Chapter 318: God's Child Duel

"Second layer of the Six-Form Incineration Art, Incineration Millstone!"

Sikong Jingyuan gasped, a doubt rising in his mind. Was the masked man opposite him truly Li Weiyi? According to the information he had, Li Weiyi was still at the Five Seas Realm during the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, which was less than two years ago. How could he have cultivated the second layer of a major art to such proficiency so quickly? No matter how gifted, it shouldn't be possible to progress that fast. The timeline simply didn't add up. Normally, it would indeed be difficult for Li Weiyi to reach this level in nine months. However, with his Time Cocoon, the actual time he spent cultivating the Six-Form Incineration Art had already exceeded a year.

Using his body and the phantom of the Fusang Divine Tree as an axis, with flames and mystic energy as the grinding force, a fierce gale surged. Li Weiyi contracted the Incineration Millstone's coverage to a radius of ten feet, reducing mystic energy consumption and making the flames more concentrated. The technique, like a spinning, blazing sun, illuminated the dim swamp and rapidly advanced towards Sikong Jingyuan.

Sikong Jingyuan retreated swiftly, abandoning all disdain as he stared intently. "The Incineration Millstone lives up to its reputation. The power of these flames and the tearing force are enough to break through my protective mystic energy. This Li Weiyi, despite having a Wind Manor Dao Seed, is astonishingly powerful. Perhaps he truly has reached the third tier of the Dao Seed Realm." Given Sikong Jingyuan's cultivation, even standing still, a martial cultivator at the second tier of the Dao Seed Realm couldn't breach his protective mystic energy. Therefore, with this move unleashed, he had no choice but to believe Li Weiyi's earlier words.

"Whoosh!"

No matter how powerful, he was still only at the third tier of the Dao Seed Realm. Sikong Jingyuan remained composed, unleashing his Dao Heart Projection. His Dao Heart Projection could reach up to a mile away, comparable to a Grand True Disciple or the formidable cultivators listed in the 'Jiazi Register'. However, Sikong Jingyuan had only recently broken through to the fourth tier of the Dao Seed Realm, and his mystic energy and soul strength were not yet sufficient; his mystic energy would almost lose control a hundred feet from his body. He would need several more years of intense cultivation at the fourth tier to truly reach a level comparable to a Grand True Disciple. Within Sikong Jingyuan's Dao Heart Projection, the mystic energy became more concentrated and the scriptures denser towards the center. As it collided with the Incineration Millstone, both accelerated towards each other.

"Boom!"

Two energies, one cold and one hot, clashed violently. The Incineration Millstone continuously tore through Sikong Jingyuan's Dao Heart Projection, resembling a true crimson-gold millstone. Li Weiyi showed no hint of joy; instead, his expression was solemn, and he remained highly vigilant. How could a figure like Sikong Jingyuan be defeated so easily?

"Li Weiyi, you are too arrogant. Underestimating your opponent comes at a cost." Sikong Jingyuan took a step back, and his figure vanished before Li Weiyi's eyes. The entire field of the Dao Heart Projection was filled with shimmering, illusory light, and strange phenomena enveloped the Incineration Millstone. Li Weiyi released his psychic energy to probe, but found Sikong Jingyuan's Dao Heart Projection boundless. Instead, a powerful mental force launched an attack against him. Facing Sikong Jingyuan, Li Weiyi had no intention of underestimating him, knowing full well that his martial cultivation at the first tier of the Dao Seed Realm alone would not be enough. Therefore, he could only combine his psychic energy and the Golden Crow Flames completely through the Incineration Millstone. It was, in essence, an all-out effort.

"Whoosh!"

Above his head, a beam of golden light descended, aiming to strike Li Weiyi dead in one blow. Sikong Jingyuan had trained in the Nether Realm for four years, spending two and a half of those years battling deceased spirits. His extensive combat experience allowed him to immediately discern the Incineration Millstone's weaknesses: its upper and lower points. Li Weiyi had anticipated this. He activated his Blood Handprint Demonic Armor, and wisps of bloody mist along with over nine hundred blood-red scriptures flew from the soft armor, shattering the golden light beam. Above him, Sikong Jingyuan's figure appeared, inverted, holding an ancient golden mirror, as he swooped down. The previous light beam had emerged from the mirror's surface.

"This golden mirror... is it the legendary Myriad-Character Artifact wielded by the Hall Master of the Hall of Wither and Flourish? No, it's a replicated combat artifact." Li Weiyi recognized the mirror's true nature, and his surprise dissipated. He fully activated his Blood Handprint Demonic Armor, allowing blood-red scriptures to envelop his entire body, and unleashed the Heaven-Overturning Palm Print. Over seven hundred scriptures appeared on the ancient golden mirror in Sikong Jingyuan's hand, indicating that even as a replica, it possessed the power of a seventh-grade Hundred-Character Artifact.

"Boom!"

Li Weiyi's Incineration Millstone and Sikong Jingyuan's Dao Heart Projection shattered simultaneously. Immediately after, the palm print clashed with the golden mirror. Li Weiyi was at a disadvantage due to the terrain, struck by the downward attack, and plunged towards the swamp's muddy depths. Sikong Jingyuan, meanwhile, was sent flying upwards, his vital energy churning from the impact of Li Weiyi's palm.

"Whoosh!"

Li Weiyi shot out of the mud like lightning, ascending skyward with the phantom of a yellow dragon beneath his feet, and pointed a finger at Sikong Jingyuan. The finger technique was incredibly fast, exceeding the speed of sound the instant it was unleashed. This "Enlightenment Finger" technique drew upon the liquid mystic power from his Divine Palace, aiming directly for Sikong Jingyuan's brow. Sikong Jingyuan reacted with lightning speed. Unable to activate the golden mirror in time, he used it as a shield to block Li Weiyi's fingertip. Rings of finger energy rippled from the mirror's surface, destabilizing Sikong Jingyuan and sending him tumbling downwards.

"Another powerful finger technique?" Sikong Jingyuan's mind was in turmoil. As a distinguished Divine Son, to be pushed onto the back foot by a cultivator of lower cultivation was understandably frustrating. Li Weiyi gave him no chance to activate the golden mirror again. His next strike was even faster, stamping down with the phantom of a jade cauldron, striking Sikong Jingyuan and sending him plummeting into the swamp.

Sikong Jingyuan erected a protective mystic energy mist barrier from his Dao Heart Projection, retreating dozens of meters through the swamp and carving a wide furrow. He possessed a Golden Pure Immortal Body; his entire musculature was like cast gold. When his mystic energy circulated, his whole body shimmered. Special Pure Immortal Bodies like Golden, Silver, and Lapis Lazuli all offered advantages in physical cultivation. Yet, despite his powerful physique, Sikong Jingyuan's arms still throbbed with intense pain from blocking Li Weiyi's "Jade Cauldron Shakes Mountains and Rivers."

"How many Daoist techniques do you actually master?" Sikong Jingyuan, thirty-six years old, had only successfully cultivated the Myriad Transformations Ice Seal Art and and another escape technique. In contrast, Li Weiyi wielded various Daoist-level martial arts with effortless mastery, performing them with incredible skill. He hardly seemed like a young man in his early twenties. The seventh-grade Hundred-Character Artifact golden mirror in Sikong Jingyuan's hand was certainly powerful, but it required time to activate. His opponent, however, executed Daoist techniques with fluidity and ease. More importantly, even if he managed to unleash the golden mirror's full power, Li Weiyi had the higher-grade Blood Handprint Demonic Armor to defend against it. This battle... it seemed it would not be easy.

The masked Li Weiyi floated gently back to the ground. "Are you so sure I am Li Weiyi?" Sikong Jingyuan's eyes narrowed, his mind filled with doubt. He mused, "Could this be an expert from Spirit Valley Hall, hired by Li Weiyi, intending to kill me in the Netherflower Black Swamp? No, the mystic energy tier and martial arts techniques don't lie. He wants to make me doubt myself and be unnerved. If a person's mind is disturbed, their fighting spirit and combat intelligence will collapse."

On the other battlefield, screams echoed. Sikong Ce was injured by the fifty-zhang-tall Ghoul Commander, spitting blood and being thrown back. Immediately after, he was engulfed by the Turin Cold Fire spewed from the Ghoul Commander's mouth. Sikong Qin used an escape technique to rescue Sikong Ce from beneath the swamp and fled rapidly into the distance. Tuobabu Tuo, controlling the Ghoul Commander, pursued them, covering dozens of zhang with each stride.

The moment Sikong Jingyuan's attention wavered towards the other fight, Li Weiyi's figure blurred, instantly appearing before him. Once again, it was the Jade Cauldron Shakes Mountains and Rivers, a downward stomp. "Excellent timing!" Sikong Jingyuan had his own tactical considerations; he hadn't truly been distracted. Instead, he was luring his opponent into a trap, as he activated his golden ancient mirror.

"Boom!"

A beam of light erupted from the mirror, shattering the jade cauldron and striking Li Weiyi. Li Weiyi's body, enveloped in blood mist and blood-red scriptures, directly countered the golden mirror's power. Having reached the Dao Seed Realm, he was now able to unleash a portion of the Blood Handprint Demonic Armor's true power. This ninth-grade Hundred-Character Artifact soft armor not only offered defensive power but could also absorb a portion of an opponent's attack force and convert it into counter-attack energy. This was Li Weiyi's confidence in facing a seventh-grade Hundred-Character Artifact bare-handed. Of course, as a demonic artifact, it required blood to be fully activated. Against Sikong Jingyuan, Li Weiyi believed it was not yet necessary to expend his blood.

"Bang bang!"

In a rapid succession of over ten clashes, Li Weiyi utilized both his psychic energy and martial arts techniques. The Incineration Millstone suddenly reappeared, flinging Sikong Jingyuan away, his robes torn and incinerated. Li Weiyi alone, whether by martial arts or psychic energy, was no match for Sikong Jingyuan. But when both powers were wielded by a single person, he could compete.

Sikong Jingyuan stumbled and fell, his upper body completely bare, revealing firm muscles and a robust physique. Sikong Qin and Sikong Ce's side was clearly completely suppressed by the Ghost Banner, their defeat certain. And on his own side, what he had thought was a sure victory was becoming increasingly alarming. Li Weiyi's reputation as a prodigy was indeed true; he was remarkably gifted, having combined the Six-Form Incineration Art and psychic attacks almost flawlessly. Other cultivators who practiced both martial arts and psychic power could also use both in combat, but their abilities were never a direct superposition.

Sikong Jingyuan found it hard to maintain his composure, as rage consumed his reason. He chanted silently, "A hundred ghosts guard the ancestral field, a projection of a hundred thousand soldiers."

"Whoosh!"

Violent spatial fluctuations appeared in Sikong Jingyuan's ancestral field below his abdomen. Subsequently, wisps of yin energy flew out, landing in the area covered by his Dao Heart Projection. Each wisp of yin energy transformed into a powerful departed spirit ghost general. They varied in form, some even wielding mystic artifacts. A hundred departed spirit ghost generals surrounded Sikong Jingyuan, some on the ground, some flying in mid-air, wailing and roaring. Their power seamlessly merged with the shimmering, illusory Dao Heart Projection, forming a military formation.

Li Weiyi stood within Sikong Jingyuan's Dao Heart Projection as if in a ghost domain, his expression grave. "A hundred ghosts hidden in the ancestral field... What kind of secret technique is this? No wonder my psychic attacks were completely ineffective against you. It seems you not only possess a powerful physique, but your soul has also been cultivated to an extremely high level."

This was Sikong Jingyuan's strongest trump card, a secret technique he had cultivated specifically during his four years of training in the Nether Realm. With a hundred ghosts nurtured in his ancestral field, one person became comparable to an entire army. Originally, such a heaven-defying secret technique should never be exposed unless he was certain of killing his opponent. Because exposing it would also reveal the true strength of the Hall Master of the Hall of Wither and Flourish. The Hall Master of the Hall of Wither and Flourish's ancestral field harbored more than just a hundred ghosts, and more than just ghost generals. Sikong Jingyuan was truly enraged, and his desire to eliminate Li Weiyi was urgent; he dared not let him grow further. That was why he risked unleashing the hundred ghosts, which then launched a siege.

"Erfeng!" Li Weiyi shouted, drawing his Yellow Dragon Sword. He turned and fled.

"Within my Dao Heart Projection, your speed is severely restricted. You cannot escape." Sikong Jingyuan activated the golden mirror with his mystic energy. The mirror unleashed a hundred-zhang golden radiance, surrounded by scriptures, spinning rapidly, and blasted towards Li Weiyi from a distance.

Li Weiyi suddenly stopped, straightened his posture, turned around, and unleashed the Spirit Treasure Seize, creating thousands of hand phantoms. From the fingertips of each hand phantom, a long river of mystic energy surged forth. Instantly, dozens of mystic energy rivers coiled around the approaching golden mirror. "Rumble!" Li Weiyi gripped the circular ancient golden mirror with his bare hands. The over nine hundred blood-red scriptures on his body vibrated violently, neutralizing the mirror's impact, and he was forced backward.

After stabilizing himself, he swiftly stored the ancient golden mirror into his ancestral field, suppressing it with mystic energy. It was truly fast! Before Sikong Jingyuan could react, the golden ancient mirror had been seized by Li Weiyi, severing their connection. He froze, then his eyes widened in furious disbelief: "Wasn't your ancestral field crippled?"