Volume 3 Chapter 22

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Volume 3 Chapter 22: The Next Day (Part 2)

On Huandao Island, the sun shone brightly after the rain, reflecting on the damp earth, making the world appear even brighter. The monotonous sound of the waves seemed to suggest that the day ahead on Huandao Island would be exceptionally peaceful.

Perhaps it was the good weather on the second day that brought some luck to Xu Qingfan and his companions. After a night, the Seven-colored Deer no longer showed the panic they had exhibited upon hearing the loud roar the previous day. They returned to normal, grazing and strolling on the plains of Huandao Island.

Within this short half-hour since setting out, Xu Qingfan, Jin Qinghan, and the other two had already captured the eighth Seven-colored Deer. They even found the ninth one, bringing them closer to completing their task.

It seemed that with this progress, the Jiuhua Gate members were destined to complete the first round of the Newcomer Competition before noon.

The sea breeze gently swayed their hair and clothes.

At this moment, Xu Qingfan and the other four stood suspended in mid-air, quietly watching the Seven-colored Deer below, which looked up at them with wary eyes.

The Seven-colored Deer before them was much stronger than the eight they had seen before, and it behaved much more fiercely. Even in the face of the intimidating presence of the five from Jiuhua Gate, it continued to emit defiant cries, though it kept stepping back.

At last, unable to bear the overwhelming pressure from Xu Qingfan and the others, the Seven-colored Deer let out a cry that echoed through the sky. Its antlers shone with bright seven-colored light, releasing a radiant beam as thick as a tree trunk, like a rainbow shooting swiftly towards Xu Qingfan and his friends.

However, as the colorful beam approached, the expressions of Xu Qingfan and his companions remained unchanged. Only Wang Qingjun, on the far left, made a gesture with his hands, and a large water vortex appeared before the Jiuhua Gate’s five, blocking the seven-colored light and preventing it from threatening them in any way.

Moreover, each time Wang Qingjun’s water vortex spun, it weakened the beam slightly. With the continuous spinning of the vortex, the once-powerful rainbow was soon worn away.

Seeing Wang Qingjun’s impressive display of water magic, Xu Qingfan, Jin Qinghan, and Lv Qingshang could not help but show admiration in their eyes.

Among cultivators below the Condensed Core Stage, there might be a few who could perform water magic as naturally and skillfully as Wang Qingjun. But it’s important to know that the "Water Spin" was originally an intermediate high-tier magic, mainly for trapping enemies. In Wang Qingjun’s hands, however, it became a powerful defensive magic on par with the "Water Spirit Shield."

The "Water Spirit Shield" is a high-tier defensive water magic. So it’s no wonder Xu Qingfan and the others admired Wang Qingjun’s performance.

Meanwhile, Feng Qingtian’s eyes flashed with strange light, clearly remembering the Jiuhua Gate competition ten years ago, where Wang Qingjun used the same move to block one of his family’s three secret techniques, the "Flame Phoenix."

Although back then the "Flame Phoenix" eventually broke through the "Water Spin" defense, the reason it went out of control at the last moment still puzzled Feng Qingtian. This is also why he kept a close watch on Wang Qingjun ever since they teamed up, as Feng Qingtian felt there was something hidden beneath Wang Qingjun’s ordinary appearance.

Strangely enough, after blocking the attack from the Seven-colored Deer, Xu Qingfan and the others did not attempt to capture it. Instead, they remained hovering quietly in the air, as if waiting for something.

Thus, Xu Qingfan and his companions floated silently in mid-air, while the Seven-colored Deer watched them warily, slowly retreating. The scene felt eerily quiet and tense.

As the Seven-colored Deer was about to leave their attack range, Feng Qingtian could no longer hold back and said to Xu Qingfan, "Senior Brother Xu, are we not going to act? The Seven-colored Deer will soon escape."

It was Xu Qingfan who insisted they refrain from capturing immediately.

After forging the Wutong branch into his own "Spirit Control Object" and absorbing some of its power, Xu Qingfan’s mystical awareness had become much stronger, making him feel a mysterious connection with the plants around him. Wherever there were plants, Xu Qingfan could faintly sense the surrounding situation through them.

However, when they encountered the Seven-colored Deer earlier, just as Xu Qingfan was about to capture it, he suddenly sensed that there were three skilled individuals hiding around him, all at least at the Lingji Stage. Yet, when Xu Qingfan used the floating silk flower to scout again, he found nothing.

To be safe, Xu Qingfan instructed the others not to act hastily, in order to prevent any chances for adversaries to take advantage during the capture attempt.

It’s known that during the Newcomer Competition, there are often incidents of disciples from different sects fighting and seizing each other’s achievements. Xu Qingfan feared he might be facing such a situation this time.

After yesterday’s cooperation and actions, Feng Qingtian and the others had come to respect Xu Qingfan and his team’s strength. Therefore, when Xu Qingfan used the "Sound Conducting Technique" to share his findings and decisions with the others, there were no objections.

But at this moment, seeing the Seven-colored Deer about to run away, Feng Qingtian couldn’t help but speak up.

Hearing Feng Qingtian’s words, Xu Qingfan also frowned slightly. The three skilled masters he had noticed earlier were no longer detectable by Xu Qingfan.

Could it be that after seeing Wang Qingjun’s skill, they realized they were no match and fled? Or was it that he had sensed incorrectly earlier? After all, he hadn’t fully mastered the art of using the surrounding plants to scout the environment.

To be cautious, after hearing Feng Qingtian’s doubts, Xu Qingfan just smiled lightly and said, "Didn’t Senior Brother Feng say yesterday that he could easily handle these Seven-colored Deer on his own? This time, let’s have Senior Brother Feng take the lead while the rest of us remain on guard."

Feng Qingtian snorted dismissively at Xu Qingfan’s cautiousness. The Feng family’s unique detection technique showed no one hiding around, but Feng Qingtian didn’t say much more. Suddenly, his body transformed into a bolt of thundering fire and swiftly flew towards the Seven-colored Deer.

"Transform into Thunder Fire" is the second move of the Feng family’s three secret techniques, far more powerful than the first move, "Flame Phoenix." Once mastered, the Feng family members can transform their bodies into a bolt of Thunderbolt Thunder Fire, which not only flies at incredible speed but also has astonishing attack power. Most importantly, because their bodies turn into thunder fire, ordinary magical devices and techniques cannot harm them.

In the current situation, as Feng Qingtian transformed into thunder fire, he instantly flew to the Seven-colored Deer’s side, circling it continuously. Though the deer tried its best to dodge, the thunder fire moved swiftly and occasionally singed it.

Every time a part of the deer’s body touched the thunder fire, it would burn relentlessly, causing it to howl in pain. The Seven-colored Deer, though immensely strong and powerful in its charges, dared not touch the thunder fire at all. Only the occasional seven-colored light beam from its antlers posed any threat to Feng Qingtian.

As time went on, more flames engulfed the deer, eventually turning it into a fireball as it fell to the ground, rolling and howling in pain.

Watching Feng Qingtian unleash the power of "Transform into Thunder Fire," Xu Qingfan and the others were utterly astonished. Jin Qinghan unconsciously clenched his fists, his knuckles turning slightly white, clearly not expecting this move from Feng Qingtian to be so powerful.

After a long while, Lv Qingshang mumbled to himself, "What’s this guy Feng Qingtian up to with this move? He’s burned the Seven-colored Deer until it no longer looks like a deer. If, when we go back to Zhantai to complete the mission, they insist it’s not a Seven-colored Deer but a roasted lamb, what are we going to do?"

Hearing Lv Qingshang’s words, Xu Qingfan was about to burst into laughter but suddenly his expression changed, and he shouted loudly toward Feng Qingtian, "Senior Brother Feng, there’s a problem! Come back quickly!"

Simultaneously with Xu Qingfan’s loud shout, the other three also had a drastic change in expression, quickly raising their heads to look at the sky.

The sky above Huandao Island, which had been clear and bright, suddenly turned covered with dark clouds in a matter of moments. Once the dark clouds completely covered the sky above Xu Qingfan and the others, an incredibly pure Water Spirit Qi began to spread throughout the entire space, and, without any warning, a downpour of blue rain started to fall from the sky.

But the five from Jiuhua Gate knew that these blue raindrops were far from ordinary, instead being the purest Water Spirit Qi in concentrated form, and extremely dangerous.

As the rain was about to fall on them, Lv Qingshang reacted swiftly, unhesitatingly throwing out several talismans, creating a defensive barrier over their heads to block the descending blue rain.

Watching the defensive barrier shake continuously under the strike of the blue raindrops, everyone couldn’t help but be startled. They hadn’t expected the power of the blue raindrops to be so immense, and it was clear Lv Qingshang’s defensive barrier wouldn’t hold for much longer under such an intense barrage.

Compared to Xu Qingfan and the others, Feng Qingtian appeared far more beleaguered. His fire-based magical techniques were naturally restrained by Water Spirit Qi, and his Transform into Thunder Fire suffered even greater damage under the onslaught of the Water Spirit Qi transformed into the torrential blue rain. Each blue raindrop that landed on his body transformed into highly damaging Water Spirit Qi, wreaking havoc inside him, while the fire of the Thunder Fire shook uncontrollably.

Although Lightning Blaze moved incredibly fast, Feng Qingtian quickly retreated beneath Lv Qingshang’s protective barrier after he realized something was wrong. Even after reverting to his original form, his face was still pale, clearly indicating he had sustained some internal injuries.

Seeing this situation, Xu Qingfan sighed inwardly, realizing that despite his utmost caution, he had still been outwitted.

Gently resting his hand on Feng Qingtian’s back, Xu Qingfan channeled a stream of Wood-type Spirit Qi to help him dissolve the Water Spirit Qi within his body. Then, facing the vast scene of rain before him, Xu Qingfan called out, "May I ask which sect’s taoist friend is behind this? Please show yourself. Aren’t you afraid of bringing shame to your sect with such a sneak attack?"

Xu Qingfan’s tone was icy cold, and his words were filled with a sharp edge. He knew now wasn’t the time for niceties. He was well aware that as the leader of Jiuhua Mountain’s lineage in this Newcomer Competition, he represented the face of Jiuhua Gate. Showing weakness after an ambush was out of the question.

As Xu Qingfan’s voice faded, a soft laughter echoed through the air.

Amidst the rain, two blurry figures slowly emerged, accompanied by that laughter. Seeing them, Xu Qingfan’s expression darkened slightly, as neither of these two were among the trio he had sensed lying in ambush. It was unexpected that they could evade detection so effortlessly.

Because the heavy rain was a manifestation of Water Spirit Qi, Xu Qingfan and the others couldn’t clearly see the faces of the two figures from a distance.

Yet it seemed these two had no intention of hiding themselves, walking leisurely through the pouring rain toward Xu Qingfan and the others. The rain, forged from Water Spirit Qi with formidable power, didn’t seem to affect them in the slightest, as if they were strolling casually in their own courtyard.

When the two figures were three zhang away from Xu Qingfan and his group, they halted and each used their artifacts to rise to the same height as Xu Qingfan and his companions, looking at them with calm expressions.

At this moment, Xu Qingfan and the others finally got a clear look at the two people’s appearances.

The person slightly ahead held an arrogant expression, wearing a Taoist robe with eight trigrams, but unlike ordinary Taoists, his hair was left carelessly flowing down, giving off a sense of carefree freedom.

The person slightly behind was a young man with a gentle face, wearing a white Taoist robe, his expression calm and serene. What stood out was that his eyes were tightly shut, as if he were blind.

"It’s you?" Xu Qingfan said slowly and seriously after seeing their faces.

The one in the lead was Deng Tianao from the Liuhe Gate, but Xu Qingfan and the others didn’t recognize the person behind him, though they sensed an equally dangerous aura as Deng Tianao’s.

"It’s me," Deng Tianao said lightly.

"Just now, I sensed three people hiding around us; they must be your other fellow apprentices? Where are they? Hiding to launch another sneak attack?" Xu Qingfan asked coldly.

"Sneak attack? I didn’t mount any sneak attack. Just now, I was merely greeting you. Those three fools almost got discovered by you, and I had to step in to help. Fortunately, the ‘Dark Rain Barrier’ has been successfully set up now. They are maintaining the barrier and won’t attack you, so rest assured."

Deng Tianao’s smile was unusually friendly at this moment, but his words sent a slight chill through Xu Qingfan and the others. The "Dark Rain Barrier" was one of the Liuhe Gate’s most powerful formations. It was said that other cultivators would find their strength greatly weakened within it, while the Liuhe Gate cultivators could enhance their power using the special cultivation method coupled with the formation.

As if wanting to admire the looks of surprise on Xu Qingfan and the others, Deng Tianao paused for a moment before saying, "Let me introduce the person behind me; this is my junior brother Chou Xuan, the top talent of our Liuhe Gate. Although he joined fifty years after me, his skills are already on par with mine."

"Senior Brother Deng, you didn’t come here just to greet us and introduce your junior brother, did you?" Xu Qingfan, though surprised, still spoke calmly.

"Of course not. We’ve come to borrow the Seven-colored Deer in your possession from Jiuhua Gate, and we’ll return it in a few days," Deng Tianao continued with a light laugh, "But I know you won’t agree, so we’ll have to defeat you and take it ourselves."

Seeing that Xu Qingfan and the others showed no signs of fear, Deng Tianao seemed a bit disappointed but still continued softly, "I always consider others, and to let you know who defeated you without regret, I naturally have to introduce myself and my junior brother to you."

"With just the two of you?" Feng Qingtian, having dispelled the invading Water Spirit Qi, retorted coldly after hearing Deng Tianao’s words.

"I admit you are strong, but within the ‘Dark Rain Barrier,’ just the two of us are enough to handle you," Deng Tianao replied faintly, showing no anger.

As Deng Tianao finished speaking, the defensive barrier that Lv Qingshang set up finally couldn’t withstand the dense blue rain falling from the sky any longer and shattered with a piercing screech, leaving his protective talismans depleted of Spirit Qi and smashed by the rain before reaching the ground.

Lv Qingshang had already used the Sound Conducting Technique to warn the others, so when the barrier broke, the five from Jiuhua Mountain quickly employed their defensive techniques to block the onslaught of the blue rain.

Among them, Lv Qingshang enveloped himself with another defensive barrier, Jin Qinghan created a golden armor that clung to him, while Wang Qingjun conjured a water shield above his head.

However, neither Xu Qingfan nor Feng Qingtian had a spell that could effectively shield them from the onslaught of the blue rain. Left with no choice, Xu Qingfan used his new magical artifact, the "Azure Spirit Shield," for protection. As Spirit Qi was infused into it, a lifelike azure dragon suddenly appeared around Xu Qingfan, swirling continuously around him. Although its movements seemed slow, it effectively blocked all the blue rain from reaching him.

Feng Qingtian, on the other hand, lacked a defensive artifact and could only release his Spirit Qi to form a fiery shield around himself. However, this caused the consumption of his Spirit Qi to be more than ten times faster than usual.

Observing Xu Qingfan and the others’ performance, Deng Tianao nodded slightly and suddenly asked Feng Qingtian, "Are you from the Jiuhua Gate Feng family line?"

"I am," Feng Qingtian replied coldly.

"I’ve long heard of the famed Feng family. Seeing you just now, you indeed stand out," Deng Tianao smiled slightly at Feng Qingtian, then pointed to Xu Qingfan and Feng Qingtian, saying to Chou Xuan, "Leave the leader and the Feng family heir to me. You handle the other three."

From his tone, it seemed he had already assumed victory in his heart.

"Alright," Chou Xuan, who had remained silent, responded with a smile.