Bao Hui, after reactivating his spells, fired again without hesitation.

“Come again!” He shouted, fearless.

The mountain lord widened his eyes, his face growing even fiercer.

“Let’s see how many blows you can take!” He roared, retreating while brandishing the whip with renewed strength.

And so began a deadly game of cat and mouse. The mountain lord fled and attacked, while Bao Hui pursued him relentlessly.

Aotian had decided that his avatars, although they also possessed five-element spiritual roots like him, would only demonstrate affinity with a single element. This not only kept his true power hidden but also served as a trump card for critical situations.

However, if an avatar were in real danger, Aotian wouldn’t hesitate to reveal their true capabilities.

During the battle, Aotian carefully analyzed the combat patterns.

His experience reading Xianxia on Earth had given him good theoretical knowledge, but the reality of combat between cultivators was completely different from what he had imagined. There were no shouts of technique names or overly dramatic effects. Everything boiled down to the simplest and most efficient way to kill.

This reality became clear when he fought Qi Refiners, and now, against a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was even more evident.

The wooden whip wielded by the mountain lord was no ordinary weapon. It was a Founder-Tier artifact, and each strike was accompanied by a powerful wood-element spell at the Founder-Tier level, making his attacks even more lethal.

Moreover, he wasn’t just any early-stage cultivator. He was at the 3rd level of Foundation Establishment, at the peak of that stage, on the verge of a breakthrough.

But this only made it more evident how the effectiveness of the techniques synthesized by Tian Zhu was unquestionable.

Even using only Refiner-Tier spells, Bao Hui was able to face a higher-level enemy equipped with powerful techniques and artifacts.

As time passed, exhaustion began to weigh on the mountain lord. He had already unleashed hundreds of strikes, all infused with spells, while also using footwork techniques to maintain distance. His face showed fatigue, and his breath became irregular.

Meanwhile, Bao Hui kept a provocative, defiant smile, showing no signs of exhaustion.

Each strike of the whip nearly shattered his defensive runes and disrupted his movement runes, but he reactivated them instantly, as if his spiritual energy were infinite.

This was because Bao Hui, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, wasn’t using Founder-Tier techniques but rather Refiner-Tier ones, making them extremely energy-efficient for his cultivation level.

‘If people knew I’m fighting a Foundation Establishment cultivator using only Refiner-Tier techniques, cultivators around the world would probably lose their minds!’ Aotian thought, amused.

‘If I could synthesize Founder-Tier techniques, this fight would have already ended in a single blow. But now that I understand my power better, it’s time to strike for real.’

Bao Hui suddenly smiled mischievously and spoke, pretending to be kind.

“Are you tired? Well, that’s fair. You attacked a lot just now. You can rest… Leave the attack to me now!”

The mountain lord nearly spat blood in rage.

“CURSE YOU! I’LL KILL YOU!”

Bao Hui ignored his fury and smiled even wider. Then, with a fox-like grin, he said:

“Well, I’ll try shouting the technique’s name to see if it boosts the attack’s power!”

The mountain lord narrowed his eyes, slightly confused but on guard.

Bao Hui agilely dodged a whip strike that scraped past him, tearing through the ground and creating a trench the size of a house, further wrecking the battlefield. Then, he formed hand seals, channeling his spiritual energy.

Seals are not necessary to perform the technique, but using them synchronizes the energy in the hand with the energy in the dantian, significantly speeding up energy mobilization and control through gestures.

With each seal formed, his spiritual energy flowed through different patterns in his dantian. When released, it shaped itself into numerous floating golden swords around him.

“VIBRANT GOLDEN SWORD TECHNIQUE!” He shouted excitedly, expecting a sudden surge in power.

“…”

Nothing changed.

“Damn it, they lied to me! Shouting the technique’s name didn’t increase its power or control at all!” He murmured, disappointed.

Before he could complain further, a whip struck his face violently, forcing his head back.

The golden runes that suddenly appeared on his body flickered, almost dissipating, but were quickly restored under his control.

“That was rude,” He growled darkly.

The mountain lord sneered.

“Hmph! You look down on me so much that you try to deceive me with a Refiner-Tier technique’s name?”

Bao Hui found it amusing. He was indeed using a Refiner-Tier technique, but his opponent wouldn’t believe it even if he said so.

The base technique’s name hadn’t been changed after synthesis. Since it was a very common technique, the mountain lord already knew it. However, normally, this technique summoned at most five swords, whereas Bao Hui conjured a hundred at once—each far more realistic and impressive.

And, of course, Bao Hui wasn’t going to explain that he had improved the technique.

But that didn’t stop him from mocking his opponent.

“Such a bad mood. Now I understand why your wife left you with a green head,” He said with a teasing smile.

Calling someone “green-headed” referred to a Chinese saying that when a woman cheats on her husband, she places a green hat on him—essentially, he was calling the mountain lord a cuckold.

“My wife?” The mountain lord was confused for a moment but then recalled something and sneered, “Ah… Trying to provoke me with mortal jokes? Hmph! It seems you’re just a country bumpkin who mingles with mortals.”

Aotian was confused when he saw his confusion. But after considering that green was a common color to be on cultivators’ heads in the cultivation world, he understood why the joke didn’t catch on with cultivators, even though it was a Xianxia world.

Bao Hui merely shrugged and smiled.

Then, the hundreds of energy swords began to spin and shot forward like bullets, leaving golden trails in the air.

The mountain lord leaped back and whipped the ground. Wherever the whip passed, thick roots emerged, forming a sturdy wall that struggled to block the swords while breaking apart.

Bao Hui didn’t continue creating more swords. Firing more would be a waste of energy and wouldn’t add to his combat experience.

So, he opted for another approach.

He disappeared in an explosive movement, advancing alongside his still-flying swords and charging into the clash zone.

As he approached, he didn’t find his enemy but sensed his presence… below.

Suddenly, wooden spikes shot up from the ground, ambushing Bao Hui. He dodged, shattering a thick spike with his fist.

But then, the mountain lord emerged from inside the broken spike, spitting a needle.

Bao Hui quickly dodged. His focus remained on the enemy, but with his Illuminated Minds, he noticed there were no traces of poison on the needle.

‘A feint.’

In mid-air, as he dodged, he saw a talisman suddenly appear and ignite in the enemy’s hands.

“Go to hell! In your next life, remember not to provoke those you shouldn’t!” The mountain lord shouted in fury.

Terrifying fluctuations surged from the talisman.

“Shit! Peak Founder-Tier Talisman!” Bao Hui was alarmed.

From the ground, monstrous roots emerged, rushing toward him with overwhelming speed.

“Damn it!” Bao Hui cursed, but he didn’t stop moving.

He gathered metallic energy, creating golden fragments around him. As the roots were about to reach him, he couldn’t wait any longer.

“HAAAH!”

With a roar, he unleashed a wave of power with the fragments in all directions. The impact shattered thousands of roots and weakened the talisman’s power multiple times, but not enough.

The deadly attack continued.

With no time to react, the roots about to impale him, Bao Hui sighed bitterly and looked to the sky.

“Leader… The enemy just burned our money. That talisman must’ve been worth a fortune!”

The mountain lord, who had a victorious grin, was startled by these insane words.

But then, out of nowhere, a wave of flames swept the area, burning the roots to ashes, leaving Elder Bao unharmed.

Bao Hui widened his eyes.

“Why… is it you?!”

“Hehe!”

With a scar on his right eye, the newcomer grinned fiercely.

“Looks like you’re not doing too well… Bao Hui.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep