“Hmm, the competition venue this time…”
After stepping through the Light Gate, the competition venue appeared before Ling Xiaoyou.
Feeling the dry heat and high temperature around her, Ling Xiaoyou frowned and glanced at the volcanic crater that kept spewing black smoke.
“It’s actually a volcano. This venue is really disadvantageous for me.”
Ling Xiaoyou subconsciously looked at the gray volcanic rock on the ground, thinking about taking a piece back as a souvenir.
But she suppressed that idea—after all, this was the competition.
She had no idea how many people were watching her every move.
Doing something like that would make her look like a fool!
Suddenly, Ling Xiaoyou heard the sound of footsteps crunching on gravel approaching her, accompanied by a gentle male voice:
“It is an honor to meet you in person, Benefactor Ling.”
Ling Xiaoyou turned her head toward the source of the voice and saw a bald monk walking toward her from the crater.
He wore a gray-black monk’s robe, cloth shoes, and held prayer beads.
Monk Hui Jue stopped at a short distance from Ling Xiaoyou, maintaining that gap, and gave a kind smile before speaking:
“This humble monk is your opponent, Hui Jue, a monk of Ghost Temple. I hope the battle ahead will not harm the goodwill between us.”
“Oh, I understand that!”
Ling Xiaoyou nodded knowingly, crossed her arms, and struck a pose like a master, saying:
“Competition first, friendship second, right? Don’t worry, I won’t hold back!”
Monk Hui Jue’s expression froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.
He smiled and said:
“Benefactor must be joking. It should be friendship first, competition second, right?”
“No, no, no.”
Ling Xiaoyou shook her head with an expression that said “you’re still too green” and said:
“If friendship really came first, then why not just surrender and let me win? That would truly prove that friendship comes first!”
With that, Ling Xiaoyou looked at Monk Hui Jue and urged:
“So, how about it? Want to prove your words by surrendering and letting me win?”
“This… I’d rather not.”
Monk Hui Jue sighed, placed his palms together, chanted a Buddha’s name, and said:
“This humble monk believes that victory earned with one’s own hands is true victory. Benefactor must think the same, right?”
Hearing this, Ling Xiaoyou snorted softly, not particularly surprised.
After all, if Monk Hui Jue didn’t want to win, he wouldn’t have come here in the first place.
What she had just said was only meant to poke fun at his earlier words.
To be honest, if she really lost, who would still keep up the goodwill?
Ling Xiaoyou was definitely not the type to keep a smile on her face for someone who beat her.
If it weren’t for her good temper, she would have even kicked him sneakily.
Perhaps it was the volcanic heat, but the verbal sparring between the two looked incredibly fierce to the audience outside.
“Whoa! Elder Ling is so fierce! She’s already suppressed that bald guy with just her presence and words!”
Miao Miaomiao sat in the audience, looking at Ling Xiaoyou with admiration, completely starstruck.
“But that’s just presence and words, little girl. You don’t understand, do you?”
Soon, an audience member nearby responded to her words, sneering:
“If Monk Hui Jue were actually suppressed by that, he wouldn’t be worthy of being a monk of Ghost Temple, nor would he be fit to be groomed as the next abbot.”
Miao Miaomiao gave the man a cold glance, snorted, and continued cheering for Ling Xiaoyou.
“None of your business! I’ll say what I want! Go, Elder Ling!”
The audience member, irritated by Miao Miaomiao’s attitude, stood up and was about to lash out—only to see dozens of women of various appearances beside Miao Miaomiao staring at him with icy glares.
Although these women’s cultivations were unremarkable, their intimidating aura made the man tremble.
After a moment of hesitation, he decisively chose to sit back down.
As for being cowardly…
It’s not cowardice—it’s just not wanting to argue with people from those major powers!
Back in the volcanic arena, after the initial verbal clash between Ling Xiaoyou and Monk Hui Jue, the countdown numbers appeared in the sky precisely on time.
The moment the countdown reached zero, Ling Xiaoyou made the first move.
She didn’t choose her specialty of calling rain but instead drew her bowstring and fired a probing shot.
The volcanic environment was too much of a hindrance.
Rain could still provide a boost, but it would drain her Spirit Power severely, making it not worth it.
She’d save it for a critical moment.
A water-blue arrow trailed a wake and in the blink of an eye flew straight at Monk Hui Jue’s face.
But the latter seemed unaware, merely chanting scriptures softly.
‘What is he doing? Is he really going to hand victory over?’
Ling Xiaoyou looked at Hui Jue, frowning slightly in thought.
Just then, with a clang, a translucent shield like a golden bell appeared around Hui Jue’s body, deflecting the arrow.
“You even know the Golden Bell Shield? Are you going to use Iron Shirt next?”
Seeing this, Ling Xiaoyou wasn’t surprised but couldn’t help complaining.
Monk Hui Jue still had that gentle, amiable expression as he said:
“Benefactor, do not be alarmed. This is merely Buddha Light Body Protection.”
“This appearance is just this humble monk’s personal preference. If Benefactor were to cultivate this method, I imagine your Buddha Light would look different from mine.”
“Who wants to cultivate Buddha Light!”
Ling Xiaoyou complained while not stopping her actions, firing several arrows in quick succession at the golden light.
But they were all deflected.
“That’s one tough shield.”
Ling Xiaoyou stared at the layer of Buddha Light, furrowing her brows.
She wasn’t sure how to break it.
Most of her strength relied on Water Elemental Techniques.
If she encountered an environment that was unfavorable and an opponent as hard as a turtle, things got tricky.
She studied the figure sitting cross-legged and chanting scriptures, looking for a weak spot in the Buddha Light.
But she didn’t find any weak points—instead, she noticed something else strange.
Why was Monk Hui Jue just sitting there holding up his shield without launching any attack?
‘He couldn’t be trying to outlast me, could he?’
Even though Ling Xiaoyou was heavily suppressed in this environment, her recovery was still strong!
Besides, she could choose not to attack and just wait for Hui Jue to run out of energy first.
You can’t maintain Buddha Light without consuming Spirit Power, can you?
But if it wasn’t that Hui Jue didn’t want to attack but couldn’t, then everything made sense.
If he could both use Buddha Light Body Protection and attack at the same time, Ling Xiaoyou really wouldn’t be able to defeat him.
How could anyone beat someone that tough and that strong?
So there must be a limitation.
She didn’t believe anyone at this stage could pull off something so ridiculous.
Anyway, even if Monk Hui Jue kept turtling up with his shield, she had to find a way around it.
Ling Xiaoyou pinched her smooth chin in thought.
Suddenly, she recalled a technique she had forgotten in a corner of her memory.
That was Meimeng!
Originally intended to be used against Bai Shuanglian, she had never used it because her relationship with Bai Shuanglian had improved.
Although she wasn’t sure if it would ever be useful, today it could definitely come in handy!
With that thought, Ling Xiaoyou decisively used the Meimeng illusion on Monk Hui Jue.
She didn’t need the illusion to defeat him—just to create enough time for her to attack.
Her eyes emitted a faint red glow, those crimson irises possessing an ability that could awaken the deepest beautiful memories in a person’s heart.
Even though Monk Hui Jue wasn’t looking directly into her eyes, a faint pink light still reflected in his own eyes.
He immediately understood what kind of technique he had fallen into and tried to counter it, but it was too late.
Countless wonderful memories and fantasies flooded his mind, causing a peaceful smile to appear on his face.
The next moment, the protective Buddha Light flickered like a dimming lightbulb, about to go out.
Clearly, under Ling Xiaoyou’s illusion, Monk Hui Jue’s mind was shaken by the beautiful fantasy.
And such protective Buddha Light usually required a firm will to maintain, which was why it wavered under her illusion.
Seeing this, Ling Xiaoyou nodded with satisfaction.
As expected, the best way to deal with a hard turtle shell is to just throw the turtle into boiling water!
Your shell might be tough, but you yourself are just average!
She pulled the bowstring, and water-blue light appeared, then gradually turned pitch black, taking on a sharp edge.
Then, Ling Xiaoyou aimed at the Buddha Light, waited for the weakest moment, and released her grip—letting the arrow fly toward Monk Hui Jue.
The Buddha Light held out against the arrow for a moment, then, like a balloon being pricked by a needle, it burst with a pop.
Hell yeah, success!
Ling Xiaoyou was just beginning to smile when she paused, startled to see a hand suddenly catching her arrow—and the hand belonged to Monk Hui Jue.
“Whew, Benefactor’s technique is truly profound. This humble monk nearly lost himself in that illusion.”
Monk Hui Jue let out a long breath and wiped his forehead as if trying to wipe away cold sweat.
But he forgot that he was already a Spirit—he had no ability to sweat.
Naturally, he wiped nothing.
“……Are you some kind of protagonist? How can you always catch my attack at the crucial moment?!”
Ling Xiaoyou complained inwardly but wasn’t too discouraged.
After all, this was just one attempt.
If it succeeded, great; if it failed, it didn’t matter.
At least she had discovered that Monk Hui Jue couldn’t resist illusion attacks while his shield was active.
One failure was fine; she could just try again.
She didn’t believe he could keep catching her attacks at the last second every time.
But perhaps sensing Ling Xiaoyou’s thoughts, or realizing that his current state wasn’t invincible, Monk Hui Jue didn’t re-enter the Buddha Light Body Protection state after breaking free from the illusion.
Instead, he softly chanted a Buddha’s name, and his expression turned serious.
The next moment, his aura suddenly changed.
The golden light gradually darkened to pitch black, and his presence grew deeper—no longer the gentle, peaceful Buddha, but the ghostly Buddha buried in the Underworld!
Finally, Monk Hui Jue was no more.
In his place stood a monk whose entire body was black as ink, yet flickering with golden light.
“Instant battle mode, huh…”
Ling Xiaoyou looked at the black-golden monk with some gravity, sensing an unusual pressure from him.
Half like a Buddha, half like a ghost, more like a fusion of both.
“I apologize, Benefactor. This humble monk will now attack.”
The black-golden monk spoke to Ling Xiaoyou like that, then chanted another Buddha’s name.
The next instant, blazing flames erupted around him.
But these were not ordinary flames—they were ghostly blue ghost fire.
The black-golden monk’s arm suddenly extended, passed through the ghost fire, and dyed his entire arm with that eerie blue color, attacking Ling Xiaoyou.
Seeing this, Ling Xiaoyou tried to dodge, but she felt Buddhist sounds emanating from the arm, continuously entering her ears, chanting the truths of Buddha, the greatness of Buddha, everything about Buddha—it was trying to convert her on the spot!
Ling Xiaoyou made a quick decision and directly tore her ears off her body.
After all, she was a ghost.
Missing body parts were just cosmetic; she could easily restore them.
But even without hearing, Ling Xiaoyou could still perceive the Buddhist sounds.
It seemed they weren’t transmitted through hearing but directly into the mind.
“Really, Buddhist tricks are the most annoying.”
Ling Xiaoyou muttered to herself and temporarily ignored the Buddhist sounds.
Her will wouldn’t be so easily converted anyway.
She flickered and moved a hundred meters away from the black-golden monk, dodging the ghost fire arm’s attack.
Then, Ling Xiaoyou pulled the Cloud Water Bow, pouring her Spirit Power into it along with countless streams of water.
Although her techniques were greatly restricted in this environment, she could still barely use them.
The next instant, the arrow shot straight toward the black-golden monk’s forehead.
But the black-golden monk quickly sensed it and used his still extended arm to smack the arrow away.
However, the moment his arm touched the arrow, water blades like an explosion engulfed his arm, causing him to scream and quickly withdraw his now scarred arm.
Seeing this, Ling Xiaoyou was delighted, thinking her attack had worked.
She was about to press the advantage.
But then she saw the black-golden monk’s arm gradually healing under the glow of Buddha light, restored to its original state in no time.
“……Seriously? He has regenerative abilities too?!”
Ling Xiaoyou glanced at the black-golden monk, who was now lively again and charging at her, and let out a light sigh.
‘I’m tired. Let’s end this quickly. This damn place is too unpleasant.’
Then, she rummaged through her Space Ring and slowly took out a magical artifact that resembled a Rubik’s cube.
The next instant, a sword light slashed through the black-golden monk’s arm, arrived before him in the blink of an eye, and decapitated him with one strike!
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