Chapter 154: Seizing

"Heart's Insight Sword!"

If it were possible, Hongjian would have preferred a safer approach, evading the sharp edge of the spell before executing the "Convergence of Myriad Streams." However, the space inside the cave was far too cramped; no sooner had she taken a slight step back than the sword radiance was already upon her eyes.

There was no time for anything else—nothing except the "Convergence of Myriad Streams"!

"Heart's Insight Sword" was a cultivation technique of the Golden Core stage. Hongjian's "Convergence of Myriad Streams" had also advanced twice: the first advancement removed it from the ranks of ordinary techniques, making it truly usable in combat, while the second advancement granted it the ability to absorb metal-element true essence. Strictly speaking, the two techniques should have been comparable in grade and evenly matched at this point, but the actual outcome was quite different.

The reason the legacy known as the "Heart Sword" claimed the title of the premier metal-element technique was that it possessed not only the power to destroy everything, but also sufficient speed—speed so absolute it followed every whim of the mind. A mere thought, and the spell struck the target, leaving the opponent with nowhere near enough time to mount a defense.

Although "Heart's Insight Sword" had not quite reached the level of the true "Heart Sword," it nevertheless possessed those exact characteristics.

The "Convergence of Myriad Streams" that Hongjian unleashed with all her might had just been hastily thrown out, but seeing it now, it was already too late. The majestic metal-element true essence of the "Heart's Insight Sword" was right before her eyes, threatening to overwhelm and destroy her like a tsunami.

This was the first time since she began using the "Convergence of Myriad Streams" in combat that she had found it so strenuous. Yet her opponent, Pu Pingping, was witnessing the strangest phenomenon he had ever seen in his life. It was as if someone were standing in the middle of a blinding sandstorm and sweeping wildly with a massive broom; well over half of his "Heart's Insight Sword" instantly vanished. The mere ten or twenty percent that remained was twisted into a distorted arc, striking the figure in black who had ambushed him.

With such bizarre martial prowess, this person was more difficult to deal with than all the materials of the major sects combined.

A sudden spike of alarm pierced Pu Pingping's heart. Struck by the blow, his opponent flew straight backward, slamming heavily against the stone wall. The black garments shattered, and blood soaked half of their body, yet this person did not utter even a single groan. Raising their right hand, the counterattack arrived in the next instant.

Having seen that the black-robed person's spell inflicted minimal damage and that their physical body was so frail, Pu Pingping had already deduced that the adversary was most likely a water cultivator. Thus, when he saw the blinding golden light suddenly flare up, he truly felt as though he had seen a ghost.

Pu Pingping wanted to retreat and dodge, but the exact predicament Hongjian had faced was now visited upon him. The space was insufficient, leaving no room to maneuver, and the suddenness of the situation made it too late to cast a spell in opposition. Regardless of what kind of metal-element spell it was, he dared not endure it with his physical body alone. Consequently, he hastily pinched a cultivation formula, casting out the "Sharp Metal Spell," which was the fastest-casting spell available.

This was a move born of absolute desperation. The "Sharp Metal Spell" was merely the most basic of metal-element spells, and compared to Hongjian's counterattack, it was barely better than nothing at all. As the two collided, the "Sharp Metal Spell" instantly dissipated without a trace. In the next moment, Hongjian's "Hollow Sword" struck squarely against Pu Pingping's chest.

By comparison, the blow Pu Pingping suffered was far more severe than the one Hongjian had taken from the "Heart's Insight Sword" moments earlier. However, Pu Pingping's physical body was also vastly sturdier and tougher than Hongjian's, so after taking the blow head-on, his condition mirrored hers: a bloody hole was torn in his chest. Though the injury was not light, it was not yet life-threatening.

Both of them panted heavily, leaning against the stone wall for support.

Pu Pingping had just finished a skirmish with Gao Hongli and the others by the lakeside. Although he had consumed medicinal pills to restore his true essence and delayed his arrival by a short while, his true essence had ultimately not fully recovered.

Meanwhile, Hongjian had not anticipated Pu Pingping's arrival, so her true essence was also lacking by a significant margin. Having fought to this point, both were struggling to sustain themselves.

Fortunately, the spiritual energy within the cave was dense. While recovering his true essence, Pu Pingping opened his mouth to offer terms of surrender: "With your skill, it is truly a pity to remain a rogue cultivator who dares not even show his face. How about I act as your intermediary and you join our Talisman Diagram Sect?"

Hongjian let out an ambiguous hum. Her injury was on her left side, and she had managed to barely stem the bleeding with a massive expenditure of true essence. She did not dare to raise her left arm lightly, but she knew Pu Pingping was in no better shape; it all depended on who could hold on without collapsing.

Pu Pingping continued, "Our Sect Master Dai is a Deity Transformation cultivator, and what is even more rare is that he holds no prejudices regarding sectarian backgrounds. He loves nothing more than to patronize talented rogue cultivators like yourself. As long as you join our Talisman Diagram Sect, no one will dare pursue your origins or background..."

Pu Pingping hardly seemed like the type to engage in long-winded persuasion, but this speech rolled off his tongue effortlessly, clearly indicating he had heard it recited by others countless times before.

Hongjian sneered silently. Having finally accumulated a small reserve of true essence—with just enough held back to leave one hand free for the "Convergence of Myriad Streams"—she knew her water-element techniques dealt slightly weaker damage, but it would still be more than enough to make Pu Pingping suffer. Without even offering a warning, she directly urged the "Hollow Sword" to strike at Pu Pingping.

This time, Pu Pingping was on high alert and naturally detected the attack in advance. However, his agility was far below what it had been earlier, forcing him to reluctantly partition a fraction of his true essence to cast a spell in defense. Only then did he realize that the opponent's various styles of vastly different attacks all originated from a single flying-sword-shaped magical artifact. He casually offered a threat: "Don't assume that keeping your face hidden means everything is settled; our Talisman Diagram Sect has plenty of ways to track you down!"

After this flurry of movement, the meager reserves of true essence the two had just begun to replenish were once again nearly exhausted, forcing them back into a stalemate.

At that exact moment, a succession of spell explosions echoed from outside the cave.

Pu Pingping's expression instantly turned ugly. Judging by the sound, those were metal-element spells, and the newcomer should be Jiang Yan. That brat certainly had no fear of death, actually daring to follow him here.

Had he not been delayed by this bizarre black-robed rogue cultivator, he could have pocketed the rare treasure long ago. Furthermore, without this rogue cultivator in the way, he would never have taken Jiang Yan seriously; in fact, he would have welcomed all of them arriving together, sparing him the trouble of hunting them down after claiming the rare treasure.

Yet at present, if this person was in cahoots with Jiang Yan and the others, he lacked the certainty to secure the treasure and make his escape.

Throughout the entire battle, both Pu Pingping and Hongjian had consciously avoided the wood-element spirit seed. Now, the rare treasure lay right between the two of them, seemingly within arm's reach. Relying on the remaining third of his healing talisman's efficacy, Pu Pingping cast all other concerns aside and lunged through the air toward the stone bowl.

Hongjian raised her hand to deploy the "Hollow Sword," striking Pu Pingping repeatedly, but she failed to halt his momentum.

Hongjian inwardly cursed, "Damn it!" She had no way to subdue this wood-element spirit seed. Logically speaking, since Pu Pingping possessed a metal spiritual root, he should have been equally helpless, but the Talisman Diagram Sect possessed too many unpredictable varieties of talismans against which one had to guard.

Seeing Pu Pingping's tiger-like pounce, she truly feared he might have made prior preparations. If he somehow managed to make off with the rare treasure resting within the spiritual liquid, who knew what unforeseen disasters might occur? Not daring to hesitate or consider the consequences any longer, and ignoring whoever was approaching outside the cave, Hongjian lunged forward to intercept him.

The wood-element spirit seed was slightly closer to Hongjian, indicating that she held a marginal upper hand in their arduous battle. Therefore, although Pu Pingping had made the first move, Hongjian still managed to cut him off in a flash of lightning.

Battle-hardened and immensely experienced, Pu Pingping had suffered once already; though he still did not understand how, he no longer recklessly attacked Hongjian with spells. Instead, his arms and both hands were suffused with the peerlessly destructive might of metal-element true essence as he fiercely thrust down toward the crown of Hongjian's head.

Judging by the whistling of the wind alone, Hongjian knew that if she took that blow solid, even with the protection of her water true essence, she would likely not survive. Twisting her torso and bending her waist, her body became as light as a willow catkin, evading the vicious grab with an impossibly supple arc.

The shrieking of the wind past her fingertips grazed her shoulder. Without a moment's pause, Hongjian directed the "Hollow Sword" to stab straight toward Pu Pingping's eyes.

At such close quarters, Pu Pingping had no room to dodge. He raised his bare palm, glowing with the "Sharp Metal Spell," to block the blow head-on. Immediately following a low roar, he pressed down upon Hongjian with the overwhelming force of Mount Tai.

Crammed in front of the natural boulder bowl, the two of them were practically on the verge of a grappling brawl. Neither Pu Pingping nor Hongjian had ever imagined a fight could become this wretched.

The closer the distance between them, the faster their strikes, and the more perilous the situation.

With the opponent's strange techniques, lack of formidable offensive means, and rather fragile physique that could not withstand heavy blows, Pu Pingping realized his overwhelming physical advantage. He threw every last ounce of his strength into attempting to tear the enemy before him apart with his bare hands, which were suffused with the "Sharp Metal Spell."

Had the wood-element spirit seed not been right before them, Hongjian would never have entangled herself with him like this. For a water cultivator to allow an enemy to close in posed a tremendous risk.

Subconsciously dodging Pu Pingping's torrential onslaught, Hongjian found that the "Convergence of Myriad Streams" absorbed the "Sharp Metal Spell" with mediocre results at best. After merely snatching a moment to test it out, she abandoned the attempt and switched back to the "Hollow Sword" to contend with him blow for blow. As time ticked away, both of them accumulated fresh injuries atop their old wounds, and speckles of blood splattered everywhere across the ground.

"It seems the rare treasure is indeed inside this cave. Fortunately, Junior Brother Chou knew how to break that illusionary array, otherwise, if we had relied solely on you brute-forcing it, Jiang Yan, we might not have gotten out at all."

"Be careful! That fellow surnamed Pu might already be here!"

The group who had shattered the illusionary array stood outside the mountain speaking, their voices carrying clearly into the cave.

If Hongjian had not known who had arrived upon hearing the first sentence, the second speaker's voice caused her tense mind to relax. Since Jiang Yan and his companions had arrived, that fellow surnamed Pu wouldn't have much longer to leap around.

Pu Pingping's expression also shifted. A ferocious look appeared in his eyes as he lashed out at Hongjian with both hands wreathed in chilling winds. Taking advantage of Hongjian's sideways dodge, he abruptly shook off her entanglement and reached the side of the stone bowl in two strides.

Completely ignoring the threat of the "Hollow Sword," he extended his hand—his palm conspicuously pressed against a talisman—and without another word, clawed toward the wood-element spirit seed submerged within the spiritual liquid.

Having been shaken off by Pu Pingping, Hongjian's heart plummeted; she instantly realized things were going badly.

Since Pu Pingping had made his move on the wood-element spirit seed, Hongjian dared not gamble on whether he would succeed. Whether Pu Pingping intended to subdue the rare treasure or destroy it, neither outcome was something she wanted to see.

Pu Pingping's hand was about to touch the spiritual liquid in the bowl, and stepping in to stop him directly was clearly too late. A surge of heat rushed to Hongjian's head, leaving no time for thought. In that split second, she leaned forward and executed a maneuver she had been hesitating to attempt all along.

Directly targeting the half-bowl of spiritual liquid, she unleashed the "Convergence of Myriad Streams" with all her might, crying out inwardly: *"If you refuse to be subdued by Pu Pingping, then come with me! I will take good care of you using the 'Myriad Transformations Creation and Annihilation Art'!"*