Li Haoran pressed his index and middle fingers together, forming them like a shuttle.
True qi burst forth from his fingertips time and again, used to exhaust Su Hongzhen and seal off the angles of his footwork.
The Kongshan Finger, this basic technique that best complemented the Kongshan Art, was the most commonly used killing method among Kongshan Sect disciples.
It was simple enough to activate, subtle enough to be nearly instantaneous.
But the flaw was that this technique was meant for cultivators at the Qi Circulation Realm, and its power was far too meager. To achieve any significant damage with the Kongshan Finger, the user's cultivation level had to far exceed their opponent's.
Clearly, facing Su Hongzhen, Li Haoran did not hold that advantage.
After a brief exchange of probing attacks, Su Hongzhen apparently realized that Li Haoran's Kongshan Finger posed no real threat to him, so he adopted a more direct approach.
He tanked the Kongshan Finger head-on!
Li Haoran fired off four consecutive Kongshan Finger strikes, landing on Su Hongzhen's left shoulder, right abdomen, thigh, and chest.
He placed his hand on the Xun-Li Sword at his waist.
The reason Su Hongzhen hadn't used his Protective True Qi was for this very moment—
Drawing the sword!
Su Hongzhen channeled every bit of true qi he could instantly mobilize into the Xun-Li Sword. The moment he pulled the blade from its scabbard, the blood-red crimson flame roared forth, instantly staining the arena platform with the color of fire.
Li Haoran's pupils contracted. No matter how gentle and composed his nature was, facing such a ferocious assault, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of panic.
Void Absorption Guidance!
Li Haoran immediately activated the profound technique he had once used to completely dismantle Chai Xing's Condensed Fire Pearl, in order to resist the howling crimson flame.
But Su Hongzhen's crimson flame was nothing like Chai Xing's Condensed Fire Pearl.
After all, the crimson flame was the sacred fire that Vermilion Sparrow, the founder of Lingxiao Temple, had spent his entire life pursuing.
Yet at this very moment in the Daoyan Arena, no one was surprised by the crimson flame that burst forth when Su Hongzhen drew his sword. The reason was simple.
They didn't recognize the crimson flame.
Not only did they not recognize it, but even Vermilion Sparrow himself had never seen what the crimson flame looked like.
The crimson flame existed only in legends passed down by word of mouth from before the Heavenly Summit Mountain era—legends that had no written records.
Facing Su Hongzhen's crimson flame, Li Haoran couldn't handle it as effortlessly as he had Chai Xing's Condensed Fire Pearl. He could only use the intangible domain formed by Void Absorption Guidance to fully catch the roaring flame, then immediately toss it into the air.
Boom!
The blood-red flame exploded in the sky above Heavenly Summit Mountain, instantly turning the cool air scorching hot.
But the crimson flame from the Xun-Li Sword was just a feint by Su Hongzhen.
This blue-robed swordsman knew full well that Li Haoran was no match for him, but this chief disciple of Kongyuan Mountain was far stronger than anyone else he had faced so far in the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry.
Li Haoran was an opponent he needed to take seriously—
A single sword slash cut through the air!
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, such that Su Hongzhen's sword slash still carried traces of crimson flame energy that hadn't fully dissipated.
Faced with this situation, Li Haoran began to activate his true trump card.
"Rise!"
With a thunderous shout from Li Haoran, golden light began to flicker all around him. Within a three-zhang radius centered on him, golden formations slowly materialized from the stone bricks of the arena.
Three golden sword blades emerged above the formation Li Haoran had set, slowly rotating and emitting a pleasant ringing sound.
The Yiming Sword Formation!
This was a technique Li Haoran had created himself, combining his full understanding of the Yibai Peak Sword Canon, the Kongshan Art, and Void Absorption Guidance.
The moment those three golden sword blades floated beside Li Haoran and began to slowly rotate, the Imperial Envoy Elder of the Kongshan Sect and the Martial Elder of Kongyuan Mountain, Sha Zhichuan, sitting on the Viewing Stand, immediately wore expressions of utter shock.
As the chief disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, Li Haoran had practically grown up under Sha Zhichuan's watch.
And because of Li Haoran's exceptional talent, all the Peak Masters of the Three Mountains and Four Peaks on Kongyuan Mountain had placed immense hope in him—the greatest genius in Kongshan Sect's history since True Person Kongmiao, Yan Yunhe.
It was for this very reason that the current Sword Master Elder of Yibai Peak had lent the Yibai Peak Sword Canon to Li Haoran for study.
Of course, the Sword Master Elder of Yibai Peak had his own selfish motives.
If Li Haoran showed any interest in sword cultivation, the Sword Master Elder would rather tear apart his relationship with Kongyuan Mountain than fail to snatch Li Haoran away to Yibai Peak.
Kongyuan Mountain produced Yan Yunhe, Yuanhua Mountain produced Xie Shouzhuo, and Qingchan Peak produced Kong Yang.
This time, it should be our turn at Yibai Peak, right?
But Li Haoran didn't seem particularly interested in sword cultivation. Instead, while practicing Void Absorption Guidance, a secret technique of Kongyuan Mountain, he suddenly thought: what if he integrated the sword intent from the Yibai Peak Sword Canon into Void Absorption Guidance, using the Kongshan Art as a medium...
The Yiming Sword Formation.
Li Haoran pioneered this formation, but in the beginning, progress was slow.
After Sha Zhichuan learned of this, he had spoken with Li Haoran, advising him that as a mere Martial Spring Realm cultivator, he shouldn't focus too much on such trivial matters. Advancing his cultivation, studying his cultivation method, and improving his realm to ascend to immortality as soon as possible were the most important things.
Li Haoran had just smiled and nodded at the time.
Sha Zhichuan had dismissed the matter as a minor episode in Li Haoran's growth and paid it no further mind.
But he never expected...
Looking at those three golden sword blades, each about three feet long, orbiting around Li Haoran, this Myriad Transformations Realm great power's eyes flickered.
He could see the profundity within them, and he couldn't believe that such an understanding of technique could belong to a Martial Spring Realm cultivator.
The moment Su Hongzhen's sword slash entered the three-zhang radius around Li Haoran, the wind-enhanced slash suddenly slowed, as if frozen in midair.
Standing at the center of the formation, Li Haoran formed the Yibai Sword Seal with his hand and then suddenly pointed forward.
Go!
The three golden sword blades orbiting around Li Haoran shot straight toward Su Hongzhen.
Su Hongzhen activated his footwork, trying to change his position.
His control over distance was nearly flawless; there was no way Li Haoran's golden sword blades could touch him.
But just as one of the golden sword blades flew past his side, an unexpected change occurred—
Su Hongzhen's footwork suddenly became extremely slow.
For the first time, a hint of seriousness appeared in this blue-robed swordsman's eyes.
Then, the next moment, the golden sword blade that had flown past him let out a pleasant ringing sound.
The Yiming Sword Formation instantly expanded, trapping Su Hongzhen inside!