Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms

Chapter 90 Battle of Wits (Please Subscribe)

Behind them, Zhao Gongming, riding a golden flying sword, his body and sword as one, his face grim: "Fang Jin, Fang Shui—"

He was very old, nearing the age of two hundred, and the Zhao family's Dao Foundation Ancestor had all died, leaving only him!

Once he passes away at the end of his life, the Zhao family will immediately be in danger of collapse!

Therefore, he had previously cultivated his own direct descendant Zhao Wuxu and used the method of human pills to feed Li Rulong.

Unexpectedly, Li Rulong's use of the "intercalation method" to cheat the heavens and the earth turned out to harm his own grandson!

This matter involved many schemes within the Purple Mansion, and Zhao Gongming dared not delve into it. He could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger, and instead cultivate another genius in the clan—Zhao Wufeng!

After setting aside his preconceived notions, Zhao Gongming was delighted to discover that this young man possessed the spirit of an ancient sword cultivator, and his talent even surpassed that of Zhao Wuxu.

Previously, it was only because the family resources were poured into Zhao Wuxu that he appeared somewhat mediocre.

Once the family resources were allocated to him, he immediately shone brightly and recently even cultivated to the ninth level of Qi Condensation, preparing to lay the foundation for his Dao.

Once he has cultivated new Dao Foundation cultivators, Zhao Gongming can die in peace.

But unexpectedly, he died suddenly!

The death of Zhao Wufeng is not just a matter of losing a potential Dao Foundation cultivator; it means that the Zhao family is now without anyone!

The probability of producing talented individuals from a family cultivator is inherently lower than that from a sect. Most members of the Zhao family have poor aptitude and cannot even break through the threshold of the late stage of Qi Conversion!

The few elders who occasionally reached the late stage of the Dao Foundation stage were all in their seventies or eighties, past the optimal age for breakthrough. Forcing a breakthrough to the Dao Foundation stage would undoubtedly lead to their death.

There may be some promising talents among those children who have just submitted, but his lifespan is already too short to wait that long.

Therefore, Fang Qing killing Zhao Wufeng was almost a clan-annihilation for Zhao Gongming!

Even the slightest clue must be pursued!

This was actually Fang Qing's deliberate act, wanting to test the feedback of mutual killing at the Dao Foundation level.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse.

"Hmm? There's another person? No—this is demonic energy? Half-demon Li Rulong? It really is you!"

When Zhao Gongming saw Li Rulong again, he suddenly realized what was going on and understood everything.

In his view, Fang Shui, an ordinary Daoist priest, was unlikely to have deliberately made an enemy of him.

Unless someone instructed them to do it!

And the one who instigated it was Li Rulong!

This person has a blood feud with his family, so it's not surprising that he would do anything!

"Li Rulong? A half-demon wanted by the authorities, dares to show his face?"

Upon seeing the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Zhao Gongming did not leave. Instead, he lowered his sword light, preparing to entangle them from a distance.

He had already sent a signal that as long as they held out for a while, an ancestor from a familiar Dao Foundation family would come and capture or kill this half-demon. As for Fang Shui? He almost ignored it.

Although both were at the early stage of the Dao Foundation stage, his cultivation was profound, reaching the peak of the early stage of the Dao Foundation stage, and he was also a [Kangjin] cultivator. How could he possibly look down on the mere [Jishui]?

The only one I'm worried about is Li Rulong!

"well----"

Upon seeing this scene, Fang Qing couldn't help but sigh.

He naturally sighed, knowing that the opportunity he had finally obtained was now hopeless.

If he joined forces with outsiders to kill the sword cultivator, and he himself couldn't change his cultivation technique in front of Li Rulong, there was no way he could get the feedback of "mutual killing".

"Hmph, fellow Daoist, it's not too late for you to repent and return from your misguided path!"

Zhao Gongming shouted sharply, and the sword in his hand split into multiple sword lights, instantly creating a sky full of sword shadows.

He was a Dao Foundation Sword Cultivator who had cultivated flying swords for many years. With the help of the profound Dao Foundation of [Kangjin], he had achieved two great sword Dao realms: "Sword Movement Thunder Sound" and "Sword Light Differentiation".

The sword light was as swift as thunder, arriving in an instant with the power of lightning, sending chills down one's spine.

The circle of [Ji Shui] magic that Fang Qing casually arranged clashed with the sword light, and it collapsed almost instantly.

"Alas—my Dao Foundation is profound but I am not good at fighting, so I can only cheer for my fellow Daoist."

He took the opportunity to retreat a distance, preparing to observe the battle between the ancient Shu Daoist cultivators.

"Haha—Fellow Daoist, drawing out this person is already a great achievement."

Li Rulong laughed heartily, his demonic aura soaring into the sky, transforming into a bewitching purple moon.

The surrounding area was filled with wind, frost, rain, and snow, and the air was bitterly cold.

The purple demonic energy transformed into a ferocious hand covered in scales, reaching out to grab the sword light that filled the sky.

puff puff!

The sword light was incredibly sharp, capable of cutting through gold and jade, but after making contact with the purple hand, a surprising scene unfolded.

The purple-scaled hand exuded profound Daoist wisdom, using softness to overcome hardness, grasping streaks of golden sword light and instantly transforming them into wind, frost, rain, and snow.

The endless sword light crumbled upon contact, the flying sword itself struck by a purple hand.

The flying sword itself flew back, revealing the Zhao family patriarch with a look of surprise and uncertainty: "You—"

"Fellow Daoist, please know that my Dao foundation is called 'Harmonizing Softness and Hardness,' specializing in the transformation of material properties and capable of restraining metal and fire—today you have encountered me, for you have met your nemesis. Please leave your life here."

Li Rulong laughed loudly, his figure spreading out and transforming into several black shadows that approached.

Zhao Gongming's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He sheathed his sword to protect himself and relied on his shrewd combat experience and his more powerful magic than Li Rulong to barely hold on.

This person—is he dragging his feet and not leaving? Is he waiting for reinforcements?

If I don't kill him today, it doesn't seem right if he escapes back and goes around telling everyone that I'm associating with the demon race—I'd better silence him.

Fang Qing wandered along the edge of the battlefield, occasionally casting a few spells to cheer on the troops, while quickly analyzing the battle situation in his mind.

Li Rulong is young after all, and even though their lineages are incompatible, it will still be quite difficult for him to quickly defeat this veteran Dao Foundation Sword Cultivator.

Having made up his mind, Fang Qing rode the waves and joined the battle.

"kill!"

He roared, and the water vapor in the sky condensed, transforming into swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks, all of which smashed towards Zhao Gongming.

Zhao Gongming casually tossed out a treasure, a golden sphere, which immediately emitted golden energy that transformed into a protective gale.

Those weapons formed from condensed water vapor could easily kill cultivators who had mastered Qi, but they were helpless against this thin layer of golden gale.

"Hmph, a mere [Ji Shui] Dao Foundation, your aura clearly indicates you've only recently advanced, and your Dao Foundation's mysteries are still those of the Long-Aged Dew." How dare someone so unskilled in combat come to ambush and kill this old man?

Zhao Gongming thought to himself with resentment, "Under normal circumstances, I could have taken this brat's life in three sword strikes!"

Just then, Li Rulong released a flying sword.

This flying sword was somewhat similar in shape to the Dingjun Sword of the past, but it was entirely emerald green, like a venomous snake. It was locked in fierce combat with Zhao Gongming's flying sword, the two swords clashing continuously. Small notches the size of rice grains appeared on the blades of each sword, attracting all of the sword cultivator's attention.

The opportunity has arrived.

How could Fang Qing not know that his own Dao foundation was not good at combat?

The reason they still made such a fuss was naturally to lower Zhao Gongming's guard.

Seeing that Li Rulong was also cooperating and intensifying his offensive, he immediately reached into his robes and activated a second-tier talisman that he had been hiding for a long time!

Tweet!

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth suddenly surged violently, and a magnificent crimson firebird appeared!

It is a second-grade high-quality Firebird Talisman!

This talisman, due to environmental limitations at the Azure Sea Gate, is slightly less valuable than an ordinary second-tier high-grade talisman, which Fang Qing managed to snag at a bargain price.

However, in the ancient Shu region, the Golden Fire is a prominent Dao of the time, and the resulting amplification causes the transformed firebird to have a wingspan of over three zhang, with its magical power fluctuations far exceeding those at the Azure Sea Gate.

Stab it!

The intense fire elemental power even directly dispelled the golden energy, causing the layer of golden gale to shatter violently.

Then, after transforming, the Fire Phoenix displayed many mysterious patterns on its body, and its flames became even more powerful as it rushed towards Zhao Gongming.

"This...is a talisman with power approaching that of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

Zhao Gongming was caught off guard and was greatly surprised, almost taking the brunt of the Firebird Talisman's power head-on.

He screamed in agony, his beard and hair were charred black, and half of his body was almost completely reduced to charcoal.

However, a mysterious aura of Dao Foundation transformed into a beam of incandescent golden energy, barely sustaining his life force.

"Damn it—even a second-tier high-grade talisman can't take down an early-stage Dao Foundation cultivator?" Fang Qing was equally shocked upon seeing this.

Zhao Gongming recalled his flying sword and prepared to flee.

puff!

At this moment, a jade-green flying sword, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, bypassed the sword light defense and pierced into his brow.

It was Li Rulong who made the move, choosing the perfect timing and angle, revealing his exceptional talent in combat.

"I----"

Zhao Gongming died instantly without uttering a sound. His body turned into a ball of golden energy, which then exploded and scattered into a large amount of metal objects.

After killing Zhao Gongming, Li Rulong looked at Fang Qing with apprehension.

Clearly, Fang Qing's ability to casually pull out a talisman with power approaching that of a late-stage Dao Foundation cultivator was quite unexpected.

"Fellow Daoist—you indeed have another opportunity."

After a few breaths, Li Rulong laughed heartily, "I have avenged my great grudge, and I must thank you, fellow Daoist. We will split the spiritual treasures on this person equally—and the Heavenly Pivot Star Sand I promised earlier, I will now hand them over to you, fellow Daoist."

With a wave of his hand, a jade bottle and several other items flew toward Fang Qing, including Zhao Gongming's golden flying sword.

Fang Qing took the flying sword and scanned it with his divine sense, only to find it was like a piece of stubborn iron.

The power of a cultivator's natal flying sword decreases by at least 30% after losing its master.

Overall, however, it's still slightly stronger than my spirit-grade flying sword.

He scanned the jade bottle with his divine sense and saw stardust floating inside, emitting starlight, like a gathering of fireflies. He nodded to himself, "With this, I can refine my natal flying sword when I get back—this trip is indeed very auspicious."

Fang Qing looked at Li Rulong, who seemed hesitant to speak, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Zhao Gongming must have called for reinforcements. It is inconvenient for me to show myself, so I will take my leave now. — Fellow Daoist, may our paths cross again someday."

Until we meet again!

Li Rulong watched Fang Qingxing's retreating figure, his gaze deep and melancholic, ultimately settling into a sigh—

A hundred miles away, Fang Qing cast a divination: "Hmm—staying here is a bit ominous—Li Rulong risked so much, he couldn't possibly be here just to kill Zhao Gongming; he probably has a mission from Luofeng Mountain on his side?"

"This ancient Shu is still in turmoil, I need to hide for a while—it's a good time to go back and refine my flying sword. Once this sword is complete, I'll at least have a means to threaten late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. As for late-stage Dao Foundation cultivators? I'll wait and see—"

"What a pity. I was originally planning to take on a capable disciple and send him to the Secret Realm—but it seems I'll have to put that on hold for now."

The reason for not using Xu Hei is naturally because his strength is average, and he has become quite useful in recent years; they don't want to see him die easily.

enjoy