Luoxuan cupped his hands and said,
"Disciple obeys!"
With that, he took a step forward. His figure flashed like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived on the arena stage.
"Luoxuan of Jiejiao, I ask for your guidance, Fellow Daoist."
Luoxuan announced in a clear voice.
Opposite him, True Person Taiyi wore an arrogant expression, his chin practically pointed at the sky, not taking Luoxuan seriously in the least.
"Luoxuan,"
"You are no match for me. You would do well to admit defeat early and save yourself some suffering."
In his view,
with his level of cultivation, even without using Sage treasures, any cultivator below the Daluo Golden Immortal realm was no match for him, let alone a mere Luoxuan.
At these words, the members of Jiejiao were filled with furious rage.
"Arrogant!"
Zhao Gongming blazed with anger, rolling up his sleeves.
"What the hell! A mere Taiyi Golden Immortal acting so arrogant! If you've got the guts, get down here and let your granddaddy teach you some manners!"
Yet Luoxuan's expression remained unchanged.
As he watched his fellow disciples stirred to righteous indignation below the stage, the corners of his mouth twitched.
No wonder Jiejiao was utterly crushed in the Conferment of the Gods calamity. They couldn't even see through a simple provocation; with such crystal-clear stupidity, it was no wonder they couldn't defeat the old schemers of Chanjiao.
Seeing Luoxuan's utter calmness, True Person Taiyi instantly furrowed his brow.
That's not right!
Weren't Jiejiao disciples supposed to be brainless brutes? Why wasn't this Luoxuan taking the bait?
That was correct:
Taiyi had just made those arrogant remarks precisely to enrage Luoxuan.
Although True Person Taiyi was extremely confident in his own strength, he also knew the importance of this match, which concerned a Sage's face and could not be lost under any circumstances.
Therefore,
he had resorted to a provocation; once people grew angry, they would lose their reason.
To his surprise, Luoxuan refused to fall for the trick.
Though the plan failed,
Taiyi was not discouraged. The provocation was just a casual attempt—if it worked, great; if not, it mattered little, for he remained confident he could thrash Luoxuan.
Thinking this to himself,
True Person Taiyi did not hesitate, launching a fierce attack instantly.
"Guard!"
With a loud shout, he formed hand seals.
Boom!
A deafening roar shook the firmament, and spiritual energy within a radius of ten thousand miles instantly surged into turmoil.Taiyi summoned the Nine-Dragon Fire Cover.
This was True Person Taiyi's signature magic treasure, ranked among the top-tier acquired Spiritual Treasures, capable of summoning nine fire dragons to battle with immense power.
During the Conferment of the Gods,
Taiyi had relied on this very treasure to literally roast Lady Shiji to death, which showed just how ferocious it was.
Roar!
Howling sounds echoed through the void.
Suddenly,
nine gigantic fire dragons soared into the air, with antlers like a deer, heads like a camel, eyes like a rabbit, necks like a snake, bellies like a clam, scales like a fish, talons like an eagle, paws like a tiger, and ears like an ox.
Baring their claws and fangs, they exuded a ferocious aura.
"Go!"
True Person Taiyi shouted fiercely,
and the nine fire dragons aggressively lunged toward Luoxuan.
Flying together,
the nine dragons kicked up a monstrous sea of fire, carrying the might of world-destruction, as if turning every enemy blocking their path into flying ash.
The Jiejiao disciples below could not help breaking out in a cold sweat for Luoxuan.Duobao said with a solemn expression,
"This Nine-Dragon Fire Cover can wield Samadhi True Fire, and the flames breathed by the fire dragons are tripled in damage—Samadhi True Fire nine times stronger than ordinary Samadhi True Fire."
"The power of this single strike is comparable to that of a Daluo Golden Immortal. Junior Brother Luoxuan is in danger."
Hearing this, Zhao Gongming was greatly alarmed.
"What is to be done? Junior Brother Luoxuan's cultivation is already inferior to Taiyi's, and now he has to face such a formidable Spiritual Treasure. Doesn't that mean he's bound to lose?"
Yunxiao spoke up to comfort him:
"Big Brother need not worry. Even if we lose this match, Jiejiao remains the ultimate victor."
"Surely Master will not punish Junior Brother Luoxuan over this!"
Though she said that,
if this match was lost, it would directly affect the prestige of Master Tongtian.
Seeing that even Duobao did not hold out hope for Luoxuan,
certain individuals who usually disliked Luoxuan immediately became smug.
Lingya Xian said with sarcastic inflection,
"Of all people Master could have chosen, he had to pick Luoxuan. Now look at this—if he truly loses, won't the face of Jiejiao be dragged completely through the dirt?"
Jinguang Xian chimed in as well.
"Indeed."
"It would be one thing if we merely lost face, but to implicate Master and cause him to suffer humiliation before the Second Uncle—"
Qiu Shou Xian added from the side.
"What the two Junior Brothers say is entirely correct."
"The ten-million-year reputation of Jiejiao is all being ruined in the hands of this fellow."
The three of them sang in harmony,
every word dripping with depreciation toward Luoxuan, as if Luoxuan had become a sinner against Jiejiao, and rather than living in this world, he would be better off dropping dead right now to end it all.
The reason the three targeted Luoxuan was that they were close friends with Dingguangxian.
Because of Luoxuan, Dingguangxian had been punished to suppress the ocean eyes.
Naturally, the three of them held deep resentment toward Luoxuan.
Moreover,
since all three had lost their previous matches, they certainly did not want to see Luoxuan win.
The three made no effort to keep their voices down, and since everyone present was a cultivator, they heard every word crystal clear.
Zhao Gongming flew into a rage.
"Which bastard is gossiping behind our backs? If you've got the guts, go say that to Master's face."
"You—"
The three were utterly furious.
"Enough!"
Daoist Duobao rebuked sternly, casting a cold glare at Jinguang Xian and the other two.
"Junior Brother Luoxuan is fighting for Jiejiao. How can you petty ones slander him behind his back? If there is a next time, do not blame this poor Daoist for disregarding fraternal bonds."
Seeing Duobao fly into a rage, the three instantly fell silent.
On the opposite side,
the Chanjiao disciples were overjoyed.
Chijingzi smiled and said,
"Junior Brother Taiyi will undoubtedly win this battle. A mere brat like Luoxuan is nothing to worry about."
Real Person Yuding sighed.
"It is a pity that we are incompetent, letting Jiejiao win this Three Teachings Assembly and even implicating Master in the loss of his face. What a sin."
Guangchengzi spoke up.
"Junior Brother is mistaken."
"Those Jiejiao people are nothing more than feathered horns and moisture-born egg-incubators, given to violence and slaughter. Though adept at fighting, they understand no Great Dao; when the great calamity arrives, they shall be reduced to flying ash."
"Unlike us, who wholeheartedly contemplate the Great Dao—though not skilled in combat, we can attain the Great Dao."
Faced with Guangchengzi's self-consolation,
the crowd nodded in succession.
That's right,
they were devoted to studying the profound and seeking the Great Dao; only those brutes of Jiejiao would blindly focus on brute force.
On the arena stage,
facing the oncoming torrent of fire dragons,
Luoxuan let out a thunderous shout,
"Break!"
Instantly,
boundless flames surged from within his body. The South-Aspected Separation Fire scorched the void, incinerating all things.
Screech!
With a phoenix cry,
the South-Aspected Separation Fire instantly transformed into a giant fire phoenix.
Flapping its wings, it blotted out the sky and sun.
Seeing this,
Taiyi curved the corner of his mouth into an extremely disdainful smile and mocked derisively,
"Displaying slight skill before an expert!"
"My fire dragons can breathe Samadhi True Fire with ninefold power. How could it ever be resisted by your mere mortal flames? Such utter overestimation of your own capabilities."
Samadhi True Fire was a top-tier spiritual fire in the Great Wilderness.
Even if Luoxuan's spiritual fire possessed some miraculous properties, it was fundamentally impossible for it to compare to his Samadhi True Fire, and this was Samadhi True Fire with ninefold power at that.
Yet,
the moment the fire dragons collided with the fire phoenix,
the fire dragons were like snow meeting the scorching sun—without the slightest ability to resist, they were instantly swallowed whole by the fire phoenix formed from the South-Aspected Separation Fire.
"What!"
The smile on Taiyi's face instantly froze.
"Impossible!"
"That's absolutely impossible!"
Whether Chanjiao disciples or Jiejiao disciples, all dropped their jaws in disbelief, wearing expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
The fire phoenix let out a long cry and fiercely crashed into Taiyi.
With a muffled thud,
Taiyi was completely unable to dodge,
and was struck squarely by the fire phoenix. His body trembled violently as he turned charred black all over and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
The scene fell into absolute silence!