Transposition

The Yuejin Mirror shone with blinding brilliance. Endless golden light cascaded downward like a roaring waterfall, pressing down to suppress the fire cord! The fire cord refused to yield, lashing back in a frenzy of resistance. In an instant, the skies churned and colors shifted across the heavens. High in the void, water and fire coalesced. Reinforced by the second magic treasure, the fire cord drew upon an inexhaustible stream of power to hammer furiously against the golden light. Surging against the tide, it steadily drove back the golden light's momentum. Si Di poured every ounce of his strength into driving the Yuejin Mirror, yet he still could not hold off the combined assault of the two magic treasures. Seeing the mirror falling into a disadvantage, anxiety crept into his heart. He hurriedly slapped his waist, preparing to summon another treasure. Right at that moment. A figure silently materialized. It was Chanling, who had been lurking in wait for this very chance! Seizing the prime opening when the clash was at its fiercest, Chanling slipped out from beneath the Lightless Gauze and appeared directly behind Si Di. His posture was peculiar. Rather than standing, he sat cross-legged in midair. One hand gripped a jade vial, while the fingers of the other splayed wide, reaching toward the defenseless Si Di. The vial had already been uncapped. Within it swirled a pitch-black venom, devoid of any scent or flashy manifestation, yet exuding an overwhelming sense of sinister malice. His other palm was even more bizarre: etched across the back of his hand was the tattoo of a spider. The creature was vividly lifelike, as though an actual spider were perched atop his flesh. Stowing the Lightless Gauze away, Chanling willed the spider tattoo to glow with black radiance. It manifested into a jet-black demonic spider whose ferocious movements mirrored the twitching dance of his fingers—a hideous, profoundly wicked monstrosity. Any ordinary onlooker gazing upon such an evil arachnid would feel a bone-chilling dread seize their heart. The moment the demonic spider manifested, Chanling gave his other hand a gentle flick. The venom inside the vial shot into the spider's body like a volley of sharp arrows. Having devoured every last drop, the demonic spider grew even more ghastly. It unleashed a hair-raising screech that echoed like a low demonic hum, drilling straight into the mind. Two rows of sinister eyes gleamed with venomous greed, fixed unblinkingly on Si Di's back. The instant Chanling appeared, Old Demon Tan bellowed, "Strike!" All three Nether Crystal Pagodas shuddered at once. Old Demon Pei, who had been watching the battle intently, immediately acted on their prearranged plan and channeled the pagodas to provide reinforcement. The ink-black crystal orbs unleashed three colossal pillars of light that flashed across the sky and plunged straight into the grand array. These three beams were not aimed at Si Di himself. Instead, they converged midair and formed an ominous black dome of light that descended directly over the battlefield where Si Di and the others fought, dropping straight down! In that breath, the icy winds and snow were entirely sealed outside. The purpose of this move was to cut off the power of the Cold Bell Grand Array, preventing whoever controlled it from coming to Si Di's aid and spoiling their ambush. As long as the power of the Nether Crystal Pagodas severed the array's connection, Si Di would be utterly isolated! Yet that was not the pagodas' only function. Old Demon Pei locked their focus entirely onto Si Di, imbuing the dome of light with a heavy, binding pressure meant to suppress him. Three Nascent Soul experts were conspiring together in seamless coordination. Just as Chanling emerged and the dome descended, Old Demon Tan suddenly reversed his palm and slapped down toward the triangular banner. With that, the roles of the two magic treasures abruptly inverted: the fire cord instantly dimmed, while the triangular banner's aura surged dramatically. All along, Old Demon Tan had used the fire cord as the primary weapon and the triangular banner for support. Now, he had reversed their functions, turning the triangular banner into the main attack. Only now was the true harmony of water and fire revealed! A foe focused entirely on warding off the fire cord could easily be caught off guard. Si Di was no exception. The swirling waters converged into a massive river, surging upstream and sweeping wickedly toward Si Di's legs from below. Caught completely unawares, Si Di had no time to direct the Yuejin Mirror to his defense. Just as he attempted to leap clear, the dome of light crashed down from above. *Crack! Crack!* The raging river froze solid, transforming into a glacier. The space surrounding Si Di was locked down tight, and the edge of profound water turned razor-sharp, lunging at him like a storm of blades to join the encirclement. Two opposing forces caught Si Di in a vice. Yet neither of these was the true killing blow. If Si Di managed to react and receive reinforcements from the Cold Bell Grand Array, he would still have a chance to break free. The true lethality lay with Chanling! "Go!" Chanling uttered softly. The demonic spider transformed into a streak of black light, appearing behind Si Di's back in the very next instant. The icy peaks conjured by the triangular banner failed to halt the spider in the slightest. Immediately afterward, it slipped straight through Si Di's protective astral energy, meeting no resistance whatsoever. A wicked smirk touched the corners of Chanling's lips. While his other divine abilities suffered brief delays, this sinister art he had recently mastered paired perfectly with the Lightless Gauze. The manifested demonic spider, nurtured with lethal toxins, was specifically designed to pierce a cultivator's protective astral energy. Even a Nascent Soul powerhouse caught unawares by its bite would face almost certain doom. At this moment, Si Di was trapped with no way out, and all three Nascent Soul cultivators wore expressions of absolute confidence. However, their goal was to destroy Si Di's nascent soul as well, so Old Demon Pei and Old Demon Tan remained on high alert against the Cold Bell Grand Array, guarding against any rescue attempt. In the next instant, the demonic spider sank its fangs into Si Di. What followed froze all three Nascent Soul cultivators in their tracks. With a sharp *crunch*, the demonic spider's bite produced the ringing chime of clashing metal, followed by the creature's agonized screech. Si Di's figure wavered and vanished into thin air—and in his place hovered the Yuejin Mirror! Upon the mirror's surface, a faint phantom of Si Di flickered. Somehow, Si Di's true body had broken free of the trap, reappearing right where the Yuejin Mirror had been hovering moments before. At the critical juncture, he had swapped places with his own magic treasure! Chanling and his two companions stood dumbfounded. They had watched with their own eyes as Si Di vanished from their meticulously laid trap, completely unable to fathom how he had achieved it. Si Di's face was flushed red and his breath came in ragged gasps, but his expression was dripping with mockery. He was completely unharmed; his magic treasure, the Yuejin Mirror, had taken the blow in his stead. Chanling and Old Demon Tan were both seasoned figures. The failure of the ambush did not shake their resolve in the slightest; they moved immediately to drive their treasures and continue the hunt. Judging by Si Di's condition, executing such an escape secret technique had taken a heavy toll on him. They still had a chance! The instant that thought crossed their minds, a thunderous roar erupted outside the grand array, accompanied by Old Demon Pei's shrill scream. Only then did the expressions of the two demons truly change! Outside the grand array, near the edge of the Nether Crystal Pagodas, two figures had appeared out of nowhere—both of them Nascent Soul experts. "You..." Catching the mocking sneer on Si Di's face, Old Demon Tan suddenly understood. No wonder it had seemed so easy! When they moved to encircle and slaughter Si Di, the Cold Bell Grand Array had not launched the counterattack they had anticipated—because the one controlling the array was not a Nascent Soul cultivator at all! They had believed their plan to be foolproof. Little did they know that the other side had been fishing as well! Chanling's face darkened to an extreme gloom as countless thoughts raced through his mind in a flash. He could not yet tell whether the enemy had laid this trap from the beginning to lure and kill Pei and Tan—with him merely happening upon it—or if his presence had been exposed long ago, allowing them to turn his own scheme against him. If he had indeed been discovered beforehand, Chanling would have to worry about far more than the outcome of this single engagement. So long as he did not have to face figures like Daoist Zhenyi, Chanling could practically do as he pleased on the battlefield thanks to the Lightless Gauze. Yet none of the three individuals present were among that elite few. Could the Two Realms Alliance have already devised a countermeasure against the Lightless Gauze? "Save him!" Chanling barked coldly.