Chapter 139: Lesser Three-Talents Sword Art

With Meng Qi's departure, the few people remaining in the arena exchanged glances with one another.

There were only three paths of inheritance left, and each could only be entered by a single person. Yet there were four people present here right now, which clearly meant that one person would miss out on the inheritance entirely.

At that moment, Li Huayang gave a light cough and said, "Since there are only three inheritances here, I must wrong Fellow Daoist Ji. Let Fellow Daoist Liang, Fellow Daoist Zhao, and myself each choose one of the inheritances."

He had long since perceived that the relationship between Liang Yan and Zhao Xuzhen was somewhat special. As for the relationship between Ji Lai and Liang Yan, he was not entirely clear about it.

Boasting the cultivation of the peak Qi-condensation realm, Li Huayang was confident that unless the other three joined forces against him, no major complications would arise, and he would definitely secure a spot for himself. Therefore, he took the initiative to speak in an attempt to divide the three of them.

"Hehe, as the saying goes, one should always pick the softest persimmon to squeeze. It seems I have become the softest one," Ji Lai said with a helpless expression.

"That is not how you put it, Fellow Daoist Ji..."

Li Huayang drew a few steps closer to Ji Lai, seemingly wishing to say something more to him.

However, the next instant, he flicked one hand upward, and a streak of red radiance shot directly toward Ji Lai.

This Li Huayang was indeed a ruthless and decisive person. With his plan settled, as long as he used thunderous means to eliminate Ji Lai first, there would no longer be any conflict between himself and the remaining two.

Furthermore, with his strength at the peak of the Qi-condensation realm, he was confident that even if the remaining two joined forces, they would be utterly helpless against him.

The red radiance in mid-air surged majestically, emanating a scorching wave of heat that completely sealed off all of Ji Lai's possible retreats.

Seeing that evasion was impossible, a bizarre phenomenon occurred.

Ji Lai's body shifted slightly, trembling rapidly for a split second, and then the streak of red radiance actually reversed its direction in mid-air, shooting back toward Li Huayang instead.

This turn of events was so abrupt that even with Liang Yan's formidable six senses, he failed to detect the slightest clue of this technique beforehand.

Li Huayang was also struck with shock and dismay. Although his cultivation had not yet reached Foundation Establishment, he had lived for over a hundred years in terms of age, and his experience was by no means lacking. Yet this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a bizarre occurrence where one's own attack reversed direction to strike oneself!

Nevertheless, he was rich in combat experience against others. Though startled, he did not panic. Tapping the tip of his foot against the ground, he flashed aside.

Boom!

A deep crater a丈 (zhang) wide was smashed into the ground.

Li Huayang originally possessed a Pure Yang constitution, and the cultivation technique he practiced was also of the Pure Yang attribute; naturally, his attack power was quite extraordinary.

Moreover, he had already crossed the second threshold of Qi-condensation cultivators, and the spiritual power within his body was more than twice as pure as that of ordinary Qi-condensation cultivators. Having regained his composure at this moment, he no longer felt particularly surprised.

"The techniques in this world are myriad and strange. It is entirely normal for an old fellow like me to encounter things I have never seen before. Regardless, this brat's cultivation realm is right here. With my peak Qi-condensation cultivation, as long as I proceed steadily and methodically, I will definitely take this person down."

With his mind made up, Li Huayang beckoned, summoning a small red hammer from his storage bag.

"Brat, you can bounce back my attacks, but I wonder if you can bounce back a spirit tool?"

Li Huayang smiled grimly and formed an incantation seal with his hand. The small red hammer immediately roared through the air, hurtling fiercely toward Ji Lai.

Ji Lai wore a solemn expression, clearly feeling immense pressure from fighting a cultivator at the peak of the Qi-condensation realm.

With a wave of his right hand, seven ancient copper coins immediately flew out from his storage bag.

These seven copper coins were archaic in design and arrayed themselves separately in mid-air, faintly aligning with the positions of the heavenly dipper stars.

The two spirit tools collided in mid-air, erupting with a dazzling radiance. When the light subsided, the small red hammer was locked squarely in the center by the seven copper coins, unable to budge in the slightest.

"Ancient and modern coins, locking a thousand autumns!"

Ji Lai let out a low shout, and the small red hammer in mid-air emitted a mournful cry, actually growing illusory at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if it were slowly vanishing.

"What kind of spirit tool is this!" Zhao Xuzhen blurted out.

However, before she could even digest the scene before her, another drastic change occurred in the arena.

Li Huayang raised his hand and tossed a yellow medicinal pill into his mouth, then kicked off with both legs to shift his position, his speed increasing by more than double.

In the blink of an eye, he had already rushed above Ji Lai's head. Red light converged on both of his hands, and with lightning speed, he brought his palms down in a dual strike toward Ji Lai.

"Brat, at such close range, let's see how you bounce this back!"

Accompanied by Li Huayang's explosive roar, the two palms brimming with Pure Yang energy had already arrived right in front of Ji Lai's face.

Ji Lai's expression turned stern. With no way to dodge at this moment, he could only thrust out both palms as well, meeting Li Huayang's blow head-on.

Boom!

Their palms connected, producing a heaven-shaking roar within the quiet subterranean hall.

Following the deafening sound, the four palms of Ji Lai and Li Huayang remained pressed against each other, locked in a stalemate. Clearly, they were competing in the depth of their spiritual power and the physical toughness of their bodies.

Yet Li Huayang was, after all, at the peak of the Qi-condensation realm, and the spiritual power inside his body was far deeper than Ji Lai's. Forcing a direct clash of palms at this moment naturally gave him the absolute upper hand.

Ji Lai's legs sank deep into the ground, and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, indicating that he had suffered no light injuries. If he had no other tricks up his sleeve, he would likely end up losing his life at the hands of Li Huayang.

Right at that moment, a small red wooden box suddenly appeared in the arena. The box spun rapidly and immediately shot forth thousands of red needles.

These red needles surged overwhelmingly, emanating an aura of divine fire. In just the blink of an eye, they pierced entirely into Li Huayang's back.

"You!"

Li Huayang's eyes widened in horror. The Karmic Fire Divine Needles detonated within his body, smashing his meridians into powder.

"Southern Bright Divine Fire!" Ji Lai's expression shifted slightly, and he hurriedly retracted his palms, retreating rapidly.

The moment he stepped back, he saw Li Huayang dancing about wildly while groaning in continuous agony, actually beginning to burn himself alive on the spot!

Quick-witted and fast-handed, Ji Lai immediately reached out and beckoned. A streak of grey light flew out from Li Huayang's waist and landed directly in his palm—it was precisely Li Huayang's storage bag.

As the deep red flames burned ever more fiercely, Li Huayang, a dignified cultivator at the peak of the Qi-condensation realm, was reduced to a pile of black ash right before everyone's eyes.

"Many thanks, Brother Liang, for stepping in to help!"

Ji Lai said with rare seriousness.

"Brother Ji, no need for formalities. Consider it me returning a favor to you," Liang Yan said with a slight smile.

Ji Lai was stunned for a moment, but then he reacted and chuckled as well, saying, "It seems the divination I gave you that day was quite accurate after all. You really ended up using the Blood-Transforming Bead."

Previously, Ji Lai had divined a hexagram for Liang Yan, predicting that the turning point involving his life and death would take place precisely inside Murong Xuewei's boudoir at the Lichun Brothel.

Liang Yan had not believed it at first, but who could have expected that through a series of coincidences, he would indeed obtain the Blood-Transforming Bead, which subsequently played a crucial role in his battle against Yunxuzi.

After finishing, Ji Lai weighed the storage bag in his hand and said to Liang Yan, "Since we killed this person by joining forces, let's split the spoils evenly down the middle!"

Hearing this, Liang Yan pondered slightly before suddenly speaking, "A 50-50 split is unnecessary. Liang only wants one item."

"Oh? What is the item Brother Liang desires?"

"A sword manual, if he happens to have one."

Having learned that Li Huayang had spent a huge sum of money to purchase a sword manual at the previous Pingfeng Mountain auction house, and with over a month having passed since then, Liang Yan was unsure whether he had actually managed to acquire it. Regarding this, he was simply holding a gambling mindset.

"Alright," Ji Lai thought for a moment before nodding and saying, "Provided he actually has it, of course."

As he spoke, Ji Lai opened Li Huayang's storage bag, swept his divine sense inside, and after a moment, raised his head to say to Liang Yan:

"He actually has it!"

He reached out and beckoned, and an archaic book flew out from the storage bag, landing lightly in his palm.

Glancing down at it, Ji Lai said with mild curiosity, "It's actually a Confucian sword manual."

With that, he tossed the book directly to Liang Yan. When Liang Yan caught it in his hand, he saw that it was a blue ancient tome with five large characters written in a vigorous, flowing hand upon the cover:

"Minor Three-Talents Sword Manual"