Reef Sea.
The Reef Sea lay at the edge of the Unison Sea, where the waters were shallow and reefs were in abundance. Li Xizhi emerged from the nearby seabed.
He had hidden in the Abyss for such a long time, but he was still in decent condition. On the other hand, Li Wushao remained listless and had yet to recover. The old demon had only just taken on human form. His face was pale and his movements labored, so he stayed behind in a temporary cave dwelling at the exit to recuperate.
The dawn rayfish, Li Qiyun, had also managed to recover somewhat. The orange celestial plumes on its cheeks shone brighter than before. Now in its true form, it traveled north alongside Li Xizhi, man and rayfish turning into a streak of heavenly glow that moved at astonishing speed.
Li Xizhi glanced at the map in his hand and said softly, "The nearest market is just ahead. After being inside for so many years, I’ve used up all my pills. I should buy some more so Wushao can heal..."
He seemed unguarded, yet his gaze would occasionally sweep over the reefs beneath his feet as if searching for something. After flying for a short while, he saw the seawater below suddenly roil as several streaks of white light shot skyward, condensing into a brilliant white barrier.
"Li Xizhi!" The thunderous shout rang out, and Li Xizhi reined in the dawn rayfish, raising his brows as several figures rose from the sea’s surface. The leader, with a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation, a rugged face, and a look of smugness, could only be Chi Zhihu.
Behind the man stood three guest cultivators. There were two mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm middle-aged men in red robes, and one late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm old man in white robes. They were all familiar faces; Li Xizhi recognized them as Chi Family confidants.
"Guest cultivator Zhao, who practices Bright Yang; Xia Yun, who cultivates Molten Fire; and the Mount Yue man Wu Weibai, who is stationed in the outer seas..." Li Xizhi glanced at them without fear and said with a smile, "If there’s anyone else, come out as well!"
"You!" Chi Zhihu had disliked Li Xizhi for a long time. Now, seeing the fearless young man fearless riding such a large dawn rayfish, his smugness quickly shifted to caution, and he kept silent.
He first probed with his spiritual sense and found that the dawn rayfish was only at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Relieved, he gave Li Xizhi no chance to speak, his expression grave as he called out, "Attack!"
In an instant, three beams of dharma light swept toward Li Xizhi. One was as bright as sunlight and extremely fast; one blazed like fire as it enveloped the space around him; and the last was cold and pure, slithering through the air like a venomous snake.
The three behind Chi Zhihu were not only guest cultivators of the Azure Pond Sect but also Chi Family confidants. Their three beams of dharma light were dazzling and extraordinary, while Chi Zhihu himself stood in full battle readiness, his hands forming seals quickly as dense spiritual qi surged around him.
"Good..." Li Xizhi praised as he lightly patted the dawn rayfish beneath him. The spirit beast vanished in an instant, and a cauldron-shaped Heavenly Glow appeared in his hand. Lifting his sleeve, he gave it a gentle flick.
Calamity Dispelling Heart Cauldron!
The beam of dharma light that was as bright as sunlight had only just reached him when it was instantly drawn into his hand like a great whale gulping water, vanishing without a trace. With another flick from Li Xizhi, it burst out again with a dazzling brilliance, slamming into the fiery red dharma light and shattering it into fragments of flame.
Before the three could finish their probing exchange, Li Xizhi had already dissolved into several streaks of heavenly glow, leaving the remaining dharma light to flail about like a headless fly.
"What an impressive spell art..."
The only late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator among the four, the old man Wu Weibai, let out a sigh. His dharma sword flew forth, but it seemed to collide with something moving incredibly fast midway, wobbled, and bounced back into his hand.
Two streaks of heavenly glow appeared in the opposite direction. Li Xizhi’s figure flickered once in the air. He sheathed his sword, and vanished once more into the sky.
His footwork technique has reached an exceedingly refined level!
The four froze for a moment. Wu Weibai had seen Lingu Xia in his youth and knew well just how troublesome such Heavenly Glow techniques were. Heavenly Glow techniques always came and went without a trace.
He said in a deep voice, "Your Highness!"
Chi Zhihu was a little unwilling, but still took a mirror from his sleeve. He had thought he might not even need to use it, yet he was forced to after just one exchange, which left him feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Buzz!
The mirror was indeed no ordinary object. As soon as it was brought out, a speck of roaming Heavenly Glow appeared within the grand formation, and a shaft of Supreme Yang light rose from the mirror, cleaving toward it.
Chi...
The mirror’s perception was formidable, though the dharma light it produced was much weaker. When it struck the Heavenly Glow, it vanished without a trace. In return, a bright streak of Heavenly Glow was flung back at them. It had clearly been swallowed and redirected by the Calamity Dispelling Heart Cauldron.
Before coming, the four had studied Li Xizhi’s Dawn Dew Gathering Technique in detail and were well acquainted with its many spell arts. They recognized the Calamity Dispelling Heart Cauldron at a glance.
The Calamity Dispelling Heart Cauldron is no easy spell art to cultivate... he must have put in immense effort.
Chi Zhihu’s brows rose as he blocked the returning radiance first. His reaction was swift as the white light in his hand leaped upward, and he said coldly, "Don’t drag this out! End it quickly!"
Chi Zhihu was confident his preparations were more than sufficient. Four people were enough to subdue Li Xizhi, and with a Master Monk hidden in the shadows, the only thing he feared was reinforcements arriving.
He shouted, "Don’t be timid!"
Clang...
The bean-sized white light in his hand struck squarely at midair, forcing Li Xizhi out of the Heavenly Glow and revealing his figure.
His expression grew a shade more solemn as he brought his hands together in a seal. "Scatter."
A burst of Heavenly Glow surged from his hands, pushing the bean-sized white light aside for a moment. He drew out his fan to block the incoming dharma sword, and his next spell art was already prepared.
Rainbow Phantom Split.
Brilliant colors rose into the air, splitting into more than a dozen figures of Li Xizhi, filling the sky with Heavenly Glow. The four were momentarily stunned before activating their perception technique, but the figures looked identical. Not only did the dharma light and dharma sword lose their targets and waver aimlessly, even the bean-sized white light hesitated.
Bang!
In that single breath’s time, the three heard a violent crash. A blinding Heavenly Glow flashed past them, slamming hard into guest cultivator Zhao, who was forming a seal.
Pfft!
Completely unaware, he spat a mouthful of blood skyward and plunged into the sea before his defensive dharma artifact could even return to his aid.
"What!"
The Heavenly Glow transformed into a youth in multicolored robes, feathers on his face, grinning as he pursued guest cultivator Zhao into the depths. Chi Zhihu cursed inwardly and abruptly pulled out a talisman.
"Protect me!" shouted Chi Zhihu.
He infused it with mana, only to see the two behind him busy hacking at the clones in the sky. He cursed furiously at them just as several streaks of Heavenly Glow rose before him. A speck of orange-yellow light flickered twice, stinging his eyes painfully.
Not good... thought Chi Zhihu.
He suddenly felt his hand close on nothing as the talisman vanished without a trace. Tears sprang from the pain in his eyes, and when he finally managed to see clearly, each of the remaining figures of Li Xizhi was holding a talisman in their hand.
In the next moment, the dozen figures of Li Xizhi all cast their spells together, turning into more than ten orange-hued illusions that vanished, leaving only drifting Heavenly Glow roaming the formation.
The first spell art Li Xizhi had ever practiced was Floating Light Gathering. It was not only the Heavenly Glow’s greatest specialty but also his own. After years of refinement with talisman qi, he had brought it to the realm of perfection.
"You!" The two guest cultivators behind him hurried to shield him. Wu Weibai sighed inwardly and transmitted quietly using mana, "Your Highness, this Floating Light Gathering technique of his is truly formidable. If you plan to use talismans, you should inform us beforehand."
Though Chi Zhihu had warned them earlier, this could hardly be blamed on the two. Knowing the opponent possessed a gathering technique, he should have stepped behind them before taking it out, rather than announcing it after it was already in hand.
Wu Weibai’s words were tactful enough, but Chi Zhihu failed to realize it was his own lack of dueling experience. He silently blamed the two behind him as a stifled anger welled in his chest.
Yet, at the same time he was secretly alarmed by the depth of Li Xizhi’s spell arts, I’ve never heard that Li Xizhi had such a high innate ability in spell arts! He’s hidden it well!