Chapter 52: Cruelly Destroying the Flowers

Talismans and formations, though each possesses its own unique merits, ultimately lead to the same end. As external tools, they are both means for a cultivator to overcome those of a higher level and triumph through perceived weakness.

A single ninth-grade formation could allow Lyu Yang to gain the upper hand when dueling others.

And a single ninth-grade talisman, even if it could not rival a ninth-grade formation, would be enough to force Yun Miaozhen into a state of high alert; it was certainly not something that could be dealt with casually.

Not to mention the talismans Lyu Yang was currently scattering with a wave of his hand—there were nearly five hundred of them. As he activated them all at once, their combined power was truly enough to make the heavens and earth change color.

Although talismans are consumables that inevitably turn to ash after use, leaving nothing behind, many people cherished them immensely. Lyu Yang, however, was an exception. If he ran out of talismans, the worst that could happen was to have the banner spirits work overtime to rush a new batch.

Rumble!

In an instant, sword qi streaked across the sky and thunder rolled. Countless talisman lights flashed as swiftly as lightning, surrounding Yun Miaozhen in the center like thousands of blades and axes descending upon her.

Seeing this, Yun Miaozhen had no choice but to retreat defensively.

In the next second, surging qi and light transformed into a silver canopy, shielding Yun Miaozhen firmly beneath it and blocking all the talismans outside.

However, this was only temporary. While the talismans did not consume Lyu Yang's mana, the casting of the *Taiyi Golden Radiance Dan Book* consumed a massive amount of her energy. As the disparity grew, the qi and light surrounding her were immediately shredded and minced by the countless talismans, forcing her to conjure another burst of brilliant light to barely protect herself.

"Slay."

Lyu Yang naturally had no intention of showing mercy. The Sword Qi Talismans and the Five Thunder Talismans fell simultaneously, instantly tearing through the protective cloud-garments on Yun Miaozhen's body.

In a flash, the garments shattered and dispersed like rain, revealing large patches of snow-white skin.

"Ah!"

Yun Miaozhen's beautiful face flushed crimson with rage. Her jade-like skin trembled violently, and she instinctively tried to cover herself, but Lyu Yang's onslaught left her with no hands free to do so.

"Demon! You seek death!" Yun Miaozhen's expression contorted. Having reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement at such a young age and mastered the great divine abilities of the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion to become a core disciple and a Foundation Establishment seed of her sect, she had always been high above others, cold and proud. When had she ever fallen into such a predicament?

Seeing this, the corners of Lyu Yang's mouth curled slightly.

"Fellow Daoist, you truly are a woman of peerless beauty."

Though Yun Miaozhen tried her best to cover herself, it was merely self-deception; she could not hide anything from his magical eyes. He saw everything he was meant to see.

Extremely sensitive to his gaze, Yun Miaozhen grew increasingly frantic.

What enraged her even more was that Lyu Yang actually wore an expression of disdain. "In broad daylight, what kind of decorum is this? Is this how a member of a righteous sect behaves?"

While speaking, Lyu Yang continued to manipulate the talismans to attack Yun Miaozhen. His provocative words were merely a means to disturb her state of mind; his ultimate goal was to kill his enemy.

Sure enough, being humiliated by Lyu Yang, combined with the fact that she had clearly held the upper hand only to be beaten into a state of undress by his profligate, "rich man" style of combat, her emotions finally ignited her inner fire, causing a tiny crack to appear in her Dao heart.

"Now is the time...!"

Lyu Yang naturally would not miss the moment Yun Miaozhen's Dao heart wavered. In that instant of mental distraction, he immediately performed a hand seal, and a circular light suddenly emerged behind his head.

As the circular light illuminated the area, the scene in Lyu Yang's eyes changed drastically.

In the place where he and Yun Miaozhen had just been fighting, countless traces of Yun Miaozhen's aura appeared—these were the marks she had left behind.

"Mystic Yin Form Capture, Death-Sticking Nail..."

With a thought, Lyu Yang directed the circular light toward a cluster of Yun Miaozhen's aura, seizing it, and then projected her graceful silhouette.

In the next second, without hesitation, Lyu Yang slashed with his fingers.

It was still a vertical strike.

The circular light split in two, and the image of Yun Miaozhen within the light was also split. Subsequently, an invisible force acted rapidly upon Yun Miaozhen's true body.

*Crack!*

Suddenly, a soft sound of skin splitting was heard. A clear bloody streak appeared on Yun Miaozhen's snow-white, delicate forehead, which looked as if it were carved from ivory.

Immediately after, the bloody streak began to expand...

"...Don't even think about it!"

In an instant, Yun Miaozhen's pupils shrank. Her snow-white skin was covered in a red flush, her brows furrowed, and a golden light suddenly erupted from her beautiful eyes.

In the next second, Yun Miaozhen actually withdrew the "Divine Light" she had been using to contend with the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light, and then gathered her "Qi Light" and "Essence Light" as well. At that moment, the three lights merged into one, transforming into a magnificent golden radiance that rose from the ground, making her appear like a goddess descending from the nine heavens.

The Three Lights Merged into One: Taiyi Golden Radiance!

In that instant, Lyu Yang felt that the Yun Miaozhen before him suddenly became "higher"... not in a physical sense, but on a dimensional level.

*Is this a Great Divine Ability!?*

If previously Yun Miaozhen had merely been performing several high-level divine abilities that composed the Great Divine Ability, she was now attempting to trigger the true Great Divine Ability itself.

It was a completely different sensation.

Under the empowerment of the Taiyi Golden Radiance, Yun Miaozhen seemed to have detached from this mortal realm, gradually ascending to stand at a height entirely different from Lyu Yang's.

One high, one low.

Lyu Yang was incredibly familiar with this gap. Although it was nowhere near as terrifying as that day, it still gave him a sense of horror similar to his first encounter with the Luck-Fortune Daoist!

Just then, Yun Miaozhen moved.

With a light flick of her slender hand, the Mystic Yin Form Capture technique that was acting upon her was forcibly diverted to another person with a similar aura.

Her twin sister, Yun Miaoqing!

In the next second, the bloody streak on Yun Miaozhen's forehead healed rapidly, while Yun Miaoqing, who was outside the cave-heaven and still in a state of unconsciousness, suddenly split open.

"Cruel and decisive enough..."

Seeing this, Lyu Yang mocked, "You act quite fast, Fellow Daoist. The moment you encounter danger, you decisively kill your own to save yourself. Is this the righteousness of the Sword Pavilion?"

"This is Miaoqing's tribulation. Do not distort right and wrong."

Yun Miaozhen's tone returned to its usual indifference. "You harmed her cultivation and prevented her from passing her tribulation, which led to today's calamity. You are the true culprit."

Lyu Yang burst into laughter. "You certainly have thick skin. You're wasted in the Sword Pavilion; you belong in my Sacred Sect!"

Yun Miaozhen remained unmoved, but the killing intent in her beautiful eyes grew even more piercing. She said coldly, "Sharp-tongued demon! Today, I shall execute justice on behalf of Heaven!"

In the next second, the Taiyi Golden Radiance that Yun Miaozhen had condensed collapsed violently. Like a mountain of gold toppling or a jade pillar falling, it swept toward Lyu Yang and all the talismans he had activated. In an instant, Lyu Yang's figure and even the hundreds of talismans were swept away as if they were a mantis trying to stop a chariot!

This change was as if the words in a book had been erased by an eraser.

There were no corpses, no residual aura, and not even a trace left behind, as if they had never existed in this world to begin with.

Immediately after, the Taiyi Golden Radiance vanished, revealing Yun Miaozhen's staggering figure. However, at this moment, the face of this heavenly prodigy was ashen to the extreme.

"Pfft! *Gag*..."

The moment Yun Miaozhen landed, she violently vomited a mouthful of blood. Subsequently, the radiance surrounding her body collapsed completely; she could no longer condense even a shred of light.

"Gone... it's all gone..." Yun Miaozhen's red lips trembled slightly. There was no joy of victory. This was the price of forcibly activating the Taiyi Golden Radiance with a secret technique before reaching the perfection of the Qi Refinement stage. The three lights of essence, qi, and spirit had all shattered, and decades of bitter cultivation had gone up in smoke.

The once bright path to Foundation Establishment was now clouded by gloom.

Yun Miaozhen sighed in grief and prepared to leave the cave-heaven, but just then, she saw a figure appear that she could not believe.

"Fellow Daoist, the battle is not yet decided, and you are leaving already?"

Lyu Yang appeared elegant and handsome, his wide sleeves fluttering. Although he had also suffered a great loss of true qi and mana, there was not a single injury on his entire body!

"That's impossible!"

Yun Miaozhen's face turned pale with shock, and her usually clear and pleasant voice became shrill. "That was the Taiyi Golden Radiance! How could you possibly have blocked it?"

Lyu Yang naturally would not tell her.

That was right; if he had relied solely on his own divine abilities, Lyu Yang would not have been able to block that Taiyi Golden Radiance. A true Great Divine Ability already possessed the power of the Foundation Establishment stage.

What blocked it was talent.

[Purple Talent: Got Some Moves]

[Got Some Moves: No matter how terrifying an attack you encounter, as long as it is within the limits of your ability, you can handle it with ease and "a few moves."]

The talent he had obtained upon restarting, after drawing his sword in rage to slay the Peak Master of Butian Peak in his previous life!

If Yun Miaozhen had been able to use the Taiyi Golden Radiance four or five times in a row, he would have certainly died. But she could only use it once... so he couldn't be blamed for using a cheat!

Though it was only "a few moves," those moves were the real deal!

Lyu Yang smiled composedly. He first gripped the Taixiao Mirror in his hand, then walked up to Yun Miaozhen and used the mirror's light to freeze her entire body in place.

Yun Miaozhen instinctively struggled, glaring at Lyu Yang. "What are you doing!?"

"To be honest, I am very interested in the *Taiyi Golden Radiance Dan Book*."

"I won't tell you anything!"

"Don't worry, you will tell me."

Lyu Yang sneered. "I am a disciple of the Sacred Sect..."

"...It's a pity, it's not the complete version."

Lyu Yang closed his eyes to contemplate for a moment, then shook his head helplessly. "It's only one-third complete. The remaining parts are protected by restrictions; I truly cannot obtain them..."

In the next second, he looked at Yun Miaozhen again.

Seeing this, Yun Miaozhen clenched her teeth, but she did not dare to show even a hint of resentment. She could only offer a fawning smile. "You have already obtained the cultivation method, is that not enough?"

Lyu Yang looked at her with disdain.

Boom!

Before Yun Miaozhen could finish her sentence, Lyu Yang shook the Taixiao Mirror. In an instant, wind and thunder collided, and her graceful body was instantly shaken into powder.