Reasonably, using Spiritual Power provided by an outsider should be somewhat troublesome.
There ought to be a sense of friction, much like fighting with an unfamiliar weapon.
However, after Hua Jian accepted the Spiritual Power transmitted by Xia Hui, she felt as if this power had been cultivated by her own hands.
It merged into her body without any resistance.
Although this power was not permanent, it made little difference to her current situation. As long as the power was there, it was enough.
“Now, I’m not missing a thing!”
With a strange cry, Hua Jian used her sword to block the Ling Sword that Linglong swung at her.
Then, with a forceful shove, she actually managed to push Linglong’s blade back inch by inch.
It still took a great deal of effort, but the progress was obvious.
After blocking Linglong’s pursuit, Hua Jian performed a spinning retreat.
Heavy Colored Mist rapidly expanded with her as the center, soon enveloping Linglong within it.
After swallowing Linglong, the Colored Mist did not stop.
Instead, it continued to expand until it even enveloped the Thunder Dragon in the sky.
Enveloped by the Colored Mist were not just Linglong and the Thunder Dragon, but also Hua Jian’s followers.
However, as the mist spread, the Colored Vine Bracelets on their wrists emitted a faint Flower Fragrance, protecting them from the effects of the mist.
This was a friendly-fire prevention mechanism that Hua Jian had devised herself.
As long as they wore her bracelets, they were her companions.
When the mist expanded, these companions would be protected by the bracelets.
However, this Colored Mist was only useful for bullying weaker cultivators.
Against an enemy like Linglong, the mist served more as a smoke screen.
But who said smoke screens were useless?
Hua Jian was a demon within the smoke. Combined with her nearly silent Retreat Technique, her enemies within the mist would become nothing more than her playthings.
Of course, the opponent’s strength could not be too overwhelming, or Hua Jian would not be able to deal any damage.
Although Linglong, buffed by the Forbidden Land environment, was strong, she had not reached a level where Hua Jian—who had also received a massive buff—could not fight her.
Hua Jian was feeling very confident now, thinking that with her current strength, she might not even need to wait for the mechanics to finish off Linglong!
Achoo!
A flash of cold light lunged from within the Colored Mist.
Without even turning her head, Linglong sent the streaks of thunderlight coiled around her side darting out.
They struck the sword blade piercing out of the mist, knocking Hua Jian’s attack to the right.
Immediately, she turned and slashed her sword.
Several streaks of thunderlight surged into the mist like snakes following her movement, causing two discordant curses to ring out from within.
“Hey, you’re pretty good!” Translated, that was roughly the meaning of Hua Jian’s cursing.
But Hua Jian clearly did not give up.
Following that, Linglong suffered several more attacks from various directions—Crimson Maple Explosions, small flying knives, and even Jade Marrow Bullets that had not been infused into the mist.
The power of these various skills was not high, but they were certainly annoying and could not be ignored.
Especially the Jade Marrow Bullets; Linglong could not gamble on what might be inside them.
If she opened a “blind box” and it turned out to be a Mirage Qi Bullet, that would be a real disaster.
Furthermore, Hua Jian was biding her time within the mist. She could not afford to show any openings…
As Linglong was thinking this, she suddenly felt the Thunder Dragon on the other side suffer an unexpected blow.
‘Wait! This is a feint!’
Hua Jian’s attacks on this side were all distractions. After filling the entire field with mist, Hua Jian had become someone who could move with total freedom.
After her plan to attack Linglong directly was frustrated, Hua Jian immediately changed her battle plan.
She used small skills to draw Linglong’s attention and keep her from moving recklessly, while her true self lunged toward the Thunder Dragon.
Despite possessing a powerful strength she had never felt before, Hua Jian was not so arrogant as to think she was number one in the world and could simply grind the equally buffed Linglong into the dirt.
Since she could not make a breakthrough against Linglong, she would stop trying and go after the Thunder Dragon instead!
Hua Jian had not forgotten where the primary focus lay.
As long as the Stone Pillar finished resetting, would she not be able to handle a mere Linglong however she pleased?
Therefore, attacking the Thunder Dragon to ensure it could not threaten the Stone Pillar’s reset was the true shortcut to victory!
This time, she had seized the initiative!
By the time Linglong realized something was wrong and rushed toward the Thunder Dragon, Hua Jian had already mounted the dragon’s body and stabbed her vines into its flesh.
Although this Thunder Dragon was a pure magical construct without any life of its own, the current Hua Jian was not without ways to deal with it.
‘If illusory methods won’t work, then I’ll use soul methods to erase the Divine Sense that controls you!’
For Linglong to command this Thunder Dragon so easily, she must have left a Divine Sense Mark on it.
Hua Jian had the ability to erase that mark, leaving the Thunder Dragon in a state where no one controlled it.
In terms of soul strength, Linglong was indeed quite good. Unfortunately, Hua Jian was an Illusory Dream Flower, a veteran expert in matters of the soul.
The Thunder Dragon’s body was filled with terrifying, rampaging electrical currents.
The vines Hua Jian stabbed into it were shocked until they felt numb and limp, making her progress somewhat slow.
She also tried to absorb these currents, but the effect was not very good.
Her vines were better at absorbing the vitality of living creatures and mild, masterless Spiritual Power.
Faced with this violent electricity, she was truly helpless.
Ultimately, Hua Jian’s entire set of skills was more geared toward internal wars between biological beings.
Against non-living entities, her advantages could hardly be put to use.
“Shiqi, help me stall Linglong when she comes over. I’m going to take care of this dragon first!”
Realizing she could not finish the Thunder Dragon in a short time, Hua Jian could only ask Shiqi to hold the line.
“Understood!”
Without Hua Jian even needing to say it, Shiqi had already positioned herself in the direction Linglong was most likely to charge from, prepared to intercept her.
After their conversation ended, Linglong, sensing that something was wrong, came charging over with a thunderous roar.
Like a rampaging giant dragon, she slammed directly into Shiqi, sending her flying.
Shiqi performed a flip in mid-air to stabilize herself and then lunged toward Linglong once more.
Because she had been delayed by Shiqi’s interception, Linglong’s speed dropped significantly.
Facing Shiqi’s obstruction again, she found herself unable to resolve the fight within a few moves.
Shiqi’s combat power was a bit weaker, but she was also buffed now.
With the mindset of simply interfering with Linglong’s actions, it was truly difficult for Linglong to finish her off quickly.
The two young women clashed repeatedly in the air. It was visible to the naked eye that Shiqi was falling into a disadvantage.
Whether it was in terms of raw strength or sword techniques, she was no match for Linglong.
However, she fought with incredible tenacity. Even if she had to take injuries, she would not let Linglong take a single step forward, which left Linglong feeling somewhat helpless.
It was not that she did not want a quick victory; it was just that Shiqi, after receiving the buff, was not so easy to defeat.
This was, after all, a genius who was practically guaranteed to become an Inner Gate Disciple of the Sword Sect. How could she be dealt with so easily?
The people of the Sword Sect might have various problems in other areas, but there was one thing that was never in question: their fighting will.
If they said they could hold out, they would hold out until they died.
And while the two of them were at each other’s throats, Hua Jian, high in the sky, finally located the Divine Sense Mark inside the Thunder Dragon thanks to a reminder from a certain Little Butterfly.
The Thunder Dragon was quite powerful, and there was a lot of interfering aura inside it, but Hua Jian had a “cheat.”
A Meng, who was at the Ling King Realm, performed a sweep with her Divine Sense and easily discovered the location of the Divine Sense Mark.
Moreover, her movements were extremely subtle; no one could tell that Hua Jian was actually using a secret advantage.
The vines stabbed into the Thunder Dragon’s body quickly began to push toward the location of the Divine Sense Mark. Before long, they braved the violent thunder within the dragon and found the mark.
Then, Hua Jian twisted her Soul Power into the shape of a spike and, using the vines as a medium, stabbed out fiercely.
Crack!
A crisp sound seemed to ring in Hua Jian’s ears as that Divine Sense Mark shattered on the spot under her full-strength strike.
Linglong’s strength was indeed greatly enhanced by the Forbidden Land environment, but her soul had not been strengthened proportionally. It remained at its original intensity.
To Hua Jian, a soul of that strength was like slightly hardened glass; it could be shattered with a forceful strike.
Having lost its control, the Thunder Dragon’s body began to fall apart.
The lightning energy that composed its body lost its constraints and became increasingly violent.
Hua Jian’s joy lasted only a moment before she realized things were going wrong. At this rate, this thing was going to blow!
Hurriedly grabbing her vines, she threw the increasingly out-of-control Thunder Dragon into the distance.
Hua Jian turned and shouted to everyone below, “Open shields!”
After shouting to the people below, she flew toward the other side, taking over for Shiqi, who was about to collapse under Linglong’s attacks.
“Run, quick! I’ll stall her here!”
“Huh? But…”
“There’s no time! That Thunder Dragon is about to explode! If you stay here, you’ll definitely be forced out of the tournament.” Hua Jian was frantic.
As she spoke, a vine grew from her back and whipped Shiqi across the stomach, sending her flying toward the direction of the Array.
Only after seeing Shiqi being caught by Xia Hui, who had run out, and brought back into the Array did Hua Jian breathe a sigh of relief. She turned and accused Linglong.
“Is there any point in playing dirty like this!”
The power of this Thunder Dragon’s explosion would likely be comparable to a full-power strike from a Ling King Realm cultivator burning their own essence.
It turned out Linglong had been holding a “mutual destruction” trump card all along?
“We are enemies now. Did you expect me to make things easy for you?” Linglong was also feeling somewhat helpless at this moment. This move was originally meant for the most critical moment, but it had been inadvertently triggered by Hua Jian’s trickery.
Now, no one knew what the final result of this explosion would be.
If the cultivators on Hua Jian’s side were at full strength, withstanding the aftershocks of this attack would not be a difficult task.
But they had already been drained twice in a row. It was uncertain whether the Spiritual Power they had supplemented through Alchemy Pills would be enough to withstand this impact.
Even more endangered were Hua Jian and Linglong.
They were not protected by the Array, and they were much closer to the center of the Thunder Dragon’s explosion.
If things went poorly, the two of them might have to leave the Secret Realm hand-in-hand.
“How about we shake hands and make peace for now?” Hua Jian tried to strike a deal with Linglong.
“Sure.” Linglong’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she reached out a hand toward Hua Jian.
Hua Jian instinctively felt something was wrong. Was Linglong really someone so flexible?
Impossible!
She had refused to go easy on them just now; there was no way she would shake hands and make peace now. This was absolutely a plot.
“What, you don’t believe me?”
“I don’t believe you one bit! You’re definitely thinking of how to drag me down with you!” Hua Jian took a step back, taking a defensive stance.
Linglong chuckled twice. Several streaks of pale thunderlight shot from her outstretched hand, aimed directly at Hua Jian’s heart.
“Since we can’t be together alive, then come out of the tournament with me!”
“Geez, are you serious with those words!” Hua Jian flipped to dodge the thunderlight shot by Linglong.
Seeing Linglong already lunging straight for her, she felt completely fed up.
‘Her Highness the Saintess shouldn’t be a yandere character, right? Are those “If I can’t have you, I’ll destroy you” lines something you should be saying?’
‘Besides, we won’t actually die. It’s just being forced out of the tournament. There’s no need to make it this dramatic.’
“If I can take a super genius like you out of the tournament, my mission will be perfectly accomplished!”
“Don’t come any closer!”
Hua Jian saw through Linglong’s true intention.
This time, Linglong was not playing around; she truly intended to hold Hua Jian in a mutual destruction attempt.
Since she could not defeat Hua Jian through conventional means, she would use unconventional ones.
The Thunder Dragon had already been damaged by Hua Jian, and Linglong could not create a second one in a short time.
Was it not only natural to make good use of the dragon’s remains?
Linglong felt that, with her physical defense surpassing cultivators of the same rank and the supreme lightning resistance granted by this Forbidden Land, she would surely gain the advantage in this self-detonation attack.
In that case, why let Hua Jian go? She should stay obediently and take the explosion with her!
As it turned out, when Linglong stopped thinking about killing Hua Jian and only cared about restricting her movements at any cost, it was easy for her to catch Hua Jian.
The speed of the Thunder Escape was much faster than Hua Jian’s Flying Flower Escape.
Coupled with the lightning blockades from other directions, Hua Jian had no choice but to be caught by Linglong.
Hua Jian had originally turned around to thrust her Ling Sword toward Linglong, but after seeing Linglong charge forward with such total disregard for her own safety, she truly could not bring herself to run her through.
Even though she knew her sword might not necessarily injure Linglong, she did not want to gamble on the possibility that Linglong might get hurt.
In that flash of lightning, she instinctively swung the Ling Sword to the side.