Lan Yingxiang, manipulating dozens of mechanical puppets, finally launched a counterattack.
"You're far from enough to defeat me, retreat!"
Instead of retreating, Lan Yingxiang advanced, unleashing three or four top-tier magical artifacts in quick succession, coordinating with the shockwaves from her puppets.
They collided with the talisman array controlled by Yuan Jing.
...
"Boom!"
The immense force generated by the violent collision instantly stripped away a thick layer from the ground surrounding the plaza.
The residual shockwave even shattered distant stone walls.
Ultimately, Yuan Jing's cultivation was superior to Lan Yingxiang's. As the battle entered a stalemate, Yuan Jing gradually gained the upper hand.
Yuan Jing first retrieved a nameless crimson talisman from her storage pouch.
She then dripped a few drops of her vital blood onto it.
"Blood Transmutation Talisman - Crimson Net!"
"Bind!!"
In the next second, this nameless crimson talisman transformed into flowing crimson threads.
Each thread seemed to exist between form and formlessness, yet its surface appeared tangible.
With astonishing speed, these crimson threads descended upon Lan Yingxiang.
"Hmph, do you truly think you can defeat me?"
Yuan Jing's power had indeed exceeded Lan Yingxiang's expectations, but Lan Yingxiang was no pushover.
Bound by countless crimson threads, Lan Yingxiang circulated her spiritual energy at an incredible pace. A simple, ancient hairpin in her hair began to glow.
Clang!
A colossal azure radiance flickered, subtly forming into sword energy that severed the crimson threads before her!
Lan Yingxiang directed the ancient hairpin with her divine sense, unleashing waves of immense azure light, striking fiercely at Yuan Jing.
Yuan Jing's eyes widened, a flicker of panic flashing in them. However, she didn't become overly flustered and retrieved a blue talisman from her storage pouch.
The blue talisman shot directly before her, its inherent power erupting completely.
This blue talisman instantly formed layer upon layer of faint light screens.
The light screens unfurled in mid-air, creating a thick wall of water.
...
Waves of immense and powerful azure light struck the water wall.
The thick water wall began to ripple, and numerous waves rapidly proliferated.
Lan Yingxiang watched this scene with a cold demeanor, her ancient hairpin growing brighter.
The subtle patterns within the ancient hairpin began to emit a faint glow, subtly revealing four characters: "Bi Mu Lu Zan."
This Bi Mu Lu Zan was also a remnant treasure left by the ancient Jade Maiden Immortal Sect.
...
At this point, the disparity in combat power between Lan Yingxiang and Yuan Jing could be roughly discerned.
In the open space of the plaza.
Lan Yingxiang's face was pale, her spiritual energy severely depleted.
Although Yuan Jing appeared somewhat weary, she clearly still had reserves of energy.
Having gained the advantage, Yuan Jing laughed heartily, "It seems I overestimated you."
"You little bitch, you talk a big game, but it's nothing more than that."
...
"The outcome is not yet decided, celebrating now is premature. How about another move from me?"
Hearing this, Lan Yingxiang's face turned crimson. Gritting her teeth, she performed some unknown secret art, her spiritual energy surging towards the heavens, more potent than before by a third.
Immediately, Lan Yingxiang retrieved a puppet at the late-stage peak of Foundation Establishment from her storage pouch.
This puppet, a bone-spurred giant beast, was Lan Yingxiang's trump card.
...
The bone-spurred giant beast puppet roared and then surged to life.
It slowly extracted bone after bone from its own body. These bones were bone-white, completely devoid of any vibrant color.
As bone after bone was continuously extracted, everyone in the plaza could clearly hear the creaking sound of colliding skeletons.
Dense bone spurs spread outwards, attacking Yuan Jing like a relentless tide.
The tips of these bone spurs emitted a faint, greenish glow, seemingly imbued with potent poison.
Facing the terrifying approaching attack, Yuan Jing's face bore a confident smile.
She made a sweeping gesture, and a blue talisman materialized out of thin air.
This blue talisman was called the Ice Seal Curse!
Yuan Jing had absolute confidence in this talisman; aside from a few freaks, no one present could break it with a single strike.
This was because it was a talisman crafted by her father, a cultivator at the mid-stage Core Formation realm.
White mist swirled, condensing the moisture in the air, forming a vast expanse of crystalline ice mountains that enveloped the bone-spurred giant beast puppet.
Confining the puppet and attacking the puppeteer was the best strategy against a puppeteer.
...
"To push me this far, you've done well. Now, be defeated!"
The next moment, Yuan Jing retrieved a purple talisman from her storage pouch.
Yuan Jing glanced at it with a pained expression before immediately hurling it at Lan Yingxiang.
Instantly, with the force of thunder, a colossal purple lightning hand materialized, covering thirty feet, and descended towards Lan Yingxiang.
Lightning crackled, the air distorted and smoked, making evasion almost impossible.
Lan Yingxiang's face turned exceedingly pale. Having already used her trump card, she found it difficult to withstand the impending lightning strike.
...
Wu Tao, who had been observing the situation, frowned.
"This is bad, Lan Yingxiang might not be able to withstand this blow."
"Stop!"
Yuan Jing's ears were suddenly filled with Wu Tao's sharp command, but Yuan Jing merely sneered, ignoring him and proceeding as planned.
Seeing this, Wu Tao let out a cold snort and suddenly erupted.
The chair beneath him shattered into pieces from the force of his movement.
Wu Tao had initially believed that even if Yuan Jing won, she wouldn't harm Lan Yingxiang, given that they were in full view of everyone.
However, he had not anticipated that Yuan Jing had intended to severely injure, or even kill, Lan Yingxiang from the very beginning.
Yuan Jing, a mere woman, was no less ruthless and decisive than he was.
...
However, faced with this situation, how could Wu Tao stand idly by?
After all, it was Lan Yingxiang who had brought him to this banquet. If Lan Yingxiang were to be severely injured or even killed today, how would he maintain his dignity?
In a state of rage, Wu Tao employed the Sword Drawing Art, instantly accelerating to his maximum speed.
The sharp ring of a sword suddenly echoed as the damaged ancient sword was unsheathed, striking the lightning hand.
The lightning exploded, and Yuan Jing couldn't help but smile.
As a talisman cultivator, she was acutely aware of the power of this talisman, capable of crushing a mountain.
A normal late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, even with full defense, couldn't withstand it, let alone Wu Tao's hasty attack.
"Pfft!!!"
The lightning hand was cleaved open by Wu Tao's single sword strike.
Purple lightning splashed, and the soaring sword energy, undiminished, continued its descent towards Yuan Jing.
"This is impossible? Damn it!"
Yuan Jing's expression froze for a moment, disbelieving her own eyes. Seeing the sword energy hurtling towards her, she finally reacted, frantically plastering two or three talismans onto herself.
In an instant, countless vibrant green vines surged from around Yuan Jing.
The green vines coalesced, forming a resilient vine armor.
As the sharp sword energy slashed down, the resilient vine armor shattered into pieces.
Yuan Jing herself was sent flying several yards back, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The other spectators in the plaza were equally astonished by this scene, their hushed discussions filling the air.
"Can't you see? This kid is strong!"
"Interesting, he's actually a sword cultivator."
"What a formidable fellow!!"
"No wonder he was so arrogant earlier, he actually had the grounds for it!"
...
Turning around, Wu Tao spoke gently to the injured Lan Yingxiang, "Leave this to me for now, you rest."
Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, Lan Yingxiang said gravely, "Be careful. Yuan Jing, the eldest daughter of the Yuan family, will surely have her own trump cards."
"She's lost so much face today, and in her fury, she might use them."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
After Lan Yingxiang retreated back into the crowd, Wu Tao's gaze returned to Yuan Jing.
Looking at the bloodstains on her clothes, Yuan Jing's expression gradually turned frenzied.
She spoke each word deliberately, "Very good, very good. You can injure me, and that's enough to be proud of."
"Hmph, as the eldest daughter of the Yuan family, you're nothing special either?" Wu Tao scoffed, replying mockingly.
"You dare to insult me? I'll make you wish you were dead!"
Yuan Jing's spiritual energy surged violently around her, her aura even more potent than when she fought Lan Yingxiang.
Clearly, she hadn't gone all out before; in her eyes, a mere Lan Yingxiang wasn't worth her true effort.
...
If not for Wu Tao's sword strike that cleaved the lightning hand and then injured her.
She might have shown some weakness, conceded, and preserved some strength as a precaution.
But now, that was no longer necessary. She would make this man who had humiliated her die today.
Even if it meant sacrificing some of her own benefits, Yuan Jing was determined to utterly destroy Wu Tao, the man who had shamed her.
Yuan Jing quickly affixed five or six auxiliary talismans to herself, and then retrieved a yin-yang colored talisman from her storage pouch.
...
Holding this talisman, Yuan Jing's eyes showed great hesitation.
But seeing the detestable man before her, Yuan Jing gritted her teeth, clasped her hands together, and began forming hand seals, a process that was extremely mysterious and ancient.
This made most of the people in the plaza feel somewhat strange.
They couldn't help but stare intently at Yuan Jing's movements, wanting to see what she intended to do.
A small portion of those who were on good terms with Yuan Jing all sighed, feeling a headache over Yuan Jing's extravagant actions.
After all, such talismans capable of carrying divine abilities were rare treasures, painstakingly crafted by talisman masters above the Core Formation realm after dozens of failures and significant depletion of their vital energy.
(New book is being updated, please collect, recommend, and forward. Give more, thank you friends, your support is my motivation!)