Unmatched Dominance/C231 Provocation
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Unmatched Dominance/C231 Provocation
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C231 Provocation

Just beyond Chilly Wind Valley, Chen Qingyan stood with a green veil draped across her face, her hand gripping a snakeskin scabbard. Her eyes, clear and luminous, remained fixed on the valley below.

Time slipped away swiftly.

Ever since Yu Yuan had ventured into Chilly Wind Valley, Qingyan found herself unable to sense or track his movements. The Ghosts Poisoning Array, coupled with the dense second layer of miasma, had obscured her vision and thwarted her spiritual probing.

All she could do was wait, and wait she did.

"Darkmoon City, Yu Yuan..." she mused, her mind teeming with unanswered questions. She resisted the urge to leave, yearning instead for clarity.

Only Yu Yuan's safe return would provide her the answers she sought.

"Hmm?" A sudden shift in her surroundings prompted Qingyan to spin around, her brows arching in bewilderment.

She could feel a multitude of presences closing in rapidly, as if they were aware of the disturbance within Chilly Wind Valley. Among the approaching figures was Lau Zaihe, who had narrowly escaped death by poisoning.

In the blink of an eye, a figure emerged into her view: a middle-aged man adorned in a lavish silver robe and a feathered crown, astride a snow-white crane. He seemed nothing less than celestial.

"Uncle Shi," Qingyan greeted with a light call, her eyes dancing with both joy and surprise. "What brings you here in person?"

The newcomer was none other than Shi Yuxuan, the current Sect Master of the Medicine Sect, a formidable practitioner in the late period of the Yin God Stage, and a Heaven Level alchemist.

"Upon hearing of the upheaval in Chilly Wind Valley, I made haste to come," Shi Yuxuan declared, his face etched with gravity.

Without delay, he released a pill furnace into the air. The furnace swelled with the wind, its surface adorned with clusters of purple auspicious clouds that radiated dazzling light. In mere moments, under Qingyan's watchful gaze, the pill furnace transformed into a towering mountain of a hundred zhang, buoyed by the purple clouds and ablaze with intense flames.

Hovering in the skies above Chilly Wind Valley, the pill furnace loomed over the thick, impenetrable miasma below. Then, without warning, a torrent of fire rained down from above.

As the leader of the Medicine Sect, Shi Yuxuan wasted no time in his resolve to shatter the Ghosts Poisoning Array. He was determined to delve into the heart of the valley and unravel the mysteries within.

After him, a steady stream of people continued to pour in.

Among them were practitioners from the Medicine Sect, as well as numerous elders from various empires, accompanying their younger kin to the alchemist examination.

There were also unfamiliar faces. Chen Qingyan observed them, speculating that they might hail from the Heavenly Source Continent or the Quietus Continent.

It seemed the news of the upheaval in Chilly Wind Valley had quickly become common knowledge.

In the crowd, Lau Zaihe, a scion of the Mighty Spirit King, appeared as though he was convalescing from a grave illness, weakly trailing someone.

Catching Chen Qingyan's gaze, Lau Zaihe's expression was tinged with bitterness, and he let out a soft sigh.

The entire Hu family had perished, and he was inextricably linked to their fate.

Yu Yuan had warned him and even kindly advised him once, but to no avail. His presence led the Hu family to disregard the warning, succumbing to his influence and stubbornly venturing into Chilly Wind Valley.

Consequently, the Hu family members and their guest elders perished there, and those who fled later collapsed as the poison took effect.

Lau Zaihe had survived by relying on other means.

Could he be without remorse?

"Hu! Hu! Hu!"

Deep within Chilly Wind Valley, the vibrant miasma clouds moved as if alive, silently neutralizing the fiery shower from the pill furnace.

Shi Yuxuan's gaze was stern as he continued to apply force, his brow furrowed in concentration.

The shifting miasma clouds above thinned out, revealing glimpses of the valley to Chen Qingyan, whose innate abilities allowed her to discern faint traces.

This was due to the second layer of the Ghosts Poisoning Array, which had caused the dense miasma clouds to disperse.

Chen Qingyan's practice of the Spiritual Spell was extraordinary, and with a unique object in her possession, she could catch sight of things others could not.

She initially sought Yu Yuan in the valley but was soon drawn to a figure at the deepest part of Chilly Wind Valley. The figure, familiar yet indistinct, sat in a cave, legs swinging carelessly, seemingly in mid-conversation.

"The person he's speaking with seems to be..."

Chen Qingyan squinted, making out the fine sword glimmers, sharp and brilliant like lightning, emanating from that slender line. "Mei Qiurong from the Profound Sky Sect! What is that petty woman doing in Chilly Wind Valley? And what is Yu Yuan discussing with her?"

She had also trained on the Heavenly Source Continent and was the most notable disciple of the Sword Sect. She had encountered Mei Qiurong several times at various prestigious events.

Upon recognizing Mei Qiurong, her curiosity deepened as to why Yu Yuan and Mei Qiurong were at such odds in Chilly Wind Valley.

...

Within the valley.

The miasma clouds churned unnaturally, and the multicolored, deadly fog that lingered at the valley's edge soared into the sky.

A shower of fire had already descended, unbeknownst to the valley's inhabitants.

All they witnessed was the miasma clouds stirring momentarily before a chilling, eerie presence fixated on Mei Qiurong.

Mei Qiurong's mind reeled from the shock.

"Crack!"

Brilliant flashes of white lightning cut through the clouds.

Before Mei Qiurong could react, a seven-to-eight-meter-long bone, as translucent as white jade, thrust toward her like a razor-sharp blade.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Simultaneously, wide swathes of green, black, and purple miasma snaked directly towards Mei Qiurong from the thick cloud's heart.

"Lend me your strength!"

Mei Qiurong looked to the heavens and cried out for aid, summoning the three from the Thunder Temple and the practitioners who had pledged their allegiance to join her in battle.

She had never anticipated that the entity lurking within the miasma would inexplicably shift its focus.

Ignoring the lesser cultivators, it had targeted her for elimination first.

This was contrary to her prior understanding!

"Loong Tianxiao!"

Having issued her command, Mei Qiurong suddenly thought of another and turned, "It's changed its target. We're all in its sights now. We must unite! I know you have some skills, enough to distract it for a time..."

"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't be of assistance," Loong Tianxiao called out with a sly grin, "You've got it wrong. Its primary, and sole target is you! I haven't sensed any hostility towards myself, so I'll hold back and watch for now."

"You've made your bed, now lie in it," Yu Yuan taunted from the cave's entrance. "Folks, if you're keen on dying first, go ahead and join her. Otherwise, you might want to wait. She's strong enough; she should keep you entertained for a while."

"Take a look," Yu Yuan gestured towards the valley, his voice tinged with a vague urgency. "The Medicine Sect's people seem to have arrived. A little patience, a bit more waiting, and you might just make it out alive."

His words were a clear attempt to sow discord.

The cultivators who had been groveling before Mei Qiurong just moments earlier now found themselves wavering.

After all, given the choice, who would willingly embrace death?

Mei Qiurong, with her esteemed status from the Profound Sky Sect of the Heavenly Source Continent, was not someone they could afford to cross.

But what if the next moment promised certain death?

As they grappled with uncertainty, Mei Qiurong, already under attack, had unleashed the Profound Sky Sect's secret arts—the Profound Sky God's Shadow Technique—transforming into a series of elusive shadows darting through the valley.

Each shadow bore the essence of Mei Qiurong's flesh and soul, making it nearly impossible to discern which was truly her.

Even the figure shrouded in the miasma could not immediately identify the real Mei Qiurong amidst her arcane display.

The strategy was straightforward.

Beyond the three smoky streams, over a dozen tendrils of toxic smog branched out from the poisonous haze above and within the valley, all converging on Mei Qiurong.

There was no need to distinguish real from illusion; every one of them was marked for elimination.

"Yu Yuan!"

In a sudden shift, three of Mei Qiurong's figures simultaneously altered their trajectory, aiming for the cave entrance where the nonchalant Yu Yuan stood.

Loong Tianxiao's face paled, and after a brief hesitation, he soared towards the depths of the valley.

Mei Qiurong's initial assault had been too haphazard, lacking her full might.

Loong Tianxiao was aware that a prepared Mei Qiurong, intent on Yu Yuan's demise, had an arsenal of techniques at her disposal.

He feared Yu Yuan might not withstand her onslaught.

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