Chapter 151 Who Could Match Such an Opponent

Since entering the secret realm, Pu Pingping had been slaughtering casual cultivators as if butchering chickens and dogs. Whether they were in the late stage of Foundation Establishment or at its perfection, and no matter what powerful magical artifacts they had prepared, not a single person could withstand a single move or half-style from his hands. This made his already arrogant demeanor utterly unrivaled for a time.

As soon as Pu Pingping appeared, not only Jiang Yan and Guan Xian noticed him, but Gao Hongli and Qiu Feng by the lakeside also sensed him instantly.

With such a piercing killing intent, Pu Pingping naturally would not docilely wait by the lake for the exotic treasure to appear like everyone else. It went without saying what he intended to do.

Gao Hongli and Qiu Feng exchanged glances.

Ever since this mid-stage Golden Core cultivator Pu Pingping entered the secret realm and declared that life and death would be disregarded, the two of them had anticipated this very scene. Seeing him approach menacingly now, Qiu Feng said, "Head to the center of the lake first!"

Gao Hongli did not object. Their spiritual senses locked onto Pu Pingping, seeing him draw closer and closer until he was right in front of them in the blink of an eye. With a slight movement of his right hand as if about to cast a spell, Qiu Feng shouted, "Let's go!" The two of them leaped from the shore like a pair of giant birds hurtling toward the small island in the center of the lake.

Qiu Feng was a Foundation Establishment perfection cultivator with an earth spiritual root, but the moment he saw Pu Pingping's towering momentum, he knew he had zero confidence in blocking the latter's spell. Heading to the center of the lake was a temporary retreat, and it would also consume Pu Pingping's energy. Qiu Feng's plan was to avoid the enemy's sharp initial edge and let their momentum wane, but he did not share these thoughts with Gao Hongli. Since Gao Hongli was a metal spiritual root cultivator, it was crucial for him to maintain an indomitable and forward-charging mindset.

Ah, they are fighting. Watching this scene from afar, Guan Xian could not conceal his excitement. Pu Pingping was powerful, but the other two were also disciples of major sects. This epic clash was destined to be exceptionally spectacular, and for a mere late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like him, having the opportunity to witness such a battle was truly rare.

Taking advantage of the fleeting moment when the three were chasing each other across the lake surface before making contact, he quickly glanced at Jiang Yan. Seeing Jiang Yan staring intently with wide eyes, clearly caring about the battle even more than himself, a slight ripple stirred in his heart: If these two young men were defeated, would Jiang Yan be unable to resist stepping in?

Qiu Feng landed on the island at the center of the lake a step ahead. Pu Pingping missed his target, changed direction, and pointed his hand at Gao Hongli, who was still over the water.

A sharp shriek of piercing air immediately sounded, and a dazzling golden light suddenly erupted from his fingertip, snaking across the lake like a dragon. In the blink of an eye, it was right behind Gao Hongli.

Gao Hongli caught his breath. What kind of spell was this? Disciples of major sects enjoyed thousands or even tens of thousands of years of profound heritage; their attacks were indeed extraordinary.

Threatened by this move, Gao Hongli did not evade at all and instead turned around to counterattack. Surprisingly, Guan Xian actually recognized this metal-elemental spell. It was the famous "Lightning Cleave."

Metal-elemental techniques possessed incomparable advantages in combat. Naturally, the supreme metal-elemental technique was the "Heart Sword," but besides the "Heart Sword," there were more than ten other techniques renowned throughout the Daoist cultivation world, and this "Lightning Cleave" was precisely the introductory technique of the "Sword Splitting the Void" among them.

Watching Gao Hongli execute such a prestigious spell, Guan Xian felt a surge of envy. The "Lightning Cleave" was not deployed to block the incoming golden dragon, but was a genuine counterattack flashing straight toward Pu Pingping's head.

Gao Hongli dared to launch such an unreserved and reckless counterattack because Qiu Feng was right beside him.

Qiu Feng waved both hands simultaneously. Earth walls, earth shields, earth prisons, and towering ramparts—various earth-elemental defensive spells flashed into existence instantly, blocking in front of Gao Hongli one after another. While Gao Hongli turned a blind eye to the impending danger, Qiu Feng was sweating profusely. Sure enough, the first three defenses were pierced instantly as if made of paper. The golden dragon released by Pu Pingping only slowed down slightly upon hitting the fourth defense, the towering ramparts which consumed a massive amount of true essence, buying Qiu Feng just enough of a gap to hurl out his protective magical artifact.

At this moment, the "Lightning Cleave" had also reached the front of Pu Pingping's eyes. Pu Pingping was forced to dodge. This was the first time since entering the secret realm that someone had managed to counterattack against him. He let out a cold snort, yet his eyes flashed with an expression of intense excitement.

Guan Xian praised in a low voice, "They actually blocked it!"

Watching the same battle, Jiang Yan knitted his brows in worry. At first glance, the initial exchange made it seem like Gao and Qiu were evenly matched with Pu Pingping by joining forces, but the move Pu Pingping had just used was also a Foundation Establishment level technique. Why hadn't he used the "Heart-Mind Single Sword"? Could it be that even at this point, he was still thinking of hiding his strength for a surprise attack?

Putting himself in Pu Pingping's shoes, Jiang Yan quickly figured out the underlying reason: Pu Pingping must have been worried about running low on true essence.

The "Heart-Mind Single Sword" was a technique that could only be learned at the Golden Age stage. The more powerful the technique, the greater the consumption—this was an eternal axiom. The "Heart-Mind Single Sword," which seemed acceptable at the Golden Age stage, translated to the Foundation Establishment perfection level meant that Jiang Yan estimated the number of times Pu Pingping could use it would definitely be very few. If he failed once more, he would face the predicament of depleted true essence. Besides, even if he successfully killed Gao and Qiu, there was still himself left. When the time came for him to kill Pu Pingping, could the latter really rely on Zhang Ji, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, to save his life?

Fortunately, Qi Xiuning had not entered the secret realm. Thinking of this, Jiang Yan couldn't help feeling a deep sense of relief.

In this short span of time, Pu Pingping and the duo of Gao and Qiu had already exchanged several rounds of blows. The three of them had fought from the shore to the small island in the center of the lake, and then back from the island to the shore.

Qiu Feng felt immense pressure. Seizing a gap, he reminded Gao Hongli, "Brother Gao, stay alert!"

Gao Hongli replied in a deep voice. With Qiu Feng's assistance, his attacks could be unleashed continuously without reservation. He could also see that Qiu Feng was struggling on his end, but Pu Pingping did not seem as terrifying as the two of them had initially imagined. Gao Hongli thought to himself, "Let's finish this quickly!" With a wave of his hand, he sacrificed a mirror-shaped magical artifact.

Accompanied by a "Lightning Cleave," the artifact flew above Pu Pingping, spinning and enlarging. Under its shroud, the "Lightning Cleave" suddenly split into two, then four, each bolt as thick as a child's arm, crackling with sparks and surrounding Pu Pingping like lightning shattering the sky.

Guan Xian's mouth dropped open, and he thought to himself, "Is this the moment the victor is decided?"

The moment this thought arose, he saw Pu Pingping flick his wrist and toss out a talisman. The might emanating from the talisman instantly inverted like a golden bell, protecting Pu Pingping's entire body beneath it. Pu Pingping took a step forward and walked out unharmed from the encirclement of several "Lightning Cleaves."

He formed a hand incantation and shouted in a deep voice, "Hit!"

A blindingly bright light appeared between Pu Pingping and Gao Hongli in response. Whether it was Pu Pingping's previous moves or Gao Hongli's "Lightning Cleave," both were terrifying enough, but when this beam of light lit up, Guan Xian realized that in terms of sheer power, things could actually be even stronger.

This time, Pu Pingping clearly held nothing back. The intense light of the exploding spell forced Guan Xian to involuntarily close his eyes for a split second.

When he opened them again, Jiang Yan, who had been standing beside him, was shockingly gone.

The battle was on the verge of deciding a winner, and everyone's life and death would be settled in this fleeting fraction of a second. Guan Xian had no time to look for Jiang Yan.

Realizing the terrifying power of the attack, Gao Hongli dared not leave his defense entirely to Qiu Feng as he had before; he retreated rapidly to dodge.

In his haste, Qiu Feng shifted his magical artifact horizontally to help him block. Qiu Feng's defensive artifact had an impressive background—it was meticulously selected for him by the Three Clears Sect before his departure. Who would have thought that upon encountering Pu Pingping's spell, it would last merely a fraction of a second before emitting a mournful cry and shattering into dust.

What Pu Pingping unleashed was precisely the "Heart-Mind Single Sword." Although the top-tier cross-tier technique was stalled slightly by the magical artifact, its power did not diminish in the slightest as it slashed downward toward Gao Hongli.

Qiu Feng was horrified and only had time to shout, "Retreat!" With his left hand, he hurriedly conjured an earth shield in front of Gao Hongli, while his right hand directly hurled an "Earthly Collapse" technique toward Pu Pingping to stop him from pursuing.

Realizing things were looking dire, Gao Hongli also wanted to retreat, but the "Heart-Mind Single Sword" came too fast. This tiny gap was simply not enough for him to escape the damage radius of the spell. His hair stood on end, and in the crisis of life and death, he had no time to overthink. He raised his hand and forcefully unleashed "Lightning Cleave," the most powerful and proficient technique he knew, straight against the incoming "Heart-Mind Single Sword."

With a deafening crash, a dazzling light lit up mid-air.

Pu Pingping was deeply depressed. This was the first time since he had mastered the "Heart-Mind Single Sword" that someone had met it head-on with a metal-elemental technique and actually managed to intercept it.

If not for that magical artifact blocking the way for a moment, and if not for his true essence being heavily suppressed, a Foundation Establishment technique like "Lightning Cleave" encountering the "Heart-Mind Single Sword" would have been directly shattered without leaving a trace. But now, as a result of the head-on collision between the two spells, the "Lightning Cleave" was shattered, but his "Heart-Mind Single Sword" had also been drastically reduced in power because of it.

Everyone saw the light dim as Pu Pingping's trailing-meteor spell struck Gao Hongli squarely, sending him flying backward involuntarily and crashing heavily into the lake water with a loud splash.

He's not dead yet! Pu Pingping realized instantly. The previous "Heart-Mind Single Sword" had consumed nearly half of his true essence. Disregarding Qiu Feng, who was at the perfection stage of the earth spiritual root, he casually flicked a blow at him and prepared to charge forward to eradicate Gao Hongli once and for all.

To his surprise, the moment his body shifted slightly, a warning signal flared up behind him.

Someone was launching a sneak attack!

With that golden bell protective talisman, Pu Pingping hadn't paid casual attacks any mind at all. With a resounding crash, this metal-elemental spell that struck his talisman was exceptionally violent. Without even turning around, Pu Pingping knew that Jiang Yan had finally failed to hold back and attacked him.

Seeing that the "White Rainbow Piercing the Sun" failed to shatter the talisman Pu Pingping had conjured, Jiang Yan was slightly surprised but not discouraged. Stirring his true essence, he raised his right hand to deliver another "White Rainbow Piercing the Sun," while his left hand silently dispatched a magical artifact.

This thin and lightweight artifact given to him by Guan Yibai blended into the spell and fell together onto the materialized golden bell. With a soft tear, it actually pierced straight through the golden bell. The talisman lost its spiritual power and fluttered down.

Pu Pingping stopped in his tracks, turned his head to look at Jiang Yan, and wore a ferocious expression.

He was no longer in a hurry to kill Gao Hongli. He pinched hand incantations, and upon seeing this initial posture, Jiang Yan cursed inwardly and retreated rapidly.

Pu Pingping sneered and was about to cast his spell when suddenly a fierce gale swept past, carrying a strange fragrance into the air.

Everyone froze for a moment and simultaneously turned their heads to look toward the center of the lake. This sudden fragrance clearly indicated that the exotic treasure was manifesting in the world.