Chapter 123: Spear and Shield—The Azure Path Sword Unleashes Its Power!

With Cao Xuan casting a brick to attract jade, and one of the strongest competitors having already selected his opponent, the others let out sighs of relief. Although the battle for the top five was not yet over, everyone was selecting their opponents amidst lighthearted chatter.

Unlike the other eight, Yun Fanyou’s expression turned grim. Looking at Cao Xuan, who was wreathed in sword intent, he could not help but mutter, "Was this necessary?"

There were only five spots for the Azure Cloud Mist Grotto, so the moment Cao Xuan chose him, there was no longer any room for maneuvering between them. For Yun Fanyou, there were only two choices: either concede immediately to avoid injury, then return to seclude himself in cultivation to strive for a Golden Core breakthrough by the end of the month and earn a chance to enter the Xuanhua Daoist Sect; or fight with everything he had, defeat Cao Xuan, and secure the spot in the Azure Cloud Mist Grotto. However, doing so carried the risk of severe injury, potentially preventing him from recovering before the Grotto opened. A Golden Core breakthrough required one’s essence, energy, and spirit to be in a perfect state, with a Dao foundation capable of gestating the core.

In truth, his earlier provocation of Qiu Qianliu was designed to force his opponent into this very dilemma. If one chose the first path, it was an admission of defeat to avoid injury; if one chose the second, they had to fight with all their might. If his opponent possessed only sword intent, he might not lose by playing his trump cards, but a grievous injury would be inevitable. Thus, he felt a deep resentment, believing Cao Xuan was deliberately making things difficult for him, and as a result, he began to loathe Cao Xuan.

"If I were certain of breaking through to the Golden Core stage by the end of the month, I would have been watching from the sidelines like those senior brothers who achieved it at thirty," he thought. "Therefore, I have no choice but to fight! Damn it, I was a lock for the top five, but you, a cultivator from a branch sect, have ruined everything!" Yun Fanyou glared at Cao Xuan, shouting silently in his heart.

Although Cao Xuan did not know what was running through his opponent’s mind, seeing that sour expression made him feel quite satisfied. That’s what you get for playing dirty!

The party heading to the Xuanhua Daoist Sect with Xian Xiangqiu consisted of one Nascent Soul cultivator and five Golden Core cultivators. These six were all geniuses who had met the criteria of reaching the Golden Core stage by thirty and the Nascent Soul stage by one hundred. Because they fulfilled the requirements, they already held an exalted status within their respective peaks.

In reality, neither Yun Fanyou nor Qiu Qianliu or Meng Weizhi were the absolute priorities of their respective peaks, even if they were considered minor geniuses. They might refine their temperaments and reach the Golden Core stage in their thirties, forties, or fifties, with Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing stages still ahead. In a second-rate sect like the Central Plains Azure Cloud Sect, they had potential, but they would eventually be outpaced by resources and innate talent, slowly widening the gap between them and the geniuses of the Holy Lands. The masters of the sect's various peaks may not have reached the Golden Core at thirty in their own youth, and after a century or a millennium, they were still at the peak of Nascent Soul or the early stages of Spirit Severing. However, because of Xian Xiangqiu, not to mention the six great Holy Lands, the Xuanhua Holy Land alone was enough to raise the stakes.

Being a "Golden Core at thirty" now carried great weight. Aside from the six already confirmed, the others accompanying Xian Xiangqiu were essentially the top five from the Azure Cloud Dharma Assembly, hoping for a chance to reach the Golden Core stage within the Azure Cloud Mist Grotto. Even though entering the Grotto did not guarantee a breakthrough, they were all at the peak of Foundation Establishment, just one step away, and none would back down. Yun Fanyou had worried that his lack of heritage and tempered state of mind might prevent a successful breakthrough into a top-tier Golden Core within the Grotto, but he had never imagined he would fall during the top five of the Azure Cloud Dharma Assembly.

"Central Plains Azure Cloud Sect, Eagle Nine Peak, Yun Fanyou!" As he spoke, he cast two talismans that began to circle his body.

Cao Xuan straightened his expression. "Cloud Province Azure Cloud Sect, Talisman Peak, Cao Xuan!"

After they announced their names, the scene fell into a brief, surprised silence. Since it hadn't been necessary before, everyone had simply started fighting; this was the first time they had exchanged names.

"Wait, this 'Azure Cloud Sword Immortal' is from the Talisman Peak? I thought he was from the Cloud Sword Peak or Azure Sword Peak!"

"Haha, Brother Yun clearly has nothing to do with the Talisman Peak, yet he uses two talismans for protection. Isn't that normal?"

The representatives of the six great Holy Lands couldn't help but smile; the Talisman Peak expert wasn't using talismans, and the Eagle Nine Peak expert didn't have an eagle. Yun Fanyou, unaware of the audience's thoughts, did not dare to be careless against a sword cultivator who had grasped sword intent. These two talismans were his trump cards, prepared by his peak specifically for such an eventuality.

"Brother Cao, let us begin!" Yun Fanyou said calmly, fully prepared. Since the sword cultivator was formidable, he had to take the hit head-on. If he were out training, he could choose to flee, but on the arena stage, trying to outrun a sword cultivator was the height of stupidity.

Yun Fanyou calculated inwardly, "Sword intent doesn't consume true essence, but it does consume mental energy! To maximize killing power, one must consume true essence to unleash sword techniques while imbuing them with sword intent. Others might not be able to force you to exhaust yourself, but I am different!"

With that thought, Yun Fanyou channeled all his peak Foundation Establishment cultivation into the two talismans. "Let’s see whether your sword intent runs dry first or my defense breaks!" he roared internally, assuming a defensive stance.

Cao Xuan sensed the immense defensive power of the phantom "tortoise shell" that had manifested due to his opponent's influx of true essence. He drew his Azure Cloud Sword and, just as Yun Fanyou had anticipated, channeled the *Heavenly Azure Dao Sword* technique, imbued it with his true essence and sword intent, and slashed down!

Seeing the brilliant radiance of the sword light, a manic intensity appeared on Yun Fanyou's grim face. "I don't believe it! What kind of power could a sword technique from a backwater place like Cloud Province possibly have? Even with sword intent, you won't easily break my Profound Armor Talisman and Tortoise Shell Talisman!"

Hearing Yun Fanyou’s shout, the audience—except for those already engaged in battle on other stages—gasped. "The Profound Armor Talisman and the Tortoise Shell Talisman? They say those are top-tier Foundation Establishment talismans capable of withstanding a strike from a Golden Core cultivator!"

"If he uses them to block an attack from a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, wouldn't that mean as long as his true essence holds, the talismans won't break?"

"As expected of Brother Yun, he actually found a way to level the playing field, choosing to grind down the sword cultivator's true essence instead of letting him showcase his killing power!" Those who had been eliminated in the early or middle stages of Foundation Establishment could see the brilliance of Yun Fanyou's strategy.

*Bang!*

Before the sword intent struck, Yun Fanyou uncorked a porcelain bottle, poured a pill into his mouth, and swallowed it. Because of the distance, the audience couldn't smell the medicine, but everyone knew it was a pill for restoring true essence.

*Crack!*

*Pfft!*

Before Yun Fanyou could even feel smug, he saw the outermost Profound Armor Talisman shatter instantly, followed by cracks appearing on the inner Tortoise Shell Talisman. The shockwave forced him to spit out a mouthful of blood. Although the talismans immediately repaired themselves due to his continuous infusion of true essence, he shouted in disbelief, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! That strike of yours... it possessed the power of a Golden Core cultivator!"