"Whoosh—!"
A sapphire-blue figure darted through the mist at high speed. Every twist and every change of direction was almost entirely unpredictable, demonstrating an ultimate mastery over speed.
That was none other than Duan Xianxing, who was being relentlessly pursued by the golden core monk, Huineng!
His face was pale, fine beads of cold sweat soaked his forehead, and his breathing was ragged and unstable.
The spiritual energy within his body surged frantically to maintain the effects of the acceleration talisman and his own extreme movement techniques. His spiritual energy reserves at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment seemed incredibly strained under the tireless pursuit of a golden core cultivator.
"I'm almost out of spiritual energy..." Duan Xianxing lamented inwardly, the taste of blood even rising in the back of his throat. "How can this bald donkey chase me for so long?! Is he stuck to me like a piece of doghide plaster?!"
Not far behind him, monk Huineng's expression was as cold as water, his saffron robes whipping in the wind from his high-speed movement. He was equally filled with doubt and even a hint of irritation.
Duan Xianxing was simply too slippery!
Several times, he had used his powerful golden core divine sense to lock onto the other's aura, thinking the next strike would capture him. Yet, at the critical moment, the boy always managed to twist his position with some inconceivable movement technique, narrowly avoiding the capture. He even used the mist to briefly mask his presence, nearly causing the monk to lose the trail!
How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator possess such sustained speed and such bizarrely unpredictable movement techniques?
This completely exceeded Huineng's understanding.
He felt as if he weren't chasing a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but rather a slippery loach spirit that had soaked in a nest of loaches for a hundred years!
This made the dignified golden core monk feel quite lose-faced, and he began to strike with even more force.
"Whoosh—Crack!"
A sharp Buddha-light palm print brushed past the edge of Duan Xianxing's clothes, snapping an ancient tree that would have taken two people to hug right in half! Wood splinters flew everywhere with terrifying momentum.
Duan Xianxing's scalp tingled. He squeezed out the last bit of spiritual energy in his body once more, suddenly performing a clumsy lazy donkey roll to barely dodge the flying wood chips and the subsequent shockwave. Although it looked pathetic, it was effective.
"You dead bald donkey! Are you ever going to stop?!"
Duan Xianxing cursed under his breath, trying to provoke the other and disturb his state of mind, but his feet didn't dare stop for a second.
At the same time, the Soul-Sound Bell held tightly in his hand was vibrating frantically, sending the highest frequency distress signals to any senior brothers or sisters he could sense!
"First Senior Brother! Fifth Senior Sister! Fourth Senior Brother! Help! Someone's going to die! There's an old bald donkey chasing me and he won't let go!" he screamed frantically in his heart.
Suddenly, the Soul-Sound Bell transmitted an unusually clear and close response!
It was Fourth Senior Brother Jiang Yifan!
Duan Xianxing was instantly overjoyed. He charged toward the sensed direction with all his might, even risking a slight deceleration and adjustment of direction to ensure he could successfully merge with Jiang Yifan.
However, this subtle adjustment was immediately caught by the pursuing Huineng!
"Hm? The direction changed? Is he trying to meet up with his sect mates?" A sharp light flashed in Huineng's eyes as he snorted coldly. "Don't even think about it!"
He glanced at the time displayed on his secret realm jade pendant; the protection period was about to end!
If he couldn't take this boy now, even if he eventually caught him and snatched the ten points from the flag, he wouldn't get the initial points on the boy's person. Moreover, after a golden core monk had chased someone for so long to no avail, where would he hide his face?
He couldn't delay any longer!
A flash of decisiveness crossed Huineng's eyes. His spiritual energy surged instantly, merging into the Buddha-light surrounding him.
In an instant, his speed increased by thirty percent!
The saffron figure was like a bolt of lightning tearing through the mist, instantly closing the distance with Duan Xianxing!
"This ends now!"
Huineng gave a low roar, his right hand forming a claw as dense Buddhist spiritual energy gathered upon it, transforming into a massive, shimmering golden Buddha-hand that lunged toward Duan Xianxing!
With this strike, he had put in some real effort, seeking to capture him in one go!
"Not good!"
Duan Xianxing realized something was wrong. The massive pressure caused the spiritual energy flow in his body to stagnate, making it impossible to dodge!
He could only turn around swiftly and exert his remaining strength to lift his long sword, attempting a final block.
Right at that critical moment—
"Hum—!"
A soft yet incredibly resilient pale-blue light barrier, like the petal of a newly blooming lotus, appeared silently in front of Duan Xianxing, perfectly blocking the peerless Buddha-hand!
"Clang—!!!"
A dull yet sky-shaking explosion erupted in the mist!
The golden Buddha-hand collided violently with the blue light barrier. The berserk energy shockwaves spread out in a circle, instantly clearing the dense fog nearby and revealing the messy ground below.
The light barrier shook violently, with countless ripples appearing on its surface, but it ultimately did not break, firmly protecting Duan Xianxing behind it.
Failing to succeed, the Buddha-hand strike eventually faded away.
Huineng's forward-charging figure came to an abrupt halt, stopping in mid-air with a look of surprise on his face.
Having escaped certain death, Duan Xianxing gasped for breath, looking toward his side in shock.
Not far away, a slender figure stood quietly within the mist.
She wore a pink dress embroidered with Hehuan flower patterns, and she held an ancient-looking lotus lamp that emitted a shimmering blue light.
Pale-blue light flowed incessantly over the lamp; clearly, the life-saving barrier from just now had been emitted from this lamp.
It was Ling Suxin of the Hehuan Sect!
"Amitabha." Huineng pressed his palms together, his tone returning to calm, though his eyes held a scrutinizing gaze. "So it is Benefactor Ling of the Hehuan Sect. Does Benefactor also wish to snatch the flag? But in all things, there is a matter of first-come, first-served..."
However, Ling Suxin did not directly answer Huineng's questioning. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, glancing at the startled Duan Xianxing behind her, who was seizing the moment to regulate his breathing and recover. After confirming he was mostly unharmed, she redirected her gaze to Huineng in mid-air.
Her lips curled up slightly into a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "Master Huineng, you are mistaken."
"The Five Elements Dao Sect is a formal ally of my Hehuan Sect for this Sect Competition," Ling Suxin's tone was steady, but every word was clear as it reached the other's ears. "When an ally is in trouble, how could I just sit by and watch? This flag, as well as Junior Brother Duan's points, the Hehuan Sect will protect them."
The blue light on the lotus lamp in her hand flowed slightly, as if echoing her words, emitting an even stronger spiritual pressure.
Hearing this, Huineng's expression instantly turned somewhat unsightly.
Although he had known early on that the Hehuan Sect and the Five Elements Dao Sect were cooperating, he had thought such cooperation was mostly an exchange of interests and that they might not act so strongly to protect each other when it came to specific point competition. He certainly hadn't expected Ling Suxin to directly confront an opponent of the same rank just for a Five Elements Dao Sect disciple!
The Ling Suxin before him was also at the mid-stage of the golden core stage, and her aura was deep and solid. Clearly, her foundation was stable, and she hadn't exhausted herself much during the previous exploration of the mist.
In contrast, his own spiritual energy consumption was not small from chasing the incredibly slippery Duan Xianxing, and he had even used a secret technique to accelerate. He was currently not in his peak state.
Various thoughts flashed through Huineng's mind in an instant.
Finally, a hint of helplessness and dissatisfaction crossed his face. The sharp aura gathered around him slowly dissipated. He pressed his palms together, chanted a long Buddhist invocation, and his tone returned to the peacefulness expected of a monk.
"Amitabha... Since Benefactor Ling insists on protecting your ally, this monk will not persist in taking what others cherish. Very well, let today's matter end here."
Then, with a flicker of his body, he transformed into a stream of saffron light and vanished into the thick fog without hesitation, quickly moving away.
Seeing Huineng's figure disappear completely, Ling Suxin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the light from the lotus lamp in her hand dimmed slightly.
Although she had appeared forceful, the pressure of facing a cultivator of the same rank was equally significant. Being able to force him back was the best possible outcome.
She turned to look at Duan Xianxing. "Junior Brother Duan, are you alright? Were you injured?"
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