Chapter 1152
A Clash of Masters Shocks the Sword Gathering
In a pavilion below the arena, Lu Yue, the third elder of the "Demon-Slaying Palace," looked down at "Master Jingyue," who was holding a disc, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
"Senior Brother Sect Leader, didn't you mention to Senior Brother Hu before that you should try to avoid Song Qingming running into people from the Qingyang Holy Sect? How come these two still met?"
Could it be that Jingyue and his group have come looking for us again?
"Hehe! Junior Brother Lü, you may not know this, but isn't the problem with the Qingyang Holy Sect this time?"
"If it wasn't the Qingyang Holy Sect, then who deliberately arranged for the two of them to fight? Could it be that it was Fellow Daoist Song's request?"
Seeing Lü Yue turn around and look at him with a puzzled expression, He Yuliang, the head of the "Dangmo Palace," shook his head again.
"Junior brother, you misunderstand. Neither Fellow Daoist Song nor the Qingyang Holy Sect have contacted us about this matter. This competition for the top ten is intentionally arranged for them to duel."
Actually, it's the Heavenly Imperial Sect.
"Tianyu Sect! Why would they suddenly get involved in this matter? Senior Brother, what exactly is going on?"
Faced with Lü Yue's somewhat surprised question, He Yuliang smiled and shook his head.
"To be honest, I don't know why the Tianyu Sect suddenly made this arrangement. I guess it might be related to the person above them!"
".."
On the arena above, looking at the white disc in the hand of "Master Jingyue", Song Qingming's face also showed a bit of solemnity.
The main cultivation technique practiced by this "Qingyang Holy Sect" leader was not the "Qingyang True Fire" practiced by Hu Yukun and the others, but a metal-type cultivation technique similar to Xia Mo's, which was more adept at combat.
Song Qingming had watched all of the battles in which "Master Jingyue" had fought on stage, and he had never seen the opponent use this magic weapon.
Sensing the powerful aura emanating from the white jade plate, Song Qingming couldn't help but think to himself that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this item was very likely a replica of a magical artifact.
As one of the ten major sects in the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom, the Qingyang Holy Sect's resources are unlikely to be able to withstand those of lower-ranking sects, so it's not surprising that it possesses a spiritual artifact of the level of a counterfeit spiritual treasure.
Moreover, the Grand Elder of the Qingyang Holy Sect, who was at the half-step Nascent Soul stage, did not come this time. Instead, the Sect Leader, Jingyue Zhenren, who was at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, came to participate in the arena competition.
If the other side wants to maintain its position among the top ten sects of the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom," it's impossible that they don't have some powerful trump cards up their sleeve.
And indeed, the facts were pretty much as Song Qingming had guessed. The white jade plate in the hands of "Master Jingyue" was the only replica of a spiritual treasure within the Qingyang Holy Sect.
"Thousand-Blade Mystic Crystal Disc".
This treasure was originally in the possession of Liang Yushan, the Grand Elder of the Qingyang Holy Sect.
The Grand Elder Liang Yushan was unable to attend the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Gathering" due to his seclusion to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.
Only then did they arrange for the sect leader, Master Jingyue, to lead the team and hand over the "Thousand-Blade Mystic Crystal Plate" to him.
With his peak cultivation at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, "Master Jingyue," and the replica spiritual treasure "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Plate," his strength was already comparable to that of a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator.
Unless he's facing one of the Grand Elders of the top ten established sects, theoretically no one should be able to defeat him easily.
This is why Liu Yukun and his companions below had such confidence in "Master Jingyue" on the stage.
After all, it was only to deal with Song Qingming, a cultivator who had just broken through to the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage. For "Master Jingyue" to directly use a replica spiritual treasure was already a great show of respect for his opponent.
Seeing that Song Qingming's gaze had become somewhat serious, "Master Jingyue" smiled slightly and quickly channeled his magical power into the white jade plate.
The "Thousand-Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" spun rapidly and flew above his head.
The next moment, a flash of white light appeared inside the jade plate, and countless transparent white blades flew out quickly, directly covering the entire arena.
Faced with this powerful attack coming from all directions, which was almost impossible to avoid, Song Qingming frowned slightly and could only use magic to control the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" to surround himself from all directions.
White blades kept attacking from outside, each strike possessing power no less than that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
And it seems to be endless.
In just a short while, Song Qingming's natal magic weapon, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," began to tremble uncontrollably, and the pressure it faced was increasing.
Seeing this, a green spiritual light immediately surged from Song Qingming's body, and he used the "Azure Jade Refining Treasure Technique" within his body to cover his natal magic weapon.
After receiving the "Azure Jade Refining Treasure Technique" to enhance its power, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" stabilized slightly, allowing it to relax a bit.
However, after a long time, the white blades outside showed no signs of stopping, and Song Qingming's expression also became somewhat unpleasant.
Judging from the appearance, the opponent's imitation magic treasure is indeed quite powerful. He intends to use this treasure to completely deplete his magic power and defeat him in one fell swoop.
If it were just a contest of magical power between the two sides, Song Qingming would have the help of the incomplete map, so he wouldn't be afraid of his opponent.
But if you keep being suppressed by your opponent like this, and the referee comes on stage when the match ends, you will definitely be the loser.
Thinking of this, Song Qingming no longer hesitated and cast a spell to release six rays of spiritual light that surrounded him.
As a magic array appeared, the "Myriad Spirits Puppet Array" instantly raised its magic power to a level no weaker than the opponent's ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
"It's actually a puppet formation at the Nascent Soul level! This kid possesses such supernatural abilities. Could it be that Junior Brother Luo really died at his hands back then?"
Looking at Song Qingming in the center of the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" in front of him, whose aura had instantly risen to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, "Master Jingyue" was also slightly surprised.
Although they had previously sent people to the cultivation world of the "Floating Cloud Mountains" to investigate Song Qingming's cultivation and supernatural abilities.
However, the information that Qingyang Holy Sect could obtain from the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators below was limited, and they did not know that Song Qingming also possessed a Nascent Soul level "Puppet Array".
Seeing this scene now, "Master Jingyue" belatedly realized that Song Qingming had been holding back on the stage all along.
It was no accident that he was able to kill that man surnamed Luo back then.
He intended to use the power of the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" to force his opponent to admit defeat and leave the field sooner.
Now it seems that this battle is not as easy as he had thought. He will probably not be able to defeat his opponent without showing some real skill.
Just as Song Qingming was increasing his magical power, the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" in Master Jingyue's hand also flashed with a white light.
Immediately afterwards, a cyan flying sword appeared out of thin air in the middle of the jade plate. It was the natal flying sword magic weapon that "Master Jingyue" had used before.
Under the control of "Master Jingyue", the cyan flying sword suddenly plunged into the jade plate below and merged with it.
The next moment, the white light on the jade plate was instantly replaced by a cyan spiritual light that swirled around it.
The azure light then coalesced into dozens of sword beams, all aimed at Song Qingming, who was not far away.
At this moment, Song Qingming also had a golden longsword in his hand.
A powerful pressure also emanated from the "Golden Cloud Light Sword," causing Song Qingming's aura to rise significantly, and his eyes flashed with a sharp, cold light.
"This is a counterfeit spirit treasure! How could you possibly have a counterfeit spirit treasure on you!"
A few days ago, when I saw Song Qingming use the "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword", because of the distance between the arena formation and the fact that Song Qingming only swung the sword once.
"Master Jingyue" failed to discern the true power of this magic weapon, mistakenly believing that the "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword" was merely a relatively powerful fourth-grade high-level magic weapon.
Feeling the powerful pressure emanating from above, a look of shock appeared on his face.
Some couldn't believe that what Song Qingming held in his hand was actually a rare replica of a spiritual treasure in the cultivation world.
It should be known that refining such precious spiritual treasures is extremely difficult. Apart from those high-ranking Nascent Soul cultivators, it is almost impossible for ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators to refine such powerful magical artifacts.
The number of replicas of spiritual treasures produced by human cultivators throughout the "Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent" over tens of thousands of years is also extremely limited.
They are basically controlled by the three major forces, including the "Tianyu Sect", as well as the top-tier Nascent Soul sects, such as the Ten Great Sects, which have produced Nascent Soul Ancestors in the past.
The cultivation world of the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" where Song Qingming is located is just a small, barren land in the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent. It has not produced a Nascent Soul cultivator for at least tens of thousands of years.
The strongest sect within it, the "Xiaoyao Sect," only has an ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like Song Qingming. Its foundation is even inferior to that of the "Yuling Sect" in the Qiyun cultivation world.
Prior to this, no one had ever heard of the "Xiaoyao Sect" possessing counterfeit spiritual treasures.
If Master Jingyue hadn't personally felt the powerful pressure emanating from the "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword," he wouldn't have believed that the item in Song Qingming's hand was a replica of a magical treasure.
Looking at the person before him, "Master Jingyue" felt a bad premonition once again.
"How could this guy have so many secrets? He doesn't seem like someone who has just advanced to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm at all."
Could it be that besides being an outer disciple of the Taixu Sect, he received some other special opportunity, or perhaps he has some powerful figure supporting him?
"No matter what your background is, for the sake of the sect's honor and disgrace, I will never give in to anyone on the arena."
Thinking of this, a resolute glint flashed in "Master Jingyue's" eyes, and his magical power rapidly gathered in his hands.
With the blessing of his natal magic weapon, the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" unleashed dozens of even more powerful beams of azure light towards Song Qingming.
Each ray of azure light was at least several times more powerful than the previous white light blades.
With dozens of beams of azure light stacked together, even a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator would likely find it difficult to withstand this attack head-on.
Faced with the azure light that was several times more powerful than before, Song Qingming did not do as his opponent expected, but instead focused all his efforts on controlling his natal magic weapon to defend against it.
Instead, he poured all his magical power into the "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword" in his hand, and swung it forcefully towards the blue light in front of him. The sword light transformed into a golden crescent moon and instantly sliced through the white light curtain in front of him.
The next moment, the two beams of light, one blue and one gold, collided rapidly in mid-air, and the aftershocks instantly covered the entire arena.
Both Song Qingming and the "Master Jingyue" not far away were swallowed up by the spiritual light and disappeared without a trace.
"Seventh Brother, Junior Brother Song!"
Watching the astonishing scene unfolding above the arena, Song Qingyu, Bai Yuxian, and the others below couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
As soon as the spiritual light dissipated, Song Qingming's figure appeared first. Seeing that he seemed to be unharmed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Song Qingming was pushed back to the edge of the magic array by the aftershocks, and it seemed that he was about to touch the magic array's protective shield.
Meanwhile, the figure of "Master Jingyue" in mid-air had also left his original position and retreated dozens of feet away.
Although "Master Jingyue" seemed to have not suffered any losses in the previous exchange and even gained a slight advantage, his expression had turned somewhat ugly. In that last strike, he had fully activated the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" in his hand, and Song Qingming chose to take the blow head-on, yet he did not fall behind and was not knocked off the stage.
If I had previously been confident that I could easily defeat Song Qingming's "Master Jingyue," I would have been at least 90% certain of victory.
Now that he has witnessed the power of the "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword" firsthand, his previously unshakeable confidence in victory has begun to waver.
Not only "Master Jingyue", but also Liu Yukun and others standing below the stage stared wide-eyed, their faces full of disbelief.
"How is this possible? Song Qingming has only recently advanced to the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, yet he was able to block the Sect Leader's Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Plate head-on."
What exactly happened? Did he not use his full strength in the past few days?
".."
Seeing Liu Yukun's incredulous expression, the other Qingyang Holy Sect cultivators who had come with him also gaped, unsure how to respond.
As fellow disciples, everyone was naturally aware of the strength of their sect leader, "Master Jingyue".
Holding the "Thousand-Blade Mystic Crystal Disc," his strength was already comparable to that of a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator.
Unless they encounter a top-five master from a major sect, it is almost impossible for anyone else to defeat "Master Jingyue".
However, Song Qingming had only recently advanced to the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, and in terms of both reputation and cultivation, he was at the bottom of the pack.
The battle between "Master Jingyue" and him, even if it wasn't a one-sided crushing defeat, shouldn't have been so evenly matched.
Thinking of his battle with Song Qingming a few days ago, Liu Yukun couldn't help but feel a chill.
He had thought he could fight Song Qingming, but now it seemed that the other party didn't take him seriously at all, and he was a complete joke from beginning to end.
The many cultivators watching the battle below had all assumed that the fight would end soon when they saw Master Jingyue activate the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc".
Seeing Song Qingming still standing steadily on the arena, everyone looked on in surprise.
Unexpectedly, this battle is far from over.
"I'm not seeing things, am I? This guy actually has a Nascent Soul level puppet array on him. When did such an expert appear in the Floating Cloud Mountains?"
"I never expected that Song Qingming, who is only at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul realm, would be so powerful that even Master Jingyue could not defeat him. This duel between experts is going to be quite a spectacle."
".."
In the upper pavilion, Lü Yue stared intently at the "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword" in Song Qingming's hand, then turned to look at He Yuliang beside him.
"Sect Leader, is Fellow Daoist Song's flying sword really a replica of a spiritual treasure?"
"I heard about this magic weapon the day before yesterday, but I happened to be away at the time and didn't see it. I only had the chance to see it today. There's no mistake, the flying sword in his hand is a replica of the magic weapon."
This treasure is no less powerful than the Thousand-Blade Mystic Crystal Disc; the outcome of the battle is now uncertain.
"It really is a replica of a magical treasure. No wonder Song Qingming was able to break through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm in just a few decades. I never expected him to have such an opportunity."
If the Qingyang Holy Sect truly loses to the Xiaoyao Sect, the Floating Cloud Mountains will indeed produce an extraordinary genius in the future.
Upon hearing the sect leader He Yuliang's answer, Lü Yue couldn't help but sigh.
Not only Lü Yue, but He Yuliang, who was watching from the sidelines, was also deeply shocked.
Back when Song Qingming followed Lü Yue to the "Qiyun Immortal Cultivation World" to participate in the war against demons, his cultivation level was only at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and he was not truly noticed by Lü Yue.
Not long after all this, Song Qingming had already developed combat power comparable to a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator.
Such a transformation in just a few decades is a rare feat, even among top-tier sects like the "Demon Slayer Palace."
".."
On the arena, Song Qingming, wielding the "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword," kept his gaze fixed on Master Jingyue.
This time, before the opponent could make a move, the golden sword in Song Qingming's hand began to emit spiritual light, and the magic power in his body quickly gathered into the magic weapon again.
Seeing this scene from not far away, "Master Jingyue" once again showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.
The two had just exchanged a powerful blow, and although neither was injured, both had expended a significant amount of their magical power.
Song Qingming, with only the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, had a faster mana recovery speed than him, which was truly hard to understand.
Seeing that Song Qingming's flying sword had begun to swing again, "Master Jingyue" didn't care about anything else and poured all his magic power into the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Plate".
The next moment, countless blue lights instantly gathered in front of him.
As the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" spun rapidly, the azure light once again illuminated the entire arena, heading straight for Song Qingming's location.
This time, "Master Jingyue" did not choose to confront Song Qingming head-on.
Instead, it divided the hundreds of beams of azure light into more than a dozen groups, one group to attract Song Qingming's attention from the front, and the other group to press down on the opponent from different directions.
They were trying to distract Song Qingming and thus break through his defenses.
Faced with what "Master Jingyue" was thinking, Song Qingming still used his flying sword with all his might to shatter the seven or eight beams of azure light coming from the front.
The remaining three beams of azure light were successfully intercepted from three different directions by him using the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror".
Just as Song Qingming blocked the opponent's attack head-on, he suddenly felt a surge of spiritual energy above his head.
Looking up, he realized that "Master Jingyue" had somehow managed to get close to him, several feet away, using a concealment technique.
The reason the opponent just spread out their attacks was not to better break through my defenses.
Instead, they wanted to use this opportunity to get close and launch a surprise attack.
Having arrived above Song Qingming's head, "Master Jingyue" immediately showed a look of satisfaction on his face, and the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" in his hand spun rapidly once again.
"Song Qingming, you're so close, let's see how you block this attack!"
Having said that, before the other party could react, the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" emitted a burst of azure light, and countless even more ferocious azure lights instantly surrounded Song Qingming from all directions.
Seeing that the opponent's figure was completely enveloped in azure light and there was no way to avoid it, "Master Jingyue" finally revealed a smile on his lips in mid-air.
"Young people are ultimately too impatient. Even if they have counterfeit magical treasures, how can they compare to these veteran cultivators in terms of combat experience?"
Just as "Master Jingyue" showed a hint of smugness, a circular gap suddenly appeared out of thin air in the blue light surrounding Song Qingming.
Immediately afterwards, a figure suddenly shot out from inside and instantly arrived in front of "Master Jingyue".
"This is, impossible!"
Being so close, surrounded by one's own "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc," even a half-step Nascent Soul expert would not be able to escape easily.
Even if Song Qingming could block several streaks of azure light head-on with his "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword," it would be impossible for him to break through the encirclement so quickly.
"What exactly is going on? Could this be his clone or illusion?"
Looking at Song Qingming, who was already close at hand, "Master Jingyue" was puzzled, but still hurriedly manipulated the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" to continue to emit blue light towards him.
Regardless of whether the person before him is a clone or an illusion, as long as he destroys it directly, victory will ultimately belong to him.
But just as "Master Jingyue" was manipulating the magical artifact in front of him, Song Qingming, who was not far away, was already rapidly swinging his flying sword toward his location.
A golden crescent moon shot into the sky, heading straight for the incoming azure light, instantly cleaving them in two.
Sensing a hint of danger, "Master Jingyue" realized that Song Qingming was actually a real person, and his expression changed.
Knowing that he could no longer avoid it, he could only desperately push the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" in his hand to its limit.
A loud "BOOM!" rang out.
The center of the battlefield was once again completely enveloped by two beams of light of different colors, and even the outer magic array shield trembled slightly from the aftershocks.
The arena was filled with spiritual light, making it difficult for the onlookers to see clearly what was happening.
Everyone began to wonder who would be the next winner.
A moment later, the center of the battlefield suddenly flashed again, and the two beams of light quickly separated.
Only then did everyone realize that Song Qingming and "Master Jingyue" had both crashed into the protective barrier of the magic array, one after the other.
At this moment, both of them looked rather disheveled. Song Qingming had been hit by a lot of blue light, and even his magic robe had been cut in several places, with streaks of scarlet color overflowing from it.
Not far away, "Master Jingyue" had a long cut of three or four inches on his shoulder, and blood was gushing out.
Unexpectedly, both fighters were injured in the process of achieving their goal in this battle.
Although such injuries are nothing to a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, they can usually recover in a few months.
However, it was quite rare to see two great cultivators fighting so fiercely, which drew cheers from below.
Before anyone could even speak, three figures had already arrived on the arena.
After the three met, they exchanged glances. Then, Hu Canghai, representing the "Demon-Slaying Palace," turned around and addressed the crowd below.
"The winner is Song Qingming!"
".."
"What?! Did I hear that right? Song Qingming actually won?"
"How can this be?"
The announcement of the result once again shocked all the spectators in the audience.
They all looked up at the calm-faced figure in the green robe suspended in mid-air. (End of Chapter)