A Night of Desperation

Chapter 305: Three

Just as Qingchen Temple was planning to slowly start making Yu Hong famous.

Near Taizhou, in front of a teahouse.

Standing beneath a wooden sign inscribed with "Tranquility and Nature," a young man wearing a Qingchen Temple Daoist robe quietly awaited a woman with golden-wavy hair to walk out.

The two stood at the entrance, exchanging glances.

"The alliance has decided to make a move the day after tomorrow, you should coordinate internally, disrupt the Array and verify the information." The woman tossed out a dark object with a wave of her hand.

The man caught it and took a look.

"Alright. Who will make a move then?"

"The seven sons of the Primordial Embryo are coming, they should be enough to handle it. Over there, it’s mostly the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Although it’s a Taoist Sect, for the sake of making money and enjoying life, they’ve long lost any combat strength. With the Technique, we should be able to clear it out within a day," the woman said casually. "This is just the beginning, our main opponents are the expert teams sent by the Taoist Sect later on."

"Got it. Why was the decision made to start early all of a sudden? I’ve only been infiltrating for two years, I originally thought it would take four or five years." The man asked.

"But it’s good too, chanting sutras all day long, one almost forgets who they are." The man said indifferently, putting away the item and turning to leave.

*

*

*

At the small competition venue.

"Let the competition begin."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Yu Hong and the Taoist Yuan Hua from Jiufang Temple were finally about to duel.

Yu Mo and another person were making unrelated, forced conversations, trying to steer it towards the young disciple.

How could Jiufang Temple not know their intentions? Anyway, they were quite confident about their Dao Seed, so they readily agreed.

After all, this matter wasn’t too big or small, and if they acted directly, the impact would be too great. Instead, having the disciple make a move made it easier to control the extent of victory or defeat.

And thus, it turned into what it was now.

The old Taoists from Jiufang Temple and Yu Mo sat together, looking all smiles and laughter, but in reality, everyone’s attention was focused here.

Yu Hong was representing the face of Qingchen Temple; originally, Zheng Ming should have gone up, but thinking of his previous loss to Yu Hong, he recommended letting Yu Hong go.

"Stop before causing any harm, remember not to injure the opponent. Just a friendly sparring," Yu Mo Taoist called out loudly and seriously.

"Yes, Uncle!" Zheng Ming quickly replied loudly, not waiting for a response.

This set the tone first.

Though Jiufang Temple was dissatisfied, they did not retort and silently agreed.

Yu Hong glanced around at those watching.

The two of the Yu generation, Zheng Ming and the other four were all present, along with some invited local dignitaries, numbering about five or six.

Including the dozen or so from Jiufang Temple, it looked like quite a crowd.

"The match is about to begin, counting down from three, ready," announced a Taoist from Jiufang Temple, temporarily acting as the announcer, raising his right hand with three fingers up.

"Three."

"Two."

Yu Hong and Taoist Yuan Hua simultaneously raised their hands, ready to form their handprints.

The resentment sand had already been placed on the ground between the two. It was quite extravagant this time, one bottle each.

"One!"

Swish!

A milky white, slender-necked porcelain bottle appeared in Yuan Hua Taoist’s hand. He gently tapped it.

Immediately, an invisible force surged from the bottle and flew towards Yu Hong.

The invisible force attracted the resentment sand in mid-air and quickly turned into a half-human-sized silvery, blurry human face mask.

The mask opened its mouth and sprayed out a silver thread as thin as hair, targeting Yu Hong.

"Go." Yu Hong released his first Fear Shadow—the shadow in a white robe.

The man in white charged forward fearlessly.

Thump, thump, thump!!

A large area of silver threads pierced the white-robed man’s body, slowing his steps considerably.

But that was all; the tiny holes on the white-robed man’s body quickly healed and disappeared. It lunged forward, closing the distance, and grabbed the silver mask.

Thud.

With a hard tear, the mask was ripped apart on the spot.

At the same time, the fragmented mask released a mass of black mist, enveloping the white-robed man.

They tangled there.

On the other side, Yu Hong and Taoist Yuan Hua simultaneously chose to shift the battlefield again.

Both summoned another Withered Woman and a second antlered mask.

The Withered Woman was visibly restrained by the antlered mask, but due to its unique blinking ability, the two ground against each other for several minutes without a winner.

Next, the third battle began.

Taoist Yuan Hua’s expression became serious.

"Seeing that Zheng Ming wasn’t the one going up, I thought there was some issue; now it seems it’s just that you’re stronger, right?" he said in a low voice.

The two battles had taken a significant toll on his mental strength regarding Daoist Skills.

Yet Yu Hong opposite him remained calm, his complexion unchanged, as if there was no consumption at all.

This was a bit exaggerated.

"Actually, it’s Brother Zheng Ming who gave me this opportunity for training," Yu Hong explained, "My own skills aren’t strong, I’m still much behind my senior brother."

"Hehe," Taoist Yuan Hua glanced at the expressionless Zheng Ming and internally cursed the Qingchen Temple for their hypocrisy.

But outwardly, he could only put on a stern face and remain silent.

Raising his hand, he made a handprint and shook his porcelain bottle again.

Soon, a new force surged rapidly, quickly sucked by the resentment sand, manifesting as a ferocious devil-like horned mask.

On Yu Hong’s side, a new Fear Shadow emerged as well, a hazy, semi-transparent humanoid form.

That was the spoken figure!

As soon as it formed its outline, it released circles of almost tangible air currents, swirling around.

Immediately, the people of Jiufang Temple were slightly moved in expression.

They had seen Qingchen Temple’s Fear Shadow before, but this was the first time they witnessed such an eerily styled one.

With this sinister Fear Shadow appearing, Yu Mo and the others couldn’t help but glance sideways, leaning forward with somewhat serious expressions.

Taoist Yuan Hua sensed something amiss but it was too late to change tactics. Moreover, this devil mask was his most powerful Technique; if it still didn’t work....

Bang!

In an instant, as the spoken figure formed, the devil mask directly crashed into it.

With a muffled sound, the devil mask was forcibly bounced several meters away.

The spoken figure still stood in place, its jelly-like texture slowly disappearing, becoming simply translucent.

Its aura also subdued, remaining unmoving.

"The difference is evident. The devil mask couldn’t even move Zheng Rou’s Fear Shadow!" Zheng Xia murmured, eyes somewhat shocked. "It’s only been such a short time of cultivation, and he’s already caught up to Taoist Yuan Hua’s many years...."

"This is talent; it doesn’t follow logic...." Zheng Ming shook his head. "But what is that thing Zheng Rou summoned? I’ve never seen such a thing. Have you, Junior Sister?"

Zheng Xia shook her head.

"Never seen it, maybe the masters know."

The two looked towards Yu Mo and Yu Hen, noticing they were also focused on the spoken figure, some furrowing their brows, others just plainly curious.

Yu Mo and Master Yu Hen, the two old Taoists, were speculating about the origin of the spoken figure.

"That thing...is very dangerous...and has many details. It’s either a long-term imagined terror form or the depiction of some folk deity," Yu Mo said in a deep voice.

"I feel...it looks like....the real one," Master Yu Hen frowned.

"The real one? If it’s at that level and true....then....?" Yu Mo suddenly thought of Yu Hong’s background search, related to the Huangsong Island case.

"It should be....a blessing in disguise..." Master Yu Hen nodded.

As soon as the spoken figure appeared, it clearly was not a common character.

Meanwhile, the shadow in the white robe had already suppressed the opposite mask and was holding it in its grip.

"Impressive! Now the next move...how will you counter this!"

Taoist Yuan Hua was getting frustrated, immediately pressing a black and gold pendant on his chest.

Buzz!

In the instant he grabbed the pendant, an invisible wave of spiritual fluctuation rapidly spread across the entire hall from him as the center.

This time, everyone sensed something different.

A sense of suppression slowly emerged.

"It’s the Dao Artifact! The Inheritance Dao Artifact!" Yu Mo leaned forward again, "Zheng Rou has just acquired the Dao Artifact; I wonder if he can handle it!"

"Let’s watch first; if it’s unmanageable, he’ll yield." Master Yu Hen shook his head.

Not far away, the four of Zheng Ming also showed concern.

"Even using the Inheritance Dao Artifact, it’s really risking it all." Zheng Ming frowned tightly, "The usage of Dao Artifacts isn’t grasped quickly; Zheng Rou is somewhat at a disadvantage here."

"I think Zheng Rou might still have some assurance," Zheng Xia, who had been following Yu Hong these days, vaguely observed his temperament.

Seeing him unmoved on the field, she knew the situation had not exceeded his control.

The local representational figures, however, were applauding and cheering at such a magical duel, relishing the spectacle.

Without realizing the heavy atmosphere beneath it.

Back in the field.

Taoist Yuan Hua grasped the pendant, and resentment sand rapidly condensed behind him, forming a three-meter-tall silvery bull-headed figure.

The bull-headed figure wielded a large silver axe, lifting its foot and rushed towards Yu Hong.

Thump, thump, thump!!

With each step it ran, semi-transparent gel dripped continuously from its body.

The spoken figure was silently exercising its ability, causing it sustained damage.

But such damage proved useless, having no effect on the bull-headed figure.

In an instant, it arrived in front of the spoken figure, swinging the axe.

Swish!

The axe landed on the head of the spoken figure in a split second, and at that moment, the scream erupted.

Ah!!!

With a bang, the spoken figure shattered like jelly, bursting apart and splattering everywhere, completely disappearing.

While a small part of the bull-headed figure’s front was fully gelled, dripping like wax on the ground.

The surrounding was in an uproar.

Taoist Yuan Hua had even utilized the Inheritance Dao Artifact, yet was still injured by the spoken figure’s retaliation.

One must understand, once the Inheritance Dao Artifact was used, the user’s strength could be greatly amplified; the trade-off was the rapid consumption of spiritual power. It was essentially a trump card move, yet, at this moment....

"Yellow Level Dao Artifact; it’s okay, Zheng Rou is at Profound Level. Even if not proficient, there should be a slight advantage. Next, it becomes the crucial moment to determine victory or defeat," Zheng Ming said in a deep voice, staring intently at Yu Hong.

The last sparring session, he wanted to know what Inheritance Dao Artifact Yu Hong acquired and its function.

Unable to find out last time, this time, Taoist Yuan Hua might force out Yu Hong’s trump card.

Not only him; at this moment, the old Yu Mo also looked at Yu Hong with anticipation.

Master Yu Hen held a teacup at his lips and never put it down, as though frozen in motion.