Chapter 41: Chapter 41: The Immortal Sword Conducts Electricity, It’s Reasonable for Enemies to Be Struck Dead by Lightning
At the edge of the competition arena, people murmured incessant curses under their breath, occasionally casting furtive glances at An Zhisu.

Seeing that her face, unusually devoid of its signature smile, now bore a hint of worry instead, they couldn’t help but feel a pang of panic.

The Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal was usually seen with a smile on her face, and a smile from her usually meant she was about to chop someone down.

Now, not only was there no smile, but a trace of concern as well, could it be that she was planning on slaughtering everyone from Shushan after the match?

This nervous atmosphere silently spread among the spectators at the edge of the arena, quickly drowning out the sounds of cursing.

The elder in charge of overseeing the competition had actually arrived earlier and was floating in the sky leisurely with his sword control.

He also held a personal grudge against Su Jian. Now, hearing the dirty and foul curses raining down on Su Jian and his disciples from below, he deliberately delayed the start of the fight, closing his eyes and reveling in joy.

Imagining the ashen-faced rage that Su Jian would display upon hearing these slanders made his heart swell with pleasure.

Suddenly, the curses died down, and he opened his eyes with slight dissatisfaction to see that everyone was carefully watching An Zhisu’s expression. He sighed, thinking to himself that Shushan was truly in decline, with both the older and younger generations being suppressed by Qingluo Peak.

He also secretly resolved to not intervene during the fight, intentionally allowing the disciple with the surname Ling to be beaten half to death, to prevent another killer from rising in Shushan in the future.

Of course, if Lou Zhizheng from Ziyun Peak happened to accidentally kill Ling Yunpo in one hit, that would be even better.

With this thought in mind, he raised his hand and released a whistling sound to announce the start of the competition.

At the sound of the whistle,

Lou Zhizheng immediately raised his hand, and several streams of light shot out from between his fingers.

Ling Yunpo’s eyes narrowed as he immediately recognized the technique.

Talisman Bombardment!

Lou Zhizheng’s opening move turned out to be the Talisman Bombardment, a tactic commonly used by the cultivators of Yuqing View!

The first flash of purple light rushed towards him—this was a Falling Thunder Talisman!

He thrust his right hand forward in the Sword technique, and the Green Duckweed Sword split the thunder in the lower sky. Another flash of red light arrived before him.

Flame Rush Talisman!

Ling Yunpo’s thoughts spun rapidly, as he slashed the Green Duckweed Sword forward again towards the red light and casually stepped back, just enough to avoid the range of the fire explosion.

The third Ice Rain Talisman exploded above his head, turning into numerous ice spikes stabbing down directly at him.

Ling Yunpo waved his sleeve to summon the Thunder Punishment Sword, the brilliant Sword light above swirling rapidly to block and shatter all the ice spikes.

Talisman Bombardment is not meant to be used like this! He sneered inwardly.

A proper Talisman Bombardment takes advantage of talismans’ quick activation, no limitations on usage, and no need for True Qi, bombarding the opponent with countless talismans all at once, leaving no escape—is the true method!

Like Lou Zhizheng’s, which seemed to be thriftily deployed one by one, was a complete waste of the tactic’s potency!

He momentarily stepped into Luo Yan’s shoes to ridicule the opponent, then shifted back to being Ling Yunpo. Once again, he retreated with grace. As he sliced through the red light with his sword, he also evaded the fire explosion of the Flame Rush Talisman.

“If this is the extent of your skills, don’t bother trying in vain,” Ling Yunpo said coldly, “Such attacks are full of openings, truly a waste of my time.”

“Naturally, that’s not all there is to it,” Lou Zhizheng sneered treacherously.

Ling Yunpo felt something was off and was about to react when he suddenly sank down. The stone ground beneath his feet had turned into quicksand, and he was steadily sinking!

Seeing him struggle in vain, getting deeper and deeper, Lou Zhizheng burst into arrogant laughter:

“I used the Ice Rain Talisman earlier to intentionally shoot upwards and draw your attention, all so I could lay the Quicksand Net behind you.”

“How do you like the trap, Junior Brother Ling?”

Ling Yunpo ignored him and let himself sink while quickly thinking through his options.

Another cultivator might have conceded defeat,

But Luo Yan, having attended so many classes at the Heavenly Craft Workshop, knew that the Small Sand Net Formation wasn’t without a solution.

On the basis of equivalent cultivation levels, one could use a large amount of Water System True Yuan to disrupt the operation of the formation!

On the Shushan duel arena, Lou Zhizheng watched Ling Yunpo, who kept sinking into the quicksand, with a mocking and pitying gaze.

The bystanders around the field also had different expressions; some were surprised that Lou Zhizheng was spending so much effort, while others lamented that Ling Yunpo was too weak and was taken down without even facing a single sword strike.

An Zhisu stood indifferently on the sidelines, her face still showing a composed expression.

But no one saw her hands hidden in her sleeves, tightly clasped together with knuckles white from the strain.

“Misty and elusive, like a mirage above the sand,” Ling Yunpo’s lips moved slightly as he silently chanted an incantation.

The first layer of the forbidden technique on the Green Duckweed Sword, “Green Mist Veil Over the Mountains,” was activated, and in an instant, a boundless fog poured forth from nowhere, quickly enveloping the entire duel arena.

Everyone was trapped in the dense fog, unable to see their own hands, and could only call out loudly.

High in the sky, the overseeing elder looked down below, with thoughts flickering in his eyes.

“Water System Forbidden Technique? That boy’s Immortal Sword is somewhat impressive…”

In the duel arena, the smile on Lou Zhizheng’s face abruptly stopped, and he stared in shock and disbelief.

This overwhelming fog must be Ling Yunpo’s doing; now, one couldn’t see clearly even a few steps away, and there was no telling what had become of him…

No good! Could it be that he still has a trick up his sleeve?

With this thought, he immediately threw out the remaining three Flame Rush Talismans towards the center of the quicksand as he remembered it.

Fire waves erupted, only to fizzle out as if flames had been doused with cold water.

It turned out that within this fog, the power of all non-Water System spells was halved due to the influence of the forbidden technique.

And the six senses were also blocked, with vision, hearing, and Divine Sense all severely limited.

Utterly unaware, Lou Zhizheng couldn’t hear the explosion and panicked, wondering if the talismans he bought were defective.

Realizing that the Talismans were ineffective, he quickly slapped his Flying Sword, activating its derived Daoist Magic, “Golden Light Shield.”

The Golden Light Shield was a purely Defensive Skill, fitting his greedy and cowardly nature.

With this Daoist Magic for protection and the opponent merely at Qi Refining Rank, he was sure they would not be able to breach his defense.

He cowered inside the Golden Light Shield, calculating his moves perfectly.

Once the opponent failed repeatedly, the fog would naturally dissipate, and he would then emerge triumphantly to exact his revenge for the previous grievances.

Little did he know that Ling Yunpo had already quietly moved behind him under the cover of the fog, placed his palm against the Golden Light Shield, and once again chanted in his heart:

“Thunder Light Fire Pattern, Jade Pivot Divine Thunder, break!”

Immediately, Thunder Light burst forth from his palm, silent and abrupt, colliding with the Golden Light Shield.

Even in this fog, where the power of all non-Water System Daoist Magic was halved, it pierced the shield and Lou Zhizheng within it cleanly and abruptly!

As the fog gradually cleared, Lou Zhizheng’s body had already fallen to the ground, a pronounced hole in his back.

The Thunder Punishment Sword lay in the blood pool beside him, with electric snakes dancing over it, menacing and fierce.

“It’s, it’s actually…” Lou Zhizheng’s lips parted slightly.

Before the words “Thunder Method” could leave his mouth, the dizziness from blood loss rapidly overtook him. His body suddenly convulsed a few times and then quickly went still.

Ling Yunpo stood silently, feigning nonchalance as he waved his hand lightly, and the Thunder Punishment Sword returned to his side from beside Lou Zhizheng’s corpse.

The blade was still shining, without a trace of blood.