Daoist Competition

This place is nestled amidst mountains and waters, beside cliffs with waterfalls cascading down, the fragrance of flowers wafting through the air, and all around is a splendid scene of peach blossoms and verdant willows, with an exceptionally beautiful landscape.

The duty of guarding Double Moon Peak is rotated once every thirty years. Huang Zuoguang, usually preoccupied with cultivation and seldom venturing out, was completely unaware when the rear of the mountain became such a marvelous spectacle.

Sitting in the pavilion for a moment, he suddenly saw a beam of light fall nearby. After the light dissipated, Shang Teng appeared and entered the pavilion, bowing and saying, "Brother Huang, earlier I had an urgent matter to attend to, and arrived late. Pardon my tardiness."

Normally, Shang Teng would speak to Huang Zuoguang with cold words, so the latter was suddenly unaccustomed to his polite manner. After a brief pause, he responded, "Brother Daoist, what matter has brought me here?"

Shang Teng glanced down at the mountain. This location was specifically chosen by him for its secluded and silent nature, ensuring that no one would dare come close while they conversed. Yet he still seemed somewhat uneasy and said solemnly, "Brother Daoist, please wait a moment."

He raised his hand, scattering a plume of gray smoke, which spread out and within moments enveloped everything within a hundred zhang, becoming impenetrable to wind and rain, as well as sunlight, moonlight, and starlight.

A barely noticeable smile appeared on Shang Zhen’s face. With this, regardless of what occurred here, no one would detect any movement.

Although Huang Zuoguang was growing suspicious, seeing Shang Zhen being so cautious made him hold back from speaking until Shang Zhen sat down, whereupon he urgently asked, "Brother Daoist, what exactly has happened?"

Shang Teng reached into his sleeve, produced a letter, and handed it over saying, "Fellow Daoist, take a look."

Unaware of the situation, Huang Zuoguang hastily accepted the letter, and after flipping through its contents, he was astonished, exclaiming, "What, the Lie Xuan Sect is actually planning such a sinister plot?"

The matter of the Lie Xuan Sect’s grand celebration was already widespread across the land, and it was known that on that day, the sect’s elders would likely return to the main temple. As the day drew closer, the Zhenluo Alliance felt less pressured and relaxed considerably.

However, this letter revealed that the Lie Xuan Sect intended to deceive everyone and was plotting to launch a full-force surprise attack on Shuangfeng Yue.

Huang Zuoguang never imagined there was such intrigue involved, finding it somewhat hard to believe, yet becoming more alarmed the more he read.

Once he finished reading, he set down the letter, asking, "Brother Daoist, where did this news come from?"

Shang Teng shook his head and pointed to the document in Huang’s hand, saying, "I only just obtained this report, and dared not act alone, hence I requested your presence immediately. The letter’s back side contains details; Brother Daoist, take a look further to understand."

Stunned, Huang Zuoguang hurriedly turned the letter over, and upon seeing a drawing.

In the image, a Daoist sat cross-legged, with treasure light and auspicious colors behind him, exhibiting serene and celestial demeanor.

Having had multiple disputes with the Lie Xuan Sect over the years, he instantly recognized it as their ancestor master, Wing Cliff Upper Master.

Just as he intended to look more closely, the image suddenly seemed to come alive, its eyes abruptly opening, and a beam of golden light shot forth!

Unprepared, Huang Zuoguang cried out "Ah!" as he covered his eyes and fell backward.

Despite the unbearable pain in his eyes, his mind remained sharp, recognizing something was wrong. Instinctively, he summoned his Protective Treasure Light, and with a thought, a beam of light ascended, and a solid copper bell, standing six feet tall, shielded him.

At that moment, a Gang Thunder struck down right at the copper bell, with a "boom," yet the bell merely trembled, remaining undamaged.

Shang Zhen murmured a regretful remark, not expecting Huang Zuoguang to react so swiftly, though he’d prepared a backup plan.

Especially since Huang Zuoguang’s Nascent Soul was pinned by that beam of golden light, rendering him unable to act, significantly diminishing his combat strength, thus unable to escape no matter how hard he struggled.

He executed a spell, releasing an arrangement as the earth beneath them swelled, and a red line net flew out, enveloping the copper bell, which struggled, but the net was extremely tenacious, firmly binding it, preventing any escape.

At the same time, Shang Teng shouted fiercely, tossing a colorful Wooden Box into the air. "Zheng, Zheng, Zheng," three sounds rang out like metal clashing, and three green small arrows flew from the box, condensing like smoke, intangible yet formed, aimed at Huang Zuoguang’s forehead, chest, and abdomen.

Huang Zuoguang suffered due to his impaired eyes, unable to discern Shang Teng’s attacks or their direction, and had no choice but to rely solely on his Protective Treasure Light for defense.

Unexpectedly, the Smoke Arrows were of a special kind, bypassing the Protective Treasure Light effortlessly, piercing his forehead, chest, and abdomen. He grunted, his body collapsing to the ground.

Shang Zhen stepped forward, shook out a rope made of condensed black gas from his sleeve, and as soon as it fell, it tightly bound Huang Zuoguang.

Huang Zuoguang immediately felt numb, furious and about to unleash curses, but as he was about to speak, the rope tightened, causing his Essence Qi to drain ceaselessly, his eyelids growing heavy, drowsiness overcoming him, struggling in vain, until he completely lost consciousness.

The copper bell, unattended, had its Spirit Light vanish with a "Dang lang" sound, falling to the ground.

Shang Zhen breathed deeply a few times. Although he’d made plenty of preparations, had Huang Zuoguang decided to rush out after merely blocking the attack instead of defending, capturing him wouldn’t have been easy, requiring some luck.

Now that he was caught, Shang Zhen held full control from this moment, the gates of Double Moon Peak forever open to the Lie Xuan Sect.

With a smug smile, Shang Teng only needed to capture Zhang Yan next and reclaim the Divine Beast Embryo, securing his top placement when credits and rewards were distributed.

He leisurely walked a few steps, sat back in the pavilion, took out pen and paper, then raised his brush, writing a letter full of self-praise. After reading it several times with satisfaction, he packed it into an envelope.

Looking up briefly, he recited a few spells and then reached out to retract the mist, and seeing the sky clear once more, he snorted, tossing the Flying Book into the sky till it flew out of sight, finally feeling completely assured.

...

...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote, whether recommendation votes or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)