What was that ... ...

Elder Xiao was filled with uncertainty and she felt the youth in front of her was filled with strangeness. [Sky Flower Fall] was based on appearances and was completely the opposite of normal illusory formations. Normal illusory formations used external forces to shake the mind of xiuzhe while [Sky Flower Fall] woke the innate desires of the xiuzhe. A Dhyana xiu’s Samadhi gave them strong minds and the possibility of them being enchanted was much lower than other xiuzhe.

But benefits always came with disadvantages.

Dhyana xiu had strong minds, but their convictions also had to be strong as well. Spells like [Sky Flower Fall] exploited this and were amazingly effective against them. Only when the dhyana xiu could cultivate to the higher stage of Great Freedom and let go of their convictions would spells like [Sky Flower Fall] lose their effect.

But the stage of Great Freedom was a very profound level. The dhyana xiu which reached such a level would all be great powers, and wouldn’t appear in a little place like Sky Water Jie, much less a ningmai twenty-something year old youth reaching such a level.

The [Sky Flower Fall] that had never failed before had been ineffective. Under the backlash of the illusion, her mind was injured. Up until now, she still did not know how Zuo Mo had seen through it, and what that “Return all the jingshi to me” meant.

Also, this indistinct cloud ... ...

...was eerie, and mysterious. A strong feeling of danger made her heart beat rapidly. Her knowledge naturally wasn’t ordinary for her to have cultivated to jindan, but she had never heard of such a strange and weird golden shadow before.

The golden shadow moved as though it was alive.

In the blink of an eye, it collapsed towards it’s center and rapidly shrank.

A pair of half-transparent golden wings appeared on Zuo Mo’s back.

Great Day Mo Physique, first transformation, Light Void Wings!

———

The Guard Camp that Shu Long was leading was engaged in heavy combat with Elder Wang at this time. Elder Wang learned from Elder Mei’s example and continuously changed her position to maintain the initiative. However, Shu Long wasn’t dumb and did not attack first. He securely held his position to cut off any opportunity for Elder Wang to give aid to Elder Mei. The Crow Fiend Mo Kill Formation was in motion. After breaking through last time, the Little Mo Kill could be used with ease.

Threads of black energy turned to thick chains that formed an enormous net to block the path of Elder Wang.

This way, no one could gain an advantage over the other.

———

“Hundred Kill!”

The shouts of one hundred people shook like thunder. A gigantic sword and the flower petal wind collided. Elder Mei suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Two branches on the plum branch in her hand snapped. The tree was filled with cracks and only had five branches left.

The ling power of Elder Mei was almost running out of her control and boiled like water. The other side did not give her any chance to recover.

The deep sound sounded at her ears like a nightmare again.

Elder Wang’s expression was heavy, the warmth it usually held had disappeared and was replaced by killing intent. She knew that she could not keep tangling with this group of people. Elder Mei had reached the end of her strength, and did not have the power to even continue for fifteen minutes.

A thread of regret came into her heart. The power of the Master of Golden Crow City was much stronger than they had imagined!

Before today, they had never thought there would be a day where they would be left so dishevelled and sorry-looking due to a group of ningmai. It was just a group of ningmai. No matter how high their numbers, they never even considered ningmai as a serious threat.

From the moment they became jindan, they had the qualifications to look down at ningmai.

This conviction was shattered by the cruel reality of today.

At this moment, she did not hope for victory, but only hoped that the three of them could survive. As long as the three of them could survive, the Hundred Flower Alliance would continue to exist. If the three of them were no longer here, even if the Master of Golden Crow City did not deal the final blow, the other powers of Bright Water City would swallow Hundred Flower Alliance.

———

Shu Long looked coldly at the other. He knew the other was going to go all out.

He did not feel any fear, even though the other was a jindan. They were the cause of this battle. They had more reason than any other person to put their lives on the line.

Xiu slavery had existed for a long time, and was common in every jie. Shu Long knew this reality. He was not so delusional as to hope that Daren could save all the xiu slaves and change the situation. That was not realistic. Daren had not blamed them, and even took everyone to attack Hundred Flower Alliance. Shu Long decided to put his life on the line.

It wasn’t just for A Wen, but more for themselves, and himself.

He didn’t feel any fear at the other’s decision to go all out, but felt slightly excited.

Elder Wang took out a Begonia Palace Lantern. A blue-white flame lightly jumped inside the lantern. As the Begonia Palace Lantern was taken out, the air around it paused for a short moment. After a while, a even more strange scene occurred. The air around Elder Wang started to jump in rhythm with the pulsing of the blue-white flame.

Elder Wang’s figure started to blur in the air.

Shu Long’s pupils imperceptibly shrank. This Begonia Palace Lantern was a powerful talisman!

He raised his right hand covered in black armor. His right hand was completely enveloped in a ball of thick black energy. As the wind blew past, the black energy flickered like a wisp of flame.

The people of Guard Camp silently raised their right hands. A ball of thick black energy encased everyone’s right hand.

The black snakes that coiled above their heads suddenly shattered and turned to tiny threads of black energy. These black energies gathered together with astounding speed and formed a black snake a hundred zhang long! The body of this black snake was completely tangible, with all of its muscles and scales intact as though it was alive. The red snake pupils did not hold emotions. It opened its maw and bared its white fangs as it breathed in. The black fire in the sky and the black energies that encased Shu Long and the other’s right hands were sucked into the sky and into the black snake’s mouth.

Woo-ha!

The deep long wail was like an invisible wind that swept in all directions.

Having absorbed the black fire, the black snake quickly transformed. Two bumps formed on its forehead. The snake’s pupils became even sharper, the scales even blacker and shinier, and the presence even more astonishing!

Elder Wang was even more shocked. This black-armor troop had very strange battle methods and was completely different from any type of xiuzhe she had seen before.

But she recognized the change in the black snake, Serpent Transformation!

Snakes and serpents had an innate difference and that was also true of their strength. This black snake that had not finished its transformation into a serpent still exuded a completely superior strength than just a moment ago. Its pupils seemed able to drain away all warmth. Elder Wang’s heart tightened.

Waves of warmth came from the Begonia Palace Lantern. Her heart eased slightly. Yes, the black snake was astonishing, but the Begonia Palace Lantern in her hand was not ordinary.

She was skilled in forging and especially skilled in making all kinds of flower lanterns. This hexagonal Begonia Palace Lantern was her masterpiece. The begonias used in the lantern were sixth-grade Sky Heart Begonias, one of the best types of begonias in the world. The rarest was the blue-white flame inside the palace lantern. It came from the center of a Ten Thousand Year Blue Fire Bamboo. It was called Blue Heart Bamboo Flame, and was a rare specimen among fourth-grade fires.

Without another word, she raised the Begonia Palace Lantern in her hand and chanted in a low voice.

The petals of the Begonia Palace Lantern fell off and flew into the sky. It seemed that there was an endless amount of flower petals, yet the lantern did not change at all. The begonia flower petals danced in the sky. In the blink of an eye, the sky was full of flower petals like a dream.

Compared to the plum blossoms of Elder Mei, the number of begonia flower petals were even more amazing. There seemed to be no end. All of Hundred Flower Valley was covered within it.

The black snake ignored the rain of flower petals. The black body coiled as its red pupils coldly stared at Elder Wang.

The flame of the Begonia Palace Lantern suddenly jumped. Boom, the flower petals in the sky simultaneously started to burn. Countless blue-white flames danced in the sky.

Blue Heart Bamboo Flame!

Bzzzt!

A bloom of Blue Heart Bamboo Flame landed on the shiny body of the black snake, bounced twice, and was extinguished. The black snake did not seem to detect it.

Elder Wang’s expression changed!

The Blue Heart Bamboo Flame was actually ineffective!

The Blue Heart Bamboo Flame which could burn through everything could not even leave a mark on the body of the black snake!

The icy eyes of the black snake had no emotion. It was made from pure and sharp killing essence. Was it something a measly Blue Heart Bamboo Flame could damage?

Light flashed through Shu Long’s eyes. He shouted in a low tone, “Kill!”

The pupils of the black snake suddenly opened, its enormous body twisting and jumping to charge at Elder Wang.

Elder Wang was shocked and hurriedly spun the Begonia Palace Lantern in her hand. Countless blooms of Blue Heart Bamboo Flame blew towards the black snake.

Pia pia pia!

The sounds were like the popping of beans.

Each of the Blue Heart Bamboo Flames were the size of a thumb but its was unexpectedly strong. The enormous body of the black snake was forced to bend down.

Elder Wang released a breath. It was good as long as there was a way to stop the other. She channelled her ling power furiously, and countless flower petals flew into the air. However, the flower petals this time were not tender and weak like they were with the last attack. They were like the sharpest blades with a keen sword essence as they swam around the body of the black snake.

Pew pew pew!

Scratches appeared on the black snake’s shiny body. The black snake felt pain and furiously twisted its body.

Yet the Blue Heart Bamboo Flame was endless as it bombed the black snake with no signs of ending.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on Shu Long’s head. His expression was calm, but he was unusually furious. A moment of carelessness, and the other had taken the advantage. How could he tolerate being suppressed? So what if the talisman was powerful?

A cold energy flashed through his eyes.

“Little Mo Kill!”

The black snake suddenly collapsed and turned to a ball of black energy. The center of the black energy spun rapidly.

The Blue Heart Bamboo Flame and the begonia sword essence covering the sky seemed to be attracted by an invisible force, and uncontrollably flew towards the spinning black energy.

Elder Wang’s expression changed dramatically.

The suction of the spinning black energy was shocking. The Blue Heart Bamboo Flame and the begonia sword essence furiously flew towards the black energy whirlpool.

What terrified her was that this black energy whirlpool was like a monster that could consume everything. It had not changed at all after so much Blue Heart Bamboo Flame and begonia sword essences had flown in.

The situation was becoming increasingly worse. A sharp look came into her eyes. She snorted coldly. For the first time, the Begonia Palace Lantern left her hand and flew into the sky.

Translator Ramblings: So having convictions is a double-edged sword. Some of you were so close with your dhyana xiu speculations on immunity to illusions. What is hardest to resist? Your innermost desires.

On the same topic, Zuo Mo’s desires are apparently beautiful women and jingshi. Someone mentioned that Zuo Mo has no libido.He must not have any mental libido because his body does react to what he sees. So he desires beautiful women but he doesn’t think about them sexually.

Jindan arrogance is in shown here again. First the yellow-robed Taoist and now these three. This actually shows how Clear Sky Old Forefather is a cut above them. He planned for the event of his death before his battle, and didn’t have confidence obscuring his mind to the point these jindan do.