Chapter 182

In the next moment, the flames around Chu Hao started to explode uncontrollably.

His flesh and bones shattered completely within mere breaths, forcing the Daoyuanshan cultivator overseeing the match to intervene and stop the battle between the two individuals.

"What’s happening?!"

Elders from Daoyuanshan stood abruptly from their High Platform seats.

The supervising cultivator channeled his own true essence to suppress Chu Hao’s raging flames.

But as he acted, he detected an unfamiliar wisp of true essence fleeing from Chu Hao’s body.

Though it vanished too fast to capture, he confirmed it was genuine true essence!

"Your disciple hid true essence during combat!" the supervisor roared, glaring at Lanyue Sect’s representatives. "Explain this treachery!"

Chaos erupted immediately.

"Cheating bastards!"

"Spineless cowards – fight me properly!"

"You think Daoyuanshan fears your tricks?!"

Daoyuanshan elders soared into the air, faces contorted with rage. Three Lanyue Sect elders rose from their cloud ship to meet them.

A Lanyue elder at the peak of Condensing Essence spoke calmly: "Friends, shouldn’t we confirm facts before drawing blades?"

"Deny it now? I felt true essence from Chu Hao myself!" The supervisor cradled the bloodied youth, fury burning in his eyes. "How could a ninth-level Gathering Qi cultivator produce true essence?!"

"True," the Lanyue elder conceded. "Yu Tingzhi’s cultivation level can’t refine true essence. But friends forget – those born with spiritual bodies might carry innate true essence."

"Our Yu Tingzhi possesses the rare Taiyin body. That true essence wasn’t implanted, but born with her. Summon the Master of the Virtual Sword to verify."

Two figures materialized between the factions.

"A Taiyin body? This demands inspection."

Jia Huairen and Ding Xiu projected avatars into the large array, landing on the Debate Platform. Jia Huairen pressed a finger to Yu Tingzhi’s forehead while Ding Xiu watched like a hawk.

"Harm her, Jia Huairen, and I’ll paint this ground with blood!"

"Tch." The Daoyuanshan elder sneered, barely glancing at the threat. A cultivator of his stature wouldn’t stoop to troubling a Gathering Qi junior.

With such thoughts, it was Ding Xiu’s vindictive nature showing through petty calculations.

After three breaths, Jia Huairen withdrew his hand and murmured, "Confirmed as a Taiyin body. The true essence belongs to her. Let the match continue."

His two avatars vanished instantly.

Hearing their leader’s confirmation, the Daoyuanshan cultivators could only swallow their defeat.

They’d been caught unprepared by scheming opponents.

People rushed to carry the gravely injured Chu Hao away for treatment, seemingly conceding this final round.

"Does any Fellow Daoist wish to spar with Yu Tingzhi?"

Having regained her breath, Yu Tingzhi’s melodic voice carried across the arena, chilling listeners despite its softness.

Young disciples on the observation seats exchanged nervous glances while sect elders frowned deeply.

Chu Hao had been the strongest late-stage cultivator from both Daoyuanshan and Wanhuamen.

Sending others after his defeat would be pointless.

At peak Ninth Level with mastery over the Way of Spiritual Manipulation and mystical true essence methods, her combat strength rivaled the eleventh level!

Unless Qiu Ran or Xiao Yize stepped forth, none could oppose her.

As elders debated forfeiting, two observers exchanged meaningful looks.

Yang Lingrui nodded imperceptibly as Zi He rose.

No one present bore deeper hatred toward Solitary Moon Mountain than Zi He.

His destroyed family, fallen Elder, and dying sister – all casualties of schemes by Solitary Moon Mountain and their Lanyue Sect backers.

Now vengeance beckoned.

The Yang Family remained weak, and Lingrui’s recent yellow wind inheritance needed concealment.

This fight belonged to Zi He.

A blur startled watching disciples as the longbow-bearing figure materialized on the Debate Platform.

"Since this concerns the Four Sects of the Northwest versus Tiger-Chasing, more than two sects should participate."

Zi He saluted Yu Tingzhi sharply. "Zi He of Tiger-Chasing’s Exterminate Evil Division, ninth level of Gathering Qi, challenges!"

"Well said, Fellow Daoist Zi He!"

"Tiger-Chasing has more than two sects!"

"Slaying Guardian Zi He prevails!"

Cheers erupted from Tiger-Chasing youths, shaking the arena.

High Platform observers quietly reassessed their positions.

"Several friends, let the Feng family take the first match of the perfect realm."

"The disciples from both sects have endured until now. It’s time we shared some burden."

"Our martial institute disciples can serve as vanguard."

Hearing this, the elders from both sects relaxed their tense shoulders in relief.

Xiao Yize nearly laughed aloud with joy.

He’d been worrying about his own impending turn moments ago, but now that others volunteered, he wouldn’t need to step forward.

On the Debate Platform, Yu Tingzhi gave Zi He a cursory glance before offering a slight bow.

How could someone unfamiliar with the Spiritual Manipulation method possibly challenge her?

When both combatants signaled readiness, the match commenced.

Learning from the previous bout, Yu Tingzhi abandoned probing tactics and immediately activated her Spiritual Manipulation.

Moonlight ribbons materialized around her, their bearer appearing like a goddess descended from the lunar palace.

With a flick of her wrists, the flowing moonlight technique scattered glowing particles through the air.

"Strike!"

Moonlight shards cascaded toward Zi He like crystalline rain. Yu Tingzhi simultaneously summoned her full moon manifestation overhead, aiming to conclude the match swiftly.

But as she channeled energy, Yu Tingzhi froze mid-motion. Through the luminous barrage, Zi He stood completely unaffected.

Pouring spiritual power into her vision, the cultivator gasped. Behind Zi He loomed a ten-foot golden figure, effortlessly deflecting every moonbeam.

"Golden Body! He’s truly from the Exterminate Evil Division’s leader bloodline!"

"That Inheritance vanished decades ago! Who restored it?"

"No wonder the Division trained him secretly – impressive!"

Voices murmured from the High Platform seats as experts recognized the technique.

Yu Tingzhi unleashed three more moonlight assaults, but the golden figure merely developed hairline fractures while shielding its master completely.

Zi He remained rooted like an ancient pine.

"This won’t work." Yu Tingzhi bit her lip, sensing her Spiritual Manipulation duration dwindling. "Time for true essence."

"Clear Radiance Chases the Moon!"

Her full moon detonated in a supernova-like burst.

"Blinding!"

"I can’t see!"

The audience recoiled as searing whiteness flooded the arena.

"How could even divine awareness sense nothing but emptiness?"

Under the white radiance, all cultivators below the tenth-level Gathering Qi realm lost their ability to perceive.

Seizing the chance, Yu Tingzhi concealed her innate true essence within a ribbon and hurled it toward Zi He.

Without divine awareness, even if he blocked the ribbon with his Golden Body, he couldn’t avoid the true essence piercing through him!

*Buzz—*

Yet in the next moment, two violet flashes erupted within the pale glow surrounding Zi He.

A pair of eerie purple eyes locked onto her, radiating not just strangeness but a chilling intent to kill.

“A… pupil technique!?”

Her heart lurched. She hadn’t anticipated Zi He hiding such a move.

What followed stunned her further.

As the golden form caught the ribbon, Zi He raised two fingers blazing with golden light and clamped down—directly pinching her innate true essence between them.

“Impossible! That’s true essence! How—?”

Yu Tingzhi’s voice sharpened. Within her sect, her innate true essence had never been countered, even by peers of equal strength.

Zi He offered no explanation. He nocked the true essence like an arrow, aiming at the luminous full moon floating above Yu Tingzhi’s head.

Her breath hitched. He meant to turn her own essence into a weapon against her!

“No!”

She lunged to dispel the moon technique, but Zi He moved faster. A drop of essence blood flew from his lips, fueling his Golden Body’s desperate lunge.

The Golden Body seized the moon—losing its head and an arm in the process—before Yu Tingzhi could retract her spell.

In mere seconds, the flesh on Zi He’s gripping fingers withered, leaving only bone. Yet pain ignited exhilaration, not agony.

“Now.”

He loosed the arrow without hesitation, denying her any chance to yield. The true essence, sheathed in external manifestation techniques, streaked upward. It pierced his own Golden Body and the moon in a single strike.

*Crack—*

The moon shattered. Yu Tingzhi screamed, collapsing to her knees as blood gushed from her lips.