Chapter 389: Lively Night

"What do you mean the marriage affinity on Old Man Ba is something I can't suppress? What is a backlash?!"

Qiu Jin'an immediately felt something was wrong. It seemed there were still secrets about this boxing technique that he didn't know.

Meng Jingzhou's scalp tingled, sensing he was in deep trouble. He explained, "Take me for example. I can use the 'Bachelor's Curse Fist' on Golden Core cultivators, and sometimes on Nascent Soul cultivators, but not on Soul Transformation cultivators. Why? Because Soul Transformation cultivators are stronger than me; I can't defeat them or suppress them."

"Furthermore, if I use the technique on a Golden Core cultivator, but their fated marriage partner is a Soul Transformation cultivator, then I still can't use it. That would be equivalent to using the technique on a Soul Transformation cultivator!"

Meng Jingzhou thought of Li Haoran. Li Haoran's other end was connected to Su Yiren, a mighty Integration stage cultivator. If he used the technique on Li Haoran, the result would certainly be nothing happening to Li Haoran, while he himself would suffer a backlash!

Qiu Jin'an glared, "Nonsense! I am the esteemed Sect Master of an immortal sect. How could I not suppress Old Man Ba?"

Meng Jingzhou remained silent. Qiu Jin'an saw the look in Meng Jingzhou's eyes and felt as if he had been doused with cold water. He understood his meaning: he could suppress Old Man Ba, but not the other end of Old Man Ba's fated marriage!

Qiu Jin'an, having weathered many storms, suppressed the turmoil in his heart and forced himself to calm down. He asked, "Then what is a backlash?"

"A backlash means that for a period in the future, you will lose karma with women, unable to come into contact with any of them. You will be kept away from women through various coincidences, or women will be kept away from you through various coincidences."

"You must know about a compass, right? Opposite poles repel each other."

Qiu Jin'an was startled to hear this. The backlash effect was truly brutal.

"Have you ever suffered a backlash?"

"No."

"Then how can you determine if the backlash effect is real?"

"My Senior Sister said so."

Qiu Jin'an extinguished the last shred of hopeful delusion.

Old Man Ba's worldly experience was not much less than Qiu Jin'an's. Although he now spent his days enjoying an early retirement at the entrance of the medicinal garden, he had made a formidable name for himself in the pugilistic world when he was younger.

He quickly understood Meng Jingzhou's situation.

"The Five Elements Reincarnation Possession Art of the Five Elements Sect? Only Qiu Jin'an could use this technique to make Junior Nephew Meng attack me!"

Previously, he had always found Qiu Jin'an irritating because Shangguan Yu was constantly by his side.

Now, he found Qiu Jin'an as agreeable as could be.

"Little Qiu, why such hostility towards me? I misunderstood you before. Now that our misunderstanding has been cleared, we should get along harmoniously."

"Moreover, the Five Great Immortal Sects act as one. As the Sect Master of the Five Elements Sect, you represent the will of the Five Elements Sect when you're out. Treating me this way could easily make outsiders think that our Dao Seeking Sect and your Five Elements Sect are on bad terms."

Old Man Ba resembled a benevolent old father making amends with his rebellious son.

"Old Man Ba, go to hell!"

Qiu Jin'an, enraged, burst out of Meng Jingzhou's body, tossed him aside, and rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight.

Old Man Ba clasped his hands together, his palms rotating half a turn in opposite directions. Countless dark tendrils spread out from beneath his feet. These tendrils would drain a cultivator's spiritual energy, and once entangled, the cultivator's spiritual energy would rapidly vanish, leaving them weak and unable to resist.

"Wood Element Trapping Array?"

Qiu Jin'an recognized the array underfoot at a glance, scoffing.

He had been ambushed by this array since childhood. How could he let Old Man Ba succeed again today?

"Come on!"

A dazzling light appeared in his palm, blinding those who looked. When Meng Jingzhou's vision returned, he saw Sect Master Qiu holding a multicolored light wheel. With a gentle sweep around him, the dark tendrils appeared as if they had been bitten back, losing their vitality and falling limp to the ground, withering away.

"Five-Colored Light Wheel!"

Old Man Ba found it troublesome. He specialized in wood attribute techniques and arrays, but how could he compare to Qiu Jin'an's mastery of Five Elements spells? This was like cutting off one of his arms.

Qiu Jin'an became an immortal sect master based on absolute strength!

"Old Man Ba, take this!"

The five-colored light wheel spun rapidly and swung towards Old Man Ba. Old Man Ba's arms transformed into thick tree branches, clamping the light wheel, causing sparks to fly.

"Qiu Jin'an, you actually snuck into my Dao Seeking Sect and kidnapped my disciple!" The Third Elder's voice boomed from afar, like a Buddhist lion's roar, shaking heaven and earth. All nine peaks of the Dao Seeking Sect could hear it clearly.

Countless disciples heard the Third Elder's voice and looked excited, sensing some excitement to watch.

"Twenty skewers, to go!"

"I'll have thirty beef skewers, extra spicy, also to go!"

Disciples, holding various snacks in their hands, rushed towards the medicinal garden.

Lu Yang was in a meditation pose, with the Qingfeng and Mingyue swords hovering on either side, like guardian deities protecting their master.

He emerged from his cultivation retreat, his eyes filled with confusion. "What's happening? Has someone invaded the Dao Seeking Sect?"

Lu Yang wondered, who would be so bold as to cause trouble in the Dao Seeking Sect? Had they perhaps drunk too much?

"Wait," Lu Yang suddenly realized, "The fact that they dared to sneak into the Dao Seeking Sect indicated they had a trump card. Perhaps they want to coordinate an inside and outside attack to break through the sect's defenses in one fell swoop!" He understood that things were far from simple, especially since the Senior Sister was currently not in the sect.

"Is this a crisis that could destroy the sect!?"

A scene flashed in Lu Yang's mind: the Dao Seeking Sect overthrown, disciples displaced, himself fleeing with the few remaining disciples under false identities, preserving the last embers of the Dao Seeking Sect, with enemy spells raining down from above, barely surviving...

He picked up his Qingfeng Sword and headed down the mountain, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his senior brothers and sisters casually walking by with snacks. He figured he must have cultivated for too long and his brain wasn't working properly.

"Maybe I should go get something to eat too."

The Third Elder stood high in the sky, radiating righteousness, looking down upon Qiu Jin'an and Old Man Ba.

As the Third Elder arrived, other elders still in the sect flew out one after another: the Fourth Elder, the Seventh Elder, the Eighth Elder...

"What's going on? Why is Qiu Jin'an here?" The Seventh Elder was bewildered. He had been engrossed in studying a pill recipe when the Third Elder's shout called him out.

"Those two have been fighting since they were kids. It's not the first time. What's the big deal?" The Fourth Elder shrugged, saying indifferently.

"Who should we help?" The Seventh Elder watched Old Man Ba and Qiu Jin'an fiercely battling below, finding himself in a dilemma.

Logically, they should help their Second Senior Brother against Qiu Jin'an, an outsider. However, their Second Senior Brother was shamelessly pursuing Shangguan Yu, which made him quite deserving of a beating.

It was the wise Third Elder who made the decision.

He stated in a deep voice, "Since we don't know which side to help, let's just beat them both!"

"Good idea!" The four elders instantly reached a consensus, unleashed their full spiritual power, and charged down fiercely.

Qiu Jin'an's expression changed. The opposing side had strength in numbers, and delaying further would not lead to a good outcome. It was best to escape first!

Old Man Ba's expression also changed. His four junior brothers' demeanor seemed off; they didn't look like they were targeting Qiu Jin'an.

At the entrance of the Dao Seeking Sect, deep within the bamboo grove, the River Spirit watched the brightly lit depths of the sect with an expression of amusement.