Aspiring To The Immortal Path

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Down below, amidst smoke and lightning, Peng Yaolong's group was bitterly holding on.

Through the power of the Fire Beacon Smoke Net Formation, the insides of the formation had been turned into a frightening death zone, ridden with poisonous gas, lightning, flames, and blades of wind. Without Tang Jie giving orders, this area was beginning to flex its power. Each pillar of energy that emerged from the ground morphed into various threats to wear away at the strength of the Basking Moon students.

Of course, there was no consumption in the world that was one-way. While the formation wore out the Basking Moon students, it wore away at its own strength—the strength of the Seven Absolutions Sect students who were providing the spiritual energy that kept the formation in operation. Even so, the Seven Absolutions Sect was expending much less energy than the Basking Moon Sect.

In this situation, the Basking Moon students were gradually giving ground.

At this moment, a white light shot up from the back of the mountain.

This white light was different from the treasure light. One could tell at a glance that it was the light of teleportation.

Lin Wang commented, "It's from the back of the mountain. Tang Jie must have been defeated and is running."

He didn't believe that Xiao Wen's trio couldn't deal with Tang Jie.

Mu Yi indifferently said, "It's not Tang Jie."

The Seven Absolutions Sect members all paled.

"Junior Brother Mu!" a student shouted.

Mu Yi raised his head and watched as that light disappeared. "I heard… Senior Brother Sun shouting."

If Tang Jie had heard this, he would have been shocked.

The two sides were separated by a great distance, and there was the din of thunder, wind, and rain going on. For Mu Yi to be able to hear Sun Yi shouting could mean only one thing: he had comprehended a Dao.

The Dao of Sound, Wind Listening!

One could filter all created things to hear the sounds one wanted to hear.

The Dao of Sound, like Tang Jie's Dao of Insight, had many avenues in which it could develop, but there were even more variations that covered an even wider range: True Words, Roaring, Music, Wind Listening, and so on. Of these, Wind Listening had an effect rather similar to Insight.

As with the Dao of Insight, choosing a direction to develop didn't mean that one was blocked from the other avenues, only that this particular direction would be better than the others.

Mu Yi had chosen Music. Wind Listening had just come with it.

Even so, he had still instantly heard Sun Yi's cry and thus determined that Sun Yi had lost.

"So useless!" Lin Wang angrily punched a tree. It was hard to say whether he was cursing Sun Yi or the trio as a whole.

A Seven Absolutions Sect student said, "Senior Brother Li, don't be worried. Senior Brothers Xiao and Liu will definitely defeat Tang Jie."

Another person was just about to reply when Mu Yi casually replied, "I'm afraid they won't."

What?

Everyone looked at Mu Yi, who remained emotionless as he said, "Even when their power was at its peak, they were still unable to dull the enemy's sharpness. The opportunity has been lost, and it will not come again. Xiao and Liu stand a very high chance of losing this battle."

Lin Wang was perhaps the only one who was unconvinced. "Senior Brother Xiao might just have been careless. They're still in the Fire Beacon Smoke Net Formation, so they have the terrain on their side, and the numbers! Their chances of victory are still extremely high, so I don't believe they can't beat Tang Jie in these circumstances."

"The problem is that they are inside the Fire Beacon Smoke Net Formation," Mu Yi replied. "Do you still not see it? Tang Jie's understanding of this formation is rapidly increasing, and he will probably be able to use it better than Senior Brother Xiao."

Even though he hadn't seen how Tang Jie had defeated Sun Yi, Mu Yi could already guess at the methods that Tang Jie had employed: exploiting his surroundings by utilizing his stronger understanding of the Dao of Formations.

Upon hearing this from Mu Yi, everyone immediately felt their hopes of Xiao Wen's group winning dying out. Lin Wang scowled and finally said, "I'll go and help them."

"No!" Mu Yi firmly rejected the idea, speaking with extraordinary swiftness. "You can't go. You are already one of the top ten. Although you don't need to fear the Taiyi Profound Clarity Cup being stolen, don't forget that our goal is the Wandering Palace. In order to win the heart of the young palace lord, you can't lose! Otherwise, your being one of the top ten will be pointless."

Lin Wang instantly fell silent.

Mu Yi was right. At this moment, Lin Wang couldn't put on any sort of negative performance. They didn't know that people were watching them on the outside, but they did know that once they left this place, at the very least, their battle record would end up on the desk of the Wandering Palace. The Wandering Palace might not know who was doing all the planning and strategizing, but it would at least be able to see who had won and who had lost.

In this situation, Lin Wang couldn't suffer a loss!

Of course, the same was true for Mu Yi, but he didn't have much of a hope that the young palace lord would choose him. It was just that his looks were too ordinary, like those of a simple and honest farmer boy. Almost anyone who saw him would unconsciously ignore him.

If it weren't for the fact that so many cultivators were spectating this blessed land battle, he might have been completely forgotten in a few years.

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Among the Seven Absolutions Sect students, Mu Yi's looks were sorely lacking compared to those of Xiao Wen and Lin Wang. This was why the first treasure had been given to Lin Wang. Even though they weren't as bold as Tang Jie in wanting to eliminate the most handsome first, at least they knew to preserve their most handsome members.

Sighing, Lin Wang said, "Then let the other junior brothers go?"

Mu Yi still shook his head. "If three people can't deal with him, then sending more will be pointless. Moreover, we need people here too."

"Then what do we do?" Everyone started to panic.

If they really let Tang Jie get to the Stop Gate Banner, he would pull out the banner, break the formation, and save everyone, meaning that the Seven Absolutions Sect would have suffered a complete loss.

Mu Yi's gaze remained calm. He gazed at that distant smoke-covered ground and said, "It is still difficult to predict the outcome in the back mountain, but I trust that even if Senior Brother Xiao loses, he won't lose too quickly. The key to winning this contest is not in the back mountain, but still here… so if Tang Jie wants to attack, let him. So long as we beat the Basking Moon Sect before he gets the Stop Gate Banner, won't things turn out fine?"

Mu Yi stood up and said, "Notify Senior Brother Xiao that if he can't win, he should try and delay the enemy. Everyone else, stop reinforcing the formation and let it attack on its own. Take medicine to recover your spirit. We attack in fifteen minutes. We're looking for a swift battle. We're a strong force with the advantage of terrain against an exhausted force. If we don't win this battle, we don't need to show our faces in the future."

Tang Jie looked at the sword.

Not bad—an art relic.

Before he had time to get a closer look, a fist wind howled toward him.

Tang Jie tilted his head and dodged this savage blast of wind. In the distance, Liu Jin strode over, punching again and again at Tang Jie. Although he couldn't rush to Tang Jie's side, Sun Yi's "ascension" had let him know Tang Jie's position, so he began to unleash salvo after salvo, using the blasts of wind from his fists to clear the smoke. This was an extremely exhausting method that didn't favor a protracted battle, but Liu Jin did this because he was sure that Xiao Wen would join him soon. Once he had completed the Wuji Diagram, Xiao Wen's strength would reach a terrifying level.

It had to be said that Liu Jin still had a rather sharp combat sense, having realized all this so quickly.

Alas, with Tang Jie, who was essentially cheating, his actions were pointless.

This thick smoke was useless against Tang Jie's eyes, and his gaze penetrated through the darkness and saw basically everything Liu Jin was doing. Even if he just raised his hand, Tang Jie would know where he was going to attack and easily dodge. Liu Jin's attacks basically posed no threat to him at all. Meanwhile, with his seemingly random counterattacks, even if Liu Jin managed to dodge them, they would often trigger formation traps.

Just as Mu Yi had said, by exploiting the environment of the smoke net formation, Tang Jie had absurdly gotten the upper hand over the party that had laid the formation, using it against them.

Several lightning bolts blasted Liu Jin's body, causing him to howl in pain.

In truth, he had his defensive barrier, so he didn't actually need to cry out that loudly. Rather, he was using his voice to call out to Xiao Wen to come and save him. But no matter how he shouted, Xiao Wen didn't appear.

Liu Jin immediately realized that something was wrong. It had been quite some time since Xiao Wen had started casting the Wuji Diagram, enough time to cast two or three, so why hadn't he appeared?

Tang Jie seemed to be able to tell what he was thinking, and said with a smile, "Do you really think I was triggering the formation just now only to interfere with you?"

Liu Jin was shocked as Tang Jie continued, "Although I'm not sure about the exact layout of this smoke net formation, all formations of the world share the same underlying principles. So long as you understand one part, you can infer something about the rest. And given how the Stop Gate controls change, I can cut off Xiao Wen."

"It's impossible for you to grasp the formation's operations so quickly!" Liu Jin bellowed.

Tang Jie casually replied, "The power of the Moon-Gazing Golden Toad and the setting of the Nine Tunes and Seven Cycles—am I right?"

Liu Jin paled. "How can that be? How could you so quickly see through the formation? No, even if you manage to cut off Xiao Wen, he'll still make it here!"

Tang Jie tilted his head. "This isn't important. What's important is where you are right now."

Liu Jin froze and looked down.

With the help of a weak ray of light, he was able to see that he was standing on a gray stone.

Liu Jin naturally understood what this gray stone meant. It represented one of the most dangerous regions in the formation, one that had a high chance of taking someone's life. The Seven Absolutions Sect students had gathered these gray stones from around the blessed land so that they could be used as markers for these danger zones.

He hadn't expected that Tang Jie had not only not stepped on it, but had lured him onto it. As he spoke, the stone let off a green light, and countless green leaves shot at Liu Jin. The power of the formation turned these leaves into the most terrifying of weapons, able to turn Liu Jin into Swiss cheese if they hit him.

In this moment of peril, Liu Jin displayed his true abilities. The moment he saw the gray stone, he tore off his green robe, revealing a gray suit of armor beneath.

Unlike Godhead Armor, this suit of armor was drab and inconspicuous, but the moment it appeared, it emitted a yellow light, and large amounts of soil began to cover him. It became a sturdy armor that rippled with yellow energy. Liu Jin also cast a Sandstorm Barrier, covering himself with a total of three barriers.

The green leaves struck the Sandstorm Barrier and instantly obliterated it, and then struck the yellow energy on the armor in a surge of spiritual energy. Finally, they landed on the soil encasing the armor, but their power was spent, and while large amounts of soil were sent flying into the air, Liu Jin was unharmed.

As Liu Jin fended off this terrifying assault, Tang Jie charged at him.

This was his first time charging at Liu Jin in this battle, his saber unleashing a blazing light in the darkness.

Liu Jin knew that this wasn't good. He had used all of his defenses on the green leaves, and there was no time for him to dodge. But as he was a participant in the Immortal Fortune Conference, there had to be something special about him. Seeing that he couldn't dodge, he suddenly roared, which shook Tang Jie's soul like a clap of thunder and weakened the power of his saber energy. At the same time, Liu Jin punched at the saber light.

There was no way the blast of air created by his fist could compare against the saber's energy, but this punch weakened the saber energy once more. Thus, when the saber energy finally struck the armor, his shell of rock and soil fell apart, but he himself was unharmed.

Tang Jie's determined strike had been neutralized.

Tang Jie rushed up and threw his left fist at Liu Jin's face. Liu Jin leaned his head back to dodge the punch, at the same time slapping his Mustard Seed Bag. A fire talisman flew out and slammed into Tang Jie.

Tang Jie's body flashed with light, the combined power of the Aquagel Shroud and Formless Golden Body fending off the talisman while he used the chance to elbow Liu Jin.

Liu Jin swayed only a little before regaining his balance. Another thick layer of soil had appeared on his armor, absorbing the impact.

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This fellow truly had a formidable defense.

After taking this elbow, Liu Jin had managed to completely recover from this disadvantageous situation.

The favorable scenario that Tang Jie had labored so hard to create had been undone, and even Tang Jie had to admit that Liu Jin was no weakling. He was extremely strong in both casting speed and adaptability, and this wasn't even considering his outstanding defense. It was on par with the original Tang Jie using the Formless Golden Body and Peng Yaolong using the Apex Combat True Astral.

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It was only then that he remembered that this Liu Jin was ranked fourth in the Seven Absolutions Sect, beneath only Mu, Xiao, and Lin. His defense was on par with the upper two, and only his attacks and speed were inferior.

In a flash, the two of them had exchanged several attacks.

Tang Jie was anxious to end the battle early, so he focused on attacking, while Liu Jin focused solely on defense, the two of them managing to form a stalemate.

Even so, Liu Jin was gradually beginning to grasp Tang Jie's combat cadence. He realized that Tang Jie's close combat prowess wasn't as fierce as the tales said it was, and so while he was dodging, he also made a few counterattacks. From this, one could see how strong his defenses were. He was constantly absorbing nearby soil to neutralize Tang Jie's attacks. Not only were these defenses strong, they were thick, and thickness was the bane of the golden grain.

Tang Jie had tried to use the golden thread to break through the defenses, but he was only able to get partway through before the golden grain could go no further. It was unable to harm his opponent to the extent that Liu Jin wasn't even aware that such a formidable attack had been used on him. And the constantly replenishing defense also meant that Tang Jie had no chance to use a Mindseizer.

Unable to use his two trump cards, Tang Jie was the one who was gradually losing ground.

Although he was in the Mortal Shedding Realm, when it came to actual strength, he still couldn't match up to the original.

The original Tang Jie might have been lacking in cultivation, but he had the Jewel Body, which made his body equal to a Mortal Shedding one, and this became more evident in close combat. Thus, he could fight with those of the Mortal Shedding Realm so long as it wasn't in long-distance combat.

Now, while the avatar Tang Jie had entered Mortal Shedding, his battle power was still lower. This was because he had yet to cultivate the spell arts of this realm and had yet to adapt to the combat style of Mortal Shedding. He was essentially still fighting as a Spirit Platform student.

Liu Jin was far more accustomed to this environment, and he was emerging from his initial ragged state and starting to objectively observe his surroundings.

Liu Jin grunted, "And here I thought you had some incredible ability! You're nothing at all! 'Immense strength'? You're clearly only a little stronger than a normal person, and you dare to call yourself a body refiner? My sect's Great Brother Wang is far superior! If not for the age limit keeping him out, you would have been able to find out what a true body refiner is like!"

He chopped with his hand, sending yellow energy slicing at Tang Jie.

It struck Tang Jie's Formless Golden Body, and while it wasn't able to hurt him, it did push him back.

This was the first time Tang Jie had fallen back in this battle.

Liu Jin grew even more confident upon seeing this, laughing, "As expected, you're no good! Watch my fist!"

He made another strong punch with his left hand.

It seemed like a simple punch, but as his left and right fists punched, the entire area seemed engulfed by the subsequent air blast, and there was a feeling of immense pressure. This was the unique point of Liu Jin's Deepsoil Fist, growing more powerful as it accumulated soil. It was also why Liu Jin didn't use any weapons. His Deepsoil Fist's accumulation attribute would be enough to inflict damage.

He was skilled in defense and specialized in prolonged battles, so the method of attack he had chosen was also one that got stronger the longer the battle dragged on. Many people who had been stronger than him would start out overwhelming him but would gradually be toppled.

As for Tang Jie, he was just another idiot he would topple.

Liu Jin's fists were like hammers, coming down again and again, and even his air blasts appeared like hammers. Liu Jin boomed, "Tang Jie, my Deepsoil Fist only grows stronger with time! You can still hold on for now, so if you immediately activate your return token, as our two sects have no grudge against each other, I won't kill you. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Tang Jie replied, "That was exactly what I was going to say. Senior Brother Liu Jin, I've already seen through your weakness. I'll give you a chance to immediately activate your jade token and leave. If not, then don't blame me for being impolite."

"What?" Liu Jin was startled, and then he erupted in laughter. "Tang Jie, do you take me for a fool? Trying to trick me… Out of my way!"

His steely fist unleashed a shockwave.

"I admit that your yellow earth armor is a pretty good treasure that combines with your Sandstorm Barrier to form three layers of defense that are hard to break down. But rather than having no flaw, it's rather that the flaw is at a point on your chest. Am I right?"

Liu Jin paled. "How can that be… how could you know…"

He suddenly stopped and laughed. "Tang Jie, you really are cunning, and it seems like you still haven't given up yet. The human body has a head, a chest, and the hands and feet. Of these, the chest is the most important. You see that I've focused all my defenses around my chest, so you said that on purpose to try and get me to reveal my weakness. You truly are a low-down scoundrel!"

Liu Jin had a keen understanding of his situation. His defense system naturally had a weakness, but there was no such thing as a spell art without a weakness. But was it really that easy to discover? Even the same spell art would have a different position and different effect between users. And while Liu Jin's defense had a weakness, it was far from fatal. Even if he let Tang Jie beat at him, Tang Jie might not be able to break through.

Tang Jie couldn't help but sigh. "While I do lie a lot, when I tell the occasional truth, no one believes me. If that's the case…"

He turned his right hand into a blade, blocking Liu Jin's shockwave, and then charged at Liu Jin.

Liu Jin casually swung a fist. At worst, it would just be a contest of toughness.

But rather than meeting his punch, Tang Jie rushed into his bosom, the index finger of his left hand radiating a glossy light of white jade.

The Jade Shattering Finger!

He thrust the finger at Liu Jin's chest, at the Stone Pass Point.

This finger made Liu Jin's soul leave his body in fright.

The Stone Pass Point truly was the most fragile part of his defensive system. Tang Jie had really seen through it!

But how did he do it?

Liu Jin didn't understand.

He didn't know that Tang Jie had comprehended Wisdom, and his Insight had benefited the most from it. The Dao of Insight had several paths of development, and one of these was the ability to see weaknesses. This was exactly the path Tang Jie had chosen to develop.

This was the first time Tang Jie had used Insight to find his opponent's weakness, and as it was his first time, he wasn't too proficient with it. But Liu Jin had given him the time and opportunity.

As the battle had been dragged into Liu Jin's tempo, it was actually giving Tang Jie a chance to carefully observe, analyze, and ultimately find Liu Jin's weakness.

While Liu Jin's steely fist did slam into Tang Jie's chest, causing him to throw up blood, Tang Jie's Jade Shattering Finger plunged into the soil armor atop the Stone Pass Point.

The sharp finger blasted through the rock, penetrated through the armor, and punched a hole into Liu Jin's body.

Gushing blood, Liu Jin went flying.