On Arena No. 7,
Ge Xianyao crossed both hands and placed them in front of him. His Daoist robe fluttered in the wind with a loud rustle. His eyes were closed, and his expression was calm.
It was as if he would drift away with the wind and soar into the heavens.
With that handsome face and long hair, he had the appearance of someone who could ascend and become immortal at any moment.
‘What a show-off!’
Whether it was the audience in the stands or the participants on the other arenas, upon witnessing this scene, they couldn’t help but complain inwardly.
Everyone was at the Transcendent stage, so why was he always acting so superior?
Anyone unaware might think he was already a Heavenly Official overlooking the mortal world.
“I can’t take it anymore—go, Jiang Yan! Smash that guy!”
“Ge Xianyao merely started cultivating a little earlier. If Jiang Yan had the same amount of time to accumulate strength, the outcome would be decided in an instant.”“Geniuses aren’t made through posturing, but by proving themselves with strength!”
“……”
The crowd grew increasingly agitated, many of them eager to watch the chaos unfold.
Mastery of techniques, casual spellcasting, the competition of Daoist rhythm—none of that compared to…
They do not realize that, to those like us, such turbulence isn’t even worthy of being called pebbles on the path to power.”
“Do you… have a problem here?” Jiang Yan pointed at his own head, his expression suspicious.
What kind of spiritual medicine did the Baopu Ge Family feed him as a child to make him talk like this?
To Jiang Yan, Ge Xianyao was like one of those popular Daoist youths online—always spouting philosophical nonsense, yet never examining their own hearts.
In that sense, even Zhang Guanxin was better. At least the latter always upheld and practiced his beliefs.
“……”
Ge Xianyao, who had hoped for understanding, faltered slightly. He shook his head and chuckled softly, “I was overthinking it. I had thought you were a kindred spirit, but it seems you are just an ordinary man.”
“Jiang Yan, you relied on that divine soul attack technique to defeat a few Foundation Establishment cultivators who have yet to perceive the essence of the soul, and won a few matches. But you’ve been blinded by that success and now fail to see…”
“The gap between you and me still exists!”
As his voice fell, Ge Xianyao tilted his body slightly, dodging the hand of the Heart Monkey that was about to press down on his forehead.
Boom!
The [Soul-Shattering Bell Seal] exploded in the air, sending out a ring of force that spread in all directions, stirring a fierce wind that swept across the lake and sent ripples cascading outward.
Yet Ge Xianyao remained utterly unmoved. Eyes still closed, he said, “If your physical eyes cannot see it, then look with your heart.”
To cultivate the [Four Seasons Azure Dragon Dripping Heavenly Essence Method], he had sat under a tree for an entire year, just to capture the subtle shifts of the four seasons.
The turning of the seasons was the movement of wind, the murmuring of rain, the benevolence of the blazing sun, and the birth, aging, sickness, and death of insects and beasts.
In that moment, he comprehended the trajectory of life.
All things were in motion.
But his heart had grown still, detached from the world, observing everything from a higher vantage.
Thus, capturing the fluctuations of the mind was no difficult task for him.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Heart Monkey continued to attack with both arms, but Ge Xianyao evaded each strike with ease, his movements light and graceful.
Ge Xianyao looked toward Jiang Yan and said with a light smile, “The technique you take pride in seems to be nothing more than this. If this is all you’ve got, then you cannot entertain me!”
While speaking, he formed a seal with his fingers and pointed toward the ground.
Rumble!
The Earth Veins surged, spreading countless wooden tendrils that surged toward Jiang Yan like a tide of serpents. In an instant, they transformed into a massive cage, closing in to entrap him.
‘Curse Technique—Jia Wood Hell!’
Jiang Yan saw this and immediately directed the Heart Monkey’s arm to press down on the wooden tendrils.
Heart Monkey Technique—Witnessing Truth!
Boom!
The wooden tendrils shattered as if struck by a massive hammer, disintegrating into a flurry of wooden debris.
Unexpectedly, the woodchips did not fall. Instead, they floated in the air, slowly rotating, faintly forming the shape of a Bagua diagram.
“So it’s the Postnatal Bagua.”
Jiang Yan had studied the Bagua for a time. Although not an expert, he knew that Jia Wood, as the first of the Ten Heavenly Stems, governed the four seasons and gave life to all things.
In Heaven, it corresponded to thunder or dragons; on Earth, it was beams or pillars, known as Yang Wood.
If Jia’s fortune was in Yin, it represented…
Wood atop the Fire of the Li Palace.
Wood borrowing the force of fire!
“Jia Wood reaches the heavens; to be reborn, it needs fire.”
Ge Xianyao’s voice echoed from afar. The rotating woodchips suddenly ignited, erupting with fierce flames that instantly engulfed Jiang Yan and the entire arena, forming a massive fiery Bagua.
Rotating to the Li Fire position!
However, at the center of the flames, Jiang Yan stood calmly. Around him, the Heart Monkey’s arms wrapped protectively, forming the Vajravārāhī Seal with their palms. Golden light flickered, coalescing into the image of a golden giant.
Majestic and domineering, it resisted all external harm.
It extended its palm, beginning to forcibly suppress the flames, extinguishing them bit by bit.
The Heart Monkey bloodline enhanced the power of any Buddhist curse techniques or seals. Combined with the skill at [Mastery Level 99%], it resulted in…
Heart Monkey Technique—Three-Lives Subduing King Seal!
Like the Subjugating King of the Underworld—what did it matter if one stood within the Five Filthy Hells, surrounded by countless demons and monsters?
Suppress them all with a single force!
“This is the Vajravārāhī Seal of the Corpse-Dissolution Court. To manifest golden light into form, it must at least be at [Mastery Level]…”
Ge Xianyao, still with eyes closed, showed a trace of interest on his face and murmured, “Not bad. Only with such strength are you worthy of being my opponent.”
“But my methods don’t end here!”
“Turn, Four Seasons!”
As his voice fell, strands of wooden tendrils sank into the fiery Bagua.
Boom!
Like adding oil to a fire, the flames, which had begun to weaken, instantly surged with renewed intensity.
The Golden Radiance King continued suppressing them, but the fire suddenly transformed into watery spikes, surging forward like rivers and stabbing at the golden radiance, producing a series of “ding ding ding” sounds.
If it had been flesh and blood, it would have turned into a lump of minced meat in an instant. But on the golden radiance, it only left faint white marks.
Though the Vajravārāhī Seal was distributed to all Wild Boar Cavalry, that didn’t make it a weak skill—it was simply easy to learn but hard to master.
If studied to a profound level, one could invoke the protection of Vajravārāhī and reach an indestructible state.
Ge Xianyao understood this as well. He changed the seal in his hands, and in a flash, the water turned into pitch-black swamp mud, engulfing the Golden Radiance King and the Jiang Yan within.
The flames reignited, burning relentlessly, then were doused by water, only to be coated in new swamp mud, cycling again and again.
Like a grand forging ritual.
The power of the Four Seasons circulated, layer upon layer of seals stacking together, completely binding him within, forcibly sculpting a massive statue of the Subjugating King.
“Once the [Azure Dragon Four Seasons Dripping Sculpting Technique] is completed, the power of the Four Seasons forms a small celestial cycle, endless and unceasing. To break free from it would require a force far beyond one’s own level.”
Ge Xianyao said coolly, “You’ve already lost.”
“But with your strength, you can still hold on. In that case, let me show you my final killing move.”
“To make me use seventy percent of my power—you can already be proud.”
As his voice fell, a wooden azure dragon took shape, coiling around the Subjugating King, opening its mouth to devour its head.
This was the advanced form of the [Wooden Tendril Coiling Dragon]—the [Wooden Tendril Azure Dragon]. He had cultivated it for years, reaching a [Mastery Level 80%], granting it extreme suppressive power.
Once the dual-layer sealing curse technique was complete, even a Half-Step Law Seed would not be able to escape.
“It’s over.”
Only then did Ge Xianyao open his eyes, a flash of disappointment in his gaze. It seemed his real opponents were only Di Shengyi, who had planted the Law Seed in advance, and Xiang Siyu, with her Overlord bloodline.
He turned to face the Judges’ Platform, waiting for the verdict.
Suddenly, the sound of “crack, crack, crack” came from behind him.
“Still struggling?”
Ge Xianyao instinctively turned his head, only to hear the azure dragon wailing. On the Subjugating King statue, countless cracks spread, from which mercury-like liquid flowed out in torrents—
Breaking all techniques.