Chapter 259: Ning Qingyi

The dark-faced man quickly summoned a shimmering black command flag. After circling him once, it transformed into a thick black light barrier, enveloping his entire body.

Dozens of silver lightning bolts struck the black light barrier, and a huge booming sound erupted as a vast expanse of silver lightning engulfed the dark-faced man's figure.

A silver lightning orb the size of a water vat crashed down, followed by a thunderous "boom." The silver lightning intensified dramatically, engulfing an area over a dozen zhang wide.

In less than three breaths, the silver lightning dissipated. The dark-faced man lay on the ground, his clothes tattered, his body charred black, emitting a burnt smell, and his vitality greatly diminished.

"Zhao Yunlei wins."

Wang Changsheng was secretly astonished by this scene. Zhao Yunlei possessed a natal artifact and was skilled in lightning-elemental dao techniques. Facing him, Wang Changsheng genuinely didn't stand much of a chance, mainly because he had given the Azure Light Mirror and Golden Flood Dragon Cauldron to Wang Ruyan. If he wanted to use them, he would need to re-refine them, which would certainly be too late now.

On the other side, the other two matches had also concluded. The young woman in the green skirt successively summoned multiple second-tier talismans and, coupled with a set of artifacts, successfully defeated her opponent.

A burly, bearded man carrying a green long saber broke through his opponent's defense with just three strikes and severed his opponent's left hand, successfully securing victory.

The young woman in the green skirt, the burly bearded man, and Zhao Yunlei were all at Foundation Establishment Stage Seven. Only Wang Changsheng was at Foundation Establishment Stage Five; however, his magic power was deeper than theirs, though onlookers couldn't discern it.

The four individuals drew lots for their matches, and Wang Changsheng's opponent was the young woman in the green skirt.

As soon as the match began, the young woman in the green skirt summoned a second-tier Hundred Swords Talisman, which transformed into hundreds of golden miniature swords, each about a chi long, striking overwhelmingly towards Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng's movements were also swift; he quickly brought out the Ice Flood Dragon Flag and, with a gentle flick, a large shower of white ice needles shot out, meeting the incoming attack.

A series of explosions erupted, and the hundreds of golden miniature swords were shattered into dust by the dense barrage of white ice needles.

Seizing this opportunity, the young woman in the green skirt summoned five red animal skins, each about a chi long, with a lifelike red python drawn on each.

With a few muffled sounds, the five red animal skins burst open, and countless red runes flew out. Swirling rapidly, they transformed into a red light barrier over ten zhang in size, trapping Wang Changsheng within it.

"A formation talisman!"

Wang Changsheng's eyebrows slightly furrowed. "The young woman in the green skirt has too many formation talismans!"

He tossed the Ice Flood Dragon Flag forward, furiously channeling magic power into it, and with a soft shout, "Transform into a flood dragon."

The Ice Flood Dragon Flag glowed brightly, transforming into a massive white ice flood dragon that charged menacingly towards the red light barrier.

A large amount of firelight appeared in the void, rapidly transforming into numerous crimson fire pythons, numbering over a hundred, which pounced towards Wang Changsheng and the white ice flood dragon.

Wang Changsheng raised a hand, and the Hundred Blades Umbrella shot out, flying above his head. It spun rapidly, emitting a shimmering blue light that covered his entire body.

The crimson fire pythons struck the Hundred Blades Umbrella, transforming into a vast expanse of crimson flames, but they quickly dispersed and vanished.

The white ice flood dragon charged into the swarm of fire pythons, ramming wildly and tearing over a dozen crimson fire pythons to shreds. Dozens more crimson fire pythons crashed into the white ice flood dragon, turning into raging flames that engulfed nearly half its body. However, a large amount of white cold air soon emanated from the white ice flood dragon, and the flames dissipated.

Wang Changsheng patted his storage pouch, and five golden spheres, each the size of a watermelon, flew out. Covered in spirit patterns, the golden spheres transformed with a few mechanical sounds into five massive tiger-shaped puppets—second-tier, mid-grade puppet beasts.

The five tiger-shaped puppet beasts opened their jaws, and points of spiritual light appeared in each of their mouths.

With a flash of spiritual light, five thick light beams of various colors shot out from the mouths of the tiger-shaped puppet beasts, striking the red light barrier momentarily. The red light barrier shook violently a few times, and its glow dimmed.

Wang Changsheng raised a hand, and the Profound Yin Sand shot out. Swirling rapidly, it transformed into a black fist several zhang in size, which heavily smashed onto the red light barrier.

Wang Changsheng had not been particularly conspicuous in previous duels, mainly relying on a few second-tier, low-grade puppet beasts and high-grade artifacts to win. Furthermore, refining second-tier, high-grade formation talismans was quite difficult. The young woman in the green skirt had summoned a second-tier, mid-grade formation talisman, the Fire Python Soul Extinguishing Array Talisman, which was an offensive talisman, not a defensive one, so its defensive power was not strong.

With a deafening roar, the red light barrier shattered, and the five thick light beams of various colors shot directly towards the young woman in the green skirt.

The young woman in the green skirt's beautiful face changed. She hastily took out a powerful five-colored talisman, slapped it onto herself, and with a flash of spiritual light, five light barriers—azure, red, gold, blue, and yellow—appeared in succession.

The Five Spirits Shield, a second-tier, high-grade defensive talisman, possessed extremely strong defensive power.

The five thick light beams struck the outermost yellow light barrier, and its glow dimmed.

"Roar!"

A massive white ice flood dragon pounced forward, opening its mouth to spray a thick white light beam, turning the young woman in the green skirt into a huge ice sculpture. Its massive claw was raised high, and it slammed down onto the ice sculpture.

"Boom!"

The ice shattered, and three light barriers shattered along with it, leaving two light barriers—azure and red—still covering her.

The black giant fist transformed into a large expanse of fine black sand, which spun rapidly, turning into hundreds of black flying swords that rushed to strike the young woman in the green skirt.

With a muffled sound like rain hitting bamboo leaves, the red light barrier shattered, and the azure light barrier's glow dimmed.

Several faint, almost invisible blue lights shot forth, shattering the azure light barrier. Three blue flying needles stopped just a chi away from the young woman in the green skirt's head.

From the moment the formation was broken until the young woman in the green skirt's defenses were destroyed, less than three breaths had passed. The young woman in the green skirt held a shimmering golden talisman in her hand, but hadn't had time to slap it onto herself. Seeing the three blue flying needles before her, she broke out in a cold sweat.

"Wang Yang wins."

The young woman in the green skirt put away her talisman, clasped her hands towards Wang Changsheng, and politely said, "Fellow Daoist Wang, your dao techniques are profound. I, Ning Qingyi, am impressed. If there's an opportunity another day, let us spar again."

"Fairy Ning, you are too kind," Wang Changsheng replied. "I merely got lucky."

Wang Changsheng said modestly that if Ning Qingyi had summoned a second-tier, high-grade formation talisman, he might not have broken the formation so quickly.

"Rumble!"

A huge explosion rang out, and Wang Changsheng and Ning Qingyi looked towards the arena where Zhao Yunlei was.

Zhao Yunlei stood with his hands behind his back, a confident expression on his face, as a vast expanse of silver lightning engulfed the burly bearded man's figure.

When the silver lightning dispersed, the burly bearded man was covered by a dim azure light barrier, and a broken azure shield lay scattered at his feet.

A massive silver giant tiger and an azure leopard were locked in a fierce struggle. The azure leopard was clearly no match for the silver giant tiger and was being completely overwhelmed.

Zhao Yunlei rubbed his hands together, and countless silver lightning bolts appeared in his palms.

"Wait!" the burly bearded man quickly surrendered. "I surrender."

The burly bearded man quickly surrendered. His opponent possessed a natal artifact and was skilled in lightning-elemental spells; he was clearly no match.

Hearing this, a slight smile curled Zhao Yunlei's lips. He formed a hand seal, and the silver giant tiger transformed into a silver long saber, falling into his hand.

Zhao Yunlei walked off the arena. A Zhao family disciple approached him and whispered a few words.

He was somewhat surprised, and looked towards Wang Changsheng, his expression becoming a little serious.

Under everyone's gaze, Wang Changsheng and Zhao Yunlei stepped onto the same arena.

Zhao Yunlei narrowed his eyes and proposed, "Fellow Daoist Wang, let's change the way we compete. I won't use any artifacts; you just need to withstand three of my moves, and you can use artifacts for defense. If you can withstand my three moves, I lose; otherwise, I win. How about it?"

If Wang Changsheng summoned his five second-tier, mid-grade puppet beasts, Zhao Yunlei might not be his match in a true fight.