Chapter 26
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Chapter 26: Battling the Elite
On the surface, Li Hui appeared to be brimming with confidence, having shattered a talisman with his bare hands. In reality, he gritted his teeth in pain, running far away before daring to let out a loud cry.
“Pain, pain, pain! This hurts too much! I usually act carefully, but why did I approach a talisman radiating tiger energy? If the silver snake bracelet had taken a moment longer to consume the talisman, my right hand would have been ruined, and that’s a talisman!”
Looking at his scarred right hand, a wave of fear washed over Li Hui. He thought, “I was careless. Although it’s been dangerous lately, it’s quite a contrast to previous days filled with confinement. I allowed a few opportunistic victories to blind me, overestimating myself. Adventure isn’t frightening, but it requires preparation; otherwise, it’s not an adventure—it’s courting death.”
After a serious internal reflection, Li Hui’s expression suddenly changed as he reached for Lian Luosha’s body.
“What the hell is going on?”
At that moment, Lian Luosha’s body had shriveled up, resembling a deflated balloon, reduced to a pink blob the size of a human head with her facial features imprinted on it.
“Giggle, silly boy! This is a decoy I left on the road to confuse the enemy, containing several empty explosion talismans and detonation talismans, waiting for the enemy to come and set them off. Who would have thought you would come by at such a convenient time? It really leaves me in an awkward position,” the blob said, but Lian Luosha’s actual whereabouts were unknown.
“Senior Sister? Is this your trap?” Li Hui smacked his forehead, realizing he thought he was heroically saving a damsel in distress, but it turned out entirely different.
“Don’t ask me where I am; there are many pursuers behind us! I saw two outer disciples being torn apart! It seems multiple sects are blocking our Jade Symbol Sect. Although the enemies aren’t inner sect disciples, they have reached the level of Spirit Motion Patterns, making them elite outer disciples. Also, be careful of Zhang Tianhua; that scoundrel is like a wild dog, biting anyone he sees, and he becomes even more deranged when he sees women…” Her voice faded, leaving a chill in the air.
Li Hui looked at the large pink blob in his arms, unsure how to handle it, deciding to put it away for now and investigate further when he had time. It had seemed so lifelike moments ago, but its true form now left him marveling at the diverse skills of cultivators — no one could predict the outcome until the last moment.
“Multiple sects blocking us? It sounds like the sect is in quite a bind.”
After racing for two hours, the mechanical tiger finally crossed the vast desolation and reached areas filled with patches of green along the road.
Just then, the tiger’s head made a huge crashing sound, as if it had collided with something. Li Hui nearly fell off the rattan saddle.
Almost simultaneously with the mechanical tiger’s “shipwreck,” sharp sounds of projectiles filled the air, their shadows arriving faster than the sound itself. Li Hui barely had time to leap high and performed a backflip.
The mechanical tiger’s belly exploded, emitting a series of beeping sounds. Right after, the light brightened, and Li Hui felt as if he was locked onto by something.
“Stop!” To prevent the projectiles from chasing him, he quickly used two forbidden talismans while still in the air, channeling the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique to slap down hard from five zhang away, producing numerous fragments of red light.
The beeping noises abruptly ceased, confirming that they had been restrained and could not ascend to pursue.
Li Hui’s confidence soared as he had just shattered two Crane Beaks with his bare hands. The silver snake happily dined, and though it consumed little, it should still provide enough energy for the forbidden talismans to exceed their usual capacities temporarily.
But that was all; after using the two forbidden talismans, the silver snake bracelet lost its vitality again, resembling a regular piece of jewelry.
“Two rare void talismans managed to evade the Princess’s Flying Sword. It must be a Jade Symbol disciple. The sect has issued orders that Jade Symbol disciples must die.”
With a cold tone, the figure in front of the mechanical tiger revealed its outline, standing in front of a towering three zhang high basalt rock.
Li Hui’s eyes twitched as he saw the enormous basalt, realizing that not even the wooden mechanical tiger would withstand a collision; even an iron shell would shatter. Notably, only the tiger’s head was broken, while the neck absorbed the impact, showcasing Uncle Sun’s exceptional craftsmanship.
Looking up, he saw a woman in a flowing red robe standing atop the rock.
This woman wore a golden mask, exposing only her mouth and chin, presumably for speaking and eating convenience.
She effortlessly reached into the already destroyed mechanical tiger’s belly, producing four black lines that shot back into her hands, nestled between her slender fingers — they were four small flying swords resembling hairpins.
Li Hui’s heart skipped a beat, realizing, “Are those flying swords? Such small flying swords should be easy to control, making them too fast to react to. Zheng Tianxiang and Jin Buduan didn’t catch up but instead encountered killers from the outer sect. Damn it, no wonder Lian Luosha ran off without showing her face; it’s genuinely troublesome.”
With his thoughts racing, Li Hui reached into his bag of treasures and pulled out two “zongzi,” tossing them with a flick of his wrist; they unfurled, layers of talisman paper expanding outward, instantly transforming into a large yellow knife and a green shield.
The woman looked down at Li Hui with a commanding presence.
Li Hui gazed up at her sharply.
An aura of hostility spread between them, and without exchanging a single word, they both launched their attacks nearly simultaneously.
“Boom…”
Li Hui plunged the Earth Yellow Dust Storm Blade into the ground, instantly cracking the earth and sending cracks stretching rapidly toward the basalt rock. The woman waved her hand, sending four flying swords with a whistling sound straight down.
“Defense!”
Upon hearing the whistling sound, Li Hui summoned his spiritual energy and raised his arm, causing the Green Wood Eight Trigram Shield to burst forth with intense green light, which clanged as though under fire from a hail of arrows.
The woman’s expression changed slightly as she murmured, “Is this a high-quality artifact constructed entirely from four-pattern spirit talismans? Is she an outer disciple with family backing? With these two artifacts, she truly can fight with me! No matter what, this is my first battle as Cheng Yuyan, and I cannot afford to lose.”
“Crack, crack, crack…”
The cracks on the basalt’s surface multiplied, and the flying swords had yet to break through the Green Wood Eight Trigram Shield. However, the rock beneath the woman began to crumble under her feet, ready to collapse at any moment.
“Go!” The woman glided down from above, a slight smile curling her lips, pointing at the ground from afar.
“Dust Storm…” Li Hui shouted, raising his long blade with all his might. This wasn’t a real sword but a sword-shaped talisman; the rock opposite exploded, turning into a swirling storm of dust.
Simultaneously, the woman’s lethal strike was unleashed.
A black scorpion emerged—not really a scorpion but an image of one—crouching on the ground and only palm-sized, raising its tail to thrust toward the green glow projected by the Green Wood Eight Trigram Shield.
With a “pop,” Li Hui was astonished as the Green Wood Eight Trigram Shield quivered slightly. In the next moment, the shield darkened at one edge, creating a hole, with a sharp object shooting toward his forehead.
It was a silver needle, slightly longer than the woman’s embroidery needle. Although it faced some resistance while piercing through the many talismans of the Eight Trigram Shield, its speed remained rapid as it passed through the green glow.
Li Hui, skilled in concealed weapons, had considered how to defend against them. Although he was sure this needle was a talisman, the principles of defending against concealed weapons still applied. At this critical moment, he had time only to raise his arm.
“Clang…” The resonant sound mingled with sparks, and the woman looked at Li Hui in disbelief, seemingly incredulous.
