword, aiming to cut through the net. Yet, the net proved exceptionally resilient; she felt the full force of her strike being absorbed, as if only three-tenths of her power could genuinely harm its surface.

Simultaneously, Hua Yan, still suspended in the air, continued her assault. She quickly popped a pill into her mouth and affixed two talismans to her body.

Then, with a flick of her hand, a purple toxic mist, reeking of a sweet, decaying scent, surged forth, covering the sky and earth. Another sweep of her sleeve released a buzzing, formidable black cloud.

Upon closer inspection, this cloud was a dense swarm of black venomous bees, each adorned with an armored shell and a long, slender black stinger at its tail.

Just as the toxic mist and bee swarm closed in, Yun Xueshang, trapped within the net, abruptly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

When she swung her sword again, the Autumn Water Sword in her hand gained a newfound suppleness.

Her movements flowed like a surging river; instead of severing the net, she skillfully leveraged it, directly flipping the entire net away.

— Carefree Sword Art, Twelfth Form: Flowing Water!

However, no sooner had she broken free than the purple mist and bee swarm converged from all directions, completely engulfing her.

Yun Xueshang’s stance subtly shifted. With power surging from her waist and legs, her long sword suddenly swept upward.

In that instant, spiraling sword energy erupted from around her, transforming into an impenetrable storm of blades that shredded the vast majority of the toxic mist and bee swarm!

— Carefree Sword Art, Tenth Form: Sword Qi Tornado!

Hua Yan’s offensive, however, was far from over. In the brief moment Yun Xueshang was fully occupied with the mist and bees, Hua Yan waved her hand, releasing a flurry of automatons.

In a mere instant, these automatons transformed into red-haired, sword-wielding maidens identical to herself. Hua Yan, blending among them, then drew a jade painting brush and rapidly wielded it in mid-air, sketching furiously.

In a flash, another wave of red-haired, sword-wielding maidens appeared, hovering above the entire dueling stage and completely surrounding Yun Xueshang.

The white-haired immortal wielding her sword remained utterly composed. With light steps, she maneuvered deftly in mid-air, cleaving the first approaching “Hua Yan” into automaton fragments with a single strike.

Yet, as she spun and delivered a second strike at another “Hua Yan” beside her, her sword seemed to cut through empty air. The opponent simply twisted their body, their colors fading, before they vanished into nothingness.

‘Some are real, some are fake…’

Yun Xueshang’s thoughts raced as she swiftly reacted, retracting her strength and changing her stance in time. With a backhand swing, she shattered another “Hua Yan” that had attempted to ambush her from behind.

‘Such a mix of real and fake. If I were to distinguish and eliminate them one by one, it would require careful discernment and constant vigilance against vulnerabilities, which would surely drain much of my spiritual energy.’

‘It would be better to deal with them all at once!’

With her resolve set, the aura around her dramatically shifted. Her long sword moved like a gentle breeze rustling willows—light, yet incredibly swift. In an instant, it swept away all the surrounding “Hua Yans.”

— Carefree Sword Art, Thirteenth Form: Clear Breeze!

But at that very moment, one of the “Hua Yans” was not shattered by the light sword move. Instead, it raised the thin sword in its right hand, thrusting directly at Yun Xueshang’s lower back!

‘That’s the real one!’

“Clang—!”

The crisp clash of metal, accompanied by a surging wave of energy, erupted violently from the dueling stage, causing the surrounding protective barrier to visibly tremble.

It was Yun Xueshang, who had once again swiftly parried, using the flat of her blade to firmly block Hua Yan’s seemingly inevitable strike.

— Carefree Sword Art, Sixth Form: Block!

Immediately, the long sword in her hand coiled around Hua Yan’s thin sword like a spiritual snake around a tree. With a forceful twist of her wrist, she directly flung the opponent’s weapon away!

— Carefree Sword Art, Eighth Form: Entwine!

‘Heh, I knew it. After you blocked, you would definitely use Entwine!’

Hua Yan showed no surprise that her attack had been blocked. Instead, a knowing smile, indicating ‘just as expected,’ flashed in her eyes. Seizing the opening created by Yun Xueshang entwining and disarming her right-hand sword, she suddenly unleashed her left hand.

Her palm glowed with bolts of purple lightning, long accumulated, which she mercilessly struck Yun Xueshang with!

“Boom—!”

The terrifying lightning exploded, forcefully knocking Yun Xueshang from mid-air onto the dueling stage. And it wasn’t over yet!

As Yun Xueshang landed, the ground of the dueling stage suddenly burst into roaring flames. Lightning and fire intertwined, instantly engulfing her completely!

‘Heh, why would I only release a single fire dragon at the start after bringing out my array disk?’

Hua Yan watched Yun Xueshang, enveloped by lightning and fire, a triumphant smile playing on her lips.

‘An array disk, of course, is for setting up arrays!’

It turned out the opening fire dragon was merely a diversion. Her true plan was to silently set up this concealed fire array while releasing the fire dragon, all for this very moment—to deliver this crushing blow to Yun Xueshang.

Up to this point, the situation on the field had consistently been firmly in Hua Yan’s favor!

“Whoa—!”

A sudden uproar erupted from the crowd. Although everyone had more or less guessed before the match that Hua Yan, being able to compete with Sword Head Yun, must be formidable, no one had anticipated that Sword Head Yun’s charming red-haired dao companion would be so powerful.

Even after such an intense battle, she had managed to consistently suppress Sword Head Yun.

“Wow! I knew it, Daoist Friend Hua is definitely amazing!”

In the spectator stands, Lin Qianqian clapped excitedly, appearing even more jubilant than the two children beside her. Of course, this might also be because the two little ones, with their shallow cultivation, couldn’t discern the intricate details of the fight on stage, thus lacking some of the direct awe.

Amidst her excitement, a hint of confusion arose:

“But… how can she continuously use so many different techniques?”

Hua Yan’s demonstrated methods were truly too complex: array formations, Five Elements fire magic, lightning magic, automatons, poison arts, sword arts, insect control, and even the mysterious art of painting. She seemed proficient in everything, and exceptionally skilled in each.

[Heh heh, that’s because Hua Yan cultivates the Hundred Flowers Valley’s unique secret technique—the ‘Hundred Flowers Unification Art.’]

A gentle, aged voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

Lin Qianqian quickly turned her head, only to see a white-haired elder holding a teacup standing beside her, though she hadn’t noticed him arrive. Yet, none of the bustling crowd around them seemed aware of the elder’s presence.

[Sect Master?]

She quickly transmitted her voice back.

[Mhm.] Ye Qingyuan nodded with a smile. [Qianqian, would you like a cup of tea?]

[Thank you, Sect Master!]

Lin Qianqian quickly took the teacup the elder offered with both hands, took a small sip, and then curiously transmitted her voice, asking:

[Sect Master, this ‘Hundred Flowers Unification Art’ you mentioned… what kind of cultivation method is it, exactly?]