"We'd love to escape, but that's easier said than done!" Xiaoyaozi and his five companions exchanged awkward glances. This wasn't Taiyi Mountain's forbidden grounds, shielded by protective arrays. If Beimingzi unleashed his full fury here, the Human Sect's gates would be reduced to rubble.
"Mu Xuzi, Baiyunzi, Jingyunzi—form the Three Talents Array to seal this area!" Xiaoyaozi barked. "The rest of us will hold back Uncle Beimingzi!"
Mu Xuzi, Baiyunzi, and Jingyunzi swiftly retreated, positioning themselves—two behind, one in front—with Baiyunzi at the lead. They wove the Heaven, Earth, and Man Three Talents Array, sealing off the open ground before the scripture pavilion.
Xiaoyaozi and the other two elders formed their own Three Talents Array, bracing to face Beimingzi's Youyu sword head-on.
A colossal kun fish erupted from the earth, its form shimmering as if sprouting wings, ready to transform into a peng bird. Beimingzi stood atop it, Youyu in hand, and slashed downward with a single, devastating strike.
"Snow After Clear Skies!" Xiaoyaozi's trio countered with a Daoist supreme technique, sending glowing runes skyward to encircle the near-transforming kun.
Boom! A deafening explosion rocked the air. Xiaoyaozi and his two companions were hurled back, blood trickling from their mouths. Baiyunzi's trio was swept aside as well. In a single blow, the Human Sect's finest were utterly defeated.
"Six Harmonies Array, seal!" Xiaoyaozi shouted, ignoring their injuries. The six took their positions, their swords unleashing chains of radiant runes that shot toward Beimingzi.
"Ten Thousand Rivers of Autumn Water!" Beimingzi's gaze swept over them, summoning six water dragons from countless streams to surge toward the group.
"Heart Like Still Water, hold!" Xiaoyaozi's six poured their energy into their swords, transforming the light into icy spikes that shattered the water dragons. But the impact forced them back several steps, blood spilling from their mouths once more. They were spent, unable to resist further.
"Dragon of the Daoist Scripture, descend!" A commanding shout rang out. Li Haimo stood in the sky, surrounded by swirling Daoist runes that coalesced into a massive azure dragon, charging at Beimingzi.
"Is that… the Daoist Scripture's Great Dragon?" Xiaoyaozi asked, uncertain.
"Seems like it," Baiyunzi replied, equally stunned.
The azure dragon plummeted from the heavens, meeting an ice-blue dragon that surged upward from Beimingzi. Their clash sent shockwaves through the air, snapping nearby trees in half.
"Liezhi's Wind Riding!" Beimingzi, uninterested in a prolonged exchange of techniques, gripped Youyu and soared upward.
"Senior Brother, catch!" A clear voice cut through the chaos. Xiaomeng tossed a cyan longsword—Qiuli—toward Li Haimo.
Li Haimo didn't hesitate. Bare-handed against Youyu? Suicide. He caught Qiuli and parried Beimingzi's strike, the two clashing in a blur of motion. Li Haimo could only defend, his body raked by sword qi, wounds multiplying.
"What a pity," Xiaoyaozi remarked. "If he knew Mohist swordsmanship, he might hold his ground." Mohist sword techniques, like Upholding the Rules and Knowing Black and White, were renowned for their unmatched defensive prowess. As for offense? Even masters like Ge Nie or Wei Zhuang would be lucky to survive Beimingzi's wrath.
"Senior Brother, lend me your sword!" Xiaomeng darted to the clearing's edge, snatching Xiaoyaozi's blade before soaring upward.
"What's happening now?" Xiaoyaozi and the elders gaped.
"Two Forms Sword Array!" Jingyunzi identified it.
The Two Forms Sword Array, a famed Daoist technique, was typically practiced by couples, requiring perfect harmony of heart and mind. It blended offense and defense in a seamless dance, embodying the Taiji principle, though it leaned toward defense.
In the sky, Li Haimo and Xiaomeng positioned themselves opposite each other, trapping Beimingzi between them. Their strikes alternated with precise timing—one attacking, one defending—preventing Beimingzi from focusing his full might on either.
"What's going on here?" A group of newcomers arrived, led by Chishongzi, his red beard and golden hair unmistakable, carrying Xueji. Alongside him were four Heaven Sect elders.
"Just watch," Xiaoyaozi muttered, accepting a Rejuvenation Pill from Chishongzi before sitting to regulate his breathing.
Chishongzi and his group stood guard, marveling at the aerial battle. It was a spectacle of Daoist techniques, unleashed with reckless abandon.
"Is that Soul Wandering Dragon?" Chishongzi gasped.
"What's so surprising? It's just a watered-down version of the Daoist Scripture's Great Dragon," Xiaoyaozi scoffed. "If you'd arrived earlier, you'd have seen the real thing."
But Xiaoyaozi's words barely landed before he was proven wrong. "Is that… Exiled Immortal Sword?" Xiaomeng spiraled backward, only to dart forward in a single, fluid motion, her form radiant and untouchable, like an immortal descended from the heavens.
"What's so surprising?" Chishongzi shot back, mimicking Xiaoyaozi's tone. "Xiaomeng's the next Heaven Sect leader. Of course she'd know it."
"Heaven and Earth Discoloration!" Beimingzi, tiring of being pressured, unleashed his signature technique, locking the world in a monochrome stasis.
"Not good!" Li Haimo reacted instantly, grabbing Xiaomeng's hand and pulling her behind him.
"Earth Nurtures All Things!" He hurled Qiuli toward Beimingzi, the blade transforming into verdant vines and a dragon of lush greenery, seeking to ensnare him. But before it could reach, the vines shattered into splinters under Beimingzi's sword qi.
The unleashed sword qi struck Qiuli, sending both Li Haimo and Xiaomeng flying. Li Haimo, shielding Xiaomeng, bore the brunt of the attack, his body marred with fresh wounds.
"Senior Brother, are you okay?" Xiaomeng's voice trembled as she looked at Li Haimo, bloodied and battered. The sight of him protecting her stirred something deep within—tears brimmed, her heart no longer calm, tangled with worry and fear.
"I'm fine," Li Haimo said, standing and wiping blood from his mouth. He checked her for injuries, relaxing only when he saw she was unharmed.
"Senior Brother Chishongzi, lend me Xueji!" Li Haimo called. In the Two Forms Sword Array, they swapped swords fluidly, one always covering the other. Xiaoyaozi's ordinary blade, no match for Youyu, had shattered mid-battle.
Chishongzi tossed Xueji without hesitation, increasingly convinced the two were a perfect match.
"Here we go!" Li Haimo said, gripping Xueji. Xiaomeng nodded, clutching Qiuli. Together, they shot into the sky, charging at Beimingzi.
"Ten Thousand Leaves in Flight!" Li Haimo unleashed a Yin-Yang School technique, a torrent of vibrant leaves swirling upward.
"Ten Thousand Rivers of Autumn Water!" Xiaomeng, as if anticipating his move, countered with a Daoist technique. A massive vine erupted from the ground, nourished by streams of water that coiled around it.
"Human Sword, No Blade of Grass Spared!" Beimingzi was no ordinary foe. His Zhuangzi Three Swords—Human Sword—embodied a warrior's wrath, blood spilled in five steps.
"Xiaoyaozi," Chishongzi said, watching the seamless coordination in the sky and recalling the cause of the fight. "This match? The Heaven Sect endorses it."
Unbeknownst to them, they'd all been swept up in Beimingzi's misunderstanding. The principals hadn't even spoken, yet the sects were already scripting their union, practically setting a date and drafting betrothal letters.
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