Chapter 440: Chapter 425: Who is No. 1?
Not long after Zhouyang and the others set the stakes, the final round of the "Treasure Hunting Conference" began.
Twenty Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation Cultivators were fully rested after two hours and returned to the stage full of vigor, showing the strongest combat power at this realm.
Among them, Chen Yunsheng from the Chen Family, Yan Shuanghua from the Yan Family, and Li Hong, the Loose Cultivator that Zhouyang valued, all clearly demonstrated superior strength compared to others, effortlessly defeating their opponents to enter the top ten.
In contrast, the other cultivators who also made it to the top ten only succeeded after hard-fought battles, with some bearing minor wounds.
Once the top ten emerged, those wounded cultivators were not given more time to rest and immediately proceeded to a new draw.
As luck would have it, during the round that reduced ten to five, Li Hong, the Loose Cultivator favored by Zhouyang, happened to draw Nie Hansha from the Nie Family.
Nie Hansha, a young talent highly regarded by the Purple Mansion clan Nie Family, naturally had excellent artifacts, and was well-stocked with various Tier Two Spirit Talismans. Even till now, he had not sustained any injury.
However, the Loose Cultivator Li Hong, whom Zhouyang prized, demonstrated even more formidable methods.
This person only possessed two Tier Two High-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, a silver curved saber and a light gold small bell, the saber for attack and the bell for defense. Since he took to the stage, no one had forced him to use a third artifact.
Of course, while these two artifacts were indeed excellent, they weren’t the real reasons for Zhouyang’s appreciation. What Zhouyang truly valued was this person’s knack for seizing opportunities and his mastery of Gold and Earth Magic.
Until now, other competitors had more or less relied on Spirit Talismans to progress, but Li Hong had not used even a single talisman, relying solely on artifacts and his self-acquired magical art to advance.
Born into the prestigious Purple Mansion clan, Nie Hansha was not lacking in judgment. The ease with which Li Hong had defeated his previous opponents put immense pressure on him.
Thus, as soon as the two took the stage, Nie Hansha did not bother with probing using a flying sword spiritual artifact as he did against others; he directly summoned a gourd spiritual artifact which released a barrage of yellow sand, enveloping half of the combat arena.
With half of the combat arena enshrouded by yellow sand, Li Hong was naturally caught within it. Although the sand posed no physical threat, it blurred his vision and significantly interfered with his divine sense, making it impossible for him to discern Nie Hansha’s situation outside.
As the owner of the spiritual artifact, Nie Hansha could see Li Hong clearly within the sand-covered area.
Therefore, once the yellow sand trapped Li Hong, Nie Hansha was pleased and quickly unleashed several Tier Two High-Grade Spirit Talismans toward Li Hong.
Having witnessed Li Hong’s strength, Nie Hansha knew that he couldn’t rely solely on his own abilities to defeat him and thus resorted to this costly approach for a swift resolution.
Even though victory through such means might tarnish his reputation, compared to the allure of the Foundation Establishment Pill awarded the winner, Nie Hansha wouldn’t trouble himself over minor criticisms.
After all, the fighting rules established by the Zhou Family didn’t prohibit the use of spirit talismans.
However, what shocked him was yet to unfold.
When he activated the talismans, Li Hong, despite being visually impaired in the sand and unable to direct his divine sense, moved with uncanny foresight; the moment Nie Hansha unleashed the magical attacks, Li Hong burst from his location with sudden speed, and additionally triggered a Tier Two High-Grade Earth Defense technique "Rock Shield" outside the originally cast "Golden Light Body Protection Technique."
Instantly, among the five talismans Nie Hansha activated, only two that had area damage impacted Li Hong, breaking through the outer layer of the Rock Shield, while the rest missed him completely.
Then, before a second wave of attacks could be initiated, a silver curved saber slashed through the yellow sand towards Nie Hansha’s position.
With a clear clang, the silver saber was blocked by the yellow shield protecting Nie Hansha, emitting a metallic sound before retreating back into the sand area; however, Nie Hansha dared not linger and quickly moved to another spot.
"I won’t believe it, die!"
With a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes, Nie Hansha clapped his storage bag, retrieving yet another talisman.
"Tier Two High-Grade Thunder Talisman, Fellow Daoist Nie is truly generous!"
Zhouyang’s eyes narrowed in recognition of the talisman Nie Hansha held; then, with slight displeasure, he commented to Nie Qiufeng.
"Ahem, though the Thunder Talisman’s power surpasses talismans of the same tier, it is indeed a Tier Two Talisman, not violating tournament rules!"
Nie Qiufeng’s complexion grew unnatural as he coughed lightly, awkwardly explaining.
Thunder Talismans have always been the most sought-after treasures, and a Tier Two High-Grade Thunder Talisman is beyond the reach for Qi Cultivation Stage Loose Cultivators; only families like the Purple Mansion Clan could provide such treasures to their outstanding young members for protection.
Back when Zhouyang first traveled far from Yuquan Lake Oasis to Baisha River Oasis, the elder clan leader of the Zhou Family, Zhou Minghan, had granted him one such Thunder Talisman for protection, successfully aiding him in eradicating a Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation sand bandit attempting escape.
Nie Qiufeng handing such a treasure to Nie Hansha for use in the "Treasure Hunting Conference" is indeed a bit bullying.
However, as he said, although doing so is a bit bullying, it does not violate any rules, so Zhouyang did not say anything more.
After all, even though he favored Li Hong, a mere unrelated Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator was not worth offending a Purple Mansion Cultivator for.
Yet what happened next was beyond everyone’s expectations.
A flash of lightning, and after Nie Hansha activated the Thunder Talisman in his hand, relying on the swift speed of the Thunder Skill, it indeed hit Li Hong in an instant.
However, as the lightning struck through Li Hong’s defense of the Golden Bell and Protective Golden Light onto his body, it did not, as Nie Hansha had expected, immediately render him powerless.
The Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, whose vision was obscured by yellow sand, could not see what had happened, but Nie Hansha and other Purple Mansion Cultivators, including Zhouyang, clearly saw that when the lightning struck Li Hong, a faint earth-yellow spiritual light suddenly emerged from his body.
It was this fleeting earth-yellow spiritual light that dissipated most of the lightning’s power, and the remaining force only caused Li Hong to tremble slightly, without even burning his clothes.
"This is impossible!"
Nie Hansha could hardly believe what he saw, and he cried out involuntarily.
The power of Thunder Technique has always been unmatched among same-tier magic, and the power of a Tier Two High-Grade Thunder Magic is certainly not something an ordinary Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation cultivator can withstand.
The Thunder Talisman in his hand was originally his trump card to strive for first place, and having to use it just now made him extremely distressed; the fact that his most relied-upon trump card yielded no results left him unable to accept the reality for the moment.
Yet just as he began to cry out, a sharp stone spike suddenly emerged from the ground under his feet in the arena, instantly propelling him into the air.
Earth Element Tier Two High-Grade Spell "Earth Spike Technique".
Nie Hansha was protected by a Defense Shield, so the stone spike did not injure him.
However, before he could land, a silver curved saber flew across in an instant, slashing through his shield that had already exhausted most of its power, nearly cutting him open.
The reason it was nearly is because at the last moment, Zhou Guangqing, a Zhou Family Foundation Establishment cultivator responsible for rescue, timely manipulated the arena’s array power to form a shield around him.
But as a result, he lost this match.
"Truly wonderful!"
"For Li Hong to dare to participate, he must be under sixty years old. At such an age, not only has he raised his cultivation to the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, but he has also cultivated a Body Refining Technique to the Qi Cultivation Stage’s limit, possessing a physical body stronger than ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, truly astonishing!"
"What’s even more surprising is that his mastery in using magic is so formidable; employing a Tier Two High-Grade Technique took him no more than three breaths. Unless he spent over a decade of hard work on this technique specifically, his perception in magic cultivation must be remarkable. Regardless of which, at his age, it’s shocking!"
The one expressing astonishment was not the previously optimistic Zhouyang, but Yan Nantian from the Yan Family.
In the eyes of these Purple Mansion Stage cultivators, there were no secrets in the techniques Li Hong displayed.
When the faint earth-yellow spiritual light emerged from Li Hong earlier, several Purple Mansion Stage cultivators immediately recognized it as a defense magic brought by cultivating some Body Refining Technique to a certain realm.
And from the fact that Li Hong remained stable after being hit by the Thunder Magic, it was evident that his physical strength is certainly much stronger than that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, did you already notice that person’s unusual physique?"
Chen Ping’an looked at Zhouyang with surprised eyes, voicing Yan Nantian’s unspoken words.
"Indeed, there were some discoveries, but I didn’t expect him to truly cultivate a low-level Body Refining Technique to great success at this age!"
Zhouyang nodded slightly, smiling as he admitted.
Hearing this, Nie Qiufeng, who was quite distressed over his junior’s failure, couldn’t help but shake his head and smile bitterly: "With magical cultivation reaching the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, Body Refining Technique cultivated to great success, along with his adept use of magic and ability to identify opportunities by sound, it seems this time the first place in the Treasure Hunting Conference will indeed be taken by an unknown loose cultivator!"
Chen Ping’an and Yan Nantian’s eyes flickered upon hearing these words, yet they unusually refrained from replying.
Though confident in their juniors, Li Hong’s displayed prowess left them uncertain, making them hesitate to boast, lest they end up losing face later.