Yan Yan, upon finishing his words, unfurled the Sun Blaze Jade Immortal Mirror in his hand, seemingly preparing to activate it with a decisive secret art.
Xue Rou'er's expression grew solemn upon hearing this. She patted her storage bag, and a high-grade talisman shot out, transforming into countless willow leaves that danced in the wind, their green light flashing with sharp coldness.
The Nine Heavens Profound Saint Zither, under Xue Rou'er's strumming, also unleashed waves of sonic attacks.
...
Seeing this, Yan Yan frowned. Immediately, the Primordial Remnant Treasure Fire Emblem adorning his chest blazed with spiritual light, shielding him from all sides.
Taking a deep breath, Yan Yan pressed his hands down. Simultaneously, the surface of the Sun Blaze Jade Immortal Mirror first emitted a blinding red glow.
Then, a great sun suddenly appeared, soaring across the sky and scorching the entire continental fragment.
Yan Yan said in a deep voice, "Xue Rou'er, I advise you not to think of hiding your trump cards. Whatever you have, it's best to use it now, or you won't have the chance!"
"I don't have any trump cards. I'm just reacting to your moves," Xue Rou'er replied calmly.
"Haha, Xue Rou'er, you are truly arrogant! Take this!" Yan Yan roared with laughter.
As the great sun descended, the entire continental fragment was bathed in a scarlet hue.
It seemed as if the entire fragment would melt under the scorching heat of the sun.
Yan Yan, holding the Sun Blaze Jade Immortal Mirror, resembled a sun deity, his gaze piercing as he looked at Xue Rou'er.
This move, "Great Sun Soaring Across the Sky," was a technique Yan Yan had created by combining the arts taught to him by his uncle Feng Junyi with the Sun Blaze Jade Immortal Mirror.
"Great Sun Soaring Across the Sky" allowed Yan Yan to unleash his maximum power for a brief period.
Unfortunately, due to the limitations of his spiritual power, he could only use such a move a few times.
Facing the blazing great sun, Xue Rou'er instinctively took a step back. Among the Nine Great Holy Sons of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, she, Xue Rou'er, was only considered mid-to-upper tier in terms of combat power.
She could clearly sense the heaven-defying combat strength of the top one or two among the Nine Great Holy Sons, and although Yan Yan was not universally acknowledged as the strongest, he was still stronger than her.
However, even so, she would not admit defeat so easily.
...
Xue Rou'er activated the Realm of Sound, and waves of zither music echoed. Subsequently, the music condensed into fine threads, extremely refined, with materialized spiritual energy highly compressed within, sharp and unparalleled!
Furthermore, the speed of the threads was like thunder and lightning, making them difficult to counter.
Xue Rou'er's sonic attacks did not possess earth-shattering grandeur, but they were extremely fast and razor-sharp. This was the complete opposite of Yan Yan's attack.
...
Infinitely flowing sonic threads erupted!
"Ting ting ting ting!"
Countless threads struck the blazing great sun.
"Bang bang bang!"
The great sun unleashed by Yan Yan was shattered by the sonic threads!
Threads, vast as a surging tide, continuously poured towards Yan Yan, endless and inexhaustible!
...
This dramatic shift in the situation greatly alarmed Yan Yan. In an instant, he clenched his right fist, all his fire-attribute spiritual energy gathering around his fist, emitting a dazzling red light.
"Great Sun Divine Fist!"
Yan Yan used all the spiritual energy within him and unleashed this punch.
In a trance, it was as if a red sun reappeared.
Rising sun, a hundred feet of radiance, a thousand degrees of heat.
All the threads, under this light mass resembling a true sun, melted like ice and snow, vaporizing into mist.
Following this, the scorching fire-attribute spiritual energy broke through Xue Rou'er's protective spiritual energy and surged irresistibly into her body.
Xue Rou'er's body twisted, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her frail body could no longer hold on.
She knelt on one knee, supporting the Nine Heavens Profound Saint Zither with one hand and wiping blood from the corner of her mouth with the other, barely withstanding the blow.
However, Xue Rou'er was now too weak to fight and surrendered the next second.
"Yan Yan wins!"
Yan Yan successfully advanced to the top four.
Yan Yan became the first inner disciple to advance to the top four.
The second match was Mo Wen versus Lu Yi.
On the continental fragment.
Mo Wen and Lu Yi stood fifty meters apart.
"Smug Lu Yi, long time no see! Don't think that just because you're my cousin, I'll go easy on you."
"I've been preparing for this Grand Competition for a long time, and I definitely won't admit defeat easily."
Mo Wen gave Lu Yi the middle finger, his previous cold and arrogant demeanor replaced by a teasing tone.
It turned out that Mo Wen and Lu Yi, both among the Nine Great Holy Sons, were related.
...
"Alright, what's the point of all this talk? Cousin or not, hurry up and make your move!" Lu Yi decided to end it quickly. He had no interest in dawdling with his cousin of over thirty years.
This was because their personalities clashed, and they didn't get along well, often arguing.
"Hmph, you're still the same, such a foul temper!"
Hearing Lu Yi's impatient tone, Mo Wen pursed his lips but didn't get angry.
The Primordial Remnant Treasure Yue Duan Jiang Halberd in Mo Wen's hand was three and a half meters long, half a meter thick, with an extremely wide blade.
At this moment, Mo Wen held the halberd horizontally and brought it down towards Lu Yi like Mount Tai crushing down.
Facing Mo Wen's initial assault, Lu Yi showed no signs of panic. In terms of experience, even Mo Wen, one of the Nine Great Holy Sons, could not surpass him.
Facing Mo Wen's preemptive attack, Lu Yi certainly could not let him have his way.
The gap in their combat strength was not large. If he lost this initiative, he would have no way to continue the fight.
...
In a battle between experts of the same level, if one cannot seize the initiative, they will inevitably give the opponent more opportunities to counter.
Therefore, just as Mo Wen charged forward, Lu Yi's body suddenly shifted to the right, brushing past the cold edge of the Yue Duan Jiang Halberd!
However, Mo Wen was battle-hardened and not a novice. He knew that this move could not instantly defeat Lu Yi.
...
So, Mo Wen's follow-up move was used the next second.
In his left hand, he secretly held the high-grade talisman, the Spirit Dispersing Talisman.
He flung the Spirit Dispersing Talisman towards Lu Yi. If this talisman were to stick to Lu Yi, it would instantly incapacitate him.
As the name suggests, the Spirit Dispersing Talisman could temporarily disperse a cultivator's spiritual energy.
But just as the Spirit Dispersing Talisman was about to hit Lu Yi, Lu Yi, as if he had foreseen it, braced himself with his hands on the ground and flipped backward.
Then, Lu Yi patted his storage bag, and dozens of low-grade talismans transformed into dozens of spells, flying towards Mo Wen.
This move by Lu Yi completely disrupted Mo Wen's initiative!
As Mo Wen fumbled to deal with the sudden barrage of dozens of spells, Lu Yi, wielding his Spring and Autumn Brush and a scroll, attacked Mo Wen like a storm.
"As the saying goes, an inch longer is an inch stronger, an inch shorter is an inch more dangerous!"
Although Lu Yi's Spring and Autumn Brush and scroll, in terms of destructive power, were inferior to Mo Wen's Yue Duan Jiang Halberd, they excelled in agility and flexibility, offering both offense and defense.
At this moment, if Mo Wen could not force Lu Yi back and free himself to change the tide of the battle, he would be slowly worn down to death by Lu Yi.
One incense stick... two incense sticks...
After two hours of intense combat, Lu Yi's spiritual energy circulation finally experienced a pause. His previously impenetrable barrage of attacks slowed slightly. It was this almost imperceptible mistake that Mo Wen seized upon.
With a roar, Mo Wen spun the Yue Duan Jiang Halberd in his hand, forming a massive tornado.
Facing Mo Wen in this state, Lu Yi could only retreat helplessly, leaping far back.
...
"Crack!"
At this moment, Mo Wen took out a Primordial Remnant Treasure Gua Seal Chain from his storage bag.
The next second, the silver chain shot out silently, like a silver meteor, sweeping past at astonishing speed. Before Lu Yi could react, his limbs were entangled.
"Ah!"
Lu Yi only managed to let out a cry of pain before being bound by the chain.
The Spring and Autumn Brush and scroll in Lu Yi's hands fell, piercing the ground.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
His limbs tightly bound by the silver chains, restricting his movement, Lu Yi coughed violently.
"This... is your trump card?"
Lu Yi looked at the chains wrapped around him.
"A chain of this caliber...!"
Lu Yi prepared to unleash all the spiritual energy in his body to break free from the silver chains binding him.
It was a pity...
"I... my spiritual energy...!?"
Lu Yi soon discovered something was amiss, his expression instantly darkening.
Indeed.
Lu Yi could not mobilize his spiritual energy.
Without the ability to use his spiritual energy, he naturally couldn't use his storage bag or any other means to change the current situation.
"This is the ability of the Seal Chain. Once it locks onto someone, it seals their spiritual energy. Cultivators below the Core Formation stage who are bound by it cannot break free no matter what!"
Mo Wen said to Lu Yi with a smile.
"Sealing..."
Lu Yi's breath hitched.
"Spiritual energy..."
This ability, at first hearing, seemed unremarkable.
However, the fundamental essence of cultivators was spiritual energy. Losing spiritual energy was like a tiger with its fangs removed, making it the most terrifying treasure against cultivators.
After all, once spiritual energy is sealed, it is generally a foregone conclusion that the opposing cultivator will be defeated.
Unlike demonic beasts, whose demonic bodies are formed from spiritual energy, sealing their spiritual energy does not affect them as severely as it does cultivators.
Frankly speaking, the Primordial Remnant Treasure Gua Seal Chain in Mo Wen's hand is the natural enemy of cultivators.
Anyone who finds themselves on the opposing side, if they do not wish to be directly defeated, can only try their best to evade the chain's pursuit, or simply destroy it.
...