Chapter 958: Sparring

Wang Changsheng’s spiritual sense quickly swept over Fairy Ziyue, his expression calm, but his mind was full of questions: “Junior Martial Sister Tian can actually conceal her aura to the Core Formation stage, and Liu Gan didn’t even notice anything unusual.”

Fairy Ziyue’s aura was only at the Core Formation stage. Not to mention Wang Changsheng, even Liu Gan didn't seem to perceive anything out of the ordinary. It appeared that Fairy Ziyue had cultivated a secret art that allowed her to lower her aura to the Core Formation stage.

“Young Friend Zhao, that’s very thoughtful of you.”

Wang Changsheng nodded. Wang Qiuhong quickly stepped forward and accepted the green jade box.

Xiahou Feng’s gaze shifted, and he chuckled, “I’ve long heard that both of you fellow Daoists possess extraordinary divine abilities. We are all at the early Nascent Soul stage. I’d like to spar with Fellow Daoist Wang. What do you say?”

Alligator Island was one of the six major powers in the Red Moon Sea, but compared to the Ten Great Sects of the South Sea, it was far inferior. The power behind Alligator Island wanted Xiahou Feng to test Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan’s divine abilities, to see if he could deduce their origins. If they were ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan wouldn’t have attracted so much attention. However, their Nascent Soul formation had triggered unusual phenomena, making it difficult for spies from various factions not to notice.

“Swords and blades have no eyes; it would be bad if anyone got hurt. I think it’s better we don’t.”

Wang Changsheng’s tone was indifferent, politely declining. He wasn’t afraid; he simply didn’t want to casually reveal his divine abilities, which could then be targeted by enemies.

“Since it’s just sparring, there won’t be any problems. Fellow Daoist Wang worries too much,” Liu Gan said with a smile, his face showing an expression of anticipation.

Xiahou Feng’s eyes narrowed, and he said with a half-smile, “Fellow Daoist Wang is joking. If you can injure me, I’ll have nothing to say. I will hold back.” He had to follow his superior’s instructions; he had no choice. Aside from that, he also wanted to see how powerful Wang Changsheng’s divine abilities were, given that they could trigger such unusual phenomena.

The extent of Wang Changsheng’s power would affect the future dynamics of the Red Moon Sea. As the saying goes, 'one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers.' The greater Wang Changsheng’s power, the better Alligator Island’s attitude would be towards the Zhang and Wang families in the future. Zhang Wuchen was already troublesome enough; adding Wang Changsheng would only make things more complicated.

Since Xiahou Feng had made such a clear statement, if Wang Changsheng still refused, it would give the impression that he was afraid of Xiahou Feng. In any case, it was just a spar, and if he were to be defeated, Wang Ruyan would step in to help. Wang Changsheng also wanted to test his own divine abilities. Since Xiahou Feng was keen to spar, Wang Changsheng naturally wouldn't refuse.

“Alright then! In that case, let’s have a spar. We should go outside for this.”

Wang Changsheng tapped his right foot on the ground, transforming into a blue streak of light, and flew towards the sky. Xiahou Feng chuckled, turning into a red streak of light and chasing after him. Liu Gan also followed.

“Junior Martial Sister Tian, I’m going to check on my husband. Please help me watch these people. If any Nascent Soul cultivators are hidden among them and try to cause trouble, please lend a hand.” Wang Ruyan transmitted her message to Fairy Ziyue, then transformed into a streak of light and flew out. With Fairy Ziyue present, if anyone truly caused trouble, she could help, even if it meant revealing the relationship between Cloudsea Sect and the Wang family. With her and Wang Changsheng combined, even if Liu Gan and Xiahou Feng teamed up, Wang Ruyan was not afraid.

Wang Qingling also realized the seriousness of the situation and transmitted a message to Wang Qiuhong: “Qiuhong, notify Cousin Haitang to activate most of the restrictions and send more personnel to strictly prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble.” Wang Qiuhong agreed, took out a communication disk, and notified Ye Haitang.

Thousands of feet high in the sky, Wang Changsheng and Xiahou Feng stood in mid-air, hundreds of feet apart. Wang Ruyan and Liu Gan stood at a distance. Liu Gan wore an expression of anticipation, while Wang Ruyan looked somewhat nervous. Xiahou Feng had entered the Nascent Soul stage earlier than Wang Changsheng and undoubtedly possessed many divine abilities and secret arts. Wang Changsheng might not be able to defeat him. Most importantly, Wang Ruyan was unsure of Liu Gan’s stance. What if Liu Gan and Xiahou Feng had set a trap to kill Wang Changsheng? After all, their relationship wasn't good; strictly speaking, they were still enemies. It was not uncommon in the cultivation world for a joyous occasion to turn into a funeral.

A fierce glint flashed in Xiahou Feng’s eyes. Countless red spiritual runes appeared on his body, and with a whooshing sound, a large expanse of crimson flames emerged around him, enveloping his entire being. A roaring sound erupted as a vast sheet of crimson flames shot out from him, forming a gigantic red alligator that, radiating immense heat, charged towards Wang Changsheng. Even before the crimson fire alligator drew near, a shocking wave of high temperature washed over them, making it feel as though they had plunged into a subterranean lava pool.

Wang Changsheng summoned a palm-sized blue command flag and gently waved it towards the sea. The sea surface instantly split open, and a colossal blue water python surged from beneath the waves, lunging towards the crimson fire alligator.

Boom!

The blue water python and the crimson fire alligator collided, erupting in a vast cloud of white mist as red and blue lights intertwined. A low, muffled rumble echoed through the sky. One by one, crimson runes appeared, then blurred, transforming into fiery crimson spears, each several feet long. Like falling meteors, they shot towards Wang Changsheng. Thousands of crimson fire spears formed a crimson torrent, striking towards Wang Changsheng with a somewhat frightening momentum.

The flag face of the blue command flag in Wang Changsheng’s hand expanded greatly, and countless blue lights emerged, forming layers of water curtains that blocked in front of him. With a deafening roar, the layers of water curtains were shattered by the crimson torrent. The sky turned crimson, and a massive fiery palm suddenly appeared above Wang Changsheng’s head. As soon as the fiery palm emerged, the very fabric of space seemed to crackle and burn. The crimson fiery palm, carrying immense heat waves, slammed down. Before the fiery palm even landed, a large section of the sea water below was reflected crimson, and an unbearably scorching heat wave rushed forward.

Boom!

Wang Changsheng was struck by the crimson fiery palm, and roaring flames engulfed his body. Xiahou Feng frowned. Wang Changsheng was a Nascent Soul cultivator, after all. Even if he had just formed his Nascent Soul, he shouldn't have been injured so easily by him; it defied logic. He unleashed his spiritual sense to search for Wang Changsheng’s whereabouts.

Just then, dozens of feet behind him, countless blue light dots suddenly lit up. After a blur, Wang Changsheng’s figure materialized.

“Water Escape Art!” Xiahou Feng’s eyes flashed with surprise. He suddenly recalled something: only body cultivators dared to engage in close combat; ordinary cultivators typically attacked enemies from a distance using divine abilities and magical treasures. He was, after all, a Nascent Soul cultivator who had formed his Nascent Soul years ago, with rich combat experience. He clasped his hands in a spell, and a vast expanse of crimson flames appeared around him, covering an area of thirty feet in radius, protecting Xiahou Feng within.

Xiahou Feng flicked his sleeve, and three crimson flying knives, shimmering with red light, shot out, transforming into three streaks of crimson rainbow light, heading straight for Wang Changsheng behind him. With a muffled "thump," Wang Changsheng's body was pierced by the three crimson rainbow lights.

“An illusion! Shadow Transformation Art? Puppet Spirit Art? Water Moon Spirit Transformation Art?” Xiahou Feng frowned slightly. There were many similar divine abilities, and for a moment, he couldn’t quite determine which it was.

Countless blue lights appeared not far in front of him, taking on Wang Changsheng’s likeness. With a flash of blue light, nine more Wang Changshengs materialized. The ten “Wang Changshengs” spread out, rushing towards Xiahou Feng from different directions with extreme speed.

Xiahou Feng’s expression changed slightly. He unleashed rolling flames towards the Wang Changshengs, controlled the three crimson flying knives to strike them, and simultaneously conjured a palm-sized red shield that instantly enlarged, circling rapidly around him. With several "puffs," the ten “Wang Changshengs” were either engulfed by the crimson flames or shattered into dust by the crimson flying knives.