Magical Battle

After dozens of exchanges, Qin Sang had gained a rough measure of the handsome youth's capabilities. His cultivation was no lower than that of Senior Brother Rong, Miao Xinglan, and the others, but his combat experience lagged far behind. He was inferior even to the mediocre sorts among the False Core stage cultivators on Stargazing Island. Yet he possessed a vast array of treasures. Following the talisman treasure, he brought out several magic tools in succession in a dazzling display. Every single one was extraordinary and formidable in power, catching one off guard at every turn. Used in tandem, they forced even Qin Sang to deal with them with utmost composure. Qin Sang surmised that the handsome youth came from an extraordinary background. Unfortunately, the handsome youth was simply too green after all. These magic tools could not allow him to turn his advantages into victory—and that was without Qin Sang even resorting to his ebony sword. Having traded blows for a while, Qin Sang coped with increasing ease, even managing to split his attention and sneak glances at the other battle. Granny Jing was fighting two opponents single-handedly. Only now did Qin Sang realize that the qingluan was far more than just a mount. It possessed terrifying strength, trading moves back and forth with Yu Shanting, who wielded a magic treasure, without falling into a disadvantage in the slightest. The qingluan helped Granny Jing separate her two opponents, allowing her to concentrate entirely on Old Man Star-Grasper. Yu Shanting knew Granny Jing was the paramount target and did not wish to stay entangled with the qingluan. He attempted to force it back and join forces with Old Man Star-Grasper, but his efforts were repeatedly thwarted. *Clang!* Resonant tolls of the bell sounded in succession, shaking heaven and earth, echoing endlessly. Purple mist swirled hazily, at times condensing into blades and swords, swift as lightning and bristling with sharp edges; at other times morphing into all manner of ferocious beasts—dragons, phoenixes, lions, and tigers, among many others—surging with monstrous fury... Yet neither blades nor beasts were a match for the qingluan, swiftly torn to shreds by its sharp talons and pointed beak. The bronze bell could do nothing to the qingluan. After several futile attempts, during which he was nearly pecked multiple times in return, Yu Shanting could no longer maintain his composure, his eyes flaring with rage. *Clang!* This chime was out of the ordinary, deep and profound. The bronze bell shuddered violently. Amid the reverberating hums, it lifted off from above Yu Shanting's head of its own accord, soared high, and immediately crashed down to suppress the qingluan. Boundless purple qi erupted, blanketing the sky and covering the earth. At this moment, the bronze bell seemed like a towering mountain of immense weight, summoning wind and thunder all at once, seeking to envelop the qingluan entirely, suppress it, refine it, and crush it to powder. The true body of the bronze bell was not actually larger than the qingluan, yet for some reason, its colossal shadow spread across the sky, completely shrouding the qingluan below. The tolls grew louder and louder, shaking the soul like a roaring tidal surge, grandiose and overwhelming. A humanlike solemnity appeared in the qingluan's eyes, making Qin Sang wonder more and more whether it was truly a wooden carving or a genuine qingluan. The qingluan was an ancient divine beast that existed only in legends, comparable to dragons and phoenixes. No matter how strong Granny Jing was, could she really have found and tamed one? If it were a spirit puppet, what incredible mastery of puppetry would be required to bestow such spirit and verve upon a wooden carving? Facing the aggressively menacing bronze bell, the qingluan issued a series of sharp, rapid cries, its battle will burning ever more fiercely. Without seeking help from Granny Jing, it spread its wings to their full span. Its azure flight feathers rippled with azure light waves, which converged and deepened. As though on the verge of melting, the feathers burst into azure flames. The qingluan became a true divine bird reborn from the flames. *Screeech!* Beneath its melodious cry, even the ringing of the bell paled into insignificance. Glaring furiously at the bronze bell, the qingluan unleashed azure flames soaring into the sky, sending a pillar of fire hurtling straight toward the bell. *Boom!* With a massive roar, the bronze bell was engulfed in azure fire. Yet within the azure fire, a faint trace of purple remained visible; the purple qi had not been extinguished, resisting the fiery incineration. Yu Shanting's hand seals shifted rapidly, and the bronze bell shook incessantly. Not to be outdone, the qingluan poured forth azure flames in an endless stream. Man and beast each exerted their full strength, locking themselves in a stalemate that would be difficult to resolve in short order. Unable to tell who would ultimately prevail, Qin Sang had no choice but to shift his gaze toward Granny Jing. To his surprise, the contest between Granny Jing and Old Man Star-Grasper was even more profound and subtle, lacking the slightest trace of mundane ostentation, making it all the harder to fathom. In the battle between Yu Shanting and the qingluan, Qin Sang could still discern some clues, but between Granny Jing and Old Man Star-Grasper, he was merely watching the spectacle, unable to tell even who held the upper hand. Night sky, luminous moon, myriad stars. Beneath the starry sky conjured by two magic treasures, Granny Jing and Old Man Star-Grasper hung suspended in midair, completely devoid of worldly agitation. The moon appeared even brighter than before, a silver platter hanging high. Like a living Guanyin, Granny Jing sat cross-legged in midair, eyes shut tight. Behind her floated the unfurled Picture of Rivers, Mountains, and the Hidden Moon, though the bright moon had already vanished from the scroll. Thousands of li of mountains and rivers stretched dark as indigo; the sea of clouds was actually flowing, billows churning and dying as if the painting itself had come to life. Old Man Star-Grasper likewise did not look at Granny Jing. Both of his hands were raised, living up to his title of Star-Grasper as his palms left afterimages in their wake, manipulating the river of stars. Yet he could only pluck the stars; he could not seize the moon. The myriad stars became chess pieces in Old Man Star-Grasper's hands. One killing array after another took shape as starlight in diverse manifestations surged to strangle Granny Jing or the luminous moon. These killing arrays shifted with astonishing speed, each packing formidable might. Old Man Star-Grasper's magic treasure filled Qin Sang with marvel. The starlight rushing toward the moon was entirely blocked by the moonlight. The starlight attempting to strangle Granny Jing fared even worse, completely swallowed by the Picture of Rivers, Mountains, and the Hidden Moon. Beyond making the sea of clouds churn more violently, it seemed to cause Granny Jing no harm at all. Soon, Qin Sang made another discovery. The stars at the edge of the night sky grew dim and vanished one after another, seemingly eclipsed by the moonlight, never to reappear once gone. Whenever a star disappeared, that patch of space fell into darkness, producing a peculiar ripple within which barely discernible fissures seemed to form. While forming killing arrays to strangle Granny Jing, Old Man Star-Grasper would sweep other stars from the river toward the edges to mend the spaces that had plunged into darkness. Only in this manner, it seemed, could he keep the night sky conjured by his magic treasure from collapsing. Qin Sang shifted his gaze to observe Old Man Star-Grasper closely. Under the increasingly bright moonlight, Old Man Star-Grasper stared unblinkingly into the night sky, his expression gravely solemn. His face seemed coated in a sheen of sweat, reflecting the starlight and appearing flushed red. This formed a stark contrast with Granny Jing's serene composure. Judging from the performances of both combatants and their two magic treasures, Qin Sang felt that Granny Jing had likely seized the upper hand, though he could not be certain whether his guess was correct. Qin Sang could not afford to keep dividing his attention, for the handsome youth's offensive abruptly grew ferocious. The handsome youth had noticed Qin Sang's divided focus. Feeling slighted, he grew intensely humiliated and infuriated. What infuriated him even more was that, despite having exhausted his repertoire against an opponent whose cultivation was inferior to his own and who even dared to daydream in battle, he still could not gain the slightest upper hand. "You're courting death!" The handsome youth cursed in fury, his hatred for Qin Sang peaking as he unleashed the full might of his talisman treasure without holding back anything. The black light conjured by the talisman treasure darted up and down, coming and going like lightning with an unpredictable trajectory, yet in Qin Sang's eyes, it still had nowhere to hide. The black hammer consistently failed to breach the blue mirror's containment, unable to graze so much as the hem of Qin Sang's clothes.