The Wanxiang Brush suspended itself in mid-air as Li Nanzhu poured all of her divine sense and spiritual energy into it with reckless abandon!
The body of the brush trembled violently, emitting a blinding light of azure and crimson.
"Ti!"
With a sharp cry, the Wanxiang Brush shot forward like a shooting star. Its tip ignited with a roaring flame, carving a crimson trail through the air.
This strike contained the entirety of her fire-attribute spiritual energy. Its power was so immense that even the arena’s protection array began to twist and warp!
Boom!!!
The fiery brush collided with the golden pillar of light, triggering an earth-shattering roar. The entire arena shook violently, forcing the referee to hastily reinforce the barrier once more.
As the smoke and dust cleared, the golden pillar of light was seen shattered into fragments. Cang Dongqing was half-kneeling on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Li Nanzhu herself was swaying, her face as pale as paper—that single strike had nearly drained her of all spiritual energy.
"You..." Cang Dongqing struggled to stand, her eyes filled with disbelief. "How is this possible..."
Li Nanzhu forced herself not to collapse. With a wave of her right hand, the Wanxiang Brush flew back into her grasp. She knew she had reached her limit, but Cang Dongqing clearly still had strength to spare.
Li Nanzhu didn't answer. Instead, she pointed the tip of her sword directly at Cang Dongqing. "Do you concede?"
Cang Dongqing’s head snapped up. "In your dreams!"
Having said that, she suddenly bit her tongue and sprayed a mouthful of essence blood onto the gold flag. "Gold Spirit!"
The gold flag instantly flared with a piercing bloody light. Seven blood-gold sword shadows tore through the air, each carrying a suffocating killing intent!
Li Nanzhu didn't have time to overthink. She grabbed a handful of talismans from her storage bag and scattered them into the air. "Explode!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fireball talismans, ice spike talismans, and wind blade talismans all detonated simultaneously, forming a chaotic barrier of spiritual energy. She took the opportunity to retreat rapidly, continuously throwing more talismans behind her as she moved.
"This... this is too exaggerated!" a cultivator cried out from the sidelines. "Just how many talismans did she bring?"
"Is the Five Elements Dao Sect really this wealthy?!"
Duan Xianxing watched with his mouth agape. "Just how many talismans has Little Junior Sister drawn over this past half-year?"
In just a few breaths, Li Nanzhu had circled the arena once, throwing out over a hundred assorted talismans. The entire stage was shrouded in explosive smoke, making it impossible for even the referee to see what was happening inside.
"This..." The referees looked at one another. "So many talismans... that shouldn't be a violation, right?"
"It isn't. After all, she is a brush cultivator; it's normal for her to be able to draw talismans," one of the referees said, shaking his head. "But this is a bit much..."
In the midst of the smoke, Cang Dongqing’s face was livid. She could no longer maintain her previously gentle facade. She never imagined her opponent would use such an almost shameless fighting style.
While those talismans couldn't truly harm her, they severely interfered with her pursuit.
"Li Nanzhu!" she barked. "Can you do nothing but run?"
Li Nanzhu did not reply. She knew she was at her limit. She had taken the chance to stuff several spirit-returning pills into her mouth, but they needed time to work, and Cang Dongqing clearly didn't intend to let her stall any longer.
What could she do?
Li Nanzhu’s mind raced. The intense unwillingness deep within her soul made her refuse to give up here.
"I can't lose..." she whispered through gritted teeth. "I absolutely cannot..."
Just then, the wood spiritual root that had been dormant in her body suddenly throbbed. The life force stored within the Greenwood Longevity Sutra erupted all at once!
"This is...!"
Li Nanzhu didn't have time to ponder it; she seized this final opportunity.
She channeled all of that life force into the Wanxiang Brush while simultaneously mobilizing her remaining spiritual energy. Combining it with her divine sense, she actually traced two bizarre brushstrokes in the air!
They were part of the Eight Principles of Yong!
"Ce!"
"Lüe!"
This was her first time drawing two strokes simultaneously!
Water and wood spiritual energy merged perfectly, forming a strange rune in the air. The moment the rune took shape, the spiritual energy of the entire arena vibrated in response!
"Go!"
The rune shot toward Cang Dongqing like a bolt of lightning. In her haste, the latter could only raise the gold flag to block.
Boom—!
Amidst the deafening explosion, the gold flag shattered instantly. Cang Dongqing was thrown back several yards, crashing heavily at the edge of the arena as she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Li Nanzhu also dropped to one knee, her spiritual energy completely exhausted. She stayed upright only by leaning on her Daoist Friend Sword.
The entire venue fell into a deathly silence. No one had expected this match to be so brutal.
"Do you concede?" Li Nanzhu looked up with difficulty, her voice hoarse.
Cang Dongqing struggled to stand, only to find she couldn't move a muscle. She stared fixedly at Li Nanzhu, her eyes full of resentment and malice. "I... will... not..."
A flash of decisiveness crossed Li Nanzhu’s eyes. She raised her sword once more, aiming straight for the back of Cang Dongqing’s heart! This turn of events happened so fast that Cang Dongqing had no time to react.
"Dongqing!" Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao barked, sweeping his sleeve to intervene.
Thump!
A blue barrier suddenly blocked Ling Xiao. Feng Yi had appeared at the referee's table at some unknown point, saying lazily, "It isn't quite right for the old folks to interfere in a junior's match, is it?"
In that split second, Cang Dongqing’s pupils shrank as she let out a scream.
"I concede!"
Li Nanzhu’s sword light, which had yet to descend, was directly intercepted by the referee. Seeing the official step in, Li Nanzhu’s eyes flickered with a hint of regret.
She had been just one step away.
"The match is over!" the referee announced loudly. "The winner is Li Nanzhu of the Five Elements Dao Sect!"
The crowd erupted.
This Foundation Establishment match had reached a level of excitement that surpassed many Golden Core duels!
And this battle truly allowed everyone to see the depth of the Five Elements Dao Sect.
That girl, whom everyone claimed had only reached this point through luck, truly possessed the power to crush cultivators of the same generation!
Li Nanzhu tried to stand but found she lacked even the strength to lift her hand. Her vision began to darken. In her final moments of consciousness, she heard Duan Xianxing’s anxious cry: "Little Junior Sister!"
Then, she slipped into total darkness.
At the Sword Heart Sect’s seats, Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao’s face was grim. He swept his sleeve to take the heavily injured Cang Dongqing away. Before leaving, he cast a deep glance at Li Nanzhu. Though there was dissatisfaction, his expression held something more complex and unreadable.
In the spectator stands, reactions varied.
The people from the Sword Heart Sect looked sullen. Li Nanyi muttered to himself, "A dual practitioner of brush and sword... no wonder..."
Over at the Hehuan Sect, there was a scene of jubilation. Su Zhunshu excitedly tugged on Rong Yuying’s sleeve. "Young Sect Master! Fellow Daoist Li is incredible!"
Rong Yuying lightly waved her round fan, her eyes sparkling with an unusual light. "Indeed... she exceeded expectations..."
The treasure her grandmother had bet on was even stronger than they had imagined.
An elder from the Shenmu Sect stroked his beard in contemplation. "A combination of three spiritual energy attributes and brush cultivation... it’s been so many years since I last saw such a thing..."
In the seats behind him, Lin Xiaowan and the others looked at each other and smiled. They had long hoped Li Nanzhu would defeat Cang Dongqing, but they hadn't expected she would actually pull it off!
"Fairy Sister... is so amazing," Lin Xiaowan murmured.
"That’s why Xiaowan must also work hard in her cultivation," Tao Ying said with a smile, patting Lin Xiaowan’s shoulder. "That way, you can keep up with her pace."
"Mhm!" Lin Xiaowan nodded vigorously, but then a look of worry crossed her eyes. "I wonder how Fairy Sister is doing..."
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