Daoist Competition-Chapter 925 - 202: Hidden Moves Among Blossoms and Masterful Hands (Part 2)

He coldly brushed his sleeve and said, "Young one, this master has now sealed this world, let’s see where you can run to!"

Gongyang Sheng looked on with an extraordinary light in his eyes, secretly rejoicing, "I originally thought that even if I unlocked the seal early, this treasure would be of some use, but not too potent, yet I did not expect it to have such power now before it’s even fully refined. With its help, why should my Lie Xuan Sect fear Qingshi Temple and Golden Ling Sect? In a few hundred years, we can rise again!"

The divine statue raised its hand, and a torrent of Gang Thunder fell, but this time, unlike before when it was a single test strike, dozens of thunder radiances bombarded from all directions, leaving Zhang Yan no room to dodge.

Since it could not be avoided, then he simply wouldn’t evade!

Zhang Yan shouted loudly, summoned the Qiankun Leaf, and suspended it above his head, pushing his mana to the limit. The leaf seemed to know it was a critical moment, emitting a clear sound like a zither, resonating far and wide, unleashing a radiant burst like brocade clouds, protecting him within it.

The Gang Thunder descended like dense rain hitting long waters, continuously creating rippling waves. This single Shell Leaf seemed like a small boat crossing the sea, appearing to sway unsteadily amidst the storm, seemingly about to capsize at any moment, yet it remained tenacious and unbreakable.

The divine statue, relying on its immense magical power, could summon such great momentum at any time, but it was not fully developed and incomplete. In essence, it was merely comparable to a Nascent Soul Third Realm cultivator, relying solely on its own strength to break the "Earth Splitting Qiankun Leaf" was not feasible in a short time.

The divine statue, seeing that no matter how hard it exerted itself, it could not take down Zhang Yan, seemed annoyed too. It snorted and said, "You little brat, do you think this master only has such tricks? Watch closely."

It reached out, seized a wisp of green aura out of thin air, kneaded it a few times, and then flicked it out, forming a banner made of smoke, then turned its head to point at Zhang Yan, saying, "Capture!"

In an instant, Zhang Yan felt an immense force pulling at him, dragging his body slowly upward, and even the Qiankun Leaf could not stop it.

He looked up and saw the direction, and it seemed that within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he would be pulled onto that banner.

While not knowing the mysterious workings of it, he knew it must not be allowed to proceed as desired.

He pondered briefly, then took something out from his sleeve, glanced at it, and thought, "I originally didn’t want to use this, to avoid leaving any loose ends, but now it seems this is the only way to resolve everything in one stroke. Master Cheng anticipated this move brilliantly."

The item in his hand was a Black Wood Token, given to him by Master Cheng before departing. It was not some rare Dharma Treasure but a Prohibition Token within eight hundred miles of Double Moon Peak.

With this token, he could activate the Zhenluo Alliance’s guardian array, exterminating incoming enemies. Even if a Cave Heaven True Master were to come, they could be held off for a moment or two.

As this array covers a vast area, under normal circumstances, it requires the combined effort of three Nascent Soul True Masters to activate it. Therefore, there were originally three Zhenluo Alliance elders stationed permanently at Double Moon Peak.

Before Lie Xuan Sect’s invasion, they even went to great lengths to draw away Elder Che and sent Shang Teng to capture Huang Zuoguang due to the fear of this great array.

If not for this, they wouldn’t dare come here no matter how bold they were.

What they did not anticipate was that although Master Cheng could not attend to protecting Zhenluo Alliance during battle preparations, he nevertheless gave the token to Zhang Yan before leaving, leaving a hidden move.

When the nine from Lie Xuan Sect invaded, Zhang Yan could have used this talisman to easily annihilate them.

However, firstly, such a grand array was a sect foundational asset, and him as an outsider activating it would surely offend taboos; secondly, even on his own, he could not activate the array and needed the assistance of the Earth Fire Sky Furnace to make use of it.

Back then, his Qiankun Leaf was still being refined in the furnace. Once he used this talisman, the treasure would definitely not be completed, which was why Master Cheng said, "Perhaps useful when the treasure is done" on that day.

The situation is critical now, and this divine statue is made entirely of treasure materials, impervious to any weapons. Even if the Shaoqing Sect claimed its swordsmanship could cut through anything, if not fully developed, it might not slice through it.

With Zhang Yan’s current abilities, he may break the impasse by using the Beiming Sword, but that’s too wasteful. Therefore, activating the Prohibition Array is the most fitting choice, and how to negotiate with Zhenluo Alliance is a problem for another day and need not be considered now.

He decisively held the token and infused it with his body’s power. The talisman abruptly vibrated, and in an instant, countless mantras and secret techniques flooded his mind.

This was the Dharma technique to operate the Prohibition Array. If it were replaced by someone entirely unfamiliar with arrays, even with this method, they could only probe painstakingly. In doing so, they might scare away that divine statue, but to capture it would be impossible.

Fortunately, when Zhang Yan was on Kunyu Land, he had roughly studied array techniques to absorb Gang Ying from the mountain top. He knew the operational intricacies. Now with the mantra in hand, he dared not claim mastery over the entire array, but it would suffice to trap this formidable enemy.

He held the token upright and was about to act, but suddenly paused, remembering something. He glanced down and thought, "There are still three fellow Daoists in that pit, whom I haven’t seen escape earlier. Perhaps they feared encountering some Lie Xuan Sect elders and dared not emerge. If I activate the array using the Heavenly Pit, their lives may be in jeopardy. As for Hua Daoist, let’s not speak of him; Liang and Wei have both toiled for me, so I cannot harm them."

With a thought, he came up with a plan. With a mental command, the Qiankun Leaf atop his head swayed suddenly, as if unwilling, circled around him, before falling into the Earth Fire Sky Pit to protect those three.

He then shifted the spell, and suddenly, his body emitted a treasure light that extended several feet around, shielding him, then took hold of the token, urged his mana, and boldly activated the great array!

...

...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)