Chapter 202: Chapter 199: People of the Star Sword Sect, Mind-Bending Smoke

This was a desolate, ancient forest, cut off from the rest of the world.

"Ninth Elder, let me introduce you. This is First Senior Brother, Tang Lin, and Second Senior Sister, Zi Yunfei."

"This is the Ninth Elder."

Xiang Yinghao made the introductions.

"Ninth Elder, what’s going on?"

The two were initially stunned. It wasn’t until Xiang Yinghao explained everything that they understood the whole story.

"Hmph. Those bastards from the Cyan Splendor Sect. How dare they cause trouble for the Yanyue Sect while we were away."

Zi Yunfei snorted. She was a beautiful, tall woman with the heroic and valiant air of a female general, and she had always had a fiery temper.

"Greetings, Ninth Elder." She called out to Ning Jiang, acknowledging his status.

As for Tang Lin, his personality, according to Xiang Yinghao, was on the sullen side. He was usually taciturn and serious, often wearing a stern expression.

He glanced at Ning Jiang and simply nodded without speaking.

"How are the people from the Fire Cloud Sect?" Xiang Yinghao asked.

Zi Yunfei’s gaze turned cold. "Those guys are incredibly arrogant. They actually told us to get lost earlier. But their real experts haven’t arrived yet. The Fire Cloud Sect is quite far from here, after all. I estimate their people won’t be here until tomorrow."

Xiang Yinghao nodded. "The Elders’ intention is for us to compete against their younger generation to seize the Spirit Vein!"

"That’s just what I want. No matter what, we can’t just hand the Spirit Vein over to the Fire Cloud Sect," Zi Yunfei said firmly. She had no love for the Fire Cloud Sect either.

"Don’t get careless. Even if the three of us team up, our chances of winning a team battle aren’t high," Xiang Yinghao said grimly.

The Fire Cloud Sect had far more top-tier experts than they did. It wouldn’t be hard for them to find three people stronger than them.

"For the team battle, I have an Array Technique I can teach you," Ning Jiang said at this moment.

"An array? Isn’t it a bit late to learn an array now?" Zi Yunfei asked, surprised.

"I have my ways. If you learn this array, your chances of winning will be over eighty percent," Ning Jiang said enigmatically.

"Then let’s give it a try."

The three exchanged a look and decided to try Ning Jiang’s array.

"This array is called the Three Talents Golden Lock Formation. It requires three people working in concert, each standing in the positions of Heaven, Earth, and Man. The Celestial position focuses on attack, the Earthly position on defense, and the Human position on support."

Ning Jiang had countless arrays like this in his mind. This Three Talents Golden Lock Formation could only be considered ordinary, but it was more than enough to deal with some Spirit Realm cultivators.

At first, the three of them didn’t pay much attention to the array. They didn’t believe an array that could be learned overnight could be that powerful.

But gradually, their expressions all turned serious.

They discovered that this Three Talents Golden Lock Formation was indeed endlessly profound, containing hundreds of variations within a single array.

"This array can increase our overall combat strength by at least fifty percent!" Zi Yunfei exclaimed in shock.

The usually quiet Tang Lin couldn’t help but give Ning Jiang a few more glances, secretly astonished that such a young man could possess such methods.

For the entire night, the three of them didn’t rest, continuously practicing the array Ning Jiang had taught them.

Whenever they made a mistake, Ning Jiang would immediately point it out. Every word he spoke was profound and got straight to the heart of the matter.

This was tantamount to being personally coached by a Venerable. Under such circumstances, the three of them naturally made rapid progress.

By the time the sun rose in the morning, they had completed a full run-through of the array. Ning Jiang nodded.

"Not bad. You’ve grasped fifty percent of this array’s potential. Winning the team battle shouldn’t be a problem."

"The Ninth Elder is incredible! To think he’s so proficient in arrays."

"Duh. If he weren’t incredible, could he be an Elder?"

The other disciples who had come along chattered among themselves.

"The Fire Cloud Sect is here!" someone suddenly cried out in alarm.

All eyes turned to see a giant, winged lion appear in the distant sky. Its body was as massive as a mountain, and each strand of its fur was like a steel needle, exuding a sharp aura.

On its back stood over twenty figures, each one exuding a powerful aura.

The clothes they wore were all adorned with conspicuous fire clouds, proclaiming their identity.

The giant flying lion descended above the crowd and let out a defiant roar.

"ROAR."

The mountains echoed in response, a sound like a clap of thunder that made the ears of the Yanyue Sect disciples ring.

"Yanyue Sect, if you know what’s good for you, scram. This Spirit Vein isn’t something you can touch." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The leading disciple of the Fire Cloud Sect stood with his hands behind his back, looking down on everyone from the Yanyue Sect with a high-and-mighty air.

"That’s right. Scram if you don’t want to die."

"What gives a minor sect like Yanyue Sect the right to compete with us for a Spirit Vein?"

"Did you hear us? Now scram."

The members of the Fire Cloud Sect shouted harshly.

"These bastards are taking it too far." The Yanyue Sect disciples clenched their fists, their eyes blazing with anger.

"Fire Cloud Sect, enough with the nonsense. The ownership of this Spirit Vein will be decided according to the old rules. A three-round competition. If we win, the Spirit Vein is ours!" Zi Yunfei shouted coldly.

"Zi Yunfei, I think you’d be better off joining our Fire Cloud Sect. With your looks, we’d take good care of you, hahaha."

This instantly drew a wave of laughter, and mocking gazes fell upon Zi Yunfei.

Zi Yunfei was a top-tier genius and a beauty within the Yanyue Sect; quite a few people knew of her.

"A bunch of despicable villains. You’re lower than rats in my eyes. If you don’t dare to compete, then get lost," Zi Yunfei said without holding back.

"You’re courting death! Since you want to ask for humiliation, we’ll grant you your wish."

Instantly, the air was thick with tension.

"Looks like your Fire Cloud Sect and the Yanyue Sect are truly like fire and water."

Among the Fire Cloud Sect’s crowd, a handsome young man spoke slowly. His clothes were different from the others; his cuffs were embroidered with a sword.

His entire being emanated a sharp aura that set him apart from the others.

"Brother Shangguan Yang, care to guess if the Yanyue Sect can win even a single round?"

Beside Shangguan Yang was a charming and beautiful woman.

The woman was enchanting and graceful, her eyes full of charm. Her bright gaze seemed to crackle with electricity; a single glance could make one’s heart race and mind wander.

The woman was named Cai Qingqiu, a famous great beauty of the Fire Cloud Sect, renowned throughout Qing Province.

For the longest time, she’d had countless suitors, both within and outside the sect.

And Shangguan Yang was one of them.

Unlike her other suitors, Shangguan Yang was among the top in both strength and status.

Because he was from the Star Sword Sect, and he was one of the top ten of their younger generation!

"The current Yanyue Sect has indeed declined too much. I’m afraid they won’t win a single round," Shangguan Yang said after a moment’s thought.

"Hehe, let’s just see how the Yanyue Sect struggles. I hope they put on a good show, otherwise it’ll be too boring," Cai Qingqiu said nonchalantly.

’It’s a shame that Yue Lianxi, the one she found so annoying, isn’t here. Otherwise, she’d love to see what a helpless expression Yue Lianxi would make in a situation like this.’

"I have two pieces of news, one good, one bad," Zi Yunfei said slowly.

"Let’s have the good news first."

"The good news is that the Fire Cloud Sect’s young titan isn’t here. He probably thinks it’s beneath someone of his status to show up, looking down on this place, I suppose?"

"And the bad news?"

"See the person next to Cai Qingqiu? He’s from the Star Sword Sect. I’ve seen him before. His name is Shangguan Yang, and from the looks of it, he’s on good terms with the Fire Cloud Sect."

At the mention of the Star Sword Sect, everyone’s expression turned serious.

This was the only Upper Grade Sect in Qing Province, the head of the Five Great Sects. Its strength surpassed any of the Middle Grade Sects.

They even have Earth Martial Realm powerhouses presiding over their sect.

The other Four Great Sects all held this sect in a kind of awe.

"Today is a matter between our Yanyue Sect and the Fire Cloud Sect. The Star Sword Sect shouldn’t interfere, right?"

"Let’s hope so."

At that moment, a skinny man from the Fire Cloud Sect walked out and shouted coldly, "The first battle is a battle of will. Who from your Yanyue Sect is up? Get your ass out here."

"Hmph, I’ll fight you." Liang Tao snorted and stepped forward. "Liang Tao of the Yanyue Sect. And who might you be?"

"Who I am is none of your business. You’re destined to be my defeated opponent anyway," the skinny man said arrogantly.

Liang Tao said no more, clenching his jaw. He had to win against this opponent.

"Bring out the Mind-Bending Smoke!"

A three-foot-long, entirely black stick of incense was brought out.

This Mind-Bending Smoke was mass-produced by the Star Sword Sect and distributed to the Major Sects.

Once the smoke was inhaled, all sorts of illusions would form in one’s mind. Those with weak wills would collapse.

"Light the incense!"

Soon, the Mind-Bending Smoke was lit. The black smoke billowed out strangely, only spreading within a ten-zhang radius before stopping.

Within that radius, Liang Tao and the Fire Cloud Sect disciple stood.

In their minds, all sorts of illusions appeared instantly. As the smoke grew thicker, the illusions intensified.

In his illusion, Liang Tao saw a sea of fire scorching his entire body, and he felt horrific pain.

The terror of the Mind-Bending Smoke lay in the fact that while experiencing the illusion, the body would feel the sensations as if they were real.

After half a stick of incense had burned, Liang Tao’s body was trembling uncontrollably. His face was ghastly pale, and his forehead was drenched in cold sweat.

The Fire Cloud Sect disciple opposite him was also pale, but he was holding up much better than Liang Tao.

"ARGH!"

After holding on for a little longer, Liang Tao let out a bloodcurdling scream. In the illusion, he saw himself being smashed to smithereens. He finally couldn’t take it anymore, and his will collapsed.

"We still lost."

The people from the Yanyue Sect sighed and pulled Liang Tao out.

"Sorry," Liang Tao said, his face full of guilt.

"Don’t worry about it. We’ll definitely win the next round."

At this, Zi Yunfei gave Ning Jiang a deep look. ’Perhaps Ning Jiang had already guessed Liang Tao’s chances were slim, which was why he focused on teaching us the array last night?’

"Yanyue Sect, you’ll lose the second match as well."

From within the Fire Cloud Sect’s ranks, three figures with formidable auras stepped forward.