Chapter 64
After the referee announced the result, Heng Yu took a healing pill from her storage ring. The pill melted in her throat, transforming into a refreshing spiritual energy that quickly spread through her body, soothing her aching meridians.
Heng Yu jumped off the arena and waved to Liaowu. “It’s over, let’s go back.”
Liaowu took out a clean handkerchief, condensed the surrounding spiritual energy into water droplets to dampen it, and then offered it to her. “You haven’t wiped the blood off your lips.”
This gesture was somewhat intimate. There were many onlookers, and some cultivators from other sects cast curious glances at them, seemingly speculating about their relationship.
Heng Yu took the handkerchief and casually wiped the corner of her lips. A smear of red appeared on the pristine white cloth. She wiped again, making sure she had cleaned the blood, then put the handkerchief away and quickly left the crowd.
Liaowu silently followed behind her, reaching out and lightly grasping her wrist.
“It’s just a small injury,” Heng Yu said, knowing why he had suddenly grabbed her wrist.
“It’s better to be sure,” Liaowu said, sensing her internal injuries. After confirming that the pill she had taken was of high quality, he silently put away the bottle of sixth-grade Bodhi Pills in his sleeve.
Back at her residence, Heng Yu activated a barrier to ensure no one would disturb her healing. She sat down cross-legged and fully refined the healing pill she had taken earlier.
An hour later, Heng Yu examined her meridians and confirmed that her injuries had completely healed, then resumed her study of sword formations.
Sword formations, as a supplementary offensive method, could greatly amplify her strength. The cultivators who had made it this far in the tournament were all at peak Foundation Establishment. Their cultivation levels were similar, so victory depended on who had stronger trump cards.
Heng Yu didn’t have many trump cards. She had only been in this world for a little over a year, half of which was spent adapting to her new body, and the rest was devoted to studying formations. If she could successfully create a powerful sword formation, it would become her strongest trump card, and she would be more confident in winning the title of ‘Number One Foundation Establishment Cultivator.’
“Qin Jingfeng’s approach to creating sword formations isn’t entirely correct, but it can be used to verify my conjectures.”
Heng Yu cleared her mind and immersed herself in thought.
When the sun outside had set and the moon hung high in the sky, Heng Yu finally stood up from her meditation cushion and sent a transmission talisman to her nominal master, You Yun.
A short while later, a black hole suddenly appeared in front of Heng Yu. She stepped forward and entered. Her vision darkened, and when the surroundings brightened again, she was in You Yun’s residence.
You Yun was lounging on a soft couch, his long black hair cascading down his back. In the candlelight, he looked alluring and captivating.
“It’s late. Is there something urgent?”
Heng Yu sat down opposite him. “Master, I’ve designed a sword formation and want you to help me test its power.”
“Is that all?”
“The sword formation I designed is a combination formation, which can incorporate an illusion formation. I know Master is quite knowledgeable about illusion formations, so I came to discuss it with you.”
You Yun lazily sat up. With a casual wave of his sleeve, a clear space appeared around them. “Set up your formation.”
Heng Yu bowed, then drew her sword, concentrating her spiritual energy at the tip. She used the tip of her sword as a brush, drawing the sword formation in mid-air.
At first, the tip of her sword moved slowly, but soon the sluggishness disappeared, and her movements became increasingly fluid. When the formation was mostly complete, You Yun narrowed his eyes slightly.
Although the sword formation wasn’t fully formed, its chilling killing intent was already apparent. This killing intent posed no threat to him, but an ordinary peak Foundation Establishment cultivator would have no chance against it.
After Heng Yu finished constructing the sword formation, You Yun raised his hand towards it, slightly curling his fingers. The sword formation was suppressed, emitting a clang as the intense sword Qi surged towards You Yun.
You Yun curled his fingers further. The sword Qi froze in front of him, then slowly dissipated into nothingness. When You Yun made a fist, the sword formation in mid-air was completely suppressed, unable to release any more attacks.
“Master, how is its power?” Heng Yu asked.
“At peak Foundation Establishment, I wouldn’t be able to withstand the sword Qi’s attack. At early Core Formation, I could completely block it. At late Core Formation, I could break it.”
Heng Yu nodded, neither disappointed nor particularly pleased. The result was as she expected. Her current opponents were all at peak Foundation Establishment, so the power of this sword formation was sufficient for now.
Even if her opponent was strong enough to break the sword formation, so what? Breaking the formation only meant they had neutralized one of her attacks. She would still be unharmed.
Seeing Heng Yu’s calm demeanor, You Yun raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t spent much time with his disciple, but he had watched her grow up, so he understood her temperament relatively well. Before, she was arrogant and aloof, but now she was calm, composed, and knew how to advance and retreat.
It was a good change.
“There are two aspects of your sword formation that can be improved,” You Yun said.
Heng Yu straightened up. “Please tell me, Master.”
This was why she had come to You Yun. Her master wasn’t a formation specialist, but as a Nascent Soul cultivator with thousands of years of experience, he had dabbled in many things and had a keen eye. You Yun had some understanding of formations, and with his experience, he could point out the flaws in her sword formation.
Knowing the flaws, Heng Yu could find ways to improve it.
Master and disciple, one speaking and one listening, then discussing and verifying each other’s ideas. By the time dawn broke, the sword formation was finally perfected.
You Yun, having been kept up all night by his unfilial disciple, looked somewhat dazed. He rubbed his forehead. “There are only two rounds left in the tournament, right? If you don’t win, don’t even think about getting anything else from me.”
Heng Yu patted You Yun’s shoulder and said earnestly, “Master, our bond as master and disciple is deep. Those things are gifts from you to me. How can you say I’m taking advantage of you?”
You Yun glanced at the hand on his shoulder: With this gesture and tone, who was the master and who was the disciple?!
“Just go,” You Yun shooed her away.
Having achieved her goal, Heng Yu promptly left.
After bathing, Heng Yu changed into a black dress and went next door to the bamboo grove to find Liaowu. As she approached, the spiritual energy in the air surged, converging and flowing towards a particular bamboo hut.
Heng Yu looked up, her gaze landing on the hut. Recognizing it, a smile unconsciously appeared on her face, and she quickened her pace. Just as she arrived, the closed door of the hut opened from the inside. Liaowu, dressed in clean blue robes, leaned against the doorframe, his eyes meeting hers. He said gently, “I’ve broken through to mid-Core Formation.”
“Congratulations,” Heng Yu bowed.
A smile spread across Liaowu’s face. He had sensed the opportunity for a breakthrough last night and had immediately entered meditation, successfully reaching mid-Core Formation this morning.
Although breaking through wasn’t an everyday occurrence for him, it wasn’t particularly exciting either. But when he opened his eyes, he inexplicably wanted to share this with Heng Yu. And as soon as he opened the door, her figure appeared before him.
Therefore, Liaowu felt a surge of genuine joy. He was becoming increasingly accustomed to sharing things with her first, even trivial matters that he wouldn’t have cared about before.
After the fifth round, Wu Mei was eliminated, leaving only Heng Yu and Chi representing the Hehuan Sect in the Foundation Establishment stage. The situation was similar for other sects. The Sword Sect and Undying Sect had the most remaining disciples, with four each, while the Sound Sect had the fewest, with only one. A total of twenty-four disciples remained across all sects.
The number of remaining disciples from each sect reflected their overall strength.
Heng Yu’s opponent in the sixth round was Xiao Mo, the number one Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Netherworld Sect. They fought fiercely for half an hour. In the end, due to Xiao Mo’s overly aggressive and wide-sweeping attacks, he exhausted his spiritual energy and made a crucial mistake, allowing Heng Yu to win without revealing her trump card.
Stepping down from the arena, Heng Yu looked up at the stone pillar nearby. The results of the other matches were mostly out. Chi had unfortunately lost, leaving Heng Yu as the only remaining representative of the Hehuan Sect.
The next round would be a free-for-all, with twelve opponents on the arena at the same time, fighting each other until only one remained.
“A free-for-all…” Heng Yu pondered. “In this type of match, it’s best to team up and eliminate the biggest threats first, then turn on each other. It seems I need to find an ally.”
She wasn’t foolish. In this format, it was either find allies or be isolated and fight alone. Naturally, she chose to find an ally.
Heng Yu scanned the names of the other eleven opponents, her gaze settling on the name ‘Liaoyuan.’
In the bamboo hut, upon hearing Heng Yu’s proposal for an alliance, Liaoyuan winked at her. “Lord Luo, you thought of cooperating with me first. It seems you have me in your heart.”
His voice softened towards the end, his ears turning slightly red, as if he was embarrassed. But he suppressed his embarrassment and looked at Heng Yu intently, seemingly wanting a positive response.
Heng Yu clicked her tongue. This Buddha-son’s acting skills were no less than Chi’s.
“Yes, you’re in my heart,” Heng Yu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled faintly. “Out of the twelve names on the stone pillar, besides my own, yours is the only one I recognize.”
The implication was: Don’t misunderstand, you’re the only one I know among those people.
Liaoyuan seemed oblivious to her implication, his ears burning. Embarrassed, he coughed lightly, covering his mouth with his fist. “To hear such words from Lord Luo, not only would I cooperate with you, but I would even willingly be your stepping stone to victory in this tournament.”
Heng Yu remained unfazed. “Then our cooperation is settled.” She turned to leave.
Liaoyuan reached out to take her hand, but grasped only air. Looking at his empty hand, he chuckled and casually flicked his sleeve. Casting pearls before swine, it seemed Buddha truly favored those with Innate Buddha Bones. Giving him the most difficult love tribulation to overcome, yet choosing such a resolute destined partner for him.
It was… rather enviable.
Just as Heng Yu left Liaoyuan’s hut, she felt the jade pendant at her waist warming up. She paused, subconsciously turning to look back at the hut, but she couldn’t see Liaoyuan through the closed door. The warming jade pendant meant someone had contributed a significant amount of admiration points to her. This admiration… should probably be from Liaoyuan?
Heng Yu took out the jade pendant and injected spiritual energy into it. The admiration points had increased from 7200 to 7400. After staring at the jade pendant for a few seconds, she put it away again.
There weren’t as many Core Formation cultivators as Foundation Establishment cultivators, so the final winner would be decided this afternoon. Liaowu was already at the Sword Testing Grounds, waiting for the finals to begin. Heng Yu looked up at the sky and estimated the time. It was past noon, approaching late afternoon.
It was just the right time to go. With that thought, Heng Yu went to find a crane and rode it to the Sword Testing Grounds.
As soon as the crane landed, Heng Yu saw Liaowu standing not far away. She was slightly startled, then jumped off the crane and asked as she walked towards him, “Why aren’t you waiting at the arena?”
Liaowu walked towards her as well. “This poor monk calculated the time and figured Lord Luo would be arriving soon. It’s better to come and meet you than to stand there idly.”
Heng Yu sighed inwardly but smiled on the surface. “Then let’s go over now. The match should be about to begin.”
The final match of the Core Formation stage was also a free-for-all. All the other arenas had been removed, leaving only one massive arena for the final competition.
Around this arena stood disciples from various sects, all here to watch the excitement. When Heng Yu reached the arena, she saw Little Monk Liaonian, Liaohe, and the others, who had presumably come to watch the fun and cheer for Liaowu.
“Lord Luo,” Little Monk Liaonian saw her, put his hands together, and bowed respectfully.
Heng Yu ruffled the little monk’s head and, seeing him glare at her, smiled, let go, and returned the greeting.
“The match is starting,” Liaohe said.
Following Liaohe’s gaze, Heng Yu saw a Nascent Soul cultivator appear on the previously empty arena. He was presumably the referee for this match.
As expected, the Nascent Soul cultivator said coldly, “Contestants, please enter the arena!”
His voice, amplified by spiritual energy, quickly spread in all directions.
Before Liaowu went up, Heng Yu asked him, “Have you formed any alliances?”
Liaowu shook his head. “No one will ally with this poor monk. They’ll team up to eliminate me first.”
Heng Yu was taken aback, then couldn’t help but laugh. This sentence contained a sense of powerful confidence. As a mid-Core Formation cultivator, being seen as a formidable opponent by nine late-Core Formation cultivators, to the point that they would team up to eliminate him first… Heng Yu realized that Liaowu’s strength might be even greater than she had imagined. His apparent cultivation level didn’t reflect his true abilities at all.
After all, these nine late-Core Formation cultivators were not ordinary. They were the elites of their respective sects, the most talented and outstanding disciples. Yet, facing the pressure from Liaowu, they put aside their pride and joined forces against him!
“You have to win first place,” Heng Yu said matter-of-factly. “Because I will be the number one Foundation Establishment cultivator.”
Liaowu’s expression turned serious. This usually humble person said with unusual confidence, “I will.”
If he couldn’t achieve invincibility within his own realm, how could he claim to protect her in the future?
“I’m going,” Liaowu said softly. The other nine opponents were already on the arena.
“Go, go,” Heng Yu waved, urging him to go up.
In the next moment, Liaowu appeared on the arena. Without making them wait long, the referee verified the identities of the ten contestants and announced the start of the match.
As soon as the match began, Liaowu took a few steps back, retreating to the edge of the arena, and summoned his Golden Buddha Body. On the other side, the nine opponents, while wary of each other, tacitly focused their attacks on Liaowu!
The techniques of late-Core Formation cultivators were far more dazzling and dangerous than those of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Attacks of various colors rained down on Liaowu, but he stood firm amidst the onslaught, unmoving as a mountain.
“He’s doing it again!” Liaohe scratched his head.
“Again?” Heng Yu’s gaze was fixed on the arena, but this didn’t stop her curiosity.
“In the Dharma Assembly ten years ago, Senior Brother Liaowu was also besieged like this,” Liaohe said. He had been at the Qi Refining stage ten years ago and had also participated in the Dharma Assembly with the sect.
Heng Yu’s gaze fell on Liaowu. Even surrounded by so many people, he remained calm and composed, as if nothing could shake him.
Such a person, even with his reserved and quiet nature, was still incredibly talented and destined to be the center of attention.
While Heng Yu was distracted, Liaowu formed a hand seal and struck forward. The hand seal emitted a dazzling golden light, rapidly expanding in mid-air and transforming into the character ‘Suppress,’ pinning down a Sword Sect cultivator.
He formed another seal, the character transforming into ‘Demon,’ forcing a cultivator from the Abyss Sect to retreat from the attack.
Then, he put his hands together and chanted a complete demon-suppressing mantra. The mantra transformed into golden light, annihilating the incoming attacks and striking the remaining seven opponents with lightning speed.
With his opponents unable to retaliate, Liaowu slowly unwrapped the black prayer beads from his wrist. He quickly formed seals, partially undoing the seal on the beads, and a vast and dangerous aura merged with the golden light, amplifying his attack’s power.
The previous attack had already put his opponents in a difficult position. With the increased power, they became even more disheveled.
Normally, Nascent Soul cultivators weren’t interested in such matches. But now that it was the finals, the Nascent Soul cultivators from various sects sat on clouds above, silently observing the fight.
Seeing this, experienced Nascent Soul cultivators like You Yun knew that although there might be some twists and turns, the outcome was almost certain.
You Yun picked up a sixth-grade spiritual fruit and munched on it like an apple. Swallowing the fruit, You Yun still felt rather annoyed. Glancing at Yuanxin, who was sitting not far from him, he said with a fake smile, “As expected of the Undying Sect’s Innate Buddha Bone. After he achieves Buddhahood, he’ll probably be invincible in the Canglan Continent.”
The Nascent Soul cultivators present were all shrewd and could hear the displeasure in You Yun’s words. They were mostly aware of the situation and listened attentively while pretending to mind their own business.
Yuanxin, the other person involved, replied calmly, “Venerable You Yun is joking. Buddhahood is not so easily achieved.”
You Yun scoffed inwardly. Buddhahood was indeed not easily achieved. But his foolish disciple actually wanted to cultivate Forget-Me-Not Fruit to help Liaowu achieve Buddhahood! This thought made him even angrier.
As his disciple, she didn’t even learn his best trait of navigating romantic relationships without getting attached. If others loved him, that was their business. Why should he care if their Dao was damaged as a result?
That foolish disciple!
The people below the arena were unaware of the drama unfolding above the clouds. But as time went on, one thing became clear to most people—the final winner would undoubtedly be Liaowu.
When all his opponents had been knocked off the arena, and the referee announced the final result, Liaowu put his hands together and said calmly, “Amitabha, you have all done well.”
Below the arena, the faces of his nine opponents turned various shades of pale. They had swallowed their pride and joined forces, yet they still couldn’t defeat him. With such a peer, their brilliance was completely overshadowed.
But they were all graceful losers, maintaining their composure and returning the greeting.
As soon as Liaowu stepped off the arena, he was surrounded by his fellow monks, their eyes shining as they praised him. “Senior Brother, you’re so amazing!” “Senior Brother, you’re too strong!”
Liaowu patiently responded to their words. Midway through, he glanced to the side and saw Heng Yu still waiting for him. The corners of his lips curled up slightly, a smile like a pebble dropping into a calm lake, creating ripples.
After his fellow disciples dispersed, Liaowu walked up to Heng Yu. “Have you been waiting long?”
Heng Yu shook her head. “Not really.” She poked his arm—it didn’t budge. “Is this the Golden Buddha Body?”
Liaowu lowered his gaze, watching her poke him. “After summoning the Golden Buddha Body, it takes two hours to dissipate.”
“With the Golden Buddha Body, wouldn’t all attacks below Nascent Soul be ineffective against you?” Seeing Liaowu nod, Heng Yu casually remarked, “Wouldn’t that make you invincible?”
It was a casual question, but Liaowu quickly replied, “No.”
Heng Yu didn’t think much of it and nodded. “That’s true. The Golden Buddha Body makes you immune to spells, but if the spell’s power reaches a certain level, it can still affect you.”
Liaowu remained silent, changing the subject.
Leave a Reply