"What do you mean the marriage fate Old Second Ba is bound to is something I can't suppress?! And what do you mean by backlash?!"
Qiu Jin'an instantly sensed trouble. It seemed there were secrets about this fist art that he still didn't know.
Meng Jingzhou's scalp tingled, feeling that he had landed in massive trouble. He explained, "Take me for example. I can unleash the Bachelor Curse Fist against Golden Core cultivators, and depending on the situation, against Nascent Soul cultivators. But I can't unleash it against Soul Formation cultivators. Why? Because Soul Formation cultivators are stronger than me; I can't beat them, and I can't suppress them either.
"Moreover, if I execute the technique against a Golden Core cultivator whose marriage fate is tied to a Soul Formation cultivator at the other end, then I likewise cannot unleash it. That would be equivalent to unleashing the fist technique against a Soul Formation cultivator!"
Meng Jingzhou thought of Li Haoran. Li Haoran was tied to Su Yiren, a mighty Body Integration figure. If he unleashed the fist technique against Li Haoran, the result would definitely be that Li Haoran remained completely unscathed while he himself suffered a backlash!
Qiu Jin'an glared. "Nonsense! I am the head of a grand immortal sect—how could I fail to suppress a mere Old Second Ba?!"
Meng Jingzhou remained silent. Seeing the look in Meng Jingzhou's eyes, Qiu Jin'an felt as though a basin of cold water had been dumped over him, and he understood what the boy meant: he could suppress Old Second Ba, but he couldn't suppress whoever was tied to the other end of Old Second Ba's marriage fate!
Qiu Jin'an was a man who had weathered great storms. Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, he forced himself to stay calm and asked, "Then what is this backlash?"
"The backlash means that for a period of time in the future, one loses all karmic connections with women, becomes unable to come into contact with any female, and will be kept away from women through all sorts of coincidences—or through all kinds of coincidences, women will stay far away from him.
"You should know of the sinan, right? Like poles repel each other."
Qiu Jin'an was taken aback. This backlash effect was simply too brutal.
"Have you ever suffered the backlash?"
"No."
"Then how can you be sure whether the backlash effect is real or not?"
"Eldest Senior Sister said so."
Qiu Jin'an extinguished his last glimmer of wishful hope.
Old Ba's worldly experience was hardly less than Qiu Jin'an's. Although he spent his days living an early retirement at the entrance of the Herb Garden, he had also carved out a formidable reputation throughout the martial world in his youth.
He quickly pieced together Meng Jingzhou's situation.
"The Five Elements Sect's Five Elements Rotation Possession Art? The only one capable of using this art to manipulate Martial Nephew Meng against me is Qiu Jin'an!"
In the past, because Shangguan Yu spent all her time around Qiu Jin'an, he had found Qiu Jin'an an eyesore no matter how he looked at him.
Now, the more he looked at Qiu Jin'an, the more pleasing the man seemed.
"Little Qiu, why harbor such immense hostility toward me? I misunderstood you in the past, but now that the misunderstanding between us is cleared up, we ought to get along harmoniously.
"Besides, the Five Great Immortal Sects advance and retreat as one. As Sect Master of the Five Elements Sect, when you travel abroad, you represent the will of the Five Elements Sect. Treating me like this could easily make outsiders think our Dao Seeking Sect and your Five Elements Sect are on bad terms."
Old Ba looked just like a benevolent, elderly father reconciling with a rebellious son.
"Old Second Ba, go to hell!"
Enraged, Qiu Jin'an burst out of Meng Jingzhou's body, tossed him aside, rolled up his sleeves, and charged to fight.
Old Ba brought his hands together and twisted his palms half a turn in opposite directions. Countless dark-black vines spread out beneath his feet. These vines absorbed cultivators' spiritual energy; once entangled, a cultivator's spiritual energy would drain rapidly, leaving them limp and drained of any ability to resist.
"Wood Element Enemy-Trapping Array?"
Recognizing the origins of the array beneath his feet at a single glance, Qiu Jin'an gave a scornful sneer.
He had been ambushed by this array since childhood—how could he let Old Second Ba succeed today?
"Come at me!"
A blinding light flared from his palm, dazzling enough that one couldn't open their eyes. When Meng Jingzhou's vision cleared, he saw Sect Master Qiu holding a Five-Colored Light Wheel. With a gentle sweep around him, the dark-black vines seemed to suffer a counter-bite, losing all vitality before wilting limply to the ground.
"The Five-Colored Light Wheel!"
Old Ba found things tricky. He specialized in the wood element and formations, but how could he compare to Qiu Jin'an's mastery of five-element spells? It was equivalent to having one of his arms cut off.
That Qiu Jin'an could become the head of an immortal sect was due to absolute strength!
"Old Second Ba, take this!"
The Five-Colored Light Wheel spun rapidly as Qiu Jin'an hurled it toward Old Ba. Old Ba's arms transformed into thick branches that clamped down on the wheel, sending sparks flying in all directions.
"Qiu Jin'an, you dared to sneak into my Dao Seeking Sect and kidnap my disciple!" Third Elder's voice boomed from the distance, like a Buddhist lion's roar shaking heaven and earth, loud enough to be heard across all nine peaks of the Dao Seeking Sect.
Hearing Third Elder's shout, countless disciples lit up with excitement. There was a show to watch!
"Give me twenty grilled skewers, to go!"
"Give me thirty beef skewers, extra chili, to go as well!"
Gripping all kinds of snacks in both hands, the disciples rushed toward the Herb Garden.
Lu Yang sat with five centers facing heaven, the Green Blade Sword and Dark Moon Sword hovering on either side like guardian deities protecting their master.
Emerging from seclusion, his eyes were filled with bewilderment. "What happened? Someone invaded the Dao Seeking Sect?"
Lu Yang was puzzled. Who could be so bold as to cause trouble in the Dao Seeking Sect? Had they drunk too much?
"Wait, if the enemy dares to sneak into the Dao Seeking Sect, they must have some trump card. Maybe they intend to strike from inside and out to breach the sect's defenses in one fell swoop!" Lu Yang realized the matter was definitely not that simple, and Eldest Senior Sister happened to be away from the sect.
"Is this a sect-destroying crisis?!"
A picture surfaced in Lu Yang's mind: the Dao Seeking Sect falling, disciples scattered and displaced, himself leading the few surviving disciples on the run under false identities to preserve the sect's final sparks of fire, enemy spell bombardments raining overhead, narrowly escaping death at every turn...
Grabbing his Green Blade Sword, he rushed down the mountain—only to stop dead in his tracks upon seeing his senior brothers and sisters leisurely strolling past with food in their hands. He figured he had probably cultivated for too long and his brain wasn't working right.
"I should go grab something to eat too."
Third Elder stood high in the sky, radiating righteousness, looking down at Qiu Jin'an and Old Ba.
With Third Elder's arrival, the other elders who were still in the sect flew out one after another: Fourth Elder, Seventh Elder, Eighth Elder...
"What's going on? Why is Qiu Jin'an here?" Seventh Elder was utterly baffled. He had been studying a pill formula when Third Elder's shout pulled him out.
"Those two have been brawling since they were kids. It's not the first time, so what does it matter?" Fourth Elder curled his lip, speaking indifferently.
"Who should we help?" Looking down at Old Ba and Qiu Jin'an locked in fierce combat, Seventh Elder was caught in a dilemma.
Reason dictated they should help Second Senior Brother fight the outsider Qiu Jin'an, but Second Senior Brother was shamelessly pursuing Shangguan Yu, which made him rather punchable too.
Leave it to Third Elder to be wise and make a decision.
He said in a deep voice, "Since we don't know whose side to take, let's beat up both of them!"
"Great idea!" The four elders instantly reached a consensus, unleashing their spiritual power and diving down.
Qiu Jin'an's expression shifted. The other side had numbers on their side, and dragging this out would bring no good outcome. Escaping was the best course!
Old Ba's expression shifted as well. The look on his four junior brothers' faces didn't seem quite right—they didn't look like they were targeting only Qiu Jin'an!
At the entrance of the Dao Seeking Sect, deep within the bamboo grove, the river spirit looked toward the brightly lit depths of the sect, wearing the expression of an amused spectator watching a lively show.
Chapter 397