The jade-bearded Foundation Establishment cultivator's sneer had vanished, replaced by a mask of cold, concentrated rage. The sight of his subordinates, one incapacitated, the other terrified, was an insult to his realm and to the Jade Empire itself. He had underestimated the "rogue cultivator," and that mistake would not stand.
"I don't know what kind of heresy you practice to fight above your station, boy," he growled, his voice no longer a booming show of force but a low, dangerous whisper that vibrated with power. "But it ends now. I am Senior Brother Lin, and you will learn the difference between a child's game and the power of a true cultivator."
He raised both hands, and the spiritual energy that had been merely a suffocating pressure now became a tangible, solid force. It swirled around him, turning the very air a shimmering jade-green. The trees behind him withered and snapped, their life force drained to fuel his technique. This was the terrifying reality of the Foundation Establishment realm—the ability to manipulate the surrounding environment with a thought.
"Jade Serpent Bind!" he roared.
The air solidified into a massive, ghostly serpent, its coils as thick as a tree trunk. It lunged forward, not with physical force, but with a crushing spiritual weight, its sole purpose to entangle Rylan and crush his spiritual core. This was a cultivator's technique meant to bind and shatter, not to kill outright, but to utterly cripple and humiliate.
Rylan's eyes narrowed. He could feel the destructive intent behind the spiritual serpent. He had been a Foundation Establishment cultivator himself in his past life, and he knew that while he was now Qi Condensation (Peak Stage), he couldn't directly match a true Foundation Establishment realm expert in raw power. He had to be smarter, faster.
He didn't try to face the serpent head-on. That would be suicide. Instead, he channeled all of his spiritual energy into his feet, a move he had learned from his martial arts comprehension. He erupted into a blur of motion, a phantom of power, just as the serpent's head struck the spot where he had been standing, cracking the very earth.
"Fool!" Senior Brother Lin sneered. "My technique is not so simple!"
The serpent, a construct of pure spiritual energy, didn't need to physically turn. It simply flowed, its coils now a web of shimmering jade, expanding to cover the entire hillside. There was no escape.
Rylan felt the spiritual energy of the Jade Serpent close in on him. It was everywhere. He couldn't dodge it. The crushing pressure returned, stronger this time, pinning him in place as if he were trapped in quicksand. His Dantian began to ache, and his spiritual energy started to destabilize under the immense force.
[Warning! Spiritual Energy Stability: 70%][Warning! Spiritual Energy Stability: 50%]
The System's alerts flashed wildly in his mind. He was being overwhelmed. He had to act now.
He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain, and focused his mind on a single concept he had gleaned from the System's passive knowledge: Dispersion. Instead of trying to fight the crushing spiritual pressure, he would scatter it, like a calm stream navigating a raging river.
He infused his body with his own spiritual energy, not to clash with the serpent's power, but to become one with it. He allowed the serpent's energy to flow through him, his spiritual essence a catalyst rather than an obstacle. It was a perilous, suicidal technique that no one in their right mind would attempt.
Senior Brother Lin's jaw dropped as he watched the jade serpent, a manifestation of his own will, wrap around Rylan, only for Rylan's body to shimmer. He wasn't being crushed. He was absorbing the energy, redirecting it. The serpent's coils became less solid, its power dissipating with every passing second.
"Impossible!" Lin cried out, a true flicker of fear entering his eyes. "What kind of monstrous art is this?!"
Rylan, his Dantian now stabilized and his mind clear, smiled, a cold, predatory grin that was not of this world. "This is the art of the Lustful Emperor," he said softly, his voice echoing in the silence.
He wasn't done. He had found the opening. Lin was distracted, and his attention was fully on the dissipating serpent. Rylan acted, channeling his spiritual energy into his hands for a technique he had not yet used.
"Stone Serpent Grapple!" he roared.
A ghostly, shimmering serpent of spiritual energy shot from Rylan's hand, not for his opponent, but for the terrified woman from the vanguard. She shrieked as the spiritual serpent wrapped around her, but before it could do any harm, it simply seized her.
Rylan pulled, and the spiritual serpent, imbued with a powerful force of will, dragged the woman screaming toward him, right through the air, completely bypassing Senior Brother Lin's defenses.
"No!" Lin shrieked, his focus shattered, his face a mask of fury and humiliation. "You filth! You dare use my own troops against me?!"
Rylan, now just a few feet away from his new hostage, was not in a position to fight. He was vulnerable. But in his hands, he now had a new leverage, and a very public spectacle to make. The battle was far from over.
End of chapter 26