Chapter 109: All Cards on the Table

The moment Jiuyou finished speaking, his entire figure dissolved into an afterimage, vanishing from where he stood.

When he reappeared, he had already retreated several hundred zhang away.

The Heavenly Light Mirror hidden in his sleeve was silently activated, a flash of spiritual light surging as his magical power suddenly surged by nearly twenty percent. As his cultivation realm had risen, the relic's amplification had dropped from the original twenty-five percent to less than twenty percent now. Should he ever break through to Late Nascent Soul in the future, he feared it might not even reach half that. But for now, having enough was what mattered.

The white-jade bottle flew out in the same motion, a milky-white light gently washing over his body before gradually fading, concealing itself beneath his robes.

Golden Sun Mountain slammed out with earth-shaking force, wreathed in crimson-gold flames, pressing down toward Shangming like a collapsing mountain range.

At the same time, Jiuyou's hands surged with magical power as twin streams of dark blue flame ignited from his palms. Nether Capital Ghostfire coalesced behind him, forming two massive dark blue skulls. Their jaws gaped open and shut, silently trailing behind Golden Sun Mountain with their aura completely concealed, launching a stealth kill.

Shangming's gaze sharpened. His hands formed seals, and his entire body transformed into a beam of blood light, shifting dozens of li to the side, barely dodging the head-on collision of Golden Sun Mountain. The poison scorpion beneath his feet let out a furious screech and burrowed straight into the earth, producing a dull thunderous roar as several deep fissures split open across the ground.

Jiuyou's heart stirred slightly. The other party had learned Blood Soul Evasion this quickly. Even with soul search, he shouldn't have mastered it so fast. This Shangming's talent or foundation ran deeper than he had anticipated.

But what Shangming hadn't expected was that behind Golden Sun Mountain lurked two massive dark blue skulls.

They were incredibly fast, arriving before his eyes in the blink of an instant.

"Cold flame? And Nine Yang True Fire?"

Shangming's expression shifted slightly, a hint of surprise coloring his tone, as if confirming something.

But his reaction was lightning quick. A black beast hide materialized in his left palm out of thin air. As the hide flipped over, streams of black qi surged forth from it. One of those black qi streams merged with the golden spiritual sand from the jade box, forming an impregnable shield wall that effortlessly blocked the two dark blue ghostfire attacks.

The black qi twisted and writhed in the air, connected to the beast hide, transforming into one black demonic hand after another. Each hand gripped blades, spears, clubs, and staves, densely packed as they came crashing down toward Jiuyou from every direction.

At the same moment, the ground beneath Jiuyou's feet exploded apart. The Ninth-Tier Poison Scorpion burst out from underground, its tail lashing out as a beam of green venom shot forth.

Three attacks, each from a vicious angle, had nearly sealed off every route of escape for Jiuyou.

Jiuyou's expression didn't change.

Blood Soul Evasion wasn't a technique only the other party knew how to use.

A flash of blood light erupted, and his figure vanished from the spot in an instant, reappearing several hundred zhang away. Thirty-two Jinli Ember Moon Swords rapidly assembled and spun before him, forming a golden whirlwind that rose from the ground upward. The whirlwind spun faster and faster, transforming in the blink of an eye into a heaven-piercing golden vortex that surged toward the enemy.

Sword light cascaded like a waterfall, sword aura soaring to the heavens.

Shangming's gaze darkened.

"Blood evasion, and this sword formation... I know who you are now."

His voice turned icy cold.

"You dare deceive me. You're no rogue cultivator from Southern Frost, nor a cultivator from Daoyang Sect. You're a man of the Abyssal Sea, the Soul Wraith Island Nascent Soul cultivator who killed the Blood Abyss Sect's seventeenth elder... Jiuyou!"

Jiuyou's brows knitted slightly.

He hadn't expected the Blood Abyss Sect to investigate this quickly. After Shangming's soul search, he had already uncovered his background. But how could a few words shake him?

"So what if I am? So what if I'm not?"

He let out a cold laugh.

"Fellow Daoist should worry more about himself. I'd hate to see that newly seized flesh vessel destroyed here today. If that happens, I'm afraid you'll be a wandering ghost for the rest of your existence."

With those harsh words delivered, his entire body was cloaked in the Heavenly Wind Robe, his speed skyrocketing as he did his best to evade the other party's divine sense lock.

Immediately after, he cast a dark cyan mist that spread through the air. From within the mist, countless Nine Nether Soul-Chaining Chains burst forth like flood dragons diving into the sea, pouring down toward Shangming in coordination with the Jinli Sword Formation.

The beast hide ancient relic in Shangming's hand was equally formidable. One moment it transformed into blades, spears, clubs, and staves; the next, into a ferocious demonic beast. It was a perfect fusion of offense and defense, endlessly mutable. Combined with his own devastating magical techniques and divine abilities.

In a short span, the two were locked in a deadlock.

Spiritual light exploded, ghostly qi churned, sword light crisscrossed, and flames raged to the heavens. The entire sinkhole was thrown into chaos, the surrounding cliff walls shaved down layer after layer. Rocks flew in every direction, baleful aura scattered abroad, and within a hundred li, not a single patch of ground remained untouched.

This battle raged for an entire day and night.

Jiuyou's methods were seemingly endless.

Nine Nether Soul-Chaining Chains for entanglement, the white-jade bottle and Crimson Sun Pearl for defense, the Heavenly Light Mirror for amplification, the Ghost Arrow Banner for long-range suppression, the Jinli Ember Moon Swords for frontal annihilation, Golden Sun Mountain for heavy-breaking defense, the Golden Lotus Lamp to trap enemies, the Golden Long Whip for sneak attacks, Nether Capital Ghostfire to seal escape routes, Nether Capital's Frozen Domain to suppress the entire battlefield, and the Heavenly Wind Robe for rapid movement.

One ancient relic after another, one divine ability after another, all deployed in seamless succession with not a moment of hesitation.

The more Shangming fought, the more shocked he became.

This man was merely at Mid-Nascent Soul, yet where did he get so many ancient relics of extraordinary power? And his divine sense control was so exquisite, simultaneously driving multiple treasures without the slightest disorder. What was even more terrifying was that after fighting for an entire day and night, this man's magical power showed no sign of depletion. He remained as vigorous as ever, unleashing wave after wave of attacks.

What he didn't know was that Jiuyou's storage pouch held several bottles of Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk, ready to replenish his magical power at any moment.

"Damn it! Just who the hell is this guy?"

Shangming cursed inwardly. At this rate, even if they couldn't reach a decisive conclusion, once those old monsters of the Blood Abyss Sect caught up, he'd be in serious trouble.

Finally, Jiuyou seized an opening.

The Golden Lotus Lamp flew out from his hand, expanding as it shot through the air, transforming into a massive golden bowl that descended from above, trapping the Ninth-Tier Poison Scorpion within. The scorpion rammed against the golden light barrier from every direction, but couldn't break through.

The Ghost Arrow Banner followed closely behind, a storm of pitch-black arrows raining down toward the golden bowl.

Jiuyou seized the perfect moment and abruptly recalled the Golden Lotus Lamp. With the barrier gone, the arrow rain descended like a torrential downpour, each arrow slamming brutally into the scorpion. The creature was blasted sideways, its carapace shattering, poisonous blood gushing everywhere. Within moments, it lay at death's door.

Shangming's face turned ashen, murderous light blazing in his eyes as he glared viciously at the scorpion.

"Useless trash. And here I've raised you for several hundred years."

He raised his hand and clenched, crushing the ball of ghostly qi wrapped around his palm.

The scorpion let out a mournful, piercing shriek, convulsing desperately for a few moments before exploding in a thunderous detonation. The countless strands of ghostly qi that had been injected into its body surged out like a tidal wave, converging toward Shangming. As the ghostly qi entered his body, his momentum climbed once more, returning to its peak.

Jiuyou watched coldly from the side, showing no surprise.

If he were in the same position, he too would unhesitatingly discard a useless chess piece.

"Ghost qi?"

A cold smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Do you truly think Golden Sun Mountain is the only thing I have that can counter you?"

Before his words even faded, several spirit insect pouches at his waist began to buzz simultaneously.

Streams of strange purple spiritual light flew out from the pouch openings, spiraling and gathering above his head. The purple insect swarm grew denser and denser, like a nebula of purple, illuminating half the sky. An eerie purple aura radiated outward from the vortex of insects, carrying a soul-devouring force that made one's heart seize with dread.

Shangming's pupils violently contracted, his earlier arrogance completely wiped away. He stared fixedly at the purple insect cloud above Jiuyou's head, his voice trembling.

"Soul-Eating Insects? This many...?"

"How is this possible?!"

He looked at Jiuyou in utter disbelief, his eyes filled with incredulity.

"First you unleash so many ancient relics and divine abilities, and now you release this many Soul-Eating Insects. Just how many treasures do you have left in your hands?"

Jiuyou didn't answer.

He simply stood there expressionlessly, spiritual light flowing around his body, the insect swarm buzzing above his head.

Above the sinkhole, two auras continued their silent collision.