With a deafening roar, a thick column of water surged from the river, its powerful ripples radiating outwards. The middle-aged man retreated rapidly, his face contorted with anger. He couldn't comprehend how, as a cultivator of the third realm, he was repeatedly outmaneuvered by a mere youth at the late stage of the second realm. From the moment they first met, he had been on the defensive, not only having his techniques easily broken but also being forced to self-detonate a magic artifact! Before he could fully process this, he saw the towering water column before him suddenly part.
A blinding stream of light shot forth. Even before it reached him, he could feel the sharp edge emanating from it! The middle-aged man dared not hesitate. He immediately unleashed streams of potent spiritual energy, drawing in the surrounding spiritual essence and gathering vast amounts of water vapor. In an instant, torrents of water rose from the river, encircling his body. The aura of the third realm erupted fully.
However, the middle-aged man's efforts seemed futile. As the stream of light receded, a white jade flying sword pierced through the air. Its surface shimmered with multicolored light, as if it regarded his techniques as nothing, effortlessly penetrating them. With a mere flicker, it crossed dozens of feet in the blink of an eye, appearing before the middle-aged man. A sense of impending doom enveloped him, as if his head would be pierced by the sword and his life extinguished in the next moment.
It was only at this critical juncture that the middle-aged man, at the cost of damaging his vital energy to perform a secret art, narrowly evaded a fatal blow. Though he transformed into a stream of water, escaping the sword's deadly trajectory, he was still wounded by the sharp sword energy and intent. When he reformed his body, his robes were stained with blood. One could imagine the numerous wounds beneath his attire, and his aura had significantly weakened. Had it been even slightly weaker, he might have fallen from the third realm back to the second, as his own breakthrough had been precarious, likely occurring within the past one or two months.
"You court death!" the middle-aged man roared, his spiritual energy surging within him, propelling powerful currents of water towards the sword-wielding youth in the distance.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan merely raised an eyebrow. Immediately, the illusion of a nine-story pagoda materialized from within him, expanding to about ten feet before suddenly shrinking. Finally, a miniature nine-story pagoda, only a few inches tall, materialized above his head. With a gentle shake of its body, it emitted streams of translucent, clear light. Despite the enraged assault of the third realm cultivator, the streams of light remained unyielding. Ji Yuan, enveloped within them, remained outwardly calm.
These clear lights merely swirled, drawing in a portion of the incoming spiritual energy from the attack and absorbing it into the pagoda, which then refined it into basic spiritual essence. After this refinement, and with the addition of the remaining two levels, the Profound Heaven Spirit Devouring Pagoda was now in its complete form, possessing nine innate and nine acquired restrictions, a total of eighteen seals! Coupled with Ji Yuan's current cultivation and realm, a cultivator who had just broken through to the third realm would be incapable of breaching the pagoda's defensive capabilities!
With a thought, the Profound Heaven Spirit Devouring Pagoda above his head rotated slowly, immediately repelling the furious spiritual energy before him. In the next moment, the white jade flying sword returned, hovering by his side in mid-air, dancing joyfully. A hint of a resentful thought emanated from it, as if chiding its master for finally taking it out to battle after so many years.
About thirty feet away, the middle-aged man suddenly felt a desire to retreat. Facing an enemy he couldn't harm or block, he had never felt so utterly stifled since he began his cultivation. However, as the thought arose, he felt a sharp pain in his soul, nearly causing his spiritual energy to collapse. Such a sudden turn of events startled him, and he quickly suppressed his thoughts, forcing himself to calm down, then initiated an offensive.
His hands moved rapidly, forming seals, and he transformed into a shimmering stream of water. As it surged, it agitated the river below, and in an instant, dozens of powerful currents of water danced in the air. The aura of the third realm erupted, containing immense power. Each of these water currents could easily obliterate a cultivator in the late stage of the second realm!
Seeing this, Ji Yuan's expression became considerably more serious. He dared not be careless, pouring his abundant spiritual energy into the small pagoda above his head. Even more translucent clear light descended, protecting him entirely. Then, the white jade flying sword beside him flickered, and it vanished from sight once more. In the next instant, dozens of water currents shot forth, striking the clear light from all directions, causing it to sway!
Feeling his spiritual energy rapidly depleting, Ji Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Although his methods were potent, his cultivation was still only at the late stage of the Spirit Gathering Realm. Facing a third realm cultivator, even one who had just broken through, he could gain a slight advantage through surprise, but once the opponent took him seriously, he would inevitably find himself struggling. It seemed he would only achieve parity against third realm cultivators once his cultivation reached the peak of the Spirit Gathering Realm.
Ji Yuan mused this as he used his gaze to locate the middle-aged man's true form. Finally, amidst the dozens of water currents, he pinpointed one shimmering stream. With a mere thought, the white jade flying sword appeared, and as if it could pierce through space, it instantly materialized near that stream. Silently, as if a curtain of the sky descended, a heavy pressure seemed to freeze the stream in place.
Sensing the rapidly approaching flying sword, a human face materialized within the stream of water. It contorted into a roaring expression. With no way to evade, it charged directly towards the flying sword! Simultaneously, a ruler emerged from the shimmering stream of water. As spiritual energy was infused into it, three acquired restrictions appeared on its surface. Under the augmentation of a third realm cultivator's spiritual energy, even a low-grade magic artifact unleashed formidable power. In the face of this terrifying force, the surrounding space even seemed to warp slightly, and the surrounding water currents instantly collapsed, transforming into countless water droplets suspended in mid-air.
*Pfft!!!* In an instant, the flying sword pierced into the shimmering stream of water. Abundant sword intent flowed out, tearing apart the condensed human face, and finally, the sword tip struck the ruler. Ji Yuan felt his spiritual energy draining rapidly, with nearly half of it consumed in mere breaths. And under his watchful eyes, sword energy erupted from the flying sword's body. In the span of a finger snap, it permeated an area of several feet, tearing apart the stream of water containing the spiritual light! However, upon witnessing this, Ji Yuan's expression sank, showing no trace of joy at defeating his enemy.