Chapter 153: The Man in Blue

Hearing these words, Ye Hua was slightly taken aback: "The Western Fairy Source!?" Suddenly, he recalled that during his time at the Grand Western Mountain's Taifu Temple, he had once overheard Senior Brother Lü whispering about the "Western Fairy Source"! Could it be that the Eastern Fairy Source and the Western Fairy Source were deeply connected!

Now, hearing these senior brothers speaking in the same manner, the relationship between the Eastern Fairy Source and the Western Fairy Source must be extraordinary. What could it be?! Although his heart was filled with intense curiosity, it was inconvenient for him to inquire further at the moment.

Li Mubai turned his head and asked Ye Hua, "Junior Brother Ye, what kind of cultivation technique does this Senior Brother Lü practice? Have you ever witnessed the magical treasures he wields?"

Ye Hua nodded and replied, "I once saw Senior Brother Lü make a move. It was during the battle at the Grand Western Mountain's Taifu Temple in the capital..."

Qian Jinxiao nodded and said, "So it was that battle! The battle at the Grand Western Mountain's Taifu Temple in the capital was of immense scale and created a tremendous sensation. Although Junior Brother Li and I were in Jiujin City at the time and missed such a heroic event, it is a matter of utmost regret, utmost regret!"

Li Mubai said, "It is rumored that nearly a thousand gifted youths from the Three Mountains and Five Gardens went to the Grand Western Mountain's Taifu Temple to crusade against the two old scoundrels, Xiahong and Zixian. The Taifu Temple dispatched over a hundred cultivators of the Three-True Realm to battle the assembled cultivators. We only heard that both sides suffered casualties, but as for the final outcome, we are not fully aware."

Ye Hua nodded and said, "At that time, I went to the Grand Western Mountain's Taifu Temple together with a group of close friends, and we happened to catch that great battle. The situation was critical, and amidst the panic, I found myself locked in combat with a Three-True Realm cultivator from the Fire God Sect!"

Tang Wen said, "The Fire God Sect? The 'Three-Eye Radiance' of the Fire God Sect is extremely formidable, and ordinary cultivators find it virtually impossible to withstand!"

Ye Hua gave a bitter smile and said, "Indeed! That is the case! The 'Three-Eye Radiance' is renowned as the essence of fire, the star of fire, and the sun of fire, possessing boundless might. All of us were injured by it! Fortunately, later on, Senior Brother Lü led his fellow apprentices to our rescue. Those senior and junior brothers style themselves the Eight Friends of Peach Blossom Source! Although it was my first time meeting them, we felt like old friends at first sight. Later, when the Fire God Sect cultivator was injured and attempted to flee, Senior Brother Lü wielded a 'Haotian Sword' in his hand and with a single slash, obliterated the Fire God Sect cultivator along with his soul."

The others could only stare in blank astonishment. Ye Hua then added, "Although that Fire God Sect cultivator was already wounded, under such desperate circumstances, his inner primordial cultivation technique was not to be underestimated either."

Everyone chimed in, "Naturally!" Liu Ruoming could not help but sigh softly, "How immensely formidable!"

Ye Hua continued, "Later, in order to search for several scattered friends, I was once again drawn into successive fierce battles with several Three-True Realm cultivators! Senior Brother Lü, almost entirely by his own strength, managed to barely hold off the enemies. Thinking back on it now, it still feels unbelievable!"

Li Mubai sighed, "Truly a peerless talent! What a pity... what a pity that I am unacquainted with such a figure! Heh, unacquainted, yet I should still make his acquaintance!"

Qian Jinxiao laughed heartily and said, "Indeed, this gentleman actually possesses such refined interests. Wouldn't it be even more marvelous if we were to have a duel! Haha... come out!"

***

Liu Ruoming felt utterly baffled and was slightly startled as she said, "A duel...!" Before she could finish speaking, she saw Qian Jinxiao's expression suddenly turn cold. With a sideways flick of his hand, a foot-long, exquisite golden spear shot straight toward the building!

Li Mubai also let out a low shout, a flash of colored light appearing in his hand to reveal a short saber, which he slashed horizontally directly into mid-air! Ye Hua, Jiang Chun, and Jiang Hui also shouted in unison, their hands flashing with blinding five-colored brilliance as they attacked the roof above their heads!

"Ah haha! You juniors still possess a modicum of investigative ability!" an aged voice shouted. Immediately afterwards, amidst a thunderous roar and billowing dust and smoke, two figures drifted down from the roof. One of them flicked his hand, and with a crisp *clang*, the golden spear that had shot toward him was deflected sideways!

Then, with a slight wave toward the hundreds of rays of brilliance hurtling toward them, a whip-like shadow of black light curled out like a venomous snake. With just a slight spin, it completely restrained all the magical treasures! Meanwhile, the other person raised a hand and scattered a cloud of fine, ox-hair needles that filled the sky!

Seeing the opponent effortlessly neutralize everyone's joint strike with a mere wave of their hands, Qian Jinxiao, Ye Hua, and the others felt a jolt in their hearts. Realizing they were facing formidable enemies—likely cultivators of the Three-True Realm—they shouted in unison and rapidly retreated! Qian Jinxiao opened his mouth and spat out a small black shield, which expanded in mid-air to become a massive, pitch-black shield that blocked the path in front of everyone. A flurry of *ding-ding-ding* sounds rang out as the small black shield flashed with intense black light, successfully fending off the opponent's fine needles.

At this moment, the smoke and dust cleared, revealing the two figures standing in the distance upon a table. Both were dressed in blue robes and wore bronze masks with gruesome, fanged demon faces that looked terrifying in the extreme! Ye Hua and the others could not help feeling a shock in their hearts and demanded, "Who are you people? How dare you trespass into the Enlightenment Hall?!"

The two bronze-masked figures chuckled with a buzzing sound, "We have come here for the grand martial competition at the All-Trades Bureau a few days from now, and today we shall eliminate all of you right here! When that day arrives, we will naturally win without fighting! Ah haha!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chun and Jiang Hui said angrily, "We just don't know if you have the ability to do so!" Pushing forward with their hands simultaneously, a vast, golden torrent of immense force surged forward like rolling waves.

The two bronze-masked figures chuckled. One of them suddenly took a step forward and said, "I heard you are the descendants of the ancient true-spirit horned sheep! Let me witness it!" With that, he also took a slight breath, his palms wreathed in faint black light until they turned an ink-black color, and struck heavily against the incoming force unleashed by Jiang Chun and Jiang Hui!

Two pitch-black palm prints suddenly flew out from between the crowd. When the golden torrent pushed forth by Jiang Chun and Jiang Hui was pressed by the black palm prints, it dissipated without a sound!

The expressions of Jiang Chun and Jiang Hui changed drastically. Before they could muster their strength again, a chilling and bizarre force transmitted from the tips of their palms. A sudden shudder racked their bodies, and they were sent flying backward straight through the air!

Li Mubai leaped forward, extending his hands to gently support Jiang Hui and Jiang淳, catching them both. Upon landing, the momentum had still not completely dissipated, causing him to take several heavy steps back before steadying his footing. At this moment, he felt an extreme, biting coldness emanating from the palms of Jiang Hui and Jiang Chun, causing him to shiver slightly. In his heart, he could not help but feel secretly alarmed!

The expressions of Ye Hua and the others also shifted slightly as they gazed at the two bronze-masked figures, their hearts filled with extreme vigilance.

Liu Ruoming said angrily, "Are you people from the Jiang family?! What need is there to wear such bronze masks, playing the ghost to scare people and not daring to show your true faces!"

The two bronze-masked figures laughed heartily in unison, "Want to know? Then descend to the netherworld and inquire at your leisure!" With that, their figures flickered as they drifted upward, dispersing to strike directly at the group from all directions!

Ye Hua, Qian Jinxiao, Li Mubai, and the others were all elite youths. Although the two brothers Jiang Chun and Jiang Hui had not yet fully recovered from their injuries, and Tang Wen and Gong Hu were also suffering from internal wounds, they were nevertheless high-level cultivators with profound techniques and extremely pure inner primordial energy, not to be underestimated. Coupled with Shao Hua, Liu Ruoming, and others—who, though slightly inferior to Ye Hua and his peers, still possessed formidable techniques—they felt little fear upon seeing the two blue-robed, bronze-masked figures attack.

***

Qian Jinxiao shouted urgently, "Scatter, junior brothers!" His figure flickered, and the black shield in his hand flashed with black light, spinning rapidly with edges as sharp as blades as it slashed directly toward one of the blue-robed figures! Behind him, Tang Wen and Gong Yu each revealed a longsword in their hands, vibrating them slightly to shoot out sword qi measuring several zhang in length, and thrust diagonally toward the blue-robed figure as well.

On the other side, Li Mubai let out a low shout. His left and right hands flashed with colored brilliance, each manifesting a pair of gold and silver rings. With a light *ding* as they tapped against each other, he flew straight up toward the other bronze-masked blue-robed figure. Seeing this, Ye Hua, Shao Hua, and Liu Ruoming shouted in unison, channeling exquisite incantations into their magical treasures as they attacked the blue-robed bronze-masked figure.

The cultivation techniques of the two blue-robed bronze-masked figures were evidently far superior to those of the crowd—whether they were at the peak of the early Three-True Realm or the early stage of the mid Three-True Realm. One of the blue-robed figures wielded a strange drum mallet, engaging in a fierce battle with Qian Jinxiao and the others. The other blue-robed figure gave a slight flick of the long whip in his hand, instantly triggering countless rumbling thunderclaps. Countless bolts of serpentine electricity coiled and danced as they met the magical treasures of Li Mubai, Ye Hua, and the others.

Ye Hua could not help being startled and cried out, "A lightning whip!" The Scarlet Crow Sword in his hand swept forward abruptly, slashing out a chilling blast of frosty energy with lightning speed! Li Mubai also shouted, "Watch out!" Flinging his dual rings outward, the pair of rings instantly transformed, growing to a size of several zhang as they met the lightning whip head-on. Amidst a deafening series of popping explosions, the lightning whip was actually halted by the joint efforts of Ye Hua and Li Mubai!

The blue-robed bronze-masked figure wielding the lightning whip laughed aloud and said, "Good lads! Today, all of you must die beneath my Falling Star Lightning Whip!" His figure surged forward, and the lightning whip in his hand shook violently. The tip of the whip suddenly split apart, transforming into dozens of overlapping shadows that enveloped Ye Hua and Li Mubai from above!

Ye Hua felt a massive force rapidly closing in around him, his body sinking as if trapped in a quagmire, unable to move the slightest bit! Seeing the whip tip bearing down upon him, and feeling a slight surge of urgency in his heart, he rapidly circulated the "Daming Crossing Body" technique within his body. A flash of golden light illuminated his form, transforming him into a golden giant standing several zhang tall. Reaching out, he grabbed directly at the whip shadow, actually managing to catch the tip of the whip in his bare hand!

Seeing the sky-full of whip shadows vanish and the whip tip firmly grasped by Ye Hua, Li Mubai felt a shock in his heart, which was immediately followed by a wave of joy. He thought to himself, "Junior Brother Ye's cultivation technique is actually this formidable! If it were me, although I could barely manage to grab the whip tip, I could never do it with such utter ease!" Taking advantage of the moment the blue-robed bronze-masked figure was momentarily stunned, his gold and silver rings violently smashed toward him!

The blue-robed bronze-masked figure let out a tsk of admiration and said, "It is quite rare for a disciple of the Seven-Treasures Realm to possess such a physique!" Glancing sideways, he saw the two golden rings lunging toward him. Frowning slightly, his figure shifted to dodge the pair of rings, only to find the two rings emitting a crisp chime and turning back with uncanny strangeness!

Even with the blue-robed bronze-masked figure's formidable cultivation, he was caught greatly off guard and could not help being startled. The lightning whip in his hand shook abruptly, causing Ye Hua to feel a violent tremor throughout his body and loosen his grip. Looking down, he saw that the whip tip had inexplicably vanished, filling his heart with immense apprehension! Raising his eyes to look hurriedly, he saw that the lightning whip had transformed into hundreds of rays of light, protecting the blue-robed bronze-masked figure so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

Li Mubai laughed aloud and pointed a finger. The colored light on the golden rings suspended in mid-air flashed, crashing against the white shadows. With a crisp chime, the rings spun and tumbled downward, multiplying into thousands of golden rings that linked together into a single entity, resembling a golden cylinder that imprisoned the blue-robed bronze-masked figure within! As the colored brilliance of the golden rings flickered, occasional flashes of silver light leaked out from the gaps!

Li Mubai could not help letting out a quiet sigh of relief. Glancing sideways, he saw Qian Jinxiao and the others fiercely battling the other blue-robed masked figure, barely holding their ground against the opponent's onslaught. He thought to himself, "Let's first join forces to subdue this blue-robed bronze-masked figure, and then deal with the other one!" Just as he was about to convey his intent to Ye Hua and step sideways toward him, the golden rings beside him—which had already subdued the blue-robed figure—suddenly began to shake violently up and down!

Li Mubai's expression changed drastically. Hastily extending his hand to form an incantation gesture, he pointed from afar, channeling a surge of pure primordial energy into the rings. Ye Hua also seemed to sense that something was amiss; the spiritual light of the Scarlet Crow Sword in his hand flashed brightly as a winding white frost dragon emerged, spewing a hazy mist of white breath toward the cluster of golden light!