Chapter Ninety-Six: All Victorious

Master Huanzhu gestured with his hand, then tapped the air. Liang Zhenjing, who had been supported by Cheng Xinzhan, floated out of the mirror and woke up in mid-air.

He looked around in a daze, soon recalling what had happened. His face flushed, turning the color of a pig's liver.

In the Haishi Restaurant, Xiao Shiniang patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief, thinking to herself: "Of course. He is so skilled with talismans, how could he lose?"

Conversely, in the Zizhi Boudoir, Young Master Gongchang’s expression darkened. The strength in his hand tightened, causing the plump woman in his arms to wince in pain; however, she dared not show it and maintained her smile.

After Liang Zhenjing was sent away, the scene in the Jilei Mountain Cave Mirror returned to silence. Until the champions of the other thirty-five mirrors were decided, he did not encounter a second challenger.

"The remaining thirty-six of you have different specialties and mutually restraining attributes. We shall draw lots to form pairs; the winners advance, the losers retreat."

Master Huanzhu released thirty-six jade lots, and everyone in the mirrors used their inner energy to retrieve one.

Cheng Xinzhan looked at his lot; it bore the character "Kun."

He read it aloud.

Everyone else read their characters aloud, revealing two sets consisting of the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Eight Trigrams.

He looked toward the other person who had drawn "Kun." That person was in a region of crimson mountains where fire burned on the peaks and the sky was filled with fire-like red clouds. He saw five characters carved into the cliff face:

"Flaming Mountain Cave."

That person was also young, with long, loose hair, leaning on a long sword. He was dressed in blood-stained robes, with a tattooed fanged demon on the left side of his chest.

This was the attire of the Northern Demonic Sect, the Red Heart Sect.

Once the drawing was complete, the thirty-six giant mirrors began to move. The Jilei Mountain Cave where Cheng Xinzhan resided and the Flaming Mountain Cave where the demon resided began to slowly converge, eventually merging into one.

In the new mirrored landscape, one side was a churning volcano with red clouds, while the other was a gathering of silvery-purple thunder mountains and dark clouds.

"Begin!"

Master Huanzhu’s voice rang out, and the people in all eighteen mirrored scenes began to move.

Since his opponent was from a demonic sect, Cheng Xinzhan couldn't be bothered with formalities. He slashed out with a thunderous sword aura, and the other side responded in kind, waving his long sword to send a wave of fire toward him.

The clash of celestial thunder and terrestrial fire was a magnificent sight. Moreover, as it was a battle between the Taoist and Demonic paths, it naturally drew the attention of most spectators.

After a few plain exchanges, they remained at a distance. Cheng Xinzhan could clearly feel that the opponent's sword aura was scattered and dull, like a child throwing stones; it was clearly not the path of the Qi-Cultivation School. Feeling bored, he suddenly said:

"If the mountain will not come to me, I shall go to the mountain."

With that, he steered his cloud away from Jilei Mountain and headed straight for the Flaming Mountain territory.

Exclamations erupted from the towers. After the two mirrors merged, everyone had been testing the waters, fearing the loss of their terrain advantage. Cheng Xinzhan was the first to cross the boundary.

The demon from the Red Heart Sect was also surprised, but regardless, it was better for him to come over than for the Taoist to come over—once they were close, some of his methods would be easier to employ!

He turned and fled, intending to lure Cheng Xinzhan deep into the Flaming Mountain.

The Taoist cooperated, following closely.

Suddenly, deep within the territory, the demon turned and struck with his sword.

As a wave of fire surged, the Taoist dodged. However, the demon had been holding back during his initial probes; now, his sword speed was several times faster, with waves of fire overlapping and crisscrossing.

Yet, the Taoist, surrounded by fire, did not notice that wisps of invisible fire energy were detaching from the flames, entering his nose and mouth as he breathed.

Seeing that Cheng Xinzhan was only focused on dodging and had not noticed the trick hidden within the fire, the demon felt a secret joy.

Those invisible wisps of fire were the unique secret technique of the Red Heart Sect, known as the "Invisible Heavenly Demon Desire Fire."

This aligned with the doctrine of the Red Heart Sect, which held that the human heart is inherently evil, greedy, combative, and murderous. They believed the "innocent heart" was actually the "demonic heart," and that all benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom were merely shackles. Yet, shackles are still shackles—the desire fire within could never be extinguished.

The Red Heart Sect worshipped the Invisible Heavenly Demon and practiced the "Desire Fire," acting solely according to their inner desires. They were an unadulterated demonic sect.

The Desire Fire was the foundation of their cultivation and their primary weapon. If one with an unstable mind inhaled the Desire Fire, their inner distractions and desires would be amplified. A mild case would lead to a loss of composure, while a severe case would lead to a deviation in cultivation.

The young Taoist noticed nothing. After dodging a series of attacks, he suddenly felt that his "Dragon Carriage" was too slow and lacked agility. It had been satisfactory before he began consuming Qi, but now it could hardly keep up, especially during combat where evasion was a major weakness.

What should he do?

Cloud-riding relied on water vapor, which was light and buoyant. The "Dragon Carriage" was made of summer sunset clouds, which were tainted with fire energy, making them faster than ordinary clouds.

Actually, fire also rises. Wouldn't it be faster to step directly on the fire energy? Especially since he practiced both "Aerial Fire" and "Human Fire," there was no issue of the fire extinguishing for lack of a root.

Or, changing the approach, controlling wind or thunder seemed viable as well.

However, humans were postnatal beings. Their spirit was clear, while their essence was turbid. The essence was the flesh, blood, skin, and bones. Opening the five internal mansions and clearing the meridians was the process of dissolving this turbidity. Once the five mansions were opened, the five elements circulated within, and the turbidity was locked in the Jue Palace. Then, one would be as light as a feather and could ride the wind.

But, it seems I am currently in a bamboo body—a mountain-guarding spiritual object with all five mansions open? I could perhaps practice controlling wind and thunder invisibly in advance, adapting to the changes of thunder and fire.

By the time the physical body was cleansed and the mansions opened, I could apply these techniques directly, saving time.

Since that is the case, why not go further? Which spells are restricted by the physical body and cultivation level? Could I practice them all in advance?

His thoughts became increasingly expansive.

In the distance, the demon saw the Taoist staring blankly, as if deep in thought, and was overjoyed, knowing the Taoist had fallen into his trap.

He would naturally not let this opportunity slip. To create this chance, he had infused fifty percent of the accumulated Invisible Heavenly Demon Desire Fire in his body into his sword aura.

He raised his magical sword and chanted:

"Invisible Heavenly Saint Ancestor, the formless controls the formed, go!"

As the chant sounded, the crimson sword flashed. Its tip pointed at the young Taoist, who was lost in contemplation. The terrestrial fire covering the mountains was drawn by the spiritual resonance of the sword, converging into an arrowhead shape, or perhaps a wild goose formation, charging toward the Taoist.

Cheng Xinzhan was lost in his wide-ranging thoughts, but seeing the opponent change his sword technique, he snapped back to reality.

With a thought, he retracted the cloud carriage and, in its place, a ball of fire ignited beneath his feet. In such terrain, controlling fire was the most convenient method.

As he had imagined, his bamboo body stepped steadily into the flames. With another thought, the fire flickered, and he vanished from his original spot. Only a few flickers of light passed, and the Taoist had already escaped dozens of miles away.

Looking at the surging terrestrial fire, he raised his sword "Gaozhen," pointed the tip upward, and chanted:

"Kitchen God, command the Bing-Ding fire, rise!"

The talisman on the magical sword lit up with a fiery glow. The earth began to shake, and cracks appeared beneath the demon's feet. Terrestrial flames erupted from the fissures, nearly engulfing him.

A cry of agony was heard as a figure leaped into the sky from the flames, shouting:

"So you were faking it! But you clearly inhaled the Desire Fire, why did you not develop greedy thoughts?!"

Oh, so that was it.

Cheng Xinzhan realized in a flash. He had wondered why he suddenly disliked his cloud carriage, and why he had been thinking about aerial travel during a battle. It turned out someone had been playing tricks.

Interesting. Such a method was truly interesting; it allowed one to think deeply and wildly, and it had actually helped him clear up some confusion.

Even so, he would not go easy. With a change in his hand seals, "Gaozhen" merged into the clouds and then dived down rapidly. He chanted:

"Emperor of Fluctuating Fire, falling star, descend!"

The red clouds covering the sky transformed into a rain of fire, pouring directly onto the demon as he fled into the sky.

"Ah!"

"I surrender!"

The demon thought this Taoist intended to kill him during the duel. Hearing Master Huanzhu's earlier warning, he shouted his surrender in a hurry.

As soon as his voice fell, he vanished from the mirror.

The demon found himself outside the mirror and flew toward the city in a panic. The terrestrial fire and celestial rain had truly chilled his heart. He was also confused: Wasn't he a lightning cultivator? Why did the Flaming Mountain feel more like his home field?

Cheng Xinzhan waited alone in the mirror until the winners of all eighteen mirrors were decided.

Afterward, there was another round of drawing lots using the Nine Palaces. Cheng Xinzhan drew the Gen Palace. His opponent was a woman, and the scene was a fusion of the Qingtian Mountain Cave and the Taoyuan Mountain Cave, a landscape of water, woods, and marshes.

Judging by her attire, the woman was also a member of the Taoist sect, wearing simple white robes—a level of elegance rarely seen.

After the two mirrors merged, Cheng Xinzhan bowed:

"Cheng Xinzhan of Sanqing Mountain. Greetings, fellow Taoist."

The woman’s expression was not pleasant; this person practiced both lightning and fire, which were the perfect counters to her own. She returned the bow: "Qiao Shoujing of Tianmu Mountain. I hope you will show mercy, fellow Taoist."

After the greeting, the sword duel began. As before, Cheng Xinzhan first abandoned his terrain advantage and entered the water-wood marshland to experience the laws of water and wood. These were the thirty-six small cave-heaven illusions created by immortals. In the outside world, each had its own master, and visiting them would not be easy. Trying to visit all thirty-six would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

This water-wood marshland was full of vitality, much more pleasant to the eye than the manic thunder-fire hell.

Among the five elements, Cheng Xinzhan was most familiar with fire, which went without saying. Next was water, thanks to playing with that green dragon, then metal, which he had mastered by forging an inner-scene god, then earth, as he lived among mountains and studied topography and corpse-raising. Wood was his weakest.

Cheng Xinzhan had an eidetic memory. He remembered that when he first watched the battle in the Jilei Mountain mirror, this woman had been in the Qingtian Mountain Cave, and she had used wood magic.

It was the same now. The woman belonged to the "Spirit-Dispatching School" of sword arts. She used the sword as a sacrificial vessel to summon divine forms. She chanted, pointed her sword at Cheng Xinzhan, and the grass on the ground flew up, coalescing into a wooden dragon that charged at him.

Fire conquers wood. Cheng Xinzhan could have used fire magic to easily defeat her, but he did not do so; otherwise, he needn't have abandoned his terrain advantage. He wanted to use this opportunity to understand water magic. The Taoist pointed his sword at the water and chanted:

"Dragon Child, Lord of the Flood, I command you to appear!"

As the spell ended, the lake beneath his feet began to churn like a spring. A massive pillar of water surged up, leaped from the lake, and transformed into a water dragon.

Qiao Shoujing's face darkened further. This person from Sanqing Mountain was unpredictable. At first, he fought the Dragon-Tiger Mountain with Qi-cultivation sword aura. Later, seeing the Dragon-Tiger Mountain use lightning talismans, he won with a sword-talisman method never seen before. Just now, fighting the Red Heart Sect demon, he used the Spirit-Summoning method, bringing down celestial flames and terrestrial fire. Now, he was using the Spirit-Dispatching school's techniques. With such varied studies, how did he have time to research them, and why was his magical power so profound?

She was even more puzzled. The divine forms summoned by the Spirit-Dispatching school depended not only on magic power, vessels, and incantations but also on the caster's understanding of the form and spirit. The wooden dragon she summoned, while having the form of a dragon, was no different from a snake. But look at his water dragon—the scales and tail were distinct, and it was alive, exuding a divine presence. Was this person living with real dragons every day?

The water dragon met the incoming wooden dragon, coiled around it, and shattered it. Cheng Xinzhan did not press the attack, instead waiting for the wooden dragon to manifest again. No matter what techniques the woman used, Cheng Xinzhan fought only with the water dragon, always succeeding.

This time, Cheng Xinzhan was actually the one who took the longest.

In the end, Qiao Shoujing exhausted her magic and conceded. She had long realized that Cheng Xinzhan was using her to practice, but she had also used his water dragon to hone her own skills, gaining much in the process.

The remaining eight people looked at Cheng Xinzhan with increasingly different eyes.

The remaining nine drew lots again. Qian vs. Kun, Zhen vs. Xun, Kan vs. Li, Gen vs. Dui. The winner of Qian/Kun would then duel the winner of the Middle Palace.

As it happened, Cheng Xinzhan drew the Middle Palace, and the other eight breathed a sigh of relief.

After a series of duels, Qian defeated Kun, Xun defeated Zhen, Li defeated Kan, and Gen defeated Dui.

Cheng Xinzhan had a deep impression of the one who drew Qian, because he was a monk.

As the mirrors merged, the monk took the initiative to salute Cheng Xinzhan. He pressed his palms together and bowed slightly:

"Benefactor Cheng, I am Xiang Zai of Wutai Mountain. Greetings."

Since the monk knew his identity, he didn't need to state his sect. He simply performed a Taoist salute: "Greetings, Master."

"Benefactor Cheng's sword skills are profound. I ask for your guidance."

"Master, you are too modest."

Having completed the formalities, the sword duel began.

The monk’s sword was a golden, broad, edgeless blade with small, neatly carved characters that appeared to be scriptures.

The monk looked gentle, but he followed the path of the Qi-Cultivation School. He swung the broadsword with both hands. Although the blade had no edge, it emitted fierce, sharp metal sword aura, each strike accompanied by a terrifying whistling sound.

Having encountered a truly pure sword technique for the first time, Cheng Xinzhan was delighted and responded only with sword aura.

The sword "Gaozhen" stored the most fire, metal, and thunder auras, thanks to his inner-scene god helping him refine his power. Now that the monk was attacking with sharp metal, he chose to meet force with force, slashing with his own metal aura.

The monk's golden sword aura was dazzling and majestic, while Cheng Xinzhan's aura was dark and lusterless, yet it chilled the bones.

With the Qian Palace and the Middle Palace dueling, and no other matches occurring, this pure clash of sharp metal sword aura attracted everyone's attention. To those watching from the city and the towers, this seemed to be the true "sword technique" they had imagined.

The duel followed the same course as the previous one, and the result was the same: the monk exhausted his magic and conceded.

The arena remained silent for a long time. Even the slowest to react now understood.

This Taoist from Sanqing Mountain had fought four matches, winning against Dragon-Tiger Mountain with a talisman sword, the Red Heart Sect with a spirit-summoning sword, Tianmu Mountain with a spirit-dispatching sword, and Wutai Mountain with a Qi-cultivation sword.

Was it unintentional, or by design?

It's a bit late, please forgive me.

Monthly votes and recommendations are welcome; comments and messages are appreciated!

(End of chapter)