Daoist Yuyang no longer paid any attention to Chu Xingchen, treating him as if he didn’t exist. If Chu Xingchen dared to hold him back again, he wouldn’t hesitate to cut ties.
As for Zhang Daotan alone… he was nothing more than a joke.
A worthless Nascent Soul cultivator—what could he possibly achieve, even with borrowed power?
Especially when that borrowed power was something as lowly as faith energy.
All Daoist Yuyang needed to do was figure out the rules governing faith energy.
Standing calmly in mid-air, Daoist Yuyang gazed indifferently at Zhang Daotan’s abnormal state and the seemingly boundless sea of faith energy behind him.
The two previous attacks had been constructed entirely from faith energy, condensed in vast quantities.
Their power was impressive, enough to pierce through both his protective robes and his spiritual shield.
Their speed was unnaturally fast—so fast that his divine sense barely caught them before they were already upon him.
It seemed he had underestimated faith energy before. But what was the connection that allowed it to move so quickly?
Daoist Yuyang raised his hand slightly and uttered, "Great Dao—Nine Palaces."
As soon as the words left his lips, the Mist Mystic Temple—a place not particularly large for a Nascent Soul cultivator—seemed to stretch infinitely.
Zhang Daotan, who had been clearly visible moments ago, was now reduced to a tiny speck in the distance, and the endless mountains of faith energy could now be seen in their full outline.
Chu Xingchen took a moment to assess the situation around him… and had to admit that the foundations of the Eighteen Immortal Sects were indeed formidable.
The area had now been divided into nine distinct zones, each with an odd, fluctuating sense of spiritual energy.
But this technique seemed designed purely to crush weaker opponents.
At least to Chu Xingchen, it felt rather crude.
Still, no one would study useless techniques—no matter how foolish a move might seem, there would always be a fool perfectly matched for it.
And right now, Zhang Daotan, lost in his incomprehensible state, was that perfect match.
Zhang Daotan raised his hand slightly again, gathering faith energy as his pure white eyes locked onto Daoist Yuyang.
Daoist Yuyang’s expression remained calm, but his divine sense strained to its limits, tracking Zhang Daotan’s movements—and the next instant, another surge of white faith energy tore through space, ignoring distance entirely.
But this time, Daoist Yuyang reacted. With a swift motion, he raised his wooden sword and cleanly dispersed the incoming attack.
So that’s it… it’s the medium.
Daoist Yuyang teleported forward, the Nine Palaces contracting around him as the distance between him and Zhang Daotan vanished in an instant. His wooden sword rose as he declared:
"Divine Art—Disperse."
Zhang Daotan instinctively looked up at Daoist Yuyang, his body wreathed in surging faith energy that transformed into countless arrows shooting toward his opponent.
Daoist Yuyang swung his sword downward, a flash of light shattering the arrows and scattering the protective faith energy around Zhang Daotan.
In an instant, he was right in front of him.
Faith energy was vastly inferior in quality to spiritual energy. Though Zhang Daotan had the ability to condense it, he clearly needed time to do so.
And faith energy linked by a medium? Without that medium, it was nothing more than useless vapor.
Daoist Yuyang’s eyes sharpened as he thrust his wooden sword forward:
"Divine Art—Sever the Curse!"
Zhang Daotan raised his hand slightly, countless tendrils of faith energy writhing around him—yet the moment they came within a foot of Daoist Yuyang’s blade, they instantly lost cohesion.
The wooden sword cut effortlessly through the storm of faith energy and slashed toward Zhang Daotan.
Zhang Daotan ignored the blade carrying overwhelming force, his gaze fixed instead on Daoist Yuyang’s eyes.
The sword fell.
Even with both spiritual energy and faith energy shielding him, Zhang Daotan was nearly cleaved in half. His left arm and most of his left side were severed in a single stroke.
Only a glimmer of radiant white light at his brow protected his head.
His expression remained unchanged, but his pure white eyes narrowed slightly before he opened his mouth and uttered two emotionless words:
"Repel."
The moment the words left his lips, Daoist Yuyang’s spiritual senses screamed in warning.
In an instant, all the faith energy surged violently. Before Daoist Yuyang could retreat, part of it had already transformed into beams of white light streaking toward him.
The majority of the energy, however, rushed toward Zhang Daotan, filling in the ruined half of his body with luminous matter.
Then, with his newly formed left hand, Zhang Daotan raised a finger and pointed at Daoist Yuyang.
Chu Xingchen didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward, his spiritual sword wreathed in flowing water, and swung straight for Zhang Daotan’s head.
A flash of azure light erupted.
Zhang Daotan couldn’t ignore this strike either. His gaze shifted to Chu Xingchen.
"Another expert?!"
Ye Antao’s eyes widened as she stared at the chaotic clash of three distinct auras.
What in the world was happening? How did yet another completely different power emerge mid-battle? And what was with that overwhelming faith energy?
Were geniuses so common these days that they could just gather in one place?
After watching for a moment, Wang Ling muttered in disbelief, "Is this… the Path of Divine Worship? Can it really be this powerful?"
Chen Mouguang felt exhausted. Though they were far from the battle, neither Chu Xingchen nor Daoist Yuyang held back their power, making the fluctuations impossible to ignore.
Though he couldn’t be certain of the details, one thing was clear: Chu Xingchen and Daoist Yuyang were now working together against what was likely Zhang Daotan, who had embraced the Path of Divine Worship.
Judging by the spiritual energy fluctuations… Chen Mouguang guessed Zhang Daotan wasn’t at a disadvantage.
This…
Ye Antao and Wang Ling could afford to stand outside and marvel—Wow, these experts are incredible—since none of their own sect members were involved.
But Chen Mouguang couldn’t. The expert inside, even if not directly from the Tianyan Sect, was undeniably linked to them—at the very least, to Elder Bai.
This level of battle was beyond his comprehension. What if Chu Xingchen was the weakest among them? What if he fell here?
The Taidao Sect had already sent reinforcements, likely calling for more backup.
They would protect their own Daoist heir, but they certainly wouldn’t lift a finger for a Tianyan Sect prodigy on par with their own—if they didn’t take the chance to kick him while he was down, it would only be out of basic decency.
So, with a heart heavy with dread, Chen Mouguang pulled out another message jade slip and sent another urgent summons to his sect.
These things… were really expensive.
Daoist Yuyang’s expression was grave. Every defensive treasure on his body blazed with radiant light, forming layer upon layer of shields.
Even his wooden sword, his personal spiritual treasure, now gleamed with a dark aura as it hovered protectively before him—only occasionally darting forward to test the enemy’s defenses.
It seemed he had indeed underestimated this so-called Path of Divine Worship.
Zhang Daotan’s attacks had now escalated to an absurd degree. What once required charging was now unleashed instantaneously, as though he had only just begun to fight seriously.
Daoist Yuyang was not one to take unnecessary risks. Steady, calculated victory was his way. He had deployed every defensive tool at his disposal.
"Aren’t you going to summon some protective artifacts?"
Daoist Yuyang turned his gaze toward Chu Xingchen, only to find him still wielding nothing but a spiritual sword conjured from his own magic power. Unable to hold back, he pressed further.
Chu Xingchen really wanted to snap back—Damn it, I’m not that rich.
"No need for now..." Chu Xingchen brushed him off casually.
"Then where’s your spiritual treasure? Why haven’t you summoned it yet?!"
Daoist Yuyang frowned, feeling that while Chu Xingchen hadn’t abandoned him at a critical moment, his arrogance at this stage was downright reckless!
Chu Xingchen sidestepped an incoming attack:
"Don’t rush—it’s on the way."
Daoist Yuyang eyed him skeptically. "You don’t even carry your own spiritual treasure? Where is it, then?"
Chu Xingchen answered honestly:
"It’s not mine. I’m borrowing it from my disciple. Needs some time to fly over."
"You..." Daoist Yuyang wanted to say something, but words failed him.
What kind of nonsense was this? He’d never heard of spiritual treasures being shared.
Was he still holding back his strength at a time like this?!