One person: Go talk to my Rumble-Rumble Fruit!

Looking at Zhuge Qing kneeling on the ground, Wang Ye's eyes showed no trace of the arrogance of a victor. Instead, a complex and unfathomable ripple passed through them, like pity or a helpless sigh after understanding one's fate.

He slowly walked forward, the hem of his wide Taoist robe fluttering in the dust, and stopped in front of Zhuge Qing.

"Brother Zhuge,"

His voice was deep and clear, piercing the suffocating silence. "You are strong, strong enough to make most people look up to you. You are obsessed with winning, obsessed with breaking the deadlock, which is not wrong. But..." He paused slightly, his gaze seemingly piercing through Zhuge Qing's body, looking into the deeper void, "Do you know that the deadlock you are so obsessed with winning may never have truly trapped the person you wanted to trap from the very beginning?"

He reached out his hand—a long, slender hand with distinct knuckles, palm facing upward—and stopped before Zhuge Qing's lowered gaze. This gesture was not one of support, but rather a silent "ferrying," an enlightenment for those mired in art and obsession.

"Techniques have their limits, but the Way... is boundless." Wang Ye's voice was like a morning bell and evening drum, carrying a desolate and transcendent quality of having seen through all laws. "When you only see the victory or defeat of techniques, and are obsessed with the rules and regulations of Qimen Dunjia, you have already trapped yourself in a deeper game, drawing a circle around yourself without realizing it. You exhaust your energy to turn the wheel of that pattern, but you have never thought that a true master cultivator may... have already jumped out of that wheel, become the one who holds the wheel, or even... become the one who defines the rules of the wheel itself."

"I surrender!"

"It is I, Zhuge Qing, whose skills are inferior! It is I, Zhuge Qing, whose cultivation is shallow! But—" A tragic light burst forth in his eyes, "Wuhou Qimen has not lost! It is still the glorious path! Today's defeat is because I, Zhuge Qing, have failed to see the full picture of the Dao, and have failed to exhaust the mysteries of Qimen! It has only... shown me a higher peak!"

Wang Ye quietly watched Zhuge Qing, watching this proud genius who had been shattered by his own hands on his path to enlightenment, yet stubbornly tried to rebuild himself.

He slowly withdrew his outstretched hand, placing it behind his back. A complex expression finally appeared on his face, which had always carried a hint of languor.

“A higher peak…” Wang Ye repeated softly, a faint, bitter smile playing on his lips. His gaze drifted to the vast sky beyond the training grounds, as if piercing through the clouds to see a more distant and somber future. “Yes, there are mountains beyond mountains, and heavens beyond heavens… But Brother Zhuge, do you know that atop those higher peaks may not be celestial palaces, but perhaps… an even harsher, more merciless realm of gales?”

He glanced one last time at Zhuge Qing, who was still kneeling on the ground but with his spine straight, and said nothing more. With a gentle flick of his wide Taoist robe sleeves, he turned and walked towards the edge of the training ground. The afterglow of the setting sun cast his lonely shadow long and thin on the cold ground, making him appear somewhat forlorn.

Everyone was so shocked by the match between Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing that they were speechless.

This is simply a visual feast.

Until Rongshan shouted, "The victor is king!"

Then a deafening roar erupted from the surrounding area.

"Holy crap, Zhuge Qing lost?"

"Who is this Wang Ye? How could he defeat Zhuge Qing? Why have I never heard of him before?"

“Wang Ye is from Wudang, a disciple of Daoist Yunlong.”

The surrounding noise was incessant.

On the stands, among the ten elders, there was a figure whose body trembled slightly, as if he had seen something exciting and thrilling.

When Wang Ye uttered the three words "Luan Jin Tuo" in a light, airy voice, Chen Jin Kui, the leader of the Shu Zi Men sect, whose body sat as upright as a mountain, tensed up almost imperceptibly. It wasn't nervousness, but rather... envy.

It should be noted that even Chen Jinkui could not use the Luanjin Tuo technique, because it had been lost to history!

But how could Wang Ye do that?

"This...this...is impossible!"

Chen Jinkui has immersed himself in the art of Qimen Dunjia for over sixty years, exhausting his efforts and studying the classics until his hair turned white. He believes that he has deduced the principles of the three powers of heaven, earth, and man, yin and yang, the five elements, and the operation of the four plates and eight gates to the pinnacle that ordinary people can reach.

The scheme he laid out was an inescapable net, an impenetrable wall, an irresistible force! Yet at this moment, the seemingly ordinary land beneath Wang Ye's feet caused Chen Jinkui's beliefs to crumble!

What is the rotation of the four plates? What are the auspicious and inauspicious directions? What are the generating, restraining, and transforming relationships?

The moment the young Taoist took a step and the True Fire of Yang crumbled inch by inch, Chen Jinkui seemed to hear his own beliefs collapse!

That's not a difference in skill, that's a crushing difference in dimensions! It's like a frog in a well glimpsing the true sky for the first time, like an ant looking up at the giant pillar that supports the world for the first time!

"Feng Hou Qi Men..."

"That's right, it's definitely Feng Hou Qi Men!"

"Among those eight people back then, one was from Wudang who comprehended the Feng Hou Qi Men technique. Now, the Feng Hou Qi Men technique has finally appeared in the world!"

The Feng Hou Qi Men technique is vividly displayed before our eyes!

Chen Jinkui felt his heart, which had long been as dry as an ancient well, now pounding wildly with unprecedented force. Each beat pumped out a scalding desire called "possession," burning his internal organs.

This power... this power that transcends the rules and is almost a "usurpation of the Dao"!

If it could be grasped by the School of Techniques... if it could be comprehended by Chen Jinkui... what a magnificent achievement that would be!

What glory!

Was it enough to make him surpass all the previous patriarchs, enough to make the Technique Sect stand above the Ten Elders, and even... touch Zhang Zhiwei's realm of "Peerless Master"? This thought was like the sweetest poison, instantly numbing all his reason and awe.

This caused Chen Jinkui's body to tremble slightly with excitement.

......

Chapter 79 Binding Spirits and Sending Generals

Next up was the contest between Feng Xingtong and Wang Bing.

Inside the martial arts training ground on the back of Longhu Mountain, the air was so thick it seemed to have solidified.

The clamor and cheers of the previous battles have long since faded away. Now, all that surrounds this arena is a chilling silence and a cold, confrontational atmosphere.

The slanting sunlight made Wang Bing's face, which was filled with eccentricity and disdain, appear particularly dazzling.

With his hands in his pockets, head tilted, and a wide, almost grotesque grin spreading across his face, his eyes fixed on Feng Xingtong across from him as if appraising a toy about to be obtained.

"Young man from the Feng family..." Wang Bing's voice trailed off, carrying a deliberate frivolity, "I've heard that your Feng family is worthy of using [Spirit Binding and Commanding]?"

He emphasized the last word heavily, filled with blatant sarcasm, "Those meager tricks stolen from our ancestors, are you trying to embarrass yourselves?"

Feng Xingtong's face was pale, and fine beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, but his eyes were unusually firm. He took a deep breath, not provoked by the other party's words, and said in a deep voice, "There is a reason why our ancestor Feng Tianyang was able to pass on his unique skills. Today's contest will let us see who is truly superior!"

"Ha, really?" Wang Bing scoffed, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, his shoulders shrugging exaggeratedly. "You think you can get away with this womanly thing by having spirits possess you? Treating spirits like grandsons?"

He suddenly took a step forward, and a cold, domineering aura, seemingly mixed with countless venomous and greedy energies, suddenly erupted. The black energy wave, like boiling silt, instantly swept across half of the arena, forming a clear boundary with the clear and gentle energy around Feng Xingtong.

"Open your dog eyes and see what the true path of [Spiritual Absorption] is! Spirits are nothing more than food for the strong!"

Before he finished speaking, Wang Bing spread his five fingers wide, his fingertips wrapped with thick, swirling black energy, and suddenly grabbed at the air!

Feng Xingtong felt the space around him being torn apart by a terrifying suction force, as if an invisible giant hand was gripping his throat and limbs.

The medium channel through which he communicated with the spirit trembled violently. A blurry yet unusually solid spirit, radiating a kind and wise aura, was none other than the renowned physician Prince Zhong, whom he regarded as his own grandfather. Under Wang Bing's domineering and unparalleled "spirit binding" power, it was forcibly torn out from the depths of Feng Xingtong's contract!

Prince Zhong's spirit fluctuated violently in the void. His originally kind face was distorted by intense pain, and he let out a silent wail.

The pure energy that constitutes the spirit body is entangled and pulled by the dark, claw-like Qi, as if it might collapse at any moment.

"No! Grandpa Zizhong!" Feng Xingtong's eyes were bloodshot as he let out a shrill roar.

He frantically channeled his own Qi, and a bright green light burned intensely between his hands, forming a strong barrier in an attempt to pull Prince Zhong's spirit back into his protective range.

However, Wang Bing's "Spirit Binding" power was extremely domineering, and its purity and strength far exceeded Feng Xingtong's resistance. The emerald green barrier made a teeth-grinding cracking sound under the erosion of the black qi, and spread rapidly like a spider web.

“Struggle? In vain!” Wang Bing grinned maliciously, his eyes gleaming with an almost morbid excitement.

Unlike Feng Xingtong, who gently "invited" the spirit to possess him, he opened his mouth, and a swirling, bottomless black vortex appeared deep in his throat! The vortex exuded a terrifying aura that devoured everything and annihilated all things, and an overwhelming suction force locked onto Wang Zizhong's spirit.

"The Art of Consuming Spirits! Swallow it!"

"Roar--!"

With a wild roar from Wang Bing, the suction force of the black vortex suddenly increased!

Wang Zizhong's spirit let out a desperate cry, its entire form stretched thin and elongated, like a beam of light being drawn into a black hole, moving little by little irresistibly toward Wang Bing's open maw, which seemed to lead to the deepest hell!

The wisps of pure energy that make up the spirit began to peel away and dissipate uncontrollably, being swallowed and obliterated by the vortex!

Feng Xingtong's heart was bleeding.

He could clearly feel the deep pain and resentment in the soul of the old man, Wang Zizhong, as the love and protection that sustained his beliefs were being cruelly torn apart and annihilated.

He knew that once Prince Zhong was completely devoured, this kind-hearted old man who had treated him like a grandson would be utterly destroyed, losing even the chance of reincarnation forever! This was not a battle! This was the most blasphemous and cruel killing of the soul!

"No! Absolutely not!"

A resolute flame ignited in Feng Xingtong's eyes, overpowering his fear and pain. He no longer thought of taking it back, but in a flash, he made a decision to sacrifice himself.

"Grandpa Zizhong! I'm so sorry!"

Feng Xingtong let out a heart-wrenching howl, his hand seals shifting wildly at an unbelievable speed. The emerald green Qi flames surrounding his body instantly transformed into a nearly transparent, shattering, blazing white!

He no longer resisted Wang Bing's devouring power. Instead, he poured all his own Qi, along with some of the primordial essence that sustained his life, into the core of Prince Zhong's spirit body, which was about to be completely devoured, like a powder keg with a lit fuse!

"Reversing Fortune, Connecting to the Netherworld! Soul Crossing to the Yellow Springs!" Blood gushed from all seven orifices of Feng Xingtong at the same time, his face instantly turned ashen, and his body trembled violently, as if he were about to collapse at any moment.

But this resolute force transformed into an overwhelming "push" pointing towards the path of reincarnation at the last moment when Prince Zhong's spirit was devoured!

A gentle yet unstoppable white beam of light, carrying the meaning of rebirth, suddenly erupted from the core of Prince Zhong's spirit!

The beam of light instantly broke through the constraints of Wang Bing's black vortex, like dawn piercing through eternal night.

Wang Zizhong's pained and distorted face returned to calm within the pillar of light, carrying a trace of relief and boundless love and worry for Feng Xingtong. He gave him one last deep look before his entire spirit body transformed into countless crystalline points of light, soaring into the sky and instantly disappearing into the void, guided by the pillar of light.

The gates of reincarnation were forcibly opened at that critical moment!

"Ugh—!" Wang Bing's swallowing action came to an abrupt halt. The terrifying black vortex in his mouth trembled violently, as if it had bitten into a red-hot iron, emitting a chilling "hissing" sound before reluctantly dissipating.

He staggered back a step, clutching his throat, letting out a roar of pain and rage. The duck that was practically in his grasp, and such a pure and powerful spirit at that, had been forcibly taken away! This was not only a defeat, but a tremendous humiliation to his path of "spirit worship"!

"You bastard! How dare you... how dare you destroy my food!"

Wang Bing abruptly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, a ferocious killing intent like a tangible ice spike piercing the swaying Feng Xingtong. "I'll make you pay! A hundred times! A thousand times!"

His gaze swept across the entire arena like a venomous snake, instantly locking onto a tall figure in the audience—Deng Youfu, a member of the Northeast shamanic lineage! More precisely, it locked onto the powerful entity attached to Deng Youfu!

"Spirit Bind!" Wang Bing roared hysterically, his hands flashing out again, this time aimed directly at Deng Youfu!

His domineering and unparalleled spirit-binding power ignored Deng Youfu's own will to resist, and even ignored the contractual connection between the spirit hosts. It transformed into two enormous black claws that blotted out the sky, crossed space, and fiercely grabbed at the top of Deng Youfu's head!

"Brother Youfu!" Feng Xingtong's pupils shrank. He saw the pain and horror on Deng Youfu's face, and he felt the blasphemy and greed for the shamanic ancestral spirit contained in that pitch-black giant claw! Once Wang Bing took him away, that powerful Old Man Liu would also be unable to escape the fate of being devoured!

The excruciating pain in his body surged through his consciousness like a tidal wave. The backlash from forcibly separating Prince Zhong and sending him into reincarnation made his meridians feel as if they were breaking inch by inch.

But seeing the black claw reaching for Liu Kunsheng, Feng Xingtong's eyes blazed with an unparalleled brilliance! He couldn't fall! At the very least, he couldn't let Wang Bing's atrocities succeed again!

"Ughhhhhh—!" Feng Xingtong squeezed out the last bit of Qi in his body, even at the cost of burning his own life force!

He shattered the hard bluestone slabs of the arena with his feet, and his body transformed into a blood-red emerald stream of light. With an almost suicidal speed, he forcefully inserted himself between Wang Bing's spirit-binding path and Deng Youfu!

"It works!" Feng Xingtong's voice was hoarse beyond recognition, but it carried an undeniable determination.

Instead of forming hand seals, he suddenly crossed his hands in front of his chest, and then, as if breaking free of shackles, he used all his strength to tear them apart!

"Pfft!" A mouthful of scalding blood spurted out, landing on his hands. The blood seemed to contain the mark of some kind of contract, instantly igniting! This was no ordinary spell; rather, it was a forceful severing of the deep connection between himself, the contractor, and the powerful spirit Liu Kunsheng, instantly, completely, and irresistibly "returning" its "ownership" to the original host—Deng Youfu!

"Uncle Liu! Go back!" With Feng Xingtong's desperate shout, a powerful azure demonic energy shot up from Deng Youfu's body, emitting a deafening hissing sound.

The azure demonic energy, filled with the fury of being freed from its restraints, instantly broke free from the black giant claws that were about to strike Wang Bing, and like a weary bird returning to its nest, it suddenly sank back into Deng Youfu's body!