Chapter 1485: Collapse

## Chapter 1470: Collapse

He Yang’s fighting style was quite aggressive, and his cultivation was likely far superior to Xi Yunhe’s. He also carried a variety of magical artifacts. For instance, the four or five golden orbs he just threw transformed into one-foot-tall, sharp-beaked small monsters with four wings on their backs and mouths full of sharp teeth, even before hitting the ground.

These creatures were not afraid of *gangqi*. The moment they appeared, they lunged at He Lingchuan’s lower back and heels.

The two were currently fighting amidst the "Flowing Clouds" carved into the rockery, whose complex patterns protruded outwards. With He Yang attacking from the front, He Lingchuan had no time to protect his back.

Yet, he showed no panic. He slapped the Heaven-Overturning Seal forcefully.

The large seal beneath his feet flipped up on its own, rising seven feet into the air before crashing down heavily onto the ground again!

The golden monsters, disadvantaged by their small size, were jolted and trembled violently, appearing as blurred afterimages. He Lingchuan swung a net backward, scooping them all up as if catching dragonflies.

These moves seemed more like clever tricks than direct combat skills, but they captivated the audience, who watched without blinking, afraid to miss any part of the action.

The difficulty for He Lingchuan in fighting He Yang today was that he could not use any of the battle techniques or divine abilities publicly employed by "Emperor Jiuyou." This included his doppelganger technique, karma smoke and miasma, and *yuanli*, nor could he release the small flame beast perched on his shoulder.

Even his combat skills and habitual movements could not resemble Emperor Jiuyou’s. Under so many watchful eyes, countless individuals would meticulously analyze this battle afterward.

What’s more, Qingyang was watching the entire fight from the side!

Fortunately, He Lingchuan had also come prepared today.

He Yang was also unexpectedly shaken by the Heaven-Overturning Seal. With only stone crevices underfoot and no clear path, he missed his footing and instinctively grabbed the nearby rock wall.

He also heard Qingyang’s voice in his ear:

"Get down."

*Fighting for his life on his opponent's artifact—what was this foolish child thinking?*

In that brief moment of hesitation, He Lingchuan’s fanged dagger was already at He Yang’s chest.

Seeing no escape, He Yang slammed into the rock wall, transforming into a red mist that slid a *zhang* along the stone before reappearing.

With a soft "clink," He Lingchuan’s short blade struck the rock wall, sending sparks flying.

He Yang finally seized the opportunity when He Lingchuan missed, and with the angle just right, his scythe subtly lengthened again and lunged straight for the back of He Lingchuan’s head!

This strike carried the force to split mountains and rivers.

He Lingchuan did not look up. Just as he was about to be cleaved in two, a large stone on the Heaven-Overturning Seal suddenly rolled down, perfectly blocking the scythe’s blade.

With a dull thud, the large stone shattered into pieces, but the force of the strike was also negated.

"...Tsk."

He should have listened to the Palace Lord and gotten off the artifact earlier.

Just as He Yang was about to leap to the ground, He Lingchuan charged forward like a meteor, ramming into him.

The spectators outside gasped, thoroughly thrilled!

However, at the last second, He Yang raised his shield to block, and He Lingchuan collided with the shield’s surface.

He Lingchuan suddenly twisted his wrist, and a beam of light struck He Yang’s eyes.

It was the reflective surface of the Soul-Snatching Mirror, which possessed the power to seize souls.

Without *yuanli* here, He Yang felt golden light burst before his eyes and his mind grow disoriented. Fortunately, his willpower was strong, so the Soul-Snatching Mirror’s effect lasted less than a second on him.

Seizing this opening, He Lingchuan delivered a powerful headbutt, striking him hard on the forehead!

There was a dull thud, a sound that made one wince.

While He Yang reeled backward from the impact, He Lingchuan’s short blade in his right hand flipped up, piercing through a gap in the shield and savagely stabbing into He Yang’s ribs!

He Yang roared in pain.

This Heaven-Overturning Seal had no other flaws besides its enormous energy consumption; summoning it for fifteen minutes required four fist-sized yellow profound crystals! He Lingchuan usually couldn’t bear to use it, but tonight, it was perfectly suited for dealing with He Yang.

On the day the Nether Lake Villa was founded, when Wan Si-liang and two others tested He Yang’s skills, He Lingchuan discovered that while He Yang was powerful, he had a significant deficiency:

Lack of battlefield experience.

Battlefields were constantly changing, filled with unexpected incidents. Those who survived dozens of battles were seasoned veterans, each as cunning as a ghost.

Like Fan Sheng years ago, He Yang lacked this crucial experience, and his ability to adapt on the fly was far inferior to He Lingchuan’s.

This Heaven-Overturning Seal mountain was the final stage He Lingchuan had prepared for He Yang.

Just then, the Soul-Snatching Mirror suddenly cried out:

"Turn him around!"

It could see in all directions, making it an invaluable assistant to He Lingchuan.

Unbeknownst to them, a small golden monster had flown above the Heaven-Overturning Seal, directly behind and above He Lingchuan, and seized the chance to raise a round mirror, aiming it at him.

The mirror, less than half a foot in diameter, was small and round, like a lady’s dressing mirror. Its ornamentation depicted an unknown monster with an open, roaring mouth.

With a flash of mirror light, He Lingchuan was framed perfectly in its center.

A direct hit!

Correspondingly, a bright circle of light appeared on the ground, encompassing both He Lingchuan and He Yang.

Immediately after, the small golden monster unhesitatingly extended its claw and shattered the mirror’s surface!

The fragile mirror surface instantly fragmented.

The ground illuminated by the small round mirror also emitted a buzzing sound, like tearing leather. Then, cracks, one after another, astonishingly appeared on that very patch of ground!

The position and shape of these cracks were identical to the fissures on the small round mirror’s surface, only magnified many times over.

They were very deep, each as wide as an arm.

Even King Yao, watching from the performance arena, had a change of expression. The palace guards rushed forward, using their bodies to protect him.

There was a barrier around the performance arena, but this artifact’s properties seemed unaffected by its range. If used against the audience, it could result in mass casualties.

Anyone with keen sight could tell that as the small round mirror shattered, it simultaneously tore apart whatever it illuminated on the ground, even splitting the earth three feet deep!

The mirror was from Qing Palace’s old collection, a single-use treasure that Qingyang had given He Yang just the day before. The divine ability attached to it was called "Mutual Destruction"!

This divine ability drew inspiration from certain divine arts, unleashing destructive power that was essentially indefensible; anyone struck would either die or be severely wounded.

He Lingchuan could not evade it, especially since his back was turned to the small golden monster.

However, he did not shatter into pieces as the Qing Palace guards had anticipated. In the very instant the small monster smashed the mirror, He Lingchuan shifted his feet, abruptly turning around while holding He Yang!

With this move, it was He Yang who now had his back to the mirror’s light.

The power of destruction landed squarely on him.

"No—" Qingyang slammed the table and suddenly stood up.

The sturdy rosewood table shattered into several pieces with a *crack*. Above her and King Yao’s heads, the old pear tree rustled with a mighty roar, its massive canopy trembling wildly, as if grasped and violently shaken by a giant.

Struck by Qingyang’s fury, dozens of branches snapped and fell, their flower buds still adorned with water droplets, yet with no chance to bloom again.

The guards beside King Yao were on high alert, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Qingyang extended her left hand halfway, then clenched it tightly into a fist, forcibly suppressing the urge to intervene.

It was too late.

Chong Wu, Qu Ruhai, and others at the feast also instinctively stood up, their eyes fixed on the scene.