Chapter 187

Chapter 187: The True Form of the Embroidered Ball

At the critical moment, Li Hui used the Mystical Yellow Path Talisman to influence the formation, redirecting it to lock onto the Golden Silk Ring Knife nearby.

“Clang, clang, clang…” Every movement of the knife produced a scraping sound. Dugu Yi’s face darkened as he waved his hand and unleashed a brilliant light, faintly presenting three distinct phenomena—like knives, guns, swords, and halberds, like a sea of fire in hell, like the decay of all things.

“Suppress, suppress, suppress!” Li Hui went all out, burning the Mystical Yellow Path Talisman to create as much resistance as possible while retreating, using the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique to throw out a large number of damage-dealing talismans.

If this place didn’t have the Two-Element Subtlety Swirling Pattern Divine Formation, he wouldn’t even need to fight; he could simply wait for his demise! The brilliance of this formation lay in its ability to quickly decompose power. Whether it was knife energy or Five Elements magic, as long as distance was created, it could always fade into nothingness, effectively negating a significant portion of one’s cultivation. Even if you were in the All-Manifestation Realm, you would still be weakened.

“Bang, bang, bang…” The black-and-white ripples fell around Dugu Yi, drawing away bits of energy that drifted off into the distance in all directions. Although Li Hui didn’t gain the benefits from the damage-dealing talismans, as long as he could weaken his opponent, he would go to great lengths to do so.

“Hmph, a dying struggle.”

Dugu Yi smirked with a hint of unnatural expression on his face, showing a trace of impatience in his eyes. This great formation was quite troublesome; even the divine talismans he unleashed quickly disappeared. For some unknown reason, after the mysterious shadow devoured magical tools, the connection with the Myriad Form Purple Absolute God Symbol suddenly broke. Was he really going to have to use a Jade Symbol against this kid?

“Such cultivation level deserves my use of a Jade Symbol?” Just then, Li Hui returned and unleashed more damage-dealing talismans.

“You little brat, are you trying to put on a show?” Dugu Yi laughed furiously, just as he was about to use his trump card, when several ceramic pots smashed down from above.

Instinctively, he raised his big knife to slice at them, but the knife energy was too weak to break through, causing the ceramic pots to shatter and cover him with Soul Nourishing Water.

Li Hui retreated once more, and Dugu Yi suddenly realized something was wrong: the blue giant snake had slithered in from the side, leaping up to bite him frantically.

“You outrageous thing, you’ve angered me!” Dugu Yi roared, a dignified leader of the Jade Symbol Sect. For the past two hundred years, he had commanded great power, handling any task with ease. Yet here he was, being hampered by a little ghost.

“Embroidered Ball, what is going on with this guy? Possession?” Li Hui still didn’t understand, as the Embroidered Ball referred to Dugu Yi as the sect leader.

“It’s not possession; it’s more complex than that and highly concealed,” the Embroidered Ball scoffed. “Hmph, it should have been performed decades ago with secret techniques to split his soul, attaching the divided soul to the body of a newborn, gradually eliminating the infant’s spirit to take its place. Such actions leave a lot of hidden dangers.”

“Damn it, what kind of monster does not spare even a newborn?” Li Hui became even more resolute; having no way to retreat meant he had to fight for his life.

Dugu Yi was tangled in the blue snake and his eyes glinted with coldness. Although he could subdue true disciples of the Hongmo Sect, his training time was still short, and he had taken a unique path. Thus, he possessed the keen eyesight of the All-Manifestation Realm, yet his true cultivation only reached the Late Condense Essence stage, not even qualifying as Bosa.

This was his weakness; generally, it wouldn’t be exposed, but now he faced the long-lost Two-Element Subtlety Swirling Pattern Divine Formation, rendering many of his methods ineffective. Coupled with the Remnant Soul of the All-Manifestation Realm that had lost its self-awareness, it was incredibly frustrating.

“Cut the Fog and Trim the Wind Talisman, kill for me!” Dugu Yi shouted, slapping out an ancient jade tablet that forcefully carved out a region around his body. Thousands of wind blades surrounded the blue snake, slashing and producing a massive frost.

“Roar…” The blue snake became incredibly fierce, charging forward recklessly.

“So you want to take over my body?” Dugu Yi’s demeanor turned aggressive, as symbols of light rose from his hands, rapidly blurring and slashing out into an otherworldly display.

The Two-Element Subtlety Swirling Pattern Divine Formation quickly decomposed the forces; whether it was the area sliced by the Cut the Fog and Trim the Wind Talisman, the icy energy erupted from the blue snake, or the knife energy from the Golden Silk Ring Knife, everything was restricted within a certain range.

Li Hui focused his eyes and saw Dugu Yi pinning down the blue snake, which was now not much longer than three feet and covered in wounds, letting it coil around his arm to release freezing energy while fragments of talisman light occasionally erupted from his fingernails.

“A good opportunity.” Without needing the Embroidered Ball to remind him, Li Hui dashed forward, flicking out a series of Blood Energy Talismans. He then intended to use the damage-dealing talismans to weaken his formidable foe, but from a distance, it was less effective.

“No, I need to get closer.” Li Hui changed his position, unleashing more Blood Energy Talismans and damage-dealing talismans. Energized by the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays within his body, his Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique became even more graceful, showering a rain of talisman light onto Dugu Yi.

“I expected you would come over.” Dugu Yi suddenly turned his head and said, “I’m tired of this. Back in the day, a senior from the Jade Symbol Sect used that devil pen to draw a strange talisman called the Star- Chasing Moon Talisman. It was meant for my good junior brother to enjoy alone. Since you wish to come and stir trouble, let’s see if my knife is faster or if this formation’s reduction speed is quicker.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the knife light flashed.

It was so fast that Li Hui only realized what had happened when he saw the knife light, and all of a sudden, an Embroidered Ball appeared in front of him, and countless silk fabrics flew up, twisting into hundreds of brilliant lights.

“Embroidered Ball!” Li Hui cried out.

“Don’t mourn; this lord isn’t dead yet.” The knife light was incredibly fast, easily slicing through the brilliant lights and forcibly shattering the years of accumulated power of the Embroidered Ball.

Dugu Yi sneered: “You finally showed yourself. As the jade talisman ink demon, you wish to break free from control? It’s absurd to assist this fool in harnessing great luck. You have no idea what you’re doing. You failed to draw out that residual talisman entangled with the Jade Symbol Sect’s aura. Instead of gaining the freedom you desire, you’re enabling this kid to gain recognition in the depths of hell. Yu Zimao, oh Yu Zimao, come back! Only I can let you…”

His words abruptly stopped as the Embroidered Ball revealed its true form, showing a jade pen covered in cracks, appearing dim and lacking luster, almost bald at the tip.

“Why? Why have you become like this?” Dugu Yi screamed in hysteria, even forgetting to increase the pressure on the blue snake in his hand, furiously questioning: “The former sect leader said you were gathering power and preparing to recreate glory for my Jade Symbol Sect. If it weren’t for that good junior brother leaking information and letting the Three Sects and Four Sects know about your impending revival, how could my Jade Symbol Sect have faced this misfortune? Ah! Ah! Ah! I hate this!”

The Embroidered Ball transformed into human shape and sighed: “How difficult is reincarnation? To write the Rebirth Talisman for the Great Phantom of the Yellow Springs and ensure her safe rebirth, I paid an enormous price. The entire Jade Symbol Sect should not place their hopes on a single pen. I have brought glory to the sect, yet far too many disciples only wish to reap the rewards without effort, waiting in line to use me, neglecting to refine their talisman methods and increase their success rates, all because of me, the talisman ink demon, Yu Zimao.”

“No, you have no right to do this! You are the servant of my Jade Symbol Sect, meant to bow your head and obey for eternity! Who allowed you to have feelings? Who gave you permission to create talismans related to reincarnation? Die! Go die!” Dugu Yi’s face twisted in rage as he swung his knife down.